Liquor Ad Campaigns for Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Liquor Ad Campaigns for Analysis - Essay Example The campaign spans online advertising, television, events, social media and print. Four young artists are featured, and who Absolut describes as â€Å"daring spirits with a dedication to continuously transform the possibilities of personal expression.† It has as its core message the fact that young adults can free themselves from the idea of predetermined life events that might control their future. Though previous campaigns have also tapped from art, Transforming Today seems to be more active in transformation stimulation and in pushing forward the cultural scene. The artists making up the creative team in running the campaign includes a French national who does music, design and illustration apart from being a director, a digital media artist from America, an emerging fashion designer from France and a graphic novel artist from Brazil. It targets urban millennial who connect with creativity and who have the belief that the future is not written but to be created, which they can together with helping shape society. Its TV adverts run in sixty or ninety seconds of the three featuring together doing their work with thirty seconds spots for each of the artists. The online advertising appears on sites related to creative disciplines that the four artists work in, including music, design and fashion. The social media campaign involves engagement and outreach through the brand’s Twitter and Face book accounts, also through other artistic communities’ sites. From this promotional campaign, I think Absolut is in a bid to change its image as perceived by every member of the society. The approach is wisely calculated to draw every member of the society’s positive perception of its intent. The campaign casts an overall image of responsibility and positive thinking and action that would ultimately benefit the individual and society. It comes about as trying to shake off

Theories of Punishment: Durkheim and Marxist

Theories of Punishment: Durkheim and Marxist Compare and contrast a Durkheim and a Marxist analysis of punishment in modern society. Emile Durkheim is well known for his work on suicide related issues. However, Durkheim is not exclusive to the area of suicide, he had ample experience and expertise in other areas of sociological interest and one prominent field is crime and punishment. Why do societies punish offenders? This is a question that has been deeply explored by many sociologists including Binding who felt that a society’s â€Å"right to punishment†¦was nothing but the right to obedience of the law, which has been transformed by the offender’s disobedience.† The main objective of punishment thus was â€Å"the inmate’s subjugation under the power of law for the sake of maintaining the authority of the laws violated.† Thus, punishment was meant to â€Å"represent the holiness and inviolability of the duties to which it is attached.† Durkheim assigns the power of punishment to the state for the purpose of restoring and maintaining social and collective conscience. He felt that crimes shatter societal solidarity and when there is a right to punishment, and then society can restore its faith in each other by punishing the offender. However, Durkheim contends that in complex modern societies, collective feelings of revenge have been somewhat replaced by Anomie. And this anomie has weakened punishment which leads to more crimes and offences against the society. Durkheim argues that people are shaped by their social experiences and it follows that if the collective conscience is weakened by, for example, too much criminal behavior, the moral ties that bind people together are also weakened. When this happens, the concept used by Durkheim to express this weakening of moral ties was that of Anomie. For Durkheim, anomie occurred when traditional norms of behavior were undermined without being replaced by new norms. In the absence of clear moral guidelines for their behavior, people experience feelings of anxiety, aimlessness, purposelessness, disorientation and so forth. Anomie, therefore, was seen by Durkheim to be a very dangerous phenomenon, mainly because when people no longer believe in their obligations to others, they revert to self-interest. In effect, they attempt to look after themselves without bothering too much about how this may affect the lives of others. How has this change occurred if at all? Is the criminal justice system really more lenient in modern societies than it used to be? This is the question that forms the basis for Durkheim’s entire premise on the subject of criminal justice in modern society. The fact that there is a close connection between Durkheim’s concept of anomie and changes in the criminal justice system cannot be denied. One of his sternest critics acknowledged that â€Å"there is also an underlying validity in the importance that Durkheim attaches to the law for any understanding of society† [9] p. 36. Certainly the phenomenon of law was of crucial importance in Durkheim’s sociological model because it was an external indicator of a level of social life at which moral forces became crystallized and institutionalized to a degree where they were formalized and backed by sanctions. Durkheim could see the difference between the law prevailing in traditional and modern societies. Though he went slightly overboard with his divisions, it is a fact that Durkheim was among the first few to highlight the differences that had led to a shift in punishment from corporal punishment to institutionalized revenge. On a milder note, Durkheim said, â€Å"The duty of the statesman is no longer to propel societies violently towards an ideal which appears attractive to him. His role is rather that of the doctor: he forestalls the outbreak of sickness by maintaining good hygiene, or when it does break out, seeks to cure it. (Durkheim, 1982: 104) Let us now study the differences in more detail. What was the primary difference? According to Durkheim the difference lied in the intensity of punishment. In traditional societies, punishment was more corporal in nature; it focused on the body of the offender. In modern societies, things have become more complex and focus has shifted to institutionalization. This institutionalization has led to a lenient form of punishment. And a lot of this can be attributed to breakdown of social cohesiveness. The modern society is different from what you would expect a traditional society to be. Modern society is usually more â€Å"progressive,† â€Å"industrial† but at the same time materialistic. This aspect of the society makes it highly individualistic too. The individualism factor leads to the creation of what you would call a self-centered culture. In this self-centered zone, people are more concerned about their own welfare than the welfare of the society on the whole. Durkheim blames this individualistic streak for the breakdown of social cohesiveness and collective conscience that is the primary cause of social decay as well as lenient punishment. I agree with Durkheim that punishment today is lenient. It does focus on revenge but there is a greater focus on rehabilitation of offenders which gives the whole picture a compassionate view thus resulting in leniency which is not often desired. Leniency is not desirable in all cases and in traditional societies or old world societies when punishment was stricter, crime rate was lower and recidivism was almost negligible. There is another important concept which should be instilled here. Conformity is what Durkheim would want in a social system today but this conformity factor has been missing since people want to have their own individualistic streak. They do not want to conform. But for a society to care about each other’s welfare and to build cohesiveness, conformity is desirable. Morals and values can often take a backseat or they lose their intensity when there are too many groups and each has its own view. (Anthony Giddens, Capitalism and Modern Social Theory. An Analysis of the writings of Marx, Durkheim and Max Weber. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press (1971), 103). When there is lack of conformity, there is also an increased risk of conflict and this can endanger the greater interest of the society. Durkheim feels that lack of conformity is one of the main reasons for growth of conflict and for further division of interest and for this reason; he suggests that conformity should exist. He also suggests the use of restitutive law as a possible solution bringing and maintaining law in a modern organic society. Durkheim’s view of modern society’s law and lenient punishment emerges from his views on anomic division of labor. According to this concept division of labor of anomic type takes place when norms regulating activities break down or fail to emerge. One source of this anomie has been the rapid growth in economic conditions which gave rise to new â€Å"interests in conflict (which) have not yet had time to be equilibrated† p. 370. Another major source was the discrepancies that existed between a group’s expectations and their achievements. In such an air of â€Å"relative deprivation†, rules that previously governed the means to goal attainment break down, and anomie and increased disorder could result. Some sociologists have sought to make international comparisons, maintaining that, on the basis of this theory, it should be possible to predict that in countries with an advanced division of labor, greater inequality and/or deprivation and/or rapid rate of change would be important predictors of higher levels of political instability and conflict. One general consequence is that the absence of regulation can lead to unspecified desires, and the other is that for the individual specialist worker, work itself can lose its meaning. With regard to the forced division of labor, the possible consequences are, firstly, a resentment of exploitation and an attempt to meet force with force (resistance or revolution); secondly, there is the response of fatalistic acceptance of domination. In a society where anomie and forced division of labor are combined, the unlimited desires/resentment and meaninglessness/fatalism pairs reinforce each other. Some critics (Horton) have sought to contrast Durkheim’s concept of anomie with Marx’s concept of alienation, but the contrast only holds up if anomie is kept separate from the forced division of labor; whereas in practice, as Durkheim perceived, they are frequently combined. There can be absence of regulation (anomie) at one level and coercive regulation at another level (forced div ision of labor), as exemplified by unrestricted competition and lack of agreement over the regulation of prices and incomes, on the one hand, and inequality of opportunities on the other. However, in Durkheim’s view, spontaneous attachment to norms (as distinct from coerced attachment deriving from an imposed ideology) could only occur when the forced division of labor was mitigated. Durkheim drew a sharp contrast between two systems of law: one dominated by repressive sanctions and corresponding to mechanical solidarity, and the other characterized by a predominance of restitutive principles corresponding to organic solidarity. Critics pointed out that the contrast was overdrawn, and also that many of the societies he used as examples of mechanical solidarity and repressive penal systems were in fact not simple tribal or clan societies, but already possessed the rudiments of central state organization, as in the case of the ancient Jewish and Roman societies. The most important additions or modifications to his original thesis were concerned with his classification of crimes, and with regard to the political factor. Whereas, in the original thesis, the main contrast was between repressive and restitutive sanctions, in the later article the contrast involves a classification of crimes into those that are fundamentally religious in character—offences against shared moral tenets that constitute the collective conscience—and those that are â€Å"individual†, in the sense of involving the essentially private interests of increasingly autonomous individuals. Penal sanctions also change in quantity and quality, with a movement away from corporal punishment and toward depriving the individual of possessions or freedom, i.e. fines and imprisonment. This development corresponds to the increasing differentiation within society, and the increasing focus on the individual, in this case as criminal or victim. Durkheim makes an inte resting point about prisons only coming into existence when a society reached a sufficiently advanced stage of material development to permit the existence of secure and fortified establishments, such as castles or other large dwellings of a king or class of notables. This was the kind of institutionalization I mentioned earlier in the paper. Now that a country has driven towards institutionalization, it has resulted in automatic leniency. Offenders do not suffer corporal punishment because it is generally disapproved of in the society. Such an attitude leads to leniency of punishment which may often prove to be damaging for social cohesiveness and general peace. One feature of Durkheim’s social thought—one that most modern students are likely to notice—is that he can be placed upon either side of the political spectrum in a fairly straightforward manner. This certainly suggests something about the density of his thought, as well as the numerous ways in which his writings can be misunderstood. Essentially, Durkheim borrowed portions of what he considered to be â€Å"social facts† from the left and the right. This should not be surprising considering Durkheim’s primary understanding of society: society, to him, is a moral reality. The social truths can only be grasped as such if they are reflected in moral beliefs. In other words, he believes there is an objective reality because social struggles serve to indicate to individual human beings that they are fighting for something independent of their own sense perceptions; something abstract and universal. Nevertheless, sociological explanation must fundamentally be concerned with what is independent of psychology and individual points of view; it consists of the search for the objective within the context of the subjective. To Marx, however, even if this form of understanding proposed by Durkheim is attainable, the material world surrounding humanity is inevitably altered through the process of knowing it. Accordingly, human perception is not fully capable of grasping the truth behind events; it is only able to develop some representative illustration of it. So, the scientific observations of the world and the knowledge gained from these observations enable humans to recognize and impose patterns of behavior upon the physical world, thus, to manipulate it in a manner that can never be completely comprehended. History, to Marx, has been misconstrued by the notion that some conceptual model can be used to characterize the history of production and labor. He attacks this way of understanding the progression of human history: â€Å"Thus, history must always be written according to an extraneous standard. The actual production of life appears as something unhistorical, while the historical appears as something separated from ordinary life, something superterrestrial,† (Marx 125).There is no such thing as objective truth, but our patterns of thought can evolve if human surroundings are also to evolve. Accordingly, to uphold the status quo is to selectively ignore the continuing processes of human thought and exploration. Durkheim, on the other hand, is concerned with making broad sociological and psychological assertions about humanity. In order to accomplish his goal, Durkheim must make use of a rather difficult term: milieu. Broadly, Durkheim contends that every feature of social phenomena must be viewed through the lens of the particular time period in which it exists—its â€Å"milieu.† Put differently, if we are concerned with sociological analysis, then the unit of measure of the â€Å"individual† is nearly extraneous; the only unit that can be profitably employed is the milieu. Accordingly, Durkheim believes that the social perspective is the most fundamental standpoint to view human life; therefore, psychological theories are inconsequential. So it should not be surprising that Durkheim argues that the social division of labor is not merely an abstract social phenomenon; instead it is a natural law of human existence. Although mankind interacts intimately with his environment, the social realities of his life trump the more concrete realities: â€Å"The same cause which increases the importance of the collective environment weakens the organic environment in such a manner as to make it accessible to the action of social causes and to subordinate it to them,† (Durkheim). The most prevalent objection to Marx’s theory of the state is that the mechanism needed to assure this equality of the classes is an authoritative state. Historically, this is why communist states have never been truly successful in the way Marx envisioned. To Marx, the continuation of class conflicts can only result in a form of communism. Others have asserted that the situations that are ripe for communism are merely situational and not unavoidable. As a result, capitalism will not necessarily progress to communism, but may take an altogether new form. Broadly, the differences between Marx and Durkheim’s interpretations of social institutions reveal the weakness inherent to both. Durkheim chose to take a purely mystical perspective regarding society; it was the outcome of abstract notions and social norms. Marx, on the other hand, saw it as purely a materialistic structure; it was based upon tangible and physical realities. Surely, neither can be completely accurate, but both maintain a level of truth as well as value for the future. Movie: A Thousand Words Movie: A Thousand Words In this essay I am going to talk about the business and business ethics about a movie called A Thousand Words. Jack, who is played by Eddie Murphy a world known Hollywood actor and comedian is an overly energetic, fast-talking, and committed agent who is known to closing even the most difficult of authors and other deals with celebrities into his agency. His main goal was to land the (as quoted in the movie by Jack in a meeting) Most popular, nondenominational religious Deepak-Chopra like spiritual leader on the planet named Dr. Sinja as his client. Jack claims he is the best agent in town. He also quotes Hey, I can talk anybody into doing anything. In order to sign him as his client, Jack lies and pretends to believe in Dr. Sinjas philosophy and path towards inner peace. In addition, he tells his assistant that he does not read scripts and believes that the first five pages and the last pages of any script/book will judge if its worth having a look at it and signing a specific autho r or not. Later on that day, a mysterious tree shoots up in his back garden, and he notices that every word he says a leaf falls off from the tree. When Jack goes back to his office the following day, he gets shocking news from his assistant telling him that the book was a quick read and that it was five pages long. In this scenario, the first five pages and the last pages are the whole book, yet Jack still refuses to read it because he thinks its some kind of joke or prank on him by Dr. Sinja. Jack is looking for answers and asks Dr. Sinja for help when he realizes that he has about 1000 words left until he and leaf die. Dr. Sinja leaves for a spiritual retreat to Bolivia for three days as in the meantime advises Jack not to speak until he gets back and finds out about this problem. Unable to speak, write, or communicate with everyone in his life, jeopardizes his relationship with his wife, boss, and other colleagues in which results him losing his job (Sandie Angulo Chen, March 9, 2012). Business ethics is the study of what is right and what is wrong, duty and obligation, moral norms, individual character, and responsibility but in the context of business. Jack has violated a few moral standards in order to achieve his dream signing. First, Jack lied to Dr. Sinja saying he has read the book before and that he is all for inner peace and spreading his wisdom and his words to the world. Another violation of the moral standards was putting his interest before the moral standards which is wrong. A moral standard at all times takes priority over ones self interest no matter what. He quoted in the movie Dr. Sinja: whats it in for you? Jack: just the satisfaction of knowing that I helped my hero to save the worldà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ and 10% of course. Saying that shows that Jack was in it for the money all along. Knowing that he topped several celebrities in sales and potentially could be the next big thing, Jack has targeted him and is willing to do whatever it takes to sign him . Having said that, leads me to one of the theories in business ethics: Egoism. Egoism is a theory that believes in short term sacrifices in necessary to long term self-interest. There are two types of egoism; Ethical Egoism and Psychological Egoism. Ethical egoism is where a person chooses the way they behave. An individual who can do anything and as long as there is some sort of benefit as the end result all entirely based on ones self-interest. Psychological egoism on the other hand is where an individual has behaved and acted. They perform something purely because they wanted to do it for their own self-interest. Mentioning the two sides to this theory, it is clear that Jack is an ethical egoist. With Jacks job being an agent, you will have to play the part of being nice and putting a poker face and lie in order to succeed in the business world. Albert Carr (a businessman) mentions this in the relativism and the fame in business. He believes that business is a game and that busi ness professionals are expected to follow a code that doesnt relate to ethics in any way. He uses poker as an analogy of lying, or a bluff of some sort. For example; lying about ones age on a CV, or using conscious misstatement, lie to sell products. Furthermore, Jack is doing just that in his company to achieve his goals. He chooses to behave in such a way to pretend that he is interested in their work and to boost up his status and salary bonus. Another example in the movie as well is when Jack goes to a coffee shop and sees a long queue of people waiting to be served. He looks at his watch and realizes he is going to be late for work if he waits in line. He picks up his phone pretending to speak to his wife who allegedly is in labor. Therefore he shouts out loud saying: hello? What? Shes in labor? Look I cant miss the birth of my first child! I only went out to get some coffee! After shouting that out loud, he was let through by all the people waiting in line just so he cant miss the birth of his so-called first child. When reaches the front of the line he is stopped by two tall grown constructor workers whom gave him a fearful look meaning youre not going to cut in front of us. Jack at this point had to improvise and quick in order to get his coffee. On the spot he says: Twins? Its twin! Im having twins. Im having twins. Thank you. Its on the house? Thank you so much! Jack has quickly thought of a lie in order to get throu gh and get his coffee. Jack not only makes his way through to skip the queue, but he also got his coffee for free as congratulation for the birth of his twins. We can also link this to the Albert Carr theory that he acted and played a poker face to get what he wanted. Lastly, within the theory of Egoism there is a difference between selfishness and self-interest. Selfishness disregards the needs of everyone else including people whose needs should be taken into account by doing something purely for your own satisfaction. Whereas self-interest; is a behavior on doing whats best for you in order to achieve. Jack in this movie is a bit of both. For example: his valet guy who parks his car for him in the morning asks him if he has read his manuscript and Jack replied that he is getting closer to reading it because it has moved from his kitchen table to his nightstand and next to his toilet and thats where it gets read he says (4:08-4:40mins in the movie). He didnt read his book and yet was rude to him by telling him to park his car somewhere else because he doesnt want bird feces on his car. Another example is when he gets back home and discusses to his wife about the house. She advises him to change houses because there is an open pool with no fence where on the other side is a cliff which has a drop of 2000 feet. His wife mentioned that she changes the babies diapers at the bar rather than a proper room for the child here it is user friendly. Jack agrees to make some changes but once again to his self interest instead of changing houses he told her that we could change up the media room into the babys room which the opposite of what his wife wanted(16:10-18:00mins). Jack has violated a few of the moral standards and has created an ethical dilemma. These results in affecting the environment around him, the society and the people involved in his life. For example: his wife, his assistant, his client, and his colleagues. As mentioned earlier, Jack is aware and realizes he has only 1000 words left until Dr. Sinja comes back with a solution. This situation makes it difficult for jack to communicate with people at work and his family. Jack needs to use his words wisely and know when to speak. Whatever happens to the tree happens to him. As the tree loses its leaves, jacks gets more and more sick, and when the tress loses all its leaves it is known that the tree dies which could result in Jack dying a well because they are connected. One of many examples of this is when Jack goes in to grab coffee in the morning and cannot talk or explain to the guy what he wants. For that reason, Jack uses sign language to communicate with the guy and ends up buying s everal coffees because he didnt understand the order (28:15-29:28mins). Secondly, he approaches the road trying to cross onto the other side, where a blind man comes and asks him to advise him when its safe to go. At this point Jack is pressured and cannot talk to the guy. The guy asks him could you tell me when its safe to cross? Are you deaf? I said can you tell me when its safe to cross? Jack stands there in silence not know how to answer the guy, he hums to the guy meaning that it is not but the old guy misinterpreted what Jack was trying to say so he walked into the road while there was traffic flowing past by. Jack quickly reacted and went after him trying to help him cross the road while cars were driving by. In the process of that, Jack has dropped several of his coffees and when they reached the other side in one peace, a bus passing by smacked the last coffee in his hand resulting in him not getting not only the coffee that he ordered but any coffee in general. Following up on this example, Jack affected the society around him which included th e old man almost getting run over by cars and also car drivers swerving left and right which can cause accidents on the road and affecting their lives. Another example of Jack affecting the society is when his wifes friend advises her to improve her relationship with her husband because he is slacking. So she rents a hotel room and tells her husband to meet her there. When Jack arrives, she tries to make love to him and get him to say I love you but Jack once again fails to respond to her which jeopardizes their relationship and leaves things between them complicated and unsure of what might happen to their family. Shes scared that Jack has lost his love for her which worries her. The last example of Jack affecting the society is when two offers come in and he fails to close any deal between them due to the lack of words he says. He asks his assistant to talk for him in one meeting where it goes all wrong and they lose their offer. On top of that, Jack gets a second chance at closing the book deal, but when they found out that the book is only 5 pages long, they declined the offer and stormed off. After the incident, his boss looks at him and asks him why he failed to mention that the book was five pages long. Jack still remains in silence and does not answer her which led him to get fired from his job. All in all, Jack has affected the society and the people around him to a point where he no longer has control of his situation. Towards the end he tries to explain his problem to his assistant who later monitors how many leaves he has left till it runs out and he dies. In the meantime, he goes around town trying to be nice and be moral and good person. For example: giving bread to the poor, giving money to charity, and trying to help a little girl get her cat from the tree in hopes that the leaves will stop falling from the tree. The problem with this, it is not done from pure goodness or performing good will. This leads us to Kants theorem, which focuses on the type of action rather than the consequence of the action. Goodness is the main requirement of the existence of the good will according to Kant. He believes that people should act morally regardless of the consequences. There is a difference between Good will and Happiness. For example: a person could be healthy, successful, h ave power, wealth, satisfied with his life, looks and considers himself a happy person. When people see this person they would assume he is a happy person and hes doing well in life. According to Kant, he questions the matter whether this persons happiness have moral bases. He also states the absence of good will such as kindness, ability, to judge, courage, decisiveness and many others may result in these qualities in becoming evil because they are not supported by the good will. From Kants opinion a good will forms, the most essential condition not of being happy, but worthy to be happy. There are two types in where we can determine morality in any situation, and in order to do so we must do things according to certain maxim, such as Universal Acceptability and Ends and Means. Universal acceptability everyone globally should act upon a specific rule and follow the rules stated. Ends and means is where we treat people like how we want to be treated. For example if you ask someone t o do you a favor, its only fair for you to reward or repay them back with the same effort they have put in to do that one thing for you, also to recognize their value of their hard work. Jack in the beginning of the movie treated people as means rather than ends as well. He didnt care of the people around him and used people by telling to do thing s for him and not appreciating their value of work and effort put in so that he gets what he asked for. Kants moral theory has application for organizations. Meaning just like other theories, they all have principles and approaches. Kants first principle points out that the categorical imperative (which are the universal acceptability and ends and means) gives us firm rules to follow in moral decision making. Second principle he introduces an important humanistic dimension into business decision, in other words forbids treating humans as means to ends. The third and last principle he stresses the importance of motivation and acting upon principles, which means doing the right thing is not necessarily enough. The individual has to perform an action that has moral worth and that its done with desire and real drive to do the r ight thing for its own sake. After mentioning these theories, Jack realizes he is wasting his time and nothing working out. So he goes back to his house to find out his wife packed all her stuff and left. He goes upstairs and looks at old photos of his family and a few pictures of his dad. In the beginning of the movie he was against his dad and never forgave him for leaving him and his mom behind a long time ago. His father has passed away and many years later Jack still hasnt forgiven his father for what he did to them. There was a picture of all three of them, he removed it from the photo album and went outside by the bodhie tree and started to pray. Jack meets Dr. Sinja at a diner to be let down hearing that Dr. Sinja couldnt find a cure for this curse. Jack sits there helpless and feeble having lost his family and his job in the process of all this mess. Dr. Sinja asks him that there is a reason why he is still there, its because he wants to seek advice from him and the only advice he can give him was for J ack to find the truth about himself, to quiet his mind and only then will he find the out the truth. He then goes back to his house under the influence of alcohol and his assistant follows him there where he tells him to be quiet and to stop talking. Jack gets furious and starts singing and talking as revenge to the tree trying to waste the leaves so he dies. He wakes up the next morning with his mouth taped, walks up to the bodhie tree and starts crying, he asks the tree what to do by talking to it from his inner voice in his head. While watering the tree he sees a butterfly landing on Dr. Sinjas book that he never read, so he sat down and started reading it. Later on that day, he visits his wife and with only a few words and facial expressions he shows her that hell be back and he truly loves her. On top of that, he goes back to the store where he usually gets his coffee in the morning and hands over a record of the Beatles which was the cashiers favorite CD/band. Also Jack heads to the valet guy that parks his car every morning and hands him his script saying that it was brilliant and sold with a cheque of $10,000 dollars, but when his car pulled up it was covered up in bird feces although didnt care and carried on with his day. Jack does all this with good intentions and good will just like I mentioned in Kants theorem. When he visit his mother, he accepts the fact she thinks he is her husband Raymond. She notices he cant speak so she starts speaking to him about how he was so angry at his father on leaving them and that he should forgive him and know that he father loved him and never stopped loving him. Mid way, she calls him jack and realizes that it was jack that visits her all along. Lastly, leaving to the cemetery to see his fathers grave, he prays and says his last three words which were I forgive you. Lightning struck and Jack McCall fell to the ground experiencing a heart attack. Soon after jack wakes up to the ringtone of his phone and it was his assistant informing him that all the leaves on the tree reappeared again and that he is able to talk again. In the end, Jack writes a book about is experience and named it a thousand words, Dr. Sinja was proud of him and his accomplishments, and his assistant took Jacks place at work as an agent. When his assistant (now agent) finds out he has a delivery he tells them to bring it in and also mistreats his new assistant, but as they bring it in, it was another tree and he finds out that he going to be going through the same curse as his ex-boss Jack did because of his bad intentions. In addition, he gets his wife a brand new baby-friendly home by the suburbs like she always wanted and asked for earlier on in the movie and reconciled with his family again. In conclusion, personally I think the best ethical and moral theory that Jack should have applied was Utilitarianism. Its a theory in which if an action produced more good than bad then it is a good action. Although the theory is demanding under two reasons: to do the most and maximize values and also put aside personal self-interest. Jeremy Bentham who is known to be the father or founder of this theory believes in pleasure, quantity and temporary (short term) actions, whereas the developer of the theory John Mill believed in happiness, quality, and long-term actions. I think John Mills theory is right and that Jack should consider happiness as well as other peoples happiness. This was just one of six points about the theory. Another point about it is an end justifies the means, which means anything is morally right if it brings better results in the end. Third point is to maximize happiness for a longer period of time. Fourth point is no-one can predict the future consequences rega rdless of the action implied. Moreover, should consider pleasure and pain as well as the others and not your own only. Lastly, the same action applied could give different results for different people. For example if you were to take action and take down a bad guy who is holding your sibling as hostage, the situation would be different and you would be hesitant and careful when taking down the bad guy rather than it being someone random that you dont know. The principles of utility in organizational are: provides clear and straight forward basis for formulating and testing policies, in other words allows us to test their worth against standard utility, also provides objective and attractive ways resolving conflicts with self interest and looks at the general good and lastly provides flexible, result-oriented approach to moral decision-making because utility focuses on results. There are also two types of utilitarianism, act utilitarianism looks at the consequences each time an act i s performed, whereas rule utilitarianism looks at the consequences each time anyone follows the rule by calculating if it is accepted or rejected. The disadvantages of this theory are that it doesnt work properly because you are responsible of your actions; also some actions are wrong even though they produce good action. For example sacrificing a bad guys life for the sake of the hundreds he could have harmed, and lastly the theory is dubbed as unfair because it puts your emotions and self interest aside. Another theory I would think would apply is Kant theorem because it is all about doing things morally with good intentions, but the disadvantages are; it is very strict, if any act alone is based on self interest then it has no moral worth. Second disadvantage is regardless of the consequences we cannot lie to save our lives, no exceptions to the rules. Last disadvantage states that it is unfair; this is due to people being used as means in order to reach their ends.

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In the US alone a blood donation is needed every 2 seconds; that is 41,000 blood donations that are necessary every day (Blood Facts). The first successful blood transfusion was done in 1667 on a boy who was administered sheep blood, the boy survived. This alone paved the way for modern blood transfusions. The first human-to- human donations were done in the early 1800’s and were unsuccessful due to the lack of knowledge with blood types. Then in the 1900s blood types were discovered and from there blood banks were developed and research was done to progress the amazing transfusion system we have today (History). With all the advancement we have made throughout this vast time frame the truth of the matter is that even with the evolution only 10 percent of the 36 percent of people who have the ability to give blood actually do (Blood Facts). There are many unreasonable explanations as to why people don’t give blood some include their own unneeded fears, the excuse that giving is superfluous, the dangers and risks with transfusion, and the thought that it is bad for your overall health. These false accounts are preventing people from saving lives. Everyone who is healthy and able should save lives and donate their blood to better help someone who is in desperate need of it. Many people believe that donating blood is bad because of reasons such as wrongful doing by the nurses and professionals. A large number of individuals fear that too much blood might be taken, the person taking the blood might injure you and miss a vein and in general they are afraid of what might happen to them during the donating process. Phlebotomist nurses pass many tests, understand and perform their job to the best of their ability. It is import... ...you are healthy and able to donate blood you should do your part and save lives for people who are in need of transfusions. Giving blood has many positive aspects. Transfusions are safe and can actually help your overall heath, including your physiological well-being. Professionals follow standards and requirements to make the process very simple and easy. Also, blood is always in need so none of it goes to waste; whatever you donate will be put to good use. Many people have doubts, but if you look at the facts there are nothing but good things that come from donating blood. Do the right thing. Donate. Save Lives. By giving, you are not only helping save lives, but you will leave having a positive outlook on what you did to help with others health and in addition, your own. This is the opportunity for you to change someone’s life. Do your part and Donate.

Erikson’s Theories Personal Portrait Essay

Erik Erikson’s and Lawrence Kohlberg developed several different theories that demonstrated each phase of our lives. Their theories demonstrated how each stage developed and how the stages help to make us who we are today. We develop, learn, and revolutionize through developmental and moral developments. This paper will illustrate how each developmental and moral development represents each stage of life. Erik Erikson’s stages of developmental theory consist of eight stages of development versus Lawrence Kohlberg’s six stages of moral developmental theory. Both of these theorists beliefs were different when it came to the breakdown of each stage. Erikson’s infant stage which consisted of trust vs. mistrust which is â€Å"the need for maximum comfort with minimal uncertainty to trust himself/herself, others, and the environment( Patient Teaching, 1990).† This is a stage that I cannot relate to because I do not have any memories from infancy. Kohlberg’s first stage is â€Å"obedience and punishment† which relates that a â€Å"child assumes that powerful authorities hand down a fixed set of rules which he or she must unquestioningly obey (Kohlberg, 1958b). For example, your principle in your elementary school down to your teacher is an authority figure. I relate to Kohlberg’s stage because I can remember growing up and knew that my parents, teachers, and principles were my authority figures. I knew that I must obey them and if I did not that it would result in severe punishments and sometimes multiple punishments from each individual. Being a female, a felt that I feared authority figures more than my brothers or other boys in my class. Second stage of Erickson’s was the â€Å"toddler† stage â€Å"autonomy vs shame and doubt-works to master physical environment while maintaining self esteem â€Å"The second stage occurs between 18 months and 3 years. At this point, the child has an opportunity to build self-esteem and autonomy as he or she learns new skills and right from wrong. The well-cared for child is sure of himself, carrying him or herself with pride rather than shame. During this time of the â€Å"terrible twos†, defiance, temper tantrums, and stubbornness can also appear. Children tend to be vulnerable during this stage, sometimes feeling shame and low self-esteem during an inability to learn certain skills (Erikson, 1968).† Kolberg’s second stage â€Å"Individualism and Exchange† â€Å"At this stage children recognize that there is not just one right view that is handed down by the authorities. Different individuals have different viewpoints (Kohlberg, 1963, p. 24).† Both Erikson’s and Kohlberg’s theory can be a demonstrated at an early childhood stage. One learned that they were an individual and that one had to respect authority figures. I can remember a time that I was in preschool and I was asked why I took another child’s crayon. I remember stating to the teacher that I wanted my crayons to remain new. I was already developing a sense of being selfish and using others. That was not the route to take which was expressed to me by both my teacher and my parents. The third stage is â€Å"Initiative vs. Guilt† which demonstrates â€Å"purpose† â€Å"During this period we experience a desire to copy the adults around us and take initiative in creating play situations. We make up stories with Barbie’s and Ken’s, toy phones and miniature cars, playing out roles in a trial universe, experimenting with the blueprint for what we believe it means to be an adult. We also begin to use that wonderful word for exploring the world—†WHY?†(Erikson, 1968)† Whereas Kolhberg’s stage result in â€Å"good interpersonal relationships† At this stage children–who are by now usually entering their teens–see morality as more than simple deals. They believe that people should live up to the expectations of the family and community and behave in â€Å"good† ways. Good behavior means having good motives and interpersonal feelings such as love, empathy, trust, and concern for others. Heinz, they typically argue, was right to steal the drug because â€Å"He was a good man for wanting to save her,† and â€Å"His intentions were good, that of saving the life of someone he loves.† Even if Heinz doesn’t love his wife, these subjects often say, he should steal the drug because â€Å"I don’t think any husband should sit back and watch his wife die† (Gibbs et al., 1983, pp. 36-42; Kohlberg, 1958b). These two stages are somewhat different in comparison. Erikson’s theory is basically demonstrates how a child mimics what he or she see by using inanimate objects. I believed every little girl played house with Barbie and little boys played cowboys and Indians. I loved to play in my doll house at the age of 4 and older. I also was starting to demonstrate what was right or wrong. Erikson’s fourth stage â€Å"School-Age Child (Competence) – Industry vs. Inferiority† â€Å"the Latency, we are capable of learning, creating and accomplishing numerous new skills and knowledge, thus developing a sense of industry (Erikson, 1968).† Kohlberg fourth stage is â€Å"Maintaining the Social Order reasoning works best in two-per son relationships with family members or close friends, where one can make a real effort to get to know the other’s feelings and needs and try to help (Crain, 1985, p 124).† These two stages exemplify several social skills. There are alike in detail. The age range from 6 to 12 is a very adequate age. I can recall being in the 4th and 5th grade and starting to have friends. I was a cheerleader and was learning that you have to be social in order to develop friendships. I was also taught by parents that little boys teased and picked on me because they liked you. I did not understand this but as I got older I slowly started to understand the concept of relationships. Next, the fifth stage of Erikson is â€Å"Identity vs. Role Confusion – Fidelity† â€Å". At this point, development now depends primarily upon what a person does. An adolescent must struggle to discover and find his or her own identity, while negotiating and struggling with social interactions and â€Å"fitting in†, and developing a sense of morality and right from wrong (Erikson, 1968)† Thus, Kohlberg’s fifth stage is â€Å"social contract and individual rights respondents basically believe that a good society is best conceived as a social contract into which people freely enter to work toward the benefit of all. They recognize that different social groups within a society will have different values, but they believe that all rational people would agree on two points. First they would all want certain basic rights, such as liberty and life, to be protected (Crain, 1985, p.125).† I feel that both of these stages are very similar. We want society to help us while giving back to society. It shows a sense of being part of something big. For example, I like the fact that I am able to vote. I believe that voting is a huge part of being part of society. It is important to know and feel that importance. The sixth stage of Erikson is â€Å"Intimacy and Solidarity vs. Isolation – Love† â€Å"the age is from 18-35, at the young adult stage, people tend to seek companions hip and love. Some also begin to â€Å"settle down† and start families, although seems to have been pushed back farther in recent years (Erikson, 1968).† Final stage of Kolhberg is â€Å"universal principles which believes that there must be a higher stage–stage 6–which defines the principles by which we achieve justice (Crain, 1985, p132).† These two stages are very different. Erikson is speaking about finding love which is considered your soul mate. Ages 18 through 35 is the common age that people start settling down and having children. I was 21 when I gave birth to my daughter. I tried to stay with her father which was 7 years older than me. He had not matured and did not want to step up to his responsibilities, even though he was much older than me. Kohlberg felt that stage 6 which resulted in the final decision of respecting each other’s beliefs. I find myself using an open mind and not judging anyone for their differences. I can relate to both of these stages. Erikson’s last two stages are â€Å"Middle-aged Adult: age ranges from 35 to 55 or 65 and the stage is Generativity vs. Self absorption or Stagnation which is defined as Care â€Å"Career and work are the most important things at this stage, along with family. Middle adulthood is also the time when people can take on greater responsibilities and control (Erikson, 1968).† Next, â€Å"Late Adult: age ranges from 55 or 65 to Death and the stage Integrity vs. Despair defined as wisdom As older adults, some can look back with a feeling of integrity — that is, contentment and fulfillment, having led a meaningful life and valuable contribution to society. Others may have a sense of despair during this stage, reflecting upon their experiences and failures( Erikson, 1968).† I am not at either stage of my life. I am very close to middle age. I actually consider myself to be a middle aged adult now. I am focused on furthering my career and supporting my family. I feel that this stage should be very important to both males and females. I have learned from working in the criminal justice field that this stage is not very important to males in society. There are more men in prison and jail than there are females. These men do not put the proper priorities in order to stay stable and have legitimate career. I am destine to reach far beyond 65 and live my life prosperous. In Closing, these two theorists had the same theories in mind. They described each stage of development differently. There concepts both compared and contrast with each other’s stages. I related to both theorists. I consider my life as a mirror of both Erikson’s and Kohlberg’s stages. Their phases exemplify positive and refined steps of everyone’s life. References Crain, W.C. (1985). Theories of Development. Prentice-Hall. pp. 118-136. Erikson, E. H. (1968). Identity: Youth and crisis. New York: Norton.

Case Study-Eating Disorder

Sarah is a sixteen year old girl. She is in the tenth grade and until recently was an optimistic and energetic young girl. Sarah’s mother has began to worry about her lately. Her mother recently found a bottle of diet pills hidden in her room. She has also noticed that Sarah’s behavior has been changing in the past few months. Sarah’s mother is unaware that Sarah’s boyfriend has been reducing her to tears lately by commenting that she has been gaining weight. Her mother has also found her looking in the mirror a lot more than usual. When she looks in the mirror she often sucks in her stomach and is complaining that she is not beautiful. As a result, Sarah has been going off food for days to the point of starvation. Then after days without food she breaks down and eats nearly everything that she can find in her refrigerator. Sarah’s weight has significantly dropped in the past few weeks. It is important to intervene immediately in Sarah’s life and get her help. When individuals with eating disorders get help early on during the disorder there is a high success rate of long-term recovery. Sarah is part of one the highest rated risk groups for eating disorders. People between the ages of ten to twenty-five are at the most risk for developing an eating disorder. Sarah is entering her teenage years and is encountering a lot of changes with her boy and her emotions. Eating disorders are also usually referred to as female diseases. Eating disorders are not limited to females. Sarah is a young women that is starting to feel pressure from her boyfriend to lose weight. Sarah is just beginning to have issue with her weight and food. Individuals with eating disorders often do not recognize that they have a problem or will not admit that they have a problem. The two most common forms of eating disorders are anorexia nervosa and bulimia. They are similar to each other and are both very harmful to an individual. Anorexia is characterized by an obsession with weight gain and self-distorted body image. Individuals with anorexia have a body weight that is 85 percent below their normal weight for their height and age. They maintain a low body weight by starving themselves, over-exercising, using diet pills, or vomiting. The effects of this eating disorder are emotional, physical, social, and psychological. It is a very serious disorder. There are two types of anorexia. The restricting type and the bingeing and purging type. When people think of anorexia they most commonly think of the restricting type which is characterized by individuals not participating in any bingeing or purging behaviors. The binging and purging type of anorexia is when the individual does participate in bingeing and purging behaviors by using laxatives, self-inducing vomiting, or over-exercising(DSM-IV-TR; American Psychiatric Association, 2000). Bulimia, like anorexia, is characterized by one’s obsession with weight. This type of eating disorder involves an individual having recurrent binge eating followed by purging behaviors. The use of laxatives, diuretics, and other medications help the individual with the purging. Over-exercising and a self-distorted body-image are a large part of bulimia. Persons with bulimia feel they have no self-control over their binges and purges. Their binging and purging behaviors happen often and occur at least once a week for three months (DSM-IV-TR; American Psychiatric Association, 2000). Eating disorders are very serious and will not typically get better without treatment. It is often difficult to get people with eating disorders to get help, because they don’t think that they have a problem or they are scared of gaining weight. One of the most important aspects of treating anorexia nervosa is to have the patients gain weight and restore nutrition. In some cases their weight can be so low that hospitalization is necessary. In Sarah’s case, and most other cases, she can be treated as an outpatient with therapy. For long-term recovery it is critical to get the person who has an eating disorder help as soon as the problem is obvious. The longer the person with an eating disorder waits to get help the longer it will take to recover and the risk of relapse increases. Anorexia and bulimia can also so a lot of damage to a person’s body physically if it left untreated. This will only make individuals feel worse in the long run because they leave he/she looking and feeling terrible (Holtkamp, Hebebrand, & Herpertz-Dahlmann, 2004). In severe cases of anorexia and bulimia inpatient care is needed. Inpatient care has access to 24-hour a day clinical care and is a very structured environment. This may be just what the patient needs because many times the lives of patients with eating disorders are not very organized. There are ifferent levels of care in the hospital that gives the patients the option to â€Å"step-up† or â€Å"step-down† to. One reason that patients with eating disorders are placed in inpatient care in a hospital is when they also have a psychiatric disorder. Their psychiatric disorder may also require some special care that interferes with an eating disorder. Sarah is not at the point of needing inpatient care. In p atient care is usually only implemented in severe cases of anorexia or bulimia. Cognitive-behavioral therapy is one of the most effective types of therapy for bulimia. This type of therapy is highly structured and involves active participation of the patient. This type of therapy focuses on the thoughts and feelings that the patients have about eating and food. One of the main goals is establish a positive relationship with food. Along with establishing a positive relationship with food, cognitive-behavioral therapy focuses on creating a positive self-image and increasing self-esteem. Creating a positive self-image is a vital component in recovery. Cognitive-behavioral therapy emphasizes the importance of consuming regular meals (Mitchell, & Peterson, 1999). In order to determine if the patient is consuming regular meals and snacks he/she keeps detailed journals of what he/she eats and writes self-evaluations. During cognitive-behavioral therapy there are a few other aspects that have been helpful when to use for patients with bulimia. Identifying cues for when the bingeing or purging behaviors are going to occur helps the patient reduce his/her behavior by recognizing the cue and stopping themselves before they binge or purge. Patients with eating disorders do not have a healthy or regular meal schedule. Establishing a normal meal schedule and even a meal plan for what they are going to eat at each meal will help enforce regularity into the patients’ life. Research findings show that cognitive-behavioral therapy is successful in reducing bingeing and purging behaviors in individuals with bulimia nervosa. Reduction rates range from 40 percent to 97 percent (Mitchell, & Peterson,1999). For anorexia nervosa, cognitive-behavioral therapy has been found to be effective when used as individual therapy and group therapy combined. Using group therapy and individual therapy has resulted in a reduction in relapse and symptoms returning. Although it can be used for anorexia nervosa it is not the most effective treatment option for anorexia nervosa, but it is one of the most effective or bulimia. One problem with cognitive-behavioral therapy is that at the end of this therapy many patients still have some symptoms; that increases the risk for a relapse in the future. Nutritional counseling is an essential part of treatment for eating disorders. It can be done with the counselor that they are seeing for their cognitive-behavioral therapy or it can be a completely different counselor that is specialized in dietary nutrition. During nutritional therapy the patient learns about the importance of healthy eating. The patient is also taught about the effects on his/her mental and physical health when they deprive their body of the basic nutritional needs. Teaching patients’ to have a positive relationship with food is one of the most important aspects of treatment for individuals with eating disorders, because if he/she keeps a negative view of food then they will not be able to gain weight. Nutritional counseling sets up a new diet that includes the patient keeping a daily journal of what they eat. During nutritional counseling the patients’ learn that they need to eat food to be able to live and that they can eat food without feeling bad about themselves. Group therapy provides a supportive network of individuals who have the same eating disorder to share time and experiences with one another. During group therapy individuals can discuss their goals for the future, ways to change his/her behaviors, and alternate coping strategies. Group therapy for individuals with anorexia and bulimia is not always the most effective form of treatment. There are several advantages and disadvantages in group therapy. Group therapy allows individuals to share and teach about their own experiences with their eating disorder. Group therapy many not be appropriate for all individuals, but for those whom it is, they seem to benefit greatly. Patients with eating disorders often feel rejected by their families and friends, and when they are with other patients who are suffering from eating disorders then they will gain acceptance and feel cared about. Forming friendships with other patients in the group can help prevent a binge or take someone out of a depressed mood by a making a simple phone call. However, individuals with eating disorders also suffer from anxiety and are closed off to others, so putting them in a group therapy may not be that effective (Holtkamp, Hebebrand, & Herpertz-Dahlmann, 2004). They will not be willing to cooperate and share with others. Also, one cannot force individuals to be part of a group therapy and many people will not volunteer to be part of a group. One concern that therapists have with group therapy is that patients can get negative ideas from each other. For example if one patient is unaware of a type of medication that is used to induce vomiting he/she may try this as a new method. Patients may, also feel too much pressure from the other individuals in the group and withdraw themselves from the rest of the group and lie about their progress. Patients with anorexia and bulimia often show a low level in serotonin (Ferguson, La Via, & Crossan, 1999). Low levels of serotonin are often associated with depressive disorders and anxiety disorders. Many individuals who are suffering from an eating disorder such as anorexia or bulimia are also diagnosed with an anxiety or depressive disorder. Some of these disorders include social phobia, obsessive compulsive disorder, major depressive disorder, dysthmic disorder, and substance abuse. Medication is often used in treating anorexia and bulimia, because of the cormobidity with other mental disorders. The main purposes of using medication are to treat other psychiatric conditions, reduce sensitivity to stress, reduce anxiety and weight restoration. Medications have shown to be effective in these areas. Medication should not be the only type of treatment for an individual with an eating disorder. When using medication with another type of therapy, such a cognitive-behavioral or family therapy, should be implemented. The use of medication in the treatment for anorexia has not shown significant effects(Ferguson, La Via, & Crossan, 1999). When the use of fluoxetine, an antidepressant, was combined with nutritional and behavioral treatment, it has shown some effects in preventing relapse. It did not improve the mood or stimulate appetite in individuals. It has been shown to be most effect in the treatment of anorexia once there has been some weight gain and improvement in self-esteem. The use of pharmacology is much more promising for patients with bulimia. It doesn’t work for everyone with bulimia, but the use of antidepressants has resulted in significant reduction in bingeing and purging behaviors. The most popular form of antidepressants used are SSRI’s and Prozac has shown the best results for reducing behaviors associated with bulimia. When using medication for the treatment of anorexia and bulimia is important to follow several guidelines to protect the patients’ health. Doing a medical background check of the patient and his/her family health is important before beginning the patient in any type of medication. The use of medication should not take place until after nutritional rehabilitation has begun and the patient has already chosen another form of therapy to participate in while he/she is taking medication. A treatment method that is often overlooked is self-help. It is often overlooked because it very few medical professionals are involved in this type of treatment. This method involves the patient with an eating disorder becoming part of a group that is composed of people who have eating disorders or joining a community group that will have a high level of support. Support is one of the most important aspects that a person with an eating disorder needs in his/her life in order to have long-term success and a low relapse rate. There are many self-help groups for patients with eating disorders all over the world that are committed to helping individuals recover from an eating disorder. Self-groups may not be for everyone. It is important for individuals with an eating disorder to also have support from the people that are important in his/her life. Family and friends are the people that they interact with everyday and it is essential for the patient to have support from people that they are in contact with on a daily basis. Having support from family members is very helpful in treatment. Since family members are the people that the patient is most likely around the most it is important for them to understand the therapy process and be there for their family member when he/she needs them. In many cases, the family members and the way that a family functions can be part of the reason that the patient has developed an eating disorder. Most cases of eating disorders do not have direct causes because of the patients’ issues with food and weight. Problems within the family is one of the top causes for eating disorders. Family therapy is a popular option for patients with eating disorders the main goal of family therapy is to reduce family dysfunction and reorganize the family to help with the reduction of dysfunction. Family therapy involves the participation of the entire immediate family. During family therapy the role of the therapist is to provide the family with communication skills, conflict resolution skills, and support skills. Teaching family members how to have realistic expectations for one another and to develop strong and united relationships is another important aspect of the family. Family therapy is especially important to use with children and adolescents.