A jury is a group of legal experts who assess the evidence and give a verdict in a court of law. There are usually twelve of them in the court. Although the jury gives its findings, judgment is made by the judge. Hence, the role of the jury is to determine whether the defendant is guilty or not, but the final decision is made by the judge. This form of trial is mainly used in serious criminal cases. Although jury trials have been claimed to be non-biased applying common values, they have come under criticism for several reasons.
Discussion
The first aspect of a jury trial that has been criticized is the law on jury secrecy. This law dictates that the jurys reason for making their decision remains a secret and no inquiries can be made. As a result, innocent people have been sentenced to death because of such decisions (Burns, 2009). Why are people deprived of the right to life, freedom, or property without being told the reasons the decision has been taken? In contrast, decisions by judges are normally examined, facts and reasons are always given on the decisions made.
Another reason why I disagree with a jury trial is that jurors may convict based on personal feelings rather than on objective evidence. They may feel hurt or anger out of personal reasons, like in emotional cases (Neubauer and Fradella, 2011). For example, in cases of child rape, a death sentence may be given out of pity for the child. In other cases, some members of the jury who are parents may sympathize with the child picturing that the child was theirs and hence give an unfair verdict (Burnett, 2003). The limited role of the judge trials to abide by the jurors ruling only seems to make the system more unfair.
Jurors may be influenced by prejudice, including racial or ethnic discrimination, especially in cases where all jurors belong to a particular race or ethnic group. An example is the 1992 Rodney King case in California, in which white officers were acquitted despite incriminating videotape evidence for their use of too much force in the cruel beating of black. The jury in this case consisted of whites. It turns out that jurors may give a sympathetic and fairer verdict to a party based on political, racial, or ethnic affiliations. The white police officers were favored and consequently acquitted and this amounted to an unfair trial by the jury.
Some jurors have been known to give a death sentence to attract media and the public to be seen as competent. They may also give a quick death sentence without detailed deliberations to get through with the case.
Conclusion
Many innocent people are in prison serving death sentences due to poor verdicts by jurors. The law on jury secrecy convicts innocent rather than make reasonable inquiries into how the verdict was obtained which is a major weakness of the system. Moreover, some juries are known to contain a significant proportion of persons belonging to a particular race and this can lead to biased verdicts or discrimination. Finally, jurors sometimes deliver verdicts based on personal feelings while some lack the skills and experience required to deliver death sentences.
References
Burnett, D. G. (2003).A Trial by Jury.New York:Vintage.
Burns, R. (2009). The Death of the American Trial. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Neubauer, D.W., and Fradella, H. F. (2011).AmericasCourts and the Criminal JusticeSystem, 10th Ed. Connecticut: Wadsworth.
Self-efficacy as a concept is a notion in social theory that explains an individuals belief within their capacity to illustrate a specific behavior and the affirmation that they can undertake a given function to attain the intended result or outcome. Self-efficacy, in its wholeness, is a component of peoples abilities to illustrate specific conduct. The entire self-efficacy strategy requires individuals to become conscious of an issue and trust that the intended outcomes could get accomplished with their activities; this motivates them to continue working toward the goal. Self-efficacy is connected to the conceptual frameworks around which nursing theories are constructed.
A broad range of external and internal circumstances determines the degree of self-efficacy an individual has. The degree of drive that an individual possesses to accomplish their objectives is strongly correlated with their overall self-efficacy levels. Individuals with high self-efficacy can inherently motivate themselves toward doing anything they have set out to do because they believe they can do it (Tamkeen & Siddiqui, 2019). One technique to establish whether or not a person possesses a higher degree of efficacy or effectiveness is to ask them whether or not they have complete faith in their efforts and objectives.
The self-efficacy concept or theory was initially described by Albert Bandura around 1977. In a published paper headlined Self-Efficacy: Towards a Unifying Theory/Concept of Behavioral Change , Bandura originally proposed this idea and argued that it played a vital determinant role in peoples propensities to alter their behavior (Alimohammadi et al., 2019). Self-efficacy has been perceived as the confidence one possesses in their ability to carry out the actions one perceives as essential to accomplish important goals, as defined by psychologist Albert Bandura. As proposed by Bandura, self-efficacy is viewed as a unifying or binding theory across all forms of behavioral changes, and attitudes constitute one of the essential factors in shaping peoples actions. According to Bandura, having a high sense of self-efficacy appears to be linked to various positive outcomes, including adopting healthier behaviors, increased resilience in the face of adversities, and stress in conjunction with enhanced quality of life.
Over time, the entire self-efficacy hypothesis has been increasingly prevalent throughout nursing practices and research to understand behavior modification. Both nursing practice and nursing-based education rely heavily on alterations in patient behavior. People with a higher SET never take responsibility or blame their skills whenever they lose, whereas those with a lower SET frequently do (Shorey & Lopez, 2021). Lower SET individuals believe they can not succeed due to their lack of skills. Nurses employ the approach to help patients with health issues alter their behavior and outlook. Researchers working in healthcare and nursing have found that patients perceptions of their abilities to effect positive changes in their health behaviors are reliable predictors of long-term wellness. Several branches involving nursing science have used the concept of overall self-efficacy to better understand its connection to patient autonomy throughout managing and treating chronic diseases like cancer or diabetes.
Nursing-based approaches are conceptual frameworks for organizing information and explaining nursing phenomena. They are used to evaluate the basic philosophical foundations of nursing ideas. Therefore, nurses rely on nursing theories to back up their work for accurate results. When formulating comprehensive nursing theoretical concepts, it is essential to consider the entire searchers perspective and opinion on things philosophically (Younas & Quennell, 2019). Alberta Banduras Social-based Cognitive theory was the foundation for the self-efficacy movement. As the theory suggests, completing a task associated with a particular ability can have that effect.
References
Alimohammadi, L., Zarei, F., & Mirghafourvand, M. (2019, September 10). The effect of counseling based on Banduras self-efficacy theory on sexual self-efficacy and quality of sexual life. Women &Amp; Health, 60(4), 473486.
Shorey, S., & Lopez, V. (2021). Self-Efficacy in a Nursing Context. Health Promotion in Health Care Vital Theories and Research, 145158.
Younas, A., & Quennell, S. (2019). The usefulness of nursing theoryguided practice: An integrative review. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences, 33(3), 540555.
Blair Kamin is one of the most famous architecture critics in the United States, and current debates regarding changes in media and the role of architecture criticism in this process are also discussed by Kamin in his works. The article Architecture Criticism: Dead or Alive? was published by Kamin in 2015 as a response to these debates, and it needs to be reviewed in this paper. Thus, the questions to be answered in this review are whether architecture criticism is viewed by the author as dead or alive and what arguments are proposed to support his standpoint. It is important to note that Kamin asserts that architecture criticism is not dead, but it has another form because of the impact of social media; thus, critics words should not be viewed as claims, but as triggers to start a discussion because critics do not have a monopoly on assessing architecture anymore.
Summary
In his article, Kamin provides a range of arguments to support his idea that architecture criticism is alive despite being changed. Therefore, the author begins by saying that statements about dead criticism are meaningless since criticism exists, but it is represented by the work of bloggers or tweeters who are inclined to use new social media to spread their ideas. Furthermore, Kamin accentuates the fact that the absence of professional critics hegemony does not mean the absence of effective criticism. As a result, it is possible to speak about the development of a new form of architecture criticism that is rather creative and dynamic while being dependent on using new media. The author develops his ideas while discussing the history of architecture criticism, explaining its purposes, presenting its approaches, and proposing ways to adapt criticism to new environments. To further discuss the authors main arguments, it is important to analyze the key points in the article in detail.
Critical Discussion
All arguments provided by Kamin in his article are oriented to supporting the view that architecture criticism develops as a dynamic phenomenon that changes depending on times and contexts; therefore, it is still alive. From this perspective, the most effective point that is accentuated in Kamins article is the authors reference to the phenomenon of open journalism and its impact on criticism. To explain how traditional architecture criticism has been transformed into debates on online platforms, Kamin refers to discussing the history of this phenomenons development. According to the author, more than fifty years ago, the principles of architecture criticism were formulated by Ada Louise Huxtable, who worked for The New York Times. This discussion adds to understanding Kamins argument because he pays attention to the fact that Huxtable has demonstrated other critics that their works should be full of judgments which are based on assessing a visual impact of a building without ideological premises. This approach is viewed by architecture critics as traditional, and it is rather difficult to accept other views that are spread today.
What is more important is that Kamin develops the idea of traditional criticism while discussing his criteria for evaluating buildings and stating the purpose of criticism. According to Kamin, it is important to focus on the quality of a building and its structure, its utility, continuity, humanity, and its association with the public. The reference to these criteria is effective to emphasize not only the nature and purpose of architecture criticism but also the authors vision of this practice. Furthermore, Kamin supports his idea that criticism exists by attracting readers attention to approaches to criticizing objects which were determined by Alexandra Lange. Thus, critics can assess an object while referring to formal criticism, experiential criticism, historical criticism, and activist criticism. It is important to note that these methods are known to the audience, and they can be easily recognized. Therefore, it is possible to state that when people observe different approaches to evaluating buildings, they are inclined to speak about the death of criticism.
From this point, Kamin develops his argument saying that modern architecture criticism is characterized by interactivity and the active involvement of the audience in the evaluation of objects rather than by traditional approaches. As a result, to emphasize the presence of a new interactive approach to architecture criticism that is based on sharing views, Kamin proposes three methods to improve modern criticism and make it more alive. According to the author, it is necessary to involve readers in discussions, initiate dialogues, and still convey messages.
Conclusion
To remain both vibrant and effective, architecture criticism needs to be adapted to modern environments as any other phenomenon. Therefore, in his article, Blair Kamin is focused on explaining why and how architecture criticism is still alive. In this context, the author refers to providing a background for explaining how traditional architecture criticism has become interactive and dynamic.
This piece was written by a very bold author who appears to be well informed about the photographic industry. He has not refrained from mentioning instances of bad taste in the history of photography but has also looked at magical moments as well.
Perhaps the point of concern in this analysis should really be the theoretical basis for the authors analysis. In other words, one must find out why the author said what he did in the article because every assertion has underlying principles that support it and carry it forward.
Contemporary art criticism pieces have been written against a background of interpretations. Some carry with them political and sociological interpretations that have created more debate than consensus.
In this article, it is clear to see that the author is mostly interested in the beauty or lack of it of photographic pieces. For example, in one case, the author explains that a photograph can capture what the naked eye would never be conscious of; when one wants to talk a walk, there are always plenty of movements involved in these actions.
Most may not be discerned by the naked eye but the camera faithfully captures this thus leading to the discovery of the unconscious. He has explained these concepts of beauty against a historical background as well as a technical background.
For instance, at one point he explains that the manner in which photos were processed eventually led to the creation of beautiful portraits.
Also, the author is immensely aware of the cultural and social conditions that prevailed at the time of the creation of most photographic pieces. This is definitely laudable.
When one looks at this piece of writing, one immediately realises that this author firmly opposes the commercialisation of art. In other words, the author explains that journalistic photos did not exist at the time when photos had initially been created.
People did not associate photo taking with fame because the only form of mass media i.e. the newspaper was inaccessible to the common man. Furthermore, those newspapers never featured any photos.
Consequently, people who took their photos were not preoccupied by the need to please others or the quest for fame. When businessmen got into portrait photography, most ruined this industry because they made the photos cheap and artificial.
In fact, the author believes that artists can never really make portraits as good as those ones that existed in Hills time since photography and actuality had not interacted at the time.
However, one can debate this point because there are still relatively unexposed societies around the world and certain photographers have made it a point to live among such native communities today and hence take photos of them as they go about their daily lives. These photographers are still able to capture that relative innocence that the author treasures in historic work.
Another critical assertion that the author makes which makes this work stand out is the belief in experimentation. He believes that any good work should not attempt to persuade but should seek to experiment and instruct.
This author therefore holds a modern view of art because he believes in the rapid alteration of art forms if he can endorse experimentation.
Introduction
Art criticism is undergoing a crisis because of the failure of most critics to focus on art itself; they are now more concerned about educating the masses.
Indeed many debates surrounding art actually imply a crisis in art criticism today and these have been brought on by a series of issues. The most significant factor is the institutionalisation of art.
Other factors are culturally related. All require solutions in order for a re-examination of the relevance of art criticism in the world today.
The issues
Art critics can normally be found in daily, monthly or weekly publications such as newspapers and magazines. Most of these critics are concerned about keeping their jobs rather than voicing their opinions.
They have transformed their roles into educative ones because they worry about the existence of those publications without sponsorships; so they must dance to their masters tune.
Furthermore, other factors have also come in the way and one such factor is the continued dissolution of the line between low and high end culture. Indeed one of the reasons why art criticism flourished in the past was because there was a need for a dominant critical voice.
However, because these lines are no longer clear then it can be increasingly difficult for art critics to step up. Additionally, most artistic writings normally target niche markets and this implies that there is an inherent assumption even before making the critique. Eventually, this destroys the true essence of the phenomenon (Rubinstein, 2003).
It should be noted that times are changing and this is even worse for art critics. In the art world, the people who matter the most today are really audiences; which consist of collectors, businessmen; who consist of consultants and collectors and finally the artists themselves.
Very little room has been left to the art critic who continues to be marginalized by the decisions of the former mentioned individuals. Most businessmen in the industry have a way of getting directly to the consumer through various marketing methods and this leaves out the art critic.
In other words, the businessmen literally decide for audiences which pieces would be most appropriate for them and which ones would not. The art critic only plays the role of stating whether a certain piece is worth seeing or not.
This means that they are now seen as individuals who make value judgements about art work yet these judgments no longer attract the attention of those concerned. Eventually, they are becoming more and more redundant.
It is essential to understand how society got to such a place and whether the problem was brought on by these value judgements. In other words, one must question the role of art critics as interpreters of art works since such a crisis will require a re-evaluation of their respective roles.
Charlesworth (2005) articulates these issues very well in his article what has happened to art criticism? He asserts that the problems in art criticism have been created by the failure of art critics to reconcile value terms in the past and the present.
Most have such great expectations that are too rigid to be relevant today. Furthermore, a number of them adhere to the old school notion of transforming society through art criticism.
Transformative criticism is indeed irrelevant in todays world because it requires art to be different from what it is. In other words, art critics are failing because they are still concerned about changing art in its present form into something else rather than appreciating art for what it really is.
That role of improving art through criticism may no longer be feasible and may actually require many critics to re examine their role today. Many may have to ponder over the best ways of mediating between art and the artistic audience.
It can also be said that the main problem today in art criticism is having a clear understanding of what standards are applicable in this field.
The public cannot simply do without art critics because they are indispensable; although it may be true that value judgements are becoming a thing of the past especially because society continues to eliminate the standards with which artistic species can be assessed.
The rate at which artistic tastes are changing is quite unpredictable and there seems to be a void in place; one that would be filled if there were explanations on what is really going on at such times.
The public sphere has become more interested in pursuing its own issues rather than focusing on societal transformations. Eventually, this leads to a situation where critical activity needs to be redefined.
Indeed, some art critics are redefining this role through the focus on art writing. Here, authors prefer to dwell on immediate impressions of art rather than the political connotations inherent in them.
In other words, the best way in which art criticism can survive in this rapidly evolving art industry is by becoming more assertive and focused on the objects as they are and not as they should be.
Since it has already been illustrated that cultural transitions are playing a large role in the crisis then art critics can work around this problem by looking within art rather than looking outside it.
In essence they can then focus on aesthetics rather than give value judgements. This immediately dissolves the many conflicts that have arisen in the recent past. In other words, the art critics should already accept the fact that judgements about good artistic pieces have already been made.
Indeed, the reason why most art critics lose their place in society is because most will assume that they already know what is best.
However, these premises are never welcome in a relativist atmosphere as no one wants to accept the fact that someone else will prescribe the truth for them (Charlesworth, 2005).
Another manner in which the issue of art criticism maybe solved is through the shift from interpretation to form based criticism. Content based criticism is what has brought along most of the conflicts the art criticism industry is facing.
Content gained favour over form in art when critics ignored the mimetic theory which postulates that all art is an imitation of material objects which are in themselves imitations of others.
Opponents of the mimetic theory instead believed that art is subjective expression and should there be treated as a statement made by the concerned artist.
This means that those concerned always had something that they could interpret from the work of art and it led to the popularity of form based interpretation. Such premises eventually led to the defence of art and this is why art criticism is bound to create conflict.
The problems being experienced today can be addressed fully if art critics were to move away from this defensive position and take on a bold and assertive position.
When artistic interpretation occurs, they may lead to positive consequences in certain scenarios and may bring on horrible results. These all depend on the cultural components of the societies under consideration.
Because it is relatively difficult to establish standards which can be used to interpret art then chances are that meanings will always be contested. This takes away from art its richness because instead of really looking at an artistic piece, interpretation causes most individuals to focus on what is behind it.
Ultimately, this hinders art from doing what it was really meant to do i.e. making an impact on people. Real art has the capacity to move people and to challenge them, however, when an interpretation is done then this attempts to establish some kind of conformity (Sontang, 1961). In other words, sometimes, the interpretations may be misguiding and may actually bring out the wrong meaning of the piece.
On the other hand, one may understand it in another way; some art critics choose to interpret because they are in essence unsatisfied with a piece of art and actually want it replaced with another.
Those critics may not be aware of these inclinations but they still exist anyway. If artistic pieces are taken on as brute objects which have a capacity to create certain emotions and sensibilities then they would eradicate the current problems that stakeholders in the artistic criticism world are going through.
Indeed photographs and film present a new form of art that has already demonstrated how form can be sufficient enough to appreciate the value of art. Criticisms that dwell on the appearance of art would not elicit the current problems and this therefore would be a step in the right direction.
Furthermore, modern society frowns upon numerous interpretations so one might as well do away with this critical component. Overproduction has become a challenge in this society and because of these excesses; many individuals senses have become numb.
The best way to deal with this slackening of senses is by dwelling on art criticisms that would help to recover those senses. In other words, the reality of art should be the main focal point rather than the expectations or the content of that art. Society has clearly illustrated its need for this new approach.
Conclusion
There is a crisis in art criticism because of economic conditions of the critics themselves, prevalence of relativism in society, failure to distinguish between high and low end cultures and the lack of reconciliation between value terms in the past and those ones existing today.
This crisis can be solved using two approaches and the first is art writing while the second simply involves moving away from content based analyses to form based ones.
References
Sontang, S. (1961). Against interpretation and other essays. NY: Farrar
Charlesworth, J. (2005). What has happened to art criticism? Art Monthly, No. 269 A small history of photography. Retrieved from Http://Artodisiac.Files.Wordpress.Com/2010/01/A-Small-History-Of-Photography.Pdf
Rubinstein, R. (2003). A quiet crisis. Art In American, 91(3), 39
Chen, P. (1976). The entity-relationship model Toward a unified view of data. ACM Transactions on Database Systems,1(1), 9-36.
Purpose (What are the objectives for writing the paper?):
The author undertakes a critical review of the previously proposed models of data management and proposes an inclusive framework to unite them in new database design.
Design / Methodology / Approach (How are the objectives achieved? Include the main methods used for the research and the approach to the topic.):
The study is designed to combine elements of critique with exploratory work.
No methodological procedures were discussed in the paper.
The paper is organized into three parts. In the first one, Chen (1976) introduces a new model that covers multiple views on data.
The core objective of the second chapter is to present a tool for designing databases.
The goal of the third chapter was to evaluate and critique the existing models of database organization and demonstrate their integration into the new framework.
The author achieves these aims by using logic, critical thinking, mathematical calculations, and case study elements.
Main Points / Findings / Conclusions (What are the main points? What was found in the course of the work, and what are the major conclusions? This will refer to analysis, discussion, or results.):
The critical achievement of the authors work is the successful unification of three models in the sphere of database design that have been previously discussed by academics.
The paper details the main steps of database organization such as the definition of entity and relationship sets, semantic information within those sets, the definition of value sets and attributes, and data organization within the framework of entity/relationship and primary key definition.
The work identifies three major constraints of data integrity: allowable values, permitted values, and existing values.
Chen (1976) argues that relational operators can become sources of ambiguity due to domains having different semantics in various relations, which is addressed by the entity-relationship model.
In his work, the author establishes that the network model has a significant flaw that consists of its poor processing of semantic changes, an issue that is also addressed by an entity-relationship framework through the introduction of related records.
The author does not make an apparent conclusion besides the fact that the newly proposed entity-relationship model may serve as a platform to unite three existing frameworks.
Implications to Practice and Knowledge (What outcomes and implications for practice and knowledge as well as applications and consequences are identified?):
The core practical implication of this academic paper is that the new model appears to solve data integrity problems and presents a logical multi-sided view of data. In terms of theoretical value, it identifies critical flaws in the entity, relational, and network data organization frameworks, and suggests ways to eliminate them. Besides, Chen (1976) produced a tool that can assist developers in using his model to create practical and efficient databases.
Critique (Which parts of the paper you like, and which parts of the paper you dont like? Why?):
The major drawback of the article is its lack of adequate self-evaluation. It seems to be a proper academic practice to critically approach ones innovations and offer insight into potential issues. In this case, the author presents little information on such problems. Also, the conclusion seems to be absent; this is atypical for scholarly papers and presents certain constraints on adequate comprehension. The quality of narration flow is further undermined by the abrupt paragraph endings and scarce transitions from topic to topic.
On the other hand, the author might be credited generously for his breadth of view and attempted systematization of existing knowledge. The abundance of illustrative material assists the readers understanding of key points and positively affects the presentation of data. Chen (1976) demonstrated that his research is properly grounded in the scientific works of his colleagues, which contributes to cohesiveness and development in this sphere of knowledge. Considering the complicated nature of the topic, the author could also be complimented for using no complex grammar and syntax structures and assisting readers in comprehending his work. Overall, the author provided a proper scientific paper thatthough not without issuesnonetheless contributes significantly to the development of data science and database design.
Reference
Chen, P. (1976). The entity-relationship model Toward a unified view of data. ACM Transactions on Database Systems, 1(1), 9-36.
Hawthorne appears critical about Aylmers actions in that the ultimate result of his actions is the death of her wife and not the redemption it was meant for. Men like Aylmer cannot overcome the limitations that nature brings no matter their efforts. On the other hand, the author seems to render an upper hand and talent to men than women both in mind and physical power. Women are represented in the story as submissive to men even for the latters interests, and the Aylmers husband is willing to go through the operation to please her husband. This paper looks at the womens presentation in The Birthmark and the women presentation around men.
Perception of who we are and how we should be, is not a self-identity only influenced by our private apprehension of who and how we are, but also by the society and culture in which we live in. in this story, men play an important role in the self-identity in women.
Georgiana is used to bring out the aspects of gender roles and submission of women in the society in which they live. Whether women become victims to interest of men as presented in the story in the conception that the love of Aylmer for his dear wife would be stronger if intertwined with the love of science, or that science and other influences have their say in enhancing mens highly perceived position in the society especially in the earlier times of emergent of science may remain a mystery.
Georgiana is presented in the story to have low self-identity to the extent of agreeing that a solution be tested as the mark displeases the husband. In this case, the perception of self is influenced by the husband attitude towards the presence of the birthmark. In fact, the perception Georgiana has on the husband is influenced by the husbands capability in science, and when she finds out more about the husbands scientific experiments in the reading folio, she esteems him the more.
The acceptance of Georgiana for her husband to remove the birthmark, and subsequent urging of him to do so since he is a man of deep science seems to be mostly for the benefit of Aylmer, rather than Georgiana which is big sarcasm; she dares say that her husband should remove the mark or that her life be taken away. In this story, Georgiana is represented as though women are not responsible for their inadequacies . Women are represented as natural invalids, and denied the power of mind and body which is given to men (Herndl, 1993).
Perhaps the death of Georgiana at the success of the experiment may be used to imply that women, after having been denied both the power of mind and body, assumes a status more than human-either the perfect or supernatural status according to the aforementioned author. However, death may be taken to mean seize of existence of women which may be interpreted that they have lost the whole battle. The authors indication of the death of Georgiana can be interpreted as a failure result of mens efforts and strategies to deal with what is natural.
Death of Georgiana may be interpreted to mean punishment for the woman as a result of irresponsibility for her own life, or man-in this case Aylmer-loosing from the battle. The author presents women to live to please their husbands, in this respect. For Georgiana, the success of the experiment is important for the pleasure of her husband, and its failure may mean that they may both go mad . This is beyond the norm because the wife should see life beyond the failure of the experiment.
Aylmer seems to have worn the call for her wife to submit or at least believe in his experiments. The story seems to echo the tradition in some society settings that the role of men is distinct from that of the wife, and that women should submit under all circumstances. Women seem to have no right to make decisions even in guarding their lives leave alone important aspects of their lives. The story seems to advance earlier notions and perception of a woman in the traditional set up as compared to current calls for equality of women.
The ideas advanced in this story seem to well agree with those in the traditional set up where women had specific roles defined for them and separated from those roles meant for women. Women therefore are presented as limited to pursuing science, both mentally and culturally because the presence of Georgiana at the laboratory stirs discomfort for both her husband and his laboratory assistant Aminadab. These ideas have been suppressed in the modern tradition. In fact, in some cases the modern society has the roles of both men and women mixed up, or without clear cut.
The author seems to present Aylmer as a product of the historical society in which he lives, who, even though they knew the limitation of natural possibilities, they continued to propose methods whereby wonders might be wrought in hardly less curious and imaginative ways. Men are represented to live in their own world and shape that of women, including the death of the latter (Monica, 2003).
This may point to support the fact that the society and its culture in which man evolves, may determine his way of life, for example, how he solves his problem. Probably, more sympathetic is that application of methods to solving ones problem as they were solved by the ancestors may, in fact, lead to such damages like one Aylmer does; killing her wife for the sake of eliminating a mere mark on her cheek, imposed by nature. In this scenario, Aylmer does not know the implications of his chemical experiments but goes ahead to implement the solution, probably with his mind puffed up by the amount of success he could get.
Aylmer is presented as a natural man, who despite the efforts and aspirations, cannot escape the limitations of his physical nature, and his successes only appear to exist in theory while the practical aspects appear far from the aim; compared to the ideal aimed at, his most successes were almost invariably failures . The author does not seem to recognize that the woman is capable of defending her own life from such a misery, even in consideration of the subject of submission to her husband. In fact, the woman is presented as adoring the man because of his superiority that is defined in the aspect of upcoming science.
The story seems to elevate the status of men with Aylmer being well versed with scientific and research methods, and in fact, ready to eliminate the birthmark on the ladys cheek using these methods. The interest of Aylmer in search of an answer to eliminate the birthmark seems too high. In addition to being presented in the story as objects of submission, women do not seem to have either the right or a chance for exploring (or even knowing) science as does men. We see Aminadab and Aylmer not pleased by the appearance of Georgiana into the laboratory. Aminadab signals her husband who reacts in a displeased mood to have Georgiana get out of the place.
The author seems to present Georgiana as weaker in understanding science and amazed at the objects she is shown by the husband, including the optical phenomena at exclusion. In the readings, Georgiana probably sees the extra-ordinaries of her husband and speaks of the readings making her to worship him more than ever before. In this aspect, men are presented as able to use their intelligence to venture into the realm beyond the womens possibility, reach and understanding.
In fact, the presentation of mens superiority in science, intelligence and capability conquers with Aristotles conviction that only men had the capacity for and access to truth while women could not surpass opinion. These ideas have been opposed in the current trend where women are more concerned in being granted more rights as those of men. Today, women have by far broken down such perceptions that women cannot surpass opinion, especially with more women emerging as influential leaders in various fields.
Today, women do not only champion for equal rights to job opportunities and other gender issues but are against gender discrimination and violence. Unlike in the story, women today have made not mere entry into fields they could not be allowed into, but that they have made important contributions there. The story is well versed with the traditional society which not only demeans women but also considers her as an object of submission and with abilities lesser to those of men. Thus the story seems to contain bias against women than men, and this bias is greatly reduced in the current society.
While Aylmer is presented as both mentally and physically fit, his wife is presented as with a physical and even a mental defect to some extent. Perhaps men are presented as capable of having a stronger self-identity as compared to women. Aylmer is of high self-esteem, confident in self, and brings in solution through his science. Aylmer believes so much in his science that he can draw a magic circle around his wife and no evil would intrude.
His ambition to remove the birthmark on his wifes cheek is well represented, and he declares his competence to make the cheek faultless. His historic work is said to have cut into the interests of science and received recognition among scholars, and his test for rendering the wifes cheek free from the birthmark is declared successful although ignorant of the damage it causes by eliminating life. He views that the success of his experiment for removing the birthmark on the wifes cheek should lead the wife into worshiping him if she should, and would be his triumph.
Reference and Bibliography
Gerald Lynch and David Rampton. (2005). (eds). Short Fiction: An Introductory Anthology. 2nd. Toronto: Nelson. Pg1 -14.
Herndl Diane Price. (1993). Invalid women: figuring feminine illness in American fiction and culture, 1840-1940. UNC Press.
Monika Elbert. (2003). Whartons hybridization of Hawthornes brand of Gothic: gender crossings in Ethan brand and bewitched . ATQ (The American Transcendental Quarterly).
Weinstein Cindy. (1995). The Literature of Labor and the Labors of Literature: Allegory in Nineteenth-Century American Fiction. Cambridge University Press.
The short story Rocking Horse Winner portrays destiny of a middle class woman and her family. The story vividly portrays that the woman has no luck unable to find the happiness and occupation for herself. Her son, Paul, desires to win at the house races spending much time and efforts at the Derby. In terms of psychological theory of Freud, subconscious values drive Paul and his desires, and lead him to a tragic end. Thesis Horse winner symbolizes desire of a family to prosper and become wealthy, but at the same time desire is subconscious ego of the characters unable to organize their life and family life.
The short story is based on subconscious values and ideals imposed by the mother on her son. Repressed into the unconscious it still survives there, struggling for expression, appearing in disguised form as an annoying symptom, which is also exaggerated still more by the focusing upon it of the realization of another repressed wishthat of overthrowing his brother and father. This desire is projected into other males but is not attributed to females. Lawrence stands on heights with women without fear. Paul reports them, and suggests that one might attempt to show that these alone were adequate explanation. He knew the horse could take him to where there was luck, if only he forced it. So he would mount again and start on his furious ride, hoping at last to get there (Lawrence, p. 230).
It seems that fear and desire are the integral part of Pauls personality. The origin of the fear may be sought for, and it is very likely to be traced to something that the child remembers full well but does not connect with his present fear. Thus it may be found to have originated in stories or experiences. Suppose that one of these is found to have been the unconscious cause of the present fearfulness. It does not relieve the child to be told of this origin, or to have the earlier experience called to mind. It may indeed only enhance his fright, reinforcing the effect of the falling objects which continue to strike the roof. Pauls mother only made several hundreds, and she was again dissatisfied. She so wanted to be first in something, and she did not succeed, even in making sketches for drapery advertisements (Lawrence, p. 236). Even if this explanation is unverifiable, but only a happy thought, it is likely to be efficacious. It affords or facilitates a cognitive, rather than an emotional reaction to the present stimulus (Beauchamp, p. 32).
The key to both these problems lies in the ambiguity of Pauls attitude to his mother. This attitude is, of course, basically one of loving regret for having abandoned her; but Laurence underlines that the alternative presentations of the same incident, there is a distinct, if guarded, hint of incestuous attraction between the mother and son. Physically, this took the form of disorientation and frequent falls (as mother spends off the money given by Paul). The problem is that the unconscious wishes exist but it is difficult to determine the nature of the barriers to their realization, and to map out the lines of compromise (Squires, p. 1). This formula is applied to all manner of cases. So much for the alleged facts. According to Freud, the charcter has suppressed subconscious values an incestuous desire for and love of his mother. There are two repressed wishes, one of these being a repressed desire to experience a moral fall in connection with the mother. Such words as fall from grace, and the like, show the nature of this desire, and explain why the desire to fall from a great height symbolically gratified or expressed this unconscious longing. But there is said to have been also a second unconscious, repressed wish, namely, the desire to make someone else fall-to throw them down or to do them harm which originated in his longing to tear his own brother from his mothers arms and from his jealous hostility to his father (Beauchamp, p. 32). Now, by the mechanism of projection this wish becomes lodged in the mind of others, especially of other men. The main character thus develops the notion that they also have the desire to throw him down, that is, displace him, overthrow him from his privileged place. Thus the fear of standing by another man on a high place is said symbolically to express this second unconscious striving. Paul refuse to accept the life that makes their family a subordinate to money. Poor devil, poor devil, hes best gone out of a life where he rides his rocking-horse to find a winner (Lawrence, p. 243).
In sum, the short story vividly portrays that subconscious values drive the main character and his actions, his life and choices. Paul seems to take to the audience, a stance that is much more subtle and ambiguous than the sentimental, poetic sincerity that has determined the way of thoughts and actions. Subconscious desire for prosperity leads to the terror and the glory of life, and inability of Paul to change life circumstances and his destiny. The main characters struggle toward the achievement of wealth against poverty and life grievances.
Works Cited
Beauchamp, G. Lawrences the Rocking-House Winner. The Explicator, 31 (1973), 54.
Lawrence, D.H. The Woman who Rode Away and Other Stories (1928) edited by Dieter Mehl and Christa Jansohn, Cambridge University Press, 1995, pp. 230-243
Squires, M. Modernism and the Contours of Violence in D. H. Lawrences Fiction. Studies in the Novel, 39 (2007), 1.
Decision-making in various situations depends on the paradigm a person uses to analyze the results of their actions and choices. Under these conditions, there are numerous theories that might be applicable to various situations to determine their nature and outcomes. For instance, consequentialism is a paradigm implying that the ethics of an action depends on the consequences promoted by it (Sinnott-Armstrong). In other words, decisions should be made regarding the results and effects they cause on others.
It makes consequentialism close to utilitarianism, as both concepts revolve around similar ideas. The second one differentiates between good and wrong actions by emphasizing outcomes and their impact on other people or communities (Sinnott-Armstrong). In such a way, utilitarianism can be viewed as a form of consequentialism focusing on the results of any decision-making process and its ability to improve the situation.
Main body
Application of the utilitarian perspective can help to analyze various actions and consider their acceptability. As stated previously, the given theory revolves around the fact that to be ethical, an effort should lead to the betterment of a person or groups state; otherwise, it cannot be considered a good one (Lazari-Radek and Singer 89). At the same time, a decision beneficial for one individual might cause damage to another one, which introduces a certain dilemma that should be resolved.
For this reason, from the utilitarian perspective, a morally right consequence should contribute to the cultivation of the most significant amount of good for the bigger part of people involved in the situation (Lazari-Radek and Singer 98). Disregarding this idea will result in the deterioration of outcomes and their unacceptability from the ethical perspective, meaning that such solutions should be avoided.
In such a way, utilitarianism can be viewed as one of the ethical theories that can improve decision-making processes and avoid causing harm to others. In real-life situations, the application of this framework implies the following actions. First, it is vital to consider how the planned activity will influence a person who directly depends on the solution. Second, it is critical to think about the effects the action will cause on a group or other individuals related to the situation.
This step is explained by the fact that utilitarianism focuses on promoting good for the biggest possible amount of people (Lazari-Radek and Singer 98 101). Finally, having analyzed all these factors, it is possible to make a final decision and remain confident in its acceptability from the ethical perspective. In such a way, in everyday life, utilitarianism demands a specific analysis of actions and their results.
Applying the discussed framework to the offered experiment, it is possible to state that helping a friend is not morally right. This assumption comes from the central ideas of utilitarian ethics. Although the friend might acquire some benefits, the decision to lie to their significant other will lead to undesired consequences. First, this person might suffer because of cheating and lies told to cover it. Second, a person from the club can also be disappointed as they might not know that the friend is in a relationship. Finally, in a long-term perspective, the friends affair might also cause harm to them and destroy relations. For this reason, it is not right to try to cover them and lie. The consequences of this action will not be morally acceptable and create the basis for the growing dissatisfaction of numerous people.
Although utilitarianism seems a potent tool for making decisions and ensuring no harm is done to people, it still has some criticisms. For instance, one of the popular claims linked to this paradigm focuses on the necessity to remain detached when analyzing various decisions (Mill 114). In real interactions, it is almost impossible as people have emotional bonds with others, meaning that individuals with their preferences and specific relations always influence others solutions and their intentions. However, from the utilitarian perspective, it is impossible to think subjectively and disregard the needs of a friend or another close person, focusing on the greater good for others instead (Mill 115).
The necessity to remain cold, unsympathizing, and neutral is often criticized, as almost all real-life situations imply the strong influence of personal preferences and emotions. It becomes a serious problem for utilitarianism, as it limits the scope of its application and makes it difficult to follow.
Conclusion
Altogether, utilitarianism can be viewed as a form of consequentialism focusing on the results of actions and decisions. This paradigm emphasizes the need to analyze activities to ensure they lead to the improvement of others states and the emergence of additional benefits. Otherwise, the action cannot be considered a good one and should not be performed. Applying this framework, it is possible to analyze numerous situations, such as those mentioned in the experiment. It is unacceptable to lie to the friends significant other as it will make them suffer. However, the concept is criticized for the need to remain detached and neutral, which is always difficult in real-life situations. Most interactions are influenced by emotions and personal preferences, meaning that employing utilitarianism in everyday life might be complex.
Works Cited
Lazari-Radek, Katarzyna, and Peter Singer. Utilitarianism: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press, 2017.
Mill, John Stuart. Utilitarianism. Coventry House Publishing, 2017.
Sinnott-Armstrong, Walter. Consequentialism. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2020. Web.
Overall, any work of literature should be analyzed from various standpoints such as for instance, cultural, social, historic etc, certainly if it is possible. It seems that only one approach cannot reflect all the complexity of art. Thus, it is difficult to single out only one method of criticism. However, I would like to focus on feminist perspective because it enables to discover new aspect in such works, which has always been regarded as thoroughly studied (Judith Lowder Newton, 1985).
Feminist criticism is primarily aimed at redefining the role of female characters in any work of literature. The supporters of this school argue that this aspect has been overlooked or even deliberately disregarded. As a result, we may have a distorted perception of even well-known novels, plays, poems, etc. In addition to that such perspective gives us a good opportunity to trace the relationships between both sexes. Although, it is traditionally called as feminist , we should say that, in fact, such form of criticism advocates gender equality and tolerance (Judith Lowder Newton, 1985).
We may take such famous Shakespeares tragedies as Othello or Hamlet. It should be pointed out that the role of Ophelia or for instance Desdemona has yet to be closely examined. Although, it is not openly stated by the author, we may see that gender relations are one of the most important aspects of Shakespeares plays. The dramaturge shows that men often regard women only as property, especially if we are speaking about Othello. It seems that feminist criticism can throw a new light on many literary works.
Therefore, it is quite possible for to arrive at the conclusion that feminist approach is an efficient method of literary analysis, even though some people often call prejudiced . Nevertheless, it should be taken into account that only one perspective is insufficient, because it we discuss, such play as Hamlet only from feminist point of view, we will definitely lose the essence of the famous tragedy.
Bibliography
Judith Lowder Newton, Deborah Silverton Rosenfelt (1985). Feminist Criticism and Social Change: Sex, Class, and Race in Literature and Culture. Taylor & Francis.
Starbucks is a multinational company operating in several countries throughout the world. The organizational culture of the company is much influenced by a multi-national environment and by socio-economic changes happening around the world. It becomes helpful for the company to appoint staff from the respective countries where it has its stores and its HR can thus function in accordance with the needs of the company. A positive impact occurs due to the prevalent culture which is evident from the low levels of diversity and the homogeneous culture that is common with all employees. The company has its own share of critics but its exceptional services and high-quality standards draw customers in large numbers throughout the world which has helped Starbucks a great deal in creating customer loyalty and support.
The main strength of the company lies in its giving top priority to exceptional service along with a friendly and positive organizational environment. Starbucks has demonstrated on several occasions that it values all cultures and does not allow intercultural differences to impede its business success. The company policies lead to unique ideologies and philosophies that have been its hallmark for several years. Pricing strategies are formulated in keeping with maintaining the consistency of product lines instead of individual products. A unique feature in this regard is the fact that some coffee products are priced to create value and status for the entire line instead of just gaining on their respective sales only. The high standards of quality have created a positive image for Starbucks which has permitted it to fix the best prices for its products.
As a consequence of adopting the given pricing strategies and the resultant potential for huge profitability, Starbucks has attracted a lot of competitors and critics, which is quite natural in an environment of global competition and growth that is happening in all spheres of economic activity. Organizational analysts have criticized Starbucks for adopting its own different culture that is said to be gradually and adversely impacting organizational performance and human relations in the industry. The company is being criticized for such strategies that threaten individual differences. Its exceptional services and high standards of quality have attracted millions of customers and created an image that has remained positively consistent for a long period.
However, the popularity of Starbucks is being increasingly attributed to the obsession that the world now has for owning brand names. The obsession for brand names has now invaded almost every product and service whether it is clothes, cars, toiletries or the coffee that we drink. Hence Starbucks is not considered by critics and analysts to have become popular for its coffee but for the status that it entails. Going to Starbucks signifies the discussion of corporate takeovers, setting up industries, feeling of enjoyment of urban luxuries, and the standardization and confirmation implied in its existence. The status earned by Starbucks is now corroborated by way of its presence in city corners, shopping malls and airports. But it is quite logical that such characteristics of a coffee chain are its strengths whether they are because of the quality of its coffee or because of the status it has earned for itself.
Starbucks has been accused of taking advantage and exploiting the superficiality present in consumer preferences. Its prices are said to be about thirty percent higher than other coffee chains, which analysts say is the prime reason for the sense of prestige and false perception of product quality and supremacy that consumers have started to have in visiting Starbucks. However such criticism is unfounded since in the current competitive environment all that matters is meeting consumer aspirations by giving them what they want, which is exactly what Starbucks is doing.
Critics have expressed that the coffee at Starbucks is not better than what is available at other coffee shops. The only difference lies in a large number of varieties at Starbucks. The extra money charged here for coffee is not for the latte that one consumes but for the lifestyle that people so badly desire these days. It is considered the ideal place for well-dressed businessmen and college-going students who love to discuss films and whatever is hot in the world. But it is also true that the public bases its decisions on wrong inferences. The present generation is superficial in assuming that personality can be defined by holding a paper cup and pretending to be a part of the culture that is revealed in places like Starbucks. However, every generation has its own peculiarities by way of attaining utility for doing what they do, which to is a matter of choice. Their requirements are met in coffee shops such as Starbucks, which have had the far sight to appeal to their aspirations and give them what they desire (Bonhivert, 2006).
Just as all big corporations have to face their respective share of criticism and backlash by vested groups and competitors, Starbucks too has on various occasions been faced with lawsuits and complaints that it has had to contest and tide over. In 2008 the company was given a verdict by a court to repay $100 million to over 100,000 baristas in California (BBC, 2009). But it was reversed by an appeals court in saying that supervisors and baristas performed the same duties, hence it does not have to return the millions of dollars to junior workers who were required to share tips with their supervisors. There have also been lawsuits in regard to managers in Starbucks who have claimed overtime for the number of hours that they spend doing non-managerial duties. Such attempts are targeted at negotiating higher salaries for workers who are not eligible for overtime and to highlight the issue in order to get better job definitions (Hayes, 2004).
There have been instances when Starbucks has received complaints pertaining to its services in regard to customer service, untrained staff and lack of professionalism, rude employees, and delay in service (My3cents, 2009). However, these are minor and very rare occurrences that can be rectified and which are invariably present in the best of service centres.