Gender in Literature Essay - 2083 Words

People who are different, who go against the status quo, are those that receive labels like outcasts, weird, or freaks. Characters that are different however, are attractive to audiences. It is their defiance and ability to see through the cracks of stereotypical society and rebel against them that can peak curiosity within a reader. There are people in the world who believe that they alone in their thoughts or actions; they can find common ground- or inspiration through a character. These outcasts are the ones that trigger emotions within the audience, ranging all over the emotional spectrum: from anger to shock to envy. Many authors, especially those who lived and wrote during times of repression of groups and urges for social change,†¦show more content†¦However, it is not always necessary that a third party place the label of â€Å"outsider† on an individual. The feeling of being outsider can be internalized first, before the outside community is even aware of any deviations from common society. This internalization is found in both Kate Chopin’s character Edna Pontellier and Sandra Cisneros’s protagonist Cleà ³filas; where both authors play on the gender discrimination, as well as social standing. In literature women are often portrayed as outcasts, especially in times where new movements or progressive thinking were taking on rights issues. Chopin and Cisneros come from different eras, and their characters experience different discriminations; Edna is mostly ostracized for going against her gender norm, while Cleà ³filas is discriminated due to race and gender. In stories such as these, is important to understand the time period in which Edna and Cleà ³filas were created in order to fully grasp the concept of them as outsiders to their societies and why they were outsiders. While Edna is not specifically quarreling over woman’s rights, Chopin’s writing was such a progressive piece that it sparked controversy. During the late 1800s, women were still limited as to what they were allowed to pursue or own. According to Paul S. Boyer, author of American History: A Very Short Introduction ¸ writes that â€Å"Women’s situation varied widely, depending on geography, race, ethnicity, and class†Show MoreRelatedGender Inequality in Literature1223 Words   |  5 PagesGender Inequality in Literature Gender equality, men and women having the same rights and obligations, and everyone having the same opportunities in society, has been a topic of discussion for many centuries (Dorious and Firebaugh). Women have used literature as a voice to defend their gender equality rights. Female authors have tried to achieve extraordinary success in literature while functioning in a culture that frowned upon female literary desire. Men greatly dominate the profession (DoriousRead MoreGender Stereotypes Throughout Literature And Literature968 Words   |  4 PagesGender stereotypes exist in modern civilization and are heavily influenced in film and literature as well. The deeply ingrained values in our culture of standardized gender roles in terms of women are seen heavily in both Tarzan of the Apes and in Knocked Up. Alternatively, these stories released almost a hundred years apart portray masculinity very differently. To understand what constitutes an ideal male, both genders need to be con sidered and their differences exemplified. Tarzan is a stereotypicalRead MoreGender Roles in Literature1573 Words   |  6 PagesGender roles play a significant part in all literature. Throughout history men and women have been represented in a variety of different ways. In some tales men and women are equals, while in others men are seen as superior to females. Their roles in the stories have to do with the cultural aspect of the society the story was written during, and when the story is supposed to take place. Examples of the importance of gender roles can be seen in Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Jeremias Gotthelf’s The BlackRead MoreGender Stereotypes in Literature1570 Words   |  7 Pagesit is not her status which gives her strength but her power and intelligence. In her revenge, Medea proves to be not just a harmless and stereotypical woman, but someone who is aware of other’s perception of her and who is willing to use her gender to manipulate people. She manages to persuade Creon to go against his better judgment to let her stay another day, allowing her to formulate a plan that ends in the death of Creon, his daughter and Medea’s own children. It is in this scene whereRead MoreGender Stereotypes And Expectations In Literature1724 Words   |  7 Pagesthrough such means as literature, popular culture, and tradition, has perpetuated these gender stereotypes and expectations for much of history. Unconscious and conscious assumptions about gender shape how readers perceive sex in literature; men are typically considered lustful, whereas women are considered loving. However, the subjects of sex, love, and lust in literature, as demonstrated in poems written by Robert Burns and Andrew Marvell, become increasingly nuanced when gender stereotypes and expectationsRead MoreGender Inequality in Literature Essay1187 Words   |  5 PagesGender equality, men and women having the same rights and obligations, and everyone having the same opportunities in society, has been a topic of discussion for man and women for centuries (Dorious and Firebaugh). For many centuries, women have used literature as a voice used to defend their rights as women. Female authors achieved extraordinary success in literature functioning in a culture that frowned upon female literary desire but men still dominated the profession (Dorious and Firebaugh). UntilRead MoreGender and Leadership: Literature Review5185 Words   |  21 PagesGender and Leadership Literature Review 1. Introduction Leadership theories and literature describe what leaders should do and on the other hand literature also exists on what leaders actually do, the former are prescriptive and the latter are descriptive (Bratton et al; 2005). Leadership style is a relatively consistent set of behaviours that characterise a leader (DuBrin; 1995). The main leadership theories encompass the trait, behaviour, contingency, powerRead MoreGender and Leadership: Literature Review5170 Words   |  21 PagesGender and Leadership Literature Review 1. Introduction Leadership theories and literature describe what leaders should do and on the other hand literature also exists on what leaders actually do, the former are prescriptive and the latter are descriptive (Bratton et al; 2005). Leadership style is a relatively consistent set of behaviours that characterise a leader (DuBrin; 1995). The main leadership theories encompass the trait, behaviour, contingency, power influenceRead MoreGender Approaches to Analyzing Literature562 Words   |  2 Pages Recently, gender studies have become the main sources of information for understanding gender issues in the society. The masculine and feminine divide used to represent the socially constructed sexual traits which men and women are expected to portray in their relationships and interactions. In The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett, the characters strongly conform to socially constructed gender roles in the way they dress, talk and act. This paper explores how the main characters in the novelRead MoreGender Roles in Childrens Literature2226 Words   |  9 PagesGender Bias in Literature Men Fix ThingsÂ…Girls Have Dolls -Shirley B. Ernst I have thought about many different ways to organize this paper and have come to the conclusion that the best way to approach the topic is on a book-by-book basis. My perceptions of the gender biases in these books vary greatly and I did not want to begin altering my views on each so that they would fit into certain contrived connections. What interests me most in these stories is how the authors utilize certain characters

Professional Ambition And Masculinity Professional...

Professional Ambition and Masculinity Professional ambition and responsibilities are usually time consuming, which leads to less family time. With professional careers, one has to prioritize their life and the needs of their family, by creating a balance between work and family concerns. Providing that the stigma associated with male says that they are bread winners and should be able to provide for the family s financial needs. Men are expected to be hardworking and demanding. While the females are responsible for the nurturing of the child, men often feel emasculated when the tables turn. Even though there s a change in the cycle and responsibilities of parents, they should be available to child in their times of need. White collared individuals should not impede family time; instead they should have a sense of evenhandedness. Therefore, professional ambition should be subordinated to family concerns, a parent should stabilize the period available by setting boundaries and creating schedules which they abide by. To demonstrate the importance of a balance of career and family is supported in A choice of Accommodations by Jhumpa Lahiri, and â€Å"Men at work and Balancing career and family an article by Elisabeth Pain. A choice of accommodation â€Å"and Balancing career and family speaks about the significance of family needs. Basically going against the tradition of the male being the dominant individual in the relationship who has all control, instead femalesShow MoreRelatedUsing Material from Item a and Elsewhere, Assess the Claim That Gender Differences in Educational Achievement Are Primarily the Result of Changes in Society1188 Words   |  5 Pagesnature of any problem. External factors such as the impact of feminism and girls changing ambitions could have a large influence on gender differences in educational achievement. Since the 1960s, feminism has challenged the traditional stereotypes of a womans role as mother and housewife within a patriarchal family. Feminism has also raises girls expectations and ambitions with regard to careers and family. These changes are partly reflected in media images and messages. A good illustrationRead MoreThe Women s Movement Our History Essay1428 Words   |  6 Pagestheir work in factories and shipyards challenged the gender norms of that time period, and thus paved the way for future generations to come (â€Å"The Women’s Movement—Our History,† 2005). Today, in lieu of Rosie the Riveter, women and girls have many professional role models to look up to. Nonetheless, it remains imperative that the structure of the workplace changes to accommodate a more balanced gender ratio, but this is no t always possible within the current patriarchal framework. Gender equality inRead MoreAnalizing Gender Roles Essay794 Words   |  4 Pagesindividually and compare the similarities and contrast the differences between them. Veronica Coringstone (Christina Applegate) is a charming blonde female who plays the main role in , â€Å"Anchorman†. She is an intellectual and professional woman with many ambitions. It’s the 70’s, and it’s a time, when men, â€Å"ruled the world†. In spite of this, she has a goal to be the first female anchor on network television. In this film, she fights for equality of the genders and breaks the stereotype of theRead MoreEssay On Female Leadership874 Words   |  4 Pagesworkplace—barriers which have always existed in America--a Pew research study shows that for the first-time young women are surpassing young men in career ambition. According to Drexler, the study shows that 67 % of women put career success high on their list of life goals versus 60% of males; citing The Bureau of Labor Statistics which says just over half of â€Å"management, professional, and related occupation† positions are now held by women. The status of women in the workplace is seeing a significant change andRead MoreIs The Discrimination Against Women? Politics A Myth Or Is It Reality?1608 Words   |  7 Pagesor similar positions. These are described as â€Å"soft industries† and include health, education, and welfare. Rarely do women hold executive decision-making authority in more powerful domains or those that are associated with traditional notions of masculinity (such as finance and the military). Typically, the more powerful the institution, the less likely it is that women’s interests will be represented. Additionally, in more autocratic nations, women are less likely to have their interests representedRead MoreThe Feminine Mystique Theme Analysis2062 Words   |  9 PagesEssentializing can have these substantial effects by causing stereotype threats for people belonging to groups that are rigidly generalized. Since women were often seen as incapable of complex matters outside of the home such as education, politics, and careers, they conformed to society’s expectations of them by fulfilling their designated roles as housekeepers, wives, and mothers. As discussed in class lecture, people are expected to internalize and conform to their socially assigned roles even if theyRead MoreQuestioning Male s And Female s Reasoning Towards Their Particular Career Choice3153 Words   |  13 PagesChichi Emenike LBST4800 4.23.2015 After analyzing and questioning male s and female s reasoning towards their particular career choice, I realize that there was a certain pattern towards gender and career. Most male pursued what society depict as a masculine occupation such as doctors, architects, or technology based jobs. Meanwhile, most women pursed what society depict as a feminine occupations such as teachers, secretaries, assistance or nursing. The most shocking discovery is when men pursuedRead MoreCorporate Culture1466 Words   |  6 Pageswhere all individuals believe themselves superior to the organization. Survival can become difficult for such organizations, since the concept of an organization suggests that a group of like-minded individuals pursue the organizational goals. Some professional partnerships can operate as person cultures, because each partner brings a peculiar expertise and clientele to the firm. Hofstede showed that there are national and regional cultural groupings affecting the behavior of organizations. HofstedeRead MoreThe Second Shift By Arlie Russell Hochschild1881 Words   |  8 Pagesâ€Å"second shift† refers to the tasks done around the house after the initial work hours are through. Hochschild critiques how the American career system treats the â€Å"second shift†; she makes it clear that the working American society has yet to take the additional shift into consideration due to the already implemented structure it follows by. As Hochschild puts it, â€Å"the career system inhibits women, not so much by malevolent disobedience to good rules as by making up rules to suit the male half of the populationRead MoreFeminism in Mrs. Dalloway1341 Words   |  6 PagesApart from these frustrated, lonely women characters, Woolf portrayed the character of Elizabeth Dalloway as an example of the unconventional woman. She lacked the enthusiasm in the trivial feminine society of her mother. She had ambitions to have a career and a professional life. She has planned to be doctor, farmer, or to go into parliament. Lady Bruton is another character whose strong independence as a leader shows the movement towards tolerance of women being in power. Her taking part in politics

Notes on contracts in law Free Essays

Notes on contracts in law BY Diffract In this case, a lawfully tying contract does not remain with Nathan and Dubious Connections Pity Ltd. Without any learning of the terms and conditions, Nathan, unconscious of the three-year term contract he wishes to return the product and withdraw the contract. The issue intended for this situation be if the agreement is still legitimate. We will write a custom essay sample on Notes on contracts in law or any similar topic only for you Order Now Under the substance of the agreement, the legitimate rights accessible to Nathan are; the attempt to sue for 1 misrepresentation, unfair contract terms or unconscionable conduct. As indicated by Flake’s Bulletin to enter the level of heir cases, obligation will Just draw in adulterations, in the event that they are (1) material, and (2) impelled the other sided. (Tipper Wagner, 2014) However the four steps which need to be recognized in choosing whether an actionable misrepresentation exists are as emulated; Step one is that a false proclamation made. The situation being what it is in this event a false proclamation was proclaimed as John pushed a free Isis. Phone if an agreement altered. Of course, Nathan certified in the case that he will get a phone in the event that he had signed the contract. Antennas interpretation is the Isis. Phone is a complimentary gift to the contract. At this point, it is a false proclamation. ( ALIT v. KRUGER [1955] HOC 64; (1955) 94 CLC 216)5 Step two; material fact. Step two is whether the deception was proposed to and did actuate the other party to perform 6(With v Flanagan [1936] Chi 575). It is a difficult step to demonstrate as it is hard to tell whether John utilized false data about the uncommon advancement to affect Nathan into marking an agreement. However seeing that John is a sales representative, and he was well aware of Antennas exceptional hindrance, he fizzled the gained important. Agree to the vitality of a contract, realizing that the criticalness of a mediator might have had any effect, in closing Antennas definite choice. Easy to say this makes it simple to foresee that John exploited this circumstance. Step three; requires the false proclamation be straightforward to the opposite party. Dubious associations are required to equip all staff members with full training which includes a great deals pitch, great information about the item, the right hopefuls who qualify. The terms in agreement that additionally alludes to end of the contract and the creation of lawfulness. The administration Dubious associations offers might be to any persons over 18 years of age, individuals, business and organizations. The key characteristic of a sales representative is its â€Å"pitch† directly to the intended party. The last step is Inducement – to see whether the represented party made the false misrepresentation eloquent it to be untrue, whether it was real or not 7(Deere v Peek [1889]). John might not have known whether Nathan could completely understand the English dialect, and if the advancement was real, yet he carelessly did not know, and he ought to have known. SIS CAL) John and Dubious associations Pity Ltd offer of the phone contract were significant distortion, John’s act of silence is an evident factor to the inducement of this case. However because of the trouble in demonstrating deformation John may contend Antennas lapse of actuality. One of the torts is deceit, depicting impossibilities to reject hazard as a distinct has not met all requirements for endeavourer his own mindset, Nathan will need to pay the full contract cost of $3120 in addition, $800 the cost of the Isis. 1 phone. The three-year term contract misunderstood outlines the infusion, where Nathan believed if the contracted ended whenever throughout this period it would be at no cost. Antennas best strategy might be an attempt to sue for actionable misrepresentation as the rejection provision will not incorporate. Likewise if the realities of the case show deceit there is a much higher possibility of winning the case and accepting harms. The actualities of the case indicate a significant deception because of the inducement of silence, this incited Nathan into the agreement, involved deceit. In this event, utilizing the advice for Nathan on the legitimate rights that he had and what ours of action to take, actionable misrepresentation will be highly recommended. The remedy for actionable misrepresentation is rescission – the perception may set aside, and the social occasions restored to their positions before the ascension – by the innocent party. UNFAIR CONTRACT TEEMS Another alternative that Nathan may come across to sue for is contractual terms which have the potential to be unfair. In choosing whether a term in a standard structure buyer contract is unjustifiable, the court will apply the three components which test for unfairness. The analysis intended for injustice, under s. Big of the ASIA ACTA, states that a term of a consumer contract is out of line in the event that: Overlooks a critical lopsidedness reason through the parties civil privileges as well as commitments emerging under the agreement and; Is not sensibly imperative to guarantee the genuine redirections of the gathering who would subsist benefit by means of the term and; Who of which is determined to create impediment (either budgetary or overall) to a party in the event it was too depended on or connected. These three factors of the unfairness test must be demonstrated, on the offset of rehabilitates, to exist for the court to choose that a term is unfair 10. Antennas first claim in an try to sue for unfairness through the ‘balance of probabilities’ is whether he comprehended the agreement he would have the capacity to predict the additional cost involved. As opposed to John, if he did the math, he would acknowledge Nathan ‘meager allowance’ can barely take care of the expense of the three-year term contract yet alone surcharges upon this contract. Surely, to be qualified for a phone plan a need to have a stable salary is vital for any human being. A wise sales representative will be prudent enough to realize that Nathan was not a suitable customer for his product. The significant imbalance is plainly highlighted constraining Antennas authorization. Despite the fact that the terms may have unveiled in the record, Nathan was not given any genuine opportunity to arrange the terms of the agreement. Nathan may try to prove that he was extremely distressed when he received the monthly phone bill from Dubious Connections Pity Ltd and had to find other means to be able to honor that contract. Also, he may have been distressed when he found out he had o pay $3120 to terminate the contract with an additional cost $800 for the Isis. 1 phone. The most difficult thing in claiming unfairness for consumer contract term is whether a particular term is unfair with regards to all relevant circumstances. The best venture for Nathan would be to rescind the contract; It is, however, not sufficient it may be grant. UNCONSCIONABLE CONDUCT On the other hand under the Australian Consumer Law states; when managing different organizations or clients, organizations should not participate in unconscionable behavior. Unconscionable managing over see’s the behavior of the arty that is stronger in endeavoring in the direction of achievement or hold the individuals profit under a ‘special disadvantage’ in the circumstances where it is not reliable with great value that he does so. 1 (Lexis’s, 2014) The court typically accepts that the gatherings to an agreement are comparable, containing equivalent bartering force. However an agreement is unconscionable (Commercial bank of Australia v Maida) if: 1) One party has super bartering force 2) The other party has the outstanding potential/ unique detriments, such as education issue or the absence of the ability to speak English . ) The parties enter to take it or leave it contract. Nathan must demonstrate that the agreement has breached. The principal approach to check whether it has; is by checking whether any of the express terms have ruptured, as the agreement was a contract of purchase it would Just hold terms identifying with buy, deal, guarantees and the rejection condition. Where no express terms have ruptured the next step might be to check whether any of the intimate terms has breached. Initially, the implied term that has breached is the term of the ability to speak English. An individual required to have a 12†³special disadvantage† remembering the final objective to be weak to unconscionable behavior. This visualized conditions which genuinely influenced the experience of the person to make a Judgment as to his best interest. However, for this situation, the deals illustrative of Dubious associations did not try to recognize whether his client experienced any extraordinary impediment. 13 (AC v Lug Distributors Pity Ltd, deckhand and Eng, 2013) Nathan was not mindful of the distortion before the agreement and any investigation made by Nathan might not eave uncovered the imperfection. The term of ‘special disadvantage’ has plainly breached. The following implied term that has breached is: Unconscionable conduct under section 21 of the Commonwealth Consolidated Acts. In the event that John is having knowledge that Nathan possesses an event of exceptional impediment in connection to the planned deal, so that Nathan cannot make a Judgment in respect to what is in his premiums, exploits his predominant dealing authority as a result of going into the agreement, Antennas behavior by this manner is unconscionable. Furthermore if, as opposed to containing real information of that event, John is mindful of the probability that the event may possibly subsist otherwise is mindful of actualities which might cause plausibility with the intelligence of any sensible human being, the outcome will be the alike. 14(Business bank of Australia v Maida) Antennas experience as to the contract was a free telephone which he can return at whichever point. Whether Nathan is treat with the knowledge of the probability viable discussed or as have taken in of substances that may accumulate that conceivability up the intelligence of any sensible individual. The relentless conclusion subsist to facilitate John was at risk of unconscionable lead, by entering into the understanding exclusive of uncovering essential information that may have enabled the respondents to structure a ruling designed for there selves, also with no guaranteeing with the aim of receiving free exhortation. (Business bank of Australia v Maida) As expected that Nathan explained to the sales representative, he needed a mobile phone and queried as to whether it would accommodate to make phone calls abroad. Anticipating John answered with a positive manner; Nathan depended on the sales preventative information and along these lines marked the agreement 1 5(David Jones Ltd v Wills [1934] 52 CLC 110). However John was mindful he knew nothing about the agreement, where he did not try to clarify the abundance cost in preceding this agreement. The Trade Practices Catch does not permit prohibited terms under section 68. On the off chance that any term of the agreement that indicates to prohibit, confine or alter or has the impact of barring limiting or changing areas of the Trade Practices Act is void. How to cite Notes on contracts in law, Papers

Charlie Bird free essay sample

Did the drugs sake Charles Jazz what it was or did the man have the built in ability to squeeze the perfect notes out of a saxophone making it do his will without hardly having to give it a thought. On August the 29th In the year of 1920 a baby was born to a family In Kansas City. Kansas. The childs name was Charles Parker Jar. He was the newborn son of Adelaide (Eddie) Bailey Parker, who was African-American-Choctaw, and Charles Parker, Sir. , an African-American. His mother migrated to Kansas City from Oklahoma where she met Charles Parker Sir. Charles Sir. Ad been In Mississippi and Tennessee and had mom to Kansas to pursue a career as an entertainer. Charles Sir. And Eddie separated leaving Charles without a father figure. Charles Sir. Never realized his dream of becoming an entertainer and is reported to have been working on a train as a waiter or chef when he died. At the age of 15 Charles began to show a great interest In music. He Joined the school band where he was given an alto horn but soon switched to the baritone horn and soon developed a love for the alto saxophone. His mother had more idealized views of Charles academics then those that are given by the school and friends.A Fellow Student, Lawrence Keyes was quoted as saying, If he had been as conscientious about his school work as he was his music, he would have become a professor, but he was a terrible truant He was doomed to be a perpetual freshman. ( CTD. In Charlie Parker, His Music and Life 4 The result of this initial burst of curiosity was that Charlie began pestering his mother to buy him an instrument of his own. (Priestley 12)His mother purchased a used saxophone from the local pawn shop for forty-five dollars and had it overhauled. Charles soon lost interest in the horn and loaned it to a friend.His friend had his saxophone for around two years before he decided to get It back. During this time Charles frequented Kansas Clues bars and clubs taking advantage of the Jazz scene and soaking in the artists styles and sounds There are many references in available literature stating how Charlie would sit in with any band or group of musicians, wherever and whenever there was an opportunity. (birdlimes. Co. UK). Most of the time he would have to hang around outside of the clubs because he couldnt get In. Doing this exposed him to a vast array of professional musicians, some of which would exposed to marijuana, and pills.He has been quoted when talking about his introduction to drugs saying It all came from being introduced too early to night life. When youre not mature enough to know whats happening-?well, you goof. (CTD. In Charlie Parker, His Music and Life 7) He talked about his his introduction to heroin to a bassist by the name of William Buddy Jones. He told him that at the age of fifteen he got high from heroin for the first time. Buddy retells the event, Getting high for the first time at fifteen, Bird told me what he felt. He pulled out $1. , which was worth more in those days and he said, Do you mean theres something like this in the world? How much of it will this buy? (CTD. In Charlie Parker, His Music and Life 8) From the age of thirteen drugs play more and more of a role in Charles daily life. Charles began to play with a band called the Deans of Swing and did so for about a year and a half. During this time he became close friends with a man by the name of Robert Simpson. Simpson was an older gentleman not unlike most of the people Charles liked to be around. Lawrence Keyes claims that Charles worshiped Simpson, and was with more often then not.Shortly after the Deans broke up at the age of twenty-one Simpson died, and Keyes claims that Charles was a complete wreck afterwards. This event helped to spiral Charles farther down the path of his drug addiction. Charles married Rebecca Ruffian on July the 25 of 1936, a girl whom he met in 1934 when she, her mother and her siblings boarded a room from Charles mother. When Rebecca was three months pregnant with Charlies first child he called her into their room and asker her to sit down. Rebecca had no idea what Charlie was doing until she saw his reflection in the mirror injecting himself in the arm.He convinced her that he had to take heroin to alleviate the pain from a wreck he had recently been involved in that broke three ribs, and fractured his spine. She never seemed to learn the truth about his history with heroin or chose to ignore it and believe what he had told her. 1936 was a transitional year for Charles, his technique developed and so did his love for drugs. The wreck that had injured Charles so badly had happened on his way to the Ozark Mountains where he was to play a Thanksgiving Job. Charles continued afterward taking Jobs in the Ozarks. He often played with a saxophonist named Tommy Douglass.Douglass helped Charles develop some techniques such as passing cords and the woodwind technique. Trumpeter Clarence Davis later used his armature disk recorder to make the first recordings of Charles. Charles was away from Kansas City for an extended amount of time during this summer and when he returned he was the most popular player there. In 1937 Charles met a man by the name of Jay McMahon, who was a pianist. These two artist would soon find themselves working together. McMahon was was the pianist of a band formed by Henry Buster Smith, a 12 piece or sometimes smaller ensemble. Buster invited Charles to Join. Charles had a fairly close relationship with the older McMahon He used to call me his dad, and I called him my boy. (CTD. In Charlie Parker, His Music and Life 12). Buster helped Charles Jar with his improvisation and his sound. Buster was quoted saying that Charles was an apt pupil. He would have breakthroughs in his music but not be able to follow up on them, and they would be lost. He had an affair on Rebecca and then later held a gun to her head trying to get back some letters between himself and his mistress.He had to leave the band he had been playing with because of his drug habit, and then he had run in with the law. One night he kept a taxi for several hours running up a bill for $10 that he could not pay. When the taxi driver decided he was going to take Charles horn for payment he was stabbed. Charles went to Jail. From this point Charles went to New York for some period of time. Doing so he stopped in a club while passing through Chicago called the 65 Club where he met singer Billy Stickiness. Stickiness would later become the leader of Charles big band.Charles finally made it to New York and found his way to Busters place where against his wife will he allowed Charles to stay with him at his apartment. Buster reported that he did not know how Charles got there but he sure was in sad shape. While living With Buster, Charles had to resort to working odd Jobs, cleaning bars and washing dishes until he met pianist Art Datum. Its believed that Datum had an influence on Charles even though Charles never mentions him as one because after this time of his life he began to use some of Tatums techniques. The technique they shared was known as side-slipping or playing out of key. Between late 1937 and 1939 Charles played at many clubs and dance halls form The Parisian, to Clark Monomers Uptown House. Charles Played in many Harlem sightless soaking in many different pop songs, sounds and styles. In 1937 Charles had his next big break through. While playing one night with a guitarist named Biddy Fleet he figured out how to play the sounds he had often said that he could hear but couldnt play, He found that by using higher intervals of a cord as a melody line and backing them with appropriately related [chord] changes, he could play this thing hed been hearing. (Woodcock 17). This along with Charles Ozark mountain breakthrough propelled him through the next five years of his life but little is known of his activities throughout the rest of 1939. Biddy Fleet claimed that Charles would disappear for weeks at a time probably due to his drug habit. Charles returned to Kansas in 1940 with valuable experience and soon reestablished a connection with McMahon and Joined his band. It was with this band he made his first commercial recordings. McMahon had taken Charles into the band thinking that he was off heroin which he soon found out was not the truth.Despite the fact that Charles was still a Junkie he and the band soon became a family. This was the first time Charles felt accepted by his peers. Some say that the band spoiled Charles by over looking his habit and unreliability. When Charles heroin habit would begin to show itself to badly McMahon would make him take a few days off. Gene Ramey said that the band was motivated by Charles when his drug addiction was under control, he was quoted saying, The Jay McMahon Band . .. was the only band Ive ever Know that seemed to spend all its spare time Jamming or rehearsing El this was inspired by Bird, because the new ideas he was bringing to the band made everybody anxious to play. (CTD. In Charlie Parker, His Music and Life 19) It was during times like this that Charles Addiction seemed to subside and the music took ore control over his life. Likes of Dizzy Gillespie and helped in the beginning development of Bebop. Dizzy formed a combo with bassist Oscar Petrified and began to play steady gigs at the Onyx Club. Dizzy had sent Charles a telegram and invited him to Join but it would seem that he did not receive it and missed out on the first steady gig for a bebop band.Soon after that he moved along to form the first Bebop Big Band. It was during this time that Sarah Vaughan began to notice that Charlie had taken an interest in classical music. She said he would listen to something on the bus and then get on tag and play it, his way. Charlie soon left the Big Band because he felt that it lacked individual freedom. Charlie now without a full time band went back to playing whatever gigs he could get, however he continued to play with Dizzy whenever he had the opportunity.In 1945 Dizzy formed a quintet to work several nightclubs on fifty-second street in New York. The band members often changed but the front line was always Dizzy and Charles. Dizzy being the more stable of the two was normally the first name on the bill. This sometimes made Charles Jealous of Tizzys popularity and its unclear if he new that it was because of his drug addiction and inability to handle himself in a professional business like manner. In the fall Dizzy dissolved his big ban and received and offer to play in Billy Bergs Nightclub in Los Angels. Even though Dizzy knew about Charles habit and it related reliability issues he took Charles as his partner once more. This began one of the most tragic times in Charles life. Dizzy was contracted to take 5 men to California to play an eight week engagement. Because of Charles issues he took a stand in for the inevitable times that Charles would be missing in action or passed out somewhere unable to play. Dizzy did not want the management on his back because of Charles. Charles was even more unpredictable in California due to fact that it was harder to get his hands on his heroin there.This is when the infamous photo of Charles was taken where he looked so strung out that he couldnt hold his head up and the guys standing next to him where holding him upright. When the eight week engagement was over and it was tie to fly back to New York Charles could not be found. Charles ended up cashing in his plane ticket and staying n California due to his addiction. While on his layover of sorts in California Charles got to play with Miles Davis at he Finale Club. When Charles heroin dealer was arrested in Los Angels he spiraled out of control. He began to drink heavily to alleviate the withdrawal symptoms he was having.Charles became missing until Howard McGee found him. He was living in a garage that had been converted to a room but was lacking heat, at which time McGee took Charles in. From this time on Charles had nothing but problems. Deteriorating health due to alcohol and drug abuse began to make him have more then reliability problems. In a recording session with dial records, Charles begin to shake, he was barely able to blow his horn, and had muscular spasms. Not long after he made it back to his hotel by taxi he was picked up by the police and taken too hospital because he was walking around nude.There were also several reported accidents where he had set hotel rooms on fire. Charles was assigned six months at a state hospital by the Judge that heard his case. In 1946 Ross Russell got Charles out by having him transferred to 1949 Charles had become angry with Russell. He claimed that Russell refused to get him released until he agreed to renew his recording contract. He was also upset that Russell released the recordings from the day he had his spasms, and lost his mind. Parker even said at some point that the recordings of that day were his worst recordings of all time.After Charles had been released he played at the Hi-De-Ho Club in a band that was extensively recorded. During this time Just after his release he sounded as if he was back to his best. Charles also recorded two more releases for the Dial label before returning to New York where he stayed until his death. When Charles returned to New York he was taken in and cared for by two women that were important in his life, Doris Sydney and Chant Richardson. He married Doris in 1948. Charles was now a well known recording artist. He was also sought after as a band leader.Charles health was now the best it had been since his teenage years. Although he appeared to be stable he was still dealing with feelings of chaos in his life Charles soon returned to his heroin and drinking. Back on his drugs of choice Charles got together a quintet, his main unit from 1947 to 1950. The quintet rarely changed members and had great continuity. A really nice quote from Charles about music Music is your own experience, your own thoughts, your wisdom. If you dont live it, it wont come out your horn. They teach you theres a boundary line to music. But, man, theres no boundary line to art. (whom. Chem.. . Com) The quintet did some recording for the Savoy label which became its documentation. The quintet is considered to be Charles best work, and recordings of them continued to turn up even after his death. Charles managed to keep a strong stage presence even with his Heroin habit for the most part but from time to time it began to show. In 1948 Charles was so high and drunk that he relived himself in a public telephone booth in a club the quintet was playing at resulting in he band not getting paved for the gig. In 1949 Charles was performing a live broadcast in which he was to do a solo from Tizzys Grooving High.Charles wasnt able to play the notes due to his diminished physical and mental state. Kenny Dirham had to carry the group after Charles failed on the solo and then continues to miss notes and drop in and out of the performance. In 1950 Charles and Doris divorced. Doris was Charles third wife and couldnt take the stress of Charles drug addiction any longer. Charles then moved in with Chant Richardson, the two never married but she did take his name. Charles considered Chants daughter his own and they had two children of their own together. This year also brought about the breakup of the quintet.Charles was booked to play a gig in Denmark and tried to get off heroin long enough to make it. Once again as in the past he used large amounts of alcohol to deal with the lack of heroin in his system. Even with the alcohol intake the recording that were made in Denmark got him invited to France to play with Roy Eliding in the Salon Du Jazz. Charles did not fulfill his obligations there due to his partying. Also as a result of all the drinking Charles had one he returned with a stomach ulcer. Charles daughter Pre was born with a heart defect which required expensive medical treatment.This is something that his addiction to heroin and alcohol had biggest blows to Charles and Doris life together. Hearing the news while out of town on a gig Charlies reported first response was to get drunk, and then he gave away his heroin. This was also the year that Charles last commercial recording was made. Charles last important gig was to be part of an all-star band appearing at Birdman. The first night went well while the second night was ridden with problems. Charles and Pianist Bud Powel Clashed and couldnt work together that night. Charles Began to drink, became drunk and was asked to leave by management.Little did the band know or realize that the next day was the one year anniversary of Preps death and it was weighing heavily on Charles mind. On March 9, 1955 Charles met his death. There are three versions of what happened at the end but the most likely one involves throwing up blood from his ulcers Just before passing away. The actual facts about how he died isnt really relative t this paper. This paper was to hopefully show that because of Charles Parker Jar. s drug addiction his life was cut short and his musical abilities were not enhanced or caused by the drugs that he used.Charles himself said Any musician who says he is playing better either on tea, the needle or when he is Juiced is a plain, straight liar. (CTD. Bird: The Legend of Charlie Parker 57) . Events in this paper show that his sound was best when he was somewhat clean, somewhat because once he started on drugs I dont believe he was ever without something in his system. If it had not been for his short 35 year old life and his drug abuse there is no telling how far Charles loud have taken his talent and in what directions Jazz might have gone.

Conceptual System Design Essay Essay Example

Conceptual System Design Essay Paper During the system analysis. the analysis of system informations is really of import. Analysis of information is made up of more than one degree at the beginning ( first degree ) and different thoughts are used at each degree. At first degree. analyst develops a conceptual system design. Since the conceptual design sets the way for the direction information system ( MIS ) . It is critical that directors participate earnestly and to a great extent at this phase. Conceptual design is sometimes called feasibleness design. gross design or high degree design. The conceptual design stage takes as input. We will write a custom essay sample on Conceptual System Design Essay specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Conceptual System Design Essay specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Conceptual System Design Essay specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer 1. A sharp statement of a direction information demand and 2. A set of direction aims for the MIS In the conceptual design phase that the alternate overall MIS designs are conceived and the best 1 is selected by the system analyst in audience with the top direction. The feasibleness of run intoing the direction aims for the MIS is assessed demoing how the system will work at the high degree is drawn. Therefore. conceptual design is besides known as gross design ; high degree becomes the footing for the elaborate MIS design. Hence. conceptual design is a pre-design for the elaborate design. In fact. conceptual design is the â€Å"centerpiece† of the procedure. Merely after conceptual design is completed. it can be certain that the MIS can successfully be constructed. The conceptual design involves the undermentioned undertakings. 1. Specifying jobs in more inside informations.2. Polishing the direction aims to put system aims.3. Establishing system restraints.4. Determining information demands and their beginnings.5. Developing alternate designs and choice one from these assorted designs.6. Document the conceptual design and fixing the study. 1. Specify the problem- There is no uncertainty that jobs exists in any dynamic concern. The most of import is that what are normally missing are clear definitions of the jobs and the precedence system on the footing of job is the chief solution. Therefore. direction must take the first measure in MIS design by explicating jobs to be solved. The job can be solved by the iterative procedure. The end for the concern leads to the aims of the general concern. From the aims. programs are derived. Each concern aims and concern programs are derived. Each concern aims and concern programs are associated with information demands. These Information demands are the jobs to be solved by the MIS map. The statements of demands are adequate for planing procedure. 1. Stating the information demand.2. Asking inquiries about that demand.3. Proposing reading of that demand.4. Detailing the original statement.5. Reviewing the more elaborate statement of demand with direction. These stairss are repeated until the information demands and the job to be solved are truly understood. The procedure of job polish flows of course into the system aims. 2. Set System Aims Most of the clip it is rather hard to province aims for systems that covers all the functional countries. The director must specify the system objectives in footings of the importance of information demands and non in footings of the satisfaction of demands that are non related to an aim. System analyst tends to emphasize processing efficiency and staff and functional supervisors normally believe that their aim is â€Å"to complete the needed study in clip for direction use† . This position disregards the existent aims of the system design. management’s effectivity. The value of system lies in the benefits of the users. When we ask for the aims. a college principal may answer. † provide quality education† and a authorities administrative official may say† supply more occupations for the unemployed† . Despite its trouble being specific is necessary. System objectives should be expressed in footings of what directors can make after their information demands have been met. In drumhead. the first stairss in systems design attempts to reply the question† what is the intent of the system? † why it is needed? What is it expected to make? Who are the users what are their aims? 3. Establish System Constraints The iterative nature of the systems design procedure is easy understood when we consider the 3rd measure in the process-establishing restraints. It can besides be called as job boundaries or limitations. restraints enable the interior decorator to qualify the conditions under which aims may be attained and to see the restrictions that restricts the design. The two stairss of puting aims and set uping restraints may be considered together as one. Constraints may be viewed as a negative restriction on systems design. there is a positive benefit besides. Establishing restraints will assist to guarantee that the design is realistic. Constraints may be classified as external or internal to the organisation. External Constraints The external environment of the organisation is concerned by the client. Order entry. charge and other systems that interface with the customer’s needs in head. If some end products from the system are non acceptable to the client. a definite restriction must be faced up. The authorities imposes certain limitations on the processing of informations. That may be the demand to keep the security of certain categories of information to follow with jurisprudence and ordinance in the behavior of concern ( e. g. revenue enhancements. describing ) . Unions can besides impact the operations of systems affecting members in working conditions. Suppliers are besides an of import group to be considered when planing information systems because these systems often interface with that group. Internal Constraints If top direction support is non obtained for the systems construct and for the impression that computing machine based information systems are critical for direction planning and control. the type of design attempt can non be implemented. A good environment for information systems must be set. and one indispensable demand is the blessing and support of the top direction. Organizational and policy considerations often set bound on aims and modify an intended attack to design of the system. Company policies often define or limit the attack to systems designs. Forces demands and forces handiness are a major restricting factor in both the design and use of information systems. Computer and systems accomplishments are among the most critical in the state. The most important restraint of all is the one refering the people. Cost is a major resource restriction. The cost to file away the aims should be compared with the benefits to be derived. Self-imposed limitations are these placed on the design by the director or the interior decorator. The director will besides curtail the sum of clip and attempt devoted to probe. To accomplish the aim. the director may hold to scale down several demands to do the system tantrum with other end products. equipments or restraints. 4. Determining Information demands and beginnings For a good system design. a clear statement of information demands is really of import and necessary. Many organisations spend immense sums on hardware and package to keep bing systems or construct sophisticated informations Bankss. without first finding the existent information demands of direction: the information that can increase the ability of directors in critical countries such as jobs. options. chances and programs. The optimal consequences can non be achieved unless directors can supply the specifications for what they want out of an information system. The director needs information for assortment of grounds concerned with the direction procedure. The type of demands at assorted times and assorted intents depends mostly upon two factors. a ) The personal managerial properties of the single director and B ) The organisational environment in which determinations are made. The information beginnings are of import for finding information demands. The system may necessitate external information or the internal. 5. Alternate conceptual designs and choosing one The development of a construct of a system is a originative procedure that involves synthesising cognition into some peculiar form. The construct of an MIS would dwell of the major determination points. forms of information flow. channels of information and functions of directors and rivals. The construct is the study of the constructions or skeleton of the Information System. which ushers and restricts the signifier of the elaborate design. If conceptual design is the skeleton. so elaborate design is the flesh. E. g. two squads of pupils are seeking to make undertaking on the tourer usher and contact information system. One construct produced is a study demoing a item about the peculiar topographic points depicting its civilization. heritages along with the colleges. Hotels and trade. Whereas another squad produces a study of description of colleges along with the description of module and the fee structures on assorted demands. It is obvious that each alternate construct of a system has advantages and disadvantages. Sometimes one construct will rule all others by major standards. 6. Document the best design Sufficient information has been accumulated to get down a more elaborate description of the system construct. This description includes basically a flow chart or other certification of the flow of information through the system. the inputs and the end products. The director should be involved to the extent that the system provides the information required the interior decorator is concerned with the nature of the stuffs and equipment every bit good as with proficient processing considerations. Detailss to be worked out subsequently by the interior decorator will include exact instructions as what informations are to be captured and when. the files are to be used. the inside informations of how processing is to be done. what outputs will be generated by the system etc. Design Methods There are a no. of methods for planing information systems. Following is a brief description of some of the popular methods. †¢ Problem Partitioning †¢ Structured Design †¢ Top-Down Design Problem Partitioning †¢ The method is based on the rule of ‘divide and conquer’ . In this method. alternatively of work outing the full job at one time. the job is divided into little manageable parts that can be solved individually. Structured Design †¢ In this method. a structured confab is created. which can be used to implement the system. The chart depicts faculties specifying each faculty by the specific map. Assorted tools like flow-charting. informations flow diagrams. construction charts. structured English. etc. are used in a structured design. Top-down Design †¢ The top-down design is based on the construct of a system which suggests that a system consists of sub-system. which has sub-system of their ain. In other words. a system may be termed as a hierarchy of sub-systems. the highest degree sub-system matching to the entire system. Detailed System Design As already stated. conceptual design in itself is non the terminal of the design procedure ; instead it serves as a footing for the elaborate MIS design. The public presentation demands specified by the conceptual design become inputs to the elaborate design stages. in which these are farther refined. elaborate and finalized to be called the system specifications. Therefore. the chief aim of the elaborate system design is to fix a bluish print of a system that meets the ends of the conceptual system design demands. Detailed system design involves the undermentioned stages. I. Undertaking Planning and control two. Involves the User three. Specify the Detailed Sub-Systems four. Input/output Design v. Feedback from the User six. Database Design seven. Procedure Design eight. Design Documentation A brief treatment on each of the stages is given below. Undertaking Planing In order to guarantee an effectual and efficient design of the MIS. it is really of import that a elaborate design procedure should in itself be considered a complete undertaking. Therefore. the first measure in the elaborate design is be aftering and commanding. so that criterions may be established and a proper followup is made. Some of the chief points which are of import in planning and control of a elaborate design are given below. †¢ Undertaking Planing i. Formulate the undertaking Objectives. two. Specify the undertaking undertaking. three. Fix a web diagram of all events and activities so as to stipulate consecutive and parallel events. four. Schedule the work as per the demands of the user. v. Prepare a budget for the undertaking. †¢ Project Control I. Get a feedback of the existent public presentation of the undertaking with regard to clip. cost and work of the undertaking and compare it with agendas. budgets and proficient programs. two. Take disciplinary action where required so as to keep control. Involve the User System interior decorator must inform the users sing the new information system being developed and derive their support and credence. In this stage. users are assured that alterations will profit them or that they will non be at disadvantage because of the new system. It is besides of import to take users in assurance so as to obtain information for the design of the system. This will besides assist pull offing opposition to alter and would guarantee successful execution of the system. Detailed Sub-System Definition In elaborate system design. every system needs to be broken down to determine all activities required and their several inputs and end products. In some of the instances. sub-systems are loosely defined in the conceptual design stage. but at this phase they are specifically defined to work out every item refering the sub-system. Decomposition of the system to operational activities in general is carried out as follows.

Free Essays on Puritan Views

Savage Beasts: The Puritan View of Indians Puritan society evolved from a Protestant religious and social movement rising primarily in England during the Protestant Reformation in the early 1600’s. During this reformation Puritan settlers set out towards the new found land of America in hopes of attaining religious freedom from the persecution of the Church of England. Although this promising land of America was full of golden opportunity, the Puritans were bound for hardships such as sickness and death, not to mention having to encounter the savages already inhabiting this land. Puritans viewed these people as wild animals and disagreed with their way of life. When the Puritans set out for their new freedom, they were very skeptical about the land they were traveling to. Even though it was a great environment to begin their new lives and full of resources, the Puritans were doubtful of how they would survive. According to William Bradford, America was â€Å"devoid of all civil in habitants,† and only brutish beasts existed there (168). The Puritans feared the sickness and disease that came with adjusting to a new place, but feared even more what would become of them should they survive those things. They worried and felt that the Native Americans, who in Bradford’s opinion were, â€Å"cruel, barbarous and most treacherous,† would always threaten them (169). He along with others thought that they were â€Å"furious in their rage and merciless where they overcome; not being content only to kill and take way life, but delighted to torment men in the most bloody manner that may be; flaying some alive with the shells of fishes, cutting off the members and joints of others by piecemeal and broiling on the coals, and eating the collops of their flesh in their sight whilst they live† (Bradford 169). Such inhumane acts were so very different from the way of the Puritans. Puritans believed in humanity and goodness. The Puritans fe... Free Essays on Puritan Views Free Essays on Puritan Views Savage Beasts: The Puritan View of Indians Puritan society evolved from a Protestant religious and social movement rising primarily in England during the Protestant Reformation in the early 1600’s. During this reformation Puritan settlers set out towards the new found land of America in hopes of attaining religious freedom from the persecution of the Church of England. Although this promising land of America was full of golden opportunity, the Puritans were bound for hardships such as sickness and death, not to mention having to encounter the savages already inhabiting this land. Puritans viewed these people as wild animals and disagreed with their way of life. When the Puritans set out for their new freedom, they were very skeptical about the land they were traveling to. Even though it was a great environment to begin their new lives and full of resources, the Puritans were doubtful of how they would survive. According to William Bradford, America was â€Å"devoid of all civil in habitants,† and only brutish beasts existed there (168). The Puritans feared the sickness and disease that came with adjusting to a new place, but feared even more what would become of them should they survive those things. They worried and felt that the Native Americans, who in Bradford’s opinion were, â€Å"cruel, barbarous and most treacherous,† would always threaten them (169). He along with others thought that they were â€Å"furious in their rage and merciless where they overcome; not being content only to kill and take way life, but delighted to torment men in the most bloody manner that may be; flaying some alive with the shells of fishes, cutting off the members and joints of others by piecemeal and broiling on the coals, and eating the collops of their flesh in their sight whilst they live† (Bradford 169). Such inhumane acts were so very different from the way of the Puritans. Puritans believed in humanity and goodness. The Puritans fe...

You are required to complete the following two exercises in the Essay

You are required to complete the following two exercises in the seminar class through reflection upon the learning developed from todays seminar activities & class discussions - Essay Example In sports, leadership is fuelled by motivation to be the best, make peers proud, and have the gratification to be the best. Leaderships is undeniably stemmed from an inner motivation to excel and lead a group of individuals to a collaborative success. This is such a crucial aspect because some crave leadership because it puts them in power. However, the author is quick to point out that good leaders will always A leader is a person who guides a group of individual towards a certain goal. Leading by example as the author states is a must for any leader. Successful leaders love being leaders, not for the sake of power but for the meaningful and purposeful impact they can create. This in fact is the manifestation of being a good leader. The author argues that leadership has some traits as critical towards any leaders. One of the key aspects I learned from this article was the fact that leaders do not always necessarily know everything, but they know how to deploy talent. As an individua l who seeks to be a leader, this is much valuable advice because most leaders feel that they should know everything. From an individual’s perspective, it is crucial to understand that leaders have a holistic view of their goals rather than knowing every micro-detail, which can harmful. That is not to say that leaders must be not knowledgeable in their respective areas, but to understand that what talent lies within the group. This has been becoming more evident in the corporate world where CEOs understand the whole picture rather than focusing in minor details. Without a doubt, this sheds a lot of light in successful traits of leaderships and has really allowed me to gain powerful insights on the attributes of being a leader. In the end, it is evident that these attributes allow leaders to fulfill their success and enhance the value of their organization’s brand. Managing people in the 21st organization

Flight Center Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Flight Center - Essay Example An agency seeks out rates from these suppliers which can be hotels, resorts, airline companies, car rentals and the like, then consolidates it into one package packed with some sight-seeing trips to tourist attractions then sells it to the possible consumers. The Federation of Tour Operators (2006) views the role of travel agents as giving advises and sells bookings. This has always been the way of Flight Centre, incorporating its aim to provide â€Å"value-for-money travel† and offer ‘unbeatable passion and experience, going the extra mile to ensure clients get the best trip at the best price’ (Superbrands 2010). As Flight Centre’s tag-line goes, â€Å"unbeatable†, if another travel provider would give a quotation of rates, Flight Centre will also give their own rate which would be hard to beat because of their price, quality, passion and extensive experience in the travel field. Just like any other business, Flight Centre started their venture eigh t years after Top-Deck, UK based bus company started its operation in 1973; they initially gained success because of providing cheap rates. In nine years time, Turner opened retail stores in United Kingdom, New Zealand and United States of America. Because of what was then a world-wide crisis, the Gulf War, the stores experienced temporary closure but was then reopened after a couple of years. The company also expanded its services to South Africa and Canada, which paved the way for it to conquer a world-wide market. The strength of business establishment outweighs the weaknesses and creates the reason why establishment weathers the changes in the needs and wants of the dynamic world of travel and tourism. As for Flight Centre, there are various aspects why they are experiencing the success envied by others. The company philosophy of volume of margin, the way they create their product with utmost passion and dedication, their well maintained reputation of having an inclination of lo w-cost travel with value-for-money, their credentials which have been given recognitions and citations by other entities, the continuous pledge for corporate social governance of giving something back to the people, their ingenuity in their marketing campaigns, the way management supports its employees and the work atmosphere are among the countless reasons why they managed to stay on top. There are a lot of sources for a travel agency’s income, from commissions, profit margins, incentives, and auxiliary services like documentations and visa processing. The first two are among the primary source of income. Flight Centre proved itself to be different than the rest; the traveller’s volumes were their driving force to stay on top of all the travel providers in the business. The importance of the number of people they give their services over the profit that they will be making indeed set foot a birth-mark for low-cost travel. They settle for more customers at a lower cost than few customers for a high cost. The success of Flight Centre can be credited to the way the company does its products. They maintained a sense of focus; doing what they do best without being too innovative. There are those who would like to set anew, and there are a few who would take advantage for what they know best, the exact philosophy evolving around this high-ranked company. Turner (2006) stated that, ‘

My Neighbor Totoro, Tonari no Totoro Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

My Neighbor Totoro, Tonari no Totoro - Essay Example Mei and Satsuki find that the house is occupied by small animated dust creatures referred to as susuwatari (Kjolseth 1). These are dark, small, dust-like home-spirits seen when shifting from bright to dark areas. Such beliefs, according to research, were thought to exist mostly in the mid 90’s in Japan (Kjolseth 1). The time period, hence, leaves this film to be focused around the mid 90’s. Signs of worship or an element of Shintoism, can be viewed in details such as the paper ribbon rope on Totoros tree and Shimenawa rice straw (Kjolseth 1). They signify that the land is sacred. The audience can also spot a neglected Shinto shrine beneath the camphor tree, as well as a Torii Shinto shrine gateway, at the entrance to a hill. Furthermore, enhancing the naturalistic elements of the movie is Hisaishis work on incorporating these shrines. They show how Japan used to be a holy place back then (Kjolseth 1). Some of the crucial themes incorporated in Miyazaki’s film are Environmentalism, Flight, Children and childhood, as well as Water. Flight, in particular human flight, is a habitual theme in My Neighbor Totoro (Kjolseth 1). The director thinks of flight as a type of freedom from gravity. In My Neighbor Totoro, with regards to Environmentalism, people interact with large tree tops where tiny mysterious creatures live. People use these trees as worship points. Water is also a constant theme in antagonism to the Ascension representation of flight. Critics, after the film was released, recognized Totoro as one of the best cartoon actors, describing the being as both awe-inspiring and innocent. This more than what was established in Japan’s film industry as the director brought in new things (Kjolseth 1). King Totoro captures the magic of childhood and innocence more than any of Miyazakis other supernatural creations. The director recognized the main

Ethical Questions in the Stem Cell Debate

Ethical Questions in the Stem Cell Debate The Stem Cell Debate: Ethical Questions The story for the year 1997 was the sacred. We fear a Promethean blunder. We fear that our own human hubris will violate something sacred in our nature; and we fear that nature will retaliate with disaster. To protect ourselves from a possible Promethean blunder by science, we are tempted to stop further research with the commandment: thou shalt not play God! Then, during 1999, we opened the first few pages on chapter two of the cloning controversy story. I will refer to this chapter as the stem cell debate. The debate has only begun. What is not yet clear is just what needs to be debated. Perhaps nothing. Perhaps everything. What is clear is that the fallout from the cloning explosion is still lighting fires here and there. Whether or not the public will add stem cells to the fuel to make those fires burn hotter remains to be seen. Stem cells have become front page news in Australia, as well as in the United States and other countries. On February 4, 1999, the Australian National Academy of Science issued a position statement. Note the structure of Recommendation 1. Council considers that reproductive cloning to produce human fetuses is unethical and unsafe and should be prohibited.However, human cells derived from cloning techniques, from germ cells should not be precluded from use in approved research activities in cellular and developmental biology Here two things are put together. First, disapproval of reproductive cloning for the purposes of making children. Second, approval of research on human embryonic stem cells, approval even in the face of ethical squeamishness regarding embryo research. If this Australian statement is a barometer, we need to ask: what is the cultural weather forecast? What might be coming? In what follows it will be my task to report on the fast-moving frontier of stem cell research within the field of anthropology, agenda questions raised by science that need to be addressed by systematic theologians and public policy makers. I will ask more questions than I am ready to answer. Yet, I believe that such work invested in trying to formulate the relevant question (die Fragestellung) takes us more than just halfway toward a helpful answer. The Human Embryonic Stem Cell Debate Science, Ethics, and Public Policy Edited by Laurie Zoloth Human embryonic stem cells can divide indefinitely and have the potential to develop into many types of tissue. Research on these cells is essential to one of the most intriguing medical frontiers, regenerative medicine. It also raises a host of difficult ethical issues and has sparked great public interest and controversy. This book offers a foundation for thinking about the many issues involved in human embryonic stem cell research. It considers questions about the nature of human life, the limits of intervention into human cells and tissues, and the meaning of our corporeal existence. The fact that stem cells may be derived from living embryos that are destroyed in the process or from aborted fetuses ties the discussion of stem cell research to the ongoing debates on abortion. In addition to these issues, the essays in the book touch on broader questions such as who should approve controversial research and what constitutes human dignity, respect, and justice. The book contains contributions from the Ethics Advisory Board of the Geron Coroporation; excerpts from expert testimony given before the National Bioethics Advisory Commission, which helped shape recent National Institutes of Health policy; and original analytical essays on the implications of this research. Pros and Cons Debates over the ethics of embryonic blastocysts. Latest Developments The most recent research has shown that there are many options available other than working with embryonic stem cells. Stem cells can be obtained from cord blood or derived by manipulating differentiated cells (i.e. skin cells) to revert them to a pluripotent state. These are alternatives that may help broaden the acceptance of stem cell research. Background In November 1998 the first published research paper reported that stem cells could be taken from human embryos. Subsequent research led to the ability to maintain undifferentiated stem cell lines (pluripotent cells) and techniques for differentiating them into cells specific to various tissues and organs. The debates over the ethics of stem cell research began almost immediately in 1999, despite reports that stem cells cannot grow into complete organisms. In 2000 – 2001, governments worldwide were beginning to draft proposals and guidelines in an effort to control stem cell research and the handling of embryonic tissues, and reach universal policies to prevent â€Å"brain-drains† (emigration of top scientists) between countries. The CIHR (Canadian Institute of Health Sciences) drafted a list of recommendations for stem cell research in 2001. The Clinton administration drafted guidelines for stem cell research in 2000, but Clinton left office prior to them being released. The Bush government has had to deal with the issue throughout his administration. Australia, Germany, UK and other countries have also formulated policies. (Continued from Page 1) Pros The therapeutic cloning. Stem cells provide huge potential for finding treatments and cures to a vast array of diseases including different cancers, diabetes, spinal cord injuries, Alzheimers, MS, Huntingtons, Parkinsons and more. There is endless potential for scientists to learn about human growth and cell development from studying stem cells. Use of adult-derived stem cells, from blood, cord blood, skin and other tissues, known as IPSCs, has been demonstrated to be effective for treating different diseases in animal models. Umbilical-cord-derived stem cells (obtained from the cord blood) have also been isolated and utilized for various experimental treatments. Another option is use of uniparental stem cells. Although these cells lines have some disadvantages or shortcomings compared to embryonic cell lines (they are shorter-lived), there is vast potential if enough money is invested in researching them further, and they are not technically considered individual living beings by pro-life advocates. Cons Use of embryonic stem cells for reasearch involves the destruction of blastocysts formed from laboratory-fertilized human eggs. For those who believe that life begins at conception, the blastocyst is a human life and to destroy it is unacceptable and immoral. This seems to be the only controversial issue standing in the way of stem cell research in North America. Where It Stands In the summer of 2006 President Bush stood his ground on the issue of stem cell research and vetoed a bill passed by the Senate that would have expanded federal funding of embryonic stem cell research. Currently, American federal funding can only go to research on stem cells from existing (already destroyed) embryos. Similarly, in Canada, as of 2002, scientists cannot create or clone embryos for research but must used existing embryos discarded by couples. The UK allows embryonic stem cell cloning. Use of stem cell lines from alternative non-embryonic sources has received more attention in recent years and has already been demonstrated as a successful option for treatment of certain diseases. For example, adult stem cells can be used to replace blood-cell-forming cells killed during chemotherapy in bone marrow transplant patients. Biotech companies such as ACT are researching techniques for cellular reprogramming of adult cells, use of amnionic fluid, or stem cell extraction techniques that do not damage the embryo, that also provide alternatives for obtaining viable stem cell lines. Out of necessity, the research on these alternatives is catching up with embryonic stem cell research and, with sufficient funding, other solutions might be found that are acceptable to everyone. On March 9, 2009, President Obama overturned Bushs ruling, allowing US Federal funding to go to embryonic stem cell research. However, the stipulation applies that normal NIH policies on data sharing must be followed. Despite the progress being made in other areas of stem cell research, using pluripotent cells from other sources, many American scientists were putting pressure on the government to allow their participation and compete with the Europeans. However, many people are still strongly opposed Research Ethics and Stem Cells Stem cells show potential for many different areas of health and medical research, and studying them can help us understand how they transform into the dazzling array of specialized cells that make us what we are. Some of the most serious medical conditions, such as cancer and birth defects, are caused by problems that occur somewhere in this process. A better understanding of normal cell development will allow us to understand and perhaps correct the errors that cause these medical conditions. Research on one kind of stem cell—human embryonic stem cells—has generated much interest and public debate. Pluripotent stem cells (cells that can develop into many different cell types of the body) are isolated from human embryos that are a few days old. Pluripotent stem cell lines have also been developed from fetal tissue (older than 8 weeks of development). As science and technology continue to advance, so do ethical viewpoints surrounding these developments. It is important to educate and explore the issues, scientifically and ethically. The discovery, isolation, and culturing of human embryonic stem cells has been described as one of the most significant breakthroughs in biomedicine of the century.1 This description would be warranted by virtue of the biological uniqueness of these cells alone—their ability to self-renew infinitely while retaining a remarkable capacity to differentiate into any form of cell tissue. But as well as this, the culturing of embryonic stem cells holds tremendous potential for the development of new forms of regenerative medicine to treat debilitating or fatal conditions that would not otherwise be curable.2 It is somewhat of an irony that the discovery of cells with such a tremendous potential for improving and prolonging our own lives, should bring with it some of the most trenchant and intractable questions about the value of life itself. The harvesting of embryonic stem cells results in the destruction of the embryos from which they are harvested. It results, in other words, in the expiration of the very beginnings of a possible human life. Issues about the value of life emerge here in perhaps their most stark and poignant form in the question of whether life for those already existing should be improved at the seeming expense of a possible human life that has just come into being. Needless to say, what the most ethically justified response is to this sort of question is far from obvious. It is not immediately apparent, either, just what should count as the appropriate criteria for assessing possible responses to it. Indeed, it is even contentious as to what the right concepts and terminology are for framing the central questions. What is clear, though, is that it would be remiss to fail to engage with these questions in a manner that is commensurate with their depth, complexity and importance. With due regard to that, the following discussion provides a brief overview of some of the core ethical issues arising from the Research Involving Embryos Bill 2002 and to some extent the Prohibition of Human Cloning Bill 2002.3 The public debate has focused mostly on ethical problems associated with the destruction of embryos (in the case of the first Bill), and with the creation of cloned human embryos (in the case of the second Bill). The current paper will confine its primary focus to the first set of problems, since many of the salient ethical issues about cloning will arise, as it turns out, in connection with embryonic stem cell research.4 1 Key Ethical Issues in Embryonic Stem Cell Research The paper takes most of the major ethical concerns in the debate to be encompassed by the following core questions: †¢ What, in principle, is ethically at issue with destructive embryo research? †¢ What is important when it comes to judging the value of the potential consequences of destructive embryo research? †¢ In what does the value of the human embryo consist? †¢ Does the means by which an embryo expires—whether it is destroyed or merely succumbs—make a moral difference? †¢ Is there anything morally worse about using embryos created for research purposes compared to using existing excess or surplus ART (assisted reproductive treatment) embryos? The purpose of the following discussion is to clarify some relevant moral and conceptual distinctions connected with these core questions, and to clarify the basic structure of the major views and argument themes that have been developed by philosophers, bioethicists and theologians in response to these questions. Of course, in their more fully expanded form these distinctions and arguments will involve subtleties and complexities that are beyond the limited scope of this paper to address. Nonetheless, the discussion here will hopefully give an impression of where some of those further complexities and subtleties might lie. The Basic Ethical Problem The possibility of destructive embryo research, particularly embryonic stem cell research, presents us with a moral problem because it appears to bring into tension two fundamental moral principles that we esteem very highly: one principle enjoins the prevention or alleviation of suffering, and the other enjoins us to respect the value of human life. As noted, the harvesting and culturing of embryonic stem cells has considerable potential to bring about remarkable potential benefits in the way of alleviating debilitating medical conditions. So, it satisfies the first principle to a very great degree. On the other hand, there is a case to be made that the harvesting of human embryonic stem cells violates the second principle in that it results in the destruction of human life with value (i.e. human embryos). Accordingly, both principles apparently cannot simultaneously be respected in the case of embryonic stem cell research. The question then is which principle ought to be given precedence in this conflict situation. Should we give more weight to the first, and permit destructive embryonic stem cell research because of its remarkable potential benefits? Or should we give more weight to the second, and prohibit destructive embryonic research because it violates respect for the value of the 2 Key Ethical Issues in Embryonic Stem Cell Research embryo as the very beginnings of a possible human life? This, at bottom, is the ethical problem generated by destructive embryo research. Crude as it may sound, responding to this problem calls for a moral calculation—a decision about how the positive value of destructive embryo research is to be weighted, from a moral point of view, in comparison to the negative value (or disvalue) of destroying embryos. Whatever way that calculation is done, it is important to get a clear idea of what moral weight each side of the equation has. This will involve: (i) developing a sound and accurate picture of what the real value is of the benefits of embryonic research, and (ii) clarifying what the value of embryos might consist in, and what, if anything, may be wrong with destroying them. The rest of this paper outlines some of the ethical arguments and philosophical considerations that have been considered relevant to these two matters. Evaluating the Benefits of Embryonic Stem Cell Research Evaluating the beneficial consequences of embryonic stem cell research is not straightforward. There are complexities associated with assessing how realistic the potential of the benefits is, how alternatives with different combinations of benefits and drawbacks are to be compared, and factoring in all of the sometimes overlooked possible consequences of embryonic research. Judging the Benefits Most attention has centred on the medical potential of embryonic stem cell research and cultivation, particularly somatic gene therapy for genetic disorders5, and the generation of replacement tissues and organs for transplant.6 There is no doubt that these outcomes, once realised, would be highly valuable. It is important to keep in mind, however, that currently these benefits are potential ones. A sound evaluation of stem cell research needs to take account of the likelihood of achieving its beneficial outcomes. In matters of science, and particularly, in areas that are newly developing and comparatively uncharted (such as embryonic stem cell research), it is sometimes difficult to settle on those probabilities with complete confidence. It is the nature of scientific discoveries and progress, that they are not easily predicted. Both advances and impediments to advancement can arise unexpectedly. This uncertainty about how real the potential benefits are, needs to be kept in mind wh en weighing and evaluating the consequences of embryonic stem cell research. 3 Key Ethical Issues in Embryonic Stem Cell Research Comparing the Benefits and Harms of Alternatives to Embryonic Stem Cell Research Adult Stem Cell Research Whether destructive embryonic stem cell research is the right thing to do or not, will partly depend on what the alternatives are, and how their particular benefits and drawbacks balance out. There is another research program involving adult stem cells that are present in and drawn from bone marrow, brain and gut, and other tissues. Some of these stem cells have a capacity to differentiate into a limited number of different cell types, such as blood cells, muscles and neurones (i.e., they are multipotent), but they have not been shown to be pluripotent (able to differentiate into any cell-type) in the way that embryonic stem cells are.7 This limitation means that adult stem cells offer more limited potential benefits in regenerative medicine and gene therapy, at least from the standpoint of our current understanding and available biotechnology. (But with that said, it is worth keeping in mind the points made above about the limited predictability of scientific advances, including the possibility of inducing adult stem cells to differentiate into a greater range of tissue types.) The harvesting and use of adult stem cells for biomedical purposes, however, avoids some of the ethically and biomedically problematic features of using embryonic stem cells. For a start, harvesting adult stem cells does not involve the destruction of embryos. The extent to which that is an advantage will depend on the extent to which that destruction turns out to be a bad thing, (and this will be taken up shortly). Tissues grown from adult stem cells will be immunologically compatible with the person from whom the stem cells are harvested. This means that those tissues can be transplanted into that person without fear of the body rejecting them. Tissues produced from embryonic stem cells for the purpose of regenerative therapy, however, are unlikely to be immunocompatible with the person for whom they are intended. The immunological properties of the tissue are set by the characteristics of whatever embryo the stem cells are derived from. Apart from the ongoing use of immunosuppressant drugs (with its possible serious side effects), two other potential solutions to this immunological limitation have been suggested. The first proposes a tissue bank with a sufficiently large number of different embryonic stem cell types to generate tissue that can be immunologically matched with different recipients. Hall points out, however, that this would require a huge number of human embryonic stem cell lines (the number being a matter of debate). Such an embryonic stem cell bank would be technically difficult and expensive to generate. The number of embryos that would be required to produce the cell bank would probably test public support †¦ 8. The second possible way of overcoming the problem of immunological incompatibility is through what has been called therapeutic cloning. In this process, the nucleus of a human oocyte or egg is removed and replaced with the nucleus of a cell taken from the body of the intended tissue re cipient. The new egg is induced to develop into an embryo, from which immunocompatible stem cells are harvested. The embryo will be a human embryonic clone of the recipient, with all his/her 4 Key Ethical Issues in Embryonic Stem Cell Research exact genetic characteristics. To date, there have only been one or two reported attempts at human cloning that have met with some success. A number of ethical objections have been expressed to therapeutic cloning, all revolving around the creating of an embryo, and moreover, the creating of an embryo for a use that will destroy it. These objections and arguments usually rely centrally on certain views about the value or moral status of the embryo, and these views will be outlined later in the paper. Whatever benefit the pluripotency of embryonic stem cells has in generating immunocompatible tissue, this benefit is likely to be possible only at the cost of having to engage in either the morally contentious practice of human (therapeutic) cloning, or the morally contentious practice of using (and destroying) a large number of embryos to create a sufficient range of embryonic stem cell lines for organ banks. It is especially important to note also, that if the Prohibition of Human Cloning Bill 2002 is passed in its current form, and any kind of human cloning, including therapeutic cloning, is prohibited, there will be less opportunity to maximise the potential benefits of embryonic stem cell research, and embryonic stem cells will effectively have less of the advantage they would otherwise have over adult stem cells. The Inevitable Succumbing of Surplus IVF Embryos The Research Involving Embryos Bill 2002 only permits excess ART embryos existing before 5 April 2002 to be used for research purposes in accordance with a licensing regime. It is a fact about those embryos that they would likely expire or succumb anyway. They would still be destroyed, in other words, but through exposure to natural processes. On the face of it, this looks as if the harm or negative value involved in embryos expiring (whatever it might be) will be the same whether embryo research is allowed or not. In each case the embryo will expire. But this impression can be a little oversimplified. Some philosophers argue that there is a moral difference between acts and omissions, between actively killing something, and passively failing to intervene to stop its death from other causes (when one could have). Even though the outcome is the same in each case, it can be argued that there is something worse, or more morally culpable, about actively bringing about the death oneself. There are different views on what the moral difference between killing and letting die amounts to, and there are those who argue that there is no significant difference. Whichever way one comes out on this, it is not clear that the act-omission distinction maps neatly onto the particular embryo research scenario under discussion. Destroying surplus embryos through research is certainly an act. But so too, some would argue, is removing surplus embryos from the cold storage that keeps them from expiring. They would hold that this looks less like failing to intervene in independently occurring causal processes (that will lead to expiry), than an act that sets those processes in motion. If this is true, then the first impression above will stand. The harm or negative value involved in embryos expiring (whatever it might be) will be the same whether embryo research is allowed or not. 5 Key Ethical Issues in Embryonic Stem Cell Research Some would argue that there is an important logical upshot from this. If the only two alternatives in the circumstances (destroying embryos in research vs making them succumb) involve the same level of harm or disvalue or moral wrongness, but embryo research involves much greater benefits than the other alternative, then it could be argued, it makes sense to opt for the more beneficial embryo research. And indeed, some might construe that as a sufficient case for the moral preferability of that option. (This would change, of course, if the relevant alternatives change—if say, embryos were purpose created for research, which were not pre-existing and destined to be expired).9 Taking into Account all of the Relevant Benefits and Harms The embryonic stem cell debate has been pre-occupied with the biological and medical benefits or drawbacks of that research. Central as these certainly are, there are nonetheless other, often-overlooked non-medical impacts that may be important to factor in. Some of the major among these are possible social impacts including: De-sensitisation to the Destruction of Human Life It is argued by some10 that allowing the destruction of embryos to become an entrenched practice would serve to desensitise the scientific establishment, regulating bodies, and society in general, to the destruction of life in general. An increased social toleration of loss of life, it would be argued, may make it easier for society to accede to (currently) more controversial practices involving the ending of life such as, late term elective abortion, or withdrawal of treatment for severely disabled infants, for example. This slippery slope argument about potential consequences is based on empirical assumptions about the causes and effects of certain social attitudes, and needs to be assessed in the light of their plausibility. Contributions to Social Oppression One strong but minority strand of argument emphasises the impact that biotechnology has on broader social relationships. It has been argued that research should be evaluated not only in terms of its effects on the subjects of the experiment but also in terms of its connection with existing patterns of oppression and domination in society.11 There is a considerable body of writing that explores the impacts of new reproductive technologies (such as IVF) on the interests of women, particularly how those technologies might contribute to oppression.12 In the case of embryonic research, it is sometimes argued that women who donate ova or embryos are at risk of exploitation to the extent that male-dominated medical practice appropriates their reproductive labour for research and commercial benefits. Women are at risk, therefore, of being alienated from their reproductive labour. Moreover, it is argued that womens body parts are at risk of being commodified, and their acts of altruistic dona tion demeaned, if downstream users can develop commercial applications for stem cells developed from their ova and embryos.13 6 Key Ethical Issues in Embryonic Stem Cell Research The Value of the Embryo What weight does the other side of the moral equation have? What is wrong, if anything, with destroying embryos? If there is something wrong with that, is it sufficiently wrong to outweigh or override the benefits of embryo research, and therefore, render that research morally impermissible? Most of the leading arguments about the rightness or wrongness of destroying embryos are based on some view or other about the moral status of the embryo—how the embryo ought to be regarded or treated from the moral point of view, in virtue of it arguably possessing certain morally important intrinsic characteristics. It is relatively uncontroversial to describe embryos as human life (at its very beginnings). It is another thing, however, to describe embryos as persons, or human beings, or potential persons, etc. These descriptions are morally laden in that they carry with them potential implications about what can and cannot be done to embryos from a moral point of view. What those potential implications are, and indeed, whether they are sound ones, will depend on the nature and plausibility of the particular arguments that accompany each view on the moral status of the embryo. There are different views about this moral status. The leading views speculate that embryos have the status of: †¢ persons, or †¢ potential persons, or †¢ divine creations, or †¢ subjects of moral harm, or †¢ the beginnings of human life, with intrinsic value, or †¢ organic material with no more moral standing than other body parts. Each of these will be outlined in turn, with particular attention to (i) what the intrinsic moral characteristics are the each particular view attributes to embryos, and (ii) what these alleged characteristics or moral status are held to imply for our moral treatment of embryos—particularly whether they can ever or never be destroyed. Embryos have Status as Human Beings or Persons Some argue that, despite obvious physical differences between developed humans and embryos, the latter ought still be regarded as human beings or persons. One of the more plausible arguments to this effect relies on pointing out that there is no non-arbitrary point in the physical growth continuum between embryo and developed human that counts as a morally significant dividing line.14 Consequently, if individuals at their fully developed stage are human beings or persons, there is no non-arbitrary ground to think that they should not count as the same at their embryonic stage. Those who hold otherwise, 7 Key Ethical Issues in Embryonic Stem Cell Research according to this argument, need to indicate the developmental point at which personhood, or status as a human being, is acquired. The argument continues that it is a very deeply and commonly held view in modern liberal democracies that individual persons are deserving of especially strong moral respect in certain ways. All individuals, by virtue of being persons, have fundamental rights not to have their basic human interests interfered with in certain ways, and most importantly, their interest in the maintenance of their life and bodily integrity. If embryos have the status of persons, then they too will have rights not to be harmed or killed. Or, put in another way, we will be under a very strong moral obligation not to harm or kill embryos. Most prominent ethicists, philosophers and commentators would agree that persons have a status deserving of strong and special moral respect, protection and dignity. Many, however, would dispute that embryos should be considered persons or human beings in any serious sense. Even if one cannot point to an exact black and white dividing line in human development, it is still reasonable (they hold) to point to the fact that wherever the transition occurs, embryos do not have the psychological, physiological, emotional, intellectual properties that we tend to centrally associate with personhood. Embryos, particularly the very early pre-implantation blastocysts involved in stem cell research,15 do not, for instance, have consciousness, individuality, the ability to reason, or the ability to form courses of action in life and to choose between them.16 Embryos have Status as Potential Persons Some ethicists have a response to the foregoing objection to viewing embryos as persons. It is to concede that embryos do not currently exhibit these properties of personhood, but they will, if allowed to develop and fulfil their potential. To the extent that embryos are potential persons, it is argued, they ought to still be accorded the moral respect and dignity that personhood warrants. This potential person argument Ethical Questions in the Stem Cell Debate Ethical Questions in the Stem Cell Debate The Stem Cell Debate: Ethical Questions The story for the year 1997 was the sacred. We fear a Promethean blunder. We fear that our own human hubris will violate something sacred in our nature; and we fear that nature will retaliate with disaster. To protect ourselves from a possible Promethean blunder by science, we are tempted to stop further research with the commandment: thou shalt not play God! Then, during 1999, we opened the first few pages on chapter two of the cloning controversy story. I will refer to this chapter as the stem cell debate. The debate has only begun. What is not yet clear is just what needs to be debated. Perhaps nothing. Perhaps everything. What is clear is that the fallout from the cloning explosion is still lighting fires here and there. Whether or not the public will add stem cells to the fuel to make those fires burn hotter remains to be seen. Stem cells have become front page news in Australia, as well as in the United States and other countries. On February 4, 1999, the Australian National Academy of Science issued a position statement. Note the structure of Recommendation 1. Council considers that reproductive cloning to produce human fetuses is unethical and unsafe and should be prohibited.However, human cells derived from cloning techniques, from germ cells should not be precluded from use in approved research activities in cellular and developmental biology Here two things are put together. First, disapproval of reproductive cloning for the purposes of making children. Second, approval of research on human embryonic stem cells, approval even in the face of ethical squeamishness regarding embryo research. If this Australian statement is a barometer, we need to ask: what is the cultural weather forecast? What might be coming? In what follows it will be my task to report on the fast-moving frontier of stem cell research within the field of anthropology, agenda questions raised by science that need to be addressed by systematic theologians and public policy makers. I will ask more questions than I am ready to answer. Yet, I believe that such work invested in trying to formulate the relevant question (die Fragestellung) takes us more than just halfway toward a helpful answer. The Human Embryonic Stem Cell Debate Science, Ethics, and Public Policy Edited by Laurie Zoloth Human embryonic stem cells can divide indefinitely and have the potential to develop into many types of tissue. Research on these cells is essential to one of the most intriguing medical frontiers, regenerative medicine. It also raises a host of difficult ethical issues and has sparked great public interest and controversy. This book offers a foundation for thinking about the many issues involved in human embryonic stem cell research. It considers questions about the nature of human life, the limits of intervention into human cells and tissues, and the meaning of our corporeal existence. The fact that stem cells may be derived from living embryos that are destroyed in the process or from aborted fetuses ties the discussion of stem cell research to the ongoing debates on abortion. In addition to these issues, the essays in the book touch on broader questions such as who should approve controversial research and what constitutes human dignity, respect, and justice. The book contains contributions from the Ethics Advisory Board of the Geron Coroporation; excerpts from expert testimony given before the National Bioethics Advisory Commission, which helped shape recent National Institutes of Health policy; and original analytical essays on the implications of this research. Pros and Cons Debates over the ethics of embryonic blastocysts. Latest Developments The most recent research has shown that there are many options available other than working with embryonic stem cells. Stem cells can be obtained from cord blood or derived by manipulating differentiated cells (i.e. skin cells) to revert them to a pluripotent state. These are alternatives that may help broaden the acceptance of stem cell research. Background In November 1998 the first published research paper reported that stem cells could be taken from human embryos. Subsequent research led to the ability to maintain undifferentiated stem cell lines (pluripotent cells) and techniques for differentiating them into cells specific to various tissues and organs. The debates over the ethics of stem cell research began almost immediately in 1999, despite reports that stem cells cannot grow into complete organisms. In 2000 – 2001, governments worldwide were beginning to draft proposals and guidelines in an effort to control stem cell research and the handling of embryonic tissues, and reach universal policies to prevent â€Å"brain-drains† (emigration of top scientists) between countries. The CIHR (Canadian Institute of Health Sciences) drafted a list of recommendations for stem cell research in 2001. The Clinton administration drafted guidelines for stem cell research in 2000, but Clinton left office prior to them being released. The Bush government has had to deal with the issue throughout his administration. Australia, Germany, UK and other countries have also formulated policies. (Continued from Page 1) Pros The therapeutic cloning. Stem cells provide huge potential for finding treatments and cures to a vast array of diseases including different cancers, diabetes, spinal cord injuries, Alzheimers, MS, Huntingtons, Parkinsons and more. There is endless potential for scientists to learn about human growth and cell development from studying stem cells. Use of adult-derived stem cells, from blood, cord blood, skin and other tissues, known as IPSCs, has been demonstrated to be effective for treating different diseases in animal models. Umbilical-cord-derived stem cells (obtained from the cord blood) have also been isolated and utilized for various experimental treatments. Another option is use of uniparental stem cells. Although these cells lines have some disadvantages or shortcomings compared to embryonic cell lines (they are shorter-lived), there is vast potential if enough money is invested in researching them further, and they are not technically considered individual living beings by pro-life advocates. Cons Use of embryonic stem cells for reasearch involves the destruction of blastocysts formed from laboratory-fertilized human eggs. For those who believe that life begins at conception, the blastocyst is a human life and to destroy it is unacceptable and immoral. This seems to be the only controversial issue standing in the way of stem cell research in North America. Where It Stands In the summer of 2006 President Bush stood his ground on the issue of stem cell research and vetoed a bill passed by the Senate that would have expanded federal funding of embryonic stem cell research. Currently, American federal funding can only go to research on stem cells from existing (already destroyed) embryos. Similarly, in Canada, as of 2002, scientists cannot create or clone embryos for research but must used existing embryos discarded by couples. The UK allows embryonic stem cell cloning. Use of stem cell lines from alternative non-embryonic sources has received more attention in recent years and has already been demonstrated as a successful option for treatment of certain diseases. For example, adult stem cells can be used to replace blood-cell-forming cells killed during chemotherapy in bone marrow transplant patients. Biotech companies such as ACT are researching techniques for cellular reprogramming of adult cells, use of amnionic fluid, or stem cell extraction techniques that do not damage the embryo, that also provide alternatives for obtaining viable stem cell lines. Out of necessity, the research on these alternatives is catching up with embryonic stem cell research and, with sufficient funding, other solutions might be found that are acceptable to everyone. On March 9, 2009, President Obama overturned Bushs ruling, allowing US Federal funding to go to embryonic stem cell research. However, the stipulation applies that normal NIH policies on data sharing must be followed. Despite the progress being made in other areas of stem cell research, using pluripotent cells from other sources, many American scientists were putting pressure on the government to allow their participation and compete with the Europeans. However, many people are still strongly opposed Research Ethics and Stem Cells Stem cells show potential for many different areas of health and medical research, and studying them can help us understand how they transform into the dazzling array of specialized cells that make us what we are. Some of the most serious medical conditions, such as cancer and birth defects, are caused by problems that occur somewhere in this process. A better understanding of normal cell development will allow us to understand and perhaps correct the errors that cause these medical conditions. Research on one kind of stem cell—human embryonic stem cells—has generated much interest and public debate. Pluripotent stem cells (cells that can develop into many different cell types of the body) are isolated from human embryos that are a few days old. Pluripotent stem cell lines have also been developed from fetal tissue (older than 8 weeks of development). As science and technology continue to advance, so do ethical viewpoints surrounding these developments. It is important to educate and explore the issues, scientifically and ethically. The discovery, isolation, and culturing of human embryonic stem cells has been described as one of the most significant breakthroughs in biomedicine of the century.1 This description would be warranted by virtue of the biological uniqueness of these cells alone—their ability to self-renew infinitely while retaining a remarkable capacity to differentiate into any form of cell tissue. But as well as this, the culturing of embryonic stem cells holds tremendous potential for the development of new forms of regenerative medicine to treat debilitating or fatal conditions that would not otherwise be curable.2 It is somewhat of an irony that the discovery of cells with such a tremendous potential for improving and prolonging our own lives, should bring with it some of the most trenchant and intractable questions about the value of life itself. The harvesting of embryonic stem cells results in the destruction of the embryos from which they are harvested. It results, in other words, in the expiration of the very beginnings of a possible human life. Issues about the value of life emerge here in perhaps their most stark and poignant form in the question of whether life for those already existing should be improved at the seeming expense of a possible human life that has just come into being. Needless to say, what the most ethically justified response is to this sort of question is far from obvious. It is not immediately apparent, either, just what should count as the appropriate criteria for assessing possible responses to it. Indeed, it is even contentious as to what the right concepts and terminology are for framing the central questions. What is clear, though, is that it would be remiss to fail to engage with these questions in a manner that is commensurate with their depth, complexity and importance. With due regard to that, the following discussion provides a brief overview of some of the core ethical issues arising from the Research Involving Embryos Bill 2002 and to some extent the Prohibition of Human Cloning Bill 2002.3 The public debate has focused mostly on ethical problems associated with the destruction of embryos (in the case of the first Bill), and with the creation of cloned human embryos (in the case of the second Bill). The current paper will confine its primary focus to the first set of problems, since many of the salient ethical issues about cloning will arise, as it turns out, in connection with embryonic stem cell research.4 1 Key Ethical Issues in Embryonic Stem Cell Research The paper takes most of the major ethical concerns in the debate to be encompassed by the following core questions: †¢ What, in principle, is ethically at issue with destructive embryo research? †¢ What is important when it comes to judging the value of the potential consequences of destructive embryo research? †¢ In what does the value of the human embryo consist? †¢ Does the means by which an embryo expires—whether it is destroyed or merely succumbs—make a moral difference? †¢ Is there anything morally worse about using embryos created for research purposes compared to using existing excess or surplus ART (assisted reproductive treatment) embryos? The purpose of the following discussion is to clarify some relevant moral and conceptual distinctions connected with these core questions, and to clarify the basic structure of the major views and argument themes that have been developed by philosophers, bioethicists and theologians in response to these questions. Of course, in their more fully expanded form these distinctions and arguments will involve subtleties and complexities that are beyond the limited scope of this paper to address. Nonetheless, the discussion here will hopefully give an impression of where some of those further complexities and subtleties might lie. The Basic Ethical Problem The possibility of destructive embryo research, particularly embryonic stem cell research, presents us with a moral problem because it appears to bring into tension two fundamental moral principles that we esteem very highly: one principle enjoins the prevention or alleviation of suffering, and the other enjoins us to respect the value of human life. As noted, the harvesting and culturing of embryonic stem cells has considerable potential to bring about remarkable potential benefits in the way of alleviating debilitating medical conditions. So, it satisfies the first principle to a very great degree. On the other hand, there is a case to be made that the harvesting of human embryonic stem cells violates the second principle in that it results in the destruction of human life with value (i.e. human embryos). Accordingly, both principles apparently cannot simultaneously be respected in the case of embryonic stem cell research. The question then is which principle ought to be given precedence in this conflict situation. Should we give more weight to the first, and permit destructive embryonic stem cell research because of its remarkable potential benefits? Or should we give more weight to the second, and prohibit destructive embryonic research because it violates respect for the value of the 2 Key Ethical Issues in Embryonic Stem Cell Research embryo as the very beginnings of a possible human life? This, at bottom, is the ethical problem generated by destructive embryo research. Crude as it may sound, responding to this problem calls for a moral calculation—a decision about how the positive value of destructive embryo research is to be weighted, from a moral point of view, in comparison to the negative value (or disvalue) of destroying embryos. Whatever way that calculation is done, it is important to get a clear idea of what moral weight each side of the equation has. This will involve: (i) developing a sound and accurate picture of what the real value is of the benefits of embryonic research, and (ii) clarifying what the value of embryos might consist in, and what, if anything, may be wrong with destroying them. The rest of this paper outlines some of the ethical arguments and philosophical considerations that have been considered relevant to these two matters. Evaluating the Benefits of Embryonic Stem Cell Research Evaluating the beneficial consequences of embryonic stem cell research is not straightforward. There are complexities associated with assessing how realistic the potential of the benefits is, how alternatives with different combinations of benefits and drawbacks are to be compared, and factoring in all of the sometimes overlooked possible consequences of embryonic research. Judging the Benefits Most attention has centred on the medical potential of embryonic stem cell research and cultivation, particularly somatic gene therapy for genetic disorders5, and the generation of replacement tissues and organs for transplant.6 There is no doubt that these outcomes, once realised, would be highly valuable. It is important to keep in mind, however, that currently these benefits are potential ones. A sound evaluation of stem cell research needs to take account of the likelihood of achieving its beneficial outcomes. In matters of science, and particularly, in areas that are newly developing and comparatively uncharted (such as embryonic stem cell research), it is sometimes difficult to settle on those probabilities with complete confidence. It is the nature of scientific discoveries and progress, that they are not easily predicted. Both advances and impediments to advancement can arise unexpectedly. This uncertainty about how real the potential benefits are, needs to be kept in mind wh en weighing and evaluating the consequences of embryonic stem cell research. 3 Key Ethical Issues in Embryonic Stem Cell Research Comparing the Benefits and Harms of Alternatives to Embryonic Stem Cell Research Adult Stem Cell Research Whether destructive embryonic stem cell research is the right thing to do or not, will partly depend on what the alternatives are, and how their particular benefits and drawbacks balance out. There is another research program involving adult stem cells that are present in and drawn from bone marrow, brain and gut, and other tissues. Some of these stem cells have a capacity to differentiate into a limited number of different cell types, such as blood cells, muscles and neurones (i.e., they are multipotent), but they have not been shown to be pluripotent (able to differentiate into any cell-type) in the way that embryonic stem cells are.7 This limitation means that adult stem cells offer more limited potential benefits in regenerative medicine and gene therapy, at least from the standpoint of our current understanding and available biotechnology. (But with that said, it is worth keeping in mind the points made above about the limited predictability of scientific advances, including the possibility of inducing adult stem cells to differentiate into a greater range of tissue types.) The harvesting and use of adult stem cells for biomedical purposes, however, avoids some of the ethically and biomedically problematic features of using embryonic stem cells. For a start, harvesting adult stem cells does not involve the destruction of embryos. The extent to which that is an advantage will depend on the extent to which that destruction turns out to be a bad thing, (and this will be taken up shortly). Tissues grown from adult stem cells will be immunologically compatible with the person from whom the stem cells are harvested. This means that those tissues can be transplanted into that person without fear of the body rejecting them. Tissues produced from embryonic stem cells for the purpose of regenerative therapy, however, are unlikely to be immunocompatible with the person for whom they are intended. The immunological properties of the tissue are set by the characteristics of whatever embryo the stem cells are derived from. Apart from the ongoing use of immunosuppressant drugs (with its possible serious side effects), two other potential solutions to this immunological limitation have been suggested. The first proposes a tissue bank with a sufficiently large number of different embryonic stem cell types to generate tissue that can be immunologically matched with different recipients. Hall points out, however, that this would require a huge number of human embryonic stem cell lines (the number being a matter of debate). Such an embryonic stem cell bank would be technically difficult and expensive to generate. The number of embryos that would be required to produce the cell bank would probably test public support †¦ 8. The second possible way of overcoming the problem of immunological incompatibility is through what has been called therapeutic cloning. In this process, the nucleus of a human oocyte or egg is removed and replaced with the nucleus of a cell taken from the body of the intended tissue re cipient. The new egg is induced to develop into an embryo, from which immunocompatible stem cells are harvested. The embryo will be a human embryonic clone of the recipient, with all his/her 4 Key Ethical Issues in Embryonic Stem Cell Research exact genetic characteristics. To date, there have only been one or two reported attempts at human cloning that have met with some success. A number of ethical objections have been expressed to therapeutic cloning, all revolving around the creating of an embryo, and moreover, the creating of an embryo for a use that will destroy it. These objections and arguments usually rely centrally on certain views about the value or moral status of the embryo, and these views will be outlined later in the paper. Whatever benefit the pluripotency of embryonic stem cells has in generating immunocompatible tissue, this benefit is likely to be possible only at the cost of having to engage in either the morally contentious practice of human (therapeutic) cloning, or the morally contentious practice of using (and destroying) a large number of embryos to create a sufficient range of embryonic stem cell lines for organ banks. It is especially important to note also, that if the Prohibition of Human Cloning Bill 2002 is passed in its current form, and any kind of human cloning, including therapeutic cloning, is prohibited, there will be less opportunity to maximise the potential benefits of embryonic stem cell research, and embryonic stem cells will effectively have less of the advantage they would otherwise have over adult stem cells. The Inevitable Succumbing of Surplus IVF Embryos The Research Involving Embryos Bill 2002 only permits excess ART embryos existing before 5 April 2002 to be used for research purposes in accordance with a licensing regime. It is a fact about those embryos that they would likely expire or succumb anyway. They would still be destroyed, in other words, but through exposure to natural processes. On the face of it, this looks as if the harm or negative value involved in embryos expiring (whatever it might be) will be the same whether embryo research is allowed or not. In each case the embryo will expire. But this impression can be a little oversimplified. Some philosophers argue that there is a moral difference between acts and omissions, between actively killing something, and passively failing to intervene to stop its death from other causes (when one could have). Even though the outcome is the same in each case, it can be argued that there is something worse, or more morally culpable, about actively bringing about the death oneself. There are different views on what the moral difference between killing and letting die amounts to, and there are those who argue that there is no significant difference. Whichever way one comes out on this, it is not clear that the act-omission distinction maps neatly onto the particular embryo research scenario under discussion. Destroying surplus embryos through research is certainly an act. But so too, some would argue, is removing surplus embryos from the cold storage that keeps them from expiring. They would hold that this looks less like failing to intervene in independently occurring causal processes (that will lead to expiry), than an act that sets those processes in motion. If this is true, then the first impression above will stand. The harm or negative value involved in embryos expiring (whatever it might be) will be the same whether embryo research is allowed or not. 5 Key Ethical Issues in Embryonic Stem Cell Research Some would argue that there is an important logical upshot from this. If the only two alternatives in the circumstances (destroying embryos in research vs making them succumb) involve the same level of harm or disvalue or moral wrongness, but embryo research involves much greater benefits than the other alternative, then it could be argued, it makes sense to opt for the more beneficial embryo research. And indeed, some might construe that as a sufficient case for the moral preferability of that option. (This would change, of course, if the relevant alternatives change—if say, embryos were purpose created for research, which were not pre-existing and destined to be expired).9 Taking into Account all of the Relevant Benefits and Harms The embryonic stem cell debate has been pre-occupied with the biological and medical benefits or drawbacks of that research. Central as these certainly are, there are nonetheless other, often-overlooked non-medical impacts that may be important to factor in. Some of the major among these are possible social impacts including: De-sensitisation to the Destruction of Human Life It is argued by some10 that allowing the destruction of embryos to become an entrenched practice would serve to desensitise the scientific establishment, regulating bodies, and society in general, to the destruction of life in general. An increased social toleration of loss of life, it would be argued, may make it easier for society to accede to (currently) more controversial practices involving the ending of life such as, late term elective abortion, or withdrawal of treatment for severely disabled infants, for example. This slippery slope argument about potential consequences is based on empirical assumptions about the causes and effects of certain social attitudes, and needs to be assessed in the light of their plausibility. Contributions to Social Oppression One strong but minority strand of argument emphasises the impact that biotechnology has on broader social relationships. It has been argued that research should be evaluated not only in terms of its effects on the subjects of the experiment but also in terms of its connection with existing patterns of oppression and domination in society.11 There is a considerable body of writing that explores the impacts of new reproductive technologies (such as IVF) on the interests of women, particularly how those technologies might contribute to oppression.12 In the case of embryonic research, it is sometimes argued that women who donate ova or embryos are at risk of exploitation to the extent that male-dominated medical practice appropriates their reproductive labour for research and commercial benefits. Women are at risk, therefore, of being alienated from their reproductive labour. Moreover, it is argued that womens body parts are at risk of being commodified, and their acts of altruistic dona tion demeaned, if downstream users can develop commercial applications for stem cells developed from their ova and embryos.13 6 Key Ethical Issues in Embryonic Stem Cell Research The Value of the Embryo What weight does the other side of the moral equation have? What is wrong, if anything, with destroying embryos? If there is something wrong with that, is it sufficiently wrong to outweigh or override the benefits of embryo research, and therefore, render that research morally impermissible? Most of the leading arguments about the rightness or wrongness of destroying embryos are based on some view or other about the moral status of the embryo—how the embryo ought to be regarded or treated from the moral point of view, in virtue of it arguably possessing certain morally important intrinsic characteristics. It is relatively uncontroversial to describe embryos as human life (at its very beginnings). It is another thing, however, to describe embryos as persons, or human beings, or potential persons, etc. These descriptions are morally laden in that they carry with them potential implications about what can and cannot be done to embryos from a moral point of view. What those potential implications are, and indeed, whether they are sound ones, will depend on the nature and plausibility of the particular arguments that accompany each view on the moral status of the embryo. There are different views about this moral status. The leading views speculate that embryos have the status of: †¢ persons, or †¢ potential persons, or †¢ divine creations, or †¢ subjects of moral harm, or †¢ the beginnings of human life, with intrinsic value, or †¢ organic material with no more moral standing than other body parts. Each of these will be outlined in turn, with particular attention to (i) what the intrinsic moral characteristics are the each particular view attributes to embryos, and (ii) what these alleged characteristics or moral status are held to imply for our moral treatment of embryos—particularly whether they can ever or never be destroyed. Embryos have Status as Human Beings or Persons Some argue that, despite obvious physical differences between developed humans and embryos, the latter ought still be regarded as human beings or persons. One of the more plausible arguments to this effect relies on pointing out that there is no non-arbitrary point in the physical growth continuum between embryo and developed human that counts as a morally significant dividing line.14 Consequently, if individuals at their fully developed stage are human beings or persons, there is no non-arbitrary ground to think that they should not count as the same at their embryonic stage. Those who hold otherwise, 7 Key Ethical Issues in Embryonic Stem Cell Research according to this argument, need to indicate the developmental point at which personhood, or status as a human being, is acquired. The argument continues that it is a very deeply and commonly held view in modern liberal democracies that individual persons are deserving of especially strong moral respect in certain ways. All individuals, by virtue of being persons, have fundamental rights not to have their basic human interests interfered with in certain ways, and most importantly, their interest in the maintenance of their life and bodily integrity. If embryos have the status of persons, then they too will have rights not to be harmed or killed. Or, put in another way, we will be under a very strong moral obligation not to harm or kill embryos. Most prominent ethicists, philosophers and commentators would agree that persons have a status deserving of strong and special moral respect, protection and dignity. Many, however, would dispute that embryos should be considered persons or human beings in any serious sense. Even if one cannot point to an exact black and white dividing line in human development, it is still reasonable (they hold) to point to the fact that wherever the transition occurs, embryos do not have the psychological, physiological, emotional, intellectual properties that we tend to centrally associate with personhood. Embryos, particularly the very early pre-implantation blastocysts involved in stem cell research,15 do not, for instance, have consciousness, individuality, the ability to reason, or the ability to form courses of action in life and to choose between them.16 Embryos have Status as Potential Persons Some ethicists have a response to the foregoing objection to viewing embryos as persons. It is to concede that embryos do not currently exhibit these properties of personhood, but they will, if allowed to develop and fulfil their potential. To the extent that embryos are potential persons, it is argued, they ought to still be accorded the moral respect and dignity that personhood warrants. This potential person argument