All Quiet on the Western Front Essay Example for Free

All Quiet on the Western Front Essay Lost Generation – (young boys leaving school and going to war for their country) (Page 85) ‘’That’s what set us apart and made our parents’ world a little difficult for us to understand; because somehow we were always gently bound up with that world, submissive to it all, and the smallest thing led us onwards along the path of eternity. Perhaps it was just the privilege of our youth – we were not yet able to see any restrictions, and we could not admit to ourselves that things would ever come to an end; expectation was in our blood, and this meant that we were at one with our lives as the days went by. ’ (Page 85) ‘’Now we would wander around like strangers in those landscapes of our youth. We have been consumed in the fires of reality, we perceive differences only in the way tradesmen do, and we see necessities like butchers. We are free of care no longer – we are terrifying indifferent. We might be present in that world, but would we be alive in it? We are like children who have been abandoned and we are as experienced as old men, we are coarse, unhappy and superficial – I think that we are lost. ’’ (Wikipedia) Almost to a man, the young men are moved to join the army. The young enlistees are shown in basic training, aching for action fighting in the war. -Soldiers are referred to ‘young soldiers’ all the time, because young men, almost boys even, are sent to war. They leave school and are sent to fight for their country. (Internet) ‘’Arriving in training camp, the young boys expect war to be a great lark’’ * The boys were so young and unaware, they didn’t know what to expect from the war, but they thought it was going to be great fun and were very unaware of anything that was going to happen. They were happy to be going away, fighting for their country, they thought they were becoming men by doing this. (Internet) ‘’each young and impressionable, are recruited and trained to fight for the glory of the fatherland. ’’ (-George McGovern) ‘’Im fed up to the ears with old men dreaming up wars for young men to die in. ’’ Peer pressure. Some young boys don’t want to go to war but because all of their friends are going they get persuaded by peer ressure and by teachers, that fighting for their country would be a great duty and if they didn’t, they would be seen as a coward in their hometown. (Erich Maria Remarque, All Quiet On The Western Front, Ch. 1) Yes, thats the way they think, these hundred thousand Kantoreks! Iron Youth! Youth! We are none of us more than twenty years old. But young? That is long ago. We are old folk. (Erich Maria Remarque, All Quiet On The Western Front, Ch. 10)I am young, I am twenty years old; yet I know nothing of life but despair, death, fear, and fatuous superficiality cast over an abyss of sorrow. I see how peoples are set against one another, and in silence, unknowingly, foolishly, obediently, innocently slay one another. (Book)‘’When we went to the District Commandant to enlist, we were a class of twenty young men, many of whom proudly shaved for the first time before going to the barracks. We had no definite plans for our future. Our thoughts for a career and occupation were as yet of too unpractical a character to furnish any scheme of life. We were still crammed with vague ideas which gave to life, and to the war also, an ideal and almost romantic character. ’’

Racial Profiling And The Police

Racial Profiling And The Police The concern about racial profiling is erupting throughout the country. Many provinces, cities, social groups, and academics have decided to study racial profiling, and how race and ethnicity may play a part in police investigations. Toronto is no different. Allegations of racial profiling have been around for years and still are a subject that creates a lot on media hype and controversy surrounding police. Racial profiling should not be confused in with criminal profiling, because they are two different things (Mucchetti, 2006, pp. 1-32). Racial profiling is not specific to one race or one country. Actually being racially profiled can happen to anyone no matter what race or gender or what country they live in. In Toronto, there have been numerous newspaper and television articles accusing the Toronto Police Service of institutionalized racism and racial profiling (Canadian Race Relations Foundations, 2005). Along with the media articles, there have been complaints filed at the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario accusing the Toronto Police Service and its members of racial profiling (The Law Society of Upper Canada, 2009). Naturally, race is what makes allegations of racial profiling by the Toronto Police Service so controversial and, at least at the level of public rhetoric, so condemned. But it is important to rethink racial profiling through the lens of criminal profiling and to reduce race to the role that it is purportedly playing in racial profiling, namely a predictive factor; to treat race no differently than we would gender, class, age, or any other profile that works; to take the focus away from race and place it on criminal profiling more generally. This paper will examine racial profiling by police and explaining it according to the different sociological perspectives of functionalist, conflict, interactionist, and feminist. The paper will also attempt to argue if there is institutional racial profiling by the Toronto Police. My thesis is the Toronto Police does not systematically racially profile, instead they systematically criminally profile. In order to examine racial profiling and criminally profiling one must understand the differences between the two. Although there is no clear or universal definition of racial profiling, there is a common component in all of the definitions (Ontario Human Rights Commission, 2009). This paper defines racial profiling as the practice of targeting racial minorities for criminal investigation solely or, in part, on the basis of their skin colour (Court of Appeal for Ontario, 1999). According to the Harvard Latino Law Review, criminal profiling involves: The use of racial or ethnic characteristics by police departments in stopping an individual because his or her description matches that of an actual suspect. In this sense, race functions as the equivalent of hair color or height, which can then be used in combination with other factors to paint a more accurate portrait of a suspected criminal. As a result, generalized notions of criminal propensity are not projected onto an individual because of that persons membership in a particular racial or ethnic group (Mucchetti, 2006, pp. 1-32). . The term racial profiling began in 1980s, when the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) in the United States developed and used common characteristics to profile drug couriers as part of the agencies war on drugs (Harris, 2006, pp. 213-239). When community members began to complain about police investigations and their actions towards minorities, the use of the profiling technique emerged to be labelled as racial profiling (Ibid). Functionalist perspective, conflict perspective, interactionist perspective, and feminist perspective all propose societies portrayals of discrimination pressure and manipulate individuals to deem their social class, sexual category, race, and sexuality superior over others. Prejudice is caused by psychological and sociological influence, where individuals are manipulated by their surroundings to hate another solemnly based on their disparity This paper concedes that racial profiling may exist on an individual basis within the Toronto Police Service. This was confirmed by Chief Blair of the Toronto Police Service who was speaking a diversity conference and said: Racism is a human failing. Racial profiling can occur. Weve acknowledged that right up front (Doolittle, 2009). Social activist groups along with minorities groups claims of systematic racial profiling by the Toronto Police Service exists, and refer to publish articles to support their claims such as the 2002 series of newspaper articles written by the Toronto Star. The Toronto Star newspaper articles used empirical data collected from the Toronto Police Services Criminal Information Processing System (CIPS) database. According to the newspaper articles that examined 480,000 files contained within the database, relating to arrest and traffic stops. The Toronto Star concluded that, Blacks arrested by Toronto Police are treated more harshly than white, and a disproportionate number of black motorists are ticketed for violations that only surface following a traffic stop. This difference, says civil libertarians, community leaders and criminologists, suggest police use racial profiling in deciding whom to pull over (Toronto Star Newspaper, 2009, p. A01). The Toronto Star supported their claims of racial profiling by the Toronto Police Service by providing statistical analysis of the CIPS database which compared the number of arrest and tickets issued to blacks, and showed how disproportionate the numbers were to the number of whites living in Toron to (Ibid). Social groups and minorities further their claims of systematic racially profiled by the Toronto Police Service by using rulings by The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario and refer to the recent ruling of Ron Phipps versus the Toronto Police Service. On June 18th, 2009 The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario handed down a decision on a case involving members of the Toronto Police Service and a black Canada Post letter carrier. In the tribunals decision they concluded that Ron Phipps was racially profiled by a white police. The adjudicator wrote in her submission I find that Michael Shaw did discriminate against the applicant on March 9, 2005 in the provision of police services on the basis of colour, contrary to section 1 and 9 of the Code (Canadian Legal Information Institute). Social and minority groups also further their arguments of systematic racial profiling by Toronto Police Service based on the fact that Service does not collect or release race base statistics. They argue that One fears that the only reason the Police Board refuses to release this data is to ensure that the public does not get updated information on racial profiling (Toronto Police Accountability Coalition, 2008). Examining the Toronto Star articles as a police officer, it is obvious that there are errors in their conclusions. The Toronto Star compiled its data using the files contained in the CIPS database, which ONLY contained files relating to arrest and tickets issued to persons. The problem using only this database is that it does not take into account the number of persons the police had investigated where there was no arrest or tickets issued. By only selecting the CIPS database and not the true number of persons stopped by police would have skewed the final results. The Toronto Stars analysis should have used all data which would have either enforcing their claims systemic racial profiling by the Toronto Police Service or disproving it. The data-collection by the Toronto Star was also disputed by Allan Gold based on the distinction between reactive and proactive policing (2003, pp. 391-399). Gold argues reactive policing could attribute to claims of racial profiling while proactive policing will not. When it comes to the collection of data, the Toronto Start uses both styles of policing which flawed their conclusion (Ibid). Gold also disagreed with the Toronto Stars use of the general census numbers in its data comparison and their claims that it was a recognized baseline standard. Gold argues that no reputable researcher would use the figures from the general census and in fact, the American literature on racial profiling makes it clear that the uses of the general census as a baseline is worthless (2003, pp. 391-399). He further claims that the construction of the baseline is crucial and because of that fact, the Toronto Star article should be dismissed (Ibid). The Ontario Human Rights Commission uses the following definition of racial profiling: any action undertaken for reasons of safety, security or public protection that relies on stereotypes about race, colour, ethnicity, ancestry, religion, or place of origin, or a combination of these, rather than on a reasonable suspicion, to single out an individual for greater scrutiny or different treatment (2009). The Ontario Human Rights Commissions definition is much broader then the definition used by the courts; the practice of targeting racial minorities for criminal investigation solely or, in part, on the basis of their skin colour (Court of Appeal for Ontario, 1999). The Ontario Human Rights Commission broad definition of racial profiling does not allow the factor of race to play any part in a police officers decision. This means that no matter what if police use race as a factor at anytime, then he or she is racially profiling according to the Commissions definition. In the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal decision where Ron Phipps filed a complaint of racial profiling against members of the Toronto Police Service, the adjudicator said: In this case, as in many cases alleging racial discrimination, there is no direct evidence that race was a factor in the officers decision to take the actions that he did (Canadian Legal Information Institute, 2009). Even with this statement, the adjudicator found the member of the Toronto Police Service guilty saying: I find that Michael Shaw did discriminate against the applicant on March 9, 2005 (Ibid). The problem with the Tribunals decision is that the adjudicator used circumstantial evidence in her decision of quilt, but should have used a clear defined evidence based system instead. According to Chief Blair of the Toronto Police Service, the ruling created an impossibly high standard and you can have the best of intentions and be totally without bias but none of that matters if someone wants to believe you are biased (Lesley Ciarula Taylor, 2009). In the recent Ontario Progressive Conservative leadership campaign, Tim Hudak and Randy Hillier both members of the Ontario Parliament called for the overhaul of the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal (The Canadian Press, 2009). They claimed the current system is dysfunctional and called for evidence based system one similar to the family court system instead of a system that is based on hurt feelings (Ibid). The argument of race based crime statistics date back to 1929 (Johnston, 1994, p. 166). Social activist groups along with minorities groups have argued that the reason Toronto Police Service is not releasing race based crime statistics is due to the that fact they are racial profiling (Toronto Police Accountability Coalition, 2008) . In fact in 1989 the opposite argument was used by community groups when then Inspector Julian Fantino released crime based statistics, claiming them to be inherently racist (Johnston, 1994, p. 166). According to Robin S. Engel an Associate Professor of Criminal Justice at the University of Cincinnati and Director of the University of Cincinnati Policing Institute, Data will never prove or disprove racially biased policing, we contend that vehicle stop data collection and analysis should never be viewed-either by police or resident stakeholders-as a pass fail test. Rather, it should be viewed as a diagnostic tool to help pinpoint the decisions, geographic areas, and procedures that should get priority attention when the agency, in concert with concerned residents, identifies its next steps for addressing the problem or perception of racial profiling (2008, pp. 1-36). Systematic is defined in the Merriam Webster Online Dictionary as methodical in procedure or plan (2009). In order for the arguments of systematic racial profiling by the Toronto Police Service to be true, the Service would have to have policies or procedures in place that sanctioned it. In fact the Toronto Police Service does not sanction any form of racial profiling by its members. The Service has numerous rules and procedures that prohibit racial profiling along with a Diversity Management Unit that monitors all human rights complaints and ensures that all members provide a bias-free service to the community (2009). Members of the Toronto Police Service are constantly being advised of their responsibility in providing a bias-free service to the community. These reminders are done through training and education, the Services Core Values and letters to the members of the Service, such as a letter written in 2003 by then Chief Juilian Fantino who wrote; we must be aware that social and institutional pressures can lead to unacceptable instances of racial bias in policing. Police officers must make their decisions to engage the public based on the actions or conduct that they observe, on actual witness information and/or on hand evidence. Police officers must have articulable cause or reasonable grounds in order to pursue legitimate law enforcement activities with a member of the public. We must not make any decision to stop, question and/or search citizens based solely on a persons race. All of us, at all times, must provide equitable and respectful service to all persons regardless of race. I believe that the best way to deal with this and all other issues is simply by always treating people, all people, professionally. Lets continue to treat all people and each other with dignity and respect. Professional conduct means that we will never go wrong or be found wanting in our dealings with all components of our diverse society (Toronto Police Service, 2003). Although the Toronto Police Service does not systematically racially profile, they do systematically criminally profile. Criminal profiling also known as Criminal Investigative Analysis (CIA) is an effective tool enabling law enforcement agencies to enforce the law more effectively (Royal Canadian Mounted Police). The origins of criminal profiling can be traced back to 1800s when it was first used in case to identify Jack to Ripper (Winerman, 2004, p. 66). The current use of criminal profiling by law enforcement was developed the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), in the United States by their Behaviour Science Unit (Ibid). Criminal profiling can be broken into two stages; the first could be described as general profiling and the second as specific profiling (Palermo, 2002, pp. 383-385). General profiling is part of an officers everyday duties and investigations of any crime, such as traffic stops, while specific profiling is more refined in the officers approach to evidence and crime scene investigations (Ibid). Criminal profiling can also take on several forms. The first form of criminal profiling can be institutional, which is where the organization develops the profile of the offender, while the second for can be formed by the individual officer. This form of criminal profiling is developed by the officer from his or her personal experiences (Higgins Gabbidon, 2009, pp. 77-88). In todays policing, Toronto Police Service front-line officers incorporated the general profiling aspect of criminal profiling when performing their general duties but will on occasion incorporate specific profiling aspects when responding to a serious radio call. The officers will also use both organizational and individual forms of criminal profiling as well. A basic form of institutional criminal profiling is taught to members of the Toronto Police Service when he or she attends the Ontario Police College as a basic recruit. The recruits are provided the necessary knowledge of laws, procedures and skills that will help them perform their duties as frontline officers. With emphasis on the core function of police services found in the Ontario Police Service Act section 4(2) which focuses on Crime Prevention, Law Enforcement, Assistance to Victims of Crime, Public Order Maintenance, and Emergency Response (2009). The officers are also provided training a variety of subjects including, ethics, anti-racism and community policing (Ibid). The training does not stop when a officer leave the Ontario Police College, the officers are further trained at the Toronto Police College in the Services Rule and Procedures, Core Values and Mission Statement of the Service along with officer safety training. Officers develop individual criminal profiling skills when they start patrolling the streets of Toronto. The officer will respond to thousands of calls varying from thefts, domestics, fights, to vehicle stops. Each time the officer interacts with the individuals, he or she develops their own brand of policing and individual criminal profiling. A more formal institutional style of criminal profiling is incorporated when it comes to serious crimes such as sexual assaults and homicides. It is more specific and uses analyst to develop a profile of a potential suspect, using all available data. The officers then take this profile onto the street of Toronto to look for a suspect. In community policing, officers work closely with problem communities, in developing strategies to help the community combat crime. Working with the community, officers receive information on potential criminal activities and individuals within the community so that they can develop strategies to reduce crime. Officers will incorporate all aspects of criminal profiling to either be reactive or proactive in an attempt to reduce criminality. Being reactive, officers focus their attention on direct information that is received from the community to reduce the current problem within the community. Proactive policing will allow the officers to profile activities and individuals within the community to prevent further victimization. Officers also use criminal profiling when they perform traffic stops. The officer use individual criminal profiling when he or she selects an area to monitor the traffic flow, which is based on the officers personal experience. The officer might select an area where there is a high rate of incidences of failing to stop at a sign or a section or roadway where vehicle speed. When the officer decides to stop the vehicle for a violation of the Highway Traffic Act, he or she again criminally profiles the vehicle and occupants for officer safety reasons. The officer will conduct registration checks on the vehicle and the registered owner, all the time observing the occupants of the vehicle before stopping the vehicle, in order identify any criminal activity. This part of criminal profiling it taught to the officers by the Ontario Police College and the Toronto Police College (institutional criminal profiling) as part of the Officers Safety Section within both colleges, in order to keep the officer safe. There are those who argue that criminal profiling is not supported by scientific evidence and should be dismisses as rhetoric and never be used. This paper agrees that criminal profiling is limited in empirical data but is still a useful tool to combat crime. According to a research study which states, criminal profiling will persist as a pseudoscientific technique until such time as empirical and reproducible studies are conducted on the abilities of large groups of active profilers to predict, with more precision and greater magnitude, the characteristics of offenders (Snook, Eastwood, Gendreau, Goggin Cullen, 2007, pp. 437-453). Each time when a members of the Toronto Police Service uses criminal profiling while investigating individuals, they are trained to reduce the factor of race so that it is equal to all the other factors of the investigation. In conclusion, the Toronto Police Service does not systematically racially profile as the media, social and minority groups would have us believe. In order for the Toronto Police Service to be blamed for systematically racially profiling, the Service would have to be a plan or procedure in place to support it. The Toronto Police Service does not support any form of racial profiling by it members. In fact the Service is working with the Ontario Human Rights Commission to ensure that the officers being hired reflect the diversity of the City of Toronto, the officers are trained in ethics, and diversity and what constitutes racial bias policing (2009). Criminal profiling plays a crucial and significant role in deterring and combating criminal behaviour and activity. Criminal profiling provides a valuable tool for police in which they can assess and analyze the patterns of criminal behaviour (Turvey, 2008, pp. 1-43). The Toronto Police Service systematically criminally profiles and treats the race component of criminal profiling no differently than they would gender, class, age, or any other profile that works.

Love and what is needed for it exist as seen in two works Essay

Love and what is needed for it exist as seen in two works Love is a deep emotional feeling toward a person. Love comes in many forms, each being expressed in slightly different ways. There is the mothers love which she has for her child; a love of self, which aids in self preservation and self worth; there is love shared abroad to friends and family members; and love between a couple. Everyday we pass by people expressing affection and love, and partake in loving experiences with the people we encounter as well. People tend to think of love as just words, a term to signify devotion, many times this type of love disappears. The existence of true love stems further than just four letters, and a lack there of can be viewed using two literary pieces. Love in my opinion can be defined as such: love is like a lamp post, it shines in the midst of darkness, it lights your paths, and helps you to find your way every time. Love is kind, a comforter. It is not selfish or self contained, love is not limited, love suffers long and bears all things; love never fails. A true evidence of love is action. Love motivates action; it causes you to be faithful, not loosing heart or changing your love. Love is not envious or resentful, but gentle and not easily provoked to anger. Love will cause you to act patiently. Without love none of those things would exist, life loses all meaning with a lack or loss of love, unfeeling and empty would be the state of each human being if love did not exist. Wendy Wasserstein’s,† The Man in a case†, is a short scene about two engaged people, with strikingly distinct personalities. The setting of this scene is a small garden in the village of Mironiski, during 1898. The characters in this work are Byelinkov and Varinka.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The relationship in which Byelinkov and Varinka share is rather peculiar and their motivations for engagement don’t seem to involve any aspect of love. Varinka is overly enthralled with marrying Byelinkov because she perceives him as a most adored school master; and Byelinkov is concerned with the irony of his infatuation with Varinka. He even says â€Å"†¦their instructor, who teaches them the discipline and contained beauty of the classics, is in love with a sprite† (Wasserstein pg 21). They are content with the nonexistence of love in their relationship, Varinka says â€Å"until I met you I thought I wou... ...as taken care of by him, she longed for a different life, one more firmly rooted in the earth and not of an astronomers wife, whom only hears about the clouds. For true love to exist between people, love needs to become a motivation, which moves you to action each and everyday. Love embodies kindness, selflessness, long suffering, patience, gentleness and faithfulness. If love is absent or not reciprocated between individuals, their connection is diminished and will soon fade. Love is the core of any long lasting relationship. The dependence on love for relationships to thrive, marriage in particular is depicted in the previous works. Works Cited   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Boyle, Kay â€Å"Astronomer‘s Wife†. Responding to Literature stories, poems, and essays. Ed. Stanford, A Judith. McGraw Hill: 2003. 619-23   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Lewis, C.S. â€Å"We Have No Right to Happiness†. Responding to Literature stories, poems, and essays. Ed. Stanford, A Judith. McGraw Hill: 2003. 724-28   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Wasserstein, Wendy. â€Å"The Man in a Case†. Responding to Literature stories, poems, and essays. Ed. Stanford, A Judith. McGraw Hill: 2003. 17-22               

Who Killed Martin Luther King Essay -- Civil Rights

Scratching the Surface, Not Driving in Bullets or: Why White People are Such Morons A great number of people know who Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was. My generation has had the opportunity to learn about his work in the civil rights movement and his â€Å"I have a Dream† speech as early as elementary school. I’d venture to say that a fewer amount of people know that this icon was assassinated and James Earl Ray, a white man, was arrested as his killer. Unfortunately, an even smaller number of people have heard of, or have read about a remarkable civil rights writer named James Baldwin. Determining whom killed Martin Luther King seems to still be an issue because of the guilt of the white man. If white men were properly educated, there would be no reason for the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. If white people would analyze their past, like Baldwin suggests, in a truthful manner, the guilt should dissipate. Martin Luther King Jr. was a civil rights leader during the middle part of the twentieth century. He gave many speeches and led peace marches to gain equal rights for African Americans. I chose to research the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. I guess I knew that he was assassinated but I didn’t know the details. I wanted to know who killed him, when, where, and how King died. The Purpose of this paper is not to determine if James Earl Ray did in fact kill Martin Luther King. Rather, it is a dissection of characters and events utilizing the ideas of the illustrious James Baldwin. In the early part of 1968 he was interested in producing another civil rights march for the poor. Before that could happen, the sanitation workers of the city of Memphis, Tennessee, summoned him. He arrived in March in ord... ...ca, 1998. 63-84. ---. â€Å"Down at the Cross.† 1955. James Baldwin: Collected Essays. Ed. Toni Morrison. New York: Library of America, 1998. 63-84. Harrison, Eric. â€Å"The Killing of Dr. King Revisited.† NewsBank NewsFile Collection 4 (1994): A-15 McKinley, James. Assassination in America. New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1975. Pepper, William F. Orders to Kill: The Truth Behind the Murder of Martin Luther King. New York: Caroll & Graf Publishers, Inc., 1995. Ray, James Earl. Who Killed Martin Luther King? The True Story By the Alleged Assassin. Washington, D.C.: National Press Books, 1992. Seigenthaler, John. A Search For Justice. Nashville, TN: Aurora Publishers, inc., 1971. Wexler, Sanford. An Eyewitness History of The Civil Rights Movement. New York: Checkmark Books an imprint of Facts on File, Inc., 1993.

Futurism :: essays research papers

During the first decade of the twentieth century, a group of young Italian painters united together, under the influence of poet Filippo Tommaso Marinetti. Before creating their new style, these painters embraced the ideas of Marinetti’s The Foundation and Manisfesto of Futurism which appeared in the newspaper Le Figaro on February 20, 1909 (Tisdall 7). His manifesto of futurism was primarily concerned with peotry, but artists such as Boccioni, Balla, and Severini used his ideas and applied them to painting and sculpture. The Museum of Modern Art holds Umberto Boccioni’s Dynamism of a Soccer Player, 1913, a fine example of the Futurist vision. In his Futurist Painting: A Technical Manifesto, Boccioni tells us that the â€Å"growing need of truth is no longer satisfied with Form and Colour as they have been understood hitherto. The gesture which we would reproduce on canvas shall no longer be a fixed moment in universal dynamism. It shall be the â€Å"dynamic sensation itself† (Apollonio 27). This goal of creating the dynamic sensation itself, rather than simply a fixed moment within a dynamic action is exemplified, among other ideas of the Futurist movement in Boccioni’s Dynamism of a Soccer Player. Before going further however, it is necessary to discuss some of the principles of Futurism as created by Marinetti. Marinetti’s The Founding and Manifesto of Futurism is a work which begins like a work of poetry, and deals with the celebration with the technology, the future, and the machine, while rejecting the natural world and the past. Marinetti despises the sounds created by canals â€Å"muttering feeble prayers†, and â€Å"the creaking bones of sickly palaces,† while he embraces the â€Å"famished roar of automobiles† (Apollonio 19-20). He orders us to â€Å"shake the gates of life†, and instead, â€Å"test the bolts and hinges† (Apollonio 20). To Marinetti, technology and the machine, such as the automobiles, are to be embraced and celebrated for its speed and beauty. No longer is a natural landscape beautiful, rather â€Å"the world’s magnificence has been enriched by a new beauty: the beauty of speed. A racing car whose hood is adorned with great pipes, like serpents of explosive breath – a roaring car that seems to ride on grapesho t† is seen as more beautiful than any romantic painting (Apollonio 21). In addition to celebrating the machine, the Futurist movement represents a striding towards the future. This is accomplished by rejecting all of the past, even going as far as saying that it is harmful.

The Need to Prevent Supervisory Workplace Bullying

Much has been said about workplace bullying and its harmful effects to the victims. With a purpose to clear the area of discussion, this paper will talk about several areas of workplace bullying particularly the one which is manifested between bully superiors and subordinate victims. The paper will also present significantly essential components of discussion such as the issue’s characteristics, hypotheses, causes, implications and precautionary measures. The paper focuses on the supervisory workplace bullying, which involves supervisors and managers who use their power and position to intimidate and eventually inflict harm on their subordinates. The paper ultimately aims to make people realize the need to prevent, if not end, supervisory workplace bullying in order to avoid the unhealthy consequences that it brings in. It cites concrete ways to go about protecting the organization from such threat. Introduction Brief Introduction to the Topic The workplace is one setting that provides people with many experiences. As such, employees’ success or failures depend much on the particular situations that the office environment offers. Given a motivating surrounding, employees are expected to perform well and to deliver the things expected of them. Similarly, workers who are subjected to any form of work-related irritations, whether inflicted by their colleagues or superiors, are likely to manifest inefficiency and dissatisfaction at work. One particular kind of job-related nuisance which has significantly gained concern is workplace bullying. The workplace is an area that is least expected to provide employees with harmful or damaging feelings and thoughts. This is because it is in such environment where employees can supposedly have the opportunity to do their tasks and show their potentials hence the need for the workplace and its employees to be free from any manifestation of bullying. Bullying is, at present, alarmingly manifested in various workplaces. To make matters worse, workplace bullying is not limited among employees themselves. Bullying has escalated to a level that has involved no less than supervisors and higher management of companies. Supervisor or manager bullies use their authorities or positions to inflict harm to their subordinates. Purpose of the Project The purpose of this paper is to discuss, in particular, workplace bullying perpetuated by the immediate superiors of employees – or supervisory workplace bullying. In doing so, this paper seeks to present and analyze the essential details surrounding supervisory workplace bullying as an issue: its nature and characteristics, what causes the superiors to engage in it, its effects on the victimized employees, its overall cost to the company, and the things needed for its prevention. Problem Statement Supervisory workplace bullying has turned out to have a damaging impact on the employees and ultimately on the entire organization. It triggers consequences that bring more harm, as compared to the bullying that employees can do amongst themselves. Needless to say, efficient mechanisms for detecting and preventing supervisory workplace bullying have to be determined and put in place. Problem Background It is unfortunate to note that the workplace is the primary setting where employees are intimidated or bullied in today’s modern world. Bullying is no longer a common happening in recreational areas with children as the involved parties. The occurrence of bullying – especially supervisory bullying – in workplaces has become a serious concern that authorities both in the public and private sectors of society ought to address. Otherwise, its casualties would continue to increase day by day and its growing total adverse effects would remain unchecked. Scope of Problem Analysis In order to have a better and clearer understanding of supervisory workplace bullying, it is necessary to present its nature and characteristics. A detailed account of the dire consequences of supervisory workplace bullying and its quantified harm would help emphasize the urgency of preventing it from ever taking place. Then to advocate measures against the prevalence of supervisory workplace bullying, specific ways to deal with it are included in this paper. Description of the Proposed Project There will have to be ways for properly dealing with supervisory workplace bullying. Solving the problems it gives rise to will require adequate information on it – its causes and origin – and on how such problems arise from it. Research Questions †¢ Which supervisors are likely to bully their subordinates? †¢ Which subordinates are likely to fall prey to the bullying of their bosses? †¢ Which organizations are likely to have bullying supervisors? †¢ What can be done to prevent supervisory workplace bullying? Hypotheses Hypotheses have been drawn for confirmation through research on printed reports and materials about workplace bullying as a whole, and through the use of survey results as reliable data to base conclusions on. A set of hypotheses are focused on why supervisory workplace bullying has to happen. One states that supervisors who are likely to bully their subordinates are those who are not equipped with sufficient professional expertise or know-how. Thus, these supervisors try to cover or make up for their incompetence by bullying selected subordinates – in particular, those who are yet in probationary status and at the same time fearful of losing their jobs. Another hypothesis states that organizations with well-oiled and transparent working systems do not provide settings where supervisory workplace bullying will thrive; these organizations, in fact, deplore supervisory workplace bullying of any form and degree. The third hypothesis affirms that active involvement of management in the bid against supervisory workplace bullying and adequate information dissemination about it as something that is not tolerated within organizations would successfully ward it off. This would then form part of compliance to the enacted laws that require employers to see to the health and safety of all their employees. These questions and hypotheses serve as basis for doing a comprehensive research on the subject. This project aims to emphasize the need to undo the damages of workplace bullying and to establish that mechanisms that will address the prevalence of bullying in the workplace are not complicated or difficult to accomplish. This will encourage an anti-bully culture to prevail in the workplaces, which should eventually wipe out bullying as a common threat to the emotional wellbeing, the productivity level and the general welfare of organizations. Results Origin of the Concept Workplace bullying phenomenon traces its root from the trauma resulting from continued psychological fear of employees in the work environment. Heinz Leyman, the founder of a three-decade-old international anti-bullying association, has cited in her documentations that Namie (2003) used the term â€Å"mobbing† to describe such harmful act. The term â€Å"workplace bullying† was later used by Andrea Adams in the early part of 1990s to refer to the same form of intimidation when the victims happened to be employees doing their work in their respective workplaces. Thereafter, the concept of workplace bullying was introduced to the United States organizational setting by Namie in 1998 while an associate formally presented to the criminal justice system the legal issues emanating from it. Namie, 2003) Nature and Characteristics of Workplace Bullying Different sorts of threats and intimidation coming from supervisors and managers cannot be ignored. They are bound to cause stress, anxiety, discomfort and disappointment or even to inflict pain on the victimized employees. The workplace, then, becomes a hostile place. T here is no doubt that the presence of the bullying bosses doing their bullying tactics does not create a healthy culture. In general, supervisory workplace bullying damages the organization. Workplace bullying is generally characterized by the fact that it is unwanted, intentional, frequent and intense inappropriate behaviors which are enough to inflict harm and trauma-related manifestation to employees’ physical, psychological and emotional conditions (Namie, 2003). Hence, bullying in a work setting is a manifestation of either the supervisor or co-workers’ terrorizing, insulting, demeaning and embarrassing attitudes committed against employee-victim. The workplace bully wants power over his co-workers; the supervisory workplace bully wants control over his subordinates. Namie further said that workplace bullying is often caused by issues pertaining to gender, race, economic or financial status and positions of employees in an organization (Namie, 2003). Workplace bullying can be accomplished in various ways. The Trades Union Congress, by defining the term, names the factors that can lead to it: Workplace bullying can be defined as offensive, intimidating, malicious, insulting or humiliating behavior, abuse of power or authority which attempts to undermine an individual or group of employees and which may cause them to suffer stress (TUC website). Samples of Bullying Acts of Supervisors The Workplace Bullying Institute has described that supervisory workplace bullies generally inflict verbal or spoken abuse against subordinate employees, create work distractions such as sabotage that hampers workers’ tasks from being completed and manifest insulting behaviors with a purpose to threaten, humiliate and intimidate the victims (Workplace Bullying Institute, 2008). Specifically, supervisor and manager bullies can manifest several intimidating conducts which vary from physical or spoken offenses and from subtle and blatant manners. Some of the evident workplace intimidations done by superiors towards their subordinates include demeaning opinion or regular criticisms; shouting or use of offensive language; belittling or unreasonable statements or jokes about an employee’s physical looks, way of living and background. Additionally, the conducts include insulting acts; segregating employees from regular job interaction and development-related opportunities; excessive workload; unimportant pressure; illogical deadlines; meddling with personal and work belongings; aggressive conducts; intentional withholding of needed details, access, assistance and resources; fabricating the idea of uselessness; uncalled work alterations; unmerited jobs; not providing due recognition; exaggerated performance checking, and illogical disciplinary actions (â€Å"Workplace Bullying and Intimidation,† 2008). Prevalence of Bullying in the Workplace and Its Cost Bullying has become so common an occurrence in the working place. This statement is confirmed by documented surveys. Among them are the following: Date of bullying survey Survey origin Ratio of employees bullied % of workforce Number of employees bullied Bullied over the period†¦ Nov 1996 IPD 1 in 8 12 3. 5m 5 years Oct 1998 TUC 1 in 6 18 4. 5m 1 year Feb 2000 UMIST 1 in 4 25 7m 5 years Oct 2003 CHI 1 in 3 37 10. 4m 1 year Apr 2002 Lyn Quine 1 in 3 37 10. 5m 1 year Jan 1999 Lyn Quine 1 in 3 38 10. 5m 1 year Jun 1994 SUBS in 2 53 14m working life Source: UK National Workplace Bullying Advice Line webpage With the frequency of bullying incidents in workplaces, the total productivity of workforces of various organizations has been greatly affected. Needless to say, lowered productivity is tantamount to wastage of time and a general failure to maximize the resources – especially the human resources – that would have been available for the organizations and their respective pursuits. A noted psychologist, Michael Harrison, Ph. D. , has cited the results of a survey involving 9,000 federal employees. The entire exercise has led to the significant findings: that 42 percent of the female and 15 percent of the male employees all experienced harassment of any form within two years from the conduct of survey in 2002. In monetary terms, such incidents of harassment have accumulated costs pertaining to lost time and productivity amounting to over US$180 million. (Farrell, 2002). Source: Working to Halt Online Abuse, 2000 Also according to surveys, the male gender composes the majority of the harassers while the female gender composes the majority of the harassed parties. Source: Working to Halt Online Abuse, 2000 Causes of Supervisory Workplace Bullying Given the fact that workplace bullying is not only contained among employees themselves but is more apparent between superiors and subordinates in current work settings, it is empirical to determine and analyze the causes of the problem. This leads to the identification of the reasons behind the inappropriate and unreasonable bullying acts committed by supervisors or managers with their subordinates as victims and the motivating factors that make them engage in such untoward acts. Throughout these procedures, theories related to supervisory workplace bullying will be analyzed as to relevance and applicability. In an analysis of 148 organizational ethnographies, Hodson, Roscigno and Lopez (2006) learned that the relative and organizational bases of workplace bullying are established by three main theories. The first supporting hypothesis stated that powerlessness is related with the vulnerability of subordinates against the bullying of their superiors. Subordinates who are not yet secured with their employment such as casual and probationary employees, members of minority groups and workers engaged in low-end services fall prey to workplace bullying by their supervisors and managers. Secondly, the hypothesis about the context or culture of an organization – the bureaucracy therein and involvement of the company management people in general – also fail to stop workplace bullying and to support initiatives that would help the organization to rationally in dealing the issue. This led to the third hypothesis which explained that common path to workplace bullying is organization chaos. This means that workplace bullying is likely to be committed by supervisors and manager against their subordinates when there is chaos in the organizational set-up or where relational powerlessness adds to the lack of transparency, liability and competence of the superiors or within the organization in general (Hodson, Roscigno & Lopez, 2006). Effects of Supervisory Workplace Bullying Namie further reported that the prevalence of workplace bullying in the country was based on a ballpark figure derived from a random survey of Michigan workers that was conducted in 2000. The study indicated that the lives of a significant number of employees were severely affected because of existence of workplace bullying in their respective companies (Namie, 2003). The issue of workplace bullying has gained significance because of the apparent implications that it has inflicted on the lives of the victims. In particular, Parker-Pope (2008) has noted that supervisory workplace bullying has taken its toll on the emotions of subordinate employees. In fact, its seriousness and the gravity of its negative effects have surpassed another sensitive work-related offense which is sexual harassment. Parker-Pope added that in the current corporate setting, supervisors and managers tend to be insensitive to its damaging implications and even regard bullying as one of the harsh management styles (Parker-Pope, 2008). Workplace bullying is generally bad for any industry. This is due to the fact that bullied subordinates are inclined not to report for work and this scenario, coupled with increased turnover of employees, eventually affects the organization. Aside from emotional impact, workplace bullying results to serious health concerns where bullied subordinates suffer tension, misery, nervousness and even signs of post-traumatic strain illness (Parker-Pope, 2008). This finding is relevant in order to have an increased awareness on the harmful effects of workplace bullying. Aside from these apparent effects, the harm inflicted to bullied employees such as financial problem, reduced self-respect and phobias as well as other physical problems are alarming signs of the issue that need to be addressed. Prevention of Supervisory Workplace Bullying Citing previous studies which proved the negative implications of workplace bullying to the victims, Namie noted that it has definitely spurred an escalated lack of civility in workplaces. Hence, there is indeed a need to regard it in the same way as the other serious work-related offenses such racial discrimination and sexual harassment. In doing so, there will be a clear identification of the bullies and establishment of guidelines. Additionally, an increased awareness will pave the way for companies to create punishments as well as for the lawmakers to enact laws addressing workplace bullying and for the criminal justice system or law enforcement to implement the penalties (Namie, 2003). Supervisory workplace bullying can be prevented if the victims will have the conviction to work on putting such harmful treatment to a stop and if the company management is committed to address the concern. It is only through the collected efforts, therefore, of both the victims and management that workplace bullying can be totally eliminated from the organization. With this kind of cooperation in place, the problem of workplace bullying would be efficiently dealt with. More importantly, the bullies would hence be restricted from taking in more victims. The initial move to prevent, if not stop, workplace bullying is to accept its existence (Union Safe, 2005). When the problem is recognized as an issue that needs to be addressed, it is essential for the company, through its management, to formulate guidelines that will punish bully supervisors and managers as well as precautionary measures or steps that will protect the subordinate victims and punish. For the part of the company, the employers need to present a clear statement among all employees that such act is inadmissible and not tolerated. Another move to prevent economic losses that can stem from bullying acts within organizations is to arrange for training programs to be cascaded from managerial to staff levels and to impose anti-harassment policies that will brook no exceptions. Such policies should cover any act of bullying as something that will not be tolerated by management. (Farrell, 2002) A four-step process for recognizing and removing the risks of workplace bullying has been outlined to specifically guide management in handing the bullies right. Step 1 involves identifying the bullies as hazards; step 2 begins the assessment of the risks of having such bullies around; step 3 brings in effective measures to control such risks identified and assessed; and, step 4 requires the evaluation and review of how the bullies were accordingly dealt with. (Preventing Workplace Bullying: A Practical Guide for Employers) The following is an illustration of these four steps: Source: Preventing Workplace Bullying: A Practical Guide for Employers Preventing any form of bullying from occurring within an organization is not simply a move that top management would want to make for the sake of avoiding the huge costs and non-quantifiable but equally dire consequences that arise from its prevalence. Instead, such prevention is a specifically required by law – specifically, by the S ection 5a of the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration. This law defines the safe and healthy workplace that all employers ought to provide employees; such workplace should, then, be free of threats and other hazards caused by the presence of an individual bully therein. (Farrell, 2002) Putting in concrete writing the campaign of the organization against workplace bullying and its serious policies against all forms of it should come a long way in discouraging everyone from ever bullying fellow members of the organization. A sample written company rule against workplace bullying is as follows: Source: Safety & Health Assessment Research by Prevention Conclusion The support and participation of everyone – the management and the victims themselves – are significant in achieving a good fight against workplace bullying. Subordinates should be able to stop it even at its initial stage by being confident and firm in telling the bully supervisor or manager that the action is a serious offense. The union, in turn, needs to ensure in the first place that the workplace is free from any form of intimidation as well as assist and give essential service to the victim. In doing so, a victim is assured that he or she is not alone in the fight against bullying while the bully superiors are warned as well that resorting to bullying will expose them to moral and legal liabilities. Workplace bullying is a serious and dangerous issue that should not be taken for granted. With heightened consciousness about workplace bullying in general, the bulling supervisors and the bullied subordinates will know their places in the organization and the rights of everyone therein. The management and staff of companies all ought to be properly apprised as to the specifics of workplace bullying – in particular, its characteristics, signs and manifestations, causes, theoretical basis, effects, and precautionary measures against it. Through the collected efforts of the employers, management, employees and the union, the subordinate victims are saved from the ill effects of being bullied while the needed help is provided to the bully supervisors or managers. Indeed, bullying bosses would have to come to terms with issues that they have to face within themselves. They should realize that their bullying actions are manifestations of psychological disorders that would have to be treated for their own good. The significance of supervisory workplace bullying is emphasized by the above discussion on the specific bullies’ actions which threaten the victims. It is important to recognize what causes the bully superiors to intimidate their subordinates in order to identify the appropriate actions to be taken. The extent of the adverse effect of supervisory workplace bullying is more than enough to spur action aimed towards preventing it at all cost. The materials gathered from related literature confirm the hypotheses on which this research has been based. Such materials on workplace bullying indeed confirm that bullying and intimidation are done by the very people who, as supervisors and managers, should have been first to see to the generally healthy working environment that their subordinates are entitled to. The workplace bullies have turned out to be mostly superiors who delight in abusing the authority and power that go with their positions in the company by causing the people at the bottom of the organization chart all sorts of despair and anxiety. They are sick people needing psychological therapy and, unless treated, they ought to never have been designated to occupy supervisory or managerial positions. The alarming increase in the frequency of reported workplace bullying has thankfully triggered higher levels of awareness and resolve on the part of management people to be vigilant in detecting slightest signs of bullying in their respective turfs and to decisively put an end to it all. This should mean that the bullying bosses will cease to make victims of their subordinates and that the non-bullying ones will not anymore hesitate to stop colleagues from engaging in their bullying ways. Increased consciousness should generally limit the opportunities of bullies to do any bullying. It has also been an acknowledged truth, as seen by the rising prevalence of workplace bullying, that management has not been proactively battling it as something that can harm the organization, in terms of both the individual circumstances of its members and the overall effectiveness of the group. Websites of various government welfare agencies and all kinds of published materials have been decrying workplace bullying as a menace to the entire organization, citing specific reasons to substantiate the harm that it is purported to cause. This rising consciousness will equip employees with sufficient ammunition against being victimized by a bullying boss, who is most likely to get away with his bullying when dealing with an intimidated and uninformed subordinate. Thus, bullying now becomes associated with bad bosses who are harboring some insecurities, tendencies toward racial discrimination, imbalanced value systems, or psychological disorders. Gone are the days when victims silently suffer from the ill treatment that they get from bullying bosses. These days, workers now know their rights as provided by enacted laws. Articles have been written to repeatedly emphasize that bullying is a threat against the overall safety and welfare of employees, which are protected by laws as vital to all organizations. In organizations that are inadequately set up, there is bound to be chaos and lack of transparency in different matters that ought to be well-established and systematized. Indeed, bullies would not thrive in an organization where everything is in order. Among the things to be clearly made known to everybody in an organization is how each of them is supposed to epitomize the vision, mission and objectives of their organization. These ideals would encourage virtues and good traits such as honesty, willingness to work hard, treating people right, and concern for other people’s well-being. Needless to say, these ideals go against the motives that lead people to bully other people. Improvement of corporate governance, therefore, is a step toward prevention of bullying in the workplace. Healthy organizations have efficient, skilled, well-trained and confident people, both officers and staff. In such organizations, bullying will not at all be tolerated. In general, competent superiors would never feel the slightest inclination toward bullying as a management tactic or as a way to get their needed confidence-boosting. Good managers deliver what is expected of them and get people to do their own share of work without at all having recourse to bullying. In fact, it is the absence of malpractices like bullying that bolster the integrity and authority of management people. Bullying managers do not at all win the respect and admiration of their subordinates – they get only fear, and even this fear is not known to last simply because bullying either will cease once detected or once the victim has decided to leave the company for good. Workplace bullying brings in unnecessary costs and losses. In totality, it triggers all sorts of dire consequences and not a bit of beneficial result. The development in the area of proactive fight against workplace bullying has undoubtedly improved the lot of the victims thereof. But a lot remains to yet be accomplished in this line of endeavor.

Branding and advertising Essay

In recent years there has been more of a shift towards more branding and advertising as opposed to focusing on product development, resulting in some companies having strong advertising campaigns coupled with a non-successful product. These observations lead to an important marketing theorem: Successful brands are built on successful products. The belief is that without great products, great brands could neither not exist nor withstand the competitive market. In a short paper, answer the following questions pertaining to the theorem. †¢Do you agree or disagree (partially or completely) with the theorem that successful brands are built on successful products? Why or why not? †¢Provide examples of brands and their products that a) prove the theorem and b) disprove the theorem. Explain your reasoning. †¢Why do so many companies appear fixated on branding rather than on ultimately developing successful products? In real terms, how would you as a marketing executive balance these two marketing forces? In recent years there has been more of a shift towards more branding and advertising as opposed to focusing on product development, resulting in some companies having strong advertising campaigns coupled with a non-successful product.