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Steve Jobs Commencement Speech at Stanford University

Steve Jobs Commencement Speech at Stanford University

The inspirational words spoken by Jobs still have greater effects on various business leaders and people around the world especially his ability to link his message and the intended audience. In the Commencement address by Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios he said, “You’ve got to find what you love”. Steve Jobs delivered the message on June 12, 2005. He, as an elder and achiever, strives to give his audience who graduate from Stanford University some wisdom and inspirations. In his speech, Jobs tells three stories from his life to encourage his audience unhurriedly face to their life and tenaciously pursue their love. These three stories are about “connecting the dots”, “love and lost” and “death”. Steve Jobs establishes his credibility, influence, and sometimes combines multiple rhetorical strategies to affect his audience to accept these enlightenments of life.

To entirely understand goal of Steve Jobs in creating his argument on speech, the anticipated audience, apparent purpose and context ought to be initially analyzed. This presentation is at Stanford University as commencement. The audiences include top brains from the finest universities in the world. Steve Jobs advices and enlightens the graduates who are about to face life. In context, being an achiever, he imperceptibly uses his own life stories to convince his audience because the stories are reality. Steve Jobs’ humble beginning and the fact that he never graduated indicates that he has a lower starting point than these graduates thus confirming the reality of his stories.

Steve Jobs’ ethos, pathos and the structure of speech largely influences his speeches and arguments. He presents his opinion and history as evidence that creates rhetorical backing in ethos. Steve makes himself an individual who is determined even in times of obstacles to overcome challenges that face him and make them perfect (Web). He advises his audience that failure can sometimes be good and are some of the things that make him successful. He connects well with his audience because of his success and position as a role model. Job creates a person everyone would want to become even if his fame. He develops emotional connection with his audience and this deepens the relationship and makes them to strive to become like him.

Steve Jobs tells a story concerning his battle with cancer and this works well in convincing his audience who can relate with cancer. The cancer issue brings emotion into picture and enhances a good connection with his audience. It makes him prove the point that time is precious and death can actually take place anytime and further let the audience understand where he comes from (Jobs Web). Steve uses his life experiences to play upon his rhetorical strategies. In his address, he uses love and loss as universal emotions common to all humans to attract the audience attention and make the speech connect with the graduates emotionally. He tells audience to utilize their intuition and follow their hearts to become happy. He further uses repetitive structures and speaks of adversity as a road to success. Steve Jobs, just like any other prominent speaker uses emotional anecdotes to represent their own personality and history. He begins his life story with his unwed graduate mother who put him up for adoption and other clearly disadvantaged background as a poor child (Jobs Web).

Apart from using his challenges in convincing the audience, he tells the audience to believe in themselves by giving example on how he started from a simple beginning. Steve Jobs reminds the students that even the most unfortunate and poor students can achieve success in their lives. He also explains about a company he started that later grew into a big company and this reminds the grads that even them they can start off things humbly and be successful. Steve Jobs reminds the audience that they can reach greater heights if they follow their dreams just like him. He digs deep into his intimate lifestyle issues and uses pathos to tap into the grads’ feelings of sympathy. Steve Jobs proves a strong man with ability to conquer challenges and his three stories make him an example of hard work as a precursor to success (Jobs Web). Steve Jobs successfully tells three different stories representing three different rhetorical strategies to make his speech better, inspiring, and more believable to his audience. He makes the students believe that success is just within their reach and the insight offers a stronger connection for the grads. Jobs’ speech shows his audience that outlook on life is simple and that is what entails success (Web).

While proving the capability of starting from a small beginning, he nicely organizes his speech to sound connective and rhetorical. The structure of Jobs’ speech sounds connective and rhetorical because he sets it high topically by including three stories thus enabling him make his point and connect his arguments in an organized manner. Jobs did not just spill his points in random times and moments but organized them in a systematic manner making him to connect issues to an overall point of finding. Steve Jobs’ creation of language structure relates with the three stories and three varying messages including connecting the dot, love and loss and death (Web). His ability to connect the three stories with the intended messages enables his audience to follow them easily. Steve establishes his arguments with rhetorical backing and his speech is only supported through opinionated and personal experiences.

Jobs speech is easily understood because he uses simple topics and words in structuring his speech such as starting the animation studio Pixar, NeXT and bounces to Apple (Web). He shows students that challenges and adversity can make them better and stronger by explaining that his life was initially good, took a wrong turn, and eventually became much better. Jobs speech is organized in a very consistent way as he honestly, but loosely introduces his topics. As he introduces his third topic, he gives it a brief, simple, and elegant phrase, “death” and the ability to speak in a simple manner makes him appear honest and builds the logos of his argument.

Besides simplicity and word structuring, Jobs applies frankness and honesty in his speech such as the comment he makes when he talking about death. He says that “Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it” (Web). Jobs informs the students that the truth of the matter is that they will all die and therefore they need to utilize the time they have to ensure that they follow their passion and desires. He tells the students that they should not live with regrets by failing to do what they are best in. These forthright remarks and visible evidence that success is attainable tend to encourage the grads to follow their hearts and emphasizes on his heart-wrenching rhetoric.

Within Steve Jobs’ presentation is a structured and suggestive argument purposed in persuading his audience to follow their passion in order to achieve success. His speech was developed in a way in which life experience examples and evidences are highlighted while occasionally pairing them with powerful emotions. Besides, without his personal experience regarding the topic of success, none of these strategies would have been as effective towards his audience. Steve Jobs intertwines these multiple parts of persuasion to convince the audience of the significance of following passion. He nicely connects the three stories with his emotions leaving the graduates empowered. Steve Jobs uses emotionally charged stories as well as elegant, simple and intellect words in his speech to portray his character and eligibility that work well in addressing and motivating the graduates.

Works Cited

Jobs, Steve. “How to Live Before You Die” Stanford University. Stanford University, 14 June 2005. Web. 11 Feb. 2014. <http://news.stanford.edu/news/2005/june15/jobs-061505.html>.

Socratic believes in the central ide of dialectic method of enquiry that was largely used to solve a problem by disintegratin

Socratic

Socratic believes in the central idea of dialectic method of enquiry that was largely used to solve a problem by disintegrating it into a series of questions. This technique is widely used currently even in the field of science where hypothesis is initially introduced in every scientific method. This method is one of the most celebrated issues in the Socrates’ most enduring influences. Socrates believed that by asking numerous questions, one would be able to assess his level of belief and knowledge he possess thus making it a negative method of eliminating hypothesis. Socratic Method is indeed suitable in identifying the best hypothesis after eliminating all the contradictions. This is crucial in making an individual to evaluate own belief and verify its validity

Socratic Method arguably brings the best out of every burning question and strengthens an individual belief thus clarifying the concepts of good and justice. Socratic Method is really amazing as it helps an individual to examine own belief and eventually evaluate their worth which is an important thing in every individual. Belief regarding wisdom and ignorance is really amazing and justifiable in the society. Someone’s deeds cannot surpass the individual’s level of intelligence and ignorance and this clearly draws line between what may be perceived to be a wise decision and an irrational act or decision.

Additionally, the belief that an individual must concentrate more on self-development but not on material things is indeed significant and realistic. In the current society most people depend mostly on material things forgetting about the need to develop as a person. Friendship and love is gradually loosening its meaning in the current society as everybody is busy making money or concentrating on an electronic gadget. People tend to forget about some vital values such as philosophical and intellectual values which were really supported by Socrates simply because of material things. With all these issues put in place, it is evident that materialism is indeed the enemy of achieving the ideal life and therefore people should focus on quest to goodness, virtue, justice, integrity and friendship as Socrates puts it.

Generally Socratic beliefs are commonly used in the society and are likely to be the best tool in coming up with resolution in almost every hot argument. It is easy to let people think about a particular situation at hand rather than just engaging in unconstructive talks. An individual may let his audiences to view issues in his own perspective and minimizing any unnecessary conflict through the use of Socratic Method.

Practically, Socratic Method is used in various places specifically in education where learners are challenged to enhance their critical thinking. This method appreciates the existing knowledge and understanding within an individual learner hence promoting the enhancement of the already existing understanding. Logically, I think this would boost learners reasoning skills as well as rational thinking. Eventually rational thinking and understanding leads to deeper grasp of every topic taught and further enables learners understand their roles and responsibilities in whatever they are undertaking. Actually the issue of self-awareness and validation of one’s belief makes Socratic ideas the most interesting ones.

Counselor Ethical Boundaries And Practices

Counselor Ethical Boundaries And Practices

Introduction

The intention of the course is to offer understanding of the perception of ethics and boundary matters relating to the professionals in the mental health field. The marriage and family therapists, social workers and counselors are guided by ethical principles. The key objective of the study is to assist the reader understand that the ethics observed in this profession are intended to protect the profession, public, clients and practitioners. Ethics is not related to science. In addition, they are not recorded at any place. They are stated generally in order to leave the user with a room for modifying the stated principles to complement the situation on hand. The field is principally about analyzing morality. An individual can get entangled in a tricky situation while trying to determine the best decision to take in some situations. Keep reading for more practical knowledge on counselor ethical boundaries and practices.

Boundary Issues and Dual Relationships

The boundaries and dual relationships concepts are closely associated although they are not identical. The relationship occurs when an individual has a couple of responsibilities simultaneously to a client (Syme, 2003). For instance, a counselor treating a client who is a business partner, friend, teacher or relative is an example of a dual relationship.

In order to avoid violating or crossing boundaries, there are four regulations that counselors should follow. First, the fiduciary obligation should be accomplished. This is the basic obligation to the counselor which involves which involves concentrating in enhancing the well being of clients. Second, the counselor has a role of abstinence. The only gratification acceptable to the counselor is the fee paid and the positive improvement of the patient due to the therapy offered. Third, the therapist should maintain a strict counselor-client relationship. Integrating emotions in the therapy can compromise confidence, clarity, trust, expectations and rules between the patient and the counselor. Lastly, the counselor should work within the roles and boundaries of a therapist. The expert should work within the professional limits. Therapists should have slightly higher power than clients such that they can recommend patients to take therapy approach that is against their wishes.

In some cases, some of these relationships are unethical, but there are other times when they are not. For example, if the therapists live in a small community where they are the only qualified counselors; their child’s teacher, hair dresser or friend’s wife may have no other option apart from seeking treatment service from them. These dual relationships are intricate and ambiguous since the patients can seek medication either online. Alternatively, they can travel to the nearest town with counselors.

However, the online treatment might be less effective or more costly than the local counselor. In addition, the patient might require visiting the health expert several times before recovering fully (Syme, 2003). The cost of travelling to another place or attending regular physical lessons when receiving online treatment can be too much for some patients to bear. In such a case, therapists opt to treat patients (Syme, 2003). They also avoid crossing professional counseling ethics by having their fees and patients’ recovery as the only gratification. In addition, they ensure to offer appropriate treatment, as well as avoid integrating emotions when treating them. They also maintain higher authority such that they decide the best therapy approach for their patients.

Another example of a complex and ambiguous situation that may raise boundary issues is a state where a client is dropped in my clinic by a friend who promises to come back for him or her, but he later fails to show up due to an emergency at home. It is getting late, and the weather is vulgar such that the public transport plying the route is not available. The only mode of transports available is taxis, but they have hiked the cost drastically because of the dangerous roads. It is getting late, and my home is on the opposite. Although she can walk home, the therapist is afraid that she would be vulnerable to risks such as lightening strikes and exposure to excess cold. On the contrary, she could have deliberately arranged the situation with the friend. In order to solve the situation without crossing the boundary, the counselor can charge her the normal taxi fee to take her home. Alternatively, he can refer her to his friend for assistance. Offering to drive her home free or allow her to take shelter at your home are potential solutions, but that would violate client-counselor relationships since it is motivated by emotions.

In a situation where therapists are counseling children who are depressed because they are being mistreated by parents, adopting the kids would be violating the boundaries. On the other hand, counseling the kids and then letting them go back to their parents would also be unprofessional because the therapy would not function (Syme, 2003). An appropriate approach by the counselor would be to report the parents to the relevant organizations. The parents are clients and might be opposed against the move, but the therapist has higher authority than clients.

Lastly, long term patients develop a personal relationship with the therapists such that they can include them in their will (Syme, 2003). The therapists should refuse because they have the role of abstinence. Their reward comes in the form of the fees paid and the positive health improvement of the patients.

When therapists comes across a former clients in a club, and he offers to pay his bill for dinner, this would not be ethically appropriate and within the professional boundary. After a patient completes therapy, he became the friend of the counselor. In addition, the former client is not seeking any service from the therapist hence there is no dual relationship in existence to be violated. On the contrary, it would be unethical for a current client to pay the bill for his therapist in a club. Approximately one month after termination of the consultations to the therapist, the dual relationship terms end. All the professional ethics in place are removed.

Development of Your Thinking about Ethics

One of the crucial facts that have developed regarding counselor ethical boundary, and dual relationships, is that the ethics used are intended to provide a fair platform for both the therapist and the patient. They ensure none of them is at a better advantage than the other. The stipulations are also open hence they can be applied in all clinical therapy situations. The counselor can modify the ethics to match their environment or culture.

When counselors are, treating patients whom they have other kinds of relationships such as relatives, business partner or they are relatives of close friends, maximum level of professionalism must be considered (Syme, 2003). When therapists allow emotions to interfere with the relationship with their clients, the situation erodes clarity, confidence, expectations, trusts and sometimes the regulations that are followed by the counselor. For instance, therapists might divulge confidential information concerning their patients. In addition, they might agree to offer medical therapy sessions in an environment outside the clinic or stipulated center. The best way to avoid violating the ethics boundary in counseling is through signing a contract outlining the crucial regulations that patients should follow.

The therapists should also have the final word when it comes to determining the treatment approach used on a patient. This implies that there are no boundaries violated when the expert dictates the therapy a patient should take. There are cases where the patient might prefer certain treatment that the expert might deem unsuitable for them. The expert is permitted by ethics to force the patients to choose alternative treatments that are appropriate.

The therapists should also not accept additional favors from their clients apart from the regular fees and positive improvement achieved after the therapy (Syme, 2003). It is unethical for a therapist to accept dinners and drinks paid by their patients or a share of the wealth of their clients. Nonetheless, these offers would be in line with the counselor ethical boundaries and practices in dual relationships in case the patient in question has completed treatment (Syme, 2003). The dual relationship terminates automatically once the patient has completed the treatment program.

The location and situation of the dual relationship helps in determining when a situation is a violation of ethics. This means it is possible to have an identical situation which is a violation on one expert while it is not to another therapist. As long as the therapist is not exploiting the client, there are no boundaries exceeded.

If the patients described above, had completed therapy, and had no consultations reserved, the dual relationship codes of ethics would not be applicable on them (Syme, 2003). Prior to clients getting into this relationship, they should understand all the possible consequences. Besides, they should analyze whether the present patients are complaining about the professionalism of expert. These relationships are intricate hence the need for discussing the pros and cons of each situation in advance.

In conclusion, dual relationships are discouraged, but there are guidelines that should be used to control them when they are inevitable. The discipline code followed should be outlined to ensure mutual benefit of the relationship to the therapist and the patient.

References

Syme, G. (2003). Dual relationships in counselling and psychotherapy: Exploring the limits. London: Sage Publications.

Corporate Social Responsibility Reports

Corporate Social Responsibility Reports

Corporate social responsibility is a common notion adopted in business models that alludes to some form of self-regulation by corporate systems. It is a system which is built in and self regulating through which businesses ensures frequent evaluation to ensure that it fully complies with the law, international norms as well as ethical standards (Moir, 2001, pp. 1-4). Nevertheless, though guided by the CSR, business firms are profit driven and as such would overlook the self-regulation by CSR for the sake of profit maximisation (Friedman,1970, para 1-10). Business enterprises and business proprietors are engaged in trading activities with the motive of maximizing profits or gains. Besides, they are expected to uphold integrity and business ethics in transacting their businesses for rightfully gaining. However, in understanding profit maximization as the traditional maxim upon which organizations ran, the modern day maxims dictates that organizations must be concerned of environmental as well as other social issues that surrounds them as dictated by social contract. They are expected to abide by laws governing the trade activities and as such avoid malpractices such as tax evasion, manipulation as well as dishonesty. These are all common practices that business entities or individuals in businesses engage in for maximizing personal or corporate gains.

Dishonesty and tax evasion are equally very deliberate acts that persons or businesses engage in order to avoid sharing on the profits realized (‘corporate watch report’, 2006, p. 3). However, it is worth noting that legal frameworks exist and are meant to enforce ethics and morality in trading practices although records show increasing trends in malpractices as discussed. Moreover, it is the responsibility of the CSR reports to inform shareholders as well as the other stakeholders such as the public on the environmental performance as well as corporate social performance of a business organisation (O’Riordan and Fairbrass, 2008, p. 746-748). In fact, there are many similarities between the stakeholder’s theory and the legitimacy theories concerning CSR reporting. They are all meant to ensure that organisations run in respect to social norms as well as rules and that the stakeholders are treated distinctly from the organisation itself. Besides, all stakeholders are to receive similar treatments within the organisation and that management is expected to run the organisation to the benefit of all stakeholders. However, it is not obvious that these reports effectively serve on this purposes and this informs the reason of this report. This paper intends to evaluate the effectiveness of these reports in serving the above purpose as against as just mere ‘vehicles’ adopted for public relations among trading organizations.

CSR from the Perspective of Accounting Theories

Positive theories are adopted with a motive of explaining or predicting the behaviors of corporate as against prescribing the manner in which such organizations ought to behave. The theories revolve around the common notion that the society and corporate have mutual influences where the society influences the corporate performance while the corporate equally influences on the society (Rodríguez and LeMaster, 2007, pp. 370-385). It implies that organisations are distinct constituents of the larger social systems within which we live in. analyzing economic issues as is done within the CSR brings on board the political theories because the social, political as well as institutional frameworks defines environment in which economic activities by corporations take place. This therefore revolves around integrative theories such as legitimacy theorem as well as stakeholder’s theorem. The legitimacy theorem constitutes the formal and informal constraints to which accounting procedures must adhere. The formal constraints comprise of legal frameworks, accounting standards as well as professionalism, which instigates mandatory disclosures. On the other hand, the informal legitimacy theorem represents self-imposed frameworks of behavior and conventions governing the societies within which organisations run. This is because organisations strive to operate within the predefined rules and regulation governing the societies within which they operate.

The foregoing theoretical frameworks dictate that organisations behaviors are influenced by such theories while undertaking accounting and reporting procedures. Account users who rely on accounting records value environmental information as basic in organisational management. However, a report from a study to investigate whether the Australian companies embrace reporting environment information objectively found a shocking revelation. According to the report, the last decade has found Australia increase environmental legislations majority of which requires that companies in trade to disclose environmental information in financial reporting. However, the disclosing of environmental information by the companies in Australia remains voluntary. Nevertheless, an UIG legislation in1995 is the only legislation that is known to have been specific in requiring some environmental information by trading organisations. This therefore implies that within such a framework, companies have the liberty of choosing which information on environment to disclose within the reports and as such, they are likely to reveal only the favorable information (Deegan and Rankin, 1996, pp. 50-51).

In the US, firms increasingly provide CSR report on voluntary basis though little of their inspiration is known. Mahoney and team undertook a study to understand the motivation through green washing and or signaling within corporate within the US. Concerning signaling, the report found out that many of the firms produce CSR reports to signal on their commitment to corporate social responsibility. This therefore reveals that many such companies as having great commitment to environmental as well as social records would be more willing to issues outs such reports of CSR. The green washing strategy is however used in disguise where firms intend to pose as good ‘citizens’ when they have or do not have such environmental records. The study found out that majority of such firms which issues the voluntary CSR records often have higher responsibility when analyzed about environment. They therefore adopt the mechanism of voluntary reporting in order to provide information to the corporate as well as the shareholders to such organisations (Mahoney et al, 2013, p. 350). This is however against the provisions of ethical theories, which supports fair and rightful treatment of all stakeholders. The ethical theories come into play within CSR reporting through upholding socially acceptable behavior while reporting to the stakeholders and the public.

Hooghiemstra (2000, p. 55) on the other hand evaluates the adoption of corporate social reporting as a toll that is being used by organisations for management of impressions. In his study as to why organisations adopt CSR, he adopts the analysis of legitimacy theory as is currently adopted and utilized by trading organisations. This therefore revolves around legitimacy theories, which requires corporations to exercise powers, granted rightfully. According to analyses of the theory, the organisations adopting the CSR are often influenced by public pressure through media especially as result of major incidences involving the social environment. For instance, he points out that many organisations would adopt the CSR for the purpose of altering negative perceptions by the public because of prior social incidences. The legendary oil spill ‘Exxon Valdez’ is sighted in this regard where many organisations would therefore embrace the CSR defensively(Lopez, 2009, para 1-4; ‘Environmental disasters’ 1998-2013, para 6).

Some firms, for management of corporate impressions, also adopt corporate reporting as found out by Merkl-Davies and Brennan. In an investigative study on the adoption of CSR for management of rationality of the managerial impression as adopted by trading organisations, the corporate reporting is revealed to be used for creation of public image. Impression management has been in use by many organisations with the intention of presenting themselves towards the public differently against what they actually are. Accounting researchers have been shown to adopt the impression management strategy in corporate reporting for reasons of distorting the readers’ perceptions on achievements of the organisations on environmental as well as social relations (Merkl-Davies and Brennan, 2011, pp. 415-416). Conflicts between the companies, the societies living around as well as law enforcement agencies are common scenes due to the malpractices by trading companies. Ethics require that these companies go beyond the confines of law as provided for within the structures of governance within a nation to stop such malpractices and in the process improve on social, human rights as well as environmental well being.

Besides, the individual organisation players in an industry has a social responsibility of ensuring that risk management as well as organisational learning are brought into attention, a fact that increasingly troubles many (Harjoto and Jo, 2011, p. 45-54). It is of great importance to have the companies involved in different capacities understand their role in management of the environment, which besides having the above discussed implications, has direct implication on social lives. Transnational activism as well as civil society organisations’ efforts has been greatly influential in shaping the corporate social responsibility of the firms through direct involvement and formulation of such principles as the Valdez principles. These principles have been effective in guiding policy makers in decision making regarding regulatory mechanism towards the unethical behavior exhibited by such companies (Utting and Ives, nd, p. 11-13). The implications here are that any company or such player within an industry must comply with some regulatory framework in order to function effectively and efficiently.

In yet another report on deceptive corporate reporting, impression management through corporate reporting has been shown to be adopted by organisations with a motive of manipulating shareholders as well as the public on matters of financial performance by an organisation as well as the environmental performance. This is line with wealth maximisation maxims as they guide corporate management as examples to instrumental theories. Discretionary accounting reporting has therefore the capacity to undermine the quality of reported financial records and hence have an overall impact of rendering such reports untrustworthy or unreliable. The deceptive nature of such information as reported by the organisations would result to unwarranted support by public or donors as a result of the wrong impressions created through the corporate reports developed. This therefore shows that corporate reporting forms a major attribute to accounting research and has great power in persuasion in impression creation (Brennan and Merkl-Davies, 2013, p. 110).

In conclusion therefore, the above discussion points to the proposition that the corporate reporting fails to effectively serve as reliable to be used for corporate analysis on environmental as well as the social reporting of an organisation. Through multi-dimensional analysis, different researches have been done to ascertain the reliability of the corporate social reports that majority of firms produce and found that many such reports fail to be authentic and are produced with a particular motive; often to paint a different picture to the public or shareholders concerning the organisation (Claydon, 2011, pp. 405-406). The image often forms the basis on which many such reports are prepared and hence the outcome of the reports is deception in regard to environmental performance of the organisation. It is however to be noted that not all organisations produce corporate reports with such motives and thus corporate social responsibility reports should be encouraged within trading organisations.

Bibliography

Brennan, N. M. and Merkl-Davies, D. M. 2013. “Accounting Narratives and Impression management”, In: Jackson, L., Davison, J., and Craig, R. (eds.), Routledge Companion to Communication in Accounting. Routledge, 109-132.

Claydon J., 2011.A new direction for CSR: the shortcomings of previous CSR models and the rationale for a new model.Social responsibility journal,7(3): 405-420

‘Corporate watch report’, 2006, “What’s Wrong with Corporate social Responsibility?” Available at:< http://www.ejolt.org/2013/05/polluter-pays-principle/> (Accessed on 10 December 2013)

Deegan, C. and Rankin, M. 1996. “An analysis of environmental disclosures by firms prosecuted successfully by the Environmental Protection Authority”,Accounting, Auditing, and Accountability Journal, 9(2): 50-67.

‘Environmental disasters’ 1998-2013.Top 10 of anthropogenic and natural environmental disasters. Available at:< http://www.lenntech.com/environmental-disasters.htm> (Accessed on 10 December 2013)

Friedman M. 1970. “The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase its Profits” The New York Times Magazine, Available at: <http://www.colorado.edu/studentgroups/libertarians/issues/friedman-soc-resp-business.html> (Accessed on 10 December 2013)

Harjoto M. A. and Jo H., 2011.Corporate Governance and CSR Nexus.Journal of Business Ethics 100:45–67

Hooghiemstra, R. 2000. “Corporate communication and impression management – New perspectives why companies engage in corporate social reporting”,Journal of Business Ethics, 27(1-2): 55-68.

Lopez A., 2009. 20 years on from Exxon Valdez: what progress for corporate responsibility? Available at:< http://www.ethicalcorp.com/communications-reporting/20-years-exxon-valdez-what-progress-corporate-responsibility>(Accessed on 10 December 2013)

Mahoney, L.S., Thorne, L., Cecil, L., and LaGore, W. 2013. “A research note on standalone corporate social responsibility reports: Signaling or greenwashing?”,Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 24(4-5): pp. 350-359.

Moir, L. 2001. “What do we mean by corporate social responsibility?”,Corporate Governance, 1(2): 16-22.

Merkl-Davies, D. M. and Brennan, N. M. 2011. “A Conceptual Framework of Impression Management: New insights from psychology, sociology, and critical perspectives”, Accounting and Business Research, 41(5): 415-437.

O’Riordan L. and Fairbrass J., 2008.Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): Models and Theories in Stakeholder Dialogue.Journal of Business Ethics, 83:745–758

Rodríguez L. C. and LeMaster J., 2007. Voluntary Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure SEC “CSR Seal of Approval”Business & Society, 46(3): 370-385

Utting P. and Ives K., nd.The Politics of Corporate Responsibility and the Oil Industry. Available at:< http://users.ox.ac.uk/~stair/2_1/utting&ives.pdf> (Accessed on 10 December 2013)

The Concept of Sacrifice

The Concept of Sacrifice

As part of life, sometimes people have to make sacrifices to achieve the desired goal or for the sake of those that they love. The concept of sacrifice and duty for the sake of oneself and others is a prominent theme in many stories, both fictional and based on real-life events. Some of the stories covered in class also feature these ideas prominently. For example, in the New Testament of the Bible, the death of Jesus Christ is a perfect example of sacrifice and duty. God sacrificed his only son, Jesus Christ, to die to save humankind from their sins. In addition to the New Testament, The theme of sacrifice and duty is evident in the Old Testament of the Bible, the Epic of Gilgamesh, and the Koran.

The Concept of Sacrifice in the New Testament

The New Testament of the Bible revolves around the teachings of Jesus Christ. Throughout his adult life, he went around preaching to others about the teachings of Christianity. Jesus Christ is the ultimate example of sacrifice in the Bible. God sent him to earth to die for the sins of humankind, and Jesus agreed. Even when he was suffering before his death, he was still willing to go through with the plan until he was crucified on false claims (Matthew 27: 48). Jesus wanted to obey God’s will at all times, even when it was at great pain and cost to him. Jesus was arrested and severely beaten on his way to be crucified. Although he could have stopped all this suffering at all time, he knew that his death would save humanity. God also made a sacrifice in sending his only son to die on behalf of humankind. Any parent would keep their child from unnecessary suffering, but God made the sacrifice to save human beings.

In addition to Jesus’ sacrifice, his disciples also made a lot of sacrifices to be with him. Jesus traveled with his disciples across the countries he taught, and they had to leave behind their families and worldly wealth to accompany Jesus on his journey. Jesus taught his followers that they had to leave behind everything else if they were to obey his teachings. Being his follower left no room for earthy worries, such as material possessions and family responsibilities. Many could not imagine leaving everything behind; therefore they could not follow him. Jesus and his disciples also faced ridicule and rejection from people for their choices. Despite this, they did not abandon their cause, which is a perfect example of their sacrifice. They stood by Jesus, and even though they sometimes faltered, they did their best to get back on their chosen path.

The Concept of Sacrifice in the Old Testament

The Old Testament of the Bible also features some prominent examples of duty or sacrifice. One of these is the story of Abraham and his son Isaac. Abraham and his wife Sarah had no children until their son Isaac was born in their old age. After decades of waiting, they eventually had a child. For this reason, the parents must have been overly protective and possessive of the son for whom they had waited so long. Unfortunately, God asked Abraham to offer up his only son as an offering (Genesis 22:2). Being a staunch believer and follower of God, Abraham was willing to make this painful and impossible sacrifice. He took his son Isaac all the way to the mountains to sacrifice him. God saw that Abraham would have done anything asked of him, and he was pleased. God sent a ram for Abraham to sacrifice instead of Isaac, and the boy was saved. The main point of this story is that Abraham would have sacrificed anything, including his only son, at God’s request.

The story of Job in the Old Testament is an example of duty and sacrifice. Job was a wealthy man from the land of UZ, living with his family in abundance. He was a blameless man, always careful to stay away from evil, and believed firmly in God (Job 1:1). On seeing this, the devil approached God to test Job’s faith. God permitted Satan to do this. Job lost his family and wealth, yet his faith in God remained strong despite all this. His wife and friends all mock his faith in God, but Job never abandoned his faith. This story is an example of sacrifice because Job was willing to sacrifice everything to preserve his faith in God. Even when those around him told him that God abandoned him, he stuck by his faith. After all the trials, God blessed Jacob with even more wealth and children than before because he remained faithful even in the most challenging times.

The Concept of Sacrifice in the Epic of Gilgamesh

The epic of Gilgamesh contains several examples of sacrifice or duty. Gilgamesh is the king of the kingdom of Uruk, a king who mistreats his subjects. The people cry out to the gods to save them from their tyrannical king, and they send Enkidu to save them (George 33). Enkidu and Gilgamesh strike up a great friendship afterward. After Enkidu’s death, Gilgamesh goes on a journey to seek eternal life. Gilgamesh is willing to sacrifice his life on earth to gain eternal life. When he finds a plant that would give him eternal life, he sacrificed it so that the older men of the town would have it. Given his desire for eternal life, this was undoubtedly a significant sacrifice for Gilgamesh to make. However, despite his honorable intentions, a snake steals the plant from Gilgamesh.

Enkidu’s death in the epic is another example of sacrifice. Gilgamesh and Enkidu entered a forest forbidden to mortals and cut down some trees. They kill the demon Humbaba guarding the forest, and after cutting down the trees, they return to Uruk. Upon their return, Gilgamesh becomes the subject of Ishtar’s love, but he rejects her. Ishtar, the goddess of love, is angry at Gilgamesh’s rejection, and she asks her father to punish him. Her father sends the Bull of Heaven to fight Gilgamesh, but Gilgamesh and Enkidu kill the bull (George 109). For this, the gods decide that one of the two must die, and Enkidu is the chosen one. This part of the story shows the sacrifices that the two friends made for each other. Enkidu sacrificed his life to help his friend fight the Bull of Heaven, and he dies as a result. Gilgamesh also sacrifices Enkidu’s life, although the situation was between Gilgamesh and Ishtar.

The Concept of Sacrifice in the Koran

Just like the other three texts, The Koran also offers some examples of duty and sacrifice. The fifteenth verse of Chapter 49 of the Koran speaks about the value of sacrifice. The verse states, “Without doubt the true believers are only those who have faith in Allah and His Messenger (Muhammad) and then do not change their belief into doubt, and (the believers are those) who struggle with their wealth and their lives in the way of Allah.” (The Dwellings, 49:15)This verse emphasizes the value of self-sacrifice. A person must be willing to give up all of their wealth and even their lives for their faith. In the Koran, there are several examples of people who lay down their lives for the Prophet and Allah. One of these is Sa’ad bin Ar Rabbi, who died in the battle of Uhud. In his final moments, Sad Rabi was grateful to have given his life to protect the Prophet and urged all the Prophet’s other companions to be willing to sacrifice anything for Allah and the Prophet.

The second example from the Koran is the sacrifice of Abu Bakar for the Prophet Mohammad during the Hijrah to Medinah. Through the perilous journey, Abu Bakar was ready to sacrifice his own life to save that of the Prophet under any circumstances. Through the journey, Abu Bakar remained on the lookout for any impending danger that might threaten the Prophet’s life. When they stopped at the cave of Thur, Abu Bakar went inside first to check that everything was safe (Surah 9:40). Abu Bakar put his own safety and comfort last to ensure that the Prophet was safe through the journey. Abu Bakar’s story follows the concept of sacrifice outlined in the Koran, where a person must give his life and wealth for Allah and the Prophet.

In conclusion, the concept of sacrifice and duty is found in many works of literature, religion, and everyday life. The Bible, Koran, and the epic of Gilgamesh all contain several examples of people willing to make sacrifices, both big and small, for those around them. For religious texts, sacrifice is regarded as a crucial component of faith. A believer must always put others before oneself. Self-sacrifice is a virtue like no other. In other stories, self-sacrifice is an admirable trait that not all people are capable of. Human nature leans more towards selfishness and self-preservation, and that is why the concepts of duty and sacrifice matter so much.

Works Cited

Bible, King James. King James Bible. Proquest LLC, 1996.

George, Andrew, ed. The epic of Gilgamesh: the Babylonian epic poem and other texts in Akkadian and Sumerian. Penguin, 2002.

Qur’an, Holy. Holy Qur’an. Tahrike Tarsile Qur’an, Incorporated, 1985.

Love, Friendship and Sexuality in ‘Gilgamesh’

Love, Friendship and Sexuality in ‘Gilgamesh’

The Epic of Gilgamesh is a story about men and gods, set in ancient Mesopotamia. Gilgamesh is king in the kingdom of Uruk, where he rules with impunity. The epic follows the events in Gilgamesh’s life that culminate in him becoming a humble person after a great friendship with Enkidu. Just like any other work of literature, the Epic of Gilgamesh contains several important themes, such as immortality, the nature of the gods, as well as love and sexuality. Although the story is set in ancient times quite different from ours, readers stand to learn quite a lot from reading the story. The central theme in the story is love, friendship, and sexuality, and the significance is that readers can relate these to their own lives.

Gilgamesh and Enkidu met under difficult circumstances, yet they grew to become the best of friends. Gilgamesh was a harsh and ruthless king who mistreated his people at will. For example, he raped any woman he desired and also used forced labor to build his temple. The people of Uruk cried out at these injustices, and the gods heard them. To challenge Gilgamesh, the gods sent a creature named Enkidu, who lived in the wild with animals. When a trapper discovered Enkidu’s extraordinary strength, he brought a prostitute named Shamhat to tame Enkidu and make him human. Sex was considered a calming force. After meeting with Shamhat, the wild animals ran away from Enkidu. He went to Uruk in search of Gilgamesh, who was just about to rape a bride, and the two men fought for a long time. Eventually, Gilgamesh prevailed, but the two later became good friends. They went on various adventures, but they angered the gods, and Enkidu was punished with death. Heartbroken over losing his friend, Gilgamesh sought a way to become immortal.

The friendship between Enkidu and Gilgamesh is the major part of the epic. Although the two met under strained circumstances, they later went on to become great friends (Ackerman,18). After their first fight, they set out on adventures together. One of these was to a forest belonging to the gods and forbidden to mortals. The two disregarded this and entered the forest, after killing Humbaba, the demon guarding the forest. They then journeyed back to Uruk on a raft made from cedars from the forest. When they returned, one of the goddesses named Ishtar fell in love with Gilgamesh, but he ignored her. Ishtar had her father send the Bull of heaven to destroy Gilgamesh, but he and Enkidu managed to kill the bull. This enraged the gods who killed Enkidu.

Love is evident in the friendship between Gilgamesh and Enkidu, as well as between other characters in the story. The theme of love and friendship is significant because it shows readers how powerful the force of love can be. When Gilgamesh and Enkidu met, they were supposed to be enemies because Enkidu was sent to stop Gilgamesh and his evil ways. However, even after the two fought, they later became good friends. This shows that friendship can strike between any two people, no matter their circumstances. Love is an integral part of friendship because it is the force that binds two people together (Ziolkowski 31). The love between Gilgamesh and Enkidu is even more apparent after Enkidu’s death. Gilgamesh was stricken with grief after his friend’s death and worried about his own death in the future. This deep grief is a sign of how much Gilgamesh loved Enkidu and valued their friendship.

The theme of love and friendship in the Epic of Gilgamesh also shows how far people are willing to go for love and friendship. The goddess Ishtar fell in love with Gilgamesh, although he did not return her feelings. This deeply wounded and enraged the goddess, and she set up a scheme to punish Gilgamesh. She asked her father to send the bull of heaven to destroy Gilgamesh, all because her love was not returned. This situation shows that love is a powerful and also destructive force when it is not reciprocated (Besamusca 12). Enkidu and Gilgamesh teamed up and eventually killed the bull, a testament to their great friendship. Enkidu could have left Gilgamesh to deal with his problems, but as a true friend, he stood with him in his challenges. Sexuality is shown in the situation between Shamhat and Enkidu. Sex was considered a powerful tool that could calm Enkidu from being a beast into a man, and it worked. The significance of this is that with the right weapon, anybody can be subdued. In the epic of Gilgamesh, sex was a powerful tool, and the trapper used wisely to tame Enkidu.

In conclusion, the theme of love, friendship, and sexuality in the epic of Gilgamesh is significant in many ways. The friendship between Enkidu and Gilgamesh teaches readers that even the worst situation can result in positive outcomes. Enkidu and Gilgamesh should have been enemies, but they struck up a great friendship in trying times. Love is a major part of friendship and other relationships because it allows people to support each other in good and bad times. Enkidu and Gilgamesh shared a great love, and this is why Gilgamesh was greatly wounded by the death of his friend. The theme gives readers a chance to reflect on their own situations, and see the positive side of any terrible situation. The Epic of Gilgamesh is a great lesson due to its relevant themes.

Works Cited

Ackerman, Susan. When heroes love: the ambiguity of eros in the stories of Gilgamesh and David. Columbia University Press, 2005.

Besamusca, Bart. “The human condition, friendship and love: The Epic of Gilgamesh and medieval Arthurian romance.” People and Texts: Relationships in Medieval Literature. Brill Rodopi, 2007. 1-15.

Ziolkowski, Theodore. Gilgamesh Among Us: Modern encounters with the ancient epic. Cornell University Press, 2011.

Comprehensive analysis of the Book of Amos

Analysis of the Book of Amos

Introduction

The book of Amos consists of nine chapters, and is one of the twelve minor prophetic books in the Bible. Accordingly, religious researchers argue that the book of Amos was the first prophetic book to be written during this time, and for that reason, it set the pace for the rest of the prophetic books to be written (Rendsburg, 1994). Carrying various themes of divine judgment, repentance, divine power, and social justice, the book of Amos presents the prophecy of Amos regarding the fall of the different states in Israel and Judah. This book is said to have been written during the period when Israelites had forgotten God’s place in their hearts and Amos, the perceived author of the book aws sent to deliver a message of repentance to his people. Considered a prophet of doom by others, Amos foretold of a time when the Israelites will be punished for their sins, and forsake of God and his teachings.

However, Amos did not only speak of negative events and happenings, he also spoke of a time of restitution thus encouraging Christians to works towards the achievement of God’s teachings so as to avoid his wrath. Fundamentally, the book of Amos presents one of the greatest prophesies of the time, illustrated in the simplest and most comprehensive manner for all readers to understand.

This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the Book of Amos. Specifically, the paper examines the date, authorship, historical and cultural backdrop, as well as, scholarly interpretations of the meaning and themes of the book. The paper concludes by providing a personal reflection of the book of Amos.

Summary of the Book of Amos

Arguably, the book of Amos is divided into five main sections. The first section of the book consists of the readings of Amos Chapter 1 and 2. These two chapters introduce the readers to Amos’ message and prophesy with regards to the various nations of Judah. Observably, Amos gives his prophesy regarding the judgment of various nations namely, Aram, Philistia, Phoenicia, Edom, Ammon, Moab, Judah, and Israel (Rendsburg, 1994). Accordingly, because the book of Amos was intended for passing the message of God to the Israelites, the judgment of Israel as a nation is emphasized. Chapter 2 examines the different short fallings and sins of the Israelites and explains how each sinner will receive judgment for their sins. Some of the sins that were up for judgment as listed in the book include oppression of the poor, dissent of religion, and the different attitudes of the Israelites regarding the religious way of life (Rendsburg, 1994). The entire chapter explains how different sinners will receive different judgments with regards to their committed sins.

The second section of the book presents Amos’ prophesies regarding the future of Israel. Chapters 3 to 5 make up the second section of the book and they explain the different oracles against Israel as per the vision of Amos. Chapter 3 explains the judgment to be provided on the chosen people of Israel. Specifically, this chapter elucidates on the God’s punishment on these people if they did not adhere to his teachings. In addition to this, chapter 3 also vindicates the announcements and the punishments that the Israelites will receive for the sins committed respectively (Rendsburg, 1994). The chapter explains the various ways through which they shall receive punishment if they do not repent their sins and ask God for forgiveness. Chapter 4 elucidates on the judgment to be provided on those individuals who are unrepentant of their sins. Specifically, this chapter explains how God will judge the socialites, those who have falsified religious living, as well as, those whose sins have hardened them to the point where they do not recognize their own sins. As the chapter also explains, past calamities that the Israelites were unfortunate to undergo did not encourage repentance, and for that reason, God shall induce more calamities so as to compel Israelites to repentance hence deliverance. However, in this chapter, Amos is quick to explain that there will be no hope for the hardened souls owing to their inability to recognize their own wrongdoing. Chapter 5, the last chapter of the second section of the book examines God’s judgment on the unjust populations. In this chapter, Amos laments about the death of the unjust Israelites who chose to live their lives with complete disregard for the word of God. He explains how these individuals will be indicted for their injustice and for that reason be unable to live their lives as they would expect. In essence, the key message that Amos intends to pass in this chapter is that sinners who are prosperous during their lives on earth will experience grief that will come as a result of their inability to repent their sins (Rendsburg, 1994). Accordingly, Amos calls for the repentance of sins by this group of people in the chapter.

Chapter 6 is the key component in the third section of the book of Amos and this chapter provides various announcements of exile for the Israelites. The chapter consists of three main messages and announcements including the messages on the perversion of religion, complacent pride by the Israelites, as well as, pride and injustice. As Amos explains in this chapter, individuals who pompously embrace these attitudes and characters will receive immediate judgment and punishment from God, and for that reason, he encourages such individuals to repent their sins before they come face to face with their doom. This is the smallest section of the book of Amos that is intended to act as the prophesy of Amos to the Israelites. The messages passed in this section of the book aim at encouraging Israelites and other Christians to change their ways and embrace the religious life as demanded by God.

The fourth section of the book of Amos presents Amos’ prophetic visions with regards to divine reckoning on the Israelites. This section consists of chapters 7 and 8, as well as, the beginning of chapter 9. Chapter 7 provides different visions related to God’s judgment on the people of Israel. Visions relented to judgment as provided in this chapter include Amos’ vision on the swarm of locusts, as well as, as the consuming fire that had the power to sweep out the entire population of Israel (Rendsburg, 1994). These two visions explain God’s anger towards the people of Israel, and for that reason, they explain the degree of his wrath if the Israelites were unwilling to repent their sins. The second vision that is seen as having no direct relation to the judgment of Israel is the vision of the plumb line, which indirectly draws attention to the various ways in which the Israelites have lost their sense of religious direction. Other visions in the chapter also include the vision of the basket of ripe fruit, as well as, the vision of the lord by the altar. In essence, the visions presented in section four of the book of Amos cement his prophetic skills and abilities and they provide readers with a feel of what is expected to happen if they do not repent their sins as expected by God.

The fifth and last section of the book of Amos carries the theme of restoration, and speaks of a time when Israel will be restored to their promised land. Chapter 9 is the sole component of this section and is explains how the house of David will be revived from the sins committed by the Israelites at the end of time. As explained in this section of the book, Israel will receive its restoration only after they have repented their sins, and those Israelites who do not, received their rightful punishments for the sins committed (Rendsburg, 1994).

Date and Place

Researchers and religious academicians hold the firm belief that the book of Amos was written between750 and 760 BC (Maeir, 2004). This is because of the narrative presented in the book that represent some of the real live events that took place in Israel during the time. Accordingly, the storyline of the book of Amos is assumed to have bordered the period between the reign of both King David and Solomon, and for that reason religious scholars link this to the writing of the book. Researchers and religious academicians have noted that Amos, who is also the author of the book performed his duty as a prophet and preacher some years before the well-famed earthquake that rocked Israel, owing to the references provided in the book. This then, provides a timeline between the actual prophesy and preaching by Amos and the writing of the book, which are said to have occurred at the same period of time.

As researchers explain, the time during which the book was written can also be estimated through a closer examination of some of the chapters in the book. For example, chapter 1 and two highlight the various sins that various nations, including Judah and Israel, had performed during the time. Specifically, the first verse of the book speaks of the reigns of Uzziah over Judah and Jeroboam over Israel, which are said to have occurred during 740-792 BC and 753-793 BC (Maeir, 2004). This, therefore, confirms that the prophesies and writings of the book of Amos are more likely to have taken place between 740-760 BC (Maeir, 2004). This period also saw the increase of the practice of idolatry, immorality, corruption, injustice and the oppression of the poor, thus linking the period between the plot of the book of Amos and the actual time the book was written.

In relation to the place where the book was written, researchers and religious academicians argue out that the book of Amos was written in Tekoa. Tekoa was Amos’ home of origin, and researchers explain that he wrote his scriptures after returning home from preaching to the Northern Kingdom (Maeir, 2004). Amos had been called by God to deliver his prophesy to the Israelites, and just like all other prophets, he left his home to prophecy to the different regions and people that God intended him to deliver his message to. As he could not write the book during the time when he was delivering the actual prophesy, researchers assume that the only time when Amos would have been able to record his prophesies, was immediately after his return from duty. However, other researchers believe that the book was written in the northern region during his call of duty. The argument here is that Amos did not write the book by himself and for that reason, the disciples who accompanied him during his prophetic mission wrote the book of Amos, as he continued to preach to the various communities and regions in the northern region (Maeir, 2004). Because of the differing perceptions regarding the actual location of Tekoa, researchers have been unable to come up with the correct geographical location of where the book of Amos was actually written.

Authorship

Named after the prophet Amos, the book of Amos is believed to have been written by Amos himself, but researchers and religious academicians have long debated on the actual author of the book. There are three main theories regarding the authorship of the book of Amos including, Amos as the actual author, the disciples of Amos as the authors, and a member of the northern Audience as the author of the book. All researchers and religious academicians have come out to defend their perceptions of the authorship of the book of Amos, with each providing evidence as to who they believe a particular person or particular people were the authors of the book. Those who claim that Amos was the author of this scripture explain that he was the first “minor prophet” to have taken the initiative of writing down the his teachings and prophesies. As observed in the book of Amos, there are various verses where Amos speaks of himself as a person and as a prophet. He explains that he is not a professional prophet, and for that reason, did not believe that he belonged to any group of prophets; instead, he considered himself as a shepherd of God who was out to spread the word of God (Maeir, 2004). Researchers argue that only Amos could tell of his background and his call to prophecy, meaning that he was the only viable author of the book of Amos, as other people did not know him or where he came from. Other researchers argue that the book of Amos was written by his disciples, whereas other believe that the book was written by one of his keen audience members during the time when he went out to spread the word of God as instructed by God. However, there is no substantial evidence to support this beliefs, and for that reason, theologians have drawn to the conclusion that Amos was the sole author of The Book of Amos, disregarding the perception that other his disciples and listeners may have taken part in the writing of the book.

Historical/Cultural Backdrop

As previously mentioned, the chronicles presented in the book of Amos represent some of the actual events that were taking place in Judah and Israel during the time. These representations, therefore, provide a historical and cultural background for the book of Amos, which helps readers understand the message being brought out in the scripture. The historical and cultural background of the book of Amos can be traced back to the rule of Kings David and Solomon. Both these leaders were identified as two of the greatest leaders of Israel as they led their nation into growth and prosperity. However, after the death of these two kings, the kingdom of Israel was split into two, the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah (Rendsburg, 1994). The teachings in the book of Amos were based on the events that took place after the split of these two nations, as the kings who took over these kingdoms did not lead their states in accordance with religious laws. The constantly fought with each other and the cities were conquered and re-conquered over time, thus diminishing the cultural and religious ways of life for Christians during the time. The book of Amos, therefore examines this religious and cultural disillusion and is aimed at bringing Christians back to their religious lives so as to avoid the wrath of God.

Scholarly Interpretations of the Meaning/Themes in the Book of Amos

Scholarly articles in the book of Amos have identified three main themes in the book of Amos including, social justice/injustice, repentance, as well as, divine judgment and power (Rendsburg, 1994). As most researchers and religious academicians explain, the book of Amos examines the various social injustices that Christians have voluntarily and involuntarily engaged in during their time of living. By doing so, scholars also argue that the book of Amos explains why each of the highlighted social injustice is considered a sin in the eyes of God. This, therefore, helps the readers understand what God considered as wrongdoing, as well as, the sins that he intends to punish people for committing during their lives. The theme of repentance has been highlighted in the way through which Amos urges Christians and other religious believers to repent their sins and go back to the lord (Rendsburg, 1994). As researchers interpret this, it is only through repentance that Christians be delivered from evil and their lives restored. The last theme as identified by scholars is the theme of divine judgment and power. Researchers and other religious academicians explain that this theme has been used to inform the readers on the power of God the almighty. As they explain, God is the Supreme Being, and for that reason has the power to judge and punish individuals for the sins they have committed.

Personal Reflection on the Book of Amos

Though considered one of the minor prophetic books in the Bible, the book of Amos, provides a great contribution to the Christian life and religious ways as demanded by God. The message communicated in this book is applicable to the modern society, especially since the society today is characterized by oppression of the poor and false Christian living. Today’s society is ruled by the rich and elite, and for that reason, the poor have always been sidelined, as they cannot afford to live a rich and luxurious life like their rich counterparts. Individuals today place so much emphasis on the need for material wealth that they have become too arrogant and ignorant of the poor in society. The poor are slowly and continually being oppressed in almost all parts of the world and the readings in the book of Amos assist helping its readers in understanding the sin associated with oppressing the poor and how God will pass judgment and punishment on this. Additionally, the book of Amos is well suited for this period in time when individuals have forsaken God and are indulging in false Christian living, which is against the command of God. In conclusion, the book of Amos provides a good guideline for Christians today as it explains the different sins that are being committed by Christians today, as well as, the punishment that Christians should expect if they do not repent their sins.

References

Maeir, A. M. (2004). The Historical Background and Dating of Amos VI 2: An Archaeological

Perspective from Tell eṣ-Ṣâfī/Gath. Vetus Testamentum,54(3): 319-334.

Rendsburg, G. A. (1994). Review of Shalom M. Paul ‘Amos: A Commentary on the Book of

Amos. AJS Review, 19(1): 244-247.

Climate change has different effects in human and animal life

Effects of climatic change

Climate change has different effects in human and animal life in particular and the environment in general. Changes in climatic conditions such as air, temperature and precipitation affect various aspects of animal and human life (Ringius et al. (1996))

Fisheries are affected by altering habitat availability or quality. Their availability may be affected by changes in water temperature; the magnitude and pattern and pattern of annual stream flows; surface water deviations and the snowlines of lakes marine reservoirs and near shore marine environments (carpenter et al, 1992). Mean annual temperature changes the distribution of fish in large lakes. Large lake fish production could increase about 6% with 1% in average annual temperature (meisner et al, 1987 IPCC 1996, WG 2 SECTION 16.2.1).warm lakes generally have higher productivity than cold water lakes and existing warm lakes will be in areas with the least change in temperature. Elevated temperatures shift the centers of production and composition of fish species as ecosystem move geographically and change internally. This is in contrast to freshwater species (herons et al; 1995).

Climate change has effects on gender. Flooding, for example, leads to women experiencing increasing care giving responsibilities when men in their families resisted evacuation and were less likely to delay evacuation, in part due to concerned about the safety of youth. People are also pushed to new residential areas. In such an event, kinship networks frequently provide immediate temporary housing for those who evacuate from disaster, and it is often women’s extended networks that pull members and resources to aid in successful evacuation(lit,2008). Accommodation in shelters and temporary housing communities are not always designed around the needs of women and children (Emerson, 1999).migration out of a flooded region can lead to an increase in female headed households and women’s care giving responsibilities there is also different patterns of return migration. In U.S.A, for, example, there are gender dimensions to Katrina related migration which shed light on the broader association between migration, gender and disasters. There were several distinct migration flow as residents returned to new Orleans and, in general early analysis suggested that the return migration. Streams resulted in a city that was whiter, older and more affluent (falk et al; 2006; Frey et al).

Extreme weather conditions, for example, floods, storms, fogs cause deaths, injuries, certain infectious diseases and mental health disorders. Organic and biological systems that determine the spread of infectious diseases typically are sensitive to climatic variables.net climatic change related increases in the geographic distribution of vector organisms, for example, ticks, mosquitoes and flies of various infectious diseases, along with changes in life cycle dynamics of vectors and infectious parasite, would in aggregate, increase the potential for transmission of many vector-borne diseases in Europe. Summer conditions Europe are warm enough in some countries for native mosquito species to spread malaria. An increased frequency of severity of heat waves would increase in heat related mortality and illness. In contrast, less severe cold weather would reduce deaths in winter. Climatic change would also affect human health indirectly through other impacts, for example, a potentially important human health impact would result from deterioration in social and economic circumstances that might arise from effects of climatic change on patterns of employment, wealth distribution population mobility and settlement.

Conclusion:

Climate is a vice in the modern world that need to be addressed in order to alleviate some of the risks mentioned earlier flora and fauna. Various groups of people across the globe should come together since this is a universal problem.

References:

Antoine, ettiene,p,de guchteneire,p,(2011). Migration and climate change.Cambridge:UNESCO, NEW YORK.

Cambrige university press 1998(ntergovernmental panel on climate change, unep.

Integral panel on climate change,working group 2: an assessment on vulnerability.

Societies creation of the perfect image- How has it affected young peoples view of self-image today

Societies’ creation of the perfect image- How has it affected young people’s view of self-image today?

Each and every period in history has had standards of what is perceived as being or being not beautiful. Further, each and every contemporary society possesses its unique concept and idea of the best physical characteristics. During the 19th century, beauty was attributed to dressing in a corset that usually caused complications in the respiratory and digestive systems. In the society we are living in today, people try to diet in order to achieve the societal accepted image of slenderness. This often comes with serious problems in our bodies. Technological advancements particularly the rise of the media has accelerated the concerns of our appearance to obsessions. Due to the influence of the media, people are now accustomed to rigid beauty standards. The media has made people see the extremely good looks as achievable and make them to be real. Due to these societal views on beauty, it is normal for people to look in the mirror. This is usually out of insecurity even for very beautiful people. Such poor development of body image is commonly associated with young people. This is because as they grow and mature, they tend to get more conscious of their appearance.

The media, magazines as well as celebrities have a certain image. If women’s beauty does not bear any similarity to the kind that has been perceived as widely accepted, they often result to questioning their body image. Moreover, a very great role is played by culture especially among African Americans. For these people, they glorify curvy women whereas the Americans view thin women as attractive. It is therefore true that it is the society that shapes what is viewed as beautiful.

These societal and media perceptions as to what is considered beautiful has a reflection on how people react when they look at themselves in the mirror. They have made people to become dissatisfied with how they look like and therefore make them to have a less positive feeling about their appearance. This feeling affects their performance and self-esteem.

Moreover the society has placed pressure on overweight people by making them feel that they are unattractive since they do not conform to what the society perceives as the ideal body shape. This makes the have a very poor body image of resulting to a low self-esteem.

These societal standards have forced people especially teenagers to result to ways that are detrimental to their health to achieve the standards. They turn to ways like vomiting, starving as well as consuming diet foods only in an effort to be thin. The news is full of Hollywood actresses who are suffering from eating disorders. Some of the actresses die eventually as a result of these eating disorders.

These societal standards have a great impact on teenagers and mean little to adults. This is because teenagers are growing and as they grow they get more conscious of their bodies. Due to this increased consciousness, they are likely to succumb to societal pressures on what beauty is.

Most of the people are aware of how the society emphasizes on physical appearance as well as what the society considers beautiful. However, not everyone will internalize the standards. There exist strong minded people who shun these standards. Such people are likely to possess a positive and hence have a high self-esteem.

How the media views women

The media does have a powerful influence on how women view their body image. The media’s view of an ideal woman is one who has achieved the thinness that can only be achieved by only five percent orb even less of the female population. It is quite evident that the beauty standards are now very difficult to attain especially for women. The media judges women more on their appearance than it judges men. The media make the standards of female attractiveness very high as well as inflexible. It constantly and continually bombards women with the images of what an ideal figure and face should be like. Naomi wolf has named it, “The Official Body.”

Moreover the media has constant exposure of these images and this has the effect of making these extreme good looks as a normal thing. If there is anything that is short of this, it will be perceived as ugly. This has made women to strive to achieve these looks to the extent that they have become unrealistic. These standards concerning weight can only be achieved by as less as 5% of women. The standards placed on the facial appearance and body shape can be achieved by roughly 1% of the female population.

Television shows like Melrose as well as Beverly hills have made women believe that they need to be thin just like the women in them. These shows have brainwashed the women into a belief that it is very important to be thin. There are images of female bodies all over. Actresses are becoming thinner each day to an extent of fainting because of lack of food. There are very many women’s magazines that are full with articles giving women tips on how to lose weight. They in fact emphasize that if women succeeded in losing weight they are going to have a good marriage, quality sex as well as a great career.

There have been very many images on televisions, magazines as well as billboards of women who are Barbie like as well the major focus by the media that skinny women are perfect females. This has contributed to the high rise of eating disorders especially in young women.

Movies and television have reinforced that it is important to have a thin body. In fact they have shown that a thin body is equal to their worth.

Due to the very large number of females who are extremely thin and who are frequently viewed on television, a very large number of Americans are feeling overweight, even though many are average in size.

This pressure put on women by the media has had serious effects on them. The media does not put the same pressure on men. The effect of the pressure has resulted in women developing eating disorder. This is particularly so for female celebrities who have become anorexic in their bid to conform to the media requirements. This is not the same for male celebrities as there is no pressure for them to maintain a perfect body shape (Peres 2001) .It is prudent to ask ourselves why these beauty standards are being imposed on women. Some people have held that the whole idea is economic. If they represent an ideal physical attribute that is difficult to achieve the manufacturers of cosmetics are assure of regular and constant profits .The most disturbing aspect of these media images is that most of them are not attainable.

However, there are some sections of the media that are not with this current state of affairs. For example, some magazines have tried to buck up this trend. A magazine called Quebec has been using plus size models in the pages that they are displaying fashion. In other countries like Spain, The fashion houses have banned ultra-thin models from participating in the runway. This was done in the year 2006.

Effects of society on self-image

The society plays a very significant and crucial role in influencing one’s self-image. This is because people will only be comfortable when they achieve what the society expects of them. In this case, people will feel comfortable and project a positive self-image when they achieve what the society dictates as physical attractiveness. Social perceptions as well as social expectations for the young people are an issue that affects both men and women (Peres 2001).

Fat actresses have usually received from their fellow male characters very negative comments about the appearance of their bodies. Mostly they suggest that such far people can only dress in sacks and this comment is usually followed by laughter from the audience. These requirement of being skinny have forced people especially teenagers to result to ways that have their health to achieve the standards. These societal standards have a great impact on teenagers and mean little to adults. This is because teenagers are growing and as they grow they get more conscious of their bodies. Due to this increased consciousness, they are likely to succumb to societal pressures on what beauty is. They turn to ways like vomiting, starving as well as consuming diet foods only in an effort to be thin. The news is full of Hollywood actresses who are suffering from eating disorders. Some of the actresses die eventually as a result of these eating disorders.

When people are constantly subjected to this debate and pictures on the ideal physical characteristics, they start to lose confidence especially on their body image resulting to low self-esteem. Body image refers to how one looks at herself as well as how we think other people perceive us. There have been various advertisements with beautiful women and a caption encouraging people to be like the person in the picture. These messages create an impression on people that if they do not look like the picture, then they are not good enough. They form a belief that the only way they can achieve success is if they change their body appearance. When women see skinny women on television, they form this idea that to be skinny is the only way to achieve their happiness. This therefore weakens their body confidence.

The views of the society especially among the young people are influenced by the media, magazines as well as celebrities. Women’s beauty is expected to bear a resemblance to the beauty as represented by these media. If it does not bear any similarity to the kind that has been perceived as widely accepted, they often result to questioning their body image. Moreover, a very great role is played by culture especially among African Americans. For these people, they glorify curvy women whereas the Americans view thin women as attractive. It is therefore true that it is the society that shapes what is viewed as beautiful (Becker 1995).

These societal and media stereotypes on what is considered beautiful has a major reflection on how people react when they look at themselves in the mirror. They have influenced people to be obsessed with changing how they look like and if this is not forthcoming, they develop a less positive feeling about their appearance. This feeling affects their performance and self-esteem.

As a result of these societal misconceptions on beauty, people are now accustomed to rigid beauty standards. The society especially the media has made people to see the extremely good looks as achievable and makes them to be real. Due to these societal views on beauty, it is normal for people to look in the mirror to confirm their beauty. This is usually out of insecurity even for very beautiful people. Such poor development of body image is commonly associated with young people. This is because as they grow and mature, they tend to get more conscious of their appearance (Peres 2001).

Weight issues

This has been an issue that has affected people and how the view their body image. It is particularly common in young women who have been brainwashed by the society misconception that an ideal woman is one who is petite. Due to this, they spend sleepless nights dieting in order to achieve the ideal shape. There are two groups of people battling with weight issues. They are as discussed (Becker 1995). This battle with weight issues usually occurs for both anorexic and obese people. The reason why people have developed these weight issues can be attributed to the way society views beauty as well as how the media has tried to depict what beauty is. As a result of these outside factors, people develop low body image and as a result start having issues with their body weights. They often result to unhealthy measures to fight these weight issues (Peres 2001).

Anorexia

Anorexia refers to a situation where a person avoids eating food for the fear of becoming fat. It is usually an eating disorder usually as a result of disturbance of one’s body-image. This is usually an obsessive fear of getting fat. People exhibiting anorexic traits usually have a self-image that is distorted that has altered the manner in which the person perceives her body (Becker 1995). These people feel hungry but refuse to eat to satisfaction. There is a research group in America called, ‘The American Research Group on Anorexia and Related Eating Disorders that has found out that almost two in out of six college girls are using weight control methods like vomiting, fasting , skipping some meals as well as doing excessive exercises in order to stay thin. Majority of celebrities have been reported to be anorexic. In fact a couple of them collapse on stage due to lack of enough energy in their bodies. To add salt to the injury celebrity deaths out of anorexia have been reported in Hollywood and even outside Hollywood (Becker 1995).

Anorexia normally develops among individuals at the onset of puberty. These people will usually suffer from a very extreme weight loss and their weight is usually 15% below that of a normal person. It is common with adolescent girls who continue to believe that they are fat albeit being extremely thin.

Obesity

Obesity is a condition of being overweight. There is a lot of fat-phobia and prejudice leveled against obese people making them to have a poor body image hence affecting their self-esteem. This feeling of low self-esteem is particularly high in women than men. Studies have shown that the feeling is greater than when one is suffering from a severe disease (Becker 1995). Further the studies have shown that this feeling of low self-esteem is not cause by being overweight but rather because of how the society perceives fat people. In countries or place with no fat-phobia obese people have no these feelings. The issue of obesity has been prevalent for a longtime especially among children and adolescents. Despite this increase, there is pursuit of thinness among girls who view thinness as attractiveness. This cultural emphasis on thinness coupled with the stigma attached to obesity is likely to lead to the youth especially young girls to have a feeling of dissatisfaction about their bodies. These people are likely to engage in eating disorders in bid to lower their weight.

Weight issues before and now

In the year 1917, a woman was considered physically perfect if she was 5feet in height and whose weight was 10 stone. Moreover approximately like 25 years back models ideal weight was supposed to be less than that of an average woman by 8%. Today, the ideal weight of a beauty queen is supposed to be 23% less than that of an average woman. In fact most of the models we see on the catwalk are so skinny that one is amazed what they eat to have such a body. These appearances have had a negative impact on women as they strive to achieve such a body shape no matter the consequences (Becker 1995).

Earlier, an ideal woman was a curvy woman. This situation helped women to stay healthy as they did not have to starve themselves to conform to the society’s misconceptions. But either way, it was a headache for the slender women as not everyone is capable of being curvy. This shows that it is not good for the society to define what is ideal but rather people should be appreciated for who they are and not what they look like. There was an article appearing in the New York Times in 2008 which discussed how models are getting thinner and thinner each day. The paper said that such models are required to have a very small waist of about 28 inches and a weight of about 150 pounds. Due to these demands, the article acknowledges that there has been an increase in eating disorders among young people.

It should be note that it doesn’t matter how the society project beauty. Whether the society prefers curvy or skinny women will still have negative effects. This is because; all people can never be the same. We have both curvy and skinny women. Therefore, if the society prefers curvy women to skinny women, the skinny women are likely to result to low body image and vice versa.

How artists show weight issues

There are many images showing celebrity faces as well as body parts. These artists are role models of very many people who are usually their fans. We usually watch videos of artists singing of very beautiful girls that they are in love with. All these girls are skinny. When people especially teenage girls view these videos, they get an impression that beautiful girls are supposed to be skinny. These videos show body sizes that are impossible to attain hence creating a pressure on people. Artists pose in magazines like playboy, pinups thereby creating the society’s obsession with body image. Moreover most of the fashion designers and their shows mostly exhibit clothes that are to be worn by thin women (Becker 1995). It is rare to find a fashion show that exhibits outfits for all groups of people. By so doing, they help in emphasizing the notion that only being skinny is the ideal definition of beauty. Since artists are role model for young people, they tend to imitate what they do, wear or look like.

Bearing in mind that a majority of these artists are skinny, pressure is put on their fans most of who are young to be thin so that they can be like them. Instead these artists should reach out to their fans to avoid dieting but rather live healthy lives. This way, young people will be encouraged to live healthy lives and to avoid conforming to societal stereotypes. Artists should especially bear in mind that they are role models for young people and that these young people are likely to copy what they do (Becker 1995).

Conceptual art

Definition

One should be careful not to confuse this type of art with concept art. Conceptual art is the type of art where the ideas that have been used in the work come first before any concerns that are material as well as aesthetics that are traditional. This is to mean that in this type of art, the most important thing is the concept.

History

This type of art basically emerged in form of a movement in the 1960’s. It emerged as a reaction that was against a type of art called formalism. This type of art originated from France by a French artist called Marcel Duchamp. His most famous conceptual art was a basin used in the urinal. Traditionally, such a common object could not be said to be a piece of art. This is because it had no elements of uniqueness. However his work as art was recognized by an artist called Joseph Kosuth who held that all pieces of art are conceptual owing to the fact that art can only exist conceptually.

How it works

This type of art has removed the need for having objects. The works of conceptual artists are only known through documents like photographs as well as written texts. They usually emphasize on concept rather than on other qualities like the aesthetic value of a piece of art. It further centers on language and holds that language is the very first wave for conceptual artists. This is to say that their excusive medium in their art is language. This use of language removes the need for use of and handling of materials to create a piece of art.

Examples and explanations of conceptual art

There are very many conceptual artists in the world today. However, for the purposes of this discussion, we shall only focus on two conceptual artists. We shall use them to explain and show examples of conceptual art. They are discussed as follows:

Jenny HolzerShe is a conceptual artist from America. She was an abstract artist originally and her work was focused on painting. She later became a conceptual artist. The example of conceptual art she uses is words and ideas on a public space. The visible medium she used was LED. However she also uses bronze plaques, t-shirts as well as condoms. She used to write her own texts for her use but now she uses texts written by other people. Her most famous works of conceptual art are ‘Truisms’ which was written in 1972, ‘inflammatory essays’ that was based on texts written by other people, a living series written in 1980’s in which she used bronze plaques as well as billboards and also a ‘survival series’ as well as a text called ‘under a rock’ among other works.

Barbara Kruger

She was also an American conceptualist whose majority of work was black and white photographs that had captions that were declarative. Her type of conceptualistic artistry involves merging of photographs with text that is usually aggressive and engaging the viewer to struggle for power. She uses her imagery and juxtaposes it with texts with criticisms about sexism as well as the circulation of power among cultures. Her work is an example of conceptual art whereby texts are used as the main concept in a piece of art.

Conclusion and findings

To start with, it is good to appreciate that the society has greatly erred by defining what beauty is. The society should instead focus on one’s inner character and leave the physical characteristics lone. It doesn’t matter whether the society prefers skinny or curvy women since each preference will have an effect on the less preferred category. Without these definitions, people will be able to appreciate their bodies. But it is not easy to dictate to people what they should do. It therefore clear that to fight this low body image as a result of these perceptions should begin with an individual.

Society’s stereotypes on what is the ideal physical appearance have had a negative impact on body image especially of young people as seen in this discussion. If something is not done to educate the young people on the dangers of conforming to these stereotypes, they could end up losing it all .Most of the influence for these young people is coming from the media. The media should be encouraged to promote healthy living and to advise young people to lead a healthy lifestyle as well as avoid imitating what they see on television. They should further emphasize that a person should be judged from the inside and not merely from physical appearances.

Most of the people are aware of how the society emphasizes on physical appearance as well as what the society considers beautiful. However, not everyone will internalize the standards. There exist strong minded people who shun these standards. Such people are likely to possess a positive and hence have a high self-esteem (Peres 2001).

It is very unfortunate that our today’s society, people do not remember that it is usually what is in a person inside that count. It is prudent to realize that we should accept people for what they are and not what they look like. Any time that one decides on dieting, we should shun that thought and instead join a self-esteem class. It is good to learn to accept ourselves as this will help us to begin to love our bodies not withstanding our sizes.

It is every person’s responsibility to try hard and rise above these societal expectations and instead stand on their self-worth and valuation. Since young people are not mature enough to disentangle from the society’s perspective, they require their parents to protect them.

There is also need to impact knowledge in our children that they should be proud of who they are. They need to be reminded that people will never be the same but rather they will be of different sizes and shapes. They should therefore learn to appreciate all people. Moreover, they should be constantly reminded the values of eating healthy foods for their bodies. The move by some magazines to include plus size models in their fashion pages is commendable. This is because it will assist in boosting the body image of the plus size. This is owing to the fact when these women appear on magazines, an impression is created that even plus size people are attractive (Becker 1995).

Moreover, there is need to educate teenage girls of the dangers of anorexia. They should be made aware that anorexia cause one to develop bones theat are shrunken, loss of minerals, an abnormally low body temperature as well as irregular beating of the heart. When these dangers are highlighted then many young people will be deterred from developing this condition. This effort can be supplemented by using people who were anorexic but changed, to persuade others against it.

Finally, it is important to instill the value of independent mindedness and high self-esteem among the young people. It is also good to note that even though most of the people are aware of how the society emphasizes on physical appearance as well as what the society considers beautiful, not everyone will internalize the standards. There exist strong minded people who shun these standards. Such people are likely to possess a positive and hence have a high self-esteem.

Works cited

Becker, Anne E. Body, self, and society: the view from Fiji. 2nd Ed. Pennsylvania. University of Pennsylvania Press. 1995. pp24-pp78

Perse, Elizabeth M. Media effects and society. New York. L. Erlbaum Associates. 2001. pp248-pp279

To What Degree Did World War 2 Affect the American Society

To What Degree Did World War 2 Affect the American Society?

World War II occurred between 1939 and 1945. It led to many developments, some of them positive, others negative. One of the effects of World War II in America is that it led to deaths of many Americans. Among these were soldiers and civilians. Some of them were shot while at the war front. Others died due to the harsh environment of the war. According to Sommerville (2008) the war left about 418,500 Americans died. This was about 0.32% of the total population. World War II was the highest in position terms of cost in U.S. history with costs over $350 billion and more than 292,000 American military men killed in action. The war also led to the destruction of properties worth billions of shillings. It was an enormous blow to the American economy, although not as much as other countries suffered (Kenneth, 2007)

World War II changed the American social structure in a number of ways which included the empowerment of women especially in the workforce. Also many minorities groups got more jobs beside the discrimination by the rich Americans. Also the divorce rate increased and many families were weakened.

Economy and the Great Depression

World War II did affect almost every sector and aspect of American life. The decade of economic hardship is clearly marked to be 1930’s. In 1930, the Great Depression got deep, and millions of American citizens were forced out of their jobs. Americans had too little money to provide necessities for their families. President Roosevelt created several government agencies, which yielded thousands of jobs. The jobs created were targeting the minority groups since they were mostly affected by the war. The rich could still access industries for goods and services.

World War II initially led to a neutral position taken by USA. However, the Army made its aggressiveness known making it increasingly difficult for America to stay as a neutral nation. Before officially declaring its participation in WWII, America temporarily gave assistance to Britain, France and the Soviet Union. This was by means of the Lend-Lease Act. After the signing of Pearl Harbor, Roosevelt initiated the War Production Board where he made appointments. Sears- Roebuck became the executive vice president. Donald Nelson went on duty to organize the nation’s wealth and resources in an effort to help pull America out of war. Roosevelt was a believer. He believed that, in a capitalist country, one has to let business make money out of the development [of war], or business will not work. Roosevelt also was a believer in the close cooperation of business and government (Norton, et al., 2011 Pg. 592). American’s wealth increased making them realize their dream.

Moreover, WWII influenced the US economy was by encouraging large-scale investment in new technologies. The partnership of key government, science, and prominent business established in the1940 created a secure base for future projects. There was commissioning of scientists to perfect new weapons and other products. There was the improvement of radar, development of such antibiotics as penicillin. In the 1940s, A. Schatz and S. Waksman discovered streptomycin. It helped to treat patients during the war. There was also development of jet engines. This was an addition to the progress of the atomic technology.

World War II led to change in management systems of business. During WWII, business executives were in management of key positions under Roosevelt, in a determination to combine industry with government. As a result of the interaction with the government, corporate profits and industrial production profits nearly came to double, as there was demand in markets that in the past had not existed. Inflation was to be brought to control by the Office of Price Administration. Food rationing was the cry in the American households. The Office of Price Administration (OPA) was set up to set up rationing regulations. With the military as top precedence, American families began to feel the pressing. There were no such substitute foods as paraffin and dried powder eggs instead of cooking oil. Violators of the rationing rules were handed strict punishment. There were profits in the commercial farming industry as they made use of the war to their advantage. The integration of small farms into large commercial farms, as well as the increase in demand for fertilizer, led to a steady rise of profit. Americans reacted to the crisis of WWII efficiently and effectively. They created the supplies and hardware that did made an impact to the turning point of the war, and had armies marching back in progress to Berlin, and the Japanese island moving quickly in the Pacific back to Tokyo. From airplane to rubber factories, expectant Americans did flood the work force. This significantly reduced the unemployment rates to about 20%.

The government encouraged its citizens to start “Victory Gardens” where they could grow their own food. The government conducted competitions over states. It then published winning recipes to make use of home-grown vegetables. That effort was successful. At one point, during the war, 50% of the nation’s vegetables were advanced in victory gardens. Although the nation’s farm populace was on the decline down to 17 percent during the war, good weather, modern farm machinery and improved fertilizers were significant for agricultural production. Although discrimination did not entirely end, minorities and women were in access to many new opportunities. By the cease fire, 19.5 million women were working in the task (WriteWork.com, 2004).

Effect on Family Structure

Although the war had opened up fresh opportunities, it also brought much grief and a far more serious facts regarding life in its normal state. The distance away from fathers or sons left worrying effects, and in a sense, many had the perception that they had been robbed of their childhood. With the household changing roles, each member was filled with conflicting emotions. Women started working for their children’s feeding. They inhibited the roles of the fathers leading to weakness in their marriages. Divorce case also increased as women realized that they can also work (Weatherford, 1990, Pg 87).

World War II led the African Americans in accepting that the war industry positions migrated from the south. These factors did raise their economic standings. Professionalism came into being as they acquired skills but in spite of the issuance of The Fair Employment Practices Commission and Executive Order 8802, the African Americans still did face harsh discrimination. Like African Americans, Mexican-Americans were given chances to go to war, but they were also exposed to racial discrimination and prejudice. Increased migrations gave birth to violent situations.

World War II affected the lives of several Americans in countless ways. The war enhanced work morals and reduced unemployment rates close to nil. There was leisure time for the hardworking people. This was made up of hours in front of the television; movie watching and radio. Industrial opportunities in the World wars brought out the migration of southerners.

Despite a large number of American casualties, the United States received approval of victory, and due to the determination and drive of its people, America came out from the shambles of war as the world’s influential industrial nation. Americans were confident of increased economic growth after the war. For the first time, Americans were satisfied, because of the presence of possessions and materialistic comfort. The working class was earning more income than people in other technical jobs. This was as a result of its successful lobbying in numerous groups by many organizations. Most Americans could say they were living the “American Dream.” Despite the increase wages, poverty index rose. Some families were forced to opt out to look for work. Some 20 million people existed on the brink of starvation as families faced a serious shortage of housing, hospitals, lack of schools, and child-care facilities.

Those factors led to an upsurge in divorce, resulting in critical problems among the young. There were five million “war widows” trying to bring up their children as a single parent. Women with employment outside the home left behind tens of thousands of “latchkey” children who were not looked after much of the day. There was the rise in truancy, juvenile delinquency and Venereal disease. This gives evidence of the significance of the family.

Taxes skyrocketed. It was impossible to purchase a car because there were no manufacturers. Telephones were reserved for those in the military front and yet the standards of living were high. The country had pulled out of an inspiring economic depression, thanks to immensely expanded manufacturing.

The national and global influence of the United States changed significantly after World War II. World War II marked a time of success for millions of Americans. There were jobs during and after the war. America had amassed a lot of wealth during World War I when other states were busy at war. She concentrated on industrialization during this period and expanded through extending her influence to these nations. There was enough money to pay workers during the period. Most of them worked industriously to earn income. Farmers benefitted significantly during this period as agricultural production increased. The role of women also changed as many of them acquired employment opportunities.

Benefits for Veterans

The G.I Bill was established in 1944 as a range of benefits for the veterans returning from the World War II. These benefits included a cash payment of school tuition, high school or vocation education, expenses for living while attending college etc. The Act also provided them with one year compensation for unemployment. The bill thus was mostly utilized by veterans in education where 2.2 million people attended colleges and universities by 1956 (Glenn & Stuart, 2009, p118). Many people received education either in colleges and universities or on other vocational training.

Through the G.I Bill, the women who were serving the military also managed to get the education. The social change had been experienced since even the marginalized groups were being educated. This set the pace for even their children, hence eradicating poverty and loss of job since one could get a right job.

The position of United States in the world changed. It emerged the world’s Super Power after the World War II. It became superior to all other nations. Comparatively, America had fewer casualties meaning it was able to handle the war more technically compared to other nations in the world.

The end of World War II marked changes such as psychological changes. The United States started thinking differently. It was the world super power and hence had to lead from the front. It had to have a firm stand on its ideologies. It also had to make sure that other nations looked at it as a bench mark. USA concentrated on extending her influence in other parts of the world. It influenced the political situation in other countries by calling upon them to become capitalists. It also cancelled past deals.

The war also marked an increase in government spending on military affairs. The United States wanted to remain superior militarily as compared to other nations. It invested heavily on the military arms such as the navy, air force and army. The federal government also invested a lot of money in offering increased protection for the president. Moreover, it also invested heavily on maintaining territorial integrity and peace at the borders. Business corporations also supported the move to increase military strength by offering financial support to the federal government. The government became more conscious and concerned about peace than before. This is because the United States knew that after winning the war, chances of enemies attacking her were also high.

Discrimination and Racism

The war also marked increased discrimination within the United States of America. The Second World War Industrialization was towns growing significantly. More people started moving towards towns in an abrupt rural urban migration move. People were going to towns to look for jobs. Racial segregation became more evident in this rush than had happened before. The whites discriminated against the African Americans. This was a high form of discrimination. Whites obtained preference in job opportunities. To acquire services such as health, racial discrimination became rampant. In schools, the whites discriminated against the blacks. They felt they were more superior to the blacks. In the political front, most elective positions went to the whites.

After the war, Allies decided that they would sue all enemies for their criminal involvement against the Allies. The Nazi trial occurred in Germany. Here, the court tried about twenty one Nazi supporters. The Allies launched charges of deportation, rape and crimes against humanity. The court sentenced fourteen of the suspects to hanging. The court then declared prison sentences upon the remaining seven. The presence of concentration camps also attracted charges against war perpetrators. The Allies accused 25 men in Tokyo. The court found twenty two of them guilty and sentences them to severe punishments including hanging.

The United Nations came into being when the League of Nations failed. End of World War I saw the inception of the League of Nations where countries formed an alliance. However, the League of Nations failed in its primary mandate to prevent a future war. After 1945, it was crucial to form a similar organization, this time round, more powerful than the previous. This is how the United Nations Organization developed.

The Cold War

The end of World War II also marked the beginning of the cold war in the world. With America and USSR as the superpowers, each of them of these two countries wanted a fair share of their ideological principles to reign over the world. Each of them wanted to prove the other one wrong. United States wanted to spread capitalistic ideologies in the world while the USSR wanted to spread socialist ideas in the world. This resulted into the emergence of tension. The tension was marked by propaganda, political issues against each other, sanctions against certain countries and support for different blocks (Lightbody, 1999, Pg 18).

Conclusion

World War II saw significant changes especially on the social structure. People gained education. There was a change in technology as many weapons and technologies came in during the war. Changes in medicine were also evident as many casualties suffered in the war. These casualties needed medical attention. Necessity is the mother of invention. This explains why all these changes came in place. People needed weapons, medical care food and other necessities. There was increased research so as to take care of all this as educational boosted the sector. Moreover, politics also changed. All this saw the beginning of a “new world” and the realization of the American dream.

Works Cited

Glenn, Altschuler, Stuart Blumin. The GI Bill: A New Deal for Veterans, 2009, p 118

Kenneth, D. Rose. Myth and the greatest generation: A Social History of Americans in World,New York, Oct 10, 2007

Lightbody, Bradley. The Cold War, London, Routledge, 1999. Print.

Norton, Mary, et al. A People & A Nation: A History of the United States since 1865. Volume 2Cengage Learning, 2011

Sommerville, Donald. The Complete Illustrated History of World War Two: An Authoritative

Weatherford, Doris. American women and World War II / by Doris Weatherford Facts on File,New York, 1990

WriteWork.com. WriteWork.com, 03 April, 2004. Web. 11 Dec. 2012.