Virtue theory and abortion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Virtue theory and abortion - Essay Example I strongly support the idea that abortion is the best option for Rebecca. It was mentioned earlier that the theory of utilitarianism considers an action to be right if the chosen action can provide a person the best consequences that can make the person happy (Hursthouse 225). Since both persons are only 22 years of age, it is given that both Rebecca and Tobias are not ready to settle down and have a child. This brings out the question, what would really make Rebecca happy in life? Is it becoming a single mother? Or being able to pursue her career as a human rights lawyer? Abortion, based on the theory of utilitarianism, seems to be the best option for Rebecca. It was mentioned in the given case study that the relationship between Rebecca and Tobias were not based on sincerity and true love; but more on just sexual desires and pleasure. For this reason, continuing the pregnancy may not be the best action that will make Rebecca happy. Aside from not feeling ready to start a family, Rebecca refuses to raise a child without a husband to support her either financially or emotionally. The problem with Tobias is that is guy, given the young age, is also not determined or responsible enough to face his personal obligation as a father to Rebecca’s unborn child. Therefore, it is close to impossible that Rebecca would be able to raise the unborn child with Tobias. On the contrary becoming a human rights lawyer is what will make Rebecca happy in life. Therefore, it is just right for Rebecca to decide on having an abortion. Opponents can criticize my personal point-of-view using the theory of deontology. Basically, the theory of deontology considers an action to be right in case it strictly follows the basic moral principles of God or as required by the natural law (Hursthouse 234). In general, one of the common principles of God includes the idea that it is morally wrong to kill people. Within the

Philip II Of Spain Essay Example for Free

Philip II Of Spain Essay King Philip II of Spain (1527-1598) has cast a lengthy shadow over Spanish and European history for centuries. Though this might seem fitting, given that he was the first man to rule a truly global empire on which the sun never set, it is not entirely appropriate, for Philips enduring fame stems not so much from his achievements, as it does from misconceptions about his character and legacy. Within Spain itself, Philip can still be remembered to this day as a brooding, reclusive workaholic, who, despite his best intentions, poised his nation and empire on the brink of a precipitous and inevitable decline. Beyond Spains borders, Philips shadow has long been perceived as exceedingly dark and menacing. After all, how many other monarchs can claim the unhappy role of top villain in one of Schillers tragedies, or in a major opera, such as Verdis Don Carlo, which set the gloomy myth to music? In the English-speaking world Philip reigned supreme for nearly three centuries as the ultimate embodiment of the Black Legend: a sinister figure, cruel and devious beyond measure, a religious fanatic who could only be viewed through the smoke of the Armadas cannons and of the Inquisitions pyres. Philip II was present in Brussels when his father resigned to him the government of the Netherlands (October 1555) as well as of Spain itself (January 1556). International matters, mainly his marriage to Queen Mary of England and the war against France, kept him in northern Europe. In August 1557 the Spanish forces in Flanders, directed by the duke of Savoy and the count of Egmont, crossed the frontier into France and caused a crushing defeat on the French at St Quentin. Philip arrived in time to congratulate his army, however failed to follow up the advantage; negotiations started and were interrupted by the death of Mary in November 1558. Finally peace was agreed at Cateau-Cambresis in April 1559, one of the circumstances being the marriage of Philip to the daughter of Henry II of France, Elizabeth of Valois. The king sailed from the Netherlands in August 1559 and landed at Laredo in September. He never left the peninsula again. Domestic politics lapse into relative quietness during the reign, in order that events seem to depend more than usual on the personality of the king. Philip, though, was no less devoted to the problems of internal government than to the weighty matters of foreign policy. (R. Trevor Davies, 1957) Aged 28th at his accession, he was already an experienced ruler, having been regent for his father sporadically since 1543. His fair hair and blue eyes betrayed his Habsburg origin; however no ruler could have been more Spanish. Brought up in Castile and trained by brilliant tutors, he preferred Spaniards as advisers and spoke merely Castilian fluently, though he had a working knowledge of Latin. Pensive by disposition, and always unwilling to rush into decisionshence the tag of prudent kinghe had a deep sense of duty which governed both his personal and public life. His stern side as headed at the top by the council of State, shorn since 1559 of its non-Castilian members. The councils chief secretary until his death in 1566 was Gonzalo Perez, a cleric of converso origin; thereafter the post was divided between Gonzalos son Antonio as secretary for the south and Gabriel de Zayas for the north. True to his fathers policy of allowing differing views to develop, Philip tolerated a conflict of opinions, not always with fruitful consequences. The chief rivals in the council of State were the kings long-standing friend the Portuguese Ruy Gomez de Silva, and the duke of Alba. Ruy Gomez, created prince of Eboli and duke of Pastrana, married into the powerful Mendoza family, headed by the duke of Infantado, and thereby became linked with a clan of nobles from the highest grandee families, the Zuniga, Velasco and Guzman. Fernando Alvarez de Toledo, third duke of Alba and Philips most distinguished general, was head of the house of Toledo and had similar powerful connexions. The division in the council between these two a normal rivalry between clans, of the sort common both at government and at local levelalso extended to the secretaries, Antonio Perez being allied to Eboli and Zayas to Alba. Differences between the groups, as with all political factions, arose primarily out of a struggle for power. Given the complex problems that faced the Spanish monarchy, there were occasionally issues on which some took a hard line: Alba, as Charles V had warned Philip, was inclined to be authoritarian. It is however not convincing to categorise one groupAlbasas the war party, and its opponents as the peace party; even less, as we shall see, is it possible to distinguish any real difference of approach to constitutional problems. The problem over which the factions took most issue was the revolt of the Netherlands, which precipitated the famous affair of Antonio Perez. Immediately after Philips return to Spain in 1559 he began a massive effort to put the country into an adequate state of defence: Turkish expansion in the 1560s inevitably made foreign policy the first concern of government. At the same time difficulties in the Netherlands were brought to him in person when the count of Egmont arrived in Madrid in February 1565. From this period Spain was burdened by a dual commitment to northern Europe and to the Mediterranean, and the numerous mistakes made by Philip in his dealings with the Netherlanders can in part be blamed on priority given to affairs in the south. Aware, none the less, of his obligations, the king made preparations to visit Flanders in 1567. He was dissuaded from this by Alba, and in 1568 two personal crisesthe death of Don Carlos in July and then of Elizabeth of Valois in Octoberforced him to remain in the peninsula, where on Christmas Eve a major uprising of the Granada Moriscos began. The death of Ruy Gomez in 1573 made Antonio Perez effective head of the Eboli faction at court. A contemporary noted that Perez climbed so high that His Majesty would not do anything save what the said Antonio Perez marked out for him. Philip depended heavily for advice and policy on this brilliant and sinister young man whose fortunes were linked with those of Ana de Mendoza, princess of Eboli, the beautiful one-eyed widow of Ruy Gomez. Perezs arm stretched as far as Flanders, where the kings half brother, the famous Don Juan of Austria, was acting as governor. Don Juans personal secretary, Juan de Escobedo, had been a protege of Perez, who expected to be kept reliably informed of the plans and ambitions of the governor of the Netherlands. Don Juans proposals for policy in the north, however, were at variance with government intentions in Madrid, and Perez and Escobedo soon found themselves opposed to each other on a number of issues. Philip in turn was wary of the ambitions of his half-brother, the victor of Lepanto. Suspicious of the way his plans for Flanders were being blocked by Madrid, Don Juan sent Escobedo to Spain in 1577 to make enquiries. On arriving at the court it appeared to Escobedo that Perez had been duping Don Juan and presenting his case in an unfavourable light to the king. He apparently issued threats against Perez, accusing him rightly or wrongly of a liaison with the princess of Eboli, and of betraying state secrets. But Perez had already managed to convince Philip that Escobedo was the malign influence in the affairs of Flanders and in the end he persuaded the king that the only solution was to eliminate Don Juans secretary. In March 1578 hired assassins murdered Escobedo in a street in Madrid. (Townsend Miller, 1963) Popular rumour instantly pointed to Perez as the assassin, and Escobedos family, aided by Perezs rival the kings private secretary (from 1573) Mateo Vazquez, demanded justice for the murdered man. No action was taken, clearly because the king himself was implicated and had acted on reliable advice. In the spring of 1579, however, Philip was sent the private papers of Don Juan, who had died the previous October. On reading them Philip discovered that Perez had deceived him and that his brother and Escobedo were guiltless of the imputations against them. He encouraged Vazquez to make a secret enquiry into Perezs actions in office, and determined to make a clean sweep of his minister. Since his return from the Netherlands in 1573 the duke of Alba had been active in the councils at Madrid, but in 1579 was placed under house arrest for letting his son make an unauthorised marriage: he was called out only to undertake the invasion of Portugal. His disgrace was followed by Philips decision to place the direction of affairs in the hands of the Burgundian Antoine Perrenot, cardinal Granvelle, who had been withdrawn from the Netherlands in 1564 but had since served the crown with distinction in Italy. On 28 July 1579, the very day that Granvelle reached Madrid, Perez and the princess of Eboli were arrested.

A SWOT analysis of Netflix inc

A SWOT analysis of Netflix inc Netflix provides agricultural products for farmers in the United States and offers its subscribers access to a library of television, movie and other filmed. Nowdays,Netflix reinvented the home video rental model by employing innovative customer service and new technologies. And this gives the company a serious first mover advantage. The outlook of external market conditions is positive. If Netflix decides to stay and compete it needs to (1) keep innovating to maintain its advantage, (2) use subscriber acquisition momentum and build larger customer base and (3) move fast to plant roots into next-generation models of content delivery based on digital technologies. SWOT Analysis Strengths Relationships with studios. Netflix maintains strategic relationships with studios, which is the basis of its rich catalog. Deep and wide library. Netflix currently offers around 25,000 film titles, (arguably all feature films ever published on DVD) spread over 12+ Million disks. Average depth (number of copies of each film) is 480 copies. Recognizable brand. Netflix is the largest on-line subscription DVD rental service in the US. It has a well recognizable brand, which helps in marketing by decreasing customer acquisition costs. Logistical expertise. Launched in 1998, Netflix has developed and fine-tuned its logistical processes for 6 years with the help of internally developed logistical software. Widest delivery network. With 30+ distribution centers spread around the US, Netflix delivers DVDs to 85% of its subscribers the next day. Recommendation engine CineMatch. Netflix utilizes recommendation technology based on user ratings of individual titles. At the end of 2003 Netflix ratings database contained around 300 million ratings (around 15,000 ratings per title and 150 ratings per subscriber). Thus every customer can receive a personalized computer-generated recommendation for a film. Client acquisition momentum. Netflix has a critical mass of over 2 million customers, a number expected to grow in the next 2-3 years. Low price per title. Based on their reported annual subscription revenues for 2003 and reported monthly turnover of about 18 million disks, the average rental price per DVD comes at $1.50 $1.75. According to analysts reports, the average Netflix customer rents between 5 and 7 titles per month. At a monthly subscription price of $17.95, the result is $3.00, which is much closer to the market average of $3.15 $3.79 per title. Still, in the eyes of their customer the possibility to rent unlimited number of titles and thus have a home-made low price is clearly strength. Flat monthly fee, no late fees pricing model. This was a model pioneered by Netflix, which enjoyed enormous popularity among subscribers. Today this model is followed by a growing number of other rental businesses too. Weaknesses Strong suppliers. As discussed above Netflix sources its main inputs from a few and strong players. Films come from Hollywood distributors; all distribution is handled by one service provider USPS, and all payments and made online via credit card payments processed by the four major credit card companies. Volatility in performance. Netflix market performance depends on a number of variables (18 listed in 2003 Annual Report). Additionally demand for the product (films) depends on uncontrollable variables such as taste, recommendation. Finally economic success is very much related to customer loyalty because of the high acquisition costs. Studios define release. Netflix can rent out the DVDs once they are out in the market. This is a decision made by movie studios and their distributors and therefore outside the control of Netflix. As discussed above, the position along the window release continuum might affect the popularity of a title and change the competitive environment. Opportunities Digital delivery. Netflix can take advantage of their knowledge of the consumer tastes (300 million film ratings over a library of 25,000+ titles) and transfer this know-how towards digital delivery. The single most important factor in digital VOD models would be adequate recommendation (the modern version of traditional TV programming) and no other player in feature-film delivery has this expertise. DVD format dominant. Based on the analysis above and the opinion of industry experts and analysts, the DVD format will be the dominant video format in the next at least 10 years. This situation might be challenged by the new digital transmission and HD storage formats, however, this is an issue affecting the whole business model and departing from the physical nature of the medium. DVD installed base grows. With expected penetration of DVD players in 65% of US households, Netflix is positioned favourably to exploit this infrastructural given. Underutilized debt capacity. Netflix balance sheet as of 30 September 2004 is debt free. This gives the company an upside potential to borrow in order to finance its expansion. (Currently unit economics and cash generating potential are believed to be strong and there seems to be no short term need to finance operations.) The weighted average book-debt-to-capital ratios for the internet and movie rental industries range between 9% and 14.3%. Comparison universe WA book debt to capital ratio Movie rental industry peer group (Retail special lines, SIC: 5600) (4 companies) 14.3709% Internet industry (SIC: 7370) (164 companies) 9.0389% Threats Prices of key inputs. As mentioned earlier Netflix is exposed to fluctuations in supplier policies, and specifically prices. USPS, card payment processing companies and film studios can increase their prices, which will affect dramatically the unit economics of Netflix model. Studios may form alliances with bigger players. As competition in the rental segment intensifies, studios might deem it more beneficial to form alliances with bigger players, namely Blockbuster and Wal-Mart, manifested in more advantageous conditions. This will worsen the competitive advantage of Netflix. Studios might not renegotiate revenue sharing agreements. Revenue sharing agreements which shift costs towards the variable end of the continuum might not be renegotiated at less advantageous terms. Although this will not necessarily worsen the economics of the operation, it might significantly increase the working capital requirements (more cash trapped in DVD copies). Given the short time horizon, WCR will have to be financed by debt which will deplete the borrowing capacity at a critical moment when Netflix might need a financing cushion to ward off other adverse market developments. DVD retail prices fall. As discussed above diminishing retail prices of DVD titles might lure customers away from renting and into buying DVDs. A similar tendency was observed in the period 1999 2003 and must not be discounted lightly. New channels of filmed entertainment delivery. New technological solutions and digitalization of TV will enable consumers to get access to filmed entertainment over new channels such as VOD, pay-per-view and Video over IP. Although not expected to gain market importance before 2007, these channels already witness implementation which is well accepted by consumers. Additionally, the increasing popularity of video games also claims part of consumers leisure time. New entrants into the rental market. Already competitive, the rental market is about to see new entrants both from the lower end (copy-cat small-capital companies) and from the big players such as the film studios. Low entry barriers combined with the high stake for film studios (currently 45% of a films revenues come form home-video rentals and sales) will be the drivers for these shifts. Management of growth. Currently Netflix experiences growth which affects its business operations. Successful management of this growth is a critical factor for Netflixs continued competitiveness. I want to work in this company. Because I love movies and have a deep understanding of the film industry. I also love the rich pioneering and revolutionary new industry, NETLIX is a leading new movie rental company, and it is also my ideal place to work. I think NETFLIX suit my taste, I can play in the companys potential and at the same time realize my personal value. So I hope the NETFLIX work. Netflix will be a wise investment. This company created a new movie rental system, as the Internet advances and the development of home audio and video equipment, the cinema picture quality and sound advantages of greatly reduced. Many people began to be more willing to watch more easily at home the latest and most popular videos, add the price on the NETFLIX player has an advantage compare to cinema. This will be popular network industries. So the company is a wise investment. Team6 Tina 23/04/11

Drama Portfolio :: Drama

Drama Portfolio When I entered the stimulus room my initial reactions were that it had been created in a way that it made you think about what was going on within each section of the room. For example none of the objects were straightforward and simple to figure out. A lot of the items were symbolic and had multiple meanings such as the mirror in the past section could mean a change of appearance or reflecting on the past. The room was divided into three different sections, past, present and future. There were dividers in-between the sections and these also seemed to have meanings. I interpreted the whole room as being one person’s past, present and future and the room told this persons story. The future section was covered by a large white cloth. On top of the cloth was a bench on which lay a shape that looked like a body. This instantly made me think of a funeral, as next to the body was a huge vase of flowers. Also in this section was a table set out for one, which I think indicates that the person who died was lonely when they died, as it is only set out for one. On the white cloth was painted a large question mark, which I think was placed there to symbolise the uncertainty of the future, and the mystery of death. Hanging up in the corner of this section was a larger than life railway ticket that read â€Å"On my way to meet Fiona.† This gave me the idea that maybe Fiona was somebody that the dead person knew and she passed away. Now that the mystery person has died too they are going to meet them in heaven. The divider between this and the present section was a row of blank newspapers on the floor, and I think these were put here to show that it was the future section (as the newspapers haven’t been written yet) and maybe to imply that the person who died was important or famous (as their death was in the newspaper). In the middle of the room was the present section. In this section the main theme was time. There were pictures of melting clocks stuck to the walls, on the floor and there was clock with no hands chalked on the floor. There was also a working clock placed on the floor. I think all of these objects were to symbolise time passing by, and that time is precious. Also in this section was a table laid out for two. I think this is to symbolise meeting someone – maybe a partner or

Compare and Contrast: Hunger Games

Dystopian literature is when the world is focused on making the perfect world. They often have a small percent of people making the perfect race or often known as the â€Å"favorites†, and the rest of the population, often a majority of people, are left to survive by themselves, on the bottom of the barrel.In The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and the movie Gattaca are both dystopian media. In tough times both the rich and poor come together to fight through what the government set out to say wouldn’t happen, in both medias. In both dystopian medias Hunger Games and Gattaca want a perfect world. They are both similar; both types of governments want to disclude the non-perfect race.People from Panam and Gattaca are nice, for example Cinna in Hunger Games and The Doctor in Gattaca; therefore, The Hunger Games and Gattaca are similar dystopian medias. In both the Hunger Games and Gattaca in tough times the rich and poor come together to help each other.In the Hunger Games Katniss made friends with Cinna from the capitol. This happened because she seen the shape that Katniss was in when she got to the training center. I think Cinna really did care and didn’t want to just boost Katniss’s confidence. I think Katniss seen how rough it was in district twelve and thought she could help Katniss.Cinna over passed the fact that she was from the capitol, to go out of her way to make sure Katniss was to the best of her health entering the games. I think Cinna helped to comfort Katniss by doing â€Å"GIRLY† things to her by doing her hair hanging out, to help Katniss take her mind off dying or back home.This was similar to Gattaca because when Vince had the lifelong goal to get to space. The Doctor help him pass him fake I.D. Then Jerome who got injured out of the country let him take his I.D. to help him get there even though his heart wasn’t capable of going to Gattaca. Therefore, I Think the Doctor and Jerome seen that Vince could go but had to get passed the government who wouldn’t let the non-perfect people through.This is why in tough times know matter where you come from, rich or poor, people come together to help one another. In The Hunger Games and Gattaca the governments are to make the perfect world. The governments are out to disclude people. The government in Gattaca doesn’t treat everyone equal. If you have any little disease or personality that differs you from the rest of the population. Like Jerome he has a heart defect he has to change his identity to accomplish, his lifelong goal, of going to space. The Doctor help Jerome get through the government to get  into space.The Doctor does this because; he himself has a child with a defect as well. In the Hunger Games the government chooses two tributes to compete in the Hunger Games. They pick two from every district and never any from the capitol.The people in the capitol are rich. And some districts are better off than other distr icts. Like for example district 12 is very poor and they starve to supply the capitol with coal. And the capitol that are rich, fed, heat, and are healthy do nothing. The people in the capitol are usually born perfect and get to live there. But the people in the districts get treated like dirt by the capitol. They fend for their life with no food and little heat and electricity.Therefore this is why both dystopian literatures are very similar. Another similarity is that in both dystopian stories people in the capitol or Gattaca come together with people in poorer areas. Like districts in Hunger Games and the defected births in Gattaca.They see that even though they are different they can still accomplish what the perfect people can. Like in Gattaca when Vince gets help from the guy that got injured but no one knows where he went so Jerome helped Vince to take his identity. He did this because he seen that Vince was just as intelligent as him. And he was already over the limit of whe n he was going to die. After he got his identity changed from a â€Å"defect† to a perfect person he got Jeromes DNA.Then he went through to Gattaca and a The Dcotor let him through. The doctor let Vince whom was now disguised as Jerome through. He did this because the Doctor also had a child with a heart defect. And the Doctor wanted to use this as an example that you can do anything in life even if you are different. In the Hunger Games it is the same too when Cinna from the capitol makes friends with Katniss and gives her a sense of comfort. Cinna does this to take katniss’s mind of the games and from being away from home.Cinna comforts Katniss by doing girly things like doing her hair and hanging out. This is another example in how the understanding nice people come together even though people are different. This is another example on how the people come together when they see even if they are different, they can do what anyone can.

Free Essays on Media and Self Image

â€Å"Without social identity, there is in fact, no society† - Richard Jenkins. This statement holds true to everything in our everyday lives. From the time we can sit up our parents plant us in front of the television to keep us out of their way. Commercials and media shape our outlook, our self-image, and our stereotypes. Every commercial has a message in it; we’re to fat, to stupid, not driving the right car, we are all supposed to be beautiful†¦. The list is endless, and by this we are ‘socialized† into our identities. I am not going to take a look at any one commercial in particular but I am going to look at few of the market dominators, self-image and dieting, and where they come from. From catalogs, stores, commercials and magazines, it is not surprising that eating disorders are on the increase due to the value society places on being thin. In modern Western culture, women are given the message at a very young age that in order to be happy and successful, they must be thin. Every time you walk into a store you are surrounded by the images of withered models that appear on the front cover of fashion magazines. Women are constantly bombarded with advertisements catering to what is considered desirable. Thousands of women and girls are starving themselves to attain what the fashion industry considers to be the ideal frail figure. The average model weighs 23% less than the average woman. Maintaining a weight that is 15% below your expected body weight fits the criteria for anorexia, so most models, according to medical standards, fit into the category of being anorexic (Brumberg 205). Women must realize that society's ideal body image may in fact be achievable, but at a detrimental price to one’s body. The photos we see in magazines are not a clear image of reality. Adolescents and women striving to attain society's unattainabl... Free Essays on Media and Self Image Free Essays on Media and Self Image â€Å"Without social identity, there is in fact, no society† - Richard Jenkins. This statement holds true to everything in our everyday lives. From the time we can sit up our parents plant us in front of the television to keep us out of their way. Commercials and media shape our outlook, our self-image, and our stereotypes. Every commercial has a message in it; we’re to fat, to stupid, not driving the right car, we are all supposed to be beautiful†¦. The list is endless, and by this we are ‘socialized† into our identities. I am not going to take a look at any one commercial in particular but I am going to look at few of the market dominators, self-image and dieting, and where they come from. From catalogs, stores, commercials and magazines, it is not surprising that eating disorders are on the increase due to the value society places on being thin. In modern Western culture, women are given the message at a very young age that in order to be happy and successful, they must be thin. Every time you walk into a store you are surrounded by the images of withered models that appear on the front cover of fashion magazines. Women are constantly bombarded with advertisements catering to what is considered desirable. Thousands of women and girls are starving themselves to attain what the fashion industry considers to be the ideal frail figure. The average model weighs 23% less than the average woman. Maintaining a weight that is 15% below your expected body weight fits the criteria for anorexia, so most models, according to medical standards, fit into the category of being anorexic (Brumberg 205). Women must realize that society's ideal body image may in fact be achievable, but at a detrimental price to one’s body. The photos we see in magazines are not a clear image of reality. Adolescents and women striving to attain society's unattainabl...