What is the Nature of External Reality?

What is the Nature of External Reality? Worldview is the way a person views the world. Worldview is not just a story or a presumption of life. It is a reality. Worldview is not an assumption of the world. It is a simple, basic belief of life. It is a framework of beliefs through which a person views the meaning of life. A worldview is the way our hearts believe, and not just a thing in our mind. A worldview is an assumption of life that could be true or false. It is a foundation that we believe and live in. There are two basic worldviews. One is based on God, and one is not based on God. A worldview is an argument or a way of guessing why things are the way they are in the world we live in. A person needs to develop his own worldview and believe in what is truth. For a Christian, truth is the Word of God. The first question in this book is What is prime reality-the really real? In Christian Theism, reality is God revealed in the Holy Scriptures. He is the prime reality and is the source of all other reality. He is infinite. He is personal. He is transcendent. He is omniscient. He is sovereign. He is good. In Deism, God created the world and left it to operate on its own. It believes that God does not interact with anyone on earth and denies the true nature of God. In Naturalism, prime reality is matter which is endures forever and is all that exists. It does not believe that God exists. It proposes that the cosmos is the primary reality and pushes God out of the picture. It believes that matter has always existed but probably not in it current state. It is only one thing without any Creator or Divine Being. In Nihilism, nothing exists. There is no God and we are nothing. The universe has no meaning. Existentialism, it believes the same at Naturalism. According to Eastern religions, Go d is in everything, and the cosmos is God. Reality is beyond distinction. They believe that the soul of everyone is actually combined to be the soul of the cosmos, which is the ultimate reality. If something exists that is not God, it is called an illusion. Everything should be combined or united to be The One. Anything that does not combine to be The One is not reality. The One is the ultimate reality. They also believe that there are many roads to The One and that chants can help you obtain ultimate reality. According to the New Age worldview, the soul or the inner being of a person is the prime reality. In other words, self is the reality. Self is important because it is the center of the universe. It is in control of reality. There are three versions which are mentioned. The occult version deals with magic, witchcraft, and similar ungodly acts. The psychedelic deals with reality under another influence to create another reality than the one perceived. The conceptual relativist d eals with the disjunction between what is objective reality and perceived reality. The symbols that society uses do not match what reality is. In Postmodernism, thinking is reality. It is interested in how a person knows rather than what a person knows. It believes that if something is not there, then it cannot be known. It is based on thinking too much. In Islamic Theism, it believes that Allah is God and He is reality. Some people think that maybe the Quran should be included in fundamental reality. The second question is What is the nature of external reality, that is, the world around us? In Christian Theism, external reality is the world that God created. He created all the rules that govern the world. God does answer prayers in relation to His world. In Deism, external reality is the cosmos God created because He created it as a uniformity of cause. It is a closed system, and no miracles are possible. In Naturalism, the universe is composed solely of matter but to human beings, external reality appears in two forms as subjective and objective. In Nihilism, nothing exists. The world is a closed system, and it only acts within itself. In Existentialism, reality is subjective and objective. In Eastern religions, Atman is Brahman that is the sole of each human being and is the soul of the cosmos. It is external reality. Some things are more One than another. Many roads lead to the One. Reality is beyond personality. In New Age religions, external reality is manifested in two dim ensions. The visible universe is accessible through ordinary consciousness, and the invisible universe is accessed through altered states of consciousness. There are three distinct attitudes toward physical question of nature. The occult perceives things in states. The psychedelic perceives things which are projections of conscious self. Conceptual relativity perceives things in which the cosmic consciousness is the consciousness of self. In Postmodernism, matter exists, but God does not exist. In Islamic Theism, external reality is God created the universe, and all its creatures are responsible to Him. The third question is What is a human being? In Christian Theism, humans are created in the image of God. They have intelligence, self-transcendence, morality, and creativity. Human beings were created good; but through the Fall, Gods image was changed in us. In Deism, human beings are a part of the time of the universe. In Naturalism, humans are complex organisms where personalities are an interrelation of chemicals. In Nihilism, humans do not really exist and are basically dead. Their lives are already determined for them so they do not really matter, and they are not responsible for anything. In Existentialism, human beings have to come into full awareness of who they are, and people make themselves who they are. Each person is totally free to determine his destiny. In Eastern religions, the human race is on the edge of extreme change of human nature. They are prototypes of the new age. In New Age, a human is God or Kosmos. They grow in awareness and are transformed. In Postmodern ism, humans make themselves who they are by learning things about themselves. In Islamic Theism, humans are the top of Gods creation. Their high standing in creation means that they have the most responsibility to live up to Gods standards. The fourth question is What happens to a person at death? In Christian Theism, a person will enter the gate to life with God in heaven or the gate to separation from God in hell. In Deism, humans may not have life after his life on earth. In Naturalism, death means the end of a persons personality and individuality. In Nihilism, death is an absurdity. In Existentialism, it believes the same as Naturalism. There is nothing special about it because we are nothing special from other objects. In Eastern religions, a person does die, but death changes nothing that is important. It believes in reincarnation. The soul or the essence of a person is eternal. In New Age religions, there is no fear of death because physical death is not the end of a person. In Postmodernism, since there is no God, then death is only language. Death is not mentioned. In Islamic Theism, a person will either go to paradise or hell. The fifth question is Why is it possible to know anything at all? In Christian Theism, God gave us the ability to learn about the world and about Him. In Deism, it says that we have the ability in us to learn about the world and about God. In Naturalism, it believes the same as Deism. In Nihilism, nothing exists. In Existentialism, it believes a person must make the value in what it observes. In Naturalism, people learn things when they come into full consciousness. In Eastern religions, the only thing that is valuable is what is Oneness. In New Age religions, things appear or disappear when a person comes into full consciousness. In Postmodernism, reality is hidden from people. In Islamic Theism, it believes that Allah has given people the ability to learn things about their world. The sixth question is How do we know what is right or wrong? In Christian Theism, In Deism, In Naturalism, In Nihilism, In Existentialism, In Naturalism, In Eastern religions, In New Age religions, In Postmodernism, In Islamic Theism, The seventh question is What is the meaning of human history? In Christian Theism, In Deism, In Naturalism, In Nihilism, In Existentialism, In Naturalism, In Eastern religions, In New Age religions, In Postmodernism, In Islamic Theism, Microeconomics: Indifference Curve, Oligopoly Game Theory Microeconomics: Indifference Curve, Oligopoly Game Theory Introduction: Microeconomics aims to cover every aspects of our economic life. This report will discuss, evaluate and assess the usefulness and limitations of microeconomic theories in reaching that aim. Microeconomics is The study of choices that individuals make and the way these choices will interact in given markets (Parkin et al. 2012, p.2) or put more simply, microeconomics is the allocation of scarce resources. There are a number of objectives of microeconomics, the foremost being; Equity, Efficiency, Growth and Stability. This report will examine the commonly used theories of; Indifference analysis, Game Theory and the market structure of Oligopoly; analysing the benefits and drawbacks and how they are applied in the real world. Indifference Curve Analysis: To answer questions about individual decision making indifference curve analysis is applied. Before looking at this model it is necessary to assume that the individual satisfies the four axioms of rational preference formulated by Savage (1954). These are; completeness, more is better, transitivity and convexity. Sugden (1991 p.761) describes these as Preferences over acts, where acts are made up of consequences. A rational consumer will of course spend their money on the mix of products that give them most pleasure (Read 2007, p.45). However this will vary for each consumer, because each consumer will have different preferences. The consumer is constrained financially by their exogenous income to only be able to purchase bundles of goods X and Y on or below their budget line. This line does not always have to be straight, and in everyday applications it often is not. This is true with perfect compliments such as right and left shoes, the budget constraint will be stepped because a consumer will not gain much util (benefit) from having significantly more right shoes than left. An indifference curve is a graph showing a combination of two different goods that give the consumer equal satisfaction. There are four main properties of an indifference curve; it is ubiquitous, downward sloping, cannot cross and cannot become less steep. The marginal rate of substitution is the rate at which the consu mer is willing to exchange one bundle, for another along the indifference curve (this is equal to the value of the slope). Diminishing marginal rate of substitution explains why the line is curved as seen in figure 1 (Perloff, 2012). The consumer will take any allocation of resources along each indifference curve (I1, I2, I3). Their utility is optimal where the indifference curve meets the budget constraint. It can be observed that I2 is tangent to the budget constraint at point e therefore that is the rational and optimal choice, although I1 does also intersect part of the budget constraint (points a and c), the equilibrium of goods will be less desirable. Therefore that leaves I2 as the rational choice. However indifference curve analysis does not take into account the consumers preference to save instead of spend. This could cause point d to be the most desirable option. An application of Indifference curve analysis is the use of the Edgeworth box; TheEdgeworth boxis a traditional visualization of the benefits potentially available from trade. When both parties have utilised the benefit that they can receive this is called Pareto optimality. If two consumers (A and B) have fixed amounts of two products (X and Y) they must find a way to trade these goods that benefits both of them without making the other worse off. This can be solved by using their preference maps to construct an Edgeworth box diagram. Figure 2 (Perloff, 2012) shows the indifference curves of the two consumers (Jane and Denise) are tangent at a number of points. If the consumers originally plan on commencing trade at point e this will give Jane 30W and 20C and Denise 20W and 60C, Hence by using IJ2 and ID2 this is more beneficial to both parties due to there being greater overall bundles in addition to a greater combination of products. This then follows both the convexity and the more is better axioms of consumer preference. A contract curve is drawn through all of the Pareto optimal points of trade, which shows the various positions of exchange of products that equalise the marginal rates of substitution of the two exchangers. One particular drawback is that indifference curves usually only focuses on two goods, whereas in real terms it would be very rare that there are only two options of what to spend income on. Although it is possible to create an indifference map that takes into account three goods this is the furthest that the model can progress. There is also no scope for risk, uncertainty, or other factors that could influence a consumers preference map, this is because this form of analysis sticks rigidly to the assumption of Ceteris Paribus. Indifference curve analysis relies upon a consumer behaving rationally, however it is quite possible for a consumer, or anyone, not to behave in a rational way. Hume (1740) argued that reason alone was not a motive to act rationally, and that passion and impulse were of more importance in decision making. Game Theory: Perhaps one of the most discussed theories in microeconomics is that of Game Theory. Perloff, (2012, p.505) defines game theory as formally describing games and predicts their outcome conditional on the rules of the game, the information that players have, and other factors. There are certain factors that must be present for a game to exist. There must be players, strategies, orders of moves (time) and payoffs or rewards for each outcome. Providing that a player behaves rationally, we can assume they will follow a dominant strategy. This is a strategy that gives the player the best final outcome in comparison to all other potential strategies. The prisoner’s dilemma is a paradox in decision analysis where two parties end up worse off by pursuing self-interest. Furthermore it shows how if all parties in a game apply a dominant strategy there will be no real winner. Tucker (1952)formalized the game as we know it today with prison sentence rewards and named it prisoners dilemma It can be seen in figure 3 (Kane, 2013) The prisoners dilemma is set up so that both parties choose to protect themselves at the expense of the other participant; this is achieved by opting to confess. Following a logical thought process to help themselves, both participants are consequently worse off than if they had cooperated and trusted each other. Evidently, receiving confessions from both players is the Nash equilibrium (where each player is assumed to know the equilibrium strategies of the other players, and no player has any advantage by changing their own strategy).It is therefore also the Pareto optimal point. This game can be expanded , giving the players 3 or more strategies each. Although this makes the game more difficult it can be solved using the method of iterated elimination of dominated strategies. This means that when a player notices that a possible strategy is strictly dominated by another strategy (all options of other strategy give a better outcome) then the strategy will not be considered. The prisoner’s dilemma is summarised well by Matt Ridley, â€Å"broadly speaking any situation in which you are tempted to do something, but know it would be a great mistake if everybody did the same thing, is likely to be a prisoner’s dilemma† (1996, p.55). A particularly fascinating application of the prisoner’s dilemma was its use in the cold war. Simplifying research by Cobb (2012). The two players (NATO and the Warsaw Pact) had to choose whether or not to build nuclear weapons. If neither chose to do so, valuable money, time and potentially lives would be saved. All players would be considerably better off if both avoided building nuclear weapons. However if one side built weapons and the other did not then that player would have a huge advantage. Therefore the only rational choice is for both sides to build nuclear weaponry. This puts both players on an equal level. However both are now financially worse off than when they started. Although it could be argued that the application of game theory has saved the world from nuclear war. Steiner and Schelling (1960, p.210) studied a similar model and came to the conclusion that world peace would be the most plausible solution. As shown in the film A Beautiful Mind (2002), the prisoner’s dilemma and Nash Equilibrium challenge Adam Smith’s (1776) marketplace model, which implies that the pursuit of self-interest results in collective benefit. One can observe many political disputes as partially flowing from disagreement regarding which model is more appropriate in a particular situation. For example when a firm or person is operating in a market with many available players, the option to cheat (confess) will not be taken as it would tarnish a firms reputation. This point is made well by Tullock (1985) and essentially implies that if you do not choose to cooperate in the short term, you may not have anyone to cooperate with in the long term. Game theorists have the assumption that players have perfect knowledge of both their own and opponents payoffs. When applied to the real world in more complicated applications this is often not true. It is often not possible to discover an outcome until the game has been played. Traditional game theory does include the factor that humans are intelligent and will often change their strategy when a game is played multiple times. It is assumed that players of a game will always apply a dominant strategy, however, this may not occur if players know each other or know that they will later come into contact with each other. Oligopoly: An Oligopoly is a common form of market structure with limited competition, in which a market is shared by a small number of producers or sellers whereas a duopoly only has two dominant firms. Many of the models used when analysing this market structure focus on duopolies for simplicity reasons. There have been a number of contrasting models for an oligopolistic market, arguably the three most important, and the three that this report will focus on, are the Cournot model, Stackelberg model and Bertrand model. In the Cournot model each firm assumes that rivals will continue producing at their current output levels. Each firm has the assumption that its competitors production levels are fixed, and will not be effected by their own production levels. This was developed by Antoine A. Cournot (1838). Each firm has a best response possible for every situation, this is the reaction function and is shown by (Perloff 2012) in figure 4. The best response curves show which output a firm will pick to maximise profit following its belief of its rivals output, Cournot equilibrium is found where the best response curves intersect. In contrast to this, the Stackelberg model assumes that firms do not decide on output simultaneously, instead, there is a price leader and a price follower. Henceforth, backwards induction is used to find the equilibrium. Cournot’s model is a simultaneous game, whereas Stackelberg’s is a sequential game. It can be seen from diagram 4 below that in the Cournot mod el, output for the two firms will be the same, however, output in the Stackelberg model is higher for the leader and lower for the price taker. If the firms are price takers then they will produce where demand equals to marginal cost. Within the Bertrand model each firm assumes that rivals will continue charging their current prices, the model was created by Bertrand (1883) in a review of Cournots model. Bertrands argument is that firms will choose the price to set rather than quantities, and that price should equal marginal cost. One problem with this model is that it assumes that consumers will always buy the lowest price product; which does not take into account factors such as product differentiation, location and the cost to the consumer of obtaining market information. The emergence of cartels is fairly common in oligopolies. This can have a negative effect on the consumer. A cartel is an agreement between competing firms to control prices and output. A cartel will form if the incumbent firms in the industry believe they can formulate higher profits by colluding together. If two firms collude, they could operate as a monopoly, therefore producing less and charging a higher price. Following Stigler (1964) many economists now accept that collusion is not a viable option in the long term as each firm has the incentive to cheat. This could be achieved by raising either price or quantity. Although cartels are illegal in most countries this has not stopped them forming. Research from Levenstein and Suslow (2006, p43-95) showed that although cartels are often successful in raising prices in the short term, most break up before five years. This is because when there is an incentive to cheat (and get away with it), most firms will take that opportunity. As shown in the recent failed cartel within the US airline industry involving Qantas (BBC 2007) In disparity to this however, an oligopolistic market does not necessarily mean that the firms will collude. Coca cola and Pepsi have a duopoly of their market, yet they are fiercely competitive and are forced to spend vast amounts each year on advertising. This level of competitiveness drives down prices through price wars, causes firms to differentiate products, and encourages innovation. Ultimately all of this is good news for the consumer. Another interesting example of an oligopolistic market is the current UK petrol station industry. Although the price of oil has fallen dramatically in the previous year, the firms inside the market are unwilling to drop their prices to match the fall in costs. This is because of price rigidity and collusion, if one firm dropped the price of petrol then all other incumbent firms would follow the price drop. This would consequently reduce profit for all firms in the industry. This shows how oligopolies can often have a negative effect for consumers. Conclusion: In conclusion the biggest problem in the application of microeconomics is the principle that consumers will always behave rationally, as previously noted, rationality is hard to define. In addition to this microeconomic theories are based on the static assumption of Ceteris Paribus which means Other things being equal. This assumption is unrealistic, the way we think and act are constantly changing, decisions can vary from day to day in response to to many different factors. Many of the microeconomic models do not go into the complexity needed to completely analyse our everyday behaviour. For example indifference curve analysis is limited to two or three products and some of the theories behind oligopolies can only be used for duopolies. However this does not make these models obsolete by any means. For the aforementioned reasons, there is no doubt that microeconomics can, if applied correctly, cover aspects of our everyday lives and give us a detailed insight into how and why we act as we do. However, this being said, microeconomic theories should only be used as one of many tools to help aid our knowledge of the economic world. The study of Microeconomic theory helps in achieving the correct allocation of resources, commodities and output mix for the maximization of the social welfare. APPENDIX Figure 1 : Consumer Maximisation (Perloff 2012, p.115) Figure 2: Edgeworth Box and Contract Curve (Perloff 2012, p.349) Figure 3: The Prisoners Dilemma (Kane 2013.) Figure 4: Duopoly Equilibrium (Perloff 2012, p.487) Bibliography A Beautiful Mind, 2002. Film. A Beautiful Mind (2001). Available from: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0268978/ [Accessed 27 Nov 2014]. BBC, 2007. Qantas admits cargo price fixing [online]. BBC Business. Available from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7116073.stm [Accessed 29 Nov 2014]. Bertrand, J., 1883. Book review of theorie mathematique de la richesse sociale and of recherches sur les principles mathematiques de la theorie des richesses. Journal de Savants, 67, 499–508. Cobb, L., 2012. Encylopedia of Mathematics and Society. Hackensack. Salem Press Inc. Cournot, A., 1838. Researches into the Mathematical Principles of the Theory of Wealth.The American Mathematical Monthly, 35 (8). Hume, D., 1740. A Treatise of Human Nature. (Second Edition). Oxford: Claredon Press. Kane, T,. 2013. The Prisoners Dilemma [table] United States: Available from: http://balanceofeconomics.com/2013/01/03/national-affairs-the-political-prisoners-dilemma/ [Accessed 23 November 2014] Levenstein, M. and Suslow, V., 2006. What Determines Cartel Success? Journal of Economic Literature [online], 44 (1), 43–95. Parkin, M., Powell, M., and Matthews, K., 2012. Essential Economics. European Edition. United Kingdom: Pearson Education Limited. Perloff, J., 2012. Microeconomics. 6th Edition. United States: Pearson Addison Wesley. Perloff, J., 2012. Figure 4.9 [graph]. United States: Pearson Addison Wesley. Perloff, J., 2012. Figure 10.4 [graph]. United States: Pearson Addison Wesley. Perloff, J., 2012. Figure 13.6 [graph]. United States: Pearson Addison Wesley. Read, D., 2007. Experienced utility: Utility theory from Jeremy Bentham to Daniel Kahneman.Thinking Reasoning [online], 13 (1), 45–61. Ridley, M., 1996. The Origins of Virtue: Human Instincts and the Evolution of Cooperation. London. Penguin Books. Savage, L., 1954. The Foundations of Statistics. New York: Wiley Smith, A., 1776. An Enquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. London: Methuen. Steiner, P. and Schelling, T., 1961. The Strategy of Conflict.Economica, 28 (109). Stigler, George., 1964. A Theory of Oligopoly. Journal of Political Economy, 72(1): 44–61. Sugden, R., 1991. Rational Choice: A Survey of Contributions from Economics and Philosophy.The Economic Journal, 101 (407). Tucker, A., and Kuhn, H., 1952. Contributions to the Theory of Games. Econometrica, 20 (1). Tullock, G., 1985. Adam Smith and the Prisoners’ Dilemma. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 100.

Of Mice and Men and The Great Gatsby Analysis

John Steinbeck’s, Of Mice and Men, and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s, The Great Gatsby, share a theme of dehumanization. Dehumanization is portrayed through two opposite social classes, the wealthy and the working class, and the ways in which women are treated by men.Of Mice and Men is a novel about George and Lennie, two migrant farmers, who have been hired to work at a farm after being chased out of their last job. The Great Gatsby is concerned with its protagonist, Jay Gatsby, and his devotion to rising into the upper class to impress Daisy Buchanan who left him because he was poor.In the end, characters from both novels are either dehumanized due to their class or because of their gender. Throughout Of Mice and Men, the wealthy upper class dehumanizes the lower working class by manipulating and taking advantage of them.Curley's wife lives a life in luxury on the farm with no work and plenty of free time. She wanders around the farm claiming that she is looking for her husba nd, but in reality she is exerting her power over the workers. When Crooks, one of the workers, talks back to Curley's wife, she threatens, â€Å"I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain't even funny† (Steinbeck 79).Steinbeck emphasizes that she could not only have him falsely condemned, but doing so would be no trouble at all. Crooks then, â€Å"reduces himself to nothing† and replies, â€Å"Yes, ma'am† with a â€Å"toneless† voice because he knows that it is true. Steinbeck's diction further advocates the theme of dehumanization, particularly when he describes Crooks' voice as â€Å"toneless†.Crooks' monotonous response indicates that he has accepted his role as unimportant and voiceless. Instead of then walking away, Curley's wife continues to take advantage of his inferiority by â€Å"waiting for him to move so that she could whip at him again†.This short exchange demonstrates how the rich gain satisfaction from abusing the hel pless. Earlier in the story, George, Lennie, and Candy, another planter, decide to pool their savings together in order to purchase a farm and be their own bosses. At the end of their conversation, George wisely adds, â€Å"Don’t tell nobody about it, Jus’ us three an’ nobody else.They li’ble to can us so we can’t make no stake† (60), George understands that if their current boss discovered the plan they composed, he would take advantage of the high dependence they have on their next pay checks and fire them.The wealthy class will do whatever it takes to prevent the impoverished from becoming prosperous. On the other hand, in Of Mice of Men, Curley's wife can also be the victim of dehumanization rather than the oppressor. She is often portrayed as a metaphor for problems in the story because she is a woman.Steinbeck expresses this by purposely not giving her a name. Her only identifier is her marriage to Curley, whom she rarely talks to. Tha t identifier is a large reason for why George loathes her. When George and Lennie first meet Curley's wife, George refers to her as â€Å"poison†, a â€Å"piece of jail bait†, and a â€Å"rattrap† (32).He utilizes words that compare her to inanimate objects of disdain that give the sense that she is not a lady or even an actual person, but again a metaphor for problems. In addition, George commands Lennie to â€Å"let Curley take the rap† rather than ordering Lennie not to go after Curley's wife.George uses the word â€Å"let† because no one looks for trouble with Curley's wife, but some one has to tolerate her and that unfortunate soul, in George's eyes, should be Curley. Then when Lennie accidentally kills her, the main concern is not her, but how to keep Lennie from getting in trouble.Anything that is tied to Curley's wife can only mean danger. Similarly, The Great Gatsby contains multiple examples of the wealthy dehumanizing the poor. When Nick , the narrator, and Tom Buchanan, Daisy's husband, visit the valley of ashes to see Tom's mistress, Myrtle, they also encounter Myrtle's husband, George Wilson, a poor car mechanic.George inquires when Tom will be selling him a car with a tone of desperation in his voice. Tom, sensing this desperation, threatens to â€Å"sell it somewhere else after all† (Fitzgerald 25). George quickly tries to take it back but his voice fades off with submission.Fitzgerald effectively chooses the words â€Å"faded off† to characterize George's reply because like Crooks in Of Mice and Men, it supports the notion that some of the lower class workers recognize that arguing back with the upper class is useless.It is apparent that Tom enjoys dangling this sale over him because George is depending on it. Later in the novel when Nick and Daisy are visiting Gatsby's house, Gatsby calls his servant, Klipspringer, over to play them some music. When the servant walks in, Nick immediately notices that Gatsby had him change his attire to make him look more presentable for Daisy.Klipspringer explains that he was sleeping but Gatsby interrupts to ask him if he plays the piano and then interrupts him again when Mr. Klipspringer tries to admit that he is out of practice. Gatsby commands that he not â€Å"talk so much† and just play (95).Gatsby's request that he not â€Å"talk so much† connects back to the voiceless characteristic that Crooks in Of Mice and Men understands to pertain to himself. In this short conversation, Gatsby is attempting to help Klipspringer understand that this characteristic pertains to him as well by not allowing him to finish a single sentence.Much like Of Mice and Men, in The Great Gatsby women are dehumanized to unimportant and frequently ignored roles. When Gatsby and Tom Buchanan have their altercation on the subject of Daisy, she tries to add in her own opinion â€Å"with a visible effort†, crying out that she â€Å"won't stan d this! † and begs to leave (133).However, both of these remarks are completely ignored with no response from anyone. Fitzgerald emphasizes that Daisy is being ignored by having her cry out opinions â€Å"with a visible effort† and then following that with a response that makes it appear as if no one even hears her.Later in the novel, Wilson starts to go insane and treats Myrtle inhumanely. When his neighbor hears a loud disturbance coming from Wilson's house, Wilson calmly explains to him that it is just his â€Å"wife locked up there† (137).Wilson is treating her more like an animal than a human being. In the next sequence, Myrtle is hit by an oncoming car that ends her â€Å"tremendous vitality†. It is very ironic that in the end, Myrtle dies when she was so full of life, yet Daisy will continue her life as an insignificant and overlooked wife.In the passage illustrating her death, Fitzgerald forcefully uses pronouns to describe Myrtle's mangled body to suggest that â€Å"she† is just another poor girl from the valley of ashes whose death will create little impact on the world.In Of Mice and Men, Curley's wife finds it remarkably effortless to threaten the farmers because of their low position on the farm's hierarchy. However, it is just as easy for her to become the victim of dehumanization being that she is a woman. She is perceived less as a person and more as a metaphor for problems.Likewise, in The Great Gatsby, Tom Buchanan and Jay Gatsby express signs of disrespect for the working class, such as George Wilson and Mr. Klipspringer. Also, Myrtle and Daisy often find themselves continually treated inhumanely and seen as unimportant.John Steinbeck conveys the dehumanization of the lower class through manipulation, and the dehumanization of women by using Curley's wife as a literary device to prove a point. F. Scott Fitzgerald also uses manipulation as a tool to dehumanize the working class, and he dehumanizes the women b y frequently characterizing them as voiceless.

EBay In China Study Case Essay

Question 1 eBay first entered the Chinese market in 2002 by acquiring a 33% stake in its local counterpart, EachNet, followed by a full acquisition a year later in 2003. Critically assess eBay.s choice of market entry strategy for China (use Key Country Matrix), listing both the advantages and disadvantages of its acquisition strategy (use Drivers (YIP) -CAGE Matrix). 30% Key Country Matrix Looking at the structure of â€Å"key country matrix†, we notice that this matrix has two axes (the x-axis that shows the â€Å"competitive strength† observed in the country that we are studying; the vertical axis represents the â€Å"country atractiveness†). For China, we can say that among many others, there is a top 6 of factors that drive investment there (China is an attractive investment country): 1. Capital Availability; 2. Competitiveness; 3. Regulatory Environment; 4. Stability; 5. Local Chinese Market and Business Climate; 6. Openness to Regional and International Trade. Analyzing China’s competitive strength, we conclude that this is a country still developing. China has shortages of infrastructures and services in several markets (China’s competitive strength is not that high). Drivers (YIP) Location of activity is a crucial source of potential advantage and one of the distinguishing features of international strategy relative to other diversification strategies. Given internationalization’s complexity, international strategy should be underpinned by a careful diagnosis of the strengths and direction of trend in particular markets. George Yip’s drivers of globalization’ framework provides a basis for such diagnosis. CAGE 1. Culture distance; 2. Administrative and political distance; 3. Geographical distance; 4. Economic distance. The differences between the US and China are huge when evaluating the â€Å"culture distance†, the â€Å"administrative and political distance†, the â€Å"geographical distance† and the â€Å"economic distance†. When a company like eBay assumes intend to expand its business should be aware of these differences and adopt strategies that prevent these differences to interfere in business success. Vantages/Disadvantages of the acquisition strategy When a company like eBay assumes intend to expand its business to China should be aware of the differences between both countries and adopt strategies that prevent these differences to interfere in business success. As a disadvantage, we can consider the risk of the company not adapt in a positive way to the new market (there is the possibility of being rejected by the Chinese market). As an advantage, we can consider the possibility of this acquisition became a huge success and the sales can increase abruptly (as the Chinese market is really big, this means that eBay’s profit would be really high after this â€Å"movement†). Question 2 Assess the potential benefits and risks of eBay.s joint venture with Tom Online (use Global/Local Matrix). 20% The Global / Local Matrix assesses the volume of international trade and the volume of foreign direct investment in an industry. The industry in which it operates eBay is located in the upper right corner as shown in the figure. It is a global industry which revised the philosophy â€Å"Think Globally, Act Globally† and where there are high levels of international trade and foreign direct investment. In recent years the market for e-commerce in China has recorded tremendous growth. The joint venture on analyzing is based in the relationship between TOM Online and Skype communications company online at eBay Inc. EBay is one of the largest brands of e-commerce in the world and TOM Online is a provider of excellent services to Chinese consumers. Both companies will make financial contributions online, and the new market being built by a joint venture between eBay and TOM Online will provide a great experience for users. This joint venture will promove the connection between users and channels of distribution. Therefore, in our view this joint venture has everything to be a success. Question 3 Advantages / Disadvantages of JV international strategy On one hand, a Joint Venture strategy has several advantages, mostly when it is done on a market like Chinese one, which is very protective with its national firms and little accommodative for foreign companies. TOM online is one of the largest wireless service providers and the fifth-largest internet portal in China, which allows Ebay to penetrate the market faster and easier thanks to its existing brand-awareness among Chinese population, generating for ebay a time saver. TOM online has also a strong political asset by being supported by Li Ka-shing, the biggest holder of the company, who has also strong connexions with hugh-ranking officials both in Chian and Hong Kong. This success on the Chinese market shows that the firm has a great expertise on the specificities of this business area, and decrease the  risk for Ebay to make mistake with its strategy. Also, by making a JV, the financial risks and costs decrease because they are shared between the two firms and a synergy is created between the two sides, increasing the financial power of the firms and allowing them to launch project with shared financial participation. On the other hand, with a JV, the earnings have to be shared, so they are lower. To make this partnership happen, it demand a lot more work and energy than with the other type of partnership. That includes heavy research about the law and the compatibility between the two structures. This setting of the JV comes with a lot of impact on the management of the new entity. There is risk of disagreement on how the dividends should be shared, disagreement on the managerial model to adopt and on the global strategy. All these problemes can bring to conflict of interest and make the JV losing market shares. Question 4 : Strategic recomendation on International Commercial Strategy for E-Bay: â€Å"Alliance, Acquisition or Abandon Strategy† : Cf Excel document for QSPM Matrix.  Due to this QSPM analysis, we can see that the acquiring method is still more than the expanding method, but from close, thus we know that Ebay is the auction website, so we can council them to continue acquiring the other companies†¦

Geography and Careers Free Essay Example, 2250 words

The Council, comprising elected officers and councilors, the President and the ex-officio executive director, forms the governing body of the association with the roles and responsibilities of the council, executive committee and the executive director all stated in the constitution of the AAG. The association is organized into 9 divisions representing different regions of the United States but is also open to geographers studying or working abroad, while also highly encouraging participation from developing nations. The AAG elections are conducted online with all members eligible to take part. The online voting process makes voting a lot easier for the members and easier to manage. Data concerning the nomination and election process are available for all in â€Å"Section 2, Methods of Nomination and Election† of the AAG constitution and bylaws. All eligible voters receive an email with an ID voting password and a link to a voting page where they authenticate their identity. Once authenticated, the voter has access to a tamper-proof electronic ballot. Once the ballot is completed and submitted, the results are encrypted and kept anonymous. The voter then receives a receipt and is prevented from voting in the same election a second time. Paper ballots for those who requested them are counted at the end of the election process and added to electronic totals. We will write a custom essay sample on Geography and Careers or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now Final results are published in March. Members who prefer not to vote are equally free not to do so. The role of the AAGs Scientific Freedom and Responsibility Committee is to support the free development of scientific inquiry and exchange and to investigate incidents where geographic scholars have been restricted in the pursuit of their work. The Association of American of Geographers, for example, acting through its Executive Committee and National Council, and on the recommendation of its standing Committee on Scientific Freedom and Responsibility, condemns the recent attempt by the leadership of the Republican Party of Wisconsin, through its open records request, to intimidate Professor William Cronon.   William Cronon is the Frederick Jackson Turner and Vilas Research Professor of History, Geography and Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and an eminent figure in the fields of historical and environmental geography. à ‚  Professor Cronon is also a citizen-scholar in the best tradition, making his research available to the public in a variety of venues. The AAG holds that the use of Wisconsins Open Records Law to acquire Professor Cronon’s university emails, after he posted a portion of his research online, is a reprehensible attempt to stifle this public voice (Association of American Geographers, 1).