Business coursework; Fish and Chip shop (Burnham high street) Essay Example for Free

Business coursework; Fish and Chip shop (Burnham high street) Essay Introduction I am doing an investigation on a small local business to identify ways that it could be improved and what the business is doing wrong at the moment that is preventing it from making the progress that it could make. The local shop that I chose was the fish and chip in Burnham high street, SeaWorld. I chose this shop because I am a fan of seafood and when I go into a seafood place I expect to find many items that are actually seafood but normally they have different varieties of food but rarely any seafood. They normally have kebabs, chips, burgers, but chips are a necessity with fish. Preparation We started off making our individual surveys for both customers and workers and chose the best survey to be printed out. We also were planning on tasting the food in SeaWorld as well to see how good the product was. We thought of the types of shop that would be competitors. What we did For our research we had about an hour to go to the fish and chip shop in Burnham high street, but unfortunately SeaWorld was closed so we decided that some of us would take out the surveys on the public while the other group would see how the point of sale looked and find anything wrong with it. There were quite a few surveys done, and we managed to figure out some problems with the point of sale. Luckily there was a worker inside SeaWorld who did not mind us asking questions about his workplace. I think that we had taken a few surveys of people who go there regularly, but would have liked to see how the business was when it was open. Things like how many people go there, what there menu was, how well priced the food was, what majority of the regular customers thought of the seafood shop. We also looked out for competitors and how accessible their shops are, how their shops looked and how close they are to SeaWorld. Place SeaWorld is in Burnham high street and because it is quite a small high street even a small number of competitors would be a problem. There arent any seafood restaurants or seafood take-away as such in Burnham high street but there are cafes and fast food shops and there is a seafood shop in Burnham. These are also competitors because if people go into these shops it can pose a threat to the business of SeaWorld by reducing its market share. The other issue with the place is how easy it is for the customers to access the shop in terms of parking, distance and is there a contact number so they can order over the phone? The restaurant has a telephone number next to the restaurants name which is convenient for the customers and the business because it wont be crowded so they will have enough seats but they will still be getting the sales and revenue. The first take- away or restaurant that you see when you enter the high street from hog fair lane is SeaWorld which means that for ease of access and to save time people will go here. Therefore I think that the place that the seafood shop is not bad, but the look of the point of sale from the inside and outside needs to change. It needs to be re-painted and the inside needs to be looking more spacious to attract more customers. Product I did not have the opportunity to get a good look at their menu because at the time they were not open, but from what I saw there was a range of fried and battered fish food, chips and drinks which is what their customers would expect and this makes them look good. There was a problem though which was that on the outside of the shop there was a label that said kebabs that is something that you wouldnt expect in a fish and chip shop and I dont know if they do sell kebabs but if they didnt then that would be misleading the customers which would be irritating for them and they could potentially lose customers. If they did have kebabs then it would be inappropriate. Price I was not able to ask or look at the prices that they had for their food but the price needs to be below five pounds for each product and above a pound. If the products are priced too highly customers would not buy from that shop and if it was too low then they will be at a loss and will not be able to run efficiently. Theoretically the lower the price the more demand there is for that product, but you also need to balance between charging high enough to cover costs but low enough to keep the customers buying. Sometimes even if the prices are high the demand still remains the same, this is because things like customer service is good and the product also should be better than others. For the seafood shop it means that they need to be friendly to customers, deliver orders on time and put the customers needs and requests first. Promotion Walking along Burnham high street I did not see any form of promotion for the seafood shop. This is one of the crucial factors of getting a small business to succeed. If people do not know where you are or even if you exist then how will you get more customers? The seafood shop does not even have a website which means that it makes it harder for people find out about such a shop. The locals around Burnham high street might know about the shop but not many other people will. Therefore they need to find a form of promotion that will allow them to be known but not too expensive either. Picking the promotion The ways of promotion best for SeaWorld is through leaflets through letter boxes, this is a form of promotion suited to this business because it will be spread throughout the local area, because people from other areas are not going to travel a long way just to get to SeaWorld and it is not that expensive. The down side to leaflets is that it is often seen as junk and discarded, so it has a low success rate and you would need to find someone to hand them out or put them in letterboxes this means they need to pay that person as well. Another way that is cheap and affordable is advertising in the local newspaper, this would reach a wide local audience and there is only the cost of publishing it in the newspaper. The size of the advert can be adjusted so that it fits the budget of the seafood shop, but to get a large sized advert that is well designed it may be expensive. Another promotion that is totally free, very reliable and trustworthy is customer word-of-mouth recommendation; this is when customers recommend the shop to family and friends. When it is recommended by family and friends people trust that it is a good shop and go there, but it is the customers choice to do it and you cannot control it. You can aid this by providing excellent customer service, good value for money and good standard of food. A good thing to advertise is offers like buy one get one half price or tokens on newspaper or leaflets that have good offers which they can claim. Offers for a meal are actually cheaper than buying them all individually so it encourages customers to buy more and they would chose a place that has offers on food to one that does not. Loyalty cards are also a good incentive to get new customers and keep existing customers to come back for more and this would increase sales because a certain number of purchases would get them a reward, which is normally more food. Frequent customers would feel angry that they do not get discounts or complimentary food. Survey of worker We did a questionnaire on the worker about the Seafood shop, and working conditions and he seems to be very positive about working there, but from how he spoke we realised that he was being bias so we cannot really trust everything that he said. He said that it was a good environment to work in and that the working conditions were good. The environment would be good because it would be busy. The workers seem happy and motivated therefore I would expect the customer service to be good as well and the food to be of a good standard. I asked what kinds of fringe benefits or monetary benefits they get but it seemed that he did not get any. The staff cannot be kept well motivated for long without any benefits. The owners can make the staff more motivated by giving monetary benefits at first and then fringe benefits. At first they would find that money is what they need and will be motivated when money is at the other end and it will be cheaper to give small monetary benefits than fringe benefits. When the business grows it can afford fringe benefits and the workers need benefits other than money to motivate them. The easiest fringe benefit could be a discount on the food in the fish and chip shop, or free lunch for the workers. To keep them well motivated there needs to be a better fringe benefit that they will get for working well or achieving a target number of sales.

Life Cycle Analysis Of Paper Production Environmental Sciences Essay

Life Cycle Analysis Of Paper Production Environmental Sciences Essay During the typical life of a product, it will progress through 5 stages . At each stage there is interaction with the environment. In many cases the material processing and manufacture will occur in the same factory. The interaction between the product and the environment can be direct or indirect. For example, the pulping of the wood into paper will release emissions that are directly related to the paper. On the other hand, the transport of the paper will have an environmental impact from the emissions of the vehicle however this emission does not come directly from the paper. A Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) takes these emissions into account as well as other environmental impacts such as the destruction of habitat and can be used to quantify the environmental impact of a product from its original raw materials to its eventual fate (cradle to grave). The whole life cycle has to be considered, as the environmental impacts of different products will be greater at different parts of the c ycle. For example, paper will have a bigger environmental impact during the material extraction and material processing stages than it will for the use stage of its life cycle. However, an electrical item such as a washing machine will cause most of its environmental impact during its use stage because of its consumption of electricity, the majority of which are generated by the burning of fossil fuels. The life cycle must also consider the potential for the product to be recycled, remanufactured and reused. Reusing obviously has the lowest environmental impact as it requires less energy to convert the useless product into a usable product again. life cycle.gif Figure 1: The product life cycle showing the five phases and the potential to recycle, remanufacture and reuse products (Tarr, c. 2007) Paper is an essential product that the modern world relies upon. It is a highly functional product and is used to fulfil a variety of functions. It can be manufactured into many practical goods, with varying properties. It may be combustible or be made fire-resistant. It may be a carrier or a barrier or a filter. It may be tough enough to withstand acid or soft enough for a babyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s skin (Confederation of Paper Industries, 2010). Paper is a multipurpose commodity that can be used utilized to do anything from being printed on to deliver daily news to the masses, to create bank notes or even to make air and oil filters for cars. The worldwide consumption of paper in 2007 was about 300 million metric Tons (PaperOnWeb, c.2007). An LCA is a way of linking the inputs and outputs of any product to the environment and provides an insight into possible solutions to lower the environmental impacts of that product. A typical paper production process and each stageà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s environmental impact are shown in figure 2 (below). recycling paper.jpg Figure 2: shows the stages in the life cycle of paper: the logging of wood in the forest and the environmental impact of this, its conversion to fibres, the processing of the fibres to make paper, the distribution of this paper to the consumers, the collection of waste paper, after which it is either recycled back into paper fibres or it is removed from the cycle and sent to incineration or landfill. Adapted from (Axel Springer, 1998) The paper industry uses a great deal resources and as waste paper is continually removed from the process, the paper industry is only viable if fresh fibres are constantly added. This means that trees have to be persistently cut down and removed from forests. This could lead to unwanted climate change due to their being less trees to absorb the CO2 and from the emissions from the manufacturing process and from the vehicles that are transporting the raw material. This wood could also have been used to generate energy, so removing it to create paper could lead to energy depletion. The trees used to produce paper should only be purchased from companies that will ensure that the trees are harvested and grown in a sustainable manner, as deforestation of local forests is unacceptable. If the trees were not harvested in a sustainable manner, and the trees were removed and not replaced the soil that would normally be held in place between the trees could be washed away when there is rainfall . During periods of exposure to the sun the soil would be dried out and the nutrients would be removed from it. This soil erosion would cause the land to become useless. Non-sustainable management of the forests will cause a disruption of the water cycle reducing the biodiversity of the forest. The paper industry is a very energy intensive one so carrying out an LCA on paper would allow us to see how much damage is being done to the environment by the paper industry. If the LCA shows that the paper industry is causing a significant environmental impact, it could cause a campaign for conservation. Goals The goals of this LCA were to assess environmental impacts of paper produced in Portugal, which is mainly exported and consumed in Germany, in order to discover what processes contribute the most to the environmental impacts. The environmental impacts being considered are the global warming over 100 years, acidification, eutrophication, non-renewable resource depletion and photochemical oxidant formation. The secondary aim of this LCA is to compare the environmental impacts of paper production, if the market was changed from German market to the Portuguese market. Limitations The LCA is limited by a few factors; firstly there is no data on the effectiveness of CO2 sequestration, so it was assumed that the CO2 released from renewable energy sources balanced the CO2 absorbed by forest growth. Secondly, even though fibres are recycled it is not clear how many times the original fibres can be recycled before they are too short to form a decent product, so it has been assumed that the paper is recycled 4 times at most before being sent to landfill or being incinerated. Thirdly, the materials that were present in less than 1% (in mass) in 1 tonne of paper of 80 g/m2 were ignored. Finally, the construction and maintenance of equipment, machinery and buildings were not included in the LCA. Inventory Analysis The first stage of an LCA is to carry out an inventory analysis. Here the overall life cycle of paper and the inputs required to make it are split up into smaller sections which are then broken down into individual processes and outputs which can be analysed. The life cycle was split into; forestry, paper production, distribution, final disposal in Germany and final disposal in Portugal. This is shown in figure 3 (below). Input: Raw Materials: Wood, Water and Chemicals Energy: Coal, Diesel and Electricity Forestry Paper production Distribution Final Disposal Germany: Landfilling 17% Incineration 8% Recycling 75% Final Disposal Portugal: Landfilling 53% Incineration 18% Recycling 25% Composting 4% Output: Usable Products Paper By-products e.g. wood for domestic purposes Output: Environmental Impacts Airborne Emissions Water Effluents Solid Wastes Figure 3: A diagram showing how the life cycle of paper was split into forestry, paper production, distribution, final disposal in Germany and final disposal in Portugal and how the inputs and output interact with each stage. Each stage was now separated into individual processes so that an inventory analysis could be carried out. This is summarised in figure 4 (below), which shows all the materials used and links them to the processes that occur. Stages Processes Forestry E. globulus forest Pine forest Paper Production Pulp production Chemical production Energy production in the grid Transport of wood to the pulp mills then to the paper mill Transport of chemicals Paper Distribution Transport of paper to Germany Paper distribution in Germany Paper distribution in Portugal Final Disposal in Germany Landfilling Incineration Recycling Energy production in the grid Transport of wastepaper from the user to the several disposal alternatives Final Disposal in Portugal Landfilling Incineration Composting Recycling Energy production in the grid Transport of wastepaper from the user to the several disposal alternatives Figure 4: A table of the processes involved at each stage of the paper life cycle, adapted from (Dias et al., 2007) To complete the inventory assessment data on the growth and harvesting of forests in Portugal would have to be found. It would also have to be known whether the paper mills in Portugal import trees from Scandinavia, as this would then change the size of the emissions generated from transporting the raw material to the paper mills. However, as the raw material is coming from Scandinavia there is a possibility that the emissions could be lower because the average emissions of CO2 from an articulated lorry carrying a load of 40 tonnes is 2.68 kg of CO2 per litre/km, where as a the emissions from a ship carrying the same amount of material would only be 0.4 kg of CO2 per litre/km (Davies, 2003). This means the material brought in by shipping can come from nearly 7 times the distance that it can if it is brought by road and still only have the same amount of overall emissions. A disadvantage of shipping raw material to Portugal is that the trees will still need to be transported from the port to the paper mill. This would not generate a significant amount more of emissions if the paper mill was located near a port. However, if the paper mill is located far from the port, the environmental impacts of transport will increase. The amount of pulp produced and the emissions that producing the paper pulp release would also have to be found. If the pulp is bleached to make it whiter, then there will be additional emissions with respect to wastewater. The paper making process is a very energy intensive one, so data would have to be found on the energy requirements of the paper making machinery and equipment. If the paper mill used some of its useful by-products to generate its own electricity, this would also have to be taken into account, as it may reduce the emissions generated by the plant as it will require less energy from non-renewable sources. However, it could cause an increase in the amount of particulate matter dispersed in the air from the paper mill. The environmental impact from the transport and distribution of the paper would have to be considered. As the paper is distributed in both Portugal and Germany, the environmental impacts of the distances involved in the distribution would have to be accounted for. The average distance for paper distribution in Portugal could be considered to be 200 km, for Germany this could be considered to be 2700 km. The environmental impacts of the final disposal of the paper in both Portugal and Germany have to be considered, as the policy for dealing with paper waste varies with country. In Germany, it is deemed that 5.8% of the paper produced is retained as archives. Seventy five percent of the paper that is discarded in Germany is recycled, 17% is landfilled and 8% is incinerated (Dias et al., 2007). In Portugal again it is assumed that 5.8% of the paper produced is retained as archives. Of the paper that is discarded 53% is landfilled, 25% is recycled, 18% is incinerated and 4% is composted (Dias et al., 2007). Using this information the environmental impacts of landfilling, incineration, composting and recycling could be calculated. The environmental impacts of the transport required to transfer the used paper to the recycling facilities would need to be determined in order to gain a more accurate representation of the environmental impact of the paper making process. Impact Assessment The impact assessment gauges the damage that will be done to the environment by the paper making process. The categories that could be considered are global warming over 100 years (GW), acidification (A), eutrophication (E), non-renewable resource depletion (NRRD), and photochemical oxidant formation (POF) (Dias et al., 2007). Figure 5 (below) shows the impact categories and factors that affect them. The factors that affect the impact categories are non-renewable CO2, CH4, NO2, emissions that are generated from renewable and non-renewable energy consumption, as well as chemical oxygen demand (COD) and adsorbable organic halogens (AOX). impacts of paper.png Figure 5: A table showing the impact categories and the parameters that affect each category (Dias et al., 2007) Using these weighting factors and the data collected in Dias et al. (2007), both an inventory analysis and an impact assessment were carried out. Each graph shows the analysis for both the German market and the analysis if the paper was to only be sold to the Portuguese market. Figure 6 (below) shows the results of the inventory analysis. Figure 7 (below) shows the results of the impact assessment. The negative values for various categories and stages of the life cycle reflect the parts of the process which have beneficial environmental impacts. Figure 6: A graph showing the results of the inventory analysis (G = German market, P = Portuguese market). The FU is the functional unit, which in this study is 1 tonne of paper (Dias et al., 2007). Inventory analysis results The area of the paper life cycle that uses the largest amount of renewable energy is the pulp production. However, the negative contribution is larger for Germany as more of the waste paper is recycled in Germany than in Portugal. This shows that the production of paper from recycled fibres consumes much less energy than the production of paper from fresh fibres. The majority of the non-renewable energy is consumed by the paper making process. The amount of non-renewable energy consumed by paper distribution is also greater for Germany than it is for Portugal due to the fact that the paper mills are located in Portugal so the paper has a large distance to travel before it is distributed throughout Germany. The non-renewable CO2 emissions are in similar proportions to the non-renewable energy consumption meaning that the paper production is the major contributor to non-renewable CO2 emissions. The paper production and distribution are the main sources of NOx emissions due to the energ y used from the national grid and the transportation of the paper. The SO2 emissions are mainly caused by the paper production stage of the life cycle, due to the energy production. On-site energy production provides a small negative contribution for NOx and SO2 emissions in Germany. The pulp production of the paper making process causes the largest contribution to COD emissions; however by recycling paper the final disposal stage can provide a slight negative contribution. Due to the chemicals used in the bleaching process of the pulping stage the AOX emissions are mainly created from the pulp production. Again from recycling the paper the final disposal stage can provide a negative input. Figure 7: A graph showing the results of the impact assessment (G = German market, P = Portuguese market) (Dias et al., 2007) Impact Assessment The most significant contributor to global warming in Germany is the paper production due to the high non-renewable energy usage and CO2 emissions. However in Portugal it is the final disposal that has the largest impact on global warming, as most of the paper waste goes to landfill which produces a lot of methane. As the paper production requires energy which produces high SO2 emissions, it is this part of the process that contributes most to acidification. The high COD and NOx emissions mean that the pulp production stage is the greatest contributor to eutrophication. A large portion of the eutrophication potential is down to the NOx emissions released due to the paper production stage. The electricity used during the paper production stage is the main contributor to the non-renewable resource depletion. Recycling the paper provides a positive impact to acidification and eutrophication, due to less material being sent to landfill and so fewer trees have to be removed from the forests. The amount of acidification, eutrophication and non-renewable resource depletion is greater for paper distribution in Germany due to the fact that the paper mills are located in Portugal so the paper has further to travel before it is distributed throughout Germany. The disposal of paper into landfill causes the release of CH4 which is a major contributor to photochemical oxidant formation. As Portugal sends more if its waste to landfill the impact of POF is greater. Conclusions The inventory analysis shows that Portugal consumes a larger amount of renewable energy and has higher emissions of SO2, COD, and AOX than Germany, this is due to the larger amount of paper sent to landfill. Therefore to change from the German market to the Portuguese market is less environmentally beneficial. However, the impact assessment shows that the acidification, eutrophication and NRRD are smaller for the Portuguese market due to the reduced transport required to distribute the paper. The pulp and paper production stages are major contributors to all the categories and environmental impacts due to the large energy requirements that are satisfied by both on-site energy production and consumption of electricity from the grid. From carrying out this LCA it has become apparent that the forestry stage does not provide any significant environmental impacts. Paper consumption in Germany is more damaging environmentally in categories in which the paper distribution stage has a consid erable input due to the large distance that has to be covered in order to distribute the paper. However, due to the smaller amount of recycling that occurs in Portugal, the global warming potential and photochemical oxidant formation are greater. This LCA has shown that the best area of the life cycle of paper to approach in order to reduce the environmental impact of paper manufacture is the pulp and paper production stages. The environmental impact could be reduced by more efficient treatment of flue gases and liquid effluents.

Pathophysiology of Meningitis and Encephalitis Essay -- Biology Medica

Pathophysiology of Meningitis and Encephalitis Meningitis and encephalitis are two similar infections of the central nervous system that often lead to fatality of the host organism. Both diseases occur when pathogens enter the blood stream and gain access into the central nervous system. Stimulating inflammation within the cranial cavity, the pathogens continue to multiply and take harmful effects on the host. Inflammation, the body’s response to infection, ultimately causes all of the symptoms and complications of meningitis and encephalitis. The pathophysiology of meningitis and encephalitis aids in the explanation and understanding of the symptoms, effects, and underlying agendas of the two infections. Meningitis is the inflammation of the meninges, membranes that encase the brain and spinal cord. Although meningitis can result from protozoal or fungal infections, bacteria and viruses typically cause the often fatal disease. Known for its sudden onset of flu-like symptoms, the infection rapidly progresses into an agonizing cascade of high fever, chills, nausea, vomiting, light sensitivity, purpura (dark discolorations of the skin caused by bleeding beneath the skin), and possibly seizures. In severe cases of meningitis, limbs or extremities must be amputated due to the appearance of purpura. Viral meningitis, the most common form of the disease, often resolves itself without treatment within a few days. However, bacterial meningitis, somewhat rare in the United States but rampant in West Africa, requires immediate attention in order to prevent fatality. The bacteria that cause meningitis include Streptococcus pneumoniae, Neisseria meningitidis, Streptococcus agalactiae, and Listeria monocytogenes. The severity of the body’... ...ia Britannica Online. 20 July 2006 . â€Å"Meningitis.† Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia. 20 July 2006. MediaWiki. 21 July 2006 . Patel, Mahesh R. â€Å"Herpes Encephalitis.† E Medicine. 2006. Health on the Net Foundation. 24 July 2006 . Phillips, Elizabeth J. and Andrew E. Simor. â€Å"Bacterial Meningitis in Children and Adults.† Postgraduate Medicine Online. 1998. 23 July 2006 . â€Å"Photobia.† Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia. 20 July 2006. MediaWiki. 21 July 2006 . Sande, Merle A., Arnold L. Smith, and Richard K. Root. Bacterial Meningitis. New York: Churchill Livingstone, 1985. 6 â€Å"Viral Encephalitis.† Better Health Channel. 2005. State Government Victoria. 23 July 2006 . 7

Adam in Miltons Paradise Lost Essay -- John Milton

Adam in "Paradise Lost": Fate's Ruler - and Subject A central problem in John Milton's "Paradise Lost" in the theological issue of free will versus fate, a traditionally much-debated question. Free will is the condition of having control or direction over fate or destiny; the individual shapes his life and future through his actions. The opposing view, complete lack of free will (made famous by John Calvin), is predestination, which expresses the idea that our futures have been foreseen long before our existences, so our actions are preordained, and our paths chosen for us. Milton's presentation of the character Adam wrestles with these ideas around free will throughout Paradise Lost; while he does in fact eat the apple of his own accord, the episode is foreseen by God, in advance. In this epic poem, Milton asserts that man, through Adam's example, exercises free will; but in doing so, he exposes contradiction, makes some absorbing inquiries and asks some engrossing questions. A cursory history of both views would be beneficial here. John Calvin, the famed apologist of predestination, defines it in this way: In conformity, therefore, to the clear doctrine of the Scripture, we assert, that by an eternal and immutable counsel, God has once for all determined, both whom he would admit to salvation, and whom he would condemn to destruction. We affirm that this counsel, as far as concerns the elect, is founded on his gratuitous mercy, totally irrespective of human merit; but that to those whom he devotes to condemnation, the gate of life is closed by a just and irreprehensible, but incomprehensible, judgment. In the elect, we consider calling as an evidence of election, and justification as another token of it... ...eversed in a moment of free will; else there is a paradox here that is unreconcilable: how can people both have free will and not have it, simultaneously? In "Paradise Lost", John Milton attacks the theme of free will versus predestination through the actions of Adam, the first man. Adam's actions are unclear -- thus he has free will to act on his own -- but at the same time he is governed by an overriding God who can see past, present, and future. Adam is both the subject and ruler of his fate, in a unique contradiction cleverly set up and expressed by Milton. The writing surrounding Adam evidence Milton's essential believe in free will, but also display his thoughtful treatment of the situation. In the epic poem "Paradise Lost", John Milton carefully weighs the two ideas of predestination and free will against each other, with profound and fascinating results.

Why Did We Drop the Bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki? :: Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Why did we drop the bomb on Hiroshima? There are lots of arguments for and against dropping the bomb’s on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Since the day that that monumental event took place people have debated whether the U.S.A. should have drooped the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Opinions on whether it was right or wrong differ, an absolutist might say that you are killing so it is wrong. But and a relativist would say that in the long run you would be saving thousands of lives both civilian and military. Is that not what all military leaders strive for? But was it fair to pick a civilian target? Is war between soldiers of a nation or the nations them selves? How you answer these questions dictates what you opinion on this controversial subject is. Why did president Truman drop the bomb and was he right to drop it where he did? Why should the U.S.A. have dropped the bomb? With the end to the Japanese role in the war it would effectively bring the war to an end. After pearl harbour the Americans had been humiliated. The government and the people wanted to see someone pay for the tremendous loss of life in that fateful attack. The bombs where the perfect way to get their own back for that incident at Pearl Harbour and show the world that they were boss and should not be challenged or the consequences would be devastating. It spelled out America’s start of the new dominant military power over every other nation. No one would ever challenge America after they had seen what they where destructive power they were capable of. It would also bring an end to the U.S.A’s war with Japan. There is also the fact that the Americans had spent millions of dollars to build the bomb. If they did not use it the public would question whether they should pay tax for something like this to be build and never use it. The public unless shown that it was needed would loose faith in their government's choice of spending. But even after The U.S.A. had inflected such a terrible curse On the people of Hiroshima, they droped a second bomb on another Civilians Area with Just as much horror as the first. Inflicting the same death and destruction on thousands more. The second bomb showed that the USA was prepared to continue using such force if the Japanese did not surrender and admit defeat.

Amusing Ourselves to Death Synthesis essay Essay

Synthesis Essay If a question was asked, any question, today’s automatic answer is to find the solution through technology. We’ve grown dependant on the ticking of clocks, the virtual world of the internet, and the convenience of our phones. A difficult concept for us to grasp, however, is merely thirty years ago most of these did not existed. So how has this affected our minds? Have we turned our brains into a living computer, or are we so dependent on outside answers that we’ve ceased thinking for ourselves? In today’s society we’ve entered a state of ignorant bliss about how little knowledge and wisdom we truly hold. Neil Postman (1984), the author of â€Å"Amusing Ourselves to Death† and an educator, tackled the now apparent fact that unlike George Orwell’s prediction that our rights to thinking would be ripped away, Aldous Huxley’s prediction that we will gladly hand them away voluntarily has become more and more true. Both Orwell and Huxl ey are English authors. (Postman, 1984) We allow our information to be fed to us by the television which trivializes it, and the internet which blends opinion and fact together so intricately that it is intermixed beyond comprehension. Yet we process this information, we build our thoughts and opinions around what the other misinformed populous insists is fact. But we are aware of the lies and incomplete facts out there, so when the truth does come out, it is unrecognizable. Nicholas Carr (2008) wonders of our ability to separate how we think and how a computer processes input in his article â€Å"Is Google Making Us Stupid?† He complains of a recent inability to pay attention to books for long periods of time. He blames this on receiving his information online in quick snippets, and reading novels has become a chore to him. Carr mentions Lewis Mumford, a cultural critic, who speaks of the invention of the clock. He degrades the clock, saying â€Å"In deciding when to eat, to work, to sleep, to rise, we stopped listening to our senses and started obeying the clock.† (Carr, 2008, p. 4) Is it true that we’ve handed over not only our minds, but our bodies to technology? We are becoming slaves to o thers to feed us the information we search, and to tell us how and when to do what instinct and Mother Nature had guided us to do for hundreds of thousands of years. And we’re paying the price. For thousands of years we’ve read and written books, which helped pass down wisdom to younger generations. Books created worlds we’ve never seen, they questioned our philosophical purpose, and they  answered it. From manuals to stories, books have been handed down as a collection of knowledge; but for the first time in millennia we’re raising entire generations who have never read a novel, short story or even a poem. David McCullough (2008), author of â€Å"The Love of Learning† defines for us the difference between facts and wisdom. Data is irrelevant until we have made the judgment to make it important and learn from it. We cannot memorize facts and call ourselves learned; we must look a layer deeper and find what the facts mean to us. â€Å"Learning is acquired mainly from books, and most readily from great books.† (McCullough, 2008, p. 2) Without books we are only being fed data, numbers and words without any true meaning. (McCullough, 2008) Our ability to understand and think about problems creates an ability to understand beyond the ordinary and think c omplexly on a situation. When told the rate of a bowling ball’s fall, and the opposing force of air fighting against gravity, we can think about this and then ask something that never came up, â€Å"Why did we drop the bowling ball? Will a ten pound fall faster than an eight pound bowling ball? And what if the ball were square?† Science is built on this foundation of thought, and with our technologies answering our questions – people have stopped asking the questions all together. In the article â€Å"O Americano, Outra Vez!† written by Richard P. Feynman, an American scientist and educator, the consequences of learning but never understanding concepts was made clear. In Brazil they taught physics as young as elementary school, however not a single student taught by Feynman in Brazil seemed to be able to comprehend what the words meant beyond just data. (Feynman, 1985) This inability to have opinions and questions over facts we learn impedes our ability to really understand what we learn. Because of the convenience of information today we’ve stopped asking if this needs verification. We’ve become lazy in our advancement, and expect that sort of work and authentication to be done by someone who we may say is â€Å"smarter than I†. What today’s society doesn’t seem to understand is that this attitude has stunted our growth as the human race, and we are reaching a stalemate of blissful ignorance, much as Huxley predicted. But this is not to say technology is the sole root of our decreasing intelligence. The blame lies namely in our attitude towards the world of information that lies in our gadgets. Rather than utilizing this sort of resource as a layer of foundation to go beyond in discovery in a way that  was impossible before, we let the endless array of data sit there only to be utilized at our discretion, which is not often. This state of unintelligence is not incurable, and perhaps turning to the root of knowledge and wisdom that has accumulated over our history, otherwise known as books, can turn around our ability to simply think . A book has the amazing capability to let us read in between the lines, and gives us the ability to absorb information much more efficiently than this â€Å"skimming† we find ourselves doing when facing screens. We engage our minds when reading a book, and discover new ideas in every novel, short story and poem. And maybe all we need is to reawaken this amazing brain power we have long forgotten to use the information our technology hands us to the best of our ability. Our brain retains a wonderful ability to maintain enormous amount of information, and however much knowledge we may lack we can always remedy this by settling down with a good book. While our computers, phones, and television and provide an almost endless stream of pure data to us, we must learn how to properly utilize this information to the best of our benefit. We can choose to think logically with the knowledge handed to us, and to continue our growth. The world can carry on its advancements to improve the lives of all that inhabit it, but only if the individual continues progressing. William J. Perry, Jr. (1970) said it best in his article â€Å"Examsmanship and the Liberal Arts† when he defined the words bull and cow. Bull is information that has relevancies but have minimal to no data to back it up, and cow has data but no relevancies. (Perry, 1970) Our technology is full of cow, and our minds are full of bull. Once we can find a way to combine these forces, we will never stop progressing. Perry (1970) summed the dangers of a chronic â€Å"cow†, â€Å"These are delicate matters. As for cow, its complexities are not what need concern us. Unlike good bull, it does not represent partial knowledge at all. It belongs to a different theory of knowledge entirely. In our theories of knowledge it represents total ignorance, or worse yet, a knowledge downright inimical to understanding. I even go so far as to propose that w e award no more C’s for cow. To do so is rarely, I feel, the act of mercy it seems. Mercy lies in clarity.† (p. 8) Perry is arguing we must first become aware of and recognizing cow, and to correct it upon sight. This requires we learn to learn, which means we should delve our minds into books and others personal wisdom and experience. In only this  method can we expand our own minds and become aware of cow, or bull, and teach ourselves to think beyond what is given to us. We learn to analyze and experiment, and in this manner we can progress into a better future – not only for ourselves, but for future generations. WORK CITED Carr, Nicholas. (2008). Is Google Making Us Stupid? [PDF document]. Retrieved from: https://byui.brainhoney.com/Frame/Component/CoursePlayer?enrollmentid=1491373 Feynman, Richard. (1985). O Americano, Outra Vez! [PDF document]. Retrieved from: https://byui.brainhoney.com/Frame/Component/CoursePlayer?enrollmentid=1491373 McCullough, David. (2008). The Love of Learning [PDF document]. Retrieved from: https://byui.brainhoney.com/Frame/Component/CoursePlayer?enrollmentid=1491373 Perry, William. (1970). Examsmanship and the Liberal Arts [PDF document]. Retrieved from https://byui.brainhoney.com/Frame/Component/CoursePlayer?enrollmentid=1491373 Postman, Neil. (1984). Amusing Ourselves to Death [PDF document]. Retrieved from https://byui.brainhoney.com/Frame/Component/CoursePlayer?enrollmentid=1491373

Integrity Essay

Morals reflect both the being you strive to become and the individual you truly are. The value morals hold in both society and our own minds are vastly immoderate. The degree to which we hold ourselves to our own moral determines our integrity. An adherence to a code of moral or artistic values, incorruptibility, is what’s known as integrity. A lack of integrity is often recalled far longer than actions within integral standings. Both John Proctor, from The Crucible, and Ed Murrow, of Good Night, and Good Luck, share this admirable trait to a great extent. I look for a lot of things in people before I fully bring them into my life. Those whose decisions have a kind of inner uniformity and integrity that makes them morally unassailable, those who I can trust. I want to associate myself with a person who I know would never betray me and always do what’s right, because if not your word than what have you? I define integrity as holding true to your own beliefs and standards. Living your life in a way that makes you proud or content is crucial, as John and Ed lived. The Crucible showed a large variation of characters with an even more significant variant of personalities. John Proctor was accused of witchcraft after a cruel manhunt plagued with lies and deception. His integrity was highlighted throughout the play, for example, when he confessed to the sin of adultery to save his wife. In another instance, John agrees to save his life and confess to witchcraft by post his name on the church, but when it comes to it, he cannot, â€Å"Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my whole life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies! Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of those who hang! How many may live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name!† (Miller 1166). His integrity could not allow him to sacrifice the identities of those close to him. He gave his existence to preserve the integrity he made for his name. John Proctor was a selfless man of pure integrity. Ed Murrow also shared those qualities. The film Good Night, and Good Luck tells the story of McCarthyism, Joseph McCarthy used the fear of communism to wrongly jail citizens. Ed Murrow is the host of Good Night, and Good Luck on CBS. He sees the wrong in McCarthy’s actions and decides to take a stand  and tell the public his view. His entire career is in jeopardy, even himself exposing the lies of his profession for justice, â€Å"We have currently a built-in allergy to unpleasant or disturbing information. Our mass media reflect this. But unless we get up off our fat surpluses and recognize that television in the main is being used to distract, delude, amuse, and insulate us, then television and those who finance it, those who look at it, and those who work at it, may see a totally different picture too late.† (Good Night, and Good Luck). Ed Murrow risked everything he had and put so much energy into doing what is right. He is a perfect image of integrity. Bothe John Proctor and Ed Murrow were sources of moral value and integrity. Integrity is doing what is right, what is honest and true, and that is exactly what they did. John and Ed are both people we should try to learn from and look up to.