Mrs. Warrens Profession Essays - Mrs. Warrens Profession

Mrs. Warren's Profession In life the struggle between what is good and necessary for the individual and the moral values placed upon people by society is constantly present. This is true of the characters in George Bernard Shaw's play Mrs. Warren's Profession. Shaw demonstrates that doing something frowned upon by society does not have to be an evil thing so long as it is good for the individual. Perhaps the most obvious example of societal morals conflicting with individual need is the case of Mrs. Kitty Warren. Mrs. Warren is a woman whose economic standing and lack of any professional skills forced her into becoming a prostitute. Obviously such a profession is against the beliefs of the society that she lives in. Not only is she not ashamed of her occupation, she is proud of the amount of money that it, as well as managing several houses of prostitution, has made for her. When asked of any shame about her job by her daughter she states, "Well of course dearie, it's only good manners to be ashamed of it: it's expected of a woman." This statement shows that the only reason that one would be ashamed of it is because of society says that one should be. She feels that the restrictions that society has placed on women has made it impossible for her to pursue any other lifestyle. She demonstrates this by saying, "It's far better than any other employment open to [women]... It can't be right, Vivie, that there shouldn't be better opportunities for women." Shaw is attempting to evoke sympathy for the character of Mrs. Warren by pitting her against a society that is against her. He is quite obviously in favor of the actions that Mrs. Warren has taken, as demonstrated by the very reasonable rationalization for what she has done and the approving reaction of her daughter Vivie. While it can be seen that Shaw approves of going against societal morals in the case of need, he is in the direct opposite opinion when it comes to continually doing it for only the purposes of greed. This is clearly shown when it is discovered by Vivie that Mrs. Warren, while definitely having enough money to live on, still engages in the business of prostitution. Describing her reasons for continuing with her profession, Mrs. Warren says, "It means a new dress every day; it means theatres every night ... it means everything you like everything you want, everything you can think of." These reasons obviously do not cause the sympathy that accompanied her reasons for starting her occupation in the first place. In fact they begin to cause feelings of disgust that someone would do that simply to get even more money than the fortune that they already have amassed. It is due to the disapproval of this continuation that Mrs. Warren is punished by not only losing the sympathy, but also gaining the anger of her daughter. Another example of Shaw's disapproval for acting against societal morals simply for the purposes of greed is shown through the character of Frank Gardner. Frank's main goal throughout the play is to marry Vivie in order to gain part of the huge amount of money that is given to Vivie by her mother. Clearly this is against the normally socially accepted reason for marrying, and will benefit Frank. Because he is simply doing it out of greed instead of necessity Shaw does not make create an aura of sympathy for him. He paints him as an annoying manipulative character that is constantly insulting his own father, a reverend, with comments such as, " You're not intellectual or artistic ; are you, pater." Throughout the play Vivie, again acting as the representative of Shaw's views, is constantly blowing off his attempts at winning her affection. Finally gives up his attempts when he realizes how her mother earns the money. He states , "I really can' bring myself to touch the old woman's money now." Vivie is quite glad to be rid of him. Shaw's opinions on society against the individual are clearly outlined in this play. Through the actions and words of the character Vivie it can be clearly seen that he finds nothing wrong with breaking the rules placed on people by society, providing that it is for a good reason and not simply fro self indulgence. The conclusion could be drawn that Shaw feels that these morals are fine in a perfect society, but since we do not live in one they must be broken occasionally

Free Essays on A Modest Proposal Jonathan Swift

for the first time. The utter irony, and sadism they must have felt, being compared to such perverse actions. It is probably safe to say that Swift threw more than a few stones with this essay, but more likely he directed a landslide toward the ruling government of that time.... Free Essays on A Modest Proposal Jonathan Swift Free Essays on A Modest Proposal Jonathan Swift Written in complete parody, Jonathan Swift addresses the issue of dealing with the poor in Ireland in his satirical work, â€Å"A Modest Proposal†. During a time when a caste system was a basis for government, and when the English who governed Ireland held Catholicism in disdain, Swift clearly threw stones with his essay. The author begins by blaming the existence of the poor for the hardships of the kingdom; this is complete irony, since it would be the existence of the government (as it were) that caused the hardships of the poor during this time period. In essence, the author is blaming the government and the politicians of murder by starvation of the poor due to heavy taxation. While it allowed the landlords and owners of the property, that the poor work so hard to cultivate, escape the heavy taxation, and only imposing what would amount to a token payment when compared equally with the taxes required of the poor. Swift even goes so far as to suggest that the way of life and suffering that is imposed on the poor is so bad, that they would trade an early, or easy death for the life the poor currently live. The reader is next drawn into a theory of being able to solve the problem of the overwhelming poor by saying that they can be â€Å"useful members of the commonwealth† (52). Going a step further, Swift states that his method will be easy in comparison to the high cost of caring for these individuals as proposed by others. And finally Swift reveals his theory to be the sale and consumption of the young infant stock of the poor. To be able to see the faces of the politicians as they read these words for the first time. The utter irony, and sadism they must have felt, being compared to such perverse actions. It is probably safe to say that Swift threw more than a few stones with this essay, but more likely he directed a landslide toward the ruling government of that time....

Liability of Law Enforcement Officers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Liability of Law Enforcement Officers - Essay Example Yes. This is evident in the two cases of Castle Rock v. Gonzales and Brosseau v. Haugen. In the cases, it is clear that there was unfair treatment to complainants and the Supreme Court had judged in favor towards the law enforcement officials. No. This is because in the first case of Castle Rock v. Gonzales, the plaintiff had called the police station severally to report the case of the missing daughters and their whereabouts yet the police failed to act. Later on the accused showed up in the police station and started a shootout with the police and by that time, he had killed the three daughters. Therefore, the police had no immunity in the case. In the second case, officer Brosseau was in the wrong because she shot a person who had not posed any threat to her life or the life of anybody in that matter (Del Carmen, 2009, p. 450). No. this is because if such a concept is accepted, the police officers will carry out unfair arrests and killings without fear of persecution as in the case of Brosseau v. Haugen (Del Carmen, 2009, p. 451). Yes. This will enable the citizens to get fair trials because they will have the power to complain over extra judicial killings or arrests. It will also act as a shield of the citizens towards the police over the way they conduct themselves in times of critical decision-making (Del Carmen, 2009, p. 450). In both cases, it is evident that the police officers had acted unjustly to the complainants. The judges’ decisions on both cases were also unfair. Therefore, in conclusion there is unjust treatment in the legal

Qualitative & Quantitative Designs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Qualitative & Quantitative Designs - Essay Example Both research designs are suitable for establishing how lack of communication is increasingly becoming a business problem within non-profit organizations. However, each approach has inherent strengths and weaknesses that make them suitable or not to solve the business problem. Establishing the issue of miscommunication in non-profit organizations can be successful due to the strengths associated with the qualitative research design. Such a design gives insight and explores the significance of miscommunication as a business problem. For example, the article uses the grounded theory approach, which is a qualitative research design. It is evident that qualitative research design is holistic as it approaches the issue right from its stem to its effect on business performance. It involves interviewing and reviewing the records held by the non-profit organization. The results are supported by the data obtained from interviews and observations. However, the method is quite broad. It covers a wide area and even includes items that have not been affected by the business problem. It takes a lot of time to research the issue at hand because the researcher had to formulate, test, and establish propositions until the problem is established. On the other hand, the quantitative research design successfully establishes the problem and dissects is cause and effect relationship. In addition, the method allows relationships to be tested, hence it is objective. The method is time saving or reductionistic as it only test items that are affected. The aspects of business performance affected by miscommunication include high staff turnover and reduced corporate social responsibility functions. The method tests theories and employs statistical analysis of figures. However, the method is limited by the fact that it generalizes items in an attempt to establish the cause and effect relationship. It might not be

Obey Direct Orders Essay Example for Free

Obey Direct Orders Essay There are more than a few reasons that lawful orders should be obeyed. These orders are given for a variety of reasons, and should be followed whether or not you understand or agree with them. Orders are sometimes given simply to keep soldiers to maintain their military bearing and display a proper image of the United States Armed Forces. Other times they are given to protect the soldier or to protect the soldiers around him/her. No matter what, an order should be carried out without question, because if you question orders that seem less important, you could get someone hurt because you were wasting time ignoring or questioning an order that you thought was unimportant. A soldier is given a great many orders that fall into the first category I discussed, maintaining military bearing. These orders range from keeping in step and swinging your arms in formation, to not moving while talking on your phone. All of these orders have reasoning behind them that has applications on the battlefield. For instance, if you are keeping in step and swinging your arms in formation, then you are paying attention to the cadence that is being given, so if you get a command by whoever is marching you, you are already paying attention and can react quickly. This can be the difference between life and death in a combat zone. The same thing can be said about talking on the phone while walking around. You need to not have any distractions when you are patrolling an area. If you are not alert, you could get yourself killed by an IED, or worse you could get others killed. So while these orders may not seem to have all that much importance in the here and now, they actually have a great deal of importance in that they train you in how you need to behave while deployed, so they should be followed with just as much care as any other order. Another type of order that is given is an order that is designed directly to protect you or those around you. Every time you are given an order to do guard duty or a cleaning detail, that order is there to protect yourself and others. When you are asked to pull guard duty, you are actively watching for threats to those that you are guarding. If an insurgent were to try to enter your AO when there was no guard, he could do a lot of damage before he was noticed, and he could kill a lot of people. If you have a guard on post, the same insurgent is likely to be killed or taken into custody with no loss of U.S. Soldiers. When here in training you are practicing the ability to stay alert while on those guard duties. If you were to fall asleep on duty, or not report, then you could be responsible for the deaths of your fellow soldiers. A less obvious threat than insurgents are the bacteria and diseases that you are helping to keep under control every time you follow an order to do a cleaning detail. If these orders are not followed then our fighting force could become crippled by sickness. So you can see even cleaning details are in place to help protect you and your fellow soldiers. In the end the point is, whether or not you understand the reason you are being given an order, or agree with that order, it needs to be followed. Failing to follow orders can cause people to get hurt, or can put you in the position of not having the focus or discipline to stay out of harms way yourself. Follow orders every time.

Tourette Syndrome Essay examples -- Biology Essays Research Papers

Tourette Syndrome I have been intrigued by this disorder since I met a beautiful little girl named Sarah. Sarah's father recently told me that doctors have informed him that Sarah may have Tourette Syndrome. I had visions in my mind of a little girl shouting profanity uncontrollably with arms flailing about, although the times that I have been with Sarah have never been marked by these actions. I set out to find more information to satisfy my own curiosity and to make myself a resource for Sarah's father. Tourette Syndrome (TS) was first officially described over 100 years ago by a French neurologist named Gilles de la Tourette, a pupil of Charcot's and a friend of Freud's. He described nine patients, primarily Madame de Dampierre, by saying: At the age of 7 (she) was afflicted by convulsive movements of the hands and arms. . . She was felt to be suffering from overexcitement and mischief, and . . . she was subjected to reprimand and punishment. It soon became clear that these movements were indeed in voluntary. . . involved the shoulders, the neck, and the face, and resulted in contortions and extraordinary grimaces (1). Soon after the motor tics developed, Dampierre developed vocal tics consisting of screams and cries. Until her death at 85, she was forced to live in seclusion (2). Between 1920 and 1960, TS was all but forgotten, and psychiatrists and psychoanalysts treated the symptoms as suppressed aggression, which proved ineffective (1). When drugs such as haloperidol were able to alleviate symptoms in the 1960's, however, Giles de la Tourette's initial observations were reevaluated. Dr. Oliver Sacks notes, "Tourette's was regarded - in a sudden reversal - as a chemical disease, the result of a neurotransmitter, dopamine... ...ourette Syndrome. http://neuro-www2.mgh.harvard.edu/TSA/AboutTS/faq.html 7. Definitions and Classification of Tic Disorders. The Tourette Syndrome Classification Study Group. http://tsa.harvard.edu/TSA/medsci/definitions.html 8. Personal Health: Living with the Mysteries of Tourette Syndrome. Brody, Jane E. The New York Times, March 1, 1995. http://tsa.mgh.harvard.edu/TSA/whatshappening/brody.html 9. An Early Warning for Tics?: Faint Signals, Sensory Urges, and Momentary Relief. Leckman Ph.D., James F. National TSA Newsletter - Spring 1996. http://tsa.harvard.edu/TSA/medetter/spring1996.html 10. The Facts about Tourette Syndrome. Alternative Health. http://members.tripod.com/~tourette13/ 11. Scientists Brainstorm to Find Cure for Tourette Syndrome. Weizmann Institute of Science. http://wis-wander.weizmann.ac.il/site/EN/weizman.asp?pi=372

Ethical Leadership: What It Is and How We Use It in Schools Essay

In the context of the present century, when the entire course of life is changing much faster than ever, rapidly increasing body of knowledge in every walk of life has made tinier issues look magnified. Today, what is considered as a most important requisite of a plan or strategy may not have even been noticed in the past days. As such, education is one domain where challenges of the present time of diversity are felt more than in any other area. Thus educational management and leadership is one area that catches a good deal of scholarly attention. When it comes to leadership, ethical leadership takes the lead because today leadership in schools is something highly challenging due to the diverse environment of cultural diversity and so on. The present paper carefully examines the phenomenon of ethical leadership, and then makes empirical analysis as how it can be employed usefully in schools for better outcomes. For this purpose, the present paper takes into account extensive research with regard to ethical leadership in schools. Today, the need for exploring the phenomenon of ethical leadership in an academic environment has become a necessity especially for those working at such positions: principals and teachers. The present writer is a teacher and considers that the study of ethical leadership is highly important for professional growth and substantial results with regard to training of pupils being taught at any level of schools. This study, henceforth, is useful not only for professional teachers, but it also encompasses grounds for other related people in the field. It will also be worthwhile for the common reader. Problem Statement On the face value, the phenomenon of ethical leadership remains a complex area which is in need of exploration for its better understanding and implication in practical ways in a school or college, etc. For example, what is known from the observable behaviors of leaders like principals and teachers may not be sufficient to mark any solid statement with regard to the definition and implication of ethical leadership. However, this is another grey area to point out that observable behaviors have not been fully investigated in this regard. Different practices of leadership, say across the educational setting of the United States of America, exist and need to be interpreted for a comprehensive exploration of ethics and the use of ethics to lead. As such it is important to address both these areas. From the explicit definition of explanation of what ethical leadership is to how it can be best practiced to positively influence an academic environment is at the core of the problem. A number of researchers have already delved into this area; however, more digging is needed. The present paper looks at the issues from both the sides: from its explanation to its implementation in best possible conditions. Literature Review Available literature on ethical leadership yields a good deal of information. The Concise Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Craig, p. 256, 2000) states the following explanation for ethics: â€Å"What is ethics? First, the systems of value and custom instantiated in the lives of particular groups of human beings are described as the ethics of these groups†. This definition tells us that ethical leadership is about practices that leaders exercise with regard to pupils studying in their institutions. It means not merely controlling the physical actions of the learners but influencing their values and customs in a positive way. To Campbell (2000), â€Å"Ethics are standards by which one should act based on values. Values are core beliefs such as duty, honor, and integrity that motivate attitudes and actions† (p. 23). As such, ethical leadership is something that aims at addressing the issues of attitudes and strikes morally the attitudes of workers and students in such a manner which positively provokes high level of motivation. According to Covrig, D. M. 2000), ethical leadership â€Å"is the practice of effective ethical decision making and leadership which responds to, preserves and clarifies the organization’s core values. Conflict and conflict resolution suggest a healthy moral administrative process† (p. 40). If we look at this definition, we will notice that preserving and clarifying an organization’s core values is one important factor that keep s the ethical leadership going. As such one simply observable point here is that an organization, say a school, will only adhere to its core values only when these values are well defined and logged. If the values are not well defined, no effort will result in preserving any value because, according to the present writer, there will not be any values worth mentioning. This will, in turn, give no positive feedback for the practice of ethical leadership. Sergiovanni (1992) defines ethics in the following manner: When purpose, social contract, and local school autonomy become the basis of schooling, two important things happen. The school is transformed from an organisation to a covenantal community, and the basis of authority changes from an emphasis on bureaucratic and psychological authority to moral authority (p. 102). Foster (1986) pointed out the serious implication and significance of ethics in educational management as he penned that, â€Å"Each administrative decision carries with it a restructuring of human life: that is why administration at its heart is the resolution of moral dilemmas† (p. 33). This definition again informs us of the importance of dealing with values and moral code of students instead of controlling them outwardly so that true basis of character can be fostered. The ethical leadership also addresses the role played by faculty and teachers. This is a switch-over from traditional views about leadership because they are simply top-down. They consider influence in terms of a mechanical process. Hashem (1997) observes that â€Å"The conventional leadership concepts and practices which rely on top-down philosophy, decisiveness, unemotional, and total control have been challenged by the transformational concept and more empowering practices† (p. 94). When it comes to ethical leadership, ‘what is to be achieved? ’ is the question often asked by the critical eyes. The purpose of ethical leadership is to seed in students the confidence to build or construct knowledge genuinely by addressing their natural demands. Hence ethical leadership is constructivist in approach. According to Henson (2004) by this approach, students construct knowledge through the process in which an interaction between their perception about their knowledge and new knowledge and ideas and experiences that come to their way of learning. This way the students practice highest possible model of ethical learning which is possible only if leaders practice ethical code to train their students. Initial research worth-noticing in this area links as back to the past as the 1980s. Forty empirically conducted studies were reviewed by Reid et al. 2004). They investigated the impact of school heads on different aspects of students’ functioning and teacher’s activities. With regard to the leadership impact on students, they found out positive attitudes of students to school, better mathematical and reading skills, and absenteeism + vandalism were reduced. With regard to the impact of school leaders on teachers, Reid at el. found out that teachers’ satisfaction for job increased; they used innovative techniques in classroom. Additionally, seven studies were conducted by Majestic et al. 2004). These studies also affirm that leadership by principals in schools positively impacted students’ basic learning skills and teachers’ attitude toward job satisfaction and employment of innovation by them in classroom settings. However, the researchers also came up with four additional types of impacts. Andrews et al. (2002) also undertook a study in which they analyzed scores gained by students on standardized tests to examine the influence of school leaders. Teachers rated their principals on a band of strong, average, and weak leaders. The findings presented high correlations between what was achieved and how strong ethical leadership of these leaders was in both mathematical and reading skills. Four major areas were listed in this study, which were directly or indirectly influential for the strength of ethical leadership. These were: (i) mobilization of human and material capital by principals to meet school’s targets; (ii) effective communication with regard to negotiating the set-goals; (iii) their active involvement in school’s teaching practices; and (iv) the time span that these principals spent to make their presence known at school. These four areas are very influential if the leaders are at the top of the grid, that is, if they are trying their level best to perform better in these four areas. As far as loyalty of teachers with regard to their teaching practices and leadership influence down to students, the principals who had the ability to address the moral issues of both the faculty and students were successful in attaining higher level of loyalty from their teachers (Spillane, 2004). As such, a number of school administrations have come to realize the importance of ethical leadership as being the powerful tool that can yield higher results in students not only with regard to their learning but also to the higher order thinking and moral strength of these students as prospective individual citizens. Now the focus should be how effectively these ethical leaders affect the course of learning of their students in connection with the above as well as in the present context of changing cultures, cultural assimilations, self-concept in the fast-paced world, sense of community service, and so forth. This should be our future schools (Hargreaves 2004 8-13). In this very regard, Hart (2004) points out to the importance of understanding and addressing the inside-school culture and its impact on the knowledge-construction and ethical character of the learners. According to him, future research should focus on the elements as to what extent the culture of a school helps train students ethical healthy and how much contribution can be made on the side of the principals and teachers (pp. 117-28). With this all review of literature review, what can be noticed is that ethical leadership is not a simple phenomenon which addresses only one or two areas of school leadership and the training of the learners in a school. Substantially, ethical leadership is about building better moral values for character building and higher order thinking and learning. The process of ethical leadership is not simply top-down or bottom-up (which in contrast to traditional views of leadership); in fact, it is a combination of a number of processes taking place at a number of places in an organization like a school. These processes are present anywhere in the faculty, administrative staff, and students themselves. Thus, ethical leadership is the outcome of efforts put by all the major players in a school context. There is no doubt that such an approach to understanding ethical leadership and its implementation is the need of the present as well as future time so that higher order thinking and learning can be obtained making the students ethically strong.