Wednesday, October 30, 2019

International Strategic Planning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

International Strategic Planning - Essay Example Strategic planning and management functions are all the more important in case of large organizations. Other functional management areas like Human Resources, Finance etc. deal with only a part of the organization or its activity. At times two or more such areas may need to take assistance from each other. But strategic planning and management relates to the management of the organization as a whole. Different set of persons may contribute in different proportions towards making strategic moves. Strategic decisions are concerned with the issue of setting a direction for the organization to move or the course the organization will follow Though very crucial, yet preparing 'strategic moves' for future often is not based on hard facts, but on presumptions. It involves past experience, forecasting and 'surround-effect'. The input from different sources are integrated into one comprehensive plan in order to manage the operations, marketing, production, human resources, marketing communica tions, technology implementation, diversification, mergers & acquisitions etc. Multinational Enterprises with stakes in many markets, different sets of individuals, cultures etc. need to take care of the variations in perceptions and practices in order to remain relevant to the desired areas of operations. In general the planning process begins by taking stock... International strategic planning is the process through which multinational enterprises are supposed to evaluate their performances in the past, make an objective assessment of their corporate strengths and weaknesses, and then chalk out strategies for future operations, which also involves processes like selection, recruitment, allocation of resources and assessing the market positions. Blaney (2001) for example, states that 'long-term planning is about making decisions. It is not about day dreaming. It is a practical exercise in decision-making to try to ensure that the organization goes from where it is now to where it wants to go in a given time-period'. Strategic planning and management can be therefore described as what Bernard (1962) called 'maintaining the organization in operation'. Strategic planning, in general, is carried out by the top management, with strategic inputs from different departments. For multinational enterprises, such a planning is done at corporate headquarters together with senior managers from domestic and foreign operating subsidiaries. In these competitive times, when market dynamics do not allow plans to last long enough, most of the MNEs try to keep permanent planning staff for providing timely inputs to top level managers in order to devise strategies. The planning staff is supposed to gather demographic data, economic data, marketing potential, remuneration statistics etc. to the top level executives; who in turn come out with strategic plans accordingly. The top executives responsible for devising international strategies for MNEs, must also be aware of different political systems, government structures, legal systems, multiple currencies, accounting systems besides the

Monday, October 28, 2019

The Truth of All Truths Essay Example for Free

The Truth of All Truths Essay Suppressing is suffering but suffering is better than admitting Suffering is better than hurting Suppressing is better. People are the worst LIARS, not simply because of not telling the truth but liars for being completely ignorant of the real thing or two about what one truly feels, what one truly wants Liars for putting up an act of being perfectly fine when in truth, one is really messed up Liars for making others feel certain warmth Liars for secretly thinking bad for a thing Liars for hiding what the inner persona is shouting Look at the bigger picture of life. Try to note the people who are living apart from their REAL selves. â€Å"I don’t want that†; but deep inside, that’s what they really long for. â€Å"I’m not mad†; but in truth, they’re really firing up. â€Å"It’s a joke†; but it’s the truth. â€Å"I don’t like you†; but deep inside, their hearts are breaking apart. â€Å"I’m okay†; but the reality is different. The truth is a word commonly associated with facts but the truth is hard to fathom, hard to interpret and hard to admit. You know what is the real truth governing the twists and turns of truths? It is the fact that person has the tendency to deny things because it’s the heart which tells each and everyone to stop and gather up, suppress. Not accepting things is a primary hindrance. Have you ever been into a situation when you want something so badly but then ended up not getting it? Have you ever been afraid of going prank with someone you treasure? Have you ever made something to get noticed? People, in one way or another, have undergone all of this, whether unconsciously or not, and reacted differently. However, what most people are doing is clinging onto something even if they know that it can’t be anymore. There will come a time when they may say they have already moved on; but, unconsciously, there really are wounds in their heart which bother them every time and the common mistake is denying this fact. People tend to move on without accepting their real limits and denying everything that their heart feels. The ultimatum of it all is that most people are afraid of hurting themselves- afraid of rejection, afraid to let it all out, afraid of negative reactions Why is there a need for that? The truth will set you free! Don’t make up an excuse because you’re having a lie with the most important factors in your life- you and your heart. The greatest truth to be realized is to know yourself, your own feelings and emotions. Wake up, people! Take it slow Live with it!

Saturday, October 26, 2019

The Failure of the Welfare System in France Essay -- The Violence of H

IntroductioThe Algerian War of Independence in 1962 marked the end of France’s colonial regime. Before decolonization, Algeria had been held as the prize of the French empire, â€Å"one of the most beautiful provinces of France.† While it is somewhat inaccurate to pose Algeria and France as separate states throughout the process of colonization and decolonization, for consistency and clarity, Algeria and France will be referred to as separate entities, although for much of the studied time period, Algeria was a part of France. Algeria and France enjoyed a special relationship, beyond that which France had with its other colonies. This allowed freer migration between Algeria and France, and France fought harder to keep Algeria as a colony than it did with any of its other colonies. It established two separate welfare programs, one track for immigrants from countries other than Algeria and one for Algerians. Throughout this process, Algerians and other Maghrebi immigran ts were integral to the French industrial force even as immigration policy changed around them. This paper seeks to unpack the French welfare state and humanitarian aid through the lens of housing for Algerian immigrants between the end of World War II and the mid 1970s. Ultimately, I argue that the welfare state in France is founded on flawed perceptions of â€Å"the other† and that humanitarian aid as it stands in France only works to perpetuate inequalities. The first recorded evidence of Algerian immigrants in France dates from 1871, just at the beginning of the second industrial revolution. It was not until just before World War I, though, that any significant migration to France took place. At this time, no migration from Algeria to France was permanent migration, a... ...n France.† MERIP Reports No. 34, 1-12. French Court of Auditors. â€Å"De la SONACOTRA à   Adoma : des dà ©rives corrigà ©es tardivement† in Rapport public annuel 2013 – fà ©vrier 2013. (See attachment) â€Å"France: Soundtrack to a Riot† http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/rough/2006/03/france_soundtralinks.html, Accessed 27 April, 2014. Lyons, Amelia. The Civilizing Mission in the Metropole: Algerian Families and the French Welfare State during Decolonization. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2013. Mehta, Brinda. â€Å"Negotiating Arab-Muslim Identity, Contested Citizenship, and Gender Ideologies in the Parisian Housing Projects: Faà ¯za Guà ¨ne’s Kiffe Kiffe Demain.† Research in African Literatures, Vol. 41, No. 2, 173-202. Ticktin, Miriam. â€Å"Where Ethics and Politics Meet: The Violence of Humanitarianism in France.† American Ethnologist, Vol. 33, No. 1 (Feb, 2006), 33-49.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Giles Corey :: essays research papers

Giles Corey was a successful farmer and an active member of the Salem church, but this reputable model citizen was not looked lightly upon when the word â€Å"witch† started floating around. In April of 1692, Ann Putnam, Jr., Mercy Lewis, and Abigail Williams pointed a scornful finger at Giles. Ann said that Corey supposedly came to her on the 13th of April and asked her to write in â€Å"the devil’s book.† She later said that a ghost came to her, asking to be avenged against his killer, Giles Corey. Corey and his wife, Martha were good friends of the Porter family. Being great enemies of the Porters, the Putnams saw the Coreys as enemies, and dead enemies seemed much safer than living enemies. Thus, a trial began so as to determine the â€Å"wicked† characteristics of the Coreys. For five long months, he waited in prison for word of his trial. When he was let out, several witnesses arrived, demanding proof against the Coreys. In light of his new â€Å"fan club,† he chose to refuse to stand trial. Without a trial, there was a greater chance that his sons-in-law got his farm instead of the government. On Monday, September 19, consequence came for his refusal to stand trial. The punishment was death by pressing, the use of large stones to crush a person to death. On his deathbed, he only begged the executioner to â€Å"use larger stones,† so that he may die quicker. He was refused this meager last wish. Corey's "tongue being prest out of his mouth, the Sheriff with his cane forced it in again, when he was dying," said Robert Calef, a reporter covering the event. It took two days for him to die, and he was buried in a lone patch of grass on Gallows Hill. At the age of 80, Corey chose to die with honor and grit, rather than allow himself to be made a fool of by begging for his life in a courtroom that he knew would never let him live.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Bus 640 Chapters 8 and 9 Applied Problems

Chapters 8 and 9 Applied Problems Calvin Poarch BUS 640 – Managerial Economics Instructor Steve McQueen October 17, 2011 Chapters 8 and 9 Applied Problems Chapter 8 2. At a management luncheon, two managers were overheard arguing about the following statement: â€Å"A manager should never hire another worker if the new person causes diminishing returns. † Is this statement correct? If so, why? If not, explain why not. Diminishing return is the stage of production that reflects as the number of new employees increases, the marginal product of an additional employee will eventually be less than the marginal product of the previous employee, and therefore the increase in input should be stopped (Thomas and Maurice, 2011). However, even in this stage, the employer can still hire a new person if the value of marginal product is above the wage rate. If the wage rate declines, the company should hire more people. Additionally, if the value of marginal product increases due to an increase in product price, then the company can still hire new people. That is the reason the demand for inputs is downward sloping as shown in Figure 1. Figure 1 – Marginal Product (Google Images, 2011) When the point of diminishing returns is reached, that means your marginal cost goes up. Marginal cost goes up because capacity goes down. However, more goods can be produced at the higher marginal cost, which means your revenue will increase at the cost of profitability. Therefore, you would not stop hiring until your net revenue peaks, and begins to decrease. This is reflected in Figure 2. One solution to the diminishing return problem is to invest in the plant and equipment, thereby increasing capacity. Figure 2 – Marginal Product of Labor and Diminishing Returns (Google Images, 2011) Chapter 9 2. The Largo Publishing House uses 400 printers and 200 printing presses to produce books. A printer’s wage rate is $20, and the price of a printing press is $5,000. The last printer added 20 books to total output, while the last press added 1,000 books to total output. Is the publishing house making the optimal input choice? Why or why not? If not, how should the manager of Largo Publishing House adjust input usage? Printers are $20 each and add 20 books per hour. Therefore, the return on printers is $1 per book. Presses are $5000 and add 1000 books. The press return is $5 per book. In this case, it would appear that it would be more feasible to add more printers and avoid the expensive press cost. This would be the best solution in the short run. The company would have to pay the printer $20 for every hour of work. The press has to be purchased only once, therefore in the long run it is better to purchase the press. The reason is that the press return is $5000 for 1000 books for every hour. After the first five hours, the press is paid off and every book made after that is profit for the life of the machine. The last printer adds 20 books to the total output. Therefore, the marginal productivity of the last printer is 20 books. The marginal productivity of the last printing press is 1000 books. The optimal choice of input is determined by: marginal productivity of printer=marginal productivity of press wage rate of printercost of press 20? 1000 205000 1? 0. 2 Therefore, optimally, it is best to add a printer versus a press. 4. The MorTex Company assembles garments entirely by hand even though a textile machine exists that can assemble garments faster than a human can. Workers cost $50 per day, and each additional laborer can produce 200 more units per day (i. e. marginal product is constant and equal to 200). Installation of the first textile machine on the assembly line will increase output by 1,800 units daily. Currently the firm assembles 5,400 units per day. a. The financial analysis department at MorTex estimates that the price of a textile machine is $600 per day. Can management reduce the cost of assembling 5,400 units per day by p urchasing a textile machine and using less labor? Why or why not? Management could not reduce the cost of producing 5,400 units per day by buying a textile machine and employing less labor. This is because the laborers are more efficient than the machine. The laborers currently produce 5,400 units with each worker producing 200 units. Without a textile machine, this equates to 5,400 units ? 200 units per worker. This means that the company must have 27 workers to produce the required output. Therefore, 27 workers ? $50 each is a total cost of $1,350. Therefore, to compute each unit cost, divide the total cost ($1350) by the total output (5400). This yields $0. 25 marginal cost to produce each unit. By contrast, the machine costs $600 per day and can produce 1,800 units per day. Therefore, the unit cost for the machine would be the machine cost ($600) ? he total output (1800). This means the marginal cost of each unit $0. 33. It would not be a wise decision to replace the workers with textile machines. b. The Textile Workers of America is planning to strike for higher wages. Management predicts that if the strike is successful, the cost of labor will increase to $100 per day. If the strike is successful, how would this affect the decis ion in part to purchase a textile machine? Explain. If labor is $100 per day per worker, the total cost of producing 5,400 units with labor is 27 workers x $100 each = $2,700. Marginal cost is $2,700 ? ,400 units = $0. 50. Therefore, if the wages increase to $100 per employee per day, then the marginal cost of $0. 50 per unit is more than $0. 33 per unit with the machine. In this case, management should consider replacing the laborers with the textile machine. The only other consideration then would be the labor cost required to run the machine(s). References: Google Images (2011) Retrieved fromhttp://www. google. com/search? q=marginal+product+of+labor+graph Thomas, C. & Maurice, S. (2011). Managerial economics: Foundations of business analysis andstrategy (10th ed. ). New York: McGraw-Hill

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Health Care Expenditure Essay

Health Care Expenditure Essay Health Care Expenditure Essay Health Care Spending in the United States Josephine Nelson University of Phoenix HCS 440 Instructor: Dr. Vernita Davis The United States spends more on health care per person than any other country in the world (Allen, 2014). Also, the United States spends more of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on health care than other countries (Allen, 2014). Advancing technology, the state of the US economy, and the goal of providing quality health care are the major factors that contribute to such high health care spending in the United States. Needless to say, health care spending in the United States is a growing concern that needs to be addressed in order for the country to thrive. Current National Health Care Spending In 2013 and 2014, the driving factors of health care spending was the aging population, the Affordable Care Act and the slow growth of the economy (CMS, 2012). Health care spending growth for 2013 was just under 4% (CMS, 2012). The aging population is larger and are also living longer. This means more people on Medicare than ever before. In 2013 there was slow economic growth due to the fiscal cliff and the high unemployment rates. In 2014, the economy is beginning to grow at a faster pace. The continued implementation of the Affordable Care Act is already beginning to have a positive impact on the economy. In 2014, several insurance plans have become available to people who were unable to become insured, and more affordable health insurance plans are now offered. This is resulting in reducing the number of uninsured in the US. Although there are now more people accessing medical care because they are insured, health care providers are now receiving more reimbursements from sources w hich were not available before (CMS, 2014). As aforementioned, health care spending represents 17% of GDP for the United States compared to eight to ten percent for other countries (Allen, 2014). CMS projects health care spending in the US to reach 19.9% by 2022 (CMS, 2014). In addition to spending the most on health care, the US also has the highest growth rate of health care spending amongst other countries. Lastly, another concern is that despite health care spending in the US, health outcomes for the US are lower than other countries. It is important that the US finds ways to reduce health care spending in order to continue to thrive as a country. If the US does not find ways to lower health care expenditures, America can be forced into another recession. When thinking about ways to cut health care spending, it is important to consider that there are several stakeholders in health care. There are consumers, the government, health care providers, and health insurers who are affected by health care spending. There may be several different solutions to cut health care spending, but very few solutions that will satisfy all of the stakeholders. However, some solutions for lowering health care spending in the US are: coordination of care, incentives for better care, transparency, and monitoring the cost-effectiveness of new technologies. Forecast of the Nation’s Health Care System There are still many Americans with insurance that do not have a primary care physician. Having a primary care physician helps coordinate care for an individual. Coordination of care eliminates unnecessary duplication of procedures and expensive tests and avoidable costly emergency room visits (Community Catalyst, 2008). Coordination of care could consist of helping implement a disease management program for individuals with choric diseases. It may also include expanding electronic medical records which prevents duplication of care (Community Catalyst, 2008). Offering incentives for quality care could also help cut health care spending. Currently, providers get paid based on the quantity of care provided, even if the care provided is not of good quality or cost-effective. Medicare has recently implemented a program that withholds payments for costs

Monday, October 21, 2019

Battle of Valcour Island in the American Revolution

Battle of Valcour Island in the American Revolution The Battle of Valcour Island was fought October 11, 1776, during the American Revolution (1775-1783) and saw American forces on Lake Champlain clash with the British. Having abandoned the invasion of Canada, the Americans realized that a naval force would be needed to block the British on Lake Champlain. Organized by  Brigadier General Benedict Arnold, work began on a small fleet. Completed in fall 1776, this force met a larger British squadron near Valcour Island. While the British got the better of the action, Arnold and his men were able to escape south. While a tactical defeat for the Americans, the delay caused by both sides having to build fleets prevented the British from invading from the north in 1776. This allowed the Americans to regroup and be prepared for the decisive Saratoga Campaign the following year. Background In the wake of their defeat at the Battle of Quebec in late 1775, American forces attempted to maintain a loose siege of the city. This ended in early May 1776 when British reinforcements arrived from overseas. This forced the Americans to fall back to Montreal. American reinforcements, led by Brigadier General John Sullivan, also arrived in Canada during this period. Seeking to regain the initiative, Sullivan attacked a British force on June 8 at Trois-Rivià ¨res, but was badly defeated. Retreating up the St. Lawrence, he was determined to hold a position near Sorel at the confluence with the Richelieu River. Recognizing the hopelessness of the American situation in Canada, Brigadier General Benedict Arnold, commanding at Montreal, convinced Sullivan that a more prudent course was to retreat south up the Richelieu in order to better secure American territory. Abandoning their positions in Canada, the remnants of the American army traveled south finally halting at Crown Point on the western shore of Lake Champlain. Commanding the rear guard, Arnold ensured that any resources that could benefit the British along the line of retreat were destroyed. A former merchant captain, Arnold understood that command of Lake Champlain was critical to any advance south into New York and the Hudson Valley. As such, he made sure his men burned the sawmill at St. Johns and destroyed all boats that could not be used. When Arnolds men rejoined the army, American forces on the lake consisted of four small vessels mounting a total of 36 guns. The force that they re-united with was a shambles as it lacked adequate supplies and shelter, as well as was suffering from a variety of diseases. In an effort to improve the situation, Sullivan was replaced with Major General Horatio Gates. A Naval Race Advancing in pursuit, the governor of Canada, Sir Guy Carleton, sought to attack down Lake Champlain with the goal of reaching the Hudson and linking up with British forces operating against New York City. Reaching St. Johns, it became clear that a naval force would need to be assembled to sweep the Americans from the lake so that his troops could safely advance. Establishing a shipyard at St. Johns, work began on three schooners, a radeau (gun barge), and twenty gunboats. In addition, Carleton ordered that the 18-gun sloop-of-war HMS Inflexible be dismantled on the St. Lawrence and transported overland to St. Johns. The naval activity was matched by Arnold who established a shipyard at Skenesborough. As Gates was inexperienced in naval matters, construction of the fleet was largely delegated to his subordinate. Work progressed slowly as skilled shipwrights and naval stores were in short supply in upstate New York. Offering extra pay, the Americans were able to assemble the necessary manpower. As vessels were completed they were shifted to nearby Fort Ticonderoga to be fitted out. Working frantically through the summer, the yard produced three 10-gun galleys and eight 3-gun gundalows. Fleets Commanders Americans Brigadier General Benedict Arnold15 galleys, gundalows, schooners, and gunboats British Sir Guy CarletonCaptain Thomas Pringle25 armed vessels Maneuvering to Battle As the fleet grew, Arnold, commanding from the schooner Royal Savage (12 guns), began aggressively patrolling the lake. As the end of September neared, he began to anticipate the more powerful British fleet sailing. Seeking an advantageous place for battle, he positioned his fleet behind Valcour Island. Since his fleet was smaller and his sailors inexperienced, he believed that the narrow waters would limit the British advantage in firepower and reduce the need to maneuver. This location was resisted by many of his captains who wished to fight in open water which would allow a retreat to Crown Point or Ticonderoga. Shifting his flag to the galley Congress (10), the American line was anchored by the galleys Washington (10) and Trumbull (10), as well as the schooners Revenge (8) and Royal Savage, and sloop Enterprise (12). These were supported by the eight gundalows (3 guns each) and the cutter Lee (5). Departing on October 9, Carletons fleet, overseen by Captain Thomas Pringle, sailed south with 50 support vessels in tow. Led by Inflexible, Pringle also possessed the schooners Maria (14), Carleton (12), and Loyal Convert (6), the radeau Thunderer (14), and 20 gunboats (1 each). The Fleets Engage Sailing south with a favorable wind on October 11, the British fleet passed the northern tip of Valcour Island. In an effort to draw Carletons attention, Arnold sent out Congress and Royal Savage. After a brief exchange of fire, both vessels attempted to return to the American line. Beating against the wind, Congress succeeded in regaining its position, but Royal Savage was plagued by the headwinds and ran aground on the southern tip of the island. Quickly attacked by British gunboats, the crew abandoned ship and it was boarded by men from Loyal Convert (Map). This possession proved brief as American fire quickly drove them from the schooner. Rounding the island, Carleton and the British gunboats came into action and the battle began in earnest around 12:30 PM. Maria and Thunderer were unable to make headway against the winds and did not participate. While Inflexible struggled against the wind to join the fight, Carleton became the focus of American fire. Though dealing out punishment on the American line, the schooner suffered heavy casualties and after taking substantial damage was towed to safety. Also during the fight, the gundalow Philadelphia was critically hit and sank around 6:30 PM. The Tide Turns Around sunset, Inflexible came into action and began reducing Arnolds fleet. Out-gunning the entire American fleet, the sloop-of-war battered its smaller opponents. With the tide turned, only darkness prevented the British from completing their victory. Understanding the he could not defeat the British and with most of his fleet damaged or sinking, Arnold began planning an escape south to Crown Point. Utilizing a dark and foggy night, and with oars muffled, his fleet succeeded in sneaking through the British line. By morning they had reached Schuyler Island. Angered that the Americans had escaped, Carleton began a pursuit. Moving slowly, Arnold was forced to abandon damaged vessels en route before the approaching British fleet forced him to burn his remaining ships in Buttonmold Bay. Aftermath American losses at Valcour Island numbered around 80 killed and 120 captured. In addition, Arnold lost 11 of the 16 vessels he had on the lake. British losses totaled around 40 killed and three gunboats. Reaching Crown Point overland, Arnold ordered the post abandoned and fell back to Fort Ticonderoga. Having taken control of the lake, Carleton quickly occupied Crown Point. After lingering for two weeks, he determined that it was too late in the season to continue the campaign and withdrew north into winter quarters. Though a tactical defeat, the Battle of Valcour Island was critical strategic victory for Arnold as it prevented an invasion from the north in 1776. The delay caused by the naval race and battle gave the Americans an additional year to stabilize the northern front and prepare for the campaign that would culminate with the decisive victory at the Battles of Saratoga.

Sunday, October 20, 2019

The Truth About Social Media Auto-Publishing And Your Brand

The Truth About Social Media Auto-Publishing And Your Brand Lets face it: There is a right and a wrong way to pre-publish social media content. As you scale your content marketing, one of your goals is to get your content  into the hands of your audience. But it can be tough with limited resources. Social media is a lot of work. Thats why brands use third-party apps to manage  their social media content. It runs in two directions: publishing out and conversations in. Its 24/7. Using a third-party app allows you to schedule content to automatically publish at a specific time so that some of that load is shifted to when you are most able to handle it. The Truth About Social Media Auto-Publishing And Your BrandYet the very idea of social media being social seems to belie the idea of using automation. After all, its supposed to be social. But you can use tools to schedule and pre-publish your social media content in a way that is effective. And appropriately  social. 3 Approaches To Pre-Publishing Your Social Media Content For our discussion today, pre-publishing is any social media content that you didnt publish the moment before it went live. A planned, human approach for scheduling your social media posts ahead of time is the best and only acceptable option. Pre-publishing social media content  is usually done with a third-party tool instead of on the network itself. But some social networks, like Facebook, do allow you to schedule your content ahead of time on their network without needing a third-party tool. Pre-publishing can be done in two ways: Human planning. Based on a carefully planned and executed schedule, controlled and created by a human being, the only thing that is automated is the actual publishing of the content. Non-human algorithms for auto-publishing.  Completely automatic with publishing schedule and dates determined by  the tool being used. Very little, if any, planning is used to determine when, what, and why content is published. Scheduling or pre-publishing content is not the same as auto-generating or auto-publishing content (which we will briefly touch on later). When it comes to scheduling or pre-scheduling, you can use your own content or the content of others, to some degree of success. Auto-publishing is often associated with automatically generated content that is often a big no-no. With all of this in mind, there are three approaches to pre-publishing social media content. 1. Pre-publish your own social media content. You must share your content more than once  if you want to get the results your content  deserves. And, unless youre going to wake up each day with a plan to systematically publish old blog posts throughout the day, youll very likely turn to pre-publishing your social media content. Share your content more than once to get the results your content deserves.Pre-publishing your own content to social media is perfectly fine, as long as you have a plan for scheduling that content. You can  plan to share your content more than once across various social networks. By using a planned pre-publishing technique for our social media content, you can  increase both social shares and traffic to your content. Pre-publishing your own social media content  based on a solid plan is the best way to make sure you actually keep sharing your existing  content. If you rely on yourself to remember to publish content to social media, good luck. Solo bloggers, especially, know how hard it is to keep up with a robust social publishing plan without the help of tools that automate your overall plan. Are tweet old post auto-publish solutions a good idea? There are times when pre-publishing your own social media content doesnt work. Thats when its done without a plan- auto-publishing with robots. For example, there are WordPress plugins that automatically tweet out your old blog posts. Ive used them myself. It takes a while to figure out the best automated settings and, for my lucky Twitter fans, I got it wrong for about a week. They got an unfortunate heavy dose of random posts- an onslaught, if were being honest- before I realized it. But I figured tweaking the settings ought to fix it. After all, I wanted to share my existing  content,  and auto-publishing  seemed like the easiest method with the least amount of effort necessary. The thing was, some of my old content wasnt really worth sharing again. But an automated old-post tweet system doesnt know if its auto-tweeting gold or a real stinker. An automated old-post tweet system doesnt know if its auto-tweeting gold or a real stinker.And a Twitter feed that also publishes to your Facebook feed means youll have a Facebook feed full of title-only posts that arent made for the Facebook network. Automating a sharing schedule requires controls to be successful. To share old posts, you need a pre-publishing system that has serious controls. You need controls to: Specify how often Determine which categories of content are shareable  (latest news categories are completely irrelevant a week later) Plan date ranges Customize the content for individual social networks Without those controls, youre  merely auto-publishing  your own spam to your followers. 2. Pre-publish curated content. Pre-publishing curated content is an ideal fit. But first, let me sell you on content curation. Im a big believer in content curation. There is a ginormous, cyclopean, behemoth, mammoth, whale-sized amount of content pumped out  every day. Helping your audience find the good stuff is part of your job. Curating that good content means having a system and the tools to sift through and find that good stuff thats out there. Then you can share that on your social media. Content curation  is an art, though. Theres even a Curators Code on how to do it right. Manifestos have been written about the importance of the content curator. So this is a big deal. Its not enough to churn out massive amounts of content related to your niche. The goal isnt to publish 1,000 tweets a day and get unfollowed by people tired of seeing their news feeds full of mindless publishing. When it comes to curated content, what you share has to be good, useful, and unique. Your goal is always to give your audience the best. And that means you have to go through a lot of content, both good and bad, to find that best. Sharing low-grade content turns off your audience entirely, even if you mix it with your great content. Why bother with pre-publishing curated content on social media? Curation works its artful wonders in three ways: Not a self-centered jerk. Sharing others content assures people youre not just a personal PR machine, interested in yourself and your brand only. Expanding your own network. When you share content you find on your social networks, the creators of the content will notice and engage with you. Boom. Bigger network. You are helpful. Sharing other content sends  a message that youre not always on the hard-sell, that you actually want to help your followers  save time and find good content. A reputation for being helpful is good. People refer other people to you. Content  curation and pre-publishing are a good fit because finding that great content can be extremely time-consuming. The idea that you have to repeat the process throughout the day to avoid publishing all at once is unpleasant. With pre-publishing- whether youve built a collection of reliable feeds in your RSS reader that you read each morning, or are turning to an app like Swayy- finding content doesnt have to suck up all the time in the day. Content curation tools like Swayy help you find relevant content and share it with your network. You can do it once and set the publishing to drip out over time. Pre-publishing tools help  you stop multitasking and set aside a chunk of time to find and create content that youll publish. Buffer is a popular app for content curation because it allows you to build a queue of found content that drips out over time. You can fill up your queue in the morning and youre set for the day. Use Buffer to build a queue of curated content you can drip out over time. Any tool or  system that saves time  while helping  you to share great content is a good fit for pre-publishing. 3. Auto-publish auto-generated content. Some folks dont like the idea of any form of pre-publishing, even if it has been created and planned by a human. Fair enough, though I disagree. However, allowing automaton to completely find, curate, generate, and publish is a step too far. When you start mixing auto-generated publishing with auto-publishing, youre bordering on being a Grade A spammer. This seems harsh, but hear me out. A social media feed is to feed, not poison.  You should never add to the content noise. As a content marketer, youre trying to cut through  the noise for your audience. Taking yourself out of the publishing equation entirely is the wrong approach. A social media feed is to feed, not poison.  You should never add to the content noise.What not to do with auto-publishing social media content Lets use Paper.li as an example of auto-generated and auto-published content. Paper.li is one of many apps that finds, publishes, and promotes engaging content from across the web. Youve likely seen them in your Twitter feed. They say something like The Content Marketer Daily is out! followed by several Twitter usernames and a link. Paper.li aggregates content based on user settings. There are some unhappy followers out there that dont like seeing the tweets, dont think they have value, or are upset when content is attributed incorrectly. In my run-in with Paper.li, a health insurance brand included my content because I mentioned them in a tweet but unfortunately, I mentioned them unfavorably. Oops. They just promoted negative content about themselves because of automation. Paper.li (and other truly automated sans-human systems) do the best they can, but they cannot filter perfectly, understand context, or really know what is good content. As I said in my blog post about Paper.li: Paper.li assumes that making it easy to aggregate is a good idea, but the ease of setting up a Paper.li account means people do it carelessly. They add to the content noise instead of lessen it. - @JulieNeidlinger Social media is about being social, i.e. interaction between humans. Completely using automated methods to find, curate, assemble, and publish is interaction between a human and a machine. Its not social at all. My question for anyone relying heavily on both auto-generated and auto-published social media content is: What is your goal with social media? To keep your feeds full, or to actually build an audience? Do you use Paper.li? Has it been successful for you? What are your thoughts about similar automated systems? 5 Keys To A Successful Social Media Pre-Publishing Plan Weve all seen (and probably participated in) bad social media automation. Bad auto-generated and auto-published social media content follows the spray and pray method, in which you send out as much social content as possible, and pray something takes root. This is a complete waste of your time, your money, and super abusive of your audience. Smart social media pre-publishing always starts with you, the human, in the planning and creating. It only relies on automation when it comes down to scheduling publishing times. Your social media publishing plan- and the tools you use- needs to be able to do a few things: 1. Publish in the moment. This must be part of your plan, and the tools you use need to allow for it. Breaking news, important updates, event, or theme changes, reactions to conversations- these are all reasons when you need to be able to use social media in the moment. 2. Share your content- and others content. You must be able to easily share your own content as well as the curated content youve found. 3. Easily pull or reschedule scheduled content. There are times when you want to be able to look at the content for the day and stop it from publishing. National disasters or other events that might make your otherwise benign content inappropriate make it super important that you can easily cancel, postpone, or reword scheduled content. Blogger Matt Heindl outlines what he considers the best approach to take for  scheduled tweets when a disaster or tragedy strikes: Pause all outgoing posts on all platforms immediately. Pause the use of any auto-Tweet tools so no scheduled or auto-optimized Tweets are delivered until review. Pause all Twitter and Facebook paid media. This will help you  avoid any sponsored stories or Tweets to appear next to news of the events or simply crowded consumers’ feeds during times of panic or mourning. After youve done that, Heindl recommends that you: Pause all scheduled outgoing posts to Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn for a reasonable time. 12–24 hours at minimum. Reschedule anything that could be remotely controversial or emotionally specific to the issue at hand. Scan the next week’s social posts on all  platforms for content containing any potential puns, associations with the event or other potential ways your marketing could be associated with capitalizing or making light of the events. Your social media pre-publishing tool should let you easily see the messages going out on a specific  day so you can halt, review, and reschedule if needed. 4. Customize messages for different networks. Imagine that you send the same social message out to all networks, at the same time. How delightful for your audience that follows you on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to see the exact same update at the same moment. That really makes an audience feel special and loved. #sarcasm Its a good idea to not blast all your networks at the same time. But definitely do not do that with the same content.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Hans Hofmann in the Abstract and Nature Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Hans Hofmann in the Abstract and Nature - Essay Example The main concept behind abstract art is based on the idea that art is not static, but rather interactive with its audience and the political and social ideas of the audience's present as well as the symbols inherent in the particular forms used within the artwork. By reducing the recognizable forms, therefore, it becomes possible for the artist to attain a more pure expression in his or her creation. Jean-Francois Lyotard argues that avant-garde art uses experimental innovations in technique and structure to attempt "to make visible that there is something which can be conceived and which can neither be seen nor made visible" (Lyotard, 1997: 78). As an abstract artist, Hofmann was known as a synthesist because he brought together traditional methods and avant-garde concepts concerning the nature of painting, largely based on the works of Modern painters Cezanne, Kandinsky and Picasso's Synthetic Cubism. Because teaching dominated much of his creative life, his art was often critically measured against his theories. With his European sensibilities and his newly adopted American spirit, it needs to be remembered that Hofmann's work exemplifies a fusion of multiple aspects of 20th century art. A look into his biography reveals the development of his ideas regarding nature and abstraction while a glimpse into his career reveals how his teaching reflected this conceptual development. Biography Hans Hofmann was born in 1880 near Munich, Germany in a small city called Weissenburg, Bavaria. Growing up, he was surrounded by images of the past as his city still retained many remains of its ancient Roman past and of the countryside, with the closest large city being Ingolstadt more than 30 miles away. While this doesn't seem that far away to a modern audience accustomed to the use of cars to drive to the city every day from far off suburbs, Hoffman grew up in a time when the automobile was just springing to life. The first practical working horseless carriage was created in 1889 in Germany by Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach, when Hofmann was already 9 years old (Ament, 2005). It is possible that Hofmann had a chance to experience some of the technologies that were being developed in association with the automobile, however, because his father moved the family to Munich when Hofmann was just 6 when he took a job working for the government. "Hofmann developed an interest in m athematics, science, music and art at a very early age. When he was sixteen, his father helped him obtain a job with the Bavarian government as the assistant to the director of public works. During this time, Hofmann further developed his technical knowledge of mathematics, even inventing and patenting an electromagnetic comptometer" ("Hans Hofmann", 2007). Despite this, Hofmann's interest in art was superior to his interest in mathematics and, when his father died in the late 1800s, Hofmann decided to pursue this interest in greater detail. By 1898, Hofmann was studying art at the Mortiz Heymann's art school in Munich, where he came into contact with

Friday, October 18, 2019

Managing Change in Healthcare Organisation Essay - 1

Managing Change in Healthcare Organisation - Essay Example The ABC healthcare organisation is a large multiple site facility providing a continuum of healthcare services from acute to long term care patients in hospital setting. One of its acute care facilities which provide emergency services to the community is in need of a new triage system in emergency departments. Both management and the emergency nursing staff have identified the need to improve the practice of triage in the emergency departments. Each has expressed, in written documents, the recommendation to change and implement the new national triage guidelines. At the same time, the emergency department staff has expressed dissatisfaction with how changes have been implemented in the past. They have expressed their perception that there is no formalised plan to implement change. In addition, they have also expressed, in meetings and discussions within the department, their unhappiness with the multitude of changes that have occurred within the organisation itself. The emergency staffs, themselves, have also undergone changes in their unit's management. They have gone from having their own individual managers to one manager for multiple facilities. They have also had a number of different managers over the past few years and identified a lack of consistent leadership within the department. Another issue that has also been identified in staff meetings and discussions within the department is the staff's unhappiness with how decisions are made within the department. It is their expressed perception that the system of decision making within the organisation is top/bottom. Decisions are made by management at the top and flow down to staff at the bottom, who are expected to follow them. The emergency department staff has expressed their feelings of not being listened to. They have also expressed their perception that others are making decisions and implementing changes that affect them, but no one has consulted them in the process. Lack of input and obvious planning are seen as fundamental problems. Changes are seen as being imposed without consultation or any visible change management planning or strategy (Paton & McCalman, 2008). According to Senge (1990), most organisations create fundamental learning disabilities by the way they have been taught to think, interact and d o their jobs. In this top/bottom system there is a sense of "I am my position" from the top and "the enemy is out there" from the bottom (p.18-19). These learning disabilities limit the organisation's ability to implement effective and lasting change. A change that is planned and has the commitment of the emergency department staff could be implemented successfully and be of benefit to both the patients encountering the emergency department, and the organisation itself. Identifying the Problem Nurses value quality care and patient safety (Henderson et al, 2007). Accurate decision making is important to them. Nurses want to make the right decisions but do not necessarily like the idea of change. Emergency nurses like many other professionals resist change (Paton & McCalman, 2008). In addition, the tremendous amount of change the facility emergency departments have been through in recent years can be expected to increase this resistance. "However people attracted to a field as diverse and chaotic as emergency care are usually aggressive and motivated and do not tolerate stagnation any better then they tolerate change" (MacPhail, in Budassi-Sheehy, 1992, pl). One cause of the problem is continuous change within the organisation and the perception that change is implemented without consultation or a plan of action (Harvard Business Essentials, 2003). The root cause of the problem is a lack of trust. When employees trust the management they are more likely to be more prepared and open to undertaking change but less likely if they do not feel trust. Trustworthiness needs

Plato's Arguments for Rationalism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Plato's Arguments for Rationalism - Essay Example Plato’s arguments can be summarised in the following contest: a) Justification is simply by reason instead of senses. This means that there is need to move away from that world of cave that is explored by our sensory experience and move outside the cave to discover the world of forms by means of reason. b) Objects of knowledge such as forms are necessary, unchanging and external. Therefore, we are looking for the permanent order which underlies the flux. c) The most basic and important knowledge is priori that means that it does not rely on sensory information. Thus this is true knowledge of goodness, of mathematics, of justice and many others. d) Mathematics is simply like a model for the entire knowledge process. This implies that the easiest way that an individual can think of forms is by thinking of mathematical objects being the perfect circle.The theory of form is regarded to as one of Plato’s most powerful theory. It proposes that on top of the physical world tha t we sense in our midst, there is also another realm based on reality. This kind of realm is intelligible instead of being an observable sphere in existence; it is made up of absolute, unchanging, external, perfect forms that define that which exists imperfectly and fleetingly in our world of senses. The forms therefore provide knowledge regarding the objective truth. The theory of forms assists Plato’s epistemological theories in a number of ways.Epistemological theories are based on the account of what is meant by knowledge.

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Biased Elementary Reading Programs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Biased Elementary Reading Programs - Essay Example Ganji argues for more inclusive diversity in the texts, illustrations, writers, and the role of mentors in the array of children's books that are recommended for elementary libraries and classrooms. Ganji illustrates the importance of viewing one's own culture in a book by telling the story of Bebot, a Philippine student that had read a copy of a book that reflected his own cultural heritage. Ganji noted that this was a "mirror book", a book that reflected his own self through the location of the setting, the characters, and the illustrations (30). While the author stated that mirror books were essential for young readers to be able to relate to the story, she stated that "Unfortunately, classroom collections too often provide more mirror books for White children than for children of color". The availability of mirror books commonly available simply does not reflect the diverse classrooms that exist today. The author pointed out two deficiencies in the system that are at the core of the problem; leveled reading lists and awards. Fountas and Pinnell rate and append lists of elementary readers by reading level. It is one of the most widely used lists used to create libraries for use by young readers. Yet, Ganji has found that "authors of color are represented about 1 percent", an insignificant number when compared to the population's color diversity. In addition to leveled reading lists, teachers and educators often take recommendations from books that have won awards. Here again, the author points to the deficiency of multicultural material available. Though there are multicultural awards given to books, most educators gravitate towards the more prestigious Caldecott and Newbery awards. The author noted that libraries ordered the winner of the Caldecott award twice as often as the winner of the Coretta Scott King award.

Position Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Position - Essay Example However, it was only in recent decades human started to realize that the diseases he experience is mainly due to his meat based diet. Human can digest both plant and meat based food, but human contract disease on eating meat because he is naturally an herbivorous. Just because a food is palatable does not mean that it is compatible with the body. Meat is tasty, nutritious but it s not easily digestible by human body. Today, people are victimized to so many diseases for which blame can be put on the abundant meat they consume. Animal based food products have high fat content which lead to major diseases like heart attack, cancer and obesity. It is normally observed that a person who is vegetarian is less disturbed by illnesses as his body is free of animal fat and other poisonous enzymes from animal food products. Human body and meat eating Meat eating is the natural instinct of animals and human body is not naturally designed to digest meat .If we naturally assess the affinity we hav e to the raw meat and blood of animal, we can understand the choice of our body. No human being is attracted to uncooked meat and body organs of a dead animal .We instead feel disgusted and repulsive to the sight of a dead animal with its body organs protruding out. As per (Bluejay,2002)â€Å"Our teeth, saliva, stomach acid, and intestines are most similar to other plant-eaters, and dissimilar to carnivores and true omnivores†. Moreover, the length of our intestine is bigger than that of a carnivores animal, which assist in digestion of plants based food. Human unlike animals does not possess claws nor do they sweat through tongue. It is also found out that excessive meat eating can reduce the life span of a normal human being and make him diseased at a younger age. If human are naturally designed for meat eating then he should not be harmed by this diet. It takes a long time for the human intestine to digest meat as it rots in the body and give negative effect to the body. I t increases the cholesterol level in the human body and creates heart problems and other ailment to human body. When nature has not provided us with the faculties to hunt and obtain meat then it does not make sense to claim that we are meat eaters. Animal suffering on their killing Animal suffering during their killing is a significant reason to justify the vegetarian diet as it is a non – violent form of obtaining food. When human beings are killed poisonous enzymes are released in to their body which is ingested by human on its consumption. Moreover, we are taking away the life of a living being who has been granted a right to live by the creator of this universe. No human has the right to kill another living being, which has equal right as us to live on the planet. In addition to this, the pain and struggle which an animal undergoes while their slaughter is unimaginable and unforgivable. Nowadays animals are killed in an extremely cruel manner which can horrify any meat ea ter to a great level. â€Å"But many people refuse to eat meat because of the inhumane treatment of the animals and the animal suffering that are mass-produced to feed the population†(Being Vegetarian,2008). The mass slaughtering of animals in the slaughter house is a pain afflicting sight and they are treated with utmost cruelty a before killing. Giving pain and obtaining food is not suited to human being who are naturally emotional and loving by nature. When we eat flesh of an animal we are

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Biased Elementary Reading Programs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Biased Elementary Reading Programs - Essay Example Ganji argues for more inclusive diversity in the texts, illustrations, writers, and the role of mentors in the array of children's books that are recommended for elementary libraries and classrooms. Ganji illustrates the importance of viewing one's own culture in a book by telling the story of Bebot, a Philippine student that had read a copy of a book that reflected his own cultural heritage. Ganji noted that this was a "mirror book", a book that reflected his own self through the location of the setting, the characters, and the illustrations (30). While the author stated that mirror books were essential for young readers to be able to relate to the story, she stated that "Unfortunately, classroom collections too often provide more mirror books for White children than for children of color". The availability of mirror books commonly available simply does not reflect the diverse classrooms that exist today. The author pointed out two deficiencies in the system that are at the core of the problem; leveled reading lists and awards. Fountas and Pinnell rate and append lists of elementary readers by reading level. It is one of the most widely used lists used to create libraries for use by young readers. Yet, Ganji has found that "authors of color are represented about 1 percent", an insignificant number when compared to the population's color diversity. In addition to leveled reading lists, teachers and educators often take recommendations from books that have won awards. Here again, the author points to the deficiency of multicultural material available. Though there are multicultural awards given to books, most educators gravitate towards the more prestigious Caldecott and Newbery awards. The author noted that libraries ordered the winner of the Caldecott award twice as often as the winner of the Coretta Scott King award.

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Brand Attributes and Consumer Motivation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Brand Attributes and Consumer Motivation - Essay Example One aspect that is very crucial to the success of our brand positioning is that it needs to relate to our target market. The company needs to improve on its technology so that it can employ better techniques of collecting and analyzing the market. This will help the company know what exactly is expected by customers. We need to improve our products and services according to the expectations of our customers while keeping in mind that their expectations continuously change. We also need to research on our competitors attribute in terms of their logo to make sure that our logo is unique to the market and that it is also acceptable in this market. This will help the company mitigate the risk of losing customers to competitors because of confusion in the similarities of the attributes. The company also needs to assess the brand differentiation strategy while keeping in mind the company’s need to generate revenues. While positioning our brand, we need to consider the companyâ€℠¢s market share and market size. This is by looking at the demand of the business activities in a particular market. The company needs to map the products and services in order to identify gaps in the marketplace, understand the competitors, understand if the company is entering a crowded market, and this will also help in understanding the criteria in which customers in a particular market position different brand in the market. This will help the company to make an informed decision on marketing strategies for the brand.

Women in Society Essay Example for Free

Women in Society Essay The role of women has changed drastically throughout history. Women were once thought to only be able to stay at home and tend the house and family. Women were isolated in their domestic sphere; however they did not stay there. Women faced many struggles during their battle to end their isolation from the idea of gender roles within the workforce to the belief that women are not equal to men and therefore do not deserve the same rights as men. Before 1865 women had very few rights. Her legal standing depended upon her marital status, and once she was married everything became her husbands. She could not control or acquire any property, she was not allowed to control any wages she earned, she could not transfer or sell any property, and she could not bring a lawsuit, or sign any contract. Her life rested solely in the hands of her husband. Women were expected to maintain the home which included cooking and cleaning. They were also expected to bear children and spend their days focused on those children. In 1840 something began to shift when two women, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott, met and discussed having a convention to address the situation of women. It took eight years for them to get back together and hold the convention known as The Seneca Falls Convention. The Declaration of Sentiments and its resolutions were presented to a group of three hundred people, including forty men. This stated that men and women were created equal and had a right to equality in all spheres including the right to vote. All of the resolutions were eventually passed. Afterwards they had to deal with ridicule and sarcasm. For example Frederick Douglass wrote a discussion of the rights of animals would be regarded with far more complacency by many of what are called the wise and the good of our land, than would be a discussion of the rights of woman† (na, http://www.npg.si.edu/col/seneca/senfalls1.htm). This shows just how women  were thought of back then. They were thought to be less than animals. While they faced mockery and anger over the fact that they thought they should have rights they did give the idea of women’s rights publicity and brought attention to the idea. This was the way many women lived until the end of the Civil War. After the Civil War the lives of women saw a change. America was expanding, and people were pushing westward. â€Å"Women played a very important role in the conquest of the West† (Bowles, 2011, The New South and New West (1865- 1890), para. 29). Some women moved west with their families, but there were also many single women who wanted to lead their own lives and widowed women who had no other choice. â€Å"while I suspect that some of the women traveled west for a mate, others were interested in a life built of their own strength, ambition and endurance. Wishart reports in the 2004 Encyclopedia of the Prairie that, under the Homestead Act, only women who were single, widowed, divorced or deserted could sign for their own land† (Willoughby, C.M., March 26, 2010, Pioneer women: how the west was really won, para. 11). Widowed women were forced to take over the role of their departed men. â€Å"These women took on the day-to-day responsibilities of farm and ranch life and were surprisingly successful. A quote from Katie Adams, a Pioneer widow, reads, â€Å"I was just like a hired man. I was right there, I even followed the plow† (Peavey Smith, 1996)† (Willoughby, C.M., March 26, 2010, Pioneer women: how the west was really won, para. 13). In Wyoming and Colorado, between 11 and 18 percent of all homesteaders were single women or widows† (Bowles, 2011, The New South and New West (1865- 1890), para. 30). There was also a need for educated women in the west in order to teach in the schools that were being created and write for the newspapers. This gave women the opportunity to bring in their own monetary contribution to the household or maintain the single life they were creating. The late 19th century was still very rural. In these rural communities women were still treated as if their â€Å"God-given role was as wife and mother, keeper of the household, guardian of the moral purity of all who lived therein. Housework took on a scientific quality, efficiency being the watchword. Children were to be cherished and nurtured. Morality was  protected through the promulgation of Protestant beliefs and social protest against alcohol, poverty and the decay of urban living† (Hartman, D.W., n.d., Women’s Roles in the Late 19th Century, para. 2). The late 19th century saw a huge growth in industry. This growth changed the nature of work in America. In early 19th century work was performed by skilled workers known as artisans, however this changed as businessmen realized that â€Å"mechanization increased profitability and decreased the reliance on skilled labor† (Bowles, 2011, Industrial Titans and Labor Unions (1860’s- 1890’s), para. 16). This opened up the door for women to take these positions. The time period of the 1890’s through the 1920’s is known as the Progressive Era. During this time period women took on a different role. Women were able to find jobs in retail, or as typists, clerks, and telephone operators. More women were graduating from college and going on to become professionals in the areas of law, healthcare, journalism, and science. â€Å"Recognizing the changes that were occurring in the lives of some women, the public and the press coined a phrase for these women, the â€Å"New Woman.† The â€Å"New Woman† was supposedly young, college educated, active in sports, interested in pursuing a career, and looking for a marriage based on equality† (The Status of Women in the Progressive Era, 2007, National Women’s History Museum, para.3). Many women, especially married, middle class women still did not work outside the home, but they still played a role in helping the plight of women by focusing their efforts on the reforms of the era. Women were able to reform areas such as education, sanitation, health, wages, working conditions, social welfare, and their greatest achievement was the implementation of the 19th amendment which gave women the right to vote. This brings us to the Women’s Suffrage Movement in which women sought the right to vote. Granted this movement had been going on for quite some time; however after the 14th and 15th amendment gave the right to vote to not just men but black men as well women believed their time for change had come. Two groups were formed with different ideas in how to achieve this goal. The National Women’s Suffrage Association (NWSA) was formed by Elizabeth Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. This group fought for women’s rights on a  national government level. The American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA) was the second group that formed. This group fought for rights on a state by state basis. It was not until the two groups put aside their differences and became one forming the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) in 1890 that serious progress was made. Elizabeth Stanton was the NAWSA’s first president. Susan B. Anthony was the second president. While both of these women were in charge things were handled rather diplomatically and without much in the way of militant tactics. This all changed when Alice Paul took over as the leader after Susan B. Anthony died. Paul organized many protests and marches including one that took place during Woodrow Wilson’s inauguration as president. It was stunts like these that led many women within NAWSA to dislike her ways. She eventually left NAWSA and formed her own group, the National Woman’s Party (NWP). It was this new group that led a seven month picket of the white house which led to the arrest of the NWP suffragists. While they were imprisoned many of the women were placed in solitary confinement, so they went on a hunger strike in order to protest this unfair treatment. These women were then force fed for up to three weeks. When news of this mistreatment reached the rest of America the suffrage movement gained support including that of President Wilson (na., 2012). It was women’s actions during World War I that finally convinced the government that they were equal to men and in August of 1920 the 19th amendment, which gave women the right to vote was ratified. Women voted in their first election in November 1920. Women started off the 20th century in good standing. They had the right to vote finally, they were taking on more professional careers and they were becoming better educated. Women began smoking and drinking publicly, they cut their hair short and their skirts shorter. Women felt a sense of freedom at this point which can be seen when we look at the women’s fashion during these years for instance the flapper was a popular look. This new sense of freedom would be short lived. A change was on the way. On October 24, 1929 the stock market crashed. This brought with it challenges for women that they thought they had overcome. â€Å"Prosperity vanished almost over night, and very quickly, gender roles tightened up again. Many people blamed the crash on the loose morals of the previous decade, and the employment  crisistoo many laborers, too few jobs—seemed to dictate a return to the â€Å"natural† roles† (Radek, K. M., 2001, para. 12). This was the beginning of a time known as the Great Depression. Families lost everything during this time. There were very few jobs, so what jobs there were went to men. â€Å"There was an emotional crisis, as well, especially as men had been traditionally defined by working—especially since the industrial revolution—but couldn’t find work. In other words, without work, they couldn’t see themselves as men. To this end, many areas enacted laws to privilege men over women in regard to employment. Women were thrown out of work, and many states had laws mandating that if men were available, women couldn’t legally work—or if a woman’s husband worked, she couldn’t† (Radek, K. M., 2001, para. 12). Women were expected to take care of everything in the house regardless of a reduction in income. â€Å"Sociologists Robert and Helen Lynd noticed this trend in a study of Muncie, Indiana, published in 1937: â€Å"The men, cut adrift from their usual routine, lost much of their sense of time and dawdled helplessly and dully about the streets; while in the homes the women’s world remained largely intact and the round of cooking, housecleaning, and mending became if anything more absorbing.† To put it another way, no housewife lost her job in the Depression† (Ware, S., nd., para. 3). While traditional gender roles seemed to take over men could not be expected to fill the role of receptionist or nurse, therefore women in these positions were able to maintain their employment although they usually took a pay cut. This lasted until America became part of World War II after the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. With the onset of World War II it became necessary for men and women to change their view on gender roles in the workforce. The men in the country were being mobilized to go to war, and the country needed someone to fill their positions. Who else could they turn to but the women of the country? Women took up jobs in factories manufacturing clothes and boots for soldiers; they started working in munitions plants and aircraft factories, shipyards, and railways. Women were mail carriers, transit workers, and taxi drivers. They worked on farms and picked crops. Every area of the workforce became focused on the war and creating that which was needed to win the war against Hitler. Some women took a place in the military. Many  women served as nurses for the army and the navy; however for the first time women were allowed to serve. According to the National Women’s History Museum (2007) â€Å"more than 400,000 women served, 432 died, and 88 were prisoners of war†. Women also served as pilots flying aircrafts from the place they were manufactured to the place where they were needed. â€Å"Eighteen classes of women graduated from the Army Air Forces flight training school; they called the Women Air Force Service Pilots (WASPs). These were the first women military pilots in U.S. history, and the nation needed them because there was a general shortage of trained pilots for the war. In total, 25,000 women applied, 1,800 were accepted, and 1,000 completed the training (Cole, 1995)† (Bowles, 2011, The World at War (1941-1945), para. 17). World War II could not last forever, and with its end men returned home expecting to have their positions back. Women who had found a purpose in working now found themselves no longer needed. They were sent back to their domestic sphere. â€Å"Families moved to the suburbs, fostered a baby boom, and forged a happy life of family togetherness in which everyone had a specified role. Women were considered domestic caregivers, with sole responsibility for the home and child rearing, while men ‘brought home the bacon.’ â€Å"Popular since the 1950s, this tenacious stereotype conjures mythic images of culture icons June Cleaver, Donna Reed, Harriet Nelson the quintessential white, middleclass housewives who stayed at home to rear children, clean house and bake cookies.† (Meyerowitz, 1994)† (Holt, J. (nd)., para. 1). America after World War II was a place of hope and new beginnings for many families in America. This was the time of the baby boom. Women were having more babies which increased their duties in the household therefore solidifying their role as caretaker. This was also a time of great consumerism. Many things were being created with the hope that it would make the lives of women easier such as vacuum cleaners, toasters, washing machines, and then of course there was the television. This allowed manufacturers to create commercial specifically geared towards the women of the household. It seemed as if the goal of most families was to be prosperous, happy members of society, but for the women of the 1950’s there was an underlying anger that stemmed from being removed from jobs that made them feel accomplished and good about themselves. â€Å"The culture was simply not portraying a lifestyle women wanted: indeed, studies indicate as many as 80% of post-war women felt working outside of the home would lead to a more satisfied life (Renzetti Curran, 2004)† (Holt, J. (nd)., para.8). It is this animosity that sets the stage for the women of the 1960’s and 1970’s. The women of the 1960’s and 1970’s were dissatisfied with their lives and the fact that they were being relegated to the role of housewife and mother. They wanted something else, something more than what they were being given. This is the beginning of the women’s liberation movement. Women watched as the civil rights movement was fought for, and gained insight into the fact that a movement could reach an entire nation. The civil rights movement breathed new life in to the women of this time. In 1966 the National Organization for Women (NOW) was created. The purpose of NOW was to bring about the true equality of women in America. According to NOW’s statement of purpose (1966) a majority of the women working outside the home â€Å"are in routine clerical, sales, or factory jobs, or they are household workers, cleaning women, hospital attendants† which indicates that the better jobs are going to the men. The statement (1966) also shows how poor the wages are for those women that are working outside the home with the women only earning 60% of what the men earn. One of the last things that the statement (1966) brings to light is the fact that well educated women are not able to hold jobs of importance in society. Women wanted a change in politics, education, and business. They wanted to be treated as equals. In 1972 the equal rights amendment was passed out of congress and ratified by 28 states, but that was not enough to make it a part of the constitution. This amendment would make it illegal for any form of gender discrimination. One major accomplishment of the women’s liberation movement was the ruling in Roe v. Wade which ended a ban on abortion in 46 states. The strides gained during these critical years were short lived as the 1980’s brought with it the idea that everything had been settled. Things essentially remained the same in the 1980’s. These were quiet times for women. More women were entering professional positions in their careers and achieving better education. There were some key accomplishments during the 1980’s such as the fact that the ERA expired in 1982. Sandra Day  O’Connor became the first woman justice of the Supreme Court in 1981. Sally Ride became the first woman in space in 1983. In 1984 Geraldine Ferraro was the first woman nominated for the office of vice president. President Ronald Reagan made it known that a teacher would be selected as the first private US citizen in space. This idea was called the Teacher in Space Program and on July 19, 1985 a high school teacher named Christa McAuliffe was selected to participate in this program. Unfortunately the joy of this accomplishment was short lived. On January 28, 1986 when the space shuttle Challenger took off it exploded 73 seconds into its journey killing everyone on it. In 1986 over half of college graduates are women. For most working women during the 1980’s there is the harsh realization that although they have made advancements in their respective fields; their advancements can only go so far before they hit the â€Å"glass ceiling†. It is obvious that the 1980’s had some large gains for women in society, but it also had some downfalls as well. The 1990’s saw great changes for women as they learned that they could be appointed to higher roles in the government. Madeleine Albright was appointed Secretary of State, Janet Reno became the United States Attorney General, Sheila Widnall became Secretary of the Air Force, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg became the second woman appointed to the Supreme Court. Women saw a boost in their sense of self-worth as several women including Anita Hill came forward to testify about the fact that they had been sexually harassed by Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas. The fact that this case was put in the public eye showed women that they did not have to put up with sexual harassment, and gave many women the courage to stand up for themselves. In 1991 the Glass Ceiling Commission was created in order to ensure that women who are qualified for a job are not blocked from advancements. In 1993 emphasis is put on women in the work place as the first annual Take Our Daughters to Work Day is held. The Violence Against Women Act was established in 1994. This act made a priority out of investigating and prosecuting violent crimes against women. In 1997 General Claudia Kennedy became the first female three star general, and the WNBA is created. By 1999 some 60% of women work outside the home (Women of the Century, 2012). At this point it is obvious that there has been a huge shift in the way  Americans view women’s role in society. The role of women has changed drastically since 1865. There is even a drastic change in the way women are treated and viewed in just the last 50 years. The modern woman of the 21st century has moved out of the kitchen and into the workplace. Her focus has shifted from that of housekeeping and child bearing to that of education and career. â€Å"In the past, college was viewed by many as a place for women to find a husband or get their Mrs. Moving past that mentality has resulted in an increasingly large number of female college graduates, all coming from a variety of backgrounds (Sarna, M., 2004, para. 3). The education of women has gone from teaching them how to be the perfect wife and mother to giving them the opportunity to study anything they want including areas that were considered for men. Women are choosing to climb the corporate ladder rather than start a family. They are remaining single longer and waiting to have kids until their careers are solid. Women of today are living a completely different life than any of the women that have come before them. They have access to better education, careers, and are actually living longer than women in 1865. There are still people that maintain the idea that women should be barefoot and pregnant cooking for their husband, but that is not the thought of the majority. There is still progress to be made which is why the role of women is ever evolving. Women have faced many struggles, but they have been able to overcome those struggles and are no longer trapped in the domestic sphere of women in the past. References Bowles, M. (2011). A history of the United States since 1865. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education. Diane, D. (March 11, 2011). American History of Women in the 1990s. Retrieved from http://www.infobarrel.com/American_History_of_Women_in_the_1990s Evans, S. (2012). Women’s Liberation Movement. Retrieved from http://www.ourvoiceourcountry.org/research/womens-liberation-movement.aspx Hartman, D.W., (n.d.). Women’s Roles in the Late 19th Century. Conner Prairie Interactive History Park. Retrieved from http://www.connerprairie.org/Learn-And-Do/Indiana-History/America-1860-1900/Lives-Of-Women.aspx Holt, J. (nd). The Ideal Woman. Retrieved from http://www.csustan.edu/honors/documents/journals/soundings/Holt.pdf National Organization for Women Statement Purpose. (1966). Retrieved from http://history.hanover.edu/courses/excerpts/111now.html Partners in Winning the War: American Women in World War II. (2007). National Women’s History Museum. Retrieved from http://www.nwhm.org/online-exhibits/partners/10.html Pioneer Women: How the West was Really Won, (March 26, 2010), Friends of Homestead National Monument of America. Retrieved from http://homesteadcongress.blogspot.com/2010/03/pioneer-women-how-west-was-really won.html Radek, K. M. (2001). Women in the Twentieth Century and Beyond. Women in Literature. Retrieved from http://www2.ivcc.edu/gen2002/twentieth_century.htm Reforming Their World: Women in the Progressive Era. (2007). National Women’s History Museum. Retrieved from http://www.nwhm.org/online-exhibits/progressiveera/suffrage.html Sarna, M. (January 13, 2004). Women Role-ing Into 21st Century: Womens Lifestyles Now Focus on Education, Jobs. Retrieved from http://www.palyvoice.com/node/13742 Stathopoulos, V. (2012). Christa McAuliffe. Retrieved from http://www.aerospaceguide.net/women_in_space/christa_mcauliffe.html The Seneca Falls Convention. (n.d.). National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved from http://www.npg.si.edu/col/seneca/senfalls1.htm Ware, S. (nd.). Women and the Great Depression. The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. Retrieved from http://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/great-depression/essays/women-and-great-depression Women Who Fought for the Vote. (2012). The History Channel website. Retrieved from

Monday, October 14, 2019

Ludwig Feuerbach The Essence Of Christianity Religion Essay

Ludwig Feuerbach The Essence Of Christianity Religion Essay Feuerbachs own introduction to the second print of his The Essence of Christianity is as good an exposà © as any of both his intentions and the content of his book. His own comments on the style of his writing are insightful both with regard to the content of the book as of the Young Hegelian movement as a whole. Forms, it seems, encapsulates the direction which Hegelian thought seem to have taken. This sense of style seems both as a device by which Feuerbach distances himself from the at times tiresome and elaborate musings of the German philosophical tradition and as a means by which to demonstrate the immediate and down-to-earth conclusion he himself has drawn from studying the Christian faith. In doing so Feuerbach claims to walk a path wholly of his own making, far removed from the obfuscation associated with Hegels work. Style, then, is as much content as it is on the surface of things. It tells us both to whom the message is addressed and the context in which it is written. F euerbach is, perhaps as a result of his awareness of the to be resolved Hegelian dichotomy between form and content, highly self-conscious of the form he is taking in addressing his audience: I have never held, surely, the scholars to be the measure of true learning and of the art of writing; not those abstract and particular academic philosophers, but universal man instead. (à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) and I have made a law of the highest level of clarity, simplicity and determinacy to the extent to which the subject matter allows it. I have done so in all my writing, including this one, in order that every educated and thinking man can at the very least understand the main point of my work.  [2]   Feuerbachs style is inherently democratic and adverse to the prevalent mandarinism of the German intelligentsia. It is a statement in and by itself. The suggestion Feuerbach is making is that this is the language of science. These are not subjective utterances of a particular individual but irrefutable truth arrived at by virtue of strict application of a thoroughly rational methodology. Feuerbachs posture is one of a levelheaded thinker who aspires to the elementary truth. A truth that is, as we shall see, not shrouded in the abstract mysteries of abstract thought, but instead claims to be commonplace. One only needs to look clearly at the world in order for the ghosts of speculative idealism to dissipate. Feuerbach is practising the art of artlessness. Many of those influenced by Feuerbach have tried to emulate this posture and it is probable that a large part of the success of The Essence of Christianity is due to it tone. Its tone must have been seductive to an ever increasing contingent of thinkers barred from having a place within the established order. The author of The Essence, so it seems, took a certain pride in his lack of social stature. After all, such rogue thinkers might well be more inclined to think outside the box, not needing to adorn their truths in order to make them acceptable to all. This pathos is certainly recognizable in our present and practically an idiom in popular culture. At the time of its publication, however, the feeling was such that The Essence had cleared new grounds. It was frequently said that The Essence had a liberating effect. It expressed double entendre implied the spirit of the age. Or at least the very least the spirit of a particular segment within the 19th century German speaking coun tries of Central Europe. A segment of society that was repressed and excluded and had now, finally, found a voice to call its own. Feuerbachs aim was to clear away the alienating representations of Christianity in order to gain an empiricism that allowed to clearly state the nature of reality. Feuerbach: (à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) weiter will meine Schrift nichts sein als eine sinngetreue ÃÅ"bersetzung bildlos ausgedrà ¼kt: eine empirisch- oder historisch-philosophische Analyse, Auflà ¶sung des Rà ¤tsels der christliche Religion.  [3]   (à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) my book wants to nothing more than a translation that is true to the senses expressed without images: an empirical- or historical-philosophical analysis, resolution of the mystery of the Christian religion.  [4]   In the above Feuerbach makes clear his intent. He wants to strip bare the Hegelian dialectic into its most elementary form and overcome an idealism that is identified as being synonimous with the teachings of Christianity. The truth attained after decomposing Christianity will be immediate, sensual, and therefore without images. These words resemble those of an iconoclast, of someone wanting to empty the faith of all idolatry that stands in the way of truth. This is feeling is enhanced by Feuerbachs insistence that the Christianity which he shall tackle is not the same today as it was at the moment of its own genesis.  [5]  The original teachings of the Christian faith by Jesus have been steadily corrupted, according to Feuerbach, by subsequent interpretations and explanations of theologists. Theology has transformed Christianity into dogmas that are contradictory and unintelligible. The Essence is an attempt to retrieve the religion of Christianity from its theology, and Feuerbach makes a clear distinction between the two. Only after going back to this moment of authenticity within the Christian faith, that is, of the original myths surrounding the teachings of Jesus, can we hope to gain a new insight as to what these myths really imply. This explicit disapproval of theology in Feuerbachs writing is, as we shall see, consistent with a particular strand of anti-intellectualism expressed in The Essence. For Feuerbach believed that he had transcended not only the limitations of religion but those of philosophy as well. The Essence is itself therefore not a work of philosophy but of anthropology. In anthropology both religion and philosophy were superseded; it provided immediate, scientific, truths about human nature. By emphasizing that he was practicing another form of enquiry altogether Feuerbach tried to make more dramatic his break with both Christianity and the excesses of speculative philosophy as done by Hegel. Anthropology was believed to provide concrete results that could be empirically verified by basic human understanding, doing so in a commonsense language untainted by jargon. Anthropology dealt with humanity in general and had as a field of study, according to Feuerbach, something concrete and real. For humanity was undeniable since we ourselves were human. Feuerbach abhorred the tendency of idealist thought to reduce everything to the consciousness of the single mind. This, he thought, was an absurdity since much of what one calls ones own can be seen to be embodied by other human beings as well.  [6]  The human body was as a source of non-intellectual understanding, or feeling, shared by all members of the species.  [7]   So too was (historic) human culture a field for the creation of collective meaning by which those unalienable qualities of the human race could be represented. Feuerbach remained a Hegelian in seeing historical development of human culture in connection with the development of human consciousness. He too believed that the ideas and truths developed and represented in culture would, given time, be embodied by human consciousness. Feuerbach diverted from Hegel in seeing this development in terms of mans understanding of himself as member of a species. This understanding was expressed in highly naturalistic and empirical terms. With regard to Strauss, Feuerbach said not to be interested in the question of whether Jesus Christ had truly existed or not. Nor would Feuerbach critically interpret theology, a field in which he had no interest other than a feeling of disdain. What was of interest was the instantly recognizable myth told by the Biblical story of humanities redemption through Christ. This was the core around which the webs of mystification were spun. Just as the life and death of Christ was key in Hegels understanding of the Christian faith in being his philosophys other. So too was redemption, according to Feuerbach, the single most important event which had taken place in human history. Feuerbachs task was to take this myth and explain it in atheistic, anthropological, terms which directly reflected the hope and aspirations of humanity at large. This was not, however, to reduce or criticize the essence of faith. Rather, this methodology exhibited in The Essence was to scientifically explain the myth central to Christianity. In the understanding of the dialectic this meant that the content of the Bible, which was still marred by an excessive dependence on representation, could be brought on a higher plain of immediate understanding. In other words, although Christianity contained a truth, this truth was itself marred by Christianity. Christianity was in contradiction with itself, a contradiction that had to be resolved by its being superseded by anthropology. Feuerbach says of this: Ich (à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) lasse die Religion sich selbst aussprechen; ich mache nur ihren Zuhà ¶rer und Dolmetscher, nicht ehren Souffleur.  [8]   I (à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) let religion speak for it self; I am merely its audience and translator, not its critic.  [9]   Feuerbach, like Hegel, sees Christianity as a mirror of human consciousness. The qualities ascribed to Christianity are, in truth, the qualities of the human mind at a given time. Throughout The Essence the claim is repeated that faith is but an alienated manifestation of the self-as-species. The consciousness of God is the self-consciousness of mankind, the knowledge of God is the understanding of mankind. Religion is the first attempt towards self-consciousness. Yet it is in itself flawed; it remains an indirect self-consciousness through the manifestations of religion. Feuerbach writes in a sentence that could have been made by Hegel himself; Der Mensch verlegt sein Wesen zuerst außer sich, ehe er es in sich findet.  [10]   At first man misplaces his essence outside himself, before finding it within himself.  [11]   Everything that is to be found in religion can be found in actual human consciousness itself. Religion is constituted by reverence for alienated qualities of the self. Despite all its grandeur, religion has no content that is particular to its self. Religion is alienation itself and therefore made up around nothingness. This also explain the vague, indistinct, character of the omnipotent Christian God. God is said to embody all virtues of man, yet none in particular. God is everywhere, yet nowhere in particular. God knows everything, because he knows nothing in particular. According to Feuerbach the very notion of God is itself void: (à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) weil alle Dinge, die der Vernunft imponieren, vor der Religion verschwinden, ihre Individualità ¤t verlieren, im Auge der gà ¶ttlichen Macht nichts sind. Die Nacht is die Mutter der Religion.  [12]   (à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) because all things, that are impressive to the mind, vanish before religion, lose their individuality, are nothing in the eyes of God. The night is the mother of religion.  [13]   Religion is itself the very movement by which man loses his own essence. That which enriches our conception of God makes our understanding of ourselves all the more poorer.  [14]  The two are directly related in that what benefits one deprecates the other. In the mirror house of representation that is religion, a strange shift has occurred the puts the world upside-down. God, the representation, has replace man as representans, that is, as the very source from which the representation was brought forth. Der Mensch dies ist das Geheimnis der Religion vergegenstà ¤ndlicht sein Wesen und macht dann wieder sich zum Gegenstand dieses vergegenstà ¤ndlichten, in ein Subjekt, eine Person verwandelten Wesens; er denkt sich, ist sich Gegenstand, aber als Gegenstand eines Gegenstands, eines andern Wesens. So hier. Der Mensch ist ein Gegenstand Gottes.  [15]   Man this is the secret of religion objectifies his being and then again transforms himself into an object in relation to his own objectification, into a subject, a essence changed into a person; he thinks himself, is object to himself, but as object to an object, another being. There you have it. Man is an object of God.  [16]   As was hinted at in the above, however, Christianity carries within itself a contradiction. According to Feuerbach this contradiction means the end of Christianity itself and has to do with the notion of love. Love was crucial in the story of redemption. In this Biblical narrative man is redeemed in the eyes of God through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Jesus had died for our sins in the name of mankind in an act of love and so had brought us into union with God. A harmony had been restored. A new holy light shone upon mankind in which all men were henceforth assured of the love of God. Feuerbach that this was the message and myth central to Christianity; a myth that was still clearly visible after ages of theological corruption. But Feuerbach believed that love did not unify mankind but, instead, divided it into those having Gods grace and those lacking it. The notion of love, central to Christianity, narrowed the conception of who was man and who was not. In practice love had gained a negative meaning; it served to denote the faithful from the heathen.  [17]  Love, then, determined who was to be fought and annihilated. Im Glauben liegt ein bà ¶ses Prinzip, that is, in faith there rests an evil principle.  [18]  Love is, according to Feuerbach, an completely natural and distinctly human instinct. Love is one of the most compassionate, benign, qualities of man. Love serves to bridge the gap between subject and subject; it is by virtue of itself inter-personal. Yet Christianity had managed to pervert love and make it not into a unifying notion, but a dividing one. Christian love, then, furthered particularity and subjectiveness, preventing a higher dialectical union in universal objectivity. Feuerbach had granted love a moral dimension. To love mankind is a moral type of love, to love a single individual is a personal, subjective love.  [19]  The former unifies, the latter divides. For to love a single person is to excluse others from your love. Only universal love of man-as-species is moral. Since love of God is love that is particular it shows itself to be immoral. The love of God deprives mankind from the love of both other human beings and himself as a member of mankind. Christian love is therefore intricately connected not only with the image of those who do not receive it and are the enemy but also with the notion of self-hate. To love God is to alienate that which make you human and thus reduce oneself to something underserving of that very love. This is why the concept of sin in a post-Christian era would not make any sense. Sin exists by virtue of God, a God whom we have granted our most valuable and essential qualities. We are sinfull because we have alienated our essence unto God. To deny God is to reclaim those qualities. Since I cannot be in contradiction with myself, there is not higher authority, I cannot live in sin.  [20]   Christianity is essentailly intolerant and adverse to any true understanding of love. It denies that which it claims is its essence. Christianity, then, in the end, denies itself. This is what Feuerbach meant with the idea that to let Christainity speak for it self is to end it. It is a negativity that negates itself. Love has to be made universal. We should not say, as Feuerbach would have it, God is love, but Love is god.  [21]  God is our own universal nature that we have alienated through religion. Love is synonimous with universality itself. Feuerbach: Die wahre Liebe ist sich selbst genug; sie bedarf keiner besondern Titel, keiner Autorità ¤t. Die Liebe ist das universale Gesetz der Intelligenz und Natur sie ist nichts andres als die Verwirklichung der Einheit der Gattung auf dem Wege der Gesinnung.  [22]   True love is enough by virtue of itself; it needs not special titel, no authority. Love is the universal law of intelligence and nature it is nothing else but the realization of the unity of the species on the road of natural inclination.  [23]   Love is only free when it is universal, unrestrained by particularity. Only then can it serve as the means by which man recognizes himself-as-species. The notion of species is not a cold intellectual thought; the very energy of love, our most human of inclinations, is that which constitues our species-being.  [24]  The historical figure Jesus Christ is therefore nothing else but our species-being represented in a singular image. Since we are all human, and therefore part of humanity, so too are all of us Christ.  [25]   (The emperorss new clothes by Hans Christian Andersson as a metaphor for Stirners Ego and Its own; The Emperor (Feuerbach) is not wearing any clothes!)