Research Paper (Football’s Effects on Personal Health)

Rodney Whitehead Eng 102 Research Paper 12/10/08 Football A person’s health is one of the most important things to maintain throughout his/her life. Playing sports is a fun and effective way to stay healthy mentally as well as physically. Football is an extremely physical, mentally advanced sport and is an excellent example of this. Football is an effective way to improve the physical, mental and social aspects of a person’s health. Football dates as far back as ancient Greece. Greeks made these games, which compare to modern football, to simulate warfare and battle strategies. If you know how an ancient phalanx works, you can find similarities between it and how the offensive and defensive line interact. It’s mostly just a lot of pushing and shoving with intent to penetrate the line and break the phalanx using shields and spears in a tactical fashion to create an ideally impenetrable unit. The linebackers, and defensive backs would represent the secondary defenses. The offensive backs and receivers represented the higher ranks of warriors. It was a game they played to showcase their skills, and it was an alternative of staying in shape without spending hours in the gymnasium. It also gave them more social interactions with people who had similar interests. The game of football has without a doubt become more advanced. It has become an multitude of associations and leagues each with their own individual rules and regulations. The game itself can be very confusing to understand from a foreign standpoint. However, the object of the game is simple. The team with the ball has to get it into the opposing teams endzone. Obviously it is more complicated than that but it’s the basic idea. When weighing the pros and cons of impacts on health with playing football, there are some negative aspects that go along with it such as injuries, risks with playing in severely cold weather, and other minor problems players might have with chronic pain or irritations on the body which include joint damage, turf toe and athletes foot, etc. Injuries in professional football do happen often, but it’s a part of playing the game. I personally would have rather broken every limb on my body than not ever have played football. According to Ernest Needham, injuries are abundant but not overwhelming considering the amount of people who play the sport. â€Å"We all know that accidents will happen in the best regulated of sports (even pedestrians are not free from them); but accidents of a serious or fatal nature are very rare considering the thousands who play, and it is questionable whether the percentage does not compare favorably with those of other pastimes (Unk 1-Par 7)†. All other health risks of football which are but minor compared to injuries should just be something athletes should go through to play such a fun and beneficial game. In my eyes, football is one hundred percent beneficial. One of the best things about football is that there is a spot for and type of person. Basically big, strong men play on the line; small, fast men can usually play as cornerbacks and safeties; strong and fast men will usually play running back or linebacker; and the tall, fast guys who can catch make good receivers. One aspect of football that makes it good for human health and development is the extra conditioning that is required to stay in shape. Conditioning mainly is based around running. A good thing for football players to practice and develop often is sprinting. Speed is the most important factor when playing football and it is extremely beneficial to one's health to sprint on a regular basis. It allows the heart to adapt and operate at higher speeds without such a high exhaustion factor as would usually be the case for someone who doesn't sprint regularly or at all for that matter. Football builds up strength and endurance in every part of your body. It increases your cardiovascular muscles and decreases your resting heart rate. You also become more balanced by learning different techniques and it develops the footwork of athletes to build speed and quickness. Unk 3 Par 2) Sprinting is most commonly practiced in what we call circuits or pyramids. A circuit is a multitude of different types of sprints performed in a row with little or no rest. For example, an athlete would start with seated arm sprints and when the whistle blows, he would get up and sprint to the forty yard cone at full speed. When he reaches the cone he would back pedal 20 yards, then do fifteen seconds of high knees. After this he would then sprint out the remaining forty yards. Circuits can be performed in any order with any combination of sprinting exercises. Circuits promote endurance, acceleration, speed and exercise diversity which is an important part of adaptive health as well as a vital skill one needs to play football. Sprinting pyramids go along with the idea of starting out small and gradually increasing distance and intensity. Let’s say you’re on a standard track. From the starting line, the sprinter would sprint a short ten yards, touch the line and come back. This is followed by increments of ten usually. Once the pyramid reaches sixty yards out, the sprinter gradually goes back down in increments of ten to act as a cool-down. Pyramids develop an athletes agility, endurance and also builds an athletes ability to sprint with stability and control. As a result, sprinting is extremely beneficial to an athletes health and well-being and this demonstrates how the sprinting aspect of football is a major part in the health of an individual. Most teams also coach their athletes to run long distances. Long distance running is an excellent way to boost a human’s cardiovascular stamina and increase the strength in an athletes fast-twitch muscle system in his/her legs. The reason it is so effective in improving someone’s health is because it keeps the heart beating at a high rate for a long period of time. This sends oxygen quickly to all the body’s key receptors which is essential to maintain motor skills, and better a human’s growth and blood flow. It also enables the heart to adapt and strengthen to be able to handle such a strain for such a long period of time. This helps athletes keep energy during games and practice without getting as tired. Long distance running is usually done as a team or in smaller groups throughout the team. For example, the backs receivers will run in one group and the lineman and linebackers will run in the other. The distance teams run always varies based on the coaches, how the practice has gone so far, and the weather, but usually when I say â€Å"a long distance run†, I mean at the very least one mile. Take me for example. I run one and a half miles every day before I strength train. I don’t consider that to be a long distance run at all. It’s more like a little warm up. On Fridays I run three miles which judging by how tired I am after, I consider to be long distance running. What defines the term â€Å"long distance running† is the physical abilities of the athlete and how much they are willing to sacrifice to be a healthy person and an excellent football player. Running in football is a great building block to a healthy lifestyle. Usually people who run and do other exercises regularly will generally have more energy throughout the day than non-athletes. People who have not experienced this first-hand may think otherwise. They might think that if someone exercises everyday, it would drain them and make them tired all the time. That is definitely not the case. Exercise lowers your heart rate in times of inactivity allowing the body to operate using less energy than someone who’s heart rate may be higher during times of inactivity. For example an idle body which has a heart rate of 70 regularly will use more energy than an athlete with an idle heart rate of 52. Therefore an athlete will generally have more energy when not exercising. Overall, running is an important part of football and an excellent way to stay in shape. In the sport of football, it is essential to compete with one another to be the strongest and the fastest. This being said, strength training is extremely important and is also highly beneficial to the sport. Their are many lifts that are specific to football, but weight lifting in general is a remarkably healthy life practice. First of all, it takes a lot of calories to build and maintain muscle, therefore just weightlifting alone could be a great way to get rid of fat. Basically, if someone lift weights to lose fat, he/she will be losing fat and replacing it with muscle making him/her leaner, lighter and stronger. Lifting weights is also a healthy way to socialize. When an athlete lifts weights, he/she usually uses a spotter and if they both are in the same strength range they will usually do all their lifts together and create a friendly relationship with one another. Team chemistry is also something that is taught and practiced in all leagues. The coaches usually try to ensure the cooperation and friendship of all their teammates. This builds builds the bonds that keep a team strong and the benefit an athletes mental and social health. An person’s mental health is probably more important that his/her physical health. Football is an excellent way to develop mental strong mental health. In most cases, players need to remember all the different plays and formation in a playbook to run a solid offense. That should be easy for most people with half a brain but they also have to know how to make quick reads and shifts in blocking to make plays work based on how the defense is aligned. This is a very complex skill that only comes with experience in the game. This trait illustrates a strong mentality which is extremely healthy to develop especially in early years. According to Abby Lerner’s quote from Sian Beilock, associate professor in psychology at the University of Chicago, playing football plays a big role in developing essential language skills students need to understand complex situations. â€Å"Experience playing and watching sports has enduring effects on language understanding by changing the neural networks that support comprehension to incorporate areas active in performing sports skills,† Beilock said. (Lerner Par 4) He also said that the findings may soon be applied to education. For example, the best way to teach kids about momentum and physics may not be assigning lengthy reading assignments, but getting them up from their desks and moving. â€Å"The experience of acting something out may help them understand the concept much better (Lerner Par 5)†. Football also promotes a healthier diet. The coaches stress that their players eat healthy and many of them put their athletes on a strict eating plan. Athletes in professional football and high high division college football are usually given a meal plan to improve their health and well-being. A good meal plan would consist of foods high in protein and carbohydrates in the morning, foods high in carbohydrates at noon, and high protein and vitamins in the evening such as boiled chicken and green vegetables. Such practices, along with exercising, weightlifting and stretching, can actually reduce the risk of injury. A balanced diet can also help keep the digestive system regulated. Eating the right foods at the right times is an important part of staying healthy so it is no wonder that the health driven sport of football practices sticking to a healthy diet. Football is an extremely disciplined and physical sport, but it is probably the most fun a person can have if he/she is trying to stay healthy. Through the coaching of strength, conditioning, dieting and enhanced brain activity, football is a great way to improve the physical and mental health of individuals of all ages. Works Cited Author Unknown1. â€Å"Health Risks of Playing Football†. Publisher Unknown www. spartacus. schoolnet. co. uk/Fhealth. htm This articles focuses on the downside to football. It illustrates certain health risks and diseases that may be caused by playing football, both long term and short term. It tends to use a lot of statistics and credited facts throughout the article. In fact, the bulk of the article is composed of these statistics and facts. Little is shown of the writer’s own input of the subject. Author Unknown2. â€Å"Football improves health of the community†. Publisher Unknown http://www. dh. gov. uk/en/News/DH_4111986 This article illustrates the positive physical effects of football. It points out that the sport promotes a healthier diet, teaches drug and alcohol awareness and promotes good sexual health as well as social inclusion. Author Unknown3. What are the benefits of football†. Wiki-Answers. http://wiki. answers. com/Q/ This is sort of a Q and A format article. It asks the question; What are the health and physical benefits of playing football? It is followed by multiple answers from anonymous contributors. Some answers are straight and to the point and some go in depth with exciting facts in vivid detail. Lerner, Abby. â€Å"The Best Reason to Watch More Football†. Men’s Health. http://www. menshealth. com/cda/article Watching football is had been a proven way of increasing brain activity and comprehension efficiency. This article developes reasons of how and why it does and it explains them in depth. Moor, Craeg(? ). â€Å"Improve mental health through playing football†.  © 2008 Adfero Ltd. craegmoor. co. uk/news/industry/18518880/ The mental health benefits of playing football are beyond significant. Football is a great way to socialize and develop relationships with other players in an informal, fun way which has effects on a person's emotions, relationships, identity and self-esteem. This article develops these benefits in a very compact article in which I will probably have to use sentence numbers.

International Baccalaureate Internal Assessment Essay

The European Commission has imposed provisional anti-dumping duties on imports of ceramic tiles from China. The move comes following an investigation initiated after a complaint lodged by the European Ceramic Tile Manufacturers’ Federation (CET) on behalf of 69 tile producers in the EU, the Commission said. The duties range between 26.2% and 73% depending on the company and last for six months. They could be prolonged for five years and are intended to punish tile manufacturers from China who sell tiles below cost-price in the EU. Alfonso Panzani, the president of the CET, said that the duties were not intended to exclude Chinese products from the EU market but â€Å"to bring Chinese prices to a fair level, making it possible for ceramic tile production to continue in Europe, and creating the conditions for healthy competition to develop†. He added: â€Å"There is no reason why we should be less competitive in Europe than when we export outside of the EU.† The provisional duties apply to glazed and unglazed ceramic flags and paving, hearth or wall tiles and unglazed ceramic mosaic cubes. (c) 2011 European Voice. All rights reserved. According to the provided article, the European Commission (an executive branch of the European Union) has recently resorted to the implementation of a protective tariff of up to 73% on Chinese ceramic products in order to protect the European market from Chinese dumping techniques (Protective tariff – â€Å"a tariff designed to shield domestic producers of a good or service from the competition of foreign producers.†1; Dumping – â€Å"the sale of products below cost in a foreign country,†1 often done to gain a monopoly over that product in a particular country). Facing pressure from the European Ceramic Tile Manufacturers’ Federation (CET), an organization representing numerous European tile firms who suffer from cheap competition with Chinese firms, the Commission imposed these duties to drive up the cost of imports and stimulate profit for domestic producers (Competition – â€Å"the presence in a market of independent buyers and sellers competing with one another.†1; Imports – â€Å"spending be individuals, firms, and governments for goods and services produced in foreign nations.†1; Profit – the amount of money a business earns after paying all expenses.) The conflicting economic values of free trade and protectionism are disputed in this situation as to which forces are allowed to control a nation’s economy – the government and domestic producers or the global market and consumer welfare (Free trade – â€Å"the absence of artificial barriers to trade among individuals and firms in different nations.†1; Consumer welfare – individual consumer satisfaction depending on prices and income.) Since domestic ceramic suppliers are threatened with economic ruin from such cheap products, the Commission turned to protectionism to force a more equal domestic competition and punish dumping companies through a tariff despite the consequences of higher prices (Protectionism – † policies that aim at restricting the flow of imports into a country.†2). The anatomy and economic effects of a tariff can be demonstrated in Figure 13 where the perfectly elastic world supply (Sworld) has increased in price (to P2) due to the tariff (Sworld + tariff) and, thus, have reduced the quantity of Chinese imports from the difference between Q1 and Q2 to that of Q3 and Q4. The benefits of a tariff not only include a reduction in imported ceramic, but also gains in producer surplus and tax revenues earned by the government (Producer surplus – the difference between the minimum price a producer is willing to accept for their good and the price they actually receive). Due to this tariff, the original quantity supplied domestically at Q2 has now increased to Q4 and domestic suppliers can now sell their ceramic at higher prices (P2), allotting for an increase in producer surplus (Area 1). Since the government collects the fees paid by the tariff, they now have more funding of which they would presumably return to the public. While tariffs may be advantageous for domestic producers and the government, they reap these benefits at a primary loss to the consumer from the higher prices needed to buy ceramics, and Chinese suppliers whose product is less demanded in the European Union. The major disadvantage of a tariff comes from the reduction in consumer surplus where it had originally occupied Areas 1,2,3,4, & 5 and was reduced to only Area 5 because consumers must now buy ceramics at a higher price (P2). Although Areas 1 through 4 represent the total consumer surplus reduction, since Areas 1 and 3 are beneficial to a society, so Areas 2 and 4 represent the net loss to society through higher prices. Therefore, in order to protect the European ceramic producers from being completely swept from the market due to the dumping efforts of Chinese ceramic exporters, the Commission is justified in the imposition of an anti-dumping tariff because the societal loss of an entire industry is greater than that of forcing higher domestic prices to the consumer. 1 – Defined by: Economics: Principles, Problems, and Policies, 15th edition textbook by Campbell R. McConnell and Stanley L. Brue, publisher: McGraw-Hill Irwin. 2 – Definition derived from: 2 – Definition from: Ziogas, Constantine. Economics for the IB Diploma: Standard and Higher Level, 2008. 3 – Graph adapted from original at: â€Å"Effects of Tariffs.† Linux User’s Group at WSU. Chart. 04 May 2007. Web. .

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn Paper

I. Intro paragraph a. Hook: In the Irish American community of Brooklyn in the 1900’s, immigrants faced discrimination and crushing poverty b. In the world that Betty Smith describes in â€Å"A Tree Grows in Brooklyn† however, this poverty is depicted as a kind of virtue, a force that causes individuals to grow, and families to bond c. Yet, while female characters like Katie and Francie grow from overcoming the hardships brought on by poverty, Francie’s father Johnny Nolan is defeated by it and ends up dying of alcoholism.In the 1900’s, gender roles and social expectations of men and women were more rigid than today, and both sexes were supposed to stay within gender boundaries d. In telling the story of Katie and Johnny Nolan, Betty Smith reveals how often times immigrant women like Katie, who went against gender stereotypes, survived and grew from the hardships of poverty, while men like Johnny, who tried to fulfill their gender role, were defeated by it . II. 1ST Body paragraph a. In the beginning of the novel, he has found a job, but it is as a low paying waiter and unstable.Even so, he dresses with style, is handsome, and seems content being a singing waiter. He is able to bring home money to his wife, Katie. His daughter, Francie always helps him get his bow tie on and he calls her â€Å"pre-Madonna,† then she eagerly awaits his return with her brother Neely, for he always bring back treats like caviar and oysters. They are a happy family. However, Johnny loses his job and his family becomes more and more hungry, but he can’t help them. He can’t find another job i.In the early 1900’s, men were supposed to provide for their family, but as Johnny Nolan illustrates, this was hard for immigrant men. ii. Perhaps not being in control and not being able to bring home money to his family makes him feel like a waste and a failure, for as the story goes on, he drinks more and more until he dies of alcoholism. K atie tries to help her husband, â€Å"She told him it was a good thing, that suffering would harden him, would teach him such a lesson that he’d stop drinking. But poor Johnny just wouldn’t harden. † (P. 98) iii.Johnny grew up with the gender stereotype of the man of the house being the â€Å"breadwinner†, and in the Irish American community in Brooklyn, he cannot fulfill this role. III. 2ND Body paragraph i. Yet, Katie has no choice and even though the cleaning job she finds does not pay well, she goes out to work ii. In contrast, Katie, Francie’s mother, is able to overcome poverty because she breaks down the gender stereotypes of what a married woman should do in her time; Katie goes out of the house to work. At that time, were expected to stay home and be cared for while caring for the children iii.Yet, Katie has no choice and even though the cleaning job she finds does not pay well, she goes out to work. Thus, as she faces poverty, we see Kati e rise to the challenge by being flexible. In contrast to Johnny, she is able to experience poverty as a learning experience and change. At one point she says to passersby, â€Å"Look at that tree growing up there out of that grating. It gets no sun, and water only when it rains. It’s growing out of sour earth. And it’s strong because its hard struggle to live is making it strong.My children will be strong that way. † IV. 3RD Body paragraph a. Johnny and Katie Nolan, exemplify a theme of gender difference in the overcoming of poverty for immigrants i. Katie is flexible and able to adapt, so she eventually obtains a better life. She does not stay within her gender role of remaining in the house, but goes out to work. In contrast, Johnny is unable to be as flexible and his stubbornness in keeping within his gender role and his own idea of his responsibility to his family eventually destroys him ii.Betty Smith does not judge Johnny in her novel, but rather portrays him as a sympathetic and highly likeable, but he is a conflicted and ultimately tragic character. V. Conclusion paragraph a. In the patriarchal society of the early 1900’s that Betty Smith describes in her book â€Å"A Tree Grows In Brooklyn†, it would seem logical if women did not fair as well as men in times of difficulty. After all women had fewer rights. They could not vote or get the same wages as men i. By going against gender stereotypes, Katie is able to persevere and overcome poverty, while her husband, Johnny Nolan, who tries to follow them, is defeated iii.In 2012 many women have broken gender boundaries; Hilary Clinton is Secretary of state, Lady Gaga and Beyonce are millionaires and international pop stars. Men too have broken out of gender stereotypes for it is socially acceptable for men to work at home and even earn less than women. In â€Å"A Tree Grows In Brooklyn, â€Å" however, Betty Smith captures a world, gone now, in which strict gender roles defined a person’s life. But for immigrants, trying to make a start in America, the need to adapt and go against these gender roles was critical.

Investigation of the causes of failure of Lehman Brothers with special Dissertation

Investigation of the causes of failure of Lehman Brothers with special reference to agency problems - Dissertation Example This research study mainly focuses on answering the question related to possible agency problems that were instrumental in the failure of Lehman Brothers. It also evaluates other possible reasons of its failure. The research study was conducted through a literature review and the case study research method. The report relies primarily on secondary research, making use of the existing literature from various articles, journals, and newspapers. The findings of this study suggested that agency problems played a significant the fallout of Lehman Brothers with the company managers involved in taking several risky investment decisions, less on behalf of the owners of the company and more in the interests of top management. The high amount of incentive compensations offered to the top executives encouraged them to resort to such business strategies. Apart from the failure of risk management control within the company, its complex organisational structure and the adverse impact of global financial crisis also played a role in the collapse of Lehman Brothers. This research study can thus be helpful in conducting further research on agency problems that can arise in other business organisations worldwide. It can be helpful for companies to develop various means to overcome such problems, leading to more sustainable and less risky growth and development. Table of Contents Tables and Figures 2 Chapter I: Introduction 3 1.1Rationale of the Study 5 1.2Aims and Objectives of the Study 6 1.3Research Questions 6 Chapter II: Literature Review 7 2.1 Subprime Crisis 7 2.2 Agency Theory 8 2.3 Agency Problems 9 2.3.1 Contracts 11 2.3.2 Incentive Contracts 12 2.3.3 Management Discretion 13 2.3.4 Evidences Related to Agency Costs 13 2.4 Causes of Failure of Lehman Brothers 14 2.4.1 Complex Organisational Structure 16 2.4.2 Valuation Issues 17 2.4.3 Risk Management Issues 17 2.4.4 Sarbanes-Oxley Act 18 Chapter III: Research Methodology 19 3.1 Type of Research Method 19 3.2 Data Sources 19 3.3 Case Study Research 19 3.5 Research Design 20 3.5.1 Construct Validity 20 3.5.2 Internal Validity 21 3.5.3 External Validity 21 3.5.4 Reliability 22 Chapter IV: Findings and Analysis 22 4.1 Secondary Research Findings 22 4.1.1 Lehman Brothers and its Organisational Structure 22 4.1.2 Lehman Brothers’ Financials 23 4.1.3 Executive Compensations 24 4.2 Findings 25 4.3 Analysis and Discussions 25 Chapter V: Conclusion 26 Works Cited 28 Tables and Figures Figure 1.1 24 Figure 1.2 25 Chapter I: Introduction The financial industry worldwide experienced a great shock with the event of the bankruptcy filing by Lehman Brothers on 15 September, 2008. It is considered to be one of the largest filing of bankruptcy by any organization in United States. This significant incident occurred in the midst of

Market Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Market Research - Essay Example For any new business to know about the market to be ventured into, it is necessary to conduct primary and secondary researches so as to collect qualitative and quantitative data to use in guiding its operations. It is advisable for a new entrant into the market to carry out a marketing research. This can be of great benefit to them. First, it will provide them with all the necessary information about the customers and whatever expectations they have about the new product. Besides, it can enable the investor to acquire much information about the market situations. Meaning, they will know about the available supplementary and complementary commodities, their prices, supply and demand. This will make it easier for the business to ascertain the level of competition existing in the market. By conducting a well organized and coordinated marketing research, the business will reap a lot of benefits from it such as knowing about the necessary steps to segment the available market based on the clients’ geographical, social, political, cultural, demographic, gender and age factors. This will be instrumental in knowing how to effectively utilize the available market without leaving any chance. Once the market is properly segmented, it will be easier to come up with strategies on how to satisfy each of their dynamic demands on the business’ products. The other important contribution of a market research to a business is that it can enable the management to conduct a SWOT analysis so as to be privy with the organization’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Indeed, these are very important areas which should be adequately looked into before making the right decision on how to conquer the market. By ascertaining its threats, the organization will have to come up with creative and innovative strategies like sales promotion, quality improvement and implementing favorable pricing policies. These can put the business in a

The effects of enviromental temperature on human respiration Lab Report

The effects of enviromental temperature on human respiration - Lab Report Example Hypertensive patients should be extremely careful in cold weather and people should take care such that the amount or degree of exposure to cold is reduced and also adopt measures to keep the body warm. It is important to expose the body to the cold stress. However the instant impact is quite drastic. After the initial brief seconds, the rate of metabolism seems to fall as the body now adjusts itself gradually to the stimuli. Adaptation is important for human being and degree of adaptation depends upon the habituation. The term acclimatization refers to the physiological adaptation of the body to a fall in temperature. In order to make the patient adaptable to the surrounding cold, it is important first for the person to come in contact with the stimuli. Escaping or protecting oneself from the cold by wearing heavy warm clothes is not the permanent solution. The study carried out by Young, Muza, Sawka, Gonzalez, and Pandolf (1985) shows the impact of repeated immersion in cold water, a program designed for adaptation. However it was observed that only under light stressful a condition a person is able to show adaptation but not under strict conditions. It has also been observed that cold presor test (CPT) revealed that with the increase in cardiac sympathetic activity, the heart rate increases too during the first 30 seconds of the test. In this case results also reveal â€Å"Arterial pressure, heart rate, and MSNA all increased significantly during the CPT† (Victor, Leimbach, Jr., Seals, W alljn, and Mark, 2008, 431) According to Fleisher and Krieger (2007) cardiac arrest brings about halt in respiratory activities or apnea. Therefore, we can infer that an increase in cardiac activity will bring about an increase in respiration rate. It may be hypothesized that the environmental temperature will affect human respiration. At colder temperature, the

Debate Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 5

Debate - Essay Example One of the hardest parts is to give the bad news to an employee who is not receiving an increment. In order to effectively deal with these managers should be taken through train by undertaking role-playing exercises to boost their communication skills. However, this can be dealt with by ensuring that the news does not surprise anyone in the company. This can only be achieved by making sure that that organization continually reminds the employees the rise will only be given based on performance and that it is not automatic to all employees. The managers should also frequently communicate the performance of the employees though out the year. In addition, employees need to understand the consequences if they do not perform as expected. This can be included in the employees’ handbook that they are not entitled to a merit increment if they do not meet the expectations. This sends a message that the organization is taking seriously everyone’s performance. Managers should be equipped with adequate skills to communicate to the employees the definition of what good performance is and what unacceptable performance is. They should be able to show the connection that exist between pay increment, performance, and how to deal with the tough questions that may arise from employees who do not receive salary increment. A manager can explore other alternatives in giving the increment. Some employees are promising. Instead of totally denying them the merit increment a manager may consider delaying it to give them a chance to turn around their performance. Another option is to offer lump sum payments in place of a base salary increment. This makes it appear like a bonus instead of a salary rise. it does not affect salary increment or hourly wages. It also stretch merit budgets while at the same time slowing salary growth this should however not be misused. Whether merits has lost its

Southwest Airlines Marketing Plan Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Southwest Airlines Marketing Plan Report - Essay Example The company encourages the employees to be creative in their own way while performing at the workplace. Goals and Objectives The company has the goal of ensuring that there is no compromise on the quality when the people fly in Southwest Airlines. The employees are to be trained in such a way that they always come forward to address the needs of the customers whenever required. Safety of the travelers during the flight time is also one of the aspects that South-western Airlines wants to ensure on a day to day basis. The company is popular for its low cost Airline services. South western intends to retain this strategy in the future course of its business as well. Thus it would want to increase the frequency of the flights and would try to maintain the prices at the low cost segment so that it is able to retain a larger market share (Lauer 218). SWOT Analysis SWOT analysis is an important marketing analytical tool that helps an organization to determine its key internal strengths, wea knesses and external opportunities, threats. Southwest Airlines is known as one of the leading low cost airlines. This part of the marketing plan will conduct a SWOT analysis for southwest Airlines. Strengths Southwest Airlines is one of the leading and successful low cost airlines around the globe. The organization implemented several key and effective business strategies in order to achieve potential competitive advantages and maximize the business profit. Marketing The organization has a strong General Counsel Department in marketing in order to review each and every marketing material in order to maintain potential target customer base. Effective promotional strategy helped the organization to create huge brand awareness among the target customers. Product The organization uses Boeing 737s as its products. The organization always tries to ensure the quality of the product. As all the planes are Boeing 737s; the turnaround, training and maintenance costs are contained. In additio n to this, the organization has no meals, central reservations, baggage handling and assigned seats (Gittell 137). Financial The financial position of the organization is quite strong with 3 billion US dollar in cash. The organization generates 716 million US dollar in free cash flow in the tear 2012. Figure 1: Free Cash Flow (Southwestonereport 33) In addition to this, the organization returned 422 million US dollars to its stakeholder. Technology Integration of advanced and modern technology increased the business perform ace of the organization. In addition to this, utilization of several modern technological equipments in each and every business operation process helped the organization to reduce its business operation cost. Management It is important for a service providing organization to ensure healthy work place environment in order to enhance effective business performances. Southwest Airlines has an effective, fun loving, strong and employee oriented culture that helps the organization to focus on several business aspects. Synergy Effective customer service helped the organization huge customer preference. 28 years of long reliable and safe operation increase the brand loyalty of the airlines. In addition to this, the route systems of Southwest Airlines have grown significantly. Effective environmental sustainability training program in employees program helped the organi

Holistic Care of the Adult across the Age Continuum Scholarship Essay

Holistic Care of the Adult across the Age Continuum - Scholarship Essay Example 2. Element (i) consists of short answer questions focusing on numeracy skills in relation to acute and continuing care issues. Students will be required to answer ALL questions correctly in this component (element requires 100% to pass). The use of a calculator is permitted to confirm answers. (Weighting: pass of element (i) constitutes 30% of examination total) 3. Element (ii) consists of long answer questions based on an unseen scenario. A selection of three scenarios will be given and the student will be required to select ONE scenario only. Each scenario is divided into two parts: Part 1 - Acute Care: requires the student to discuss and analyse appropriate assessment and management of care strategies adopting an ABCDE approach. Part 2 - Continuing Care: requires the student to examine longer term, holistic care needs in relation to self management of disease, pertinent to the given scenario (weighting 70% of examination) 'The emphasis is on ability to relate complex elements of knowledge to one another; to seek links and to demonstrate a critical approach to data, evidence and where appropriate reflect on experience. ''This should illustrate ability to audit own skills and to demonstrate understanding of how the student monitors personal development and learning.' N.B. Length: '2000 or word equivalence' N.B. It is permissible to exceed the stated word limit by up to 10%, without penalty. Assignments which exceed these limits are liable to be penalised by the deduction of 5 marks per 1000 words excess (e.g. If a 1000 word assignment, 5 marks off for 1101-2000words, 10 marks off for 2101-3100 words, and so on). Specific Guidelines: '1. The unseen examination will be 2 hours in length and consist of two elements 2. Element (i) consists of short answer questions focusing on numeracy skills in relation to acute and continuing care issues. Students will be required to answer ALL questions correctly in this component (element requires 100% to pass). The use of a calculator is permitted to confirm answers. (Weighting: pass of element (i) constitutes 30% of examination total) 3. Element (ii) consists of long answer questions based on an unseen scenario. A selection of three scenarios will be given and the student will be required to select ONE scenario only. Each scenario is divided into two parts: Part 1 - Acute Care: requires the student to discuss and analyse appropriate assessment and management of care strategies adopting an ABCDE approach. Part 2 - Continuing Care: requires the student to examine longer term, holistic care needs in relation to self management of disease, pertinent to the given scenario (weighting 70% of examination) 4. Element (ii) should analyse relevent and appropriate evidence based practice' Confidentiality Please refer to the Student Guidelines Relating to the maintenance of Confidentiality in Assignments found in the module handbook. Anonymous Marking: With reference to The Principles and Regulations 2006/7 Appendix A, the Faculty of Health and Social Care will apply anonymous marking (AM) to all assessed work, where it is practicable to do so. N.B. You must

Evaluate how the NATIONAL GRID TRANSCO applies the expectation and Essay

Evaluate how the NATIONAL GRID TRANSCO applies the expectation and requirements of corporate governance - Essay Example This framework even encompasses procedures and rules which are undertaken while framing corporate affair decision. It highlights the process by means of which are objectives are set and achieved in terms of market, social and regulatory environment. Governance mechanism takes into consideration different elements such as monitoring decisions, actions and policies of agents as well as corporations. On basis of this framework, actions undertaken by management are closely monitored in order to eliminate any form of agency risks. However contemporary interest of this concept is related to mitigating conflicting interests amongst stakeholders. There are various approaches implemented to prevent such conflicts such as well defined processes, institutions, laws, policies and customs. An important component of corporate governance is extent and nature of corporate accountability. In this study corporate governance framework of a particular firm will be thoroughly analyzed known as National G rid Transco. It is a multinational company of electricity and gas utility, and has its headquarters in London. The firm has its principal operations in North-eastern United States and United Kingdom. National Grid Plc., was founded in 1990 and in current decade has a market capitalization of  £31.4 billion. The company has gone through a series of mergers and acquisitions but the most important merger took place in 2002 where Transco’s owner Lattice Group Plc., merged with National Grid Group. This in turn resulted into a new organization which came to be known as National Grid Transco Plc. In this study corporate governance expectations will be analyzed on the basis of practices undertaken by National Grid Transco. There are different theoretical frameworks related to corporate governance but some amongst them holds great deal of significance in modern era. Finance or principal-agent model is a well known corporate

Australian electronic tablet industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Australian electronic tablet industry - Essay Example Apart from assessing the demands and wants of consumer the report will analyze the porter’s five forces with respect to the electronic computer industry within the Australian market. The report will also highlight on the cultural differences between the two countries based on Hofstede’s cultural dimension model. The key finding of the report is the existence of huge demand for tablet pc in Australia and some forecasting agencies have predicted that the sales figure will be skyrocketing in the years to come. Table of Contents Table of Contents 3 Threat of new Entrants 5 Economies of Scale 5 Brand Loyalty 5 Capital Requirement 6 Analysis 6 Threat of substitutes products 6 Switching Cost 6 Buyer Loyalty 7 Analysis 7 Bargaining power of buyers 7 Number of customers in the market 8 Availability of Substitutes 8 Analysis 9 Bargaining Power of Suppliers 9 Degree of supplier concentration 9 Availability of substitute inputs 9 Analysis 10 Existing Rivalry 10 Industry growth rate 10 Demand for product 10 Analysis 11 Recommendations 11 Hofstede’s cultural dimension 13 Cultural dimensions of Australia and Germany 13 Difference between two cultures 14 Recommendation 14 Conclusion 14 Reference 16 Threat of new Entrants New entrants are described as the companies that are presently not competing within the given industry but has the potential to compete in the industry if chooses to do so. Economies of Scale Economies of scale are about the decrease of unit cost of production when the company starts to manufacture more. Some of the sources include a) cost reduction through mass production. b) Discount availed through bulk purchase. c) Spreading fixed cost of production over volume of production. d) Same advertisement cost of large volume of production.1 Therefore Supernova limited can go for large scale production in order to grasp the cost advantage but before taking the decision they can go for a pilot test or test marketing. Brand Loyalty Brand loyalty is exhibited by consumers when they are more inclined towards the products of the established players of the industry.2Companies can create brand loyalty by using strong advertisements, superior product quality and providing after sales service. In a recent study, it has been observed that Australians do not pays extra for the sake of brand names; rather they move towards cheaper brands which offer good value for the products. Therefore, Supernova limited has to retain the loyalty by maintaining a fixed level of price and also satisfying the customer needs. 1. Gareth Jones and Charles Hill, Strategic Management Theory: An Integrated Approach (US: Cengage Learning, 2009), 44. 2. William M. Pride and O.C. Ferrell, Marketing (US: Cengage Learning, 2011), 400. Capital Requirement Capital requirement is the amount needed for the cost of production and considering the fact that the firm is a new entrant in the market, the total cost will also include the whole set up of the company to st art its operation. The entire set up will include manufacturing in the factory, raw materials, labor charges and all other variable cost. Since the company does not have any restrictions in the financial segment they can undertake all the required operations. Analysis Since the company

John the Baptist Rewrite Essay Example for Free

John the Baptist Rewrite Essay Abstract John the Baptist practiced preaching and baptizing Jews in the river Jordan. He was the one who recognized Jesus as the messiah and baptized him. This baptism was the beginning of Jesus’ life as a teacher. But it is his death that is almost always how John the Baptist is remembered and studied. His teaching is the basis of Baptist today. His life is told in only the Gospels and not much is really known about the man who came before Jesus to preach the word of God and of Jesus’ coming. INTRODUCTION: John the Baptist practiced preaching and baptizing Jews in the river Jordan. He was the one who recognized Jesus as the messiah and baptized him. This baptism was the beginning of Jesus’ life as a teacher. But it is his death that is almost always how John the Baptist is remembered and studied. His teaching is the basis of Baptist today. The New Testament does not supply precise information about the dates of John’s or Jesus’ birth. Usually John the Baptist is associated with the Advent season. His Birth is celebrated on June 24th. In the third or fourth century the birthday of Jesus was assigned to Dec. 25th, around the time of the winter solstice, after what we call the shortest day of the year, when the time of daylight begins to increase. In John’s Gospel there is a saying from John the Baptist, referring to Jesus, that â€Å"he must increase; I must decrease† (3:30). And so the birth of John was assigned to June 24th, after the summer solstice, when the daylight begins to decrease, following the longest day of the year. The Scripture readings for the nativity of St. John the Baptist reflect the dynamics of Decrease and increase between John and Jesus. Today’s Old Testament reading is one of the servant songs from Second Isaiah. It was chosen for its reference to the servant having been named from his mother’s womb (Luke 1:60). But the passage also expresses important aspects of John’s career as a prophet to God’s people and a light to the nations. At the same time his status as servant makes him subordinate to Jesus. The selection from Paul’s speech in Acts 13 reminds us that John played a pivotal role in Salvation history and so won a place in the early Christian proclamation. Importance is given to John’s own recognition of his subordinate status with respect to Jesus, â€Å"I am not worthy to unfasten the sandals of his feet†. HIS HISTORY: John the Baptist was described as a man that walked among the Jews in animal’s hair that was not covered by his own skin and he was a savage. He came with a message that â€Å"God hath sent me to show you the way of the law, by which ye shall be freed from many tyrants. And no mortal shall rule over you, but only the highest who hath sent me. † He dipped them into the stream of the Jordan and let them go warning them that they should renounce evil deeds (Harrington, 2005, p. 25). In Luke’s early narrative there are many parallels and comparisons between John and Jesus, both in the announcements of their births and in the accounts of them. While John is great, Jesus is greater is the message given. The idea is not to critic John but rather to highlight Jesus’ greatness. The birth of John is presented by Luke as the fulfillment of God’s promises not only to his elderly parents but also to God’s people as a whole, Elizabeth and Zechariah, John’s parents, insists that the child be named John , a name whose Hebrew form, Yohana, celebrates God’s mercy and favor to his people . If there is any connections between Jesus ant the Dead Sea Scrolls, it is through John, who was â€Å"in the desert until the day of his manifestation to Israel† The child John grew up to become a herald of God’s coming kingdom, the messiah and the mentor of Jesus. The Gospel of Luke provides some of the chronological history of John the Baptist. According to Luke, John began to preach his baptism of repentance in the fifteenth year of Tiberius. Jesus was born sometime before the death of Herod the Great. This puts him at about thirty when he began to preach and died during the reign of Pontius Pilate, whose term was terminated shortly before the death of Tiberius in 37 c. e. Since in all three gospels Jesus’ ministry appears to last no more than about a year, the gospel of Luke places the death of Jesus between 25 C. E. and 29 C. E. with the latter being a range that would fit with Luke’s claim that John began preaching around 28 C. E. (Kraemer, 2006, p. 334). There is a period of John the Baptist life that is blank and because the gospels are the only mentioning of the man, speculation has given a possibility of where he was. They believed that John the Baptist was a recluse who spent a great amount of time with a group of people named the Essenes. These people lived in the desert awaiting the imminent arrival of the Messiah (Miller Scelfo, 2007). The Essenes had turned its back on the Herodian temples and its worship to withdrawal to the Judean desert. Their communities were created using monastic style communities, but also to instill a religious life for families. These religious instructions included a literary center and used exclusive rituals such as baptism and prayer. This is probably where the basis of John’s beliefs was founded. In an article in Newsweek it discusses how close John the Baptist, Jesus and possibly his family were to the Essenes community. The actual ritual of Baptism, that was the Essenes belief, symbolizes â€Å"the leaving behind the sinful life one has led until now and to start out on the path to a new, changed life (Ratzinger, 2007). A Professor of religious studies wrote a book in 20006 that gave a little different look at the historical life of John the Baptist. According to this author, James Tolson, Jesus with his cousin John were in partnership and saw themselves as the founders not of a new religion but of a worldly royal dynasty that would be fulfilling ancient prophecies. The dynasty had come down from King David and was to restore Israel and guide it through an apocalyptic upheaval that was growing in the Kingdom of God on Earth. All of this was supposed to happen not in the distant or metaphoric future but then and now. True their message was one of a peaceful change, but Jesus knew he had aroused suspensions of Herodian rulers of Palestine as well as the Romans. So, according to Tolson, Jesus had to establish a provisional government with 12 tribal officials and named his brother James, not Paul as his successor. Later James became the leader of the early Christian movement (Tolson, 2006). HIS DEATH: History remembers Archelaus’s brother, Herod Antipas, because of his interactions with the prophet John the Baptist. John would loudly condemn Antipas immoral behavior of having stolen his brother’s wife, who was also his niece. Antipas arrested and kept John in chains, unable to kill him yet unable to put him out of his mind. According to the Book of Mark, â€Å"When Herod heard John, he was greatly puzzled; yet he liked to listen to him† (Mark 6:20). Through a trick thought up by his wife and her daughter Salome, Antipas ended up executing John. Reports then filtered in of another prophet, and Antipas, perhaps plagued by remorse tried to see Jesus who avoided him, because of what he had done to his cousin. In both Mark and Mathew, the death of John the Baptizer is told in flashbacks. Jesus’ activities have attracted attention, and there have been speculation as to his identity, with some proposing that Jesus could be John the Baptist. Ross S. Kraemer of Brown University wrote an essay dealing with this subject. He also wrote that, â€Å"Herod Antipas too having heard the word of the prophet after John’s beheading, believes that Jesus is indeed John. Herodias, Herod’s wife, was the one who resents John and wishes to kill him but she was still prevented by Antipa’s fear of John’s righteousness and holiness. In Mark’s account at Antipas’s birthday meal was when an opportunity presented itself to Herodias. Antipas became entranced by his wife’s daughter dancing and offered this daughter anything she wished, even half of his kingdom. The daughter then goes and asks her mother what to request and her mother replies that she wants her to ask for the head of John the Baptizer on a platter. Antipas complies only in order to keep his oath and preserve his honor before his guests. In Matthew’s account there are some differences but still significant differences. Both agree that it is Antipas who orders John’s execution, but in Mark it is only because of Herodias that he does so, because Antipas has no desire to kill John. In Matthew Antipas himself desires to be rid of John, but has reservations because he fears the people who see John as a prophet. In Matthew’s account Antipas thought well of John and found his speeches pleasing. In Matthew, Herodias does not appear as a player until the end where like in Mark; Herodias capitalizes on Antipas’s offer. In Mark, Antipas has been totally manipulated by Herodias and her daughter, but in Matthew, he has merely been enabled to do what he had wished all along but was too weak to do. One more account from the book of Josephus tells that Herodias and her daughter played no role whatsoever. Josephus and Matthew actually concur in seeing Herod as always desiring John’s death, but with different motivations being that John was critical of Herodias for the way of flouting Jewish tradition by marrying Antipas and this was the motive for Herods ordering the beheading. But Josephus does cite that Antipa’s was fearful of John’s popularity and that could have started and uprising. HIS PROPHECIES: John the Baptizer was a prophet that preached with not so much words but with life. The words of the prophet ring true only because they carry with them the sweat, tears and blood of the prophet. According to Abraham Joshua Heschel, prophets are preachers whose lives are under siege, â€Å"The prophet is a man who feels fiercely. God has thrust a burden upon his soul and he is bowed and stunned at man’s fierce greed. Frightful is the agony of man; no human voice can convey its full terror. Prophecy is the voice that God has lent to the silent agony, a voice to the plundered poor, to the profaned riches of the world. It is a form of living a crossing point of God and man. God is raging in the prophet’s words†. (Dube, 2002, p. 42). The ministry of John the Baptizer was to challenge, provoke and call towards holiness. Because prophets are on the cutting edge of the call for repentance, their call is to shatter the comfort zones of sin and complacency. The conditions that call fourth prophets are conditions of idolatry, moral decadence and weak spirituality. This is why strict conditions are set up for any prophet who prophesies peace. The message of the prophet is one that calls for repentance, one that threatens us with its incarnated holiness, rages at us with God’s words as with John the Baptizers words of, â€Å"Repent, God’s rule is around the corner! † John’s whole life was directed towards one goal, one direction, to give witness to the transcendent reality of God, which now made near, our eyes can see it and our hands can handle it. In John’s own words, â€Å"I did not know Him, but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water† (Dube, 2002, p.43). What this means is that, ultimately, every prophet has to let go. John the Baptizer has to let that which he has given witness to take its own shape and form. Letting go seems easy, a holy thing to do, but in its aftermath it is a very hazardous moment for the prophet. What is hazardous for the prophet is thinking about what has really taken place. The result is that this final movement of the prophetic life is bound by some kind of crisis such as doubt or a trouble in the mind. The prophet discovers that he or she is not the sound from the trumpet but just a reed. This realization requires a re-centering. In John’s case, the crisis is his doubts about the Messiah. But after John sends two of his disciples to ask Jesus a question if he was the one or whether they should look for another his fears were relinquished (Yancey, 2007, p. 72). In Christian faith they believe that John the Baptist was ordained by God to preach and reveal the Messiah, they believe this to be Jesus. Prophecies that were foretold by John are in Luke 1:17, â€Å"And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest, for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways. † and also Luke 1:75. In the Book of Malachi John the Baptist is referred to as a prophet who is to prepare the way of the Lord, â€Å"Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me, and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in, behold, he shall come, saith the Lord. † (3:1). PROOF OF EXISTENCE: In recent times a cave was discovered not far from the traditional birthplace of John the Baptist, Ein Kerem, just west of Jerusalem on a Kibbutz. Where John the Baptist was born and also where churches and monasteries are built to commemorate his birth. The cave is of considerable size with genuinely puzzling feature such as a large amount of broken patter, some dating to the period when John was active, a pool used perhaps for ritual immersion, a stone with the imprint of a foot, apparently used for foot-anointing and pictures on the walls that could relate to John the Baptist that depicts an upraised arm with three crosses. But much speculation as to whether this is a representation of John or not is still up in the air (Scham, 2004). Caves have long been associated with John. In the bible, his mother, Elizabeth, flees with him to a cave to escape Herod’s massacre of male infants, and as an adult he frequently lives in caves, giving some weight to the cave findings mentioned earlier. After John’s beheadings cults formed around his memory and often held religious rituals in caves. The site was excavated by Shimon Gibson an Israeli archaeologist in 1999 and 2000. Around the perimeter he discovered the remains of walls with large dress stones which usually is a sign of an important place in the Near East. Although Gibson isn’t clear on their age, he still uses this to uphold his find. Another artifact is a unique water channeling system suggesting the presence of a reservoir from its earliest occupation, probably between 800 and 500 B. C. This, Gibson proposes, was used for baptism rituals. Along with these relics are thousands of pieces of pottery, dating from Hellenistic times. CONCLUSION: John the Baptist was a prophet of the coming of Jesus and as elusive in history as was Jesus. Not much information can be obtained about much of his life except for what is mentioned in the Gospel. The finding of the cave and if it is indeed where John the Baptist did work his miracles would be the first evidence to his existence. In all the information I found most focused on his death and the meaning of his sermons towards the end of his life. If the evidence at the excavations do prove to the existence of John than evidence on Jesus’ life will follow. I was most interested in the essay by Ross S. Kraemer that mentioned a possibility that John and Jesus could be the same. Whatever is true, it is easy to say that John the Baptist was a man that through his sermons changed the world and created a faith. Bibliography Bugge, J. (2006, April). Virginity and prophecy in the old English Daniel. English Studies. 87(2), 127-147. Dube, C. (2002). From ecstasy to ecstasies: A reflection on prophetic and Pentecostal ecstasy in the light of John the Baptizer. Journal of Pentecostal Theology, 11. 1 41-52 Gibson, S. (2004). The cave of john the Baptist. New York: Doubleday Harrington, D. (2007, June 18). Decrease and increase. America, 196(21), 38-39. Kraemer, R. S. (2006). Implicating herodias and her daughter in the death of john the Baptizer: A christian theological strategy? Journal of Biblical Literature, 125(2), 321-349. Miller, L. Scelfo, J. (2007, May 21). A portrait of faith. Newsweek, 14(21), n. p. Ratzinger, J. (2007, May 21). The meaning of baptism. Newsweek, 149(21), n. p. Scham, S. (2004, November). St. john’s cave. Archaeology, 57(6), 52. Tolson, J. (2006, March 17). The kingdom of Christ. News World Report, 140(14), n. p. Warrington, K. (2006, April). Acts and the healing narratives: Why? Journal of Pentecostal Theology. 14(2), 189-217. Yancey, P. (2007, January). A tale of five herods. Christianity Today, 72.

Influence Of Positivism Interpretivism And Realism Approaches Psychology Essay

Influence Of Positivism Interpretivism And Realism Approaches Psychology Essay All sociological research designs and methods make certain assumptions about the nature of the social world and how knowledge is generated. One of the ways that research can be evaluated and improved is to make these assumptions more explicit (Hibberd, 2005). Positivism, interpretivism and realism give different answers to the nature of scientific knowledge and whether or not it is applicable to societies. Many scholars argue that a great deal of sociological research contains elements of all three (Suppe, 1984; Bickhard, 1992; Hibberd, 2010). To a far extent these arguments have influenced the methodological division of social research. It is claimed that, the quantitative methods have their intellectual underpinning in the positivist and realist paradigms, while the qualitative methods/techniques have their intellectual underpinning in interpretativist, constructivist, and naturalist paradigms (Hanzel, 2010). However, despite these ongoing arguments between the methodological traditions of qualitative and quantitative research (Gage, 1989); combined methods represent a fast developing field of social science methodology. As all methods have specific margins and particular strengths, many discussants propose that qualitative and quantitative methods should be combined in order to compensate for their mutual weaknesses (Tashakkori Teddlie, 2003). Moreover, it is claimed that this movement scripts the beginning of a new era in social research indicated by a tendency to combine quantitative and qualitative methods pragmatically unencumbered by old debates (Johnson Turner, 2003). Therefore it is emphasized that the uses of a mixed-method design provides an important tool in overcoming the limitations of both qualitative and quantitative mono-method research. This essay deals with social theories that influence qualitative and qualitative research methods employed in social sciences as either in principle separable or even as irreconcilable methods of social sciences. It starts with a characterization of positivism, Interpretivism and realism; and links these theories to the foundation of qualitative and quantitative research methods. Then, it shows how they deal with the various aspects of the qualitative-quantitative divide. Finally, it is the intention to show how the combined methodological approach may be integrated in a coherent way to add value and assist in the design of a single research project. With an emphasis on the differences and similarities between quantitative and qualitative approaches providing the basis for exploring the methods of combining both approaches to overcome their weaknesses by providing a commentary of the complementary strengths of each tradition. Characterizing Positivism, Interpretivism and Realism approaches Few sociologists would describe themselves as a positivist, interpretivist or realist. These are terms used primarily by methodologists and social theorists to describe and evaluate the theoretical assumptions underlying different approaches to research (Bickhard, 1992; Johnson, 2006; Hibberd, 2010). There are many different views in sociology about what societies are and the best ways of obtaining knowledge of them. This part of the essay simplifies matters to some extent by characterizing three of the most influential theories of knowledge in sociology: positivism, interpretivism and realism (Bryman, 1998 and 2001; Hibberd 2010). Positivism Positivism is frequently used to stand for the epistemological assumption that empirical knowledge based on principles of objectivity, verificationism, and reproducibility is the foundation of all authentic knowledge (Bryman, 2001; Hanzel, 2010). The term positivist has been critical for some time in the human sciences because positivist tends to subscribe to a number of ideas that have no place in present-day science and philosophy (Hanzel, 2010). Positivism views that sociology can and should use the methods of the natural sciences, that do not usually mean using experiments because there are all sorts of ethical problems with doing that, but positivists do believe that sociologists should use quantitative methods and aim to identify and measure social structures. As a philosophical approach, positivism encompasses a group of notions. Table 1 below, provides main characters for positivist key ideas. It shows that positivists sum up all the items by being against metaphysics (Hackin g, 1983). Character Description emphasis upon verification Significant propositions are those whose truth or falsehood can be settled in some way. Pro-observation What we can see, feel, touch, and the like provide the best content or foundation for all the rest of our non mathematical knowledge. Discoverability Scientific knowledge is something discovered (rather than produced or constructed). Anti-cause There is no causality in nature, over and above the constancy with which events of one kind are followed by events of another kind. Downplaying explanation Explanation may help organize phenomena, but do not provide any deeper answer to Why questions except to say that the phenomena regularly occur in such and such a way. Anti-theoretical entities Positivists tend to be non-realists, not only because they restrict reality to the observable but also because they are against causes and are dubious about explanations. Table 1: Positivism characters Source: Hacking, 1983 Positivist theory argues that the methods of the natural sciences are applicable to the study of societies. In the positivist view, sociology involves the search for causal relationships between observable phenomena and theories are tested against observations (Hibberd, 2009). Researchers adopting a positivist point of view may still be interested in finding out about peoples subjective views. For example, they explore things such as attitudes and opinions through survey research (Michell, 2003). However, they see the task of sociology as explaining why people behave in the way they do, and how people really feel about things cannot be explained scientifically. Interpretivist Interpretivists do not necessarily reject the positivist account of knowledge, but they question the idea that the logic and methods of natural science can be imported into the study of societies. Max Weber was one of the main influences on the interpretivist tradition in sociology. For him, natural science and social science are two very different enterprises requiring a different logic and different methods (Bryman, 1982). At the heart of interpretivist critique of positivism is a humanist viewpoint. Some of those favouring an interpretivist view of sociology have long argued that in their search for a scientific explanation of social life, positivist have sometimes forgotten that they are studying people, and to study people you need to get out and explore how they really think and act in everyday situations. Interpretivists argue that unlike objects in nature, human beings can change their behaviour if they know they are being observed (Collins, 1984; Guba, 1987). So, interpretivists argue that if we want to understand social action, we need to look into the reasons and meanings which that action has for people (Marsh, 2002). Take the example of crime, a positivist would argue that researchers can simply measure crime using quantitative methods and identify patterns and correlations.   While, an interpretivist would argue that we need to understand what people mean by crime, how they come to catego rize certain actions as criminal and then investigate who comes to be seen as criminal in a particular society . The aim of interpretivist approaches in sociology is to understand the subjective experiences of those being studied, how they think and feel and how they act in their natural contexts (Marsh, 2002; Johnson, 2006). Therefore, although interpretivists still try to be objective and systematic in their research, the key criterion in interpretivist epistemology is validity. The favoured research design is ethnography and the main methods are ones that help researchers understand social life from the point of view of those being studied, such as unstructured observation, unstructured interviews and personal documents. Interpretivism has provided a powerful critique of many of the taken-for-granted ideas of positivism that are widely used in sociology and in other social sciences (Marsh, 2002). It has also influenced a whole field of research illuminating peoples everyday life experiences. However, interpretivists accounts are criticised by some sociologists for not providing testable hypotheses that can be evaluated. This can lead to relativism where one theory, or study, is seen as just as good as any other. Realism Realist theory, like positivism, holds that sociology can, and should, follow the logic and methods of the natural sciences, meanwhile, it differs from positivism in its interpretation of science (Hartwig, 2007; Hibberd, 2010). In positivist research, theories are tested against observations and found to be true or false or somewhere in between. In simple terms, the facts are the judge of the theory (Hibberd, 2010). Realists do not make this clear-cut separation because they do not believe that observations can be separated from theories (Parker, 2003; Hartwig, 2007). They argue that no form of science relies exclusively on observable empirical evidence. There are always aspects of any form of reality that remain hidden beneath the surface of what can be observed (Duran, 2005; Hibberd, 2010). According to realists, the aim of scientific work is to uncover the underlying causal mechanisms that bring about observable regularities. Realists see research being guided primarily by scientific criteria, such as the systematic collection of evidence, reliability and transparency. However, because they recognise the importance of the subjective dimension of human action, they also include methods that document the validity of peoples experiences (Bhaskar, 1999). Research designs are more likely to be experimental or comparative in realist research, but there is no particular commitment to either quantitative or qualitative methods (Parker, 2003; Hartwig 2007).The focus of realist methodology, however, is on theory. Realists argue that as there is no such thing as theory-free data: sociological methods should be specifically focused on the evaluation and comparison of theoretical concepts, explanations and policies. The development of a clear, realist epistemology is comparatively recent in sociology and owes much to new realist writers like Bhaskar (1986, 1999) and Pawson (1989). They have provided a different interpretation of science and its relationship to social sciences, and a developing alternative to the dominant theories of positivism and Interpretivism that laid the foundations for a non-empiricist epistemology in social science (Hibberd, 2009 and 2010). However, they would say that this doesnt mean that either set of methods, positivist or interpretive, have to be ditched. The realists argument is that sociologists can be pragmatic and use whatever methods are appropriate for particular circumstances. Social reality is complex and to study it, sociologists can draw on both positivist and interpretivist methods. However, realism is also criticised for exaggerating the dependence of science and social science on theory, and realist epistemology offers, at best, very limited truths about the social world. Many studies in sociology use a combination of positivist, interpretivist and, more recently, realist ideas, just as they use different research methods. The three theories are very general descriptive terms and there are many different theoretical approaches within the general framework of each one. Table 2 shows different research methods associated with each theory. Theory Research design Research methods Positivism Social surveys Structural interviews Experimental Structural observations Comparative Official statistics Interpretivism Ethnography Participant observation Unstructured interviews Personal documents Realism Experimental Non-specific, but methods are theory-focused Comparative Table 2: Theory, Design and methods Source: Bryman, 2001 Conflict of Quantitative and Qualitative Research Paradigms The quantitative methods have their rational foundation in the positivist and realist paradigms, while the qualitative methods have their rational foundation in interpretativist, constructivist, and naturalist paradigms. The opposition between these paradigms was succinctly characterized by Guba as follows: The one precludes the other just as surely as belief in a round world precludes believing in a flat one (Guba 1987, 31). The opposition between these paradigms is then expressed as shown below in table 3 (Lincoln and Guba 1985). Axioms About Positivist Paradigm Naturalist Paradigm The nature of reality Reality is single, tangible, and fragmentable. Realities are multiple, constructed, and holistic. The relationship of the knower to the known Knower and known are independent, a dualism. Knower and known are interactive, inseparable. The possibility of generalization Time- and context-free generalizations (nomothetic statements) are possible. Only time- and context-bound working hypotheses (idiographic statements) are possible. The possibility of causal linkages There are real causes, temporally precedent or simultaneous with their effects. All entities are in a state of mutual simultaneous shaping, so that it is impossible to distinguish causes from effects. The role of values Inquiry is value-free. Inquiry is value-bound. Table 3: Contrasting of Positivists and Naturalists Paradigms, Source: Amended from (Hanzel, 2010; Lincoln and Guba 1985) Consequently, it is commonly claimed that quantitative research is based on positivistic assumptions, whereas the qualitative approach is grounded on anti-positivistic positions (Lincoln Guba, 1985; Lund, 2005). Several researchers and academics (Creswell, 1995; Gall Borg, 1996; Ryan Bernard, 2000) have given additional explanations to both methods; they are asserting that quantitative research refers to the systematic empirical investigation of quantitative properties and phenomena and their relationships within the social sciences. Thus, the objective of quantitative research is to develop and employ mathematical models, theories and hypotheses pertaining to social phenomena. The process of numerical measurement is central to quantitative research because it provides the fundamental connection between empirical observation and mathematical expression of quantitative relationships. Qualitative research is distinctive by nature in aiming to collect detailed accounts investigating into the understanding of human behaviour. The qualitative researcher assumes that flexibility in human behaviour is socially constructed, as so, seeks to reason and analyses factors that govern such behaviour; in doing so the qualitative method investigates the why and how of decision making, not just the quantifiable what, where or when occurrences. Similarly, Jana Plichtovà ¡ (2002) claims that the differences between the quantitative and qualitative research methods are based on a paradigmatically different understanding of the subject matter of and the sense of cognition in the social sciences, that is: The quantitative approach starts from the premise that we can arrive at trustworthy knowledge only if the human being is reduced to a set of measurable variables between which we can presuppose the relations of causation. It sees the sense of cognition in prediction and control of human behaviour. While, the qualitative approach does not agree with that reduction because it degrades the human being to a reacting mechanism, It proposes such research strategies which respect the fact that the human being is an acting being pursuing certain intentions, creating and understanding meanings, and that it is a socio-cultural being whose adaptation has a mediated and social charac ­ter (Plichtovà ¡, 2002). Moreover, Gall et al. (1996, cited Lund, 2005) presents key differences between quantitative and qualitative research approaches. Part of the difference refers to what researchers assume, the other part focuses on the truth of these assumptions, irrespectively of whether or not they are adopted by researchers. Onwuegbuzie and Leech (2005) have other classifications to the differences between both methods; they argue that the quantitative-qualitative paradigm conflict has resulted in the evolution of three major schools of thought, namely: purists, situationalists and pragmatists. The difference between these three perceptions relates to the extent to which each believes that quantitative and qualitative approaches can co-exist and be combined (Bryman, 1984). These three camps can be understood as purists and pragmatists exist on opposite ends, while situationalists are somewhere in the middle. The following account focuses on Onwuegbuzie and Leech (2005) perspective. For purists, the assumptions associated with quantitative and qualitative paradigms regarding how the world is viewed and what it is important to know are irreconcilable. They envisage that both methods stem from different metaphysical and epistemological assumptions about the nature of research (Bryman, 1984; Collins, 1984; Tashakkori Teddlie, 1998). Purists advocate that the methods and tenets from positivism and post-positivism cannot and should not be mixed (Smith, 1983). They believe that the axioms of post-positivism and positivism have mutually exclusive assumptions about society; therefore, the research methods derived under each are considered to be mutually exclusive as well In agreement with purists and acceptance of both positivist and post positivist paradigms, situationalists maintain that qualitative and quantitative methods are complementary but should not be integrated in a single study. However, they believe that definite research questions relate more to quantitative approaches, whereas other research questions are more suitable for qualitative methods (Onwuegbuzie and Leech, 2005). Thus, although representing very different directions, the two approaches are treated as being complementary. By contrast, pragmatists, unlike purists and situationalists, contend that a false separation exists between quantitative and qualitative approaches (Newman Benz, 1998). They advocate the integration of methods within a single study. Sieber (1973) articulated that because both approaches have intrinsic strengths and weaknesses, researchers should utilize the strengths of both techniques in order to understand better social phenomena. Indeed, pragmatists assign to the philosophy that the research question should drive the methods used (Onwuegbuzie and Leech, 2005). In any case, researchers who ascribe to epistemological purity disregard the fact that research methodologies are merely tools that are designed to aid our understanding of the world. Table 4 presents a summary of the qualitative-quantitative divide, understood as a clash of paradigms, each characterized by the characteristics shown in the table (Reichardt and Cook 1979). Here the divide is approached by means of a possible link between the respective method and the attributes of a paradigm. Another characterization of the nature of the qualitative-quantitative divide is presented by A. Bryman, as shown in table 5 (Bryman 1988, 94). Qualitative Paradigm Quantitative Paradigm Advocates the use of qualitative methods Advocates the use of quantitative methods Phenomenology concerned with understanding human behavior from the actors own frame of reference Logical-positivism; seeks the facts or causes of social phenomena with little regard for the subjective states of individuals Naturalistic and uncontrolled observation Obtrusive and controlled measurement Subjective Objective Grounded, discovery-oriented, exploratory, expansionist, descriptive, and inductive Ungrounded, verification-oriented, confirmatory, reductionist, inferential, and hypothetico-deductive Process-oriented Outcome-oriented Valid; real, rich, and deep data Reliable; hard and replicable data Ungeneralizable; single case studies Generalizable; multiple case studies Holistic Particularistic Assumes a dynamic reality Assumes a stable reality Table 4: Reichardt and Cook on Attributes of the Qualitative and Quantitative Paradigms Source: Amended from (Hanzel,2010) Based on such characterizations of the differences between qualitative and quantitative research, the issue of the qualitative-quantitative divide in social sciences could be approached from two points of view. The first, mod ­erate, according to which one deals only with two different sets of techniques that can be, if required, mutually combined; and the second, radical, accord ­ing to which the divide and the respective techniques/methods are rooted in paradigmatically opposed epistemologies and, thus, the respective methods/techniques cannot be combined.   Aspect Quantitative Research Qualitative Research Role of qualitative research Preparatory Means to exploration of actors interpretations Relationship between researcher and subject Distant Close Researchers stance in relation to subject Outsider Insider Relationship between theory/concept and research Confirmation Emergent Research strategy Structured Unstructured Scope of findings Nomothetic Ideographic Image of social reality Static and external to actor Processual and socially constructed by actor Nature of data Hard, reliable Rich, deep Table 5: Bryman on Differences between Quantitative and Qualitative Research Source: Amended from (Hanzel,2010) Similarities between Quantitative and Qualitative Research Approaches It is possible to argue that there are overwhelmingly more similarities between quantitative and qualitative approaches than there are differences (Onwuegbuzie and Leech, 2005). Bothe and Andreatta (2004), add that both approaches involve the use of observations to address research questions, describe their data, construct descriptive arguments from their data, and speculate about why the results they observed happened as they did. Both sets of researchers select and use analytical techniques that are designed to obtain the maximal meaning from their data, and so that findings have utility in relation to their respective views of reality (Kelle, 2006). Both methods investigators utilize techniques to verify their data. Such techniques include persistent observation with continuous and prolonged investigation of the research study with consideration to rival explanations. Replication of the chosen study method to other cases (of which may include extreme scenarios) provides the opportunity to gain validity of findings and the methodological approach used, by means of a representative study group to allow for reliable generalisations to be made. Triangulation, verification of researcher effects and weighting of the evidence identifies and resolves researcher bias and thick description (Creswell, 1998, cited Onwuegbuzie and Leech, 2005) which may impact on the findings. Debriefing of study participants may obtain valuable feedback from participants also. Moreover, quantitative and qualitative researches represent an interactive range and the role of theory is central for both paradigms. Specifically, in qualitative research the most common purposes are those of theory initiation and theory building, whereas in quantitative research the most typical objectives are those of theory testing and theory modification (Newman Benz, 1998). Clearly, neither tradition is independent of the other, nor can either school encompass the whole research process. Thus, both quantitative and qualitative research techniques are needed to gain a more complete understanding of phenomena (Newman Benz, 1998). Hence, there are many parallels exist between quantitative and qualitative research. Indeed, the purity of a research paradigm is a function of the extent to which the researcher is prepared to conform to its underlying assumptions (Luttrell, Wendy, 2005).This suggests that methodological pluralism (Larsson, 2009) should be promoted, the best way for this to occur is for as many investigators as possible to become pragmatic researchers (Onwuegbuzie and Leech, 2005). Combined research methods and function in the research process A combination of qualitative and quantitative research approaches can assist in practical solutions to overcome limitations of mono-method research discussed for the last 50 years (Kelle, 2006). However, it is rarely addressed in current debates whether it is possible to develop solid methodological strategies for structuring research methods based on that insight of combining qualitative and quantitative methods (Creswell et al., 2003; Tashakkori Teddlie, 2003; Onwuegbuzie Leech, 2005), though there is a broad agreement that a use of multiple methods with complementary strengths and different weaknesses can add value to a single research. Despite this, the discussion provides only sparse information about which designs could overcome which weaknesses of mono-method research. Furthermore, there is still a lack of agreement about the exact classification and terminology of different mixed methods, combined method or multi-method designs which are used in research practice (Tashakkor i Teddlie, 2003, cited Onwuegbuzie Leech, 2005, p:307 ). By starting the research process with a qualitative study, researchers may obtain access to knowledge that helps them to develop the appropriate theoretical concepts and to construct consistent research instruments later on that cover relevant phenomena by consequential and relevant items. Such a design helps to overcome the limited transferability of findings from qualitative research as well as the initially mentioned hazards of the heuristics of commonsense knowledge (Onwuegbuzie and Leech, 2005, p: 307). This approach can help to construct consistent research instruments that cover relevant phenomena by consequential and relevant substances. Meanwhile, combining qualitative and quantitative methods the opposite way could be useful in many cases; that means starting with a quantitative study, followed by qualitative questions (Onwuegbuzie and Leech, 2005; Lund 2005). In this quantitative-qualitative approach, problem areas and research questions are identified by carrying out a quantitative study which will have to be further investigated with the help of qualitative data and methods. The problem of quantitative research addressed by this design is often the difficulty to understand statistical findings without additional socio cultural knowledge. Furthermore, the quantitative part of a sequential quantitative-qualitative design can guide systematic case comparison in the following qualitative inquiry by helping to identify criteria for the selection of cases and by providing a sampling frame (Onwuegbuzie and Leech, 2005; Kelle, 2006). Thus, this design can help to overcome an important threat of validity existing in qualitative research that researchers focus on distant and marginal cases. Another problem of qualitative research can be addressed by this design: it helps to avoid a qualitative study with an outsized scope that covers a domain too wide to be captured with the help of a small qualitative sample. Onwuegbuzie and Leech (2005) give a simple example to understand the above problem: a qualitative study of family life in a contemporary city would have to take into account many more different forms of families than a similar study in a traditional rural community in the first decades of the twentieth century. By drawin g on statistical material about the distribution of different family forms, the minimum requirements for qualitative sampling could be easily captured, and may be well advised to downsize the research question and research domain (Bryman, 2001; Onwuegbuzie and Leech, 2005). On the other hand, a parallel qualitative-quantitative design can fulfil similar functions to a sequential design: the qualitative part of the study can provide information that helps to understand statistical relations, to develop explanations and to identify additional variables that increase variance already explained in the quantitative data. A great benefit of a parallel qualitative-quantitative design is that it helps to identify measurement problems and methodological artefact of both qualitative and quantitative data, as the same persons are interviewed with different techniques (Bryman, 1992 and 2001). However, this parallel design approach encloses an important disadvantage, it is that qualitative sampling and data collection cannot be systematically developed from research questions derived from quantitative data; therefore it can easily be the case that the available qualitative data provide no answers for questions coming from the quantitative study, as they were not col lected for that purpose. Conclusion It is shown throughout this essay that the theoretical approach influences the methodological approach and vice versa. Many studies in sociology use a combination of positivist, interpretivist and, realist ideas. The essay demonstrates that the influence of positivism has inspired much of social research most prevalent research methods. Some of these include surveys, questionnaires and statistical models. Researchers applying a positivist methodology for their study consider large-scale sample surveys and controlled laboratory experiments as suitable research methods. These methods can be justified as they allow positivist researchers to employ empirical and logical quantitative data. While, interpretivism employs qualitative methods to understand people, not to measure them, it attempts to capture reality in interaction, however, does not necessarily exclude quantitative methods. Whereas, quantitative results from a positivist method like a survey are unlikely to provide understandi ng of this deeper reality and therefore should not be a major part of any realism research project, basically, because realism research data are almost always qualitative data about meanings. The essay provides several benefits of performing mixed method research. Researchers of social science use a wide variety of research methods to gain and enhance knowledge and theory. The different types of research methodologies, quantitative and qualitative, are associated with the epistemological and theoretical perspectives the researcher wishes to adopt. The essay demonstrated that quantitative and qualitative methods can fulfil different, yet, complementary purposes within mixed-method designs. Quantitative methods can give an overview ab

Love in the Time of Cholera | Analysis

Love in the Time of Cholera | Analysis Gabriel Garcia Marquezs Love in the Time of Cholera can be interpreted as a romance novel in which star-crossed lovers meet, are then torn apart, and half a century later fall into bed with one another re-igniting the flame that fate stole from them. However, the romance of Florentino Ariza and Fermina Daza is not one of those stories. What may have initially appeared to be an innocent story about love may not be. M. Keith Booker has demonstrated that the novel provides warnings against gullibility in reading, and indeed, there are several incidents early in Love in the Time of Cholera that inform the reader that appearances can be deceiving. In the novel, love is a sickness; a virus that eats away the substance of a man. The falsehood of love that Florentino Ariza feels is a decaying illness destroying his physical and mental form; turning him into an apparition of welted camellias. The illness was injected into Florentino Ariza as he walked into the Dazas house. It was â€Å"half in ruins,† â€Å"with weeds in the flowerpots and a stone fountain with no water,† (54) standing in front. The house signified the sickness to come to Florentino. Flowers throughout the rest of the novel take the impression of the love between Florentino and Fermina, but to miss the setting of the first meeting of the two lovers is to misinterpret the entirety of the novel. The â€Å"weeds in the flowerpots† is the false love they share, the weeds are a valueless plants growing wild, those that grow on the cultivated ground and add injury to the desired crop; which in this case is the love between Florentino and Fermina. The fountain once again represents the emptiness of Florentino and Ferminas love as well as Florentino himself. From first seeing Fermina in the house on Florentino â€Å"began his secret life as a solitary hunter† in which he sat underneat h â€Å"the shade of the almond trees.†(56, 56) The scent almonds is the scent â€Å"of the fate of unrequited love,† (2) the scent that is associated with Jeremiah de Saint Amours death, and the scent of Fermina Daza. The suicide of Jeremiah de Saint Amour sets up the foreshadowing of Florentinos love and what it will ultimately do to him. It is no wonder that the scent of â€Å"bitter almonds† (2) is compared to that of cyanide, as well as the smell of Fermina. The intoxicating aroma of Fermina fills Florentinos heart with crystals ultimately killing him there in the park as he endows her with â€Å"improbable virtues and imaginary sentiments.† (56) In other words, he idealizes her. It is this unrealistic conception of Fermina that leads to a half-century of waiting, watching and stalking, infected by the weeds of love. Marquez wrote: â€Å"When he began to wait for the answer to his first letter, his anguish was complicated by diarrhea and green vomit, be became disoriented and suffered from sudden fainting spells, and his mother was terrified because his condition did not resemble the turmoil of love so much as the devastation of cholera† â€Å"..he had the weak pulse, hoarse breathing, and pale perspiration of a dying man†Ã¢â‚¬ He prescribed infusions of linden blossoms to calm the nerves and suggested a change of air so he could find consolation in distance, but Florentino Ariza longed for just the opposite: to enjoy his martyrdom.† (61, 62, 62) Florentino Ariza literally takes on the sickness of love, as if Fermina had infected him with a bacterial disease known as Cholera. Marquez purposely parallels the sickness of cholera and Florentinos love sickness to exploit the falseness of the love felt by Florentino. The fact that Florentino enjoys his suffering points out the reality of his feelings for Fermina, that he does love her; that he is in love with the suffering caused by the idea of loving her. Fermina is an independent, headstrong person who is sophisticated and capable; Fermina prides herself on her unfaltering, haughty composure. Marquez depicts her as a level headed woman whose ideals are realistic, therefore it is of no concern when she writes to Florentino saying â€Å"When I saw you, I realized that what is between us is nothing more than an illusion.†(102). although, critic ___________ believes that Fermina is â€Å"impulsive† based off her sudden realization, in actuality she is only grown. The time apart from Florentino has taught her that the love between them was truly an illusion that was built up in their minds. She came to the conclusion that the love was nothing more than a childhood crush. However, Florentino did not have the option to grow from Fermina because the separation was nothing new to him. The Fermina Daza he loved was not a physical woman but a sickness running through his veins, she was a phantom of â€Å"improbable virtues and imaginary sentiments.† (56) Fermina the phantom was always with Florentino, she was in his mind and no amount of time could take that away from him. From the moment he gave his letter to Fermina he locked himself into a prison counting the days until he could be free from his self made prison. The virus of Fermina did not break even after the â€Å"fifty-one years and nine months and four days† (103) of waiting, for the prison he built was solely a monument to Fermina. He based the entirety of his life on her and achieving her as if she was a â€Å"golden† prize to win. When Florentino sees her for the first time from her honeymoon, he re-iterates his vow for her. Marquez writes: â€Å"The day that Florentino Ariza saw Fermina Daza in the atrium of the Cathedral, in the sixth month of her pregnancy and in full command of her new condition as a woman of the world, he made a fierce decision to win fame and fortune in order to deserve her.†(165) Florentino based the rest of his life on solely reaching Fermina, not even to marry her as Marquez makes sure not to mention but to â€Å"deserve her† once again suggesting that the love he felt was one of falsehood. Any chance of Florentino of living his life for him in the chance of happiness is shattered here. Any substance that could be squeezed from him is abolished once again in seeing Fermina from a distance â€Å"six months pregnant,† the fact that he saw her pregnant from a distance reinforces that Florentino does not perceive of Fermina as an actually person but rather that woman in his mind. His â€Å"fierce decision† was beyond the thought of a rational man, for Fermina was married and was pregnant to represent that marriage. However, this point in Florentinos life is when he will stop at nothing to reach his dream of Fermina. He devotes his life to the river company until the day he can reach Fermina. Florentino becomes a man in the background to walk the dark city nights; he lives his adult life in the shadows of women. Feeling that sex â€Å"eases the pain of Fermina Daza† (). (( He puts himself in to affairs with other woman whether they are married or not. The narrator only describes a very small fraction of his six hundred and twenty-two long-term affairs, but of the ones he does relate, several offer a picture of a man less than deserving of Ferminas — or any womans — love. One of Florentinos lovers, Olimpia Zuleta, is murdered by her husband when she inadvertently shows him the possessive inscription that Florentino painted on her belly. It is also revealed late in the novel that Florentino is a rapist who, after impregnating a maid behind his house, bribes her to put the blame on her innocent sweetheart. Perhaps most condemning is Florentinos seduction of Amà ©rica Vicuà ±ia, his fourteen-year-old blood relative who is entrusted to him while she att ends secondary school. What is most disturbing in his relationship with this girl is the manipulation he uses to create the illusion of acquiescence. When he meets her, she is still a little girl with the scrapes of elementary school on her knees, but Florentino spends a year cultivating her with ice cream and childish afternoons, until finally winning her confidence and affection. These are love affairs not one night stands, Florentino had feelings for these women (some of them anyway), this love life points out the falsehood of Florentinos love for Fermina. He manipulates woman, all of them. From the time he receives Ferminas letter of insults, Florentino begins to devise a new strategy — a new method of seduction.() He plans everything down to the last detail, as if it were the final battle.() He departs from his usual imitative writing style and composes an extensive meditation on life which he disguises in the patriarchal style of an old mans memories. The letters help Fermina find new reasons to go on living, but Florentinos cunning plans complicate what she interprets as heartfelt emotions. He is also dishonest with her in person; when she asks him why he never competed in the Poetic Festivals, he lies to her () and says that he wrote only for her.() It is true that part of his intention is to give Fermina the courage to discard the prejudices() of society, and to think of love as a state of grace,() but his contemptible past makes it impossible to differentiate his good motives from his selfish, destructive ones.)) Marquez expels Florentino and Ferminas false love during the final pages of the book. He depicts a forsaken country on the river were the elderly couple float down. â€Å"The river became muddy and narrow[†¦] flatlands stripped of entire forests that had been devoured by the boilers of the riverboats [†¦] there were no more wars or epidemics, but the swollen bodies still floated by.†(336) Florentinos relationship with Fermina was not as full but rather a narrow and muddy. The life he led with the sole purpose of being with Fermina and the illusion that followed striped the forest of his life bare leaving nothing but â€Å"flatlands.†(336) The monomaniac idealism of Florentino leads him to strip away everything in his life other than the â€Å"muddy and narrow† (336) river that is his relationship with Fermina. Even though he defeats all the â€Å"wars† and â€Å"epidemics† (336) in order to reach Fermina there are still corpses that float by, the corpses of falsehood and past lovers. The love between them is as narrow as the river. Florentino is as dead and bare as the country side. The ultimate contradiction comes in the very last words of Florentino in which he tells the captain to sail the â€Å"New Fidelity† (343) to sail â€Å"forever.†(348) The impossibility of that statement at first glance seems as the perfect way to end a romantic novel. However, this is not Marquez intention. The wood that is needed to fuel the ship has been depleted to none, due to Florentinos mismanaging of the river company because his mind only grasped the falsehood of Ferminas love. Eventually the elderly couple will have to come to realize the impossibility of their love and come to the truth that â€Å"Its dead.†(340) Florentino will have to come to the truth that Fermina has poisoned his mind and body and that she is and was only an illusion in his mind.