Social Responsibility Essay Example

Social Responsibility Essay Social responsibility is known to be a doctrine aimed at identifying whether a particular entity (individual, organization, corporation, state or government) has certain responsibilities to society. However, responsibilities maybe either positive meaning that responsibilities aim at acting or negative meaning that organization may refrain from acting. Social responsibilities are claimed to voluntary. As it is noted, social responsibility is â€Å"about going above and beyond what is called for by the law†. Actually, each entity should think that acting to problem should be top priority instead of reacting to it. (Griffin Mahon 1997) The core principles of social responsibility are eliminating corruption and unfair policies within entity and avoiding unethical and irresponsible behavior. Therefore, social responsibility prevents entities from doing harm to people, community and environment. Usually, social responsibility is associated with corporations and large businesses, though it is also applied to activist groups, governments and communities. For example, the social responsibility of the state is to ensure performance of civil rights, whereas the social responsibilities of corporations and organizations are to respect employees and to promote the ideals of universal human rights. It is necessary to outline three issues in social responsibility: human, environmental and ethical corporate responsibility. (Maignan Ferrell 2001) We will write a custom essay sample on Social Responsibility specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Social Responsibility specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Social Responsibility specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Firstly, human responsibility aims at making entities responsible to people and society for actions taken and decisions made because people are strongly affected by performance of particular corporations. In other words, human responsibility suggests holding company accountable for its effect on particular society: company’s partners, employees and operating communities are involved. Social responsibility promotes the idea that business ethics should pay attention to responsibilities to customers meaning that customers should be treated with respect and managers should be interested only in sales and commission. Nowadays, human responsibility means that company mustn’t profit from its customers, instead it should care of customer’s needs, demands and wants. For example, accountability for employees is rather new concept. (Griffin Mahon 1997) Secondly, ethical responsibility is also of importance. Nowadays, public trust is rather shaken in the USA because of recent corporate scandals. Therefore, ethics should play important role in decision-making process as it gives thinkers an opportunity to make such a decision won’t oppose anybody’s suggestions or preferences. Therefore, corporations should be encouraged to feel responsible for people they directly or indirectly affect. Also corporations are responsible for indecision and inaction as well. Entities are provided with power to help people, to do no harm to them and to ensure moral responsibility. Finally, environmental responsibility suggests that corporations are responsible to the environment and the world. It means that companies operate on a larger scale than individuals and, thus, they produce greater harm to environment. For example, many products are wrapped up in far more packaging than it is needed. Certain products and actions aren’t available for customers and only few people have access to nuclear and toxic waste. Furthermore, people are involved in illegal production and dumping of those products. Therefore, the environmental costs and impact of the companies is in abilities to dispose packages in eco-friendly manner.   Only socially responsible entities take the mentioned considerations into account when making up decisions. However, it is difficult to push entity to be responsible and initiative for actions taken and to be taken. (Ncube Wasburn 2006) Corporate social responsibility should be core principle within organization meaning that it should consider interests of employees, shareholders and customers in all aspects of operations. Such responsibility reaches far beyond statutory obligation of a company, corporate responsibility suggests sustainable development meaning that entities should make up decisions which focus not only financial factors, but also on long-term social and environmental. (Ncube Wasburn 2006) References Griffin, J. Mahon, J. (1997). The Corporate Social Performance and Corporate Financial Performance Debate: Twenty Five Years of Incompatible Research. Business and Society, 36, 5-31. Maignan, I. Ferrell, O. (2001). Corporate Citizenship as a Marketing Instrument Concepts, Evidence and Research Directions. European Journal of Marketing, 35, 3, 457-484. Ncube, L., Wasburn, M. (2006). Strategic Collaboration for Ethical Leadership: A Mentoring Framework for Business and Organizational Decision Making. Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies, 13, 1, 77-93.

The Benetton Group Essays - Benetton Group, Shock Advertising

The Benetton Group Essays - Benetton Group, Shock Advertising The Benetton Group The Benetton Group The Controversy Continues Problem Identification Benetton, the world famous clothing producer, once again dives into social issues that the United States may not be ready for. The Italy based group is well known for their shocking world issue advertisements that only bear the company logo. In fact, Benettons advertisements traditionally do not feature the clothes it sells; only the issues play the lead role. After years of controversy over ads such as AIDS, war, interracial relationships, and priests kissing nuns, it may be time for Benetton to campaign about something other than controversial social issues, like clothes. On January 1, 2000, Benettons new advertising campaign wasnt about sweaters or pants, but about convicted murderers that are on death row. The death row ads feature portraits of American death row inmates in prison uniforms with the slogan Sentenced to Death. The ads give the inmates name, date of birth, crime, and expected method of execution. Within the campaign, inmates also talk about topics ranging from their childhood to their dreams, everything except their victims. According to CNN, victims rights advocates are outraged as well as are the individuals that lost loved ones to the profiled inmates. Once again, Benetton is faced with another controversy that could perhaps worsen their already poor US market share. According to the New York Stock Exchange, where The Benetton Group is publicly traded, it seems that the company has lost over ten dollars per share since their peak of 50 15/16 in January. This decrease could be attributed to many things, but perhaps the most significant was the February announcement that Sears would immediately pull Benetton designed clothes from all 400 of its stores that had been selling the Benetton USA line. The Benetton USA line was specifically designed for Sears when the two companies joined last summer to introduce a new line of juniors, kids, and mens apparel. Troubled by the campaign, Sears renegotiated its contract with Benetton to gain the right to preview future Benetton ad campaigns. A revised clause in the contract also gave Sears the ability to withdraw from the deal without penalty if the two parties were unable to agree on future ca mpaigns, according to CNN. Regardless of these changes, the controversy was too significant for Sears to ignore due to the hundreds of consumer complaints that poured into the store after the campaign released. According to the February 21, 2000 article in Advertising Age, a Sears spokesman said the chain allied itself with Benetton because We thought they were past that and had come to a point where they were interested in selling merchandise. The whole episode is tragic, for the victims, for Sears and for Benetton. However, Sears is not the only one taking action against the company. According to CNN, it was announced on February 10, 2000 that the state of Missouri was suing Benetton for ads featuring death row inmates that reside in Missouri prisons. Missouri claims that the company deceived the state when it used the death row inmates as part of its ad campaign. The state thought the inmates were being interviewed for a project sponsored by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. In addition, according to the February 19, 2000 article in The Economist, a Benetton spokesperson in New York admitted that payment was made to two inmates for the rights to their likeness. The state accuses Benetton of fraudulent misrepresentation, trespass by deceit and trespass by exceeding the scope of consent. Although the problems with Sears and Missouri could have significantly decreased the overall value of Benetton, the fact remains that consumers ultimately decide the fate of a company by whether or not they shop there. It seems that sources such as CNN, Wall Street Journal, and Advertising Age, among others, have touched upon US consumer reactions to the new ad campaign. Overall, it is not being accepted well in the United States and an already weak market will continue to weaken as long as Benetton refuses to change its US advertising techniques. According to the Washington Post, Benetton is standing by its campaign. In fact, its US director of communications stated, Once again, its very hard for people to see what

5 Tips to Write an Excellent UCF Application Essay

5 Tips to Write an Excellent UCF Application Essay SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips The University of Central Florida, commonly known as UCF, is one of the largest colleges in the United States. Over 50,000 students are enrolled at UCF, but that doesn’t mean it’s super easy to get in- UCF has an acceptance rate of 49.9 percent, meaning they accept just under half of students who apply. To set yourself apart from the crowd, you’ll want to write a stellar UCF application essay. Don’t think that the fact that these essays are optional means they’re not important; they’re an additional opportunity to show why you’ll be a great addition to the student body! In this guide, we’ll cover all the details of the UCF essay prompts, including how to answer them, what UCF is looking for, and a step-by-step guide to make your essay as strong as it can be. All roads lead to choosing to write the UCF application essay. What Should You Know About the UCF Application Essay? Unlike many schools, only freshman students can use the Common Application to apply to UCF. Otherwise, students must use UCF’s own application, which is also available to freshman students. However, there are some differences between the two. UCF's website includes a recommendation, but not a requirement, for a supplemental essay based on two of four prompts, outlined below.However, the instructions for the essay include the phrase, "The personal statements are a very important part of your application," so while they may not actually be required, you should write them as if they are. The Common Application includes two questions that do not appear on the UCF application, and reports from students suggest that UCF sends a follow-up email with instructions for how to complete the supplemental essays. The essays on the Common Application are flagged as optional, but, as with the UCF application, you should answer them as if they're required to be on the safe side. If staring wistfully out the window helps your writing process, do it! What Are the UCF Application Essay Prompts? Though the UCF essays aren’t technically required according to the college's website, it’s strongly suggested that you complete them. They’re an opportunity to flesh out your application with a more complete picture of yourself, which is valuable to both UCF and you. UCF has four essay prompts to choose from and instructs students to respond to two. According to previous applicants, UCF accepts those responses in one combined essay or in two separate statements. The responses, whether in one single essay or in two essays, should total no more than 500 words or 7,000 characters combined. Be sure that your essay or essays fall below both the word and character count. UCF has four essay prompts for you to choose from, though you only need to answer two of the prompts. The questions can either be answered in one essay or two, depending on which you prefer. If there has been some obstacle or bump in the road in your academic or personal life, please explain the circumstances. With this prompt, UCF is giving you an opportunity to explain any parts of your application that may not be as impressive as you’d like them to be. Many students aren’t able to commit to extracurriculars as deeply as they’d like because of financial problems or because they need to work or otherwise help out their family. Other times, students may not be able to keep their grades up as well as they’d like due to family illness or other obstacles that can make staying on top of homework difficult. Circumstances like these are out of your control but can cause hiccups in your education, which might not look good to colleges. This prompt gives you space to explain that, giving UCF a better picture of who you are as a student. So if you’ve encountered any hardship that’s had an impact on your education, it’s smart to take advantage of this essay question and explain it. If your grades dipped in junior year because you had to pick up an after-school job to help your parents out, let UCF know! Not only does that explain changes to your grades, but it also demonstrates responsibility. If you can explain your GPA based on outside circumstances, take advantage of the opportunity and do so. Be honest about challenges you’ve faced, and accept responsibility for things that you could have done better. Your answer to this question should demonstrate anything you’ve learned from the experience and how you’ve grown rather than just shifting blame to outside circumstances. Don’t stop at writing about what happened- continue on to answer what you did about it. However, be sure that what you write about is an actual hardship. Being bored with your classes or being more invested in something else, such as an extracurricular activity, doesn’t qualify- this question is asking for obstacles outside of your control. How has your family history, culture or environment influenced who you are? This is a fairly standard background essay, which asks you to think about your upbringing and how that’s shaped the person you’ve become. Because UCF has a fairly short word limit, be sure to pick one particular element and hone in on it rather than spending time painting a complete portrait of your family history. Information like this helps a college like UCF better understand what you’ll be bringing to the student body. Our upbringings often give us unique perspectives and abilities, which contribute to a thriving campus culture. In a school of over 50,000 students, it might feel like there’s nothing particularly unique about you, but there is- this essay prompt helps you discuss it. Don’t get too hung up on picking something dramatic to set your family or culture apart from everybody else’s. If you grew up in a family that really loves fishing and it’s made you a more patient, hands-on person, write about that! On the other hand, if you grew up as part of a traveling circus and that’s made you long for a place to put down roots, write about that! The most important thing with this question is to be honest, thoughtful, and specific. Pick something that really matters to you, and think deeply on what it means. Provided you are honest, thoughtful, and specific, there aren’t a lot of topics you should avoid on this one, though always be aware that, if you choose to write about something potentially inflammatory, the admissions office may not feel the same way about things that you do. Your audience is made up of strangers, so choose something you’re comfortable sharing with people who don’t know you and deciding whether or not you’ll get into college based in part on what you write. Why did you choose to apply to UCF? â€Å"Why This School?† essays are common in college applications because they require you to think beyond a school’s reputation and get specific about why you want to go there. Colleges want to know that your interest goes beyond ticking another box on your college list- you should have a reason to attend beyond that you think you can get in! To answer this question, try to get specific. What is it about UCF that appeals to you? You can look through their mission statement, course catalog, and clubs to find things that appeal to you, or refer to experiences at a campus visit or college fair. Connect your interest in UCF to something concrete. For example, UCF has part of its mission statement dedicated to creativity, which should â€Å"enrich the human experience.† Why does that matter to you? When you attend UCF, how do you hope to use creativity to enrich the human experience, too? If you can, make connections to real-life classes or clubs that you want to belong to, such as the Cypress Dome Society or Elements of Hip Hop. What interests do you have? What are your goals? How will these clubs help connect you to your student body? The most important things to avoid in this essay response are the things everybody else is already saying- that UCF has a good reputation and that it has a nice campus. Assume that both of those things go without saying. What else does UCF have to offer? What qualities or unique characteristics do you possess that will allow you to contribute to the UCF community? This prompt is the flip side of the â€Å"Why This College?† prompt- instead of asking why you want to attend UCF, UCF is asking why they should want you. Think beyond everything UCF already knows about you, like your grades and test scores. Assume that every student applying has exactly the same grades and scores as you do, and then decide what it is about you that’s different. What else do you have to offer? Choose something you haven’t discussed already, and be sure that you embrace that UCF is asking for what makes you unique. UCF wants to know about you as an individual, which could be anything from how you have the patience to make the perfect tamale to how your time leading a guild in World of Warcraft taught you about leading by example and connecting with people. UCF has lots of people with good GPAs and test scores- does it have enough tamale makers and guild leaders? Aim to fill the unique gaps only you can fill! Attending college isn’t just about attending classes, getting good grades, and moving on with a degree to show it. You’ll be part of a thriving campus culture, and UCF wants to know that you’ll be participating and enriching it. Beyond not focusing on things UCF already knows, always be sure that you’re presenting your best self. The people reading your essays are strangers, and may not get your sense of humor if you try to be tongue-in-cheek in this section. Be honest and thoughtful in a way that others will understand, especially because this essay will likely be their first impression of you. A good notebook isn't required for writing your UCF essays, but it sure does feel nice. What Are the UCF Common Application Essay Prompts? If you're applying to UCF using the Common Application, the requirements are a little different. The Common Application includes two additional questions that do not appear on the UCF application, which are flagged as optional. Still, there's no reasonnot to answer them- the wordcounts are short, they provide extra context for your application, and they're valuable questions for both you and UCF to reflect on. According to students who've applied to UCF, after finishing the Common Application, UCF will follow up with you with additional requirements, including responding to the additional essay prompts covered above. Though these essays are optional, it's still a good idea to answer them. Be sure that you don't answer the same prompt twice, as one of the Common Application prompts is almost the same as the one in the UCF application.You only have 250 words each, so be brief and clear rather than spending a lot of time painting a vivid picture. Why are you interested in UCF? As in the UCF application essay prompts, this question is asking why you want to attend UCF. Think beyond widely applicable answers like citing their reputation, campus, or weather- assume the admissions office already knows all that. Why UCF over any other good, beautiful, warm-weather school? What specifically draws you there? UCF wants to know that you're committed to attending not just as somebody who wants a good name on their diploma, but as somebody who's dedicated to UCF's mission and programs. Showing that UCF, not just their credibility or campus, matters to you is a great way to set yourself apart from other applicants. To do this, you need to get specific. Drill deep into what makes you want to attend UCF, and connect it to specifics. Campus visits are a great way to make these specific connections, but if you can't visit, you can also comb through the course catalog, club list, or mission statement. Show UCF that you don't just see yourself proudly holding a diploma with their seal- show them you see yourself learning, growing, and participating in campus culture along the way. Discuss your reasons for pursuing the academic program (major) selected above. Like the first question, this prompt wants to know more about you as an individual student. Think about what draws you to your major beyond prestige or salary. What should UCF know about you and your connection to your program beyond your GPA and extracurriculars? Questions like this show your dedication, which can be an important factor in admissions. Schools want to know that you're committed to your studies, and an essay that shows a deeper connection to your field is more likely to impress them. Take some time to craft a response that's insightful and honest- this essay will show UCF that you're truly passionate about what you study. You don't have a lot of space to answer this question- just 250 words- so be sure to focus on one specific thing rather than being comprehensive. Did trying and failing to grow strawberries lead you down the path to becoming a botanist? Did you decide to put your reputation for bossiness as a kid to work as a business major? Due to the short wordcount, you're going to want to be brief. Don't pick a topic that's too big, and stay away from using answers that other people might use. It's great if you want to be a doctor because you want to help people, but why a doctor as opposed to a social worker? Your essay should clearly demonstrate why the field you've chosen is the perfect one for you. Believe it or not, relaxation is part of a good essay. Key Tips for the UCF Essay No matter what school you’re applying to, there are some strategies you can always follow to be sure that you have a good, strong essay. Follow these steps as you’re writing your UCF essay and you’ll have a much easier time wrangling your thoughts and shaping them into something that’ll impress the admissions office! #1: Brainstorm It’d be nice if you could just sit down and write a perfect draft on your first try, but that’s not how most of us work. Instead, start with a little brainstorming. Set a five-minute timer and give yourself free rein to come up with as many possible answers to the prompts as possible, even if the answers are silly or weird or absolutely not in a million years going to work. Don’t worry about it! Get everything you can think of down on paper now so you’re not trying to herd your thoughts back into shape later on. #2: Write a Draft The benefit of getting all your ideas down on paper is that now you can pick and choose the ones that sound the best without getting midway through an essay before deciding the topic isn’t working for you. Cross out the choices that aren’t strong enough to support a whole essay, even one as short as UCF’s, to get those out of the way. Spend a little more time brainstorming some different points to hit on with the remaining topics and pick the one that feels strongest. Using your brief outline, flesh the topic out into a full essay. Don’t worry about getting it perfect the first time- that’s what editing is for! #3: Edit Editing is tough; it means re-reading your work and dealing with all the flaws that creep in. But editing is what separates the good essays from the bad. Take a day or so away from your essay before diving back in to read it with fresher eyes, and try not to get frustrated as you go. Read your work aloud to help you find sentences that are too long or lacking in punctuation. Cut out extra words- those â€Å"really†s and â€Å"very†s aren’t doing any work for you- and rephrase to get as much of the essay into passive voice as you can. Read it aloud again, give it another pass, and keep going until you feel like your work is in as good of shape as you can possibly get it. #4: Get Feedback Now that you’ve put in some time in editing, it’s time for the next scary step: showing your work to others. Choose a few people who you trust to give you honest, useful feedback- people who know what a good essay looks like, not just people who are going to tell you it’s great- and ask them to take a look at it. Leave them with a copy to make notes on so that you can refer to them later. When you read their feedback, don’t take it too hard. Everything they have to say is a suggestion, and it’s ultimately up to you whether you want to use it or not. Your essay should always, always, always be your work; don’t rephrase things exactly as a teacher or counselor suggests if it isn’t how you would say it. Besides, readers aren’t always right about the best way to fix errors. If the people reading your essay are confused about something, take that seriously! But don’t feel like their suggestion to fix it is inherently the best way, especially if it contradicts your meaning. It’s okay to disagree- it is your essay, after all. #5: Revise and Submit Take another break from your essay. Always try to edit with fresh eyes, if you can- trying to make changes when you’ve already spent a lot of time editing can either mean you miss mistakes or that you get so frustrated you give up. Spend some time away, working on an essay for a different school or doing something else entirely before you come back to it. Now that you’ve had a break, take all that feedback you received and use it to spin your essay into gold. Smooth out places where readers were confused, and clean up any lingering grammar errors. Read it for clarity and flow, and tidy everything up. When you’ve reached a point where you’re satisfied, take one last break. Give yourself a little time away from it, then read it one more time. Are you happy with it? Great! It’s time to submit! Send it off to UCF and anxiously wait for your acceptance letter to arrive. What’s Next? As you're applying to UCF, it's good to be aware of their admission requirements. This guide will walk you through the average GPA and test scores at UCF to help you maximize your chances of getting in! College essays should always be targeted to the school you're applying to, but there are some essay-writing strategies that work no matter what school you're applying to. If you're applying to college, it's a good idea to be aware of how to apply for financial aid.Make a plan and stick to it to ensure you get the maximum money available to you! Want to write the perfect college application essay? Get professional help from PrepScholar. Your dedicated PrepScholar Admissions counselor will craft your perfect college essay, from the ground up. We'll learn your background and interests, brainstorm essay topics, and walk you through the essay drafting process, step-by-step. At the end, you'll have a unique essay that you'll proudly submit to your top choice colleges. Don't leave your college application to chance. Find out more about PrepScholar Admissions now:

The Semai Community Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Semai Community - Research Paper Example The individuals in the community share more that only among family. However, everybody in the Semai camp has to share the items or food that they have obtained for the day; including those that were injured or even too sick to be able to take part will be given their share. Nonetheless, this is a good example of a generalized reciprocity whereby one might give something without expectations of receiving something in return, maybe in some way or even some other day. The concept or idea of possession among the Semai is different from that of the West. For instance, in the United States of America, it would be felt that the meat’s owner was the one who brought the animal down. However, among the Semai community, the owner of the meat is the one who unleashed the arrow. In this manner, more individuals have a chance of contributing toward food. They are normally happy to do trade with the others since they lack the means to keep or store food (Laird 18). An individual who possesses meat would wish to exchange with another thing since it is possible that the meat would go bad before he or she would finish it all up. The Semai people have a robustly peaceful image of themselves, they consider themselves as being nonviolent individuals who are not always angered or do harm unto others. They, in fact, sometimes disagree and get angry, but have less violent expressions of fury, and they nearly never beat up their children. These people regard themselves as non-violent, nurturing and dependant; a character that allowed violence would challenge their definition of good value (Peaceful Socities.org 16). Their view of the world and the place of humanity in it does not have any place for aggression.  

To what extent can working conditions affect well-being in the Essay

To what extent can working conditions affect well-being in the workplace - Essay Example decades.The paper will be discussing the extent to which the working conditions in the organizations of today’s world are affecting the well being of the employees with detailed discussion from different perspectives. The working environment in an organization is the product of the behaviors, interactions and synthesis among the employees working in that organization. In this respect the concept of organizational behavior can be said to be occupying an important place. Deflecting its path away from the conventional disciplines in academics, the dimension of organizational behavior (OB) uses various attributes from different fields and applies them in the changing of different priorities of the organizations. OB is a field that investigates the impact that individuals, groups and the structure possess on the behavior within the organizations. This dedicated towards the purpose of applying such knowledge towards the improvement of the effectiveness of an organization. OB also directs towards understanding the behavior of the people, the process of management, the organizational context, organizational process as well as the execution of work as well as interaction with the external environment. OB also centers on the process of what people do in an organization and how that behavior affects the performance of the organization and also deals with the study and understanding of the individual’s behavior which leads to the enhancement in the predictability. The behavior of the people, process of management and that of the organizational contexts are based on the elements of environmental influence, the process of organization and the correction of work which leads to the improved performance within the organization and also to increase its effectiveness. At the initiation phase, the practices of the organizational behavior included psychological application to the workplaces followed by rigorous research concerning various problems evolving in the workplace. It

Ethical And Legal Implications Of Euthanasia Essay Example for Free

Ethical And Legal Implications Of Euthanasia Essay The term euthanasia is derived from the Greek words â€Å"eu† which means good and â€Å"thanatos† which means death. Hence the literal translation of euthanasia is good death. Majority of countries around the world has prohibited euthanasia yet particular countries and states still apply this concept without much regard to the laws governing this issue. Unfortunately, cases of euthanasia still flourish because the physician conducting euthanasia is often left unharmed. Among all the countries around the world, the Netherlands has been identified as the prime country that allows the application of euthanasia in hospital cases. The topic of euthanasia is a controversial topic in human health. Euthanasia has been associated with medical issues, as well as ethical, legal, cultural and religious issues. Euthanasia has been originally defined as a method of accelerating death of a patient in order for the patient to avoid additional pain and misery due to his current medical condition. Since this classical definition is very sketchy, it is important that the different forms of euthanasia be described in detail. Voluntary euthanasia pertains to the hastening of death based on the consent that has been provided by the patient. It is a common situation in voluntary euthanasia that the patient signifies his wish to end his life because of the hardships he is currently experiencing as a consequence of his medical illness and another individual accomplishes euthanasia to fulfill the patient’s wishes. In the case of involuntary euthanasia, the patient remains competent is signifying his wishes and even decide what he wants to happen to himself, but euthanasia is still performed on the patient without even discussing this option with him. There are also cases wherein the patient is not able to express his wishes because he has lost his ability to communicate and non-voluntary euthanasia is conducted on the patient. The loss of ability to communicate is often observed among adult patients who are in a comatose or mentally deficient condition. The condition of not being able to communicate may also be observed among newborn babies that have congenital anomalies. There are also different forms of euthanasia that is based on how it is conducted. Active euthanasia pertains to the accelerating of the death process through the act of injecting a toxic substance that would result in death of the patient. Passive euthanasia, on the other hand, refers to euthanasia that involves the removal of treatment or the refusal in providing treatment to the patient. This type of euthanasia entails giving up the use of any life support systems or treatments and reflects an individual’s intention that the patient die after soon after the act is performed. The word passive often confuses the public because the word connotes not performing any particular act but the phrase passive euthanasia technically means the induction of death through the removal of supportive systems to the patient. Several other phrases have been used interchangeably to denote euthanasia. These are physician-assisted suicide of killing, withholding treatment, mercy killing or medical futility. In physician-assisted suicide, the medical practitioner supplies the patient with a lethal substance which the patient himself administers on himself in order to end his life (Materstvedt et al. 2003). In the case of withholding life-sustaining treatment, the physician attending to the patient decides that the use of further medical equipment and medications will not benefit the patient. In addition, the decision of withholding life-sustaining treatment is also based on the patient’s and the family’s request. Most of the hospital cases that withhold life-sustaining treatment are also futile in terms of medical procedures and treatments. There is much controversy with regards to the use of euthanasia around the world. It has been reported that majority of the physicians would support the authorization of euthanasia in medical practice. Particular countries and states have actually rejection or overturned earlier promulgations that are related to the conduct of euthanasia. In Australia, the Rights of the Terminally Ill Act was disallowed in 1997. In the state of Oregon in the United States, the Oregon Death and Dignity Act was discarded in 1999 (Miller et al. , 2004). These Acts were denied based on a number of ethical implications. One of the major issues related to euthanasia is that the suffering of the patient was not alleviated correctly. It has been pointed out that there is a possibility that the appropriate palliative care was not provided to the patient hence the patient would experience pain and discomfort. The availability of euthanasia thus influences the decisions of the physician wherein the physician would not look into the patient’s condition in detail because he is aware that there will always be the option of performing euthanasia in case the patient does not feel better as soon as expected. It is also possible that the amount of pain medications were below the optimal concentration that would be needed to eradicate the pain the patient is experiencing. There are also instances when a patient with a terminally ill condition is also suffering from a second medical disorder. Co-morbidities often occur with cancer patients, wherein they also suffer from major depression or another form of mental health disorder. Clinical research has also showed that patients with terminally ill conditions are more likely to request euthanasia in order to end of his suffering and frustration. It is thus important to determine whether the suffering of a patient continues due to patient negligence or mainly due to the illness itself. Another ethical issue related to euthanasia is that patients generally change their mind with regards to their requested treatment and wishes during the course of their ailment. It has been observed that among the patients who initially request for euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide, only approximately one-third of the patients remained with their decision of using euthanasia. As for the rest of the patients, they eventually changed their minds with regards to requesting euthanasia because an alternative method was provided to them that changed their perception of their terminal conditions. The alternative option actually made their conditions and current lives tolerable and still worth living. If euthanasia were legalized, it would be a great loss to the human population to see a significant number of patients that would instantly resort to giving up their lives just because of the idea that there is suffering and pain due to their illness. The value of life is also questioned in the act of euthanasia. Christianity has taught that only God will provide and take away life hence any person does not have the right to end an individual’s life, regards of his medical condition or state. The ethical issue of the patient’s and the physician’s rights to life are also questioned in euthanasia. In the medical Oath of Hippocrates, it is stated that a physician will do no harm to the patient and this should not be confused with the patient’s decision to die because this does not automatically mean that the physician has the right to kill the patient that signified his intent to receive euthanasia. The slippery slope phenomenon has been strongly linked with the issue of euthanasia, resulting in the need for a thorough sociological review of the act. Initial cases that employed euthanasia often involved hastening death among terminally ill patients. Euthanasia is secondarily provided to patients diagnosed to be chronically ill. The slippery slope phenomenon pertains to the application of euthanasia on other medical cases that show vague definitions with regards to futility and recovery. These medical conditions include the persistent vegetative state, which involves a patient that had undergone an episode of coma and then reawakened with a destructed brain stem. A patient in a persistent vegetative state thus presents with the inability to communicate but is actually conscious and can only perform the gag reflex. The persistent vegetative state is an exception to the definition of brain death, because only one of the two major components of the central nervous system is affected by the condition. Brain death has been classically defined as the shutting down of the entire central nervous system, including the cerebral cortex and the brain stem, resulting in the loss of breathing and stoppage of beating of the heart. In the case of persistent vegetative state, the patient remains awake yet has lost the capacity to perform any other motor activities. If euthanasia were legalized, this would provide physicians and family members of the patient an option to decide on whether it is right to end the life of a patient if he is in a persistent vegetative state. Other patients suffering from AIDS would also be given a quick solution to get away from their suffering of AIDS-related complications and would not learn to live the rest of their lives with AIDS. It is also alarming to imagine that if euthanasia were legalized, any elderly person may be subjected to euthanasia in order to circumvent the responsibility of caring for a senior individual. The issue of euthanasia also affects the patient’s trust in a physician. These medical professionals have long been perceived as skilled individuals that have a great knowledge in saving and prolonging the life of an individual. It is thus a normal implication that these medical professionals also have the expertise in hastening and terminating the life of an individual should he be asked to perform this or should he decide that ending a life of a person is the right thing to do. Hence if euthanasia is legalized, patients would feel that the physician carries the option of whether he shall or shall not live. Another sociological issue related to euthanasia is that the patient may be pressured to decide on euthanasia because of his family’s treatment on him (Ganzini et al. 2002). If euthanasia were legalized, any patient that feels that his illness is becoming a burden to his family members may easily pick the option of euthanasia to avoid the disappointment and anguish that his family is experiencing due to his illness. As for other elderly patients who are chronically or terminally ill, they would rather avoid being a burden to their families hence they would most likely request for euthanasia. Euthanasia is also implicated with sociological issues such as the eradication of unwanted ethnic groups. The historical incident of the mass murder of Jews by the Nazis during World War II is an extreme example of the use of euthanasia. The decision to eradicate Jews was then a political move that was performed using a medical procedure. The incident of mass murdering of Jews by the German Nazis is also strongly associated with the concept of eugenics, or the biased selection of individuals that are allowed or accepted by society. Eugenics has also been linked with the eradication of criminals in society during the earlier centuries.

National Missile Defense (NMD) Research Paper -- Military Integrated D

National Missile Defense National Missile Defense (NMD) is an extremely complex land-based ballistic missile system with the sole purpose of defending the United States against a ballistic missile attack from a foreign country. The NMD architecture consists of five main components. 1. Ground-Based Interceptors (GBI): The purpose of the GBI is to destroy the incoming nuclear weapon. The interceptor is a multistage rocket, which is launched after receiving a firing solution from the command and control system. After exiting the atmosphere, the Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle (EKV) is released. This is the actual equipment that is to intercept the incoming warhead and destroy it by colliding with it. The EKV has on-board thrusters that enable it to change course if required to intercept the warhead. 2. Battle Management, Command, Control, and Communications (BM/C3): The BM/C3 component is divided into two main parts. First, the Command and Control (BM/C2) system controls the overall NMD system. Information from sensors is forwarded to the BM/C2, which processes the data and determines the targets for the GBI to intercept. Second, the In-Flight Interceptor Communications System (IFICS) is a network of ground systems that relay communications to the GBI while in flight to guide it to the incoming warhead. 3. X-Band/Ground-Based Radars: These radar systems gather tracking information regarding the incoming warheads during the mid-course phase of the missile. This data is then sent to the BM/C2, which in turn is sent to the GBI for guidance to intercept the warhead. 4. Upgraded Early Warning Radars (UEWR): These radars systems detect targets near the horizon, early in the ballistic missi... ...s?† Coalition to Reduce Nuclear Dangers. 29 Sep 1999. < http://www.clw.org/coalition/ucsnmd092999.htm> 5 Class Notes from website 6 Class Notes from website 7 Gronlund, Lisbeth. â€Å"The Planned US NMD System: Is the Technology Ready for Deployment? Will the Pentagon Know If It Is?† Coalition to Reduce Nuclear Dangers. 29 Sep 1999. < http://www.clw.org/coalition/ucsnmd092999.htm> 8 Galum, John, Joshua Shakon and Tan Mau Wu. â€Å"National Missile Defense – A CS91 Final Project.† < http://www.cs.swarthmore.edu/~eroberts/cs91/projects/national-missile-defense/index.html> 9 Approaching Ethics, Class notes regarding instructions for the Ethical Decision-making Group Capture Worksheet 10 Approaching Ethics, Class notes regarding instructions for the Ethical Decision-making Group Capture Worksheet