Health economics, assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Health economics, - Assignment Example This impacts negatively on the poor who have no access to Medicaid or any form of health insurance. 3. a) Indemnity health plans have higher premiums than HMOs due to two reasons: demographics and health status. Indemnity plans have more older enrollees compared to HMOs. Secondly, older people suffering from a terminal illness are more likely to join indemnity than HMO (Altman et al, 2003). Alterman et al (2003) show this by analyzing the data collected from the two health plans. b) The weaknesses of this argument include the assumptions that HMOs negotiate for lower premiums and that they discourage sick people from enrolling with them. It is also taken for granted that HMOs offer lower intensity of treatment. 5. a) Ellis and McGuire make various recommendations on predictability and predictiveness. They state that the problem of rationing could be eliminated by identifying the problematic areas that inhibit complementarity of improving the quality of care. They suggest that payment systems should be designed for plans that attempt to neutralize incentives to ration some services more tightly than others (Ellis & MacGuire, 2007). 6. a) Mortality may decrease during recession because people lead healthier lifestyles during hard economic times than when there is abundance. During recession, unhealthy lifestyles such as excessive smoking and drinking and consumption of junk food go down due to lack of sufficient finances among people. Consequently, mortality rates reduce. c) This is because they have huge macroeconomic effects for groups of people such as heavy smokers and the physically inactive. There are numerous indirect changes, such as changes in sleep that accompany economic fluctuations. Therefore, economic downturns affect much more than just the macroeconomic status of individuals and the country. e) Getting Congress to lobby for the provision of affordable healthcare to all. It would enable people who cannot afford

Correctional Policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Correctional Policy - Essay Example erica boasts the highest incarceration rates on the planet, even higher than places such as China, Iran or Russia, Canada also has significant challenges housing, feeding, and rehabilitating all of the prisoners in its prisons nationwide. According to a report released by the Pew Center for Research on the United States, nearly one in 100 persons in the United States is incarcerated (Pew Center, 2008). Canada has a much smaller population than the United States but the statistics are no less that a staggering. Statistics Canada has recent reported that for the first time in more than 10 years Canadas incarceration rate has increased and is now 110 prisoners per 100,000 of the Canadian population. This represents a 2% increase and for comparative purposes Canadas incarceration rate is higher than most western European countries including that of Sweden which is 82 per 100,000 and France which has an incarceration rate of 85 per 1000 population. The numbers are staggering and must be u nderstood if one hopes to tackle the issue of criminal justice reform and correctional policy reform in the 21st century (Tony, 2001; Statistics Canada, 2008). Seeking to address the fundamental issues associated with an overcrowded prison system and to propose a means through which correctional policy reform can be undertaken in the Canadian context, the following will argue that restorative justice will provide the answer to Canadas incarceration woes. This policy brief will be structured in the following manner in order to properly address the problems associated with over incarceration in Canada. Beginning with an analysis of the problem, an exploration of the weaknesses, deficits, and excesses of Canadas present correctional policy will be this elaborate upon. Following this a recommended policy to address the problems discussed above will explain the concept of restorative justice. Arguing that restorative justice can be one of the means through which solutions to Canadas

The Term Comparative Advertising Marketing Essay

The Term Comparative Advertising Marketing Essay In the liberalized Indian economy, as entry into production and services is no more a barrier, the thrust of competition has shifted to aggressive and vigorous promotion of products and services. These practices raise questions about truthfulness and fairness of representation of products and services. In a competitive environment, every representation of a product or service, is about what others are not. In this sense, a study of evolution of law on comparative representation can give us insights in the working of law and business in the liberalized-globalised economy. The question is not be whether a consumer has adequate remedies and protection against such unfair trade practices of a corporation but whether the warring corporations have adequate law against unfair trade practices, and a justice delivery system to have some rules of the game for competing among themselves  [1]  . The term comparative advertising refers to any form of advertising in which a trademark owner attempts to enjoy pecuniary benefits from a comparison between his product, service, or brand and that of a competitor. Comparative claims may vary in nature. They may explicitly name a competitor or implicitly refer to him. They may either emphasize the similarities or the differences between the products. They may also state that the advertised product is better than or as good as the competitors  [2]  . In simple words; comparative advertising is a form of advertising in which two or more brands of same generic products are compared in terms of one or more products or attributes. These advertisements are designed to highlight the advantages of the goods and services offered by the advertiser as compared to those of a competitor. Although, comparative advertisement has not been defined in the Indian statute, the UK Regulations define it as an advertisement which explicitly or by implic ation, identifies a competitor or goods or services offered by a competitor   [3]  . Comparative Advertising is also used in political campaigns, where it generates more counterarguments and fewer source derogations than negative political advertising does. This result may be due to the different styles of information processing that the two types of messages encourage. However, consumers exposed to negative political messages find them less useful for decision making and have more negative attitudes towards political campaigns than do consumers exposed to political advertising.  [4]   A survey of advertisements conducted in US reveals that there are three categories into which all advertisements fall  [5]  : 1. Non comparative advertisements that do not refer to a competing product either directly or indirectly. 2. Indirectly comparative advertisements that refers to a competing product in an indirect manner. 3.Directly comparative advertisements in which a competing product is specifically named or recognizably presented. Advertising falling into the last two categories could be referred to as comparative advertising. while in some countries one or both kinds of comparative advertisements are allowed, some countries do not allow either of the two kinds. Accordingly, the well known tag line in the UK(which allows both forms of comparative advertising with certain restrictions) in the advertisements for Carlsberg lager-Probably the best lager in the world, cannot be used in Germany(which does not allow comparative advertisement at all), as it would lead to an implication that all other lager are inferior to Carlsberg, thereby falling into the category of indirectly comparative advertisements.  [6]   Comparative advertising generally possesses two components, puffery and denigration. Puffery is where the advertiser seeks to draw the consumers attention by making superlative claims about his product that are assertions of opinion, rather than verifiable statements of fact. Often puffery crosses the limits of tolerance and seeks to portray the competing product in a negative light. The same is then said to amount to denigration, which the courts have strictly prohibited. Thus, the material question that often arises is to what extent comparative advertising may be restricted. The answer lies in developing a clear understanding of the conflicting interests of the various stakeholders involved, including the advertiser, the competitor and the consumer. The advertisers objective herein is to present his products in a manner such that the consumer is most likely to purchase it. On the other hand the competitor would always try to prevent any advertising that aims at denigrating his pro duct or makes false claims, or uses his product as a standard which the advertiser claims to exceed. The hapless consumer finds himself in the midst of a cacophony of claims, and has the right to be accurately informed about the quality or utility of the products available in the market.  [7]   STATUTORY PROVISION IN INDIA- The onus of regulating advertising in India has been assumed by a wide array of governmental authorities and tribunals, but presently there exists no dedicated statutory mechanism to regulate the dissemination of untruthful or disparaging material through such medium  [8]  . Primarily, matters related to untrue and misleading advertising were adjudicated upon by the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices (MRTP) Commission, constituted under the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act, 1969 (MRTP Act). The Act defined an unfair trade practice under section 36A to include any false representation of goods with regard to their quality, quantity or utility. The provision also incorporated the clause that a warranty or guarantee of performance or durability of the product, if not adequately substantiated, would amount to an unfair trade practice  [9]  . Further, to advertise a false or misleading fact disparaging the goods, services or trade of another person too was br ought within the ambit of the same  [10]  . However, the MRTP Act was subsequently repealed by virtue of section 66 of the Competition Act, 2002. The Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission, with reference to intensifying competition in the post-liberalised India, was describing a case before it as another legal battle between two multinational corporate giants making this Commission as a battlefield for the purpose  [11]  . The Trade Marks Act provides that a registered trademark is infringed by any advertising of that trade mark if such advertising takes unfair advantage and is contrary to honest practices in industrial or commercial matters, is detrimental to its distinctive character, or is against the reputation of the trade mark  [12]  . Section 30(1) of the same act provides an exception to the above rule stating that such advertisement would not amount to infringement if the use of such mark falls within purview of honest practices. This implies that honest practices are mandatory for comparative advertising without which it would amount to trademark infringement In the absence of an established statutory mechanism dedicated to the regulation of advertising, the industry itself has sought to develop a model for voluntary self-regulation in the form of the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI)  [13]  . The same is a non-statutory tribunal comprising an association of advertisers established in 1985. The ASCI position on the form and manner of comparative advertising has been laid out in Chapter IV of the bodys Code for Self Regulation in Advertising  [14]  . It is stated herein that advertisements containing comparisons with competing manufacturers and sellers are permissible in the interests of vigorous competition and free dissemination of information, subject to the following requirements being satisfied: a) It is clear what aspects of the advertisers product are being compared with what aspects of the competitors product. (b) The subject matter of comparison is not chosen in such a way as to confer an artificial advantage upon the advertiser or so as to suggest that a better bargain is offered than is truly the case. (c) The comparisons are factual, accurate and capable of substantiation. (d) There is no likelihood of the consumer being misled as a result of the comparison, whether about the product advertised or that with which it is compared. (e) The advertisement does not unfairly denigrate, attack or discredit other products, advertisers or advertisements, directly or by implication.  [15]   COMPARATIVE ADVERTISEMENT AND TRADEMARK INFRINGMENT In an era where the whole world is considered as one global village, trademarks play an important role to distinguish the products of one business house from another. Trademark can be defined as a mark or symbol which distinguishes one product from other product of similar nature  [16]  . Its aim is to identify the source of a product and to distinguish that product from product of similar nature. It lends individuality to a product which helps the customers to identify the product placed with products of similar kinds. Trade mark not only identifies the product of its origin but it also guaranties its unchanged quality and further helps to build a brand image by advertises the products. In a rat race to present their products as the best, companies adopt advertising techniques that make use of trademarks, trade names, and other trade symbols combining informational and persuasive elements. Not only has the use of their own trademark gained popularity also the use of their counte rparts trade mark is fast catching up. In Advertising and Public Interest  [17]  , Ralph Brown argues that trademarks by themselves were worthless to the public; the publics interest inhered in the ability of trade symbol to inform and prevent confusion. He further asserts that the legal protection surrounding trade mark should be driven by analysis of the degree to which advertising itself served public interest. The law on comparative advertising and product disparagement, in relation to trademarks, in India, is based upon the law as laid down in Irvings Yeast Vite Ltd v FA Horse-nail  [18]  . Section 29(8) of The Trademarks Act, 1999 enunciates situations, when the use of a trademark in advertising can constitute infringement. It says that any advertising which is not in accordance with honest practices; or is detrimental to the distinctive character, or to the repute of the mark, shall be an act constituting infringement. At the same time Section 30 (1) makes comparative advertising an exception, to acts constituting infringement under Section 29. It provides that any advertising which is in accordance with honest practices, and does not cause detriment to the distinctive character or to the repute of the trademark will be permissible and will not constitute infringement. CONSTITUTIONAL VIEW- Article 19 (1) (a) of the Constitution of India protects the right to freedom of speech and expression. It is very important for us to analyze article 19 (1) (a) of the Constitution in relation to comparative advertising. The freedom of speech and expression also has limitations but the same is restricted by imposing reasonable restrictions by the state under article 19 (2) of the Constitution  [19]  . Now the question is that whether the commercial speech can be protected under article 19 (1) (a) of the Constitution. In the case of Tata Press Ltd. vs Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd.  [20]  , the Supreme Court held that commercial speech cannot be denied the protection of Article 19(1) (a) of the Constitution merely because the same is issued by businessmen. Court took a very wide interpretation of the Article 19(1) (a) of the Constitution Supreme Court held that advertising as a commercial speech has two facets. Advertising which is no more than a commercial transaction is, no netheless, dissemination of information regarding the product advertised. Public at large is benefited by the information made available through the advertisement. In a democratic economy, free flow of commercial information is indispensable. There cannot be honest and economical marketing by the public at large without being educated by the information disseminated through advertisements. The economic system in a democracy would be handicapped without there being freedom of commercial speech. Supreme Court also stated that the public at large has a right to receive the commercial speech. Article 19(1) (a) not only guarantees freedom of speech and expression; it also protects the rights of an individual to listen, read, and receive the said speech. So the Supreme Court held that a party has a right to advertise its product making commendation about its quality. Advertisement being a commercial speech which is a part of the freedom of speech is guaranteed under article 19(1). (a) of the Constitution and it can also be restricted under Article 19 (2) if it fulfils its elements. Court was of the view that publicity and advertisement of ones product with purpose of boosting sales is a legitimate marketing strategy. Court has laid down various principles in deciding about the extent of comparative advertisement. Comparative advertising must compare products meeting the same needs or intended for the same purpose. Comparative advertising should explicitly or implicitly make clear what comparison is made. A case of disparagement arises only if product in question is identifiable. Comparison with another or ordinary product that does not allude to particular brand, cannot give rise to disparagement. For disparagement, a direct reference to competitive brand is not necessary. Even an indirect referencing that can identify a particular brand may lead to a case of disparagement. Comparative advertising should not mislead consumers about competitors product with which comparison is made. A manufacturer is entitled to make exaggerations like his goods are the best, or in puffing manner compare his goods with competitors, and the same even if untrue, will not give a clause of action to other manufacturers of similar product, unless in doing so the manufacturer says that his competitors goods are bad, or disparages and defame them. This makes clear that freedom of speech and expression does not permit defamation and it would be a little far-fetched to say that an advertiser has the liberty to disparage the product of his competitor without any check, under the grab of freedom of speech. The irony remains, that although it is one thing to say that your product is better than that of a rival and it is another thing to say that his product is inferior to your product, still while asserting the latter, the hidden message may be the former, but that is inevitable in the case of a comparison. While comparing two products, the advertised product will, but naturally, have to be shown as better.  [21]   Comparative Advertising-Consumers Perspective Comparative Advertising if seen in a consumer perspective it tells the difference between two goods in the market and tell the consumer why he should opt for the advertisers product.  [22]   One of the most effective methods for advertising a product is to compare it with competitive offerings. Side-by-side or A-B comparisons can provide prospective customers with compelling reasons to buy from the company. They can also help build credibility for its product. Subconsciously, the prospective customer says: Who would risk making a direct comparison if they didnt have something truly superior? Johnson and Johnson found this out the hard way when Proctor and Gamble introduced Whisper with a direct comparison of the various features that were new in their product as opposed to Carefree without once naming Carefree directly.  [23]   The comparison of goods and services provides more information and thus educates consumers in taking a better decision. The advertisers in India generally compare the prices that cater to the status appeal of the maximum populations as 30% of Indians live under the category of middle class which is the most growing consumer market and they are also benefitted with the comparative advertisements. From the research done in India and abroad regarding the consumer reactions to the comparative advertising, it is clear that it helps in informing customers on the comparative features of two competitive brands. It is an effective positioning tool as well.  [24]  Few advertisers view the comparative advertising as offensive but from the practical experience so far, it is an accepted fact that consumers are being benefitted by the comparative advertisements. In Indian market, as mentioned above there has been a sea-change after the introduction of LPG policies. Brands that were considered to be of very high quality with practically no competition have lost out to other international brands, with the opening up of our markets and with the increasing awareness of the consumers about the products. Comparative advertisement truly gives an opportunity to help consumers not only to decide on which product is better but also what is best suited for him.  [25]   Consumers generally do not observe quality before purchase. Prices cannot signal quality. The firms compete for customers by advertising their quality. We first analyze a pure disclosure framework. If a firm advertises, it discloses the truth; it cannot falsify as such. Compare two scenarios. In the first firms can only engage in non-comparative advertising, i.e., a firm may disclose its own quality but not the competitors. In the second scenario, the firms can also engage in comparative advertising. In both scenarios advertising is costly and firms may, therefore, choose to remain silent.  [26]   Some studies have questioned the effectiveness of comparative advertising. Swinyard found that when it is one-sided, comparative advertising loses credibility and generates sympathy for the brand being attacked.  [27]  A study by Ogilvy-Mather, a large ad agency, found that consumers frequently confuse the sponsor for the competitor in many comparative ads. Furthermore, there was no persuasiveness of comparative and non-comparative ads.  [28]  On the other hand, other studies have found that if the source is credible, comparative advertisement is effective. For example, Gotlieb and Sarel found that credible comparative ads were more likely to be notices and were more likely to influence intentions to buy the advertised brand compared with non comparative ads. They also found that credible comparative ads were particularly effective for new products. Swinyard found that credibility can best be achieved by making comparative ads two sided-that is, a comparative ad that names a competitor, cites some of the advantages of the comparative brand, and then points out the arguments for the advertised brand.  [29]   Marketers should also consider consumers goal when preparing comparative ads. Promotion-focused consumers, whose goal is to maximise their gains and positive consumers, will be more responsive to claims that Brand X is superior to Brand Y; prevention-focused consumers, who want to minimize their loss and risk, will be more sceptical of superiority claims and more responsive to claims that Brand X is similar or equivalent to Brand Y. Note that positively framed comparative messages(Brand X performs better than Brand Y) are more effective for promotion-focused consumers, whereas negatively framed messages(Brand Y has more problems than Brand X) are more effective for prevention-focused consumers. Positively framed comparative messages encourage more cognitive processing and prompt consumers to consider other brand information-sparking their buying intentions if the additional information supports the positive arguments.  [30]   But the comparative advertisement should extent to the limit that it misleads the consumer. Any misinformation will be prejudice to the consumers. Abuses in advertising can obviously have unfortunate effects on consumers ranging from money on item that did not live up to the standard, expectation, quality and effectively but results in hazardous accidents resulting from the misrepresentation of faulty goods.  [31]   Humour In Advertising  [32]   Marketers use humorous messages because they attract attention and because advertisers believe that humour can be persuasive. The use of humour in advertising has been increasing to the point where the majority of ads use humour. one reason is that a 2002 survey by Roper, a large marketing research firm, found that 85 percent of respondents said they like ads with humorous themes. There are pros and cons for the use of humour in advertising. On the positive side, humour is likely to increase attention and memorability. It is also likely to enhance the advertisers credibility. Humour may create a positive feeling towards the advertisers and increase the persuasiveness of the message. It may also distract consumers who use competitive products from developing arguments against the advertisers brand and may lead them to accept the message. Humour may also be considered inappropriate based on the economic and political climate. When is the use of humour most effective? Researchers have found that humour is most effective in gaining message acceptance- when consumers are not involved- because humour is peripheral to the message, it is more likely to influence consumers who are not involved with the product than those who are. for existing products- advertising new products require conveying information. Humour is a more effective means of establishing a mood than of conveying information. When consumers have a positive attitude towards the brand- humour can reinforce positive feelings towards a brand, but is unlikely to reverse negative feelings. Why Consumer Protection?  [33]   Consumer has no voice in the product which is manufactured for his consumption. It is very difficult to effectively organize consumers in country as vast as India. A majority of the population is illiterate and ignorant. Poverty, lack of education, lack of misinformation, traditional outlook of Indians to suffer in silence, considering poverty and misery as a god-given things-all these negative sides of our life have enabled unscrupulous businessman to exploit consumers in India. The march of science and technology has increased the difficulties of the consumer along with his opportunities of selection from a very wide variety of goods. JUDICIAL PRONOUNCEMENTS Indian Judiciary has defined certain limitations for comparative advertising. Certain cases discussed below will help us to clarify more on this term. The role of puffery as a facet of comparative advertising was substantively dealt with by an Indian court for the first time in Reckitt Colman of India Ltd. v. M.P. Ramchandran and Anr.  [34]  In the concerned matter, the plaintiff and defendant were manufacturers of clothing detergent brands Robin Blue and Ujala, respectively. It was contended by the plaintiff that the defendant, in its advertisement, had intentionally displayed a container that was similar to the one in which the plaintiffs product was sold, and in regard to which the plaintiff had a registered design. A further insinuation to the product of the plaintiff was in the fictitious product being priced at Rs. 10, which was known to be the price at which Robin Blue was sold. The advertisement went on to state that the said product Blue was uneconomical, and depicted that the same was a product of obsolete technology and hence ineffective. There was also an implication that the product failed to dissolve effectively in water, and hence damaged clothes by leaving blue patches on them. It was argued by the defendant that the bottle depicted in the advertisement did not bear any resemblance to Robin Blue, and that the object of the portrayal had been merely to assert the technological superiority of Ujala over other competing products. Hence, it was denied that there was any specific disparagement of Robin Blue in the concerned advertisement. In M. Balasundram v Jyothi Laboratories  [35]  , A television advertisement promoting Ujala liquid blue showed that 2-3 drops were adequate to bring striking whiteness of clothes while several spoons of other brands were required though no label of any other brand was shown. A lady holding a bottle of Ujala was looking down on another bottle and exclaiming chhi, chhi, chhi! in disgust. The manufacturers of Regaul, a competing brand, approached the MRTP Commission that the advertisement was disparaging its goods. The Commission was of the view that-a mere claim to superiority in the quality of ones product by itself is not sufficient to attract section 36(1)(x) of MRTP Act. In the advertisement, the bottle did not carry any label. Further, the bottle did not have similarity with bottle of any brand. The Commission, thus, was of the opinion that it could not be a case of disparagement of goods. On a different note decision given by the court in case of Hindustan Lever Limited v Colgate Palmolive (I) Limited  [36]  and Pepsi Co Inc v Hindustan Coca Cola Ltd  [37]  , where both Colgate and Hindustan Coca Cola Ltd liable for disparaging their competitors products, respectively. Even though in both advertisements the competitors product name could not be heard but could clearly be made out from lip movement. Such a method of circumventing the law was held to fall clearly within the ambit of disparagement. The courts further stated that any claims made in comparative advertisements must be backed by verifiable statistical data. Precedents like the one laid down in Dabur India Ltd. v. Emami Ltd  [38]  . could severely curtail the scope of comparative advertising. Jurisprudentially speaking, the concept of defamation has to be specific or individualized in nature  [39]  . In the present case, the courts seem to have overlooked this premise, as the courts ruling in the case laid down that even a reference to a generic class of products could be potentially disparaging. This could be viewed as dangerous precedent as it would disallow a competitor to even make comparisons on a general basis. Hypothetically if the newly launched Tata Nano were to put out an advertisement giving out the impression that bike owners could progress in life by graduating to a car, then based on the ratio of this case, any bike company would be able to successfully sue Tata for disparagement  [40]  . CONCLUSION In India theres no doubt that the law regarding to comparative advertising is well settled, but is it settled in the required manner? By copiously allowing puffing up in marketing strategies, until a competitor is not adversely affected, the courts have turned a blind eye towards the equally important consumer and his interests. Today in the Indian sphere the focus only seems directed towards the grabbing of eyeballs, without providing any productive information for the consumer to utilize. The objective behind comparative advertising was not only being informative and an important tool to promote competition but for comparisons to serve as benchmarks to help consumers focus on the products main qualities. Compara

Shirley Jacksons The Lottery and Albert Camus The Guest :: essays research papers

Two great works known for irony, in one a great author, Albert Camus, creates a masterpiece and in the other, a masterpiece creates a great author, Shirley Jackson. Camus had been known to the world and his works had been studied even without the presence of â€Å"l’hote† or known as The Guest, but Shirley Jackson was a nobody till she wrote The Lottery and stunned the world. Both works are studied as pieces of irony but I believe both to be great works in other, with a twist of irony in the conclusion, although, worth mentioning, the ironies both serve to the other purpose rather than the plane simple sake of irony. The Guest, a pen and paper advert for Paul Sartre’s Existentialism, carries traces of this thought throughout, while, The Lottery, being a symbolic society questioner, with its many symbols undermines the American society. But both short stories carry within them even more, they talk of breaking the norms, they speak of minorities, giving up, and waste of life. The Existentialists say man is free to choose yet the choice and having to choose is inevitable and this is seen in The Guest where the Arab is forced into Daru’s life so thrusting upon him the crossroad of what to do with the Arab, either turn him in or let him go. In Existentialist belief due to the exact same choice man is always anxious and hesitant, not knowing whether his choice is proper or not, is it accepted by others or not, and this is seen so clearly again by the simple repetition of the word â€Å"hesitation† and its other forms in the story: 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"The orders? I’m not†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Daru hesitated†¦ {A choice forced upon him} 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  He served Balducci more tea, hesitated, the†¦ {Hesitation before the person forcing the situation upon him} 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The old gendarme hesitated. â€Å"It’s up to you†¦ {Hesitation while expressing choice} 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Arab hesitated, then bit into†¦ {Hesitation before even life’s inevitables such as eating} 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the classroom, before going out, he hesitated a second†¦ {Hesitation before making a choice} 6.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Looked hesitantly at the motionless Arab†¦ {Hesitation before the source of choice} 7.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Daru hesitated. The sun rather high†¦ {Hesitant look at life} In the end Daru tries to get out of choosing by putting responsibility of the choice on the Arab but this in itself is again choosing. Existentialist beliefs express the dilemma in life and again is shown by Daru not being able to decide what to do with the Arab, whether to go against his country, and let the Arab free to choose, or go against his morals, and turn him in, and all life comes to the crossroad dilemma between freedom and prison for the Arab.

Analysis for Monologue of an Onion Essay

Cutting an onion breaks cells in its skin causing a reaction that results to the formation of volatile sulfur compound which, when mixed with tears coating our eyes, becomes sulfuric acid. This triggers the tear ducts to produce more tears to alleviate the imbalance in acidity the irritant has caused; the longer the eyes are exposed to the acid the greater the quantity of tears produced. Sue Kwock Kim uses this certain property of an onion to tackle a specific human idiosyncrasy. Monologue for an Onion discusses how humans have the tendency to lie to themselves in pursuit of false hopes through dramatic situation, tone, and symbol. The poem opens with the onion voicing out its thoughts as the person peels away its skin. As the poem progresses, more and more layers are removed in the person’s pursuit to find the heart of the onion. In stanza three, it becomes evident that the onion has no heart because it is â€Å"†¦pure onion—pure union of outside and in, surface and secret core. But despite this, it is seen that the person continues to subject his eyes to the acidic fumes emanating from the peels in hopes of finding what is obviously absent. As the person persistently peels away the onion’s skin, the onion continues to utter words of warning to the person: it is pointless to continue stripping the onion off its covering when all that can be attained in the end are tears and â€Å"†¦onion-juice, yellow peels, [and] (my) stinging shreds†; the wasted effort and the person’s refusal to concede to the truth angers the onion. For most of the poem, the feelings of annoyance and anger dominate the scene. But in the first six lines of the poem, the talking onion pities the person for he is deluded into thinking that it has a heart. But in the proceeding lines, the negative feelings start to bubble to the surface. These feelings were first introduced in the tenth line: â€Å"Look at you, chopping and weeping. Idiot. † Here, we see that the onion finds it stupid that the person persists to chop away his skin when the act causes him to hurt. The emotions climb a steady slope and burst out into the open starting with lines fourteen and fifteen: â€Å"†¦ruin and tears your only signs of progress? Enough is enough. † Here the onion lashes out to the person for refusing to look past the veil of tears and see what is there right in front of him. The onion finds it incredulous that the person lets himself be fooled by false pretenses of the existence of something good buried deep beneath a layer of unfavorable boundaries. The onion sees no point in its destruction when all that awaits the person is nothing but a pile of abandoned skins and wasted tears. Eventually, the onion calms down but does maintain the angry tone up to the very last line in the poem. In the poem, the centerpiece is the fact that the onion is a symbol. The onion represents the truth that the person is desperately trying to deny. In the first two stanzas of the poem, the peeling off of the onion’s skin can be interpreted as the person’s attempt to find a sugar-coated version of the truth. Alas, an onion is an onion in and out and therefore the bitter covering is all there is to it. Even so, the person persists on chopping off the onion’s covering—a clear indication of man’s reluctance to let go of desired truths. The tears symbolize the troubles brought about by this unrelenting pursuit of misguided truths; the more man insists on digging deeper into the basic foundation of the truth, the troubles would only increase in multitude. Eventually, man reaches the core of the truth and finds that it is no different from what the surface contained. With each peeled off layer of the onion—each section of the truth uncovered, disappointment greets the persistent man. Disappointment after disappointment, this has left the person with a weakened morale. And so the onion takes pity on the person who ended up having nothing but a tired heart divided into pieces. In conclusion, Monologue for an Onion talks about the dangers in blindly chasing false hopes. The poem highlights man’s ability to conjure fantasies and desired truths that could somehow cloud man’s judgment—instead of separating the fantasy from reality, man desperately searches for the non-existent truth in the expense of personal physical and/or emotional health.

Educational Aspiration: High School Education vs College Education

In our current economy, the need for a college education becomes increasingly valuable despite the high cost of tuition and loans. The demand for skilled, college-educated laborers is high. A college education can also determine your future income potential and in many cases, it is the only way a person can climb up the socioeconomic ladder. There are two theories that suggests why the need for a college education has been growing — increased international competition and skill-biased technology. The first theory focuses on the globalization of the U. S. economy. The argument is that increased competition from low skilled labor abroad has decreased the wages of low-skilled workers at home. At first, this theory seems to make sense but the statistics do not make sense. The reason is that only a small portion of the US economy is actually subject to competition from abroad. Also, job competition is growing in both the most and the least trade-affected industries at about the same rate. (Irons, 1998) The second theory for the increase in need for a college education has been called â€Å"skill-biased technological change†. The idea is current technology favors the higher skilled, higher educated workers over lower skilled workers. An example would be the increase use of computer technology has helped in the productivity and wages of the computer users and programmers. But, this increase does not help increase stagnated wages of the â€Å"lesser† educated worker who does not know this new technology. The only problem with this theory is that technological growth is a difficult to measure. There are two many hard to define variables to statistically measure this kind of change. (Irons, 1998) Even if these theories were to be debunked, the idea that a college education is more valuable that a high school education is correct. Statistically, a person with a college education generates a great deal more income in a lifetime than a high school graduate. Likewise, a high school graduate definitely has a higher income than a high-school dropout. The following chart shows a huge numeric difference in economic outcomes as a result of the educational status of the worker. The increase in income between the groups is a direct result of the educational degree attained. No High School 10,236 20,146 68,275 (Diaz-Geminiz, Quadrini, and Rios-Rull (1997) In Dimensions of Inequality, Diaz-Geminiz, Quadrini, and Rios-Rull theorizes the financial inequality in the U. S. according to the labor earnings, income, and wealth among U. S. households. Labor earnings are the amount of salary taken home as a result from working. Total income includes labor earning plus any additional income, such as stocks or savings accounts, and even income from government transfers, like Social Security and Welfare. And lastly, wealth represents the total stock of past savings. According to this theory of financial inequality, the top end of the distribution has seen a growth in their income while those at the lower end have seen their income stagnate. The financial distribution is highly skewed in the U. S. with the top 1% of households owning 30% of the American pie. This is 875 times more wealth that the bottom 40% of the distribution. Increasingly, the only way to obtain a decent piece of the economic pie is by earning a college degree. The higher your college degree, i. e. masters or Ph. D. , the higher your potential income earnings. Rather, education is the most important way in which people can make it into the upper end of the income distribution. Besides the differences in incomes among the college educated and non-college educated, there are also differences in employment opportunities among college educated, high school educated, and high school dropouts. The answer is yes. Your education also holds the key to what kinds of jobs or career you can or cannot obtain. According to the National Center For Education Statistics, â€Å"post-secondary degree attainment is associated with better access to employment and higher earnings. In 1995, on average, male bachelor†s degree recipients aged 25-34 earned 52 percent more, and female bachelor†s degree recipients 91 percent more, than their counterparts with a high school diploma. † On average, a limited education impedes a person†s employment opportunities. Rather, how much education one can obtain will affect how broad their job opportunity outlook will be. According to Youth Indicators, â€Å"Between 1965 and 1992, the percentage of non-college bound high school graduates entering the labor force changed little. The apparent dip in 1970 was caused by the entry of young men into the military rather than the civilian labor force. In contrast, the proportion of college students who were also in the labor force rose from 28% in 1965 to 49% in 1992. † Therefore, there are more job opportunities among the college educated than high school educated. Statistically, the value of a college education can be invaluable for one†s economic future. With this realization, post-secondary enrollments have increased continuously over the years. â€Å"The percentage of high school graduates who enrolled in 2- or 4- year colleges and universities in the October following graduation increased from 49% to 62% between 1972 and 1995. During this same period, the percentage of 25- to 29- year old high school graduates who had completed 4 or more years of college rose from 24% to 28%. † (National Center for Education Statistics) A college education also has a value beyond monetary terms. A college education can open the doors of opportunities for anyone willing to take advantage of that opportunity. High school cannot offer the same opportunity. A university has far superior resources for its students than high school. A person can learn a lot about life by simply being a college student. Most importantly, beyond attaining a degree, is the knowledge one can earn through attending college. The process of learning is a priceless tool that can only be enhanced by the college experience.