Marxism in Literature: Conflict in the Classics Essay

Two short stories will be analyzed using a Marxist lens to investigate unresolved conflict among characters and situations where conflict arises to show class struggle in society. Both â€Å"Hills Like White Elephants† by Hemingway and â€Å"The Man Who Was Almost a Man† by Wright show conflict in their characters lives and in larger society. Those who use Marxist literary theory to explore the characters and their settings in society use both the external and internal conflicts in a character’s life. Sometimes the inner conflict can mirror external problems in a symbolic way, so Marxist theorists must observe the same literary devices as other critics, such as symbolism, personification, metaphor and so on to comprehend how the conflict can best be described. In â€Å"Hills Like White Elephants†, there is much symbolism suggesting the war between natural versus unnatural that is both external and internal. In â€Å"The Man Who Was Almost a Man† the teenage character illustrates both conscious and subconscious acts of rebellion while living life in poverty and the shame of beatings from his parents and chastising from the white members of his community. It is very significant to look at these parts of the stories to find Marxist themes and modes for thinking in a way that supports Marxist theories. It should be noted that Marxism as an ideology transcends sociological and political realms to support the use of literature by the masses to further the aims of Marxist thought, but literary critics use the tenets of conflict and class to analyze the works without a motive for their study, but instead a simple lens of viewing social problems that are amplified in literature. Some critics, especially those of the Post-modernism school agree that ideology has no place in these works and their criticism should be noted. But the stories that will be used here will be simply analyzed in terms of class and conflict without any ideological preconceptions while ignoring the misconceptions of critics. It is the latter course I pursue here, though in conclusion I shall raise the question how far the concept of ideology can still be fruitfully applied to literature. I concentrate, furthermore, on criticism within the Marxist tradition, because it is here that the most systematic attempts have been made to think literature in relation to the concept of ideology. Of course, a non-Marxist may ask somewhat similar questions of the literary text, without using the concept of ideology, to those asked by a Marxist critic whose analysis relies on the concept. Moreover, not even all Marxist critics make use of the term (Moriarty, 2006, p 43). Though, Moriarty does make reference to the fact that not all Marxist critics use ideology in their criticisms, it may be a common misconception among other critics that ideology must always be a part of review. Instead conflict, such as the problem between the couple in â€Å"Hills Like White Elephants† have nothing to do with ideology and instead conflict and progress and the themes surrounding this. In â€Å"Hills Like White Elephants† a question by the editor of the anthology containing the work is posed, â€Å"What kind of resolution does the story offer† (Pickering, 2001, 681)? A Marxist critic would be concerned with this type of answer. A story without a resolution means that the central theme still exists in society and cannot be resolved by either the characters of the world at large. The story’s main conflict is a choice that the couple has to make between themselves as to if they will chose to have the woman undergo an abortion. But, the conflict of the two is not the central theme, it is the central conflict however. But underlying this is the theme of the contrast between what is manmade and what is natural. An abortion, obviously, is in the manmade category, making it significant. But, there is no resolution in this story and that would leave a Marxist critic to believe that the issue that cannot be resolved is not with the couple, but with the mechanical nature of life and the flight from the natural state of man (and woman). This analysis can be found in the scenery described by Hemingway, with beautiful natural hills outside of one window and on the other side is a train station, tracks, and so-called civilization. In keeping with the idea of the issues surrounding mechanical production and reproduction (especially in literature), it should be noted that the earliest Marxist thinkers did believe that a great deal of good could come from the dissemination of literature to forward a Marxist movement. Walter Benjamin is on Marxist theorist, not a literary critic, but his ideas may have influenced the discourse of other critics into embracing Marxist literary criticism. â€Å"He believes that no matter how revolutionary one’s thoughts, if they were expressed in a conventional, academic writing style, they would be inevitably be swallowed up in the routines of bourgeois culture† (Gardner, 2001, 249). This belief meant that the only hope for works not being swallowed up in the bourgeois culture was to make writing less academic and more creative and to use literary works to further Marxist ideals. This, however, was the root of Marxist ideals aimed to be put in place at least a century ago. So this new lens of Marxist criticism should be separated by politics and ideology of more Communistic times around the world to today and the struggles that are timeless. â€Å"The Man Who Was Almost a Man† provides a timeless look at teenage rebellion, rebellion against society, poverty, and class struggle. The teenager believes that in buying a gun, he will be free from the constraints that are heavily put on him. The essential them is rebellion and freedom, which is a highly Marxist ideal. But, interestingly enough it can be said that there is some closure in this character’s life by him choosing to flee his oppressive environment. However, it is a mystery as to where this utopian life he seeks will lead, making this an unresolved conflict. Pickering asks in his â€Å"Questions for Study† after reading the story â€Å"does Dave’s decision to climb aboard the freight train a convincing conclusion to the story† (Pickering, 2001, 1447)? It is not, as stated before, as the utopia that Dave seeks is unclear and may very well not exist. Michael Delahoyde in his class website reveals that Marxist critics will ask this questions about the stories they read. All of these questions linger in the stories chosen for analysis. What role does class play in the work; what is the author’s analysis of class relations? How do characters overcome oppression? In what ways does the work serve as propaganda for the status quo; or does it try to undermine it? What does the work say about oppression; or are social conflicts ignored or blamed elsewhere? Does the work propose some form of utopian vision as a solution to the problems encountered in the work? In conclusion, the stories chosen here briefly highlight the questions that Marxist critics ask when reading and analyzing literature. There is obvious discourse in other communities of criticism and ideology, politics, and the aims of Marxists in heated Communistic times should not be confused with Marxist criticisms of today. The works analyzed are viewed in a simple lens, asking simple questions that affect society and class struggle. These stories al pose interesting ways in which personal struggles translate to wider questions and the lack of resolutions require deeper thought as to what those resolutions might be. Works Cited: Michael Delahoyde, Class Website for Introduction to Literature, â€Å"Marxist Criticism†, Accessible online : http://www. wsu. edu/~delahoyd/marxist. crit. html. Last accessed 15, November, 2008. Roberta Gardner, â€Å"Walter Benjamin† in Social Theory: Continuity & Confrontation. (2000), Toronto, Ontario, CA: Broadview Press. 249. Michael Moriarty, â€Å"Ideology and Literature† in Journal of Political Ideologies (February 2006), 11(1), 43. James Pickering, â€Å"Questions for Study† in Fiction 100: An Anthology of Short Stories 9th Ed. (2001), Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. 681 & 1447.

Integrated Marketing Plan Essay

Executive Summary Background Started in 1960 by James and Tom Monaghan as a small pizza store in Ypsilanti, Michigan, Domino’s Pizza has grown to more than 10,000 corporate and franchised stores in 70 countries. Domino’s Pizza is recognized as the second largest pizza chain in the United States after Pizza Hut, and the largest worldwide.8 Domino’s had global retail sales of over $7.4 billion in 2012, comprised of over $3.5 billion in the U.S. and nearly $3.9 billion internationally. In the third quarter of 2013, Domino’s had global retail sales of nearly $1.8 billion, comprised of $849 million in the U.S. and $935 million internationally. 9 Focus on Technology From April 2011 to April 2012, Domino’s reached an impressive $2 Billion in US digital from its apps on platforms such as Kindle Fire, Android, Windows 8 phone, and iPhone – which now cover nearly 95% of the U.S. smartphone market. Digital sales, which include mobile and computer ordering, now make up 40% of all Domino’s sales, an increase from 30% in 2012. 9 Problem Statement Building on the success of Domino’s product rebranding and technological innovations, the company’s goal is to implement effective strategies that will increase its percentage of sales driven through the company’s mobile apps and online website. Situational Analysis Strengths of the Organization Domino’s Pizza is the second largest pizza chain in the United States and the world leader in pizza delivery, with more than 10,000 corporate and franchised stores in over seventy countries (Corporate). Furthermore, Domino’s Pizza has been the recipient of Pizza Today magazine’s â€Å"Chain of the Year† award three times back to back in 2010 and 2011 (Corporate). Over the years, Domino’s has launched many industry innovations to keep them at the top of the ladder, namely the HeatWave bag, Domino’s Tracker, and the Domino’s Pizza app (Corporate). This company has maintained great name brand  recognition and a strong distribution system (Corporate). Additionally, Domino’s has maintained its status as a socially responsible company by continuing its tenth annual Thanks & Giving Campaign for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (Press). Weaknesses of the Organization Despite its many strengths, Domino’s Pizza also has some weaknesses. Domino’s has a history of past indiscretions with some of its employees. In 2009, two Domino’s employees damaged the brand by pulling a prank that showed them violating health code sanitation standards (Clifford, 2009). Moreover in 2010, a North Carolina woman found a racial slur on her Domino’s receipt (ABC, 2010). Domino’s has long since repaired its public image but now it must be extra careful to maintain customer loyalty. Opportunities in the Environment An opportunity for Domino’s pizza is social media exposure. This exposure can generate more attention from the target market as they are the most likely to be represented on social media websites. Threats in the Environment Some threats for Domino’s Pizza include the fact that some of their products, specifically their sandwiches and desserts, may not seem healthy especially to a health-conscious consumer. As of now, economic setbacks such as wage increases have affected Domino’s Pizza because some British employees have been complaining about poor wages (Karphal, 2013). Competitor, and current industry leader Pizza Hut, offers many of the same products as Domino’s. The company must determine the most effective method to set its products above its competitors. Market Analysis The pizza restaurant industry is continuing to rise at a rate of about 1.6% (Barrett, 2012). Pizza Hut, Domino’s Pizza, and Papa John’s rank first in sales and unit counts among all the different chains (Barrett 2012). The pizza industry is a $40 billion industry that makes up approximately eleven percent of all restaurants in the nation (Franchise, 2013). Ninety-three percent of Americans eat at least one pizza per month in the nation (Franchise, 2013). The trend with Americans now is to move toward take out and fast delivery food options rather than dining out (Franchise, 2013).  Additionally, one of the best benefits of the pizza industry is its customization for consumer preferences and high versatility (Franchise 2013). The biggest pizza franchises, Pizza Hut, Domino’s, Papa John’s, and Little Caesars lead in the US pizza industry (Franchise, 2013). However, Pizza Hut leads the pack with a larger percentages of total sales (about 14.68% of all U.S. pizza sales) compared with the rest (Barrett, 2012). Year Ending September 2012 (cite pmq) Consumer Behavior Analysis Domino’s target audience is the age group of consumers 18-49 years old, both males and females. According to the pizza restaurant industry, the core pizza consumer is around the ages of 18 to 44 years old, with 75 percent to 77 percent of this age group being a pizza restaurant consumer (Barrett, 2012). Of this age, nearly half (47%) of people consider an online ordering option important when it comes to making decisions about buying pizza (Barrett, 2012). Moreover, among this percentile are the consumers aged 25-34 (57%) and those with three or more children (55%; Barrett, 2012). Fortunately for Domino’s, its emphasis on new technology has helped to push the introduction of Domino’s ordering apps for iPhone, Android phones, Windows 8, and the Kindle Fire, which now cover nearly 95 percent of the US smartphone market (Corporate). Competitor Analysis Domino’s three main competitors are Pizza Hut, Papa John’s, and Little Caesars. In fact, its biggest competition currently is Pizza Hut. Pizza Hut currently leads the industry with about 15% of the market and its stores account for 11% of all pizzerias in the US (Barrett, 2012). Likewise, Pizza Hut’s product offerings do not differ substantially from Domino’s. It also offers its product at very competitive prices. Papa Johns and Little Caesars’ product offering differ slightly from Domino’s in the sense that they do not offer pastas or sandwiches like Domino’s. Little Caesars is the only pizza restaurant that does not offer the delivery option. Furthermore, even in social media ranking, namely Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram, Pizza Hut leads in each category. Information from each of the 4  most popular American pizza brands in respect to their popularity shows the following: As demonstrated in the chart above, Pizza Hut leads the pack with 10.9 million likes, Domino’s takes second place with about 8.8 million likes, Papa John’s is third with about 2.6 million likes, while Little Caesars is fourth with 1.6 million likes. An article entitled â€Å"Top American Pizza Brands in social media† illustrates more in detail the different pizza brands and how consumers view each their respective Facebook pages. With respect with the other social media websites, Instagram and YouTube, here are the results: As you can see here, Pizza Hut again leads in this social media category with 3,213 YouTube subscribers and 19, 753 Instagram followers. Domino’s trails behind Pizza Hut with only 3,179 subscribers and 5,695 followers. Papa Johns was not accessible on these sites so they do not have any representation in the above chart. Lastly, with Twitter, here are the results: Pizza Hut boasts 650,300 followers; Domino’s has 428,049 followers; Papa John’s has 169,296 followers; and Little Caesars has 25, 209 followers. It is important to analyze the findings of each of these pizza company’s social media rankings because the target age group are continuously on these sites to find information about each brand before they make a decision. According to Andrew Merrill, he states that 70% of all consumers research online before making purchases or choosing service providers while 30% of consumers make purchasing decisions based on branding campaigns (Merrill, 2013). It is important to ensure that Domino’s has a significant presence online as it has globally. Target Audience Domino’s target audience is males and females ages 18-49 skewed slightly female with a focus on mothers and heads of household responsible for making the dinner decision for their family. Product Analysis Domino’s Pizza was long recognized for its inferior taste and quality. In a 2010 interview with Gayle King of The Gayle King Show on Oprah Radio, CEO, Patrick Doyle, acknowledged the inferiority of Domino’s taste and quality. Since that time, Domino’s Pizza has made a consorted effort to move the brand and image into a more favorably light. Offering many of the same products as its competitors – pizza, breadsticks, chicken wings, Domino’s Pizza must continue to find new, innovative ways to set itself apart from competitors and drive more consumers back to the Domino’s brand. Marketing Campaign Our creative Domino’s campaign is comprised of three parts, which will span the months of October to December 2014. According to the Domino’s website, its busiest days of service, apart from Superbowl Sunday, fall on Halloween, Thanksgiving Eve, and New Year’s Eve/ Day (Corporate). With this in mind, we will conduct a series of mini campaigns within the larger one in order to achieve a greater awareness of the ease and benefit of ordering online. The three parts of the campaign are as follows: 1) increase online advertisements about the app technology through Facebook and YouTube; 2) create a national pizza game with the primary goal being to drive sales through the app; 3) generate a global competition in which interested contestants must create a short YouTube commercial showing the benefits of ordering with the app technology. The first part of our campaign will help to make the public aware of the benefits of ordering online, whether on the computer or with a phone/iPad/Kindle app. According to a YouTube article, in the US, online video ads when combined with television ads create a 35% rise in brand recall, a 53% increase in message recall and a 31% rise in likeability over television alone (YouTube, 2012). Therefore, we will increase advertisements on all the social media websites more, namely Facebook and YouTube because they require some cost. Facebook ads require $350 for three months of advertising. Facebook allows the user to target the specific audience based on age, sex, interests/hobbies, language, etc. YouTube ads, on the other hand, will be ads placed in the videos. These ads are known as in-video overlay ads (Kim, 2012). These ads play before or during the video and viewers have the option to skip the ad (with no cost to the owner) or to watch the advertisement (with cost to the owner). The cost  of these ads are anywhere from $0.10 to $0.30 each. We expect the first part of this campaign to run for all the three months. The second part of our campaign will involve the creation of an app game within the existing Domino’s app. This game, which will run from October 30th -November 30th, will allow players the ability to win a free pizza if they win the game. The rules of the game are that three times a week (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday), consumers will have to guess the correct pizza toppings in the correct quantity, crust, and size selected by a different Domino’s executive or employee. If the consumer chooses the correct type of pizza, they will win that pizza for the day or have the option to change the toppings only. In the event that there is more than one winner for the day, each of their names will be placed in a raffle and only one name will be selected for the free pizza prize. Only players who have the Domino’s app will be able to play this game. The third part of our campaign involves a global competition that will involve all the different global Domino’s pizza restaurants. In this part, interested participants will be given the ability to design a creative commercial using the Domino’s app to order a pizza. The video must be 2-5 minutes in length and the participants must like Domino’s Facebook page, follow its Twitter and Instagram page, and subscribe to its YouTube page in order to participate. They must tweet their video to Domino’s main Twitter page. This competition will be open for the first two weeks in December. After that time, each video will be assessed according to creativity, length, and content. The winner will be announced in the third week of December. The winner of the global competition will win the ultimate prize of having Domino’s cater to their next party or event. This will go hand in hand with two of the biggest days in Domino’s busiest selling days. Domino’s will provide its pizza, sides, drinks, and desserts to the winner. The number of pizzas will be limited to 10 boxes, with the selection of each type of sides and desserts, and 10 2-liter drinks. Marketing Objective: Domino’s Pizza objective for the 2013 marketing campaign is to increase mobile app sales by 7%. This will be achieved through commercial advertisement and social media interaction which will make the customer aware that no matter the consumers’ location, they are able to order lunch or dinner in less than a minute. Another objective is to increase the quantity of loyal customers by 5%. In 2009, Dominos received a bundle of feedback from their customers that the pizza was not authentic or fresh and tasted disgusting. The most common complaint was that â€Å"the pizza crust taste like cardboard† (Fera 2013). This objective could easily be achieved mainly through commercial advertisement or special offers from local stores. Marketing Strategies: Domino’s Pizza will use tradition and nontraditional media to attract new and old customers encouraging them to try our new and improved products. For the convenience of the customer we encourage them to order Dominos products mainly through their website and mobile app. In order to increase sales we need to aggressively advertise through the company’s website, social media and television commercials. A. Our strategy to market our mobile app is to first make it known to the customers that we developed an app on any smartphone device for free. By making customers aware of this mobile app, it could increase Dominos product sales. The company needs to innovate a creative commercial showing how easy it is to download and utilize their mobile app. Once Dominos feel comfortable that they reached enough of their target customers, the company can then offer hot deals for the customer if they order pizza and other products through the mobile app only. Even if the customer prefer s to order on Dominos website, the mobile app allows the customer to keep track of when the order should hit the front door of their house no matter where they are located. The quicker a customer can order lunch or dinner, the faster the order is delivered to the customer. The Dominos mobile app is built for that particular customer who is always on the go and needs to place a quick order with the ability to check the process of the placed order anywhere. B. In order for Dominos to increase the quantity of loyal customers by 5%, they need to aggressively explain to consumer that they have redeveloped and revamped their products to the satisfaction of their customers wants for quality pizza. This could be expressed though commercial advertisement and social media. Commercial advertisement will express to the customers that Dominos listened to the feedback of previous customers and have currently re-innovated their pizza product to consumers’ satisfaction. But the fallback of their refurbished  product is that most of their old customer are unaware of their changes which led them to other pizza companies. With that said, local Domino stores should offer a pizza launch for families in the neighborhood to try one of their favorite 1-topping medium size pizza. This allows the customer to taste the quality of Dominos refurbished pizza products. Building brand loyalty and changing the customers’ perspective of their products is very important to increasing sales. Dominos website, www.pizzaturnaround.com, is a great way for potential or old customers to review how much Dominos redeveloped their pizza product basically from scratch (Bodnar 2010). Many people were misguided by what other customers said years ago causing future customer discouragement from ordering Domino’s Pizza. C. As for our media objective, we strategize that we can have a nationwide contest which will allow consumers to make a commercial on how they eat the ir pizza. Unique videos will have the chance to be selected and run on Domino’s profile page. This can be implemented through YouTube, Vine, and Instagram. Social media is an important tool for Dominos to offer hot deals without the customer going to the company’s website. They can easily check current events and coupon deal that Dominos promote on a daily basis. Customers the utilize social media could encourage fellow followers on their network to purchase Domino’s Pizza products in order to experience the same great taste that they enjoy. Evaluation The media marketing plan proposed will be effective because consumer trends are being followed and aggressive advertisement are being carefully placed in the media targeting young adults and families frequently. To determine whether or not our media plan will work, each strategy must be implemented carefully and effectively to ensure that Dominos objectives are met. As we continue to implement our marketing and media strategy, we will analyze the customers’ interaction with the Dominos website and mobile app. This analysis will determine the overall performance of our media plan displaying if we need to revamp our plan or continue with the plan at hand. Implementing this media plan will help ensure Domino’s Pizza that they will remain the leader in pizza delivery while increasing sales. Budget Domino’s Pizza creative campaign based on fast delivery with the use of the Dominos website and mobile app. The campaign budget of $250,000 includes advertisement expenditures on: billboard, transit, contingency fund, social media, promotional items and search engine optimization. Billboard advertisement will consist of 8% of the budget because it seems more logic to focus on other advertisement tools even though billboards are great in certain areas. As for Maryland, displaying your business on a billboard is not the most effective advertisement tool since people have trouble viewing the billboard while driving. The amount for this medium is $20,000. For transit advertisement we consider this tool to be 12% of the budget coming up $30,000. Many working mother and young adults continuously take public transportation. This will be a great way for Dominos to spread their brand name throughout the nation. Social media is the most important part of the budget at 32% because it is the most convenient for communication between Dominos and the public. This part of the budget will equal $80,000. Every plan needs a backup plan just in case the initial strategy doesn’t execute the goals we need in order to successfully implement our media plan. The contingency fund for our Dominos media campaign will be 14% at $35,000. Search engine optimization is also a great way for Dominos to expand their brand name when people are searching other topics on the net. This medium would be worth 18% of the budget at the amount of $45,000. And last but not least the promotional item of the budget will equal $40,000 for 16% of the budget. This concludes the budget for our media campaign. Works Cited 1. Bodnar, Kipp. (2010). B2B Social Media Lessons from Domino’s â€Å"Pizza Turnaround† Campaign†. Retrieved November 28,2013 from http://socialmediab2b.com/2010/01/dominos-pizza-turnaround-campaign/ 2. Alfs, Lizzy. (2013). What’s next for domino’s Pizza? CEO Patrick Doyle outlines some goals. Retrieved November 26, 2013 from http://www.annarbor.com/business-review/whats-next-for-dominos-pizza-ceo-patrick-doyle-outlines-some-goals/. 3. Domino’s Pizza Inc. (2013). Retrieved December 11, 2013 from http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/dominos-pizza-inc/index.html. 4. Inside Domino’s. (2013). Retrieved November 26, 2013

Economics in the early renaissance Research Paper

Economics in the early renaissance - Research Paper Example The economic development at the time portrayed the economy as a cohesive structure with numerous facets all of which function independently albeit in unison to enhance the economic growth of the entire society. The numerous sectors in the early renaissance economies thrived on peaceful economies coupled with systematic integration with other neighboring economies in order to expand their economies. Specific dynasties and think tanks such as Aristotle and Plato contributed fundamental economic ideas that fostered the development of the economies as I discuss in the easy below. In the research of the early renaissance economy, I research the theories fostered by numerous classical and neoclassical economists such as Adam Smith and David Ricardo. Effective taxation refers to a system of taxation in which the government demands a fair share of the citizens’ earning thus leaving the citizens with an adequate amount to foster the economic growth of the countries. At a time that the church played an important role in te formulation and implementation of policies, taxation was a fundamental issue since the royal dynasties often collaborated with the church to defraud the people. However, in order for the countries to register economic growth, the leadership had to implement effective policies that would enhance effective taxation, a system that would curb exploitation and enhance the appropriate utilization of the expenditure. Among the early cities worse governments exhibited effective management of resources was Florence. Florence was a small inland cit y in Italy that unlike other inland cities became economic success. Among the reasons for Florence’s success was the use of the resources in enhancing the liquidity of the economy. The Medici circulated the money in the economy through increased public spending thus resulting in the thriving of arts among other sectors of the economy. This way, the government raised the purchasing power

Astrology and Scientific Method Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

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Financial crises and Fair Value Accounting (Historical cost,deprival Essay

Financial crises and Fair Value Accounting (Historical cost,deprival value and replacement cost) - Essay Example hand, the supporters of fair value accounting method argued that the role of this method of valuation was minimalistic in the financial crisis and that the use of other methods of accounting could not have prevented the crisis. They identified that certain macro-economic factors like account surpluses, dispersing of loans without credibility checking, excess level of risk taking by the banks and the sharp fall in the prices of mortgage backed assets to be the main factors driving the financial crisis. The financial crisis of 2008 was a deep recession which impacted almost all the nations of the world. Therefore, the reasons that have caused the crisis have been extensively studied by the economists and scholars. One of the most studied topics in this respect is whether the use of the fair value accounting by the financial institutions has been a driving force for the downturn. The financial crisis of 2008 led to major debates among the researchers, academicians, banks as well as other participants of the financial markets regarding the role of Fair Value accounting in driving the failure of the financial markets in during the financial crisis. The financial crisis of 2008 was characterized by liquidity and volatility problems in the financial markets and the collapse or quasi breakdown of the major financial institutions of Wall Street like Lehman Brothers, Merry Lynch, Royal Bank of Scotland, Citicorp, AIG, Bear Sterns and Dexia (Ryan, 2008, p.14). The non-supporters of Fair Value Accounting argued that the use of fair value accounting methods in the financial reporting of the major financial institutions was the main accelerator and amplifier of the high intensity of the financial downturn. According to them, many financial institutions marked down the asset values in their financial reports due to the drip in the value of many financial instruments. Th e marked down representation of the asset values in the balance sheets weakened the capitalization ratios of

Kierkegaards Philosophical Viewpoints on Ethics and Critics of his Essay

Kierkegaards Philosophical Viewpoints on Ethics and Critics of his Work - Essay Example The aim of this paper is to divulge into Ethics and provide more information on a chosen philosopher of this field of philosophy. For the purpose of this paper was chosen Soren Kierkegaard. Danish born he firmly supported the involvement of religion in philosophy. His ideas are progressively developed and critics, among which Hegel and the Romantics, of his ideas are laid out. Kierkegaard was born in Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, in 1823 in a wealthy family. He suffered from melancholy and depression (Kemerling, 2002). His long list of works involves the most famous Fear and Trembling (1883), The Concept of Dread (1884), Concept of Irony (1841), and The Sickeness unto Death (1844). Fear and Trembling2 is the piece of work where the philosopher discusses on ethics. It deals with the aesthetic and the ethical. Having given a multidimensional dimension to all of his works Kierkegaard followed the same principle with his Ethics too. According to the philosopher "ethics" (i) is not a whole existential lever but is rather overtaken by the higher sphere of the religious life leaded and (ii) is preserved after the religious life ceases to exist. In this sense the first notion identifies with the Hegelian notion of Sittlichkeit, or rather the superseding social norms, which are the "higher power" no one is allowed oversee, pretty much like the expedition of Troy when Agamemnon had to sacrifice his daughter for the success of the mission (McDonald, 2006). In Fear and Trembling nonetheless, the philosopher also recognises responsibilities to the higher power also than prevail the social norms. The Abraham sacrifice of his son to God prevails the social norm of not killing an innocent person and not hurting his child. Abraham here finds himself in contradiction; he has to decide between the will of God and his beloved son. In this case Abraham will break the social norms on one hand and will have to give up his love for his child. His desire however to "attain the divine", commit to God and his faith and reach a religious status he commits to the "teleological suspension of the ethical", or rather stick to the commitment to the higher power rather than power social manners of conduct. On a deeper level Abraham here also needs to decide between his personal desire and God's will. The individual here needs to go beyond the aesthetical to the ethical aspect of life. The former is the earthy realization of the human life which drifts betwe en imagination and sensation, the latter is the divide which calls for decision making on grounds of commitment to God. Kierkegaard firmly contended that good and evil cannot be defined on ethical grounds but rather on God. Such distinction can only be made then on the grounds the higher power sets which may not be understandable to the individual at any point. Johannes de Silentio3 argues on the case of Abraham in Fear and Trembling that the sacrifice Abraham was required to perform cannot be termed as good or evil since it does not comply with the social norms

History of The NFL Dallas Cowboys Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

History of The NFL Dallas Cowboys - Essay Example H.R â€Å"Bum† Bright bought the team in 1984 from Murchison. The team produced bad results, and during the savings and loan crisis the team was taken over by FSLIC. Mr. Bright had little options to save the team hence Jerry Jones bought the Cowboys in 1989. The team has three stadiums since its formation as argued by Sullivan & Jeff (89). Cotton Bowl (originally know as Fair Park Bowl) was their first stadium, and they used it during their first 11 years in the NFL. The stadium got its name from the annual Cotton Bowl Classic college football bowl game (The event moved to the Cowboys Stadium since 2010). The stadium is their only stadium within Dallas city limits. In October 24, 1971, the team moved to Texas stadium where majority of the Cowboys history was made. Dallas Cowboys played in the stadium for 37 years. The team lost their final game in Texas Stadium on December, 20, 2008 to Baltimore Ravens before moving to their current stadium. Cowboys Stadium is the team’s current home stadium. The Stadium is also the first to be located outside Dallas County and is the largest domed stadium in the world. In their analysis Sullivan & Jeff say that Dallas Cowboys have won many championships during the 52 years since they began playing in the NFL (34). The team won their first championship (NFL Eastern Conference Championship) in 1966. They have won the Conference Championship (NFL Eastern and NFC) 10 times. In Division Championship, the Cowboys have performed well by clinching 21 titles. However, the team made their greatest achievement in 1971, when they won the Super Bowl for the first time with Tom Landry as the coach. They won the title again in 1977. When Jerry took over, he fired him and replaced him with Jimmy Johnson who also won the title twice (1992 and 1993). Jimmy was replaced by Barry Switzer who won their last Super Bowl in 1995. Since their formation, the team’s uniform has changed a lot but the blue color