The Story of Macbeth

In the story of Macbeth, there is a lot of ups and downs that go along. How everyone takes the events that are going on will determine who are the strong ones and who are the weak ones. At one point all of the characters will have a flaw which will cause them to act a certain way. Many events that go on shocked, excited, and worried most. Every action will lead to a deeper event. Although everyone seems to have their head together at the beginning, there is alot of flaws that these characters are not showing right away. Most of these characters will leave and reader at a sharp turning point. These situations that the characters are always falling into are because of the characters poor decisions that leave the character where he/she cannot change or controls certains situations. Macbeth's mind set and actions will show how he really feels about certain situations and help a reader understand why Macbeth's actions are the way they are. Not just Macbeth's actions, its Lady Macbeth's actions too. No one knows which way to turn to when events start to drop out of nowhere. In the story of Macbeth, you can see that the troubled main character, Macbeth is in situations that you can see his flaws clearly, making this story a tragedy. To start off in at 1 of The Tragedy of Macbeth, the setting is in Scotland. Lady Macbeth comes across the three witches, the Weird Sisters, she had made the witches mad so the witches knew to go after her husband. So that is exactly what they did. The witches said they will meet Macbeth â€Å"when the battle's los and won† and when â€Å"fair is foul and foul is fair†. The witches will tell the characters one thing and will think in their head another meaning to what they just said, so the characters will be confused and do or say the wrong things that will cause a huge situations that can be a life of death situation. For example, when the witches told Macbeth that he will be king, also when they told him a human cannot harm him till the trees move. Another thing that the witches did was curse Lady macbeth when she would not give the witches some of her crackers.

Ethical Issues in the Workplace

Ethical Issues in the Workplace Thesis Description Choosing to work in a predominately male environment while working the same late hours, enduring the same amount of time on deployments, and listening to males argue over how much tougher they are than females, is a challenge to a woman in a leadership role. The predominantly male field is not the place for a female who is sensitive. When a female decides to enter the military and work with a military that has a male majority, it can cause things to be shaken up a bit. In fact, placing a female in charge of males may cause friction in a work environment.A situation occurred while on a seven month deployment out to sea in which a fellow sailor wanted to call home to check on her child at a specific time. In addition, she had promised her child she would be available to call. However, the time she asked to call was during a time when our ship would be entering a training evolution that would take about three hours. I was placed in char ge by my Chief to monitor the times the phone could be used by my division’s team members. Due to the training environment the ship would be entering, use of the phone would be unauthorized by team members.No one would be allowed to use the phone until the training evolution was completed. Training evolutions are a common exercise conducted by ships on a deployment. Training is conducted by members to help prevent safety mishaps and prepare for unforeseen attacks. Therefore, training is essential to keep the crew and the ship safe. While in a training environment the Commanding officer takes the opportunity to inspect his crew while walking around to ensure everyone is performing their work safely and efficiently.This is where the ethical dilemma began to appear in the workplace. Each team member was only able to use the phone for ten minutes at a time because the ship would travel in one direction for a specified amount of time to allow multiple people to place their phone c alls before changing directions. Therefore, time ran out to use the phone because the ship had scheduled the training evolution earlier in the day. The female sailor had a hard-charging personality, confident in tone, and performed all tasks assigned in a timely manner.She was a single mother with little support at home because the husband had abandoned her and her son. By making a decision to allow her to call home could affect the way my team would view my decision. Moreover, my Chief would be disappointed by my actions as a leader. On another note, to not allow her to call home could affect her work ethic, behavior, and her son’s behavior. SH Analysis My watch team consisted of seven males and another female. Each member of my team came from different states with various views, religions, ethics, morals, and principles.Nevertheless, by allowing someone on the team to use the phone during a training evolution could be viewed as favoritism and unauthorized. Favoritism amongs t the team could cause a trickle effect. When it would come to delegating duties to other members of the team, some may feel jealous of the female sailor I allowed to slide by with making an unauthorized phone call. The other members could report my actions to the Chief or eventually place a grievance due to favoritism. The overall affect would decrease the cohesiveness of the watch team whereby affecting the production of work.If the Sailor was unable to call home her performance may decline rapidly due to the stress of worrying about her situation. She would not have the energy needed to perform her job as well as the focus which could affect the team as to job accomplishments, picking up her slack, and complaining. This would overall affect the division as it trickles up and down the chain of command. Her child if not checked on could also have issues that the mother should be aware of such as health, food or anything in which the mother would have to provide guidance to over the phone.As a result, the son could suffer from the decision made. Conclusion The cause of this issue is the manning of the ship and the personnel that have been recruited that are very sensitive to specific needs. The Navy consists of ship life and shore duty life. Ship life is very demanding and is on a tight schedule. Numerous missions, lack of sleep, possible lack of nutrition, and being away from family from long periods of time. People from all different walks of life are grouped together and forced to accomplish a mission.How is this possible when there are so many different work ethics, morals and principles involved? The stress this brings requires specialized individuals to endure. On the other hand, many shore commands are not bad. It is basically like working an 8-4 at the end of the day in which one is able to go home to his or her family living a mostly normal life. Before recruiting personnel in the navy both males and females should be able to go out to sea for at leas t a month to see what it’s actually like and if they can cope with the lifestyle.This method would eliminate bad recruits, but it would also help the navy determine where personnel should be placed—sea duty or shore duty. On a smaller scale, whether female or male, the supervisor that has the issue in regards to their personnel requiring special treatment or needs should always be aware of the possible consequences of decisions made. When making decisions in your workplace as a supervisor or manager one should possess social skills, open mindedness, critical thinking skills, and be a good listener.A female leader must realize that every decision made will have some type of consequence that will follow her. Getting to know assigned personnel helps as one makes important decisions throughout her career. Lastly, it allows the load to be lighter and allows subordinates to open up with concerns which would help solve many issues that may occur. As a female in the military i t is more important to think clearly about all consequences of decisions made and behavior exhibited to others.

(Balance Scorecard) Accounting Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

(Balance Scorecard) Accounting - Assignment Example According to balanced score card, the performance of a firm is measured on the basis of four perspectives, which are financial, customer, internal business process or value chain and learning and growth. The name balanced scorecard reflects balance between long term and short term objectives, financial and non financial measures, leading and lagging indicators, and between internal and external perspectives. Balanced score card is more than a system of measurement. It should be transformed into a strategic management system (Brigham and Louston, 2009, p.112). The new measurement system is used to align and communicate with the new strategies of firm and to properly manage them. For this, the suggested steps could be: classification and translation of strategy and vision, communicating and linking the strategic measures and objectives, planning, setting targets and aligning strategic initiatives and enhancing the learning and strategic feedback (Chandra, 2011, p.95). There are a community group of volunteers who are taking over some greenhouses at a nursery garden with an objective to grow plants as a way of providing training to the young people with learning difficulties. The principal sources of income to this community group of volunteers will be the sale of food and plants which are grown at the site, individual funding from each of the learning disabled, grant funding and charitable donations. It is advisable to them to use an appropriate balanced scorecard for the work. The use of balanced scorecard will provide the nursery volunteers with lot of benefits and the balanced scorecard should be produced with an appropriate number of financial and non-financial measures. In addition, the grant funder can apply some key performance indicator to the contract to reassure themselves that the service is being run appropriately by the volunteers. It is important to build a balanced scorecard which communicates the strategy of firm for certain

Barriers to Successful Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Barriers to Successful Strategy - Essay Example The paper tells that the implementation of strategies might turn out to be difficult given that the organization is large or complex but, in either case, monitoring and control the execution process of strategies is vital to the organization. Complex strategy implementation becomes a confusion to implementers and might also call for additional resources in forms of human, time and financial resources for successful implementation. Dyer and Singh refer to such situations as complex decision-making strategies which require being high attention during the implementation of strategies although it might take longer to implement and require more attention from employees and manager, its implementation will see the profit margin of an organization increase tremendously. Kaplan and Norton, also identify the importance of strategy execution and describe strategy execution as of equal importance to the strategy itself. Paul Nutt also studied the matter and explains that more than half of the d ecisions made in organization result in failure mainly due to wrong execution of a strategy in the implementation phase. BRF is one such company that has identified the importance of monitoring and controlling its strategy execution process. According to research by Kaplan and Norton, 70% of failures in the execution of a strategy is from the bad implementation, not the strategy itself. They identified four major barriers to the execution of strategies such as lack of vision, resource barrier, management barrier and people barrier. In addition to the four barriers, Jones and Kaplan and Norton emphasize the importance of a communicating strategy due to its critical value of aligning individuals and organizational units. In most organizations, managers are trained on how to plan strategies, not execute them. Managers in most organizations have the know-how on how to plan and develop strategies that would uplift an organization but mostly they lack the technical know-how of how to impl ement their strategies to achieve the intended organizational goals.

Basel committee's risk categories in relation to financial Essay

Basel committee's risk categories in relation to financial instituitions in relation to financial and non financial organisations - Essay Example In banks, there is a possibility for financial data to disappear. Financial information on loans given, repaid, capital, withdrawals and deposits made can be stolen by the employees or simply disappear due to poor technological procedures. The Basel Committee identifies that internal loss of data can occur due to poor risk management processes, new technological methods and upcoming business activities. Basel Committee identifies that a company is not able to have the right documentations in its accounts if it has loss of data. This means that its profit and loss margins will be under estimated. This is dangerous to the company as it will not reveal the real amount of capital used to carry out the activities (Basel, 2006, pp. 141-153). Case studies on non-financial organisations reveal that they are at a risk of internal fraud. This is so because they also use money or capital in purchasing their materials for their use. The case studies revel that non financial organisations mainly undergo the risk internal fraud by making misstatements on the financial statements. This does not indicate the true financial state of the organisations. The case study reveals that both financial and non-financial organisation can show fraud by looking at the growth in terms of their revenue and how it keeps changing. The margin of their growth of revenue is not very consistent. For a company to know where it lies in the financial market, the growth change in revenue is supposed to be a bit consistent. It is not supposed to have big margins. According to Erickson’s and other scholars, the audit sector is normally not able to detect fraud because of the lack of understanding of the organisational environments they are working o n (Erickson, 2001, pp.166-193). According to the studies made on Basel Committee, external fraud occurs is mainly done against the organisations. It undergoes external fraud due to misinformation from its clients in

Assignment 2 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

2 - Assignment Example The cash flow from the operations proposed to be outsourced is analyzed to work out the net present value for evaluating the outsourcing decision of the company under various scenarios. Hypothesis Cost savings is an important determinant in the risk reward analysis of an outsourcing decision taken by a company. However, there are also other considerations involved such as tax implications, stringent statutory regulations and the conditions in the labor market. Labor productivity Since the decision proposed to be taken is mainly on the basis outsourcing labor involved in the operations, productivity of the labor need to be analyzed for comparison. Though currently the labor productivity in India is less compared to US, the company is hopeful of increase in productivity over a period of time due to training and experience as reflected in Scenario 2. Labor productivity Number of service calls per day : 600 Total number of calls during the year : 600 x 365 = 219000 Number of customers se rved in US/Hour : 10 Number of customers served in India/Hour : 6 Number of hours in US required/year : 219000 / 10 = 21900 Number of hours in India required/year : 219000 / 6 = 36500 Labor Cost The company aims at reducing the cost of providing service to the customers for maximizing its profits. Since the important determinant factor is cheap labor available in India which works out to just 20% of the wages prevailing in US, the overall cost of labor comes down in outsourcing. Estimated labor cost in US : 21900 x 10 = $219000 Estimated labor cost in India : 36500 x 2 = $73000 Investment in outsourcing The company estimates that all other costs associated with outsourcing customer service have a present value of $2 million. The annual rate of interest is considered at 5% for working out the net present value of the cash out flows over the expected future life of the business of 20 years under Scenario 1 and at 3% under Scenario 2 for 30 years. The net present values relating to ope rations in US and outsourcing to India under the two scenarios are given below. Operations in US Outsourcing to India Scenario 1 (20 years & Interest @ 5%) 2,729,224 2,909,741 Scenario 2 (30 years & Interest @ 3%) 4,292,497 4,126,214 It could be observed that under Scenarios 1, outsourcing appears to be not attractive. However, under Scenario 2 outsourcing to India is beneficial. The parameters adopted under Scenario 2 are applied for 20 years time horizon for the purpose of comparison (Scenario 3) as below. Scenario 3 (20 years & Interest @ 3%) 3,258,167 3,417,476 Outsourcing is not attractive under Scenario 3. In the case of Scenario 2, the reduction in cost through outsourcing is negligible considering the longer time horizon. The changes in Scenario 2 compared to Scenario 1 are analyzed to understand their impact on the outsourcing decision. Also, the recommendations are given after careful evaluation of the impact of the various important determinants involved in outsourcing de cision. Recommendations Outsourcing under Scenario 1 does not result in cost savings in view of the initial investment outlay required to be made. The changes introduced under Scenario 2 also do not make the outsourcing decision attractive. Therefore, based on a careful analysis from different perspectives, outsourcing is not recommended due to the reasons given. However, outsourcing under S

The Role of Traditional Political Parties in the Democratization Essay

The Role of Traditional Political Parties in the Democratization Process in Latin America - Essay Example Almost each of the nations in Central America, South America, and the Caribbean had experienced having such kinds of governments in their history. Among the most prominent names in Latin America’s list of authoritarian governments are Somoza of Nicaragua, Batista of Cuba, Duvalier of Haiti, Trujillo of Dominican Republic, Peron of Argentina, Noriega of Panama, and Pinochet of Chile. The path to power that is quite common among them is the coup d’etat. A number of these dictators were brought to power after they had overthrown duly elected governments. There were also those civilians who were democratically elected into office only to usurp all the powers vested in the legislative bodies and ruled by decrees instead with the aid of the military. Despite the fact that major parts of the region were under military dictatorships for long time, there were still traditional parties that did assert their influence on politics in each of the countries in Latin America. The impa ct of the traditional political parties in governance was, however, reduced with the rise of authoritarian regimes. It must be pointed out though that it was the main characteristics of the said political parties that brought about the emergence of dictators and despots. In the 19th century, when many of the countries in region won their independence from Spain and other colonizers, political power was exclusively held by the upper classes, particularly the landed and the business elites. However, the upper classes were also divided when it comes to issues related to how their country must be governed. Upon the departure of the Spanish colonialists, political debates revolved around the treatment of the Catholic Church, which virtually shared power with the colonial administrators, as well as the form of government to be established in post-colonial and modern Latin America (Bray 76). The liberals wanted a state that is absolutely free from the meddling of the Church, a form of gove rnment that devolves power to the localities, and capitalism. The conservatives, on the other hand, insisted that the Church should retain the privileges and power that it has had since the colonial era. They wanted a more centralized form of government and the protection of the interests of the landed elite. The liberals and conservatives of the 19th century were the origins of the traditional parties that later on developed and gained greater influence by the 1900s. It is clear though that with such respective agenda, neither of the two political forces had the democratic interests of the masses in their minds, although the liberals were sympathetic to the masses because they need public support for their issues against the conservatives. However, both the liberals and the conservatives do not address â€Å"the basic problem of incorporating masses of Indians and Negroes into society or to the overwhelming poverty and ignorance of the general population† (Bray 76). Hence, e ven if government power changed hands between the two, real democracy did not occur but the traditional political parties remained. It was only when social turmoil worsened because of inequalities, that the military officers took over through coup d’etat. The usual excuses made by the military officers for launching the coups were that public order needs to re-established, that the spread of communism must be prevented, and that

Equity and Trust Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Equity and Trust - Case Study Example If the total amount owed is below 15000, then there is debt relief order (DRO) suitable for Steve and Anna, in case they do not own their own home. They can own car valued up to 1000, but not have other assets above 300. Their disposable income must also not exceed 50 a month (Bankruptcy). Steve owns a flat but he has transferred the freehold title of this flat to his son, Thomas' name. Nonetheless, in case the court sets aside this transfer, Steve will have to sell this flat to pay up his creditors (Civil Litigation). If the total amount owed is above 15000, there is the individual voluntary agreement that can be made to a court by which Steve and Anna can propose the method of making payments to the creditors. Based on this individual voluntary agreement, the court can call a meeting of the creditors where at least 75% of the creditors or their proxies must be present. If the offer of payment is agreeable to the creditors, then the proposals are accepted, and Steve and Anna have to honor their commitment (Bankruptcy). The individual voluntary agreement is made before bankruptcy. There is no mention of Steve and Anna's source of income other than Direct Wine Ltd. The individual voluntary agreement is ideal if Steve and Anna have some sources of income other than Direct Wine Ltd. Advice to Ellen Ellen has asked Anna and Steve to let her have a small advance from the trust fund to pay for a school trip. Ellen can avail of the fund if it is available depending on the actual amount required, under certain conditions. It does appear that Ellen has approached Steve surreptitiously for her requirement. Since Maud is alive, it is best to consult her for Ellen's requirement. It is not ethically sound for Steve to go ahead and be a privy to Ellen's requirement when the main trustee is alive. The money is there. It is only a question of proprietary (Establishing a Trust Fund). Advice to Quick Loans Ltd There is no information on the status of the loan repayments by Steve and Anna after having taken the loan of 100,000. Also, there is a balance amount of 50,000 lying in the loan account of Direct Wine Ltd. This could mean two things. One, it could mean that the equipment purchased did not amount to more than 50,000. Or it could mean that Steve and Anna have not honored the bank's advice to use the full amount on purchase of the equipment required by them. At any rate, even if Steve and Anna are regular in paying the loan installments, the bank must take cognizance of the fact that Steve and Anna have declared for insolvent liquidation. Quick Loans Ltd can start the process of recovering their loan amount by directly addressing Steve and Anna. They can join up with the rest of the creditors in due course. At this stage much depends on how Steve and Anna proceed to make repayment commitments. Having declared themselves as insolvent, Steve and Anna have the option to approach the courts for relief in case required. For the moment, Quick Loans Ltd are out on a limb. They must proceed carefully. It does appear that Steve and Anna mean to make payment. However, the payment amount may be initially

Disc Assessment Essay Example for Free

Disc Assessment Essay DISC Assessment Paper Organizational behavior studies have become more significant in today’s present years than hey were before in past years, this is due to companies realizing that in order to acclimatize to the constantly changing business cultures that have stemmed from a competitive and rapidly moving market, they must put more emphasis on the correlation between human behavior and the organization. Understanding this concept has led many several companies to put investment into behavior assessments and seminars and use them as a training tool to educate their employees and learn the reasons for each person’s behavior and attitudes and how to handle and approach these various types of behaviors and attitudes. In this paper we will be discussing the study of various behaviors via taking the DISC platinum Rule Behavioral Style Assessment to identify both me and my learning team member’s predominant behavior styles. We will then analyze our behavior styles, our strengths and weaknesses identified within our styles and whether or not we agree or disagree with the assessment. The DISC Assessment categorized both of our behavioral types as being the interactive style and our sub styles were lc. The Interactive Style also called I Style is friendly, enthusiastic, a â€Å"party animal† that love to be where all the action is. They thrive on the acknowledgment, admiration and compliments that follow being in the spot light. They are more relationship-oriented than they are task-oriented. An Interactive style’s strengths are charm, persuasiveness, warmth and enthusiasm. They are gifted in skills and communication between individuals as well as groups. They are optimists with a large amount of charisma. They are also dreamers and idea-people who excel in getting others excited about their vision. All of these qualities assist them in influencing people and building alliances. The interactive style’s weaknesses are pinpointed as poor follow-through, carelessness, exaggeration and disorganization. They have a habit of getting to involved in too many activities and lose interest quickly. Furthermore, they can at times be seen as being impetuous, manipulative, and excitable when displaying behavior that is inappropriate to a situation. When analyzing the results of the DISC Assessment and the summary of my behavior. We were able to comprehend why we function and act the way that we do while interacting with our co workers, family and people. We both started to think about our adolescent years until now and realized that everyone wanted to be our friends and we were also chosen to be the leader most of the time. I would sometimes avoid being the leader and Gina would always be the leader but we were also both content with just being apart of the activities and tasks needing to be accomplished but our ability to drive others and complete task with enthusiasm would always show because of this we were thereby always moved to the front of the crowd. We also noticed that this same thing applies when were in the workplace; we were both again selected to be a leader after just a short time of displaying our abilities to charm and motivate. Gina noticed that she is always the person to excite employees and get them to produce at a faster pace when completing departmental tasks and goals. Gina saw that her managers are always pleased with her people skills and that they often use her as an example to her peers when adjusting or presenting new changes to the department. I identified that I was good at innovation at work and creating new ideas. Gina and I both welcome and look forward to change because it keeps and sparks our interest. We both despise boredom. DISC offered us so much information about our interactive style’s typical business characteristics such as wanting to be included by others in significant events such as research and brainstorming, resisting control and desiring freedom. In our personal lives we both also realized how our behavior style applied because we both don’t like when someone doesn’t give us their undivided attention and when were not given an opportunity to express ourselves or opinions.

Paul Rand Essay Example for Free

Paul Rand Essay Paul Rand (born Peretz Rosenbaum, August 15, 1914 – November 26, 1996) was a well-known American graphic designer, best known for his corporate logo designs. He designed many posters and corporate identities, including the logos for IBM, UPS, ABC and Westinghouse. Paul Rand portrayed abstract ideas with clarity that resonated with viewers. In his work, Rand recast modern art as something innocuous for the average patron, and no longer a radical political manifesto. This adoption of modernist ideas to mainstream communication shifted the work from rebellious to insightful. One of his strengths was his ability as a salesman to explain the needs his identities would address for the corporation. Rand used the avant garde movements as inspiration for his own style. He came to appreciate a relationship between geometric form and color through the works of artists like Wassily Kandinsky, Adolphe Mouron Cassandre and Moholy Nagy as well as an understanding of line through the works of artists such as Paul Klee. Rand developed elements from these artists and fused them with the American Modernist Movement that grew out of the 1930’s. Modernism was a movement that continued to change and grow as the twentieth century progressed. During Rand’s time, modernist art expression started to merge with American pop culture. Other designers of the time, such as Lester Beall, Saul Bass and Bradbury Thompson embraced this exposure of design to the mainstream through advertising, logo design, poster design, book jackets, packaging, etc. Most of these artist’s works from the time incorporate bold color, basic geometric form, playful typography and an obvious experimentation with formal decision-making. These elements are repeated in Paul Rand’s work but in a style that is indicatively his own.

Causes of Cardiovascular Disease | Literature Review

Causes of Cardiovascular Disease | Literature Review 2 Abstract 3 Introduction 3.1 Cardiovascular Disease Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the broad class of diseases that involves the heart or/and blood vessels. CVD includes atherosclerosis, heart valve disease, arrhythmia, heart failure, hypertension, endocarditis, diseases of the aorta, disorders of the peripheral vascular system, and congenital heart disease [1]. However, atherosclerosis accounts for the major part of CVD (up to xx%), and sometimes CVD is misleading used as a synonym for atherosclerosis [REF]. Because atherosclerosis is the underlying disease of several CVD, part of patients, where one diagnosis of CVD became manifest, may present with further co-morbidities, especially other diagnosis of CVD are common. However, the portion of patients with co-morbidities is depending on the baseline disease [2-4]. For example 40-60% of patients with Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD) also have coronary artery disease (CAD) and cerebral artery disease, but only 10-30% of patients with CAD have also PAD (Figure 1) [2, 4]. Further, the severity of cardiovascular co-morbidities correlates well with each other[5-7]. CVD is today responsible for ca. 30% of all deaths worldwide [8], while heart disease and stroke are the leading causes of mortality and disability in developed countries [9]. Although the mortality rates of CVD has a considerable variation across countries (xx% in xx to xx% in xx) [10], a common trend of increasing rates has been observed worldwide. Before 1900, infectious diseases and malnutrition were the most common causes of death throughout the world, and CVD was responsible for The economic burden and the public health costs are mainly driven by CVD. In terms of combined morbidity and mortality, 148 million Disability-Adjusted Life-Years (DALYs) were lost worldwide (2002), which represents about 10% of all lost DALYs [REF]. In 2008, CVD costs about 192 billion Euros a year alone in the European Union, which results in a per capita cost of 391 Euros [13]. 3.1.1 Atherosclerosis Atherosclerosis is the most frequent and important pattern of Arteriosclerosis, other forms of Arteriosclerosis are Mà ¶nckeberg medial calcific sclerosis and Arteriolosclerosis, which vary in pathophysiological and clinical presentation [14]. As described above (3.1), atherosclerosis is the leading cause of death (up to 30%) in developed countries and represents the major portion of CVD. Atherosclerosis (literal origin from Greek: athero = â€Å"gruel or paste†; sclerosis = â€Å"hardness†) is defined as â€Å"thickening and loss of elasticity of arterial walls† and describes a process, where fatty substances, cholesterol, cellular waste products, calcium and fibrin building up in the inner lining of arteries [14]. These intimal lesions are called â€Å"atheromas†, â€Å"atheromatous† or â€Å"fibrofatty plaques†, which lead into an obstruction of vascular lumens and weakness the underlying media. Even within a given arterial bed, lesions or stenoses due to atherosclerosis tend to occur focally, typically in certain predisposed regions. 3.1.1.1 Pathogenesis of Atherosclerosis Due to overwhelming importance of atherosclerosis, enormous efforts have been spent to discover its cause over the last few decades. Today, the currently accepted concept, so called â€Å"the response to injury hypothesis†, considers atherosclerosis to be a chronic inflammatory response of the arterial wall initiated by injury to the endothelium [15]. Furthermore, lesion initiation and progression are sustained by interaction between lipoproteins, macrophages, T-lymphocytes, and the normal cellular constituents of the arterial wall. This process of developing atherosclerosis, which typically lasts over a period of many years usually many decades, can be divided into several consecutive steps, as illustrated in Figure 2 [REF]. Parallel, a morphological change is observed within the artery wall, where fatty streak represents the initial morphological lesion, even so the pathogenesis has started quite earlier with a chronic endothelial injury [REF]. Figure 2: Illustration of the Pathogenesis and Morphological Development of Atherosclerosis. SMC: Smooth muscle Cell; 6 ÃŽ ¼m thick histology slices of coronary arteries stained with Movats pentachrome. A: pathological intimal thickening with a â€Å"fatty streak†; B: pathological intimal thickening with a macrophage infiltration; C: early fibroatheroma with neoangiogenesis; D: fibroatheroma with thin fibrous cap and a healed rupture; E; late fibroatheroma with a sheet calcification. * demarks necrotic scores. Histology performed by CVPath Laboratory, Maryland, MD. The below described steps of the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis shouldnt been seen as a separated processes. They are interconnected and occur parallel. Further, several mechanism of vicious circles are described [REF]. However, the stratification into the flowing six steps helps to understand the complex pathogenesis and represents the current understanding: (1) Chronic Endothelia Injury As the earliest step in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, endothelial activation and chronic injury, also known as endothelial dysfunction, have been described [16]. The following factors contributed in different extent to endothelial dysfunction and are partly known as traditional risk factors for atherosclerosis [17]: advancing age, dyslipidemia, hypertension, increased levels angiotensin, insulin resistance and diabetes, smoking, estrogen deficiency. Several biochemical pathways have been described for those factors increasing the endothelial dysfunction. Other factors like hyperhomocysteinemia, possible infection and especially low or oscillatory shear stress are still discussed whether they significantly contribute to endothelial dysfunction [18-22]. The phenotypic features of endothelial dysfunction are described as the reduced vasodilator and increased vasoconstrictor capacity, an enhanced leukocyte adhesion, an increase of pro-thrombotic and decrease of fibrinolytic activi ty, and an increase in growth-promoting. (2) Accommodation and Oxidation of Lipoproteins In addition and due the endothelial dysfunction lipoproteins, especially low density lipoprotein (LDL), sequestered from plasma in the extracellular space of the arterial intima. Beside the extent of endothelial dysfunction, this process is depending on the concentration of LDL in the blood circulation [23]. Even so several mechanisms have been proposed for transport of LDL into the arterial intima including vesicular ferrying through endothelial cells, passive sieving through endothelial-cell pores, passage between cells, its not finally understand. However, strong evidence exist, that the accommodation of LDL in the arterial intima is not only a passive effect by a â€Å"leaking† vascular endothelium [REF]. Part of the lipoproteins that have entered the arterial wall stay there and are modified subsequently. Especially the modification of the lipoproteins has a trapping function for die selbigen [24]. The most common modification is the oxidation of lipoproteins, giving rise to hydroperoxides, lysophospholipids, oxysterols, and aldehydic breakdown products of fatty acids and phospholipids. But further modification like fusion of lipoproteins, proteolysis, lipolytic degradation and glycation are well known [25]. Such modified lipoproteins or particles of the modification process have inflammatory potential and trigger a local inflammatory response responsible for signaling subsequent steps in the atherogenesis. It includes a further increased endothelial dysfunction, which may cause a vicious circle of LDL accumulation, and activation of various cell types [24, 26, 27]. (3) Migration of Monocytes and Transformation into Macrophages/Foam Cells More important, the inflammatory response induces migration of leukocytes such as monocytes or lymphocytes into the lesion. Leukocytes are attracted by chemoattractant factors including modified lipoprotein particles themselves and chemoattractant cytokines depicted by the smaller spheres, such as the chemokine monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, interleukin 1 (IL-1) or tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-ÃŽ ±) produced by vascular wall cells in response to the inflammatory process [REF]. The activated arterial endothelial cells express a number of adhesion molecules and receptors on their surface, which participate in the recruitment of leukocytes from the blood to the nascent lesion [REF]. Macrophages are a key player in atherogenesis [27]. They develop from recruited monocytes, which migrated as described above into the lesion. In the mediator stimulated process of maturation, those macrophages become lipid-laden foam cells by uptake of lipoprotein particles through receptor-mediated endocytosis [REF]. The accumulation of lipid in the macrophages results in the apoptosis and necrosis, which lead first to a boosted expression and secretion of inflammatory cytokines and second to a release of their lipid excess into a necrotic lipid-core [REF]. Macrophages further produce enzymes, such as metalloproteinases, that degrade the extracellular matrix and lead to instability of plaques [REF]. (4) Adhesion of platelets and Release of SMC activating factors The inflammatory process, especially triggered by the necrosis of the foam cells, microscopic breaches in endothelial integrity may occur. Platelets adhere to such sites of limited endothelial denudation owing to exposure of the thrombogenic extracellular matrix of the underlying basement membrane and form microthrombi. Although most of the arterial mural microthrombi resolve without any clinical manifestation, they lead indirectly to lesion progression by pro-fibrotic stimulation [REF]. The platelets, activated by adhesion, release numerous factors that promote a fibrotic response, including platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), fibroblast growth factor (FGF), insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), and transforming growth factor alpha (TGF-ÃŽ ±) [28-30]. Thrombin itself generates fibrin that has a pro-fibrotic stimulus [28]. (5) Migration and Proliferation of SMCs The pro-fibrotic response includes first the migration of SMC from the media of the arterial wall, through the internal elastic membrane, and the accumulation within the expanding intima of the arterial wall. Second, stimulate the proliferation of SMC, which is responsible to form the bulk of the advanced lesion. Another part of the advanced lesions is an increased extracellular matrix. TGF-ÃŽ ± and other mediators stimulate the interstitial collagen production by SMC. These mediators may arise not only from neighboring endothelial cells or leukocytes (a paracrine pathway) but also from the same cell that responds to the factor (an autocrine pathway). Together, these alterations in smooth-muscle cells, signaled by these mediators acting at short distances, can accelerate transformation of the early lesion (fatty streak) into a more fibrous SMC and extracellular matrix-rich plaque. (6) Enhanced accumulation of lipids, collagen and proteoglycans The formation of a complex atherosclerotic lesion is characteristic by an extent remodeling process. Further foam cells within the expanding intimal lesion perish, while they phagocytose more and more lipids. The fibrotic cap between the so arisen lipid-rich necrotic core and the vascular lumen may vary in thickness and allows the classification of â€Å"thin cap fibroatheroma†, which correlates with a higher risk for acute luminal thrombosis [REF]. The production of extracellular matrix, as well plaque evolution and complication can be stimulated by diverse growth factors or cytokines like IL-1 or TNF-ÃŽ ±, and can be inhibited by other cytokines (e.g. interferon alpha (IFN-ÃŽ ±)) [REF]. As atherosclerotic plaques advance, they show intimal arterial calcification [REF]. The same proteins, which can be found in bone, are also localize in atherosclerotic lesions, e.g., osteocalcin, osteopontin, and bone morphogenetic proteins [31]. Both, passive and active models are discussed for the development calcification [32]. SMC can, promoted by several cytokines (e.g. transcription core binding factor ÃŽ ±1), acquire osteoblast-like characteristics and secrete bone matrix [33]. These examples illustrate how the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis involves a complex mix of mediators that in the balance determines the characteristics of particular lesions [REF]. 3.1.1.2 The Role of Inflammation The role of inflammation is central, while those inflammatory mechanisms mediate initiation, progression, and the complications of atherosclerotic lesions [26, 34]. Through the inflammatory process, arterial endothelial cells begin to express on their surface selective adhesion molecules that bind various classes of leukocytes, especially monocyte and T lymphocyte which are found in early human and experimental atheroma [REF]. After monocytes adhere to the endothelium, they can first migrate in the intima, largely stimulated by chemokines; and second transform into macrophages and avidly engulf lipoproteins, largely oxidized LDL [REF]. Although the phagocytosis of potentially harmful lipid particles by macrophages and subsequently the transformation into foam cells has an initially protective, this process involves further expression and secretion of inflammatory chemokines like Interleukin (IL)-1, Monocyte Chemotactic Protein (MCP)-1 or Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF)-ÃŽ ±. Those enhanc e the inflammatory reaction and enable the further migration of leukocytes into the lesion [REF]. Macrophages also produce toxic oxygen species that cause additional oxidation of the LDL in the lesions, and they elaborate growth factors that may contribute to SMC proliferation [REF]. Similary, T lymphocytes (both CD4+ and CD8+) are also recruited to the intima by chemo-attractants. Cross-talk between macrophages and T cells induces a chronic inflammatory state regarding cellular and humoral immune activation characteristics. This state of a chronic inflammation leads also to the next observed steps in the development and progression of atherosclerosis. Thus, it stimulates the migration and proliferation of smooth muscle cells (SMC), as well the proliferation of vascular endothelial cells in the lesion. Through fibrogenic mediators, released from activated leukocytes and intrinsic arterial cells, the replication of SMCs is getting enhanced and contributes to elaboration by these cells of a dense extracellular matrix characteristic of the more advanced atherosclerotic lesion. 3.1.1.3 Vasa Vasorum and Neo-Angiogenesis The vasa vasorum of the aorta is as a plexus in the wall of artery of microvessels, which are functional endarteries [35, 36]. They either originate from major branches, originate from the main lumen of the aorta or drain in concomitant veins [37]. These vessels allow the humoral communication between intravascular lumen, vessel wall and adventitial layer of large arteries including oxygen and nutrients supply [REF]. Several studies demonstrated that hypoxia [38], cytokines (e.g. vascular endothelial growth factor) [39, 40], pro-angiogenic factors (e.g. hypertension or hypercholesterolemia) stimulate the growth of the vasa vasorum [41]. Those increased microvascular network may contribute to inflammation and lesion complications in several ways. First, the vasa vasorum provides an abundant surface area for leukocytes trafficking and may serve as the portal of entry and exit of white blood cells from the established atheroma. Microvessels in the plaques may also furnish foci for intraplaque hemorrhage. Like the neovessels in the diabetic retina, microvessels in the atheroma may be friable and prone to rupture and can produce focal hemorrhage. Such a vascular leak leads to thrombosis in situ and thrombin generation from prothrombin. In addition to its role in blood coagulation, thrombin can modulate many aspects of vascular cell function, as described above. Atherosclerotic plaques often contain fibrin and hemosiderin, an indication that episodes of intraplaque hemorrhage contribute to plaque complications. Multiple and often competing signals regulate these various cellular events. Increasingly, we appreciate links between atherogenic risk factors, inflammation, and the altered behavior of intrinsic vascular wall cells and infiltrating leukocytes that underlie the complex pathogenesis of these lesions. The present data indicate that vasa vasorum neoangiogenesis and atherosclerosis are seemingly inseparably linked, triggered and perpetuated by inflammatory reactions within the vascular wall. 3.1.1.4 Risk Factors for Development of Atherosclerosis Local shear stress In the coronary circulation, for example, the proximal left anterior descending coronary artery exhibits a particular predilection for developing atherosclerotic disease. Likewise, atherosclerosis preferentially affects the proximal portions of the renal arteries and, in the extracranial circulation to the brain, the carotid bifurcation. Indeed, atherosclerotic lesions often form at branching points of arteries, regions of disturbed blood flow. Age, Gender, HTN, HLP, DM, Smoking, Race/Ethnicity, 3.1.1.5 Atherosclerosis of the Aorta In the characteristic distribution of atherosclerotic plaques in humans the abdominal aorta (Fig. 11-8) is usually much more involved than the thoracic aorta, and lesions tend to be much more prominent around the origins (ostia) of major branches. In descending order (after the lower abdominal aorta), the most heavily involved vessels are the coronary arteries, the popliteal arteries, the internal carotid arteries, and the vessels of the circle of Willis. Vessels of the upper extremities are usually spared, as are the mesenteric and renal arteries, except at their ostia. Nevertheless, in an individual case, the severity of atherosclerosis in one artery does not predict the severity in another. In an individual, and indeed within a particular artery, lesions at various stages often coexist. 2009_Dijk_The natural history of aortic atherosclerosis_A systematic histopathological evaluation of the peri-renal region.pdf 3.1.2 Peripheral Arterial Disease Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD) is caused by atherosclerosis and represents the most common cause of lower extremity ischemic syndromes in developed countries [42]. Symptoms of PAD are variable including pain, ache, hair loss, thickened nails, smooth and shiny skin, reduced skin temperature, cramp, muscle atrophy, or a sense of fatigue in the muscles. Because of the variability of symptoms, the diagnosis of PDA is frequently missed [43]. In addition, the major part of patients with PAD is asymptomatic [REF]. Beside these diagnostic challenges, PAD affects a large and increasing numbers of patients worldwide. Round 30 million people are diseased in worldwide, but of those only 10 million patients are presenting with symptoms [44]. Further, the prevalence is increasing with age [6, 45], while the prevalence is 10% at the age of 60 years [46]. Association to mortality!!! 3.1.2.1 Pathogenesis of Peripheral Artery Disease The leading cause of PAD is atherosclerosis, especially in older patients (>40 years) and at the lower extremities [42]. Other, but rare causes of PAD include embolism, vasculitis, fibromuscular dysplasia, entrapment, and trauma. Atherosclerotic lesions, which are segmental and cause stenosis, are usually localized to large and medium-sized vessels. The pathology of these lesions is based on atherosclerotic plaques development, as described above (xxx). The primary sites of involvement are the abdominal aorta and iliac arteries (30% of symptomatic patients), the femoral and popliteal arteries (80-90%), and the more distal arteries (40-50%) [REF]. Atherosclerotic lesions have been predominantly observed at arterial branch points. These may be explained by altered shear stress [REF]. However, the involvement of the distal and smaller arteries is more common in elderly individuals and patients with diabetes mellitus [REF]. 3.1.2.2 Risk Factors for Peripheral Arterial Disease While atherosclerosis is the major underlying condition of PAD, the risk factors for PAD are essentially the same as those for other form of atherosclerosis (like e.g. CAD), see Table 1 [47-50]. However, the risk factors smoking and diabetes may have even greater effect for PAD as compared for CAD [51]. Risk Factors Increased risk for PAD Hypercholesterolemia 1- to 2-fold (low) Homocysteinemia 1- to 3-fold (moderate) Hypertension 1- to 3-fold (moderate) Smoking (current and past) 2- to 4-fold (high) Diabetes mellitus 2- to 4-fold (high) Table 1: Risk Factors for Peripheral Arterial Disease 3.1.2.3 Clinical Presentation of Peripheral Artery Disease PAD affects more often the lower extremities (xx times more often than upper extremities) [REF]. The most common symptom of PAD is intermittent claudication, which is defined as presence of pain, ache, cramp, numbness, or a sense of fatigue in the muscles. Those symptoms occur during exercise and are relieved by rest, as result of the increased muscle ischemia during exercise caused by obstruction to arterial flow. Patients with PAD in the lower extremities resulting in ischemia may range in presentation from no symptoms to limb-threatening gangrene. Two major classifications based on the clinical presentations are established, the Fontaine and the Rutherford classification. While the more simple Fontaine classification consists of four stages (Table 2) [52], the Rutherford classification has four grades (0-III) and seven categories (0-6). Asymptomatic patients are classified into Rutherford category 0. Any patient with claudicants are stratified into Rutherford grade I and divided into three categories based on the severity of the symptoms. If patients have pain at rest, they belong to Rutherford grade II and category 4. Any patient with tissue loss are classified into Rutherford grade III and categories 5 and 6, based on the significance of the tissue loss [4]. These two clinical classifications can be translated into each other according to Table 2. Fontaine Classification Rutherford Classification Stage Clinical Grade Category Clinical I Asymptomatic 0 0 Asymptomatic IIa Mild claudication I 1 Mild claudication IIb Moderate to severe claudication I 2 Moderate claudication I 3 Severe claudication III Ischemic rest pain II 4 Ischemic rest pain IV Ulceration or gangrene III 5 Minor tissue loss III 6 Major tissue loss Table 2: Classification of Peripheral Arterial Disease based on the Fontaine Classification in Comparison the Rutherford Classification In the Framingham Offspring Study, the prevalence of PAD was determined in 1554 males and 1759 females from 1995 to 1998.55 The mean age was 59 years. PAD, defined as an ankle-brachial (blood pressure) index (ABI) of ABI Severity of PAD The physician also queried the participant about symptoms of intermittent claudication using a standardized questionnaire [53]. 3.2 Local Adipose Tissue Depots 3.2.1 Variability of Adipose Tissue 3.2.1.1 Anatomy and Morphology SACK: Epicardial, mesenteric, and omental fat all share the same origin from the splanchnopleuric mesoderm associated with the gut.11 Pericardial fat (pericardial adipose tissue [PAT]) is defined as epicardial fat in all these possible locations plus paracardial fat.14 Paracardial fat is situated on the external surface of the parietal pericardium within the mediastinum and has alternatively been termed mediastinal fat.15 Paracardial fat originates from the primitive thoracic mesenchyme, which splits to form the parietal (fibrous) pericardium and the outer thoracic wall.16 Epicardial adipose tissue is supplied by branches of the coronary arteries, whereas paracardial fat is supplied from different sources including the pericardiacophrenic artery, a branch of the internal mammary.17 Lipolysis and lipogenesis have not been measured directly in human epicardial fat. Based on approximately 2-fold higher rates of lipolysis and lipogenesis in guineapig epicardial fat than other fat depots, Marchington et al18,19 proposed that EAT serves to capture and store intravascular free fatty acid (FFA) to protect cardiomyocytes from exposure to excessive coronary arterial FFA concentrations during increased energy intake and, at other times, to release FFA as an immediate ATP source for the myocardium during periods of need. Epicardial fat and the myocardium are contiguous. Islands of mature adipocytes are more frequ ent within the subepicardial myocardium of the RV than the LV13 and may act as more readily available, direct sources of FFA for cardiomyocytes. The thickness of the wall of the right atrium is about 2 mm; the left atrium, 3 to 5 mm; the RV, 3 to 5 mm; and the LV, 13 to 15 mm.20 Possibly, FFAs could diffusebidirectionally in interstitial fluid across concentration gradients from epicardial fat into the atrial and RV walls where EAT predominates and vice versa, but this process in the LV wall can be questioned because the diffusion distance is much longer. Peri-vascular adipose tissue is defined as any adipocytes, which are located close to the vascular wall and has the possibility to secret their biomarkers into the vasa vasora of the wall (see 3.2.1.2). 3.2.1.2 Secretion of Biomarkers by Adipose Tissue Adipose tissue is known to have more functions than lipid storing. Adipose tissue secrets biomarkers and serves as an endocrine organ. Beside hormones, it secrets also different inflammatory cytokines and chemokines. The amount of adipose tissue were associated to xxx, xxx, xxx (FRAMINGHAM?!). Especially peri-vascular adipose tissue like epicardial or visceral adipose tissue demonstrated higher expression of inflammatory biomarkers compared to other adipose tissue depots in the body [REF]. Beside the systemic effect of the secreted cytokines and chemokines, also a local effect/paracrine is hypothesied. Biomarkers secreted of peri-vascular adipose tissue reach over the vasa vasora of the major arteries their adventitia, media, and intima. Therefore it might be involved in the inflammatory process of atherosclerotic plaque. Further, a local effect can be thought by direct diffusion. 3.2.2 Association of Adipose Tissue to Cardiovascular Disease 3.2.2.1 Atherosclerosis 3.2.2.2 Peripheral Arterial Disease 3.2.3 In-Vivo Assessmentof Adipose Tissue 3.2.3.1 Traditional Measures * BMI and WC [54] 3.2.3.2 Imaging-based Assessment * dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) [55] * magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) [56, 57] * ultrasound [58] * multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT) [59, 60] 3.3 Framingham Heart Study 3.3.1 Historical Origin of the Framingham Heart Study Infectious diseases were prior to World War II the major burden for public health. But through a greater microbiological knowledge and improved sanitation, the morbidity and mortality of infectious disease decreased continuously. When penicillin was introduced in 1942, a dramatic reduction was made in the prevalence and incidence of infectious diseases, especially by controlling tuberculosis and pneumococcal pneumonia [REF]. Replacing infectious diseases, public health was challenged by a mounting epidemic of CVD starting in the 1940s. With World War II over the alarming rise of CVD became increasingly evident. In the United States, 30% of all men developed CVD before reaching the age sixty. The prevalence of CVD was twice of cancer by 1950 and had become the leading cause of death [REF]. Even so the available statistic data from around the world was often crude and inaccurate, it clearly demonstrated a worldwide atherosclerotic CVD problem. Furthermore there was no known treatment to prolong life and to reduce mortality. Added to these distresses was the fact that little was known about etiology, pathogenesis and epidemiology of CVD. The big gap between the enormous public health burden of CVD on the one site and the little understanding of this disease on the other site increased drastically the need for action. At this time, some believed a primary preventative approach was more promising than a search for cures [Dawber, Thomas R. (1980), The Framingham Study: The Epidemiology of Atherosclerotic Disease, Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.], while the secrets of the etiology of CVD and subsequently for treatment were not being uncovered by basic laboratory and clinical research. Some of these prevention-minded individuals occupied positions of influence and were able to translate their beliefs into actions. The key was to develop a preventive approach, where first of all the characteristics of the host and environment, which lead to the early appearance of the disease, had to be determined. In particular, preventable or modifiable predisposing factors had to be identified. If a practical preventive approach was developed, the hope was that doctors and public health officials would adopt it and so have a widespread impact on the reduction of CVD-based morbidity and mortality. Accordingly to the preventive approach, the Framingham Heart Study was designed given the charge to identify these modifiable characteristics of host and environment for CVD. 3.3.2 Initiation of the Framingham Heart Study By the mid 1940s several striking studies were conducted with an examples epidemiological approach in the fields of nutritional imbalance, metabolic disorders, occupational hazards, accidents, cancer and rheumatic fever under principle investigators (PI) Drs. Dawber, Meadors and Moore [REF, Dawber, Meadors and Moore 1951]. In common, an association between the circumstances and the disease could be identified with-out knowledge of the precise etiology. One of those studies was performed by Dr. John Snow in 1936. He demonstrated that cut-ting off the water supply from contaminated wells, despite incomplete knowledge of the pathogenesis of the disease, stopped cholera. He observed on the one hand the source of the water supply and on the other hand the time and place where the disease occurred. He sufficiently pinpointed based on his observations the major environmental factor for cholera. Further investi

The Motifs of Furniture and Yoke in George Eliots Middlemarch Essay

The Motifs of Furniture and Yoke in George Eliot's Middlemarch "'You have not made my life pleasant to me of late'-'the hardships which our marriage has brought on me'-these words were stinging his imagination as a pain makes an exaggerated dream (667)." On the list of life's complexities, marriage, perhaps, reigns at the top. George Eliot's Middlemarch exhumes many of the complicated facets of marriage from a Victorian England milieu. Although the character spectrum in Middlemarch includes diversity in social class, the bulk of players are members of the aristocracy. Despite financial wealth, married women were bound to their husbands-Eliot employs the metaphor of the yoke to convey strict bondage to the spouse and domesticity. On the other hand, an aristocratic married couple was likely bound to material possessions; in the instance of Middlemarch, furniture serves as a complex motif. An analysis on the themes of yoke and furniture in Eliot's novel prompts several questions. What does the definition of yoke imply about the metaphor? Who bears the yoke in marriage? Who is concerned with furniture? What roles does furniture portray in Middlemarch? Finally, a comparative discussion on the ties between the yoke and furniture as burdens in marital relationships will conclude the argument. The Oxford English Dictionary gives the primary definition of "yoke" as: A contrivance, used from ancient times, by which two animals, esp. oxen, are coupled together for drawing a plough or vehicle; usually consisting of a somewhat curved or hollowed piece of wood fitted with 'bows' or hoops at the end which are passed round the animals' necks, and having a ring or hooks attached to the middle to which is fastened a chain or trace e... ...ial status), some men, particularly Lydgate, were enslaved by their wife's emotions and demands. In regard to furniture, however, it was usually only wealthy men who lived beyond their means that were bound to debt, since they held sovereignty in decision-making. Comparing the motifs of the yoke and furniture in the novel is an intricate and interesting task because they are both tangible objects that represent metaphoric repression, burden, or anxiety. Although George Eliot uses many rhetorical devices in Middlemarch, the clever employment of multi-faceted motifs was effective in conveying the underlying messages about women's rights and the burden of materialism. Work Cited and Consulted: Eliot, George. Middlemarch. 1871. London: Penguin, 1994. Oxford English Dictionary. 1989. U of Oxford. 18 December 2002. Princeton Text Archive. 18 December 2002.

Interpretation of Dreams: Freud Vs. Jung Essay -- Philosophy Psycholog

Interpretation of Dreams: Freud Vs. Jung Works Cited Not Included Many philosophers, psychiatrists, and doctors have tried to explain the role of the unconscious, mostly through interpreting dreams; two who lead the way in the field of dream interpretation were Sigmund Freud and his most famous pupil, Carl Jung. By reviewing these men's views we can come to a better understanding of the role of the unconscious. Both Freud and Jung believe in the existence of a conscious and unconscious mind. To better understand the difference between the two psychologists often use the analogy of an iceberg. The part of the iceberg above the surface of the water and can be seen by anyone is the conscious mind. It is the part of the mind we "live in" and contains information that we are aware of. The majority of the iceberg, which is below the surface of the water, is what Freud referred to as the "unconscious" and that Jung referred to as the "personal unconscious." This is where thoughts, feelings, urges, and temptations are that are difficult to bring out in consciousness. These are things that we do not associate with who we are and thus become repressed. The best ways to find these repressed feelings are through dreams. Sigmund Freud believed that a persons dreams fulfilled wishes and gave that person a sense of accomplishment to something they may not have been able to achieve. To prove Freud's theory he referred to a dream that he could produce as often as he wanted to. He explained that if he ate anything salty before he went to bed he would develop a thirst during the night which would wake him up. However, before he woke up he noted the he always had a specific dream first. This dream was that he was drinking cold water ... ... or model of which all things of the same type are representations or copies. This tendency for everyone in an area to perceive and act in certain ways is where Jung theory of collective unconscious comes from. Jung explains that what we dream, we have understanding of, be it intellectually or emotionally, which contradicts Freud's theory of unconsciously fulfilling wishes completely. Both Freud and Jung have there own views on dream interpretation, combine the two and it seems that we can come to a better understanding of the importance of our dreams. It seems that you cannot interpret a dream solely using Freud's theory or visa a versa with Jung's theories. Combining the two would offer a non-bias, well rounded interpretation which could encompass both, wish fulfillment, as Freud proposed, and consciously intending to create your dreams, as Jung believed.

Why Do so Many Professional Athletes Go Broke After Retirement?

Jay Nicholls Economics of Sports Prof. Enz 4/5/13 Why do so many professional athletes go broke after retirement? After watching ESPN’s 30 for 30, Broke, my mind starting pondering this question of why and how so many professional athletes are blowing through the millions they make while playing their specific sport? It is amazing that someone can spend that much money so quickly. What are they buying and who are they buying things for? Where are they spending it? Where do they go wrong? When did this trend start and will it continue in the future?What are the league officials doing in order to prevent this tragedy from happening? These are some of the questions I will try to answer throughout this paper. In March of 2009 Pablo S. Torre wrote an article for Sports Illustrated titled, â€Å"How (and Why) Athletes Go Broke†. He explains how many athletes, especially minority ones, come from very humble beginnings often times growing up in poverty. Some of whom are the onl y ones in their family to reach college. Then some of them even start earning money while still in college through â€Å"illicit payments from agents† (Torre).Once these players hit the big leagues and start earning millions, much of it is invested blindly by people who appear to be trying to help but often times do not. Their fortune seemingly evaporates right before their eyes. If and when these athletes look at their bank accounts their reactions are usually similar, â€Å"What the †¦? †(Torre). The most common leagues that players go broke are the three most popular in the country, NFL, NBA, and MLB. Torre reported that â€Å"By the time they [the athletes] have been retired for two years, 78% of former NFL players have gone bankrupt or are under financial stress because of joblessness or divorce. (Torre). That is an astounding number of players looking at overdue credit card bills, child support payments and much more. Athletes who do get married and then ev entually divorced, in many cases, do not sign prenuptial agreements therefore losing at least half of what they worked so hard for. Another astonishing figure reported by Torre was that 60% of former NBA players are broke within five years of retirement. They typically run into many of the same problems as NFL players. The MLB is no different.High profile Major League Baseball players like Johnny Damon and Jacoby Ellsbury reported that some of their money is tied up in an $8 billion fraud scandal due to a shady financier named Robert Allen Stanford. It is hard to believe that someone of that celebrity status could be drained of their money but it’s true. Mike Pelfrey of the New York Mets was forced to ask the team for a salary advancement of $2 million after he admitted he was broke because 99 percent of his fortune is frozen in the same scandal (Torre).These athletes not only gave much of their wealth to Stanford, but also all of their trust and he essentially took their mon ey and ran with it. Uneducated athletes or ‘dumb jocks’ are an easy target for fraud because they may not read the fine print or even care to read it. Also they may not understand the investment fully and get taken for all that they are worth. The financial crisis of 2008 had a huge impact on many players’ wealth as their trusted financial advisors lost billions in the stock market crash.Money manager Michael Seymour, founder of the company UNI Private Wealth Strategies, was quoted saying, â€Å"Athletes have a different set of challenges from, say, entertainers. There’s a far shorter peak earnings period [in sports] than in any other profession, and in many cases they lack the time and desire to understand and monitor their investments. † (Torre). Many athletes don’t have time or the education to know where their money is going and who is handling it. A grueling 162 game baseball season doesn’t leave much time for a ball player to sit down with his financial advisor and talk numbers.Many players will say here is my money, invest it without surveying the risks involved or even realizing that there are risks involved. Coming into that much money so quickly may force a player to just pay someone to handle it because it is much easier that way. Seymour also brings up a good point that is often overlooked by people on the outside or the fans; this is the length of professional sports careers. There are very few athletes in any sport that can last long enough to retire and have enough money to not worry about the rest of their lives.Athletes such as Brett Favre, Cal Ripken, Chris Chelios and Gordie Howe are the rare exceptions to this rule. Howe played professional hockey throughout five decades spanning nearly fifty years. An article from quanthockey. com stated that the average NHL player will play between five and six seasons in the league no matter what position they were. On average that accounted for roughly 238 games played for skaters but far less for goaltenders (â€Å"Average Length of an NHL Player Career†). The numbers across the other three major leagues are very similar or lower.However hockey players, for the most part, are either good with their money or good at staying out the spotlight if they do go broke. The RAM Financial Group is a company that specializes in helping professional athletes manage their wealth. They refer to themselves as financial coaches that â€Å"help guide you to success† by planning for retirement, handling taxes, insurance, and budgeting along with many other services. In an article on their website they wrote that the average NFL career is 3. 5 years; the average NBA career is 4. years and the MLB had the longest career length of any of the four major sports leagues at 5. 6 years (â€Å"Athlete Services†). These three figures make sense too; that as the sports get less physical the career length gets longer. The baseball statistic did not include pitchers however, who are far more prone to injury and typically have much shorter careers than position players. Those figures are also the averages, meaning half of the players fall below that career length. Those players only lasting a season or two in most cases are not star players and are not earning large signing bonuses or special incentives.Chances are they are late round draft picks and sign for the league minimum. RAM Financial Group says that athletes must plan for nearly 50 years of retirement after sports. Since many athletes did not go to, or did not finish college, they do not have a degree to rely for help in the job search after their career has ended. There are only a select few athletes that can maintain a job in the sports world, such as a television announcer or analyst, coach, or scout et cetera; it requires a certain personality and intelligence.The article by Torre profiles a football player by the name of Raghib (Rocket) Ismail who was a sta r wide receiver for Notre Dame and was a potential number one draft pick for the NFL, but instead chose to sign an $18. 2 million contract over four years with the Canadian Football League’s Toronto Argonauts. Why he chose the CFL over the NFL I will never know. He goes on to say that he started with a base salary of $4 million and he was so focused on football that by the time his first year was over his bank account was just about empty.Ed Butowsky was listening to Ismail speak and nodded his head as if to say, ‘I could have seen that coming’. Butowsky is a managing partner at Chapwood Investments which is a wealth management firm. He is used to managing very wealthy people’s fortunes in the business world but, not many professional athletes. Butowsky realized that broke athletes was a reoccurring theme throughout major league sports and he felt the need to do something about it. In 2005 Butowsky began inviting many prominent athletes to his so called fi nancial â€Å"boot camps†.Some of these athletes were well off and others were not. He taught them things about money from the very basics of what is a bond, to some more complicated topics such as insurance and retirement. These sessions were free of charge and the goal was to educate these young men so that they did not fall into financial ruin like so many athletes before them (Torre). An athlete’s wealth is† supposed to outlive their career† according to Bill Duffy, a veteran agent who manages players like Steve Nash and Carmelo Anthony. So where do most of them go wrong?The feature of Torre’s article, Rocket Ismail, talked about his investment portfolio over the years. It included lots of â€Å"dubious inventions and risky investments† (Torre). He mentioned pouring money into a religious movie that saw no return. He earned a reported $18 to $20 million over his career from salary alone in the CFL, and went broke through what he calls â₠¬Å"‘total ignorance’†. He was luckier than most broke athletes however, because he never filed for bankruptcy, had legal trouble or got divorced, and most importantly he had his degree from Notre Dame.But his lack of ‘luck’ with investments caused him to nearly lose it all (Torre). One of his worst investments came when he sank $300,000 into a theme restaurant called the Rock N’ Roll Cafe. It was similar to the idea of the Hard Rock Cafe. Ismail said the man who pitched him this idea talked about it as â€Å"fail-proof, with no downsides† (Torre). Ismail was never paid back anything at all and doesn’t even know if the restaurant ever existed. His lack of interest in the investment led him to lose a considerable amount of his money by writing a single check.If I were about to invest that much money I would want to see building plans, permits, other investors, revenue, and much more before I decided to invest anything at all. Whethe r he didn’t care or didn’t know, he is still at fault. One would think Ismail learned his lesson, but the opposite is true. He continually pumped thousands of dollars into sketchy investments that never took off. He was too trustworthy and easily persuaded by smooth talkers and promising business plans such as a music label, a cosmetics line, tourist shops, and a phone card dispensary company.All of which failed miserably and he saw no return on his investments. Some may call it bad luck but Butowsky sees it differently. According to the article, â€Å"Industry experts estimate that only one in 30 of the highest-caliber private investment deals works out as advertised† (Torre). I would not be willing to risk much money on a thirty three percent chance of making money. He also states, â€Å"Chronic overallocation into real estate and bad private equity is the Number 1 problem [for athletes] in terms of a financial meltdown† (Torre).The lure of tangible ite ms is so much greater than buying something intangible like a stock. Most athletes love the spotlight, and by saying so and so owns a bar or restaurant is a lot sexier and more intriguing than being a shareholder in a Fortune 500 company, even though it may be a safer investment. Risk-averse investors suggest allocating most of their investments to a mix of public securities which to most athletes are invisible and boring. The thrill of inventions and nightclubs are for more appealing but riskier.Disreputable people see athletes’ money as very easy to get a hold of according to NFL agent Steven Baker, who represents 20 NFL players (Torre). People seek to take advantage of them and as history shows it they have been extremely successful. Drew Bledsoe and a crew of other NFL retirees invested â€Å"at least $100,000 apiece in a †¦ Pay By Touch †¦ technology that would help replace credit cards with fingerprints† (Torre). Even though this company was dealing wit h several lawsuits from players and others, they still invested.The stories of athletes buying real estate to sell and rent are very common and their results are all too similar. The financial crisis put a huge damper on the housing market and caused many of the properties to be foreclosed on putting these athletes further into debt. Many properties are up for sale on EBay, far below their original asking prices and market values. Former major league infielder Junior Spivey is one of the many suffering from owning too many real estate properties that aren’t seeing a return on investment.He declares, â€Å"It’s very tough, especially for someone like me who’s not playing† (Torre). Young, rich athletes are similar to a lottery winner who comes into millions without knowing how to handle it. Some of them probably haven’t heard or learned of the basics of budgeting or keeping receipts for tax purposes according to Leigh Steinberg an NFL agent (Torre). Many athletes will admit they know nothing about the business and financial world after the fact they have made very costly investments without knowing all the details about where their money is actually going.Magic Johnson weighed in on this discussion, â€Å"by admitting he knew nothing about business† (Torre). He was a lucky one getting a trustworthy adviser. He went on to say that many athletes hire family and friends because it is a favor to them but these people are often times in over their heads when dealing with this much money. They can make risky and uneducated investments that may not be profitable. Johnson gets calls from stars all the time who ask him about hiring friends and he immediately says no because he knows they will more than likely fail.Many athletes will hire their friends because they simply do not know how to say no to them. Friends of rich athletes often expect financial help or jobs. The infamous Ron Artest had to dismiss six of his friends involv ed in his record label in 2007. They were doing odd jobs for him and living in a house he was paying for. His ‘entourage’ was less helpful than they were worth and Artest had to make that tough decision (Torre). Jerry Richardson, owner of the Carolina Panthers stated the most dangerous thing that could happen to an athlete financially is divorce.A lot of athletes get married young and by the time they retire realize they made a mistake. In Torre’s article, he refers to a survey put out a financial services firm by the name of Rothstein Kass. In the survey they polled 178 athletes – each with a minimum net worth of $5 million and most were under the age of thirty. It was reported that, â€Å"more than 80% of the 178 athletes polled†¦ [were] concerned about being involved in unjust lawsuits and/or divorce proceedings† (Torre). Athletes and agents’ common estimates today, show that the divorce rate for professional athletes is anywhere from sixty to eighty percent.Husbands routinely lose half of their net worth in these cases and most splits happen after the peak earnings period of their careers, or in retirement. This timing is no accident. Former NBA center Mark West commented, â€Å"There’s this huge lifestyle change†¦ you and your wife are suddenly always at home, bugging each other. Before you’d say ‘I gotta go to practice. ’ Now you don’t have practice† (Torre). If you don’t want to spend time with your wife clearly you aren’t ready to get married or you picked the wrong woman to spend the rest of your life with.I can see how many retired athletes would want to relax at home after their career is over. Some women are just gold diggers as well, just using the men’s money to go shopping and such. Other problems such as infidelity may arise as well. Celebrity status sometimes seems to bring out the worst in people and not many marriages can survive a cheating scandal. With all the pressures riding on a high profile marriage with an athlete, the prenuptial agreement is one security blanket to protect an athletes’ net worth.This is recommended by agent David Falk who represented Michael Jordan, but Jordan did not have one. The percentage of athletes who sign one is considerably lower than regular people of the same economic stature. Often times an athlete will marry his hometown sweetheart and they are so blinded by ‘love’ that they could not ever imagine a ruinous divorce in their future, but people change especially when there is lots of money at stake. Dikembe Mutombo set a great example for athletes when called off his marriage in 1994 after his fiance refused to sign a prenuptial agreement.It reportedly â€Å"cost him $250,000† to cancel the wedding ceremony but it could have been millions had they gone through with the marriage and gotten divorced later on (Torre); smart move by the big man. Chil dren are a large factor in a divorce settlement as well. They tend to make the decisions far more complicated. NBA player Travis Henry, who has nine children with nine different women, is a prime example of this. His fortune was demolished by child support payments in the â€Å"tens of thousands† (Torre).When athletes cannot afford to pay these ridiculous amounts of money they get treated no differently than regular citizens and are put in prison. Another factor leading to the demise of an athletes’ wealth is the notion that they want to impress the veterans on the team and get on their good side. Some rookies think that in order to do this they must buy a Lamborghini, a yacht or splurge on a million dollar house. You cannot live outside your means for too long. Soon enough the bills will come in and they will realize that swiping a credit card doesn’t mean you can keep that item forever. Young layers will look up to guys that have been in the league for many ye ars, and who have accumulated plenty of money. They try to emulate them and fail miserably. For example a rookie on say, Shaquille O’Neal’s team, might look at his many cars, clothes and large and say, ‘I want that’. However Shaq has money coming from not only his NBA salary, which was amongst the highest in the league, but also from numerous endorsement deals off the court. Professional athletes’ going broke has been an ongoing trend for many years and it will continue until education becomes an important part of turning pro.Fox news did a short story on this epidemic and in it Kathryn Buschman Vasel reported that, â€Å"The reasons for financial hardships vary, from lack of planning, over indulgence, bad investments and poor financial guidance. Or all of the above† (Vasel). These four mishaps have ruined lives of once millionaire athletes for so many years. With so many star athletes going broke and embarrassing not only themselves but the leagues they represent, what are the owners, general managers, and league officials doing to help prevent this trend from continuing?USA Today posted an article on this topic last year citing the Sports Illustrated article among others. Russ Wiles wrote, â€Å"The NFL conducts workshops for rookies covering topics such as substance abuse, sex education, gambling, domestic violence and personal finance† (Wiles). However their effectiveness remains in question. Many of the rookies will disregard these efforts to help them and wind up in the same situation as their counterparts before them. They hear the stories and statistics but think this could never happen to me I am going to be a millionaire, there’s no way I could blow that much money.Ignorance is not bliss in this situation. Many athletes â€Å"assume the money will keep flowing in for years, but that’s usually not the case† (Wiles). Contracts that teams offer are usually merit based with only a small percentage guaranteed no matter what. Many players don’t realize this or may not even know that. As an athlete myself I never think that maybe I will get hurt this year or what will happen if I do. Professional athletes have the same mentality. Even worse what if a rookie never pans out to be more than a backup?Bench players don’t make nearly as much as starters or star players. And as soon as a player gets cut or put on waivers their contract dwindles down to nothing. When the paychecks stop coming, the lavish lifestyles of athletes can no longer be sustained. Paychecks will stop eventually for everyone but bills never do. The banks and credit card companies don’t care if you get hurt playing a professional sport, they still want their money and will stop at nothing until they get all of it; whether that means foreclosing your home, car and yacht or seizing all other assets as collateral.Players can’t grasp the concept that their peak earnings period wi ll be short lived and their lifestyles must be planned accordingly. Unlike a corporate office job or a doctor where the potential salaries keep increasing based on good performance or experience in the field in which they work, Athletes make all or most of their income in a few short years. According to Wiles, â€Å"Even athletes who play professionally for many years will eventually need to downsize their finances†¦That makes them different from most workers† (Wiles). Colleges and universities are not off the hook either.These institutions that have high profile teams with the potential for their athletes to play professional sports should offer more courses on money and finance to their students. It should be a requirement for students not just student athletes to be financial literate so that nobody finds themselves in the red later on in life. Even if you are a history major or a science major, it is imperative to know how keep your head above water when it comes to personal finances. The only way these professional athletes will be able to lead successful lives after their playing days are over is through education.People above them need to stress the importance of saving, planning, and common sense because once you owe more money than you are able to pay back it may be impossible to get out of debt. Bibliography 1. â€Å"Athlete Services. † RAM Financial Group. RAM Financial Group, n. d. Web. 2 Apr 2013. . 2. â€Å"Average Length of an NHL Player Career. † Quanthockey. com. N. p. , n. d. Web. 2 Apr 2013. . 3. Torre, Pablo S.. â€Å"How (and Why) Athletes Go Broke. SI Vault. Sports Illustrated, 3 Mar 2009. Web. 1 Apr 2013. . 4. Vasel, Kathryn Buschman. â€Å"Why Athletes Go Broke. † Fox Business. Fox News, 01 FEBRU 2013. Web. 4 Apr 2013. . 5. Wiles, Russ. â€Å"Pro athletes aften fumble the financial ball. † USA TODAY Sports. USA TODAY, 22 APRIL 2012. Web. 4 Apr 2013. .

City of Bones Essay

The novel City Of Bones by Cassandra Clare follows the main character 15 year-old Clary Fray in her journey to find her missing mother. Clare takes the typical Fairy Tail and turns it upside down. The main ideas that stick out to me in this film is Love, Jealousy and prejudice. An important idea for me in the novel City Of Bones is the idea of love. In the book Clary falls the handsome Shadowhunter (half angel, half human) Jace Wayland. In the middle of all the chaos and fight they find time to fall for each other and form a powerful bond. I found it interesting how Clare wrote about love. She perceived it to be very powerful and absolute. Which i don’t disagree with, but for teenagers its very different. When she wrote of their love with such power it confused me, it also made the writing more captivating as the story unraveled and left me wanting to know what happened next. This idea made me think of societies view on young love, how society thinks young relationships don’t last and aren’t serious. It also challenged my view on the subject and made me think that it’s possible to find the one you love when you are young. â€Å"The most terrible things men do, they do in the name of love. – I think this quote shows the power that love has in this novel. I found the idea of love important because it is a clear motivator throughout the novel. An aspect I found intriguing in this novel was the requiring theme of jealously. As Clary and Jace are falling for each other Clary’s childhood best friend, Simon, gets extremely jealous. â€Å"I was trying to make you jealous! † Simon screamed at one point when he couldn’t hold it in any longer. â€Å"You’re so stupid, Clary. You’re so stupid, can’t you see anything? † Clary is oblivious to Simon’s feeling towards her. This theme made me reconsider famous love stories that also had themes of jealously, for example Elizabeth Bennett and Mr Darcy in Pride and Prejudice, Darcy was jealous of Mr Wickham. Also in Jane Eyre where Jane was Jealous of Rochester’s wife. It made me think of the writing and how jealously contributes to the love in the story. I found this requiring theme intriguing because it showed the unrequited love between Clary and Simon which I found really contributed to the novel and gave it that extra plot twist. Another aspect in the novel that I found important was the idea of prejudice. In the novel prejudice is shown against Downworlders (half demon, half human for example vampires, werewolves, warlocks etc), women and gay people. The Shadowhunters see Downworlders as scum because they are half demon, which are their natural enemy, but not all of them are bad. Prejudice is seen against women because it was only recently that women were aloud to fight against demons and even now they are seen not to be as good as the men. Being gay in the shadow world is also frowned because Shadowhunters are very proud of family and the family name so being gay won’t carry on the bloodline. So they’re good enough to let live, good enough to make your food for you, good enough to flirt with—but not really good enough? I mean, not as good as people? † – This quote is referring to Downworlders and how they are only good for somethings. I think this idea links to our society today and also parts in history because women use to not be aloud to vote and were seen as housewives just like in City of Bones. Also in the novel Downworlders are kind of treated like coloured people were in the early 18-century, expect not to the extend that the coloured people were treated. The idea of prejudice against gay people links to our society because our society is prejudice against gays. I found this idea important because it helped me see the links between the novel and real-life situations. The novel City of Bones by Cassandra Clare challenged my thinking about love, jealously and prejudice and helped me understand more about them and how they like to other novels and our society. I would definitely recommend this novel to other people so they can enjoy it as much as i did.

Discuss Marxism and Functuionalism and Compare

Compare Marxist and Functionalist Perspectives Compare and Contrast Functionalist and Marxist Perspectives Sociology is a systematic way of studying the social world. It seeks to discover the causes and affects of intercommunication and interaction that arise in social relations. â€Å"The science of society† was developed as a discipline in the 19th Century by Auguste Compte, a French philosopher. For him, common sense and the obvious would not suffice; he wanted to build scientific theories based on critical awareness of society. The two main stems of sociological concepts are Positivism and Phenomenology. Both Functionalism and Marxism are Positivist theories. This means that philosophies are built by using scientific research methods to create structural perspectives. Positivism is called macro sociology because it looks at society holistically; it also emphasises the power of Society and how this effects man’s behaviour. Positivism was a philosophy from the Modern Era when society was industrial, England’s culture untolerating, the mass media conservative and pro-establishment. Role in society was extremely important; it was traditional and genders specific. Functionalism provided a static view of society. It was rooted in the work of Emile Durkheim, a French Sociologist and during the later stages, Talcott Parsons. Although functionalism was not a dominant theoretical perspective in sociology until the 1940s and 1950s, it first emerged during the 19th Century. Marxism was founded by a German philosopher, economist and sociologist, Karl Marx. Fredrich Engels also contributed to development the works. Marxism offered a radical alternative to the functionalism perspective and was developed in the 1970s. Both perspectives of Marx and Durkheim, aspired for a Utopian society. Functionalism views society like a biological organism. The parts or institutions of the organism or society function appropriately to ensure the whole structure works efficiently and effectively. The whole has greater power than the individual parts. The three main aims and objectives of functionalism are to maintain order, stability and equilibrium in society. Marxism became increasingly influential due to; the decline in functionalism, its promise to provide answers (which functionalism did not) and its mood reflected that of the times. It originally consisted of three related ideas: a philosophical view of man, a theory of history and an economic and political program. The basic principal was that production equals social enterprise. Man needs to produce food, materials, etc†¦ for survival, and in doing so; man enters into relations with other members of society. From a functionalist perspective, the main parts of society (its institutions such as education, religion and the family) are the foundations for social structure. These institutions have interconnected roles and interrelated norms to form a complete system. All of the institutions have a role to meet the functional prerequisites (society’s basic needs). Integration between the parts is necessary so therefor integration is a functional prerequisites in itself. Social relations are organised, in result of values providing general guidelines for behaviour. Functionalist, Talcott Parsons set out four functional prerequisites essential for society: Goal Attainment- setting goals, e. g. Government/Education, Adaptation- development of material world, e. g. Mass Media/Industry, Integration- promoting harmony and social solidarity, e. g. Religion/Family, Latency- meeting individual needs to satisfy demand, e. g. Family/Mass Media. From a Marxist view, the force of production is the collective term for all things needed for production. The means of production are those parts of production which can be legally owned (land, machinery, and slaves†¦ . Society’s infrastructure was made up of the forces of production plus the social relations. The Superstructure includes the institutions of society and is shaped by the infrastructure. This therefor means that the institutions are primarily determined by economic factors. Marxism relates class not to income or family like functionalism does, instead it is measured on how much land, mach inery†¦ is owned and controlled- so it depends on the means of production. The person(s) who had the most means of production are the ruling class. The ruling class produces the dominant ideas in society. Their domination relies heavily on the exploitation and oppression of others. The employer to employee relationship of exploitation is concealed by ideology. Some accept the ruling class conflict as natural and so are lulled into false consciousness. Functionalism relies on social stratification. Kingsley Davis, an American Sociologist and Demographer said â€Å"As a functioning mechanism society must distribute its members in social positions and induce them to perform the duties of these positions†. Without this casting of society’s members, the institutions would be unbalanced and equilibrium could not be reached. Functionalism sees this as a positive and inevitable aspect of society. In Marxism, the lower classes are exploited because they can be. Social change in Functionalism occurs when one of the institutions alters in some way. These changes only come about when society requests it. These changes in institutions cause society to behave, inevitably different. Marx believed all historical societies contain basic contradictions: the exploitation of one social group by another. Perhaps in a way, Marxism is perhaps a little more realistic than functionalism. Therefor, they cannot survive in the existing form. The major frictions are between the forces and the relations of production. A great deal of the wealth, produced by the workforce is appropriated in the forms of profit by the Capitalists- the ruling class. The wages of the workers are not equivalent to the wealth they produce and so the ruling class was exploiting and oppressing the working class. Marx predicted a new and final epoch. A society that would have complete equality. There would be no new force of production but the relations of production will be transformed. The ownership of production would be collective, as the members of society would share the wealth. The ruling class would no longer exploit or oppress the workers. It is interesting how Functionalists see people as unequal a positive thing and Marxists believe it a negative one. Functionalism fails to recognise social change, contrasting to Marxism which recognises and aspires to it. It is a conservative ideology which ignores the dysfunction’s and assumes every institution is positive for society. Marxism, on the other hand, accepts conflict and the arising social problems. The perspective tries to understand how to overcome societies problems by looking back over history and learning from past mistakes. Functionalists assume that everyone in society is in agreement and shares norms. It believes in the power of the institutions to socialise its members so well that deviance is rare. However, every society has deviants and so this statement is a little too confident. Functionalism shows us clearly the primacy of culture and socialisation via the social institution. Marxism underestimated the resilience of Capitalism, for example, Americas tragedy on the 11th September 2001.