The Effect of Minimum Wage Policy on Poverty Reduction Essay Example for Free

The Effect of Minimum Wage Policy on Poverty Reduction Essay 1 Introduction Minimum wage policies are widespread throughout the world. More than 90% of all countries have a minimum wage policy (International Labour Office, 2009, p. 34). Although the goals of mandating and maintaining a minimum wage, such as the reduction of poverty and the creation of income equality, are widely accepted around the world, there is a disagreement about the policy’s efficacy regarding these goals. Opponents of setting a minimum wage argue that it leads to unemployment, and it does not result in the reduction of poverty (Burkhauser Sabia, 2007, p. 263). Meanwhile, employment plays an important role in poverty alleviation, because it secures income and empowerment for the poor (United Nations, 2005). However, proponents of the minimum wage policy appoint that the policy leads to decrease in poverty rates and the unemployment effect is not significant (Lustig and McLeod, 1997). That means, there is controversy over the use of minimum wage as an anti-poverty tool, and this makes the topic interesting to study. This paper will evaluate the extent to which the minimum wage policy is an effective anti-poverty tool. The evaluation will be based on literary reviews of scientific articles and theoretical materials regarding the influence of minimum wage on employment and poverty. Such a focus is selected because studying the effect of minimum wage only on employment does not lead to a conclusion about the influence of minimum wage on poverty. Even if the unemployment effect is moderate, an increase in the minimum wage leads to net income losses for poor families (Neumark Wascher, 1997, p. 1). In addition, criteria such as the effect of minimum wage on employment and poverty level will be used for evaluation of efficacy of minimum wage policy as anti-poverty tool. The paper will be structured in the following way: section two will provide a summary of works related to the topic; in section three, the selected assessment criteria will be described; evaluation and the conclusion will be presented in section four and five respectively. 2 Theoretical framework A few empirical investigations were made to find evidence in favour or against the minimum wage as an anti-poverty tool. There are several research studies that demonstrate that the minimum wage policy is an ineffective means of achieving poverty reduction in many cases because of the unemployment effect . Neumark and Wascher (1997) conducted one such investigation. They studied the effect of minimum wage on poverty on the basis of changes in net income of poor families. The researchers discovered that raising minimum wages increases the probability that some poor families escape poverty and the probability that, initially, non-poor families fall into poverty. The discovered result supposes that the unemployment effect combined with minimum wage increases causes reductions in the income of previously non-poor families (Neumark Wascher,1997, p. 3). The conclusion of Neumark and Wascher (1997, p. 31) is that there is no strong evidence to support the idea that minimum wage policy helps in poverty alleviation because of the concomitant unemployment effect of minimum wage. Another research study was conducted on the basis of Brazilian microdata by Paes de Baros, Carlos, and Samir (as cited in Gindling Terrell, 2010). The result of the research showed that there was no effect of the minimum wage on poverty because the unemployment effects of the minimum wage increase. Pauw and Leibbrandt (2012) also decided to check the efficacy of minimum wage as an anti-poverty tool. To investigate the influence of the minimum wage policy on poverty in South Africa, they used an advanced micro-simulation model, which assesses the distribution of employment gains and losses and the implications for household income. The results showed that minimum wages led to a marginal decline of poverty. Moreover, job losses, price increase and income decline are more likely to affect the poorest. The investigators found that the minimum wage policy targets a small fraction of the poor. As such, they concluded that the policy was not an effective tool in South Africa because it was not well targeted (Pauw Leibbrandt, 2012, p. 780). However, there are few empirical research studies that prove that the minimum wage policy reaches the poor. The first estimates on the effect of minimum wages on poverty were made in the United States by Card and Krueger (as cited by Gindling Terrell, 2010). They used regression analysis to examine the change in the poverty rate of states from 1989 to 1991 and took into consideration only a small fraction of workers who were influenced by the minimum wage increase. The researchers found weak evidence of a modest poverty reduction effect because of the minimum wage increase. Lustig and McLeod (1997) also investigated the effect of the minimum wage on poverty but in Latin America and Asia. They concluded that an increase or fall in minimum wage leads respectively to a decline or increase in the poverty rates in developing countries (Lustig McLeod, 1997, p. 81). However, it was also noticed by the investigators that an increase in the minimum wage could increase slightly unemployment. (Lustig McLeod, 1997, p. 77). In addition, they mentioned that even if the minimum wage is shown to reduce poverty in the short run, employment opportunities could decrease in the long run. The result of research by Saget (2001, p. 22) shows that an increase in minimum wage reduces poverty; however, for a set of Latin American countries, where regression analyses were made on the basis of a one- or two-dollar poverty line, there was no effect on the poverty level. Moreover, they remark that the result confirms their intuition that minimum wages in developing countries do not influence the poorest population but the low-income population of the upper level instead. The empirical research of Gindling and Terrell (2010) regarding the influence of minimum wage on poverty in Honduras provided evidence that a raise in the minimum wage had a modest poverty-reducing effect. The results are true for the formal sector and could be higher, if there was no the unemployment effect in the formal sector. Moreover, the researchers suggested that those who lost jobs probably found jobs in the informal sector, where the minimum wage regulation does not hold power (Gindling Terrell, p. 915). Although in the majority of studies above, the unemployment effect of the minimum wage policy is mentioned, Card and Kruger (1994, In: Ropponen, 2011) discovered that a minimum wage increase can lead to an increase in employment. Such evidence they received by investigating fast food restaurants in New Jersey in 1992. Thus, there are several studies that provide evidence both in favour and against the minimum wage policy as anti-poverty tool. 3 Criteria Two criteria were selected for the evaluation of the extent to which the minimum wage is an effective tool for poverty alleviation: They are the influence of the minimum wage on the poverty level and its effect on the employment of the poor. The measuring of the effect of the minimum wage on the poverty level supposes focusing on the transition into poverty and out of poverty and the changes in poverty rates. Such a focus follows from the analysis of theoretical frameworks, where researchers used poverty rates (Gindling Terrell, 2010) or transitions out or into poverty for the evaluation of the influence of the minimum wage on poverty (Neumark Wascher, 1997). The employment effect of minimum wage criterion was selected because in the theoretical framework, the employment effect seems to be a critical factor that identifies the effectiveness of the minimum wage as an anti-poverty tool. For example, Samir, (as cited in Gindling Terrell, 2010) mentions that there is no effect of the minimum wage policy if the employment effect increases. These criteria will be applied by finding in the empirical investigations the evidence of the negative or positive changes in the poverty level and employment or the evidence of the absence of corresponding minimum wage influences. After that, evidence will be weighed, and a decision about the effectiveness of maintaining a minimum wage will be made. 4 Evaluation Although economists agree that the primary goal of minimum wage policy is poverty alleviation, many disagree about its effectiveness as an anti-poverty tool, as shown in section 2 of this paper. In this section, arguments for and against the policy were compared using criteria from section 3, evaluating the extent to which minimum wage served as an effective anti-poverty tool.

Media War in Lebanon

Media War in Lebanon There is a famous quote that says: the start of any war is a speech. The Lebanese society, as a collection of minorities is an extremely divided community with different religions, sects, and beliefs. This will result in a race between mixed cultures with a wide range of intelligence and understanding of worldwide relationships. This partitioned society reflects its differences at all aspects of life; in other words, politics, social believes and media. However, it does not uphold those differences as an advantage. Instead of uniting together, people got The Lebanese people have not learned to live together nor adapt to the fact that difference does not harm. This bad habit started a long time ago, and caused a terrible and damaging civil war. The Lebanese civil war was a different type of war. It made Lebanon a battle field for powers and groups beyond Lebanon. It started for religious reasons, and ended in 1990. ( Harb,I, 2005) The last one was due to the involvement of Syria and I srael. The funny part is that the people still follow those leaders that lead them to a war. Lebanese are passing through hard times, and in hard times people tend to extreme measures. Now Lebanon is separated into extreme categories. Each category is set by a sect, with one main leader. Each one of those parties must have a propaganda plan based on a certain ideology. Each propaganda plan consists of several media methods that spread their message, words and images to the people. This is where one of the main issues lies. Media and especially the Television channels affect the people and harm society with their biased news broadcasts. When you watch a professional TV news, you expect to have the news as they are without adding the opinion of editors expressed. The television stations are close or related to political and sectarian groups. In other words, they promote specific political agendas. The journalists working for those stations and the stations them selves are not seen as independent producers they are representatives of political movements and they are open to attack or oppose any factions going on in Lebanon. However, the consequences of those biased news and the attacks have become uncontrollable and sky high. For the last four years (2005-2009), the Lebanese Media War is responsible for harming its citizens due to the biased news set by different localized television channels. When the licenses for TV broadcasting were distributed at the early 90s, every sect got her share as a window to show their political views to their followers and others. The Christian got the LBC and MTV -which was closed later.. The Future that is representing the Sunnis voice, the Manar and NBN that are reflecting the Shiis political ideology. New licenses were also given later to the NewTV that represents the Sunniss Voice against Harriri, and OTV that was given to Aoun to represent the opposing Christian point of view in the Lebanese political life. TV stations are controlled and financed by the different political parties, the results were catastrophic causing a deep partition in the weak Lebanese society. Political interviews on different TV stations have turned the Lebanese people into lost animals in a forest ready for battle. The unusual part of the latest trend is that people now depend on some television channels to discover the facts. The problem is simple, biased and localized TV stations are damaging to the community. The negative effect of media spread by these channels reflects itself on all the aspects of the Lebanese life even on the elections of the student councils at the universities. This can be seen by the last student council election results at the AUB. On the other hand, AUB considered being the largest and most important university in Lebanon carries organized and important student elections where each TV channel gives a result that shows her followers as winners of the election Every channel broadcasted a n interview with a student that supported the same party as the television and stated that they had won the elections. LBC broadcasted that the Christian party that follows Samir Jaa Jaa won the elections. (LBC, 2001) While channels such as Al Manar and New TV stated that the other Christian group supporting Michael Aoun won the elections.(Tayyar, 2001) This kept me confused and dazzled about the fact of how diminishing and stupid the media has become. The biased and partial news keep the followers of every party controlled by the leaders in an indirect manner. In other words as long as the people are pleased with results from the news they will remain supporters. The people in touch with the news bulletin, gossip, and rumors become influenced by the news. They become victims to the deceitful and selective of images and words and they end up being like sac of potatoes following unmerciful leaders similar to the previously ones, we have seen in history as Hitler, Mussolini, Assad- which will lead to distortion and chaos. Imad Harb wrote an article called Lebanons Confessionalism: Problems and Prospects. He wrote: Lebanons TV stations try to act as if they are pan-Lebanese. On occasion when there are certain political emergencies or other crises their overage seems to become increasingly confessional. (Harb, I., 2006 March, p.3) Later he wrote: In the spring of 2005 television has become more personalized than confessional. There was a new spirit of hope in the air following popular mobilization against the Syrian presence in the country. Media coverage of the riots in few years back that resulted in the burning of the Danish consulate in Beirut was almost entirely political with LBC and the Future TV concentrating on the fact that many of those arrested were Syrian while NEW TV and others emphasizing other mitigating circumstances. (Harb, I., 2006 March)  The danger of broadcasting such news might revolve the viewers being diplomatic to savages. Simple words and pictures could print an image in the mind. Hatred could become the new motivation guiding the people. If they watch the assassination of a person they admired over and over again on television then rage takes over them. Rage and anger are unsafe and hazardous feelings to be experienced in tactically harsh times. If person followed group X and learned to hate group Y, then X becomes the worst enemy of group Y. Results are then crystal clear, constant fighting, blinded from truth, then end of Lebanese brotherhood and the elimination of diplomatic peaceful humanitarian life. Gibran Tueni was the proprietor of An Nahar, which was Beiruts leading newspaper. Unfortunately on December, 12th 2005 he was assassinated by a car bomb. Jefferson Morley wrote in an article called World Opinion Round up: Tueni was among the first to denounce the Syrian occupation of the country. The website is opinionated in favor of the anti-Syrian views of its late editor but also conciliatory toward Hezbollah, the fundamentalist Shiite political party and militia. (Morley, J., 2005, p.1) The LBC interviewed people that supported Gibran Tueni and asked them about their opinion towards the crime and their response was indirect towards the Syrians. It is a clear brainwashing game when they keep reminding people of the sad crime. Lately Michael Oun has joined hands with Huzballah which means now both parties are supporters of Syrians. Looking at the political biased broadcasts from different points of view, Al Manar and New TV are not different from the LBC and the Future broadcastin g methods. Huzballah consider themselves the protector of Lebanon and think they have the right to carry weapons not owned by the army. To keep that image floating into peoples minds, Al Manar broadcasts filmed Huzballah soldiers firing missiles and playing militia games in fake battle fields and some real ones (During the 14 July war). The idea behind those featured films is to show the strength of Huzballah and how they are needed for the safety of Lebanese people. Here they are playing the game of making the people feel the security and protection under the power of Hezbollah. Al Manar also repeats images of the suffering Palestinian people. These features remind the people of the other reason why Huzballah is found. Basically it shows how supportive Huzballah is to supporting countries especially weak ones, and this implies that he could be of help to the weak and in need from the Lebanese people. I found articles related to the political issues. One small detail wrote On Decemb er 7th, 2006 Hassan Nasrallah issued another televised speech calling for further protests, and demanded that the death of Ahmad Mahmoud should not serve as an excuse for any violent clashes. He also made a solemn oath that Lebanons Shiites would not be dragged into a sectarian war with Sunnis. (united nations economic and social council.) Hassan Nasrallah always makes speeches on Television. His high charisma helps him to reach the people. Huzballah is shown as a strong and at the same time peaceful. This makes their followers to believe in them even more. On July 30 thAccording to UWAC Hezbollah utilizes a multifaceted media campaign to garner support from the Arab world and bolster its ability to wage urban warfare The obvious part is keeping the people estranged, and on bad terms. No one now makes his own decision until his leading channel broadcasts what he should start believing in. It is the basis of brainwashing, basically having info put straight into your mind without unde rstanding.  One last damaging result of this media chaos is the bad image of Lebanon that is reflected to the Arab and foreign communities about Lebanon and its citizens. The tourism, the main income that the Lebanese economy depends on is very badly affected by the image that our TV channels are reflecting and this will, of course, show by the lowering standards of living of all the Lebanese. However, the media war has proven to be useful for Lebanese people rather than harming them, since channels will now show there true colors on many subjects and topics. People can now watch the various channels and decide for themselves who is on the right path towards improving Lebanon, and choose who to support. furthermore  researchers and politicians who really care about Lebanons wellbeing can now identify the differences clearly and on that bases work on a better Lebanon , since the channels proudly show how biased there opinions are on various topics .for example the ongoing war with Israel, forming the government, national debt .In addition, The media war aided in the process of encouraging Lebanese youth in pursing there educational paths forward in the fields of economics and politics , because they have seen the clear image behind following false media war propagandas .however these positive effects are a minute compared to the titan negative problems it create. Surely p ositive returns from the media war are healthy ,but the fact still remains that media war is massively harming the Lebanese people . All in all, the ones most damaged about this entire media game are the people because they are the target of each single party. Changing or discarding current channels should be a priority for the New Lebanese generation. No one cares about the people. The new channels should show what the people really need. They do not need words, nor funny speeches or a nice color to follow. All they need is for someone to express their pain. How come is it that Lebanon is ripping the people off with a high ten percent tax that has recently been implied, borrow money from external countries and still are in debt that they need France three to borrow new money. Where is all the money going? Why dont the television channels explain that fact?. Why do AUB, LAU, AUT, Balamand, NDU, and the Lebanese university graduates end up working as waiters in various restaurants in Lebanon. The news is busy and excited filming every university elections live. They should film the problem of employment and insuffi cient salaries of those students instead.. References Morley, J.( 2005) Lebanons media landscape. Retrieved on Jan. 21, 2007 From Http://blog.washingtonpost.com/worldopinionroundup/2005/12/lebanons_media_landscape.html USIP (2005). Arab Media: tools of the governments; tools for the people? Retrieved on Jan. 21, 2007 From http://www.usip.org/resources/lebanons-confessionalism-problems-and-prospects University of Maciddonia.(2007). United nations economic and social council. http://sites.mgkworld.net/thessis07/files/ecosoc_b.doc UWAC(july,30,2008):Hezbollahs use of Arab media to galvanize support. http://babylonscovertwar.com/Terrorist%20Groups/Shia/Hezbollahs%20Use%20of%20Arab%20Media%20to%20Galvanize%20Support.pdf

Brand Positioning Of Sap Erp Marketing Essay

Brand Positioning Of Sap Erp Marketing Essay What positioning strategy does is to create an image for the product that a company wants to bring in the mind of customers, in order to make them realize the current situation of market and competitors. Positioning is a strategic tool which is applied at all levels and which also makes marketing and its functioning less tedious. With Competitors and opportunities as a point of view the process which helps in identifying the consumers use of product and its patterns, attitudes and perceptions will help us to determine the best place for product or organization. (Karadeniz, 2009) Brand positioning of SAP-ERP SAP started as an ERP software vendor and today they are players in the ERP market. SAP to help themselves and to be provided with arms and ammunitions to build ERP, built a strong relationships with a variety of alliance partners. And today there are ample number of third-party developers who are suppliers of numerous add-on programs that work in conjunction with SAP products. SAP also offers ERP solutions appropriate for all sizes of companies and geographical needs are also sufficed. According to SAP their functional strengths includes: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Strong product development à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Ease in supporting Make-To-Order processing à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Integrated retail module à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Clear visibility to goods-in-transit orders à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Good quality control and quality assurance functionality à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Good compliance with SOX and tax regulations à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Strong cash management functionality SAP ERP Comparison with competitors: According to recent survey by panorama consulting they compared the offerings of SAP, Oracle and Microsoft Dynamics which showed that each of the companies has both strengths and weaknesses. It is important to remember that the suitability of a particular ERP solution for an organization is wholly dependent on the specific needs and requirements of that organization. Our positioning strategies: Keeping in mind the marketing techniques, for our product positioning we have made slogan which can be easily positioned in consumers mind i.e., Customization up to your Satisfaction is what we sell Customization by our Competitors? Be the first to leave a mark of your own, so it is always to help ourselves by being first. We can easily penetrate into everyones mind by a good first impression. As an old saying says First impression is the nest impression, when you are the first it is very easy to create an impression which lasts long. There are always second in the race and yes they create an impression but the first one to make a remarkable move wins attention. And its also known that the best one and the first one wins with more confidence irrespective of the environment. By being the first to claim a unique position in the mind the consumer, a firm effectively can cut through the noise level of other products. (Trout, 1981) Manufacturing Market Positioning strategy: Use and Application Manufacturing market is a vast area with different sized firms dealing with that for many years now. And with the current economy which is diminishing everyday it is important to note that small sized and mid-sized markets are the most affected. Positioning of SAP ERP here has to be done with respect to the Use and Application for the customers in the market, when we talk about use and application we mainly are concerned with how well the customer knows to make use of ERP and how they can apply to make themselves jump up to a better position. This now can be achieved by spreading knowledge about the product in order to reach the requirements and to serve the purpose of SAP ERP. Summary: A product can expand itself by making itself better known to customers and by increasing consumption by developing its uses and applications. The product has to be positioned accordingly in the minds of the customer with respect to individual target market. Service Industry Position Strategy: Product Class Service industry is a sector which contains business organizations in themselves which are working depending on cohesive information systems. ERP for this has to be able to deal with multiple aspects like billing, CRM, HR, supply chain management and so on. When we are using the product class, what we do is define the nature of the product and its services offered so as to serve the needs which are branded to be a part of particular market. When we divide the market keeping size and geographical conditions in mind, it is so done that each product designed for a market is capable of serving the purpose of the customers who buy it. So positioning by product class can be done if two products lie in the same product class. Positioning by product class mainly uses sales promotion as it tool. Example Get a toothbrush with a toothpaste free. Both of these products lie in the same product class and hence can be positioned accordingly. So what we do here is when the customer buys SAP ERP, we offer him few services they need for a trial and try to prove ourselves that we are the best for them to rely on. Once such a strategy is implemented and the product is released company simultaneously gains recognition in the market and the special offers steal peoples attention. Thus the company would have a better positioning once it advertised itself in its own product class. Henceforth, being in your own product class where your major target customers are is very important. Retail Industry Positioning: Characteristics and Customer benefits. Retail industry majorly deals with problems like requirements of stocks and placing orders and dealing with the wholesalers. Positioning can be done by using product characteristics or the customer benefits associated with the product to suit this market. In essence, the strategy relies on providing a superior product to the customers to have a better positioning. A strategy which is capable of positioning the product so that the customers can deal with all their issues at one single point. Characteristics and customer benefits show them that it is achievable to handle all the works by using one product. SAP ERP should be positioned as one such product, which helps in many ways with advantages. Few of those advantages are retail components, storeroom maintenance, workflow automation and technology integration. We agree there will be presence of few restrictions but it is also not deniable that the purpose wont be served. What we try to do here is just a plain strategic development blue print for our product which we portray as the best for them and we prove it by providing all possible characteristics there should be and the benefits that we can offer at no cost for self.

The Good Earth: Family Structure in Rural China :: Pearl Buck Good Earth Essays

  Ã‚  Ã‚   Most critiques of The Good Earth are preoccupied with the authentic quality of the novel, and while the Western critiques praise it as a novel based on facts, the Chinese hold a different view. Kang Younghill, a Chinese man, in reference to the image Pearl Buck created of China, stated that "it is discouraging to find that the novel works toward confusion, not clarification" (Kang 368). This statement illuminates Kang's feelings that the details, which Buck had presented as factual in the novel, were contrary to the actual life of the Chinese. Yet researches have shown that Buck was rightly informed and presented her information correctly. One detail that she paid special attention to was the family structure within the rural Chinese family, which she presented in the form of the Wang Lung household. The family structure demonstrated by Buck is not restricted to the Wang Lung family, but was a part of every rural Chinese home in the early 1900s. Every member 's experiences within the family structure are determined by the role and expectations placed on them by the society, and Buck was careful to include these experiences in Wang Lung's family.      Ã‚  Ã‚   According to the World Book Encyclopedia, in rural China, persons live in large family units, and it was ideal that five generations live under the same roof. Even so, most peasants live in nuclear families, and the extended family can only be afforded by the wealthy. ("China: family life" 483) This was perhaps one of the reasons why Buck transported Wang Lung from a peasant to a great landlord, so she could establish an extended family structure that was ideal to all Chinese families. When Wang Lung was just married he lived in a somewhat simple nuclear family, except for the presence of his father that would make it like an extended family. Moreover, the Chinese perception of a nuclear family included the father, but when members other than the children are introduced, the family would then be an extended one. Thus, Wang Lung's nuclear family is comprised of himself, O-lan, his wife, and his father. After he had his children, there were three generations un der his roof. Wang Lung soon began to prosper, and had an extended family when his uncle and his family moved into Wang Lung's house.

Home School Or School House :: essays research papers fc

Schoolhouse or Home School?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  What do George Washington and the Hanson brothers have in common? Do you give up? Well, the answer is that both of them were educated in their homes. Queen Elizabeth, Thomas Edison, and Theodore Roosevelt were also educated at home. According to the Home Education Research Institute, 1.5 million students are staying home for class today. This number is five times more than ten years ago (Kantrow and Wingert 66). This trend leads to many questions. Does home school education work? Do students receive a proper education? How does a home school student’s education compare to that of public school student? Does home schooling isolate a child socially? These questions are concerns of parents, educators, and politicians alike. The future of America rests on the academic and social education of our youth, and home school education should be considered as an effective alternative to public school education.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the past, parents mainly chose to educate their children at home because of religious preference. These parents viewed the public school system as a source of negative influence on children. Violence, sex, drugs, and peer pressure were influences these parents sought to avoid. However, today parents have other reasons for home school education, which primarily all point to a lackluster public school system. Other reasons include a desire to build a strong family closeness, safety, and a handful of parents chose home school for their children because of special needs such as disabilities or special talents. However, no matter how good the reasons, the home school education system must prove to be an acceptable alternative to public schools.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are many advantages to giving a student a home school education. First, parents can make direct decisions concerning what their children are taught. According to the Home School Statistics and Reports in 1997, written by founder and President Dr. Brian D. Ray, seventy-one percent of the parents who educate their children hand pick the curriculum from a variety of books, videos, and educational manuals. Another twenty-three percent order entire cirriculum packages (Ray 14). With the technology of today, parents have an unlimited source for information via the Internet, which can be easily integrated in home school education. The study also shows the education level of the parent supervising and administering the curriculum has little or no effect on the quality of education received by a student. Home-educated students whose parents did not have college degrees scored equally high on tests compared to students whose parents had college degrees(Ray 56).

Reason vs. Passion in Jane Eyre Essay

Reason and passion are two emotions that are shown by most of the characters in Jane Eyre. Some people ´s behaviour is governed by rationality and they think carefully about all what they do. The opposite happens with impulsive people who follow their feelings, prevailing passion to reason. Passionate people do not think before performing their actions, because of that they are considered more authentic than people who act guided by reason. However, sometimes passion must be left behind and people have to act according to reason and consciously. This situation is clearly shown in Jane Eyre, the novel written by Charlotte Brontà «, in which the two most important characters show strong passion and reason in their personalities. Through conflict, allusion and symbolism the writer tells the story of Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester. Conflict is used by the writer to show the collision and disagreement between two persons and also the inside conflict in a person. In the novel a conflict between two human beings is clearly expressed in the relationship that Jane has with her evil aunt Mrs. Reed. Jane feels humiliated and denigrated by her aunt, she cannot bear any more the cruel treatment and she feels dominated by fury. The writer describes Jane ´s behaviour as â€Å"..shaking from head to foot, thrilled with ungovernable excitement† (29), uncontrollable and irrepressible as all kinds of passion. The conflict between them is clearly shown by the writer when Jane says, â€Å"†¦I am glad you are no relation of mine: I will never call you aunt again so long as I live.† (29). The lack of love and the difficult relation between them is evident in those lines. Moreover, Jane ´s life is almost always a fight between reason and passion, in the novel the author shows how women in Victorian ´s time s were not allowed to guide their decisions by feelings or emotions. Restrictions and limitations were ordinary in women ´s life and those restrictions were the cause of many internal female conflicts. An example of this occurs with Jane when she says,†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦I must renounce love and idol. One dear word comprised my intolerable duty- â€Å"Depart!†Ã¢â‚¬ (279). In this situation Jane has to fight against her passion; against her love and hope to stay with Mr. Rochester despite knowing that he was already married. Jane says, â€Å"..Mr. Rochester I must leave you.† (268) she is concerned about what she must do, even when it does not concurs to what she wants. Guided by her reason she leaves Thornfield and she exclaims, â€Å"Farewell! Was the cry of my heart as I left him. Despair added, Farewell for ever!.† The author shows clearly, how reason and passion can produce conflicts with other people and also internal ones. Allusion is also used by the writer to indicate the power that passion and reason have in the characters ´ personalities. Allusion to God and the Bible are common in the novel. At that time people ´s behaviour was governed by Christian duties and they had to struggle between those duties and their natural human passion. Jane Eyre is not the only character who shows passion in the novel and also Mr. Rochester has a strong and fervent presence which is demonstrated by the writer in an example when he says, â€Å"†¦By God I long to exert a fraction of Samson ´s strength, and break the entanglement like tow!†(267). The reference to Samons,(â€Å"the man of the sun†) who is mentioned in the Bible because of his supernatural strength given by God, represents the violent and uncontrollable emotions of Mr. Rochester expressed when Jane tells him her will of leaving Thornfield and him. Furthermore, allusion to God is used many times in the novel and it denotes the imp ortance of religion at that time and the strong belief in God and divine punishments. However, many times Jane ´s behaviour is against will of God but also against society ´s rules. An example of that is stated by the writer when she says â€Å"†¦I am not talking to you now through the medium of custom, conventionalities, nor even of mortal flesh;-†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (223), it clearly shows Jane ´s rebellion and audacity to talk to a man inappropriately. Besides, she says, ..†it is my spirit that addresses your spirit; just as if both had passed through the grave, and we stood at God ´s feet, equal,-as we are!† (223) here it is expressed a divine equality and at the same time the human passion which does not know about reason. On the other hand, allusion to God also expresses the power of faith in guiding Jane to follow her reason and an example of that is given when she says: â€Å"I will keep the law given by God; sanctioned by man. I will hold to the principl es received by me when I was sane, and not mad- as I am now.† (280). Jane ´s madness is actually her passion, her love and the law of God is the sensible behaviour that she has to have, and even which she used to have. That conscious and prudent conduct is her reason, which represents the will of God. Moreover, when she leaves Mr. Rochester her last words are blessings, she says, †God bless you, my dear master!† (281). It states her strong belief in God and the peace of the right decision making. Those allusions to God represent the importance of religion in that period of time in which the novel was written and how it influences in people ´s reason and passion. Central character ´s personalities are well developed through fire, symbolism of passion and water as symbolism of reason. Fire represents passion and sexual appetite in the character of Bertha Mason, Mr. Rochester ´s wife, who sets fire to his bedroom. That scene is described by Jane, who says, â€Å"Tongues of flame darted round the bed: the curtains were on fire. In the midst of blaze and vapour, Mr. Rochester lay stretched motionless, in deep sleep.† (130). The fire around the bed is a clear representation of sex and passion and it is reasserted when Mr. Rochester describes Bertha as â€Å"intemperate and unchaste† (270) which are adjectives related with uncontrollable passion and sex. Then another incident is the fire which destroys Thornfield and in which Bertha dies and Mr. Rochester goes blind. A host tells Jane the story that happens two month after her departure and he says,†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦she sets fire to the hangings of the room next to her own (†¦) a nd made her way to the chamber that had been the governess† (378). It reflects Bertha ´s intention to kill Rochester and Jane ´s love and represents the danger of uncontrollable feelings. On the other hand, water symbolizes the extinction of fire and the reason that defeats passion. It happens when Jane saves Mr. Rochester ´s life in the bedroom fire and she says, â€Å"I rushed to his basin and ewer; fortunately,(†¦) both were filled with water. I heaved them up, deluged the bed and its occupant† It states Jane ´s intention not to follow her feelings towards Mr.Rochester but act guided by reason. Moreover, she says, â€Å"by God aid, succeeded in extinguishing the flames†, which indicates Jane ´s will of acting guided by religious rules and extinguishes her inappropriate love. Fire as imagery of the danger of improper feelings and water as representation of reason and death of passion tells the character ´s personalities. In conclusion, Charlotte Brontà « exposes through conflict, allusion and symbolism how passion and reason are the guide of characters ´ behaviour at different situations in the novel. Jane as a child and when she is treated unjustly is guided by passion, but then when she grows up she learns how to control her passionate emotions. However, in some situation she is not able to do it and reacts with rage, for instance when Mr. Rochester tells her that she has to leave Thornfield. In contrast she follows her reason when she knows that he is already married, but it is possible because of her strength and religion belief. She takes the hard decision of leaving her love, faces an uncertain reality and only comes back when Mr. Rochester is widow. He ends up being a partial dependent husband because of his disabilities and it could be interpreted as a punishment for his excessive and improper passion. It is not a classical romantic novel but the romance genre is predominant and in the end love survives dangers and difficulties.

Importance of Beneficence of Ethical Issue on Nursing Practice

According to Hall, (1992; cited in Silva and Ludwick, 1992), â€Å"the ethics incorporated into good nursing practice are more important than knowledge of the law; practicing ethically saves the effort of trying to know all the laws. † Clinical ethics literature pertaining to nursing profession identifies four important values and principles, namely, respect to autonomy of the patient and to act with nonmaleficence, beneficence and justice (Nettina, 2006).Of these, beneficence is the fundamental principle that affirms the inherent professional aspiration of not only the nursing personnel, but also other health professionals to help promote other's well-being. Infact, it is the main motivating factor for many nurses to opt for this profession as career. This essay will discuss the concept of beneficence relevant to nursing practice. Beneficence and ethics related to nursing profession The principle of beneficence comes across in everyday nursing practice.The term beneficence ac tually connotes acts of merciness, charity and kindness which are suggestive of love, humanity, altruism and promotion of good to others (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2008). This broad notion is a principle or rule when it comes to medical profession. Nurses have a moral obligation to act in ways which benefit others. There are many theories which have been put forward about beneficence. These include the moral-sentiment theory of David Hume, the Utilitarian theory and Kant's theory. According to Hume's theory, in any moral life, motives of beneficence are very important.Hume's arguments were much against the Mandeville's theory which proposed that most of the human actions are based on private interest and human beings are neither benevolent nor sociable. Hume argues that beneficence is an â€Å"original† feature of human nature and it designates a class of virtues which are rooted in generosity, goodwill and love directed at others. According to the utilitarian theo ry by John Stuart Mill, â€Å"actions are right in proportion to their promotion of happiness, and wrong as they produce the reverse.† Thus, as per this theory, concepts of duty, right and obligation are actually determined by balance between maximum benefits and minimum harm. However, Kant argued that every individual has a duty to be beneficent, in the sense, that every one has to be helpful to others as per one's means without any hope for personal gain (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2008). Whenever there is a conflict between what is good between patients and nurses, between organizations and patients, between states involved in interstate practice and also between patients, the principle of beneficence rises certain ethical issues.Any differences in the ethical issues can initiate ethical implications which can terminate in approved cervices, financial reimbursement, change in laws on reporting certain diseases and abuse and also development of protocols from whom nurses can accept orders (Silva and Ludwick, 1999). Beneficence has a major role as far as conceptualizing the goals of medicine as a social practice is concerned. The goal of medicine becomes a beneficent undertaking only if the end of medicine is healing. Nurses are often confused as to what act of theirs is good for the patient and what is bad.What they believe is good for the patient may not be what is actually good for the patient and it is very difficult to act in a way which is against anyone's belief. Another famous debate about constitutes of what is good for the patient without infringing on the autonomy of the patient or causing serious harm to the patient (Silva and Ludwick, 1999). The question that pops up in the debate is whether it is ethical to overrule the preferences of the patient. Beneficence issues also rise when a patient is not in a position to make any decisions as far as his or her treatment is concerned.Beauchamp and Childress (1994; cited in Silva and Lud wick, 1999) used paternalism to discuss this aspect of argument. According to them, paternalism can be weak or strong. While weak paternalism means â€Å"that the health care provider is protecting the patient when the patient is unable to make decisions due to problems such as depression or the influence of medications†, strong paternalism refers to â€Å"interactions intended to benefit a person despite the fact that the person's risky choices and actions are informed, voluntary, and autonomous† (Beauchamp and Childress, 1994; cited in Silva and Ludwick, 1999).As Thompson (1987, pg. 1465) rightly put it: â€Å"The duty to care is not only about recognizing a reciprocal responsibility for one another but also in particular about recognizing a duty to protect the vulnerable- that is, accepting the role of advocate of the rights of those who are unable to defend their own rights. † Conclusion To conclude, it can be said that beneficence is a fundamental principle in nursing ethics with definite meaning and implications when applied to the analysis of the relationship between the nurse and patient.Though beneficence is a natural human feature, it becomes a moral obligation in certain professions like nursing and thus is a source for ethical issues and implications. References Nettina, S. M. (2006). Lippincott Manual of Nursing Practice. 8th edition. Singapore: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins. Silva, M. C. , and Ludwick, R. (1999). Ethics: Interstate Nursing Practice and Regulation: Ethical Issues for the 21st Century. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 4(2). Retrieved on  July  18th,  2009 from www. nursingworld  .org//MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/TableofContents/   Volume41999/No2Sep1999/InterstateNursingPracticeandRegulation. aspx Thompson, I. E. (1987). Fundamental ethical principles in health care. British Medical Journal, 295(6611), 1461- 1465. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. (2008). The Principle of Beneficence in Applied Ethics. Retrieved on July 18th, 2009 from http://plato. stanford. edu/entries/principle-beneficence/