Essay about A Mercy Notes - 4980 Words

Some notes for Toni Morrisons novel A Mercy (2008) Part 1: Page and chapter numbers by day for the current edition we are using: Date Chapters Old numbers New Numbers Day 30, Weds. 11/14/12 1-4 1-66 3-78 Day 31, Fri., 11/16/12 5-8 67-134 79-158 Day 32, Mon 11/19/12 9-12 135-167 159-196 Part 2: Chronology of Events Before the story begins, the Blacksmith’s male line has passed down from father to son the art of smelting ore into iron in Africa in termite mines. The Blacksmith may have been captured in pirate raids upon slave ships, and sold in the Americas as an indentured servant. His demeanor in the novel suggests that he was probably at least adolescent when captured, as he does not seem as alienated from his†¦show more content†¦Jacob decides to build himself a magnificent house. In the commotion of building, his one surviving and thriving child, 5-year-old Patrician is kicked in the head by a horse and dies in winter. She must be buried twice, because the ground is too hard to dig her grave at the time of her death. 1689 The Blacksmith arrives to work on the gates to the third house Jacob is building. Florens is smitten with him. While at work on the gates, the Blacksmith successfully treated the boils Sorrow seems to develop as a chronic, pesky (but not lethal) medical condition. 1690 Jacob dies of pox, his dying wish to be carried into the third house he has built. Rebekkah feels pox sores in her mouth, and by morning she is in full outbreak. Florens is sent to fetch the Blacksmith to cure Rebekkah. She travels by wagon. When her fellow-passengers desert the wagon at nightfall, Florens takes off by foot to find the Blacksmith. Lina briefly meets the runaways in the forest. Part 3: Historical Notes by Chapter Chapter 1 Signs; â€Å"when a dog’s profile plays in the steam of a kettle† Florens is â€Å"reading signs.† That is, she is interpreting something unusual in the natural world that seems to correspond with a supernatural way of knowing the world, beyond that accessible to the rational senses. The literary source of this practice is most likely twofold. Henry Louis Gates Jr., in Figures in Black: Words, Signs, and the â€Å"Racial† Self (1989) chooses asShow MoreRelatedEssay about The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare875 Words   |  4 Pagesprince of Morocco, who has come in an attempt to choose the right casket to marry her, he chooses the wrong casket and loses her hand in marriage (Spark Notes: Plot Overview). 3 of the most important things in the play are how people that look nice on the outside may be rotten and mean at heart, giving mercy to enemies may turn back on you (Spark Notes: Themes, Motifs Symbols, par. 3), and how people treat other people based on their religions or beliefs. I realized in this play that people that lookRead MoreEssay about Timeless Work: an Analysis of Marvin Gaye1053 Words   |  5 Pagesquieted or attacked. In the song â€Å"Mercy, Mercy Me†, imagery and symbolism exist as two key archetypes that draw out the elements of pathos in Gaye’s lyrics. The 1960’s environmentalist, also known as Hippies, opened America’s eyes and revealed the gruesome lack of respect they exhibited towards the Earth. Ignorant Americans used the planet as a dumping ground, unaware of the catastrophic outcomes. Gaye wrote â€Å"Mercy, Mercy Me† from an environmentalists perspective and depicts aRead MoreMercys Mission And Values Statement1220 Words   |  5 PagesUniversity of Pittsburgh Medical Center- Mercy, commonly known as UPMC Mercy, was founded on Jan. 1, 1847, by the Sisters of Mercy. It was formerly known as Mercy Hospital of Pittsburgh. â€Å"The Sisters of Mercy, a religious congregation founded in Ireland in 1831 by Catherine McAuley, brought its caring and compassionate labors to burgeoning, industrial Pittsburgh in 1843.† (UPMC Mercy, 2015) The Pittsbu rgh congregation, known as the â€Å"Seven Sisters of Mercy,† was led by Mother Frances Warde and consistedRead MoreMercy Corps s A Natural Disaster, Economy Failure Or Corruption1056 Words   |  5 PagesSince 1979, Mercy Corps has responded to Global disasters, whether it’s a natural disaster, economy failure or corruption. Mercy Corps is there as a global aid to assist with shelter, food, and water. Over the years, they have provided aid for over 40 countries and try to help them build stronger communities. We believe secure, productive and just societies emerge when the private, public, and civil society sectors are able to interact with accountability, inclusive participation and mechanisms forRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s The Merchant Of Venice929 Words   |  4 Pageslegal system, was well aware of certain contentious arguing points concerning the courts of the day, as well as the impact of these points on the average citizen. I will point out certain instanc es where the rule of law should have been over ruled by mercy or fairness, and the consequences to an individual when equity is ignored and the rule of law is followed without judgment. I also will also attempt to draw parallels between the points raised in â€Å"The Merchant of Venice† and today s legal system.Read MoreThe Ethics Of Being A School Administrator Essay1542 Words   |  7 Pagesthat will be important in the future, then share with you some advice for future administrators, and lastly, make some notes on handbooks and how to make effective changes. Future Issues in School Law One issue that Ms. Regan foresees involves transgender laws. These types of laws would affect many sections of the school, in particular, single sex schools and athletics. With Mercy being a same sex (all girls) high school, we have not run into an issue thus far but she predicts this will become anRead MoreMusical Hybridization: Surveying Guillaume1653 Words   |  7 Pagestiming for Dufay learning about and implementing Fauxbourdon harmonizes with Vergene Bella, supposedly composed in the early 1420’s. For example, observe measures 86-87 in Vergene Bella. Vergene Bella, measures 85-87 In the middle of measure 86, note that the middle line parallels the lower tenor a third above. The discantus, though embellished contains seventh suspensions, resolving to sixth intervals, creating the 6/3 chords characteristic of Fauxbourdon. In addition, survey measures 61-63. Read MoreSchool Laws And Other Education Related Legal Information Essay1560 Words   |  7 Pagesschool law issues that will impact the future, then share some advice for upcoming administrators, and lastly, make some notes on handbooks and how to make effective changes. Future Issues in School Law One issue that Ms. Regan foresees involves transgender laws. These types of laws would affect many aspects of the school, in particular, single sex schools and athletics. With Mercy being a same sex (all girls) high school, we have not run into an issue thus far but she predicts this will become anRead MoreSleeping With Alcohol : A Substance As An Addiction Essay980 Words   |  4 Pageshealth. Aside from the obvious tolls that excessive drinking has on the body, Steiner’s partner’s mental well-being is hurt by her consumption of alcohol in that her determination of self-worth is skewed by general perceptions of drinking. As Steiner notes, â€Å"She (her partner) refers to herself as a drunk† (253), and later laments the fact that she may be perceived as such: â€Å"God forbid I should sound like an idiot and a drunk† (260). By placing the negative connotations of the titles of drunk and idiotRead MoreTender Mercies1099 Words   |  5 Pages#8220;Tende r Mercies,#8221; written by Horton Foote, is a screenplay, which presents to the reader ordinary people, who are trying to live decently in an unpredictable and violent world. The reader comes to be aware of many dramatic scenes where the central characters have come to experience many complex but yet fascinating situations in their lives. Reading this screenplay the reader will come to acknowledge one of the centralized themes in #8220;Tender Mercies,#8221; which is the theme of

Regency Era Customs - 857 Words

Social Customs in the Regency Era The Regency era was a time which depicted prosperity and bona fidelity. Having a sense of propriety was a must in the era of Jane Austen. Social customs in the Regency era was one of the most principal activities when interacting with one another, including body language (Sanborn). These customs were expressed through characters from Jane Austen herself (Ray 236). When socializing it was important to have the proper manners, properly coming out, and becoming a gentleman. Jane Austen expresses the customs of the Regency era through her characters and their attitudes (Kastan). Introducing oneself to another without proper introduction from a mutual acquaintance was frowned upon (Sanborn). An example of†¦show more content†¦Though addressing those of higher status than one was considered proper, it was frowned upon to repeatedly address one in a formal manner (Pool 43). When socializing it was very important to consider who one is speaking to a nd how one is speaking. Once a gentry girl, a young girl of the upper class, turned the age of sixteen she was officially bride material. The year of coming out for a gentry lady was exciting and eye opening. A young lady would make her official debut of coming out at a formal ball which included new and old acquaintances, friends, and family. To prepare for her debut at a coming out ball, the young gentry girl’s parents purchased a new gown, jewelry, and even took a bit longer than usual to do her hair with the latest trends (Ray 114). There are a few signs of a young girl’s coming out and discovering a new perspective on life. Attending many balls and parties, display great amounts of confidence when socializing, and walking with a gentleman were signs of coming out (Ray 116). The young gentry girls were not allowed to call on themselves and the gentlemen were not allowed to pay attention to the younger gentry girls which had not yet come out (Ray 114). Though these young ladies were now seen as mature, they still required a chaperone by their side at social gatherings (Ray 115). Coming out was an exciting newShow MoreRelatedGender Roles . Regency England Is The Time Period In England1544 Words   |  7 PagesGender Roles Regency England is the time period in England from 1811 to 1820 in which neoclassical ideas resurged, creating distinctive trends in architecture, clothes, furniture, literature, and politics, establishing a new style of society. This time period is specifically distinguished as between the â€Å"Georgian Era† and the â€Å"Victorian Era.† Ultimately England’s society as an aeon acclaimed for its fine arts came new economic, social, and political changes. Specifically, females were given newRead MoreJane Austins Pride and Prejudice: A Famous Work of Englands Regency Period 1636 Words   |  7 PagesThe Regency Period in England was an extravagant era often associated with prominent social, political, economic, and artistic advancements. It took place in the early 1800’s and was a time of much elegance and aristocracy. Movies and books set in this time period all seem to highlight the elegance and romance that was prevalent at the time. Famous Regency Era literary works, such as Pride and Prejudice, portray young English women getting their happily-ever-after endings with their true loves. UnfortunatelyRead MoreVictorian Influence on Womens Fashions Essay1324 Words   |  6 PagesBefore Research Before the Victorian Era, the main focus of fashion was for men. Women’s’ fashion changed some, but the general idea of long skirts, tight bodices, and heavy fabrics stayed consistent. Real changes to style and fashion were not made until about the 1840’s, when Queen Victoria came into power. After her rise to Queen, the fashions began to change dramatically. Pride and Prejudice is a book written in this time, and the fashion is clearly visible. Looking at fashion of the time canRead MoreWomen During The Medieval Era Essay1535 Words   |  7 PagesWomen withstood a multitude of limitations in the medieval era. Due to the political, social, and religious restrictions women encountered, historians neglected to realize that they demonstrated agency. The female experience is something that has been overlooked until recently. Unfortunately, without the knowledge of how women found ways to exert their power, we are experiencing a deficit of knowledge in this period. T hrough the close examination of the primary sources: The Gospel of Mary, Dhouda’sRead MoreSocial Classes In Pride And Prejudice And Jane Eyre1605 Words   |  7 PagesPride and Prejudice exemplifies the dominance a male has over a female which is important within the view of social class. It is describing the things a woman should do which is a form of control and domination. This is significant due to within the era and setting this novel was created, this is exactly how women lived their lives; abiding by a male figure which was usually their father or husband. â€Å"Women are supposed to be very calm generally: but women feel just as men feel; they need exerciseRead MoreJane Austen And Charlotte Bronte s Social Class1748 Words   |  7 Pagesword will be but half deserved.† (Pride and Prejuidce, chapter 32) This quote taken from Pride and Prejuidce examplifies the dominance a male has over a female. It is describing the things a woman should do which is a form of control and within the era and setting this novel was created, this is exactly how women lived their lives; obiding by a male figure. â€Å"Women are supposed to be very calm generally: but women feel just as men feel; they need exercise for their faculties, and a field for theirRead MorePride and Prejudice and A Midsummer Nights Dream1851 Words   |  8 PagesElizabeth Bennet since the latter was the object of Darcys affections in the novel. Mr. Darcy, a tall handsome man of noble mien who is earning ten thousand a year and resides at Pemberley, a large estate located at Derbyshire. Scholars of the English Regency believes that Jane Austen based Mr. Darcys fictional estate on the Chatwsworth House, during her stay in Bakewell, a small market town near Chatsworth House. Chatsworth House is the home of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, and the building itselfRead MoreA Brief Biography of Lord Byron Essay2200 Words   |  9 Pagespeople than any other intellectual creation of man. In fact, many of the most compelling works of literature come from George Gordon Byron (The sixth Lord Byron) , who is considered on e of the most instrumental Romantic Writers of all time and in his era was incredibly renowned for his dramatic, lyrical, and narrative works. He is famous for writing eight diverse plays, despite the the fact they were not designed for stage, on very speculative and historical subjects. Through his writing style, heRead MoreBrief History of Prostitution3302 Words   |  14 Pagesthe oldest trade in the world; the Europeans admitted to it during the colonial years. In some European societies, prostitution was associated with the notion of hospitality – various women of the house were offered to guests passing through. This custom used to exist in Chaldea, in India, in Egypt and throughout the Orient. Such sexual hospitality sometimes even implied a religious aspect that was organized by the priests of certain gods and from which they benefited. Sacred prostitutes were notRead MoreHotel Industry4982 Words   |  20 Pagesthe creation of the lobby followed shortly thereaf ter. The business of providing strangers with hospitable means has come along way. What once was a service to fellow man is now the foundation numerous economies throughout the world. The modern era of the hotel industry saw its beginnings in 1794 New York where the first ever hotel was built. Profit potential was recognized with the inception of the industrial revolution. Stock companies invested in hotels seeking profit from property value appreciation

American Women Free Essays

Human sexuality can be seen as the way human beings experience their sexuality and express it. This results from their individual awareness as indicated by their biological sex and how they respond to erotic experiences. Human sexuality has however appeared as a thorny issue with many societies either ignoring to talk about it or shying away of the whole topic of sexuality. We will write a custom essay sample on American Women or any similar topic only for you Order Now Due to the negative impacts that have resulted from this behavior, governments have come up with policies that are aimed at addressing human sexuality related problems. The increase in the number of HIV/AIDS victims in the world has triggered the discussion amount human sexuality. Research indicates that women are mo vulnerable to contracting venereal diseases including HIV/AIDS. Efforts to minimize the spread of the diseases have not actually succeeded as expected. The most neglected groups of people in matters of human sexuality in America includes single women and women in cohabiting relationships. The fear to contract to avoid unexpected pregnancies has led to masturbation with others engaging in homosexuality. This paper examines single motherhood, cohabitation, STD’s, masturbation and sexual preferences among American women. According to a research carried out by Lindberg L. D and Singh S, single American women exceed eighteen million in number. Statistics further reveal that in the age bracket of women between 19 and 45 are single. Ninety percent of these single ladies â€Å"are sexually experienced†. Shockingly, 22 percent of the single women and 2 percent of the married engage in sex with more than one partners. Over 50% of single American women get pregnant unintentionally. For those single women, getting health insurance is more difficulty for them as compared to the married. This indicates that single American women greatly indulge in sex. Despite all these findings â€Å"reproductive health care needs† of American women has not been upgraded to cater for the increased needs. Furthermore, the American society lacks appropriate counseling services. The government effort to discourage single women to abstain and wait until the time they get married has proved to be futile. It has therefore been realized that proper policies to address the issue are yet to be put in place. Single women have been ignored in matters of sexual behaviors and the needs for quality reproductive health care. As a result these single women are at risk of contracting STD’s and AIDS, having unplanned pregnancies and births (Knox Schacht 2009, pg. 279). Impermanence of marriage has made cohabiting to be one of the marriage alternatives. Research indicates that over nine percent of those women cohabiting have more than one sex partners. This is very shocking because the same women who are cohabiting rarely get health insurance in America. They are however better of as compared to the single women since in terms of accessibility to important services. This is however a short term alternative since soon or later, the cohabiting couples will separate and once again lead a single life. It is therefore important to note that cohabiting American women become single at different periods of their life. Increase in the number of single women has led to rise in cohabitation. This has been triggered by impermanence of unions that include marriage and cohabitation. Kail and Cavanaugh 2008, pg. 408 argue out that cohabitation has increased over ten times over the last 30 years. Statistics show that in 1970, only 523,000 people cohabited as compared to the year 2000 when a whooping five and a half million American were reported to cohabit. Most of them cohabited to facilitate sexual convenience and at the same time sharing expenses. Such couples have no intention of establishing a long lasting relationship and their goal is not marrying. The others engage in cohabitation to try whether marriage can work for them. The other group of cohabitors purely uses cohabitation as a substitute to marriage. This has been highly reported in older women and men as compared to the other two previously mentioned which are highly practiced by young adults (Kail and Cavanaugh 2008, pg. 408). One of the major problems affecting women in America is the issue of STD’s including HIV. Women reproductive health has been given adequate attention in America however single women have been side looked. The danger of ignoring reproductive health services to single women has been reflected by the increase in the number of unplanned births and sexually transmitted diseases that include HIV. This is because their sexual relationships are unstable. According to O’Leary and Jemmott 1995, pg. 14, most of the women who live to the south of United States contract HIV through heterosexual transmission. This has been high among minority groups. In a report printed in the Jet magazine April 2008, pg, 53 indicated that over 50% of African American teenage women were suffering from a sexually transmitted disease as compared to the white and teenage girls of Mexican origin with less than 20% of them who have at least one STD. The report indicated that there was poor communication between the teenage girls and the other members of the society on sexuality issues. Education on STDs was identified as one of the best methods of reversing the trend of STD infection. Early testing was also said to reduce the risk of spreading these diseases. Research indicates that most of the American women underestimate the risk for contracting HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. This was confirmed by the research carried out by American medical women’s association in 1994 which indicated that 73% of all American women aged between 16 and 60 years strongly believe that they are safe from sexually transmitted diseases. This research further indicated that 67% of American women have no idea of other STDs apart from AIDS. 33% of them have no idea about AIDS. Over 67% of the total engages in unsafe sex and less than 33% of them believe monogamy can reduce the risk of spreading HIV/AIDS ( O’Leary Jemmott 1995, pg. 14). Greenberg, Bruess, and Conklin 2010, pg 475-477 found out that 40% of American women masturbate. This includes 45% of American married women. This was found to be directly proportional to the practice of vaginal sex, oral sex and anal sex among American women implying that those women who widely engage in virginal sex, oral sex and anal sex are great funs of masturbation. Wingood and DiClemente 2002, pg. 55 identified two main reasons why women masturbate. In their research, 63% of American women admitted that masturbation was a way of relieving sexual tension while 42% did it to acquire physical pleasure (Wingood and DiClemente pg. 55). Researchers have confirmed that masturbation does not cause any disease, infertility or dysfunction and this has encouraged many people to practice it as an alternative to sex. This practice has been influenced by a change in American culture in which sex was believed to be for procreation only, not for pleasure. Majority of then engage in sex for pleasure and whenever a partner is not readily available, women prefer to masturbate. This has led to a drastic increase in the demand for abortion among American women. It is a clear indication that sex is not only for procreation but largely for pleasure. This practice is mostly common among those people who are not deeply entrenched in religious practices as most of American religions view masturbation as unreligious practice. Though masturbation has not been associated with major physical problems many women have been reported to suffer from Psychological problems as a result of masturbation. Littleton Engebretson 2002, pg. 339 pointed out that the media has largely influenced American women on the way they view their sexuality. This has been directly translated to their mode of dressing and their use of grooming products. Sexual preference among American women can be viewed in three perspectives; sexual identity, sexual behaviors and sexual desires. Peplau and Garnets, 2002, pg. 333 are of the opinion that American women have a high erotic plasticity. In their argument, they pointed out that women have diverse forms of attraction with each other. They also noted that women sexual preference is highly affected by culture and social forces. This is because social identities and social institutions are provided and shaped by the society. All newly introduced practices may be accepted or rejected and either way, the women are mostly affected. Homosexuality was not exposed in American society. This has however changed with more women and men coming in the open to declare their sexual orientation as either being lesbians or homosexuals. Majority of American women are heterosexuals however â€Å"statistics indicate that heterosexual women face greater danger than heterosexual men in casual sex†. Statistics indicate that the number of lesbians in America is on the rise and this has raised many questions in regard to gay and lesbian marriages. Religious groups especially the majority Christian groups in America have expressed their concern about this trend however research indicates that homosexuality is slowly being accepted in American society. With the rise in the number of lesbians, bisexuality is also spreading its roots in America. Sexual preference has however faced a great challenge due to the increase in sexual dysfunction among American women. It is very important to realize that Sexual dysfunction is posing a great threat to sexuality has been highly reported among American women. The main causes have been cited as; depression, long term stress, negative attitude towards pregnancy especially for single women, increased demand to be a new mother, problems associated with women’s negative body image, culture and religious inclination and emotional distress. Other causes include physical conditions and hormonal causes. Conclusion Single mothers should be involved in policy formulations and implementation especially on matters that involve human sexuality. Neglecting them will create a gap that will impact negatively on their lives and the lives of entire American society. Cohabiting couples should be educated on the dangers of engaging in such relationship. This trend , if not checked may destroy the family which is the basic social institution. Sexual preferences should not be used to justify discrimination especially when it comes to heath care services and health care insurance covers. Masturbation should not only be viewed in terms of how safe it is. The focus should be directed to its negative psychological effects. Since most women issues have been ignore and the issue of human sexuality has been ignore for a long time, a thorough research should be conducted to establish the impact of single motherhood and cohabitation on sexual preferences. Scientific and psychological evidence concerning masturbation should be established in order to establish whether masturbation can be used to fight HIV/AIDS without negatively affecting the those who practice it. References Jet magazine; Apr 2008; Why African-American Teenage Girls Are Infected With STDs At higher rates 14 – Page 53, Vol. 113, Johnson Publishing Company Jerrold S. Greenberg, Clint E. Bruess, Sarah C. Conklin. (2010). Exploring the Dimensions of Human Sexuality Jones Bartlett Learning Knox, D. , Schacht, C. (2009). Choices in Relationships: An Introduction to Marriage and the Family. Cengage Learning Littleton, L. Y. , Engebretson, J. (2002). Maternal, neonatal, and women’s health nursing. Cengage Learning NEW YORK MAGAZINE. What are the risks to heterosexuals? 23 Mar 1987, Vol. 20, No. 12 New York Media, LLC. O’Leary, A. , Jemmott, L. S. , (1995). Women at risk: issues in the primary prevention of AIDS Springer Peplau,L. A. , Garnets, L. D. (2002). Women’s Sexualities: New Perspectives on Sexual Orientation and Gender. Wiley-Blackwell Robert V. Kail, John C. Cavanaugh. (2008). Human Development: A Life-Span View. Cengage Learning Wingood, G. M. , DiClemente, R. J. , (2002). Handbook of women’s sexual and reproductive health. Springer How to cite American Women, Papers

International Letters of Social and Humanistic †MyAssignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about the International Letters of Social and Humanistic. Answer: Introduction: The company is having its competitors inBiotronik; Boston Scientific; Medtronic; Ela Medical. The competitors are available with the devices with variety of approaches and many of its competitors are settled with merging and acquisition approach. The competitors are differentiated based on their products and the size of the product, implantation process, programming, product life and the varied software and hardware process. The threat of the new entrants can be fulfilled by the price strategy, which can discourage the entry of the entrants and the expensive investment that is required to manage the production of the product. Arelation is needed to be builtwith the suppliers in order to access the product design and material. The process of meeting the strict standards of the governments including the testing and quality standards can stand out to be a threat for the new entrants and for Aurora. Along with the threat of the competitors product which affect the sales of Aurora, the substitutes which are available for the same treatment are transcutaneous pacing anti-arrhythmic drugs which are preferred by the patients to take medication in place of doing implantation. The technological conventions such as the ICD, which are generated due to the changes in the culture, have also brought about changes and variedness in the customer preferences. The company reports the sales of its product per unit is $18750 which is relatively less as compared to its competitors. The buyers serve with the power of bargaining are highly affecting for the industry and the company as well. The choice of therapeutic approach depends completely over the patients and the physicians preference that will be providing with the treatment. Consumers are price focused along with the quality, size and company reputation. The option is upto the customers to decide that they need implantation or medication (Burton et al. 2015). Bargaining Power of Suppliers The company had less number of suppliers with respect to its core components supplies such as titanium, battery, cardio version. Small number of specialist companies designs these core components. Overall, the suppliers are common for all the products. Due to less suppliers in 2016 Aurora faced shortages of micro controller which is used in ACCUTRON, when the tsunami destroyed the Freescale production factory which was responsible to supply materials for devices. After building and designing, the products are undergone by the designing, testing and quality standards that are regulated by the government. The product is introduced to the market for the patients of ECG and is programmed accordingly to analyse various arrhythmias. The company focuses towards achieving overall cost leadership in the industry by producing low cost product with high availability of its product in the market. As compared to its competitors mainly the government companies, who sell the product at a range starting from $12000,the ACCUTRON is sold at $18750 per unit. The company built its devices in a complete clean room environment under microscope. These devices are handmade and are made by the help of trained facility. Among the private companies, it provides its product with less price and best offered quality. The workers who are trained make the products and development programmes for 6 months. The price is relatively low as compared to its competitors because of the researches that are taken place within the organizations production process. The investing amount for Aurora is over USD 650 million just for the training and development programmes. This stands out as the manufacturing price of per unit product as $7685. The company must ensure that product differentiation and brand loyalty had to be secured in order to gain competitive advantage as the consumers are primarily focused on the price, quality and reputation of the company product (Meihamiand Meihami2014). The company Aurora needs to primarily focus on its technological interventions and be reliant on its suppliers to increase the production and maintain the production of ACCUTRON smoothly, as it cannot affect the production per unit. The supplier, if changed, can be an issue as it changes the overall process of the product as such, revalidation, reprogramming and regulatory review of the new devices. The Accturon is in the growth phase of its market life cycle as the demand of the product is gradually increasing in the market. The constant rise in the development of the product as a trusted one and the gradual rise in the number of patients preferring the pacemaker to the medicinal substitutes and the treatment of the disease. The manufacturing company of Aurora has boasted of a constant increase in the sales of the product since its introduction to the market. The various aspect further boosting the sales of the ICD in Australia is the gradual increase in the number of the people with cardiac condition. It is estimated that that the number of the cardiac patients in the country will continue to rise leading to the increase in the sale of the ICD devices in the country (Dennekampet al. 2015). Majority of the people suffering heart conditions tend to prefer pacemakers to antiarrhythmic drugs as they have a large number of side effects including the worsening of their cardiac condi tion. The ICD on the contrary eases the process and it can be controlled remotely if it is causing any trouble to the patient. One of the major reasons of the success of the product is its pricing in the market. There are a number of factors affecting the market when the consumers decide to buy an important product such as the pacemaker, and their lives depend on it (Mond and Crozier 2015). The major reason for its success is the fact that the patients trust the brand and its price is competitive against the wide array of the other products available. The different aspects relating to the marketing issues related to the company include the production capacity of the organization. It is seen that the product sold extensively since its advent into the market till 2015 and there was a gradual decline in the books of sales for the following two years. Contrary to the popular belief the cause of the decline in the sales was not the lack of the popularity of the product but the lack of the raw materials to assemble the products. The product was dependent on the Japanese company Freescale to manufacture a number of microcontrollers that were to be used in the device. The destruction of the company due to the tsunami stopped the supply of the microcontrollers which were necessary for the manufacture of the ICD devices. This loss forced Aurora to include a number of different changes in the devices which included a number of programming and the structural changes. The programming and the structural changes made the production process to lag behind and the sales fell. The sales therefore do not show the true demand of the product in the market as the factory was lackin g the production to meet the market demand. The company is therefore placed in the growing sector of the different companies manufacturing the ICDs. The various types of the pacemaker available in the market are differently priced and based on the pricing and the build quality Aurora provides an affordable option with all the major technological hardware and the latest facilities. The pricing is one of the major reasons whythe product is quite successful. The cost of production shows that the company gains a fair share of the selling price as their profit. The overall growth of the market share of the organization along with the increasing number of patients opting for the affordable option for the long-term medication of the cardiac disorders has led to the success of this company and its growth. Strategic management in a business unit is the policies and decisions that are taken by the company in order to organize the planning and the operations of the business. The product that Aurora has to offer is an ICD instrument (Hill et al. 2014). Following are a few points that the management of the Aurora should consider while making policies: Research and Development Boost: As the product that the company have is based on technology and is for a patient who is under life threatening condition, focus should be on improving the product so that the cost of product can be reduced at the same time per unit cost of the item will also reduce this will allow the company to cater to a larger customer group. Though the insurance coverage of the public includes the cost of the process. The focus of the company should be in the short run on research investment and on manufacturing investment. CSR- Every organization is focused on sustainable development and Aurora is a company that deals with sensitive cases for their business prospect. To balance the situation the company should include corporate social responsibility as a part of their business model to help people who will not be able to recover even with the help of the equipment. The company can come up with strategies in order to help the people and to help the society (Stead and Stead 2017). Reduction of Manufacturing Cost: the manufacturing process of the equipment is high as the materials that are used in manufacturing are also expensive hence the company should focus in reduction of the labor cost by setting up units in countries where the cost of labor is low. This will help the company in reducing the price of the equipment even further. Though the company has advantage in the price category but this will also help the company in the future prospects. Diversification in the Product Line: there are other instruments that are used in the recovery of a patient these are some of the diversification option for the company. For example: manufacturing of mechanical limbs for the ones who require amputation. There are also many equipments that are required in the medical field the company should slowly proceed to expand the product line of the company. This can be a long term strategy of the organization and the process can be achieved with the help of recruiting scientists and more employees to support the diversification process. The management must come up with small goals and take calculative steps in diversification (Rothaermel 2015). Promotion and Sales: The Company can incorporate the process of direct selling with the help of representative like the medicine companies, the organization can have representative talk to the surgeons and the physicians talk about the design and the unique features of the products. There can be traditional advertisements in the hospitals and medical magazines. This will help the company build a brand value and will help in securing their place in the market. The company can request and present the qualities of the product with the researcher who are working in this field to include the name of the product in their paper which may have the potential to be published in medical journals (Huang andSarigll 2014). Brand Image: The company has to work upon building a brand image so that they have a recall value as they do not sell items directly to the user it is difficult to establish an image like any other companies do but with the help of strategic communication and promotional process the organization should work towards building an image of an innovative organization that cares for the patients (Wheelenet al. 2017). Reference Burton, S.A., Amir, N., Asbury, A., Lange, A. and Hardinger, K.L., 2015. Treatment of antibody?mediated rejection in renal transplant patients: a clinical practice survey.Clinical transplantation,29(2), pp.118-123. Dennekamp, M., Straney, L.D., Erbas, B., Abramson, M.J., Keywood, M., Smith, K., Sim, M.R., Glass, D.C., Del Monaco, A., Haikerwal, A. and Tonkin, A.M., 2015. Forest fire smoke exposures and out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in Melbourne, Australia: a case-crossover study.Environmental health perspectives,123(10), p.959. Hill, C.W., Jones, G.R. and Schilling, M.A., 2014.Strategic management: theory: an integrated approach. Cengage Learning. Huang, R. and Sarigll, E., 2014. How brand awareness relates to market outcome, brand equity, and the marketing mix. InFashion Branding and Consumer Behaviors(pp. 113-132). Springer, New York, NY. Meihami, B. and Meihami, H., 2014. Knowledge Management a way to gain a competitive advantage in firms (evidence of manufacturing companies).International letters of social and humanistic sciences,3, pp.80-91. Mond, H.G. and Crozier, I., 2015. The Australian and New Zealand cardiac pacemaker and implantable cardioverter-defibrillator survey: calendar year 2013.Heart, Lung and Circulation,24(3), pp.291-297. Rothaermel, F.T., 2015.Strategic management. McGraw-Hill Education. Stead, J.G. and Stead, W.E., 2017.Sustainable strategic management. Routledge. Wheelen, T.L., Hunger, J.D., Hoffman, A.N. and Bamford, C.E., 2017.Strategic management and business policy. pearson.

Amazing Ice essays

Amazing Ice essays Life as we know it would not exist if ice were denser then liquid water. Rivers, lakes, and oceans control much of our climate, because large amounts of water take a very long time to heat up and cool down. So when at the beginning of summer the water is still cold from the winter, and at the beginning of winter the water is still moderately warm from the summer. That is why it is usually cooler on the lakefront. If ice happened to be even slightly denser the liquid water, then that means that it would sink. When winter came around when the water would freeze it would drop to the bottom of the body of water and sit there, and in the protection of the all the water above heat would never reach it and it would never melt. This means that over time whole oceans could freeze over. This would drastically drop the average temperature of our planet. It would be impossible for any type of water life would be impossible to live. Water is said to be our life source, our whole way about bringin g water to running faucets in homes would have to be different. We would have to figure a way to melt large amounts of this water for household uses. We might even have to buy our water in stores at obviously more expensive prices because of the more expensive process of obtaining water. If there were no water life many different kinds of Indians that relied on fish for their main source of food would have either perished or would have moved inland to find other ways to live. Many towns that rely on fish as a main export would also be less productive, such as Boston where most of the citys income is from lobster or other fish. The whole human body would be different; right now a person can only live without water for a few days. Humans would have to evolve into Camels to have any chance of survival in such harsh conditions. The list can go one forever on about how life would be so completely and utterly different from a slight change in t ...

Anti-Gravity Water Science Magic Trick

Anti-Gravity Water Science Magic Trick Amaze your friends with this simple science magic trick that turns ordinary water into anti-gravity water. Materials for the Water Trick Water glass with a round rim (wine glass or typical water glass)T-shirtWater Basically, all you need is water, a glass, and a cloth. A t-shirt is easy to find. Other excellent choices for the fabric would be a handkerchief, square of silk, or mens dress shirt. Choose a fabric with a tight weave or knit. Perform the Anti-Gravity Water Trick Place the cloth over the glass.Use your hand to push a depression into the fabric. This is so you can more easily fill the glass and also helps wet the material.Fill the glass about three-quarters full of water.Pull the fabric tightly over the glass.You have two choices here. You can quickly flip the glass, using a hand to hold the fabric tight. Alternatively, you can put one hand over the top of the glass, while using the other to hold the material tight and slowly invert the glass. Pull the hand over the glass away.The water doesnt pour out! How It Works Water has a high surface tension. In this trick, the water molecules absorbed into the fabric hold onto other water molecules inside the water glass. Even though there are gaps in the fabric, the attraction between water molecules overcomes the force of gravity trying to pull the water down. What do you think would happen if you lowered the surface tension of the water by using a glass that had a residue of detergent on it? What if you tried the trick with another liquid? Chances are good the surface tension of the water would be lowered enough that youd get wet! Another fun trick that works on the same principle is Magic Colored Milk.

European Politics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

European Politics - Essay Example The constitution of the European countries have explicitly protected the interests of the minority communities; and encouraged their participation in social, economic and political fronts. Childre (2003) observed that the constitution of the European countries supports democratic practices, and firmly encourages that the democratic notions shall be adopted and implemented on the basis of its merit. The European society is cosmopolitan society, but the majority of the aboriginals are reluctant to consider this as fact. The contemporary political theorists considered cosmopolitanism as "citizenship of the world, which is a critique of ordinary theories of political obligation, with their tendency to focus on our duties to fellow citizens, not to people elsewhere", as discussed by Patrick (2005). The consequence of the cosmopolitanism is expected to be "single world government with corresponding global citizenship"; this was evaluated by Patrick (2005). Surprisingly such aspirations have not discussed by the serious circles. Ulrich (2006) proposed that the modified and renewed version of the cosmopolitanism includes "everyone in the world in a single global web of mutual obligations". However the reservations and criticism mounted against cosmopolitanism is relevant to the negligence of the "obligations of reciprocity"; there has been consensus on the fact that the society has "obligations to give benefits in return for benefits received". The issue commonly observed by the society at large is relev ant to the psychological possibility based upon the desirability claims, "the elimination of a special motivating attachment to fellow-citizens is not possible, but the elimination of special motivating attachments to fellow-citizens is expected to develop "certain desirable form of political life impossible". In this context, the cosmopolitan has revealed two broad options i.e. "the viability of politics as usual depends not upon certain beliefs that fellow-citizens deserve more of one's service, but upon commitments to the polity itself", therefore if the possibility of the strictly cosmopolitan is possible then Patrick (2005) believes that "a commitment to a universal set of principles embodied in a particular political constitution and a particular set of political institutions" is engaged. The practicability of such desirable politics has the potential to disarm the anti-cosmopolitan; Ulrich (2006) believes that this has provided that the denial of the form of political life is practical, and for this purposes the "moral commitments run over into a discussion of political theory". Literature Review Wayne (2001) believed that within the European society we still find traces of non-compliance against democratic principle of equality and justice. Racism and xenophobia has limited and discouraged the participation of the minority or under-privileged communities into political and social affairs. The European society which has been staunch supporter and enthusiast towards the proactive participation of the minority communities into public and private affairs; the current political state of some European countries indicates pessimistic outlook, where the interests and rights of the minority communities have been violated or ignored. The European society is multi-linguistic, multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-religious society. The penetration of the Africans, Arabs

Economics for Managers Japan Case Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Economics for Managers Japan Case - Essay Example For almost a decade, the Japanese have started to adopt a risk-averse mindset after the fall of the dotcoms. Due to the circumstances, zero-return in cash has become the mindset of the people. While prices continue to drop, people further delay their consumption for the hope of lower prices. This hoarding of cash or investing in zero-return or non-interest-bearing savings leads to stagnation and later, worsening deflation in the economy. Thus the country wishes for some inflation to happen by increasing aggregate demand either through an increase in consumer spending, or channeling of money to some real investments in order to stimulate growth in the economy. Because of inflation, the relatively low or zero-return of investments most Japanese consumers have produces a negative interest rate. The Japanese Central Bank now hopes that consumers will then shift their investments to interest-bearing or higher-yielding investments to offset the effect of inflation, such as shares and real estate in order to give a boost to the economy. The cost-push inflation in the economy thus requires the Japanese Central Bank to use some monetary policy to curb it. However, Japanese Central Bank cannot just increase the interest rate in the meantime. While the global economy seems to pose a threat, increasing the interest rate will hurt the economy and worsen the impact of this threat if it happens. Thus, the Japanese Central Bank will keep the interest rates low in order to lessen the impact of the economic crisis abroad to the Japanese economy. The aggregate prices or the overall inflation within an economy is set by the interaction of the aggregate demand and aggregate supply. On one hand, aggregate demand is determined by the total amount  of consumption, investment, government spending and net exports in an economy.

Organizational Environment Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Organizational Environment - Assignment Example Therefore, the firm should consider the factors such as the availability of the commodity, which will ensure sustained supply hence the customers, are not disappointed (Jones, 2010). They should also consider their technical ability or their ability to invest in the machinery, which will ensure that there is value addition to the product as well as large-scale productivity. The young agile manager should also go out and ascertain the actual market by quantifying it before making the enormous investment. The manger should also consider conducting intensive research on the possible ways of differentiating the product to attract a wider market through the ever-growing technology and the cultural diversity. Technology available should also be considered as the firm tries to venture into production, as technology will facilitate both mechanization and automation, which will go the large way to enlarge the production of the Kaolas. The natural factors enhancing the survival of the animals have to be considered as they affect production (Ito & Rose, 2004/2005, winter). 1. What additional factors should be considered if Krazy Koalas decides to expand to Ireland, Spain, and possibly the Middle East? Due to geographical differences between the US and Ireland, Spain, and the Middle East, the political, social and economic factors will tend to be different. Therefore the other factors which have to be considered before extending the supply of the Kaolas in the Ireland, Spain and middle east are:- political factors, these are the decisions pertaining to taxation, investments and fiscal policies of the country. If the policies of the mentioned governments are not in favor of imports or policies are designed to discourage the importation from certain countries then it would be costly hence unwise to expand their markets to these countries. Socially, the company should consider cultural diversity between these two countries, in one way or the other there might be cultures, whi ch would not support the consumption of koalas in some form (Jones, 2010). Therefore, the essence of research on the different cultures and the name they give to the product or the form in which they are likely to consume it for the sake of providing a better product to the right group of people. Such studies will facilitate differentiation, which is healthy for increased production. Economically, factors such as the inflation rates and exchange rates must be looked at as they are likely to determine whether it is economical to produce and supply to these countries or not. As at this time, the fall in value for the dollar has made the affordability of the koalas in both Spain and Ireland to increase, as they are quite affordable. 2. What are your specific recommendations for Krazy Koalas? What should the company do, and why? Krazy koala is a company, which has shown prospects of growth due to the ever-increasing demand for the products they offer. The management should therefore be tasked with the responsibility of ensuring that they differentiate the products they are providing to widen the base of their supplies as well as try and block the potential competitors. The management can also look for ways of minimizing the production costs as much as possible which would make way for the expansion of the profits to support the firm in its

Statutory Protection of Employment Law

Statutory Protection of Employment Law The Failed Promise of Statutory Protection The subject of the legal regulation of labor is one of great complexity. Up to the present time a priori objections to such regulations have delayed their introduction, and only gradually, as experience has demonstrated their usefulness, have they been extended to situations which seem to require them. In †¦ the United States the notion that the legislative power should not be used to regulate conditions of employment has been abandoned by most thoughtful persons, but the prejudice against interference is as strong as ever. Henry R. Seager, Economics, 1904, p. 431 Following a period of legislative inaction, selective statutory restrictions on the right to dismiss came into existence largely as a byproduct of labor legislation of the late 1920s and early 1930s. The introduction of limitations to the at-will rule within the NLRA framework, in particular, marked the long overdue recognition that, as long as employers had the right to dismiss employees, at-will public policy goals, such as industrial peace and the extension of orderly collective bargaining, were unattainable. Following a roughly historical chronology, this chapter explores how, from the 1920s onwards, restrictions on dismissals were constructed around notions of â€Å"orderly† collective bargaining. Thematically, the focus of the chapter is on the creation of new institutional structures and their impact on the status of workers in terms of job security. Underlying this analysis is the tentative hypothesis that the NLRA, and the practices which evolved from it, provided unions and their members with a sense of control over dismissal rights which was largely illusionary. This mistaken sense of control, in turn, encouraged unions to put efforts into job security enhancing measures at the plant and company level which ultimately did not constrain managerial prerogatives effectively. This lack of real control became apparent in the mid 1960s, when the Supreme Court handed down several decisions which reaffirmed the right of management to close branches and discharge employees without u nion interference. Apart from excluding non-unionized workers, the NLRA system, perhaps against the intentions of its original sponsors, ultimately came to severely circumscribe the right of unions to bargain over job security at the very time when such protection was needed. The Promised Lands of Protected Bargaining At the turn of the century, many US industrial relations scholars questioned the assumption that injustices in the labor market could be remedied through legislative acts and/or, more generally, via a strengthening of individual employment rights. Opposition to legislative approaches was grounded primarily in the belief that solutions to the â€Å"labor problems of industrial societies† could be created more easily by strengthening the standing of organized labor as collective bargaining agent rather than by creating a host of specific employment regulations.[1] Accordingly, in 1911, the Harvard economist Taussig suggested that the most urgent task in reforming US employment relations was not detailed new legislation per se, but rather the protection of bargaining representatives:[2] The workmen clearly gain by having their case in charge of chosen representatives, whether or not these be fellow employees; and collective bargaining and unionization up to this point surely bring no offsetting disadvantages to society. As to the immediate employees, there is often a real danger that he who presents a demand, or a grievance, will be â€Å"victimized.† He will be discharged and perhaps blacklisted; very likely on some pretext, but in fact because â€Å"he has made trouble.† In the 1930s, Taylors influential Labor Problems and Labor Law argued, very much along the lines of earlier reform advocates, that individual workers had been deprived of their ability to bargain primarily because of the expansion and centralization of management.[3] To remedy this situation, Taylor argued, the state had to enable workers to bargain collectively, both for wages and for the protection of their jobs. Said Taylor:[4] Legally free to dispose of his services at any price he deems just, immediate necessity in the face of an oversupply of labor reduces that freedom to empty words. His [meaning the workers] inferior bargaining position is not wholly due to economic inequality, but in part to a lack of knowledge of labor conditions, and a bargaining skill less effective than that of his employer. The injustices growing out of the individual bargaining burden affect not only the individual worker but the entire group to which he belongs. Unregulated competition resulting from individual bargaining tends to pull down the terms of employment to the level of the weakest employer Taylors notion that inequalities of labor were due to the exposure of workers to individual rather than collective bargaining echoed the opinions of some of the nations leading judges of the time. Judges Holmes and Field had earlier opposed bans on union activity on account of the fact that union activity merely counterbalanced the combination of capitalists.[5] Despite the gradual acknowledgement of the legitimacy of strike action by some courts, up until the 1920s, few judges had been willing to offer protection to those workers who were discharged for union membership or strike activity. In theory, collective bargaining could serve to limit the power disequilibrium between the employer, who, as Holmes says â€Å"is free to discharge the worker, and the worker who depends on his job for his livelihood.†[6] In practice, however, the relationship between job security and collective action had remained largely antonymous. Post World War I, workers who participated in collective action, be it as organizers or as strike participants, were likely to face retaliatory discharges or even blacklisting.[7] Industrial actions in which in excess of 1,000 workers were permanently dismissed included the Homestead strike of 1892, the Pullman strike of 1894, and the steel strike of 1919-20, which involved approximately 365,000 workers and resulted in over 10,000 permanent discharges. In the Boston police strike of 1919, in which the policemen struck for the right to organize with an AFL affiliate, meanwhile, more than one third of the police force were permanently discharged. The first congressional statute addressing issues of dismissal and organizing activity, the Erdman Act, had attempted to prohibit the retaliatory discharge of union members working on the railroads; at a time when the railroads were the only area where the Federal Government had the authority to regulate such matters. Passed by Congress in 1898, Section 10 of the Erdman Act made it an offense to threaten an employee â€Å"with discharge† or to blacklist the employee after a discharge because of membership in a labor organization. Specifically the Act read: [8] That any employer subject to the provisions of this act and any officer, agent or receiver of such employer who shall require any employee, or any person seeking employment, as a condition of such employment, to enter into an agreement, either written or verbal, not to become or remain a member of any labor corporation, association, or organization; or shall threaten any employee with loss of employment, or shall unjustly discriminate against any employee because of his membership †¦ or who shall, after having discharges an employee, attempt or conspire to prevent such employee from obtaining employment or who shall after the quitting of an employee, attempt or conspire to prevent such employee from obtaining employment, is hereby declared to be guilty of a misdemeanor, and †¦ shall be punished for such offense by a fine of not less than one hundred dollars and not more than one thousand dollars. In 1908, section 10 of the Erdman Act was declared in violation of the Fifth Amendment by the Supreme Court in Adair v. United States. This rather predictable decision again rendered members of labor organizations unprotected from retaliatory discharges.[9] Unionized workers were given some support by the courts in the Brandeis and Holmes Supreme Court decisions of the 1920s.[10] Explicit legislative protection of those engaging in organizing activity however commenced as late as 1926 with the passage of the Railroad Labor Act (RLA), which, apart from requiring employers to bargain with unions, prohibited employers from discriminating against union members.[11] The RLA applied originally to interstate railroads and related undertakings, but was later amended to include airlines engaged in interstate commerce. The Norris La Guardia Act (NLGA) of 1932 gave some federal sanction to the right of labor unions to organize and strike.[12] Implicitly, it also limited the ability of federal courts to enforce â€Å"yellow dog contracts,† under which workers promised not to join a union or promised to discontinue union membership.[13] The National Industrial Recovery Act (NRA) of 1933, the predecessor of the National Labor Relations Act, in troduced the idea of codes of â€Å"fair competition† which fixed wages and hours in certain industries. Title I of the Act, which was declared unconstitutional in 1935, guarantied the right of employees to collective bargaining without interference or coercion (which included the dismissal of employees). [14] The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) of 1935, or Wagner Act, included some previously invalidated labor sections of the NRA, as well as a number of additions. Primarily concerned with restricting employer activities against union organizing and bargaining efforts, the NLRA prohibited employers from, firstly, â€Å"dominating or otherwise interfering with the formation of labor unions†; secondly, â€Å"interfering or restraining employees engaged in exercising their rights to organize and bargain collectively; and, thirdly, from â€Å"refusing to bargain collectively with unions representing a companys employees.† In doing so, sections 7 and 8 of the NLRA effectively tied the legal protection of employees from retaliatory discharges to the right of employees to organize collectively. The Act stated to this effect that:[15] Sec. 7. Employees shall have the right to self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in concerted activities, for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection. Sec. 8. It shall be an unfair practice for an employer— (1) To interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees in the exercise of the rights guaranteed in section 7. (2) To dominate or interfere with the formation or administration of any labor organization or contribute financial or other support to it†¦ (3) By discrimination in regard to hire or tenure of employment or any term or condition of employment to encourage or discourage membership in any labor organization†¦ (4) To discharge or otherwise discriminate against an employee because he had filed charges or given testimony under this act. (5) To refuse to bargain collectively with the representatives of his employees†¦ Under the NLRA regime, employers were required â€Å"not to refuse to bargain collectively with the representatives of his employees† with regard to â€Å"rates of pay, wages and hours of employment, or other conditions of employment.†[16] While the Act had made it clear that retaliatory dismissals of union members were illegal, it gave no guidance on the question of whether bargaining over â€Å"other conditions of employment,† included issues relating to job security.[17] Moreover, despite the appearance of sweeping legislation, coverage under the NLRAs protective umbrella was narrow. Public employees at the federal, state, and local level, agricultural workers, domestic workers, and supervisory employees all were excluded.[18] Nonetheless, for those covered by the Act, statutory dismissal protection was available in connection with established categories of protected activity the courts had created. This included dismissals for strike action, union membership and related activities. Indeed, at its outset, the NLRB rulings allowed significant numbers of dismissed employees to gain reinstatement. From the appointment of the Board in the Fall of 1935 until March 1939, the Board handled a total of 20,192 cases involving over 4.5 million workers. Of these cases 19,018 or four fifths were closed. Of the total cases closed, about 52% were decided by agreements, while the remainder were dismissed, withdrawn or closed in some other way before coming to the Board. About two thousand cases were strike cases, involving 356 thousand workers, of which 75% were settled and in which 227 thousand workers had to be re-employed. An additional 15 thousand cases were decided in favor of workers alleging non-strike related discriminatory discharges, and resulted in the reinstatement of the respective workers. Between January 1 of 1938 and April 1 of 1939 alone, the Board heard 1,675 cases alleging discriminatory discharges and ordered the reinstatement and/or compensation of 1,022 wo rkers.[19] In theory, there was a potential for collective bargaining agreements to include job security guarantees of some form. Given existing cultural pre-dispositions, both amongst the judiciary and managers, however, the possibility of partial union control over personnel and investment decisions was remote. Judicial support for the right to manage had a strong pedigree and its influence would not wane quickly. In the 1890s already, some state courts had felt the need to defend the right to manage. In the view of most courts this right was as much a part of the free labor creed as was the right to work. â€Å"Free labor† required that both employers and individual workers were fully responsible for their decisions. Permitting workers to organize and successively influence managerial decisions was viewed as a danger to free economic competition. In State v. Glidden, an outraged Connecticut judge stated, that once workers could influence managerial decision, no longer would the heads of industrial and commercial enterprises rise from the â€Å"ranks of the toilers, no longer could self-reliant ambitious men push to the fore.†[20] Unable to manage as they saw fit, businessmen would stop risking their capital, time and experience. â€Å"At best, the nations business would be conducted by paternalistic enterprises, at worst anarchy pure and simple † would prevail. At the turn of the century, Taussig had already predicted that union demands for job security would clash with managers insistence on â€Å"the right to manage.† His Principles of Economics stated to this effect that:[21] Private ownership carries with it the seeds of conflictthe inevitable clash between those who employ and who are employed. Disguise it as we may, smooth over to our utmost, adjust where we can, there the conflict is, ever liable to break out. The private employer regards his business as his own, its methods of management as subject to his own judgment. It is almost invariably urged by him and his spokesman that the effective working of the business machine depends above all on unfettered freedom in the selection and tenure of employees. So long as this attitude prevails, the workman will feel in turn that he must retain his weapon of defense, the strike, even though it entail injury to a wide circle of persons. Even if employers were to consent to restrictions on their power of discharge, contests would remain, strikes would brew. And on the other hand discharge is but one of the matters in which employers absolute rule is to be questioned. Discharge is conspicuous because it is t he outstanding weapon. As long as unions and their members had little formal protection through the law, management had been able to assert its dominance with relative ease, if only by dismissing those who questioned it. Once NLRA legislation protected concerted action, this situation had changed radically, and conflicts between unions and management over dismissal rights were pre-destined. When President Truman called the second National Labor Management Conference in 1945, labor and management representatives found themselves unable to agree on the boundaries of collective bargaining. Disagreement had arisen particularly with regard to managements right to make workers redundant, close and/or relocate branches. The statement of the management representative at the conference expressed the employers dismay over this matter:[22] Labor members of the Committee on Managements Rights to manage have been unwilling to any listing of specific management functions. Management members of the Committee conclude †¦ therefore, that the labor members are convinced that the field of collective bargaining will, in all probability, continue to expand into the field of management. The only possible end of such a philosophy would be the joint management of the enterprise. To this management members naturally cannot agree. Management has functions that must not and cannot be compromised to the public interest. If labor disputes are to be minimized, labor must agree that certain specific functions and responsibilities of management are not subject to collective bargaining. In theory, the evolving conflict about the appropriate limits of collective bargaining, and particularly the rights of labor to interfere with managements redundancy and dismissal decisions, was resolved by reference to new management concepts such as the residual rights doctrine. In practice, a set of employer friendly court decisions and the decline of unions in the US settled the issue, first, in rough terms, during the first decade of NLRA rule, and then, in greater detail, over the following three decades. The notion of residual rights, which deserves a passing mention in this context, developed from the 1940s onwards to become a prominent feature of the management of industrial relations in the 1960s and 1970s. The residual rights doctrine postulated that management rights were the result of an evolutionary process, whereby initially management possessed total freedom in ordering the affairs of the enterprise. This included freedoms with regard to whom to hire and dismiss and when to do so. Union demands and labor legislation encroached on this freedom. It followed that every time a manager made a contractual concession, and/or every time a labor law restricted management options, the original rights of management were reduced. What remained then were the residual rights, not specifically renounced by management or restricted by law.[23] If, for instance, management renounced the right to dismiss according to productivity or any other performance criterion and agreed to dismiss accord ing to seniority, seniority replaced managements previous decision criteria. Meanwhile other issues, such as how many workers could be dismissed in a specific time period, remained within the exclusive sphere of managerial decision making.[24] Adopting this view, many arbitration decisions applied a two-stage approach to questions about the appropriate bargaining remit of a union. If union representatives and management disagreed on whether an issue was a legitimate bargaining item, previous contractual agreements as well as legal requirements had to be investigated. If no explicit statement restricting managements rights in the respective matter could be found in these sources, the issue typically had to be considered as falling within managements remit. Since explicit renunciations of the rights to dismiss were typically rare, management usually maintained broad discretion over dismissals, which fell outwith causes covered explicitly by just-cause rules. Because existing practices and informal agreements had little legal bearing on conflicts over the interpretation of the NLRA, the residual rights doctrine offered almost no guidance to the courts in evaluating the legitimacy of union involvement in termination decisions. Here an alternative, and in many ways even more restrictive approach, evolved over time. While the NLRB of the early years generally looked favorably upon workers whose discharge could in some way be linked to union activity, it also condoned a wide set of permissible grounds for dismissal. In this context, several NLRB decisions early on vindicated traditional assumptions about managerial prerogatives. Discharges were sustained by the NLRB in cases involving gross inefficiency of a worker, incompetence, change in equipment, â€Å"ruckus and horseplay†, absenteeism, brawling, cursing of the boss, and the violation of company rules.[25] Most importantly, discharges in the absence of employee misconduct were fre quently declared permissible if there was no evidence for anti-union activity. This included discharges for lack of work, which were generally approved by the Board even in absence of union consultation, as long as anti-union bias could not be proven. In its Seagrave decision of 1938, for instance, the Board set a precedent for the preservation of employment-at-will within collective bargaining.[26] Seagrave, an automotive equipment plant had discharged an employee three weeks after he got his job. The foreman testified to the fact that the employees work was satisfactory. The worker, a CIO member, had previously been arrested for disorderly conduct during a strike and alleged that he was fired because of this previous involvement, and, more specifically, because his foreman had received a blacklist showing his name. The spokesman of the company explained that the polisher was hired because of a temporary emergency arising from the receipt of a special order, and that he was dismiss ed when the work on that order let up. The Board found no evidence for anti-union activity and declared the dismissal legal. In the case of Sheba Ann Frocks (1938), similarly, thirty employees, who had been dropped from the payroll of the Sheba garment plant, complained to the Board alleging that their discharge was based on their CIO membership.[27] Company officials testified that the layoffs took place because of a lack of work at the end of the regular production season. The Board accepted this explanation because the company retained over half of its CIO employees and discharged non-union employees as well, although not proportionally. In its conclusion the Board stated that, in the case of a dismissal for legitimate business reasons, such as slack work, no consultation with union members was required. While NLRB decisions of the late 1930s, such as Seagrave and Sheba, delineated the space between dismissal protection and managerial prerogatives more or less by default, several court decisions attempted to give guidance which was general enough to be applied to other contexts. This tendency towards establishing a formula which ringfenced managerial decision making from union intrusion could already be detected in the Supreme Courts ruling on NLRB v. Jones Laughlin Steel, the landmark case better known for its acceptance of the NLRA. In Jones, the Supreme Court stressed that although the Act required bargaining, it did not â€Å"compel† agreement.[28] For the Supreme Court, in other words, the NLRA was legal because, and only because, the Act did not interfere with â€Å"the normal exercise of the right of the employer to select employees or to discharge them.†[29] That, in defining normal rights, the Supreme Court emphasised the right to discharge workers did not bod e well for those who expected the Act to significantly reduce arbitrary dismissals. With Jones, the court had indicated that outwith matters directly related to collective bargaining, employment-at-will was still very much in place, with restrictions only affecting those discharges which were explicitly declared illegal in the NLRA. More importantly, it had implied that would be difficult to create an agreement sanctioned and protected by the Act which would eliminate the right of employers to discharge workers for â€Å"legitimate† reasons. In NLRB v. Sands Manufacturing (1938), a federal appeals court was even more explicit in affirming managements freedom to dismiss workers.[30] In Sands, a collective agreement between the company and MESA, a labor union, was broken by the union. The company apparently bargained collectively with MESA. After two months, the company signed an agreement with another union, some of whose members were employed in order to replace MESA members. The NLRB ordered reinstatement of the MESA employees and requested the circuit court to enforce its order. The 6th circuit set aside the order and dismissed the petition to enforce. With respect to the termination of the employer-employee relationship the court stated that:[31] The statute [meaning the NLRA] does not interfere with the normal right of the employer to select or discharge his employees If employees violate their contract they may be discharged for that reason and this does not constitute a discrimination in regard to tenure of employment nor an unfair labor practice, nor does it continue a discharge because the employees are members of a union. [T]he statute does not provide that the relationship held in status quo under Title 29, Section 152(3) [meaning the prohibition of dismissals during strikes] shall continue in absence of wrongful conduct on the part of the employer and of rightful conduct on the part of the employees. If such were its meaning, the right of the employer to select, and discharge his employees would be cut off. The Sands decision was in many regards more radical than previous rulings. In Sands, the court had concluded that, provided the employer had engaged in bargaining, NLRA legislation had to be interpreted so as not to otherwise constrain the employers rights to select and discharge employees. In other words, the court indicated that any action which would effectively restrict the right of employers to discharge, after basic bargaining obligations were met, could be struck down. While both the Jones Laughlin Steel and the Sands cases redefined space for at-will discharges relatively broadly, the Supreme Courts 1942 Montgomery Ward decision attempted to give a comprehensive definition of managements rights which gave managers broad control over discharge decisions.[32] In its Montgomery Ward decision, the 9th Circuit excluded from arbitrable grievances:[33] changes in business practice, the opening and closing of new units, the choice of personnel (subject, however to the seniority provision), the choice of merchandise to be sold, and other questions of a like nature not having to do directly and primarily with the day-to-day life of the employees and their relations with supervisors. Although Montgomery Ward supported traditional concepts of management rights with respect to day-to-day arbitration, it left open a number of important questions with regard to dismissals arising as a consequence of longer term strategic decisions. This included questions relating to the dividing line between a rational business decision to relocate a plant, and one involving, for example, the elimination of a unionized plantan illegal antiunion activity. Moreover, the Courts decision to exclude changes in business practice from arbitrable grievances, merely prohibited unions from insisting on arbitration in these matters; and hence relieved management from the legal duty to discuss these matters in good faith. This did neither mean that union representatives could not bargain about these issues when contracts were negotiated, nor did it imply that once management conceded to union involvement in these matters, this involvement was illegal or unenforceable. The latter issue of bargaining about alleged management prerogatives was addressed first in 1952 in NLRB v. American National Insurance Group.[34] In American National, the Supreme Court held that management could enforce limits to bargaining on the basis of a management prerogative clause, under which the union was ousted from involvement in certain matters. American Nationals management prerogative clause included issues of discipline and work schedules; that is, statutory rights with respect to mandatory bargaining. The court, nonetheless, rejected the Boards position that employers were obligated to establish ongoing bargaining during the terms of the collective agreement on issues subject to defined managerial prerogatives. While in American National the company had attempted to impose broad limitations on bargaining rights, many companies insisted â€Å"only† on the type of management prerogatives listed in the Montgomery case, such as the freedom to decide on the closure of units. In the mid-1950s, Haber and Levison reported that over 80% of the contracts signed in the building industries contained one or another form of a managerial rights clause. Many of these clauses explicitly prohibited bargaining over issues of job security.[35] The management literature, meanwhile, welcomed American National because companies were now less likely to face NLRA proceedings if they refused to discuss issues of employment security. This was the case, not only where companies had gained past assurances that union representatives would respect managerial prerogatives, but also where such clauses could be â€Å"inferred† from existing bargaining agreements.[36] Management rights in matters of dismissals and layoffs were â€Å"clarified† further in the 1958 Supreme Court decision on Borg-Warner. In NLRB v. Wooster Division of Borg-Warner the Court held that there were three subjects of bargaining: mandatory, nonmandatory, and illegal.[37] The obligation to bargain, as specified in the NLRA, applied only to mandatory subjects. A nonmandatory subject was â€Å"permissive,† meaning that it could be raised by either party. However, when a party insisted on a position regarding such an area to the point of impasse, it was acting illegally under the provisions of the Act.[38] Since the law had defined the mandatory subjects of bargaining, Borg-Warner played an important role in the preservation of managerial prerogatives with regard to redundancies and dismissals. Under Borg-Warner, union demands for job security or employment guarantees could be rejected, as they could not be reasonably classified as mandatory bargaining items.[39] When determining what were mandatory and nonmandatory bargaining subjects, the NLRB and the courts of the 1950s and 1960s typically referred to the relevant NLRA section 9(a) which mandated bargaining for pay, wages, hours of employment, and other conditions of employment. Given these specifications, any issue involving pay and hours was obviously a mandatory bargaining item, requiring both parties to bargain in good faith or face sanctions through NLRB proceedings. More problematic was the clause including, â€Å"other conditions of employment.† When issues like redundancies, mass layoffs and mass discharges were at stake, the courts and the Board usually interpreted â€Å"other conditions of employment† to mean that union involvement in decisions about which workers were to be laid off or made redundant, was mandatory. To this effect union representatives were to be informed about planned manpower reductions. Union representatives were free to address issues related t o discharges, make suggestions with regard to manpower relocation, or suggest alternative ways of cutting costs. If the company refused, unions, however, could not insist on a settlement of the issue. While strike action relating to these matters was not per se illegal, any protracted industrial action on non-mandatory manpower issues was likely to be declared an unfair labor practice by the NLRB or the courts.[40] This approach, needless to say, gave unions with little power to influence a companys manpower decisions even in industries where levels of organization were high. Since it was often difficult to link a redundancy decision to union avoidance or to invoke contractual clauses which

Stephen King Essay -- Essays Papers

BIOGRAPHY ON STEPHEN KING Stephen Edwin King was born in Portland, Maine, on September 21, 1947, the son of Donald and Nellie Ruth king. His father, a merchant seaman, deserted the family in about 1950. His mother took a succession of low-paying jobs to support him and his brother, David. A lonely, rather introverted child, King invented a more outgoing alter ego – Cannonball Cannon, a daredevil who â€Å"did good deeds† – and derived other vicarious thrills from listening to tales of horror on the radio, reading such spine-tingling comic books as Weird Science, Tales from the Crypt, and Tales from the Vault. He also went to see science fiction and monster movies. In October 1957, the local theater manager interrupted a Saturday matinee screening of Earth vs. the Flying Saucers to announce the Soviet Union’s launching of Sputnik, the first artificial earth satellite. It was then that King sensed for the first time â€Å"a useful connection between the world of fantasy a nd that of what my Weekly Reader used to call current events.† Eventually, countless viewings over the years of such classic horror films as The Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Creature from the Black Lagoon, The Thing, and It came from Outer Space convinced him that the horror movie’s chief value is â€Å"its ability to form a liaison between our fantasy fears and our real fears.† The fortunate discovery of his father’s paperback collection of fantasy-horror fiction gave King, in his own words, a â€Å"...

Bible Essay

There are many accounts in the Bible that state God as the creator. Genesis 1 and 2 are both creation stories but slightly differ in their accounts; Genesis 1 is a day by day account of all the things God created in not so much detail whereas Genesis 2 explains the creation story in a way that focuses more on the creation of man and woman than just the lands. Having two accounts of the creation story means that it is easier to come up with your own conclusion as to how the earth was created. The first line of Genesis 1 is â€Å"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth† There is no explanation as to where God came from or why He is there, He just exists and creates the heavens and the earth. This alone is showing God as the creator. Genesis then carries on to state all the things God created all with no scientific or physical proof or evidence as to why and how God is doing so. â€Å"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them† This quote is from line 27 and is on the 6th day. The repetition of the word ‘created’ is enforcing to the reader that God is the creator of everything and this is done so that there is no doubt in the readers mind whether God is the creator or not. God creating man and woman in his own image is showing that we are superior to other beings such as animals which shows that God is the humans superior. Being made in Gods image is his way of blessing the humans in life as we are made in the ‘Creators’ image. â€Å"Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air†¦Ã¢â‚¬  This quote is saying that God is passing down his ‘ruler ship’ on to the humans. This means that God is starting to ‘back away’ from his previous role and now feels that he has created a world that the inhabitants (humans) can look after. Genesis two is another creation story but has a few differences to Genesis 1. While Genesis 1 speaks a lot more of the specifics of how and when each part of the earth was made, Genesis 2 speaks a whole lot more about the creation of humans rather than the land. The most time that the creation of land is mentioned is at the beginning of Genesis 2. â€Å"This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created. When the LORD God made the earth and the heavens-â€Å" This is the first thing said in Genesis 2 and it is stating that God is the creator. It says that God created both the heavens and the earth; there is never any question or vagueness about God creating the heavens and the earth it is all very matter of fact. Although Genesis 2 doesn’t always speak of God ‘creating’ things it often personifies God in such a way that he is planting or making objects. â€Å"And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground-â€Å" This quote doesn’t say that God created the trees but made them grow from the ground, this is essentially saying that He created them as it was the first sighting of trees but is said in a different way as so not to force the ‘creation’ down your throat like Genesis 1 does. This is so that you can come to your own conclusion about which one is more plausible or correct but there is still no doubt as to god being the creator. Job 38 from the Book of Job is a story of how Satan and God have a disagreement where Satan was saying that Job only worships God because he is prosperous in his life, God then agrees to take away all his possessions and leave him with nothing to show Satan that Job would still worship him even if he was left with nothing. Job’s three friends Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar try to comfort Job but they end up doing the opposite and tell Job that the reason for all his losses is because he has sinned and now God is making him suffer. In the end Job has had enough and questions God, this makes God angry and then Job has a better understanding and realises that he should have trusted God all along. God then returns all of Jobs health and possession in better amounts than they previously were. This story is God showing his power and his superiority to humans. â€Å"Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? † This is God saying that he is mightier than any human and they do not compare to His power. This is also showing that God is omnipotent and that we know nothing compared to him. This is all enforcing that God is the creator and better than all the humans. â€Å"Have you ever given orders to the morning, or shown the dawn it’s place,† This is saying that God has dominance over everything in the world, humans and nature. After Gods account of all his majestic works (such as the world and humans) and power, Job has to acknowledge God’s right as creator to do as he pleases and to not be questioned. Job is essentially the personification of all humans who do not believe god as the creator, Job doubted God and his ability so god became angry; this is supposedly what happens every time someone doubts God. Psalm 8 is a song about the lord God and his creation. â€Å"You have set your glory above the heavens† While this quote form the first verse isn’t directly linked to God being the creator it is saying that God has stated his glory in a way that so far in this psalm we do not know yet, we know that God has glory which could mean he has done something great. â€Å"When I consider the heavens, the work of your fingers† Now we start to work out what it is that causes God to have glory, â€Å"the work of your fingers† we are literally told that God has made the heavens with his ‘fingers’. This personification of God shows that people saw him as one of them but also appreciated his greater power, this could possibly relate to humans being made in God’s image. â€Å"you made him a little lower than the heavenly beings† This quote is, like Job 38, stating God’s dominance over the humans. God made humans a little lower than heavenly beings so that they knew their place and that they were lesser than himself ‘the creator’.

Biography of Lenny Bruce

Biography of Lenny Bruce Lenny Bruce is considered one of the most influential comedians of all time as well as a notable social critic of the mid-20th century. Yet during his troubled life he was often criticized, persecuted by the authorities, and shunned by the entertainment mainstream. In the conservative America of the late 1950s, Bruce emerged as a leading proponent of what was called sick humor. The term referred to comics who stepped out beyond stock jokes to poke fun at the rigid conventions of American society. Within a few years, Bruce gained a following by skewering what he considered the underlying  hypocrisy of American society. He denounced racists and bigots, and performed routines focused on societal taboos, which included sexual practices, drug and alcohol use, and specific words considered unacceptable in polite society. His own drug use brought legal problems. And as he became famous for using forbidden language, he was often arrested for public obscenity. Ultimately, his endless legal hassles doomed his career, as clubs were dissuaded from hiring him. And when he did perform in public, he became prone to ranting onstage about being persecuted. Lenny Bruces legendary status developed years after his death in 1966 from a drug overdose at the age of 40. His short and troubled life was the subject of the 1974 film, Lenny, starring Dustin Hoffman. The film, which was nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture, was based on a Broadway play, which had opened in 1971. The same comedy bits  which had gotten Lenny Bruce arrested in the early 1960s were prominently featured in respected works of dramatic art in the early 1970s. The legacy of Lenny Bruce endured. Comedians such as George Carlin and Richard Pryor were considered his successors.  Bob Dylan, who had seen him perform in the early 1960s, eventually wrote a song recalling a taxi ride they had shared.  And, of course, numerous comedians have cited Lenny Bruce as an enduring influence. Early Life Lenny Bruce was born as Leonard Alfred Schneider in Mineola, New York on October 13, 1925. His parents split up when he was five. His mother, born Sadie Kitchenburg, eventually became a performer, working as an emcee at strip clubs. His father, Myron Mickey Schneider, was a podiatrist. As a child, Lenny was fascinated by movies and the very popular radio programs of the day. He never finished high school, but with World War II raging, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1942. In the Navy Bruce began performing for fellow sailors. After four years of service, he obtained a discharge from the Navy by claiming to have homosexual urges. (He later regretted that, and was able to have his discharge status changed from dishonorable to honorable.) Returning to civilian life, he began to aspire toward a show business career. For a time he took acting lessons. But with his mother performing as a comedian under the name Sally Marr, he was exposed to clubs in New York City. He got onstage one night in a club in Brooklyn, doing impressions of movie stars and telling jokes. He  got some laughs. The experience got him hooked on performing and he became determined to become a professional comedian. In the late 1940s he worked as a typical comedian of the era, doing stock jokes and performing at Catskills resorts and in nightclubs in the northeast. He tried out various stage names and eventually settled on Lenny Bruce. In 1949 he won a contest for aspiring performers on Arthur Godfreys Talent Scouts, a very popular radio program (which was also simulcast to a smaller television audience). That bit of success on a program hosted by one of the most popular entertainers in America seemed to put Bruce on the road to becoming a mainstream comedian. Yet the Godfrey show triumph attention quickly. And Bruce spent years in the early 1950s bouncing around as a traveling comedian, often performing in strip clubs where the audience didnt really care what the opening comic had to say. He married a stripper he met on the road, and they had a daughter. The couple divorced in 1957, just before Bruce found his footing as a prominent performer of a new style of comedy. Sick Humor The term sick humor was coined in the late 1950s and was used loosely to describe comedians who broke out of the mold of patter and banal jokes about ones mother-in-law. Mort Sahl, who gained fame as a stand-up comedian doing political satire, was the best-known of the new comedians. Sahl broke the old conventions by delivering thoughtful jokes which were not in a predictable pattern of set-up and punch-line. Lenny Bruce, who had come up as a fast-talking ethnic New York comedian, did not entirely break away from the old conventions at first. He sprinkled his delivery with Yiddish terms that many New York comedians might have used, but he also tossed in language he had picked up from the hipster scene on the West Coast. Clubs in California, particularly in San Francisco, were where he developed the persona that propelled him to success and, ultimately, endless controversy. With Beat writers such as Jack Kerouac gaining attention, and a small anti-establishment movement forming, Bruce would get onstage and engage in stand-up comedy that had a more free-form feel than anything else found in nightclubs. And the targets of his humor were different. Bruce commented on race relations, skewering the segregationists of the South. He began to mock religion. And he cracked jokes which indicated a familiarity of the drug culture of the day. His routines in the late 1950s would sound almost quaint by todays standards. But to mainstream America, which got its comedy from I Love Lucy or Doris Day movies, Lenny Bruces irreverence was disturbing. A television appearance on a popular nighttime talk show hosted by Steve Allen in 1959 seemed as if it would be a big break for Bruce. Viewed today, his appearance seems tame. He comes off as something of a meek and nervous observer of American life. Yet he spoke about topics, like children sniffing glue, that was certain to offend many viewers. Months later, appearing on a television program hosted by Playboy magazine publisher Hugh Hefner, Bruce spoke well of Steve Allen. But he poked fun at the network censors who had prevented him from performing some of his material. The television appearances in the late 1950s underlined an essential dilemma for Lenny Bruce. As he began to achieve something close to mainstream popularity, he rebelled against it. His persona as someone in show business, and familiar with its conventions, yet actively breaking the rules, endeared him to a growing audience which was beginning to rebel against what was termed square America. Success and Persecution In the late 1950s comedy albums became popular with the public, and Lenny Bruce found countless new fans by releasing recordings of his nightclub routines. On March 9, 1959, Billboard, the leading trade magazine of the recording industry, published a brief review of a new Lenny Bruce album, The Sick Humor of Lenny Bruce,  that, amid strained show-business slang, favorably compared him to a legendary cartoonist for the New Yorker magazine: Off-beat comic Lenny Bruce has the Charles Addams knack of getting guffaws from ghoulish topics. No subject is too sacred for his rib-tickling efforts. His odd brand of humor grows on the listener and is currently growing on nitery crowds to a degree that hes becoming a favorite at the smart spots. Albums four-color cover shot is an eye stopper and sums up Bruces off-beatnik comedy: Hes shown enjoying a picnic spread in a graveyard. In December 1960 Lenny Bruce performed at a club in New York and received a generally positive review in the New York Times. Critic Arthur Gelb, was careful to warn readers that Bruces act was for adults only. Yet he favorably likened him to a panther who prowls softly and bites sharply. The New York Times review noted how peculiar Bruces act seemed at the time: Although he seems at times to be doing his utmost to antagonize his audience, Mr. Bruce displays such a patent air of morality beneath his brashness that his lapses in taste are often forgivable. The question, though, is whether the kind of derisive shock therapy he administers are legitimate night-club fare, as far as the typical customer is concerned. And, the newspaper noted that he was courting controversy: He often carries his theories to their naked and personal conclusions and has earned for his pains the sobriquet sick. He is a ferocious man who does not believe in the sanctity of motherhood or the American Medical Association. He even has an unkind word for Smoky, the Bear. True, Smoky doesnt set forest fires, Mr. Bruce concedes. But he eats Boy Scouts for their hats. With such prominent publicity, it appeared Lenny Bruce was positioned to be a major star. And in 1961, he even reached something of a pinnacle for a performer, playing a show at Carnegie Hall. Yet his rebellious nature led him to continue breaking boundaries. And soon his audiences often contained detectives from local vice squads looking to arrest him for using obscene language. He was busted  in various cities on charges of public obscenity, and became mired in court fights. After an arrest following a performance in New York City in 1964, a petition was circulated on his behalf. Writers and prominent intellectuals, including Norman Mailer, Robert Lowell, Lionel Trilling, Allen Ginsberg, and others signed the petition. The support of the creative community was welcome, yet it didnt solve a major career problem: with the threat of arrest always seeming to hang over him, and local police departments determined to hassle Bruce and anyone dealing with him, nightclub owners were intimidated. His bookings dried up. As his legal headaches multiplied, Bruces drug use seemed to accelerate. And, when he did take the stage his performances became erratic. He could be brilliant onstage, or on some nights he could appear confused and unfunny, ranting about his court battles. What had been fresh in the late 1950s, a witty rebellion against conventional American life, descended into a sad spectacle of a paranoid and persecuted man lashing out at his antagonists. Death and Legacy On August 3, 1966, Lenny Bruce was discovered dead in his house in Hollywood, California.  An obituary in the New York Times mentioned that as his legal problems began to mount in 1964 he had only earned $6,000 performing. Four years earlier he had earned more than $100,000 per year. The probable cause of death was noted to be an overdose of narcotics. The noted record producer Phil Spector  (who, decades later, would be convicted of murder)  placed a memorial ad in the August 20, 1966 issue of Billboard. The text began: Lenny Bruce is dead. He died from an overdose of police. However, his art and what he said is still alive. No one need any longer be subjected to unfair intimidation for selling Lenny Bruce albums - Lenny can no longer point the finger of truth at anyone. The memory of Lenny Bruce, of course, endures. Later comedians followed his lead and freely used language that once drew detectives to Bruces shows. And his pioneering efforts to move stand-up comedy beyond trite one-liners to thoughtful commentary on important issues became part of the American mainstream.