Company critical analysis - DHL Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Company critical analysis - DHL - Research Paper Example With time the company grew rapidly operating in over 200 countries with 110,000 employees and very recently the company was renamed as Deutsche Post DHL and established a new innovation centre division for more innovative and sophisticated way of logistic system (DHL, 2011). This research is concerned with the in depth study of the company for critical analysis of the core competence of the firm and the competitive analysis for DHL. Background of the company (DHL) and its problem with competitors The two companies under DHL are the exclusive delivery agents of the other company and the reason behind the domestic shipping of the company within US is mainly to reduce the cost and on the other hand increase reliability of the international shipping of the company. During the year 1990 the company on experienced 3% of the shipment inside the country but about 20% of the overseas shipment from US is accounted under DHL. From the beginning the company is focused towards delivering excellen t services to the customers and is always committed towards its activities. The success factor of the company is mainly its employee base that is always acting according to the needs of the customers and serving with a customized approach. Today the company is operating in over 220 countries worldwide with a wide network and diversified business expertise in express, ocean freight, contract logistics, international mail services and overland transport (DHL-a, 2011). The company’s main competitions in the market are Federal Express, UPS (Silverstein, 2011). The competitors’ strategies of using third party help during the logistic process is one of the problem faced by the company as the company follows a network of self owned agents which takes time for the company to enter into new market for establishment of the business. Another issue is intense price competition in the industry which needs to be evaluated by the company to implement an effective pricing strategy. Di fferentiation in the pricing strategy of documents and parcel should be there for the company and the company needs to evaluate its pricing techniques for different industries also which the competitors are taking advantages of. Interview Review The interview conducted with the different members of DHL also reflected the problems that are prevailing within the organization and its competitors. As the Regional Manager of DHL, Dean Jones mentioned that the company is mainly focused towards quality service rather than concentrating on the pricing of products or service. Due to this the company is losing market share to its competitors with competitive pricing strategies. Johnson Par, the country manager of Africa on the other hand mentioned about a problem on the logistic system. The company has their own logistic systems which sometimes fail to serve on time as the competitors use their third party service for faster delivery of products. But DHL believes that customers will trust in the companies on logistic system than on any third party channel. Analysis of the resources and capabilities of DHL DHL broadly comprises of four divisions which are mainly operated by their divisional headquarters. All the groups are managed by the centralized centre all under one group. The centralized internal services

Coverage and value of bioEdit to bioinformatics Essay Example for Free

Coverage and value of bioEdit to bioinformatics Essay The study of Molecular Biology necessitates the in depth analysis and evaluation of molecules and their various compositions found in living things, particularly proteins or amino acids which were then identified to be the edifices of life. As time passed, molecular biologists realized the importance of going beyond the study of protein or amino acid structures, and focus on DNA and other nucleic acids which map out how life is formed, transformed, or reproduced. The study of the two most important molecular structures in living things – amino acids and nucleic acids – forms the foundation of Molecular Biology, as well as Genetics, as fields of science. (Horobin, 2003) In studying these acids, molecular biologists and geneticists need to determine their composition, structures, and sequences in order to identify how they are formed and identify their respective roles in building life. (Horobin, 2003) For the purpose of deeply understanding the importance of sequencing and realignment in Molecular Biology, as well as Genetics, we will focus on the subject of DNA. Molecular Biologists and Geneticists utilize the process of DNA sequencing by following established methodologies and standards. Because of enormous funding obtained from both public and private sectors that are extremely interested in advancing the field of genome sequencing, particularly for purposes of genetic modification and cloning, the DNA sequencing methodology has been continuously evolving in order to adapt new findings and trends that raise its reliability, validity, and efficiency. (Griffin Griffin, 1994) Sequencing and realignment of data and samples help Molecular Biologists and Geneticists create various patterns of DNA links or formation, assemble or disassemble structures for a deeper or more thorough analysis, create a map or graphic organizer which will instantly illustrate how enzymes or other substances are formed from base samples such as DNA, analyses of DNA samples and sequences in order to predict outcomes in protein formation, analyses of protein or amino acids in order to determine their specific features or characteristics, look for other structures or sequences within the database with similar characteristics and formations with the sample, and consequently aligning similar structures or sequences together in order to predict reactions, growth and development, and so on. (Griffin Griffin, 1994) Results from the sequencing, alignment, or realignment processes that are primary accomplished by resorting to bioinformatics tools such as BioEdit, constitute the information for proper DNA sequences in order to identify anomalies or flaws in other models or structures. This is most important in the field of medicine and health because it helps professionals determine serious diseases or illnesses that might be passed on through heredity, varying genes in order to alter anomalies or flaws within its structures, and such. Sequences and alignments also help further genetic cloning because it provides relevant information on how life may be reproduced in the process. Other practical uses of DNA sequencing and alignment include the improvement product formation, by determining how the formation of genes may be developed gearing towards constructiveness, particularly in the food industry. (Walker Rapley, 2000). BioEdit, as a tool for sequencing and aligning various molecules or substances such as DNA, nucleic acids, amino acids, etc. , is therefore extremely important in the realization of the goals of Molecular Biology and Genetics. Through its comprehensive services and features aside from sequencing and aligning, the application is able to help molecular biologists and geneticists thoroughly analyze sequences for various purposes aforementioned, consequently advancing not only their respective fields but other scientific industries as well including health care and medicine, psychology and behavior, farming and agriculture, food processing and production, genetics, etc.

Are Genocidal Perpetrators Ordinary Men or Ideological Monsters

Are Genocidal Perpetrators Ordinary Men or Ideological Monsters The term genocide was coined by Raphael Lemkin as a response to the mass murder of Jews, Jehovahs Witnesses, Romani, homosexuals and other minority demographics discriminated against and ultimately murdered on a mass scale in Nazi occupied Europe in the 1930s and 1940s. Prior to Lemkins definition, the Holocaust was, as Churchill described it, a crime without a name (Jones, 2006:8). Lemkins definition described the crime as the destruction of a nation or an ethnic group (Jones, 2006:10) and was later adopted by the newly formed United Nations in the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (1948) which in Article 2 defined the crime as acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group including murder; causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; or forcibly transferring children from the group to another. The question arises however, as to how individual perpetrators of genocide could be considered normal or ordinary and not the evil of their actions; a debate summarised by Matthà ¤us as ordinary men vs. natural born killers (1996:134). We label the perpetrators of crimes we deem particularly heinous because, as Waller argues a world in which ordinary people would be capable of extraordinary evil is simply too psychologically threatening (1996:12) and incomprehensible because we fail to comprehend something about them (Dudai 2006:699). Following the Holocaust, much academic research was conducted across multiple disciplines in an attempt to explain how an otherwise outwardly normal person could be, or become, a perpetrator of genocide. Goldhagen explained the actions of perpetrators of the Holocaust as based entirely on the entrenched historical anti-Semitism within Germany and such a monocausal explanation is sufficient (1997:416); however his thesis assumes that the majority of German citizens believed in this ideology and focuses only on the genocide of European Jews. Conversely, Browning (2001), Bauman (2009) and others have argued that the actions of individuals are a response to their immediate social surroundings and that their role in the social structure of hierarchy has a far greater impact on complicity. Mann, however, bridges these two central reasons as to why perpetrators commit their crimes. Firstly, the individuals were peculiar people, either ideologically motivated or disturbed perhaps by mental ill-health or as a result of their upbringing, career path or marginalised lifestyle. Secondly, the individuals were largely ordinary but bigoted, trapped in a coercive and comradely organization, trapped within a bureaucracy or pursuing material goals (2000:232-3). Utilising social-psychological studies, sociological and historical research, it will be shown that where genocide occurs, the individual perpetrators who actively participate in acts of violence or murder are largely normal, healthy human beings who respond to the micro social situations and organizations in which they find themselves. Although the research focuses primarily on the Jewish Holocaust of Nazi Europe, other twentieth century genocides will be considered to assess whether ideology was the primary factor across the spectrum. A critique of Goldhagens thesis of eliminationist anti-Semitism will be presented to discuss that this was the wider, macro social environment of genocide but was not the sole reason why individuals were complicit. The Macro, Ideological Approach Dudai argued that the ideology of genocide is the macro social environment in which perpetrators act (2006). Accordingly, ideology was central to genocidal policies of the twentieth century; racial as in the case of the Turkish genocide in Armenia or the Serbian genocide of Muslims; against a class for example in the Communist genocides in Russia, Cambodia and during Maos Great Leap Forward in China; or an intertwining of both as with the Holocaust (2003:176-177). Societies in which violence is idealised and an acceptable form of achieving goals are more likely to utilise violence by the state as a means of social control (Staub, 2002: 55) for example, Germany had a strong use of violence to manage the unruly during the Weimar republic (Rafter, 2008) and Russian Communists found violence to be valuable and necessary (Staub, 2002:54) and were therefore more likely to be violent and aggressive in order to achieve their ideological goals. William Gladstone claimed The very worst things that men have ever done, have been done when they were performing acts of violence in the name of religion (Jones, 2006:400). Staub argues that pluralistic societies are less likely to be susceptible to narrow ideology as individuals are offered a more independent perspective without fear of ostracism or physical danger (2002:235) therefore suggesting that without the rigorous hierarchy and oppression of genocidal states, individuals may have the ability to choose not to participate. Where genocide takes place, a process of othering takes place whereby the persecutors believe themselves to be superior and their enemies, the others, inferior. Howard Becker defined the outsider as the individual or group who fail to abide by the rules of his wider social group, imposed by the insiders. To be an outsider does not require a specific act but is a consequence of the application by others of rules and sanctions (Becker, 1968:11). Anti-Semitism had existed for centuries in Germany and across Europe prior to the Holocaust however, the concept that eliminationist anti-Semitism (Goldhagen, 1997:71) was a standard belief is highly discredited. Goldhagen infamously argued that the Germans had for centuries harboured homicidal animosity towards Jews which lead to 80-90 percent of the German population under Nazi rule wanting to murder them (1997:541) although he presents no evidence for this assumption. European anti-Semitism was partly a result of Christian dogma regarding Jews as the killers of Christ and unbelievers early in the middle ages, perpetuated by the education of Christian children in the criminality and inferiority of Jews (Staub, 2002:101). Although the Christian Church had never outwardly called for the destruction of the Jewish faith, the Church had made the Jewish people a symbol of unredeemed humanity; it painted a picture of the Jews as a blind, stubborn, carnal, and perverse people (Blass, 1993: 44). Mann studied fifteen hundred biographies of perpetrators of the Holocaust in an attempt to explain who these people were, finding an unexpected correlation between Christianity and Nazism whereby those who identified with the Catholic Church were disproportionately represented as perpetrators (2000:347). Similarly, the Christian Armenians had, for centuries lived under oppressive Ottoman rule and under aspects of Islamic law. Under Islamic civil law, Muslims enjoyed the full rights and duties of citizenship whereas dhimmà ®, non-Muslims, were to be endured with great inequality between the two groups (Akcam, 2007:7). Edicts dating back to the sixteenth century declared that the dhimmà ® were unable to testify against Muslims in court or marry Muslims and they were unable to observe their religious practices if it would disturb Muslims, therefore building new churches or ringing bells was forbidden and repairs to existing churches required official permission from the state. P hysical othering also took place to identify non-Muslims as socially lower than their Muslim counterparts where houses were not to be built higher than Muslims, valuable materials such as silk were not to be worn and head and footwear were to be coloured red (Akcam, 2007:9).In Rwanda, Jones argues that the high rates of conversion in religion to Islam from Catholicism was a result of Islamic rejection of participation in the genocide and the rescuing of Tutsi (2006:400). However, secular ideology can be as destructive as fundamentalist, extremist religious ideology in the instigation of genocide (Jones, 2006:400). Indeed, secular ideologies have underpinned twentieth century genocides (Jones, 2006:400). If Goldhagen is considered to be incorrect in his assertion that traditional and historical eliminationist anti-Semitism was the sole reason behind the Holocaust, new ideologies must also be considered as to the macro social background behind genocides in the twentieth century. Stalins Russia, Maos China and the Khmer Rouges Cambodia were based on Marxist Communist theory which, although written decades prior to the genocide, caused new political revolutions in which individuals fought for a new role in society. Maslow identified cultural differences in synergy, the extent to which individuals forfeit their own gains and fulfil themselves by contributing to a common good (Staub, 2002:51). As one Stalinist perpetrator argued, with the rest of my genera tion I firmly believed that the ends justified the means. Our great goal was the universal triumph of Communism, and for the sake of that goal everything was permissible to lie, to steal, to destroy hundreds of thousands and even millions of people (Jones, 2006:401). However, universality of acceptance of the new regimes was not the case. Davis argues that Stalins terror famine and the famine of Maos Great Leap Forward were the culmination of violence and killing of the peasantry, designed to break independent spirits and force subordination (Shaw, 2003:39). Furthermore, resistance to the movements became common with some families choosing suicide over living under Communist rule and subsequent starvation, by choosing to kill livestock rather than hand it over to the Communist party or being part of violent uprisings (Shaw, 2003:55). If one considers the role of capitalist, democratic ideology in recent warfare, enforcing this ideology in other countries has, in some instances been very unpopular. The anti-Vietnam movement, for example, demonstrated against the United States bombing of Cambodia as part of the war on Communism in Vietnam (Shaw, 2003:202) and there were similar demonstrations against the early twenty-first centurys war in Iraq which held the intention of restoring democracy to the Iraqi people but was highly unpopular with British citizens. Goldhagen argues, with no supporting evidence, that the bystanders of Kristallnacht, the infamous pogrom in 1938, believed this would serve the Jews right because the absence of evidence is evidence itself (Augstein, 1998:157) however if anti-Semitic ideology was as traditional and prolific in other European countries as Goldhagen argues, the thesis neglects to reason why for the majority of Europe, it took Nazi invasion or annexation to give rise to such eliminationist attitudes. In Italy where anti-Semitism was rife, it was only when the country attempted to further their allegiance to Germany that anti-Semitic policy increased (Rafter, 2008:302). Conversely, Czechoslovakia for example had a long history of anti-Semitism with pogroms and the forced removal of Jews into a ghetto in the Josefov district of Prague dating back to the thirteenth century but had made no outward attempts to deliberately exterminate the Jewish population. Moreover, if the eliminationist anti-Semitic ideolo gy was so powerful in Germany, Goldhagen, in acknowledging that without the economic depression the Nazis would have never come to power, fails to consider why the overwhelming desire to eliminate the Jews was not acted upon sooner (Finkelstein, 1997:42). Responses to Nazi occupation varied greatly both within occupied areas and globally for example, Jan Karski infiltrated the Warsaw ghetto and Belzec concentration camp, escaping to London with hundreds of documents detailing the genocide taking place but many, Jews included, found the actions unbelievable (Jones, 2006:399) and early reports following the liberation of Auschwitz were disbelieved by the British media who only reported their findings after other global media had verified and reported. Furthermore, if the ideology was so entrenched in society and traditionally perceived as a threat, Goldhagen fails to acknowledge why many Jewish citizens of occupied Europe did not attempt to emigrate sooner, believed the Nazi propagand a detailing their resettlement at work camps and that the gas chambers in extermination camps were shower facilities as testimony from those survived the concentration camps and particularly those who worked in the Sonderkommando (special units of concentration camp prisoners who worked in the gas chambers and crematoria) describes (for example Venezia, 2009; Mà ¼ller, 1999; Haas, 1984). Moreover, Goldhagen fails to explain why the eliminationist ideology rapidly dissipated (Goldhagen, 1997:593-4) following the fall of Berlin and Nazi rule. Propaganda and indoctrination are highly used in genocide to spread the state ideology across the masses. For example, propaganda in Nazi Europe and indoctrination of Argentinean soldiers to promote character, honour and pride (Staub 2002:214). Coupled with the perceived threat of Communism, propaganda was highly used against the Jews, portraying them as not only racial inferiors but as assisting in Bolshevism (Jones, 2006:267). Indeed, perpetrators were more likely to have originated from the threatened borders of the Reich where anti-Bolshevism and anti-Semitism were great (Mann, 2000:348). Similarly, the Hutu portrayed the Tutsi as bloodthirsty foreigners intent on exterminating the Hutu (Valentino, 2005:35) by means such as the radio and the extremist Hutu newspaper, the Radio-Tà ©là ©vision Libre des Mille Collines and Kangura respectively, and calling on Hutu to follow the infamous Hutu Ten Commandments calling for vigilance against the Tutsi enemy (Jones, 2006:237). The 1972 genocide in Burundi of Hutus was a theme of Hutu political discourse and used in an attempt to invoke fear in the Hutu population, that if the Tutsi were not destroyed, the Tutsi would destroy the Hutu (Valentino, 2005:183) for although there was little evidence of fear and hostility between the two groups prior to the 1994 genocide, the conflict was engineered (Valentino, 2005:57). Ideological propaganda can be received by individuals differently however. Franz Stangl, commandant of Treblinka believed propaganda was used by the Nazis to condition those who actually had to carry out these policies to make it possible for them to do what they did, further arguing that the primary motive for genocide was for Nazi control of Jewish money and property (Semelin, 2003:270). Self-concept is a large factor in the ideology of genocide. Germany had lost a large proportion of their territory following their defeat in World War I, a war fought to gain the power and advantages Germany felt were owed to them, and the subsequent Treaty of Versailles. Hitler subsequently blamed the Jews for the loss of the war and, owing to the Sonderweg (special status of the country) (Elias, 1996:438) declared that Germany needed more Lebensraum (living space) resulting in the invasion of many countries across Europe to regain land which was seen as belonging to Germany. Moreover, individuals may have a strong sense of belonging to a group, identified for or against by visible symbols, education and other means (Staub, 2002:253). Self image is reinforced by the relationship to the others, the outsiders who have been deemed a threat by the social group. For example we may consider the attitude of the British in their war efforts in World War II or the social responses to terrori sm in comparison with genocidal action; where a threat (whether real or imaginary) is posed by one social group against another a unity of identity forms. Racially unclean social groups in Nazi occupied Europe, including the mentally and physically ill, were deemed inferior and inherently criminal based on biological criminology and alterations to Lombrosos Born Criminal thesis (Rafter, 2008). Where the Weimar Republic had been a series of turbulent governments and viewed as soft on crime, a more authoritarian policy on crime and criminals was called for by conservatives. Hitler was, Goldhagen argues, not seen as a madman but a politician to be taken seriously (Augstein 1998:157). With biological evidence collected by the Criminal-Biological Service in Bavaria that these groups were the cause of crime within the state, the ideological policies became incorporated into the criminal justice system, further perpetuating the image of the Jew as inferior and a potential threat to the German way of life. The Micro, Bureaucratic and Hierarchical Approach An acknowledgement of ideology must therefore be considered to underpin the rationale of genocide. Browning, in arguing a multi-causal rationale of the Holocaust acknowledges the deluge of racist and anti-Semitic propaganda (Jones, 2006:270), however he also questions the role of obedience, peer pressure and obligation. Arendts Report on the Banality of Evil impacted greatly on the impression we have of perpetrators of genocide, drawing focus away from the pathological and towards more social explanations of their actions (Dudai, 2006:700), followed by Bauman who argued that cruelty is social in its origin much more than it is characterological (Bauman, 1989:116). Prior to multi-disciplined research into the psychology of perpetrators, individual participants were believed to be mentally ill. Goldhagen reinstates this claim, arguing that the anti-Semitic ideology made the Germans pathologically ill, struck with illness of sadism diseased, tyrannical and sadistic (Goldhagen, 1997:397). Blass discusses a dispositional approach to the individual pathologies of the perpetrators in that they may be in some way mentally unhealthy (Blass, 1993:37). Rorschach ink-blot tests were conducted on Nazi leaders prior to the Nuremberg trials in 1945 to conclude that they were of a distinct group and were not psychologically normal or healthy individuals (Blass, 1993:37). However, the findings have largely been discredited with Kelley arguing that the personalities displayed were not unique or insane and could be duplicated in any country of the world today; the tests were not blind and the researchers could therefore have been biased in their analyses and whe re blind analyses were conducted there was individuality of results that contradicted the conclusion of a uniform distinction setting apart the perpetrators (Blass, 1993:37). Where Eichmann had been perceived by Arendt and Wiesenthal to be normal and acting under orders, blind analyses of personality tests revealed him to be sadistic and violent in his hostility, quite paranoid and a criminal with an insatiable killing intention (Blass, 1993:37). Finkelstein rebuts this claim, arguing that a homogeneously sick society would act as an alibi for the perpetrators for who can condemn a crazy people (Finkelstein, 1997:44). Arendt, who was present at the trial of Eichmann found him to be normal and there to be potentially an Eichmann in every one of us (2005:113). Nazi ideology and German culture in the 1930s and 1940s were strongly affiliated with the concept of obedience, indeed as Berger notes, the first commandment in indoctrinating Nazi youth was the leader is always right (Blass, 1993:33).The Holocaust in Nazi Europe took place under a strict bureaucratic regime with a meticulous division of labour and linear graduation of power (Bauman, 2009:98). Those faced with the task of directly murdering enemies were the subordinates at the end of a long bureaucratic chain leading to Himmler, the head of the SS and Heydrich, the head of the Einsatzgruppen. The practical and mental distance afforded to those at higher levels of the bureaucracy who may have had little experience or knowledge of the true nature of the delegated orders was not the case for those whose responsibility it was to shoot at point-blank range in the Einsatzgruppen or pour in the poison Zyklon B pellets into the gas chambers (Bauman, 2009:99). The obedience that allows the subordinates of a hierarchy to commit murder is therefore of critical importance. A psychological explanation offered by Blass is that of a situational perspective, whereby forces outside of the individual, largely from the social environment such as the position in a hierarchy and subordination can explain seemingly deviant or counter normative behaviour as a result of the immediate situation (Blass, 1993:31). Blass argues that the results of Milgrams obedience experiments are representative of the causal relationship between the immediate situation and the reactions of individuals. Milgrams experiment consisted of asking the subject to apply increasing voltages of electric shock to the learner should they answer a question incorrectly in 15 volt increments up to 450 volts, ominously marked XXX. 65% of subjects subjected the learner to the highest levels of voltage and he concluded that individuals could become agents in a terrible destructive process o ut of a sense of obligation, through the course of their jobs and without any hostility towards their victim (Blass, 1993:33). Responsibility for any harm caused was relinquished to the legitimate authority, the examiner, and the subordinate subject was no longer guided by conscience but the extent to which they obey the orders of authority (Blass, 1993:33). Similar experiments were carried out throughout the 1970s including that of Ring, Wallston and Corey who found a 91% obedience rate in applying painful sound to a learner, even when the experiment appeared to go awry and surprise even the experimenter (Blass, 1993:34). In the well-documented experiments conducted by Zimbardo, individuals were randomly labelled as prisoner or guard and were to carry out these roles in a controlled environment for a period of time. Those labelled as guards, knowing they were overseeing individuals who were had in no way been labelled as inferior prior to the experiment, became overly zealous in their positions and when physical violence and humiliation was utilised against the prisoners, the experiment was halted on ethical grounds. Zimbardo concluded that the dominant positioning within the hierarchy allowed sadistic behaviour to be elicited from non-sadistic, normal people who would exert violence on their equals because their social positioning allowed them to (Valentino, 2005:44-46) Two social-psychological theories attempt to explain the actions of genocide perpetrators whilst obediently following orders. The concept of the divided-self considers that the self, our personality and behaviour remains intact but a second self is created or activated in a new situation. Conversely, unitary-self theories argue that there is a single self which becomes altered as a result of the societal forces, situations and organisations (Waller, 1996:12). Lifton uses examples of The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde or the comic, Superman in his analogy of the divided self in that when presented with a situation of distress, a character such as Clark Kent changes into his alter-ego of Superman to save the world (Waller, 1996:13). Clark Kent remains the primary self but Superman, the secondary self, becomes activated and controls the behaviour of the body and mind. A variation of this dissociation may be doubling where the two selves are separate with no conflicts and where mo ral standards are annulled (Waller, 1996:14-15). Auschwitz survivors have described some of the doctors as two different people (Waller, 1996:26) For example, The Nazi doctor, Mengele who performed pseudo-medical experiments on Auschwitz inmates asked children to call him uncle and would appear to behave with kindness, playing with them and giving them luxuries of sweets and chocolate only to continue to perform his experiments and murder (Nomberg-Przytyk, 1985:104). Steiner also noted differing psychosocial types which only present under certain conditions for example the sleeper will not be apparent until an environment allows for or causes the release (Blass, 1993:43). Bauman similarly notes a difference in personalities dependent upon the extraordinary situations in which one finds oneself. Recounting the studies of Le Monde, survivors of a hijacking had a high incidence of divorce owing to individuals seeing their partners in a different light; good husband were selfish, the br ave business man displayed cowardice and the resourceful fell to pieces'(Bauman, 2009:6). The journalist questioned which face of the survivors was their true self; the original or their selves during the hijacking and concluded that neither was more true than the other. The normal good face was apparent in ordinary settings and, but for the extraordinary circumstance of the hijacking, the other self would have remained dormant (Bauman, 2009:6). Milgram contended that in conforming to the orders of a superior, an agentic state is created where the individual operates on the behalf of their superior and thus becomes an agent of their will. Similar to Steiners psychosocial types and Baumans analogy of the hijack victims, Milgram argues that this state lies dormant until it is required that one will act under orders. However, unlike Liftons doubling, the agentic state avoids an inner moral conflict by toggling between the autonomous and agentic states (Waller, 1996:16). More contemporary social psychology has adopted a strategy of the unitary self. When an individual is faced with actions which are inconsistent with their morality, they must either alter their behaviour or their personality as inconsistencies between the two cause individuals to feel troubled (Waller, 1996:16). In certain situations, including the rigid hierarchy of the SS where each individual was accountable to an immediate supervisor (Bauman, 2009:100), changing ones behaviour may not be possible or desired as individuals who hid or aided a Jew were punishable by death (Staub, 2002:165) as were moderate-Hutu in Rwanda (Jones, 2006:238). Fear is arguably a motivation for compliance. As Augstein criticised Goldhagen, he had grown up in an American democracy and could not imaging the conformist pressure and moral cowardice which took place under Hitlers dictatorship (Augstein, 1998:153). In Cambodia, one survivor talked of his complicity in the violence saying Collaborate? Everyone do what Khmer Rouge say no one want to be killed (Baum, 2008:158). Therefore in order to remain consistent, the manifest conformity to rules and orders may lead to a change in the self (Waller 1996:16). Waller furthers this argument by stating that there are three catalysts to the internal changes in the selves of direct perpetrators of genocide; devaluing and dehumanising the victim and blaming them for their own suffering; the escalating of commitments to a cause; and learning by doing. The process of dehumanization was raised in the Rwandan context by Hatzfeld as one perpetrator felt they no longer regarded the Tutsi as people as the killing escalated (2005:47). While Goldhagens answer to the Germans murder of the Jews was because they wanted to, Foster, Haupt and de Beers answer to the political violence in South Africa was because they felt entitled to (Dudai, 2005:703). Entitlement would imply an option of redeeming behaviour by the victims however victims of genocide are not persecuted because of what they do rather, who they are. Routinisation of actions are argued to facilitate genocide, for example Hatzfeld quotes one Rwandan informant who claimed I struck a first blow. When I saw the blood bubble up, I jumped back a step later on we go used to killing without so much dodging around (Hatzfeld,2005:23)and repetition caused the perpetrators to become more and more cruel, more and more calm, more and more bloody (2005:50). Furthermore, Waller argues that coerced behaviour is rarely internalised however when our initial attitudes are weak, the initial act may result in a change of attitude (1996:22). The attitude of ones superiors could directly influence the behaviour of the subordinates. For example the police sergeant, Hein, was never seen to hit or humiliate a Jew, participate in mass-killings of Jews, or be unfair in his treatment of Jews. Furthermore, those under his command could abstain from the mass-shootings. However, self presentation theorists seek to explain Heins following of official requirements for Jews to stand whilst he was sitting as an attempt to maintain an appearance of conforming whilst inwardly rejecting the ideology (Matthaus, 1996:141). Goldhagen argued that the cruelty of the perpetrators of the Holocaust was nearly universal (Valentino, 2005:52) however a surprising number of the Einsazgruppen refused to participate, perhaps twenty to thirty percent in comparison to the less than thirty percent who presented themselves as enthusiastic and the remaining members who dutifully adopted their roles within the system (Valentino, 2005:54). During their first mass killing in Lithuania, the Schutzpolizei (urban police) members of one Einsatzgruppen (mobile killing unit) dropped out of the act because they knew some of the victims or could not stand the mental pressure. Furthermore, doubts were raised regarding the legality of the killings and justifications were made amongst themselves that one generation has to go through this so that our children will have a better life (Matthaus 1996:136). However, obedience need not be in a downward, linear direction but obedience to ones peers. Browning argues that for some members of a police battalion faced with the mass-shooting of Jews, comrades not participating would be seen to leave the dirty work to their comrades, risking isolation, rejection and ostracism which, in the tightly knit regiments, would have been an uncomfortable prospect (Valentino, 2005:46). Similarly, a unity existed between the Hutu, using lexis as comrades and patriotic brothers (Hatzfeld, 2005:12). Where Browning argued members of the Einsatzgruppen existed in a reverse morality; where those who avoided killings were regarded, by themselves included, as cowards, in Rwanda, a supportive comrade would assist when one perpetrator felt unable to participate that day whilst the individual would contribute with other useful tasks (Hatzfeld, 2005:74). Hilberg argued that the methods for genocide of European Jews in the 1930s and 1940s were not suggested entirely by those further up the hierarchy; major ideas could be produced by those at a lower level of responsibility and approved by superiors to become policy (Blass, 1993:37). Manns biographical study of perpetrators included an examination of the previous job positions held by individuals prior to Nazi rule and found correlations between Nazi policy, related institutions and individuals within them. For example, a key Nazi policy was racial purity, ensuring the Aryan race was free of those considered undesirable, beginning early in the rule with the T4 experiments to euthanize those with mental or physical health problems. Correlating with this policy, Mann found 13.53% of his sample to have been previously employed as healthcare workers. Rafters assertions of Nazi racial policy impacting on German criminology and policy within the Criminal Justice System correlate with 22.29% of Manns sampled perpetrators holding previous employment in the military, police or prison system, 12.92% having held employment in civil administration and 3.38% having worked in the legal field (2000:350). Individuals may therefore have acted in an agentic state towards the Nazi ideology because this was their profession and they were caught up in the hierarchy and bureaucracy. In instances of revolution and rapid-paced political change, however, an anomic theory where a lack of social position and role in a hierarchy, as a

The Study and Findings of Climatology in Nepal Essay -- Climae Environ

The Study and Findings of Climatology in Nepal In many areas in Nepal, the history of climatology only dates back to 1956. Around this time, the Indian Meteorological Department instituted stations in various areas around the country, which were eventually taken over by the Nepalese government in 1966. Having these stations in place has given scientists significant insight into the Nepalese climate. However, some of the Indian equipment remained in the Nepalese stations, and unfortunately many Indian findings vary significantly from the Nepalese records of the same areas. Therefore, some information is unreliable, coupled by the fact that not all stations have operated since the start of the program (Thyer, 645). However, there are other sources of NepalÕs climate history, like extracts from articles written by climatologists from other countries, like Japan, the US, Germany, and France (Thyer, 645). Nepal is a small country, land-locked between India and the Tibet region of China in South America. It is 900 kilometers from east to west, and 150 to 250 kilometers from north to south (Spence, 223). Nepal is home to eight of the ten highest mountain peaks in the world, most notably Mount Everest, which lies at 8,848 meters. In contrast, some of the areas that are situated lower in Nepal are only about eighty meters above sea level. Clearly, Nepal has much climate variation; in fact, the climate progresses from tropical to arctic within a 200-kilometer area from south to north (Agrawala, 12). There are five geographical regions in Nepal (though, sometimes the mountain regions are grouped together as one). The Terai plain is the southernmost strip, bordered to the north by the Himala... ... Works Cited Agrawala, Shardul, Vivian Raksakulthai, Marteen van Aalst, Peter Larsen, Joel Smith, and John Reynolds. Development and Climate Change in Nepal: Focus on Water Resources and Hydropower. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. 2003. Spence, Captain F.S. Himalayan Survey. The Geographical Journal. Vol.153, No.2. July 1987. Thyer, Norman. Looking at Western NepalÕs Climate. The University of Calgary. June 1985. Unknown-1. Introductions about Nepal: Geography and Climate. Himalayan Dreams.com http://www.himalayandreams.com/climate.html Unknown-2. Nepal Weather. Adventure Travel with iExplore. 2007. http://www.iexplore.com/dmap/Nepal/Weather+and+Climate Unknown-3. Kathmandu Climate and Weather. Globe Media Ltd., 2007. http://www.wordtravels.com/Cities/Nepal/Kathmandu/Climate

Photography in Advertising and its Effects on Society Essay examples --

Photography in Advertising and its Effects on Society Memory has been and always will be associated with images. As early as 1896, leading psychologists were arguing that memory was nothing more than a continuous exchange of images. (Bergson) Later models of memory describe it as more of an image text; a combination of space and time, and image and word. (Yates) Although image certainly is not the only component of memory, it is undoubtedly an integral and essential part of memory’s composition.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Photography was first utilized over 100 years ago in an attempt to preserve life as it existed before the industrial revolution. Over time photography has gradually corrupted memory in a variety of ways, despite its original intention to preserve it. From there, photography has evolved to become a pressing threat not only to memory, but also to consciousness.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As seen in paintings of battle scenes and portraits of wealthy Renaissance aristocracy, people have always strived to preserve and document their existence. The creation of photography was merely the logical continuum of human nature’s innate desire to preserve the past, as well as a necessary reaction to a world in a stage of dramatic and irreversible change. It is not a coincidence that photography arose in major industrial cities towards the end of the nineteenth century.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The industrial revolution created the societal circumstances necessary for photography to be born. The first and most obvious condition is that of technological advancement. Industry was advancing and expanding so rapidly that history appeared to be distancing itself from the present with unusual speed. Up until this time period life had not changed much from decade to decade or even from century to century. Photography’s popularity during the industrial revolution was, in large part, a result of people’s desire to slow down the perceived acceleration of history (McQuire). It has been argued that the acceleration of historical time is â€Å"leading to the possible industrialization of forgetting† and that â€Å"we will not only miss history†¦we will also long to go back to space and times past.† (Virilio)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The desire to stop time and preserve the way things were are the primary reasons why the majority of photography in the late nineteenth century focused on documenting dying traditions, practices, and ways of life... ...dvertising.† Picturing the Past: Media History & Photography. Ed. Bonnie Brennen, Hanno Hardt. Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1999. 158-181. Freund, Gisele. Photography & Society. Boston: David R. Godine, 1980. How Much Information?. 9 May 2002. University of California. Kramer, Edith. â€Å"The Art Therapists Third Hand: Reflections on Art, Art Therapy, and Society at Large.† American Journal of Art Therapy Feb. 1986: 71-86. Liss, Andrea. Tresspassing Through Shadows: Memory Photography & The Holocaust. Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press, 1998. McQuire, Scott. Visions of Modernity. London: Sage Publications 1998. Miller, Denise., et al. Photograpy’s Multiple Roles. New York: Distributed Art Publishers, 1998. Schwartz, Donna. â€Å"Objective Representation: Photographs as Facts.† Picturing the Past: Media History & Photography. Ed. Bonnie Brennen, Hanno Hardt. Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1999. 158-181. Sontag, Susan. On Photography. New York: Anchor Books Doubleday, 1973. Virilio, Paul. The Art of the Motor. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1995. Yates, Frances. The Art of Memory. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1966.

Definition of Leadership :: Leadership Traits

In its simplest terms, leadership is the process of influencing the behavior of another person while fully respecting the freedom of that person (Encarta). Two aspects of this definition are important. First, a significant part of effective leadership is the close connection between the leader and the follower, which often determines the success of the leader's mission. Unfortunately, this leader-follower relationship cannot be created according to some simple formula. Without inspiration, involvement, and encouragement from both participants, the relationship can not be effective. Leaders, in particular, must give an extra effort to reach out to followers in order to initiate and develop this alliance that is so critical to the achievement of goals. The leaders face special challenges as they try to communicate and interact with their followers and potential followers to understand and know what they think and what they do. Developing their leadership style in response to diversity , and ethics will give them an edge as they build relationships with their subordinators. Secondly, leaders who begin to use force, coercion, and manipulation must later use more force, coercion, and manipulation precisely because their ability to influence - truly lead - is diminished. In my company I have never seen our lead to use any force to associates for achieving goals, because he’d like to be a true leader for a long time. I believe that there are times in the life of a team or organization when the formula leader appropriately exercises the authority of his or her position or deal with organizational issues. Leaders should know that creativity and innovation are the life blood of their organization. New ideas can lead to programs that are already going on or planned in the organization .So, the mission of every leader should be to search continually for ideas and programs that are superior to the organization is currently committed to. In a word, it's called progress. Leaders respect the dignity and worth of each follower. There are two behaviors which are keys to this. First, the director of our company has done everything possible to reduce status differentials in team, which had been based on socioeconomic factors and job titles. Secondly, he has made clear by his behavior that he valued and respected all followers, especially those who were less powerful, less healthy, less educated, younger, older, poorer, less skillful in communication, and different in race, language, religion, gender or sexual orientation from the majority.

The Economic Impact of Tourism

Social and cultural impact of tourism As an industry, tourism is a dynamic, evolving, consumer-driven force. It is the world’s largest industry. It is the employer of 183 million people. This represents 10,2% of the global workforce. By employing one out of every the workers, travel and tourism is the world’s largest employer. As an industry, tourism is expected to grow much faster than other sectors. Growing so rapidly, tourism presents tremendous opportunities and challenges.Although a mature industry, tourism is a young profession. The good news is the variety of career prospects for today’s hospitality and tourism graduates. Tourism is a leading producer of tax revenues. When a tourist spends money to travel, to stay in a hotel, or to eat in a restaurant, that money is recycled by these businesses to purchase more goods, thereby generating further use of the money. In addition, employees of businesses who serve tourists spend a high proportion of their money locally on various goods and services.This chain reaction continues until there’s a leakage, meaning that money is used to purchase something from outside their area. This phenomenon is usually called the multiplier effect. Social and cultural impact of tourism From a social and cultural perspective, tourism can have both positive and negative impacts on communities. Even a visit to another part of your own country can both socially and culturally stimulating. Undoubtedly, tourism has made significant contributions to international understanding, peace and prosperity.However, tourism results not only in sociocultural benefits but also in sociocultural problems. Imagine the feelings of an employee in a developing country who earns perhaps $5 per day when he sees wealthy tourists flaunting money. Another example is nude female tourists sunbathing in a Moslem country. On the other hand, tourism is a clean and green industry, that most of the hotels are built with concern for the environment and use local crafts people, designers, and materials.Tourism brings new revenue to the area, it also creates and maintains higher rate of employment than if there were no tourism. During the past few years, the so-called â€Å"ecotourism† has developed in the countries which try to minimize visitor impact on their natural and cultural environment. In practical terms, ecotourism tour operators prepare participants by educating them about local culture, animals, plants.