A Good Man Is Hard To Find Essay -- essays research papers

The foreshadowing effect in â€Å"A Good Man Is Hard to Find† To foreshadow is to give a hint or a suggestion of a forthcoming event. Flannery O’Connor uses the foreshadowing effect adequately in â€Å"A Good Man Is Hard to Find.† There were many hints and suggestions that something unpleasant was going to happen in this story. The moment the grandmother first speaks of the misfit, we can assume he will show up later in the story because he is headed in the same direction as the family. Close to the ending, when the gunshots are heard from the woods, we can assume that the situation cannot get much worse. The first hint of trouble comes early in the story before the first paragraph ends. The grandmother tries to show Bailey a newspaper article about The Misfit, who has escaped the penitentiary and is headed toward Florida. The grandmother tries to discourage Bailey from taking the family to Florida again by telling him he ought to take the children somewhere else for a change, but he disregards his mother and they go on the trip anyway. The probability that an escaped convict is headed in the same direction as Bailey and his family suggests havoc is coming their way. O’Connor describes how the grandmother is dressed and says, â€Å"In case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady†(221). In my opinion, this phrase suggests that the grandmother could be involved in an accident further into the story. Also, the grandmother cautions Bailey ab...

Genetic Interventions and the Ethics of Enhancement of Human Beings by

The evolution of technology has been hand in hand with the human subjugation of earth, but the question persists, when does the use of technology go too far? Advances in medical science have increased the average human lifespan and improved the quality of life for individuals. Medical science and biology are steadily arriving at new ways to alter humans by the use of advanced genetic alteration. This technology gives rise to the question of how this new technology ought to be used, if at all. The idea of human enhancement is a very general topic, since humans are constantly â€Å"enhancing† themselves through the use of tools. In referring to human enhancement, I am referring specifically to the use of genetic intervention prior to birth. Julian Savulescu, in his, â€Å"Genetic Interventions and the Ethics of Enhancement of Human Beings,† argues that it is not only permissible to intervene genetically, but is a morally obligatory. In this paper, I will argue t hat it is not morally obligatory to intervene genetically even if such intervention may be permissible under certain criteria. I will show, in contrast to Savulescu’s view, that the moral obligation to intervene is not the same as the moral obligation to prevent and treat disease. In short, I will show that the ability of humans to intervene genetically is not sufficient to establish a moral obligation. The first argument given for the obligation of genetic enhancement is the postulate of the â€Å"Neglectful Parents†. Savulescu considers the case of two types of parents, the neglectful parents and the lazy parents. The neglectful parents have a child that has a condition wherein a simple, cheap dietary supplement must be given so that the child maintains an advanced intellect. ... ...ealth Organization. World Health Organization, 3 September 2007. Web. 4 Apr 2011. . Nordqvist , Christian. "What Is Health? What Does Good Health Mean?." Medical News Today 21 May 2009: n. pag. Web. 1 Apr 2011. . Parens, Erik. "Special Supplement: Is Better Always Good? The Enhancement Project." Hastings Center Report 28.1 (1998): s1-s17. Web. 1 Apr 2011. . Parker, Michael. "The Best Possible Child." Journal of Medical Ethics 33.5 (2007): 279-283. Web. 1 Apr 2011. . Savulescu, Julian. â€Å"Genetic Interventions and the Ethics of Human Beings.† Readings in the Philosophy of Technology. Ed. David Kaplan. 2nd ed. Lanham: Roman & Littlefield, 2009. 417-430.

Effects on Eating Fast or Processed Foods

Today, many people eat fast and processed foods instead of a home cooked meal. Most people think that fast food is fast, cheap and convenient. However, at the same time, fast food is contributing to a big social problem in the United States. In the US alone eight out of ten adults over the age of 25 is overweight due to fast and or processed foods, and not eating the right types of food. It’s important to obtain a healthy diet or the effects can be horrific of many chronic health risks such as: obesity, heart disease, Insulin Resistance, diabetes, and or even death. The number of fast food restaurants has doubled in more than 30 years in the United States. From Numberof. net, â€Å"There are 160,000 fast-food restaurants in America. These restaurants serve more than 50 million Americans daily†. From McDonalds, Burger King, Pizza Hut, to Wendy’s, the oils alone cause immense amount of health problems. The average calorie intake for an adult is from 2000-2500 calories per day, depending on height and weight. At Burger King alone, just for one Bacon Double Cheeseburger Deluxe is 700 calories, that’s not counting a medium soda and fries. Big Breakfast Platter from McDonald’s, which contains 1370 calories and nearly 65 grams of fat. Most restaurant meals are loaded with fat, sugar, and calories. Fast food is one of the main reasons for the rapid increase in the rate of obesity. Over Two-thirds, more than 190 million Americans are overweight or obese, due to fast foods. As from theyesword. com, â€Å"through studies into the question of whether fast food causes obesity, researchers have found that families that choose fast food as a meal three or more times a week do run a higher risk of obesity†. People can go through the drive-thru window order food without having to get out of their cars. This poor diet and lack of exercise increases obesity. According to the American Medical Association, â€Å"being obese means that 30% of your ideal body weight is constituted by fat†. All the excess fats can lower your energy levels which in turn lowers the amount of exercise activity. In turn, many more people with obesity in the United States could carry $1,500 more each year on health care, about 41 percent more than an average-weight, healthy person would. Everybody knows that fast food isn’t healthy but few realize exactly how unhealthy it truly is. Children who commonly eat fast foods have the same risk of developing clogged arteries as an adult five times their age. According to WebMD, â€Å"Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men and women in the U. S†. To prevent heart disease you must keep your cholesterol low. Which is a waxy substance produced by the liver and found in certain foods, like: Whole-milk dairy products, butter, cream, ice cream, Cream cheese, ect. Most of processed food is made up of sodium, salt, which is an ingredient companies put in fast food to make meat and dairy products last longer. Too much sodium causes 35 percent of cardiac attacks in the world, show the results of the research of Canadian scientists. Canadian research scientists, which included 52 countries, showed that people who applied â€Å"westerly diet† based on meat, eggs and fast food, most cases of heart attack, while the risk was much lower in those who ate more fruits and vegetables. Insulin Resistance is a step before diabetes; is when the body is unable to us the cells of the body to respond to insulin. Meaning the body can’t break down the sugars from the carbohydrates of the food. It then can’t run the energy off the fat cells, similar to Diabetes. Many Americans can also get this from bad dieting. To prevent this someone must eat less fat and calories; less highly sweetened drinks and more high fiber foods is an important part of a healthy life. With all the high cholesterol, sodium, eating high amounts of sugars, and not exercising can cause type two diabetes. Stated from Mayoclinic, â€Å"Type 2 diabetes is when your body is resistant to the effects of insulin. Untreated, the consequences of type 2 diabetes can be life-threatening†. People would argue that eating healthy could become expensive, depending on where you live, what you eat, and how well you cook; it’s possible that dining out is more cost effective than preparing your own meals. Eating at home also requires more planning, but in the long run it’s more healthy then eating out. â€Å"In the United States, more than 50,000,000 people depend on fast food. Over 110 billion dollars are spent by Americans alone for different types of fast food†¦,† Stated SweetAdditions. Net. Talked about on HealthTree, â€Å"The Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults study (2010) monitored the eating habits, recreation and activity levels of 3,021 young adults over 15 years. The results suggested that fast food can cause extensive health issues, and that the connection goes beyond fast food and obesity. † Also, â€Å"The study also proved that regular fast food consumption increased the risk of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. † If the fast food chains don’t make a difference in their high processed, greasy foods; we’re going to have a big problem. Not only being in chronic health risks such as: obesity, heart disease, Insulin Resistance, diabetes, and or even death, bigger, but the world will never know till it happens. Reference http://cholesterol.emedtv.com/cholesterol/high-cholesterol-foods.html

Man’s Inhumanity to Man Essay

Through the sands of time†¦the written word has changed the course of history, inspired many to fight for their beliefs and most importantly†¦elevated mankind to a higher understanding of mans inhumanity to mankind. David Lawrence Dewey Inhumanity, it is a single word, known throughout history that has caused much destruction & trauma. The tearing apart of families, the ruins of cultures, races and countries. Some people have a vaulting ambition for power, but they misuse that authority. Man’s inhumanity to man doesn’t just happen, there are reasons, set apart from differences in appearance, culture, or even where they originate from. In World War 2, Hitler has invaded Poland and anyone who did not fit the criteria of â€Å"a perfect arian race†, specifically in Schindler’s Ark, the Jews in this case are set apart from the rest of humanity. The way that they are treated is improper. Why treat people in that brutal way. They are still human. The vicious behaviour that the Germans show towards the Jews is inhuman, even to the point of severally murdering them. They were completely stripped of everything, They were treated as scum, the dirt beneath their feet. Completely different to them as if they were from another world. The Jews didn’t have any threat to anyone. They were simple people living among society just like everyone else. Maybe they looked slightly different, or spoke a different language to the Polish people. But that doesn’t mean they should be torn apart from their homes and families. Every ounce of humanity stripped, even hair in all places on them. But thats all what Hitler wanted.

Organizations as Open Systems – China Star Chinese Restaurant

Relationship: worked as an order taker five years ago. Responsibilities included taking and packing the orders, end-of-the-day bookkeeping. Introduction China Star is a fifteen-year old, mid-size Chinese restaurant serves common Chinese dishes. It has a dinning area, and a smaller bar/administrative area that has a back door where customers come to pick up their telephone orders. The staffs include the owner/manager, an order taker, a waiter, two busboy/girl, four chefs, two part-time delivery drivers, and one cleaner. The restaurant is in an excellent location: very close to the Reston Town Center, surrounded by numerous high-tech companies and rich residents, but has been carrying its flat revenue for the past decade. It opens seven days a week, yet its most profit comes from the $5 range lunch combination during weekdays and carryout dinner orders. The dine-in dinner business had slowed down after several years of its opening, the average table that the waiter serves each night is about five. Carryout orders constitute about one half of the restaurant's total sales. Its customer base has shrunk into office workers and residents within several miles. Analysis As an open system organization, China Star's inputs are the workers, the raw food, and the facilities. Enough workers, the skill of the workers, the quality of the raw material, and the states of the facilities are all important in producing the satisfying output—fresh, delicious food and excellent service. But China Star was far from inputting enough: a) The skills of the chefs were just so-so, and it always had only one waiter. During the busy lunch hours, all the customers came at once; it was impossible for the waiter to take care of each table well and give each customer full attention. Often the customers got impatient, started to call the bus boys, and found that they hardly speak any English. Sometimes when the customers were happy they'd try to talk to the Chinese busgirl and asking her questions about China and Chinese food, but the girl wasn't able to continue the delightful conversation, and the customers were disappointed, even embarrassed. b) In order to save time and costs, restaurants mass process their wholesale ordered raw food once a while. Large restaurants have state of the art refrigerators and freezers for them to separate and preserve the food accordingly. But China Star has only one large walk-in refrigerator for almost everything and the storing wasn't done in a very pleasant manner. Inevitably the food tasted funny several times. c) The restaurant's decoration was old and it looked rather messy and stuffy. The drawings on the wall looked cheap and the Great Wall embossment was coarse. It was not a pleasant place to sit and enjoy a formal meal at all. With various stylish restaurants opening in the area, and the Chinese food rivals developing in every shopping center offering chicken-fried rice of $4.75, China Star has neither product nor price to compete with. It soon entered the Negative Entropy state of an open system. The restaurant failed to take advantage of its surrounding office buildings and residents, most of all, the excellent economy during the late 1990's. Its business fell into the typical â€Å"cheap carry-out Chinese food† image. The dine-in customers felt bored sitting in a typical Chinese restaurant, while they can hang out in a lively place with TV and live band just 3 blocks away. People came to China Star for cheap food only, and carryout orders save tips. But even carryout orders declined soon. During the peak lunch time the telephone order volume is extremely high. Customers often have to be put on hold since there is only one person responsible for taking the orders, send them to the kitchen, pack the orders, and sometimes phone the customer back— again the input is not sufficient. It's easy to make a mistake with disastrous result: one, sometimes two if the orders are switched, very angry and hungry customers that would never recommend this restaurant to others, and food that cannot be resold. Although this system was obviously moving toward its death in a highly competitive environment, the owner wasn't actively seeking solutions. The waiter and other employees were often telling him customers' comments, giving him advises–which applies the â€Å"feedback† principle in the open system theory, but he had ignored them all. (the restaurant was finally redecorated a few years ago, other changes unknown) It's actually not very hard for China Star to start a better cyclic. Restaurants are relatively less-complicate organizations. The most important principles are inputs and feedbacks. The restaurant could increase the human, material, information inputs, and adapt more the changing environments, for example, revise the menu and serve one-of-a-kind Chinese appetizers with Chinese wines and expensive, authentic green teas; hire more waiters and a few performer play soothing music with Chinese traditional instrument for the exhausted people at the end of the day; construct a website for the restaurant and make the carryout ordering web-enabled. And of course, listen to the feedbacks, both from the outside and inside of the organization. As these changes apply, the restaurant will also increase the price on its menu, without worrying about irritating its customers. As mentioned before Reston is a high-income area where people are more into â€Å"style† and willing to pay more to have a good time or feel special. Once the restaurant has established its reputation and attracts certain group of loyal customers, its sales will become stable and the organization enters the steady state until the environment changes again.

Harley Davidson Five Forces Analysis Essay

In our present competitive world in the business where customer preferences are continuously changing, prices of raw materials and cost of labour are increasing and global economy is becoming unstable, it is always been a difficult task for companies to stay and perform business. And these barriers have been a familiar scene in the global business. That is why for most companies in order to overcome such of these difficult challenges, innovativeness and the desire to be very critical and most anticipative of the changes in the industry and the whole global economy is highly necessary. Just like for Harley Davidson as the main focus of this study, even though the company currently established itself for being the highly rated motorcycle brand in the world, it is still not enough for the company to be relaxed and feel that they can be profitable and enticing to the market as years goes on. That is why in this paper it will directly focus on how do Harley Davidson’s competitors are doing at the present, what are some of the strategies that they do to compete. With this information about the competitors, how does this information be used by the company in terms of opportunities for them to use it as a strategy against them? Also, making use of this information to handle future threats as well, this is in order for them to anticipate and provide some immediate actions. In the second part of this paper, it will focus on how the company can apply Porter’s five forces tool in order to continually achieve competitive advantage over its competitors. Also at the second part of this study it will discuss on how motorcycle companies like Harley Davidson, can still earn above average return even though the company falls at the high-end market with more on the luxurious and recreation side and not as necessity for customers. Also, with that, what are the actors or contributors that will lead to that conclusion or will help attain that goal? Study of Harley Davidson’s Major Competitors As the pioneer and one of the oldest known brands in the motorcycle industry in the world, Harley Owners Group has been in the industry since 1983 and due to its growing influence worldwide, it already has over 1,000 chapters and over a million members worldwide. But, not all of its members own a bike; it is only the prestige and respect about the Harley machines that made them decide to be a member. As one of the strength of the company, it has been continually establish its brand as the number one brand in the world, with over 5 billion USD annual revenue annually. In terms of its competitors, the company’s main competitors, most specially in terms of design are the following: BMW, Victory, Honda, Suzuki and Yamaha, but among these lists, Honda has become the closest and toughest competitor of Harley Davidson’s motorcycles. (Harley Davidson Motorcycle, n. d. ). With the company’s main focus on design, quality and most specially durability, it continuously has been in the forefront of the high-end and luxurious motorcycle business in the world. That is also why 80% of the total revenue of the company comes from motorcycle sales. With regards to the company’s competitor, even though the company clearly dominates the American market as its origin, which has registered in the 2006 market share, the company has eaten up half of the market or 50% while far second and third are Honda and Suzuki with 15. 1% and 12. 9% respectively. But the question now is not just the American market but instead what this paper is focusing is what the competitors are doing in the global scene. Which is actually smaller, like for Canadian market, it drops to 38. 4% still relatively high, but what is more alarming and needs to be focus on by the company is on the European market which is only 10. 2%, but still the company has a noticeably high market share globally as it generates at an average of 33%. And this is more alarming because it will also follows that the company’s net revenue growth also shows very small in other major regions in the world. With this event, it is necessary for the company that it needs to strengthen its presence in these main regional markets, because in the long run, it will be a problem that the company needs to focus on. The two main reasons why these competitors starting to entice substantial number of customers are: (1) they have greater financial resources, like Honda and Suzuki, with their global presence, they have enough financial support in every region that they operate. Meaning to say these companies knows that they know how to make use of their money in enticing potential customers and retaining current customers as well and they can even compete with price and that will soon be a serious problem with Harley Davidson, since the competition is on how to innovate with technologically funded studies that will still provide quality as well as make the product still not that so expensive. Lastly, (2) these companies, like Honda and Suzuki are obviously more diverse than Harley Davidson; they sell a lot of products with a lot of brands and choices that customers can choose, from cars, to simple scooters up to high-end luxurious brands of motorbikes and not only that with wide variety of choices to choose from. This is another serious problem by the company in the long run, since these competitors knows how they can be well-trusted by the customers and if you made such products with quality in all of it, it will be a positive sign for these companies and that will create problem for the company. With these two main reasons, Harley Davidson needs to formulate a strategy that will address these problems in order not to further add problem in the future and also not to wait until the company’s edge in the global market be removed or at least be reduced. Also, based on this study, the company must also look forward in addressing these issues while they are still room to operate due to its continuing edge in the global market. (Harley Davidson (HOG), n. d. ). In the second part of this paper, the main focus is on how the company can effectively apply Porter’s fiver forces model in attaining competitive advantage. The five forces of Porter’s method that are popularly applied by companies are: (1) Potential entrants, (2) Buyers, (3) Substitutes, (4) Suppliers, and (5) Industry competitors. In each of these five forces, there is an important factor that contributes to the success or failure of each forces and this will be discussed separately as to how the company can effectively apply it. In the entry barrier, where it mainly focus on the potential entry of new products or brands, the company must continue to be very pro-active in this part as the competitors are becoming very aggressive in this area. What Harley Davidson should do is to increase the customer awareness of their motorcycle brand in some of the regions that they are starting to have a very low market share like in the European and Asian market. Studying cost advantage and relatively access to distribution are two of the most important focus that the company should do. Also, can be added to that is to have an in-dept study on the Government policies which might be the effect of low market share, because the territories that the company operates must also need to be well represented and not just putting up a business. In the rivalry determinants, which mainly focus on both the industry competitors and new entrant forces, the company should be mainly focus as usual on how they can have advantage over its competitors by not only anticipating future challenges and innovation that their competitors may bring but also be able to establish a well defined marketing and research and development study that will help the company confident enough in dealing with the market.  particularly, the factors that it needs to focus are: industry growth, always look on the potentials in the business and be first in formulating it to the market, product differences, at this point, which is already been the strength of the company, but still needs to do more and that is innovativeness where it also been the main focus of its competitors. The company must look on how they can provide its clients new and very attractive designs, but it should also have to look on the cost side as well. And lastly, is switching costs, for any company there should also be some intelligent cost study on how the company can still be appreciated by the customers and these can either come from service and parts and of course these should be well accompanied with excellent service and availability of parts which is also a big factor during actual competition. In the side of threat, what the company should look closely on how the innovative trend and pricing strategy trend that competitors is doing. Most of the time these is what is being target to Harley Davidson, since it has been recognized as a very expensive brand and at the same time more on respecting traditional design, competitors compete through these factors. So, what the company needs is that they have to anticipate these by introducing new and innovative styles and at the same time study some possibilities of offering some not so high cost brands which may also give additional leverage for the company. Another important study and important advantage of Porter’s Five Forces is supplier power, in this side it is also important for the company not only to look for the most efficient supplier but also study closely in terms of cost. Harley Davidson must be careful in forming up agreement with suppliers. Like they can have global partnership with some suppliers, most specially if some of these suppliers are proven that they serve the company well. This reduces the cost by having different suppliers in the different regions. That is why there are two ways that the company may apply: (1) the company must carefully look into suppliers that are effectively performing for the company, if there is, Harley Davidson must look into how they can formulate a global partnership in order to lessen the cost. And lastly (2) the company must also re-visit some suppliers that are not performing well and be able to replace it or make some better arrangement on how the company as well as the partner can have a more favourable output. Lastly, in terms of buyer concern, where two of the important force involved, buyers and competitors. At this point these are the greatest challenges that the company must look at since the competitors are very aggressive in this area, most specially in the price sensitivity and not much on the bargaining leverage. Price is always a problem with the company, since it continuously in the high-end brands. What the company should do is on how they can study on introducing brands that may target other markets which will still not compromise quality and cost. In the bargaining leverage, the company must look on how they can provide some better offers for some big markets, like in terms of wholesalers. Lastly, with regards to the question how can motorcycle companies like Harley Davidson, where its business falls more on luxurious and recreation brand of products which also targets high-end markets, which the question is on how they can continue to earn above average returns. It is obvious that for company like Harley Davidson, they have to focus more on how to deal with innovations is one aspect that they need to do. By strengthening its research and development and the usual attention to customer needs and preference is the key to continually achieve above average returns. Most specially the latter where still it is considered as the most important factor in the business. The main actors or contributors that needs to work on this one in order for it to materialize are the following: (1) Company’s human resources, which means that it should continually strengthen the technical expertise of the company, and lastly, (2) is to build partnership with some of the global and most recognized industries or companies which is what is lacking with Harley Davidson. People expertise and partnership through reliable and very influential companies are very important to the success of company’s these days. That is why with the help of the management team and its top executives, they need to recognized it as the main key to continually have a better return in the business. Conclusion In this study, it shows that for any company to survive in this very competitive world of business, company’s needs to be sensitive enough in understanding the competition and on how they can overcome it. In this paper it shows that even company like Harley Davidson, who still has substantial edge in the market, it still needs to be aggressive and continue to study on how they can attain competitive advantage. Like what resulted in this study that even though the company seems to have control in the American market, competitors are however starting to focus on targeting on market outside the American region, which shows that the company starting to slow down and competitors like Honda and Suzuki are rising up. This also resulted that due to financial capabilities and diverse status of these competitors which starting to give problem to Harley Davidson. That is why the company must look on these growing advantages and be able to formulate a strategy that can offset it. In the second part of this paper, it also shows that in order for the company to be aggressive and effectively achieve competitiveness, Porter’s five forces has been presented and for each forces, there are important discussions on how the company can apply it effectively and efficiently.

Significance and Limitations of the Royal Prerogative Essay

Significance and Limitations of the Royal Prerogative - Essay Example In the 1700s, debates regarding the extent of the Royal Prerogative powers ensued.   This was further aggravated by the execution of one King and the expulsion of Charles I in 1649 and James II in 1688.   Discussions on the issue culminated with the passing of the 1689 Bill of Rights, which considered the use, and abuse of certain specific royal prerogatives as unlawful.   It was concluded that most of the prerogative powers may be exercised only upon the advice of ministers, and although the Monarch retained certain powers which can be exercised independently such as the power of appointment and removal of ministers and ministries, the royal power found it difficult to freely exercise its prerogatives, especially if it is in contravention of the advice of the Parliament. The following are some of the powers vested under the Royal Prerogative:   (1) Calling for and dissolving of the parliament, calling of elections; (2) Giving of royal assent to legislation; (3) Preparing plans to confer benefits to citizens; (4) Granting of clemency, pardoning of convicts, or reducing penalties thereof; (5) Entering into treaties, declaring war and making peace, controlling the issuance of passports and preventing foreigners from entering the country; (6) Controlling, organizing and disposing of the armed forces; (7) Appointing of judicial officers, ministers, and other public officers; (8) Procuring of ships; (9) Printing of authorized versions of the Holy Bible. The royal prerogative to establish and enter into diplomatic relations with other countries or states played a significant role in the formation of a strategic alliance that has been an important factor in international relations.   The wisdom of determining whether or not the country should befriend another country, and which country or countries it should be, is properly laid on the Crown/Monarch.   The latter is in a better position to evaluate the conduct of relations with other jurisdictions.   The long process of debates and arguments in the Parliament is considered unnecessary as it involves a purely executive function.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Also, since it is the Crown/Monarch who personally engages himself in these functions, it is but proper that such power be exercised by him, to the exclusion of the Parliament.