Honor Thyself Essays - Gender, Ttir, Thorstein Staff-Struck

Honor Thyself Essays - Gender, Ttir, Thorstein Staff-Struck Honor Thyself Honor is something that is earned, but it must also be defended in order to be upheld in the eyes of all. In ?Thorstein The Staff-Struck? one?s respect is based on their honor alone. Honor is the essence of a life worth living. In this story, a life without honor means that the life is worthless. Death is better than having no honor. Men will easily give their lives without second thought to earn, and protect it. Honor?s role in ?Thorstein the Staff-Struck? takes on several roles, but all of them are to achieve one common goal. The various roles take on the common goal of achieving honor itself. Thorstein?s nick-name ?the Staff-Struck? is a strain on his honor because his masculinity is being questioned after his first bout with Thord. Thorstein?s first reaction to the blow to his head by Thord?s staff is not thought of as being honorable. He didn?t respond in a way that would defend his honor. He needed to stand up for himself to accomplish that trying task.. His response to Thord?s blow was thought of as a cowards response. That meant his honor had been shamed by his own action, or lack of the correct actions. After that, Thorstein?s integrity was belittled in the eyes of others. One?s honor Page 2 lies not only in the eyes of one?s self, but also in the words, and eyes of all present, and around. Thorstein had to avenge his honor in the eyes of the spectators for himself. Thorstein?s father prompted his vengeance though. Thorstein could not simply sit back, and be humiliated by his own father. That was just too much for him to deal with, nor did he want to try. He knew he must honor his father by bringing, and restoring honor to himself. His response, although late, was honorable. Timing is a crucial part of vengeance in this story though. Bijarni, the ruler of Hof, had a different role in society, but his honor was still of great importance. Bijarni?s honor was questioned by his servants, his wife, and others because they felt his reverence had been stained by Thorstein. His lack of action against Thorstein made him weak in the eyes of others. He had been challenged, but he had not yet accepted the challenge. When honor is seen as challenged there must be action taken or soundness will be questioned. Thorhall and Thorvald questioned Bijarni?s honor in gossip, and in rumor. Bijarni then instructed the two to leave, and return with Thorstein?s head, as he can not stand by while his servants continue to question his credibility and valance to stand up for his departed entourage. That would be dishonorable to himself. When honor is questioned it shows doubt, and damages its credibility, therefore it is not respected by others. When honor is not respected, one?s image can be severely damaged, or tarnished. When ?Bijarni the killer?s? own wife insults his honor he must continue the ongoing struggle in protecting his trustworthiness, and defend himself once again by proving himself to her to. This honor system is an ongoing saga of life itself in the time of ?Thorstein The Staff-Struck?. He must first put her in her place for such reasons as her behavior and actions resembling ?in his eyes?, that of a typical women. His role as master must be Page 3 made clear to her, as well as his honor made clear to Thorstein before he can even begin to rest assured that his position as ?Bijarni he killer? stands true and strong . Bijarni thinks and acts in a manner that reflects upon the relationship between a man?s masculinity and his honor. In the era in which the tale originates, masculinity and honor are somewhat integrated. This relationship between the two also proves itself true in Thorstein?s dealings with Bijarni?s men, and eventually Bijarni himself. A great deal of a man?s ability to uphold, and gain honor relies on the amount of masculinity that he is capable of displaying, and using in his own favor. The timing of this display is also crucial because when it?s not being displayed it can easily be questioned as to whether or not it even exists. The display is crucial because it must be made clear to the eyes in a society were action takes all precedence over everything else. This is a time of actions. Actions tend to speak louder than words in this type of an

What do childrens experiences of race tell us about the social Essay

What do childrens experiences of race tell us about the social psychology of racism Discuss with reference to empirical research on race and multiculture - Essay Example Through the process of identifying certain biological human characteristics, the population of the world started being classified into separate groups. Miles refers to this process as racialisation and defines it as one which characterizes meanings â€Å"to particular biological features of human beings, as a result of which individuals may be assigned to or categorized into a general collectivity of persons reproducing itself biologically† (Miles, 1989). Research on children’s racialised thinking conventionally used numerous theoretical and interpretive paradigms that intended to explain the development of racial attitudes. Some of these models connected children’s racist beliefs to personality troubles and gave details of the appearance of prejudiced attitudes in relation to rigid cognition credited to strict parenting style (Adorno, 1950). Some recent researches put forward that children play a dynamic role in their own learning and expand knowledge through social interaction. Furthermore, children also have a certain amount of ability that permits them to understand process and express their needs and knowledge (Connolly, 1996). Thus children are not merely seen as submissive receivers of racist beliefs, but as vigorous agents who struggle to deal with conflicting information they obtain in relation to the racial ‘other’ so as to make sense of the social world around them. Because of this, they do not just imitate racist viewpoints to which they are exposed, but actively strive with their contingent and often opposing nature, while trying to make sense of their social world (Connolly, 1998b). Children establish their racialised notions of diversity and social relations within the specific framework of their daily experiences and that these experiences are socially planned, determined by social events that expand

Philosophy Nr.2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Philosophy Nr.2 - Essay Example Therefore, it is essential to have social discipline in any society. Individualism is the basic principle on which the societies of the present age are founded. Every person wishes to procure, whatever he feels that he is eligible to obtain. In this manner, the individualist theory of justice has been transformed into a crucial collective theory of the present age (Aron 26). In instances, wherein individual distinction prevails in society; the principle of collective consciousness, which is controlled by mechanical solidarity, remains in existence. Values, sentiments and morals should be the same for all the people. In cases, where these common principles are impaired, society will be exposed to the danger of disintegration (Aron 26). Individualism in Europe chiefly emerged on the basis of the thoughts of John Stuart Mill and Friedrich Nietzsche. John Stuart Mill’s renowned essay On Liberty, declared that individuals should exercise sovereignty over their mind and body. Nevertheless, he was convinced that his ideology did not subscribe to the selfish ideas, propounded by Adam Smith. He believed that individuals should have the freedom to investigate moral, religious, and feminist ideas (Individualism). As such, Mill focused on personal freedom, which he considered indispensable, for achieving the greatest good of the greatest numbers. According to Mill, individual dignity depends on personal freedom (Individualism). Ultimately, this would lead to the exploration of the unconventional ideas. The individual was viewed by Plato and Aristotle, as a social and political being. In the Republic, Plato contended the state was responsible for molding the individual psyche, via its educative and socializing functions. He also promoted the views of Socrates, who stated that dialogue between the people, led to the formation of a knowledge base and principles of virtue and morality among them. (Self and

Federal Reserve Board Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Federal Reserve Board - Essay Example But when we talk about of United States which is world's largest economy then the monetary policy of the country also expands its impact on in form of economic and financial effects on other countries of the world. In shortest possible definition the main objective of a monetary policy is to look into various aspects of the economy of a nation ranging from inflation; economic output; to employment. The working of it could be understood by way it affects the demand i.e., is being parameterized in form of people's and firms' current tendency towards expenditure and spending on goods and services. In United States the Monetary policy matters relate to it are all conducted by the Federal Reserve System which is the central bank of America and the form of influences it makes on demand is mainly by raising and lowering of short-term interest rates (Dennisy, 2007). The responsibility of conducting a monetary policy lies in the hand of Fed's FOMC or Federal Open Market Committee. The FOMC comprises of 12 members out of which the seven members are from the board of Governors; the President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the rest four are the other Reserve Bank Presidents who occupy the seat in rotation. The Committee meets eight times a year in Washington, D.C. The remaining Reserve Bank Presidents provides all necessary inputs to the Committee's discussions on various issues. The Directors of each Reserve Bank has their own defined duty in form of contributions through recommendations about discount rates (Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, 2004). Federal Open Market Committee in 2007 The FOMC amended its policy related to the Authorization for Domestic Open Market Operations on January 30, 2007 and directed the Federal Reserve Bank of New York so that various domestic policy directives could be adopted. The Bank has now been authorized to buy or sell U.S. Government Securities from or to securities dealers and foreign and international accounts maintained at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. This includes buying and selling of U.S. Government securities and obligations that are in direct obligations of, or have been fully guaranteed to principal and interest by, any agency of the United States, from dealers for the account of the System Open Market with process being competitive bidding. The authorization has been further expanded to ensure the conduct of open market operations through lending government securities to dealers to be determined by competitive bidding. The bank will also act as an assisting agent for foreign and international accounts maintaine d in the bank for short-term investments (The Federal Reserve Board, 2007). The FOMC while considering the necessity to carry out the various foreign currency directives has asked the Federal Reserve Bank of New York for System Open Markets Account. The bank has been granted further permission to purchase and selling of some foreign currencies in the form of cable transactions on the open market at home and abroad with foreign monetary authorities, with Bank of International Settlements, and with other international financial institutions. The currencies which have been considered for above mentioned transactions are Canadian Dollars, Danish Kroner, Euro, Pounds Sterling, Japanese Yen, Mexican Pesos, Norwegian Kroner, Swedish Kronor and Swiss

Analysing Mcdonalds Essay Example for Free

Analysing Mcdonalds Essay I c) The competitor I choose is Sonic Corp. , their competitors are 1) Burger King, 2) McDonald’s and 3) Whataburger. The first financial ratio calculated was the current ratio. The industry percentage is . 93, McDonald’s current ratio is 1. 14 and Sonic is 1. 72. Both companies have ability to pay back their short-term liabilities with their short-term assets. Debt to Equity: McDonald’s: . 75, Sonic (-172. 3) and the industry: 1. 00. Sonic’s short-term debt has gone up from 22. 9 in 2007 to 57. 5 in 2009 and the long term has gone down from 727. 2 in 2007 to 683. 4 in 2009. Their Owner’s Equity has been in the red; in 2007 it was (-106. ) and slowly has decreasing to (-4. 3). Gross Profit Margin: McDonald’s: 38. 65, Sonic 33. 11, and industry: 31. 74. Both companies are about average. The gross profit margin has been stable for the past three years and had not fluctuated far from the industry median. Net Profit Margin: MCD: 20. 01%, SONC: 10. 29% and industry: 2. 99. McDonald’s is keeping above the industry average on every dollar of sales a company earns. Sonic has been having some trouble keeping above water. For ? in Sales and ? in Net Income Growth the formula I used was (B-A)/A*100 or (new# old #)/old # times 100. ? in Sales: both companies increase sales in the year 2008 but then a slight decrease in the year 2009. ? in Net Income Growth: Where as MCD has double in net income in the last three years, going from 2395. 1 in 2007 to 4551. 0 in 2009, SONC has decline in net income. In year 2007 it was at 64. 2 and now in 2009 it is 49. 4. II a) When I found out that we were going to be studying McDonald’s for this semester, I could only think about hamburgers and coffee. I never gave it a thought that a fast food restaurant would have deal with environmental, social, economic or political responsibilities. In our text book Strategic Management Concept by Fred R. David (2010), strategies is defined as â€Å"the means by which long-term objectives will be achieved. † Well McDonald’s has definitely achieved more than it’s share of objectives in the past years. Even at the beginning of MCD, Ray Kroc, the businessman who bought McDonald’s from the McDonald brothers, had a long-term objective for that restaurant. He wanted MCD to be the most successful fast food operation in the world. And year after year he has achieved this by continuously surpassing its competitors, supporting the local community and â€Å"work to provide sustained profitable growth for our shareholders. † II b1) Economic Forces: Unemployment rate of 9. 5%. While large corporation are downsizing and cutting jobs, MCD is hiring. Breakfast sales are declining due to the unemployment rate. Dollar’s value: on Market Watch (July 17, 2009) with William Spain he wrote that with the economy going the way it is going, people will keep spending more on fast food than at family-style restaurants, often because they also feel they are no longer sacrificing quality to save money as fast food chains add new products that taste better and are seen as healthier and fresher than ever before. † Social, Cultural, Demographic, Natural Environmental Forces: Working Globally on animal’s welfare. Green Restaurant Design, the MCD in Denmark is the first hydroflurocarbon free restaurant. Political, Govt. Legal Forces: In 2001, Eric Schlossers book Fast Food Nation includes criticism of McDonalds business practices and alleges at MCD used its political influence to increase their own profits at the expense of the health of the nation and the social conditions of its workers. Children obesity problem. Technological Forces: Offering free WiFi hotspots. Competitive Forces: New drive-thur layouts to better service time.

Analysis of Why are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteri

Analysis of Why are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria by Beverly Daniel Tatum 'Why are all the black kids sitting together in the cafeteria'; by Beverly Daniel Tatum Ph.D. is a book of many subjects, theories, ideas, as well as opinions that are discussed, challenged and criticized. Are we free from racism? Why, are all the black kids sitting together in the cafeteria? These questions I hope to answer for myself and for others. One of Beverly Tatum's major topics of discussion is racial identity. Racial identity is the meaning each of us has constructed or is constructing about what it means to be a white person or a person of color in a race-conscious society. (Tatum, pp Xvii) She talks about how many parents hesitate to talk to their children about racism because of embarrassment and the awkwardness of the subject. I agree with her when she says that parents don't want to talk about racism when they don't see a problem. They don't want to create fear or racism where none may exist. It is touchy subject because if not gone about right, you can perhaps steer someone the wrong way. Another theory she has on racial identity is that other people are the mirror in which we see ourselves. (tatum pp18) 'The parts of our identity that do capture our attention are those that other people notice, and that reflects back to us.'; (Tatum pp21) What she means by this is that what other people tell us we are like is what we believe. If you are told you are stupid enough you might start to question your intelligence. When people are searching for their identity normally the questions 'who am I now?'; 'Who was I before?'; and 'who will I become'; are the first that come to mind. When a person starts to answer these questions their answers will influence their beliefs, type of work, where they may live, partners, as well as morals. She also mentions an experiment where she asked her students to describe themselves in sixty seconds. Most used descriptive words like friendly, shy, intelligent, but students of color usually state there racial or ethnic group, while white students rarely, if ever mention that they are white. Women usually mention that they are female while males usually don't think to say that they are males. The same situation appeared to take place when the topic of religious beliefs came up. The Jewish students mentioned being Je... ...Sitting Together in the Cafeteria; Basic Books, 10 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022-5299; ïÆ' £1997 Appendix 1) Why does she seem like a racist herself?: She always is talking about how white people benefit so much from things they don't even realize they benefit from. Well how about all the special groups and organizations that are set up just for black people. I think she should take another look at our society before she says that white benefit so trememdously. I am not saying whites do not benefit more but she really, really drills this opinion and I disagree. 2) She seems like she is telling everyone they way they should think: I don't get why she is so hung up on telling people who they should call what, and what they should do about it. Half of her book is about letting people feel free to be who they are, being proud of ones back round, and having a mind of your own and thinking for yourself. 3) Why does she believe so much in Affirmative action?: If Affirmative action was to be implamented then white people would be discriminated just because they were white. If she is trying to abolish racism, causing racism towards another race isn't solving the problem.

The Possible Outcomes of Globalization

Human beings have always been dirty, corrupt, deceitful and horrible. But humans also have some redeeming factors that account for our current state of relative peace, our ability to innovate, the ability for great kindness and to care for other living things. All because each individual person is as different as the last with their own unique experiences and morals and standards that accumulate to our own incredibly different personalities and attitudes. Yet there are those who believe that striping us of the things that makes us†¦ s will be a great improvement on society even when the evidence points elsewhere. There is a very clear disagreement in our society about what we should do and what the benefits of globalization are. ‘Black’ and ‘White’ sides to a very grey issue. Usually people on the right will say that globalization is a good thing, giving you this; Claims increase in diversity and creativity, trade becomes easier and cheaper, goods becom e more accessible and cheaper, and that everyone will be materially richer. Countries are becoming more alike in the sense of offering some more commonly diverse choices. †-Tyler Cowen(supporter of Globalization) The other side to this are people that are decidedly on the left and they will say things like; Homogenization of culture, loss of creativity, total loss of some cultures, people will become easier to control through advertisements, society becomes about working and keeping ‘afloat’ and not living an actual life, creates violence within people try to protect their culture. †Fast food†¦ ecomes a fueling up ritual†¦ but if it social or family values is what you about†¦ then its a disaster. †-Benjamin Barber (advocate against globalization). Although I say most conservatives and most liberals is because some conservatives don’t see it for what is and buy into what the businessman would say and that all cultures would get a b it of every other culture and are fearful of the blending of culture and are against it. Some liberals think that bringing money to the third world countries, and many more reasons.This is not to say that the political spectrum doesn’t play a role but rather a major one, as most people on the right see it for what it is and support it because globalization creates wealth for the multinational corporations and destroys the native peoples culture and making them more focused on work and it becomes a win-win situation. Liberals are fearful of the corporation as once the people are on the bandwagon it’s very easy to keep them on it and the power of the people of those nations falls to the businesses.Another reason for concern on the part of all citizens regardless of political ideologies is the outsourcing of jobs, which we are already seeing the effects of as unemployment â€Å"unemployment rate moving to 9. 5% in the U. S. , the highest level since 1983. The same thing happened around the globe; the unemployment rate surged to record high values. †-London Forex Broadsheet. My opinion is that there are large winnings and some very hard losses to be had.On one side it boosts the local economy and overall wealth of the certain poorer country, and poverty by any measure is a horrible thing to live in. Unfortunately it destroys the culture that has survived for possibly thousands of years â€Å"Just over 38% of global cultures are in danger of extinction or are already extinct†-UNESCO and we lose some of the history that makes the world the way it is, also globalization can destroy the local environment and cause serious physical injury and sickness. †About one half of the forests that covered the Earth are gone.Each year, another 16 million hectares disappear. †-globalchange. umich. edu And the only reason they live in poverty is not because they're useless and lazy but because of the current global economic system we use. So overall I believe that the losses outweigh the possible gains. The driving forces behind globalization is the corporations they first lobby the government to build an airport saying it will bring more tourists and money. afterwards they move in and set up factories (depending on the ethics or pressure put on them by the public) or sweatshops.So the increased tourism brings foreign ideas and technology like: democracy, freedom, wealth, internet, computers, TV’s, etc. After they make some money in a dangerous mine or a low paying factory they buy a TV/Computer and they see what we have and they want it, they see our big houses and big cars and they will save up and buy one. when they do that they adopt our north american culture and they stop going to church because they can get more money working weekends, they dress like we do and act like we do.They want to be like us so they tell their parents that their culture is dumb and look how this new culture brought us out of povert y, and how we don’t have to pick through garbage anymore. Once people think like this and act like this it causes other people to join them, thinking â€Å"Well he has a car a house and nice clothes, why can’t I have that? † So as more people drop their culture and uniqueness the faster it speeds up. The possibilities of an outcome of this en masse shift towards a North American lifestyle are endless, but what is almost certain is the fact that 99. % of the time this will end badly and not just for the humans that live here but the entire planet. So I will propose 3 scenarios that generally cover the possible outcomes at this point in time. Scenario 1) As more and more people get cars, computers, and use more electricity the CO2 emissions increase exponentially and we get to a tipping point in the atmosphere and a cascade/domino effect happens. Methane from the bottom of the ocean is released into the atmosphere and the Earth heats up even more.Then the Amazon b urns heating it even more, etc. etc. and the world fries and after 100000 years the Earth is plunged into an ice age. By the way almost everyone died. Scenario 2) As more and more jobs are outsourced to cheaper labour the North American way of life collapses because there’s no jobs and with no money you can’t buy anything. Then the whole global economic market crashes and burns. World is plunged into WWIII for the remaining resources, nuclear bombs are launched, whole countries become uninhabitable.Billions die. Scenario 3) In a global effort we switch over to renewable resources and solve the global energy crisis and with that we are able to stabilize the economy and regain peace. It is then possible to help and provide electricity to developing countries. There are many proposed solutions to the crisis we are dealing with but just as with many other problems many of the ‘solutions’ prove to be ineffective or even more harmful. So what will it take to hav e a solution that will save us?Unfortunately its too late to have a gradual change that would allow for people to adapt comfortably to the new lifestyle that i am about to propose. We will have to do this quickly and without hesitation because the longer we wait the more painful this will be. In scenario 3 of the last paragraph is what we will have to do as currently many of the wars being fought around the world are about or were started by the need of the black gold, oil, and n order to restore peace we need to switch over to a more renewable way of life especially here in North America. Not only will this reduce the incentive to kill each other over something that will become increasingly obsolete but it will also help calm the people who are angry at the way we live here because of our wastefulness. Also legislation by the government will have to be passed in order to make it harder for corporations to treat people poorly and pay them less, also make them create jobs in their ho me (eg; US, Canada, UK, etc. ) countries.Increased tourism from more money and cheaper bills will help reinforce the local cultures as people usually travel to see the culture. Advertisements will have to be localized and not forcing the American way of life down peoples throats. I believe that this will, if not completely solve this issue, help out greatly. Unfortunately people can’t see what is happening around them and then when they finally realize what has happened its too late, and that is the problem, why we can’t solve this crisis and why we can’t solve many other difficult issues that exist.The fact is that until something catastrophic happens no one will do anything about it, history shows this and as the saying goes History always repeats itself. Globalization will continue to be a problem for a very long time and when the mass population sees what has happened it will be too late. all we can do is support groups in foreign countries that try to susta in the culture and language of their ancestors.