The Interior Market of Dehenhams in 2014 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

The Interior Market of Dehenhams in 2014 - Essay Example Some of the notable designers include Ted Baker, Jane Packer, Erickson Beamon, Janet Reger, Matthew Williamson and Ashley Thomas among others. Based on its high investment in British design for the last 20 years, Debenhams has benefited from a stable financial position that has assisted the company in expanding to other countries. This paper discusses the direction that Debenhams interiors market is heading for 2014 with reference to its customers, products, and the retailer. The consumer In efforts to increase its sales, Debenhams has embarked on increasing the number of customers who purchases its products. Debenhams customers are individual consumers who cut across the whole family regardless of gender, age, and social status as well as foreign customers. Its main business is in clothing though they have adopted various strategies in order to successfully tap footwear industry (Data monitor, 2011). Majority of the customers are women who spend few minutes to almost the whole day i n the stores. The time spent by the customers in the store varies from one store to another depending on their purchasing power. For example, most customers who visit White rose store are middle class earners and spend less time compared to the other store in the city center. They have customer who visit their store on weekly and monthly basis but on average a customer visits the store every quarter and spends about half a day in different sections shopping. More to that, the store boost itself based on increased number of online shoppers through its website as well as their iphone application for the smart phone users and a video facility that offer online display of products, well known designers interviews and photo shoots. (Data monitor, 2011). The company controls 17 percent market share in the clothing industry in United Kingdom. (Data Monitor, 2011). However, many customers visit the stores to compare prices and may end up visiting the store several times without making a pur chase and when they does it, most probably it will be an impulse buying of another product rather that what they needed in the first place. In UK, most shoppers have changed from using traditional shopping method to the internet based shopping. Debenhams has opted to use different channels to reach its target consumers; it has convectional stores as well as online kiosks (Neolane, 2013). It also allows its customers to order products that are not available on their shelves for the same day delivery. Clients adopt shopping methods that suits them. Debenhams customers who adopt new channels are frequent and valuable than then store shoppers (Data Monitor, 2011). Most customers are embracing these changes because online channels offer convenience and are slightly cheaper. This is especially so for Debenhams since most of their customers are women who are busy with family and tight working schedule. Customers are also given ample opportunities to compare the prices of the three products that include furniture, outdoor and lighting brands. In line with this, the company has enhanced its online shop, reduced the delivery period and increased its range of products.

British and American Comedy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

British and American Comedy - Essay Example Bridget gets stuck between Daniel’s attractive personality and Mark’s close associations with her. This dilemma of Bridget gets solved through the information she learns from her mother about the real truth of the conflict between Daniel and Mark. Bridget learns that Daniel owing to his flirting character had contributed to breaking the relationship between Mark and Mark’s wife. Thus successfully coming out of the dilemma she decides to stay on with Mark (Maguire, 2001). Dilemma to Comedy In my perception, Bridget Jones’s Diary is truly a romantic comedy. Bridget in her relationship with the two people Daniel and Mark shows a reflection of good amount of emotion and romance, which culminates to putting her into dilemma. The movie in the midst of a romantic whirlpool becomes successful in portraying a comedian character of Bridget Jones. Bridget who frequently takes into alcohol and cigarettes takes the pledge to reduce her overweight. The way Bridget recor ds the same in her diary attracts attention in making it as one of best comedy films. Further, the film has employed many funny dialogues, which owing to their simplicity and straightforwardness made it have a comedy appeal. The flirting activities, which Bridget carries on out of her fantasy for her boss, Daniel Cleaver, also encourage a sense of comic actions. The comedy is best exposed in a boat scene where Daniel in an endeavor to balance himself between two boats one run by him and the other by Bridget loses balance and eventually falls into water. Bridget Jones Diary earns success in becoming a comedian film also because of the way the characters are portrayed in the movie. Bridget’s character enacted by Renee Zellweger has become the main... This essay stresses that  Bridget Jones is stuck in a real dilemma for the existence of two men in her life, Daniel and Mark. Daniel turns out to be her boss and Mark is the person whom she meets at the Christmas Party hosted by her parents. Bridget Jones in the initial stage in more busy involved in a relationship with Daniel Cleaver who also reflects a kind of possessiveness over girls and woman. Bridget despite knowing the fact that Daniel is an occasional flirter continues to share a strong relationship with him by going to dates.  According to the paper findings  the main roles in the movie Some Like It Hot is played by Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon. Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon in the movie play the roles of two musicians who were struggling to settle their career and earn a better livelihood. The names of the musicians, which Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon portray in the movie, are that of Joe and Jerry. However, these people in a search for a better life and h ave become the center of chase having seen a murder make an endeavor to flee to Florida. The uniqueness in the portrayal of their character involves the turnaround where these two persons, Joe and Jerry decide to hide their original identity and join a musical band group maintained by girls. Joe and Jerry in their disguise name themselves as Josephine and Geraldine respectively. Marilyn Monroe on the other hand known as ‘Sugar Kane’ in the movie plays the role of a principal vocalist and plays a musical instrument for the band.

Applying Leadership Theories Essay Example for Free

Applying Leadership Theories Essay According to Wikipedia, leadership has been described as â€Å"a process of social influence or persuasion by which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task†. Studies of leadership have produced theories involving traits, situational interaction, function, behavior, power, vision, values, charisma, and intelligence, among others. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leadership). There are various leadership theories that have been created that encompass how a leader relates to others within and outside of the educational organization. There a six that were specifically proposed by Martin, Wright, and Danzig (2003) that are appropriate when describing educational leaders. They are Directive, Participative, Collaborative, Coaching, Affiliative, and Laissez-Faire. A leader can possess all of these styles depending on the current situation. For example, a leader can use a Directive Approach when dealing with low assessment scores especially when being pressured from his or her superiors, when deadlines are not being met, or when a teacher or staff has neglected their duties. But also display a Participative or Collaborative style by taking input from others. The leadership style that is displayed can have a negative and positive influence on the school community and the organization. It is very important to understand the styles indivially and in detail to know which ones are more and less effective in your environment. The school where I currently work just received a new principal, but prior to her there was Principal R, who had inherited her position as the leader because her entire career was built at the school. She started off her teaching career there, three years later was advanced to Reading Coach, and then was assigned as Vice Principal. The Superintendent, formal principal, and others felt that she was the best fit for the job because of her years spent there and her experience as Vice Principal. Prior to her receiving the role of prinicpal, we were excelling in reading, writing, and mathematics. The principal prior to Principal R had moved us from a failing grade of an â€Å"F† to an excelling grade of an â€Å"A†. Principal R indeed knew the ends and outs of the school because she was trained and mentored by our previous principal, Principal P. Not knowing that once the school was completely turned over to Principal R, we will be on a descending trip to failure. Principal R took a Directive approach, very similar to the Autocratic Leadership Style. By her having experience, she insisted on doing it all herself even though she had an administration team which consisted of a vice principal, reading and math coach, and an ESE liaison. She felt that the ultimate decision in any situation should be hers regardless of whom or what it affected. Research states, that Autocratic Leaders often maintain authority by force, intimidations, threats, rewards, punishment, or position (http://ctb.ku.edu/en/tablecontents/sub_section_main_1122.aspx). If you challenged Principal R in any way, regardless of how simple or how large the issue may have been your evaluation would be affected. Principal R used this role for her own personal gains. Principal R had built many personal relationships prior to her taking on the leadership role, those relationships were soon affected when she became principal. Favoritism became a common word around the school. Things that we thought we would never get away with, was done often by the people in Principal R’s circle. This leadership style brought a negative image to the school. The morale went down and teacher’s lost their drive for teaching. Our school grade went from an â€Å"A† to a â€Å"C†, then to a â€Å"B† to an â€Å"F†. Principal R was transferred to another school where we hope her style would change for the benefit of the vision of the school. While under the leader of Principal R, we also had Vice Principal E, who was a very sweet person with more than 16 years of experience in the education field. Our school was labeled for having struggling readers which put more accountability upon the teachers. Regardless of what issues the st udents had years prior or even home structure that affected their abilities to read, we were held accountable for them if they were below average or even failing. Vice Principal E shared many strategies with us that were very beneficial to our students. Her education specialty was ESE and autism; we were able to use those same strategies to assist our students. Vice Principal E displayed a Coaching Leadership style also very similar to an Instructional Leadership style. Her main concern was teaching and learning and assist us in relaying information in a way that the students comprehended. Instructional leadership focuses on modeling, monitoring, professional dialogue and discussion (Bush, 2002). She mentored us on what routes we should use to assist our students. She increased our confidence and also our test scores. When the results came in and we seen how much gains our grade level had shown, Vice Principal E took no credit, even though it was all because of her. She remained in the mentor role and assisted us in anything we may have needed. Vice Principal E was surplused to another school due to budget issues and was missed dearly when she departed. We are currently under the leadership of Principal K, which is the true reason why I am pursing my master’s degree. Principal K is a new principal, but has 12 years experience as a vice principal in secondary education. Principal K is a true leader that models and motivates others to accomplish goals, while at the same time encouraging others to work toward their own professional goals. Principal K, came ready to work but with little knowledge of what direction to start. Principal K created groups of those teachers and staff, whom prior had experience at the school to assist her with understanding the vision and desegregating the data. Once Principal K understood the vision and the direction of where the school should be headed, she quickly took the Collaborative approach, also known as the Democratic Leadership style. She involved the faculty, staff, and stakeholders in the decision making process. Even though the final decision would be ultimately made by Principal K, she allowed everyone to be a part of the process. She allowed them to have the sense of belonging of being a part of the team. She encourages participation, values our opinions, group discussions, and motivates us to become leaders as well. Principal K’s leadership style provides direction and guidance. She states often that even though her title is principal her job description is to work for us and whatever we need to give the students a quality education, she will make sure it is provided. Overall, leadership styles is the manner and approach of providing direction, creating visions, implementing and acting on plans, and motivating people to excel beyond their comfort zone. Leaders styles will vary based on situations. A leader does not strictly lean toward one style, however one may seem to be dominate over another, but it all depends on the situation at hand. My goal is to use the styles that are most effective and meant to strengthen the performance of the teacher, staff and students and also the styles that will bring improvement on student achievement. References . http://ctb.ku.edu/en/tablecontents/sub_section_main_1122.aspx http://www.leadership-with-you.com/directive-leadership.html Bush, Tony 2003. Theories of Educational Management, 3rd edn. London: Sage.

Strengths weaknesses and the strategy of IKEA

Strengths weaknesses and the strategy of IKEA IKEA is the worlds largest home-furnishing retailer. It was founded in 1943 by Ingvar Kamprad in Sweden. In terms of scope, IKEA is designed for the total home environment, in order to offer furnishings and fittings for every part of the home, both in- and out of doors. With the vision: To create a better everyday life for the many people, it offers a wide range of well designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low that as many people as possible will be able to afford them. (IKEA.com). From it first store in Sweden, today, there are over 300 IKEA stores in 39 countries, with turnover in 2009 of more than à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬22.7 billion. According to Forbes Magazine, Ingvar Kamprad, now in his eighties, is the 11th-wealthiest person in the world, with a fortune estimated at U.S. $23 billion in 2010. (Mary Albon, The Sun Never Sets on IKEA, 2010). I would like to address some issues to understand more about IKEA success as follows: Since its establishment, IKEA has always taken care of people and the environment as it stated on its vision. That is the reason why in manufacturing process, IKEA tries its best to have a better use of both raw materials and energy. They even have a brochure presenting a brief overview of how the IKEA groups work to in a high sense of responsibility to people and environment. We also can easily see how much they concern people and the environment by knowing IKEA stakeholders. Like other business organisations, the stakeholders who have high power and high interest are Inter IKEA system BV, investors and customers. However to me the most impressive and important stakeholders of IKEA are environmental organisations of which IKEA Group also is a member such as: BCI, Better Cotton Initiative, aims to promote measurable improvements in the key environmental and social impacts of cotton cultivation worldwide. (IKEA.com) Building and Wood Workers International (BWI) is the Global Union Federation of democratic and free trade unions, protecting more than 12 million members in 350 trade unions around the world in the building, building materials, wood, forestry and allied industries. IKEA and BWI meet frequently to exchange experience and discuss working conditions and social responsibility. (IKEA.com) The IKEA Group is member of BSR and has an representative on the board is a global, non-profit organization that helps member companies achieve business success while respecting ethical values, people, communities and the environment. BSR provides information, tools, training and advisory services to make corporate social responsibility an integral part of business operations and strategies. (IKEA.com) Clean Cargo Working Group (CCWG) which is working to promote sustainable product transportation. (IKEA.com) European Retailers Round Table (ERRT) which is Focus for activities include consumer protection, food safety, environmental issues, corporate social responsibility and trade issues Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) (IKEA.com) Refrigerants Naturally is a United Nations initiative acting as a catalyst, advocate, educator and facilitator to promote the wise and sustainable development of the global environment. (IKEA.com) The Network for Transport and Environment (NTM), aiming to establish a common base of values on how to calculate the environmental performance of various modes of transport (IKEA.com) And IKEA also is the partner of: IKEA Foundation and UNICEF are long term partners working together on both a global and local level (IKEA.com) WWF and IKEA co-operate on projects which focus on sustainable forestry, sustainable cotton production and climate change (IKEA.com) During working and sharing experience with these organizations, IKEA not only has better knowledge about social responsibilities but also has built its reputation of being green. In 2010 and beyond, the world economy would be a key issue to impact Ikeas business. IKEA and other companies in the world had to face the worse economic situation since many decades as its financial sector was deeply in crisis and then the global economy was felt into the depth of recession. The world economic growth reached only 1.1 % if compared to about 5% in previous years (VietnamPlus and World Economy, n.d). However, the world economy improved in 2010 with the economic growth increased to 4.2% as the economy of the United States of America is expected to grow by 2.1 per cent in 2010, following an estimated downturn of 2.5 per cent in 2009. Recovery in both the European Union (EU) and Japan is projected to be much weaker, reaching GDP growth of no more than 0.5 and 0.9 per cent, respectively, in 2010. At this pace of recovery, the major developed economies are not expected to provide a strong impetus to global growth in the near term (World Economic Situation and Prospects 2010 Global outlook, p.2). Nevertheless, the UN stresses that the recovery is uneven and conditions for sustained growth remain Fragile. In 2010, global growth will remain below potential and unemployment will stay high ( p.1 ). Though the situation was still difficult because fewer people have moved home but the company sales increased 7.7% in 2010 compared to fiscal year 2009 is surprised outcome. The company also faces increased competition of other competitors all over the world. For example, it is ddifficult to sustain good design quality products at low cost when the number of competitors keep increasing e.g. In the US, Kmart, Target Corp, Fly in France and Japan Nitori Co in Japan (Ikea case study). In particular sales case, competition cut Ikea sales in UK as profits dropped to  £17 million to August 2009, according to documents filed at Companies House last week. Sales fell 1.4 per cent to  £1.23 billion. The company has reported falling profits for five years and falling sales for three years in Britain. Ikea has come under increasing pressure from DIY retailers that are selling more home furnishings, as well as growing competition from supermarkets (Neil Craven, daily mail, n.d) IKEA is positioning as a cost leader of home furnishing retailers. Ikea states firmly its market position by a statement that Your partner in better living. We do our part, you do yours. Together we save money (Ikea Portal, Student Info, n.d). It is clear to see that IKEA is regarded as low price products with high quality by using inexpensive materials in a novel way and minimizing production, distribution and retail costs, customers benefit from low prices. This cost leadership has been making IKEA differently from other competitors. Due to high inflation increasing every year, it is hard to find any other companies who can announce that last year our price is 8.99 euros, this year 4.90 euros or 10 year ago 260 euros, today 169 euros (Ikea Welcome inside 2010, p.20). Ikea has been making it for many decades. Low prices are one of the cornerstones of the IKEA concept and help to make customers want to buy from IKEA. This low price strategy is coupled with a wide range of well designed, functional products. IKEAs products cater for every lifestyle and life stage of its customers, who come from all age groups and types of households. This is vital in times when the retail sector is depressed, as it increases IKEAs potential market. While the price of other companies products tends to rise over time, Ikea says it has reduced its retail prices by a total of about 20 percent during the past four years. Ikeas corporate mantra is Low price with meaning. The goal is to make things less expensive without ever making customers feel cheap. Striking that balance demands a special kind of design, manufacturing, and distribution expertise. But IKEA pulls it off in its own distinctive way: tastefully, methodically, even cheerfully, and yet somehow differently than any other company anywhere. Lisa Magonelly therefore presents guide to how IKEA designs, builds, and distributes the furniture that the entire world wants to buy. Based on low prices strategy, IKEAs segmentation is targeting to young low and middle-income family who are willing to do a little bit of work serving themselves, transporting the items home and assembling the furniture for a better price. IKEA offers customer experiencing in actively involve in shopping at its stores. Definitely, customers involvement contributes to IKEA low prices. To explore the successful of the IKEA, analyzing its opportunities and threats is an essential. Before looking at the opportunities of IKEA, we can come over its strengths. First of all, Brand is one of the most important that IKEA has. It is already a global brand therefore it will be a very attracted factor to customers because it like a promise to customers that where ever they are, they will be provided the same quality. Second strength is its vision to create a better everyday life for many people. The concept that offers a wide rage of well designed and functional home furnishing products at the inexpensive prices is the third strength. Fourth is the sustainability is fully-integrated into all business strategies.   The IKEAs strengths bring its opportunities, especially in this dedicate, people more and more care a bout a sustainable environment. By caring about environment, people will care about Green products and IKEA has reputation of being green so that its products will be their choices. IKEA shows their care about environment clearly on its statement: Each and every one of our business strategies whether local, national or global must now clearly and systematically integrate sustainability as a part of everyday operations.   I see this as a milestone. It will help us move forward in our relentless work with the many challenges we have to solve on our route to becoming a sustainable company. (Greeneconomics.com) As a member of number of environmental organizations enables IKEA to work with sustainability in different ways: IKEA reduced overall CO2 emissions by 5% in FY 2009.   The company plans on participating in the Greenhouse Gas Protocol in 2010. (Greeneconomics.com) The company has a pilot program with select suppliers to reduce energy consumption by 30% or more by 2011. (Greeneconomics.com) IKEA has also started four new climate change projects with the WWF, which will focus on measuring supply chain emissions, helping our customers tackle climate change through transport initiatives, reducing emissions from IKEA food product transport, and improving the reuse and recycling of used products. (Greeneconomics.com) One climate change project is to install solar panels in 150 of its stores, with the long-term goal of supplying all buildings with 100% renewable energy. (Greeneconomics.com) Because of the economic downturn, customers tend to be looking for products with low prices than expensive one. The excellent thing to be come IKEA customer is you can buy good things with well designed and good quality but inexpensive prices. It means that, even the economic crisis, the demands for IKEA products still raising and the turnover also high more than à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬22.7 billion in 2009 (Mary Albon, The Sun Never Sets on IKEA, 2010). However the strengths and opportunities of IKEA can also drive the organisation to its weaknesses. IKEA with hundreds stores in different countries is really hard to control the quality as well as the standard of the products and services. The low cost is a strength however in the management aspects it is not easy to control the low cost but keep the standard of quality in the same time. The threats that IKEA is facing are: The competition in the retails market: there are more and more organsations have strategy of producing products with high quality with reasonable prices. They will become competitors of IKEA so this will be one of the main factors can impact to IKEA. The economics down turn in 2010 and will continues in 2011 makes the disposable income decrease but the living expense is rising. This will definitely affect the business operation of IKEA. By analyzing these factors IKEA can have plan to reduce the threats and take advantage of the opportunities.

Androcentrism Essay -- essays research papers

Androcentrism When I started to think about what to write for this paper I wanted to learn more about androcentrism. Well, I guess I know what it means, but I wanted to see what it means to other people. In Random House Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 2nd Edition the definition for androcentric is centered on emphasizing, or dominated by males or masculine interests. Then I went online and mostly the same definition. The only definition that I found that said anything about women was at http://dictionary.reference .com. It read: centered or focused on men, often to the neglect or exclusion of women. I started to wonder what religious dictionary’s thought of androcentrism. So I looked up some religious dictionaries. After about 10 of them I gave up because I came empty handed. It’s like they didn’t believe it existed. But, to my surprise I did find a definition to androgyny in a few of them. And let’s not forget my personal definition: Men are better than women. A lthough I do not think this is true, that is just how I see androcentrism.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Now I am going to talk about the levels of androcentrism that make the study of religions difficult. I am going to refer a lot to the book Feminism and Religion by Rita M. Gross. The first level of andrcentrism is the history. â€Å"As in the study of contemporary religions, many conventional historians are most interested in those who wielded power, which means that not only women, but other disempowered groups hav...

Gender Inequality: Problems and Solutions :: Gender Sex Male Female Essays

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The issue of gender inequality is one which has been publicly reverberating through society for decades. The problem of inequality in employment being one of the most pressing issues today. In order to examine this situation one must try to get to the root of the problem and must understand the sociological factors that cause women to have a much more difficult time getting the same benefits, wages, and job opportunities as their male counterparts. The society in which we live has been shaped historically by males. The policy-makers have consistently been male and therefore it is not surprising that our society reflects those biases which exist as a result of this male-domination. It is important to examine all facets of this problem, but in order to fully tackle the issue one must recognize that this inequality in the workforce is rooted in what shapes future employees and employers-- education. This paper will examine the inequalities in policy, actual teaching situations, admission to post-secondary institutions, hiring, and job benefits and wages. It will also tackle what is being done to solve this problem and what can be done to remedy the situation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The late 1960s brought on the first real indication that feminist groups were concerned with the education system in North America. The focus of these feminist groups captured the attention of teachers, parents, and students. At first the evidence for inequality in schooling was based on no more than specific case studies and anecdotal references to support their claims but as more people began to show concern for the situation, more conclusive research was done to show that the claims of inequality were in fact valid and definitely indicated a problem with the way that schools were educating the future adults of society. One of the problems which became apparent was the fact that the policy-makers set a curriculum which, as shown specifically through textbooks, was sexist and for the most part still is.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Textbooks are one of the most important tools used in educating students whether they are elementary school storybooks or university medical textbooks. It is therefore no surprise that these books are some of the most crucial information sources that a student has throughout their schooling. Many studies have been done examining the contents of these books to reveal the amount of sexism displayed in these educational tools. The results clearly show that gender inequality definitely runs rampant in textbooks some of the sexism subtle and some overt. To begin with, it is apparent that historical texts show a distorted view of women by portraying them unfairly and inaccurately and Gender Inequality: Problems and Solutions :: Gender Sex Male Female Essays   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The issue of gender inequality is one which has been publicly reverberating through society for decades. The problem of inequality in employment being one of the most pressing issues today. In order to examine this situation one must try to get to the root of the problem and must understand the sociological factors that cause women to have a much more difficult time getting the same benefits, wages, and job opportunities as their male counterparts. The society in which we live has been shaped historically by males. The policy-makers have consistently been male and therefore it is not surprising that our society reflects those biases which exist as a result of this male-domination. It is important to examine all facets of this problem, but in order to fully tackle the issue one must recognize that this inequality in the workforce is rooted in what shapes future employees and employers-- education. This paper will examine the inequalities in policy, actual teaching situations, admission to post-secondary institutions, hiring, and job benefits and wages. It will also tackle what is being done to solve this problem and what can be done to remedy the situation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The late 1960s brought on the first real indication that feminist groups were concerned with the education system in North America. The focus of these feminist groups captured the attention of teachers, parents, and students. At first the evidence for inequality in schooling was based on no more than specific case studies and anecdotal references to support their claims but as more people began to show concern for the situation, more conclusive research was done to show that the claims of inequality were in fact valid and definitely indicated a problem with the way that schools were educating the future adults of society. One of the problems which became apparent was the fact that the policy-makers set a curriculum which, as shown specifically through textbooks, was sexist and for the most part still is.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Textbooks are one of the most important tools used in educating students whether they are elementary school storybooks or university medical textbooks. It is therefore no surprise that these books are some of the most crucial information sources that a student has throughout their schooling. Many studies have been done examining the contents of these books to reveal the amount of sexism displayed in these educational tools. The results clearly show that gender inequality definitely runs rampant in textbooks some of the sexism subtle and some overt. To begin with, it is apparent that historical texts show a distorted view of women by portraying them unfairly and inaccurately and

Human Genetic Engineering Research: Where to draw the line

Abstract Human genetic engineering is the manipulation of an individual's genotype with the goal of choosing the phenotype (Singers 1). This has already been a very controversial issue when it has been done on animals, but tampering with humans takes this issue to a whole different level. It holds the promise of curing genetic diseases like cystic fibrosis and improving the immunity of people to viruses (Conner 4). However, it also opens up a whole new world where the laws of nature can be broken.Parents can choose to change the gender of their baby; they can choose to change their appearance, and they can even choose to change the mental faculties of their baby like memory and intelligence (Sanded 1). This seems like something out of a science fiction movie but with our rapidly increasing technology, it is definitely more than a possibility. The genetic engineering of humans can be the greatest thing to ever happen to us, however, such power can lead to corruption and cause us to re gress as beings. Are we trying to make the world a better place for each other or are we Just making the world more superficial or should I say artificial?That's the main question that is asked as the intriguing issue of human genetic engineering is further evaluated. Human Genetic Engineering: Where to Draw the Line Perfection is something that human beings really haven't been able to relate to very well, but thanks to our rapidly advancing technology, that could all change. Human genetic engineering may be the breakthrough we need to tear down the walls that keep us from being perfect. However, there are many questions that need to be answered and things that need to be considered before we attempt to break through the walls.For instance, what if those walls are there for a reason? What if those walls aren't supposed to be torn down? Maybe they are there to protect us from perfection or perhaps protect perfection from us. A disease-free world sounds good to everyone but what about a world where parents can actually design their own child? What if not only the sex of the baby could be chosen by parents but also the hair color, eye color, intelligence, and even their talents (Sanded 1)? This is the path that human genetic engineering is leading us to; however, our main concern should be where that path will end.Human genetic engineering should be used only to cure diseases or other disabilities and not to the extent where we start treating human life like a computer game. We all should strive to be perfect but we should also have a certain level of respect for life and the lessons it teaches us. Otherwise our quest for perfection will only lead us into destruction. Jacqueline Vaughn Sister's article Assistance and Treatment is about the struggle disabled people go through to fit into society. They are stereotyped as pitiful and pathetic and they are often discriminated against (Sweeter 3).There seems to be a prevailing belief in our society where people who ar e â€Å"in need of charity are thought to be incapable of living the same life as others† (Sweeter 3). Because of these beliefs and stereotypes, the progress to fully include the handicapped in American life made even more difficult (Sweeter 3). The disabled are a minority group and they have fought hard to be recognized as one, however, there's no doubt that if every handicap had a choice they would choose not to be handicapped whether they were being treated equally or not.No one would miss being blind or being deaf. That's why Sweeter, who is raising awareness for the discrimination of handicapped, would agree with the argument that the use of genetic engineering should be limited to curing diseases and disabilities. The cruelty shown towards the handicapped is the exact reason why we shouldn't allow parents to design their children. It will Just leave us with more inequality because our human nature tends not to show humility and respect for those who are less advantaged than us.Jack Donnelley article The Concept of Human Rights explains how humans can have rights naturally. Human rights are supposed to be equal rights (Donnelly 2). Therefore every human being has the same rights (Donnelly 2), but how does this work when relating to children. On one episode of the Steve Wilkes show, there was a transgender man who was upset about being born a woman because his parents decided to go through with a gender selection operation despite being told that he would have more male hormones than female hormones.So this man felt that his rights were violated even though he was still unborn and he's right. You can't force any human to go through a completely unnecessary procedure, so why would the rules change if they're your own kid? Are kids not human too? Parents are supposed to make decisions for the better of their children but this was Just an act of selfishness. Donnelly would agree with the argument that genetic engineering shouldn't be allowed to the ext ent that parents can design their own kids for that very reason. It's unethical, irresponsible, and potentially harmful to the child.Melvin Sooner's article Genetic Enhancement Should Be Left to Personal Choice is about why human genetic engineering should be a personal choice like getting breast implants or taking steroids (Conner 3). He argues that â€Å"there's no intrinsic preference between inserting genes and inserting steroids† (Conner 2). People are always finding ways to enhance life and this is Just another way to do it. He does agree, however, that â€Å"the weightiest moral problem in the quest for perfection is that, it increases inequality' but that doesn't mean we shouldn't complete the quest (Conner 7).Antibiotics at one point were being used irresponsibly, but â€Å"the ethical path is not to stop using them but to use them more Judiciously' (Conner 7). Conner would disagree with the argument that human genetic engineering shouldn't be allowed to the extent that parents can design their babies because he takes a very liberal approach on this issue. The problem with his argument is that he fails to understand that the quest for perfection involves eliminating inequality, not increasing it.If we are increasing inequality, all we're doing is backtracking on the progress we've made as human beings and that's not what we want. Michael Sandal's article Genetically Designing Babies is Unethical explains why human genetic engineering shouldn't be allowed at all. He argues that â€Å"changing our nature to fit the world rather than the other way around is an ethical defeat† and an attack on our freedom (Sanded 6). He looks back at the dark history of eugenics and how it was the driving force behind the Nazi holocaust (Sanded 1).It was done to eliminate all of whom the Nazis considered as undesirables. Sanded argues that in the same way, â€Å"the successful would be even more likely than they are now to see themselves as self-made and self-sufficient, and those at the bottom of society would be seen not as disadvantaged, but simply as unfit† (Sanded 6). Sanded would disagree with the argument that human genetic engineering should be allowed to a certain extent because he is against the whole idea of genetic engineering. What he fails to realize in his argument is that as human beings, we have an obligation to improve our lives.If we can have a cure for the flu or for bronchitis, why not have a cure for blindness, ATA Cash disease, or any other sickness or disability that doctors can do nothing about? Human genetic engineering should only be allowed for use in the medical field to cure diseases and disabilities and not to the point where human life becomes a game. Genetic engineering is a scientific concern, but without boundaries t becomes a moral concern. Life is the most sacred thing anyone can have and it needs to be approached with caution and respect.It is also a great teacher and one of the main lesso ns it tries to teach us is humility. Humility involves accepting others for who they are and plays a key role when it comes to our relationships. When you think about what really matters in life, family and relationships with others tend to come up first which is really no coincidence. The purpose of life seems to be to lift up those around us and genetically designing babies will do the exact opposite of that. Parents who would choose to do this are doing it for cynical and selfish purposes.They are taking the child's freedom away so they can satisfy their own desires and out of those desires will come corruption. That's why a line needs to be drawn about to what extent human genetic engineering can be used. With great power comes great responsibility, so this is something we really can't afford to play around with. If genetic engineering to cure diseases becomes almost accessible as the flu shot, we will be that much closer on our quest to perfection. One day we will get through t hat all, but it's going to take one brick at a time.