The Visions of Ezekiel

God choses whomever He wants to give His messages to His people. In the Old Testament, God chose very specific people to give His message to Israel. Ezekiel, was a great man of God and very faithful to Him. The messages he received from God were intense and different than other prophets of Israel. The Lord allowed Ezekiel to have visions of which he traveled through, and heard the voice of the Lord. Ezekiel was obedient to the visions and listened to God’s voice and what He instructed him to do, no matter what the consequence was or how strange, terrifying, weird the message may have been for Israel.These visions can even be applied today in the modern day church and show how much God loves His people despite repetitive sin. The book of Ezekiel opens up with a vision that is quite startling in itself. The first major vision can be found in Ezekiel 1:4-28. A long passage with much detail, Ezekiel describes his first word from the Lord. After the vision, the Lord speaks directly to Ezekiel and gives him instruction. â€Å"And he said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet and I will speak unto thee. And the spirit entered into me when He spake unto me, and set me upon my feet, that I heard Him that speak unto me. (2:1-2) We find that the prophet was so penetrated with awe at the sight of the glory of God in the mystical chariot, that â€Å"he fell upon his face;† and, while he was in this posture of adoration, he heard the voice mentioned here†¦. he who is sent by the God of all grace to the convert sinners must be influenced by the Holy Ghost; otherwise he can neither be saved himself, nor become the instrument of salvation to others. â€Å"and set me on my feet†Ã¢â‚¬â€œthat he might stand as a servant before his master, to receive orders. [1] This was Ezekiel’s reaction of the vision God imparted to him. Read Essay In Westminster Abbey AnalysisHe was a humble servant, he stood before his Master ready to do whatever He had for him. When he heard from the Lord that he was going to be going to a rebellious nation, the Lord instructed him to speak that the nation was going to fall if they did not change their ways. They had become such a defiled nation, the Lord was determined to show them just how awful they had become. Throughout the book of Ezekiel, he writes of the symbolic actions the Lord asks of him. Some of these consist of Ezekiel eating the scroll that God gave him to eat (3:1-3), sleeping on his side symbolizing the sin of the ouse of Israel (4:4) , shaving, burning and scattering his hair (5:1-17) packing his belongings and leaving for exile as a sign to the prince of Jerusalem (12:1-16). Ezekiel was a faithful servant that loved his Master. It did not matter if the request was too ludicrous, he trusted that whatever the Lord asked of him, it was for a reason. Not only did th ese actions give signs to Israel, but they also revealed to Ezekiel the heart of the Lord. His desires for a holy nation. Important Vision #2: Ezekiel 8-11. In chapter 8 Ezekiel’s vision starts out and talks about false values.What is amiss with the nation is that it is corrupt at this center, that as repudiated the God who made it a people and has replaced him by the gods of the surrounding countries. A false religion perverts its life and threatens catastrophe. [2] This issue of idolatry is not just a new problem for Israel. This has been a consistent problem throughout history. God made these people His and they are turning from Him. God always displays His glory to Israel, yet they fail to obey Him. Ezekiel goes through many different types of idolatry and images that the Israelites use to take the place of Father God.In this passage, Ezekiel also finds evidence of the worship of the Babylonian deity Tammus (8:14) and of the sun god (8:16). Because of these and other impu re practices, Ezekiel declares that Yahweh will destroy the city. His words are so power that one of the Judean idolaters, a man named Pelatiah, falls down dead (11:13)[3] Ezekiel must not have been too pleased with that event, but he knew he needed to listen to the voice of the Lord speaking unto him. Important Vision #3 Ezekiel 37:1-14. This is perhaps the most well known passage in Ezekiel. â€Å"The Dry Bones. In this vision the Lord is as a teacher and instructs Ezekiel. Ezekiel is brought to a valley of dry bones and the Lord asks him to prophesy of the dry bones. When he did that, the flesh reappear on these bodies. The Lord explains the meaning of he vision in verses 11-14. The bones symbolize the â€Å"whole house of Israel,† which had given up any hope of being revived as a nation. They had been buried, as it were, in the foreign lands to which they had been exiled. But the Lord would open their graves and bring them back to the land. His Spirit would infuse the na tion, and it would once again life. 4] â€Å"I will put my ruach within you. : What does the word mean this time? What can it mean, but Holy Spirit? Israel’s restoration lies beyond human power, but not beyond the power of God. Notice the sequence of promised event. First, â€Å"you shall live. † Before the physical restoration can take place, there must be a renewal of faith. Second, â€Å"I will place you in your own land. † The physical restoration will take place. And third, â€Å"you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken, and I have done it. † In 36:31 Ezekiel shows the turned exiles in bitter repentance as they think upon the past.Here he shows them lost in reverence as they acknowledge the power and unshakable moral purpose of God. [5] Now, in the book of Ezekiel, there is not much, if any, information on how Israel responded or how Ezekiel shared these prophecies. However, as mentioned above, he was a faithful servant. Everything that he said came directly from the Lord. How interesting it must have been to be a friend of Ezekiel during that time; God speaking so clearly and so specifically about Israel, His plans for the sinners, the righteous, the enemies, anyone, and how to return to the Lord God of Israel.With Ezekiel, God did not force Israel to listen, He gave the option and they had to choose. This is a reminder that God does pursue those whom He loves, but He also wants His people to come to Him out of freedom. The Last Major Vision of Ezekiel: 40-48. This last section has extreme detail of the temple and how it should be built. Furthermore, the Lord gives instructions to Ezekiel to tell the Israelites that it is time to rebuild God’s house. This is a reminder to the Israelites. It would be extremely humbling to them for them to have to rebuild their worship place to God.But, God did not do this for embarrassment, He did this to remind the people of Israel that He was still going to be their God and that H e still desperately wanted to be loved and served by them. He chose them for a reason, and He wanted them to know His love like no other. This portion is as a reestablishment of the law and how to live according to the law. In Ezekiel 43:10-12 it says, â€Å"Son of man, describe the temple to the people of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their sins.Let them consider the plan, and if they are ashamed of all they have done, make known to them the design of the temple-its arrangement, its exit and entrances–its whole design and all its regulations and laws. Write these down before them so that they may be faithful to its design and follow all its regulations. This is the law of the temple: all the surrounding area on top of the mountain will be most holy, such is the law of the temple. † This passage gives an answer of how the Lord expects the Israelites to respond to His message of repentance.The idea of building the temple will draw them to repentance and reveal the ir sin to them regardless. Throughout the book of Ezekiel, one sees the closeness that he has with the Lord. He takes Ezekiel by the hand and carefully explains what He says to Israel, and He reveals His very personal feelings and plans with Ezekiel. How wonderfully scary it must have been for Ezekiel to experience His strong glory and presence for so many years. â€Å"It was nineteen years since Ezekiel had seen the vision of the glory of the Lord leaving His temple (10:18-22; 11: 22-24).Now he sees His return, to occupy and to consecrate this new building to be His holy sanctuary. His appearance was the same as it had been before by the river Chebar (yet another link which this closing vision has with Ezekiel’s earlier work) and it prompted the same response of awe and adoration. The angelic guide is still with Ezekiel and will continue to explain and instruct him in the law of the temple, but at this point there is a special word from the Lord out of the temple, which is virtually a statement of consecration. [6]†In a couple passages above, the writer talks about the word ruach being used. This word is parallel to the Greek word in the New Testament, Pneuma, which is typically used for describing the Holy Spirit. This is an extremely fascinating word that the Lord uses. As many people assume that the Holy Spirit is not active in the Old Testament, the Lord proves every one of those people wrong. In the example of â€Å"The Dry Bones† Ezekiel prophesy’s to the bones, then prophesy’s to the actual Holy Spirit to breathe life into those dry bones.He willed it to happen out of obedience to the Lord and what He told him to prophesy over and to these dry bones. Not only does the Holy Spirit speak to him, but He actually transports him to different spots. [7] This particular study of Ezekiel has taught me of God’s heart for His nation. Although they have all sinned greatly against Him, it is His heart to have them serving Him again. Not as slaves, but having a real relationship with Him. That is why He created human beings to begin with, God is a relational God.As much as I knew this before, I think it is far too easy to assume that because you may not visually see God doing and working things out in your life, that He does not care or exist. In Ezekiel, you see that God uses every part of Himself to draw His people back to Him, almost in an underlying message to say, â€Å"Please come back to Me, I just love you so much and I miss you. I miss you Israel, I just want to be with you again, I want you to want Me again. I want you to see what you have done against Me, not so that I can punish you, but so that there will not be anything between us again and we can freely commune.Look! I’ll even give you instructions of how to build the temple and the laws that I have for you to follow. Just please come back, not because I need you, but because I want you. † As God gives this message to His people, through Ezekiel, I think that Ezekiel also senses this great love for a disobedient people. Because Ezekiel can feel the Lord’s heart towards Israel, being so fully devoted to God, it allows the Father to take control of Ezekiel’s heart and reveal incredible love to him. The OT in general and the prophets in particular presuppose and teach God’s sovereignty over all creation, over people and nations and the course of history. And nowhere in the Bible are God’s initiative and control expressed more clearly and pervasively than in the book of Ezekiel. From the first chapter, which graphically describes the overwhelming invasion of the divine presence into Ezekiel’s world, to the last phrase of Ezekiel’s vision (â€Å"the Lord is there†) the book sounds and echoes God’s sovereignty.This sovereign God resolved that he would be known and acknowledged. Approximately 65 occurrences of the clause (or variations) â€Å"Then the y will know that I am the Lord† testify to that divine desire and intention (see note on 6:7). Overall, chs. 1–24 teach that God will be revealed in the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple; chs. 25–32 teach that the nations likewise will know God through his judgments; and chs. 33–48 promise that God will be known through the restoration and spiritual renewal of Israel.God’s total sovereignty is also evident in his mobility. He is not limited to the temple in Jerusalem. He can respond to his people’s sin by leaving his sanctuary in Israel, and he can graciously condescend to visit his exiled children in Babylon. God is free to judge, and he is equally free to be gracious. His stern judgments on Israel ultimately reflect his grace. He allows the total dismemberment of Israel’s political and religious life so that her renewed life and his presence with her will be clearly seen as a gift from the Lord of the universe.Furth ermore, as God’s spokesman, Ezekiel’s â€Å"son of man† status (see note on 2:1) testifies to the sovereign God he was commissioned to serve. [8] This last statement is incredible. God consistently refers to Ezekiel as the Son of man, it shows that God trusts him and that He had a specific plan for him to serve Him. In application to my life, I think that the biggest lesson one can learn is how to submit to the Lord and listen to His voice no matter what it is saying.Sometimes He may make no sense and it can be very scary, but just as Jesus says in John 10:27, â€Å"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;† When one’s heart is devoted to God, he can be sure that the Lord will direct his steps. Another important lesson, God really, really, REALLY loves His kids. It does not matter how awful we are, how many times we walk away thinking that we can do a better job at running our life than He can, how many times we break His heart, it is His desire to be with us, even if that means us leaving Him a hundred times, His love will draw us back a hundred and one times. ———————- [1] Adam Clarke, Clarkes Commentary: Job Malachi (Nashville: Abingdon Pr, 1977), 428 [2] Buttrick, George Arthur. The Interpreter's Bible: The Holy Scriptures in the King James and Revised Standard Versions with General Articles and Introduction, Exegesis, Exposition for Each Book of the Bible. (New York: Abingdon-Cokesbury Press, 1951), 105 [3] James D. Newsome and Jr, The Hebrew Prophets (Atlanta, GA: Westminster John Knox Press, 1986), 126 [4] Robert B.Chisholm and Jr, Handbook On the Prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Minor Prophets (Grand Rapids, Mich. : Baker Academic, 2002), 270 [5] Andrew W. Blackwood Jr. and Ezekiel-Prophecy of Hope (Grand Rapids, Mich. : Baker Book House,1965), 224-225 [6] John B. Taylor, Ezekiel (tyndale Old Testament Commentaries), 1ST ed. ( Downers Grove, Ill,; Intervarsity Pr, 1969), 264 [7] Leon J. Wood, Prophets of Israel, The (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1998), 358 [8] http://www. biblica. com/niv/study-bible/ezekiel/ accessed March 8th, 2013. The Visions of Ezekiel God choses whomever He wants to give His messages to His people. In the Old Testament, God chose very specific people to give His message to Israel. Ezekiel, was a great man of God and very faithful to Him. The messages he received from God were intense and different than other prophets of Israel. The Lord allowed Ezekiel to have visions of which he traveled through, and heard the voice of the Lord. Ezekiel was obedient to the visions and listened to God’s voice and what He instructed him to do, no matter what the consequence was or how strange, terrifying, weird the message may have been for Israel.These visions can even be applied today in the modern day church and show how much God loves His people despite repetitive sin. The book of Ezekiel opens up with a vision that is quite startling in itself. The first major vision can be found in Ezekiel 1:4-28. A long passage with much detail, Ezekiel describes his first word from the Lord. After the vision, the Lord speaks directly to Ezekiel and gives him instruction. â€Å"And he said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet and I will speak unto thee. And the spirit entered into me when He spake unto me, and set me upon my feet, that I heard Him that speak unto me. (2:1-2) We find that the prophet was so penetrated with awe at the sight of the glory of God in the mystical chariot, that â€Å"he fell upon his face;† and, while he was in this posture of adoration, he heard the voice mentioned here†¦. he who is sent by the God of all grace to the convert sinners must be influenced by the Holy Ghost; otherwise he can neither be saved himself, nor become the instrument of salvation to others. â€Å"and set me on my feet†Ã¢â‚¬â€œthat he might stand as a servant before his master, to receive orders. [1] This was Ezekiel’s reaction of the vision God imparted to him. Read Essay In Westminster Abbey AnalysisHe was a humble servant, he stood before his Master ready to do whatever He had for him. When he heard from the Lord that he was going to be going to a rebellious nation, the Lord instructed him to speak that the nation was going to fall if they did not change their ways. They had become such a defiled nation, the Lord was determined to show them just how awful they had become. Throughout the book of Ezekiel, he writes of the symbolic actions the Lord asks of him. Some of these consist of Ezekiel eating the scroll that God gave him to eat (3:1-3), sleeping on his side symbolizing the sin of the ouse of Israel (4:4) , shaving, burning and scattering his hair (5:1-17) packing his belongings and leaving for exile as a sign to the prince of Jerusalem (12:1-16). Ezekiel was a faithful servant that loved his Master. It did not matter if the request was too ludicrous, he trusted that whatever the Lord asked of him, it was for a reason. Not only did th ese actions give signs to Israel, but they also revealed to Ezekiel the heart of the Lord. His desires for a holy nation. Important Vision #2: Ezekiel 8-11. In chapter 8 Ezekiel’s vision starts out and talks about false values.What is amiss with the nation is that it is corrupt at this center, that as repudiated the God who made it a people and has replaced him by the gods of the surrounding countries. A false religion perverts its life and threatens catastrophe. [2] This issue of idolatry is not just a new problem for Israel. This has been a consistent problem throughout history. God made these people His and they are turning from Him. God always displays His glory to Israel, yet they fail to obey Him. Ezekiel goes through many different types of idolatry and images that the Israelites use to take the place of Father God.In this passage, Ezekiel also finds evidence of the worship of the Babylonian deity Tammus (8:14) and of the sun god (8:16). Because of these and other impu re practices, Ezekiel declares that Yahweh will destroy the city. His words are so power that one of the Judean idolaters, a man named Pelatiah, falls down dead (11:13)[3] Ezekiel must not have been too pleased with that event, but he knew he needed to listen to the voice of the Lord speaking unto him. Important Vision #3 Ezekiel 37:1-14. This is perhaps the most well known passage in Ezekiel. â€Å"The Dry Bones. In this vision the Lord is as a teacher and instructs Ezekiel. Ezekiel is brought to a valley of dry bones and the Lord asks him to prophesy of the dry bones. When he did that, the flesh reappear on these bodies. The Lord explains the meaning of he vision in verses 11-14. The bones symbolize the â€Å"whole house of Israel,† which had given up any hope of being revived as a nation. They had been buried, as it were, in the foreign lands to which they had been exiled. But the Lord would open their graves and bring them back to the land. His Spirit would infuse the na tion, and it would once again life. 4] â€Å"I will put my ruach within you. : What does the word mean this time? What can it mean, but Holy Spirit? Israel’s restoration lies beyond human power, but not beyond the power of God. Notice the sequence of promised event. First, â€Å"you shall live. † Before the physical restoration can take place, there must be a renewal of faith. Second, â€Å"I will place you in your own land. † The physical restoration will take place. And third, â€Å"you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken, and I have done it. † In 36:31 Ezekiel shows the turned exiles in bitter repentance as they think upon the past.Here he shows them lost in reverence as they acknowledge the power and unshakable moral purpose of God. [5] Now, in the book of Ezekiel, there is not much, if any, information on how Israel responded or how Ezekiel shared these prophecies. However, as mentioned above, he was a faithful servant. Everything that he said came directly from the Lord. How interesting it must have been to be a friend of Ezekiel during that time; God speaking so clearly and so specifically about Israel, His plans for the sinners, the righteous, the enemies, anyone, and how to return to the Lord God of Israel.With Ezekiel, God did not force Israel to listen, He gave the option and they had to choose. This is a reminder that God does pursue those whom He loves, but He also wants His people to come to Him out of freedom. The Last Major Vision of Ezekiel: 40-48. This last section has extreme detail of the temple and how it should be built. Furthermore, the Lord gives instructions to Ezekiel to tell the Israelites that it is time to rebuild God’s house. This is a reminder to the Israelites. It would be extremely humbling to them for them to have to rebuild their worship place to God.But, God did not do this for embarrassment, He did this to remind the people of Israel that He was still going to be their God and that H e still desperately wanted to be loved and served by them. He chose them for a reason, and He wanted them to know His love like no other. This portion is as a reestablishment of the law and how to live according to the law. In Ezekiel 43:10-12 it says, â€Å"Son of man, describe the temple to the people of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their sins.Let them consider the plan, and if they are ashamed of all they have done, make known to them the design of the temple-its arrangement, its exit and entrances–its whole design and all its regulations and laws. Write these down before them so that they may be faithful to its design and follow all its regulations. This is the law of the temple: all the surrounding area on top of the mountain will be most holy, such is the law of the temple. † This passage gives an answer of how the Lord expects the Israelites to respond to His message of repentance.The idea of building the temple will draw them to repentance and reveal the ir sin to them regardless. Throughout the book of Ezekiel, one sees the closeness that he has with the Lord. He takes Ezekiel by the hand and carefully explains what He says to Israel, and He reveals His very personal feelings and plans with Ezekiel. How wonderfully scary it must have been for Ezekiel to experience His strong glory and presence for so many years. â€Å"It was nineteen years since Ezekiel had seen the vision of the glory of the Lord leaving His temple (10:18-22; 11: 22-24).Now he sees His return, to occupy and to consecrate this new building to be His holy sanctuary. His appearance was the same as it had been before by the river Chebar (yet another link which this closing vision has with Ezekiel’s earlier work) and it prompted the same response of awe and adoration. The angelic guide is still with Ezekiel and will continue to explain and instruct him in the law of the temple, but at this point there is a special word from the Lord out of the temple, which is virtually a statement of consecration. [6]†In a couple passages above, the writer talks about the word ruach being used. This word is parallel to the Greek word in the New Testament, Pneuma, which is typically used for describing the Holy Spirit. This is an extremely fascinating word that the Lord uses. As many people assume that the Holy Spirit is not active in the Old Testament, the Lord proves every one of those people wrong. In the example of â€Å"The Dry Bones† Ezekiel prophesy’s to the bones, then prophesy’s to the actual Holy Spirit to breathe life into those dry bones.He willed it to happen out of obedience to the Lord and what He told him to prophesy over and to these dry bones. Not only does the Holy Spirit speak to him, but He actually transports him to different spots. [7] This particular study of Ezekiel has taught me of God’s heart for His nation. Although they have all sinned greatly against Him, it is His heart to have them serving Him again. Not as slaves, but having a real relationship with Him. That is why He created human beings to begin with, God is a relational God.As much as I knew this before, I think it is far too easy to assume that because you may not visually see God doing and working things out in your life, that He does not care or exist. In Ezekiel, you see that God uses every part of Himself to draw His people back to Him, almost in an underlying message to say, â€Å"Please come back to Me, I just love you so much and I miss you. I miss you Israel, I just want to be with you again, I want you to want Me again. I want you to see what you have done against Me, not so that I can punish you, but so that there will not be anything between us again and we can freely commune.Look! I’ll even give you instructions of how to build the temple and the laws that I have for you to follow. Just please come back, not because I need you, but because I want you. † As God gives this message to His people, through Ezekiel, I think that Ezekiel also senses this great love for a disobedient people. Because Ezekiel can feel the Lord’s heart towards Israel, being so fully devoted to God, it allows the Father to take control of Ezekiel’s heart and reveal incredible love to him. The OT in general and the prophets in particular presuppose and teach God’s sovereignty over all creation, over people and nations and the course of history. And nowhere in the Bible are God’s initiative and control expressed more clearly and pervasively than in the book of Ezekiel. From the first chapter, which graphically describes the overwhelming invasion of the divine presence into Ezekiel’s world, to the last phrase of Ezekiel’s vision (â€Å"the Lord is there†) the book sounds and echoes God’s sovereignty.This sovereign God resolved that he would be known and acknowledged. Approximately 65 occurrences of the clause (or variations) â€Å"Then the y will know that I am the Lord† testify to that divine desire and intention (see note on 6:7). Overall, chs. 1–24 teach that God will be revealed in the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple; chs. 25–32 teach that the nations likewise will know God through his judgments; and chs. 33–48 promise that God will be known through the restoration and spiritual renewal of Israel.God’s total sovereignty is also evident in his mobility. He is not limited to the temple in Jerusalem. He can respond to his people’s sin by leaving his sanctuary in Israel, and he can graciously condescend to visit his exiled children in Babylon. God is free to judge, and he is equally free to be gracious. His stern judgments on Israel ultimately reflect his grace. He allows the total dismemberment of Israel’s political and religious life so that her renewed life and his presence with her will be clearly seen as a gift from the Lord of the universe.Furth ermore, as God’s spokesman, Ezekiel’s â€Å"son of man† status (see note on 2:1) testifies to the sovereign God he was commissioned to serve. [8] This last statement is incredible. God consistently refers to Ezekiel as the Son of man, it shows that God trusts him and that He had a specific plan for him to serve Him. In application to my life, I think that the biggest lesson one can learn is how to submit to the Lord and listen to His voice no matter what it is saying.Sometimes He may make no sense and it can be very scary, but just as Jesus says in John 10:27, â€Å"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;† When one’s heart is devoted to God, he can be sure that the Lord will direct his steps. Another important lesson, God really, really, REALLY loves His kids. It does not matter how awful we are, how many times we walk away thinking that we can do a better job at running our life than He can, how many times we break His heart, it is His desire to be with us, even if that means us leaving Him a hundred times, His love will draw us back a hundred and one times. ———————- [1] Adam Clarke, Clarkes Commentary: Job Malachi (Nashville: Abingdon Pr, 1977), 428 [2] Buttrick, George Arthur. The Interpreter's Bible: The Holy Scriptures in the King James and Revised Standard Versions with General Articles and Introduction, Exegesis, Exposition for Each Book of the Bible. (New York: Abingdon-Cokesbury Press, 1951), 105 [3] James D. Newsome and Jr, The Hebrew Prophets (Atlanta, GA: Westminster John Knox Press, 1986), 126 [4] Robert B.Chisholm and Jr, Handbook On the Prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Minor Prophets (Grand Rapids, Mich. : Baker Academic, 2002), 270 [5] Andrew W. Blackwood Jr. and Ezekiel-Prophecy of Hope (Grand Rapids, Mich. : Baker Book House,1965), 224-225 [6] John B. Taylor, Ezekiel (tyndale Old Testament Commentaries), 1ST ed. ( Downers Grove, Ill,; Intervarsity Pr, 1969), 264 [7] Leon J. Wood, Prophets of Israel, The (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1998), 358 [8] http://www. biblica. com/niv/study-bible/ezekiel/ accessed March 8th, 2013.

Spare Parts

Spare Parts In the United States, drinking and driving is a major concern in today’s society as about thirty-two percent of total traffic deaths involve alcohol (Hanson). To prevent people from driving under the influence, many slogans and advertisements are used mainly to encourage driving carefully. One advertisement made by the car manufacturer BMW is found in Public Interest Magazine and promotes safe driving with the message â€Å"Don’t Drink and Drive. † The visual in this advertisement is a bare right leg of a man and next to where it should be the left leg of the man is a prosthetic leg and foot.On the right side of the visual image the advertisement reads: â€Å"Spare parts for humans are not as original as those for cars. † At the bottom of the page it states, â€Å"Don’t Drink and Drive† along with the BMW logo. This BMW advertisement is an effective and reasonable way to prevent people from drinking and driving because it shows th e negative consequences of getting into an accident, such as losing a leg, and it promotes safe driving. In order to prevent people from drinking and driving, the car company BMW uses this advertisement to promote awareness of the dangers and negative outcomes.Many consequences can occur when the driver is not able to realize what is going on, drifts off the road, and gets into an accident. This BMW advertisement only shows one possible injury of an accident where the man in the visual has lost his leg and it was replaced by an artificial one. To promote the message â€Å"Don’t Drink and Drive,† this advertisement shows that it is extremely dangerous and can cause injury, amputation, and/or death. Some severe types of injuries can potentially cause people to lose their leg, other body parts or even a life as a result of a car accident.It affects the viewers who see this advertisement because they do not want to turn the picture into reality now giving them the choice o n whether to do the right thing and drive safely or not. From seeing this advertisement, it develops the primary appeal of pathos because it displays the emotion that one gets from seeing a person with one real leg and one prosthetic leg. After seeing this photo it makes the viewer think about the consequences of being under the influence and driving at the same time.Having an artificial leg will greatly disable a person where they become unable to do the things that they were able to do before the car accident. This holds true whether it was the person driving themselves or someone else driving, especially an innocent driver in another car. This advertisement proves that it is possible to replace car parts, but there is nothing one can do to replace body parts or even someone’s life. They will have to suffer the negative results of making the bad decision to drive drunk.Through showing a possible consequence, this advertisement is effective because people can relate to this problem if they have been injured or know someone who has been injured or has died from a drunk driving accident. It would make people make sure not to drink and drive because it would make the picture turn into reality and no one would want that. There is a possibility this can happen so it makes the advertisement extremely believable affecting anyone who was to come upon it. Another appeal is to logos through the quote that is displayed in the advertisement.It states, â€Å"Spare parts for humans are not as original as those for cars. † This statement is used to prevent the issue of drinking and driving as it means that human body parts are not as appealing as those that can be changed in cars, especially since parts of a human are impossible to re-manufacture. If there are spare parts on a car, it is hard to tell that there is a difference between the original and replacement parts. But when a human’s body parts are replaced by something else like an artificial or p rosthetic part, it is possible to tell the difference because it does not look like the original body part.It is important to know this because while driving, people are not only responsible for their own safety but of other peoples’ safety as well. They may cause someone other than themselves to become injured or hurt just because they made the bad decision to drive while intoxicated. This advertisement promotes safe driving through its simple and clean layout using a white background and simple black font. This technique is used to make consumers think the product being sold (which in this case is a car) is simple and clean as well which means that the car will be reliable and also safe.Even though BMW is selling their company and their car, they also show their awareness of drinking and driving. With this white background, it makes the image stand out on its own requiring viewers to focus primarily on the picture. After seeing the prosthetic leg, it will grab and keep peop les’ attention to get them to wonder what the advertisement is all about. Therefore they become encouraged to read the words to further understand what BMW is promoting because they believe it is necessary for people to be aware.By doing this, the advertisement focuses on the importance of the issue over what BMW is actually selling. This advertisement does not show the product purposely to show how much BMW cares about preventing drinking and driving. They are trying to persuade people to buy their cars since they are aware of the consequences of drinking and driving. BMW uses this advertisement to show that they are trying to prevent the issue of driving under the influence to gain the trust of the consumers. If the company is considered trustworthy, they will create a good reputation for their cars so that people will buy them.They want to show that their car is safe and reliable as well. When buying a car, consumers’ number one concern is usually the need to feel s afe. This is a way for them to gain customers appeal and hopefully they will buy BMW cars. Even though this car company wants to be able to sell to the general public, an especially meaningful message is intended for people who drive. This can be seen through the image, which is a human and it will affect people who see the advertisement because they will not want to end up with a prosthetic leg or any other body part.By promoting safety and proving that there are negative consequences of drinking and driving, BMW uses an advertisement to help people make the right decision when getting behind the wheel. They require people to take action so that they can prevent alcohol related car accidents from occurring because they are so fatal. People become aware that it is extremely dangerous to drink and drive through this advertisement because they know they would never want to have a prosthetic leg. BMW created an effective advertisement requiring people to stop and think about the realit y of drinking and driving and to hopefully make a good decision.

All the Details Regarding Article of Positive Research Accounting

  Discuss about the   Defense of Positive Accounting Research ? This report contains all the details regarding article of positive research accounting . In this article various facts and figures of positive accounting theory have been given. There is several methodology and models have been shown which reflects how humans would make decision in different situation based on prepared accounting frameworks. This article consist various models and frameworks which are useful to determine the effectiveness of positive accounting research practice. With the help of this article, writers, researchers and other viewers could easily evaluate the merits and demerits of positive accounting research. This article contains the information on the human behavior and their cause and effect relation in positive accounting research practice. There are several viewpoints and assumptions have been taken into consideration which reflects the best accounting practice and standards set program to mitigate different accounting practice. In addition to this there are several casual theory and comprehensive viewpoints which reflects how accountant and auditors could come up with the common decision in preparing financial statements (Brown, Preiato, and Tarca, 2014). Positive ontology and epistemology is the main major factors which provides how casus and effect relation could be used to determine the accountant and auditors decision making factors in positive accounting research practice (Ahmed, Neel and Wang, 2013).   In addition to this, this article contains details regarding reciprocal behavior, Self interest theory and Positive ontology and epistemology which are used to make interpretation of qualitative data. For instance, reciprocal behavior helps in determine the cause and effect relation. Self interest theory also provides that persons will take care of their own interest before the interest of organization as a whole.   In addition to this, behavior of free will establishes that each and every human take decision on the basis of his external and internal factors which result into variation of their decisions. These different decisions aroused due to different perceptions, factors and other models (Celestine and Maher, 2014). These models have helped accountants and auditors to classifying, recording and summarizing task and provide them understanding to cover all the requirement of positive accounting practice in effective manner (Way mire, 2014). Now it could be inferred that this article consisted with different human behavior based on the different factors and circumstances (Everett, Neu, Rahaman and Maharaj, 2015). There are several questions which could be taken into consideration for preparing this article. How positive accounting research practice could be different from Intellectual program? What are the affecting factors which establish cause and effect relation in positive accounting research? Which theories and models have been used in positive accounting research? What are the possible effects of using ontology and epistemology in positive accounting research practice in positive accounting research? This article is consisted with several models and frameworks which could be used in this positive accounting research practice. There are other models such as hypothetical test, ontology and epistemology frameworks. These all theories have been used to define the human behavior and other associated factors. (Engle and Hunton, 2015). As per the views of Everett, Neu, Rahaman and Maharaj, 2015 it is given that auditors and accountant are two different persons who use different critical understanding to make effective decisions in their accounting works. There are several theories such as behavior of free will, cause and effect relation and other accounting frameworks which helps accountant and auditors to make their decisions effectively.   It is observed that if accountants are using behavior of free will in their accounting models and decision then it would surely result into conflict of interest between auditors and accountants. There are other models and frameworks which could be used in accounting frameworks in this article either in Americana or international which reflects standard models for measuring human behavior. There are other several basic concepts and theories in positive accounting theories such as reciprocal behavior and behavior of free will. In this article main focus in made on Darwin’s theory of evaluation which reflects qualitative assessment and measurement in positive research. This Darwin’s theory of evaluation could be bifurcated into following several parts. The first phase of Darwin’s theory of evaluation is related with collecting primary and secondary qualitative data. These collected data is deployed by Auditors other stakeholders to evaluate on what basis accountant has prepared financial statement (Dyckman and Zeff, 2014). In Darwin’s theory of evaluation, focus is made to identify type- 1 errors (Li, 2015).   It is considered that Type-1 error is not possible to avoid for accountant as per followed realistic approach. It is observed that if auditor uses realistic model then it would result into basic level of errors (Type-1 errors) (Deegan, 2017). There are other several models which have been used in positive accounting research practice such as Hypothetical test and ontology and epistemology (Slater, et al. 2014). The main significant of this positive research accounting is related with how accountants make their decisions. This research has accompanied with the details which reflects the human behavior and their cause and effect relation. This study has been prepared with a view to provide the core aspect of positive accounting research. There are several important factors which have been reflected in this research. In addition to this, there are several factors which have been identified in this research that provides how positive accounting research practice could be useful for establishment of harmonization in accountant and auditors behavior. It is also observed that there are several frameworks and models used in this report which provides how positive accounting research practice could be used by accountant for effective accounting practice.   Ã‚  There are several other rational and personal theories and practices have been used in positive accounting practice which is core factors f or influencing human behavior. There are other rational and personal practice in positive accounting research have been evaluated which reflects the human behavior and factors which influence accountant behavior (Guan, 2014). In the end, it would be inferred that there are several methods and models in positive accounting research which are very useful for establishment of harmonization in accountant and auditors behavior. In this article various methodologies and theories have been used which only provides standards set based on the normal accountant behavior. Therefore, only after considering some theories and models it would be hard to gauge the human decision making process. In addition to this, there are several models and theories have been used in these articles which are consisted with hypothetical test and other auxiliary assumptions. Therefore, it becomes complex to determine the level of certainty of positive accounting research functions. Authors in this article have also not suggested any possible level of escalations and remarks which should be used to readers to evaluate the certainty and uncertainty of models used in this article for positive accounting research practice. In addition to this, the most critical factors in this article are related with the behavior of free will. It is observed that if a human is having free will to take his decisions then it would result into several cont radictions and complexity. For instance, if accountant has used a spate decision making process in his accounting frameworks then auditors may have conflict with his accounting practice which he opted as per his free will. This article is also accompanied with large set of information and cumbersome process which made hard for researcher to understand the facts and human decision process models in effective manner. There are limitation which could be evaluated such as relevancy of data, justification for assumptions and models taken and set format and path for determining human decision making (Bedtime, Darrough and Xue, 2017). Human decision varies person to person and based factors. In addition to this, in order to justify the facts and theories used in this article hypothetical test have been taken into consideration. This hypothetical test make effectiveness on the result oriented human decision behavior. These all theories and models are the critical factors to establish harmonization in the accountant and auditors behavior in their accounting decisions. The main impact on positive accounting research aroused from the type one error. This type of error is unavoidable and accountant and other auditors tend to make these mistakes. As per the positive accounting research, these types of errors could be mitigated if double cross check system is implemented. In addition to this, interchangeable factors given in various models and theories such as Darwin’s theory of evaluation, behavior of free will and cause and effect relation provides how humans take their decisions and what complexity they face in their accounting decisions. In the end it would be inferred that all the test and statistics under the null hypothesis is based on auxiliary assumptions which is considered as limitation of this article. All the accountant and auditors should take less assumption and hypothetical data to avoid possible mistakes and errors. Ahmed, A.S., Neel, M. and Wang, D., 2013. Does mandatory adoption of IFRS improve accounting quality? Preliminary evidence.  Contemporary Accounting Research,  30(4), pp.1344-1372. Bertomeu, J., Darrough, M. and Xue, W., 2017. Optimal conservatism with earnings manipulation.  Contemporary Accounting Research,  34(1), pp.252-284. Brown, P., Preiato, J. and Tarca, A., 2014. Measuring country differences in enforcement of accounting standards: An audit and enforcement proxy.  Journal of Business Finance & Accounting,  41(1-2), pp.1-52. Deegan, C., 2017. Twenty five years of social and environmental accounting research within Critical Perspectives of Accounting: Hits, misses and ways forward.  Critical Perspectives on Accounting,  43, pp.65-87.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Dyckman, T.R. and Zeff, S.A., 2014. Some methodological deficiencies in empirical research articles in accounting.  Accounting Horizons,  28(3), pp.695-712. Engle, T.J. and Hunton, J.E., 2015. Retraction: The Effects of Small Monetary Incentives on Response Quality and Rates in the Positive Confirmation of Account Receivable Balances.  AUDITING: A Journal of Practice & Theory,  34(3), pp.201-201. Everett, J., Neu, D., Rahaman, A.S. and Maharaj, G., 2015. Praxis, Doxa and research methods: Reconsidering critical accounting.  Critical Perspectives on Accounting,  32, pp.37-44. Fang, J., Haw, I.M., Yu, V. and Zhang, X., 2014. Positive externality of analyst coverage upon audit services: Evidence from China.  Asia-Pacific Journal of Accounting & Economics,  21(2), pp.186-206. Guan, K., 2014. Corporate Growth, Audit Quality and Accounting Conservatism: Empirical Evidence from Public Companies in China.  Journal of Accounting and Economics,  5(005). Klemstine, C.F. and Maher, M.W., 2014.  Management Accounting Research (RLE Accounting): A Review and Annotated Bibliography. Routledge. Li, X., 2015. Accounting conservatism and the cost of capital: An international analysis.  Journal of Business Finance & Accounting,  42(5-6), pp.555-582. Slater, R.A., Koren, S., Ramot, Y., Buchs, A. and Rapoport, M.J., 2014. Interpreting the results of the Semmes?Weinstein monofilament test: accounting for false?positive answers in the international consensus on the diabetic foot protocol by a new model.  Diabetes/metabolism research and reviews,  30(1), pp.77-80. Smith, M., 2014.  Research methods in accounting. Sage. Waymire, G.B., 2014. Neuroscience and ultimate causation in accounting research.  The Accounting Review,  89(6), pp.2011-2019.

From Social Media Revolution to Social Media Evolution Dissertation

From Social Media Revolution to Social Media Evolution - Dissertation Example Marketing executives of five telecom company were approached to answer the questionnaire about SMM strategies and approach of their company. The method adopted in this research is qualitative research approach coalescing diverse case studies in the research strategy. SMM executives of five telecom companies were each provided with a specific questionnaire coordinated to their terrain of business. The five cases were analyzed with the help of data collected from the questionnaire. On the whole, result of this thesis concludes that communication by means of SM is still in the evolutionary stages of its development. Companies in general commend SM as a successful tool to surpass and sustain marketing communication, nevertheless, companies applaud SM as a tool for marketing communication. SM has brought revolution in the realm of communication, it holds immense growth potential concerning delineation and stipulation or blueprint of distinct platforms, for the reason that not all the avai lable platforms are convenient and relevant for every company. Table of Content Abstract....................

Mind and Body Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Mind and Body - Essay Example Aristotle was a thinker who was more interested in metaphysical concepts, while Plato's thought was more based on concrete principles of the natural world. While Aristotle described the levels of reality, Plato focused on subjects such as how one could be a virtuous, and therefore "good," person. Pascal was a mathematician, so he obviously focused therefore much more on physical reality and concrete and empirical principles. He says, "But in the intuitive mind the principles are found in common use and are before the eyes of everybody" (Pascal, 1660, p. 1). When one is awake, what does one do This notion that consciousness is not accounted for, or the persistence of memory, is important as one seeks to find out what underlies the core of these two authors. Descartes most likely used more indirect means of philosophizing. Meanwhile, Pascal would have been deliberately direct and forthcoming, as a mathematician who drew on his knowledge of the sciences in order to derive his conclusions. The differences between Descartes and Pascal are vast, mainly because Pascal was first and foremost in his heart a scientist. Descartes was at his core, however, a thinker-a logician of the highest quality. ThisThis is not to say that Pascal could not have been a deep thinker as well, but rather, he thought about things deeply in a very mathematically logical and formal way. Descartes was the type of philosopher who could make vague abstractions seem as though they were concrete principles. Pascal was more deliberate in his intentions. He sought out to define concepts in concrete terms, did not abide by abstract or vague references, and was an empiricist in that sense. Descartes and Pascal differed about how they viewed the mind and the body. While Descartes thought that the mind was separate from the body, Pascal definitely would have argued that the mind was part of the physical body. Obviously, there are good arguments for and against these two very different views. First of all, Cartesian dualism would argue that the mind and body are completely and totally separate. This is because intelligence comes from a place which cannot be defined. One cannot quarantine the human mind and simply confine it to the body, Descartes would have said. One's intelligence is totally separate

The Cost of Illegal Immigrants in Texas Research Paper

The Cost of Illegal Immigrants in Texas - Research Paper Example This quote is an extract from the Dallas Morning News, which examined the financial effects of the illegal immigrants in Texas. This calculation was done on behalf of the millions of taxpayers who were paying heavily in tax dollars for the presence of illegal immigrants residing in the state. The reason why this problem is especially prominent in Texas as opposed to the other forty-nine states of America is that this state is situated in the very south of the country. Due to its location, it is very near to Mexico, and thus Mexicans illegally emigrating from their own land often settle down or take refuge in this state. Thus, there are thousands of such unregistered immigrants residing in the state of Texas, the costs of which are paid for by the taxpayers and legal inhabitants of Texas, as well as the government responsible. The reason why the presence of these illegal immigrants proves to be such a financial challenge for the legal citizens of this state is that they consume the pu blic goods, which the government provides to the residents of this country. The US, being a developed country, provides several such goods to its citizens, such as health, education, and defense. These are all public goods, which it provides to every citizen of the country. These costs are especially prominent concerning health care costs, which these illegal immigrants incur. â€Å"The Texas Hospital Association has estimated the annual cost of uncompensated care to illegal immigrants at nearly $400 million a year†.... In addition, as mentioned in the news extract above, these costs included the cost of 66,000 births in one year, which makes up a large proportion of these costs. These services however are not completely free of cost for these citizens. The government finances them using the tax dollars that these citizens themselves pay out of their own incomes, in the form of both direct and indirect taxes. However, only the legal citizens of the country pay direct taxes on their income, as they are the only ones of whom the government has a record. Thus, this allows for tax evasion by all those illegal citizens who reside in the county without the permission or knowledge of the government. They do not pay direct taxes on their incomes, and therefore avoid having to pay the government for all the above-mentioned public good and services that it provides to them. In other words, they are able to avail these services free even when they are not the ones paying for them. The legal citizens who are ta xpayers, bear the whole cost of such goods and services, even when there are thousands of other illegal consumers present. Thus, this is a heavy financial burden for the taxpayers to bear, since they pay not just for themselves, thus severely testing the patience of these law-abiding citizens. Moreover, due to the geographical location of the state of Texas, it is especially vulnerable to this problem. Another cost that these citizens pay because of the presence of these illegal immigrants is the disruption in law and order, which they cause. Their presence is often accompanied by several offences, which include robberies and drug trafficking. This is a large disadvantage for those citizens who abide by the law and hope for peaceful and

Environmental problems to health, quality of life, and longevity of Coursework

Environmental problems to health, quality of life, and longevity of people - Coursework Example The water vendors escalate the prices of water due to high demand for the commodity. Families have to forego the purchase of food in order to have money to buy water. This has been raising the living standards beyond the reach of many families. Children are under high risks because their bodies are not well adapted to the tough conditions. Many of the children die at very tender age because their bodies cannot adapt to the harsh living conditions. The water is so polluted and contains disease causing organisms. As a result, the children’s disease fighting mechanism is overwhelmed by constant attacks from disease causing bacteria. However, even the adults are at very high risks. This is because they have been exposed to these conditions for a very long time. Although their bodies have adapted to the conditions, they are likely to suffer from diseases, an aspect that affect the financial positions of their

Dissertation topic about Digital Marketing Article

Dissertation topic about Digital Marketing - Article Example Digital marketing has facilitated the retailers to target their potential customers by maintaining their online presence on the social media network, through mobile shopping, by introducing email marketing campaigns and mobile promotions and facilitating the existing customers to pay using their mobile phones (Rob Stokes, p.21). However, in this rapidly changing world of technology, it is imperative for the retailers and multinational organizations to devise new strategies that would help them to increase and maintain their competitiveness in the retail industry as well as it would also help them to target their potential customers in a more organized manner. As a result, this would make a significant impact on the profitability of the business and customer base. The dissertation will address the problem on how retailers can increase their competitiveness by integrating various digital marketing strategies in their overall business and what could be the possible shortcomings in implementing those strategies. It is imperative to understand that role of digital marketing in reshaping the world of retail industry in this modern era and how retailers can effectively reach their existing and potential customers by using and implementing the digital marketing techniques in their organizations. The purpose of this study is to explore the different digital marketing techniques introduced in the world of business and how the integration of these techniques can enhance the competitiveness of an organization by reaching to the maximum number of customers and increasing the profitability. 1- How retail business can increase their target marketing by communicating to the larger group of people through various platforms like search engine, social platforms and different similar platforms? 2- Retail businesses can integrate their offline marketing to online medium in order to cater larger group of people but how can businesses increase their business sales through this

Gaza and International law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Gaza and International law - Essay Example This summit had no fruitful results since the offer, not including East Jerusalem, that was made by Barak was not acceptable by the Palestinians. Taba, 2001 – Clinton arranged for further negotiations to take place in Taba, Egypt. Although the conversations held were not of top level, nevertheless the bridge between Israel and the Palestinians was narrowed although not resolved. According to EU reports, Israel agreed to the idea that East Jerusalem will be capital of a Palestinian state. However, Barak was not ready to make any kind of compromises (BBC, 2013). Arab Peace Initiative, 2002 – Talks were held that a Palestinian state can be set up in the West Bank and Gaza with a fair solution to the refugee problem. This condition was set to be agreed if Arab countries would accept Israel as their state. The positive element of this plan was that Arab intervened to create peace between Israel and Gaza, and the negative element was that same issues that were topics in previous meetings had to be renegotiated. Roadmap, 2003 – A plan was made by the US, Russia, EU and the UN to suggest three phases of peace settlement. In the first phase, Palestinians would withdraw all violence from Israel. In the second phase, a Palestinian state would be created with borders agreed upon by the two states. The final agreement would be made in the third phase. Till date, the roadmap has not been implemented but acts as a guiding step during negotiations. This entire plan was reversed in Geneva Accord, 2003 according to which agreement will precede any peace and security measures (BBC, 2013). International law takes into consideration two kinds of armed conflicts – international conflict which takes place between two states, and non-international conflict that occurs within a state like civil wars (Kauffman, 2008, p.32). The Gaza-Iraq

Debate on Relativism and the Absolute Truth Research Paper - 1

Debate on Relativism and the Absolute Truth - Research Paper Example This discussion stresses that many people, across various cultures, in the world have various notions about what they perceive to be true. On one hand, fundamental theologians advocate for the absolute truth. On the second side, the proponent of neo-modern ethics tends to question the traditional version about truth. Theologians and other theorists have taken the trouble of analyzing relativism with respect to the religious teachings. The puzzle emanates from the convictions built by a given society against certain morals. For instance, the scientific theories and the religious teaching about the existence of God do leads to many questions. A person may take a wild imagination about the existence of God, leading to a theory about the same. The consequence of such action would be emergence of a given theory. This paper makes a conclusion that one cannot preach the gospel while arguing on a middle ground. This view tends to suggest that a Christian teaching or a given notion belong to one of the two sides: absolute truth or wrong. For example, when a person falls in water, it is evident that the person would be wet. This outcome does not give any room for meddling between the person coming out of water when dry and the person coming out of water when wet. The revelation of the above action enables us to argue that absolute truth exists. While this appears to be so, many people tend argue or stagger when issues regarding Christianity are mentioned. For instance, how much truth should a Christian accept in relation to certain principle in Christianity.

The Influence of Media on Perception of Beauty Essay Example for Free

The Influence of Media on Perception of Beauty Essay Defining beauty is not without its challenges: look up the definition of beauty in any english dictionary and one will be met with an ambiguous description similar to this: A combination of qualities that pleases the intellect or moral sense (Newman 2010) acknowledges the dilemma in asking what beauty is. She maintains we grope around the edges of the question as if trying to get a toe-hold on a cloud. We know it when we see it, or so we think. Philosophers construct beauty as a moral equation (Newman 2010). Plato once said that what is beautiful is good. Poets reach for the lofty, according to (Newman 2010). Jean Pullman wrote true beauty is how she acts, true beauty is inside. Others are more definite in their definition. When people approach plastic surgeons and announce make me beautiful what they are asking for are high cheekbones and a stronger jawline (Davis 2011). Scientifically beauty is seen as health. According to (Newman 2010): Its a billboard saying I am healthy and fertile, and I can pass on your genes. Our personal perceptual process plays a large part in what we deem to be beautiful. Perception refers to the ability to see, hear, or become aware of something through the senses (Merriam-Webster 2010). The sensory receptors that are involved are skin, mouth, ears, nose and eyes and they inform our sense of touch, taste, hearing, smell and sight. The media has brought with it wonderful advantages in certain aspects of peoples lives but it has also brought with it a very alarming detriment, and this is a change and influence in societys perception of beauty. Through the media unrealistic images of western ideals of beauty are transmitted out all over the world. Advertisements, magazine articles and modern hollywood are the driving force behind the influence of the publics perception of ideal beauty (Hoffman 2004). From magazines and billboards to film and television advertisements, it is fair to say that images of unattainable body ideals are everywhere for all to see. The age of technology has meant that there is more access and exposure to these images. According to (Tornambe 2010) movie icons in the 1950s and 1960s that appeared on the silver screen were admired and adored, but never copied like today. Because it was understood that they lived a life far different from the average person. Fast forward to the present, where people are bombarded by images of the daily life of celebrities thanks to online social media websites like twitter and facebook, blogs and online magazines. This has created an intimate relationship between celebrities and the public (Tornambe 2010). This relationship has changed societys view on beauty because now that celebrities are on our level, doesnt that mean we can be like them? Women in particular experience the brunt of media pressure. From reading magazine articles and advertisements that feature women that are models who are underweight and beautiful, they feel that they need to look like that to be happy and successful (Hoffmann 2004). This can create an unhealthy body image for women. Body image is the perception that one has about oneself (Martin 2009). This perception can be either positive or negative.The average height of a female fashion model is 5 ft 10 inches and weighs 110lbs (Waltz 2004). The average woman is 5 ft 4 inches in height and weighs a healthy 145lbs, yet the media glorifies the former as ideal. The perception that to look like a model will make one happier and confident has led to an increase in eating disorders like anorexia nervosa and bulimia, as women starve themselves or make themselves sick to aid in faster weight loss (Waltz 2004). Unsurprisingly, eating disorders are a growing epidemic and since 1970, the number of those with eating disorders has increased by a staggering 400% (National Eating Disorder Organisation 2011). Eating disorders account for more fatalities than any other psychological illness (National Eating Disorder Organisation 2011). Genetically some women are not meant to be very thin. The death of American singer Karen Carpenter shocked the world in 1983 when it was found that her death was caused by complications due to anorexia. Her death essentially opened the eyes of the world to this disease, because many had not heard of it as it was rarely talked about (Schmidt 2010). Karen became the first celebrity victim of anorexia. As one half of the band The Carpenters she was a regular in the spotlight and felt the pressures from the media to be thinner. Naturally curvaceous and weighing a healthy 140lbs, she began extreme dieting and starvation in 1967. Her body suffered from the lack of food and many doses of laxatives and thyroid pills and she had fainted many times on and off stage. Her heart, weakened from the stress she placed on her body, eventually gave up and she died from cardiac arrest.The dark side of beauty is apparent. But according to (Newman 2010), studies suggest that beauty is regarded as more than a confidence booster: attractive people make more money, get called on more often in class, receive lighter sentences, and are perceived as friendlier Evidently beauty is so highly regarded that there is an immense expectation for women to conform to impossible standards. According to (Chapman 2011) women are made to feel ugly and ashamed if these standards are not met. For years the ideal beauty in women was considered to be white skin, light eyes and blonde hair, as dictated by the media. Superior race is the most oppressive of beauty ideals which continues to dominate the media (Stephens, Hill and Hanson 1994). According to (Kite 2011) images of white women dominate the media, which creates a negative impact on women who are not of a white ethnicity. Celebrities such as Beyonce Knowles and Aiswarya Rai who are successful actresses in their own right, have experienced what is known as the whitewashing of the media (Beauty Redefined 2011). In advertisements and magazine features these women have been subjected to this harmful media representation where their dark skin has been noticeably whitened before publication. See Figure 1 and 2 where you will see two photographs of both women, one of before each were whitewashed and one afterwards.The media digitally lighten both the skin and hair colour. The transformation of both women is very disturbing. The actresses are considered beautiful women but when they are respresented as beauty icons in the media, they fit the white ideal – light skin, light-colored hair and lightened eyes (Beauty Redefined 2011). In Killing Us Softly, a documentary made by Jean Killbourne in 2010, Jean confirms this. In it she says that women of colour are considered beautiful only if they fullfill the white ideal that is light skin, hair, eyes and caucasian features (Kilbourne 2010). In Asia beauty is often equated with white skin. In fact it has spawned a lucrative and dangerous industry of skin-bleaching products (Hwang Lynch 2011). According to (Hwang Lynch 2011) the preference for pale skin is equivalent to the American obsession with tan skin. 70% of the Asian cosmetic and skin care market is made up of bleaching and whitening products aimed at women who want to artificially lighten their skin(Hwang Lynch 2011).Whilst most products perform safely, they have been linked to the death of a 23 year old Cambodian woman in 2010 (The Guardian 2010). The coined phrase dying to be pale rings true. The search and pursuit of ideal beauty spans centuries and countries. Cleopatra famously wore black kohl made from minerals around her eyes to accentuate them. In the court of Louis XVI, women drew blue veins on their necks to emphasise their noble blood (Newman 2010). In the 18th century women used vermilion rouge that was made of a dangerous chemical compund made up of sulfur and mercury. So dangerous, it caused women to lose their teeth and some to lose their life from being poisoned. The pursuit of ideal beauty is also very costly. According to (Kilbourne 2010) what is most important to women is how we look and that we make the effort to look good: The media surround us with images of the ideal female beauty and we learn from an early age that we must spend enormous amounts of time and money striving to achieve this look and feeling ashamed when we fail. Failure is inevitable because it is impossible to attain this ideal (Kilbourne 2010). Advertisments for cosmetic and skincare products contain models that have been made to look flawless via digital enhancement. The advertisments base their ideal on complete perfection. There are never any natural lines or wrinkles on the models that would be clearly visible without artificial enhancement. The flawlessness advertised by these cosmetic companies simply cannot be achieved (Kilbourne 2010). Nobody looks like these models, not even the models themselves. Kilbourne (2010) discusses female sexuality in her documentary. She says that from an early age girls learn that appearance and sexualised behaviour are rewarded by society. Whilst she claims there is nothing wrong with wanting to be sexy, she believes it is wrong that this is emphasised for women to the omission of other important attributes, such as having a genuine personality. (Wolf 1991) summed up the insecurities felt by young girls: Their [girls] sexual energy, their evaluation of adolescent boys and other girls goes thwarted, deflected back upon the girls, unspoken, and their searching hungry gazed returned to their own bodies. The questions, Whom do I desire? Why? What will I do about it? are turned around: Would I desire myself? Why not? What can I do about it?. Defining beauty is not without its challenges but according to (Englis, Solomon and Ashmore 1994) people actively look for it based on what is thrusted to them by the media. Female consumers are on the lookout for the latest products that will help them look beautiful. Marketers capitalise on this with advertisments depicting unattainable beauty that tricks consumers into buying their product. In the USA in 2011 six billion dollars was spent on fragrance and another six billion on makeup (Newman 2010). Hair and skincare products amounted to eight billion dollars each. 20 billion dollars was spent on diet products and services, and this is in addition to the billions spent on health club memberships and not forgetting cosmetic surgery. Conclusion It is clear that we live in a society and culture that values appearance, and the media bombards us with an array of images of ideal appearances for both men and women on a daily basis. This isnt helped by the fact that we live in the digital age and images are thrusted in our purview through more mediums. The media is such a consistant member of our lives and is so dominant that we consciously do not understand the strong influence and control it holds over our perceptions of beauty. With every passing year and decade our perception of what is ideally beautiful changes as a result of what we are being fed by the media (Salome 2009) No doubt many women will continue to suffer because of it and strive to try and achieve it. Of course there are many of us who will sooth ourselves with cliches like its only skin deep and beauty is in the eye of the beholder but for better or worse beauty matters and has always mattered. The media need to completely change their input in influencing our perceptions. They need to advertise women with realistic and healthy bodies that are beautiful. They must stop featuring unhealthy, underweight models in advertisements – they are not beautiful, they need help and it is wrong. Yes, beauty will always matter. But lets appreciate and embrace being different and renounce any ideal. The media sends out messages to women that beauty is a central aspect to their identity and their sex (Salome 2009). It is extremely damaging for young impressionable women that attach easily to this notion. A genuine personality does not sell a product it seems and instead sex sells. The notion that in advertising and also in the film industry that sex sells, is a powerful force that keeps us trapped in crippling defintions of femininity and masculinity (Kilbourne 2010). According to Jean Kilbourne (2010) what is at stake in this debacle is a womans ability to have an authenthic and fr eely chosen life.

Dating Single Parent Essay Example for Free

Dating Single Parent Essay Dating and the Single Parent is a book five star book, because Deal has done a marvelous job presenting useful steps for single parents who are divorced and is thinking of re-entering back into a dating relationship, or even remarrying. The book is divided into sections of dating to present a sequential sequence of steps to determine whether the single parent is ready, and what right decisions they need to make if they have children. The book is honest, and practical when it comes to addressing situations that every single parent goes through while trying to reenter the dating life. The book presented questions along with real life realties of dating when there are children involved in the mix. Deals admiration how the book as written from a strong biblical perspective. Deals main goal in this book is to motivate its readers to do the necessary work of a relationship building. The Appendix 2 of the book begins with a sample purity pledge. This section of the book organized activities for dating couples to involve in, such as flirtation and hugging, without having to be sexual involved with one another. Section one of the book focuses on dating with kids and dating willingness. Before an individual is ready to date the individual must have a goal in dating. Deals helps single parents determine whether or not they are ready to re-enter back into the dating world. Some single parents are single due to previous marriages that failed, which lead to divorce. Deal describes divorce as a traumatic experience. Yet some single parents never really get over the horrifying experience of divorce and remain single. But Deal has puts together a checklist to help single parents determine whether or not they are ready for the dating world Deal presents biblical principle throughout the book reminding single parents to always put God first in any relationship decision they decide to make. The part that stood out to me the most in this section was the discussion on when children are involved, how dating gets complicated. Ron Deal gives excellent advice on how to determine if kids are ready for dating, what to expect when dating a single parent, and things to consider before getting engaged, and growing the family into a step-family. Section two gives people supportive advice on right places to capture love. The section is split up into chapters labeled as â€Å"yellow light,† â€Å"red light, â€Å"and â€Å"green light.† Deal provides warning  signs that people should take into consideration when trying to date the opposite sex. Signs that single parents should take into consideration is â€Å"how will this person influence the kids?† â€Å"Is the man willing to date the person and their kids?† Last section Ron Deal provides readers with valuable guidance on marriage commitment, and step families. Deal’s has developed an interest ing perception on step-families. Throughout schooling many people have been taught that blended families were made up of step-families. But Deal argues that step-families should not be looked upon as blended families. Deal encourages single parents to take their time on dating and to trust in God for pursing a health Christian based relationship. Dating and the Single Parent Book so remarkable, because often time’s single parents suffer with trying to regain love, along with trying to find someone to accept their children. Deal offers awesome pointers to finding a relationship with kids, dating, and finding long lasting love. Discipline should always be done with love and with Gods approval, but not to make the children angry Ephesians 6:4(King James Version). Potential Use for Premarital Christian Couples The book, Dating and the Single parent does an excellent job at studying the difficult process of finding love in the center of having children and trying to date. Ron Deal does a marvelous job at citing biblical principles for single parent to follow while dating. I believe it’s unique that Deal offers biblical insight throughout the book. For example Deal refers to Christianity and faith in god when discussing learn all you can about stepfamily living. For example I’ve personally herd family members and friends say that stepfamilies are not Gods ideal for the Christian house hold. Many people believe this tale because they feel as though stepfamily ministry lessen to what God intended. I believe that Deal presents valuable content to premarital couples in the church, since church is the place where all types of families meet to hear spiritual teachings. Deal encourages couples to lean all you can about how stepfamilies function, operate best, and why they have the uni que complexities that they can do. Blended step families seems to be a growing trend in the United States of America. In fact blended families have been around since Christ created earth. Remarkable fact Jesus Christ was a part of a blended family. Remember Mary  and Joseph were in a commitment when she told Joseph she was pregnant. Mary and Joseph had not been sexually intimate when Mary told Joseph she was with child. At times Joseph thought about leaving Mary, but did not. Joseph chose to sick by his pregnant fiancà ©e, who he thought had betrayed him. Joseph was willing to go through the battle of scorn and believed in God. Joseph accepted Gods calling for him to love and care for Mary and Jesus. Ironically when you look at family dynamics point of view you can recognize that Christ, Joseph, and Mary were a blended family, a non-traditional unit. It’s very interesting to study that Christ came into the world experiencing a blended- family. In addition, Deal discusses how it is important for singles to take a good look at themselves in the mirror before trying to date again. When self is able to look, examine them they are able to piece together their motivations for dating, fears, loneliness, and unresolved hurt. In order for an individual to move forward in a healthy relationship one must be able to trust God when making future dating decisions and choices during dating process. Ron Deal teachings in his book presented challenges that face today’s modern Christian blended families. Deal presents awesome techniques to help strength relationships. Ron deal helps single parents and those who are dating understand unique family dynamics. Ron Deal help parents recognize that their families are lobed and favored by God. Critique As a future professional counselor, and friend to others, professional counselors should recommend this book to any person who is single with children, and or someone who is dating an individual who has children. Ron Deal has developed a straightforward spiritual guidebook for Christian single dating. The book Dating and the Single Parent opened up my eyes about the truths of relationship and family compatibility, by presenting scenarios to help me make decision.. It was great the way the author Ron Deal incorporated biblical teachings. Like Ron Deal teaches when a single parent is dating or thinking about remarrying someone, they should choose someone who involves setting a godly example for children and blessing them as God blessed us. Deal suggest all throughout the book for single parents whom are dating to â€Å"trust in God to manage the relationship.† Building a family after being single for so many years takes courage, perseverance,  tough skin, and determination. As mentioned earlier the bible presents many teachings of blended families, like Christ family with Joseph being Christ stepparent. I believe that Ron Deal book goes into great deal about giving guidelines for Christian families experiencing dating, and second marriages, while following biblical principles As Christian stepparents, it is important that they love children who are involved in the family unconditionally. Ministry teaches that it’s important that you don’t marginalize your step kids. It is important that the family that it is forming has some kind of respect and acceptance form one another in the family. As a new parent (step) entering the family they must submit themselves to the children with their heart. Another important principle that Deal discusses is educating oneself on stepfamilies. When single parents blend to create stepfamilies, sometimes the progress is not so successful. Many children do not want change and will become angry and frustrated with new family members. Even though remarriage is supposed to be a wonderful joy, many kids are often not as excited as parent and new stepparent. Deal has put together foundations for building a stepfamily. Deal suggests that single parent should take their time, and give everyone a chance to get to know one another and get use to the idea of marriage. Overall Dating and the Single Parent is a great read for single parents who are dating or who are thinking about entering the dating world. The book focuses on dating, and stepfamily relations. Deal sets forth approaches towards building romantic relationships on a Christian basis. References Demo, D. H., Acocl, A. C. (2006). Singlehood,marriage,and remarriage the effects of family structure and family relationships n mathers well being. Journal of Family Issues, 17(3), 338-407. doi:10.1177/019251396017003005 Sweeney, M. M. (2010). Remarriage and stepfamilies. Journal of Marriage and Family, 72(3), 667-684. doi:10.1111/j.1741-3737.2010.00724.x

A Study On Badrinath Tourism Essay

A Study On Badrinath Tourism Essay Nestled in the shadow of the Nilkantha peak, in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, lies one the the most revered shrines for Hindu pilgrims Badrinath. Badrinath is in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand, in the Garhwal hills, and lies on the banks of the Alakhnanda river. Significance The town of Badrinath has always found a prominent mention in religious Hindu texts and scriptures and was established as a major pilgrimage site in the ninth century by Adi Shankara. Mythology has it that Lord Vishnu had chosen this town for penance to ensure the welfare of all beings. Badrinath is also one of the char dhams (the four abodes) that have tremendous religious significance amongst devout Hindus. Attractions The Badrinath Temple: The temple, built by Adi Shankara, is the prominent attraction of Badrinath and attracts thousands of visitors every year who come to seek the divine blessings of Lord Vishnu. The main shrine houses the balck stone idol of Lord Badrinarayan sitting under a gold canopy, under a Badri tree. Lord Badrinath is the presiding deity but there are several other deities that are worshipped at this temple. Tapt Kund: Believed to be the abode of Agni, the Hindu God of fire, Tapt kund is a thermal spring that devotees take a holy dip before entering the Badrinath temple. The spring is also said to have curative properties.Other famous natural springs that can be found at Badrinath are Narad Kund and Suraj Kund. Brahma Kapal: On the banks of the river Alakhnanda, this is where pilgrims perform rites for their departed near and dear ones. Sheshnetra: This is a rock boulder with an impression of Sheshnag, a mythological serpent. You can also visit Charanpaduka a boulder that bears Lord Vishnus footprints. Alka Puri: Is where the daring tourist goes in search of adventure. This place is famous for white water rafting. Panch Prayag: While in Badrinath, be sure to visit the Panch Prayag, again of religious importance. Devprayag is famous for its rock inscriptions, Rudranath is famous for Chamunda Devi temple, Nandaprayag is known for the Gopalji temple, Karnaprayag for temples of Uma Karna and Vishnuprayag is the place where people flock to visit the Lord Vishnu temple. How to Reach You could fly to Jolly Grant, about 300 km from Badrinath, and then hitch a bus ride to Badrinath. The nearest rail station is Rishikesh which is 297 km from Badrinath. Being a place of religious significance, Badrinath is well connected by road to the tourist spots nearby namely Rishikesh, Haridwar Dheradun from where you could take a bus and ride to Badrinath. We recommend the bus ride as you will get to see breathtaking scenery on the way to Badrinath.

micheal Jackson :: essays research papers

The Bio History of Michael Joseph Jackson began when he was born on the 29th of August 1958 in Gary, Indiana. He was the 7th of nine children. (brothers: Sigmund "Jackie", Toriano "Tito", Jermaine, Marlon, Steven "Randy", and sisters Rebbie, Janet and La-Toya Jackson Michael began his musical career at the age of 5 as the lead singer of the Jackson 5 who formed in 1964. In these early years the Jackson 5, Jackie, Jermaine,Tito,Marlon and lead singer Michael played local clubs and bars in Gary Indiana and moving further afield as there talents grew and they could compete in bigger competitions. From these early days Michael would be at the same clubs as big talented stars of there days, such as Jackie Wilson and would be learning from them even back then. In 1968 the Bobby Taylor and The Vancouvers discovered the Jackson five and from there they got an audition for Berry Gordy of Motown Records. The Jackson 5 signed for Motown and moved to California. Their first 4 singles, "I Want You Back", "ABC", "The Love You Save", and "I'll Be There" all made US No1 hits. The Jackson 5 recorded 14 albums and Michael recorded 4 solo albums with Motown. The Jackson 5 stayed with Motown until 1976, wanting more artistic freedom they felt they had to move on and signed up with Epic. The group name Jackson 5 had to be changed as it was owned by Motown, so they reverted to The Jacksons as they had be known in the early days. Brother Jermaine married Berry Gordy's daughter and stayed with Motown. Youngest brother Randy joined in his place. The Jacksons had a number of hit recordsand in total made 6 albums between the years of 1976 and 1984. In 1977 Michael made his first film debut when he starred in the musical 'The Wiz' playing Scarecrow with Diana Ross in the lead role of Dorothy. It was at this time Michael met Quincy Jones who was doing the score for the film. Michael teamed up with Quincey Jones as his producer for his first solo album with Epic Records. The album titled "Off The Wall" was a big success around the world and the first ever album to release a record breaking 4 No1 singles in the US. In 1982 Michael Jackson released the world's largest selling album of all time, 'Thriller'. This album produced 7 hit singles, breaking yet again more records, and went on to sell over 50 million copies worldwide.

The Weaker Sex in Macbeth :: GCSE Coursework Macbeth Essays

The Weaker Sex in Macbeth      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Shakespeare's tragedy Macbeth exhibits a minimum of women among its dramatis personae. And of the two involved in the drama, only one is worthy of consideration - Lady Macbeth. The witches are questionable humans, but will be treated briefly.    In "Macbeth as the Imitation of an Action" Francis Fergusson enlightens the reader concerning the fears weakening Lady Macbeth:      I do not need to remind you of the great scenes preceding the murder, in which Macbeth and his Lady pull themselves together for their desperate effort. If you think over these scenes, you will notice that the Macbeths understand the action which begins here as a competition and a stunt, against reason and against nature. Lady Macbeth fears her husband's human nature, as well as her own female nature, and therefore she fears the light of reason and the common daylight world. (108)       Clark and Wright in their Introduction to The Complete Works of William Shakespeare contradict the impression that the female protagonist is all strength:    Lady Macbeth is of a finer and more delicate nature. Having fixed her eye upon the end - the attainment for her husband of Duncan's crown - she accepts the inevitable means; she nerves herself for the terrible night's work by artificial stimulants; yet she cannot strike the sleeping king who resembles her father. Having sustained her weaker husband, her own strength gives way; and in sleep, when her will cannot control her thoughts, she is piteously afflicted by the memory of one stain of blood upon her little hand.   (792)    In "Memoranda: Remarks on the Character of Lady Macbeth," Sarah Siddons comments on how the feminine role of the leading lady is not a typical one as regards attitude:    [Macbeth] announces the King's approach; and she, insensible it should seem to all the perils which he has encountered in battle, and to all the happiness of his safe return to her, -- for not one kind word of greeting or congratulations does she offer, -- is so entirely swallowed up by the horrible design, which has probably been suggested to her by his letters, as to have forgotten both the one and the other. It is very remarkable that Macbeth is frequent in expressions of tenderness to his wife, while she never betrays one symptom of affection towards him, till, in the fiery furnace of affliction, her iron heart is melted down to softness.

Metallic Hydrogen :: essays research papers fc

Hydrogen: the most abundant element in the universe. Normally it has been considered to remain a non-metal at any range of temperatures and pressures. That is, until now. Recently this year, hydrogen was changed into a metallic substance, which could conduct electricity. An experiment conducted by William J. Nellis et al. at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory accomplished this feat. Hydrogen was converted from a non-metallic liquid, into a liquid metal. The likelihood that the most abundant element in the universe could be converted into metallic form at sufficient pressures was first theorized in 19351, but tangible evidence has eluded scientists in the intervening decades. "Metallization of hydrogen has been the elusive Holy Grail in high-pressure physics for many years," said Bill Nellis, one of three Livermore researchers involved in the project. "This is a significant contribution to condensed matter physics because a pressure and temperature that actually produce metallization have finally been discovered."2 Livermore researchers Sam Weir, Art Mitchell, and Bill Nellis used a two-stage gas gun at Livermore to create enormous shock pressure on a target containing liquid hydrogen cooled to 200 K (- 4200 F). Sam Weir, Arthur Mitchell (a Lab associate), and Bill Nellis published the results of their experiments in the March 11 issue of Physical Review Letters under the title "Metallization of Fluid Molecular Hydrogen at 140 GPa (1.4 Mbar)." When asked about the significance of the work, Nellis had this to say: "Hydrogen makes up 90 percent of the universe. Jupiter is 90 percent hydrogen and contains most of the mass in our planetary system. Hydrogen is very important to a lot of work done at the Lab. Hydrogen in the form of deuterium and tritium isotopes is the fuel in laser-fusion targets and how it behaves at high temperatures and pressures is very important to Nova and the National Ignition Facility."3 By measuring the electrical conductivity, they found that metallization occurs at pressure equivalent to 1.4 million times Earth's atmospheric pressure, nine times the initial density of hydrogen, and at a temperature of 30000 K (50000 F). Because of the high temperature, the hydrogen was a liquid. The intense pressure lasted less than a microsecond. Optical evidence of a new phase of hydrogen has been previously reported using an experimental approach that involves crushing microscopic-sized samples of crystalline hydrogen between diamond anvils.4 However, metallic character has not been established. Metallic character is most directly established by electrical conductivity measurements which are not yet possible in diamond anvil cells at these pressures. The Livermore team's results were surprising because of their methods, the form of hydrogen used and the pressure needed to achieve the result (which was much lower than previously believed). Virtually all predictions surrounding metallic hydrogen have been made for solid hydrogen at

Critically Evaluate the Contributions of Functionalism to the Study of Society Essay

Critically evaluate the contributions of functionalism to the study of society. Functionalist theory is one of the major theoretical perspectives in sociology. It can be argued that the functionalist theory has made a significant contribution to the study of society. It originates from the work of Emile Durkheim who suggests that social order is possible and society remains stable due to the functioning of several institutions. Everything has a specific function in society and society will always function in harmony. The main institutions studied by functionalism are the family, the education system, religion and crime and deviance. Murdock argues that the family performs four basic functions in all societies – sexual, reproductive, economic and educational. These four basic functions are essential for social life since without the sexual and reproductive functions there would be no members of society, without the economic function life would cease and without education there would be no socialisation or culture. Without these four basic functions human society could not survive. The family does not perform these functions alone however it makes important contributions to them all. Murdock is often criticised for his picture of the family as he did not consider whether its functions could be performed by other social institutions and he does not examine alternatives to the family. Equally, Murdock illustrates the nuclear family as very harmonious and perfect. There are many ill-functioning families in society which Murdock fails to examine and explain. What is the function of families when the husband and wife fail to have an integrated division of labour and have a healthy sexual relationship? Talcott Parsons offers an alternative view of the functions of the family and suggests it serves two purposes: primary socialisation and the stabilisation of the adult personality. Primary socialisation refers to socialisation during the early years of childhood, which take place mainly within the family. This is important in contributing to society as our parents supposedly bring their offspring up to grow to be well-behaved, obedient individuals with the right values to help society function. The stabilisation of adult personalities emphasises on the marriage relationship and emotional security the couple provides for each other. This acts to counteract the stresses of everyday life and keep the personality stable. Parsons claims that the family therefore provides a context in which husband and wife can express their childish feelings, give and receive emotional support, recharge their batteries and so stabilise their personalities. However, Parsons’ views on the family are criticised for being incomplete and idealising the family with his picture of well-adjusted children and sympathetic spouses caring for each other unconditionally. It is a over-optimistic and modernist and has little relationship to reality, because as mentioned before, not all families function perfectly. Similarly to Murdock, Parsons also fails to examine alternatives to the family which may provide the same functions for the development of society. The overall functionalist theory on the family is criticised by Marxism, feminists and some postmodernists. A Marxist would argue that the function of the family is to serve capitalism. Some feminists would argue that the function of the family is for women to serve men and that families are so diverse it is hard to argue that the family has a purpose. Some postmodernists suggest that the nuclear family is not as common as it seems and that there are now many diversities of families due to cultural and social changes. These views are clearly in conflict with the views of functionalism; therefore it allows us to question their validity. Functionalism also has its set of views on the education system. Emile Durkheim claimed that the main function of education was to transmit society’s norms and values through generations. Social solidarity is essential for the welding of mass individuals into a united whole. Functionalists such as Durkheim argue that education builds a sense of commitment and belonging to a society and a belief that the whole of society is more important than a single individual. Durkheim argued, ‘to become attached to society, they will come to see that they are part of something larger themselves; they will develop a sense of commitment to the social group’. Durkheim also claimed that the school serves a function which cannot be provided by the family the peer group. Individuals must learn to cooperate with those who are neither their family nor their friends. In this way, children learn to respect authority figures, such as teachers, and get along with other members of society they would be forced to interact with in later life such as bosses and colleagues. These social interactions are essential for keeping society harmoniously balanced and functioning. Durkheim claimed that along with teaching us to interact with different social groups, education serves to strictly reinforce school rules and ensure that children realise that these should be followed. Punishments should reflect the seriousness of the damage done to the social group by the offence and teach individuals that it is wrong to act against the interests of the social group as a whole. In Durkheim’s words: ‘it is by respecting the school rules that the child learns to respect rules in general, that he develops the habit of self-control and restraint simply because he should control and restrain himself. It is the first initiation into the austerity of duty. Serious life has now begun’. Durkheim finally argues that education teaches individuals specific skills necessary for their future occupations. Schools transmit both general values which provide the necessary skills for social survival. Industrial society is united by value consensus and a specialised division of labour whereby specialists combine to produce goods and services. Education is essential for this because it trains individuals to develop the skills which will be useful for their future occupations. In the current education system children are given the opportunity to learn technical and practical skills as well as academic skills which all come together to help society function. However, Durkheim is criticised for several reasons. Firstly, he assumes that societies have a shared culture which can be transmitted through the education system. Britain for example is now multi-cultural and it is therefore debatable whether there is a single culture on which schools could base their curriculum. If a school bases their curriculum on a single culture they are often accused of ethnocentrism, which is a difficult issue to overcome when schools bring together children of many different cultural backgrounds and ethnicities. Secondly, his views on the education system are in conflict with those of Marxism, which argues that education serves to transmit a dominant culture and serve the interests of the ruling class rather than the members of society as a whole. Finally, functionalism has its views on the way crime and deviance applies to society. Functionalism looks at society as a whole and looks for the source of deviance in the nature of society rather than in the individual. Social control mechanisms such as the police and courts are argued to be necessary to keep order in society. Durkheim argues that crime is inevitable because not every member of society can be equally committed to the collective sentiments of society. Durkheim also claims that crime can be functional because all social change begins with some form of deviance and a certain amount of social change is healthy for society. Merton, 1968, argued that deviance results from the culture and structure of society itself. Since members in society are placed in different positions in the social structure, for example different social classes, they do not all have equal opportunities. This situation can generate deviance – for example, members of the lower classes, such as the working or under class may resort to crime due to their position in the social structure because they are deprived of things essential for survival. Merton also outlined the five responses to cultural goals: conformity, innovation, ritualism, retreatism and rebellion. The first way in which society can respond to cultural goals is through conformity. Members of society conform both to success goals and to the normative means of reaching them. They strive for success by accepted means. The second response is innovation in which individuals reject normative means of reaching success and turn to deviant means such as crime. Merton argues that members of the lower social strata are more likely to select this route to success. Merton claims that they have little access to conventional and legitimate means of becoming successful. Low qualifications mean little opportunity for jobs and advancement since their route to success is blocked. Therefore they turn to crime, which promises greater rewards than legitimate means. Membership of the lower social strata is not alone enough to produce deviance however – pressures from society contribute to an individuals need to deviate. The third response is known as ritualism. Those who select this as an alternative are deviant because they have largely abandoned the commonly held success goals. Members of the lower middle class who have less opportunity than other members of the middle class are likely to take the path of ritualism. However, they have been strongly socialised to conform to social norms so they do not turn to crime. They scale down or abandon their success goals. Ritualists are deviant because they have rejected the success goals held by most members of society. The fourth and least common response is retreatism which applies to ‘psychotics, chronic alcoholics and drug addicts’. They have strongly internalised both the cultural goals and institutionalised means, however they are unable to achieve success. They resolve their situation by abandoning both the goals and the means of reaching them. They ‘drop out’ of society defeated and resigned by their failure. They are deviant in two ways: they have rejected both the cultural goals and the institutionalised means. The fifth and final response is rebellion. This involves both rejection of both success goals and institutionalised means and replaces them with their own different goals and means. They wish to create a new society. Merton says ‘it is typically members of a rising class rather than the most depressed strata who organise the resentful and the rebellious into a revolutionary group’. Hannon and Defronzo, 1998, carried out a study which gives empirical support for Merton’s five stages. In a study of 406 metropolitan counties in the USA, they found that those with higher levels of welfare provision had lower levels of crime. They argued that the welfare provision opened up opportunities for people to achieve the goal of material success. They argued that the welfare provision opened up opportunities for people to achieve the goal of material success through legitimate means and therefore reduced anomie and the crime which could result from it. However, critics have argued that Merton’s five stages neglect the power relationships in society as a whole within which deviance and conformity occur. Taylor, 1971, criticised Merton for not carrying out his analysis far enough and failing to consider who makes the laws and who benefits from them. The whole game may have been rigged by the powerful with rules that guarantee their success. These rules may be the laws of society. Merton is also criticised for being deterministic because it fails to explain why some people who experience effects of anomie do not become criminals or deviant. It over-exaggerates working-class crime and underestimates middle-class and white collar crime. Furthermore, Taylor, Walton and Young, 1973, criticise that Merton’s theory cannot account for politically motivated criminals such as freedom fighters who break the law because of commitment to their cause rather than the effects of anomie. In conclusion, functionalism has made great contribution to the study of society as it offers explanations for the functions of the major institutions in society. However, the whole functionalist theory is based around the idea that these institutions serve to keep society functioning and harmonious. Almost all their ideas are criticised by Marxism, which suggests the complete opposite – that all institutions serve the interests of the ruling class and capitalism rather than serving the needs of the general members of society as a whole. As shown above, we can compare perspectives such as Marxism, feminism and postmodernism with functionalism to assess its advantages and disadvantages. The functionalist theory is an important perspective widely covering most aspects of society, however it falls flat where it is criticised for being too deterministic and failing to consider the chaos and disorganisation in society.