The Four Causes of Aristotle Essay Example for Free

The Four Causes of Aristotle Essay Aristotle, being the first historian of philosophy, categorized his predecessors according to how they’ve answered the central questions of the human mind – the question of the first principle of all things. It is otherwise known as the Four Causes. He defined science as knowledge through causes. This doctrine of causes is scattered in different Aristotelian treatises but have its highlight in his book Metaphysics. This principle of causality is an essential part of Aristotelian thought. In his mind, Aristotle argued that events happen for a cause which will explain its origin, end and the way it came to be. For him, â€Å"everything that comes to be is due to causes.† He criticized his predecessors for their not having clearly explained the why of this, that, and so on. Chance, mythology or fortuitous events are not sufficient enough to solve the problem of cosmology. These causes are divided into four distinct types. He developed this principle from the standpoint of being. For this reason, the basic Aristotelian division is between actual and potential causes, contrary to the traditional division made by the scholastics between intrinsic and extrinsic. As for the actual cause, there is the formal, efficient and final causes and for the potency only the material cause; in the traditional scholastic division, material and formal causes made up the intrinsic cause while the remaining two makes the extrinsic cause. Each of these causes can be shortly defined as follows: 1.Material Cause is the constitutive element from which something is made from. 2.Formal Cause means the form of something, â€Å"it is what determines its essence to be what it is† 3.Efficient Cause is the being who made that something. 4.Final Cause is that for what sake something exists, â€Å"it is what constitutes the perfection of the being† . In other words, it is the purpose of that being. The final cause is the summation of all other causes; it is where every other cause can be founded. â€Å"‘Cause means (1) that from which, as immanent material, a thing comes into being, e.g., the bronze is the cause of the statue and the silver of the saucer, and so are the genera to which these things belong. (2) The form or pattern, i.e., the definition of the essence, and the genera which include this (e.g., the ratio 2:1 and number in general are causes of the octave), and the parts included in the definition. (3) That from which the change or the resting from change first begins; e.g., the adviser is a cause of action, and the father a cause of the child, and in general the maker of a cause of the thing made and the change-producing of the changing. (4) The end, i.e., that for the sake of which a thing is; e.g., health is the cause of walking† As mentioned earlier, Aristotle classified earlier philosophers by what kind of cause is their philosophy. We can classify Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes, Heraclitus, Anaxagoras and Empedocles in the material cause. These philosophers, though differing in opinion of the primary principle of all things, emphasized the constitutive element of everything. Thus, they are rightly to be numbered in the material cause. The water of Thales, the air of Anaximenes, fire of Heraclitus, the atoms of Leucippus and Democritus, the Homeomeries of Anaxagoras, the four elements of Empedocles and the apeiron of Anaximander (â€Å"†¦ he [Anaximander] said that the principleand the constitutive element of the things that exist is the apeiron. He was the one who first designated the material principle of all things by this name† ) are all primary element of everything for these philosophers, may it be by some other cause or not. For the formal cause, we can only classify only three pre-Socratic thinkers, Pythagoras, Parmenides and Anaxagoras. By formal cause, we mean that it pertains to the form of everything. Let us try to briefly examine each of these philosophers: The Pythagoreans have thought that the first principle is Numbers; their idea of Numbers is different from ours. For them, numbers have resemblances from everything. â€Å"Musical harmony for example, could be reduced to a set of numerical relations. Natural phenomena followed an order e\which could also be measured numerically – the duration of the year, the seasons, the length of the day, etc.† Parmenides, on the other hand, thought of the â€Å"being† as the principle of everything. â€Å"One statement alone expresses the road to follow: being is† . His being is univocal; it can only be apprehended by the intellect. He denied the existence of change, therefore, making his being as something permanent, unchangeable, immovable. It cannot cause something for it will mean to cause a change, thus, we cannot classify being as an efficient cause. Rather we classify it to the formal cause for his being underlies everything, it is actually in everything. Lastly, Anaxagoras, though numbered earlier among the material philosophers, can also be classified in the formal cause. Because of the multiplicity of substances, he concluded that the first principle (in his case his Homeomeries) must, in a way, embody all things in itself. We can also enumerate Anaxagoras and Empedocles in the efficient cause. Let us examine how this had happened. Alongside his Homeomeries, Anaxagoras added another principle, the Nous (Intelligence). It is important to bear in mind, that the Nous is separated from matter. It merely starts the cosmic movement from where everything starts to differentiate from one another. Its movement determines the diverse proportion of Homeomeries in each thing. Thus making reason â€Å"deus ex machina† â€Å"’The Intelligence ordains everything that is brought into being – those things that existed in the past and exist in the present and exist no longer, those that exist in the present and those that will exist in the future.† Empedocles is another philosopher with an efficient cause. Because of the influence of Eleatic philosophy, he is forced to search for another cause besides the material principle in order to salvage the world of phenomena. He put Love and Hate as the efficient cause that unites and separates the four elements. While love brings forth together, hate separates. There is a perpetual alteration of dominance between those two; this cycle dictates corruption and generation. â€Å"Things never cease to change, sometimes uniting with one another through Love; and at other times, separating themselves from one another through the divisiveness of Discord† The final cause: the most important of all the causes. In this category we can classify the sophists and Socrates. They have put man as the measure and end of all things. The final cause is for man. Sophism ushered a new era in philosophy as a whole, this age turned to man for the first time. Everything belonged to man. Though sophism had been degenerated into â€Å"apparent wisdom† , with it still came the time where man has been the focus of philosophy. His end and his goodness is the final cause of everything. Protagoras, most famous of the sophists argued that man is the one who determines everything, even truth. This relativism of Protagoras is because he based his knowledge exclusively on senses which are constantly subjected to change. This can be summarized on his words in the introduction of On Truth: â€Å"Man is the measure of all things – things which exist insofar as they exist, things which do not exist insofar as they do not exist.† Socrates, the one who â€Å"called philosophy from heaven†; is the foremost philosopher of the final cause. For him the most important thing is for the benefit of the human soul, ergo, knowing the good. For him the soul is the center of moral life. He identified virtue as knowledge, the mainspring of all other virtues. For him, only in ignorance does one commit sins. In Socratic thought, human dignity has been raised that all things are for the good of his soul. These four causes of Aristotle gave a very clear view of the improvement of ancient Greek Philosophy, from its coldest principle for all things to the warmest humanistic approach. I am in a position with Aristotle concerning these causes. As for me, the causes clearly demonstrate the history of Greek Philosophy from the pre-Socratics up to Socrates.

Effect of Paclitaxel for Breast Cancer Treatment

Effect of Paclitaxel for Breast Cancer Treatment Effect of paclitaxel along with withnia sominiferia on lactate dehydrogenase enzyme activity changes in 7,12 di methyl benz(a) anthracene induced breast cancer wistar rats Dr.N.Muninathan1*, Dr.P. Mohanalakshmi2,Ambareesha Kondam k., Dr. S. Malliga3 1* – Department of Biochemistry, Meenakshi Medical College and Research Institute, Enathur, Kanchipuram – 631552, Tamil Nadu, India. 2- Department of Biochemistry, Sri Muthukumaran Medical College, Chennai 3- Department of Biochemistry, ESIC Medical College, Chennai Abstract Aim: The purpose of this study is to investigate the changes in the levels of lactate dehydogenase enzyme(LDH) activity and efficacy of combination of paclitaxel along with Withnia Sominiferia against breast cancer in experimental animals. Breast cancer is the commonest cancer among women in all developed countries (except Japan) as well as in North Africa, South America, and southeastern and western Asia. While the incidence of breast cancer appears to be increasing, mortality rates are now declining in at least some western countries. Breast cancer ranks third when both the sexes are considered together and is clearly a significant global public health problem. Design/Methods: Breast cancer was induced in rats by 7, 12 Di methyl benz(a) anthracene (DMBA) at the dosage of 20mgs dissolved in 0.5ml sunflower oil and administered into experimental animals for 28 weeks. In this study, we demonstrated that combination of paclitaxel and withania somnifera revert the changes in the rats f rom lethal dose of DMBA within 30 days. Results: All the isoenzymes LDH1 – LDH5 were observed in cancer bearing animals. Expression of these isoenzymes were found be reduced in paclitaxel and Withania somnifera treated animals. Conclusions: The treatment with combination of paclitaxel and withania somnifera effectively reduced LDH enzyme activity levels. So, from the obtained results it is concluded that paclitaxel and withania somnifera is capable of restoring the breast architecture. Key words: Withania somnifera, DMBA, Paclitaxel, LDH and Breast cancer. Introduction Breast cancer ranks third when both the sexes are considered together (Parkin, 1999) and is clearly a significant global public health problem. There are nearly 8,00,000 new cases of breast cancer worldwide each year .In approximately half of these patients, breast cancer will be the eventual cause of death. Incidence of breast cancer in Indian women is not as high as in western countries (Sinha et al., 2003) .It is the second most common cancer among women in south India. The age standardized rates vary from 22 to 28 per 1, 00,000 women (Sanghvi, 1998). Although the rates appear to be lower than those seen in developed countries, the burden of cancer in India is alarming. Worldwide incidences of breast cancer continue to rise and geographical variations in breast cancer incidence indicate that environment factors contribute to overall risk (Millikan, 1995). Exposure to environmental carcinogens early in life is thought to be one of the first events in the development of breast cancer. Each year breast cancer is diagnosed in 910,000 women worldwide and 376,000 women die from the disease. Most of these cases are in industrial countries e.g., North America (180,000) and Europe (220,000). PAH’s an important class of chemical carcinogens that are widespread in the ambient environment due to fossil fuel combustion for energy production, transportation and industry. DMBA, a potent PAH recognized as an initiator of both skin and liver cancer (Masaaki Miyata et al). The covalent binding of DMBA metabolites to DNA has been implicated as a critical step in the initiation phase of cancers. Paclitaxel (Taxol), a naturally occurring antineoplastic agent has shown great promise in the therapeutic management of certain human solid tumors particularly in metastatic breast cancer and malignancy involves skin, lung and refractory ovaries. It is the original member of the taxane group of anticancer drugs derived from the bark and needles of the pacific yew tree â€Å"Taxus brevifolia†. Paclitaxels antitumor activity was discovered in1960’s during a large scale 35,000 plants-screening program sponsored by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), USA. Withania is widely used in Ayurvedic medicine in India and in Unani and Middle Eastern traditional medicines, where it is highly regarded as a panacea, aphrodisiac, and rejuvenative. Withania sominifera (L). Dunal (Solanaceae) commonly called Ashwagandha (Sanskrit) is an Ayurvedic Indian medicinal plant, which has been widely used as a home remedy for several ailments.(Bhattacharya et al., 1997) The use of ashwagandha in Ayurvedic medicine extends back more than 3000 to 4000 years (Upton, 2000) (Agarwall et al., 1997). It has been widely extolled as a tonic, especially for emaciation in people of all ages, including babies, and enhances the reproductive function of both men and women. It has also been used for inflammation, especially in antitumor, arthritic and rheumatic conditions, for asthma, and as a major tonic to counteract aging and promote youthful longevity (Dhuley., 1998). Materials And Methods 1.1. Chemicals: 7,12 Dimethyl benz (a) anthracene and Withania somnifera were purchased from Sigma chemical company, USA. All the other chemicals used were of analytical grade. 1.2. Animal care and housing: Female Wistar rats, 6-8 weeks of age and weighing 150-200g, were used. The animals were procured from Central Animal House Block, Meenakshi Medical College and Research institute, Kanchipuran, Tamil Nadu, India and maintained in a controlled environmental condition of temperature and humidity on alternatively 12 h light/dark cycles. All animals were fed standard pellet diet (Gold Mohor rat feed, Ms.Hindustan Lever Ltd., Mumbai) and water ad libitum. This research work on wistar female rats was sanctioned and approved by the Institutional Animal Ethical Committee (REG NO. 765/03/ca/CPCSEA). 1.3. Experimental Design The animals were divided in to six groups of 6 animals each. Group I animals served as control, Group II, III, IV, V as animals treated with DMBA (20mg ) per animal in sunflower oil (0.5ml), three times a week for 28 weeks to induce skin cancer. After tumor induction Group III animals were treated with Paclitaxel (33mg/kg b.wt) once in a week for 4 weeks. Group IV animals were treated with Withania somnifera (250 µg/animal) for 30 days. Group V animals were treated with both Paclitaxel and Withania somnifera (as in group III and group IV). These were Group VI Control animals treated with paclitaxel and Withania somnifera for 28weeks plus 30 days. After the experimental period of 32 weeks, the animals were sacrificed by cervical decapitation. 1.4. Biochemical analysis The isoenzymes pattern of lactate dehydrogenase was separated by the method of Dietz and Lubrano (1967). III. Results Plate 1 depicts the Isoenzyme pattern of lactate dehydrogenase in serum of control and experimental animals. All the isoenzymes LDH1 – LDH5 were observed in cancer bearing (group II) animals. Expression of these isoenzymes were found be reduced in paclitaxel (group III) and Withania somnifera (group IV) treated animals. However a much significant reduction in the LDH isoenzyme expression pattern was observed in-group V animals treated with both paclitaxel and Withania somnifera. Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) isoenzyme pattern in serum of control and experimental animals Lane 1:Control Lane 2:DMBA treated Lane 3:Paclitaxel treated Lane 4:Withania somnifera treated Lane 5:Paclitaxel and Withania somnifera treated cancer bearing animal Lane 6:Paclitaxel and Withania somnifera treated control animal IV. Discussion: Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) is the most common clinical enzyme used in the cancer patients for prognostic purpose ( Invone et al., 1998). It has an important role in germ cell functions and can predict responses to chemotherapy and the prospects of remission. Human cancer tissues typically exhibit 2-3 fold increases in glycolytic enzymes and LDH activity. Sandhya Mishra et al. (2004) have also reported the increased level of LDH in breast cancer patients. Anderson and Kovatik (1981) reported greater LDH activity in breast cancer conditions. There was a significant increase in LDH level in serum of cancer bearing Group II animals. This might be due to the membrane disruptions that caused the release of these enzymes from the cancer cells or the overproduction by the tumor cells (Helmes et al., 1998). The elevated LDH activity may also have resulted from differences in the rate of synthesis, degradation or the excretion of the enzymes in the mammary cancer bearing animals. Schwartz (1973) has reported that among the isoenzymes LDH5 was six times greater than LDH1 in mammary tumor cells. Flavanoids have proved to possess antitumor effect on various animal models (Ames et al., 1995). The biological and pharmacological activity of Withania somnifera was associated with phenolic compounds mainly to flavanoids, aromatic acids and esters (Burdock, 1998; De catsro, 2001). Antioxidant activity of flavanoids may also be due to their structural features and its action on membrane (Saija et al., 1995; Mathur et al., 2003 ; Mohan et al., 2006). Paclitaxel being rich in flavanoid content possess antitumor and antiproliferative activities that stabilizes the membrane permeability and reduces the release of LDH. V. Statistical analysis For statistical analysis, one way analysis of analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used, followed by the Newman-Keuls Multiple Comparison test. VI. Conclusion From the present study, the effect of Paclitaxel- Withania somnifera combination proved to be effective chemotherapeutic agent against DMBA induced Breast cancer in wistar rats compared to that of paclitaxel or Withania somnifera confirmed analyzing the LDH isoenzymes levels in serum. Reference Agarwal, R., Diwanay, S., Patki, P., and Patwardhan, B ( 1999). Studies on immunomodulatory activity of Withania somnifera (Ashwagandha) extracts in experimental immune inflammation. J Ethnopharmacol, 67: 27-35. Ames BN, Swirsky G and Willet WC. (1995). The causes and prevention of cancer. Proc.Natl.Acad.Sci.USA., 92:5258-5265. Anderson GR, Kovacik WP Jr. (1981). LDHK an unusual oxygen – sensitive lactate dehydrogenase expressed in human cancer. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 78 (8): 3209 – 13. Bhattacharya, S. K., Satyan, K. S., and Ghosal, S. (1997). Antioxidant activity of glycowithanolides from Withania somnifera. Indian J Exp Biol, 35: 236-239. Budhiraja, R. D., Sudhir, S., and Garg, K. N.( 1983). Cardiovascular effects of a withanolide from Withania coagulans, dunal fruits. Indian J Physiol Pharmacol, 27: 129-134. Burdock GA. (1998). Review of the biological properties and toxicity of bee propolis (propolis). Food and chemical toxicology. 36 : 347-363. Decastro SI. (2001). Propolis: biological and pharmacological activities. Therapeutic uses of this bee product. Annual review on biological sciences. 3 : 49-83. Dhuley, J. N. (1998). Therapeutic efficacy of Ashwagandha against experimental aspergillosis in mice. Immunopharmacol Immunotoxicol, 20: 191-198. Dietz AA. and Lubrano T. (1967). Separation and quantification of LDH isoenzyme by disc electrophoresis. Anal. Biochem., 20 : 246-257. Helmes MH, Modia A, Moneim EL, Moustafae MS, Bale EL and Safinoz MEL. (1998). Clinical values of serum LDH, ceruloplasmin and lipid bound sialic acid in monitoring patients with malignant lymphomas. Medical Science Research, 26 : 613-617. Iuvone, T., Esposito, G., Capasso, F., and Izzo, A. A. (2003). Induction of nitric oxide synthase expression by Withania somnifera in macrophages. Life Sci, 72: 1617- 1625. Mathur, R., Gupta, S. K., Singh, N., Mathur, S., Kochupillai, V., and Velpandian, T.( 2006). Evaluation of the effect of Withania somnifera root extracts on cell cycle and angiogenesis. J Ethnopharmacol, 105: 336-341. Millikan R, De Voto E, Newman B. and Savitz D. (1995). Studying environmental influences and breast cancer risk: suggestions for an integrated population based approach. Br.Cancer Res.Treat., 35: 79-89. Mohan, R., Hammers, H. J., Bargagna-Mohan, P., Zhan, X. H., Herbstritt, C. J., Ruiz, A., Zhang, L., Hanson, A. D., Conner, B. P., Rougas, J., and Pribluda, V. S.( 2004). Withaferin A is a potent inhibitor of angiogenesis. Angiogenesis, 7: 115-122. Parkin DM, Whelan SL, Ferlay, Raymond L, and Young J. (1997). Cancer incidence in five continents. Volume VIII.IARC. Scientific Publications, 143 IARC, Lyon, 858-1009. Rasool, M. and Varalakshmi, P.( 2003). Immunomodulatory role of Withania somnifera root powder on experimental induced inflammation: An in vivo and in vitro study. Vascul Pharmacol, 44: 406-410. Saija A, Scalese M, Lanza M, Marzullo D, Bonina F. and Castelli F. (1995). Flavanoids as antioxidant agents: Importance of their interactions with biomembranes. Free Rad.Biol.Med., 19: 481-486. Sandhya Mishra DC, Sharma and Praveen Sharma. (2004). Studies of Biochemical parameters in breast cancer with and without metastasis. Indian Journal of Clinical Biochemistry. 19(1) : 71 – 75. Sanghvi LD. (1998). Report on cancer epidemiology. Indian association of cancer research. 1-28. Schwartz MK. (1973). Enzymes in cancer (review ). Clin.Chem., 19: 10-22. Sinha R, Anderson DE, Mc Donald SS. and Greenwald P. (2003). Cancer risk and diet in India. 49(33) : 222-228.

Free College Essays - The Evil of Mankind portrayed in Melville’s Moby Dick :: Moby Dick Essays

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Melville’s primary focus in his classic novel Moby Dick is the evil of mankind, a point of focus consistent with his anti-Transcendental philosophical alignment.   In Moby Dick, Melville illistrates man’s feelings of evil toward fellow man and nature through his thoroughly developed plot and character.   Melville also illistrated this in the components of the thematic layer which, underlies almost every character’s personal motives.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Analysis of Melville’s own motives helps to clarify the author’s reasoning behind each of the examples of man’s evil in his novel.   In order to fully understand his anti-Transcendental belief, it is necessary to first comprehend the origin of anti-Transcendentalism.   Transcendentalism is the term linked to the Emersonian-Thoreauvian set of beliefs, which incorporated the existence of an Oversoul and the benevolent disposition of man as the default soul.   Melville and others like him was opposed to the Transcendental views.   The natural opposition to a theory of man’s general benevolence is one of his malevolence toward everything around him; the primary idea behind anti-Transcendentalism was all human people have a capacity for evil and that, given the proper circumstances, the evil in anyone would come forth in their actions.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The plot and characters of Moby Dick contribute to its anti-Transcendental philosophy; the entire story revolves around the evil of man, which is demonstrated in practically each person portrayed in the book.   The story itself is about man being pitted against nature, as though the two were never meant to coincide peacefully.   The men on the ship must fend for themselves against the harsh maritime weather and the believably evil whales which they hunt.   Natural forces ravage the population of the whaling vessel; in the end, only the narrator survives.   In turn, man is reciprocally evil toward nature; the men destroy the giant sea creatures for their blubber and drop the stripped carcasses back into the water.   In addition to this collective evil of the people on the ship, many of the individuals are shining examples of humanity’s evil themselves.   Captain Ahab, the primary character in the book, makes the sole dedication in his life one of vengeance on the great white whale after which the novel was named.   Ahab does, at times, show that he has a less wicked side (signified by the scar that seemingly divides his body into two separate people), but in the end, the evil half of him overcomes his goodness.

Definition Of Good And Evil Essay -- essays research papers

Throughout human existence, questions have arisen concerning the nature of good and evil. Many scientist, philosophers, and theologians have been intrigued by these questions. Through Augustine’s Confessions and E. O. Wilson’s In Search of Nature, one is accessible to two distinct perspectives concerning the nature of good and evil.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Augustine sets up an argument in his Confession that attempts to define evil. God is the author of everything. Augustine says, â€Å"nothing that exists could exist without You [God]† (Book I, Chapter II). Nothing in this world exists apart from God.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  For Augustine, God is good because everything He made is good. Everything about God is good. No aspect of Him is lacking, false, or not good. However, the question of evil and from where it came still remains.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Augustine then asks himself where it was that evil came. Evil could not have come from God; it must have come from another source other than God. Because we clearly see evil in this world, did God allow it to enter? This would seem that God is not omnipotent.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Originally Augustine believed that evil had substance. However, his views changed later where he says, â€Å"If they were deprived of all goodness, they would be altogether nothing; therefore, as long as they are, they are good. Thus whatsoever things are, are good; and that evil whose origin I sought is not a substance† (Book VII,...

catcher in the rye :: essays research papers

What was Holden’s problem? Use incidents and examples from the book to support your conclusion.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the book â€Å"The Catcher in the Rye†, by J.D. Salinger. The main character of the book and narrator was Holden Caulfield, who moves from prep school to prep school. He is sixteen years old and a junior at Pencey Prep. Holden is intelligent and sensitive. Holden’s problem in this book was that he felt lonely and scared of the adult world. He was also confused about life and the people in it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Holden feels tormented by the memory of his younger brother Allie’s death. His life was also complicated by his sexuality. This was shown all throughout the book, especially when he was with Sunny, the prostitute, in the hotel room. He had the opportunity to do sexual things with her but he did not because he felt uncomfortable. Usually Holden does not do anything to girls on dates if they say no, but it was different with the prostitute it was her job and he still decided not to do anything with her because he did not feel sexy enough.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  He wants to see his sister, Phoebe, and his old girlfriend Jane Gallagher, but instead he spends time with Sally Hayes. Although, Holden says he really likes Jane but he never calls her. He is confused about his feelings. Holden got really lonely roaming around the city, so he decides to sneak back to his parents apartment to talk to Phoebe. He borrows some money from her because he was broke and she offered all her Christmas money. This is when Holden really felt like a loser. He felt that he can not accomplish to nothing taking money from his little sister, so he decides to give it back to her. This is when he started thinking much harder about life and that he needs to get into the adult world and out this little kids world and grow up.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Holden experiences a nervous breakdown as he wonders the streets of NYC. As he is crossing the street he feels as if he is going

Crucible: Grudges vs the Salem Witch Trials Essay

Have you and your friends ever done something you were no permitted to do and then wanted to keep it a secret? So you all did whatever yo had to do to keep from letting that secret from getting exposed, even if you ended up lying and it spiral out of control? A great example of this is in The Crucible,several people know the entire truth but chose to keep it a secret. The people of Salem, the puritans display grudges and rivalries that collide with their religious beliefs into this mass hysteria known as what i the Salem Witch Trials. Sparks first start to fly when he towns minister, Rev. Parris begins with a grudge with the girls. He walks through the woods late at night and sees the girls dancing around a cauldron that is simmering on an open fire with his slave tituba. At first he does not know what to think. However the next day that follows with his daughter Betty not being able wake from her sleep. This has him questioning all the girls on what they did the night before , especially his niece, Abigail Williams. Word spreads about the questioning which gets the town worried. This is where the first cry of witch craft is heard. Now with grudges there are sometimes rivalries, a good rivalry in The Crucible is between Abigail Williams and the other girls. All of them are in the vestry , the room attached to the church for meetings. Mary Warren, John Proctors servant girl , is trying to tell the judges that she has been lying all along and that Abigail is the one the to blame. She claims that she is with God now and can no longer lie. However , Abigail Williams has other plans , with the fear she puts in the girls she knows she can get them to agree with her and have the judges thinking that Mary is lying. So with that in mind Abigail pretends that she sees a bird in the rafters that is coming to get her and scratch her face off . She calls it Mary Warrens spirit. The judges think that its true so Mary , like every one else in Salem is questioned and Abigail gets what she wants. Usually when we want something and we know its going to be hard to get we negotiate, that is exactly what happens in the last grudge Between Rev. Parris and his slave, Tituba. Being treated the way she is already is makes Tiuba already have enmity for Rev. Parris. Once Rev Parris find out that Tituba was the one conjuring spirits in the forest that night when he found the girls he begins to punish her. This is where Tituba negotiates , now as silly as this sounds she negotiates with her self. She knows that she could confess and serve jail time or not confess and hang. So she decides to tell Rev. Parris, she falsely confess to trafficking with the devil , saying that he urged her to kill Rev. Parris. Thinking this may be true the people of Salem start thinking that the devil may be lose in Salem working his evil through others as well. Now will all the grudges we see what happens when several people who know the whole story choose to keep it a secret make something so small turn in to something so big due to peoples personal grudges and rivalries. From Rev. Parris first questioning the girls to the girls all using their powers in court to manipulate people . To finally the choice of life or death for Rev. Parris’s slave Tituba.

Human Resource Challenges and Practices in IT Industry

Proceedings of the 5th National Conference; INDIACom-2011 Computing For Nation Development, March 10 – 11, 2011 Bharati Vidyapeeth? s Institute of Computer Applications and Management, New Delhi Human Resource Challenges & Practices in IT Industry Rakesh S. Patil1, Varsha Patil2 and Pratibha Waje 3 1 Head and 3Lecturer 1,3 Sir Visvesvaraya Institute of Technology, Chincholi (Sinner) Nashik-422 101 (MS) 2 SNG Institute of Management & Technology, Rajgurunagar, Pune (MS) 1 [email  protected] com and [email  protected] om ABSTRACT The need of organizations for people and people for organizations will be more difficult to satisfy in the today’s competitive business environment. Organization’s competitive advantage could be generated from human resources (HR) and organization performance is influenced by a set of effective HRM practices. Software is a wealth and job creating industry, which has in just a few years, grown to US $ 1 trillion, employing millions of p rofessionals worldwide. The Indian software industry has burgeoned, showing a nearly 50% compounded annual growth rate over the recent years.Being a knowledge-based industry, a high intellectual capital lends competitive advantage to a firm. With a global explosion in market-opportunities in the IT sector, the shortage of manpower both in numbers and skills is a prime challenge for HR professionals. The related issues are varied indeed: recruitment of world-class workforce and their retention, compensation and career planning, technological obsolescence and employee turnover. This paper explains the HR challenges and practices in software Industries. KEYWORDS HRM, IT,HR Strategy, Services 1. INTRODUCTION The economy has transitioned to what some call „The Age of Information? an economy in which gross domestic product is increasingly dominated by services. Services permeate every aspect of our lives. We use transportation services; restaurant services; hotels; electricity and t elephones; postal, courier and maintenance services; services of hairdressers; services of public relations and advertising firms; lawyers; physicians; dentists; stockbrokers and insurance agents; movie theatres; and swimming pools . When we do buy goods, such as new car or a washing machine, we often still rely on services to keep them running and repair them when they break down.Services allow us to budget our time as well as our money. â€Å"The twentieth century was the age of machine; the twenty-first century will be the age of people† Buzzwords like globalization, empowerment, cross functional teams, downsizing, learning organizations and knowledge workers are changing the way of life of managers and the way they manage people. 2. STRATEGIES & POLICIES OF SOFTWARE INDUSTRIES: 1. Motivation & Retention of Employees Retention and motivation of personnel are major HR concerns today.People a Gartner group company specializing in management of human capital in IT organizatio ns has observed that the average tenure for an IT professional is less than three years. Further, the use of new technologies, the support of learning and training, and a challenging environment ranked higher than competitive pay structures as effective retention practices. Our own recent survey of 1028 software professionals from 14 Indian software companies, showed that while the professional gave importance to personal and cultural job-fit, HR managers believed that the key to retention was salary and career satisfaction.Money was a prime motivator for ‘starters', but for those into their third or fourth jobs, their value-addition to the organization was more important. Monetarily, offering ‘the best salaries in industry' is the minimum every company is doing, apart from performancebased bonuses, long-service awards, and stock options. Many organizations frequently conduct employee satisfaction and organization climate surveys, and are setting up Manpower Allocation C ells (MAC) to assign ‘the right project to the right person'.In fact, some are even helping employees with their personal and domestic responsibilities to satisfy & motivate their workforce! 2. Best Talent Attraction In a tight job market, many organizations often experience precipitous and simultaneous demands for the same kinds of professionals. In their quest for manpower, they are cajoling talent around the world. In such a seller's market, software companies are striving to understand which organizational, job, and reward factors contribute to attracting the best talent one having the right blend of technical and person-bound skills.This would mean a knowledge of ‘the tools of the trade' combined with conceptualization and communication skills, capacity for analytical and logical thinking, leadership and team building, creativity and innovation. The Indian software industry suffers from a shortage of experienced people such as systems analysts and project managers, and attracting them is a key HR challenge. 3. Compensation and Reward Increasing demands of technology coupled with a short supply of professionals (with the requisite expertise) has increased the costs of delivering the technology.This makes incentive compensation a significant feature, with the result that software Copy Right  © INDIACom-2011 ISSN 0973-7529 ISBN 978-93-80544-00-7 Proceedings of the 5th National Conference; INDIACom-2011 companies have moved from conventional pay-for-time methods to a combination of pay-for-knowledge and pay-forperformance plans. With the determinants of pay being profit, performance and value-addition, emphasis is now on profit sharing (employee stock option plans) or performance-based pay, keeping in view the long-term organizational objectives rather than short-term production-based bonuses.Skills, competencies, and commitment supercede loyalty, hard work and length of service. This pressurizes HR teams to devise optimized compensation package s, although compensation is not the motivator in this industry. 4. Increasing loyalty and commitment As with any other professional, what really matters to software professionals is selecting ‘the best place to work with', which is what every company is striving to be. The global nature of this industry, and the ‘project-environment' has added new cultural dimensions to these firms.In a value-driven culture, values are determined and shared throughout the organization. Typically, areas in which values are expressed are: performance, competence, competitiveness, innovation, teamwork, quality, customer service, and care and consideration for people. Flat structure, open and informal culture, authority based on expertise and ability rather than position, and flexi-timings are some of the norms software firms follow. The idea is to make the work place a ‘fun place' with the hope of increasing loyalty and commitment. 5.The Demand Supply Gap Shortage of IT professionals is global in nature and not peculiar to the Indian software industry alone. W. Strigel, founder of Software Productivity Centre Inc. (1999) has projected the shortage of software professionals to be one million by 2006. In fact, a survey reports that 75 per cent of US companies planned to reengineer their applications using newer technologies, but found that 72 per cent of their existing staff lacked the skills needed in these technologies, and 14 per cent were not even retrainable. Graph No. 1.Annual demand for IT Professionals For India, it is predicted that in the year 2004 itself, the IT sector will need 1,95,000 professionals. This trend will continue, and in the year 2010 almost 3,70,000 IT professionals will be required (Strategic Review Reports, NASSCOM 19962001). Consequently, recruitment managers are exploring new sources of IT manpower from non-IT professional sectors, as well fresh, trainable science graduates. 6. Integrating HR strategy with Business Strategy The strate gic HR role focuses on aligning HR practices with business strategy.The HR professional is expected to be a strategic partner contributing to the success of business plans, which to a great extent depend on HR policies pertaining to recruitment, retention, motivation, and reward. The other major areas of concern for HR personnel in this context are, management of change, matching resources to future business requirements, organizational effectiveness, and employee development. 7. Encouraging Quality and Customer focus Today? s corporate culture needs to actively support quality and customer orientation.With globalization and rapid technological change, quality is of utmost importance for the Indian companies, which earn most of their revenues through exports. Hence, the HR professional as a strategic partner needs to encourage a culture of superior quality to ensure customer satisfaction, the only real measure of quality of a product or service. To be competitive today, an organizat ion needs to be customer responsive. Responsiveness includes innovation, quick decision-making, leading an industry in price or value, and effectively linking with suppliers and vendors to build a value chain for customers.Employee attitudes correlate highly with customer attitude. The shift to a customer focus redirects attention from the firm to the value chain in which it is embedded. HR practices within a firm should consequently be extended to suppliers and customers outside the firm. 8. Value Addition training for up-gradation of Skills Rapid and unpredictable technological changes, and the increased emphasis on quality of services are compelling software businesses to recruit adaptable and competent employees.Software professionals themselves expect their employers provide them with all the training they may need in order to perform not only in their current projects, but also in related ones that they may subsequently hold within the organization. As observed by Watts Humphr ey, Fellow of the Carnegie Mellon University, â€Å"as software professionals gain competence, they do not necessarily gain motivation. This is because a creative engineer or scientist who has learned how to accomplish something has little interest in doing it again.Once they have satisfied their curiosity, they may abruptly lose interest and seek an immediate change†. And when the rate of technological change is high may be higher than the time required to acquire competence in one area professionals could undergo psychological turbulence owing to the need to work in a new technology throughout their career. They want to gain new knowledge, which will be utilized by their organization. On the basis of the new learning they want to work in higher segments of software value chain. Therefore, constant up-Copy Right  © INDIACom-2011 ISSN 0973-7529 ISBN 978-93-80544-00-7 Human Resource Challenges & Practices in IT Industry gradation of employee skills poses yet another challeng e for HR personnel. 3. CHALLENGES FOR IT INDUSTRY: The main challenges to the IT Industry are i. Recruitment planning ii. Performance management iii. Training and development iv. Compensation management v. HRM as whole 1. Recruitment Planning: Recruitment planning is most important component in new people management with special reference to IT industry.We have to deal with human assets so it becomes important and have good quality of people in the organization. We have to take the recruitment planning in very serious manner to ensure that we can get best talent in the organization. 2. Performance management: Now the challenges how to manage the performance of your employees. You have to get right person in a organization to manage your business. The challenge should be to create a performance culture where you can provide opportunities for enhance performance, where optimum performance becomes a way life. 3.Training and development: This is another challenging area in IT industry. We have to chalk out a suitable strategy for training & development so that employees are well equipped to handle the challenges in advance. 4. Compensation management: The IT industry is one of the high paying industries. This is very competitive industry, we have to attract best talent, offer best possible compensation package to the employees. Now IT companies are having ESOP with the compensation package. But the really challenge should be how we are able to incorporate all the subsystems in HR.Ultimately this would help the organization for achieving exceptional performance. People have to be groomed to get in with the performance culture. We have to create an environment that stimulates the creation of knowledge, its sustenance will be the challenge for IT companies in the future. HR department cannot function with traditional systems. Now the role will shift to HR facilitator, to facilitate change process. HR facilitator will have to involve the whole organization in this pro cess and act as a guide, coach, counselor and facilitator.Any organization in the IT industry will have to face these challenges like Infosys, Satyam, Pentafour, DSQ Software, Micro soft India, Intel India. These IT companies are leaders in their own stride. They have excellent recruitment policies, huge data bank, and placement agencies. They are also having rigorous tests to ensure that they can get high profile talent that will fit in their culture. They have best performance system that evaluates the organization as whole. They have been able to tackle the quantum of performance with fairly efficient manner.The prime tasks for these IT companies are to build corporate culture. They are diverting all the efforts to build performance driven culture. The major issue for these companies to get right man for right job. We have to find person with the required skills, experiences, mindsets, and also he must be suitable for these organizations. 5. Attrition and Retention: IT companies are having high degree of attrition. The challenges for these companies are to keep this attrition rate as low as possible. Various companies adopt different techniques to retain their employees like high pay packets, ESOP, other benefits.So we have to keep this attrition rate as low as possible to retain super achievers. CONCLUSION With the advent of a work situation where more and more companies are having to concede that their valued employees are leaving them, a new concept of career and human resource management is bound to emerge. The focus of this new paradigm should not only be to attract, motivate and retain key ‘knowledge workers', but also on how to reinvent careers when the loyalty of the employees is to their ‘brain ware' rather than to the organization.With lifetime employment in one company not on the agenda of most employees, jobs will become short term. Today's hightech employees desire a continuous up-gradation of skills, and want work to be exciting an d entertaining a trend that requires designing work systems that fulfill such expectations. 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