Culture and Cognition Essay Example for Free

Culture and Cognition Essay Culture may be defined as a combination of different traits of a social group. These traits or ways of life can be language, arts, sciences, thoughts, spirituality, social activities, interactions, and many more (â€Å"Definition†, n. d. ). The world has many peoples and thus many cultures, thus each has their own beliefs, traditions, and customs. Another characteristic of a certain culture may be cognition. Because of human diversity in traditions and customs, there is also diversity in intelligence. According to Cole, Gay, Glick, and Sharp (as cited in Sternberg, 2004), certain behaviors may be smart in one culture but plainly stupid in another (1971). Culture and Intelligence According to Robert Sternberg in his article entitled â€Å"Culture and Intelligence†, intelligence cannot be fully measured, developed, and conceptualized when it is outside the cultural context. This creates an impression that intelligence is a norm and being a deviant from that norm would mean less intelligence (2004, p. 1). An example given by Sternberg about intelligence tests shows an evidence of his argument. Any intelligence test created in one culture may not be valid in another culture. Sternberg also constructed models in order to determine if the culture has a significant effect on intelligence. On the third model, the dimensions of intelligence are the same as with the other models. However, the instruments used are different from the other models. The measurement process was therefore derived from the culture being studied and not from outside it. As this is done, the psychological meanings of the scores of the assessments change from one culture to another. Culture and Cognition Intelligence is just one of the cognitive characteristics of man. Culture, as well as social systems has a role in developing the people’s system of thought. This is according to Richard Nisbett, Incheol Choi, Laiping Peng, and Ara Norenzayan, when they studied the difference between easterners and westerners in terms of cognitive processes (2001). They stated that east Asians are holistic in their cognitive processes, focusing on an entire field and its causality. On the other hand, westerners such as Americans are analytic because they pay more attention on the object and the categories, making use of rules such as formal logic. The authors of this article suggest that the origin of these differences is traceable to different social systems (p. 291). They were able to conclude that there is still a very great difference between cultures. It is because of the circumstances brought about by these cultures that one process will always be different from another. Furthermore, the norms or the normative standards for though will differ across cultures (p. 306). The influence of culture has many implications in cognition. This insight may change the very definition of intelligence as related to different social systems. This also has a great effect in cognitive assessment since one measuring tool may not be appropriate for all cultures. Although international communication is already established, this information would give more understanding to people as to how others with different cultures are different to them in terms of learning styles, perception, and other aspects of cognition. It would also change the perception on people who are considered as intellectually inferior since intelligence no longer focuses on a dominant or normative standard set by those perceived as superior. References â€Å"Definition of Culture†, (n. d. ). Roshan Culture Heritage Institute. Retrieved 24 May 2010 from http://www. roshan-institute. org/templates/System/details. asp? id=39783PID =474552. Nisbett, R. E. , Peng, K. , Choi, I. , Norenzayan, A. (2001). Culture and Systems of Thought: Holistic versus Analytic Cognition. Psychological Review. 108(2), pp. 291-310. Sternberg, R. (2004). â€Å"Culture and Intelligence†. American Psychologist. 59(5), pp. 325- 338.

The Problem Of Determinism And Free Will

The Problem Of Determinism And Free Will I will be concerned with the problem of determinism and free will. In particular, I will be addressing Ayers argument that we cannot be held morally responsible for our actions. Ayers argument can be summarised as: P1. All human actions are governed by causal laws, or they are not. P2. If they are, then they are necessary. P3. If they are not, then they must occur by chance. P4. If they occur by chance, we are not acting freely. C. We cannot act freely. (Ayer 1963, 255) I will argue that P2 and P3 are problematic as they do not acknowledge alternative positions on the subject. I will weaken his thesis by establishing the plausibility of compatibilism and libertarianism. I hold that we are morally responsible for our actions. In this paper, I will firstly adopt a compatibilist stance. Compatibilists hold that freedom is possible in a deterministic world. Adopting this conception of freedom will refute P2. I will secondly argue the plausibility of libertarianism. Libertarians believe that we are free agents and that the universe is not wholly deterministic. The issue of determinism and free will is important because it deals with the moral responsibility of our actions. Van Inwagen implied that free will will forever remain a metaphysical mystery (Van Inwagen 1998, 374). With this in mind, my endeavour will be a cautious one. I will not set out to prove anything; rather I will establish the possibilities of my theories. I will begin the discussion by introducing soft determinism. Subscribing to soft determinism will attack Ayers premise that determinism is not compatible with freedom. He assumes an incompatibilist stance by stating causal laws nullify freedom. An incompatibilist stance is one that asserts free will cannot exist in a deterministic world. I hold that by ignoring compatibilism, he has left P2 vulnerable. I will expose this by validating the possibility of compatibilism. This inquiry will be driven by Humes notion of soft determinism, as I believe it to be the most prominent compatibilist argument. Hume holds that freedom is possible in a deterministic world. He challenged his contemporary philosophers, believing they laid in a labyrinth of obscure sophistry (Hume 1748, 54). He believed part of the dispute stemmed from a common misunderstanding between determinists and libertarians. This could be resolved by marrying the two factions together. To be free, he argued, we require necessity (Hume, 66). A common view of liberty is the cessation of an act neither being caused nor necessitated. I find this grossly problematic. If an act is not determined, it is merely an act of randomness. By rejecting necessity, Libertarians are inflicting self-harm. If our actions were not determined, they could only have been derived from chance (Hume, 66). To Hume, this is a fatal flaw in libertarianism. While rejecting liberty, Hume also attacks hard determinism. He proposes that freedom should be defined as unimpeded actions that are guided by our desires. Even though our desires are determined, they are caused by our desires (Hume, 66). Acts are effects of will, thus we are morally responsible for willing the determined acts. This is contrary to Taylor (1963 43) who states that we should not be held responsible for our acts, as we could have willed differently. In short, we are free agents because we are free to act in the confines of determinism. If we grant Humes concept of freedom, P2 of Ayers argument can be rejected. The difficulty, however, is establishing how this weakened form of freedom permits moral responsibility. I will now critically assess criticisms to Humean compatibilism. Critics will contend that Humes conception of free will negates moral necessity. This view is widespread among incompatibilists (i.e. hard determinists and libertarians). They hold that freedom cannot suffice in a deterministic world. Granted determinism is true; our freedom is confined to a fate which we cannot avoid. We are free to act, but not to choose. For example, I fed my dog at 6:00pm tonight because of the antecedent variables that guided my decision at 6:00pm. What if, however, I asked myself at 6:00 my mind is telling me to feed the dog now, but I will deliberately feed her at 6:01, as to avoid making a determined choice? If I did that, it would have already been antecedently calculated into the determined variables in guiding my decision. Hard determinists also like to ascribe a logical precondition to determinism. If a past event showed Þ Ã ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ x, then Þ was always to be x (Aristotle Accessed 8/9/2010). This is like saying as I fed my dog at 6:00pm; I was always going to feed her at 6:00pm. This outcome was true tonight, just as it was true millennia ago or millennia from now. Looking back, granted determinism is true, was I still free even though it was logically impossible for me to feed her at different time? Hume would argue that the decision at 6:00pm was an act of the will, therefore I did have freedom. Conversely, it seems irresistible to attack the fact that I was inexplicably fated to act the way I did. Nonetheless, I hold that I acted freely at 6:00pm. I will argue that incompatibilists undermine the importance of freedom of actions. They do this by granting undeserved authority to freedom of choice. Freedoms of actions, I hold, are the main protagonists of free will. To establish this point I will go against the external constraint hypothesis found in many incompatibilist arguments. As Campbell puts it, a robot would not be held morally responsible for its actions (Campbell 1957, 158). To him, the robot analogy is analogous to humans if determinism is true. This is because he believes necessity eliminates moral responsibility, because like robots, would be programmed to follow our antecedental path. I constructed this common incompatibilist argument as: P1. Determinism is true P2. If P1, all outcomes are products of antecedental causes P3. If P2, there is no freedom of choices P4. For moral responsibility to exist there must be freedom of choices C. There is no moral responsibility if determinism is true While this argument seems plausible, I believe that it is ignorant. Moral responsibility does not require the freedom of choices. It is problematic to ascribe this precondition to free will. The term freedom of choice looks to be an appealing prerequisite for free will but it is really quite a mischievous term. This term negates necessity, as the causal function would be disproved. Without necessity, the only plausible output is chance. Compared with necessity, chance is a far less consistent foundation to build moral responsibility. With determinism, our actions are based on our willings. Without determinism, our actions are based on randomness. This is why I hold P4 to be fallacious. I stand with Hume in the view that determinism actually privileges freedom. Proving it plausible to reject Ayers argument on P2, I will now attack P3. Interestingly, the villains in this previous passage are now the heroes. I will be concerned with the arguments for liberty. Ayer states that if human actions are not causally determined, then they must occur by chance (P3). Libertarians contend this by arguing that the universe is not wholly deterministic, thus there is a margin for freedom to exist. The difficulty, however, is establishing how there is a mechanism of freedom which operates in this margin. As Ayer implies, outcomes can only be a product of either necessity or chance (Ayer, 255). If we reject this, we must find a different input altogether. This input must be plausible and a source of responsibility. Though this seems like a daunting task, some have heroically taken this path. Libertarians hold that the world is not wholly deterministic. They also believe that Þ did not have to x. It is not because of chance that Þ did not have to x, but because of an effort of the will. Campbell coined the term moral effort in establishing that Þ does not always x (Campbell, 164). These inner acts, which are needed to extrapolate moral effort, are based on first-person experiences. Furthermore, they are derived from conscious awareness. According to Campbell, some situations necessitate moral effort. For example, if I told my mother a lie about my whereabouts last Saturday night, this would constitute an act dictated by my inner self. This is because I am theoretical agent as I am a practical one (Campbell, 169). Taking this approach, however, is questionable. Campbell also claims we only need a small metaphysical niche to obtain free will. This claim is also open for scepticism. I will deal with these objections next. One possible criticism of Campbell is how he distinguishes practical beings from theoretical ones. Using my lying analogy, the determinist could reject this by stating that the antecedental conditions made me lie. There was no need for me to possess a theoretical cognitive capacity. The determinist would argue that the reflective sense-making can be explained via antecedental means. This objection, however, is taken from a third-person stance. Campbell could respond by claiming that my decision was an act of my inner self, and only I could comprehend the moral effort contained in the act. There is no evidence to support Campbell but there are also no grounds to refute him on through empirical means. When I told the lie, I was the sole author, and, according to Campbell, I am the sole reader too (Campbell, 159). His claim that free will can be verified by a metaphysical entity is also debatable. Even if we grant the existence of such a thing, how could it escape predetermination and c hance? And why should we exhort moral effort rather than withhold it? Campbell concedes that the nature of making choices is inexplicable (Campbell, 169). The mysterious nature that he ascribes to choice is quite useful. Although Campbells argument is far from imposable, it is quite tricky to dismiss entirely. Its resistance to scientific scrutiny is why it can be deemed plausible at the very least. This being said, P3 of Ayers argument is certainly disputable. In conclusion, it can be seen that P2 and P3 of Ayers argument are open to objection. We have observed that compatibilism contends Ayers premise that necessity diminishes freedom. From a Humean perspective, we saw that the concept of freewill was actually privileged by existence of necessity. This was because the view of freedom without necessity was seen to be unintelligible. By redefining freedom, we can see how free will can exist in a deterministic world. Contrary to popular belief, I argued that this revised concept of freedom was not undermined in any significant way. This is because freedom of choice is an overrated and problematic phenomenon. My second attack was on Ayers premise that necessity and chance are the only possible inputs for outcomes. Guided by Campbells view of libertarianism, I established the possibility of actions being guided by my inner consciousness. This inexplicable concept is embellished in a mysterious metaphysical nature, which is difficult to compreh end. While the determinist may contend that these inner acts are really forecasted acts, it is possible that I am also a theoretical being thus I evade the principles of physicality. While it has been observed that both my endeavours were conflicting one another, my aim was to undermine Ayers argument by any means necessary. If we grant the plausibility of these theories, we grant the plausibility of moral responsibility.

An ageing population problem

An ageing population problem An ageing population problem is when a country has a high percentage of old generation people. There is no doubt that the ageing population is becoming serious problem in human lives, and the population of the world is becoming older and this is one of the most significant demographic events in the world today. This is caused because of more common medical facilities, which can supply for sick or injured people quicker, and, because of advances in modern technology and scientific research, treatments for illnesses have been discovered. This means that people are more possible to live longer than they would have done in the past. The United Nations found that the ranks of 60 year olds and older are growing 1.9% a year, which is 60% faster than the overall world population. They predicted that by the year 2050, there may be four people age 15-65 worldwide. Currently the ratio in year 2000 is nine to one. These indicate that the elderly will outnumber the children (BusinessWeek 2005). Also, knowledge about good produces people healthier. No more than twenty to thirty years ago, the most valuable thing was just to eat. They did not care about food. But now, a majority of people desire healthy food.As a result, knowledge about food and health make people live longer. This essay will discuss about how can the government solve these problems, and what problems might governments face with an ageing population. The ageing of population occurs because the numbers of birth rates have refused, or are declining in almost everywhere and also because older generation people are surviving to enjoy longer lives. Nowadays, current peoples educational level is very high. So, most people are more educated about the foods they eat and about health in common. Most of the current people think â€Å"Health is the most important.†, and I agree with them. So, physical fitness has developed into big business all over the world. In the morning, many people exercise. For example, jogging, dancing and so on. Some people go to the fitness, health and Yoga club to control their health. A period exercise can avoid light or dangerous diseases. In richer countries, their birth and death rates started to decline in the 19th century or past. It leads to effects and problems which will show in below. There is main effect of population ageing. The main effect is slower economic growth. When a large part of the population starts to move from pre-retirement to the post-retirement age group, the effect is that it slowed down the growth of the working age population. This means that there will be lower growth in per capita incomes and lower growth in the total economy. It is believed that the results of working will be lower than before when young generation are working. On the other hand, according to the OECD, ‘older workers are more costly than younger workers, because of higher payment, fringe benefits and social payments. But some companies do not see this situation.   As the training payments for the younger workers will be far more expensive, companies are better of just keeping the younger worker. The following equation, provide by (Gemma, T, 2005) shows in the simplest terms the relationship that must hold between the numbers of pensioners and workers and their incomes: twLà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ °Ã‚ ¡bR L is the number of workers and R is the number of retired people. w is the income of each worker and b is the income of each retired person, while t is the proportion of workers incomes transferred to pensioners. As the population ages, the ratio of non-workers to workers (R/L) increases (assuming that retirement ages do not change sufficiently to offset the rise in life expectancy). In 2004, there were approximately 4 working age individuals (aged 20-64) for every 1 person aged 65 and over. By 2056 this ratio is predicted to fall to about 2:1. The result of this is that one (or a combination) of the following must occur: 1. The incomes of retired people will have to fall relative to those of working age people (b/w falls), 2. The proportion of workers incomes transferred to pensioners (t) will have to rise, 3. People will have to retire later. This increases the number of workers and decreases the number of retired people (Gemma, T, 2005). As can be seen in this article, if the age of retirement is upping, the numbers of workers are increasing and numbers of retired people are decreasing. Another solution is that employ people who foreign workers. Nowadays, it is difficult to immigrate to rich country for them who live in poverty countries. If the government makes it easier than before, it will not be happen. According to David in this article, there are three of solutions. Make people work more. European countries will have to rise the retirement age and draw more people, especially women, into the labour force. This will require much more flexible labour markets. Let in more immigrants. But this is only part of the answer. If Germany were to rely on immigrants to keep its ratio of workers to pensioners constant, its population would consist of 80 per cent foreigners by 2050. Have more babies. This does not mean traditional roles for women. Italy, where few women work, has on of the lowest birth rates in the world. Feminism is the new natalism. (David, M,2003) It can be seen that it leads to many problems, there are three main problems. The one of problem is health care. It is widely believed that the elderly people is increasing nowadays, however, there is no enough place to support them to keep their good condition of health. Good health is about more than just physical wellbeing. Its about peoples happiness and mental wellbeing too. However, for example, in Korea, a lot of elderly people have to care for themselves even they can get a money from the government, because that money is not enough to live. In addition, they do not have opportunities to work to earn money. In my opinion, older people should have satisfactory financial security to continue their quality of life and wellbeing. People are living longer, and gradually more demand nursing care, medication and management as their health get worse. Nurses working with older people need to empathise that the older patient has had a lifetime of dealing with stressors and in doing so have developed a range of coping mechanisms which include cognitive, behavioural and emotional responses and methods (Morris, V, 2007). Thus, the government should consider that improved financial planning for older age, increasing older peoples incomes and reducing costs for older people. Many of the actions necessary to deal with these priorities are central government responsibilities. However, the importance of these issues is recognised within the county.   Ageing may be accompanied by deteriorating health, a declining quality of life and increased demands on the health services (Department of Health, 2005). Some people argue that spending money on the elderly is a waste of money; it is better to spend on the young who can still contribute to society, however, we must first look at the fact that the elderly were once the young and were contributing to our society. Without their effort our developed society, which we succeed in, may not have been achieved. The spending, on the elderly, could therefore be seen as the least we could do for all the profits they worked for to give to us. However, there is the other side of the coin. If we were to spend money on the young, it would possibly have benefits for our society in the future. For example, if we were to spend money on education we could try and make sure that the young would develop into highly skilled workers, able to compete in the global economy. The elderly, as we already recognize, cannot contribute to society and we could say that further spending is a waste of money, when there are so many more benefits when spending it on the young. We could therefore say that the time has passed for the elderly. Elderly people can abuse or neglect themselves by not caring about their own personal health and well-being. Elder self-neglect can lead to illness, injury or even death. Common needs that the elderly person might deny themselves or ignore are the following: Sustenance (food or water) Cleanliness (bathing and personal hygiene) Adequate clothing for climate protection Proper shelter Adequate safety Clean and healthy surroundings Medical attention for serious illness Essential medications (The Economist, 2004). Many countries already have occupied steps toward developing their old-age social insurance programs which can help them who elderly people. In my opinion, every country should have those programmes; it brings about elderly people feel more comfortable.   Another problem that the organizations face is the loss of knowledge resulting from older workers leaving the organization without passing on their knowledge to others. As greater numbers of â€Å"knowledge workers† retire, they take with them insight about managing key customer relationships, handling exceptions to critical processes and a host of other experiences that can cost organizations significant amounts of time, energy and resources to recreate or replace. This will cause the organization to repeat their past mistakes and expose itself to additional financial and operational risk. General Kofi Adnan, United Nation secretary, said that â€Å"in Africa, it is said that when an old man dies, a library disappears† (BusinessWeek 2005). Finally, the government might be face with ageing population problems, thus, there are some solutions which the government should do. As this essay mentioned that age of retirement is upping, more babies and let in more immigrants. In addition, the government should try to find out more solutions. For example, the Australian government has three decision which are raise taxes for the young, It can use funds, which were to be used for other pressing long-term concerns e.g. environmental degradation and It can try to get the money to fund the bulge in the population by getting money out of them whilst they are still at working age. Also, campaigners for the elderly have suggested a number of solutions for the supposed problems. For instance the government could pay for long-term health care costs and the residential costs paid for by the individual. The government must also stress the need to younger generations to plan for their future by investing in private pensions as it has been estimated that around 8 million people in work are not members of occupational or personal pension schemes (Lg-employers,2004). In conclusion, an ageing population means that better and more general services will need to be created to supply for the elderly. If society is willing to change its attitudes on the elderly then in the future they will be treated with respect rather than a trouble.

NAFTA - A Crime Against Humanity Essay -- Globalization Free Trade

NAFTA - A Crime Against Humanity   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Generally, when most think of a crime against humanity, the most common synonym is genocide. Kosovo, Cambodia, Sudan, and Poland are all instances when genocide occurred and the public rightly labeled these instances as crimes against humanity. Within our modern world there are means other than the preconceived notion of genocide to systematically remove a specific group from their rights as humans. Using the relations between Mexico and the United States as an example, the need for a broadened interpretation of human rights violations will be established.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   On January 1st 1994, the North American Free Trade Agreement went into effect. The purpose of NAFTA is to reduce and eventually erase trade barriers, allowing the importing and exporting of goods and services to occur with ease. NAFTA began life as an agreement between the United States and Canada, and then in 1992, Mexico joined the venture. The union of these countries made sense, mainly because of their proximity to each other, and the benefits that each would soon come to realize. Some of the key contents in the NAFTA agreement include a removal of tariffs on goods, protection of intellectual property, and easier access to invest in foreign industries. These new trade agreements would increase the flow of cheap goods from Mexico to the U.S., thus lowering cost of living, and create higher paying jobs for the indigenous Mexican workers (Chomsky).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The generally con...

Neuroplasticity and Justice Essay -- Neuroplasticity and the Law

Justice is often thought of in nebulous terms. As such, it is often viewed through a philosophical lens. Indeed, justice has been examined by prominent philosophers such as John Rawls and Friedrich Hayek. Often regarded as a â€Å"soft science,† the idea of justice finds itself the subject of a theoretical framework rather than of scientific study. Despite this theoretical view, much of the theory surrounding justice seeks to determine the causes for a given type of behavior. These theories discuss which penological methods work to correct these behaviors. However, the theory that one can modify his or her brain in order to create new behaviors exists within the scientific biological/psychological realm. By contrast, there are those who believe that the brain is stagnant for most of the human lifespan. This paper will argue two points. First, emotional connotations associated with justice are synonymous with neurology and cognitive functioning, thus solidifying the need for an examination of justice within a biological context. Second, although justice has practical applications as a philosophical construct, it should be examined through the biological lens of neuroplasticity and the human propensity for change. Although justice is often examined philosophically, the theories behind the collective understanding of justice are largely psychological. For example, when examining introductory criminal justice literature, one may discover that behaviorism is discussed. Behaviorism hinges on operant conditioning. Operant conditioning suggests behavior is more likely to occur when it is reinforced with reward and less likely to occur when it is punished (Fuller, 2010, p. 90). This reasoning is consistent with common ret... ...rrents. (2nd ed., Vol. 1, p. 90-91). New Jersey: Pearson Education Inc. Jackman, T. (2012, February 27). Family still seeks justice in "friendly fire" death. The Washington Post, p. A1. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.proxy.consortiumlibrary.org/docview/923517276 Volkow, N. D. United States Department of Health and Human Services, (2008). Neuroscience blueprint promotes efficiency, synergy. Retrieved from http://www.drugabuse.gov/news-events/nida-notes/2008/06/neuroscience-blueprint-promotes-efficiency-synergy Welke, J. R. (1978). Incarceration: A national policy issue. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 1(5), 5-6. doi: 10.1177/104398627800100105 Wenzel, M., Okimoto, T. G., Feather, N. T., & Platow, M. J. (2008). Retributive and restorative justice. Law and Human Behavior, 32(5), 375-389. Retrieved from http//www.jstor.org/stable/25144639

Walmart Essay -- GCSE Business Marketing Coursework Essays

Walmart Case Definition of Main Problem: There can be no argument that Wal*Mart has revolutionized the discount retailing industry. Furthermore, CEO Glass and COO Soderquist have stepped in at the helm of this company and continued to take it in the right direction by quadrupling sales and profits from 1987 to 1993. The main problem they now face is how to sustain their phenomenal performance, and becoming number one has magnified this issue. No longer can they just sneak into small towns where the only competition is the local merchant’s shop. No longer can they copy larger companies like Sears and J.C. Penny’s because of their size and scope. The fact is, Wal*Mart is bigger than these companies and their direct competitors Kmart and Target are doing everything in their power to close that gap. They are lurking not so quietly in the shadows, benefiting from Wal*Mart’s past choices, successes, and failures. They are there to blow the whistle if Wal*Mart steps outside the lines. Wal*Mart may be growing, but at a rate under 10% for the first time in years. Shareholders are concerned, the press is relentless, and many obstacles lie in their path if they hope to continue the trends Sam Walton set so ambitiously in 1962. Analysis: With one of their main issues being sustained profitability, Wal*Mart is at a critical time in their life. They are no longer the hero, a place commonly reserved for competitors striving to be number one, because Wal*Mart is number one. No one can debate how effective they have been in getting here. Through their focus on superior technology and low cost leadership, Wal*Mart reigned supreme. They are redefining Porter’s five forces model in the discount retailing industry, and are in the enviable position of having first mover’s advantage. Yet this blessing is also a curse. By virtue of their efficient, effective system and its proven success, companies like Kmart and Target are watching closely and both emulating and improving upon this system. An analysis of the five forces model will show Wal*Mart’s main competitive advantages in supplier power and barriers to entry. A look into their distribution centers and how they have been instrumental in reducing supplier power will be followed by an analysis of how effective first mover advantage has been and where they must take it next. Early in the history of... ...rn to introduction and growth as opposed to decline). Thirdly, there are areas both domestic and abroad relatively untouched by Wal*Mart: large cities. Though it may seem like untapped potential in these markets, it is not recommended to expand in these highly populated areas. The axiom, â€Å"If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,† applies: If Wal*Mart were to do an about-face and start expanding in this form, it would send mixed signals about not only changes in the corporate strategy, but also about the future of this conglomeration of stores. This is especially poignant at this volatile time in the price of their stocks. They should also be extremely cautious in the acquisition of existing discount retailing companies. As the industry becomes more concentrated, Wal*Mart’s selectivity in large acquisitions extends beyond just profits. Many times, Wal*Mart could better spend their resources by improving existing stores or building new ones because they can build them around their ideologies at a much lower cost than through purchasing other companies. Again, this is not to say they should not expand in this manner, just that they need to be extremely selective when doing so.

Culture affects Essay

This essay will be focussed on comparing two scenes from two different plays, the main characters and their personalities, and how their culture affects them.  The two plays in question are Arthur Miller’s â€Å"The Crucible† and â€Å"Blackrock† by Nick Enright.  Arthur Miller was an American playwright who was born in 1915. He grew up in New York to a Jewish family. He graduated from the University of Michigan in 1938 where he began to distinguish himself as a playwright. His play â€Å"The Crucible† was written in 1953 and later adapted to a film starring Daniel Day Lewis and Winnona Rider in 1996. â€Å"The Crucible† inspired by the Salem Witch Trials. A group of innocent girls are caught dancing and chanting in the forest around a fire. (Puritan England where all forms of dancing and enjoyment would be strictly forbidden) To save themselves from being punished, they cry witchcraft and within days the whole town goes mad searching for the presence of the ‘Devil’ and his witches. The few honest and true people who do not lie to save themselves from hanging are coldly murdered, including John Proctor the main male role. Nick Enright was born in Maitland in New South Wales. He started his career in the theatre as a teenager and wrote Blackrock in 19 and later on in 1997 was adapted to a film. â€Å"Blackrock† about a teen’s idyllic surfer lifestyle is shattered when a young girl is brutally murdered after a beach party and the investigation comes close to his circle of friends. The young man Jared, must deal with his conscience and his sense of loyalty to his friends.  Both the plays â€Å"Blackrock† and â€Å"The Crucible† although set in different time periods, both have a main character faced with some sort of personal moral dilemma. The decision between right and wrong, and having the courage to put yourself at risk on behalf of others. Act 4 of â€Å"The Crucible† The scene changes from the Vestry in the Courthouse to Salem jail.  Marshall Herrick enters and wakes up Goody Good and Tituba so that they can be moved to a different cell.  Tituba tells Herrick that they await the Devil, who will fly them to Barbados.  The Reverend Hale arrives and tells the prisoners that they must confess to being witches in order to thwart the ridiculous Court and avoid being hanged. Reverend Parris discovers that Abigail and Mercy Lewis have disappeared after robbing Parris and he suspects they may have boarded a ship. Parris delays telling Danforth this news because he fears that there will be a rebellion in Salem similar to the recent uprising in Andover. There they threw out the Court, as the people were unhappy with the proceedings.  When Danforth learns about the disappearance of Abigail he still considers that the evidence stands and will not postpone the executions for it would be a sign of weakness. Hale pleads with him to reconsider or at least give him time to persuade the prisoners to confess. Reverend Hale is having difficulties in persuading the seven condemned to death to confess, and he pleads again with Danforth for more time. He senses that Proctor is considering confessing, so he asks Elizabeth to talk to her husband stressing the future in store for their children if he is hanged. Elizabeth feels responsible for Proctor’s situation because she lied in Court. She also feels guilty for being suspicious about her husband after the affair with Abigail. She tells Proctor that she totally forgives him for the affair. Proctor hopes that if he makes an oral confession in Court, that will be sufficient for his Judges, but they require it in writing and it will be posted on the Church door. He cannot face this and, therefore, retracts his confession. He would rather die, and preserve his good name.