What is SWOT?

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Weaknesses are usually just the opposite of strengths. While it is tempting to be charitable or full of worship when analysing a firm, it is essential to get a realistic sense of where their problems lie.

Almost all the companies in the world have their own weaknesses, even the Wal-Mart has some weaknesses too. Although in the earlier, we have comment that Wal-Mart have lot of strengthens by compare with others companies in the world, but it still can't went until the perfect. Since they have the lowest prices in the America, wherever they open up a new store, other stores sales are declining. For information, Wal-Mart has come into small towns and put up a huge retail store and they end up killing all the small town businesses because they are so successful and selling with the cheapest price that small business cant afford to be. There have been many small towns that have turned down the building when the coming of Wal-Mart because they know what it will happen to the business in the small town. Especially small retailers are experiencing huge declines and met the financial problems. Because of this, they are getting bad reactions from some groups. This situation is obstructing the companys future growth.

Community relations problems are bound to exist with a corporation the size of Wal-Mart. Likewise, when a corporation is as successful, many a naysayer will challenge and scrutinize the company. Complaints mainly arise from community groups accusing Wal-Mart of destroying the local retail environment in the downtowns of small towns. Those put out of business by the giant retailer are among its most ferocious critics. The company is accused of monopolistic behavior. It wages aggressive price wars, and uses its power to bully its suppliers (Quinn 8-115)

Another weakness of the company is about ethical behaviour. Some consumer groups believe that the company has some unacceptable actions to lower the prices. This situation is harming the companys name and image. Some of Wal-Mart products brought controversy when an NBC program discovered false labeling in clothing made in abroad marked under "Made in U.S.A".

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Extensive labour relations problems are common at Wal-Mart. These are detailed within other sections of this report. Generally, the company is opposed to unionise labour (Fact Sheet, 001). Wage issues, shift scheduling, and workplace rights abuses are cited by labour groups. This seems to go against its founding principles of respect for employees. The company is also in frequent legal trouble with regulators and union groups in the courts (Quinn 8-115).

Weaknesses

Dependence on suppliers

Size - perhaps too big in many markets

Store layout is crowded - lack of aisle space

Size of store means that it is difficult to quickly find an

item.

Weaknesses

· Wal-Mart is facing stiff competition from old and new rivals like Meijers.

Other public relations problems vary from zoning violation complaints, to itemized complaints from competitors of Wal-Mart using its power unfairly. Censorship, for example, came up as an issue. Wal-Mart publicly believes in Family Friendly products, therefore if a movie or CD contains mature content the company will not carry the product for sale. This has caused much criticism from various groups.

In all, the company strategy is that of growth, expansion, and diversification by finding new areas to expand into within retail and the service industry. It is the number one retailer in the US and in the World as a result. The competition is scared of them. Its customers know its brand, and will shop there because of the price, selection, and size.

In the finances of the Wal-Mart store, cost of sales increased 14% from 15 to 16 due to lower mark-up prices, consistent with Wal-Marts commitment of providing low prices. Although Wal-Marts financial ratios are healthier than those of the industry as a whole, an eleven-year comparison shows a marked decline in the companys profit margins, liquidity and returns on investments. Long-term debt increased from $1.7 billion in 1 to almost $8 billion in 16. Since Sam Waltons demise in 1, stock prices dropped from a high of $4 per share to a low of $1.1 in 16.

In the manufacturing and service, Wal-Marts image as a clean, comfortable, mom-and-pop type of operation has changed drastically since Sam Walton passed away. Every negative connotation that K-Mart has acquired over the years has been applied to Wal-Marts discount stores. The stores are unclean, the shelves are unkempt, and the stock is dusty. Even SAMs Clubs lack the luster that its major competitor, PriceCostco, has. Wal-Mart associates are not nearly as knowledgeable and helpful as the company claims them to be. The company has been concentrating on expanding its Supercenter division at the expense of losing many of its discount stores. Supercenters are Wal-Mart discount stores with large grocery stores attached, all within one massive structure. The food industry has lower profit margins and is much more competitive. In addition, many traditional Wal-Mart stores are shut down when Supercenters are built in neighbouring areas, thereby limiting reliable revenue receipts. About half of the closed stores are leased out, but the remaining stores are simply abandoned. International locations are costlier to operate and generate fewer revenues, yet the company continues its plans for further expansion overseas. Total square footage for all domestic locations increased 5,804,80 from 15 to 16; however, sales per square foot decreased from $6.10 in 15 to $5.1 square feet in 16.

Wal-Mart is, without question, a fabulously run company. It has, however, but one selling proposition price. While thats a pretty good one, the company isnt infallible. Same-store sales have been inching down, to the low single-digits. Costco Wholesale, among others, has effectively competed on price, while offering higher-quality goods.

Wal-Marts store locations arent always the most convenient. The stores can be dark, hard to navigate and not pristine. The lines are long. The apparel is far from hip.

Something a company does poorly, or a characteristic that puts it at a disadvantage. For example, one of Wal-Marts weaknesses could be its inflexibility to respond to changes in the marketplace at the local level.

Human resource

Weaknesses

Employees of Wal-Mart are the largest group of workers without

health care in the United States.

Wal-Mart suffers from high employee turnover.

"The Wal-Mart threat causes some companies to close their doors for fear they can't compete, and that's a defeatist attitude. The critical thing is to have the will to win."

Unified members are facing the prospect of competing against Wal-Mart supercenters for the first time following Wal-Mart's announcement a couple of months ago that it plans to open 40 supercenters in California over the next four to six years - a prospect reflected in opening remarks by Chuck Pilliter, Unified's president and chief operating officer, who said Zaucha's

Some of WalMart's weaknesses lie in their recent entrance into the Asian markets. Since their European competitors have already made their foothold there, WalMart is at a slight disadvantage at gaining customers there. Also the value chain system applied to the American markets needs to be altered for their Asian markets because the tastes of the Asian consumers vary greatly from their American counterparts. WalMart is also reaching the saturation point in the American markets. Their long time presence has lead to use every trick in the book to gain customer satisfaction the old school way, but now with the use of IT they can further increase their customer market by analyzing the market trends of their various locations. Their new IT will give them further insight on what the customers really want and they will be able to focus and selling and advertising the demanded products at the lowest market prices to beat out their competitors. According to the competitive forces model, analyzing WalMart's stance in the Asian markets reveals that the threat of new entrants into the industry is quite possible, since they are trying to sell foreign products to consumers who would prefer the local products. The threat of competitors is quite strong as they have to compete with the European stores who have established themselves there well before WalMart's arrival. However, the new IT will give them the ability to determine which products are in most demand in which locations and then switch the order levels with suppliers accordingly, thus avoiding any losses and in fact guaranteeing a profit.

Even though it seems like Wal-Mart has a lot of strengths, they also have some weaknesses. The first weakness that they are just now facing is that they will not be able to continue to keep the level of grow that they have accomplished steady over the future years. Whenever a company grows so fast that they can build and run ,00 stores in years, people tend to wonder if that growth will be able to still happen. One of the reasons people think that is because Wal-Mart has always been good at succeeding in primarily small, rural communities-away from competitors. That is another weakness. Now where Wal-Mart is opening they are entrenched will competition such as Kmart and Target. Even if Wal-Mart was to try and move into the smaller rural communities, they are not wanted. Here is yet another weakness. Wal-Mart has even been banned in Bath, Maine; Simi Valley, California; and two towns in Pennsylvania. The state of Vermont has completely resisted all plans for a Wal-Mart to be brought into the state because of the fear that all of the local retailer will be forced to shut down. This is a weakness because it is never a good thing to be looked at as negative through the public eye. Word of mouth could possibly spread, and before you know it, three more states dont want to have a Wal-Mart anywhere near them.

The biggest weakness Wal-Mart has to deal with competitors. With K-Mart and the largely growing Target in the same market they are daily trying to improve themselves to stay at the top of the market. They have to find all the advantages they can to be the best company they can be. They must get feedback from their customers to all themselves to learn from what they are doing.

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War on Iraq

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How African American Student Athletes Deal With Going To Predominately White

Colleges Or Universities?

It was March of 00 and I was at my annual cheerleading competition. I am

from an urban public school where my squad is one of the only diverse ones.

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Looking around I noticed that my squad was one of the few that had any

minorities present. As we sat down to wait our turn for mat time (a practice

run through of the routine before the actual competition) I over heard some of

the Caucasian females snickering from behind about our squad. They were

saying things like black girls are not supposed to be cheerleaders,

cheerleaders are supposed to be white girls with tans. Our cheerleading squad

is one of the most hated and disrespected of all squads. A perfect example of

that disrespect and hatred is the fact that we were robbed at our second

competition. When we got to the competition we were a little apprehensive

because we had to share a small area of the locker room with the LaSalle

cheerleaders. They were our worst enemies, our rivals, our opponents, and the

only people that we went to the competition to try and beat. When one of our

fellow cheerleaders went to the locker room to return some loose money she had

found to her surprise and dismay that all of the other money she had was gone.

She checked and rechecked her wallet to see if she was just not looking well

but to her shock she had not overlooked. She no longer had her money. When

she came and told our coach our whole squad went into the locker room to see

if they too had been robbed. To everyone's sadness they too had been. In

total our squad lost over 00 dollars of hard earned money. Fortunately we

did win second place in the competition but because of that incident we could

not even rejoice. Discrimination and stereotyping against not only black

cheerleaders, but all minorities, as well as people that hang with those

minorities can feel the wrath of it. This happens largely at predominately

white establishments or institutions. Discrimination not only takes place at

school but at other places as well, like my cheerleading competition.

African Americans are being stereotyped every second of every day. Regardless

of what stereotype is said it happens. A very common stereotype placed on

African Americans is "all black people are great athletes." This stereotype

becomes more and more prevalent as further African Americans come to

predominately white colleges or universities. The main reason for stereotypes

is ignorance. An example could be a tall African American with a slim build

walking about the campus. A guarantee could be that the majority of people

would assume that he was an athlete but in all actuality he could be attending

the University of Rhode Island on an academic scholarship. I can remember

talking to my friend and telling him the exciting news of me joining the track

team. The first thing that he said was I know you can run fast, all black

people can run fast. I asked him why he made that assumption and his reply

was, they have to be able to run fast to flee from the cops. Although quite

comical that statement could have quickly made anyone else upset, it was a

perfect example of prejudice and racism.

Still there are other problems that African Americans will have to face when

they come to a predominately white college or university. One example could

be the stress or anxiety to conform to the new lifestyles or style of

teaching. Another could be the high drop out rate of first year African

American students that is hung over their heads. Yet another could be the

effect the school, professors or area has on the black student. (Spigner

1) Many different things regardless of how big or small have been known to

create anxiety or stress. Many people are not happy with change. Most will

try to avoid it at all costs, so the mere shift of moving to a predominately

white college or university could drive anyone insane. Lastly there is

racism. Racism is not what it used to be many differences have risen over the

years. Decades ago African Americans would never have been given the

opportunity to go to school. If they were given that right the school was not

a knowledgeable one. African Americans would not have been able to play

sports, be on television or vote. Racism is still a widely studied issue.

The issue in the last couple of years has been the ignorance people have to

the fact that they are being racist. Decades ago racism was defined as the

blatant disregard for someone else or their feelings. It is not that obvious

anymore, but that does not mean in any way that it has stopped.

Racism as a whole is no longer blatant. Atwell (11) article discusses how

racism is no longer as openly spoken as before but someone of African American

decent could be dealing with racism from their professor or athletic coach and

not even know it. With the student athlete programs the lines of academics

and sports is blurred. Academic support services may instead be aiding and

abetting a racial status quo by emphasizing more of a social desire for sports

entertainment (Atwell 11). That quote is stating that academics seem not to

be as important as how the school does entertainment wise.

It is argued here that targeting student athletes ostensible to provide

academic guidance may in actuality serve to reinforce sports interests over

educational pursuits. Such expropriation seems particularly significant (but

not exclusive) on white campuses, in part because such campus illustrate a

glaring over-representation of black players. (The Chronicle of Higher

Education June 17, 1, as cited in Spigner, 1).

There are many ways that schools of higher learning try to make the academics

of African American players seem up to par when in reality they are only

mediocre, maybe even less. Wiley and Hatchett (11) pointed out that

institutions of higher learning used misleading or inconclusive data to make

the dismal student graduation rates look better. Edwards (18a; 18b; 184,

187, 1, as cited in Spigner.) has long noticed the contradictions and

hypocrisy of providing a meaningful education against the more sought after

national publicity and notoriety from intercollegiate sports.

There are many questions as to whether or not these African American athletes

can perform as well in the classroom as they can on the field or on the court.

Research conducted by Ellickson (10) showed that participation in college

athletics saps the energy needed for a more positive classroom performance.

Engstrom and Sedlacek's (11) study of existence of prejudice among the peers

of student athletes indicated that students generally possessed some negative

attitudes towards the student athletes, particularly regarding academic

performance. Smallman, Sowa, Young, and Bryce (11) feel as though the

research of the ethnic differences in student athlete responses to stressful

life events revealed that blacks reported significantly higher ratings of

evasiveness or stress.

There are many reasons why student athletes are not becoming successful

adults. One reason is because there are fewer teachers of African American

decent. The potential of African American student athletes to graduate is

seriously compromised by the fact that so few staff, faculty and other

students on campus look like them. They feel less welcomed than white students

on our campuses (Lapchick, 17).

On most college campuses the over representation of black student athletes is

as stark as the under representation of black teachers. In 18-10, only

4.5 percent of black faculty compared to 88.5 percent of white faculty were

employed full time in a U.S. college or university (Chronicle of Higher

Education Almanac, August 6, 1 as cited in Spigner, 1). A larger black

presence of faculty particularly on white campuses could theoretically promote

a better climate to help improve black student athlete development, though

black teachers have their own problems of profession survival. (Banks, 184;

Spigner, 10-11, as cited in Spigner, 1).

In the fall of 185 black faculty were decreasingly represented in ranks of

assistant, associate, and full time professor. The percentage of this was 5.

percent, .7 percent, and . percent of full time African American

instructors. The white professors ranked the same way, had increased

representation at 87.5 percent for an assistant, 0.5 percent for an

associate, and .7 percent respectively for full time college professors

(National Center for Education Statistics, 1 as cited in Spigner, 1).

Stress and anxiety can and have been known to overtake people of all ages and

ethnicity's. They have been known to push people to the limit and test their

strength, because of these limits some people are unable to pull through. If

you are faced with stress or anxiety and cannot withstand the trauma you may

obtain disorder. For those that can face the trauma will make it through to

live and fight another day. African Americans in a new environment,

preferably a white college campus will probably have to deal with some of

those everyday traumas of the world. If they do not learn how to endure, they

too could succumb to a stress or anxiety disorder.

Abstract

How African American student athletes deal with being at a predominately

white college or university? There are many reasons why African Americans

would not succeed at an all white college or university. One reason would be

the racism that remains prevalent in white communities as well as schools.

Racism comes from the most unexpected people and places. The fact that racism

is not as noticeable as in the past makes it harder to see. Another problem

African Americans have at white colleges is the stress or anxiety to conform

to their new surroundings. The pressure of academic success is another that

could cause stress or anxiety. Lastly, the slack that African Americans

receive because they are students as well as athletes at these schools can

cause numerous amounts of stress. Many people feel as though students have it

easier because of the fact that they are athletes. These are the main topics

I will be speaking of in my paper.

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Coke

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I. INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE

This article illustrates a systematic approach for teaching fundamental investment analysis.

Students analyze the investment potential of a publicly traded corporation. The semester project

consists of three parts a complete ratio and DuPont analysis to determine the current financial

Help with essay on Coke

position of the company, a strategic analysis to determine the major strengths and weaknesses of

the company, and a forecast of the future performance and discounted future cash flow analysis

to determine the companys intrinsic investment value.

II. THE IMPORTANCE OF HISTORIC RATIO ANALYSIS

At the core of fundamental investment analysis is the ability to calculate, analyze, and

interpret the meaning of financial ratios to determine the financial position of the firm. Ratios

are used to discern changing patterns and potential trouble spots that may arise in the future

business life of a firm. They allow the analyst to standardize key financial variables from the

balance sheet and income statement for comparison to industry averages or those of a major

competitor. The semester project requires each student to obtain financial data on his or her target firm

from the SEC website (www.sec.gov) and, using integrative Excel spreadsheets supplied by the

professor, to calculate relevant ratios in the four financial management areas liquidity, asset

utilization, employed leverage, and profitability.

III. ANALYSIS OF THE COCA COLA COMPANY

The Excel spreadsheet (Exhibit 1) is set up with logic statements to make assessments

regarding time-series trends and cross-sectional analysis. The cross-sectional analysis allows the

student to compare his/her selected company to the industry average, while the time-series

analysis allows for a trend comparison over the past three years.

Coca Colas liquidity is substandard when compared with the industry. The current ratio for

16 is below industry average. In addition, its quick ratio also indicates less liquidity than the

industry average with no discernable trend of improvement over the last three years. Therefore,

Coca Colas liquidity position could be characterized as substandard.

The activity ratios reveal a second dimension of the Coca Cola Company. These ratios

indicate the relative efficiency with which the company uses investors assets. The inventory

turnover ratio measures how rapidly the company turns over or uses dollars invested in

inventory. In the case of Coca Cola, there are positive values reported based on industry average

and cross-sectional comparisons. The inventory turnover for 16 was 7.08 in comparison to an

industry average of 5. Likewise, the three-year trend indicates a continual improvement in

inventory turnover. Other activity ratios indicate similar positive results based on both cross-

sectional and time-series analysis.

The third group of ratios deals with the use of debt in the capital structure as well as the

ability to meet interest payments from operating income. Both the total debt ratio and the debt-

to-equity ratio indicate a favorable assessment based on cross-sectional and time-series analysis.

In addition, the times-interest-earned (TIE) ratio indicates that the company covers interest

charges over 16 times. This again compares favorably to the industry average of 15 times.

The fourth category ratios deal with profitability. Coca Colas gross profit margin is clearly

superior in comparison with the industry average. It is also obvious that Coca Cola does a

superior job of cost cutting, resulting in higher operating profits when compared to the industry.

In addition, the net profit margin of 18.8 percent net return on sales compares well to only 15

percent for the industry.

Next, return on total assets also indicates favorable performance. Coca Colas 16 return

on total assets is percent compared to 16 percent for the industry. Further, the return on

equity for 16 was 57 percent, more than twice that of the industry average of percent.

The DuPont analysis for Coca Cola (Exhibit ) allows the students to consider all the parts

that affect the stockholders return on equity. The 16 return on equity of 56.7 percent is a

function of three triggers the financial manager has to control the performance of the firm the

net profit margin, total asset turnover, and the financial leverage multiplier. The strength of the

DuPont system is its ability to dissect the balance sheet and income statement and isolate

financial areas of low performance or concern. A comparison of the firms net profit margin,

total asset turnover, and financial leverage multiplier to the industry averages can pinpoint

area(s) of substandard performance that led to a low average return on equity.

Exhibit

DuPont Analysis 1

14 15 16

Return on Equity 48% 55% 57%

Net Profit Margin 16% 17% 1%

Total Asset Turnover 1.x 1.x 1.x

Financial Leverage Multiplier .7x .8x .6x

1 numbers are rounded

In summary, the ratio analysis suggests superior performance over the last three years. Coca

Cola is an excellent example of a fundamentally sound, long-term growth company that

continues to return to its shareholders in excess of 40 percent return on investment per year. It

meets the criteria of a franchise product company, one whose product is unique with few

substitutes, has a high demand, and has little or no government regulation. In addition, Coca

Cola continues to be an aggressive cost cutter as reflected by a continual increase in the

operating profit margin.

IV. STRATEGIC ANALYSIS

The strategic analysis includes an assessment of the companys strengths, weaknesses,

opportunities, and threats. In addition, the student is required to do an environmental scan of the

industry in order to determine who the competition is, what the relative market share is and could

be, and the degree to which the company has a competitive advantage in both domestic and

international markets.

The Coca Cola Company has many strengths and opportunities and only minor weaknesses

and threats to face. First, the companys product is clearly a franchise-that is its major strength.

Second, its ability to get the product to the customer at the least cost, when they want it, is a

strength that is surpassed only by its advertising prowess. Coca Cola recently entered both the

Chinese and Indian markets with distribution networks that have been in place for a number of

years. Its relative success in these markets will ultimately determine if sales will double every

three years, according to the companys CEO.

The strategic analysis requires the student to consider the non-quantitative factors that

contribute to the overall fundamental soundness of the company. The student is required to

consider these non-quantitative factors in the final analysis of whether the company should be a

prospective investment.

V. FORECASTS OF FUTURE PERFORMANCE

In the final phase of the semester project the student determines the intrinsic investment

value of Coca Colas stock. The intrinsic value is based on the present value of the annual cash

flows the stockholders receive over the next 10 years. Exhibit uses historic data for the last six

years to determine the stockholders cash flow, the annual growth rate of stockholders cash

flow, and the six-year average past growth rate of stockholders cash flow.

EXHIBIT

Return on Equity Calculations

Calculations

11 1 1 14 15 16

Price Per Share 14.884 0.664 1.084 .75 1.8 4

Owners Cash Flow

(NI + Dep - Capl Exp) 1085.4 11.147 175.7 06.75 507.77 40

Annual CF Growth Rate 0.04117 0.5748 0.176 0.116 0.1755

5-Year Average CF Growth .10%

Annual Sales Growth 10% 0.101 0.0686 0.1581 0.1104 0.015

5-Yr Average Sales Growth

Value Added 7.674 0.18 0.8440 7.715 6.4856

Average Value Added $4.7

Owners CF Per Share

0.40848 0.4158 0.6687 0.811056 1.00166 1.187878

Using the 16 shareholders cash flow ($.4 billion) the cash flow to the shareholders is

projected to grow at the six-year average past growth rate (Exhibit 4) over the next 10 years.

Next, using the dividend valuation model, the capital asset pricing model, and the bond

yield-plus-risk-premium model, the investors required rate of return for investing in Coca Cola

is estimated to be approximately 15 percent. This rate is used to discount the stockholders

future cash flows to their present value. Finally the terminal value of Coca Colas stock 10 years

from now is estimated using the dividend valuation model (P 10 = D 11 k s g) and also

discounted to the present value at the investors required rate of return. The sum of the present

value of each of the next 10 years cash flows to the stockholders and the present value of Coca

Colas stock 10 years from now represents the intrinsic investment value of Coca Colas stock.

Finally, the student compares Coca Colas intrinsic value to its actual stock price to make an

investment decision.

VI. CONCLUSIONS

This paper presents a systematic approach, using Excel spreadsheets, to teach fundamental

analysis. The student semester project consists of three major parts, a complete ratio analysis

based on historic financial statements, a strategic analysis that identifies the companys strengths,

weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, and a present value analysis of stockholders future

expected cash flows. The discounted future cash flows to the stockholders represent the intrinsic

value of Coca Colas stock and is compared to the actual stock price.

While the project appears to be extensive, the Excel spreadsheets tend to make short work of

the analysis. Students have found the experience quite rewarding.

V. REFERENCES

Copeland, Tom, Koller, Tim, and Jack Murrin, McKinsey & Company, Inc.,

000, Valuation,

Measuring and Managing the Value of Companies

, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Fraser, Lyn M., and Aileen Ormiston,

000, Understanding Financial Statements

, Prentice Hall,

Inc.

Higgins, Robert C., 15,

Analysis for Financial Management

, Richard D. Irwin, Inc.

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The Minister's Black Veil

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Perfection is an idea that has challenged man in his own society, but is man actually capable of obtaining and maintaining a complete and steady state of perfection within his own inner being? As Plato would say, "Perfection cannot exist without the 'idea perfection' in the mind of an individual." There is really no accurate state of perfection that exists in human nature. Perfection is determined by the different interpretations given to it man himself.

Many times man is caught in a trance to become better than his spiritual father, God. Many individuals believe that if they can outdo their Creator than they will obtain a "free scholarship" to the University of Heaven that contains the best teachers in the universe, rated number one above Harvard University. Yet, doesn't this mean that to outdo God would make man his own god? This would be hypocritical to everything that man attempts to teach his fellow species in church every Sunday from the biblical scriptures. In that case man would be worshipping his own identity and following his own set of "commandments," refusing to follow what Jesus Christ established centuries ago. The battle for perfection continues today as many individuals strive to live a pure life like the Creator of heaven and hell. So does this mean that the Creator and His Son only love those with pure hearts and souls? Jesus himself loved Mary Magdalene, the prostitute in the biblical era, some much that he was willingly to teach her the correct path to heaven and peace, leading her to become one of the most prominent Christian figures in the Roman Catholic Church.

The famous first "true" Christian writer, Nathaniel Hawthorne, wrote a series of short stories that deal with the "fall of man's society" as well as the hypocrisy that occurs in the church today, leading man to break the first commandment, " Thou shall have no other Gods before me." Each short story is connected with the other in many important factors such as hypocrisy in the church and man becoming his own God. Hawthorne utilizes great imagery of biblical illusion in his work to bring his message across to "the sinners of our Father."

In Hawthorne's, The Scarlet Letter, the minister, Arthur Dimmesdale represents that all people are just human and potentially they are entitled to commit mistakes in their life. Dimmesdale lives a thousand faces but the primary face is that of hypocrisy as he is faced with a battle against his own conscience. Dimmesdale has committed the ultimate sin, yet his cowardly reputation restricts his mouth from reciting the truth to his fellow villagers. Dimmesdale has acted against everything he has preached in his sermons. The minister is no hypocrite! He is perfect!

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This is the reputation that man has interpreted for the authorities of the Holy Church, demonstrating the "perfection" of God here on earth. Because Dimmesdale is a minister he is not entitled to make any mistakes himself; he is paralleled to Jesus Christ who taught his people "truth and honor" for one another. The bible only gives you the human interpretation, which man has created over the years but the real truth lies undiscovered. Only Jesus could tell his people about the life he lived here on Earth free from evil and temptation. In a symbolic way, he did not live a life free from evil and hate for he was persecuted for the sins of all mankind. We all make up part of our Father and through our sins we cause him to lose His sense of purity.

Hawthorne illustrates through the character of Pearl, the sin of Dimmesdale, that she is the perfect "perfection" that man battles for in life here in their society. She is symbolic of God's pure forgiveness of mankind's sins against themselves. Pearl also symbolizes that true perfection is maintained only as a natural birth of your own identity. The vision of Pearl is a constant reminder to Dimmesdale that he has sinned against his Father and has failed to keep his commitment to the church of his Creator. Dimmesdale foreshadows the actions of one other character created by Hawthorne Mr. Hooper.

In The Minister's Black Veil, the character of Mr. Hooper, the hypocrite of his congregation, symbolizes man's quest to surpass his own Creator and judge his people based on the laws of hypocrisy. The black veil which lies upon the face of the minister is symbolic of the distance which he has placed himself from his congregation. He is too perfect for the presence of his sinners. Likewise, the congregation can sense that their minister has not been faithful to them.

The minister displays his cowardness through wearing the veil, which distorts his image of the world around him. Although the veil distorts the images from his sight, the small light, which he can see through his mask, symbolizes God's hope for Mr. Hooper. God will not give up on this individual, causing the veil to remain transparent rather than opaque. The veil also serves as a reminder to society that they have caused a veil to form between themselves and their Creator every time they choose to sin against His will. Through the veil, Mr. Hooper attempts to hide his sins and cover his track in the ministry. The character of Mr. Hooper is that total opposite of Jesus Christ, who never once shunned himself from society because he was too perfect.

Although Mr. Hooper displays the acts of hypocrisy in his church, leading to him become God himself, he does teach a valuable lesson to his congregation. " Why do you tremble at me alone?" "Tremble also at each other! … "I look around me, and lo! on every visage a Black Veil!" Mr. Hooper reminds his society that my making faces at him and gossiping about him around the church, they too have sewn a black veil on their face. They have sinned without knowing it. His entire congregation has become hypocrites of their own. They have also attempted to play the role of God through trying to judge Mr. Hooper for the veil that symbolizes "the fall of man's society." Man will cause his own destruction as Hawthorne has displayed through Dr. Rappaccini in his next story.

One of the most symbolic works of Hawthorne is Rappaccini's Daughter, the story about a doctor who will go to any extent to gain powerful knowledge about life and the nature around him. In this work of Hawthorne, Dr. Rappaccini enacts the role of God by creating an experiment out of his naïve daughter. Her father's experiment causes for Beatrice to bring death to every thing she lays her hand upon. Hawthorne utilizes a great biblical allusion in this story about the hunger for power and the deadly power of love. The scene with Beatrice and Giovanni are symbolic of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and story of the tree of life. Giovanni falls in love with "the plant experiment" out of lust; he falls in love with her after the fact that he sees her beauty. He is tempted to visit her in the garden, arriving with purple flower that is symbolic of the apple of sin. The flower wilts after Beatrice infects it with poison. This is symbolic of the rise of Death. After Adam and Eve ate the apple from the tree, God created death. Death is inherited as part of our life when we are born into this world. The flower's wilting signifies all the sacrifices which man must make in life to survive in his constructed society.

Dr. Rappaccini emotionally and physically "rapes" his daughter from life after his sins are the result of his beautiful Eve's death. Once again man has tried to succumb the power and knowledge of his own Creator and results in a total tragedy causing the death of many innocent lives. Dr. Rappaccini "would sacrifice human life, his own among the rest, or whatever else was dearest to him, for sake of adding so much as a grain of mustard seed to the great heap of his accumulated knowledge." The flower from the garden of life is symbolic of his own sacrifice of his daughter to gain this knowledge, which his brain hungers. Dr. Rappaccini has gone against every word that is read in the bible. His greed has overtaken his soul; he no longer loves his daughter but views her as the experiment that will gain him that "grain of mustard-seed of knowledge." He has become a hypocrite of society's rules to love and protect your loved ones.

Hawthorne has utilized these characters to teach us humans' valuable lessons about the world around us. Should they been forgiven or condemned for their ignorance to realize that God is the supreme being of the world? If man continues to seek for happiness in the idea of perfection, he will remain lost in melancholy for eternity. Hippocrates believed that moderation, harmony, and a "sound mind in a sound body" lead an individual to a healthy lifestyle, physically and emotionally. Antithenes believed that true happiness lies in not being dependent on such random and fleeting things. Perfection will only be an idea that has no true definition. According to St. Augustine, evil comes from mankind's disobedience. The good will is god's work and evil is the falling away from God's work. We are entirely at his mercy.

No one can judge the creations of Hawthorne because we have all committed sins in our life. He, who has not sinned, be the first to cast the first stone at these characters. Condemning these characters would only put you in their place as hypocrites of the church. They can receive "financial aid" for being the minority of society so that they can still get accepted into the University of Heaven. But are these hypocrites truly the minority or are they the majority that can be found around the corner in the hall of your school. We must remove the black veil that we each wear before we can make any statements. We must review our past, accepting our own faults and condemning ourselves first before condemning our neighbor. Man should live a life full of peace and happiness within their heart rather than competing with each other for the power of "perfection". We are God's family and if we destroy ourselves amongst each other it is like symbolically crucifying him once again. Hypocrisy is a natural instinct of man and he must learn to overcome it before ever developing the "idea perfection."

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Nuclear Energy Good or BAd

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Is nuclear energy good or bad?

Nuclear energy is defined by Webster's Encyclopaedia as energy from the inner core or nucleus of the atom, as opposed to energy released in chemical processes, which is derived from the electrons surrounding the nucleus. Thus, since the atom was split, releasing nuclear energy for the first time, it ushered in a new era of political, economic and social debate in the history of humankind. For the first time humanity had to grapple with the intricacies that this new nuclear age brought with it. People had to struggle with the dichotomy of nuclear energy, in time recognising both the benefits and the drawbacks associated with nuclear energy. Thus, over time as people became more educated and the level of awareness about nuclear energy was raised (especially during the activist years of 160's and 170's) the question is nuclear energy good or bad was increasingly being asked.

This essay will therefore discuss the value of nuclear energy. It will focus on very pertinent issues that have long been debated in the area of nuclear energy. These issues include aspects such as nuclear waste, environmental costs, nuclear safety, nuclear sustainability and nuclear weapons.

Nuclear wasteOrder College Papers on Nuclear Energy Good or BAd

The fuels in nuclear power reactors are a major source of the most dangerous and most radioactive waste produced. In the last 50 years, irradiated fuel has been responsible for 5% of radioactivity generated. 500 pounds of plutonium and approximately 0 tons of high-level radioactive waste are produced by a 1000-megawatt nuclear power plant on average each year.

Nuclear waste is thus a very important and real problem that society has to deal with. Governments and private nuclear plants have to adequately and effectively deal with the safe removal of nuclear waste. When not done so, nuclear waste has the potential to become a very bad negative outcome from the use of nuclear power and energy. Nuclear waste is thus an instance that shows that nuclear energy can be construed as 'bad.'

Environmental Costs

The nuclear fuel cycle, which generates electricity from nuclear energy, releases carbon dioxide during mining, fuel enrichment and plant construction. Carbon dioxide intensivity is increased during uranium mining. As uranium mining proliferates as the demand for electrical energy and new nuclear plant construction increases, so will carbon dioxide levels in the earth's atmosphere. In contrast to renewable energy, nuclear energy generates four to five times more CO per unit of energy produced, taking into account the total nuclear fuel cycle.

Another somewhat startling fact is that the United Stated government allows the release of radioactive water into the environment at "permissible" levels. One can also not obtain a true and accurate picture of the exact amounts of nuclear and radioactive wastes and emissions leaked into the air, water and soil as the figures for these are not available, according to the nuclearfiles.org website.

At these rates, the earth's atmosphere and ecosystem will soon be unable to cope with the amounts of waste and radioactivity injected into it. For these reasons, the impact of nuclear energy and waste has high environmental costs. Many people thus see nuclear energy's impact on the environment as a negative cost that will inevitably not be sustained over the long term. For these reasons the Kyoto Protocol has been drawn up. It is an attempt to limit the negative impact that nuclear energy has on the environment. It is also an indication of the global trend in recognising that the costs of the nuclear age is and will continue to catch up with humanity. President Bush of the United States by refusing to sign the protocol and align the United States with the principles of the Kyoto Protocol has angered many in the international community.

Nuclear safety

There have been concerns around the use of nuclear energy as well as the storage of nuclear weapons. Repetitive problems have occurred with security, safety and environmental impact in the nuclear industry. High levels of radioactivity are thus dangerous to human health and well being. Safety at nuclear plants and reactors is therefore vital. Human error plays a major part in nuclear safety as in the case of the Chernobyl disaster in the Ukraine. There a nuclear leak caused by nuclear heating in a non pressurised boiling water nuclear reactor. The fallout killed over 50 people, thousands of square miles were contaminated and clouds of radioactive isotopes were found as far away as Sweden. Anxiety over the use of nuclear energy has been heightened by the Chernobyl disaster as well as accidents at Windscale in the UK and Five Mile Island in the US. Since governments do not recognise the dangers of radiation and radiation sickness nuclear safety is still a controversial subject.

Nuclear Weapons

Aligned to the issue of nuclear safety is the presence of nuclear weapons and arms. Nuclear weapons including the atom bomb, the hydrogen bomb and the neutron bomb and the vast numbers of weapons the world's superpowers have amassed, have left those holding the power with the ability to destroy the world many times over. For many years during the cold war between the democratic west and the communist east, the world lived in fear of a nuclear winter. This is obviously a negative aspect associated with the nuclear age.

While this essay thus far has discussed the negative aspects associated with nuclear energy, there are some benefits that go along with the use of nuclear energy. These will now be focussed on/

The Benefits of Nuclear Energy/Nuclear Sustainability

· Safety.

While no source of electrical power generation is completely safe, nuclear power has a remarkable record. About 0% of electricity generated in the U.S. comes from nuclear power, and in the last forty years of this production, not one single fatality has occurred as a result of the operation of a civilian nuclear power plant in the United States, Western Europe, Japan, or South Korea. No other form of energy production can even come close.

· Zero risk of large-scale oil spills.

Incidentally, getting rid of our dependence on imported oil is desirable not only from an environmental standpoint, but from a political one. The largest single activity of our military today is ensuring the security of the Middle East for U.S. interests. As far as the risk of large oil spills, the Exxon Valdez spill of 18 was one of the worst environmental disasters in history.

· Economical.

Nuclear power plants are one of the most economical forms of energy production. Fuel costs for an equivalent amount of power run from 1/rd to 1/6th the cost for fossil production, and capital and non-fuel operating costs are roughly equivalent, resulting in the overall cost of nuclear generation of electricity running 50% to 80% that of other sources. This is in spite of the fact that capital costs have been hugely inflated due to lawsuits, court injunctions, and other delaying tactics used by individuals and organizations opposed to nuclear power.

· Reliability.

Nuclear power plant capacity factors average about 75%. This is about equivalent to those of fossil fired plants, and since nuclear plants are required by the NRC to shut down for what often amounts to trivial reasons, that would indicate they are actually more reliable than fossil plants. Wind and Solar power cant come close to the capacity factors of nuclear power, for obvious reasons.

· Sustainability.

Even if Uranium mining were stopped today, the use of breeder reactors (which create more fuel than they use) would permit us to continue generating electricity at present levels for over a thousand years into the future.

Conclusion

There are thus benefits as well as well as drawbacks associated with nuclear energy. The advances made for humanity through the use of nuclear power has been significant (as seen through the advantaged of nuclear energy discussed in the previous section). However, the dangers associated with nuclear energy in the shape of weapons of mass destruction and the danger and potential of nuclear leaks and reactor meltdowns has also made people more apprehensive about nuclear energy. This contradiction that the nuclear age has brought the world makes it very challenging for one to decisively say that nuclear energy has been entirely good or entirely bad. This is because the inherent dangers in the use of nuclear energy mirror the dangers that were brought with other inventions and innovations that advanced and changed the shape of society, such as automobiles and air travel. Both these modes of transport present very real risks to the person that chooses to use it. However, there are also many benefits, making it difficult for a realist to say that the automobile has been good or bad.

This form of logic and analysis can be applied to the use of nuclear energy in society. We have to recognise the benefits that we have derived from it. If society had to continue using coal and other such sources as fuel, the world, with its exponential population explosion could very well have run out of these sources by now. It is for this reason that I recognise the value that the nuclear age has brought humanity and thus would have to agree that nuclear energy can be good. This is not an endorsement of nuclear weapons in any way. I recognise the potential for harm that they bring to the world at large and their use by governments as a form of threat in lieu of diplomacy violates ethical and moral guidelines and principles, when the norm of reciprocity should ideally dictate international relations and geopolitics. My recognition that nuclear energy as a good factor in society also comes with a further limitation; that safety and security at power plants and reactors be made the most important factor so that the safety of the community in which the plant is located is ensured.

Please note that this sample paper on Nuclear Energy Good or BAd is for your review only. In order to eliminate any of the plagiarism issues, it is highly recommended that you do not use it for you own writing purposes. In case you experience difficulties with writing a well structured and accurately composed paper on Nuclear Energy Good or BAd, we are here to assist you. Your persuasive essay on Nuclear Energy Good or BAd will be written from scratch, so you do not have to worry about its originality.

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NIKE

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The athletic apparel industry in which Nike is involved is a major money maker in the United States, but the fact that none of the factories are located in North America has brought some heat to the company. Nike controls more than 40 percent of the U.S. Market for sports related goods, but doesn't have a single sneaker factory in this country (Miller 1). Nike continues to make millions of dollars yet exploits workers overseas by paying them very little, while requiring long hours without overtime pay in factories that are not up to "American" standard. Nike subcontractors employ nearly 500,000 workers in plants in Indonesia, China and Vietnam (Saporito 1). The exploitation of workers in Third World counties, where the majority of Nike's labor is done sparks a controversial issue. People question why is it that Nike continues these practices. According to "Just do it, Nike," Nike seems especially fond of doing business in undemocratic countries like China and Indonesia, where the military can be relied upon to "crack heads" if workers get out of line (Miller ). The military monitoring has been a large controversy due to the fact that these are often Chinese working against other Chinese workers, or Vietnamese against their own people also. For Nike there are two benefits it it's a cheap way to monitor in an overseas factory and it creates a sheaper labor workforce. In turn making the labor cheaper for Nike. This makes it possible for Nike workers from the states to work on other things and only tour the factories when nessecary. While still assuming a stable workforce without good pay. The critics of Nikes labor practices have taken tours and witnessed the mistreatment firsthand. Time magazine reported saying," The plants were found to be modern and clean, well lighted and ventilated and paying a decent wage by local standardsalthough by no means are they trouble free. Make no mistake these are factories not amusement parks, and even in developing Asia, where jobs are scarce and getting scarcer, this is not the job of choice." (Saporito 1) The wages that the workers overseas are paid is nothing when compared to how much we pay for a pair of shoes or the profit that CEO Phil Knight is making off his sportswear giant he once operated out of the back of his car as a college student. "A big issue that surrounds sweatshops is wage. The minimum wage often does not reflect the cost of living." (Hepner Online) Is the wage fair? There are many people who feel the wage is fair and the cost of living is taken into account when the wage is looked at, but studies show otherwise in many factories. Just recently, CNN reported a raise to entry level workers in Indonesia, Nike officials said "the increase will raise the minimum monthly compensation packagewhich includes bonuses, housing, healthcare, transportation and meal allowances to approximately $7.14 a month."(Nike Establishes Labor" Online) To many people living in the U.S., that package may sound good however the compensation package doesn't do away with the long hours, the poor conditions or the low rate of pay. Many of these workers are young children working to help support their families. The benefits do not make up for the low pay rates that keep them in the work force. The pay is only enough to get by where these children want to be saving in order to leave the factories and return home. In "Taking a Look inside Nike's Factories", part of Bill Saporito's, "Can Nike Get Unstuck?" this is what was found. "Americans pay $100 for a pair of shoes that a worker gets less than $ a day to make. They pay Michael Jordan $40 million to endorse them. Can't they find more money to pay the workers? The short answer is no, because corporations pay the going rate for labor whereever they are." (Saporito 1) If this statement is true Nike pays the wage for the country the factory is in, then what is the controversy about? Much of it stems from the overtime that these workers are forced to work without over time compensation. Here in the United States there are regulations placed on businesses that require then to compensate their workers with a higher wage for over time hours. So since Nike is an U.S. based company should Nike have to pay overtime? The answer is no. Nike doesn't have to pay overtime like here in the U.S. so they don't. In Vietnam "Workers so want a reduction in overtime, the length of annual leave for the Indonesian workers making Nike shoes is more than 0 days though dozens of workers interviewed in November, said the actual amount is 10 days." (Ballinger ) There has been evidence of Nike breaking at least nine labor laws in China according to AMRC; a Hong Kong based human rights group that has been monitoring the abuse of human rights in China for the last 0 years. "Children as young as 1, were found employed in Nike factories, working from 144-1 overtime hours per month to make ends meet." (Designer 1) Ernest and Young, an accounting firm, hired by Nike, to do research and the issue reported conditions in Vietnam "where young women toil sixty-five hour weeks for $10, in air so bad that 78 percent of the employees have respiratory problems." (Miller1) Factory workers endure abuse on the job lacking a voice or ablility to do anything about it. Since Nike contracts out for their factory managers, it has been hard for Nike to regulate what goes on when they are not on their tour or walk through. "A Korean supervisor in a Vietnam factory was found guilty of beating 15 Vietnamese about the head with a shoe "upper", and another Korean supervisor was charged with sexual molestation." (Saporito ) In this instance it was not an U.S. supervisor, nor was it a military officer but someone of a different nationality. The hard part is that there are no independent unions and meaningful corporate codes of conduct to discipline management. So workers must turn to the courts for help which is a long fought battle that no one wants to attempt. In one case that made it to, a Vietnamese court recently found a Korean supervisor guilty of beating workers and extradition may be sought for the accused sexual molester who fled. In Indonesia 4 discharged Nike workers are challenging the legality of their dismissal before the country's Supreme Court (Saporito ). These are major breakthroughs in the court systems to have someone tried and convicted in these distant countries whose courts are often corrupted. Factory conditions are consistently getting press here in the U.S., as many are angry with Nike for not providing for their overseas employees. The following account is of the conditions in a Chiniese factory Twelve hour shifts several days a week; wages as low as 16 cents and hour; 16 workers to a dorm room; pregnant women fired. Workers are not allowed to talk. There is constant pressure to produceworkers are yelled at. If you don't meet your high production quota you must stay until you do-without pay. The factory is noisy, filled with dust and fumes. Workers have fainted, overcome by the long hours and the glue fumes. One worker died; another lost an arm; other has had their fingers broken by the equipment. Most workers have never heard of the Nike code of conduct. There is no union and workers are afraid that if they complain, they will be fired. When a group of workers stopped working in March to protest had not been paid, they were fired. The supervisor warns workers in advance of any inspection, the factory is cleaned and if workers are interviewed it is in the presence of factory management. ("The Neediest and the Greediest" 4) This is only one description of the factory conditions and the requirements that are put on the workers of these factories, on contract with Nike. In order to deal with the criticism Nike gets about working conditions and pay, "Nike Inc recently established a new department with a mandate to continue to evolve it's monitoring of subcontracted manufacturing facilities and to continue to upgrade conditions for workers in subcontracted facilities around the world." ("Nike establishes" 1) This department will monitor, compensation issues, benefits, the work environments, recruiting and hiring policies, overtime policies, worker management, environmental issues and supervision of independent monitoring systems. All these are large steps by Nike to improve it's factories and to repair the relations with people here in the U.S. who are appalled by the reports of poor work environment workers are forced to endure. "The company has been tarred by an image as a sweatshop operator that exploits Asian workers who make shoes and apparel for Nike subcontractors. Nike's efforts to be a good corporate citizen, and they have been considerable, have yet to sway the public forum. Basically, our culture, and our style, is to be a rebel, and we sort of enjoy doing that," says Knight, who created a jock empire based on hero worship backed up with good product and great advertising. "Now that we reached a certain size there's a fine line between being rebel and being a bully, and yeah, we have to walk that line."" (Saporito 6) According to Knight he will continue to make the sport-wear giant successful any way he can. "The estimated net worth of co founder and current CEO Phil Knight is $5.4 billion, one of the wealthiest people in America." (Miller 1) The issue remains whether the sports wear giant, Nike, will continue to do work in other countries, where labor is cheap and regulations are few, and not monitored on a normal basis. Nike will continue to exploit workers in these countries as long as America continues to buy the products. Nike, who recently spent $78 million in one year on advertising worldwide, depends upon Americans and their children to purchase its sneakers. Yet it locates 150 factories and some 50,000 jobs in Asia. Knight recently made the absurd and arrogant statement that, "Americans don't want to make shoes."" (Sanders ) Is CEO Phil Knight right? Are American workers not willing to make the shoes that are so popular in stores and classrooms across the nation. If so, the exploitation will continue and Nike workers will remain underpaid and over worked in poor working conditions.

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Operant Conditioning

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Operant-Conditioning

The use of Operant Conditioning to shape a desired behaviour

Behavioural psychology is a branch of Psychology, which studies the way in which humans learn and adapt to their environment. The ability to adapt and to learn from a constant changing environment is essential for survival of all species, not exclusive to the human race. "Operant conditioning involves operant behaviour, as each individual act operates on the environment to produce rewarding or punishing stimuli". (Myers, 00, 01.).

Operational Conditioning is a method used to increase a desirable behaviour, and to decrease an undesirable behaviour. This method incorporates shaping, positive and negative reinforcement, token economies and reinforcement schedules to further increase a desirable behaviour within a species. B.F. Skinner, one of the most influential behavioural psychologists who developed his theory of Operational Conditioning from Edward L. Thorndike's Law of Effect, used these fundamental principles of reinforcement and reinforcement schedules to shape and modify the behaviour in rats placed in a controlled environment, called a Skinner box. (Myers, 00, 01.).

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Edward. L. Thorndike's theory of the Law of Effect states that "Rewarded behaviour is likely to recur, whereas punished behaviour is likely not likely to recur." (Myers, 00, 01.). Using this theory as a starting point, Skinner developed a behavioural technology that revealed principles of control. These principles enabled Skinner to teach pigeons such behaviours as walking in a figure eight, playing ping-pong, and keeping a missile on course by pecking at a target on a screen. (Myers, 00, 01.).

Operant-Conditioning 4

Critics of Skinners theory denounce it stating "he dehumanized people by neglecting their personal freedom and by seeking to control their actions." (Myers, 00, 01.). Skinner's response was that "recognizing behaviour that is shaped by its consequences, we, as a society,

should administer rewards in ways that promote behaviour that is more desirable. Due to the fact that people's behaviour is already haphazardly controlled by external consequences, why not administer those consequences for human betterment"(Myers, 00, 01.).

The present study is an attempt to test the efficiency of Skinners principles of Operant Conditioning to increase desired study behaviour, by the use of a controlled experiment. A participant recorded his/her daily activities on a daily calendar. For the period of approximately two weeks the participant recorded when the desired behaviour of study occurred naturally. The participant then recorded on a daily calendar the occurrence of the desired behaviour for four weeks with the use of operant conditioning principles as an intervention to gradually increase the amount of time studied. It was expected that the participant would observe and benefit from an increase in the desired study behaviour.

Method

Participant(s)

The participant for this study was a male, approximately 18 years of age, and was a Douglas College psychology 100 student who participated in this study for course credit. For two weeks, he participant was asked to record base line data of his study behaviour as it occurred naturally, then was asked to record his behaviour with a four week intervention, using key techniques and principles of Operant Conditioning. The participant, during the four-week

Operant-conditioning 5

intervention was asked to record the number of minutes studied each day, for each week. The participant agreed and signed a consent form. (see appendix A).

Materials

The participant was asked to use a pencil and daily records calendar to record his daily behaviours, as they occurred naturally for two weeks. After the two-week period, he was then asked to record his daily behaviour and his study behaviour while using the principles of operant conditioning to increase his study behaviour. After each day, if the required behaviour occurred, the participant was given a token in which he could redeem for 'free' time.

The principles of operant conditioning used were continuous, positive reinforcement by using tokens to gain personal time, tokens, a fixed-interval reinforcement schedule as every time the desired behaviour occurred the participant received a token, and shaping, the use of operant conditioning to modify and enhance the desired behaviour. The participant used Myers 6th edition psychology textbook to study from.

Procedure

The participant was asked to record his behaviour every day for two weeks. This would provide a controlled variable in which to compare the experimental variable. After two weeks, the participant was then introduced to principles of operant conditioning (ex positive and potent reinforcement and a reinforcement schedule.). For four weeks, he recorded his daily behaviour and for every time the desired minutes of daily study behaviour was achieved, he received a token. Each token granted to the participant could be redeemed for one hour of personal time. Each week the number of desired study minutes increased. At the end of each week, if all desired study minutes from Monday through Sunday exclusive were achieved, the participant was

Operant-Conditioning 6

allowed to purchase two new CDs. If the desired study minutes were not achieved for each week,

Monday through Sunday exclusive, the participant was denied the purchase of two CDs.

For two weeks the participant collected base line data. In week one of the intervention period the participant was required to study for a minimum of 45 minutes per day, per week. In the second week the participant was required to study for a minimum of 75 minutes per day, per week, then for 15 minutes per day, per week in week three. Finally, the participant was required to study for a minimum of 150 minutes per day, per week. If all of the desired minutes of study was accomplished, at the end of each day the participant received a token in which he could redeem for free minutes of personal time. At the end of each week, if all minutes of study were accomplished, the participant was allowed to purchase two new CDs as a reward. At the end of each week the participant recorded his results on a table, which he could then compare to the required results for that week. At the end of the four week intervention all six weeks of data was collected for the purpose of a compare and contrast table to show the behaviour achieved by the participant, and the predicted, desired behaviour defined by the experiment. (see appendix B)

Results

The effectiveness of operant conditioning principles during the four-week intervention period was assessed by comparing the experimental intervention data with the two-weeks of base line data. As anticipated, the participant's study behaviour gradually and steadily increased during the intervention period.

Operant-Conditioning 7

As the figure 1 demonstrates, the amount of time in minutes in which the participant studied was average. During the four weeks of intervention however, the participant's behaviour steadily increased.

As table one indicates, during the four weeks of intervention the participants study behaviour increased, and as shown in weeks four and five, surpassed the desired target.

Discussion

The results of this study demonstrate that the use of operant conditioning principles, such as positive reinforcement, token economies and reinforcement schedules for shaping behaviour were effective. The two weeks of base line data indicated that the study behaviour of the participant was average, however it was not consistent from day to day. As expected, when the participant underwent a four-week intervention period using operant conditioning principles, his study behaviour steadily increased and was consistent each day.

Past experiments suggest that operant conditioning is effective in shaping a desirable behaviour through reinforcement. B.F. Skinners experiments with rats and pigeons found that the use of successive approximations by rewarding only the desirable behaviour, and administering reinforcers that have a positive effect will promote shaping of a specific and desired behaviour. "By making rewards contingent on desired behaviours, researchers and animal trainers gradually shape complex behaviours." (Myers, 00, pg 0.).

The study encompasses limitations. There were no control measures taken to ensure that the time studies were done at the same time, each day for consistency and continuity. The study itself was a case study, only focussing on one individual, therefore generalization cannot be

Operant-Conditioning 8

drawn form this studies findings. Although tokens were used and reinforcers were present, the fact that the participant administered there own rewards may have altered the results as the participant could give himself rewards regardless if he completed the desired behaviour or not. Finally, due to the fact that the positive reinforced must be, according to Nancy Maloney a psychology professor at Douglas College,"immediate, accessible and potent"(N. Maloney, personal communications, 00.); the reinforcement in this study may not have been potent or accessible enough for the participant as it was not immediate. The reinforcement was given at the end of each week, rather than each day.

Further research would benefit from a reinforcement that is immediate and accessible, administered by the experimenter, rather than the participant, and experimenting upon larger populations, randomly selected would give more credible and sound results in which a generalization may be pulled

In conclusion, the findings support the hypothesis in that operant conditioning is a successful way in which to modify, shape and increase a desired behaviour through the use of its fundamental techniques and principles.

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