grinch who stole christmas :: essays research papers

The time arrives but once a year -- Chirstmas-time holiday with varying cheer. But buying and selling and buming and parking Spur movie mischievers in need of a larking. There's snowflakes fallen and gently sprinkled, With all the little Whosters' smiles frozen wrinkled. Sleeping and shopping for five minutes or less, Stopping a moment to see the Grinch and how he stole Christmas. This dastardly deed won't make Zanzibelt wail, This is a gift that won't fly through the mail. For you'd be called names like suffering maroon, If you miss this fable-ous live-action cartoon. Maniacal, magnificent, magical and merry -- Driven through the snow by the one Jim Carrey. Soaring through sets bent by fantastical fancy, He's over the top, past the tip-top of Mount Clancey. The tiniest of heart's tale is whispered and told, But the green-haired shoulders break every mold. There once was a boy by the name of the Grinch, Rankled and ruptured! Punctured and pinched! So his feet did move with speed and precision, Finding a home made of garbage...his decision. "Those people of Whoville and that infernal time of year," Said the man who ate glass with wallowful jeers. But Whos are filled with spirits that sing, (A little off-tune, but to good intentions cling). The hoopla and crazitude centered on a girl, Named Cindy Lou Who, Taylor Momsen gave it a whirl. She questions each corner and scours for the answer, To why Christmas can make even the lazy pure dancers. Based on a book and cartoon by Doc Seuss, A bomb could have blown about the oddball recluse. But fantabulous sets and Cindy Lou's sparkle, Tag-team with Carrey's ability to spew the word "farkle". The wonderment remains, so watch, watch, watch -- Or you'll be laughed at like a boy named little Mike Rotch. The Doc's main points stick like hair to glue, It's not too dark, so other critics: Boo hoo! You need to say why such a creature would steal,

Technology

Today the whole world's image of technology is negative. Author Alex Williams, essay Quality Time, Redefined shows negativity for technology also positive things that technology can do, such as bringing families together. Making relationships stronger between two married couples. Technology can in many ways make families bonds stronger. In the past people would Just write letters to family members who lived far away. Now Technology has improved the life of people. Life has evolved over time with the help of technology.I agree with Alex Williams in how much technology can help families bond stronger closer, also being connected to each other throw many APS, such as Backbone, twitter, emails, testing, also keep. These technology developments help the whole entire world to be more social and connected. Negative sides of technology that people see is how can a small phone can take the focus of someone that they love. Technology can in so many ways have negative sides to it. Making the ey es weaker, making the brain tired. Technology, has many negative sides to it as it has positive sides to it.Many people would disagree on technology on having a positive side. Ms Vary agrees when she says † The family was in the same room, but not together. † (pig. 94) People when using technology get connected into the technology, and can't focus and do multicast while using technology, its kind of like it absorbs your brain cells Just to focus on one task. The culture has changed so much as when people read Just books, and playing bored games at night. Looking at it from one point books are as much focus taking as technology.As many people miss the old culture of America where he whole family sits and talk about how their day was or what are they planning for the next day. Ms. Vary acknowledges, † An evening like that can bring more closeness than a night spent huddling over a board game back in the days of analog. † (pig. 99) Ms. Vary agrees with using tec hnology in a family as everyone would be doing what they wish to. The father would be reading a news paper, the daughter studying, the son playing games. Makes the environment much happier and excited evening for all the family members.In the old days none of the technology excited but bored games books and stories excited where one family ember wither didn't like the bored game or didn't like the story, even though they would have sat throw the evening either listening to a story or playing something that they refuse to like. For example back in my country technology is not as big as it is in the United States, which has made an big impact on the people who live in the United States. When I was younger I remember we never sat at any time of the day and talk about each others daily life or about a sport.Moving to the United States we picked up the American culture, which one of them is having so much technology in he house. We all had our own phones and laptop and pads. I then sudde nly started getting super close to my mom. Testing My mom everything about my day, how everything went throw out my day. Which made me close with my mother until she passed away 4 months ago. â€Å"life keeps going. † a quote explaining how much I adored my mother when I started to know her and all about her childhood and boyfriend problems, which we never would have talked about if we were back in my country, we would Just be helping the moms clean up every mess.Technology has done life much easier for humans, made people have critical thinking about life. Would you want to live in the old world and have no technology Just have some bored people who try to go throw their days? Or have technology which can make life border? Knowing that technology could do Just so much in someone life, that actually makes them emotionally closer with the family, and more involved in their siblings life throw APS, Backbone, Twitter, Keep connecting them to each other no matter what country, ci ty they live in. I am someone who believes technology does not apart families or married couples, it can only make it stronger.Today's culture connections often occur when the participants are miles, or even continents, apart. There are so many communication opportunities provided such as cell phones, laptops, and pads that keeps two couples together or meet in one country and stay in touch. Makes the relationship gets much stronger, by talking everyday about your emotions without worrying about how you look or care what you wear. Being yourself makes the relationship it self become stronger, and a love that is fought for. Alex Williams talks about many different topics in his essay one of them is allegations, and technology.For example Dry. Elevate mentions † Your task to keeping the relationship vital and refreshed is managed togetherness and separateness. Technology could be used as a tool to assist that. † (pig 99) Humans can't be around one person the whole entire t ime, they get bored and start fights and their love goes from being in a healthy relationship to a exotic relationship. Where its all arguments, and not being able to handle seeing each other. Technology is one of the strongest tools that takes a humans focus, and take them to a whole another world.Everybody deeds time to their self, while using technology helps keep the relationship between two couples healthy. Not being around each other all the time or have to be facing one and another, forced to talk about anything to keep the atmosphere comfortable for both couples. Their relationship can also stay very fresh, makes that bond of love stronger and stronger each day, missing someone makes you love them like no other. Dry. Hillman claims † People get up from their laptops, come together on one screen. † (pig. 98) Technology is so big that it has came to a point where people meet horror APS, come together and meet.Different culture different believes, they still come to gether because of a talking bond they have with each other. For example I met my fiance throw Backbone which is an app that you get to meet people throw out the world. My fiance lives in Turkey Istanbul, which is a continent away from me, he can't come and visit the United States because of the wars and they won't give him his Visa. I went to meet him in Istanbul and we already had planned what we wanted to do where to go, we had so much things in common where we found out by talking o each other testing or keep.The only ways we communicate and make sure we are still wanting each other is technology. Seeing him throw the app Keep makes me cherish having him in my life. We see each other once a year, through out the year we keep on using technology to keep us together and not separate, it also gives us our own time to our self to relax and think straight, know if this is the right person or not for you. My question for the people who always think negative about technology is â€Å"h ow can we have a social life when we have no technology in life? How can that alp our associate and make us more open to the real word? Technology can assist to keep the bond stronger between two married or engaged or in a relationship couple. The world needs to change their negative image because there are so many positive things about technology that helped us reach where we are today and where we will be in the future with the technology growth in our lives. Love is a strong word that can't be found easily. Technology allows people to find love all around the world. Cell phones has a huge impact on our life that keeps us in touch with our partners also families.I think technology can grow so much bigger that people will start loving technology, and actually see the bigger picture of how technology helps us stay connected to the real world. As Alex Williams claims in his essay that there are many positive effects of technology that helped and still helps families. In sass people h ad no technology which kind of made them like robots they only knew what they were exposed to around their city. As if now people know so much more about other countries, seeing pictures of beautiful nature gives the hope to a better life and border thinking. Technology Technology is defined as the combination of technique, skills, methods, basic tools and processes that are made use in the production of goods and service. In other terms it is called the ‘science of craft'. While the Global Economy refers to the economy that encompasses the whole world, it is thought as the international exchange of goods and services that's translated in monetary terms. (wikipedia, 15 April 2018). In a vague sight of the contemporary economic history there are two trends in the world economy it suggests: first innovations in technology are uprising to be a significant contributor to economic well-being. Secondly nations in global economy are pointing towards being interdependent and open in a growing way. Innovators from different parts of the world are coming together rapidly, this means that there is no denying that technology has a significant percentage in shaping the global economy.Is technology still fulfilling the role and purpose it was embraced for?In this research I intend to find out whether or not technology is still being regarded as it was when it was first embraced in the earlier times. This is based on how technology has empacted the world economy and its markets. The purpose of technology is clearly judged on how and why it affects the global economy.Before the analysis of how technology Is impacting the world economy it is rather of great importance to first be enlightened even slightly so as to how technology was introduced to economies in different countries comprising of the global or world economy at large. Just as important is also to bear in mind the coming about of economic growth. The History of TechnologyTechnology forms part of a perplexed and diverse body of knowledge and devices through which man in an ongoing way manage to perfect his natural environment. The history of it is rather inclusive of wild and not properly defined. The findings for the complication of the study, dates to the modern time where there is a contrast of technological history than that which as popularized by the story of political and intellectual development. During the nineteenth – twentieth of the human story will be touched on briefly. The Old Stone Age man referred to as the Paleolithic were few and scattered they managed to come up with not much to give them the ability to conquer their environment. Then came the Middle Stone Age referred to as the Mesolithic, they were named this because it was a period of transition between the end of the last ice age an d the early stages and era of human settlement and cultivation. Again there is the Neolithic Man, this is a man emerging from savagery and holds the solution of the basic problems of his environment. He was able to grind, polish and drill his craft of hard stone. However he needed to attain knowledge of metal-working for a greater form of effectiveness in his quest of mastering his environment, this concluded an increase in population.The first use of metals was the day break of civilization as we know it. Relating it to its material aspect the history of civilization is the history of technology. (Thomas P. Hughes, (â€Å"A Short History of Technology: From the Earliest Times to A. D. 1900. T. K. Derry, Trevor I. Williams,† Isis 54, no. 3 (Sep., 1963): 417-418.) With regards to Economic Growth HistoryAfter Adam Smith the focus of classical economics in the 19th century was long term growth. After much findings there was a development of a negative view of it. Upon other findings was the realization that the United States of America in the 19th century was perceived to be growing as a result of its exploitation of other continents that were rich in resources. Resources were found to increase long term growth. Economists then transferred their focus to neoclassical economics in the late 19th century and the early 20th century, which comprises of a closed economy. They developed tasks to thoroughly look at optimizing the use of scarce resources by businesses. The focus was on short-term growth rather than long-term growth. The worldwide depression of 1903, J.M Keynes's aggregate demand management was found as a solution to reduce cyclical fluctuation and leading to unemployment. After putting together Keynes's concept with Neo classical methods of uttermost resource distribution by Paul Samuelson and Sir John Hicks there was a stagflation and low growth exposed its fundamental weakness. Following this unforeseen trends new schools of economics emerged: monetarist, new-classical and supply side etc. new school of economics encouraged much innovativeness with regards to economic trends and technological input for research and development.(Kuznets, (1973)) The above indicates the significance of the introduction of technology in the economy with regards to how it has impacted it and continues to impact it. It is of no doubt that this two are interlinked in more ways than one. However there are quite a number of pros and cons that have emerged in recent years as technological innovations continue to develop. Benefits of technology in the modern day economyThe level and the rate at which economies grow and develop in various markets and countries is interlinked with technological advancement. Technological innovation has helped underdeveloped countries slowly become developing and then ultimately developed. The developing of economies of different countries result in the growth and development of the global economy. Figure 1-3, in R' are a diagram indication of an Isoquant of production function post-technological change. The innovation does not differ regards to labor and capital. However the new production function R indicates how the same output can be achieved through lower levels of labor and capital after technological advancements. (debasish, 2017) Technology helps the economy through job creation. The ICT sector has proved and remains to hold the title of being one of the largest employers. Stats in the U.S have shown that IT jobs are expected to increase by a significant number of 22% in 2020, thus creating about 758800 new jobs. In Australia, the plans of building and operating the newly established Super-Fast National Broadband Network will certify 25,000 jobs per year. The global Technology market is set to increase by 8%, this encompasses creating jobs, salaries and enlarging different services and products.A contribution to the GDP Growth of the Global Economy. Sources from different countries confirm the positive impact of the growth in ICT. A 10% rise in broadband penetration leads to a 1.2% rise in GDP growth in emerging markets. China reflected a 2.5% rise. GDP per capita growth rate goes up to 0,5% globally, while the internet shows a 3,4% overall in other countries. E-commerce is positively affecting the global economy. The emergence of new services and industries. Mobile phones have allowed a lot of of public services to be made known online. Modernization is incorporated with cloud computing. Moldova government found in Eastern Europe was found to be one of the first governments that moved its government IT infrastructure into the cloud launching mobile and e-service for their residents and businesses. Founding research indicates the Facebook to have provided around 182,000 jobs in 2011. Its value aggregated to worth 12 billion and above.Workforce transformation. Newly found â€Å"microwork† spaces, created by companies like ODesk, Amazon and Samasource have assisted to segregate tasks into manageable components which can be outsourced to contract workers. These contractors are usually found in emerging markets. Entrepreneurs have cut costs as a result of microwork. In 2012, ODesk singularly had above 3 million registered contractors doing 1.5 million tasks. Online payment system emerged as a result of this trend.Business Innovation. Over 95% of businesses in OECD countries operate online in some way. The internet brings innovative ways of getting access to customers and also competing for the market share. In past recent years, social media has evolved to be a marketing tool. ICT tools operating inside companies are assisting businesses on streamlining processes and increase efficiency. The eruption of connected devices throughout the globe has allowed new ways for businesses to reach out to their customers in service.(Kvochko, 2013)The stated above benefits or advantages however do not eliminate controversies that also surround technology impacting the global economy. There are prone difficulties and challenges that global societies are surfacing as technological change continues to emerge. As expected with any form of continued evolution and change.Controversies on technologyReliance on Technology. This can be a negative of how technology affects because of of technology has become a basic sphere of need for most if not all modern enterprises, production is impacted a lot by flaws and malfunctions of machines and IT systems. If there could be a disruption of connection, E-commerce business cannot run functionally. On the other hand there is reduced production if a machine suffers technical glitches. The more technological innovations grow, the more they will need highly specialized professionals to rectify or fix them if they malfunction.Loss of Jobs. As with much creation of job opportunities offered by new technology. There is a significant decline in middle class workers who are not in any specialty ad working rather manually. Machinery has in some way replaced human capital and a portion of manual labor. Factory workers have declined and been replaced by high tech machinery which slowly needs more IT supervision that physical help.(Vossos, Tasos. (2017, September 26). Advantages & Disadvantages of Technology in Our Economy. Bizfluent. Retrieved from https://bizfluent.com/info-8373180-advantages-disadvantages-technology-economy.html)Less physical human connection. Online entertainment and social media platforms form a big part of technological advancement. People have taken a liking to rather communicate virtually that physically, from phone calls to texts to sharing pictures if there's a need to ‘see' each other. This in the long run will bring about a vague knowledge of one another in the human form and social connection will be based on how a person wants to be known rather than who they truly are. Other effects with recent finding s are the cause of depression and social attempts by teenagers and young adults who feel they cannot live up to the standards set online. Almost 80% of teenagers and adults are on social media platforms. In contrasting the earlier years of economic growth evolution and technological evolution. The above benefits and controversies mark a not so out of touch difference in the line of the length technology has gone in its development. Meaning it is still focused in more ways than one in bettering the world's economy and markets. It is although inevitable for any implementation to have side effects. CONCLUSION Based on the findings of my research I have concluded that technology in its own has diverted into many spheres from the reason of just being introduced to help man cultivate his natural environment. It has not only helped but also overtaken man greatly in its efficiency and operation. Technological innovations have also been developed to be independent from the directory of man. Which may be the result of the lack of control and concerns as to its negative and controversial effect in the larger and global economy. The solution however that I propose is for the larger economy to go back to the fundamental reasons of why technology was introduced every time a new innovation is made. This will harbor controlled growth of the development of economies also in different countries leading up t a greater impact in the world economy. Countries still needing more technological advancement should be assisted by long advanced economies. This will ensure a greater level of desired impact in th growth of the economy and the global GDP and GDP per capita will rise significantly. Technology Questions to research: Are advertisements aimed at teenagers effective? And, are they ethical? My Response:  Most advertisements aimed at teenagers are effective, but usually are not ethical. Most marketers have many ways of gathering information on teenagers spending habits and what is most important to teens. With this information they’re able to create advertisements that will appeal to most teens and create profit. Many people argue that some or most of these ads aren’t ethical because they will create a problem or insecurity and then give the solution to that problem in the form of their product.Central Idea: The most effective ads show teens using and enjoying a product. The least effective were those that caused an emotional response. A teen’s acceptance of ads varies according to the media platform. The medium with the lowest teen ad acceptance was texting. The â€Å"Teen Advertising Study†, compiled with the help of the University of Massachuset ts, showed that teens were more susceptible to online ads if they could relate to it and if they found it funny.Central Idea: Marketers love teens because they easily spend money on â€Å"luxury† items such as clothing, electronics, and music. They mostly make their purchase decisions independently, have significant influence on family purchases, and companies know that once they have â€Å"branded† a child, they are likely to be customers for life. They reach kids by advertising in magazines, movies, TV shows, and on the internet. Companies get info about kids spending habits from internet â€Å"quizzes† and â€Å"surveys†.Marketers know how to capitalize on important teen issues and anxieties, like body image, peer acceptance, coolness, and need for power. Marketers often use a theme or attitude like sex or alcohol and drug use that seems to raise the  Ã¢â‚¬Å"coolness factor† of their product. Advertising is so effective because it creates insec urities about things such as appearance. Successful ads convince the viewer that they have a problem and then offer the solution, which is the product they’re selling. This gives off the messages that teens aren’t good enough the way they are and many kids unwillingly buy into that message which is causing kids to grow up in the most materialistic society we’ve ever had. Most of the things that are advertised to teens do not promote healthy development.Central Idea: In one year, teens view more than 40,000 ads on TV alone while also being exposed to ads on the internet, in magazines, and in schools. Teens are often the main target for marketers because they are always willing to spend money on the newest â€Å"luxury† items. Teens strive to have the newest electronics, clothing, and other overly advertised items. Marketers know how to target teen issues such as body image, peer pressure, and the need for acceptance. On average, teens are exposed to 3,000 ads per day.Teenagers, on average, spend $155 billion per year on advertised products, also influencing their parents to spend another $200 billion per year. Recent studies have shown tobacco companies use their ads to target teens as young as 13-years-old. Another major advertiser is the alcohol industry, using ads that feature young, attractive people drinking or posing with their beverages. Ads affect teen psychologically by exposing them to ads that suggest they are not what the entertainment business considers attractive. Ads can be harmful to teens by lowering their self-esteem.Children, Adolescents, and Advertising http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/118/6/2563.full Central Idea: Children and teens view 40,000 ads per year on TV alone even though the Children’s Television Act of 1990 limits advertising on children’s programming to 10.5 minutes/hour on weekends and 12 minutes/hour on weekdays. M-rated video games, which are not recommended for children younger than 17-years-old, are frequently advertised in movie theaters, video game magazines, and publications with high youth readership. Young  people see 45% more beer ads and 27% more ads for hard liquor in teen magazines than adults to in their magazines.An increasing number of web sites try to get teens to make direct sales. More than 100 commercial websites promote alcohol products. Most advertisers use techniques that children and teens are more vulnerable to, like product placement in movies and TV shows, action figures, kid’s clubs, and celebrity endorsements. Sex is used in commercials to sell almost anything now. American ads constantly use thin female models, which contribute to the development of self-esteem issues in young girls.Thesis StatementWith marketers aiming their advertisements more towards teens every day, researchers are looking into how effective and ethical these advertisements really are.Outline The Ethics and Effectiveness on Advertising toward Teens Thesis statement: With marketers aiming their advertisements more towards teens every day, researchers are looking into how effective and ethical these advertisements really are.I. Teens are being exposed to advertisements more each day. a. . Companies gather info about teens’ spending habits from internet â€Å"quizzes† and â€Å"surveys†. b. Children and teens view more than 40,000 ads per year on TV alone. c. More than 160 magazines are now targeted towards teens.II. Different factors will make an ad effective. a. Teen’s acceptance of ads depends on the media platform. i. Sponsorships of live events had the highest level of acceptance. ii. Text messaging had the lowest level of acceptance. b. Least effective ads were those that caused an emotional response. III. The advertising strategies marketers use have been shown to be unethical. a. M-rated video games are frequently advertised in movie theaters, video game magazines, and publications with high youth readership b. Young people see 45% more beer ads and 27% more ads for hard liquor in teen magazines than  adults to in their magazines. c. Advertising is so effective because it creates insecurities about things such as appearance. i. American ads constantly use thin female models, which contribute to the development of self-esteem issues in young girls. ii. Gives off the message that teens aren’t good enough the way they are.Body ParagraphsI believe that the advertisements aimed at teens are effective, but unethical. Through a number of research tactics marketers are finding ways to keep up with the ever changing trends in teen culture. With the information they gather they’re able to produce advertisements that ultimately pressure their audience into buying their product. With marketers aiming their advertisements more towards teens every day, researchers are looking into how effective and ethical these advertisements really are. Technology based adverti sements are effective among teens because of how often they are exposed to ads, the ads appeal to their lifestyles, and even sometimes pressure teens into buying their products.Advertisements have rapidly been integrated into the world around us. â€Å"Young people view more than 40 000 ads per year on television alone and increasingly are being exposed to advertising on the Internet, in magazines, and in schools.† (pediatrics.aappublications.org) Teens are heavily influenced by these ads because of how often they are exposed to them. Marketers are gathering information about teens’ spending habits through quizzes and surveys. ‘Teen Advertising Study’, which was compiled in conjunction with the University of Massachusetts, revealed that teens were more susceptible to online advertising if they could relate to it and if they found it funny.† (utalkmarketing.com) With information like this they’re able to determine what type of ads would be effe ctive on the teens of today.Different factors can make an ad effective, such as how they’re viewed and if it’s relatable to their audience. The most effective ads showed teens using and enjoying their product. For example, in this PlayStation 4 Interface commercial, you’re shown teens happy with their product and you’re given a glimpse of some features. This is considered an effective ad because it features the newest upgrade of their product, they’re being shown new features and games, and seeing other teens happy  with the product would give them a positive feeling about having it. This ad also shows both genders enjoying their product, suggesting they support both genders using the PS4. An example of an ineffective ad would be the Microsoft Surface commercial, in this commercial you can see people enjoying their product but you’re not given a look at what their product can do. It’s a fun ad to watch, but it doesn’t provide enough information for a teen to considering buying their product.Lastly, many advertisements aimed at teens have been said to be unethical in order to be effective. Marketers will bring up a problem in their advertisement; this problem might be based on social status, then they will provide a solution in the form of their product. For example, in this Samsung Galaxy S4 commercial you see only younger people using their product while the older people are just learning about this product. This suggests that if you have their product you’d be cool and up to date with the world around you. This ad seems to guilt the target into thinking what they have isn’t good enough and their product would make them cooler.ConclusionIn conclusion, I think advertisements aimed at teens are effective, but unethical. Teens are being exposed to advertisements more each day. Advertisements can be found all around them, in schools, online, through T.V., etc. Marketers are constantly doing r esearch to improve ads to be more appealing to their target audience, teens. Through the information they gather, they can create advertisements that will persuade their audience into buying their product. An effective ad would feature other teens enjoying their product. An effective, but unethical ad, would be an ad that brings up a problem, such as a teen’s social status, and then present a solution in the form of their product.

Rational Choice Theory Essay

â€Å"Man is a rational animal who always loses his temper when he is called upon to act in accordance with the dictates of reason. † As seen from Oscar Wilde’s famous quote, rationality is one of the most crucial and controversial subjects in studying human behavior. To study and examine this rationality, numerous scholars have tried to establish their own theories and generalize their explanation with empirical evidences from real world, which ultimately produces so called, the theory of rational choice. Rational Choice Theory is an approach to understand human behavior. The approach has long been the dominant paradigm in economics, but in recent several decades it has become more widely used in other fileds such as Sociology, Political Science, and Anthropology. The main purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of rational choice theory and briefly discuss its basic assumptions, critiques, political implication, and alternative explanations of individual choice mechanism. First of all, historical backgrounds of rational choice theory and its transition from the field of Economics to that of Political Science will be elaborated. Next, various definitions and meanings of the rational choice will be discussed. The basic assumptions of the rational choice approach with political implication will be followed. Several issues raised by rational choice theory will be followed after this discussion. This paper will suggest some of the main criticisms that have been levied against the rational choice approach. Limited empirical validity of rational choice theory and methodological individualism, which reveals innate problematic nature of the theory, will be discussed. Finally, alternative explanations of individual choice mechanism will sum up this discussion. Before elaborating its theoretical discussion, it is necessary to discuss historical backgrounds of rational choice theory. In the article, â€Å"A Genealogy of Rational Choice: Rationalism, Elitism, and Democracy†, Maloy introduces Skinner’s analysis of behaviorism as fundamental background for the discussion of rational choice theory. He argues that, â€Å"Skinner’s analysis deserves the attention of the recent debates around rational choice ecause it calls attention to the ineluctable ideological features of methodological debate† (Maloy 751). According to Maloy, Skinner could â€Å"clarify the sorts of normative force which attach to empirical theories in social sciences by a close textual analysis of some leading contributions to the behaviorist debate†, which ultimately enables the discussion of rational choice to be furthered applied into different fields of study (Maloy 751). Milton Freidman is another crucial figure that provides profound theoretical base for discussing rational choice theory. In â€Å"The Methodology of Positive Economics†, Friedman argues that people and firms make decisions that can maximize their profit under perfect information. He defended rational choice model by arguing that, â€Å"a theory should be judged by its predictive accuracy, not the realism of its assumptions† (Friedman 10). His argument provides theoretical foundations of rational choice theory in Economics, even though it is often criticized by later scholars because of its weak empirical validity and ceteris paribus nature. While rational choice theory has been dominant paradigm in Economics, it has become â€Å"adapted and adjusted in a number of ways to fit† different fields of study such as Political Science; Maloy explains that â€Å"the distinctiveness of the rational choice approach among political scientists consists, in general terms, in the use of economic models to explain and predict political behavior (Maloy 753). Maloy points out three prominent figures, Arrow, Downs, and Olson as rational choice founders especially in the field of political science. According to Maloy, Arrow’s work focuses on so called, â€Å"collective rationality whose underlying purpose is to measure collective choices using standards normally applied to individual choices (Maloy 753). Down uses Arrow’s collective rationality as the starting point of his study and â€Å"aims to articulate a behavior rule for democratic governments so that they could be included in economic theories of general equilibrium, alongside non-state agents like private firms and consumers (Maloy 754). Finally, Olson’s analysis has taken â€Å"the key elements of Arrow’s and Down’s constructs and applied them to a narrower field†; He argues that â€Å"as long as the service provided by a voluntary association is a public good on which an individual can ride-free, there is no incentive actually to take on the costs associated with joining, membership and participation, unless the marginal contribution of that individual appreciably advances the organizational cause† (Maloy 754). All three choice founders’ works have enabled rational choice theory to be in the central place of political discussion in â€Å"the creative and cross-disciplinary ways† (Maloy 755). By arguing that voting results have no specific social meaning, voting has no individual efficacy, and participation in interest group activity has no special individual efficacy, these rational choice founders could criticize unrealistic and irrational assumptions and norms of traditional democratic system and bring rational choice model to the place of political discussion from the field of Economics (Maloy 755). Rational Choice Theory generally starts with consideration of the choice behavior of individual decision-making units, which in economics are often consumers and firms. The theory suggests that the individual decision-making unit is certain larger group such as buyers or sellers in a particular market. Once individual behavior is set up, the analysis generally moves on to examine how individual choices interact to produce outcomes. Then, what does it mean by arguing that a choice is rational? In rational choice theory it means that an agent’s choices reflect the most preferred possible alternative among given opportunities. In other words, choices must reflect utility maximization. Elinor Ostrom defines rational choice theory as a guide to â€Å"understand humans as self-interested, short-term maximizers† in his work, â€Å"A Behavioral Approach to the Rational Choice Theory of Collective Action† (Ostrom 2). In the article, â€Å"The Political Psychology of Rational Choice Theory†, William H.  Riker also suggests that â€Å"the rational choice model begins with the assumption that actors know what they want and can order their wants transitively† (Riker 25). â€Å"Transitively† here means that an agent of rational choice model can do so called, â€Å"a transitive ordering†; â€Å"To know what one wants requires one to choose the best from among several goals and, failing to attain it, to choose the second best, etc† (Riker 24). This formulation of ordering enables an agent to pursue the best option with given constraints that limit choices he or she can have. In their work, â€Å"Rational Choice Theory†, Coleman and Fararo define rational choice sociologically as they use the term, â€Å"models of purposive action†, rather than rational choice; â€Å"These models rest on the assumption that actors are purposive which means they act in ways that tend to produce beneficial results† (Coleman and Fararo 21). These several definitions point out that choices pursuing utility maximization and outcomes made by these choices are key elements in rational choice theory. Then how is different when rational choice theory is applied into the field of Political Science instead of other fields of study such as Economics and Sociology? According to Riker, Economists’ main concern for rational choice is â€Å"the process and outcomes produced by voluntary exchange, where of course, all participants benefit. On the other hand, â€Å"Politics mainly concerns processes and outcomes produced by group decisions which are practically binding on those who cannot resign from the group. Thus, there can be losers and winners in politics according to Riker’s argument (Riker 24). Although Rational choice theory has long been the dominant paradigm in Economics and other fields of study, it has been subject to vigorous criticism. In â€Å"Pathologies of Rational Choice Theory†, Don Green and Ian Shapiro raises several empirical problems that rational choice theory possess; they â€Å"conclude that a number of methodological deficiencies plague empirical applications of rational choice models. They argue that, â€Å"fundamental and recurrent methodological failings rooted in the universalist aspirations that motivate so much rational choice theorizing† (Freidman 59). According to Green and Shapiro, â€Å"these mistakes stem from a method-driven rather than a problem-driven approach to research, in which practitioners are more eager to vindicate one or another universalist model than to understand and explain actual political outcomes† (Friedman 59). Green and Shapiro’s argument can be summarized into three propositions; â€Å"there is a list of methodological characteristics that are undesirable in an empirical science and are thus to be avoided. † â€Å"Empirical applications of rational choice theory are more likely to commit these mistakes than other types of empirical analysis in political science. â€Å"These pathologies are not due to and historical coincidence, but are rooted in fundamental characteristics of rational choice theory, especially its universalist aspirations and the lack of specificity in the rational actor assumption† (Freidman 60). These propositions suggest that rational choice theory has its empirical limit for testing and predicting actual political outcomes. In detail, Green and Shapiro point out several problems of rational choice theory that possibly undermines the empirical validity of the theory itself. Post hoc theory development† known to statisticians as â€Å"curve fitting† is one of these problems that rational choice theory contains. Green and Shapiro â€Å"contend that rather than formulating bold predictions that are falsifiable by empirical evidence, rational choice theorist tend first to look at the empirical evidence, then design a rational choice model that fits it† (Friedman 5). Another problem raised by Green and Shapiro is rational choice theorists’ engagement in â€Å"arbitrary domain restriction† (Friedman 5). As discussed earlier, certain restrictions or constraints enable â€Å"a transitive ordering† in rational choice theory. Green and Shapiro argue that these constraints and restrictions are defined in ambiguous ways in rational choice model, which ultimately makes the empirical validity of the theory weakened. Green and Shapiro’s examination of the phenomenon of voting behavior is another major example that shows these problems rational choice theory innately possesses. â€Å"In a real-world election with a large electorate, it is instrumentally irrational for anyone to case a ballot, since no single vote has more than an infinitesimal chance of deciding the outcome. Whether one favors selfish or selfless ends, virtually any activity in pursuit of those ends would be more effective than the time spent on voting and on educating oneself about candidates and issues. Yet hundreds of millions of people do vote. For rational choice theory, this would appear to be a gigantic anomaly† (Friedman 6); As noted earlier, rational choice theory presumes that an agent of the model seeks best possible outcomes to maximize his or her utility in given constraints. However, according to Green and Shapiro, in a real-world voting behavior does not confirm this assumption of rational choice theory where voters cast a ballot without having enough time to assess or predict its possible outcome and realizing whether his or her action of voting maximize benefit or not. Another issue raised by Green and Shapiro is free riding problem; While voters can easily pursue a free riding action on the efforts of others to help the cause succeed, there is no need for people to devote resources of time and money to cause desired results. In other words, â€Å"rational choice theory would seem to be refuted not only by people who vote, but by those who contribute small amounts of money to political campaigns, attend rallies, and engage in other forms of collective action designed to secure goals whose achievement is independent of the efforts of any single participant† (Friedman 7). As seen from Green and Shapiro’s founding, most criticisms of rational choice theory seem to be that the assumptions of the theory are not literally and completely true. No model can pass such a test, as all theories abstract from reality in certain way. Determining the empirical validity of a model would therefore seem to involve an examination of both feasibility of assumptions and conformity with real-world data. The most basic assumption of rational choice theory is that the primary unit of analysis is the individual decision-maker. Those who believe that groups are fundamental have criticized this assumption. This issue of so called, â€Å"methodological individualism† are dealt in many contexts in the social sciences. In the book, â€Å"Rational Choice Theory: Advocacy and Critique†, Coleman and Fararo argues that models of purposive action or rational choice model can be useful in explaining and predicting human behavior. They further their argument by saying that â€Å"because the values and beliefs of individuals are shaped primarily by the socializing influences of society, especially as mediated through social relationships with significant other, an understanding of the culture and structure of societies and of the positions of individuals within them is necessary† (Coleman and Fararo 22). According to Coleman and Fararo, major problem for applying rational choice model particularly into Economics and Political Science, in which the primary interest has been in aggregate level outcomes, â€Å"is that the postulate of purposive action has been linked to arbitrary and narrow assumptions about what individuals value and believe† (Coleman Fararo 33). Also the assumption that human behavior is narrowly self-interested and the use of the term rationality to refer to the efficient pursuit of economic benefits has often produced incorrect assumption that rational choice model are innately egoistic; â€Å"that they regard individuals as calculating the expected benefit to themselves of alternative lines of action and acting accordingly (Coleman and Fararo 34). Recent empirical evidences suggest that human beings are capable of acting in ways for the interests of others or the social group above their self-interest, which implies that the assumption of individual’s pursuit of self-interest does not match with reality. Coleman and Fararo further their discussion of this â€Å"methodological individualism† by arguing that a social norm can be one primary example, which refutes the basic assumption of rational choice model. According to Coleman and Fararo, â€Å"When a social norm is know to have been violated, some type of formal or informal sanction will result† (Coleman Fararo 35). Formal sanction like a legal code or a set of rules and informal sanction like a disapproval or social ostracism would affect individual’s choice making process. Therefore, unlike the basic assumption of rational choice model suggests that human behavior is oriented from self-interest, by the effect of social norms and values, individuals can consequently act in altruistic or selfless way for pursuing the interests of groups they are involved in. Because of its limit and problematic nature of rational choice theory, the need for alternative explanation has become necessary for many scholars who criticize the theory. Dennis Chong provides some insights for the possible alternative of rational choice theory in his article, â€Å"Rational Choice Theory’s Mysterious Rivals†. According to Chong, even though Green and Shapiro’s critique against rational choice theory has failed to provide complete form of alternative explanation, there are some theoretical debates and discussions that suggest possible theoretical replacement or revision. Chong argues that, â€Å"Green and Shapiro occasionally allude to the influence of social-psychological and moral factors† such as group loyalties, emotions, political identities, ideology, obligation, and altruism (Friedman 47). As found in Coleman and Fararo’s arguments that institutional or social factors can affect individual’s choice making process, many scholars further their discussion of this social motivation as the alternative of rational choice theory. In his article, â€Å"When Rationality Fails†, Michael Taylor argues that social identification and intrinsic motivation can explain some of significant social phenomenon and collective action that has been ignored by rational choice theory; â€Å"If a person defines herself as a member of a group, or if her membership in a group is made cognitively salient, then she is more likely to observe the group’s norms and cooperate with group members in social dilemmas† (Friedman 230). For intrinsic motivation, Taylor explains that there are some activities that are intrinsically motivating people to be participated such as interesting work, volunteering, and political activities. In this case the activity itself or enjoyment of that activity is the reward for people. When extrinsic rewards like money are introduced, intrinsic motivation would diminish (Friedman 231). By suggesting the concept of social identification and intrinsic motivation, problems of rational choice model for explaining some collective action can be resolved. In this paper, a sense of how rational choice theory works and of its methodological foundations has been introduced. It has also been noticed that rational choice theory is not an ultimate answer. The theory is subject to a number of criticisms, but there is no doubt that its influence in various fields of study have brought tremendous amounts of theoretical debates, and increased the depth of economic, sociological, and political discussions. It is impossible to attain complete knowledge about anything, especially social phenomena. However, it is certain that rational choice approach is one of most crucial theoretical resources for human beings to explore and examine to gain this ultimate answer. It can be useful or misleading, depending on how it is treated. It is responsibility of remaining and future scholars and people to correctly apply and use this theory with open-minded attitude.

Comparison of Martin Luther King Jr and Malcom X Essay

They were black men who had a dream, but never lived to see it fulfilled. One was a man who spoke out to all humanity, but the world was not yet ready for his peaceful words. â€Å"I have a dream, a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed†¦ that all men are created equal. † (Martin Luther King) The other, a man who spoke of a violent revolution, which would bring about radical change for the black race. â€Å"Anything you can think of that you want to change right now, the only way you can do it is with a ballot or a bullet. And if you’re not ready to get involved with either one of those, you are satisfied with the status quo. That means we’ll have to change you. † (Malcom X) While Martin Luther King promoted non-violence, civil rights, and the end to racial segregation, a man of the name of Malcom X dreamed of a separate nation. Martin Luther King, Jr. was the conscience of his generation. A Southerner, a black man, he gazed upon the great wall of segregation and saw that the power of love could bring it down. From the pain and exhaustion of his fight to free all people from the bondage of separation and injustice, he wrung his eloquent statement of what America could be. (Ansboro, pg. 1) An American clergyman and a Nobel Peace Prize winner, he was one of the principle leaders of the American Civil Rights Movement and a prominent advocate of nonviolent protest. King’s challenges to segregation and racial discrimination in the 1950’s and 1960’s, helped convince many white Americans to support the cause of civil rights in the United States. After his assassination in 1968, King became the symbol of protest in the struggle for racial justice. (â€Å"King, Martin Luther, Jr. ,† pg. 1) In 1964, Malcom X founded an organization called â€Å"The Muslim Mosque, Inc. In an interview conducted by A. B. Spellman on March 19, 1964, Malcom speaks of his goals for this organization. â€Å"The Muslim Mosque, Inc. will have as its religious base the religion of Islam, which will be designed to propagate the moral reformations necesary to up the level of the so-called Negro community by eliminating the vices and other evils that destroy the moral fiber of the community. But the political philosophy of the Muslim Mosque will be black nationalism, as well as the social and economic philosophies. We still believe in the Honorable Elijah Muhammand’s solution as complete separation. The 22 million so-called Negroes should be separated completely from America and should be permitted to go back home to our native African homeland. † (Breitmaned, pgs. 5-6) Perhaps the key to these two African-Americans leaders opposing goals lay within their very different pasts. Malcom X was born in Omaha as Malcom Little. Malcom’s faith, a Baptist minister was an outspoken follower of Marcus Garvey, the black nationalist leader of the 1920’s. The family moved to Lansing, Michigan, and when Malcom was six years old, his father was murdered after receiving threats from the Ku Klux Klan. Malcom’s mother suffered a nervous breakdown and her eight children were taken by the welfare department. Malcom was sent first to a foster home and then to a reform school. After 8th grade, Malcom moved to Boston where he worked various jobs and eventually became involved in criminal activity. (Malcom X, pg. 1) In 1946, he was sentenced to prison for burglary. While in prison, Malcom became invested in the teachings of Elijah Muhammed, the leader of the black Muslims also called the Nation of Islam. Malcom spent his time in jail educating himself and learning more about the black Muslims, who advocated racial separation. When Malcom was released in 1952, he joined a black Muslim temple in Detroit and became the most prominent spokesperson for the Nation of Islam by the early 1960’s. It was then that he took the name of Malcom X. (â€Å"Malcom,† pg. 1) Martin Luther King was born in Alanta, Georgia, the eldest son of Martin Luther King, Sr. a Baptist minister, and Alberta Williams King. King attended local segregated public schools, where he excelled. He entered nearby Morehouse College at age 15 and graduated with a bachelors degree in sociology in 1948. After graduating with honors from Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania in 1951, he went to Boston University where he earned a doctoral degree in systematic theology i n 1955. (â€Å"King, Martin Luther, Jr. ,† pg. 1) Throughout King’s education, he was exposed to influences that related Christian theology to the struggles of oppressed peoples. At Morehouse, Crozer, and Boston University, he studied the teachings on nonviolent Indian leader Mohandas Gandhi. King also read and heard the sermons of white Protestant ministers who preached against American racism. He was married in 1953, and in 1954, he accepted his first pastorate at the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, a church of well-educated congretions that had recently by a minister who had protested against segregation. (â€Å"King, Martin Luther, Jr. ,† pg. 1) Where as King was full of love, peace, respect, and compassion for his fellow white brother, Malcom X was full of hate, anger, and vengeance. He was a dark presence, an angry, cynical, implacable man whose good will or forgiveness or even pity the white race could neither earn nor buy. â€Å"Coffee,† he once remarked in an interview, â€Å"is the only thing I like integrated. † He also pleasantly mentioned that whites were inherently enemies of the Negroes and that integration was impossible without great bloodletting. Nonviolence was as he put it, â€Å"a mealy-mouth, beg-in, wait-in, plead-in kind of action,† and it was only a device for disarming the blacks. He also believed that everything we had heard to the contrary from the Martin Luther Kings and the Roy Wilkinses and the Whiteny Youngs was a deadly dangerous pack of lies. â€Å"That’s etiquette,† he said. â€Å"Etiquette means to blend in with society. They are being polite. The average Negro doesn’t even let another Negro know what he thinks, he’s so mistrusting. I’m black first- my whole objectives are black, my allegiance is black, my whole objectives are black. By me being a Muslim, I’m not interested in American, because America has never been interested in me. † (Goldman, pg. 5) Black blood, claimed Malcom X, is stronger than white. â€Å"A person can have a teaspoon of black in him, and that makes him black. Black can’t come from white, but white can come from black. That means black was first. If black is first, black is supreme and white is dependent on black. † He meant to haunt whites, to play on their fears and quicken their guilt and deflate their dreams that everything was getting better- and he did. â€Å"America’s problem is us. † Malcom X told whites that if they argued that the sins of the past ought not to visited on them, he would reply: â€Å"Your father isn’t here to pay his debts. My father isn’t here to collect, but I’m here to collect, and you’re here to pay. † (Goldman, pgs. 6-9) Martin Luther King is known for his key role as president of the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA), the oganixation that directed the bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama. Montgomery’s black community had long standing grievances about the mistreatment of blacks on the city’s buses. Many white bus drivers treated blacks rudely, often cursing them and humiliating them by enforcing the city’s segregation laws, which forced black riders to sit in the back of busses and give up their seats to white passengers on crowded busses. By the 1950’s, Montgomery’s blacks discussed boycotting the busses in an effort to gain better treatment- but not necessarily to end segregation. On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, a leading member of the local branch of the NAACP, was ordered to give up her seat to a white passenger. When she refused, she was arrested and taken to jail. Local leaders of the NAACP, especially Edgar D. Nixon, recognized recently arrived King’s public speaking gifts as great assets in the battle for black civil rights in Montgomery. King was soon chosen as president of the MIA, the organization that directed the bus boycott.

Italian Film Studies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Italian Film Studies - Essay Example Being accustomed to the life of privilege, the Prince realizes this will change as soon as Sicily becomes a part of the United Kingdom of Italy (Tomasi 43). He later realizes that some things have to change for his aristocratic life to remain the same. He finally accepts the emergence and rise of the middle class; which he initially objected to. His strong hate for the rising middle class is clear in his objection to the relationship between his nephew and Angelica Sedara. Angelica is the daughter of one of the wealthy bourgeois families of Sicily. Later as the unification becomes a definite event, he changes his opinion regarding the relationship. He does this in contrary to the wishes of his daughter, Concetta; she is also in love with Tancredi. Don Fabrizio sees the marriage of the two as a way to restore wealth and status to his family. In addition to accepting this marriage, he also arranges the marriage of his daughter Concetta to the father of Angelica (Tomasi 68). Later in the movie, we see Fabrizio refusing to take a political seat as a Senator in the newly formed Italian government. He sees himself as a man caught in the crossfire between the old and the new. The ball, the penultimate scene of the movie, depicts the lavishness of Sicilian society, and it introduces Angelica to the same. In the end, we see the lonely figure of the Prince strolling in the darkness. Luchino Visconti together with the Giuseppe Tomasi all related to the movie’s thematic illustration of the change in the Italian society. Both were born in Italian and Sicilian aristocrat families, and they identified with the changes that resulted from the unification of the Italian states (Landy 152). The movie captures the ascension of the Italian middle class and the decent of the Italian aristocracy. Visconti aptly captures the uprooting of the Italian aristocracy due to the resurgence movement in the country. Luchino Visconti is famous for

Migration Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Migration - Coursework Example The elimination of wage differentials will bring the movement of labour and migration will not occur in the in the absence of such differentials. This problem only needs to be sorted out in each and every event. This theoretical view varies in different countries and governments must seek to understand different variables that will help in eliminating wage differences that cause migration. International flows of human capital in the case of highly skilled workers who seek diversity and would wish to work in countries whose estimates are slowly rising. This is usually done with an intent of establishing various factors of migration that may be difficult than that of unskilled workers. Labour markets are a special kind of markets where the primary mechanisms through the international flows of labour are induced (Massey et al 437). Other markets lack this special and accommodating feature. Lastly, a lasting solution to this foreign migration is for the Governments in charge to influence the labour markets by sending or receiving countries. Dual Labour market theory - Although neoclassical human capital theory and the new economics of migration can direct one to a divergent conclusion about the origin and nature of international migration, both are essentially micro-level decision models. Causation is cumulative in the fact that each act of migration alters the social context in which subsequent migration decisions are made, typically in ways that make additional movement more likely. This principle was proposed by Herbert A. Simon, who posited that bounded rationality is an alternative basis for the mathematical modelling of decision-making, as used in economics, political science and other related disciplines. This principle complements rationality as optimization that views decision making as a fully rational process of finding an optimal choice given the information is availed at the right time (Massey

Psychological Effects of Consumption Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Psychological Effects of Consumption - Essay Example The dynamics of consumerism in modern social life partially indicates a collapse of other narratives of progress like religious, ideological and other traditional community values which no longer occupy such a central place in the public priorities as they did a few decades before. In their absence, the only markers of progress are the relentless accumulation of market-based assets like stock market indices, property prices and disposable income. Now, even professional and educational qualifications, are subject to obsessive interest as clues to an individuals status in the society. Benjamin R Barber in his book Jihad vs. MacWorld aptly puts it by saying "Just beyond the horizon of current events lie two possible political futures-both bleak, neither democratic. The first is a retribalization of large swaths of humankind by war and bloodshed: a threatened Lebanonization of national states in which culture is pitted against culture, people against people, tribe against tribe-a Jihad in the name of a hundred narrowly conceived faiths against every kind of interdependence, every kind of artificial social cooperation and civic mutuality. The second is being borne in on us by the onrush of economic and ecological forces that demand integration and uniformity and that mesmerize the world with fast music, fast computers, and fast food-with MTV, Macintosh, and McDonald's, pressing nations into one commercially homogenous global network: one MacWorld tied together by technology, ecology, communications, and commerce. The planet is falling precipitantly apart AND coming reluctantly together at the very same moment" The growth of market freedom has not only produced mass participation in ever increasing frenzy in shopping trends; it has also fuelled the birth of new moral energies and social revolutions ranging from environmentalism to anti-sweatshop campaigns. A growing proportion of the present population would like to participate in 'ethical' consumption choices. The route to this synthesis lies in re- evaluating the basis of the self, and the practical meaning of 'choice' in the many different settings where the modern individual now has to exercise it. Hitherto, the debate has attempted to make a distinction of principle between 'consumers' and 'citizens' in order to demonstrate that consumerism is compatible with fair outcomes, or that 'citizenship' is an alternative to the market model which can provide excellent services fairly, depending on your social and financial position. Nevertheless, the distinction between consumer and citizen is seldom put to practice despite its meaningfulness. People and markets are embedded in social and civic contexts (Kay, 2003). As a result, our everyday consumption decisions are a ripple of myriad effects, not just on the price and availability of what we are consuming, but also on the public context in which we consume it. The dominant models of choice and progress currently do not allow us to evaluate individual acts of consumption for their widespread contribution to the social, public or environmental context. Choice is interpreted as a representation of expression of private freedom and fixed preferences and not as an act of participation amid imperfect information in a socially contingent setting. Likewise, the collective models of progress in which we are conditioned to believe tend