Nora in Ibsens A Dolls House Essay Example for Free

Nora in Ibsens A Dolls House Essay Throughout history, the role of gender equality has been viewed with varying degrees of importance by societies. People are quick to identify and label a rebel as the one who goes against all the moral convictions and different normalities of each society. The definition of rebel is listed as someone or something that resists any authority or control. In the context of society, the control which is resisted by the rebel can be no other than the stereotypes of that particular society, a feature which can be directly linked to the oppression of women and their desires and aspirations under standardised conditions and circumstances. Can the rebellious attitudes of women be condemned, ignoring the discontent of these women? Also, should their happiness become repressed, giving way to self-sacrifice and the forfeiting of their desires? It is these issues which Medea and Nora are faced with, and in each case we can see that their decision to go against the stereotypes of the eras are perhaps indicative of the predominance of their own desires and dreams over the notion of self-sacrifice. Thus we can see that both Medea and Nora can be characterised as rebels against the societies they live in. To begin with, Nora has fit into her society quite appropriately. She has married Torvald Helmer, and has three small children. She fulfills her duties as mother and wife with no apparent constraints from happiness. She does indeed thrive on keeping her home as best she can with the limited money she has at her disposal. One example of this is where she has bought Christmas presents for Torvald, all of her children, and even the maids; however she buys nothing for herself. 1 She endures Torvalds condescending stance towards her, and does not retaliate when he criticizes both her and her father by saying that Nora is just like your father always on the look-out for all the money you can get, but the moment you have it, it seems to slip through your fingers 2 The impression we are left with after these first pages is that of Nora being extremely nai ve, and having to be put in her place by Helmer, who does so almost instinctively.

Costing and Budgeting Case Study

Costing and Budgeting Case Study Accounting is a key success of a business, but the word accounting is more sophisticated. Almost every business, before dealing any project or any other important function, should design an appropriate budget. To make the budget first we should think about the cost because the cost of the production is always variable. A well-planned budget will bring success for a project. In my academic case study, I have to make a budget for Rayners plc. Company, which is a renowned company in the UK. Cost classification: P1 In the managerial accounting the word cost is using various ways. The main reason is that there are many types of costs, and these costs are classified differently according to the certain management process. For example, managers may want cost data to prepare external financial reports, to prepare planning budgets, or to make decisions. There are some relevant costing methods according to the task: Direct/Indirect cost: Direct cost is a cost where everything counting easily and conveniently traced to the particular cost object. But it is not incurred due to the product or activity countless. On the other hand indirect cost is fully reverse of the direct cost where counting process is more sophisticated and inconvenience and it incurred even productivity or activity change. Prime cost: The cost normally counting for labour and material to make product. This cost depend on ability and capacity of the labour that how much performed they are to make production and which way is the best way to use material. Fixed cost: A cost which is not only related to production is called fixed costs. In other words, it is a cost that remains constant even with variations circumstances and situations. VARIABLE COST: Variable costistotally opposite word of fixed cost. When a cost which is varies exactly in proportion to the change in activity (production or sale) would be term as variable cost. This is sometime called engineering cost or a formula cost and can be calculated in advance. Full Absorption cost: A managerialaccounting cost method of expensing all costs associated with manufacturing a particular product. Absorption costinguses the total direct costs and overhead costs associated with manufacturing a product as the cost base. Generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) require absorption costing for external reporting. Costing methods: (P2) According to the marginal cost, another name of fixed cost is period cost that means one need to deduct the total cost from contributions where under absorption costing, fixed cost is part of unit cost/production cost. Therefore deduct the total FC from contributions. Fixed cost does not change at any level of activity. F.O.A.R = Budget O/H Budget Activity (Note that if budget is equal to Actual production, then the absorption will be same). Now, if we will analyse the information and data as a case study of Rayners plc. Year 1 Marginal Costing method: 108,000 Sales: 90,000 X 12 Less cost of production Opening Inventory 0 Add productions (100,000 X 5) 500,000 500,000 Less closing Inventory (10,000X5) 50000 450,000 Contribution 630,000 Less Total FC: Production (270,000) Admin Costing (20,000) Net Profit 340,000 Year1Absorption costing method:  £  £ 108,000 Sales (90,000X12) Less cost of production Opening Inventory 0 Add production (100,000X5) 800,000 800,000 Less closing Inventory (10000X8) (80,000) Cost of production (720,000) Gross profit 360,000 Over absorbed (10,000X3) 30,000 Less admin cost (20,000) Net profit 370,000 Reconciliation statements:  £  £ Absorption profit 370,000 Les increase in Inventory (Closing inventory opening inventory) Multiply by F.O.A.R (10,000 0) X 3 (30,000) Marginal profit 340,000 Year2 Marginal costing statement:  £  £ Sales (110,000X 12) 132,000 Less cost of production Opening Inventory (10,000X5) 50,000 Add production (110,000X5) 550,000 600,000 Less Closing Inventory (10000X5) (50,000) 550,000 Contribution 770,000 Less total FC: Production (270,000) Admin (20,000) Net Profit 480,000 Year 2 Absorption costing statement:  £  £ Sales 132,000 Less cost of production Opening inventory (10000X8) 80,000 Add production (110,000X5) 800,000 900,000 Less closing Inventory (10,000X8) 80,000 (880,000) 440,000 Over absorption (20,000X3) 60,000 Less admin cost (20,000) Net profit 480,000 Year 3 Marginal costing statement:  £  £ Sales (750,000X12) 1140,000 Less cost of production Opening inventory (10,000X5) 50,000 Production (90,000X5) 450,000 500,000 Less closing inventory (5000X5) 25,000 (475,000) Contribution 665,000 Less total fixed cost: Production (270,000) Less total fixed cost: Admin 120,000 Net Profit 375,000 Year 3 Absorption costing statement:  £ Sales 140,000 Less cost of production Opening Inventory (10,000X8) 80000 Add production (90,000X8) 720,000 800,000 Less closing inventory (5000X5) 40,000 (760,000) Gross Profit 380,000 Less Admin (20,000) Net profit 360,000 Reconciliation Statement: Absorption profit 360,000 Add decrease in inventory (5000-10000) X 3 15,000 Marginal profit 375,000 Unit cost: (P3) According to the data of the Rayners plc and using the marginal costing method the unit cost is: Direct material 2 Direct labour1 Prime Cost 3 VC/Unit 2 Marginal cost 5 So according to the marginal cost the value of each unit will be  £5. F.O.A.A (unit) 3 Absorption cost 8 Full cost/Total cost 8 F O A R Budgeted F/C Budgeted Of Level Activity= X/90000 = £3 X= £270000 (Budgeted Of Overhead Collect analyse and present data using appropriate techniques. (P4) In the management accounting there are different ways to collect data for the business. The basic role is the participants a taste of the various tools and techniques available for collecting monitoring and evaluation data. Participants focus on what makes a good questionnaire and discuss tips on how to conduct interviews and focus groups. Participants also have the opportunity to explore more visual, participatory tools so that they can choose which methods are most appropriate for collecting information from their particular stakeholders. Moreover, the source of information that means the entire item for particular enquiry. E.g. invoices, customers and to show these customers feedback those are will be taken into consideration for further used of data collected. Another important technique to analyse and collect data is various sampling such as: Random sampling: This is the purest form of probability sampling. Because due to the large group of population it is really difficult and not possible to identify every member of the population, so the pool of available subjects becomes biased. Systematic sampling: It is often used as a random sampling. Another name of the sampling is selection technique. Its only advantage over the random sampling technique is simplicity. Systematic sampling is frequently used to select a specified number of records from a computer file. Convenience sampling: It is used in exploratory research where the researcher is interested in getting an inexpensive approximation of the truth. As the name implies, the sample is selected because they are convenient. Judgment sampling: One common non probability method isJudgment sampling. The researcher selects the sample based on judgment. This is usually and extension of convenience sampling. Quota sample: This is a sample method where items, usually people, are selected in a given quantities and according to pre-defined characteristics. These different methods are used for different purpose where user must identify a sampling method in order to review the presentation at the intention. These methods can also be used in a wide range of area and activity where there is lots of member with different types of users. Routine cost report: (P5) The report generally include the financial performance for the end of the year .E.g. Profit, Debit, share, price and dividends. It will also advice about transfers to reserves, assets that have been acquired or disposed of the names and shareholding of directors active in the last year, and other business activates that will be interested to stakeholders. Even, sometimes the report also cover the business polices on employment, training, welfare, creditor, creditor payment and corporate responsibility as well. There are some different ways to finding cost report: Monitoring Cost: Cost monitoring means supervising the economic progress in the management system in the business. This is the main reason of cost or expense monitoring is collecting information to check performance against an expectation. Controlling: Cost controlling is process where the common goal of the management is improving business cost-efficiency by reducing costs, or at least restricting their rate of growth. Businesses use cost control methods to monitor, evaluate, and ultimately enhance the efficiency of specific areas, such as departments, divisions, or product lines, within their operations. Planning: It is called a plan make supreme success. In term of business it is invincible part to make appropriate costing plan.It comprises iterative quantification and costing, derived from benchmarking and market exploration exercises, and is aimed at establishing a realistic and acceptable cost limit. This information is critical for obtaining project financing and for determining whether a project can be profitable or not. Without cost planning, property owners would enter blindly into construction projects and possibly into insolvency. Evaluation: Evaluating the cost of the overall business management is really sophisticated task. According to the business activity there are three types of evaluation specification: Background: Background means description, context, scope and objective of the business. The Selection Process: Analyse briefly the selection process, starting with the advertising the establishment of the shortlist, expressions of interest, and withdrawals of firms before proposal submissions. Technical evaluation: Describe briefly the meetings and actions taken by the evaluation committee formation of a technical evaluation team, outside assistance, evaluation guidelines, justification of sub criteria and associated weightings as indicated in the Standard Request for Proposals; relevant correspondence and compliance. Profitability Ratio: (p6) 1)Gross profit margin =gross profit/sale*100 = xf 2)Net profit margin = PBIT/sales*100 = xf 3) Retained on capital employed = PBIT/capital employed*100 = xf 4) Assets= sales/capital employed = x times Efficiency ratio: Lido ltd New ltd. Assets = 640/350+75 Assets=1600/1600+20 =1.5 times =.987 Productivity Unit produce for employees 20000/34 =588 unit 5000/78=64.1 Operating profit margin 128/640*100=20 256/1600*100 =16 Cost productivity Operating profit per employee 128/34 =3.77 256/78=3.28 Principles of quality: (P7) The basic principle of Total quality management is that costs of prevention are less than the costs of correction. There are various types of roles are involved in term of quality: Assurance: Quality assurance focuses on preventing faulty occurring, instead of fixing them afterwards (which is the quality control approach). Describe everything to find out the causes of defects are identified and ways to fix the system to make sure the problem doesnt happen again are agreed. Reliability: The most important and valuable principles of quality are consistency and reliability. Each link in the quality chain must deliver to the next link on time, in the quantity ordered, to the right specification and at the agreed price, time after time after time. Customer-driven: customer driven quality means many things to many people, in the end it is the customers opinion that counts. In these cases the customers quality ideals must be met every step of the way from the farm to the marketplace. Continuous Improvement: This is an essential part of any good quality system. The market environment for popular product is always changing and highly competitive, so the popular programme must constantly evolve to ensure the industry stays ahead of the completion. Principles of value: Implementing the Principle of Value requires leadership and management with particular, conscious focus and intent.It is always to develop and sustain durable, value-driven, win-win relationships. Everything can be evaluating by relative activity such as Products for payment Salary for performance Investment for profits. Everywhere we look, we see win-win relationships as the core of durable success. If we lose those relationships, we eventually lose everything. Another important principle is core value which is completely design by roles of fairy, ethos, human morality, dignity, and customer service. If an organization does not cause its members to understand and focus on these important elements, it will soon find participants becoming solely profit-centric. This behaviour inevitably leads to a short-term focus and potentially illegal practices that provide the seeds of self-destruction. Remember that management is to build business value by making the right decisions; and, decisio ns about core values are essential. Purpose and nature of Budget: (P8) Budgeting is a basic and essential process in a business which allows businesses to gain many goals in one course of action.The budgeting process may be carried out by individuals or by companies to estimate whether the person/company can continue to operate with its projected income and expenses. There are several purposes to create and implement a budget include control and evaluation, planning, communication, and motivation. Control and Evaluation This is most important matter after finalized a budget is providing sufficient control and evaluating its performance.If performance does not meet the budget, action can be taken immediately to adjust activities. Budgeting allows a company to have a certain range of control over costs, such as reducing many types of unnecessary expenses or assigning responsibility for these expenses. A budget also gives a company a benchmark by which to evaluate business units, departments, and even individual managers. Unfortunately this purpose of budgeting may be effect on employees to have negative thinking about the budgeting process because their compensation and, in certain situation, even their jobs may be operating on meeting certain budgeting target. Planning Planning is initial purpose of budgeting. It is also design by decisions, and many questions must be answered. Besides that, budgeting allows a business to take stock of revenue and expenses from the previous period, and judge where the business will be in future periods. It also allows the organization to add and remove products and services from its plan for the future period. Communication and Motivation: Other goals that an organization may use its budget to achieve that are less obvious include communication and motivation. It is important that make correlation according to the chain of command like from management level to supervisor level, this is only to gain mentally satisfaction of the staff. When an employee is involved in creating his or her departments budget, that person will be more likely to strive to achieve that budget. Budgets also allow a company to motivate its employees by involving them in the budget. Budgeting method: (p9) A budget is an individual and written estimate of how an organization or a particular project, or business unit willperform financially. If we can accurately predict our companys performance than we will be certain that resources such as money, people, equipment, manufacturing plants, and the like are deployed appropriately. There is various kind of budgeting are available for a business such as: Cash budget: An important estimate of a companys cash position for a particular period of time. . Labor budget: The total cost for labor to be expended for a set period of time calculated by taking every persons position in an organization, department, or project and multiplying the number of hours they are expected to work by their wage rates. Sales budget: An estimate of the quantity of goods and services that will be sold during a specific period of time. Production budget: A forecast thatstarts with the sales budgets estimates of the total number of units projected to be sold, then translates this information into estimates of the cost of labor, material, and other expenses required to produce them. Expense budget: An estimate prepared for travel, utilities, office supplies, telephone, and many other common business expenses for a given period. Incremental Budget: These types of budget are normally starts with previous periods budget or actual results and add an incremental amount to cover for inflation and other known changes. Advantages of incremental budgeting The budget is stable and change is gradual. Managers can operate their departments on a consistent basis. The system is relatively simple to operate and easy to understand. The impact of change can be seen quickly. Disadvantages of incremental budgeting Assumes activities and methods of working will continue in the same way. No incentive for developing new ideas. No incentives to reduce costs. Encourages spending up to the budget so that the budget is maintained next year. The budget may become out of date and no longer relate to the level of activity or type of work being carried out. Zero-based budget: This is a traditional technique of planning and decision-making which reverses the working process. By contrast with incremental budgeting, in zero-based budgeting, every department function is reviewed comprehensively and all expenditures must be approved, rather than only increases. Advantages Drives managers to find cost effective ways to improve operations. Detects inflated budgets. Useful for service departments where the output is difficult to identify. Increases communication and coordination within the organization. Identifies and eliminates wasteful and obsolete operations. Identifies opportunities for outsourcing. It responds to changes in the business environment. Disadvantages It emphasize short-term benefits to the detriment of long term goals The budgeting process may become too rigid and the organisation may not be able to react to unforeseen opportunities or threats Difficult to define decision units and decision packages, as it is time-consuming and exhaustive. Forced to justify every detail related to expenditure. The RD department is threatened whereas the production department benefits. According to the previous discussion it is clear that Zero-based budgeting is must be clearly understood by managers at various levels to be successfully implemented. But every organisation should provide Necessary training to manager. According to the case study there are four types of budgets will be explaining.

Inflation Rate and Economic Stability of Brazil

Inflation Rate and Economic Stability of Brazil Introduction This paper is concerned with the economic consideration of one of the South American countries and analyzes the impact of an economic concern on that particular South American country that has been chosen and identifies the trend of the economic concern with in specified region on the basis of data sets accumulate from the source. The south American countries has major impact on American economy and the economic concern of one of an important country raise our body of knowledge regarding the economic trend in that particular country and its impact on overall economy as well. South American Country The economy of South America consists of twelve nations with three territories and comprise of 6% of population in the world. I have choose Brazil among other South American countries as Brazil is the largest South American country and Brazil is one of the fastest growing economies of the world. It is ranked at fifth spot in the world regarding population and geographical region and fifth largest economy regarding GDP in the world. The economic concern of Brazil is effectively contributes to world economy and interesting trend of economy can be seen. (Abreu, 2005). Economic Concern Among four economic concern including GDP, quantities of specific Goods and services gross Domestic Product (GDP), and unemployment inflation I have selected inflation. Inflation is an important economic concern that will effect the economy in great extend and inflation rate of a country economy is an important indicator for a country growth prospective. Inflation means rise in the general price level of the country and loss the real value of money as fewer commodities will bought with each additional unit of currency. Inflation directly relate to the economic productivity and has positive and negative both effect on economy as it create economic uncertainty which may discourage saving and investment. High prices of general commodities and hoarding will be its largest disadvantage. In positive sense it may encourage non monetary investment. But the inflation rate needs to be control in order to sustain country economy. Inflation trend in Brazil The inflation rate in Brazil is fluctuating over the years. No consistent trend can be seen in the inflation rate ac past year data support this assumption. According to the data displayed by ( IPCA) in 2002 the inflation rate was 12.53% that is quite high rate. Then the decreasing trend of inflation rate can be seen in Brazil economy as 9.3% in 2003, 7.6% in 2004, 5.69% in 2005, and 3.14% in 2006 that is least in this decade. Then the slight increasing trend can be seen in rate of inflation. 4.46% can be seen in 2007 and 5.91 in 2008. The fluctuating trend can be seen in this range in coming years as well. (Inflation Statistical table) Statistical Table Inflation (IPCA) 2002 12.53% 2003 9.30% 2004 7.60% 2005 5.69% 2006 3.14% 2007 4.46% 2008 5.91% Past two years Inflation Trend Past two years monthly inflation rate trend can be seen from this graph that shows the monthly frequency of the inflation rate. The graph bars shows the trend of inflation from year 2011 that is 6.01%. The increasing slope can be seen from March, 2011 up to October, 2011. Inflation rate at the month of October is the highest that is 7.31%. Then the control implementation on inflation increasing trend can be seen from 7.31% to the deep low rate at 4.92% in July, 2012 that is complemented to Brazil economy. The upward Trent at semi annual bases can be seen in Brazil economy. The last recorded inflation rate of 6.15% that is quite high. Brazil government target inflation rate is 4.5% with the plus and minus tolerance margin of 2% in it. The high inflation trend is important consideration for the government as increasing inflation rate affect the economy in deep roots and make the investment and saving difficult. People purchasing power will be effected that will effect their standard of living and indulge the poverty level in the country as commodities will be difficult to purchase with even more money in hand because due to inflation country will lose its real money value. (De Paiva Abreu, 2005). According to IBGE report it is recorded from 1980 the Brazil inflation trend has gone through various fluctuations. Historical data shows average of 411.8 % Brazil inflation rate that reached at highest rate of inflation of 6821.3 % in April 1990 that was the highest rate for all time. The low inflation rate of 1.7 percent was found in December 1998. The measure used to calculate inflation is consumer price index. Brazil important contribution in consumer price index are tobacco, food and alcohol that covers 31% of total, 15 percent by transport sector and communication carries 5 %. . (Brazil Inflation Rate) Statistical Evidence comparing various countries inflation rate Inflation Rate of various countries is showing the Brazil high rate of inflation as compare to other countries except India that has the inflation Rate o f 6.62. An increasing trend is quite threatening for Brazilian government for economic growth and required close consideration to control the rate in future in order to stabilize the economy. Conclusion The Inflation rate and economic stability are closely related to one another and required close concern in order to stabilize the economy. Brazil increasing trend provide the threatening for its future concerns and shows that the government need to closely consider this regime in order to stabilize the economy and to achieve the economical growth in the world.

Moral of Washington Irvings The Legend of Sleepy Hollow Essay

Moral of Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow In Washington Irving’s short story â€Å"The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,† the conflict between Enlightenment and Romantic ideals is narrativized. Irving’s story is an exploration of the conflict between these two schools of thought. Irving uses his setting, his characters, and his â€Å"moral† (or lack thereof) to critique the Enlightenment. At first reading, â€Å"Sleepy Hollow† may seem no more than a dreamy folk tale. But when read in the context of the emerging resistance to Enlightenment thinking, it reveals itself to be a striking denunciation of the ideals of the Enlightenment. The Age of Enlightenment was characterized by the reign of reason. Enlightenment thinkers believed in the supremacy of reason above all other human faculties, and in the perfectibility of man and therefore society. Scientific understanding and the pursuit of knowledge were key pursuits in this time. Materialism was emphasized as an overt rejection of the superstition of the Middle Ages. The ideals of the Enlightenment were rationality, objectivism, and the â€Å"enlightened† society based on pragmatism. In â€Å"The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,† Irving uses all of the tools at his disposal as a storyteller to illustrate his criticism of Enlightenment ideals. First of all, he creates an atmosphere and a setting where reason is at a loss. Also, he uses the character of Ichabod Crane to embody Enlightenment principles, and then has this character become a figure of ridicule. Additionally, Irving uses his conclusion to poke fun at the Enlightenment idea of literature as being necessarily didactic. All of these elements come together to provide a thorough indictment of the Enlightenment. ... ...e. He then has the storyteller himself question the veracity of the story with his final line, â€Å"’I don’t believe one-half of it myself,’† which scorns not just the importance of a moral, but again questions the importance of truth and verifiability. While Irving may poke fun at the idea of a simplistic moral, a clear maxim that one can easily digest, he nevertheless infuses his work with a message. If any â€Å"moral† could be taken from â€Å"The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,† it is that there are some places where reason cannot guide us. The possibility of a place where reason and rationality are no longer useful is a direct and sharp critique of the ideals of the Enlightenment. Through his â€Å"tools of the trade† as a storyteller, Irving effectively denounces the limits of Enlightenment thinking, and opens the door for the possibilities of Romanticism and the Gothic.

The Issue of Casinos in South Florida Essay -- Social Issues

Casinos on the 2014 ballot? Political committee lays the groundwork â€Å"After failing to persuade the Florida Legislature to pass a bill to open South Florida to mega resort casinos, gambling interests have taken the first steps to bring the issue directly to voters in 2014. A political committee under the name of â€Å"New Jobs and Revenues for Florida† was created April 10 with the purpose of promoting a â€Å"statewide constitutional initiative re gaming.† The committee chairman is Tallahassee lawyer and lobbyist John French and its treasurer is a political committee consultant and accountant Nancy Watkins of Tampa. The petition process requires that the organization get petitions signed by eight percent of the voters in the last presidential election to put the constitutional amendment on the ballot. The proposal must then be approved by 60 percent of the voters† (Klas, M. E., 2012). â€Å"The third level of inputs is external political actors that significantly shape the purposes, processes and actions of the bureaucracy. Administrative organizations do no exist in a vacuum; that is, without some degree of this external public support or hostility exercised either directly upon the agency or through intermediaries such as lawyers and lobbyists† (Stillman II, R., 2004, pg. 91). â€Å"Malaysia-based Genting Group spent more than $400 million to assemble roughly 30 acres along the Biscayne Bay waterfront here, including spending $238 million to acquire the headquarters of the Miami Herald newspaper. Genting planned to build the $3.8 billion Resorts World Miami, which company officials had boasted would become a dramatic feature along the waterfront of downtown Miami, with 5,200 rooms over four hotels, creating 30,000 permanent jobs, attracting almo... ... Santiago, F. (2012, January 28). Is the Herald Building Historic?. Common Sense Miami. Retrieved from http://www.commonsensemiami.com/ Scott, J. C. (1998). Part.4 The Missing Link - Chapter 9 - Thin Simplifications and Practical Knowledge: Metis. In Seeing Like a State. (Pp. 309-341). Yale Agrarian Studies. Stillman II, R. (2004). The American Bureaucracy: The Core of Modern Government. (3rd ed.). (Pp. 91, 220). Belmont, CA, U.S.: Clark Blaxter. Stutz, H. (2012, February 19). Supporters Of Florida Casino Expansions Promise To Fight On. Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved from http://www.lvrj.com/business/supporters-of-florida-casino-expansion-promise-to-fight-on-139622693.html Stutz, H. (2012, February 3). Florida Lawmakers End Casino Push. Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved from http://www.lvrj.com/business/florida-lawmakers-end-casino-push-138663869.html

What Is a Human Person?

â€Å"What Is Human Person? † Essay What is a person? A seemingly easy question, however, once looked into, the ideas and presumptions that people have are filled with contradictions and controversies. Many people, religions, organisations, and governments have a differing opinion on what qualities an entity must possess to be a person, however, there are many similarities. Many religions, for example, believe a person, houses an immortal ‘soul’ or spirit, capable of eternal life. There is also the question raised – are human beings the only ones who can be a ‘person’, can animals and machines also be, or become persons? Philosophers generally agree that there are several key characteristics that can be discussed concerning personhood. The characteristics are as follows: A soul (or spirit), embodiment of the mental and physical (the question of the mind being separate to the body), the idea of beliefs and morals, rationality, self awareness, the use of language and meaning, self reflection (and imagination), and exploring what different societies and peoples, view as a full and whole person. Religions house some of the oldest beliefs and explanations of this world, and hold a key way to understanding the people of the past, as well as their ways of thinking and explanation. Whilst modern science had proven a lot of religious beliefs (such as the origins and complexities of the of the universe) to be false, many people base their view of a person on that of their religions. For example, Christianity. The belief of the Christian Church is that every human being in born with a soul, this soul the dwells within them is unobservable, however, it is the immortal, personal link between themselves and God, connecting through prayer and reflection, and is believed that every person possesses this, thereby rendering a soul as a component of personhood. However, since the soul is unobservable, there is seemingly no way to tell whether or not a person has one, or if they exist at all. However, the Catholic Church also teaches that human beings were created in the image of God, therefore making every human a sacred being, and possessing a soul, their spiritual link between themselves and the divine. Therefore, a soul, spirit or equivalent is a required part of personhood to the spiritual or religious person. Another key point of relevancy is one’s mind, the question of the mind and body, are they one thing, or do they exist separately from each other? The mind is the term often referring to the higher functions of the brain, the totally of conscious and unconscious mental activity that controls the way we think, feel judge, our intellect and consciousness, perception, emotion, memory, imagination et cetera. The mind resides within the brain, and is central to our being, it controls us, it is us. The brain is the one part of the body that humans have been unable to create via artificial means – scientific progress has allowed the body to function using artificial means, such as machines aiding, or sometimes in place of our internal organs. Given time, research and money, it is theoretically possible for the brain to function outside the body, through a machine (A body could almost be considered a machine, as the brain sends out electrical signals to control the rest of the body). In this sense, yes, the mind is a separate being to the body, able to function outside of the flesh when given an adequate source of power. The body, in a sense, is a battery, and output source for the mind, much like a gaming console and a game disc. The disc holds the functions, and the console executes them. The mind relies on the body to function, however they are two different entities. This theory completely disregards the mortal body as being a part of personhood, or rather, everything but the brain and it’s processes. This raises the question of whether or not an animal or robot (machine) can be a person. Following on from the previous paragraph, the idea that a person’s mind can exist and function within a machine poses the question of a machine being a person in itself. As modern science has enabled virtually every part of the body (except the brain) to be reconstructed and function as a machine, it is not entirely implausible for science to get as far as to reconstruct the brain through mechanics, the brain consciousness, activities and functions, electrical currents, being uploaded into the ‘mechanical brain’. The human mind, being present in the machine knows itself to be a person, observes itself as a person therefore classes itself as a person. It has the mind and processes of a person, therefore sees itself as a person. A vital part of personhood may in fact acknowledging oneself (and others) as people. In a Descartes like manner, â€Å"I think I am a person, therefore I am a person. † The ability to be able to reflect on one’s self and being, an ability that only human beings possess, can be considered another trait of personhood. The human’s ability to the reflect, sympathise and empathise with each other and other beings is something that is specific (as far as scientific progress has proved) to humans alone. From these stem the ideas of ethics and morality, which again branch off to the law of society behaviour. An animal, for example, will not stop preying on other animal because they see it as morally wrong, the animal sees the other simply as food, to eat. A human however, has a respect and value for life, thus why some people choose to become vegetarians. An animal does not process this, and continues to kill other animals to sustain nourishment. This respect for life, and others, has led to the creation of laws to maintain an orderly and fully functioning society. Society and laws have differing opinions on what a person can or cannot do. These vary country to country, even state to state. Age regulations and restrictions restrict what a person of a certain age or ability can or cannot do. This may influence thinking that people of a certain age or ability are not full people, but underdeveloped, or not people. The subject of personhood is a difficult one, if one defines a person as having the qualities or w, x, y, and z, it is certainly possible for some animals to qualify as persons, or some people to not. owever, if one defines a person as a human being, then one has to then define a human being. The English language reinforces the theory of a human being the sole entity capable of personhood as the word ‘person’ and ‘human being’ are used interchangeably. Although modern secularism and the more traditional religious views have differing ideas, it all comes down to the individual’s opinion. This also comes b ack to individual beliefs and truths, as well as the person’s ability to think and reflect on a subject. If one believes a person has qualities x and y, then all things with these qualities are persons. If one believes a person is a human being, then human beings to them are persons. And argument could be made that the ability to think, reflect, argue and to form an opinion through observation, belief and personal values over what is a person makes one a person themselves, thereby making anyone agreeing or disagreeing with these examples a person. Bibliography. Law, Stephen, 2007. The Great Philosophers, Quercus Publishing Plc, London. Handouts from class: What is a Human Person? Summary Notes Problems of Knowledge: The Brain in the Vat The Weekend Australian Magazine: January 30-31st, 2010: Can animals think? The Human Being: Roman Catholic perspective Metaphysics Handout Handout with exerts from various stories: I, Rodney Brooks, am a Robot, How Smart is the Octopus, Spanish Parliament†¦ Etc.

Head Sea Defences

There are two long groynes here. These are really effect at doing their job. Although it is not clear from the image how well these work, if you go there you will see it quite evidently how well they do their jobs. In some areas with long groynes, there have been large parts of beaches rebuilt. They are made out of rubble in order to slow down the weathering caused by the waves hitting the groynes. These work by stopping sediment from being dragged across the shore by the effects of Longshore drift. Their sole purpose was to protect the beach what was already there but have surpassed expectations and added a lot of material to the beach. For a clear understanding of all the different sea defences I did an evaluation of the effectiveness and Environmental (looks). Looking at the graph, there is no doubt that the groynes are effective at what they do. For the effectiveness they received the highest rating of 2. The size of the beach been restored back and the amount protected is a large amount. With a total mark of 3 from a potential 4, it is definite that the groynes are assisting in the protection of the beach. The groynes did lose a mark for the way they look aesthetically. Being a tourist destination it was important that Hengistbury Head is pleasing to the eye. 200m Gabion: At the top, there is an image of the 200m Gabion which has been built at the South Cliff. The result of placing the Gabion here is not clearly seen but an explanation will be given. The Gabion at Hengistbury Head is a long cage which has been put in place to hold back the rocks that have been filled behind them. Also the cages absorb the force of the waves and hold back the material behind them. The Gabion is working brilliantly to protect the South Cliff. The people walking on the land at the top of the cage would not be able to walk there if it wasn't for the Gabion. The Gabion prevents slumping which stops the material falling onto the beach and keeps it in one steady place. The gabion stops the waves eroding the ground further down. There is a footpath which is not visible in this image. This footpath wouldn't be there since the waves would have reached there if the Gabions weren't built and eroded the rocks and made large cracks, making it dangerous to walk on. In the end the purpose of the Gabion is to stop the waves force reaching too close to the land and destroying it. As a total score, the 200m Gabion faired quite well, but not too well. This is because of the -1 it received for its Environmental Score. After understanding how the Gabion works the picture displays more than clearly that the effectiveness of it is brilliant. It does what it is supposed to do more than perfectly. It has prevented the waves from reaching inland and in doing so ensured that the South Cliff remains safe. The Environmental Score for the 200m Gabion was very low. This is because it conflicts with the natural beauty at Hengistbury Head. This is because it is clear that it has been placed there and looks out of place at the Top of the beach. Rubble Groynes: This is a plan view of the East facing cliff and the groynes that have been built to prevent Longshore Drift. Unlike the other image, this image shows very clearly how the groynes have affected the beach. The red arrows point out the sediment that has been caught thanks to the groynes. It might not look like much but if you consider the material each groyne has picked up, it adds up a lot. These groynes have the same purpose as the gabion, i.e. stop he waves from eroding certain parts of the beach. The groynes prevent the waves from carrying beach material out to sea. This eventually builds up to a major part of the beach. At the top there is a graph portraying the evaluation the gryones received. Since there were so many groynes present, I worked out the means by assessing each groyne then calculating the mean. The total score of the groyne is similar to other defences, but the other defences lost marks due to the way they look and at the same time gained marks from their effectiveness. The image does show that the groynes are working well, but there is more that needs to be taken into consideration. Since the groynes are just piles of rubble, it is more than likely that a piece of rock will be taken out into sea by a strong wave causing the rocks on top of it to tumble and fall. It will also not be able to withstand the force of powerful waves. They could crumble during a storm completely. This defeats their purpose since they are most needed during storms since that is when most material is taken out to sea. Environmentally the groynes would have got a higher score if they were not so many of them present. The natural beauty of the East Cliff is questioned when so many of these groynes are built Sand Dunes: The sand dune at the top here is present at South Cliff. These are naturally occurring and have a wide range of sizes. They can be anything from small hills to huge mounds. They are most commonly found at the top of beaches. These are formed when winds lift the sand from the beaches surface and are blown to the top. The sands are caught by materials that come in their way such as driftwood. Over a long period of time, the sand keeps getting deposited in the same area. This eventually grows bigger and bigger and builds up into big mounds. These dunes are a perfect place for vegetation such as Marram Grass to mature and thrive successfully. Some wildlife might also be found to nest in these dunes. These dunes are extremely prone to erosion naturally as well as human contact. These dunes absorb the force from powerful waves keeping things behind them safe. At the top you can see the sand dunes scored top marks, the best score compared to all the other sea defences present at Hengistbury Head. Because the dunes form near the cliff and are so big (in most of the cases), it protects it from erosion from the sea. Because of this I though the sand dunes deserved top marks for effectiveness. Since they form naturally it definitely deserved top marks for Environment as well. These dunes do not look out of place since they are formed from material that is found at the sea. They blend into the surroundings perfectly and add to the natural beauty of the South Cliff. Causeway: At the top here you can see an image of the causeway at the East Cliff. From the picture here you can see that the causeway is having no effect at all on the beach. It is just present there. It is a pointless waste of money, time and effort. It was put there in the intention to work like the gabion cages i.e. hold the east cliff back. Since the causeway was placed at a ridiculously low height there is no effect at all in preserving the beach. The causeway has scored the worst compared to all the sea defences present at Hengistbury Head. It achieved an overall score of -3. As you can see from my above explanation there is no reason why the causeway should get a higher score. The causeway could possibly have been a great sea defence but the fact is that this was certainly not the right place for it. It got the lowest effectiveness score for this reason. Environmentally, I did not give it the worst possible score since looking at the picture carefully, if it wasn't built there, some people could have difficulties coming down from such a tall gabion. It could possibly be used as a step from the top of the gabion to the beach surface. That is why I think it did not look that bad environmentally. The first time I saw it, I thought it was built for that purpose. Overall the causeway was a total waste of time, effort and money that could have been used for other ways of protecting Hengistbury Head. Drainage Weir: At the top you can see an image of the drainage weir present at East Cliff. The drainage weir looks like a waterfall. It is man-made and fulfils an important purpose. The purpose of the drainage weir is to drain out and down all the water (more specifically rain water) from the cliff to prevent it from becoming to saturated. If it ever does get over saturated the outcome could be major slumping. In this image you can see the drainage weir working at optimum. This is because the day we went, it was raining quite heavily. Vegetation grows very well next to the drainage weir due to the large amount of fresh water that flows from the top. Marram grass grows very well around it. The Marram grass also helps since it holds the sand together and stops it from eroding and falling. Looking at how effective it is in the weather this picture was taken in, it shows how effective it is. The bar graph here shows that it is as effective as the sand dunes. It has also scored a 4 out of a possible four. The effectiveness is unquestionable as you can see in the above image. The sheer amount of water flowing down from the top shows its effectiveness. Without it, there would definitely be a problem with slumping. It also got top scores for environmental since it does look very good. Being a man-made object, it perfectly fits the environment and at the same time fulfils its purpose. Gabion Cages: At the top you can see an image of the gabion cages present at the East Cliff. If you look clearly at the image, you can see some sand at the bottom of the causeway. It is very clear that the gabion cages are doing their job. These gabion cages are filled with rocks just like the other ones. The gabion cages absorb the impact from the waves and holds them back, preventing them from reaching the east cliff and eroding it. They are doing exactly this but they are doing it well. They are stopping material being dragged into the sea and preventing erosion of the east cliff. The gabion cages have been placed on top of the causeway in order to have a much higher height. Also the causeway is not tall enough to protect the cliff. The cliffs have started to slump but the gabions have managed to drastically slow it down. At the top you can see an image evaluating the Gabion Cages' Effectiveness and Environmental. The total score being a 0 is not that good. The score was mainly affected by the Environmental rating, since it looked out of place completely and harshly affected the natural beauty of the Eat Cliff. Considering all this I decided to give it a -1 for an Environmental rating. It would have got a much better score if it wasn't for the presence of the cages and ruining the final outcome, but removing the cages would allow the rocks to fall over. The gabion cages are definitely effective as you can see in the photo. But I still have it a rating of 1 instead of 2 since there is some material creeping over them. This is quite bad since over a period of time the Cliff could slump over the gabion cages. Rip Rap: At the image at the top you can see an image of the Rip Rap which is visible at East Cliff. Rip rap is basically a lot of rocks scattered along the beach in order to absorb the energy from very strong waves and breaks them before they reach the cliff base. This type of sea defence is very cheap to put into action but at the same time it is extremely effective. It is a very good way of reducing the damage that might have been caused if powerful waves were allowed to get to the cliff base. Because of its effectiveness it slumping caused by undercutting is very unlikely to occur and because of this expensive ways to reduce slumping can be not put in place too often. In the end the rip rap is a perfect all round way of defending the cliff base and reduces slumping. At the top you can see an image of the Rip Rap's (present as South Cliff) score for its defence evaluation. It got an overall score of 2 which it deserved quite fairly and is quite a good score anyways. I gave it a score of 1 for its effectiveness because there were not any excessive amounts of slumping at the South cliff where the rip rap was present. Environmentally the rip rap fitted in its environment and blended in quite well but since it was fairly obvious that the rocks were placed there since the boulders were quite large and they were not any visible cracks on the cliff big enough to fit any one of the large boulders. But it did blend into the surroundings very well. The natural beauty of Hengistbury Head was not affected by the rip rap. Sea Wall: The picture at the top is an image of the Sea Wall at Mudeford Spit. Sea Walls vary in size and materials in which they are made from. The sea wall at Mudeford Spit is made of large concrete slabs that have been laid on top of each other. They have been place next to the beach huts to protect them from all types of waves that could potentially erode the ground on which the huts are built on. They are barriers against weak and strong waves. Unlike some other sea other defences like the gabions, the wall does not absorb any of the waves but just prevents the waves from reaching far ahead up the beach. The sea wall breaks the waves before they reach the huts, so even if they go above the wall the water will just spray on the huts. But if a tall and powerful wave does have the force to cover enough distance to reach the huts then it is very likely for the huts to get damaged since if it had enough force to reach up to the huts then it will definitely have enough to cause some serious damage. This is a problem because of the rather small height of the sea wall. But I think it is highly unlikely for a wave with that intensity to reach Hengistbury Head but due to the effects of Global Warming there can never be any assurance. At the top you can see an image of the evaluation the Sea Wall received based on its Effectiveness and Environmental. Mudeford Spit's natural beauty was already tarnished thanks to the littering, vandalism and beach huts but now thanks to the sea wall, the little left beauty has vanished. The Beach huts definitely stood out but kind of fitted into the area but this concrete slab wall does not fit in at all. It got an Environmental score of -2 for that reason. It did not deserve anything higher. I gave it a rating of 1 for its Effectiveness, because it definitely does what its suppose to do without any problems, but I didn't give it a two since it would've have been better if it was higher. This would have made the beach huts feel a bit safer. But the huts are still standing strong because of the sea wall. The final score the sea wall received a -1. The environmental score dragged the score down a significant amount. Beach Nourishment: At the top you can see two images. Both of them are images of the equipment needed to perform Beach Nourishment. Beach Nourishment is a simple idea which entails taking sand from a source (usually another beach) and dumping it into the beach which requires nourishment. This process is important because although most of the sea defences might be working efficiently to tackle the beach erosion, there is still a lot of sand that is carried out into the sea because of the waves. It is sometimes needed in order to widen a beach. This method doesn't stop erosion but simply replaces what has been lost by the waves. It balances the amount of sand on the beach because the areas of the beach are unlikely to lose similar amounts of sand. By replacing the sand from the worst affected area it makes the beach look more pleasing to the eye. A problem with this method is that the sand needs to be continually replaced since the sand naturally on the beach erodes away slower than the sand that has been artificially added. At the top you can see an image of the graph with the evaluation of Beach Nourishment. Beach Nourishment has also been awarded the top score with a four out of four. The Beach Nourishment is definitely an effective way of dealing with the wave's strong backwash. It allows the artificially added waves to be carried out the beach rather than the natural sands. And for Environmental, it deserved a two because it just replaces what needs to be there. It makes the beach look more complete. The only environmental effect it has on the beach is to improve it. Groynes: The various groynes seen in the satellite image below can be found at Mudeford spit. Looking at the image below you can see just how effective these groynes really are. They are doing a fantastic job of stopping the sediment in the waves from moving down the beach. The sediment is being carried down the beach by nothing more then long shore drift. Although long shore drift created Mudeford spit it could also destroy it or make it so big that the harbour becomes closed. For these reasons these groynes have had to be put in place. Looking at the bar graph above overall the groynes have done very well with an overall score of 3 out of 4. Environmentally on Mudeford spit because it is so crowded by beach huts I do not think that the vast amount of groynes effects the natural appearance of Mudeford spit. Nothing short of perfect describes the effectiveness of these groynes it is truly amazing how much sediment they have trapped over the years.