An examination into employee fraud - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 8 Words: 2313 Downloads: 9 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Law Essay Type Cause and effect essay Did you like this example? Running head: Employee Fraud Topic: Employee Fraud Name: Course: Instructorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Name: Date: Abstract Employee fraud is a grave problem facing many organizations globally. This paper outlines the dynamics of employee fraud. It attempts to analyze the problem of employee fraud in business enterprises. It explains what employee fraud means and what causes employee fraud or rather what motivates employees to commit fraud. It also looks into the procedure of detecting employee fraud. Finally it suggests various ways of curbing the problem; the regulations, standards, control measures and ethical requirements that must be put in place, to ensure that this vice does not clip the ability of businesses to flourish. Key words: Fraud, employee, employer, pressure, rationalization, embezzlement, conspiracy, forensic. Introduction Employee fraud is one of the most serious issues undermining business success in the world. Following a great number of major scandals lately, there has been a lot of dedicated research and attention being channeled into the fight against employee fraud. Regardless of the number of employees or the type of activities that a business enterprise deals with, each business globally is highly susceptible to employee fraud. Employee fraud is a high risk vice to the business enterprise because it leads to huge and significant losses to the business. The losses incurred by the business are in terms of financial losses and damaging of the public image of the business. For instance, many clients will not trust their investments with a business enterprise which cannot safeguard even its own resources from malicious employees. The clients will express doubts on the ability of the same malicious employees to manage their investments prudently. Comprehension of the dynamics of employee fraud, what causes it, how to detect it and how to prevent it is necessary to reverse the increasing number and i ntensity of scandals related to employee fraud. One of the various researches on the issue of employee fraud was conducted by Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC). According to this global economic crime study of 2009 by PWC, it was observed that the current economic turbulence is responsible for the polishing of the art of employee fraud leading to the emergence of fraud incidences of great magnitude. The number of employee scandals was also noted to be on a steep incline. Consequently this attracted a lot of attention both from the employers and the general public who were oblivious of the gravity of employee fraud in business institutions. To the employers this had the effect that it instilled a sense of caution when dealing with the employees (Timon, 2009). The employers were also forced to put in place aggressive professional regulations and ethical standards to safeguard the image of the business institution by preventing business fraud. Many business owners shifted their attitud e on the business audit process being a financial records verifying process to being a way of fraud detection and prevention (Vitalija, 2011). Employee fraud Employee fraud is defined as the deliberate misuse of the assets and resources of the employer for the employeeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s personal enrichment by taking advantage of ones position in the organization. Employee fraud can also be described as any deed or deeds carried out by a worker in an organization, a contractor contracted by the organization or at third party entity trusted by the organization that causes financial losses or has the potential to cause financial losses to the organization. Employee fraud is also referred to as embezzlement, occupational fraud, workplace fraud or internal fraud. Employee fraud is usually confused with terms like ignorance, negligence and error. However, employee fraud is different from these forms of unethical conduct in the sense that fraud is usually intentional and premeditate d or calculated with the intention of deception (Brent, 2012). Employee fraud is not only hazardous to the organisation, but also has negative impact on the national and global economy as well. It is estimated that a U.S. business loses an average of 5%-7% annual income through employee fraud (Vitalija, 2011). This means that the economy of the country also suffers a 5%-7% setback (PWC, 2009). One of the most controversial scandals involving employee fraud is that of two former employees of the JPMorgan Chase bank. The scandal was popularly referred to as the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“London whale scandal.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  The scandal cost the bank $6.2 billion. The employees falsified books and records relating to trading losses. The employees were subjected to criminal prosecution in New York in 2013 (Vitalija, 2011). Causes of employee fraud The most successful way to deal with employee fraud is to focus on ways of prevention. The process of preventing employee fraud is by a great exte nt cheaper and consumes less time resources than dealing with the aftermath of the fraud scandal. To efficiently prevent employee fraud, it is necessary to understand what causes employee fraud (Brent, 2012). A majority of people hold the notion that greed is the prime motivating factor for employee fraud. In order to demystify these misconceptions about employee fraud, a criminologist Dr. Donald Cressey came up with a concept known as the fraud triangle (Joseph, 1997). This model that helps to understand what motivates an employee to commit fraud was based on intensive and extensive research on workplace fraudsters who he referred to as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“trust violators.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  According to the fraud triangle, there are three factors that must exist to necessitate the commission of employee fraud. These are pressure, opportunity and rationalisation (Brent, 2012). The first factor; pressure, refers to presence of non-shareable financial need (Joseph, 1997). This is the prim ary motivation behind employee fraud. Pressure describes a financial obstacle that the employee cannot handle at his or her present financial status. This includes personal problems like inability to pay the bills, a gambling addiction, drug addiction or desire to have a better car or house. The obstacle may also be a professional obstacle like the requirement to meet the output targets at place of work and the requirement to improve productivity to earn and maintain investor confidence (Joseph, 1997). Since the employee cannot solve this hurdle this problem through any transparent means, he or she starts to consider an alternative way of solving it probably through an illegal means such as pilfering or misappropriation. The second component of the fraud triangle is opportunity. Opportunity refers to the means through which the employee intends to solve the problem that he or she is faced with. It describes the way the employee anticipates to use or her position to help him or he r to overcome the hurdle. It is at this stage that the employee determines which the best way is to commit the illegal act with minimal risk of being caught (Joseph, 1997). The employee is fully aware that the act they intend to execute is not appropriate. They know that they are at a risk of being prosecuted or lose the job or both if their actions are discovered. Therefore they are cautious to do everything in utmost secrecy (Brent, 2012). If they involve someone else they are likely to use a form of an arbitrative motivational means to buy their silence. A good example is where a bank employee gets access to unfilled cheque leaves. The employee may perceive this as an opportunity to use their position to steal the funds. He or she may do this by writing the cheque to him or herself. However, there is still a chance to be caught if this bank employee is not the one who will process the cheque. Therefore he or she will either need to be the one who processes the cheque or liaise wi th another employee of the bank who will process the cheque. The two can then share the funds according to a sharing formula that is agreed upon by them (Joseph, 1997). The third component of fraud triangle is rationalization. Most employee fraudsters are not typical criminals (Joseph, 1997). Most of them even do not have a record of criminal activities and the fraud may be their first criminal activity. They are mostly not proud of this act but they view themselves as innocent individuals who are caught up in difficult circumstances. Rationalization involves validating their acts and making them look tolerable and okay to themselves (Joseph, 1997). Most employee fraudsters will give excuses such as hey were just borrowing the money, they had to do it to sustain their family, they had to do it to avoid losing their job or the employer was unfair and he deserved to be defrauded. With these three factors in place, employee fraud may also be fuelled by other factors in the busine ss structure including lack of or poor internal control structures. These may result from lax control measures in the organisation (Steve, 2003). Another additional factor is the situation where the manager overrules the administrative structures and control mechanisms. Since the manager is a senior employee, the junior employees are less likely to question any misappropriation on the part of the manager. Conspiracy between the workers to defraud the employer may also encourage an environment of employee fraud. Finally, treachery involving the employees and a contractor or a third party may also amount to employee fraud (Joseph, 1997). Detection of employee fraud Detection of employee fraud can be accomplished using a number of ways. In the United States of America, 32.4% of the cases of employee fraud are detected through tips, mostly from anonymous sources. 25.4% of the fraud cases are discovered by accident. This is in cases where the perpetrator do not thing through their plan carefully leading to an error that exposes their dirty deeds. Finally, 20.2% of the employee fraud cases are revealed through the audit process. The auditing process may be done for verification of records and balancing of accounts. The audit may also be done for forensic purposes where there are claims of employee fraud or where misappropriation is suspected. It may also be done to confirm allegations of misappropriation where the suspect has denied the claims (Vitalija, 2011). There is a set of unusual activity pointers or signals that aid the forensic auditors to detect instances where there may be the presence of cases of employee fraud. This unusual activity is referred to as a red flag (Steven, 2012). It signifies activities that deviate from the norm that necessitate further scrutiny (Joseph, 1997). These include vicissitudes in the lifestyle of the employee, substantial debt problems, difficult credit situations, altered behaviour trends e.g. drug abuse and gambling addiction, snubbing annual vacation, hesitance to give information to the auditors, employees being involved in recurrent arguments with the auditors, missing altered or copied documents, employees openly denigrating the regulatory bodies and auction of the organisations assets at an undervalued rate (Steven, 2012). These signals cannot be used to infer guilt but they are just an admonition for fraud. There are computer programs in business records analysis packages that help in identifying the red flags and determine the severity of the underlying issues marked by each respective red flag (Timon, 2009). Prevention of employee fraud The process of preventing and avoiding employee fraud is a broad and a comprehensive one. The administration of the organisation bears the highest responsibility when it comes to curbing employee fraud. It starts from the hiring process to the time the employee is inducted into the workforce (Steve, 2003). The first measure to prevent employee frau d is to conduct the hiring process prudently. The administration can do this by ensuring the there is sufficient background checks before the employee is employed. This will help the organisation administration to identify candidates who have a past history of professional misconduct in form of workplace fraud (Steve, 2003). It also helps the employer to determine the tendency of the employee to commit fraud depending on the potential sources of financial pressure. This includes history of drug abuse, addiction to gambling, credit problems, debt problems and divorce and mortgage status (Steven, 2012). The second way that the employer can prevent employee fraud is by scrutinising the candidateà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s referees. The referees can provide invaluable information about the work ethics of the candidate and save the business from employing a potential fraudster. The third way that employee fraud can be prevented is by establishing and sensitising the workers on a reasonable co de of conduct. The administration should be actively involved in the process of upholding the ethical control mechanisms to set a good example to the rest of the workforce. While this does not deter most fraudsters, it clearly lays out boundaries which when violated would amount to misconduct (Brent, 2012). Another additional strategy that can be employed to prevent employee fraud is identifying and dealing with signs of pressure. Most workers commit fraud because they do not feel appreciated at the workplace. The may also commit fraud if they are under pressure both professionally and personally (Timon, 2009). Therefore, the employer should always be on the lookout for the red flags previously identified. It is always prudent for the organisation to respond to the signs of pressure and addressing them rather than waiting until it is too late (Brent, 2012). In conclusion, cases of employee fraud have been on the rise in the previous years. They cost the economy and the respect ive organisations a huge sum of money. Therefore, this necessitates the need to take the necessary measures through timely intervention (Vitalija, 2011). The success of the interventions solely depends on the willingness of the organisation to address the causes of fraud and deal with these causes prudently to save the organisations from suffering financial losses. References Brent E. (2012).Forensic Fraud: Evaluating law enforcement and forensic science cultures in the context of examiner misconduct. Pp.17-44 Joseph T. (1997). Fraud and abuse: The Fraud Triangle. Obsidian publishing co. pp. 1-56 PWC. (2009). The Global Economic Crime Study. Steve A. (2003). Fraud examination: workplace fraud. Thomson south-western publishing. Pp. 17-26 Steven J., Thomas P. (2012). Red Flags for Fraud. State of New York Office of the State Comptroller. Pp. 1-15. Timon M. (2009). Employee fraud; the internal storm. Pp. 1-3 Vitalija B. (2011). An Empirical Study of Audit Expect ation Gap. Pp. 1-74. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "An examination into employee fraud" essay for you Create order

Movie Review Chewing Gum For The Eyes By Frank Lloyd...

Blog 16 – 4 TV inspired slot games that will certainly tickle you fancy These days everyone seems to love a good adaptation. From book to screen and screen to game, it seems when a product is a hit; it becomes a hit through a variety of different mediums. Not missing out on the all the adaptation fun, the online casino industry has stepped up as a popular platform for licensees to take advantage of. Online slot games were once described as â€Å"chewing gum for the eyes† by Frank Lloyd Wright due to the ease of entertainment they provide, with more players getting their fix of such entertainment in 2016 more than ever. Next time you visit an online casino portal, settle in for a night in front of the small screen and give these TV inspired slot games a try. The Sopranos If there was ever a TV show that lived long in the memory it was The Sopranos, a show that told the story of New Jersey’s most ruthless fictional crime family. The Sopranos is a show that made HBO a must watch channel, with the same effect occurring with several of the world’s biggest online casinos. The Sopranos Slots is commonly considered to be the very best TV slots adaptation currently available. Featuring Paulie, Johnny, Chris, Bobby, Artie, and of course Tony himself, all the imagery used with this 5-reel, 25-payline title will be instantly recognisable. Adding to the atmospheric design of the game is a selection officially licensed video clips that are interspersed within gameplay. If you have ever

Learning Through Observation When Assessing Young Children Free Essays

The value of observation in the assessment of a child is very important because that is how you get to know a child better. While observing how a child interacts with their peers, adults, and how they behave in different settings, you are getting to know the child without speaking to them. It also provides us with information by helping us to determine where a child stands in his or her development. We will write a custom essay sample on Learning Through Observation When Assessing Young Children or any similar topic only for you Order Now This information can be used to put together activities that can help the child’s progress. It also helps educators see what things are right or wrong.When collecting the data we can pick their strongest strengths and help them to continue develop them and branch out to new activities that will help them with any issues they might have and improve in the future. We can learn through observation by writing important details that cannot be notice on a standardized test. Observation is a tool to help us learn about each child, our environment, and our work in caring for children. Also it helps the teacher to identifying the source of a problem (not just the individual child but also his or her environment and the children associated with him/her). Other means of assessments are done once a year. While observing a child you can repeat observations over a period of time can show how a child’s development is progressing. The value of observation is very important to anyone that is in contact with a child to have better understanding of their strength and abilities. Teachers/educators can help a child in a timely manner while other assessments you need to wait for the information to arrive and this could take about six months to a year and sometimes it can jeopardize the child’s development. How to cite Learning Through Observation When Assessing Young Children, Essays

Macbeth Essay free essay sample

This puts Macbeth at a loss for words , they then look at banquo and tell him his sons will be king someday aswell but not him. â€Å"All hail, Macbeth, hail to thee, Thane of Glamis/ All hail, Macbeth, hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor/ All hail, Macbeth, Thou shalt be king hereafter! † (1. 3. 50-53). This is the first set of prophecies the witches made and the start to Macbeth’s downfall. What the witches done to Macbeth with these prophecies to make him commence his downfall was they filled his head with these positive flattering things that made him want to go to extreme measures just to become what the witches proclaimed would happen. Proof that this first set of prophecies commenced his downfall is once king Duncan had named malcom to be king apposed to Macbeth, Macbeth then considered the idea that he should murder Duncan to become king. The second set of prophecies given to Macbeth appeared as apparitions by the three witches and each apparition gave Macbeth a different prophecy. The first prophecy is an armed head which tells Macbeth to beware of Macduff â€Å" Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth! Beware Macduff. Beware the thane of Fife. Dismiss me. Enough. † (4. 1. 74-75). The second apparition appeared as a bloody child who tells Macbeth the only person who can harm him is a man not born of a woman. â€Å" Be bloody, bold, and resolute. Laugh to scorn/The power of man, for none of woman born/Shall harm Macbeth. † (4. 1. 81-83). The final apparition summoned by the witches was a crowned child holding a tree that states Macbeth will not be killed until the woods of birnam are at Dunsinane Hill. Be lion-mettled, proud, and take no care/Who chafes, who frets, or where conspirers are. /Macbeth shall never vanquished be until/Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill/Shall come against him. † (4. 1. 94-98). These summons created by the witches are a big part in Macbeth’s downfall because they gave him more confidence that he would not be killed . Macbeth believed that these prophecies were ridiculous and that it was impossible for him to happen although he did not think them through because all of these prophecies came true in the end. Although the witches gave Macbeth these prophecies making him over confident and giving him the idea to kill Duncan they are not the only ones to blame, Macbeth’s wife Lady Macbeth also played a big role in the downfall of Macbeth by persuading Macbeth to kill King Duncan. She did this by telling him that if the witches prophecies were to come true and he were to become king he must kill those who stood in the way. She then proceeds to question his manhood and makes him feel guilty for her when she says she would kill her own child if she had promised it to her beloved to do it. What beast was ’t, then, That made you break this enterprise to me? When you durst do it, then you were a man; And to be more than what you were, you would Be so much more the man. Nor time nor place Did then adhere, and yet you would make both. They have made themselves, and that their fitness now Does unmake you. I have given suck, and know How tender ’tis to love the babe that milks me . I would, while it was smiling in my face, Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums And dashed the brains out, had I so sworn as you Have done to this. † (1. 7. 47-59). Lady Macbeth was fully capable of killing the king herself, she had made a good plot to kill him but she never killed him herself because she claimed King Duncan reminded her of her father. â€Å"Had he not resembled/My father as he slept, I had done ’t. † (2. 2. 12-13). If Lady Macbeth would have performed the murder herself Macbeth would not have been driven mad. After Macbeth killed King Duncan the guilt he felt was taking over his mind, saying that there was blood on his hands that would not come off. Lady Macbeth could maybe have comforted him in this time of need but instead she called him mad nd put him down. Although both the witches and Lady Macbeth were contributors to Macbeth’s death they cannot take all the blame for Macbeths death, Macbeth himself plays a big role in the his tragic death. Macbeth knew killing King Duncan was wrong he was always loyal to the king and Duncan trusted Macbeth greatly but he let the witches get into his head and let their prophecies corrupt his mind without no proof saying he had to kill Duncan to become king. Although Lady Macbeth gave him guilt and questioned his manliness he could have told her no he could have told her no and went with what he knew was best. Macbeth’s ambition to hold his spot on the throne was another good reason as to why he died, after killing Duncan Macbeth decided that he should also kill Banquo because Macbeth thought Banquo would suspect him after the prophecies the witches made. This was a mistake by Macbeth because this only made Macbeth more aggressive and his desire to kill stronger. The main mistake Macbeth made was the faith he had towards the prophecies made by the witches, he felt he was invincible. Even once the prophecy about the Birnam Woods reached the castle he belived he could not be killed by anyone because he thought all men were born of a woman. â€Å"Fear not, till Birnam wood/Do come to/Dunsinane†; and now a wood/Comes toward Dunsinane. ’(5. 5. 43-45) â€Å"Thou wast born of woman. /But swords I smile at, weapons laugh to scorn,/Brandished by man that’s of a woman born. (5. 7. 13-15). This confidence followed Macbeth right to his fight against Macduff, once he began to fight with macduff we learn that macduff was actually ripped out of his mothers stomach and not born from the womb making him not born bt a woman. â€Å"Despair thy charm,/And let the angel whom thou still hast served/Tell thee,/Macduff was from his mother’s womb/Untimely ripped. (5. 8. 13-17). Macbeth then accepted his fate and fought Macduff and lost his life. Although there was multiple factors that led to Macbeths demise such as evil witches and a power hungry wife the one who played the biggest role in his death was Macbeth himself. Even though all of the witches prophecies came true there no proof saying they were destined to come true but only that Macbeth caused these prophecies to be true. If Macbeth would have did what he knew was right he would have saved the lives of a lot of people including the wife he loved so dearly.

Applied Psychology Example

Applied Psychology Example Applied Psychology – Coursework Example Evidence Based practice: Future Career Perspectives in Applied Behavioral Science. Evidence Based practice: Future Career Perspectives in Applied Behavioral Science. I am an Applied Behavioral Science Major student and plan to venture into private practice after graduation. The move will give a chance to help save marriages by becoming a marriage counselor. The practice will give me a chance to apply the skills taught to me and help my community. Applied psychology is the practice use of methods and findings in psychology to evaluate and solve practical behavioral problems in the life of humans and animal. Applied psychology work in sync with evidence based practice. Evidence based practice utilizes three main arms that are essential to my future practice. They include the clinical expertise, patient value & preference and best research evidence. The Clinical expertise part I am getting in class and field attachments. The Patient value and preference is unique to each case that I w ill be handling in private practice. The best research evidence is necessary in the practice and this is from reading medical publications, books and journals to update me on newly proven techniques that work based on the evidence. It is necessary to ensure the techniques that I apply work and save marriages from divorces. Statistics ion United States of America reveals a high rate of cases of divorce in the country. Tori DeAngelis research in a periodical â€Å"The Couple Doctor† Reveal more of the evidence based practice saves marriages. Her study she compeers sharing of methods that have been proved to work and working in solitude results (DeAngelis, 2011). In conclusion, for a successful career it is important to be always updated on the most effective and research proven methods that work to achieve perfect results.ReferenceDeAngelis, T. (2011, January 10). What helps troubled relationships thrive: Internet training and with veterans and their spouses. The couples docto r , p. 40. Applied Psychology Example Applied Psychology – Coursework Example Applied Psychology Applied Psychology: Option A Karen is suffering from major depression. Karen’s symptoms point to major depression rather than bipolar depression. This is because she experiences extreme sadness most of the time, feels hopeless and finds no enjoyment in life. Consequently, she is contemplating suicide. Karen does not experience mood swings but feels â€Å"down† most of the time. This is different from bipolar depression where an individual experiences highs and lows.Major depression is an acute medical illness that affects one’s feelings, thoughts, mood, behavior and physical health (NAMI, 2012). It is a life-long condition that requires long-term treatment in order to keep the symptoms from recurring. Karen’s is a case of recurrent symptoms since she is now feeling low all the time. She has lost interest in life and such things as food, sex, sleep and friends, among others no longer have any appeal on her. Consequently, she feels worthle ss and may be driven to commit suicide.As a mental health professional, I would first make a diagnosis of Karen’s situation to ensure that in deed she has major depression by carefully analyzing the symptoms. Having confirmed that Karen suffers from major depression, I would proceed to prescribe appropriate treatment. The latest treatment for major depression is the trans-cranial direct current stimulation (Fregni et al, 2006), but I would apply this method if medication fails. However, I would advise her to map out her patterns of illness and learn how to cope with the symptoms. I would also encourage her to develop supportive relationships, especially with me, and to be open about her condition. Taking aerobics will also go a long way to make her condition manageable.ReferencesFregni, F., Boggio, P. S., Nitsche, M. A., Marcolin, M. A., Rigonatti, S. P. and Pascual-Leone, A. (2006), Treatment of major depression with transcranial direct current stimulation. Bipolar Disorders , 8:  203–204. doi:  10.1111/j.1399-5618.2006.00291.NAMI (2012) Depression. The National Alliance on Mental Illness. Fairfax. www.nami.org/store.

lagaan essays

lagaan essays Lagaan is an Indian movie created in Bollywood. The word lagan means tax in Hindu, where in this movie it pertains to the tax the British set on the small Indian village called Champaner, in India. It is a movie about common men, led by a strong-minded man who stands his ground for a cause against the powerful British general. The British treat the Indians as second-class citizens in their own country; which causes the natives to hate the British with a passion. The movie takes place in a small village in India, where the British army has taken over. There is a tax that the Indian villagers must pay to the British generals every year. The British general who is in charge of this village is Captain Andrew Russell, viewed in this movie as a greedy, unfair and very proud man. Captain Russell decides to double the taxes for the villagers. The village is starving as it is, and the increased tax will only give the villagers more hardships. In response to the new tax, the villagers gather in front of the British headquarters. Bhuvan, a young strong-minded man, stands up to the British general and demands fairness. The British general surprised and ignorant decides to deceive the Indians by challenging them to a cricket match. And who ever loses will have to pay, not double but triple the tax, in doing so, Captain Russell knows that the Indians were not familiar with the game. Bhuvan, without consent of the rest of the village, aggress to the match. At first the villagers are furious with Bhuvan. They know that their chances of winning are very slim. But Bhuvan determined to win, convinces slowly one by one each. Soon enough they have formed a team. But still they have not yet fully understood the game of cricket. One day when spying on the British playing cricket, they are approached my Elizabeth, Captain Russells sister. Feeling bad for the villagers, Elizabeth decides to help Bhuvan, without the consent of he...

To what extent is marketing a hindrance or help to democracy in the Essay

To what extent is marketing a hindrance or help to democracy in the 21st century - Essay Example How can we explain the effects of marketing in a democratic political system? This question cannot be addressed without establishing marketing as a concept and its relationship with the dynamic social, technological and economic landscape of the 21st century. The terms, mass-market, consumer culture, commodification, among others, characterize the 21st century societies. This underscored how marketing dominates the public sphere with the advent of technology. Here, the masses are either homogenized and heterogenised by marketing through technologies and media platforms that could deliver messages to a whole population simultaneously and real time. The consumer seduction has been so successful that economic models such as Fordism was able to develop expansionist strategies wherein mass markets have worked against the perpetuation of material class distinctions as economies of scale expanded the size and composition of the consuming population. (Dunn 1998: 119) Schumpeter (1976) talked about this agglomeration of people as some phenomenon that deprives individuals from their capacity to reflect rationally, arguing that when gathered together, people are easily worked into a state of excitement in which primitive impulses, infantilisms and criminal propensities’ replace moral restraints and civilised modes of thinking. (pp. 257) In relating this phenomenon to democracy and politics, we have the fact that leaders compete for votes in the same way that business people compete for customers. Subsequent application of economic theory to politics reached similar, if not identical, conclusions. John Corner and Dick Pels (2003), for instance, drew attention to the impact of imperfect information on political behaviour in a democracy, to quote: In a situation where views of voters are not immediately transparent to parties and party policy is unclear to voters, each has to incur costs in finding out information. Such costs have to be weighed against the benefits of the

Unplanned Pregnancy and Abortion Laws Research Paper

Unplanned Pregnancy and Abortion Laws - Research Paper Example This is majorly because of lack of knowledge on the different methods of protection from pregnancy. Lack of finance also probes them to abort because they are afraid that they may not be able to give the child the basic needs. The contraceptives have become very costly for most of the American women who live under the poverty line. Normally, many women who abort are usually in the teen years. This is when peer influence is highest and many women try to fit in the society ending up getting pregnant and seeking abortion1. Abortion was legalized in America in 1973 by the Supreme Court. However, it became a very controversial issue. This is mainly because of the different ways that people look at abortion. Many are influenced by their religious beliefs, public health issues and ethics. Others believe that one should not suffer because of a pregnancy they had not even planned for in the first place. Before contraceptives became popular, may women in the United States had unplanned pregnancy. This was especially for young mothers who could not space out their children and thus had many maternal health problems. Later on, in the late twentieth century, the use of contraceptives reduces significantly, as the family planning methods became popular2. However, lately, due to politics interfering negatively with the use of contraceptives, unplanned pregnancies have drastically augmented. This is because the negative views of some politicians made some stakeholders to withdraw their financial support for family planning companies. In the recent past, the American lawmakers who belonged to the Republican Party were against abortions. Therefore, in the sittings that happened in 2011, they tried to make sure that the cost of having an abortion was very costly for women.

Comparison and Contrast of Two Articles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Comparison and Contrast of Two Articles - Essay Example Beyrer’s (2010) article in turn seeks to find a solution that addressed the technical difficulties plaguing students, and hampering learning in online classes. Both articles used the term online to refer to a certain form of instructional method, people, or abilities that make use of the World Wide Web. In â€Å"Comparing Student Achievement in Online and Face-to-Face Class Formats,† Dell, Low and Wilker (2010) used the term online to refer to a form of teaching method that was used as a basis for comparison with the more traditional chalk and blackboard method of teaching, which has been practiced for years. They used the term to refer to a world wide web-aided learning that professors used to channel their lessons and teachings. Dell, Low and Wilker’s (2010) wrote that: A research project was conducted to analyze student achievement using submitted assignments for two sections of a graduate course in human development and learning, taught both online and face-t o-face, as well as three sections of undergraduate educational psychology, two of which were taught face-to-face, and one taught online. (p. 30) In this paragraph, the authors used online to give readers a mental picture of how the online teaching format was done; it also elucidates the items used from which to draw a quantifiable comparison between the two teaching platforms used. â€Å"Online teaching and learning is now commonly offered in teacher education programs, with students enrolled in either individual classes or entire programs online† (Dell, Low, & Wilker, 2010, p. 30). Here, the authors used online to refer to a list of courses that students can take via the web. According to the Montgomery College in Maryland (2006), online courses are convenient, flexible, individualized, promote life-long learning, and are cost-effective. The growing popularity of online courses has led the proponents to explore its efficiency in delivering quality education minus the four co rners of the classroom. Since online instruction and research methodology are under scrutiny, especially in terms of student achievement, researchers should continue to focus on comparing face-to-face and online class student outcomes, as well as the development of best practices in online pedagogy. (Dell, Low & Wilker, 2010) Online in this paragraph was again used to refer to the teaching platform that was being compared against the standard face-to-face method of teaching. Apart from referring to it as a new teaching method used, online in the third line also refers to the group of students that are learning from, or are enrolled in the said method of instruction. The â€Å"Online Student Success: Making a Difference† by Beyrer (2010), on the other hand, used online, still, to refer to a world wide web-associated body of knowledge; however, the term this time is not associated with a method of teaching employed by professors. Instead, it is mostly used to denote an online c ourse that can help prepare, and equip students in troubleshooting future problems encountered while learning online. Beyrer wrote: â€Å"This research project examines the effectiveness of one answer to this question. Cosumnes River College offers a course to meet this need, Online Student Suc

Individualism in China: TV Case Study

Individualism in China: TV Case Study Individualism Transition in Chinese Cultural Values Through A Case Study of TV Show Super Girl Introduction â€Å"Individualâ€Å", the term by itself means something or someone unique. Thus, â€Å"Individualism† is a revolution which tends to power the rights of an individual. In countries like America, such a practice is followed. The people there wish that there should be enough personal space for every individual without being disturbed by name of any kind of authority or power as well. But the extreme opposite culture or practice prevails in China, which can be shortly called as collectivism. Here, neither the thought of individual nor their wish is given privilege. It is because they believe in group thought and they strive together for group success. If in case any individual in a group is having opinion mismatch with that of the group, then the individual is expected to suppress the thoughts without disturbing the groups activities. (Pratt, D. D.1991) Such a practice could also be viewed as forcing a common thought upon everybody. But this is their culture and they have be en practicing it for quite long years. We have to say that they got used to it. Now, in the recent past a TV show called â€Å"Super girls† has been commenced and succeeded as well. It is a talent reality show which brings out the talents of an individual to the sight of everybody by giving them a suitable platform. Another interesting fact about this show is that, it is the public who judge the show. They vote for their favorite star of the show and thus the winner is selected. But it is been condemned by the commentators that the Super girls show is kindling the individualistic feeling amidst the collectivism practitioners. Many have started protesting against the show fearing that the show may disturb the Chinese culture. But on the other hand the public started enjoying the entertainment. They are glad to vote for their stars. (Ding, Y. 2008) China is a country which always value team success. Simply speaking, they follow collectivism. They give much importance to group thoughts than the individual opinion. This practice is strictly followed by them in the name of culture. Chinese people have not practiced direct election. But recently the situation has changed because of the Super Girl show in China. It is condemned by the analysts that this show has initiated amidst people individualism. Let us discuss whether the show is really spreading individualism among the Chinese youths. The Chinese culture –A History Change – has been the most prominent factor characterizing the world of today. Every second of our life is changed as discoveries and inventions galore the place we live on. This kind of transformation is not new to the least. It has been a constant factor; right from man finding fire to the scientific revolution, travelling from bullock-carts to modern cars, from eating anything to standardizing the meal we take, the world has almost seen everything. Each change in turn was diversified among several groups of people based on their idealistic values, the ethical principles they followed and their welfare corresponding to their geographical region. These diversified changes slowly developed as cultural behavior of that particular group. Then there came a point where all the diversifications attained saturation. In the end, instead of these changes governing the cultural behavior, it turned out the direct opposite way where cultural behavior dominates the changes. (Songhua, F, n. d) For now, the cycle has turned again. Its almost a revolutionizing act if a person does the direct opposite of what their culture intends them to do. Chinese culture gives the Chinese people their basic identity. They have certain core values which are exclusive and consistent, and these are fashioned by a tradition of four thousand years of history and maintained by the same language as well. Considered to be one of the oldest cultures, the Chinese culture has a vast and traditional history. Several groups of people, each having their own unique traits have shaped and nurtured the Chinese traditions and practices. It has evolved through different ages constantly but has always maintained its true identity. ( Destiny: Culture of China,1998) Being the most populous country in the world, and the geographical landscape covering major part of Asia, there were as many as 56 groups of people who followed unique culture in ancient China. (Constitution, 1982) As time passed by, each of the groups lost their identity and their culture got erased with time. Chinese culture is well influenced by â€Å"Confucius†, who is a Chinese philosopher. The teachings of Confucius are called by the name ‘Confucianism, which stress the importance of individuals education based on morals so that the moral virtue of the state will be raised. (Downs, 1971) China-present Scenario In the current scenario, China is considered to be the fastest emerging super power engaging itself to compete at the top most level in almost all fields starting from business to space research. Its economic transition is increasing exponentially when compared to other countries. In such a high paced world, the time spent for conserving the true traits and habitat of Chinese culture is often neglected. Given the exposure to television and internet services, already doubts have risen among several quarters about the sustainability of the age old heritage. The different cultures exposed to people through these commercial mediums have fascinated the current generation of people to explore the then unassailable cultures leaving them unfazed by the deterioration of their own culture. (Child, J., David, K. 2001). Individualism – A theory Oyserman, Coon, et al.s (2002) through their extensive analysis on individualism and collectivism suggest that Individualism can be considered as a stand-alone construct for analyzing cross-cultural comparisons. They suggest that individualism as the core reason for the extensive differences society, emotions and individual behavior. Individualism can be considered to be the most critical factor for modeling a personality of oneself. Mcrae (2001) also suggests that a countrys decision to explore and try out new things depends on their individualistic nature. Since every person contributes to the success of a country, this statement does offer a fruitful thought about individualism and its effects. The thought of exploration and trying new things is termed to be an important characteristic of individualism as it leads individuals to form new relationships based on their needs and tasks. Also, the relationship life is not formed on the basis of solidarity and people often entangle them selves in new relationships, which is completely opposite to Chinese culture. Another important characteristic of individualism is that it plays an integral part in the well being of an individual. The individual may be fully satisfied with the right to choose their own purpose and their own vision in their life. They enjoy complete satisfaction of what they are performing. This is one of the reasons that individualistic countries produce lots of inventions and new kinds of activities every now and then. People are allowed to explore in their own ways. (Lam C 1997) On the other hand, though individualism allows people to have their own relationships, it also lends to an increase in the number of divorces in an individualistic country. But then, by all means, people are satisfied in both ends with their relationships and they enjoy complete freedom. People following individualism provide higher importance to their leisure activities compared to other nations. It has been confirmed through reports that individualistic people tend to make self analyzed decisions based on their own experiences instead of carrying out tasks suggested by others. (Schimmack, Radhakrishnan, et al., 2002) Collectivism versus individualism Basically Chinese people value collectivism rather than individualistic opinion. There is no difference that matter to race, class or community. Their focus is upon the opinion or claim of a group or association. They always demand that a group is more important than an individual. This at times led to suppression of self opinion and interest for the welfare of the group as a whole. Thus collectivists must be able to do sacrifice. But the interesting fact about this is, pure democracy is a form of collectivism. (Jhuener,2006) On the other hand most American countries have developed individualism. They believe, without protecting individuals right, there is no sense in protecting an individual. Thus individualism is described as a revolution which protects an individuals right which in turn protects a man from the other and thus it protects the state as a whole. It opposes collectivism saying that it denies an individual his or her right to life. Moreover they charge against the collectivists that they are poisoning the country. Also they condemn that the ability and efforts of some men are been sacrificed for the sake of others. (Wong, E. Y. 2001) David Brooks, a newspaper editor, has analyzed about the striking behavior of the mentality of the collectivists and that of the individualists. He cites an interesting example. If we show the image of a fish tank to an American, he will focus the biggest fish in the tank and will start explaining about it, whereas if the same image is shown to a Chinese person, he will view the tank as a whole and will start explaining about the contextual behavior of the group of fishes inside. Brooks says (2008) â€Å"An American in general looks into the category but a Chinese will look into the context†. Also Brooks (2008) explains the behavior of people in collectivistic countries and individualistic countries as People in individualistic countries tend to overestimate their skills whereas those in collectivistic societies under estimate their skills. People in countries like China will always tend to contribute more for group efforts. Scientist too has supported his thoughts. They say relationship is the key to happiness. People living in groups tend to flourish whereas those living alone tend to depression and they even commit suicide. Super Girl – the show Any country which gets a feel of something attractive and something they could get attracted too would welcome it with open hearts. Such is a scenario with the television show, â€Å"Super Girl†. It is basically a Chinese version of â€Å"American Idol† TV show. When the show first started in 2005, it attracted as many as 400 million people from China, almost equaling the population of US and UK totaled together. It is a female contested show, where any girl irrespective of our background origin and other details can participate in it and showcase her talent. The show was conducted in a hierarchical round order, where each round filters the number of candidates and only the best of the lot enter the final round. (China Daily, 2005) The 2005 season saw more than a hundred thousand applicants. Everyone was given 30 seconds to perform on stage and in the allotted time they have to impress the judge with their talent. Out of the entire competitors, three were filtered for the final round. They battled it out in one of the most exciting shows that entire China has never experienced. (China Daily, 2005) The exposure was so much that during the final show, almost every Chinese voted for the contestants to show their support. The major feature that attracted people towards the show apart from the glittering display was that the people were in turn played the role of the judges. It involved voting through SMS and other services. This made everyone feel as if they contribute towards the selection of the winner and this in turn motivated each individuals spirits. (Ding, Y. 2008) One of the major factors of individualism that affected the Chinese culture through this show was neither the Government, nor the party had any sort of role to play in its success. Its an ultimately new thing for the people of China. The reason for that is, prior to this show, the only entertainment that was given to people through television was Spring Festival show, conducted by the government itself. And this show was running under strict supervision. Only the party people were allowed to view it, the rest were all watching through television alone. In fact, they were allowed only to watch, not even to participate. Rest of the shows that got aired was all military programs, bashing out all kinds of military anthems and stuffs. And so, in short, with this show, the party and the government were neglected all together. For, the people, any kind of information and policy from the government regarding the show wouldnt have mattered anything. Hence, there was no show as universally accepted as this show was. (Hutong, X. 2005) The country till then had never favored any individual pop star to turn media towards them and gain popularity. So, when the three young lads, in their early 20s, rocked the stage with confidence and superiority, the whole nation appreciated and amazed. It was a freedom of liberty, a freedom of expression to many individuals to show their talent to all in a way they have never done before. (Hutong, X. 2005). This is the most popular as well as the most sensational show as well. But then, it is been condemned by the politicians that this show is offending the traditional custom of China. Inevitably this show has kindled the nationalists to debate upon the democracy in China. Generally the success of TV shows lies upon the comments of certain analysts who could be political commentator. Thus they took in their hands to post-mortem about the sensational show. Yardley, J. (2005). Rise of individualism Since the time when China became as Peoples Republic of China in 1949, ‘Collectivism has been their policy. It still remains the same. It does not have direct elections to select a person to run the country. On this point of view, the â€Å"Super Girl† show has provided the people a new form of election where individual voting matters. It just totally opposes the cultural values of China. (Junbo, J. 2009). It follows the footsteps of ‘individualism which leads to the path of democracy in a non-democratic country. This is the point where the show attracted envys from all corners on a political perspective. As soon as the show gained popularity, the politicians criticized it to be ridiculous and rudimentary, obstructing the growth of Chinese culture and mentioned it as promoting individualism. (Quing, M. 2005). The change in cultural values towards individualism did not stop with entertainment channel alone. The mindset of the people was another major factor that got changed. In China before Super Girl, people were not given an opportunity to vote. This in turn lead people disabled to execute their freedom to pursue their own course of life. In all ways, the government or the path came in their way. After this show, people have an opportunity to exercise their right to participate, execute their will. (Li, B. , 2005). The other change brought about by this show is that the excitement and joy experienced by the people during the show, displayed that people are ready to move away from the idealistic values followed by the communist party. Though this seems to be just a view of people, many critics believe that it has led to a new phenomenon emulating the civil society, where individual people can be given the higher priority rather than the society. Starting from the end of the 20th century, there have been innumerable divisions within the society based on social and cultural values. Zhu Dake (2005) has even mentioned about this, The Super Girls let us see that when the media can grasp public opinion, it can generate a powerful force. I feel that public opinion will be the most productive force in 21st century China. Role of media Coming to the part the media played in this, the â€Å"Super Girls† show has showed that how powerful media can be. It has given a solid strength and evidence to the people that media has the power to change the face of the nation. It has the power to raise the voice of the public, no matter how big the government is. Also, with the advent of internet really making its way into each and everyones lives, the right to express individual view as gathered attention and people are starting to use it. Super Girl-Show for all Before the show was aired, every activity performed in the country was gradually developing a split between the different levels of society. The elite and rich people of China had a better say in each and every activity than the under-privileged. This was turning out to be a major factor cultivating caste and ethnic group differences. The arrival of this show smashed up such theories that were existing and that were been practiced. It cleared the air stating a firm statement that the country and participation is for all. (Lynch, D. 2005) Super Girls – the three finalists and their spirit of individuality Out of the several thousands of people who competed in the Super girl show, three girls were selected in the final. They were Li Yuchun, Zhou Bichang, Zhang Liangying. Out of the three , Li Yuchun emerged as the winner with almost 3.5 million votes. What helped her , irrespective of our weak voice was her personality and undeterred attitude and motivation to succeed. These are the traits of individualism. She had a, very much look of boyish hair style and a smile that could lead 1000 other people smile. Her main characteristic that made her the youth icon of 2005 was her astounding capability to enthrall the public and her fearless competitive nature. She was determined to win the competitions and was ready to show her self-identity. She was an ordinary person with no identity till the show was conducted. Later on, she became the heartthrob of many youths, instilling individualism in many of them. Even after several months of performing, all the three of them continued to improve their singing skill; the way handled the public and popularity was phenomenal. Chinese culture was basically related with human inner feelings and nature. They do not care about the outer looks. But then, through this show, the girls were dressed and prepared like Westerners. The Westerners got this trend only because of individual exploration. They were not afraid of the society for what they were wearing and in-turn led them to different findings. The same principle was followed here by the super girls, leading them to advertise the individualistic love for dresses to general public. They advertised themselves as an example of individualism. The culture of westerners is being imported by the girls but nonetheless, the girls have modified it to their own culture and traditions. (Robertson 1995) An example is the fast food processing identified by U.S but then, the Chinese followed it and created thei r own menus according to their culture. The girls served as the best examples of global advertising and cultural change. Super Girl – reaction from government As a result of the pressure scenarios created by the show, the government, on 2007, banned people from casting their votes through messaging and internet. In addition to this , the government also changed the show timings in such a way that it is not shown in prime time and as a result there wont be as much viewers as there were in 2005. They have also placed rules on who all could participate in the show. ( Kim, N, 2009 ) This is in response to their thought that the contenders are turning out to be bad role models for the current and future generation. They wanted even the dressings and hairstyles of the participants should be strictly in line with the traditional culture of the society. (Bao,. X.J., 2006). Rules were proposed to an extent that they decided to ban the show. But the show went on in 2009 with all these restrictions and is expected to continue. Some critics who are in favor of the show believe the amendments in media rules to be a first step of success against the government. They are also of the opinion that with appropriate and planned teaching, people can be cognizant of the democratic values and can influence democracy to be started in the country. They pose the view that the people of US were not born with the talent of choosing right leaders, it came to them only in practice as part of their lifestyle. They believe that such thing could happen with China if practiced for twenty years. ( Ning, Q., Ning, C.T.K. 2002) Super Girl-benefits in different fields Apart from democracy, this show has been a revelation in providing quality contents to the public, the method of operations being so contemporary, changing the ideal work ethics followed by the orthodox people. In terms of social values and society, the program was able to meet the demands inherent in common people. It helped them satisfy their desire to exercise their rights. In terms of financial changes, this show provided revenue like never before, thus increasing the economical stature of the country from entertainment industry too. (Xinhua., 2006) Super Girl –Negative Remarks As a show, society wise, it didnt cause any problem. But due to its huge popularity, the show gathered crowd wherever it got telecasted. As a result of it, the law men had a tough time to handle the crowd. The crowds near the stadium were relentless to enter and the law men had to use their sources to get rid of them. The whole situation had become unruly. The politicians later on took this as one of the reasons for bashing at the show. The criticism was not a major one and it was forgotten as time passed by. Another issue that occurred was that the selection round was not done properly and there were complaints from some of the participants that though they performed well, they were eliminated and some kind of discrimination is done for selection based on some issue. All this has not been given strong evidence till now and hence the complaints were not taken seriously. These were some of the black marks which happened during its course time. Personal perspective On a personal point of view, life is just a matter of mental perception. One can find a sea of change in life if the view of the same problem is just changed from its current perception. The people who come to participate in the competition are from different traditions and origins. Before they could perform, one could see their culture and tradition being exposed to others, either by themselves, or through their characteristics. Such traditional culture takes a dump when they perform and get publicized after some success. Their individualism takes the front stage leaving out the collectivism and Confucianism. They are prompted to be self-aware, self –conscious, care about themselves and neglect the so called cultural collectivism. This can be seen in two ways. This either affects their own cultural development or in a positive note, helps them liberalize and understand their own self rights. It is obvious that both cannot be achieved simultaneously. (Bodde, D.1957) Apart from the contestant point of view, the other factor that comes in here is the democracy and direct election. In my view, I dont see any kind of relation between the Super Girl show voting system and democracy. Yes, I understand, it is one form exercising ones right to participate. It gives you pleasure that you performed something that could change the fate of other person. But the change doesnt have the magnitude that a democracy election would have over an entire country. (Zhou, R. 2005). This being one view, one other point of view is that this could be seen as a democratic seed sown in a communist land. People tend to exaggerate this simple thing into such a huge issue that it got concerns from the government itself and led to the restriction on the show itself. Here, I have to mention that Chinese people have thrown sand on themselves. They have seen something new, some new change being happening, which they could capitalize on and make it scale greater heights. Instead, they tried to expose the democratic alliance that it minutely had, into a full blown issue and it showed the effects of it. (Jakes S. 2006) It is not possible here to suggest a predicament on whether the democracy interpreted through the show is valuable, deep and thought provoking. There is no compromise on whether it kindled the thought or not. Some people would go for a yes, some would go for a no but there can never be a unanimous decision for this issue. (Time,1954). People all of a sudden forget the mere existence of the central government and without any message or communication from the top level governance; they just started forming groups and started enjoying by their groups. They have merely forgotten the presence of a top level institution in the country. They were living in their reel life rather than their real life. (Ding, Y. 2008). According to D.D Pratt (1991), transformation from collectivistic nature of human being to individualism involves transformation of personality. This in his view is done in terms of perceptual, rational and moral knowledge. On Chinese point of view, it is about perfection and education. Hence their view was fully focused on Confucianism, and their human nature was limited in its view. With the advent of this show, it is shown that the Chinese have found about the innumerable forms that a human nature relationship can take in its entirety. Hofstede, G. (2001). The major highlight of the show that specially characterizes individualism is the way each one is given the freedom to express themselves, how they are given the freedom to express their emotions, there inside thoughts, irrespective of their tradition. The show showed that culture is just nothing but sharing between one another and the resulting boundaries that develop to individual groups. When people from different culture, from different walks of the society are pitted against each other, they make their own assumptions about others only based on their own culture that is their values and principles they follow. These are only reasonable from their point of view, not from others. Hence, these conceptions take a dig when they do something wrong, which in turn, leads them to do self conscious work and that is, individualism. So, self-conscious nature gets into them once they enter the show itself. This in turn affects the already inherent cultural values inside them. (Ding, Y. 2008). The other reasons that I could state for the analysis of individualism in Super Girl show is that it is not only providing the current generation youth, a role model to look for , or a principle to follow for, but the fact is the feel of warmth, a fresh charming wavelength flowing between the contestants and the youth. They give high priority to this warmth, higher than their friends; higher than their colleagues; and most importantly, higher than the model set created on a moral basis by the Chinese government. The other factor is the psychological factor. The youth are able to get psychologically inspired through this show. Psychological inspiration involves , a belief in inside to follow their goal, a head start to achieve their goals and an attitude, that can take success or failure – no matter what comes, taking both in a positive way. So, for all these aspects, the culture of the Super Girls can be used as an instrument in shaping up their career. (Yan, Y 2000) An apt example for this scenario could be, the application of rules and regulations in an apt manner can be followed by other rule making or governing institutions. People who feel are lagging in educational career, can concentrate on their extra-curricular talents with this show as an inspiration. So, this show gives the self confidence to the youth and in the process applies self-realization. Another example that could be provided is how even the under-privileged people can learn from the Super Girls, the ability to persist until the goal is reached. It gives them the confidence not to rest until the limelight is achieved. (Zan, Z.2009). According to Ha Jin, an acclaimed writer, The Chinese youth have changed their own perception. They think about themselves differently. They are self-worthier and they have started to think in terms of earning money for themselves to achieve their purpose. He feels that people are no more thinking that individualism is a bad factor and they are appreciating it Conclusion It is a fact that the â€Å"Super Girls† show has sown the seed of individualism in China. This situation can be compared to a drowning person who gets air mixed with carbon dioxide. It is obvious that the person will try to take as much air as possible without caring the level of carbon dioxide. The same has happened in China. But, this cannot be exaggerated by any means. Though the show is running for a period of 6 years, the amount of individualism impact it had upon the Chinese youth is very minimal. Individualism is a complicated issue and is directly related with the development of the nation. China, being the fastest developer in the world is yet to come in terms with the individualistic nature of U.S on cultural perspective. The national differences are going to continue to be prevalent between these nations. No matter, how many different numbers of shows come, the domination of traditional collectivism in historic China is not going to be replaced by individualism any time soon. References Hofstede, G. (2001). Cultures consequences (2nd ed.). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage. McCrae, R. R. (2001). Trait psychology and culture: Exploring intercultural comparisons. Journal of Personality, 69, 819–846. Oyserman, D., Coon, H. M,. Kemmelmeier,M. (2002). Rethinking individualism and collectivism: Evaluation of theoretical assumptions and meta-analyses. Psychological Bulletin, 128, 3–72. Pratt, D. D.(1991) Conceptions of Self within China and the United States : Contrasting foundations for adult education.international journal of intercultural relations. 15. 285-310. Robertson, Roland (1995), Globalization: Time-Space and Homogeneity- Heterogeneity, in Global Modernities, Mike Featherstone, Scott Lash, and Roland Robertson, eds.. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 45-46. Yan, Y (2000), Of Hamburger and Social Space: Consuming McDonalds in Beijing, in The Consumer Revolution in Urban China, Deborah S. Davis, ed., Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 201-225. Lam C.(1997) A cultural perspective on the Chinese Adolescent Development. Child and adolescent social work journal, 14(2), 95-115. Li, B.(2005). Moral education in transition: The values conflict in China. Studies in Philosophy and Education. 12, doi:10.1007/BF01235475 Ning, Q., Ning, C.T.K.(2002). Chinese Students Encounter America. Honk Kong: Hong Kong University Press. Bodde, D.(1957) Chinas cultural tradition, what and whither? Source problems in world civilization. London: Rinehart. Schimmack, U., Radhakrishnan, P., Oishi, S., Dzokoto, V. Ahadi,S. (2002). Culture, personality, and subjective well-being: Integrating process models of life-satisfaction. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82, 1313–1329. Ding, Y. (2008). A critical comparison of American Idol and Super Girl: A cross-cultural communication analysis of American and Chinese cultures. Retrieved from : http://cardinalscholar.bsu.edu/377/1/Yding_2008-1_BODY.pdf Zan, Z.(2009). Paradise and paradox : on the Super Voice Girls : elementary discussion on popular culture, youth, media and state politics of contemporary China. Retrieved from: https://dspace.library.ubc.ca/dspace/bitstream/2429/7872/1/ubc_2009_spring_zhang_zan.pdf (n.d)(198

The Pursuit of Happiness and the Union of Aristotle and Genesis Essay

The Pursuit of Happiness and the Union of Aristotle and Genesis Two major schools of thought broadly influenced the development of the moral code of Western Civilization. The Judeo-Christian tradition gave us faith and God through the text of the Bible. The ancient Greeks gave us philosophical inquiry and "the Good" through the teachings of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. In his Nichomachean Ethics, Aristotle proposes that "the Good" is the highest end of man’s actions. Happiness is "the Good" because it is the only end man pursues with no other end in mind. A man obtains this highest end by living his life in a virtuous manner. In marked contrast, a careful reading of Genesis shows that, in the world of the Hebrews, the highest end of a man’s actions is faith in and communication with God himself. Oneness with God is the highest end because no other god exists. A man obtains this highest end by obeying God’s commands and fulfilling God’s plan for him. On first examination, the differences between these two construc ts seem negligible. But when we look closely at the ways in which the men of Genesis obtain their highest ends, we find that their means are less than virtuous in the eyes of Aristotle. To reach God, the ends seem to justify the means, while to reach "the Good", the virtuous path is crucial. Although this inherent difference in the two systems of morality seems to oppose them to one another, the difference between them has actually helped meld them together to form our modern view of happiness. We need both views: that wicked means will corrupt even the best ends, and that good ends can justify any means. In fact, there are stories in each text that describe a man who finds happiness through God, or "the Good," ... ...e which cannot be taken away; second, according to Genesis, because we have been given happiness by communion with a God who is ever present. Although not everyone considered to be a member of Western society holds these views on happiness, one can see these two roots in our construct of happiness. In our very American constitution, we acknowledge our inalienable right to the "pursuit of happiness." This phrase represents nothing other than the ultimate union of Aristotle and Genesis: we are guaranteed as humans, as a God-given right, the ability to strive for happiness through the Aristotelian process. NOTES 1. Aristotle, Nichomachean Ethics, trans. Martin Ostwald (Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 1999). 2. Genesis, trans. Robert Alter (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1996). 3. The Holy Bible, King James Version (New York: American Bible Society).