The Celtic Religion Essay Example for Free

The Celtic Religion Essay The Celts were an ancient group of people who populated a substantial area of Europe from the British Isles to Galatia. The Celts are thought to have existed from about 1000BC to the 1st century when they were conquered by the Romans. The Celtic religion was extremely complex and is difficult for modern day man to understand. This essay will discuss the nature and role of religion in the ancient Celtic society. The Celts were polytheistic sharing some beliefs that spanned across all the tribes; however, each tribe had their own beliefs and rituals. The Celts worshiped many gods and goddesses and a lot of the Celtic religion revolved around the worship of natural phenomena including water, sky, mountains, trees and earth. The worship of water deities was common among all Celtic tribes due to their medicinal and healing properties. There have been a number offerings which the Celts made for their gods that have been discovered in rivers, springs and wells. An example of a famous Celtic-healing site linked with water is Bath found in England. Other places where Celts made offerings to their gods were in sacred groves and forest clearings. Animals were revered by the Celts for their special qualities of speed, strength, ferocity and cunning and the gods that were represented were mostly in animal form. Some of the animals important to the Celts included boars, stags, bears, hares, birds and horses. Due to the Celts close connection with nature shrines and altars were built in the forest. These were generally made of wood, evidence for this is found in classical literature. For example, Lucan, a Roman poet, describes an altar in a forest near Marseilles, â€Å"altars were erected on little hillocks and all the trees were purifies with human blood.† This is also evidence of sacrifice, which formed a part of the nature of the Celtic religion. Both humans and animals were sacrificed in honour of their gods. Julius Caesar mentions such sacrifice in The Conquest of Gaul, â€Å"†¦after a victory they sacrifice the captured the animals and collect the rest of the spoil in one spot†. The Druids were Celtic priests who played a major role in the ancient Celtic society and were of a high status among the Celts. Their role was that of priest, scholar and judge. They were in charge of religious activities; they performed rituals and also played the role of a judge. No significant political decision was made without the Druids as there attendance was seen as necessary to obtain the gods favor. When disputes arouse the Druids played the role of a judge whether the issue was between tribes or individuals; whatever the crime being committed was, it was the responsibility of the Druids to arbitrate the problem and decide on the compensation to be paid and received by the parties involved. The Druids also gave rulings on all religious questions and groups of numerous men would go to them for instruction and advice. According to the historian, Diogenes Laà «rtius, it is apparent that the Druids held three truths; the need to honour the gods, to abstain from evil and to show bravery. The Druids spent many years learning the sacred texts and passing them onto their followers. An example of the way in which they taught their followers were at feast and festivals through the bardic tradition of singing and reciting stories of gods and heroes. As can be seen, the Druids played an important role in the lives of the Celtic people. It is evident from looking at the writings of classical authors that Celtic festivals, when held, were grand. They included great feasts, processions, the making of offerings and human and animal sacrifices to their gods. The four main festivals that were held by the Celts were the Samhain, Imbloc, Belteine or Beltane and Lughnasadh. Samhain was believed to be the most important festival and occurred on the first of November, some believe this was the beginning of the Celtic year. This was not only a significant religious festival that included proper ceremonies and sacrifices, but was also a day holding important political and administrative functions. Barry Cunliffe writes in his book The Celtic World, â€Å"During Samhain†¦ the whole tribe presumably assembled for feasting and to ensure, through sacrifice, the continued fertility of the crops and herds.† The Imbloc festival was celebrated on the first of February and meant ‘ewe’s milk’, this name was given for this festival as it marked the birth of the first lambs and commemorates the return of fresh milk. This festival celebrates the return of the cycle of new life to the earth and marks the rebirth of nature and fertility. It is the celebration of bringing nature back to life. The Belteine or Beltane festival took place on the first of May and is the feast of light and marks the season of sunny weather. On this day the Druids light the beacon fires to bring good news of the coming season to the people. The Lughnasadh was a harvest festival that occurred on the first of August and marked the end of summer growth and the beginning of autumn harvest. These four festivals marked the seasons of the year and were major events for the Celtic society. The practice of human sacrifice in honour of their gods was a normal occurrence in Celtic society. Strabo, a Greek geographer, talks about the Celts and human sacrifice in his book Geography, â€Å"They used to strike a human being, whom they have devoted to death, in the back with a sword, and then divine from his death struggle.† The Celts held the belief â€Å"an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth† and also â€Å"a life for a life†. For example when a person was sick, the relatives may make a human sacrifice in order that their kin would be spared. Other reasons the Celts made human sacrifices were to ensure survival of warrior before battle, the prisoners were usually the ones that were sacrificed in this circumstance and in times of need such as famine or plague. Celtic society was heavily influenced by their religious beliefs and practices, this is shown through the connection they felt with nature, the Druids status and power in the society and the festivals that marked their calendar year. Religious matters were never expressed in writing; however, the strong oral tradition of the Celts enabled the passing down of their religious practices. This along with classical literature has provided the future generations with an insight into both the nature and role that religion played in Celtic society.

Conflicting Perspectives Essay Example for Free

Conflicting Perspectives Essay Composers are able to evoke in the audience certain reactions to characters or events in their texts by presenting conflicting perspectives on different issues through the manipulation of the language forms and features of their medium, often communicating their own ideas about issues in question, which results in the creation of meaning within their texts. (?). David Guterson in his 1995 novel Snow Falling on Cedars (Snow) and Henry Bean in his 2001 film The Believer (Believer) demonstrate conscious choices made regarding structure and techniques in the construction of their texts in order to represent conflicting perspectives exploring ideas on racial prejudice and hatred and cultural contrasts and thus engage the audience. Composers can examine racial/religious prejudice brought on by war by using form specific techniques to present conflicting perspectives on the same event, designed to incite certain audience responses. Guterson, in Snow, purposely presents conflicting perspectives between Arthur Chambers and Hatsue and other members of the white community on San Piedro, particularly Etta Heine, in order to draw sympathy for the treatment of the Japanese after Pearl Harbour is bombed. Arthur is empathetic towards them, saying in his local paper the San Piedro Review, â€Å"†¦ those of Japanese descent on this island are not responsible for the tragedy at Pearl Harbour. Make no mistake about it.† The high modality language and short, direct sentences used by Guterson highlights Arthur’s deeply-held opinion of the innocence of the Japanese on the island. In support of Arthur’s argument, Hatsue, through the narrative’s non-linear structure, recalls her pain and confusion at the treatment of her people, saying, â€Å"It just isn’t fair – it’s not fair. How could they do this to us, just like that?† The emotive appeal in addition to Arthur’s article triggers audience support of the Japanese community. Guterson, however, also presents the contrasting racial hatred of the white islanders towards the Japanese. Etta Heine justifies the deportation of the Japanese with blunt, monosyllabic sentences – â€Å"They’re Japs†¦ We’re in a war with them. We can’t have spies around.† The use of the derogative term â€Å"Japs† and the distinct differentiation between â€Å"them†, the Japanese, and â€Å"we†, the white people, illustrates her bigoted hatred of the Japanese. Through the conflicting perspectives of Etta against Arthur and Hatsue, Guterson sways the audience to feel for the ill treatment of the Japanese, and shows them his own opinion on the negative effect of racism in wartime on the perceptions and conduct towards certain groups. Conflicting perspectives are established by Bean in Believer between Daniel, a neo-Nazi who is paradoxically a Jew himself, and a number of Holocaust survivors pertaining to the strength of their actions during WWII which aims to convey a pro-Jewish sentiment to audiences. At a sensitivity training session, Danny is enraged at a Jewish man’s lack of action while watching his son being murdered by a Nazi during the Holocaust. Rapidly cutting over-the-shoulder shots between Danny and the Jews indicate their opposing views. A close-up of Danny when he is asked by the Jews what he would have done in the situation shows his contempt and incredulous disbelief of the Jews’ weakness as he replies â€Å"Not what he did. Just stand there and watch?† Bean immediately employs a close-up reaction shot of the female Jew who rebuts with, â€Å"How do you know? You’ve never been tested like he has. Here in his rich, safe, stupid country it is so easy to imagine oneself a hero.† The personal address through 2nd person and the accumulation of adjectives to build a negative image of America strongly opposes Danny’s prejudiced conviction that Jews are pathetic, and also appeals to audiences the idea that religious prejudice towards Jews is unjustified. As Guterson does in Snow, conflicting perspectives are represented by Bean in order to sway his audience to respond negatively to unfounded sentiments of prejudice. Conflicting perspectives between characters can be used by composers to control the way in which an audience perceives them by exploring the cultural clashes that exist in the text as a reflection of societal (or social?) behaviour. In Snow, Guterson presents conflicting perspectives between Kabuo and the jury during his murder trial. In the opening chapter, a vivid description of Kabuo’s posture and expression is given from the jury’s perspective; he is shown as â€Å"proudly upright†¦ rigid†¦ detached.† This initial portrait portrait of Kabuo makes him suspicious not only to the jury but also to the audience, as Hatsue tells Kabuo using a simile that he â€Å"looks like one of Tojo’s soldiers.† However, Guterson, through the novel’s non-linear structure, refutes this perspective by explaining Kabuo’s behaviour to the audience via a flashback. Through his father’s teachings that â€Å"the greater the composure, the more revealed one was†, the audience learns the reason behind Kabuo’s unemotional stance. Third person omniscient allows the audience to sympathise with Kabuo’s emotive explanation that â€Å"he sat upright in the hope that his desperate composure might reflect the shape of his soul.† Guterson, through conflicting perspectives, influences his audience to understand Kabuo and the impact of contrasting cultural values on the perception of an individual. In Believer, Bean likewise shows contrasting opinions between Danny, who cannot fully repress his secret Jewish identity, and his anti-Semitic ‘skinhead’ friends to create audience sympathy for Danny’s inner struggles with the opposing aspects of his identity. When Danny and his friends break into a synagogue, Daniel shows a surprising respect for his religion which clashes with those of the other neo-Nazis. This directly conflicts with Danny’s character established at the film’s opening, when he violently beats up a Jew for no apparent reason. Wearing a brown shirt symbolising the Nazi SA (brown-shirts), Danny’s dark costuming contrasts with the light coloured one of his Jewish victim, highlighting the evil in his nature. Bean, however, challenges the audience’s view of Danny in order to allow them to understand his conflicting identities. In one frame, Danny is in the foreground walking down an aisle, which is juxtaposed with the othe r Nazis vandalising the synagogue. Their loud, raucous whooping contrasts to that of Danny’s respectful silence, highlighting their different treatments of the Jewish culture. When one of the Nazis tears up a Torah, a sacred Jewish text, after much opposition from Danny, a reaction shot of him shows sadness and pain accompanied by melancholy music, underlining Danny’s unspoken deference for Judaism. Bean’s portrayal of conflicting perspectives on Jewish culture incites the audience to respond more sympathetically towards Danny, and to understand that his veneer is a product of cultural differences in his society. The composers in Snow and Believer have effectively utilised techniques within their medium to represent conflicting perspectives about racial or religious prejudice and cultural differences in order to provoke certain audience responses to the characters, events or situations in their story. This includes reactions of sympathy for a certain perspective or disbelief and even dislike of opposing perspectives. In this way, the composers connect to the audience and generate meaning within their texts. In Snow, Hatsue is confined by the traditions of her culture, as shown when her mother Fujiko says to her â€Å"don’t allow living among the hakujin to become living intertwined with them. Your soul will decay†¦ rot and go sour.† The change in language to refer to the Americans as hakujin and the emotive metaphor of Hatsue’s breakdown of purity highlights Fujiko’s dislike of American culture. This

Karl Marx Notion Of Ideologies

Karl Marx Notion Of Ideologies This paper critically explores how Antonio Gramsci builds on Karl Marxs notion of ideology. It also compares Antonio Gramsci and Max Weber with regard to class, status and political party. The paper is organized on the major aspects and deficiencies of Marxist ideology which Gramsci builds on and as such, how Gramsci builds on Marxist ideology is based on: ideological basis, hegemony, historicism, class differences, historicism, materialistic theory of history and its concepts, Economic determinism, dialectic views, realism and modernism. The last sections of this paper focus on Gramsci and Weber with regard to class, status and political party. Antonio Gramsci work of the 19th century to a large extent was built on Marxist thinking about ideology and consciousness as it gave ideology (initially developed by Karl Marx ) a more active role in history and politics than in classical historical materialism. According to Gramsci, the proletariat is able to influence terms of its consciousness resulting in an extended struggle between bourgeoisie and proletariat regarding how the existing social reality is represented. He continues to suggest that the bourgeoisie in general exercises hegemony over the terms of ideology through its control of the consciousness and its instruments. However, according to Gramsci, the proletariat is able to exert its influence through cultural institutions initially mentioned above thus introducing major changes in classical ideological theories by denial of the subordinate class which is compared to the passive tool of dominant ideology. Gramsci uses the concept of hegemony which was previously used by Marxists to indicate the political influences of the working class in a democratic revolution. He develops this concept into an acute analysis to explain the reason for the socialist revolution predicted by orthodox Marxism not having occurred by the early 20th century. By developing on the Marxists concept, he suggests that capitalism remained entrenched than ever and it maintained control ideologically through a hegemonic culture and through violence, political and economic coercion. Therefore according to Gramsci, when a culture develops in which Marxists owners of the means of production identified their own good with the good of the bourgeoisie, and facilitated the maintenance of the status quo which Marxists attribute to class differences. Gramscis further builds on Marxists ideology of class differences by suggesting that for any aspiring class to dominate in modernism it has to go beyond its own economic-corporate interests, to exert intellectual and moral leadership, and to make alliances and compromises with a variety of forces, which he refers to as a historic bloc which forms the determinant to a particular social order that produces and re-produces the hegemony of the dominant class. This is built on Marxist ideology on the materialistic theory of history concept of relations of production in which he points out that the non owners of the means of production in order to produce a means of livelihood facilitate the economic dominance of the dominating class further creating class differences in society (p.33). Like Karl Marx, Gramsci was an ardent proponent of historicism. Gramscis view like Marxs points out that all meaning derives from the relation between human practical activities of which part is historical and social processes which are objective. He further builds on Marxs ideology by asserting that Ideas cannot be understood outside their social and historical context, apart from their function and origin. According to Gramsci, the basis of organization of knowledge of the world is not primarily derived from peoples relationship to things but between the social relations between the users of such concepts therefore the issue of unchanging human nature does not occur. He suggests that philosophy and science dont portray independence of man in reality but are only reliable if they express the real development trends of a given historical situation. This is further elucidated by the fact of Gramsci belief that Marxism was truthful socio-pragmatically because by articulating the class consciousness of the proletariat, it highlighted the truth of tits times better than any other theory. While criticizing Marxist capitalist forces of production, Gramsci builds his argument by claiming that the revolution in Russia had made the idea of socialist revolution awaiting the full development of capitalist forces of production invalid and he suggests that the primacy of the forces of production according to Marxists was a misconception because both economic and cultural changes are expressions of the basic historical process and none has primacy over the other. Therefore according to Gramsci, Marxism is a philosophy of praxis, and it cant depnd on historical laws which are not seen as the agents of social change. Gramscis inspiration is derived from Marx, but he expresses disagreement with Marxs focus on economic importance. According to Marx, the economy was predetermined through history and is a determinant of the rest of society (economic determinism) Building on this, Gramsci saw that the depiction of the superstructure (civil society), focused only on the economy and did not mention cultural realm as an important factor and is therefore negligent that culture has the ability to effect change. While Marx withheld negative perception that ideology was a distortion of what people perceive as reality that is achieved through the ruling classs ability who make their interests appear to be the interests of everyone, Gramsci, on the other hand, perceives ideology positively, and acknowledges many groups in society despite those based in class which compete with each other and have different perspectives. He calls the winning of consent as hegemony which operates through sustained reproduction o f ideology over a period of time till the perspectives of dominant groups are perceived to be legitimate and incase of absence of consent, it is through coercion to enforce dominance. According to Gramsci, consent is achieved through civil society (family, church, education system, and media). Marxs ideological concept regarding ideology was epistemological as it pointed out that ideology opposed knowledge which was grounded ion science and reasoning. According to Gramsci, people have two theoretical consciousnesses: one which is implicit in activity and another which is superficially explicit or verbal which is uncritically absorbed from the past. A large number of Gramscis theoretical concerns are almost similar and therefore built on the general questions of ideology and Marxist aesthetics, particularly because they have been highlighted as a result of the work of George Lukà ¡cs, one of the major proponents in the realism/modernism debate who is also a major Marxist aesthetician. For example, Gramsci builds on the way which Lukà ¡cs aesthetically and culturally confronted the immediate advent of fascism (Holub Renate, p.3). According to Holub Renate (3), Gramsci builds on and exceeds many concerns of received Marxism when he relates realism and modernism problems to transformations in structural modern world, examines phenomena related to effect and production of industrialization due to culture, studies production of significance in linguistic and phenomenological framework which anticipates a cluster of structural linguistics and a kind of a phenomenological critical theory , carries out a critical practice which is suggestive in terms of contemporary critical theory in terms of differential pragmatics. Holub Renate, (p. 6) suggests that Gramsci builds on Marx ideology by rethinking and Reconsidering Marxist theory and strategy with reference from dialectic questions to ideological theories, culture and the state. He further suggests that the rethinking of formidable occurrences in history resulted to key notions (political and civil society, hegemony, counter-hegemony his idea of the intellectual/organic intellectual) being conceptualized and such notions were later associated with him. In Gramscis concept of the intellectual, as perceived by Holub Renate Gramsci conceptualizes directed reproduction and dissemination of an effective hegemony, and collaborates in the Marxist intellectuals theoretical project hence using this approach, Gramsci builds on Marxist ideology. Additionally, Holub Renate (11) refers to Marxis text as being representative, along with those of Korsch and Lukà ¡cs, of early western Marxism. Gramscis further builds on Marx ideology regarding his treatment of realism in the context of Marxist aesthetics. Though Gramsci does not share some theoretical assumptions with Lukacs, his texts evolve against a background or a structure of concerns which he has in common with Lukà ¡cs (12), who is an ardent Marxist aesthetician. Again, the way in which Gramscis work displays its theory is homologous to many pivotal twentieth-century Marxist ways of theorizing for example when he relates realism and modernism problems to structural al transformations of the modern life world. He also builds on Lukà ¡cs work of cultural-aesthetic confrontation of the immediate advent of fascism and according to Holub Renate (15) he replays the realist/modernist drama, enacted by Lukà ¡cs {a Marxist Aeathetecian} on the one hand and by supporters of modernism on the other hand à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ his mode of approaching the problems of modernism and modernity, his way of posing questions and problemati zing issues of technologization, is similar to Marxist approach and therefore he builds on the ideology of Marxism. Holub Renate views Gramscis analysis of modernisms cultural problems, reflections on an anticipatory sensibility to very complex socio-cultural transformations and flexibility in adjusting previous concepts (by Marxists and other sociologists) as a building block in his new experiments and inventions so as to grasp new political and social realities .according to Holub Renate in his writings about Gramsci ideology, he confesses that he finds it difficult to separate Gramsci from the Marxist crowd in order to exclusively identify him with the German critical theory of the 19th century possibly as his work is built on the Marxist perception. Holub Renate further suggests that Marxist intellectuals are interested in literary problems, but Gramsci refused to perceive literature as unrelated to social life and political activity. So when Gramsci re-examined the significance of literature and how it is related to politics i.e. the failed revolution on one hand and fascism on the other, he builds on basic premises of Marxist aesthetics which states problems of culture are not separable from the realm of politics and hence production and circulation of cultural goods e.g. literature are related to production and circulation of political, ethical and moral values and norms. Gramscis thoughts in most cases are homologous or built on the critical theories of modernism and therefore there are multiple relations between his thinking and various other forms of critical theory forms of critical theory an example being neo-Marxism, Marxist linguistics, Frankfurt School modernism and critical phenomenology. Gramscis analyses relations of power and function performed by intellectual activities in the course of these relations and he builds on this to formulate the intellectual theory with models such as the traditional intellectual: artist, philosopher and poet, structure of feeling, intellectual community à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ The organic intellectual à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ the critical specialistà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ the universal intellectual. Therefore, these models incorporate instances of power and is therefore built on a Marxist account and idealism of social function and responsibilities of the individualas it outlines the non neutrality of knowledge and ideas and partiality of the producers and disseminators of knowledge therefore the political trigger of the intellectual that inscribes power and domination (i.e. social classes having owners and non owners of the means of production according to Karl marx). Therefore Gramsci by deriving the intellectual models was primarily focusing on a determinate body of knowledge which is depicted in Marx and Engels writings as well as in the anti-Marxist writings of philosophers of the twentieth century Italian cultural history e.g. Benedetto Croce. According to Holub Renate, he terms Gramcis work as as aesthetic fragments under the general heading of Marxism and literature, therefore depicting the notion that Gramscis work is a fragment of Marxism or is derived from Marxist ide ology. Gramsci builds on Marxist ideology by deploying his skills to attempt to amend Marxist theories where they are most deficient and vulnerable (39) e.g. by relating superstructure to Marxs infrastructure which changes the perception of Marxs forces of production and relations of production as being the major concepts of materialistic history of theory. Therefore Gramsci derives and build on Lukacs definitive Marxist aesthetics and ideology by organizing his work around a cultural and political critique in his philosophy of praxis. Gramsci builds on the deficiency of Marxist ideology in exploring the ways that the superstructure, its culture, politics and ideology are linked to the base, and by exploring the several ways which the state, culture and politics result in production of ideology, power and authority. His unrelenting interest in the realm of the superstructure unlike the base was just an attempt to build on Marxist ideology by attempting to correct Marxist theory in the areas which it looked very deficient. According to Holub Renate (42), he argues that Gramsci built on Marxist dialectic on superstructure as he was a student and proponent of the work of Antonio Labriola who was an Italian Marxist who opted for a Hegelian basis of interpreting Marx dialectic amidst the theoreticians of the second international. He further strengthens his argument that: Marxist aesthetics, particularly in the Lukà ¡csian version, tended to ignore new cultural formations when measuring art against a new set of aesthetics. Gramsci does both and more (48). Gramscis ideology had a different view of Marxist historical materialism which he saw as infantilism. According to him, political acts were an organisational matter which facilitated party, group and societal coherence. These parallels are eminent with Webers status groups, though Weber criticizes the economism of certain aspects of historical materialism which he highlighted in his Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. On the other hand, Gramscis thoughts were anti-economist, but relied liberalism that claimed that the economy was a pure determinant of socio-political relations. His statement suggests that in certain ways, Gramcis perceptions are in agreement with Webers anti-positivism which gives the suggestion that both Weber and Gramcis works criticised both Marxist and liberal economism and positivism. The most pararrelism between Weber and Gramsci emanates from Weberian views on individual action. Regarding this concept, Weber perceives collectivities to be results of certain individual acts while Gramsci on the other hand perceives a collective will embodied in the party. According to Weber inexorable social forces were not a causative factor of conduct and Weber seems to disagree with Gramscis hegemony though Weber agrees that actors are sometimes unconscious with their actions. Weber perceives collectivities as being conceptual abstractions, but he is unable to account for structural inequalities, while Gramscis State and party can be perceived as ideal-type constructs according to his perspective of class of class action. Thus on several aspects, Gramsci accounts for deficiencies in Webers account on both bourgeois and proletarian classes unlike the individual. According to Weber class is heterogeneous in collective action and it is through status groups that the means for Gramcis hegemony are portrayed and the difference according to Weber is one of interpretation as was not convinced that values or ideology could result in a difference in realities of social structure at a bureaucratic stage. Gramcis ideology dominated and it is here that Gramsci and Weber agree. According to Gramscis philosophy of praxis, ideologies are arbitrary and must be combated for reasons of political struggle so as to make the governed to feel intellectually independent (Gramsci, 1988: 196). This is built on Webers argument of collectivities being results of the sum of individual actions. Gramsci continues to build on these ideas by defending ideology as being a social fact, hence he states that: To reinforce the conception of historical bloc in which precisely material forces are the content and ideologies are the form, though this distinction between form and content has purely indicative value, since the material forces would be inconceivable historically without form and the individual fancies without the material forces. (Gramsci, 1988: 200). Conclusion Gramsci explores factors which might play a role in arresting historical change as he (Gramsci) shifts his attention away from the material, economic and objective factor of Marx dialectic to the theoretical, subjective or supernatural factor and Holub Renate calls this shift as the beginning of western Marxism (50) because on the basis of Marxist paradigm contexts, Gramsci develops interest in understanding the complexity of the real of the super-structural while relating it to the economic basis There are crossovers in Weberian perception of legitimate domination and Gramscis imposed hegemony as they are both dependent on concept and Max Weber admits that the aspect of legitimacy has to be perceived in the same way as Gramscis hegemony. Does it mean that they shared a similar methodology? This question arises since they were both anti-economist and to some degree anti-positivistic. Critical analysis of their views makes one wonder whether Gramsci knew effects of Weberian status groups in civil society as he took the hegemonistic idea above the basis of economicism even though domination according to Gramsci was based on class.

Chelsea Green Publishing Company: An Overview :: Essays Papers

Chelsea Green Publishing Company: An Overview Book publishing enjoys a certain social prestige—it can be both moderately profitable and extremely rewarding in psychological benefits. The odds that a publishing entrepreneur will succeed at this business seem to be related to the degree of care and thought given to planning and the sometimes-tricky balancing act of effective management. Sustainability is a balance of economy and ecology. That is, how we satisfy human needs and still preserve what we have in nature. Examples of this are the forest industry and energy. We must find ways to harvest a forest without destroying the forest. Similarly, we must find practical alternatives to energy sources, such as solar and wind power, so that we don't harm the atmosphere and deplete natural resources. The following is an account of Chelsea Green Publishing Company, a small publishing business that has successfully found its niche, while at the same time has made (and continues to make) the world a bit more sustainable. In 1985, Ian Baldwin and his wife Margo founded Chelsea Green Publishing Company in their house located near Chelsea, Vermont's green. It was in the middle of the Reagan era—not an especially favorable time to start a publishing company that even remotely highlighted environmental issues. In fact, the books that the Baldwins published then didn't really have a unifying theme, they were simply "nice" books that were well written, finely edited and beautifully produced. Earlier in his life, Ian spent five years as an editor at Holt, Rinehart, Winston before leaving to join the Institute for World Policy, a non-profit organization with a mission to organize intellectuals from around the world in a quest for world peace. He later worked as a consultant for the Environmental Defense Fund on a project to convince Pacific Gas and Electric Company that through conservation, co-generation, and the use of renewable resources, the utility could avoid building new nuclear or coal power plants. In 1984 the Baldwins' neighbor, gardening writer Eliot Coleman, shared with them a story that Helen Nearing had given him years earlier. The author of the fictional piece was Jean Giono, and the title was The Man Who Planted Hope and Grew Happiness, which first appeared in Vogue in 1954. It was a tale of a shepherd who singlehandedly reforested thousands of acres in war-ravaged Europe.

Human Resources Conflict :: Human Resources Essays

Human Resources Conflict In this section I will be identifying possible areas of conflict between the various human resources functions in Southgate College. The human resources functions are: Selection Recruitment and Training In Southgate College the recruitment process for teaching staff can take a long time there are several reasons for this: 1.Some skills are in very short supply such as electrical instillation, plumbing and construction and also motor vehicle maintenance. This is because these skills earn far more money in the labour market than if people with these skills be paid if they came to work at Southgate College as a teacher. 2.Owners of these skills would be expected like all teachers in further education, to undergo 2 years training part time for the certificate of education, which is a government requirement. But many plumbers and electricians are already well qualified and resent the fact that they have to do another period of training 1 day a week for a job in which they earn far less money than if they stayed as plumbers and electricians without the qualifications. So it will be better for the plumbers and the electricians to carry on doing there own jobs rather than becoming a teacher. This is the reason why these courses are hard to come by. So as this shows the rapid decrease in staffing in these occupations has lowered the amount of teachers to teach these courses. This has now forced many colleges to stop these courses as there is better money for them in their own profession rather than teaching it. The main problem with this is that all the staff have to undergo the 2-year training course for the CoE this is a waste of time and effort for this type of job. They already know how to teach their profession so this leads them not to teach and stay where they are. If Southgate College chooses not to train its workforce it will be faced with additional recruitment costs. This is because when skills are required existing employees will have to be made redundant. The importance of Training and Development at Southgate College is that If they neglect and do not train the staff it you will be caught out in the end either by staff leaving due to low moral; Southgate college may not perform at its peak because staff may not know how to use equipment properly or are not sure what the correct procedure is or your business falls behind because either you or your staff have not been given the opportunity to update their skills or knowledge within the college. Recruitment and Appraisals

Seeing Nature Through Our Own Eyes :: Advertisements Advertising Essays

Seeing Nature Through Our Own Eyes missing works cited Cultural signs and messages can be seen everywhere. Advertisements are one example of these signs and messages. All of these advertisements are made depending on what our society wants and how we view things. For example, many ads try to attract a busy, stressed out, urbanized man to a more peaceful and calm scenario by making a connection of their product to a peaceful part of nature. Since we believe that nature is peaceful and calm, we believe these products will bring us these qualities through nature. If nature were labeled as disturbing and unbearable, then these ads, which try to connect nature with their product, would not attract us. Oscar Wilde also agrees with this when he points out à ¬Things are because we see them, and what we see, and how we see it, depends on the Arts that have influenced usà ®(Oates 465). A careful analysis of a few ads can help exemplify this belief. Everything we see, including these advertisements of nature, is interpreted differently depending on our background and experiences that has influenced us. All advertisements fall into one or more of three categories defined by Merchant. These categories are hierarchy, dialectics, or pastoral. The hierarchy category includes masculine aspects such as activeness, dominance, and adventure. On the other hand, the pastoral category is the opposite of the hierarchy category and includes more feminine ideas such as passiveness, peacefulness, and motherhood. The remaining dialectic category is one that is hard to define because it is neither active nor passive. This category falls in between hierarchy and pastoral because it contains ads that contain ideas that are neither feminine nor masculine. The following descriptions of the three ads fall into one or more of these categories. The first advertisement of a Nissan Xterra SUV gives you a à «reference domainà ­ of strength, comfort, and power. The ad tries to convince us to buy this SUV, which can be used to conquer nature comfortably. The ads has in big bold letters à ¬Couch for Sale,à ® as it tells us that this SUV can be taken to à ¬the mountains, the rivers, the oceans, whereverà ® and we can still be comfortable with this new type of à ¬couch.à ® The ad tries to make our couch at home seem boring and this SUV not only comfortable but also more fun by telling us à ¬rid [ourselves] of the soft, fluffy cushions and venture to where the fun is.

Organizational Behavior – Eden Mccallum

1. If you were a partner at Eden McCallum what would you do – grow or cut? If I were a partner at Eden McCallum I would cut. Eden McCallum was started during a great time where they had a smooth market entry and a keen business strategy. While their business strategy is still working to their advantage, poor market conditions continue to exist and many of the firm’s clients are starting to feel the economic pressure. The firm has already â€Å"faced increasing demands to cut fees. [ (Gardener & Eccles, 2009) ] This fact, coupled with the consultant’s fear of lack of security, indicates that Eden McCallum should consider making organizational changes that would support the concerns of both parties. According to the firm’s corporate vision on value, clients come first and consultants come second. [ (Gardener & Eccles, 2009) ] Eden McCallum should make sure that they stay in line with their corporate vision when making considerations to cut. They should focu s on cutting as many areas that do not directly affect the client and the consultant. I would recommend that they cut the part-time employees and the new staff members to start since it takes one to two years to learn the business. Another value of their corporate vision is to focus on the long term, and the short term will take care of itself. [ (Gardener & Eccles, 2009) ] Focusing on the long term for Eden McCallum would include keeping the Amsterdam office knowing that it â€Å"is on the cusp of breaking even† and knowing that if they did not they would be losing credibility within the market. (Gardener & Eccles, 2009) ] However, I believe that long term goals could hurt short term profits which will, in turn, hurt long term profits. According to the growth figures provided, Eden McCallum should look at reducing overhead; and limiting the number of partners to reduce salaries paid. 2. At the outset of the case, Advisory Board Member, Robert Harris, said, â€Å"One rarely regrets cutting too early or too deep. † Do you agree with Harris? Why or why not ? One rarely regrets cutting too early or too deep† is interpreted as the â€Å"better safe than sorry† approach. I agree with Harris under the circumstances presented to us in this case that it would be better to play it safe with the financials of the company becoming fragile. The goal of the firm should be to minimize loss. In an uncertain marketplace where factors such as the possibility of a double-dip recession, the partners should consider making cuts sooner than later and in more depth to minimize the sting. To make cutbacks sooner may be resisted by some partners, however, Harris’ point is that the company wouldn’t regret it because it did what was best for the company at that time. 3. Was the organizational structure at Eden McCallum appropriate? Do economic conditions factor into your answer? The organizational structure of Eden McCallum is appropriate for the size and type of organization it represented. Eden McCallum is a functional organization with its environmental change viewed as stable and its complexity as simple. Should environmental change be necessary, the simplicity of its structure will allow for a smoother implementation of the change. Its structure includes professional bureaucracy as clients have specialized needs and consultants offered specialized solutions due to the knowledge-based nature of their work. Eden McCallum has a cellular organizational form in that it the company itself is serves as a coordinator of the relationships between the clients and the business professionals known as consultants. Economic conditions are a factor because it could cause an organization to restructure itself as the supply and demand of the industry changes. Bibliography Gardener, H. K. , & Eccles, R. G. (2009). Eden McCallum: A Network-Based Consulting Firm (A). Boston: Harvard Business School Publishing.