Gregory Bateson essays

Gregory Bateson essays Gregory Bateson was born on May 9th, 1904, in Grantchester England. His parents were Caroline Durham and William Bateson. William was a renowned geneticist at Cambridge University. Gregory attended Charterhouse public school in London from 1917 to 1921, where he studied zoology. He continued his education at St. Johns College, Cambridge University from 1922 to 1925, where he earned his B.S. in biology at the age of 21. It was during a trip to the Galapagos Islands, that Bateson decided that he would study anthropology. Upon returning to England, he pursued his graduate studies in Cambridge under the guidance of A.C. Haddon, an English anthropologist and comparative anatomist who helped establish anthropology in Britain. During 1927 and 1928, Bateson did his first anthropological fieldwork with the Baining in New Britain. He considered this early fieldwork a complete failure, because he felt he didnt know what he was doing. In late 1928, he became Lecturer in Linguistics at the University of Sydney, where he worked under A.R. Radcliffe-Brown. During 1929 and 1930, Bateson went to New Guinea, where he did his fieldwork among the Iatmul. After this fieldwork, he was able to complete his thesis and receive his M.A. from Cambridge. Bateson would then go on to develop his study of Iatmul culture in the highly influential book Naven, which was published in 1936. The title is taken from an Iatmul initiation ceremony. This book contained ideas such as feedback that later became central to the fields of cybernetics and information science, as well as an innovative analysis of behavior as cultural communication. In 1931 Bateson became a research fellow at St. Johns College. He returned to New Guinea in 1932 to continue his fieldwork. It was during this trip that Bateson met his future wife, fellow anthropologist Margaret Mead, whom he married in 1936. They spent the next two years conductin...

Free Essays on Death and Dying

DEATH AND DYING UNDERGRADUATE INTERVIEW WITH THE PROFESSIONAL I was told that a gentleman who is a property manager also leads a class in death and dying at his church. I was able to get his phone number and we arranged to meet. I described the course that I am taking at USF and the profession I am pursuing. I told the gentleman that I work in marketing services for Time Warner and that I also attend USF in the evenings. I told him that I am interested in working with people who have experienced losses in their lives or with people who are going through the grieving process. I told him the requirements of the course that I am taking and that this interview fulfills one of the requirements to better help me understand how professionals intervene with clients who are experiencing loss and grief. I assured him that his name would not be used in the report and that it would remain confidential with my teacher. 1. The individual that I interviewed will be called by his initials, â€Å"R. M.† He is 57 years old. 2. R. M. is the Property manager of a 55+ community. R. M. has an Associate college degree. He himself attended a course to help him deal with the loss of his wife, who was terminally ill with breast cancer. His wife subsequently succumbed to this disease. The course he took was a â€Å"Church Counseling Ministry† course. After he attended the class, he was asked to get involved in teaching the course. The course that is taught, takes a person through the different stages of dying from vibrancy of the individual to the death of the person. But the course does not stop with the death of the person. It continues to help the grieving individuals get through life without this person and to help them with their needs, so that they can get on with their life. 3. R. M. is a tall, trim, slender, Afro-American gentleman who told me that he was born and raised in Florida. He was dressed casually and appropriately in... Free Essays on Death and Dying Free Essays on Death and Dying DEATH AND DYING UNDERGRADUATE INTERVIEW WITH THE PROFESSIONAL I was told that a gentleman who is a property manager also leads a class in death and dying at his church. I was able to get his phone number and we arranged to meet. I described the course that I am taking at USF and the profession I am pursuing. I told the gentleman that I work in marketing services for Time Warner and that I also attend USF in the evenings. I told him that I am interested in working with people who have experienced losses in their lives or with people who are going through the grieving process. I told him the requirements of the course that I am taking and that this interview fulfills one of the requirements to better help me understand how professionals intervene with clients who are experiencing loss and grief. I assured him that his name would not be used in the report and that it would remain confidential with my teacher. 1. The individual that I interviewed will be called by his initials, â€Å"R. M.† He is 57 years old. 2. R. M. is the Property manager of a 55+ community. R. M. has an Associate college degree. He himself attended a course to help him deal with the loss of his wife, who was terminally ill with breast cancer. His wife subsequently succumbed to this disease. The course he took was a â€Å"Church Counseling Ministry† course. After he attended the class, he was asked to get involved in teaching the course. The course that is taught, takes a person through the different stages of dying from vibrancy of the individual to the death of the person. But the course does not stop with the death of the person. It continues to help the grieving individuals get through life without this person and to help them with their needs, so that they can get on with their life. 3. R. M. is a tall, trim, slender, Afro-American gentleman who told me that he was born and raised in Florida. He was dressed casually and appropriately in...

Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 21

Marketing - Essay Example In choosing a car, various decisions have been made as the customer progresses from one phase to the next. In pre-purchase for example, after the consumer has recognized a need in the form of a problem or an opportunity, the choice of where to look for information as regards the available alternatives to address the problem or opportunity is one of the decisions to be made. The choice of how much time and effort, i.e. her level of involvement in the decision, is also one of the decisions that she would make. She may look for information in the Internet, or she may decide to visit a car dealer to inquire about the product. After the consumer gathers enough information as regards her choices for the car models, the consumer will have to decide on what attributes she gives much emphasis, which will eventually constitute her criteria for the purchase decision. After she has determined her choice of brand,.she has to deal with smaller decisions such as the model of the car she would get, and the specifications. Sometimes, the choice of financing is part of the decision process, and could influence the purchase of one brand over the other. After she has made her choice based on her set of criteria, the next decision she has to make is how to place her order, i.e. the distribution channel. She can either choose to go to a nearby dealer, or place her order in the Internet if her chosen brands website has such an option available. The consumers last decision as regards the buying process would be an action that is prompted by her evaluation of the product. Her last decision will depend on the level of satisfaction or dissatisfaction concerning her purchase, i.e. advocacy, positive feedback, no action, positive feedback, or lawsuit for extreme cases. C. What kinds of benefits marketing managers get from the study of consumer behavior? In other words, identify any kinds of managerial implications which will be helpful for designing marketing strategies or

MICROECONOMIC REPORT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

MICROECONOMIC REPORT - Essay Example It is in this context that mergers, diversifications and rapid expansion at the industrial level are often argued as the symbolic representation of capitalism as a measure for economic development (Pacione, 1985). Notably, this particular understanding has been considered when selecting articles for this assignment. In this regard, it has been observed from the articles reviewed that the government can also play a vital role in terms of formulating adequate guidelines and deregulation systems in order to develop the country’s economic position. Article 1: â€Å"America's Big Banks are Back on Top† As revealed in the article by The Economist (2013), after a remarkable invasion of financial crisis in the year 2008, the American banks have re-established their real role in the Wall Street’s financial environment in the current year. The banking institutions of the US have faced dramatic alterations owing to incessant instability on investments since the last five ye ars. The volatility within the financial performance has also been observed in the financial institutions due to the rapid pace of fluctuation on the global financial movements and variations in the financial portfolio of the global banking institutions (The Economist, 2013). ... overnment have occupied a number of steps in the midst of the financial crisis in the year 2008 with the intention to deal with the financial crisis faced by the country. The crisis initiated in America’s real estates and banking as well as the other financial institutions expansion to the world economy deciphering greater sustainability (Poole & William, 2010). Few of the major decisions of the Federal Government focusing on considerable changes and development of the financial rules by the banking institutions have made the great recession to an end at a much earlier phase than the expected stipulated period. For instance, the Emergency legislation passed by the U.S. assembly in the year 2008 and in the early quarter of 2009 focused on assisting the financially declining phase of various industries in the economy. Additionally, few of the other major initiatives that developed by the federal government as explained in the article The Economist (2013) have been illustrated he reunder. Avoiding breakdown of the major financial institutions Reducing the impact of the limitations of US financial institutions Providing instant incentives to consumer spending through raising after-tax household income Providing temporary funds to the state and the local government in order to reduce the needs and the spending during the recession period Looking after the newly laid off workers and members of other economically vulnerable populations taking anti-poverty measures Making available of federal endorse for infrastructure investment Source: (Poole & William, 2010) Furthermore, as noted in the article, The Economist (2013), in accordance with the recessionary effects in the global financial position, along with the US, the UK financial institutions have also faced severe

The Tsars or Lenin between 1855-1956 Essay Example for Free

The Tsars or Lenin between 1855-1956 Essay Stalin was more successful in modernising Russias economy than either the Tsars or Lenin between 1855-1956. How far is this a valid assessment? Over the time period 1855-1956, Russia underwent hugely dramatic changes, in such a relatively short amount of time the country and its people was ruled by different groups and people, with different ideologies and stances and the economy, and more specifically industrialization. Although on the face of things, it is obviously apparent that Stalin was the most successful at achieving a modernised economy , the context of the situation he inherited and manipulated was unique, and this modernisation came at great cost. Stalin and Lenin both built on the structure that the Tsars created, although it was not nearly enough to stabilize Russias economy, it was a start. Before explaining what impact each of these individuals had on the economy, it is important to understand the background of Russias economy, both agricultural and industrial. One of the most startling features of Russia at this point, was its size, and ironically how this size and potential was not being properly utilized. Communications across this huge area were extremely poor; roads outside the big cities were poor at best. The vast majority of Russia population at this point, were the serfs (making up around 70-75% of Russias total population). Serfs were virtually owned by their masters, they did what they were told and had little or no free will, the vast amount of surfs working in agriculture. It would be assumed that because there was so much emphasis on agriculture and so many numbers behind it that agricultural input would have been high, but in fact, the opposite was true. The state of agriculture in Russia in 1855 was abysmal; the method of farming was backward so efficiency levels were extremely poor, the strip system and wooden ploughs were still used, and there was not enough land for each serf. Concerning industry, there was a low level of this also considering the size of Russia, because the majority of the working population lived rurally, urban factories and workers had only a limited amount of available work. In 1855, it is safe to say that Russias economy needed a kick start; it was starting to become left behind and was being outranked by the other world powers. Tsar Alexander II 1855-1881, inherited the aforementioned situation, and it seems as though he was determined to make some sort of change. In 1861 he passed the Emancipation of the serfs, meaning that the vast majority of serfs, were granted freedom, allotted land, or were allowed to find work in the cities. It is estimated by 1864 some 50 million serfs had been granted freedom. The reasons for this turnaround are varied, but most believe that Alexander II had finally realized that Russias economy and industrial progress called for a free labour force. Although the intentions may have been good, there were problems with this act, first of all, landowners had to be compensated through redemption payments by the freed serfs, but because of the small amount of allotted land the serfs received, they were not much better off than they previously were because they amassed so much debt. The idea behind this emancipation was to free up a new work force, and let the peasants farm their own crops, with the excess to be sold for export thus revitalizing the economy. Many of the freed peasants moved into urban areas and a labour force was created, but the root problem of subsistence farming still remained, and without strict guidelines from their masters, agricultural production declined. Other changes made by Alexander II were the huge increase in the railway network (increase of 2000% by 1881 of its 1855 levels) and the amount of factory workers increased by 150% respectively. Although these numbers seem positive, considering the vast population and potential Russia had, these increases could have been much higher and are only just a start. Under Alexander II the state bank and ministry of finances in 1860 was established, giving the capital a strong position. Alexander III (1881-1894) took on a slightly less sympathetic position than his father, after Alexander IIs assassination, his son believed that the only way forward for Russia was one through traditional autocratic ruling. One of his biggest shortcomings was the fact he emphasized hugely on industry and failed to utilize the potential of Russias agriculture. Although this was negative, some advancement in industry was seen, such as the huge amount of railway development, namely the near completion of the vastly important trans-Siberian railway, and the production of coal doubled between 1892 and 1902. The policies of Sergei Witte had effects from this reign into that of Nicholas II. Investment from abroad and state subsidies to heavy industry all played a part in stabilizing the economy. However, the neglect of agriculture contributed to the 1891 famine.

Outbreak of the Marburg Virus :: History Journal Medical Essays

Report from Uige Province I have now been working in Angola as a medical relief agent for three months. It is only recently that people have started talking about a possible outbreak of the Marburg virus here in the Uige Province in Northern Angola. We fear the worst as this disease, a deadly but rare hemorrhagic fever related to the Ebola virus, has many similar symptoms to other infectious diseases such as Malaria or typhoid fever making it difficult to diagnose. After incubating for five to twenty-one days, the disease comes on swiftly with symptoms such as fever, chills, muscular tenderness and headache.1 The fifth day of infection is marked by the appearance of discolored spots and raised bumps around the chest, stomach and back area. Other symptoms at this stage include vomiting, chest pains, nausea, and diarrhea.2 These symptoms quickly become more severe resulting in jaundice, severe weight loss, inflammation of the pancreas, shock, liver failure, and multi-organ dysfunction3. Typically lasting 3-9 days, if a person does survive this period, the recovery process is prolonged, oftentimes marked with recurrent hepatitis, inflammation of the spinal cord, eyes, and parotid gland, transverse myelitis, and orchitis.4 This is worrisome, as in the region where I am currently working there is little room in the local hospital and very limited funds. If the outbreak grows it can only cause more fatalities due to our lack of resources. As of now, only sporadic cases have been reported since the last Marburg virus outbreak in Druba, in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 19985. We can only hope for limited spread of infection, as there is no cure or vaccine for this deadly virus. December 17th, 2004 As of now, there have been 34 reported cases of what might be the Marburg virus and 34 deaths thus resulting in a 100% fatality rating. Currently the outbreak here in Angola is the worst epidemic of any kind of hemorrhagic fever and is continuing to infect as the number of cases increases around 3% each day.6 Fortunately WHO, the World Health Organization, has sent operatives to investigate if, in fact, the virus that is spreading is the Marburg virus and not another hemorrhagic virus. The whole staff at the hospital is becoming nervous, as we are particularly vulnerable to infection.

Welch Case Study

This particular case discusses whether General Electric fulfilled its Corporate Social Responsibility under the leadership of Jack Welsh or if it just met basic obligations. It also displays the evolving idea of social responsibility in a corporation by contrasting the corporation’s actions during Welsh’s leadership and after Welsh retired. It is shown that Welsh had a classical economic view of social responsibility. General Electric followed a traditional business model while Welsh was working and a progressive business model after he retired. He used a cutthroat ranking system based off of social Darwinism in order to sort out the â€Å"best† of his employees. Lastly, it displays that norms and principles are always changing according to corporate social responsibility and that corporations should act in response to those changes.1. I do not believe that GE in the Welch era fulfilled their duty of corporate social responsibility. They did not avoid harming the environment because they dumped toxins into the Hudson River. During the Welch era, GE did not make any efforts to enhance any societal assets; they only supplied the minimum of what they needed to create wealth for the company. They did not try to protect their employees or go beyond what is necessary. Many pressures, including the vitality curve evaluation system, were purely performance driven.Though job cuts are necessary for the survival for a business, it seemed like they treated their employees as a resource instead of human beings. For example, the GE Pension Fund could have provided retirees and their unions with more benefits but instead Welch wanted to leave the pension plan overfunded to benefit the corporation. He failed to attribute any credit to GE’s former employees for the company’s success.General Electric’s corporate social responsibility could have been done in a much better way. First, they could aim to prevent environmental damage caused b y their company. If they could not prevent environmental damage entirely then they could at least perform actions to decrease any harm previously done. Then they change the evaluation system by â€Å"loosening the reigns† and making the system less callous. This would prevent any  unnecessary pressure from being forced onto employees. This change would improve teamwork and decrease backstabbing.It will also allow for more diversity at the top and would help prevent any once middle range managers from being cut. GE could have evaluated employees and then restructured their hierarchy by placing the more talented managers at the top instead of solely using a â€Å"firing† system. Finally, Welsh should have also kept his personal opinions separate from his business world. Though Welsh could have disliked overweight people, he should not have treated overweight people differently in the workplace.2. Yes, I think that GE under Welsh displays a view of corporate social resp onsibility that is closer to Friedman’s view. Welsh shared Friedman’s view that spending corporate funds on social projects diverts shareholder’s dollars to programs they may not even favor. Welsh consistently gave back to GE’s shareholders but neglected to create any funds for social projects. GE under Welsh’s era only focused solely on the first inner circle of responsibilities.The inner circle includes responsibility for efficient execution of the economic function resulting in products, jobs, and economic growth. GE clearly executed this inner circle of responsibility by being extremely profitable, paying taxes, enriching shareholders, and making many of its directors and managers multimillionaires in GE stock. In GE Welsh did not practice an intermediate circle of responsibility because it did not exercise its economic function with a sensitive awareness of changing values and priorities, especially in relation to environmental damage.During t his time there were many changing values of incorporating diversity in the workplace, protecting the environment and preventing damage, and the change of business ethics. The view of corporate social responsibility was changing to a model more similar to the progressive business model yet Welsh adhered to a strict traditional business model. GE especially ignored the outer circle of social responsibility because it did not try to improve the social environment by any means.3.Overall, Welsh’s GE met less than half of the general principles of corporate social responsibility. GE religiously followed the principle that corporations are economic institutions run for profit. Welsh’s highest  concern was economic and he was not afraid to suffer short run costs to society if they promised long-term benefits.The only aspect they did not meet for this principal is that they did not seek ways to solve social problems at a profit. They simply did not seek to solve any social pr oblems at all. The only principle that was generally highlighted by GE was that managers should try to meet legitimate needs of multiple stakeholders. The corporation always tried to bring in the largest gains for their shareholders.Welsh’s GE failed to follow the principles of multiple bodies of law, act ethically, to correct adverse social impacts they caused, to vary social responsibility according to company characteristics, to comply with a social contract, or to be transparent and accountable. GE encountered a pattern of criminal cases during this time and therefore did not follow multiple bodies of law, act ethically, or be transparent and accountable. Since GE caused the pollution to the Hudson River and Welch refused to fund the dredging, they did not correct adverse social impacts they caused. Welsh neglected to comply with the social contract because he did not treat retirees or employees fairly and acted as if they were a disposable component of the corporation us ed solely to bring in profits.Lastly, GE did not vary its social responsibilities with the company characteristics. GE was a very large corporation and because of that they should have rewarded their retirees and employees generously with benefits. Because they were a very large corporation that can affect the environment, they should have tried to prevent any damage done to the earth.4.The pros of ranking shareholders over employees and other stakeholders would be that there is more money and profits. Because Welsh had a classical economic view of corporate social responsibility, the shareholders were his primary concern. The cons would be that employees and other stakeholders would become discouraged due to the shareholders being put first and ultimately they would not want to be associated with that company. If the employees feel worthless to the company then they could become unmotivated and hurt GE’s profits. Another con would be that they are not fulfilling their underl ying social contract and could lose the public’s  support.I do not think that it is specifically wrong to view employees as costs of production, because technically they are a resource to the company and are contributing human and physical capital. On the other hand, I believe that â€Å"these sources of capital† should be handled with care and that the employees should be seen as human beings as well. Ignoring the fact that employees are human beings could lead to unethical acts and violation of GE’s social contract. Overall, it is okay to view employees as costs of production, but acting unethically because of this belief is wrong. I think that GE should have rebalanced some of its priorities.They should have viewed their shareholders, employees, and other stakeholders with equal importance. Their employees and other stakeholders should not be viewed as less significant in the company because they represent a large portion of it. Even though they do not dire ctly bring in as much money as GE’s shareholders, they deserve to be treated fairly and ultimately help create profits in the long run.5. GE was much more socially responsible in the Immelt aftermath. The Immelt era offered more benefits to society. Immelt benefitted the environment enormously in comparison to Welch by agreeing to a clean up of the Hudson River, by cutting GE’s emissions, and by launching GE’s â€Å"eco-imagination† initiative.Immelt also benefitted his employees and society much more than Welsh. He loosened Welch’s guidelines for the ranking process, putting less unnecessary pressure and stress on employees. He also showed appreciation for diversity in the top management positions by promoting the progress of women in management through research on sexism. He was more responsive to GE’s social and environmental impacts and the company became the second most socially responsible company under his leadership.One advantage tha t Welch had over Immelt was his popularity with the shareholders. Though shareholders viewed Immelt’s leadership negatively at first, in the end they still gained on their investments throughout the course of 9 years. It was not a large amount of growth but it was 82 percent better than GE’s return alone. This showed that GE could be lead differently, without the use of Welch’s harsh tactics, and still continue to profit.