Tender-Invitation to Treat-Contract Law

Contract Law Presented by Kerra Bazzey Contract Law Formation of a Contract Terms of a Contract Discharge of a Contract Remedies for Breach of a Contract Formation of a Valid and Enforceable Contract Offer Acceptance Consideration Intention to Create Legal Relations Privity of Contract Capacity to Contract Must not be illegal or contrary to public policy Formation of a Contract A contract is an agreement which creates legal rights and obligations between the parties to it. It is formed when the parties reach agreement on the essential features of the bargain.Offer – a statement made by a party which manifests an intention to be bound on precise terms. The person who makes an offer is known as the offeror or the promisor. The person to whom the promise is made is the offeree or the promisee. Bilateral contracts – most common form of contract – here there is an exchange of promises. Unilateral contracts – commonly known as an ‘if’ contract †“ here the promise is one-sided as the offeror alone makes a promise. Elements of an Offer (i) An offer can be made to an individual, a group of persons or to the public at large.An offer to the public at large can only be made where the contract is a unilateral one. (ii) An offer should not be vague. Where on the face of it an offer appears to be vague, but the parties have had prior dealings or are operating in a particular trade, then the courts will imply certain terms and conditions to conclude that a statement that initially appeared vague is in fact sufficiently certain. (iii) A response in request to clarification on price or a request for more information is not an offer. Elements of an Offer Consider the following exchange: – H: â€Å"Will you sell us your farm called Bumper Hall Pen? Fax me the lowest price†? F: â€Å"Lowest price for Bumper Hall Pen is $1,200,000. 00†. -H: â€Å"We agree to buy Bumper Hall Pen for $1,200,000. 00 asked by you†. – F never replied to this. H argued there was a valid contract. -The court held that F’s statement was not an offer. – It was merely a response to a request for information which showed the lowest price that F would have been prepared to charge in the event that he chose to sell the Bumper Hall Pen. – H’s last communication could therefore not be regarded as an acceptance. Elements of an Offer (iv) If a person declares that he intends to so something, that statement of intention is not an offer.If someone acts based on what was declared, and the person who made the declaration does not carry out the act he stated he would, but the person who acted based on what was said suffers a loss, the person who suffered the loss cannot bring an action against the person who made the declaration. This is because there was never any offer so there was nothing to be accepted. Consider the following case: – An auctioneer advertised in the newspaper that he would be holding a sale of office furniture. – A broker commissioned to buy office furniture travelled from far to attend the sale but all the furniture was withdrawn. The broker sued the auctioneer for his loss of time and expenses. – Can he recover for his loss of time and expenses? – No. – The court would hold that an intention to do something does not constitute an offer geared towards create a binding contract. Invitations to Treat Invitation to Treat An offer must be distinguished from an invitation to treat. An invitation to treat is an invitation to someone else to make an offer. It is not an offer because there is no intention to be legally bound. It is an invitation to negotiate. There are 4 categories of invitations to treat – advertisements in a newspaper display of goods on a shelf – auction sales – invitations to tender Invitation to Treat Advertisements As a general rule, an advertisement in a newspaper is not an of fer. It is an attempt to induce offers. This general rule is displaced where the advertiser by his word or conduct shows a clear intention to be bound, as is often the case in the unilateral contract. Display of Goods on a Shelf A store owner who displays goods on a shelf with the price attached does not make an offer. He is merely inviting the public to make an offer to buy the goods at the price stated. Auction SaleThe general rule is that in an auction sale, when the auctioneer invites bids, this is not an offer but an invitation to treat. When the bidder responds with a bid, he is in fact making an offer and the auctioneer is then free to accept or reject this. Invitation to Treat Invitation to Tender Generally a request to tender will be considered as an invitation to treat. Any tender document which is submitted in response to this request is an offer and the invitee of the tender is then free to accept whichever offer he chooses. Termination of an Offer (i) Revocation or with drawal of an offer by the offeror (ii) Counter offer (iii)Lapse of time (iv) Death (v) Non-fulfilment of a condition precedent Termination of an Offer (i) Revocation – A revocation is a withdrawal of an offer. An offer can be revoked at any time before it is accepted because there is no binding contract before acceptance. An offer cannot be revoked after it has been accepted. A revocation must be communicated to the offeree to be effective. If it is not, and the offeree accepts, there will be a contract. Termination of an Offer Consider the following: By letter dated 1st October, A offered to sell goods to B. – B received the offer on 11th October and immediately accepted by fax. Prior to that, on 8th October A wrote a letter revoking the offer. He mailed this and B received it on 20th October. – Is there a contract? – Yes. The court would hold that the revocation came too late and was not effective until it had reached B. A contract was made when B faxed his acceptance. Termination of an Offer The revocation does not have to be communicated to the offeree by the offeror himself. It is enough if the offeree learns of the revocation from a source which he believes to be reliable. A mere request for additional information does not destroy an offer. Consider the following example:A offered to sell B goods at $100,000 per ton and stated that the offer would remain open until Monday. – Early on Monday B telephoned A and asked him to indicate whether he would accept ‘$100,000 per ton for delivery over two months or if not, the longest limit he would give. In other words, he was asking whether he could buy the goods on credit. Termination of an Offer – A did not respond. – On Monday afternoon B contacted A to accept the offer and found out that A had sold the goods to a third party. – Was there is breach of contract? – Yes. – The enquiry was not a counter offer but a request for further infor mation.A’s offer had not been terminated. Termination of an Offer Counter Offer Lapse of Time Where an offer is stated to be open for a specified time only, once that time expires and the other party has not responded, then the offer automatically ends. If no time is stipulated, the offer may lapse after a reasonable time. Death Where the offeror dies before the offer is accepted by the offeree, the offer is terminated. If the offer is accepted before the offeror dies, it may be enforceable against the estate if it is not of a personal nature. Elements of a Valid Acceptance AcceptanceA contract can only exist when there is consensus ad idem, that is, a meeting of the minds. This is where the acceptance merges with the offer. An offeror can prescribe that the acceptance must occur in a particular manner, eg by post or hand delivered or by telephone. An acceptance to an offer is only effective if it is communicated to and received by the offeror. If something impacts upon the a bility of the offeror to receive word of the acceptance, for example, because of interference on the phone line or because the offeree is unable to speak clearly, then there is no contract.Elements of a Valid Acceptance Silence does not amount to acceptance. Consider the following example. B placed a house with an auctioneer to find a buyer. Subsequently A began to negotiate directly with B for the purchase of the house. The only outstanding matter was the question of the price. A stated â€Å"if I do not hear from you I shall assume that the house is mine at $X. † When B heard this he told the auctioneer not to sell the house. In error, the auctioneer sold it to another person. A sued in conversion (a tort alleging wrongful disposal of property).Although B’s actions suggested that he was in effect accepting B’s offer, the court held that there was no contract because he never communicated this acceptance to A. His silence did not amount to acceptance. There was therefore no contract. Elements of a Valid Acceptance An acceptance of an offer must be absolute and unqualified. If it does not accept all the terms of the contract as originally set out, it will be a rejection of the offer. Where the offeree introduces a new term which the offeror never mentioned he introduces a counter offer.A counter offer effectively puts an end to the original offer and it cannot be accepted later. Example – A offers to sell a house to B for $1,800,000. 00. B asks A whether he will accept $1,500,000. This request by B is a counter offer which has effectively brought the original offer to an end. There is therefore nothing open for B to accept and A is free to sell to a 3rd party. Acceptance When a counter offer is accepted then its terms and not the terms of the original offer become the terms of the contract. Example B and M agreed to enter into a formal contract after a series of negotiations.M sent the terms of the contract to B for signature. B sig ned the agreement but amended it by inserting the name of an arbitrator who would be used to settle any disputes. The contract was never formally executed but each party acted in accordance with the agreed terms. When a dispute arose under the contract, B sought to argue that there was no binding contract. The court held that the insertion of the name of the arbitrator was in fact a counter offer. Once M took delivery of goods in accordance with the terms of the contract, its conduct amounted to an acceptance of the counter offer. Acceptance Subject to Contract’ means that the parties do not intend to bind themselves until a formal document has been drafted and signed. The effect is no rights or legal obligations are imposed on either party. Acceptance The Postal Rule A distinction is drawn between an acceptance through instantaneous means and one in a contract by post. The post office rule constitutes the post office as an agent of the offeror. It states that when an accepta nce is placed under the lawful control of the post office, it is effective even without actual physical delivery to the offeror. The postal rule applies to acceptance only and not to offers.Acceptance Consider the following example: A posted an offer to B on 2nd September. That letter contained a clause which stated that A expected a response by the post. The letter was incorrectly addressed and reached B on the 5th September. B sent off a letter at once agreeing to all the terms contained in the offer. On the 8th September, A not having heard from B, sold the item to a third party. Was there a breach of contract? Yes, because a contract had been completed on the 5th September when B posted the letter of acceptance. The post office was the agent of A, the offeror and had received the acceptance on his behalf.

Fiscal Administration

Local fiscal administration refers to systems, structures, processes, resources, and the policy environment government the inter-governmental and inter-local fiscal relations, affecting, among others the following: o the giving of allotments and grants by the national government (NG) to local government units (LGUs); o sharing of taxing powers between the NG and the LGUs, and among LGUs units; o policy on tax rates and structure; o revenue and expenditure planning; revenue and expenditure planning; o revenue utilization and expenditure allocation; o monitoring and approval of budgets, tax ordinances and other fiscal measures; o policy on borrowing and borrowing instruments; and o appointment and supervision of local fiscal officers. The trends in local fiscal administration are inadequacy of own-source revenue to finance basic and devolved functions and thus render LGUs dependent on transfers from the NG.Reliance on few local taxes, particularly the real property tax and business tax ; and uneven level of expenditures hence, unequal access to local public services. With regards to the inadequacy of lgus, the national government must assist lgus in making development strategies to maximize the resources available. In that way, lgus can somehow sustain themselves and become less dependent to national government.It must also help in attracting investors regardless if the leaders are opposition or administration. Lgus must not sole rely on few local taxes. It must encourage business to pay honestly the taxes and give credit to those who pay on time. Those who evade must be persecuted regardless if they are powerful individuals and has connecrtion to top officials. The national government must help in regulating taxes and help in catching the big fishes.

Corporate Management & Finance - Assignment 3 Essay

Corporate Management & Finance - Assignment 3 - Essay Example Carillion Company has also, in the past been involved in facility management, infrastructure and buildings management, and construction of major public infrastructures (Carillion, 2013). The objectives of the firms are qualitative and quantitative in nature due to the mission statements of the diverse firms. The current and future objectives of the three firms are relatively differentiated. The divergence of the firms current and future objectives are reflected by the measurement criteria employment by the firms. Even though the core objectives of the firms currently and future is to remain profitable and offer services and goods that are of high quality, the achievement of the objectives measurement of the firms differ relatively. The direction under which the three firms employ in achieving their operational objectives can be considered to be different. Corporate social responsibility is one of the main objectives of the firms in undertaking their operations. The corporate social responsibilities of the firms are the reflected in their vision and value statements to the public. Corporate social responsibilities have been adopted by the firms in helping them to connect with the market through positive reputation that is essential in promoting their operations positively. However, the f irms do not employ quantitative measures of the corporate social responsibility achievements. Another aspect of the three firms is their core and threshold competencies that enable the firms in operating in the firm. The core and threshold competencies of Carillion firm are based on three capabilities of project finance, support services and construction services (Carillion, 2013). Project finance core competency of the organization helps the firm in to deliver asset-based services to the public sector. This is essential in allowing the firm to be attractive to the public sector customer on construction capabilities. Construction

Is Freudian theory falsifiable (by Popper's criteria) Essay

Is Freudian theory falsifiable (by Popper's criteria) - Essay Example The matter is the fact that at those times there was a strong belief that works of these scientists are absolutely scientific. But Popper had different point of view. According to him Einstein’s theory was distinguished from theories of Freud, Adler and Marx due to its openness to be falsifiable, i.e. to criticism. Popper considered that Freud, Marx, and Adler gave some true and important issues, despite he thought their theories to be unscientific. In general our intellectual culture has been largely influenced by Popper’s criticism of Freudian theory and his castigation of inductivism. Thus, Frederick Crews, the literary critic states that Popper has proved his own denial of Freudian explanations and Peter Medawar, biologists, has approved both of Karl Popper’s complaints with gusto. In 1935 in the philosophical analysis of the scientific method Karl Popper represented his famous criterion of falsifiability, which is now considered to be an important concept of science as well as of philosophy of science. According to this criterion any theory, proposition or hypothesis can be considered â€Å"scientific† only when it is falsifiable. Thus, Popper’s criterion is necessary but not sufficient for evaluation of any ideas claiming to be scientific (Sokal, 1998). Any theory satisfies Popper’s criterion (i.e. it is falsifiable and therefore scientific) in the event that there is a methodological opportunity to refute it by setting one or another experiment, even if such an experiment has not yet been delivered. According to this criterion, a statement, or system of statements contain information about the empirical world only if it is able to come into collision with the experience, or more accurately - if it can be systematically checked, that is subjected to (according to some â€Å"methodological solutions†) checks, which may result in its denial. In other words, according to Popper's criterion, a scientific theory cannot be fundamentally unassailable. Thus, according to this doctrine, the problem of demarcation (i.e. separation of scientific knowledge from the unscientific) is solved. Popper called this unequal "power" and role in the verification of meaning and truth of scientific theories inherent in confirming and refuting factors â€Å"cognitive asymmetry†. Based on this â€Å"asymmetry† Popper proclaimed the replacement of the â€Å"principle of verification† (i.e. a positive or confirmed check), used by logical empiricists, with the principle of â€Å"falsification† (that is the principle of reliable denial). It means that the verification of scientific essence, and then of the truth of scientific theories must be carried out not through their confirmation, but mainly (or exclusively) through their denial. Popper's criterion requires that a theory or hypothesis should not be fundamentally unassailable. According to Popper a theory cannot be considered scient ific only on the grounds that there is one, several or infinitely many experiments, confirming it. Since almost any theory, formed on the basis of at least some of the experimental data, permits the conducting of a large number of supporting experiments, the existence of confirmation cannot be considered a token of scientific theory. According to Popper, theories differ with respect to the possibility of setting up an experiment able, at least in principle, give a

Plato Rebuplic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Plato Rebuplic - Essay Example Book II continues with the political definition of justice. According to him justice is an application in a state to keep her citizens doing harm to one another. As a state emerges out of the needs of human being, it is also to be included with a state. The responsibilities of a state are described in details in Book III. Socrates never consents to include poetry in education because poetry misleads human being. Socrates allows only literature in people’s education. Then he suggests that education should include gymnasium. In Book IV Socrates describes, as the sole target of the State is to ensure the good for its people, the strenuous training of the citizens can be justified. He says that when temperance, courage and wisdom digress, the three principles of the souls such as passion, reason and appetite. All of them together in harmony build up justice. In line with the discussion he describes family, matrimony, community, population. He is of the opinion that a state can be an ideal state if its kings are philosophers. In Book VI Socrates describes the nobility and worth of the Guardians. He makes it clearer with the analogy of the pilot and his crew. Obviously the guardians should have a close relationship with philosophy because it will endow them with enough knowledge to identify good and justice. For him knowledge is analogous to visibility, vision and light. Book-VII deals with the allegory of Cave. The story of the Cave allegorically suggests that truth at its first encounter may seem to be dazzling and the truth speaker may be criticized who are in darkness like the prisoners of the Cave. The man who witnesses the beauty of truth must sacrifice his happiness to bring other to the way of

I don't know you tell me Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

I don't know you tell me - Essay Example Interestingly, this was evidence that was not actually new. Indeed it was already there. It was our science methods which were not sophisticated enough at the time of the crime. Yet, nonetheless, while our scientific intelligence has not reached heights enough to analyze existing evidence, we still put people to death. four cases, innocent men have not just been sent to death row to languish while their perfunctory appeals have run out. They have been executed. Odd term, â€Å"executed†. One would think that we could at least no hide behind terms. We are in fact, committing murder. Notwithstanding the beacon of evidence mounting, death penalty advocates continue to spew the false notion that â€Å"the system works† and that the innocence of any executed person has never been proven in fact. Justice Scalia ignores the evidence and he is wrong. He must never have heard of â€Å"The Innocence Project. His ignorance is equal opportunity. As the cases indicate, men of all colors are put to death due to shoddy police work, prosecutorial misconduct and ignorant jurors. Over the past two years some of the nation’s leading newspapers have published shocking articles chronicling the cases of men who were executed even though there existed evidence which demonstrated innocence. As an aside, exculpating evidence is known as â€Å"Brady Material†. For example, Ruben Cantu, was a 26-year-old Latino man from San Antonio, that executed in 1993 for a murder robbery committed when he was 17 years old. In 2005, twelve years after the man’s execution, the Houston Chronicle published an investigative series that uncovered another defendant, who pled guilty to participating in the crime and who, signed an affidavit swearing that not only was Ruben Cantu not the murderer, but that he was not even present at the crime scene. Ray Krone was convicted two times for a murder he did not commit. A judge sentenced him to

The Impact of Downsizing on Organizational Competitiveness & Assignment

The Impact of Downsizing on Organizational Competitiveness & Innovativeness - Assignment Example Such strategies will become their key success factors in the future. The competition is forcing organizations to change their forms and the fundamental practices of management which they follow (Bresnen and Fowler 1994). The competitive advantage durability depends on the value of the human resources working in the organization and the intellectual capital they imply to perform their work (Wilkinson 2005, Guthrie and Datta 2008). To have a strong competitive edge in the business market is extremely vital for the firm to succeed otherwise survival of organizations starts to become quite difficult with such extreme competition taking place vigorously. The impact of downsizing is playing a major role in causing a shift in the social, economic, and the competitive organizational structures (McKinley, Sanchez, and Schick 1995). It can be observed that downsizing can strongly impact the competitiveness of organizations. At times downsizing may cause the business to lose their valuable employees and during the downsizing phase, many of the employees that are being retained may become troubled over their sense of job security which in turn may affect their performance greatly. The main purpose of this research is to find out the impact of downsizing; in what ways are the strategies for competitiveness and innovation of an organization affected whence it decides to downsize. This will be achieved by investigating firms that have conducted downsizing. A deeper look will be taken at the aftermaths of downsizing which was faced by these organizations. 2. To find out whether innovative practices of organizations are successful when firms opt for the downsizing process; a basic question is how the innovation model of any firm changes due to downsizing.

Persuasion and Public Opinion Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Persuasion and Public Opinion - Assignment Example However, this time the basic argument revolved around the Obama Care. In order to further understand the real reasons for the shutdown it is important to first analyze the Care Act of President Obama which is primarily responsible to ensure affordable healthcare throughout the nation. As the name indicates the Obama Care is solely based upon providing accessible health opportunities to the American people. It was initiated in 2010 whereas people are required to get their registrations until 2014 (Repeal ObamaCare or Defund ObamaCare?, 2013). Thereafter they would be able to gain extra health benefits including all the preventive services. Additionally it will give the health insurance by simply regulating the existing laws and increasing the rights of the insurers. Obama Care became the main cause of shutdown in October 2013 because the Republicans were aiming to defund it. In fact they insist that the new budget must disrupt the funding for the affordable care act of Obama while in contrast to this the Democrats persist over their position and refuse to accept the bill (Cowan, 2013). Reaction of Republicans and Democrats Although the healthcare law isn’t directly associated with the budget of US government or the financial plans but it has been used as a persuasive technique by the Republicans. For instance, they argued that the President’s domestic policy is going to severely harm the country and its economic position. This was further related with the much deeper ideas of the Affordable Care Act and the Patient Protection which actually requires the American people to go for a health insurance. Consequently, the employers... This essay stresses that on October 1, 2013, America stimulated a fractional shutdown of the government. This primarily happened because the ruling political party was unable to accept the idea of reducing the federal spending. Consequently, the national government had to undergo a shutdown which affected thousands of government officials whereas most of the important government services were delayed. This discussion explores that the healthcare law isn’t directly associated with the budget of US government or the financial plans but it has been used as a persuasive technique by the Republicans. For instance, they argued that the President’s domestic policy is going to severely harm the country and its economic position. This was further related with the much deeper ideas of the Affordable Care Act and the Patient Protection which actually requires the American people to go for a health insurance. Consequently, the employers would be affected and the finances would go beyond the limits of federal government. In addition to this, the Republicans also tried to gain the weightage of public opinion by stating that the burden on employers in form of medical taxes would eventually increase the chances of oversea jobs. Republicans basically tried to persuade the employers so as to gain their consent and support in the entire case. They did so because the medical taxes and i nsurances are largely supposed to increase the expenses of employers.

Creating an Effective Aviation Safety Management System Program Research Paper

Creating an Effective Aviation Safety Management System Program - Research Paper Example For a start, a Safety Management Systems (SMS) is a framework, which is principally formal and systematically indicates how to proactively identify risks and hazards before they eventually happen and become a big consideration to an organization (Shappel & Wiegmann, 2000). With the global business changes and the development of the modern organization, it has kind of become a regulation that before any company or business organization is legally considered safe for operation, there be a stated safety management system as a form of a reassurance that the risks that might be experienced by individuals while working for the organization are well informed to the management and that they are ready to mitigate. There actually are legal provisions and government recommendations and framed mechanisms to guide organizations on how to set their safety goals, plan for them, and measure the performance of the system (McDonald, Corrigan, Daly, & Cromie, 2000). Implicatively, an SMS is part and pa rcel of any given organization and in fact, defines the kind of operation and association the organization has and therefore every employee within the organization holds the responsibility of enforcing the frameworks for the well being of the business operations for the organization (Shappel & Wiegmann, 2000). In the aviation industry, SMS is a global standard that every industry player has to meet before they are officially licensed to operate and is closely monitored by global authorities.

Divorce Among Koreans in the USA Research Paper

Divorce Among Koreans in the USA - Research Paper Example This may be true not only among Americans in the United States of America in recent developments but generally among all the peoples of the world. For instance, it is said that it is easier to divorce than to flag down a taxi in Korea. (Hayes, Sean. Reform of the Korean Divorce Law. OhmyNews INTERNATIONAL. [internet]) Korean divorce rate is one of the highest in the globe and possibly the highest in Asia. There are many possible reasons why the newest generation of Koreans has a high rate in divorce. It may be because of the new liberal and more dynamic and independent role of women in the new societal set-up or because of the rising trend for individualistic attitudes rather than for family advancement and value formation. It may also be due to society having modernized so quickly or due to personal demands for selfish gratification at the click of a finger. While a divorce or a separation helps any one of the spouses or the two of them in so many instances, this can only be fine and in order if there are no children affected as when the couple did not bear any. In another way of saying, children who are the products of a broken marriage almost always become menace to society as they resort to drugs, alcohol, unwanted pregnancies in the case of daughters, and other undesirable practices or behavior as acts of rebellion against the parents who have shattered what could have been a whole and happy family. In this treatise, the covered population pertains to first and second generations of Koreans in the United States of America. The opinions and findings of other researchers - a literature review In one study, statistics and findings showed that only a total of 6.1 % of Koreans in the United States are either separated or divorced, lower than that for other nationals. (Yu, Eui-Young, Peter Choe and Sang Il Han. Korean Population in the United States, 2000. Demographic Characteristics and Socio-Economic Status. page 9. [internet]). Curiously again, of one hundred thirty three Korean women interviewed in a 2003 study who live in the United States, only seven were divorced or separated. (Lee, Eunju. DOMESTIC CONFLICT AND COPING STRATEGIES AMONG KOREAN IMMIGRANT WOMEN IN THE UNITED STATES. [internet]) The above observations simply indicate that divorce among Koreans in the United States has not reached any level of concern. As a matter of course, there is really not much justification to undertake a research on incidents of divorce among Koreans who reside in or have migrated to the United States. Instead, there is great consolation in discovering that Korean families in their foreign host country have endeavored as much as possible to see to it that the home environment is kept intact. This is confirmed by the fact that the bond of marriage has even strengthened among Korean Americans. As a matter of fact Korean Americans have changed their orientation

Mrs Alving in Ghosts by Ibsen Essay Example for Free

Mrs Alving in Ghosts by Ibsen Essay Through excessive parallelism and constant reference to â€Å"ghosts,† Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen portrays a view on the rewards of duty that clashes sharply with the accepted views of the time. In his native country of Norway, and indeed all around the world in the year 1881, ‘duty’ was seen as a powerful motivator in both religion and society. The abstract concept of duty was what constrained society into ‘acceptable’ boundaries, and people without a sense of duty were often shunned and rejected by their fellow citizens. Henrik Ibsen was well-known for his somewhat controversial plays. Just before writing Ghosts, â€Å"Ghosts† he wrote A Doll’s House about a young woman seeking to escape the bonds of duty. While the classic feminist story in A Doll’s House has a hint of hope for Nora Helmer, who decides to speak up for her own rights as a woman and as a human being, Ghosts seems to me to be the gloomy alternative, as Mrs Alving overcomes years of subordination to her immoral (and now deceased) husband. The woman, Nora, desires to free herself intellectually by breaking out of a marriage. Ghosts, in many ways, is an extension of â€Å"A Doll’s House†, with the main character Mrs. Alving acting as a future Nora. They are similar in some ways, but obviously they are both uniquely diverse. They play many of the same roles in their plays, and are probably the most similar two characters between Ghosts and A Dolls House. As literary critic Edward Boyer puts it, â€Å"In many ways Mrs. Alving is an older and more mature Nora, freer yet at the same time more bound. She too wanted to break out of a marriage once, but was sent back to her ‘duties’ by Pastor Manders, who thereby awakened the first doubts in her mind about transmitted doctrine. Ibsen focused his pieces on commenting on the often hypocritical sense of duty that people of his time supported. In his own words, â€Å"Ghosts had to be written; I could not let â€Å"the doll’s house† be my last word; after Nora, Mrs. Alving had to come. † Duty prompted her to create a life of lies, as she hid her husband’s alcoholism and other immoral acts. Duty prompted her to hide her husband’s pregnant mistress, and again to raise his daughter as her own. Even the names Ibsen gives the two women show the difference of hope in the two plays. In A Doll’s House, Nora is given a first name, and in fact she is listed by her first name in the written script whenever she speaks. In Ghosts, Mrs. Alving is seldom called by her first name (it is Helen), and rather is referred to as Mrs. Alving in the script when she has a line to say. She is regarded only as a wife, even ten years after her husband’s death. Ibsen utilizes many parallels between situations and characters in order to portray the desired results of duty and the actual results. Mrs. Alving can be compared to Mr. Engstrand, a hobbling old carpenter, and supposed father of Regina. Mrs. Alving is, obliged by her sense of duty, trying to gain control of her son Oswald upon his return home, while Engstrand attempts to evoke his daughter’s sense of duty so that she will come to work for him. According to George Meyer, â€Å"This parallel is†¦important because in the one case a father is trying to gain control of his daughter; in the other a mother, of her son. † Both characters also experienced a ‘commercial marriage’ in that Mrs. Alving married Captain Alving â€Å"for the sum of his fortune,† and Engstrand married his wife Johanna for a hefty bribe. Nora is a unique character, a kind not usually seen in most plays. She swings her mood often; she is either very happy or very depressed, comfortable or desperate, wise or naive. At the beginning of the play, Nora still plays a child in many ways, listening at doors and eating forbidden sweets behind her husbands back. She has gone straight from her fathers house to her husbands, bringing along her nursemaid which tells us that she hasnt really grown up. She also doesnt have much of an own opinion. She has always accepted her fathers and her husbands opinions. Shes aware that Torvald would have no use for a wife who was equal to him. But like many children, Nora knows how to manipulate Torvald by pouting or by performing for him. In the end, it is the truth about her marriage that awakens Nora. Although she may suspect that Torvald is a weak, petty man, she believes that he is strong, that hell protect her from the consequences of her actions. Then, at the moment of truth, he abandons her completely. She is shocked into reality and sees how fake their relationship has been. She realizes that her father and her husband have seen her as a doll, a toy to be played with, a figure without opinion or will of her own. She also realizes that she is treating her children the same way. Her whole life has been based on illusion rather than reality. Although she tried to escape from her marriage, the young Mrs. Alving apparently did not have a sudden moment of realization of her duties to herself, her own honor, or her own pride. If she did, we are not told hem; she continued to live as her husband and as society expected her to. By the end of Ghosts, however, when the effects of her husband’s life of duplicity are clear, the older and wiser Mrs. Alving has obviously come to regret her silence. Boyer states, â€Å"She sees now that it was the limiting conditions, the lack of true joy, a goal in life, and meaningful work which destroyed the best in her husband. She sees too that she h erself was the immediate cause of his ruin, because she had made life intolerable for him with her conventional morality of duty. Mrs. Alving can’t be blamed for staying in her marriage though. In A Doll’s House, Nora Helmer had a place to escape to. Her friend Mrs Linde would eagerly provide a place to stay and her best friend Doctor Rank had invited her company, and expressed his love for her. The conclusion drawn up by the end is this: the embracing and enforcing of a corrupt sense of duty and false pride by the collection of characters has led to the successful projects-chaos and dismay. This symbolizes Ibsen’s conception of duty and double standard for men and women in the society. He believes that mankind has ‘taken it too far,’ and duty has degenerated love into a purchasable commodity as illustrated by not only the brothel but by Mrs. Alving’s and Engstrand’s commercial marriages. The free-thinking duty-free artists of Paris live happy lives in wholesome homes, while the duty-supporting end up in broken homes where hypocrisy and immorality run rampant.

This Issue Of Cosmetic Surgery

This Issue Of Cosmetic Surgery In recent years, the popularity of cosmetic surgery has escalated significantly. According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, in 2008, some 12 million cosmetic procedures, most of which were minimally invasive, were performed in the United States alone. As Dutta (2008) cited in Swami et al (2012, p. 55) claims, this situation is not only found in North America, but also for instance in Europe which has currently become the second-largest market for cosmetic surgery. Concerned with the maintenance or enhancement of physical appearance (Swami et al, 2012, p. 55), cosmetic surgery is an invasive physical practice, offering people an opportunity to modify their body (Lirola and Chovanec, 2002). Through discourse of cosmetic surgery, mainly influenced by the media, which as Lirola and Chovanec, (2002, p. 488) claim both constructs the need for such a practice as well as legitimizes it, more people are becoming increasingly willing to undergo such practice. Among these people and according to ASPS statistics (2009a, as cited in Swami et al, 2012, p.55) the vast majority of cosmetic surgery patients are young women. Boseley (2012) reports that 6 in 10 (63%) 16 to 24 year olds were ready to undergo cosmetic surgery to ensure feeling better about their appearance. It has become a habit that cosmetic surgery interventions are also being given from parents to their teenage daughters as birthday or graduation presents with breast implants being the most favourite (Gilman, 1999). This is because media and vicarious experiences are promoting unrealistic beauty ideals which are in turn influencing young peoples attitudes towards their own looks. Because of this, cosmetic surgery needs to be seen as an important social practice because it merges the attention given to the body by an individual person with the values and priorities of the consumer society (Lirola and Chovanec, 2002). 1.2 Personal Perspective This issue of cosmetic surgery has always fascinated me. Seeing middle aged and even older people paying good money to rejuvenate their looks, has become a common scenario. However, cosmetic surgery done by young people who are still in their prime, always fascinated me to a much larger extent. I was always curious to find out why these young people decide to opt for surgery. While growing up as a teenager and even to this day that I am now a teacher, youth worker and a mother, even I were and still am aware of things which I do not like in my appearance. However, it never occurred to me that I should go for cosmetic surgery or when it did, it was just a thought which quickly passed. This curiosity is what led me to conduct this study. When does one cross the line and decide to opt for the surgical fix? Both as a student of Youth and Community Studies and in my line of work, I meet a lot of young people who in my eyes are all beautiful in their own way. This is not however always in unison with their perception about their own self. Through this study I would like to find out what it is that really that makes young females to undergo cosmetic surgery. This study however will be more interested in the sociological motivations since it has a sociological approach. That is why this study is interested in the interaction between social actors. Is society influencing their way of thinking or are their perceptions and the decisions they take unaffected by the cultural hegemony? 1.3 Organization of the Study Apart from the introduction, this study comprises of four other chapters. The literature review (Chapter 2) presents a review of the literature related to the study of the body and cosmetic surgery. Starting from Descartes mind-body dualism and the difficulties it posited to sociology in studying issues related to the body, the literature then shifts to a more embodied sociology giving more importance to a lived body. Other issues tackled are how the body has come to be seen as our identity and also gender. Since this study focuses on young people, it then takes a look at what forms the body image of adolescents and how consumer culture influences the body. Finally it gives a very brief history of cosmetic surgery and how are young females being affected by it. Chapter 3 gives a detailed explanation of the methodology of the study. It explains how the participants were chosen and how the interviews were done. It also deals with how the data was analysed, ethical considerations taken and the limitations of the study. Chapter 4 presents the findings of the study and their interpretation in the light of the literature found in Chapter 2. Chapter 5 concludes the study by answering the research questions which the study was set to answer and also presents recommendations for future research. This chapter has given some brief background information of what will be presented in this study, while the chapter that follows will explore the literature that will help the interpretation of the data analysis. Chapter 2: Literature Review 2.1 Introducing the body. It was only recently that the body has become one of the main concerns within sociological theory. Before this time, the discipline of sociology looked at human beings as the social actors or the social agents whose character and behaviour depended on their social location, beliefs and values (Turner, 1984). The founding fathers of sociology viewed the body from different perspectives. Marx and Engels shared the belief that in order for society to exist, the continual reproduction of bodies was salient. They looked at bodies as both the means and the object of human labour. Durkheim believed in the dual nature of human beings which he referred to as homo duplex. He believed that the basic divisions of body and mind led to a true antagonism between our individuality and our spirituality, which according to him made it almost impossible to ever be at peace with ourselves as one cannot follow both natures, since one is rooted in morality and the other in the desires of the body. Weber w rote about the rationalization of bodies through time and space and the controlling of emotions. He believed that the more capitalism enters in the bureaucratic structures, the more dehumanising and disenchanted the modern individual feels, confined in its iron cage. Simmel wrote about the senses and human emotionality. He believed that the eye, out of all the senses, had a distinctively sociological function since the interaction of individuals is based upon eye contact between them (Williams and Bendelow, 1998). As Turner (1984) claims, it is evident that human beings both have bodies and are bodies, which fact makes human beings embodied, just as they are enselved (Turner, 1984, p.1). Recently a lot of studies have tried to address the corporeal existence of human beings. However, in spite of intriguing findings and better understanding of the subject, according to Crossley (2001) some persistent dilemmas remain. Drawing from previous philosophical theories about the body, it was not easy along the years for sociology to arrive to a decent solution to the philosophical ambiguity of the mind-body dualism. It was Rene Descartes (1596-1650) who living in the Enlightenment era was greatly influenced by scientists like Galileo and their contemporary scientific discoveries. It was a time when the physical sciences, as we know them today, were emerging and there was a strong belief that everything could be explained by the laws of mechanical causation. With this belief in mind, and always in search for the knowledgeable truth, Descartes started to doubt everything that he could not be sure of. He even doubted his very own senses, reminding himself that he had sometimes had vivid dreams (Crossley, 2001, p.9). However he came to the conclusion that the only thing that he could be sure of was that he was thinking and therefore that was proof enough of his existence. Cogito ergo sum meaning I think therefore I am is Descartes most famous statement which was the very beginning of the Cartesian dichotomy, i.e. the mind-body dualism. For Descartes, the person is the mind. He believed that the mind is clearly elevated over the body and that the body is a non-essential aspect of his true nature (Crossley, 2001).It is a common belief that in a time when everything was reduced to scientific explanations, Descartes, being the religious man he was, aimed to keep an element of the spiritual, giving importance to creativity and the soul through the prominence he put on the mind. Many were the scholars (Ryle, 1949; Merleau-Ponty, 1965) who critiqued the Cartesian dualism and exposed the dilemmas it posited to sociology. As Crossley (2001) clearly explains in his book The Social Body: Habit, identity and desire, the mind-brain identity theorists believed that there is no interaction between the body and the mind and the fact that both of them act together at the same time in a plethora of human beings everyday activities, led to the conviction that the mind and body are in fact one. Crossley (2001) argued that sociology could critique this theory for being too reductionist and for sticking to the Cartesian framework it sets out to critique. In The Concept of Mind, Gilbert Ryle (1949) depicts the Cartesian dichotomy as the myth of the ghost in the machine, the ghost referring to the ghostly nature of the mind which is not physical in nature, while the machine refers to the body that does not contain any human characteristics, also described as corpse or meat by Leder (1998). Ryle (1949) believed that Descartes committed a category error when he took the mind as distinct from the body. For Ryle, who was a firm believer that dualism was wrong, both body and mind must be reconceptualised if we really are to overcome dualism He sets the way to a non-dualistic sociology when he manages to exorcise Descartes ghost strongly and convincingly. He wanted to challenge the notion that the mind is superior to the body. For Ryle, the mind is not a separate thing. He believed that mental life is embodied. Crossley (2001) gives a detailed explanation of how language, emotions, consciousness and understanding are not as many think simply introspective. Ryles (1949, as cited in Crossley 2001, p.41) main concern was to show that such mental concepts are used by embodied agents in specific contexts of action. Merleau-Ponty (1992, as cited in Crossley, 2001), who like Ryle challenged the mind-body dualism, managed to take his work a step further. He believed that looking at behaviour was salient in dissolving this dichotomy. For him all behaviour always had a purpose and meaning in the social world. Through this he also brought up the issue of social agency. He delved into the nature of perception and posited that desire, emotion, cognition and perception are not, strictly speaking, separate parts of our behavioural life but rather integrated and mutually affecting aspects of a single and coherent structure (Crossley, 2001, p.89). Merleau-Ponty sees the body as more than an object yet less than a subject since it both looks for and reacts to meanings in diverse everyday situations. This is Merleau-Pontys sentient and sensible body, presented to us as a body which can touch yet can be touched, can see yet can be seen, can perceive yet can be perceived. As Crossley (1995) explains the key is to understand that the perceiver and the perceived are relational beings (ibid, p.46) like two sides of a coin, not separate from each other but changeable facets of one and the same being. Therefore to the question What am I? Am I a body or am I a mind? one can quote McGuire (1990, as cited in Williams Bendelow, 1998) when he posits that human beings are embodied agents who experience the material and social world in and through their mindful bodies (p.4). My body is not something additional to me, it is not something which I, as a disembodied spirit, reflect upon. It is who I am. (Crossley as cited in Martin, 2012). 2.2 Shifting from sociology of the body to embodied sociology. Williams Bendelow (2002) claim that sociology has shifted from seeing the body as disembodied to giving more importance to a lived body referring to ones own experiences of his/her own body, as him/herself. This gave rise to what is today called embodied sociology, a kind of approach which lets us reflect upon the interconnectedness of bodily, mental and social interaction. Crossley (2001) posits that the human body does not simply exist in itself, but also for itself. This is the main reason why social agents continuously inspect themselves in the mirror and worry about how they are portraying themselves to others. Through a reflexive process, individuals, being embodied beings, turn back onto themselves and work to effect the change they want to see. They turn to excessive exercise, dieting and sometimes go as far as having their bodies surgically transformed. This duality of being and having also applies to habit making us habitually self-reflexive. As embodied beings, it is not just us who have our bodies and habits. Our bodies and habits are also perceptible to others which mean that we are never in complete possession of ourselves (p. 141) because our selves depend on something beyond our control the collectively valued forms of representation. Crossley claims we only manage to have ourselves by learning to see ourselves from the outside through social interaction as other. Our embodied self depends on the way the body that I am and I have is positioned in the intersubjective order that results from the social significance of our corporeal appearance. This echoes Cooley (1902, as cited in Crossley, 2001) when he argues that individuals develop their sense of self from the image of our self which others reflect back to us in interaction (p. 143). Meads (1967, as cited in Crossley, 2001) concept of I and me where the I takes the role of the other as a means of turning back upon myself, to reflect upon myself as me (p. 147) is at the root of this concept. It is in this way that individuals develop their concept of self by acting out the role of the other. The I and the me are not in competition with each other for predominance but rather enjoy a temporal and reflexive self-relationship of an agent who chases her own shadow (p. 147). The split between I and me is between a sensuous and socialised bodily agent and the image which that agent is able to form of itself (p. 147). Meads main emphasis is about reflexivity and how the self (as I) becomes conscious of itself (as me). By adopting the role of the other, social agents are able to scrutinize themselves and this helps them to free themselves from self-blindness, which is caused when embodied agents look out upon the world from their very own place. In this way the views, values and perspectives of the generalised other directly influences what Bourdieu (1996) calls the individuals habitus, and the sedimented dispositions that result have a direct impact of her sense of self which unsurprisingly influences her behaviour. This reflexivity highlights why the human body, although specific, gendered and once regarded as fixed, cannot nowadays be as easily defined (Evans, 2002). As Foucault claims there is no natural body (McNay, 1992). Evans (2002) believes that the notion of the body is always accompanied with an already deeply socialized set of expectations. Bordo (2003) confirms this by stating that cultures grip on the body is a constant, intimate fact of everyday life (p.17) showing that our bodies, like anything else that is human, are heavily influenced by culture. Feminism, especially in the work of Judith Butler (1990, 1993) and Susan Bordo (1993) has also questioned the belief that bodies are biologically given and fixed, and argued that the human body is both culturally and historically specific. 2.3 The body as a form of identity Giddens (1991) argues that gone are the days when traditional stable identities were derived from ones position in the social structure. In this era of late modernity attempts to base identity on the body has become popular, and hence society is witnessing a reflexive concern with identity and the body. Shilling (1993) argued that with the individualisation of the body, the body has become an agent of symbolic value, in Bourdieus (1996) term a source of symbolic capital. Despite this, the work of Bourdieu makes us realise the importance class has for understanding embodiment. Bodies, for Bourdieu, mark class in three main ways through the individuals social location, the formation of their habitus and the development of their tastes (Gill et. al, 2005 p.5). This shows that the management of the body is pivotal to status acquirement and hence salient to identity. Skeggss (1997) work on young, British working class women clearly shows this by emphasizing the ways in which they used th e shape, styling and design of their bodies to challenge or even break away from class assumptions that declared them as inferior (ibid.). Featherstone (1991) argues that the body has become to be seen as a vehicle of self-expression, a view supported by consumerism. Efforts to create and retain a coherent and viable sense of self-identity are often called body projects. These are manifested through attention to the body, particularly the bodys surface (Featherstone 1991). This is because in contemporary times the surface of the body has become the main location where object relations are handled, not only in the individuals identity formation years but also throughout our whole life (Blum, 2003). 2.4 Gender Literature shows that females are more obsessed by these body projects, possibly because as Evans (2002) argues the female body, unlike the male, has always been regarded as unstable and malleable. Feminists claim that female bodies have significantly been more vulnerable to cultural manipulation of the body (Bordo, 2003).Women are generally seen as passive while men as active. In his analogy of men and women with animals and plants respectively, Hegel (1967, as cited in Bordo, 2003) ably represented the duality of male activity and female passivity. So powerful and deterministic was this that as Bordo (2003) writes, when Guttmacher analysed sperm under the microscope for the first time he refused to describe sperm as waiting for the ova and instead portrays them as cruising, as if they were looking to pick up girls. Despite this however, classical images in the Holy Bible depict the woman as a temptress (Eve, Salome, Delilah) as do the more contemporary secular versions in movies su ch as Fatal Attraction. In an era where sex sells, literature shows that the womens body has become sexualised, sometimes objectified and at others depicted as a manipulator. A homogenous, indefinable ideal of femininity constantly requires women to attend to the very finest detail in fashion. As Bordo (2003) continues to claim, female bodies have become docile bodies, bodies whose forces and energies are habituated to external regulation, subjection, transformation, improvement (p.166). Although male concern over appearance increased significantly during the late 1970s and 1980s, studies confirm that a huge gender gap still exists. Women seem to be much less appreciative of their bodies and show extreme negative assessments on their distorted bodily perception (Goleman, 1985). They also seem to judge themselves more severely when they realise that they are not conforming to the cultural ideals of beauty. This is becoming worse as time goes, since many females continue to be dissati sfied with their body image perception. It is interesting to note that in a study held in 1985, teenage girls were the group most dissatisfied with their appearance (Bordo, 2003). 2.5 Body Image in Adolescent Girls At the macro level, the sociocultural perspective highlights the importance of an appearance culture that honours and shapes cultural ideals of beauty (Vilhjalmsson et al., 2012). It is during adolescence that this culture, represented by the media, family and peers, manages to make adolescents internalise these normative beauty ideals (Jones, Vigfusdottir, Lee, 2004; Thelen Cormier 1995). As Blum (2003) explains, adolescents obtain their body image totally from the outside. The adolescent girl enters the world uncertain whether her face and body would be consented by those around her. There are many definitions of body image, a term coined by Paul Schilder in 1935 (Blum 2003). However it is generally understood as a mental image of ones body as it appears to others (Featherstone, 2010, p.194). He claims that body image also changes with time and space. Ferguson (1997a, 1997b) argues that there has been a shift from a closed body image in the nineteenth century to a more open and ambiguous sense of body image today (Featherstone, 2010). This ambiguity relates to another concept- the body schema, which is more related to the felt body. While body image is in simpler words the look one has for others, in which the visual appearance is essential, body schema goes deeper than this and involves the non-visual sense of the body. This draws attention to how our senses work together not just to help us perceive the world around us but also how we sense and interact with other bodies in everyday life situations. It goes beyond the mirror image, focusing mainly on body rheto ric which is central of charisma, a characteristic which most attracts peoples attention (ibid.). Despite this however, young females are increasingly becoming more concerned about their bodies and about how to achieve the ideal standards of beauty and bodily perfection. Armet (2008) states that this is leading to a body-image crisis in American adolescents, with increased numbers of young girls suffering from low self-esteem, obsessive exercising and disordered eating. Through the cultural emphasis put on judging women solely on how they look and how much they conform to standards of beauty and fashion, girls are becoming more self-critical of their own body. They try to dedicate all their energy to perfect their outside appearance. This is because for the young female her body is the primary expression of her individual identity (Armet, 2008, p.2) which she aims to improve by buying clothes and other things to further enhance her exterior surfaces. These issues form a discourse that stresses the importance of the body. The young female has learned to give priority to her bodys physical appearance since she has come to regard her body as her identity. This leads to implications in her adolescent behaviour where a quest for identity becomes a struggle with her body-image (ibid.). 2.6 Consumer Culture and Body Image As Featherstone (2010) posits, it is naturally understood that consumer culture is obsessed with the body. We are constantly being bombarded by media images of models, celebrities and other stars showing off their beautiful, perfect bodies. They are generally portrayed as happy and youthful, and enjoying luxurious surroundings. Critics have argued against this kind of narcissistic life, pointing out its superficiality and an abandonment of human values. This is because according to them the concern with body image is often dangerous as it creates a diversion from the importance of social justice and equality. Most of the images used in advertising, are technologically abused, to the extent that their level of beauty is often unattainable. These images do not simply represent what there is behind them but what one should aspire to be. These are the images that are making us compare who we are not and who we would like to be (Featherstone, (2010, p.197). These comparisons lead us to tr ansformation -presenting the before and after picture- which is today pivotal not just in consumer culture but is also one of the key tenets of Western modernity. Celebrities, media industries and sportspeople are replacing scientists, explorers and intellectuals proving the shift from the virtues of consistency and steadfastness to a charming and engaging appearance (Featherstone, 1982, 2007). The constant fascination with celebrity lifestyles made available through cable, satellite and the internet keep showing us how they maintain their good looks and bodily fitness while coping with their challenging lives. Even when they fall and have to deal with drugs, alcoholism or weight problems, they are seen as triumphant since fitness regimes, diets or gurus put them back on the road to self- improvement (Featherstone, 2010). This puts pressure on individuals especially females who thanks to the media imagery fall victims to feeling unhappy with their bodies, to start routines sometimes drastic, of self-improvement (Bordo, 2003). A new body image gives one a new improved self-image and a more exciting quality of life. Since even status and social acceptability has come to depend on looks it is indeed of no wonder that today taking extreme care for ones appearance becomes an obligation to self and portrays those who ignore this obligation as being flawed. As Featherstone (2010) remarks, clothing, cosmetics and adornment used to enhance ones look become not just a constructed appearance of what one wants others to see, but also reflexively they provide an outward image which seeks information in the returned glances of others, for the inner narrative of what one feels one should be (p. 198). This is mainly found in contemporary Western societies, where being a woman has often been referred to as a form of theatre (Sontag, 1978, as cited in Featherstone 2010)) where women are constantly watching themselves being looked at (Berger, 1973, as cited in Featherstone 2010). Nevertheless beauty has also become associated with moral goodness. The body, especially the face is seen as a reflection of the self, through which a persons inner character is manifested (Rivers, 1994; Twine, 2002, as cited in Featherstone, 2010). Kuhn (1990, as cited in Featherstone, 2010) explains however how cosmetics do not only make up the woman but also the image, capturing both the elegant appearance, but also the look which summons up the inner narrative (p. 198). This puts together a narrative, evidence of an embodied person. Charisma and stardom draws attention to presence, which is an additional aspect to body image. It is something which needs to be felt and works in a different way to beauty. It is an experience communicated between bodies which create affective resonances, and hence is trusted more than just an image. This is the affective body, which contrary to the body image, is a body without a specified image. Here we think about the feel good impression sensed via affect. The moving body presented on television, cinemas and video captures a body in process. Affect is communicated by non-verbals such as gestures, and facial and body movements. Here, the image has become a process where in contrast to the conventional sense of body image, is presented as an affective body which provides additional embodied information. Consumer culture is still, however, constantly asking consumers to scrutinize themselves for imperfections, and to measure up to ideal bodies presented in the media (Featherstone, 1982). This points towards the work of Giddens (1991) who wrote about a high degree of reflexivity in late modernity, since these actors are investing in body projects as a means to enhance their self-identity. This view was criticized for keeping with the mind-body dualism and for its overemphasis upon the rational choice of those who seek to control their bodies (Budgeon, 2003; Shilling and Mellor, 1996, as cited in Featherstone, 2010). But really and truly, is the choice rational, when we are constantly being bombarded by all these pressures to look good, almost convinced that this will lead us to a better life? The body has become to be seen as salient for a good life, the look good: feel good transformation which, thanks to consumer culture, is portrayed as available for purchase to one and all. It is common belief that body works will not just upgrade the body to reach societal constructs of beauty but are also pictured to open a full range of lifestyle opportunities. Body modifications have nowadays become the means to create a beautiful appearance and hence a beautiful self (Featherstone, 2010). 2.7 Cosmetic Surgery -a brief history According to Albin (2006) body modifications are defined as changes made to the body, either self-induced or by the hand of another, that result in permanent alterations visible to the unaided eye. These modifications, which include tattooing, piercing, and cosmetic surgery to name a few, all share a common motive that in the end the individuals find pleasure in bodily expression, decoration, and attractiveness that can ultimately be admired by others. Cosmetic surgery is certainly one of the most impressive techniques for body reconstruction. It is the kind of surgery where the surgeon cures the cosmetic defects and emotional pain resulting from lack of liking and acceptance of ones appearance (Blum, 2003). Cosmetic surgery falls under the umbrella of plastic surgery, however cosmetic surgery only deals with surgery that has to do with the aesthetic, referring to surgery done on a healthy body simply for the improvement of looks. Haiken (1997) reports two separate developments that account for the emergence of cosmetic surgery. The first development was when early cosmetic surgeons were considered charlatans or beauty doctors and were not taken seriously albeit certain techniques they developed are still in use today. The second development came with the First World War, when surgeons gained expertise while trying to treat disfiguring scars of soldiers for cosmetic purpose. From the late nineteenth century, cosmetic surgery was associated with actresses since their careers always depended on the longevity of their good looks and by 1923 it was set in the public imagination as a celebrity practice (Blum, 2003). Gradually, a technology that was primarily aimed at replacing malfunctioning parts has caused an ideology promoted by desires of transforming and correcting, challenging the very materiality of the body (Bordo, 2003). Sarwer et al.(2004, as cited in Swami et al, 2007) believe that a rise in media fascination, higher incomes and loss of stigma are but a few reasons why even the common people in postmodern times are opting for the surgical fix especially in countries like the Netherlands, where cosmetic surgery is offered free through publicly funded healthcare (Gimlin, 2007, as cited in Swami et al, 2007)). Studies show that rates of cosmetic surgery have risen significantly both in Western and non-Western countries during the past twenty years (AS APS Statistics, 2008; BAAPS Statistics, 2008; Jones, 2008, as cited in Gimlin, 2010). Recent studies show that young people between the ages of 16 and 35 are turning to cosmetic surgery more than ever. 2.8 Young females and cosmetic surgery Body-image scholars claim that it is much easier to succeed in the world if one is good-looking (Blum, 2003). Appearance culture imposes the thin hourglass shape as a female body ideal (Vilhjalmsson et al.,2012). Although many were the researchers who have indicated that this contemporary feminine ideal of thin attractiveness is unattainable for most women (Irving, 1990; Levine Smolak, 1998; Silverstein, Perdue, Peterson, Kelly, 1986; Wilcox Laird, 2000), it still triumphs despite its opposition. As Ferron (1997) claims body image lies at the heart of adolescence and hence young females enter the world longing for their looks to be approved by those a

Innovation, Change and Enterprise in the UK

Innovation, Change and Enterprise in the UK Craig Rhodes 1 (a) Critically evaluate why innovation and enterprise is so important for the UK and global economy and what can be done to encourage it? Developing an innovation strategy requires a clear definition of what is meant by innovation. Innovation is the effective commercial utilisation of new ideas. It refers to the scientific, technological, organisational, financial, and business accomplishments that lead to the introduction of new or substantially improved products, practices, services or entire business models. Innovation can be incremental or extreme. It ranges from small improvements in existing products, processes and services at one end of the spectrum to extreme changes associated with breakthrough products, disruptive change and brand new ideas at the other end. A great deal of innovation takes place in the middle of the scale where organisations develop and produce new products, processes and services for existing markets and consumers. Innovation is not always determined by new technology. An organisation can develop completely new products such as Apples iTunes and iPad platform using recognised technologies. Innovation involves varying degrees of risk and needs different resources and processes for its successful implementation. Incremental innovation encourages less risky enhancements by extending existing processes, products or services. Innovation almost always involves change. The word enterprise describes the actions of someone who shows some initiative by taking a risk by setting up, investing in and running a business. (http://www.tutor2u.net/business/reference/starting-a-business-what-is-enterprise). This person can seem to be willing to take a risk and making things happen. The person will show initiative by seeing a potential business opportunity and tries to make it work. This can be seen as a bold or risky move for example investing in an opportunity with the potential of losing the investment should it all go wrong. Most of the time it will be a decisive person that shows enterprise. There is a need to innovate especially in UK/Global public service organisations due to their importance and size in developed countries. In the past century public service organisation have grown at a great pace. Such organisations as the NHS and American Education for example have grown and to survive its vital that they take the lead in innovation. Drucker (2007) expresses that pubic service institutions face similar situations, the knowledge is there and the need to innovate is clear. They now have to learn how to build the entrepreneurship and innovation into their own system. Otherwise they will find themselves superseded by outsiders who will create competing entrepreneur public service institutions and so render the existing one obsolete Drucker (2007) There is an increasing attention or support to Innovation, that innovation development is key to create/maintain/improve economic/organisation competitive advantage and secure organisation sustainability growth. Innovation is driven by the ability to see connections, to spot opportunities and to take advantage of them Tadd, Bessant (2009, p1). The key link between Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Change is that you cant really do one without involving the other is some form.An Innovation is the main source for an entrepeuneur, and its usally an innovation or entrepenuer that forces change within an organisation. Importance of Innovation and Enterprise Drucker (2007) refers to innovation and enterprise as a venture that can result in the creation of new wealth from making effective use of existing resources. Innovation commences with analysing opportunities, systematically reviewing these and exploiting these to gain maximum economic returns for organisations. Drucker (2007) has identified seven sources of opportunity that can lead to innovation. These include the enterprises own unexpected successes and failures and of its competition, incongruities (particularly in a process, for instance, production, distribution, or incongruities in customer behaviour), process needs, changes in industry and market structures, demographic changes, changes in meaning and perception and new knowledge (Drucker, 2007). Schumpeter (1934, 1939) classified innovation into five types; new products, new manufacturing processes, new sources of supply, exploration of new markets and new methods of organising business activities. Product innovation is the invention and commercialisation of completely new products and services. Process innovation involves bringing considerable improvements in the way products are made. Process innovation takes place by adopting new technologies (Schumpeter (1934, 1939). Inauen and Schenker-Wicki (2012) innovation has become essential for companies as it is resulting in the availability of knowledge, is facilitating technology transfer and fusion and is reducing innovation cycles. It is helping organisations in developing and maintaining their competitiveness and achieving success. It is assisting companies in exploring and exploiting new opportunities for commercialization. Innovation is a critical driver of economic change (Inauen and Schenker-Wicki, 2012). The views of Inauen and Schenker-Wicki (2012) are consistent with Joly et al (2010). According to Joly et al (2010) innovation is essential for organisations as it helps them in the creation of new products that can solve their customers everyday life problems. Innovation creates wealth and is a major driver of economic growth and development. Von Schomberg (2011) research also states that innovation is the key driver for organisational improvement and success. Niu et al (2013) believes that innovation and enterprise helps organisations in effectively exploiting new opportunities and using their resources to transform innovative ideas into successful outcomes (Niu et al, 2013). Whilst there is no doubt that innovation and enterprise is important for the growth of companies, national and international economies, yet it does suffer from some risks. The key risks of innovation and enterprise are that it requires considerable investment in financial and human resources. There is the risk that innovation can be copied by competitors. Innovation can be risky and lead to uncertain commercial returns (Hayes, 2014). Innovation and enterprise can be encouraged by understanding and applying the principles of change management in organisations. Furthermore, using open innovation, understanding national cultures, customers needs, crowdsourcing, user innovation, recruiting and training people, developing leaders can greatly assist organisations in effectively encouraging innovation. To compete effectively in intensely competitive business environments, organisations need to treat innovation as an essential part of their corporate strategy and not as a one off event. Continuous and consistent innovation is the key to organisational success in the global economy. Change Management Change Management is key to effective innovation and enterprise. It can be used to help employees go through the transition of accepting and implementing change within an organisation. Successful change management enables employees to understand the reasons for change. Part 2 of this essay goes into depths of why Change management is so important. Types of Change Harvard Business School (2003) states that businesses respond to challenges of new technology, new markets new competitors and consumer demand with four programs to overcome these obstacles. These four categories of change are: Structural Change Where the business is treated as a machine style model that are set up of different functions. During this change high level managements usually with the help of external consultants attempt to change these functions so they are able to accomplish a greater overall performance. Examples of previous endeavours for structural change have involved company mergers, acquisitions of other businesses and closure/reduction of operating units. Cost Cutting The main motivation for this type of change is the removal of areas of the business where there are less important activities and functions of a business where the company can squeeze extra cost out of operations. This may involve in department closures, redundancies or cuts in budgets when companies are going through tough times. Process Change The aim of this change is fundamentally a way of making operating processes quicker, more effective, more reliable and less costly, so basically an emphasis on changing how things get done in the business. Cultural Change This change concentrates on the human aspect of the business, where an organisation focuses on the relationship between the management and employees and look at the methods of how they do business. A shift from command and control management to participative management is an example of cultural change. Harvard Business School (2003) Process of Change Kurt Lewin a German-American psychologist introduced a straight forward model of process change which involves three stages that helps to understand the change process. The first stage is unfreezing which includes helping an organisation and its employees accept that change is required. Examining old processes, systems, employees and ways of thinking can show employees how important it is that the organisation changes. Communication in this part of the process is extremely important as it allows the business to inform the employees of the reasons for change, how it will benefit them and when the change will go ahead. The second stage is the Change Step, the transition period, where the implementation of the change takes place. This will be the point in the change process where reality hits the organisation that change is definitely happening, this is where it is key to continue clear communication as people will struggle to adapt to the idea of change, from this there will be resistance, panic and uncertainty. The final stage of Lewins model is Re-Freezing. This is the stage where the organisation looks for reinforcement and stabilisation after the implementation of change. This step was highlighted by Lewin as particularly important after Implementation to ensure that people do not revert back to previous ways of thinking or doing. The organisation has to attempt to guarantee the change is not lost and is reinforced into the Culture of and thinking of the organisation moving forward. Theories of Change The theory of change is a method that can help organisations in successfully achieving their change objectives and outcomes. The theory states that every change proposal needs to be carefully planned, requires the participation of others and needs to be evaluated to ensure that the planned activities are achieved. The theory states the long term goals of change and then maps these backwards to identify required preconditions (Brest, 2010). Organisations can successfully innovate through careful planning, seeking the participation and engagement of their employees and evaluating the degree to which innovation has been effective in improving organisational performance. Recognise and diagnosing the need for change. Recognising and diagnosing the need for change can be done by analysing the types of change, the context of change, using the cultural web model and forcefield analysis (Johnson et al, 2010). Encouraging Innovation and Enterprise Conclusion Innovation and enterprise is very important for the growth, development and survival of organisations in the UK and in the global economy. Innovation and enterprise enhance organisations competitive advantages and improve performance and productivity. However, innovation and enterprise suffers from the risks that it requires considerable financial investment and generate uncertain commercial returns. For businesses, innovation means sustained or improved growth. The innovative company or organisation delivers higher profits for its owners and investors. For employees, innovation means new and more interesting work, better skills and higher wages. Equally, an absence of innovation can lead to business stagnation and a loss of jobs. For the economy as a whole innovation is the key to higher productivity and greater prosperity for all. Innovation and enterprise can be encouraged by understanding and applying the principles of change management in organisations. Furthermore, using open innovation, understanding national cultures, customers needs, crowdsourcing, user innovation, recruiting and training people, developing leaders can greatly assist organisations in effectively encouraging innovation. To compete effectively in intensely competitive business environments, organisations need to treat innovation as an essential part of their corporate strategy and not as a one off event. Continuous and consistent innovation is the key to organisational success in the global economy. 1(b) Using relevant examples consider why innovation and change is often difficult to manage within organisations and how this can be overcome? In todays competitive business world change is the most critical factor in business. With heavy competition, technology and demographical forces pushing towards business change. There are not many businesses that can escape from change. The reasons for a business to adopt change is to maintain employee engagement, increase productivity and improve their performance to new levels. Sometimes change can be implemented due to a change in strategic direction. Change is brought in to make a difference from the past to the present. Change in the organisation can also mean embedding new technologies and creating new work practices into sections of the business. Technological change and new work practices in the organisation shows an impact on the way the business going. If a Business decides on implementing change within the organisation, they will need a team of members to encourage and manage the change. Charles Darwin once said It is not the strongest species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the ones who are most responsive to change The Change process can be a very complex problem and managing it is equally as complex. This is why change is a process that must be carefully planned and executed. So, why is it difficult to manage? Well you can start with the fact that Change can sometimes arrive unexpectedly. A business may not be ready for change. One way of overcoming difficulties when managing change is by having effective Leadership during the change process. The leadership approach has to be focused towards increased and continuous communication. Â   Â  

Essay --

During a short conversation between the Duchess of Berwick, Lady Windermere, and Lord Darlington, author Oscar Wilde exposes such entertaining arrogance that the members of upper class society contain. All the blunt, cynical insults toward the lower class and sarcastic language between the character enlightens the arrogances of the characters and the cruel structure of their society considering the gaps between lower class and high class, along with men and women. The Duchess of Berwick is the first character that is introduced in the excerpt and immediately, there’s a clear idea of what kind of person she is. She has a very harsh conclusion of people below her, as seen; â€Å"I won’t let you know my daughter, you are far too wicked.† Although she knows Darlington well, she will not allow her daughter to think on her own and act on her own accord. It’s dominant that the Duchess values status along with wealth with the saying, â€Å"I don’t know what society is coming to. The most dreadful people seem to go everywhere.† She is very clearly seen to not like the lower class and thinks a bit...

At the time of McCarthyism, Arthur Miller had a close friend who had :: English Literature

At the time of McCarthyism, Arthur Miller had a close friend who had been accused and was willing to name THE CRUCIBLE In 1692, puritan Massachusetts was a difficult place to live. The Puritans were people who had left England to live a pure and holy life in America. They obeyed the laws of the bible and were a very superstitious group of people. They believed that any behaviour that opposed the bible, even the tiniest thing, was of the devil and his witches. In 1950’s America there was a Senator called Joseph McCarthy who led the Un-American Activities committee. This meant that he was in charge of ridding the continent of anything that was deemed Un-American. It had not been long since the Second World War and all Americans were very paranoid about the rise of communism in some of the eastern European countries. Joseph McCarthy was not at all interested in putting people in jail but ‘naming names’- he wanted to know the names of those who were involved in communism. This process was soon to be known as McCarthyism. At the time of McCarthyism, Arthur Miller had a close friend who had been accused and was willing to ‘name names’- Miller was angry and began to write the crucible. The crucible is known as what is called an Allegory. This means that it is written to subliminally show something about one thing when it is being described as another. The crucible describes the Salem which trials in 1692 but is meant to show the complete similarities between it and 1950’s McCarthyism. Two of the main characters in The Crucible are John and Elizabeth Proctor. We learn at the beginning of the play that John and Elizabeth have a very difficult marriage. There is growth in the mistrust between them as we grow to learn that John has had an affair with the reverend’s niece: Abigail. After numerous events John and Elizabeth are sent to prison on the charges of witchcraft. Near the end of the play they meet for one last time to discuss their course of action. Faced with a difficult decision, John must choose between life and truth. This decision is difficult because he wishes to live and see his children grow up but he dare not lie about committing a crime he is not guilty of. He will do only what his wife wishes. But what is her wish? When her and John first meet in the prison she says to him â€Å"The children are well. Rebecca Samuels keeps them† she says this with the intent that John will feel a loss on the behalf of his children.

Future of Automobiles :: Transportation Car Cars Vehicle

The basic tenets of geometry dictate that the shortest distance between two points on a plane is a straight line. Unfortunately, Euclid and the other theorists of mathematics do not explain exactly how one is to traverse that distance. Ten thousand years ago, the best way for a person to get anywhere was to walk, and the peak of transportation was a bit of hide or plant matter strapped to one's feet. Later, animals were domesticated and used to take us farther in less time. By the time of the Romans, we had already found ways to build vehicles to move more people and cargo than just the back of an animal could. Basic wheeled vehicles pulled by beasts of burden remained the standard mode of transportation for hundreds of years (except for distances across water for which boats were used). During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, a technological revolution began that changed not just transportation, but every aspect of life. We learned to harness the raw power of chemicals in our own environment to produce locomotion, and distances that had seemed legendary were now only a few days' journey. One could rightly say that automobiles are the feet that move the body of America. This is true, but it may be time for a visit to the podiatrist. In this day and age, conventional automobiles are not effective as means of mass transportation. The things that we call cars seem to come in almost as many shapes and sizes as the people who drive them. There are traditional sedans, which may be sport, luxury, or compact, as well as trucks, sport utility vehicles (SUVs), station wagons, and vans in great quantity. There are also other similar vehicles such as golf carts, fork lifts, and tanks, but the word 'car' generally refers to the vehicles which average folk drive every day. One basic component ties cars together into a single group: the internal combustion engine. It is a device that takes gasoline and causes it to combust, utilizing the mechanical force produced in a chemical reaction. Through a system of mechanical parts, including gears, cams, and pistons, this energy turns wheels and makes our cars go. Although the internal combustion engine (ICE) was a technological marvel nearly a hundred years ago, it has since become outdated. Because of international relations and the basic limitations of the environment, the oil which produces gasoline is becoming increasingly scarce.

Documentary films Essay

Documentary films have paved way to show the reality of life. More often than not, it provides awareness of the present situation that was not addressed accurately in films and television shows alike. Documentary, like other discourses of the real, retains a vestigial responsibility to describe and interpret the world of collective experience, a responsibility that is no small matter at all (Nichols, 1991 p. 10). In making a documentary film concerning the community life in a distant foreign country, several issues would need to be addressed. The first thing that we need to discuss is the culture of the people living in that place. It would be an important factor as it tells a lot about the people and the place itself. Its history would generally be included in determining how the culture came about. Social norms and practices should also thoroughly discuss to identify the difference and uniqueness of their society. Furthermore, the documentation should explore the different beliefs of the people and how it affects the way they live and how their society copes up with modernization. The main focus of the documentary is how the culture and beliefs would affect the health of the people in that certain area. It would thoroughly explore the different misconceptions and traditional health management that these people have. This is a critical issue to discuss because it may directly or indirectly affect their socio-economic progress and their lifestyle. If by chance, the documentary could discover the need to re-educate the people regarding their health beliefs and fallacy, then proper authority should be inform. This is to insure that people would have the opportunity and the appropriate resources to improve their knowledge as regards to their health condition. REFERENCES Nichols, B. (1991), Representing Reality: Issues and Concepts in Documentary, Indiana University Press, p. 10

Internet Does Harm Than Good

The Internet is a web that connects all the computers in the world. It's a good way to connect with people; without the internet people can lose their connections. For me the internet doesn't bring any harm to the world. In contrary with it the people move much faster in every way. Instead i think that is the people that use it are the ones that bring harm to the world . Not only the people but the way they use it. People bring cyber bullying, murders, verbal harm and more to the Internet.In my school there was a case of cyber bullying were one person did an account on facebook; this person put a random name and started insulting people. My grade started to be more away from each other; there were more little groups of people than before. This shows how via the Internet a person broke the unity of a group of people. I do believe The Internet brings more harm than good. There are a lot of people connecting but there is also millions of cases of people being harmed on the Internet. )Th e Internet's definition by wikipedia is a â€Å"network of networks†. The Internet has brought a lot of good points, but as with any tool, I would like to add that misuse has made the Internet bad. Remember, the Internet is a useful tool, but all that glitters is not gold. Firstly, the Internet is a place which is NOT safe for children. This is basically because of threats of pop-ups, pornography and scams that can trick the child. The Internet is not only an unsafe place for children, but also a bad influence to young teenagers.Pornography from the Internet is leading to the rise of a society of perverts, paedophiles and freaks, who are unable to contain their sexual desires. The number of rape cases this year in Malaysia alone has shocked officials and even the Prime Minister. Teenagers are the group targeted by the Internet. 28% of teenagers globally watch pornography. This might be a minority of people, but the way Internet has affected us in such a way is shocking. The b ad effect on the younger generation, our future leaders, is undeniable.Do keep in mind that the presence of â€Å"net-nannies† and safesearch programs does not deter our children as 20% of the so called â€Å"bad† side of the Internet is overlooked by safesearch programs. However, 10% of non-harmful content such as â€Å"breast cancer† on the internet is filtered by the safesearches used to deter pornography. 3)Harm – Visiting inappropriate site. – Involved with E-Bullying. – Privacy is being compromised by the ever increasing storage of personal data on servers. – The Internet can be used for crime as well as legal activities.

Orem

Strengths Orem’s theory provide a comprehensive base to nursing practice. It is functional in the different fields of nursing. May it be in clinical setting, education, research or administration. Moreover, this theory is as applicable for nursing by the beginning practitioner as much as the advanced clinician(George JB. , 1995). Another major strength of Orem’s theory is it’s advocacy for the use of the Nursing Process (Balabagno, et. al, 2006). Orem specifically identified the steps of this process.She also mentioned that the nursing process involves intellectual and practical phases. Limitations The ambiguity of applying theory to nursing practice may lie in the fact that one theory does not always specifically support all aspects of nursing care. Orem’s self care deficit theory may not encompass all aspects of care and needs of a specific client. For instance, some dilemma with Orem’s theory include having an unclear definition of family, the nu rse-society relationship and public education areas are weak.These issues are essential in the management and treatment plan in caring for patients. Although the family, community and environment are considered in self care action, the focus is primarily on the individual (Balabagno, et. al, 2006). Another limitation is the definition of health as being dynamic and ever changing with states ranging from health or non health, wellness or illness (Fitzpatrick JJ, 2005).This definition of health directly contradicts the experience of some patients with varying needs and levels of care requirements. One of the most obvious limitations of Orem’s theory is that throughout her work, it can be said that a limited recognition of an individual’s emotional needs is present within the theory (George JB. , 1995). It focuses more on physical care and gives lesser emphasis to psychological care. Other theories address this limitation quite adequately such as Jean Watson’s Theo ry of Caring.

Mythological Hero Comparison Essay

Ancient and Modern Super Heroes Hero myths are the best-known mythological stories because they involve colossal characters that are easily recognizable. In ancient Greece heroes such as Homer’s Odysseus, Apollo, and Achilles are â€Å"super heroes.† In modern day literature and pop culture mythological characters like those found in comic books are the equivalent. Super heroes and their stories involve characters that put themselves in harm’s way to protect something or someone else. Whether it is ancient Greek mythology one is studying or modern day comic book characters, the theme, and meaning are the same. In other words, â€Å"the story they tell belongs to us all† (Powell, 1990, p. 8). A modern day super hero who protects his society while maintaining a tremendous persona is Batman, created by Bill Finger in 1940. Batman does not possess the typical deity powers of ancient hero mythological characters, but he does embark on a quest to save Gotham City from crime and corruption whil e exhibiting characteristics common in his mythological hero counterparts. Like Homer’s Odysseus, Batman exudes mythological deity characteristics, including strength, courage, and selflessness. Batman is today what Homer’s Odysseus is to ancient Greece. He embodies what mythological characters stand for during the times of ancient Greece, â€Å"but stand for something more, something that crosses boundaries† (Rohac, n.d., p. 1). He also lives in Gotham City, which is a place any person can see him or herself living in, which helps to reinforce the mythological idea behind the super hero. In afterlife mythology, when Odysseus visits the Land of the Dead, he does so exuding his heroic quality of strength. Like Batman, Odysseus requires strength, not in the physical sense, but the emotional and mental sense because â€Å"the Land of the Dead is a place marked by emptiness and despair† (Powell, 1990, p. 67) that only a heroic man can encounter on his epic journey. Batman has grown up in Gotham City and following his father’s death the city is in the tight grips of crime again and under the control of a powerful gang called ‘the mutants’ (Reynolds, 1992). Gotham City is like that of an afterlife because it is devoid of law and order. Like Odysseus, Batman requires the mental and emotional strength to confront each of the various mutants he takes down. Another common trait that mythological heroes Odysseus and Batman possess is courage. By definition of what these men do, courage runs through their bloodstreams as air and hormones. For Odysseus  there mere fact that he leaves Ithaca for 12 years to fight in Troy is courageous. He leaves behind the heir to the throne and his son, Telemachus, who was born shortly after Odysseus left for the Trojan War (Nelson, 2008). No ordinary man would be able to leave behind his family and people to face war. This is the type of action that commands courage of a brave man. Although Batman may not be fighting a war like the Trojan War that involves daunting voyages at sea for weeks on end, he does face criminals and thugs who are attacking Gotham City. Batman learned to be courageous from his mentor RÄ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s Al Ghul who warned Batman, â€Å"you lack the courage to do all that is necessary. If someone stands in the way of true justice, you simply walk up behind him and stab him in the heart† (Nolan & Goyer, 2006, p. 125). Batman decides at the birth of his alter ego to take on the crime in Gotham City without the use of lethal force. He punishes the crooks and gangs by working around legislation. Batman’s decision to avoid lethal force is an act of courage because it is easy to kill the enemy, but it is another to incapacitate temporarily the enemy that may return to face him on his journey to keep Gotham City safe. Finally Batman and Odysseus embark on their quests as selfless acts to accomplish a specific goal. Odysseus sets out to be a part of the Trojan War despite wanting nothing more than to â€Å"achieve his goal of returning home to Ithaca† (Powell, 1990, p. 295). Soldiers who enter battle are brav e and selfless because they put their own lives on the line to protect what belongs to them. In a similar vein, Batman works during the night to rid Gotham City of the thugs who take over the city. Though it can be argued Batman is anything but selfless because his work as Batman is in an attempt to avenge his father’s death by one of the very street gangs he battles, Batman does what he does in attempt to make his city a safer, better place to live, much like the men and women on the frontlines of the battlefield, or a hero like Odysseus. In conclusion, the modern day super hero who protects his society while maintaining an immense persona and the hero from ancient Greece who sets out on an epic quest possess qualities that mark each as strong, courageous, and selfless individuals. These are qualities super heroes possess that society has come to expect from the classic hero. As the hero battles to keep their home territory safe, it is important to bear in mind â€Å"the context of the universal struggle between order and chaos† (Powell, 1990, p. 8) stands to  be a timeless test for society in general. References Leeming, D.A. (1990). The world of myth. New York, NY: Oxford University Press Nelson, M. Odysseus and Aeneas: A classical perspective on leadership, The Leadership Quarterly, Volume 19, Issue 4, August 2008, Pages 469-477, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2008.05.010. Reynolds, R. (1992). Super heroes: A modern mythology. London, : B.T. Batsford. Rohac, G. (n.d.). More than heroes. An examination of comic book heroes as modern mythologies. Retrieved from http://www.georgerohac.com/docs/comm411.pdf