IKEA Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

IKEA Analysis - Essay Example Retaining competitive advantage is inevitable for firms to ensure profitability. This can be achieved by implementing effective management strategies and processes that allow them to conduct a thorough internal analysis of their businesses, such as benchmarking, value chain analysis etc., to name a few. For the purpose of this paper, benchmarking as a method of internal analysis is used and applied on IKEA. The process of benchmarking is of vital significance for organizations today, since it affords them the ability to compare their performance with that of their rivals or similar processes within their own organizations. The process was first used and introduced by Xerox Corporation, with a view to gain competitive advantage over their rivals in the industry, and capitalize on their strengths by overcoming their weaknesses and limitations (Zairi, 1996). The process of benchmarking is evolutionary in nature, whereby the companies involved begin by analyzing the various internal proc esses employed by them, and seek improvements in areas identified as problematic, thus ensuring best practices within the organizations (Wireman, 2004). Definitions: The concept of benchmarking has been widely used within the field of management and is defined differently by different authors. According to Zairi (1996: 35) "A benchmark refers to something that serves as a standard by which others may be served". However one of the most commonly and widely used definitions of benchmarking is the one developed by Xerox, which states describes benchmarking as "the continuous process of measuring our products, services and practices against the toughest competitors or those companies recognized as industry leaders" (cited in Kozak, 2004: 5). 2. Introduction: The global furniture retail industry comprises of various stakeholders and players. IKEA is one such international furniture retail chains, which dominates the global furniture market. It was founded by a Swedish furniture manufactu rer, Ingvar Kamprad, in the year 1943 (IKEA, 2012a). IKEA today, has grown into a global retail brand, with as many as 131,000 employees working in 41 countries across the globe, generating annual sales worth 24.7 billion Euros (IKEA, 2012b). IKEA, as is apparent from the statistics mentioned above, has come to become one of the most globally trusted and appreciated brands in the retail furniture industry. However by the turn of the 20th century, several new players entered the industry, thus making it imperative for the existing businesses to improve and enhance their product capabilities in order to retain their competitive positioning in the industry. In present day competitive climate, the firms within the retail furniture industry are required to lower their costs, improve product range and quality, and cater to a wide consumer segment spread across the globe, in order to increase their profitability. The situation is worsened with the highly volatile external economic environm ent, making it difficult for firms to offer good quality products at lower prices. Its core business mantra is â€Å"Low prices with meaning† which drives them to strive for lowering the costs of their

Culture Art and Technology Essay Example for Free

Culture Art and Technology Essay Among figures of religion, Mahatma Gandhi, Mohammed, and Siddhartha Gautama are some of the prominent individuals who have shared before the world their religious experiences with respect to their own religion. Hinduism, Islam, and Buddhism have all received a great amount of fundamental advancement from the ideas and actions of these important individuals. Not only did they help shape the very religion they are attached to—they established it like no other. Yet even though their beliefs and characters are particularly unique from one another being human examples of the tradition in which they are a part of, they still hold one common strand—they all had religious experiences that were influenced by their family ties, geographical location and cultural background to name a few. Through the course of the years, history tells us that the raids later evolved into a struggle motivated by religious grounding— believers against non-believers. This indicates the idea that the spiritual experiences and conquests of Mohammed hold a central position in defining the religious practices of Muslims. While Gandhi espouses peaceful and non-violent methods in attaining the causes of Hinduism, Mohammed and Islam’s concept of jihad adopts the idea that religion itself can be the primary reason for engaging in violent measures in order to further the goal of Islam. Nevertheless, the fact remains that Mohammed’s role in the development of Islam as an established religion in many countries separated by geographical boundaries is crucial inasmuch as it cannot be denied. The same holds true for Siddhartha Gautama whose reputation in the religion of Buddhism is greatly acknowledged as essential both by believers and academic scholars. As Herman Hesse suggests, Siddhartha espouses the idea that, for one to know one’s quest in life, it is imperative to find the source from within and not from without, like a â€Å"flowing river† that attracts â€Å"a deep love for this flowing water† (Hesse 100). Introspection, or an inner contemplation, is one of the main precepts being pushed forward by Siddhartha which further suggests the idea that each individual must take time to isolate one’s self from others in order to be able to focus and to introspect. This idea can be rooted from one of Siddhartha’s life-transforming moments. The religious experience of Siddhartha began after his encounter with a sick man, a poor man, a beggar and a corpse that revealed unto him the idea that humanity is filled with sorrow brought about by the sufferings in life . Being isolated away from the outside world after being confined within his home for almost the entire duration of his early years, Siddhartha began to realize the deeper side of life after the experience. He decided to leave behind his previous lifestyle and pursued, instead, a life of intense asceticism. However, Siddhartha realized that to live one’s life is to neither live in excessive abundance of wealth and material possessions nor in extreme plainness after overhearing a teacher discussing music. In the end, he pursed the Middle Way, or the way of life that takes the middle path instead of the extremes . These aspects hold the key to understanding the Buddhists’ primary religious experience which is significantly felt, at least in modern times, in the social context of teaching others the way of living life in the Middle Path through a life of internal contemplation or personal reflection. As Siddhartha dedicated his life to pursuing the Middle Path after his yogic meditations, followers of the Buddhist religion later on adopted this method as one of the cornerstones or identities of their group. This suggests the idea that the religious experience of Buddhists in general is strongly tied to a personal level as its most basic foundation. Manifested through yogic meditations, Buddhist monks of today incorporate in their daily lives these principles . Moreover, it can be observed that Islam calls for a life that is centered on Allah while Hinduism, as exemplified by the life of Gandhi, calls for a life that should be dedicated towards the lives of others . It is religious imperative in Islam that Muslims should direct their lives towards revering Allah in every thought and action and that, correspondingly, the religious experience of every Muslim should all the more reflect their strong attachment to Allah (Boyd 69). As Mohammed himself is the foremost Muslim who has been able to fully actualize this thought, it remained an integral part in the lives of the millions of Muslims all around the world. This incorporates the idea that the religious experience of a single individual—the prophet Mohammed—has greatly affected the succeeding generations that came to follow the same path. While Islam essentially requires the primordial importance of Allah, Hinduism has been closely attached to the sense that it is a religion that is centered on others. The same holds true for Buddhism although the religion reflects reverence to â€Å"the Awakened One† or Buddha and that Hinduism itself has its own versions of celestial entities or â€Å"Devas† as well as the concept of â€Å"Brahman† which refers to the greater Self or God. These things constitute the belief that, although Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam have parallel ideas of higher beings or divine entities, it appears that Islamic treatment for a higher being supersedes those of the other two. This can be rooted out from the fact that the scriptures of Islam and its religious followers and believers put Allah above everything else while Hinduism and Buddhism, through their yogic meditations, allow or give due importance to the self as well. This is not to say that Islam as a religion does not give due importance to its believers. It only entails the idea that Islam treats man as a being that should be placed under Allah and that Hinduism and Buddhism illustrate a rather more salient consideration for the welfare of man. Mahatma Gandhi, for example, showed his concern for others by teaching the poor exploited peasants in the region of Champaran in Bihar about the satyagraha, inquiring about their sufferings, educating them to fight for their rights and at the same time to carry out their obligations to the nation as a whole . Siddhartha, on the other hand, lived his forty-five years traveling along the country, finding sustenance on the alms given by other people after teaching the people the means that will liberate humanity from worldly sufferings . Moreover, one of the notable religious experiences of both Gandhi and Siddhartha is pegged on the idea that they both waged a â€Å"battle† in terms of forwarding their beliefs in the context of their religion. While Gandhi strived for peaceful measures—passive resistance, for example—in order to achieve his aim for a peaceful world with equality among religions and Siddhartha pushed his ideologies of liberating humanity from the worldly sufferings they experience through teaching them the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path, Mohammed took a rather different approach. The fact that Mohammed engaged in jihad or in battles through the â€Å"sword† reveals the idea that Mohammed will take up arms in defending the religion against aggressors or in forwarding Islamic tenets. Thus, it can be argued that the religious experience of Mohammed, or at least the part in which he waged battles in his religious life, is distinctively different from those of Gandhi and Siddhartha. The differences in the religious experiences among the three can be largely seen on their corresponding actions and exploits during their existence and the resulting consequences it created on their religions. This also affects these religions view on disasters. Jihad is indubitably a central part of Islam; Yogic meditations play a significant role in Buddhism and Hinduism with former embracing the Middle Path and the latter guiding the lives of its believers through its sacred texts. The Qur’an greatly emphasizes the idea that Allah should be above everything else; Hinduism seeks to treat everyone and every other religion their due recognition in the sense that to each is his own truth or, at the most, God; and Buddhism’s goal is to free human beings from suffering and the cycle of rebirth and make them know the â€Å"truth†. Conclusion The religious experiences of Mahatma Gandhi, Siddhartha Gautama, and Mohammed all have a great bearing on the religions they belong to. These individuals have a large sum of contributions not only to the expansion of the reaches of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam but on the very central precepts of these religions. Although each of them has their own specific religious experiences and beliefs, and that while it may be true that each of them forwards distinctive approaches in meeting their religious goals, they all nevertheless share the parallel idea that religion is a significant section of their lives. In essence, however, their respective cultural background, geographical location, and family ties among many others have strongly shaped their religious experiences which, as a consequence, influenced their religion. Above all these, by comparing and contrasting the lives of Mohammed, Siddhartha and Gandhi, one is able to better understand some of the main—and oftentimes subtle—differences between these religions view on disasters in life. References: Aly, A. The Life of the Prophet Muhammad. 1999. (October 3, 1999): ATT Knowledge Ventures. April 2008. http://home. att. net/~a. f. aly/muhammad. htm. Borman, William. Life, the Chief Value: Wrong Aims and Methods, and False Views. Boyd, Stephen Blake. Malcolm Xs Religious Pilgrimage: From Black Separatism to a Universal Way. Redeeming Men: Religion and Masculinities. Ed. Stephen Blake Boyd. Louisville, Ky: Westminster John Knox Press, 1996. 69. Gandhi and Non-Violence. Albany, N. Y. : State University of New York Press, 1986. 200. Gandhi, Mahatma. An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments with Truth. Long Island, N. Y. : Buccaneer Books Inc, 2007. Hesse, Hermann. Siddhartha. New York: Bantam Classics, 1981. Levine, Marvin. The Story of Siddhartha. The Positive Psychology of Buddhism and Yoga: Paths to a Mature Happiness: With a Special Application to Handling Anger. Mahwah, N. J. : Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. , 2000. 12. Life of Siddhartha Gautama. 2002. Human Ecology. April 2008. http://199. 33. 141. 196/courses/idm2002/leung/rootbiography/pages/Life/lifemain. html. Mahatma Gandhi: His Life in Pictures. New Delhi: The Central Electric Press, 1954. Neusner, Jacob, and Tamara Sonn. Jihad (Islam). Comparing Religions through Law: Judaism and Islam. New York: Routledge, 2002. 203. Some Thoughts on the Power of Focused, Principled Hatred. Imperial Hubris: Why the West Is Losing the War on Terror. Washington, D. C. : Brasseys Books, 2004. 6. Swenson, Don. The Dilemma of Delimitation: The Study of Ethos. Society, Spirituality, and the Sacred: A Social Scientific Introduction. Peterborough, Ont. , Canada: New York Broadview Press, 1999. 255. Yob, Iris M. Growing up Buddhist. Keys to Interfaith Parenting. Hauppauge, N. Y. : Barrons, 1998. 79.

Philosophy of Science Essay -- Informative, Scientific Method

Background In the modern technological and highly specialized world scientists are seldom aware of the work of philosophers; it is practically unparalleled to find them queuing up, as they have done in Popper's case, to swear to the great practical beneficial influence which that philosophical work has had upon their own (1). In his paper he started by the following â€Å"The problem which troubled me at the time was neither, 'When is a theory true?' nor, 'When is a theory acceptable?' My problem was different I wished to distinguish between science and pseudo-science; knowing very well that science often errs, and that pseudo-science may happen to stumble on the truth† (2) Karl considers the empirical method of observations ensued by test or series of tests to approve a theory, and analysis of the results (empirical method) is not acceptable. As an alternative he recommended the following â€Å"I often formulated my problem as one of distinguishing between a genuinely empirical method and a non-empirical or even a pseudo-empirical method--that is to say, a method which, although it appeals to observation and experiment† (2) He established that the main problem in the philosophy of science is that of demarcation, i.e., (distinguishing between science and what he terms 'non-science). Karl popper summarized his ideas in seven points as followed: 1. It is easy to obtain confirmations, or verification, for nearly every theory-if we look for confirmations. 2. Confirmations should count only if they are the result of risky predictions 3. Every 'good' scientific theory is a prohibition: it forbids certain things to happen. 4. A theory which is not refutable by any conceivable event is non scientific. 5. Every g... ...ns no observation is free from the possibility of error. 6- Karl popper considered that scientific logic is deductive logic. so all scientific theories are tested by trying to falsify them. In order to do this, scientists deduce predictions from theories and if the predictions prove to be false, then deductive logic dictates that the theory is false. If the predictions prove to be true, then the theory is not proven true, simply this means that is corroboration to this theory. 7-last one (conventionalist twist) or a’ conventionalist stratagem'.)these words created to explain the trying some admirers of some theories to rescue the theory from refutation tried to save their theory, By introducing some auxiliary assumption, or by re-interpreting the theory in this way that it escapes refutation, but they destroyed or at least lowered, its scientific status (2).

What are the narrative techniques used by Tennyson in “Mariana”

Alfred Lord Tennyson’s poem, Mariana, follows the story of a jilted woman from Shakespeare’s â€Å"Measure for Measure.† The epigraph of the poem â€Å"Mariana in the moted grange† is taken from a reference of this play, and the narrative techniques within the poem combined with the context of the isolation of the character give us an insight into the melancholy that not only the character of Mariana feels, but perhaps also Tennyson himself. Arguably the most prominent narrative technique used by Tennyson is the imagery within the powm which is an outward manifestation of Mariana’s inward melancholy.The monotonous â€Å"glooming flats† outside of her house reflect her life; she is going nowhere now that she has been jilted and apparently has no wish to! In addition to this, images of isolation prevail throughout the poem, â€Å"The lonely moated grange†. This further adds to the belief that Mariana is cut off from the vibrancy of human life. Tennyson is particularly clever with this narrative technique; giving the description of an inanimate object, such as the â€Å"moated grange† using an human emotion, it allows the reader to reflect this feeling onto the character of Mariana, which further gives insight to the solitude that her character is feeling.The imagery throughout is of vital importance, due to the fact that we learn nothing of the physical appearance of her, yet the bleak desolation of the landscape which she lives in allows the reader to project this image onto her character and gives an insight towards the inner turmoil and isolation that the character is feeling. In addition, the image of decay is one of the most obvious forms of imagery throughout, and further reflects the fact that Mariana’s life is wasting away waiting for a man. . The quotation:â€Å"With blackest moss the flower plots, Were thickly crusted one and all.†suggests the idea that the melancholy Mariana has been feeling has not been a short term thing. The fact that the usually green moss has turned black raises the question that Mariana may be wallowing, and perhaps even enjoying her melancholy, due to the fact that it highlights the amount of time she has been in such a state. This quotation further shows the contrast between what her life could have been, and how she is living now. The mention of â€Å"flower-plots† indicates that her life could have been flourishing and filled with colour, if she allowed it to be so, yet it is simply dark and  bleak. This imagery of colour is entwined throughout the verses, with consistent references to â€Å"blacken’d waters† and â€Å"the rounding gray†.A startling piece of imagery which contrasts this darkness is the â€Å"poplar tree† with â€Å"silver green†¦gnarled bark† This is a dominant image throughout the poem, and has been interpreted to be a phallic image of the man who abandoned Mariana, an d is continuing to haunt her life even after he has left. This interestingly reflects the attitudes of the time. Throughout Tennyson’s poetry there are examples of feminism, and critique of the attitudes towards woman at the time. This reflects the Victorian idea that a woman can only be complete with a man in her life, and the life of a woman without a husband is â€Å"dreary†.The sheer melancholy within the poem could perhaps be a further jibe from Tennyson about society at this time, indicating that he believes that the idea that women should live like Mariana if they don’t have a husband is utter nonsense. A further technique used by Tennyson to tell the story within â€Å"Mariana† is the use of the structure. The verse structure â€Å"abab cddc efef† is almost encircling, with the central quatrain having a rhyming couplet in the middle, such asâ€Å"And wild winds bound within their cell, The shadow of the poplar fell†This emphasises th e psychological constraints of Mariana’s depression and depicts further the stasis of her life. The couplet in the middle is trapped, unable to escape due to the constraining verses, which clearly reflects the attitude that Mariana has to life. In addition to this, the verse form is unique to Tenyson and does not follow the traditional verse forms of other poetry, further adding to the idea that Mariana feels alone in life, and that there is nobody that is able to sympathise with her situation. Tennyson uses other language techniques such as onomatopoeia develop the story of â€Å"Mariana†, and is further used to reflect her character. The most brilliant example of this is;â€Å"The doors upon their hinges creak’d; The blue fly sung in the pane; the mouse Behind the mouldering wainscot shriek’d†The density of the onomatopoeia within this section suggests nightmarish and crazy sounds, and screams of despair, and create, as Ebbatson phrased â€Å"a landscape of inertia and loss†, which correlates with the emotions of the character. Furthermore, this quotation offers a stark contrast to the rest of the poem. Tennyson uses powerful words such as â€Å"shriek’d† and â€Å"creak’d† which are a harsh difference to the rest of the poem, which is mainly compiled of inactive verbs such as â€Å"fell†. The abundance of inactive verbs throughout the poem further reflects Mariana’s idleness, and really emphasises the onomatopoeia within this verse to reflect the dramatic sounds made from outside. Pathetic fallacy is a further narrative technique;â€Å"And wild winds bound within their cell,†This is another example of the way Tennyson uses the surroundings to reflect character; Mariana’s consciousness is really a wild wind, but she chooses to keep it imprisoned and â€Å"trapped within their cell†, adding to the perception that she is actually enjoying her melancholy. Th e alliteration of â€Å"wild winds† consequently accentuates the mayhem of her consciousness, and gives the reader further insight into the character. A final technique used by Tennyson is repetition, which is present throughout the poe,. Perhaps the most obvious form of repetition is the refrain, which is repeated at the end of each verse;â€Å"She only said, ‘My life is dreary He cometh not’ she said: She said, ‘I am aweary, aweary, I would that I were dead!†The fact that this is at the end of it gives an insight into the monotony of Mariana’s life, yet it also has an effect of creating annoyance towards the character of Mariana. Evidently as this is the only thing that she can say, it may appear that she is wallowing in her sadness, and further adds to the impression that Tennyson gives off throughout the poem about the feminist aspect. The use of direct speech within this refrain is the only part in the poem where we get a direct view of M ariana. It is therefore more immediate than the rest of the devices used to describe her character in the poem, and could perhaps evoke sympathy. However, it is not only the refrain which is repeated.The repetition of feminine rhymes such as â€Å"dreary/aweary† reflect  the feminine nature of the character, and the drawn out nature of these words and the unstressed syllable at the end reflect the languorous nature of the poem and create an effect of infinite weariness. Furthermore, the dramatic change of the final two lines of the refrain in the last stanza offers perhaps the only change to the stasis of the poem, which is a further narrative technique, and the final line â€Å"Oh God that I were dead!† shows that Mariana has come to the decision that she is fed up of living a lfe of shadows and nothingness.In summary, Tennyson uses an abundance of narrative techniques to tell the story of Mariana. Whilst it is essentially a poem of stasis, the methods such as image ry and repetition cleverly give the reader a deeper insight into the character featured in the poem, and have an interesting message about Victorian society concealed within them.

Legalizing Infant Euthanasia

Since the evolution of man, infants have been born with severe illnesses. These infants may be able to survive due to advancing technologies, but are left with possible and probable defects. Many infants will die even though they are being treated because they are not equipped to sustain life. These circumstances have led to the debatable issue of infant euthanasia, or mercy killing, to allow these babies an end to their suffering, and die peacefully. While many people feel that euthanasia is murder, infant euthanasia should be legalized to spare terminally ill newborns of long, painful deaths, and to spare them of possible life-long disabilities. Euthanasia is said to be morally wrong by pro-life groups. They point out that infant's may not be suffering while they are dying. They also emphasize that advances in pain management make it possible to relieve all or almost all pain. These people say that children should be saved at all costs, no matter how great the disability may be. They accentuate that the infants may be saved due to advancing technology, and that there are also therapy treatments for their possible disabilities. However, in considering whether or not to treat a newborn, the main goal should be to spare infants of long, painful deaths. Most experts believe that the primary answer to this issue is to follow what's in the child's best interests. If his mental and physical handicaps are overwhelming and it would be inhumane to prolong his life, then treatment should be withheld or withdrawn. After all, saving an infant for a life of suffering is hardly a humane and loving act. An infant was born with a skin condition similar to third-degree burns over almost all of its body for which there was no cure. The baby's mother was young, unwed, and indigent. Providing basic nursing care caused tearing away of the skin. The infant could not be fed orally because of blistering in the mouth and throat. Any movement of the infant seemed to cause it pain. Even with intensive care its life expectancy, at most, was believed to be days. It would have been reasonable, merciful, and justifiable to have shortened the baby's dying by an intended direct action chosen by the parent and the neonatologists. In cases relevantly like this, it is not immoral or morally wrong to intend and effect a merciful end to a life that, all things considered, will be meaningless to the one who lives it and an unwarranted burden for others to support. Among the women who work in the Stanford intensive care nursery, several said that if they were to have an extremely premature baby, they would not want it to be treated aggressively. One woman said that if she knew what was about to happen she would stay away from a hospital with a sophisticated intensive care unit. Others say they would make sure they were under the care of a doctor who would not press the extremes on survival. Many parents would make a similar choice but are not given the opportunity. It has been called a violation of God's commandment not to kill. â€Å"†¦ in effect, the demand that physicians fight death at all costs is a demand that they play God. It is a demand that they conquer nature, thereby declaring themselves more powerful than God's order. † Perhaps the ideal of conquest will be replaced by the ideal of living in agreement with nature. The most benign technology works in harmony with natural causes rather than intruding on them. The â€Å"Baby Doe† rule is a list of guidelines stating that a baby should be treated aggressively with very few exceptions. These exceptions to the rule are when â€Å"the infant is chronically and irreversibly comatose†, when the treatment would merely prolong dying, not be effective in ameliorating or correcting all of the infant's life-threatening conditions, or otherwise be futile in terms of the survival of the infant†, and when â€Å"treatment would be virtually futile in terms of the survival of the infant and the treatment itself under such circumstances would be inhumane†¦ This policy rather loudly states that parents and professionals may not consider the salvageable infant's life prospects no matter how harmful they may appear. A graphic illustration of the potential harm in the treatment of a handicapped infant is provided by Robert and Peggy Stinson's account of their son Andrew who was born at a gestational age of 24 1/2 weeks and a weight of 800 grams. He was placed on a respirator against his parents' wishes and without their consent, and remained dependent on the respirator for five months, until he was finally permitted to die. The seemingly endless list of Andrew's afflictions, almost all of which were iatrogenic, reveals how disastrous this hospitalization was. Baby Andrew was, in effect saved by the respirator to die five ling, painful, and expensive months later of the respirator's side effects. â€Å"†¦ the physicians who treated him violated an ancient and honored Hippocratic principle of professional ethics,`Primum non nocere', First do no harm. As shown in the examples above, infants that are treated aggressively will die more slowly and painfully than if they were allowed a quick and peaceful death. By using aggressive treatment on severely ill infants, many are â€Å"saved† to live with life-long disabilities. To demand that physicians use intensive care technology beyond the point when it is likely to assist with a patient's problems, as the Baby Doe regulations require, is to demand that they violate their professional commitment to do no harm. To argue that infants must be treated aggressively, no matter how great their disabilities, is to insist that the nursery become a torture chamber and that infants unequipped to live be deprived of their natural right to die. Helen Harrison, author of â€Å"The Premature Baby Book: a Parent's Guide to Coping and Caring in the First Years†, wrote about how families are at the mercy of an accelerating life-support technology and of their physicians' personal philosophies and motives concerning its use. She wrote after interviewing numerous parents and physicians in heartbreaking situations of delivery-room and nursery crises, â€Å"I sympathize with physicians' concerns when parents request that there be no heroic measures. However, I sympathize infinitely more with families forced to live with the consequences of decisions made by others. Above all, I sympathize with infants saved for a lifetime of suffering. † The decisions involving the care of hopelessly ill and disabled newborns should be left to the traditional processes, to parents and physicians who do the best they can under difficult circumstances. B. D. Cohen, author of â€Å"Hard Choices† wrote, â€Å"Until such time as society is willing to pay the bill for truly humane institutions of twenty-four-hour home care for all such infants, to offer than death or living death, shouldn't these decisions be left to those who will have to live with them? † There is a disease called Spina Bifida which affects between six thousand and eleven thousand newborns in the United States each year. The children are alive but require urgent surgery to prevent their handicap to intensify and bring about death. Paralysis, bladder and bowel incontinence, hydrocephalus or water on the brain are all part of the child's future. Severe mental retardation, requiring total custodial care, is the likely fate of 10% of the 15% of the children. Some 10% of the children will die prior to reaching the first grade, in spite of aggressive medical care. These infants, incapable of making their own decisions, deserve to be spared the pain and suffering of such severe diseases and illnesses. Although some claim that euthanasia is the killing of a human, infant euthanasia should be legalized to spare severely ill babies of drawn-out, excruciating deaths, and to spare them of the possible defects from their illnesses. Infants continue to be born with such disabling illnesses daily. Many parents are left burdened throughout their lifetimes. They may not be prepared to provide the round-the-clock treatment that is needed. New York State should bring about peace by legalizing euthanasia, and end the suffering for all people intimately involved in situations described previously.

Students and Plagiarism Essay Example

Students and Plagiarism Essay Example Students and Plagiarism Essay Students and Plagiarism Essay Essay Topic: Students Plagiarism is the act of using another user’s research or work without providing an adequate citation or crediting the source. Plagiarism is considered one of the most serious violations of intellectual property in learning institutions. Plagiarism is considered the lack of integrity and interpreted as cheating. It does not matter if the students knowingly or accidentally copied the work. However, despite the disciplinary measures taken to ensure that students do not plagiarize their work, most students fail to provide citations as needed. A different number of authors have tried to provide solutions for plagiarism in institutions. Some authors argue that the approach taken by institutions towards plagiarism in student’s work is entirely wrong. Institutions treat plagiarism as a crime or lack of integrity. Both result in harsh penalties to the student responsible. Students do not fully understand plagiarism and instructors and institutions should do more to educate stud ents on plagiarism ethics, detection methods, avoidance and also consequences. A common viewpoint given by learning institutions and instructors is that students continue to plagiarize in assignments despite the seriousness of the consequences involved. Some argue that students have inherent disregard for school rules and regulations or are rebellious. Susan Blum explains in her article that plagiarism does not indicate the lack of ethics or integrity but the lack of knowledge. Blum notes that institutions approach to plagiarism is entirely wrong. Schools treat plagiarism as lack of integrity by the student or as a crime. Schools that treat plagiarism as the lack of integrity or morality create honor codes. Honor codes are appeals to students to do what is considered right. Honor codes assume that if the social pressure on students is strong enough, they will be less negligent and act accordingly. Students are required to affirm that they will perform per rules set

Mangrove Habitat Profile

Mangrove Habitat Profile Their unusual, dangling roots make mangroves look like trees on stilts. The term mangrove can be used to refer to certain species of trees or shrubs, a habitat or a swamp. This article focuses on the definition of mangroves and mangrove swamps, where mangroves are located and marine species you can find in mangroves.   What Is a Mangrove? Mangrove plants are halophytic (salt-tolerant) plant species, of which there are more than 12 families and 80 species worldwide. A collection of mangrove trees in an area makes up a mangrove habitat, mangrove swamp or mangrove forest.   Mangrove trees have a tangle of roots which are often exposed above water, leading to the nickname â€Å"walking trees.† Where Are Mangrove Swamps? Mangrove trees grow in  intertidal  or estuarine areas. They are found in warmer areas between the latitudes of 32 degrees north and 38 degrees south, as they need to live in areas where the average annual temperature is above 66 degrees Fahrenheit. It is thought that mangroves were originally found in southeast Asia, but have been disbursed around the world and are now found  along the tropical and subtropical coasts of Africa, Australia, Asia, and North and South America.  In the U.S., mangroves are commonly found in Florida. Mangrove Adaptations The roots of mangrove plants are  adapted  to filter salt water, and their leaves can excrete salt, allowing them to survive where other land plants cannot. Leaves that fall off the trees provide food for inhabitants and breakdown to provide nutrients to the habitat.   Why Are Mangroves Important? Mangroves are an important habitat. These areas provide food, shelter and nursery areas for fish, birds, crustaceans and other marine life. They also provide a source of livelihood for many humans around the world, including wood for fuel, charcoal and timber and areas for fishing. Mangroves also form a buffer that defends coastlines from flooding and erosion. What Marine Life Are Found in Mangroves? Many types of marine and terrestrial life utilize mangroves. Animals inhabit the mangrove’s leafy canopy and waters underneath the mangrove’s root system and live in nearby tidal waters and mudflats. In the U.S., larger species found in mangroves include reptiles such as the American crocodile and American alligator; sea turtles including the hawksbill, Ridley, green and loggerhead; fish such as snapper, tarpon, jack, sheepshead, and red drum; crustaceans such as shrimp and crabs; and coastal and migratory birds such as pelicans, spoonbills and bald eagles. In addition, less-visible species such as insects and crustaceans live among the roots and branches of the mangrove plants. Threats to Mangroves: Natural threats to mangroves include hurricanes, root clogging from increased water turbidity, and damage from boring organisms and parasites.Human impacts on mangroves have been severe in some places, and include dredging, filling, diking, oil spills, and runoff of human waste and herbicides. Some coastal development results in total loss of habitat. Conservation of mangroves is important for the survival of mangrove species, humans and also for the survival of two other habitats – coral reefs and seagrass beds. References and Further Information: American Museum of Natural History. What Is a Mangrove? And How Does it Work?. Accessed June 30, 2015.Coulombe, D. A. 1984. The Seaside Naturalist. Simon Schuster. 246pp.Law, Beverly E. and Nancy P. Arny. â€Å"Mangroves-Florida’s Coastal Trees†. University of Florida Cooperative Extension Service. Retrieved online October 17, 2008 (as of August 2010, the document appears to no longer be online).