Sociology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 5

Sociology - Essay Example While adult crime rates remains comparatively stable, the number of violent crimes committed by juveniles has skyrocketed over the recent decades. Thus, between 1988 and 1994 the rate of juvenile arrests for violent crimes has risen by 75 percent, which makes many experts project doubling of the rate by the end of this decade (Snyder, Sickmund, and Poe-Yamagata, 1996). Crime is potentially preventable – or at least controllable – social phenomenon, but the only key to its prevention is knowledge of the causes of youthful offending. Impressive number of studies performed up to date reveals that although many factors contribute to the making of a delinquent child, negative peer associations always remain arguably the major source of juvenile delinquency (Andrews, Hoge, and Leschied, 1994: 556). The present study aims to empirically establish and measure correlation between negative peer associations and high occurrence of delinquent behavior in teenagers. Although the potential findings of this research are of minor theoretical importance – comprehensive expert studies have already established and explained the nature of both short- and long-term correlation between negative peer associations and juvenile delinquency – their practical value in predicting juvenile delinquency rates and defining risk groups should not be diminished. The correlation may significantly vary depending upon many factors, such as religion, age, traditions, etc., and only data relating to concrete environment has reliable predictive power and can be used for prevention of juvenile delinquency. Positive correlation between juvenile delinquency and negative peer associations has been explored in many studies. The most common approach adopted by the scholars is the social learning theory: behavioral patterns are learned from social interactions (direct learning) and observation (indirect learning) (Bandura, Ross, and Ross, 1961). In studies of

Business research methods Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Business research methods - Essay Example Times have changed. People want more. Factors such as job satisfaction, pay, and contributions to the overall business are all influential in employee productivity, but it is the managers, the mid-level managers, that have the biggest influence over employee productivity. Incentive programs may be one of the most common forms of monetary compensation for Productivity. The use of incentives may be viewed to have a positive influence on employee attitudes and behavior. A number of private sector companies use monetary compensation as a way to influence its employees to perform at a higher level. Bonuses can be given to those employees that perform at a consistently high level. Incentive programs structured with employee input work best. Long-term incentives are more powerful than short-term incentive and certainly can lead to high motivation level among employees and lead to production. "If you begin rewarding for specific behavior, the purpose of that behavior becomes the receipt of rewards rather than the personal benefits of behaving in that manner. Incentives should be used to engender employees to be safe. You want to encourage an overall philosophy of safe behavior." (Billsims.com) Although increased wages are important, the perceived value of money varies among employees. There are also many other factors that can influence whether monetary incentives will have the desired motivational effect. Incentive or gain-sharing programmes often fail to produce expected results when employees think the programme is unfair. Outside factors can influence employee production. Other issues such as family disputes or crisis, emotional instability (depression), media perception of an agency etc, all affect employee production. â€Å"While healthy competition is a benefit to the agency, there is no need to create a hostile work environment because of resentment and animosity. Tension in the workplace can definitely cause employees to be less

How Stalin Became The Leader Of The Soviet History Essay

How Stalin Became The Leader Of The Soviet History Essay The purpose of this paper is to examine how Stalin became the sole leader of the Soviet Union while he was regarded to the Politburo as a minor player who had no chance of defeating Trotsky. Was Stalin politically strong from the beginning of this power struggle? Did Trotsky even want to become the Soviet Unions sole leader? To what extent were Stalins opponents weak during the power struggle? Were there any external factors that led to Stalins rise for power? Was there any luck involved in this event? These questions would be examined or answered in the investigation. This essay focuses on the time period from 1924- the start of Soviet Russias political power struggle- to 1929, Stalins formal role of totalitarian dictatorship. This paper draws on a verity of primary source diary material, newspaper articles, secondary source books and periodical articles which serve as some historiography for analyzing the critical issue of how clever and cunning was Stalin in this power struggle. This has been a subject of debate over many historians since Lenins death and the debate is examined in this paper. This paper concludes that a combination of Stalins political skills and his personality caused Trotsky to be eliminated during the power struggle while Stalin became the sole leader. Due to the complexity of events, we cannot determine whether this factor could be played out by itself however, most renowned historians share the same views with the factor of Stalins political skills being the most important cause that led to his uprising. Introduction In 1924, a massive political struggle occurred in the Soviet Union. Vladimir Lenin, leader of the former Bolshevik Party and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, died on the 21st of January in 1924.  [1]  Lenin had held the party together since 1917 and had been the central person to determine its policies.  [2]  Without providing a clear successor, he left the party in chaos and the in-fighting and division could jeopardize or pull apart the Communist Party. Lenins death did not occur at the right time and there were issues that the Soviet Union faced regarding to the route towards socialism, leadership in the party and the problems of a growing bureaucracy.  [3]  There were many conflicts between the key party leaders personalities and this led to a struggle over power that lasted for the next five years. This has led some historians to call it a struggle over power, rather than for power since the Politburo members priority was keeping each other out of power rathe r than gaining power for themselves.  [4]  Joseph Stalin was regarded as a minor player in the beginning and Trotsky was famously named as the chief contender of this massive power struggle. Trotsky was the most prominent and power Bolshevik leader since he was the commander of the Red Army from 29 August 1919 to 15 January 1925. However in 1929, Joseph Stalin emerged as the sole leader of the power struggle. Although historians readily acknowledge Stalin as the sole leader in 1929, the question remains on how was Stalin able to become the Soviet Unions sole leader while he was regarded as a minor player who had no chance in defeating Trotsky. Two main interpretations dominated the debate over the relationship between Stalins political skills and the weaknesses of his opponents. Many historians hold the conviction that Stalins political skills were too ruthless as Stalin himself admitted, Yes, I am rough, rough on those who roughly and faithlessly try to destroy the Communist Party.  [5]  On the other hand, different historians seek to dissociate Stalins personality from Trotskys weaknesses. Those historians argued that Trotsky had no talent or tactic and had no intention to fight in the battle for power in the first place. The purpose of this essay is to evaluate the factors that led to Stalins rise to power over Trotsky. Though Stalin had a ruthless character, he was named Russias third most popular historical figure in a nationwide poll despite the famine and purges that marked his rule.  [6]  The essay examines Stalins political skills and personality, and the weakness of his opponents. Based on the result of this examination, it is possible to conclude that although Trotsky was the most powerful candidate, the nature of Stalins personality and actions were noticeably stronger than Trotsky. Stalin had much desire and motivation to get to the top. Therefore, this essay will argue that the most significant reason for Stalins uprising is his political abilities and personality. This investigation is worthy to examine because it may become a reference to future power struggles that are similar to Stalins rise of power. After examining this topic, one can acknowledge that successful candidates must h ave a strong personality along with potential abilities that reaches the high expectations of this criterion. 1. Stalins Political Skills and Personality The most dominant factor that led to Joseph Stalins success as the sole leader was his political skills and personality. This point of view is shared by many historians and they tend to dissociate Leon Trotsky from the question of having no talent. Historian J.N. Westwood argued that Stalin was immensely cunning and wrote that Stalin stood back and watched his rivals dig their own graves, likening his actions to a dog that steals a bone when two others are fighting over it.  [7]  This source is valuable because it was exactly what happened during the power struggle as Stalin swayed from the left wing to the right wing to eliminate all his opponents by the end of 1929. A former Politburo member, Nikolai Bukharin, also agreed that Stalin was ruthless and in his book, he wrote, Stalin is a Genghis Khan, an unscrupulous intriguer, who sacrifices everything else to the preservation of powerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ He changes his theories according to whom he needs to get rid of next.  [8]  Hence, we can state that Stalins political personality played a significant role in the history of the power struggle. Bukharin, a former contender in the political battle can give us important historical answers however there are limitations. Since he was Stalins opponent, he would probably have his own views and therefore one can conclude that his historical information may be biased. There also seemed to be a minority opinion. Author, Theodore VonLaue disagrees with the major views and writes, What he (Stalin) lacked were the very qualities in which the former exiles excelled.  [9]  One can refute Theodores point with major evidence from trusted historians therefore it seems that Stalins political skills were the most important reason for the downfall of Trotsky. One of the most obvious advantages Stalin had over Trotsky was his immense positions of power gained with his political skills and personality. As, historian Chris Ward writes, Stalins personality cannot be divorced from the world in which he functioned.  [10]  Stalin was appointed head of the Workers and Peasants Inspectorate, in command of the Orgburo and he was a newly elected member of the Politburo which became the main organ of power.  [11]  In March 1919, Yakov Sverdlov died of Spanish flu and Lenin was left with a few top administrators to replace Sverdlov. At that time, Stalin had gained Lenins trust (since Stalin appeared very loyal to Lenin) and Lenin clearly did not want all the powers in one hands since Trotsky was already the Red Armys commander. Therefore, he appointed Stalin over Trotsky as the partys first General Secretary whom was in charge of the general organization.  [12]  Other Bolsheviks saw these jobs as a part of the dull routine of party bureauc racy and paid little attention to him which gave Stalin an enormous advantage as the Grey Blur in the battle for power.  [13]  Having the position of a General Secretary was a crucial factor for the rise of Stalin. Stalin had control over every step of the hierarchy as he controlled the first step of ladder. He had the privilege to appoint new members who owed him their loyalty. Therefore having the title, General Secretary was effective to place supporters in key positions to win and deliver votes that outmaneuvered political opponents. Stalin could also set the agenda for the Politburo meetings so he controlled what the politburo talked about. Furthermore, he controlled the leaflets which meant that he had power over the enemies political image. Stalin was basically in control of the whole Political Machine in USSR after Lenins death. After Lenins death, Stalin rose in power because of his cunning manipulative personality and it was shown in the event of Lenins Funeral. One can clearly tell how significant and effective Stalins skills because he wanted to portray himself as the legitimate successor and destroy Trotskys positive image as Lenins chosen successor. Lenin died on the 21st of January 1924 and his funeral was held six days after his death in the Red Square.  [14]  The cult of Leninism had just begun after the Red Terror and Stalin gave it momentum at Lenins Funeral by acting as a pallbearer and giving the oration with an oath of loyalty made to Lenins legacy.  [15]  Stalin had contacted Trotsky, whom was resting in South Russia because of his illness. Having a cunning personality, Stalin convinced Trotsky to not attend Lenins Funeral because he would not been able to arrive on time and by accepting Stalins proposal, Trotskys image was heavily injured. At the end of the Funeral, Stalin had a very successful outcome because the general public had the impression that he was designated to become Lenins successor since it looked like he was taking on the Mantle of Leninism.  [16]  This event showed how Trotskys weaknesses were exploited by Stalin and used to gain better credibility. This event provides an overwhelming amount of evidence of how Stalin applied his clever but sinister tactics and it reflected on Stalins true personality. From 1922 onwards, Stalins true personality was gradually more transparent. Stalin posed as a moderate in the Communist Party spectrum between Trotsky on the Left wing and Bukharin on the Right wing in the early 1920s.  [17]  He had avoided making definite policy decisions until 1928. This allowed him to stay away from political disputes within the party and he would be able to gain the support from the Liberals and the Conservatives. Stalin used policy disagreements to outflank and isolate his opponents and successfully presented the views of his opponents as anti-communist or anti-Leninist. This highlighted how Stalin successfully manipulated Lenins Ban on Factions by using his cunning strategies into his advantages. Robert Conquest stated that, In six years Stalin outmanoeuvred a series of opponents; first in alliance with the rest of his colleagues, he opposed and demoted Trotsky. Then in alliance with the Bukharin-Rykov Right he defeated the Zinoviev-Kamenev Left blocà ¢Ã¢â €š ¬Ã‚ ¦ and finally he and his own following attacked their hitherto allies, the Rightists.  [18]  Robert Conquest, a well known British historian, retold a section of the timeline when Stalin is rising to power. In ones opinion, Stalin was ruthless and did whatever it took to be the sole leader of Soviet Russia and historian R. Conquest along with Bukharin acknowledges Stalin switching sides with whoever he wanted to eliminate and evidently his cruel personality was exposed. However, Stalins strategy convinced people he was dull and mediocre, hence he was known as the Grey Blur which left no trace.  [19]  This valuable quote demonstrated Stalins strategic skills which gave him immunity to criticism because his personality was not known clearly. Sukhanov, the diarist of the revolution noted, Stalin however, during the course of his modest activity in the Executive Committee, gave me the impression-and I was not alone in this view, of a grey blur which flickered obscurely and left no trace. There is really nothing more to be said about him.  [20]  By examining Sukhanovs diary, we can state that Stalins political tactics gave him an opportunity to blend in the background. In another example, Deutscher had the same point of view in his review, He carefully followed the course of debate to see what way the wind was blowing and invariably voted with the majority, unless he had assured his majority beforehand.  [21]  Stalins personality had turned t he political battle into a nightmare and his perceived objective was simply to be the last surviving person in the Politburo by eliminating other players first using his gifts from Lenin. Stalin used his external circumstances created by Lenin, very wisely. By analyzing how he incorporated them to his advantage, we would be able to observe his political mindset. Policies like the Ban on Factions, the nomenklatura system and Lenins enrolment were clear examples. The ban on factions, created by Lenin in 1921, called for unity and an end to splits and factionalism as Lenin stated, All members of the Russian Communist Party who are in the slightest degree suspicious or unreliable should be got rid of and this was a massive advantage that enabled Stalin to get rid of his rivals easily after Lenins death.  [22]  The nomenklatura system was established from 1923 onwards and decision making only applied to a few hands in the Communist Party whom most of the voters were loyal Stalinists. The Lenins enrolment was a recruitment campaign that started in 1923 and it increased the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 340,000 members to about 600,000 members by 1925. Althou gh Lenin Enrolment was supposedly for party purposes, General Secretary, Stalin, controlled or vetoed the party list for his own personal gain by placing his supporters in places of political power. These external circumstances were devastating weapons in the hands of Stalin whom could basically control the votes at party congresses. There had also been evidence of his ruthlessness in the 1922 Georgian Affair. Stalin was born in 1878 to a peasant Georgian cobbler family as Iosif Dzhugashvili and changed his name to Stalin as Man of Steel later on.  [23]  He grew up was a violent and lawless place and was frequently involved in brawls with other children.  [24]  Stalin lived a peasant life and he was uneducated but had a unique personality. Stalin hated Georgia and his harshness in imposing the Bolshevik rule on his native country, Georgia, shocked many people including Lenin.  [25]  Lenin wrote in his testament, Stalin is too rude.  [26]  Stalins daughter, Svetlana Alliluyeva had the same point of view and in an interview she said, He was a very simple man. Very rude. Very cruel. Svetlana also said, He broke my life. I want to explain to you. He broke my life twice.  [27]  Sources from Svetlana are very valuable and reliable since it was Stalins daughter and it provides a first persons point o f view on Stalins real personality. In Svetlanas memoir, Twenty letters to a friend she described her fathers personality and she wrote, At this point, and this was where his cruel, implacable nature showed itself, the past ceased to exist for him. Years of friendship and fighting side by side in a common cause might as well never have been.  [28]  Surprisingly, Stalins daughter had a very bad image of her father as she wrote, In his cold-blooded way he cared about only one thing. How is X conducting himself now? Does he admit his mistakes? This source informs us Stalins true personality. He himself did not admit to any wrongdoings and only blames it on his opponents. In ones opinion, he had a very cruel but strong personality and Svetlana has the same view, He is gone, but his shadow still stands over all of us. It still dictates to us and we, very often, obey.  [29]  Stalins personality was mainly caused by his background and he had learned life the hard way through an ind ependent life. Stalin was not considered an intellectual like Trotsky. However, he had the power to lead equals whom Trotsky lacked through manipulation and cunning. Stalins had no fear of behaving immorally or of getting this hands dirty and this contributed largely to his success in taking over the party by 1929.

Compare The Ways In Which Writers Tell Stories In The Following: The N :: essays research papers

The title of this essay states that I must include another text, of my choice. ‘The Naval Sisters Tale’ is written in the form of a transcript, whereas ‘The Obituary of Captain David Goodwin’ is in the form of an article. I wanted to choose something different to both of these texts, so along with these passages, I have chosen to incorporate ‘Back to the Army Again’ by Rudyard Kipling. I decided on this text as it has refrains (which I find particularly interesting and fun to say), also because I think it contains a sense of irony and holds an ambiguity within its simplistic structure. I shall start with ‘The Obituary of Captain David Goodwin’. The first things that struck me about this particular text was the fact that it had been printed in The Daily Telegraph, a fairly conservative newspaper that would have wanted to promote nationalism and preserve our countries remaining war heroes via our memories, and show that â€Å"we† are in fact a fearless nation! It is a very factual piece, and contains very short, and ‘to-the-point’ paragraphs. The title itself, a seemingly ‘dull’ and ‘uninspiring’ title, gives us an almost immediate insight into the lack of emotion within the text. The purpose of this text is to chart Captain David Goodwin’s career and life, although we are told little about his life outside of his career. It shows his involvement within the war, and highlights his achievements. This article focus’s in on the â€Å"best† part of his life, his naval career sea command. It can also be considered to be a genuine mark of respect, seeing as it is an obituary. I thought that it might also be a form of war propaganda, as it makes the war seem exciting and fun. It certainly portrays Captain David Goodwin as being a war hero. The quote included in the article, â€Å"one horrid little man firing at us† emphasizes the valour of him. He is referring to the Italian army as if they were a joke. The text starts off by stating his personal records, such as his age. It then gives a brief overview of his involvement in the war and the awards/medals that he gained. The author of this has done this so that we know what type of person we are dealing with, from the very second that we begin reading the text.

Harriet Martineau and the Conflict Theory Essay

When I look over the theories we have discussed in our text: functionalism,symbolic interaction and conflict, I think the one I relate to best is the conflict theorist. The conflict theorist that I agree with the most is Harriet Martineau. She was a conflict theorist that the book describes as, â€Å"Scholar Harriet Martineau (1803–1876), an English opponent of slavery and capitalism who felt they oppressed women, children, and nonwhites, translated the work of Comte so people could understand the importance of his perspective (Adams & Sydie, 2001). Regarded as a radical in her day, her work was largely dismissed by people in authority.† ( Vissing, 2011, chapter2 sect 3 para 13) There were many female activists who were active early on in the field but they were ignored until feminine activists brought it to the attention of the American public arena ( Vissing, 2011). She would best referred to as a conflict theorist. The conflict theory is defined as, â€Å"a theory that assumes that the institutions and interactions within society foster inequality and competition, and when they are challenged, then beneficial social change can result.† ( Vissing, 2011) Our text states that Harriett Martineau was a feminine activist and also was an activist for children and non-whites. Our society has changed greatly since the 1800’s and without people like Mrs. Martineu , I ,as a female, would not have the advantages I have today. Things like voting, and equality in the work place have helped women and minorities project their viewpoint into the system we have today. These activists stroved for fair working laws which would keep women in the 1800’s and early 1900’s from being mistreated and used. Also another important  thing the feminine activists fought for was birth control and abortion as an option to females, so that they may work or pursue personal goals and interests. The belief in conflict theory is that there must be a challenge to the system  and the way things are in order to activate change, and from what we can tell in the past this has been an effective tool in the slow processes of equality. Another thing that Harriet Martineau did was take the works of Auguste Comte and put them into layman’s terms for the average person of the time could understand. Auguste Comte’s beliefs were that we should look at observable facts in order to study society, not just the cultural beliefs.†His concept of positivism holds that there is nothing that can’t be accurately studied if the right methodology is employed. If we try conscientiously enough by employing the scientific method, most things can be studied and understood.† ( Vissing, 2011, chapter 1 section 3 para 3) Harriet Martineau used this idea and applied it to the progression of equality for women children and non-whites. In Harriet Martineau’s life she was brought up in a comfortable middle class family, and was denied some education because of her sex. When her father died she was faced with sever economic loss and for once felt what it was like to not have the conveniences of a middle class family to hide in. She was engaged to be married but her fiance fell ill and she was â€Å"saved† from a married life. She was single for the rest of her life and face living and earning a living in a patriarchal society. She soon was face with some uncomfortable things and rather than accept them and conform she invoked change within our society by making the plight of women, children and non-whites a mainstream problem that needed to be corrected. Martineau was a Unitarian in religion and at first had a very strong religious viewpoint on the world and society. (Hill, 1991). There are many things that I agree with Martineau on such as that all people should be treated equal and fairly. Another of her main ideas was that non-whites should be treated fairly and with the same respect and dignity that whites were given. She also believed that women children and nonwhites should be able to vote to give their voices some power and that they be offered a chance at education and opportunities for work as well and earn an income which  provided them with sense of freedom and self sufficiency. In America we would not be the culture we are today without activists such as Harriet Martineau. There would be no women CEOs, we would have no choice other than abstinence when it comes to birth control. Many women died because abortion was illegal and they sought backdoor clinics and at home methods of there own to rid themselves of an unwanted pregnancy. Another important issue that was resolved due to activists initiating equality into our culture not only for every white man but for every person regardless of race, gender, age or religoud preferences. Today we are treated equal in most instances and when not the issue is usally irradicated quickly. In my opinion the conflict theorist had the right idea, without conflict or differences in the way society is run there will be no need for change. If there is someone who feels like things need to be changed we must bring that issue to the people and make it known because not all inequalities are suffered by the same people and unless you have been never been treated  unfairly then you know how it feels to not be able to do something or say something just  because of who you are not what you have done. Our merits should be what we are judged on and not by what someone stereotypes us as being. We have come a long way as a culture but as long as there is a society we will always have some form of fight on our hands to ensure equality for all  people, and it seems to me that the conflict theory is the best way to do this. Reference Belasco, S. (2000). Harriet martineau’s black hero and the american antislavery movement. Nineteenth – Century Literature, 55(2), 157-194. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/211910586?accountid=32521 Michael, R. H., & Deborah, A. L. (2010). The harriet martineau sociological society’s fifth working seminar: A report from boston college 1. Sociological Origins, 6(1), 5-7. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/204784236?accountid=32521 Vissing, Y. (2011) An Introduction to Sociology. (Ashford University ed). San Diego: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. retrieved from: https://content.ashford.edu/books/AUSOC101.11.1/sections/sec1.3?search=harriet%20Martineau#w4370

Entertainment Law Essay

The issue at hand is whether Mary, through a contract with Mr. Shifty, Dream Works Picture’s Vice President of Production, is entitled to compensation. (Rule) By meeting the standards of the six elements an agreement, consisting of an offer and acceptance; consideration; capacity; legal purpose; genuine assent; and writing, if any. Mary Asher has a valid, contract with Mr. Shifty, a representative of Dream Works Pictures. Agreement, the first of the six relevant elements, is a meeting of two or more minds in regard to the terms of a contract. The process of agreement usually involves two steps. The first step is offer. An offer is a promise or commitment to perform or refrain from performing some specified future act made by the offer. Secondly ,is acceptance by the offeree either in the form of words or of conduct, which indicate agreement to the terms of the offer. An offer may be made to the general public, but no person can accept such an offer unless he knows that the off er exists. Mr. Shifty indeed entered into an agreement with Mary. His offer was indication of willingness to enter into a contract with her. The agreement consisted of him to observing her story’s synopsis. Consideration is the second of the mention elements. Consideration is Value given in return for a promise. Consideration must be (1) legally sufficient and (2) bargained for by the party receiving it. Legally sufficient is a consideration may take promising, performing and refraining. Consideration is bargained for if it is sought by the promisor in the exchange for the promisor’s promise and the given the promise in exchange for the promisor’s promise. A bilateral contract is an exchange of promises. Thus, each party is both a promisor and a promisee. The promises are binding provided there is either a legal benefit to the promisor or a legal detriment to the promisee. Each promise is the consideration for the other, which is referred to as mutuality of obligation. Mary and Mr. Shifty made a bilateral contract to one another. Therefore, they had Mr. Shifty had an obligation to Mary. Capacity, is three relevant elements, is challenged in terms of Mary’s age. However, her age has no effect on the validity of the contract. According to the law, a minor or a person who is under the age of legal majority, eighteen in most jurisdictions, is considered to possess legal capacity. Liability is any contract involving a minor is voidable. Further, the contract is only voidable by one of the parties, the minor entering into the contract. . The exercise of a minor’s power to void a contract is known as disaffir ¬mance. As mentioned, a minor has the ability to void a contract at his or her own discretion. A minor may disaffirm a contract at any time before reaching the age of majority. Also, unless already ratified. The individual has reasonable time after he or she becomes of age to void the contract. Ratification can occur in three ways: (1) express, (2) implied Liability for necessaries deals with items that reasonably supply a person’s needs. Minors are liable for the reasonable value of necessary items, which may be different fro m the contract or selling price. Necessaries include products that the minor needs to maintain a reasonable lifestyle†. By offering to look at her synopsis of a story, Mr. Shifty indeed entered into an agreement with Mary. His offer was indication of willingness to enter into a contract with her. Both parties agreed on an oral agreement. Legal purposes, is the fourth element. It falls under unconscionable contract and substantive unconscionability. Unconscionable contract is contracts that contain terms that are unfairly burdensome to one party and unfairly beneficial to the other. Substantive unconscionability arises when the contract contains term that deprives one party of the benefit of its bargain or of any meaningful remedy in the event of breach by the other party. Mr. Shift took all of the beneficial advantages of Mary synopsis story. Leaving Mary with unfair burdensome. Genuineness of assent the last relevant element is a party who demonstrates that he or she did not genuinely assent to the terms of a contract may avoid the contract. Genuine assent may be lacking due to mistake, fraudulent misrepresentation, undue influence, or duress. The true contracts entered is a lacking contractual capacity, contracts lacking genuine assent are voidable, not void. (Application) In this problem, Mary was a minor at the time she and Mr. Shifty made an agreement. The agreement consisted of him to observing her story’s synopsis. He accepted by grabbing her hand, giving her a wink, and saying, â€Å"anything you send I accept.† The next day she mailed the synopsis to him. A year later he produced a movie by Dream Works that was identical to Mary’s story involving the scientist’s experience in the Arctic. Now she has reached the age of majority and can ratify the contract with Dream Works Pictures. As a result, Mr. Shifty is entitled to compensation through a contract with Mary. (Conclusion) Therefore, since they both parties agreed on the oral agreement and she was a minor at that time there is a valid contract with Mary and Mr. Shifty.

Free Essays on Aristotle & Virtue Of Ethics

Aristotle was an ethicist who established a fundamental moral theory knows as â€Å"virtue ethics† still widely, applicable today. His ethics had to do with matters of character and virtues, which produce good character traits. According to Aristotle’s book Nicomachean Ethics, some things are good because they lead us to other goods that we desire, some things are good, and at the same time, the means to a good end. On the other hand Aristotle said that evil is a deprivation of some good, thus when someone does evil it is a deprivation or lack of god within that person. In order to develop good character traits the virtues should be introduced to an individual at an early age. There are four cardinal moral virtues are practical wisdom, a sense of justice or fairness, self restraint r self control and having courage under duress. There are also many secondary moral virtues like honesty, sympathy, understanding, forgiveness etc. Having these virtues introduced to a child will give them the ability to reason and know the difference between good and bad. The virtues are essentially good character traits and they become a habit. These virtues are the ones introduced in our schools today, which provides a reinforcement for some children who are being thought morals at home and for others that are not exposed to them at all. Fortunately, a new trend is emerging where â€Å"teaching of character and values is making an unprecedented comeback in schools† (http://teacher.scholastic.com/professional./todayschild/comeback.htm). These programs â€Å"provide students with a grounding in such values as courage and caring, and teach them how to solve disputes peacefully.† ((http://teacher.scholastic.com/professional./todayschild/comeback.htm). These tactics seem as if they would work very well. They teach children how to think before they react to a bullies threat or comment. The only problem I have with this is that these are children. I th... Free Essays on Aristotle & Virtue Of Ethics Free Essays on Aristotle & Virtue Of Ethics Aristotle was an ethicist who established a fundamental moral theory knows as â€Å"virtue ethics† still widely, applicable today. His ethics had to do with matters of character and virtues, which produce good character traits. According to Aristotle’s book Nicomachean Ethics, some things are good because they lead us to other goods that we desire, some things are good, and at the same time, the means to a good end. On the other hand Aristotle said that evil is a deprivation of some good, thus when someone does evil it is a deprivation or lack of god within that person. In order to develop good character traits the virtues should be introduced to an individual at an early age. There are four cardinal moral virtues are practical wisdom, a sense of justice or fairness, self restraint r self control and having courage under duress. There are also many secondary moral virtues like honesty, sympathy, understanding, forgiveness etc. Having these virtues introduced to a child will give them the ability to reason and know the difference between good and bad. The virtues are essentially good character traits and they become a habit. These virtues are the ones introduced in our schools today, which provides a reinforcement for some children who are being thought morals at home and for others that are not exposed to them at all. Fortunately, a new trend is emerging where â€Å"teaching of character and values is making an unprecedented comeback in schools† (http://teacher.scholastic.com/professional./todayschild/comeback.htm). These programs â€Å"provide students with a grounding in such values as courage and caring, and teach them how to solve disputes peacefully.† ((http://teacher.scholastic.com/professional./todayschild/comeback.htm). These tactics seem as if they would work very well. They teach children how to think before they react to a bullies threat or comment. The only problem I have with this is that these are children. I th...