Discussion prompt Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Discussion prompt - Essay Example When I previously thought of Vodou, of course the dolls came into my mind first. I thought of practitioners of Vodou were like witch doctors. I thought of it more as a witchcraft type of religion. I can presume that my opinion of this religion was based only on what I had learned from the media, primarily in movies. I had stereotyped the religion and thought of it as a practice with male hierarchy who worked in the Bayou in Louisiana. That is simply not the case with Mama Lola as a priestess of Vodou. She is everything that is good and is very welcoming to the people who need help. Mama Lola is actually one of the most well-known priestesses in Vodou. She learns from the spirit what people’s problems are. Anyone can come to her regardless of their own religion, status, class, ethnicity or some other classification. She teaches more about Vodou to others and she is strong in her belief system. She simply wants to help others based on what she has learned from the philosophies of the religion of Vodou and the worship of the spirits. Much of Vodou is practiced through various traditions such as songs and chants. It is not through the use of Vodou dolls. Mama Lola introduces the humanism and spiritualism that are intertwined within the practice of her religion. Any theology about Vodou that I previously assumed was void. Her religion is a lifestyle and it her entire life encompasses the belief. Vodou actually encompasses more than what meets the eye as well. As long as she has a faith in what she is doing and is able to practice and help others, she is doing what she truly believes she was put on this earth to do. That is what I believe religion actually is now. I think it is finding a way to discover a meaning to life and making it count for something. We may never know our purpose here on earth but through religion, we can look at the bigger picture. No one way could be the right way but as long as we have some

Food Chemistry Options Report Essay Example for Free

Food Chemistry Options Report Essay Food Chemistry What is food chemistry? Food chemistry is the application of the actual science that goes into the production, development, and actual creation of the foods we frequently consume. In reality, much more thought as well as actual science goes into the food production and consumption that we as a society divulge in so regularly. It is up to the food chemists to design the most efficient and fastest way to make and preserve both the appeal as well as the nutrition of the food. With that being said, not only must the food meet the standards of the consumers, but the chemistry behind it must also be in line with the guidelines set up by organizations such as the FDA. Perhaps the most important factor when looking into a food is its chemical composition. For example, typical lipids include phospholipids, sterols, and vitamin D which because of their structures remain soluble in organic solvents but insoluble in water. A common lipid makeup of a fatty food contains an intricate mixture of many different molecules. A large part of these lipid makeups are usually a good amount of triacylglycercols which are literally the esters of three fatty acids bonded to a glycerol molecule. Variation in fatty foods are then caused by differences in chain length, degree of unsaturation, and position on the glycerol molecule(ACS). Another prominent factor when considering the different types of fats is that the unique profile of lipids present determines the exact nutritional as well as physiochemical properties. As the discussion of food fat and oils continues, it is important to distinguish that the difference between the two is that a â€Å"fat† is a lipid that is solid at room temperature whereas an â€Å"oil† is a lipid that is liquid at that same temperature. Along with lipids, carbohydrates also have a very different chemical structure that contributes to their unique qualities. Carbohydrates exist in combinations of carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen which really shows how simple the base structure of a carbohydrate is. In the presence of animals, carbohydrates can be seen as starches whereas in plants they are most commonly noticed as cellulose. Carbohydrates can be most commonly identified in their base state as simple sugars but they can quickly combine to form complex structures as more of the simple sugars combine. A common structure for a simple sugar or monosaccharide is a carbon chain ending with a carbonyl group that also has hydroxyl groups spread out over the molecule. The main difference from some simple sugars to others is the specific orientation of the hydroxyl groups around the simple sugar chain. As the talk of lipids goes more into depth, it is important to distinguish between the different types of fat and in this case the differences between saturated and unsaturated fats. It has long been common knowledge that unsaturated fat is better for you and that saturated fat is just horrible for you but it has never really been explained at all. However, when examining into the actual chemical effects that these two fats can have, it becomes much easier to see why one would be considered so much healthier over the other. As the chemical structure of saturated fats are examined it can be seen that since the molecule is so concentrated with hydrogen atoms, there is no double bonds contained between the atoms. These saturated fats have been known to raise cholesterol levels because of the more dense fat that must be consumed. When the structures of unsaturated fats are looked at, it can be seen that there is a huge difference between its chemical structure and that of the saturated fat. This difference is shown by the presence of double bonds between some of the atoms. This presence of double bonds then shows that the atom has a much less concentrated state in comparison to the saturated fats which also explains why it remains at a liquid at room temperature instead of a more dense solid. As a result, these unsaturated fats take much less of an effort by the body to consume since they are less dense which is really what helps them in being considered so much healthier. Shelf life, the length of time a product can be stored without becoming unsuitable for use or consumption(Gyesley S. . There are many factors that go into the preserved shelf life of foods and many of which that have to do with the actual chemical composition of the food in question. These factors include the foods exposure to light, heat, water content, as well as exposures of the food to air in general which can lead to slow but actual chemical changes over time. The main problem associated with the exposure of light onto foods is how strong the affect of light can manage to be. Too much light will cause a loss in the presence of vitamins as well as the overall appearance since the excess of light can lead to a much faster deterioration of the food. There can really be a problem with the amount of water content in packaged foods today too, as that can affect the rate at which that food undergoes chemical changes however if the food comes dry and then begins to pick up moisture it can drastically change the rate at which microbial spoilage will take place. These chemical changes in the food is really what leads to the sharp decline in shelf life as well as the quality of the food and it is influenced in a very strong way by the temperature at which the food is stored. A gallon of milk left out at room temperature spawns microbial growth much faster than one that is left in the refrigerator. It is important to realize how important the preservation of food becomes after reading about how easily food can spoil. The first of these is one of the most obvious that involves storing dairy products at low temperatures which usually encompasses using a refrigerator. There are also some techniques that change the packaging such as many foods these days that are packaged in reduced oxygen. The growth of the traditional spoilage organisms can be prevented by the application of this new method at a higher rate than ever before. The use of these new packaging techniques really differs from the past when one of the most common forms of preservation in meats was to salt them very heavily. As that is now still an option, it is used way less often because of how unhealthy that has become to be considered by our society today. What is sometimes simply overlooked in foods is the appearance by which they come. Foods have color because of their ability to reflect and absorb the different wavelengths of visible light. When considering where these colors actually come from the answer usually involves one of the natural pigments of either anthocyanins or carotenoids. Anthocyanins are more commonly known to be present among plants. The colors they produce range from pink, red, and purple to blue. Carotenoids are considered to be more of a general igment as they are virtually found everywhere. These colors involve red, orange, and yellow which are typically most seen through nature. As to the presence of Anthocyanins in plants, it is important to realize that along with it comes the commonly known natural pigment of chlorophyll that is typically found in any plant that shows green. As the conversation onto the appearance of food continues, another aspect of food that would have to be considered is the texture of f oods. In liquids, one of the most common ways that is used to change texture or the look is through the process of emulsion. This involves combining two liquids that would normally be insoluble to each other by means of adding one to the other drop by drop. This process of emulsion can really be sped up by the addition of an emulsifying agent as well which allows for the two liquids to combine faster. When the actual term of â€Å"emulsifier† is used, this just describes the actual substance that allows small droplets of one liquid to become suspended into the other. In conclusion, food chemistry involves a large amount of organic and chemical structure knowledge in order to maintain and improve upon the food production and processing techniques that are already out there. Much more thought is often put into food chemistry then most people would think which shows why it is often not known or understood by the common person. However, as food development and preservation becomes even more prominent in our society today, common food chemistry knowledge should become more well known.

Under Pricing of Initial Public Offerings

Under Pricing of Initial Public Offerings Investopedia.com defines initial public offering as the first sale of stock by a private company to the public. IPOs are often issued by smaller, younger companies seeking the capital to expand, but can also be done by large privately owned companies looking to become publicly traded. In an IPO, the issuer obtains the assistance of an underwriting firm, which helps it determine what type of security to issue (common or preferred), the best offering price and the time to bring it to market.  [1]   IPO INITIATION AND THE PHASES OF IPO TRANSFORMATION: Any IPO goes through the following stages of transformation: The pre-IPO transformation phase can be considered to be a restructuring phase where a company starts the groundwork toward becoming a publicly-traded company. Furthermore, companies should re-examine their organizational processes and policies and make necessary changes to enhance the companys corporate governance and transparency. Most importantly, the company needs to develop an effective growth and business strategy that can persuade potential investors the company is profitable and can become even more profitable. On average, this phase usually takes around two years to complete. The IPO transaction phase usually takes place right before the shares are sold and involves achieving goals that would enhance the optimal initial valuation of the firm. The key issue with this step is to maximize investor confidence and credibility to ensure that the issue will be successful. The intent of these actions is to prove to potential investors that the company is willing to spend a little extra in order to have the IPO handled promptly and correctly. The post-IPO transaction phase involves the execution of the promises and business strategies the company committed to in the preceding stages. The companies should not strive to meet expectations, but rather, beat their expectations  [2]   The marketing process of going public is marked by what is called road show.  road shows involving Issuers and key managers of the company to potential investors via presentations in major cities and face to face with the target investors (Ritter, 1998).  These presentations focus on business operations, products and services, and management.  The visit aims to assess the expected demand for the shares of the company and serves as a key input in the final determination of the initial price of the shares At the end of the road shows, and just prior to the actual first day of trading (usually days before opening day), directors and underwriters will determine the initial offering price.  This is quite important because once the price is determined there is no scope of increasing it even if there is high demand for it. This is how stocks become underpriced. By the close of the first trading day a huge difference can be seen between the actual price and listed price. The concept of under-pricing is dealt with more detail in the following section. THE CONCEPT OF UNDERPRICING Under-pricing is the difference between the initial offered price of the stock and the price at the closing of the first day of trading (Ibbotson, 1975, Ibbotson, Sindelar and Ritter, 1988 Ritter, 1998). This undervaluation is not unusual for companies to commit.   To illustrate, suppose the initial price of a firm issuing 1 million share is $100/share. This would result in a capital of $100 million for the company when all the shares are sold. Now suppose towards the closing of the day, the share is traded at $150. This would mean that the share was underpriced by 50%. This results in an available profit of $50 million for the initial investors. This phenomenon is seen universally across developed and developing countries. This trend of under-pricing can be seen as going against the concept of market efficiency and may cause distress to firms trying to collect capital for expansion. In this regard much research has been done and much literature has also been written. The theory of efficient markets suggests that the price of newly issued shares will quickly adapt to all relevant available information in the market (Fama, 1970) reflect.  However the constant undervaluation has raised questions about what happens when companies go public.  The decision to go public is one of the largest in corporate finance.  Even developed economies like the US, a number of large companies are not public. This shows that going public is not mandatory for a company but it is a choice. However there is a clear disparity between companies choosing to use the stock market and the companies that do not.  A company basically goes public to either diversify their portfolios or to raise capital to invest in future projects. Some other reasons why a company might opt for going public include overcoming debt, change of controls and to enhance opportunity. WHY ARE IPOs UNDERPRICED A LITERATURE REVIEW There are direct and indirect which are borne by the company when an IPO is issued. The indirect cost is the cost associated with information provision to the stock market and the direct costs are the numerous costs which are associated with fees and charges such as the underwriting fees, legal fees and auditing fees etc. However the most important among these and probably which affects the stock price once it is issued is the dilution associated once the shares start to change hands in the public. Often IPOs are found to be underpriced due to this dilution costs. Moreover the IPOs are often subject to the practice of book building. Book building refers to the process of generating, capturing, and recording investor demand for shares during an IPO (or other securities during their issuance process) in order to support efficient price discovery.  [3]  In the event of an issue going public, the issuer always fixes a price band and allows the investor to quote a price within this price band. The upper limit of this price band is the maximum possible price to be paid for the IPO and hence there is a chance that the issue becomes underpriced in case there is excessive demand for the stock. In this the valuation of the stock often reaches an estimate before the stock transacts in the market. As such there is a chance that the stocks get oversubscribed. A peculiar trend can be seen in case of IPOs. The returns are quite high in the initial period. But over a short period of time this return is normalized or completely minimized and the stock star ts to trade at a value close to its actual issue price. Therefore it may be wrong to assume that the stock is actually underpriced at the time of issue. Several factors can affect its high return which can include a bullish market also. Rock (1986) and Baron (1982) explained this under-pricing through their models. Baron assumed that investment bankers /underwriters possess more information on the demand of the security than the issuer. The issuer has to compensate the underwriter for this superior information set. Rock assumed that there are two groups of investors in the IPO market which are categorized as the informed investor and the uninformed investors. Systematic under-pricing is needed so that the uninformed buyers can earn a normal expected return The price formation process for IPOs may be susceptible to the existence of significant conditional price trends in the short-run aftermarket for several reasons: First the market takes time to adjust to the amount of analysis done on the announced issues and this time can extend over several months. There is a great deal of skepticism around the IPOs because of the scarcity of public information available at the time of initial offering. Thus their true value seems highly uncertain to the public. The initial return of the stock is actually the first reaction of the people and goes on to show how the people assess the stock against the initial offering. Second, the first market price may fail to reflect fully all available information because of the potentially fragmented market for IPOs. The issue size of IPOs is typically small and the underwriters, often facing excess demand, ration new issues to their regular clients, who constitute a small subset of potential investors. Initial trading in the aftermarket serves to disseminate information about the value of IPOs to other investors. While initial upward price movement of underpriced IPOs spreads favorable information, the available supply of shares is restricted because underwriters typically discourage initial subscribers from selling their allotments in the aftermarket. Investors who were unable to obtain their full subscriptions at the offering may seek to buy shares in the aftermarket, resulting in a sequence of daily positive returns. In the case of an overpriced issue, the first market price fails to reflect the available information because of price stabilization by the un derwriting syndicate. The under-pricing can be explained with the help of many hypotheses. These are discussed below: The Risk-Averse-Underwriter hypothesis: In order to mitigate the risks and costs of underwriting the underwriters usually knowingly undervalue the stocks. However the investment bankers readily do their homework and they have a fair idea of the actual value of the stock. Therefore this hypothesis only seems meaningful when there is a scope of book building and not when there is a case of fixed price offerings. Since both book building issues and seasoned equity offerings were historically underpriced, one cannot say that the main motive of under-pricing were the investment bankers desire to averse risk. The Monopsony-Power Hypothesis (Ritter, 1984): The investment banker enjoys monopsony power while analyzing common stocks of small firms. They then ration these to the most influential customers who have maintained good relations in the past. Further reasoning by different analyst suggested that this under pricing can also be targeted at earning excess income in the form of commission and fees. (Ritter, 1984) suggested that the gross under pricing might be result of the monopsony power of the investment bankers in underwriting common stocks of small speculative firms. According to Ritter, the investment bankers intentionally under price the securities and ration them to their large customers who regularly buy a variety of investment services from them. The Speculative-Bubble hypothesis: This hypothesis says that one of the reasons for stock price to boom is due to those investors who could not grab a share during the IPO (because of oversubscribing) and those who speculate that the prices of these stocks will rise in the future. This was typical during the IT boom period. The point to wonder is what determines the true value of the stock. The true valuation and the quality of the IPO can be analyzed by the following: Retained Equity Since firms can determine how much equity they will give out at the time of initial public offering. Since this figure can be obtained in advance therefore it serves as the most relevant and the most researched. Since the pre-IPO ownership of firm is determined and very unlikely to change, this becomes an extremely difficult signal to imitate. It must be noted that any change in such information prior to the IPO can dampen the enthusiasm of the investors and might have significant impact on the value of the stock. Underwriter prestige The market value can be significantly changed due to the prestige attached with the underwriter. Those investment bankers who have a good reputation in the market will signal less uncertainty about the performance and offer value of the IPO. The valuations done by these investment bankers will be considered with less speculation But even in the face of a prestigious investment banker doing the valuation, there is significant chance of under-pricing. These underwriters play with two key constituents in the IPO process. The underwriters representing the firm forms the first and the client base for whom the securities are marketed. The first constituent is the firm whose securities the underwriters represent. The second is the client base to whom the underwriters market the IPO securities. Auditor Reputation The price of the IPO can also be influenced by the auditor reputation. The auditors who are deemed as high quality will be judged with very less speculation and the investors will fairly accept the value of IPO set forth. If the auditor fails to reveal potential negative firm information, then the reputation of these high quality auditors may suffer. In some cases shareholders can also file a lawsuit. Number of Risk Factors The prospectus revealed by the issuer also details the risk factors pertaining to the company. The purpose for this is to let the investors assess the fair value of the IPO and the possible opportunity that might exist in investing in this IPO. Firms with more risk factors can be associated with higher uncertainty. Firms with greater numbers of risk factors are associated with higher uncertainty. Firm Size Larger firm size often has greater resources and more opportunity to survive in extreme situations. Thus the firm size also motivates the price of the IPO. Several studies found that there is a negative correlation between underpricing and firm size. This is consistent with the relation between large firm size and more stability. Thus potential investors trust the IPO price to be close to its fair value when large firms are at stake. Moreover the larger firms also are associated with more prestigious underwriters. Firm Age The more the age of the firm will act as a protection from the risk and this is used in valuing the price of the IPO. This is because the younger firms have less number of published financial data and hence the valuations done for these firms are often subject to uncertainty. Moreover these firms are also not analyzed by financial analyst. Firm age and performance are often related. Offer Price One of the responsibilities of the lead investment bank is to assess the pre market demand for its clients prospective IPO in an effort to set a reasonable price. Thus this initial price might also instigate some amount of under-pricing. Also it has to be known that a very modest price will signal less demand and less value or maybe both. The initial price of an IPO offering may also have value as an indicator of underpricing. In the early stages of an IPO, the lead investment bank is responsible for assessing the premarket demand for its clients prospective IPO in an effort to set the offer price. Presumably, a very modest offer price will signal little demand, little value, or both

Jane Eyre :: Literature Books Papers

Jane Eyre Social class distinction is very evident in Victorian England. This distinction is found not only in society, but also within the Anglican Church and its clergy. In Jane Eyre we are introduced to three Anglican ministers who represent different social classes. They are Jane Eyre’s father; the Reverend Brocklehurst, the administrator of Lowood Institution; and Reverend St. John Rivers, the curate of a small country parish at Morton and owner of Moor House. Comparing the way these clergyman are viewed by society establishes the adherence to the same social class structure within the church as is evident outside the church. Contrasting clergy from the same religious sect shows that class status was also reflected in some methods of practicing the Anglican faith. The first clergyman introduced in the novel is Jane’s father. We learn of him as Jane does, through a third person. Jane hears a servant, Miss Abbott, discussing Jane’s lineage with another servant, Bessie. Jane hears Miss Abbott say about her father: " My father had been a poor clergyman, my mother had married him against the wishes of her friends, who considered the match beneath her; my grandfather Reed was so irritated at her disobedience he cut her off without a shilling" (37; ch. 3). Young girls, especially of the upper class, were supposed to follow their parent’s wishes in regards to whom they should marry. In choosing a clergyman from a lower social class, Mrs. Eyre sacrifices her social standing as well as her family’s care and support. The fact that Jane’s mother was banished for her marriage reflects the disdain felt by the upper class for marrying beneath their class. Jane knows from her treatment by the Reeds that she is a poor relation. John Reed emphasizes this when he tells Jane "You have no business to take our books; you are a dependent, mama says; you have no money; your father left you none; you ought to beg, and not live hear with gentleman’s children like us" (23; ch. 1). The fact that Jane’s father left her no inheritance was a reflection of his position as a clergyman. Indeed if her parents had lived she still would have been poor. In Alan Haig's The Victorian Church, we learn of the wages paid to the clergy. The text states that "The income earned by the clergy are so scanty as to likely to straiten a married man " (qtd. Jane Eyre :: Literature Books Papers Jane Eyre Social class distinction is very evident in Victorian England. This distinction is found not only in society, but also within the Anglican Church and its clergy. In Jane Eyre we are introduced to three Anglican ministers who represent different social classes. They are Jane Eyre’s father; the Reverend Brocklehurst, the administrator of Lowood Institution; and Reverend St. John Rivers, the curate of a small country parish at Morton and owner of Moor House. Comparing the way these clergyman are viewed by society establishes the adherence to the same social class structure within the church as is evident outside the church. Contrasting clergy from the same religious sect shows that class status was also reflected in some methods of practicing the Anglican faith. The first clergyman introduced in the novel is Jane’s father. We learn of him as Jane does, through a third person. Jane hears a servant, Miss Abbott, discussing Jane’s lineage with another servant, Bessie. Jane hears Miss Abbott say about her father: " My father had been a poor clergyman, my mother had married him against the wishes of her friends, who considered the match beneath her; my grandfather Reed was so irritated at her disobedience he cut her off without a shilling" (37; ch. 3). Young girls, especially of the upper class, were supposed to follow their parent’s wishes in regards to whom they should marry. In choosing a clergyman from a lower social class, Mrs. Eyre sacrifices her social standing as well as her family’s care and support. The fact that Jane’s mother was banished for her marriage reflects the disdain felt by the upper class for marrying beneath their class. Jane knows from her treatment by the Reeds that she is a poor relation. John Reed emphasizes this when he tells Jane "You have no business to take our books; you are a dependent, mama says; you have no money; your father left you none; you ought to beg, and not live hear with gentleman’s children like us" (23; ch. 1). The fact that Jane’s father left her no inheritance was a reflection of his position as a clergyman. Indeed if her parents had lived she still would have been poor. In Alan Haig's The Victorian Church, we learn of the wages paid to the clergy. The text states that "The income earned by the clergy are so scanty as to likely to straiten a married man " (qtd.

Art of Loving Response

In Response to The Art of Loving In The Art of Loving, Erich Fromm asks the question â€Å"is love an art? † In an effort to answer this question, he identifies, discusses, and analyzes the different objects of love. Fromm states that loving as an art means that one must love all objects, rather than only loving the â€Å"right† one (43). For this reason, the objects that he analyzes include brotherly love, motherly love, erotic love, self-love, and the love of God. When analyzing each object to explain his statement, Fromm tends to use broad generalizations about society, which do not cover all circumstances.In this essay, I will identify and address the areas where Fromm makes sweeping, inappropriate generalizations about society, as well as acknowledge his accurately fitting descriptions. The first object of love that Fromm identifies is brotherly love, defined as the love for all people as equals. Fromm feels that this is the most fundamental type of love because of its â€Å"lack of exclusiveness†. Fromm defines a brother to be equivalent to the neighbor mentioned in The Golden Rule from the Bible, which states, â€Å"love thy neighbor as thy self (44). Not all of society grew up learning The Golden Rule; therefore, this sweeping statement does not explain all relationships within society. Instead, Fromm should have said that brotherly love is based on one who respects and understands his neighbor and friend as an equal. This explanation could apply to many more relationships within society. Even though I was raised a Catholic, not all love relationships relate to those from the Bible. Any non-believers may also agree. This refutes Fromm’s statement that the brotherly love found within the Bible is fundamental for all relationships.Fromm defines motherly love as absolute and unconditional. He considers this love to be â€Å"the highest kind of love, and the most sacred of all emotional bonds† (Fromm 47). A mother loves t he growing child and wishes for his separation from her. She guides him and facilitates this separation so the child may flourish and grow on his own in the world (Fromm 48). Fromm goes further and relates the nurturing ability of a mother to God’s nurturing of man in the Biblical creation story (Fromm 46).Once again, not all of society grew up with a Biblical, Christian background. Those who are not familiar with the creation story or do not believe that God created the world fail to understand the correlation. Even though this is just one example, Fromm fails to sympathize with those people who come from a non-Christian background. The third type of love that Fromm very clearly and accurately discusses is erotic love. Erotic love is the â€Å"craving for complete fusion† with another person.This illusive type of love becomes easily confused with the act of â€Å"falling† in love, except it includes an act of will and physical attraction (Fromm 49). Frommâ€⠄¢s description accurately addresses the ideas that erotic love can be easily dissolved since it is based solely on attraction. I agree that true love includes more than pure physical attraction; it involves a decision, a judgment, and a promise as well as an attraction. I really appreciate Fromm’s statement that love is not just a feeling. Feelings can come and go and there is no way to promise a feeling for forever.This hints to the reason for a decision and a judgment along with the promise in marriage. This is true and evident in our society because marriages normally do not last unless there is another attraction between those in the couple besides a physical one. The next topic the Fromm discusses is self-love, which provides the idea that one must love themselves before one can love others. As Fromm states it: The affirmation of one’s own life, happiness, growth, freedom is rooted in one’s capacity to love, i. e. , in care, respect, responsibility, and kn owledge.If an individual is able to love productively, he loves himself too; if he can love only others, he cannot love at all. (55-56) He makes a point to mention that self-love and selfishness are counterparts, in that self-love creates happiness and selfishness only leads to frustration. Fromm notes that selfishness originates from the hatred of oneself and, in return, that person wants everything in the world (56). I agree with Fromm’s description that self-love is the first step in loving others, however, I disagree that selfishness is the complete opposite of self-love.Selfishness, rather, is the result of loving oneself too much to the extent that one thinks they deserve everything in the world; everything is to their disposal and no one else’s. Fromm fails to address this extreme, yet he does a justifiably sufficient job at explaining the importance of self-love. Self-love sets the basis for all relationships because it is difficult to love another person witho ut loving oneself first. The last object of love that Fromm discusses for the longest extent is the love of God.He states that there is no way of â€Å"loving† God, but rather believing in a â€Å"unity† with Him. God is a symbol of justice, love, and truth instead of an actual being (Fromm 72). Therefore, those who love God have faith in an ultimate unity (Fromm 73). Having grown up in a Catholic school, I agree with Erich Fromm’s analysis. God is not a being and the only way to discuss the reality of such a symbol is to discuss what He is not. God is not a father. God is not a mother. He loves similarly to both, but He isn’t a physical mother or father.Also, because He is not a being it is difficult to say that one can â€Å"love† Him. Therefore, believing in God is the same as loving God; however, there are different maturity levels to which one â€Å"loves† God. As one grows older and learns more about God, one may become closer to Him. This â€Å"growing closer† and â€Å"maturity† correlates to the strength of one’s belief and trust in Him. I can relate to this section since I am a raised Catholic, however, an atheist or non-Christian may not understand why this section is necessary for Fromm to discuss in order to answer his original question.Atheists, for example, do not have a being or god to love or believe in. In The Art of Loving, Erich Fromm raises the question, â€Å"is love an art? † To answer his question, Fromm identifies and analyzes the objects of love from erotic love to the love of God. In this response, I identified the areas where Fromm includes broad generalizations about society and acknowledged his appropriate analyses about love. Works Cited: Fromm, Erich. The Art of Loving. New York: Harper & Row, 1974. Print.

How has life changed since 1800? Essay

Life as we know it today in the modern world, is significantly different to the lives that our predecessors lived during the period 1500-1800. The changes across the centuries are the result of a process of advancements over time. This essay will examine life in the period 1500-1800 as highlighted in the work of George Blainey (2000) and will compare key differences of life in this early period, against life in the modern world today. Throughout this essay, the main focus will be based on three areas which have seen significant change over this period of time: the production of food, work practices and the standard of living. The advancements in these three areas, has led to societies living very different lifestyles in the current modern times. Day to day life in the period 1500-1800 revolved around hunting, collecting and cultivating food in order to survive. Grain made up 80% of most people’s diet and was used to make bread, beer, damper or gruel and in particularly lean ti mes, was mixed with water to relieve hunger (Blainey 2000, p. 410). Bread and beer were the basis of most people’s diet. Bread was so important to everyday survival that a baker could be hanged for selling an underweight loaf of bread. Blainey (2000) describes a life where most families owned no land, or if they did, it tended to be too small to sustain their food needs. The main priority was to provide enough food to feed their small communities and everyone, including women and children had to assist in this. As highlighted by Blainey (2000), most people worked on the land and the majority of work revolved around the production of food. Successful grain harvests were imperative to survival and everybody had to work together to reap, bind, carry and store the harvest. Woman and children did much of the rural work, such as weeding, carting water, spinning fibres, brewing beer, gathering firewood and making clothes. Many men as well as unmarried woman, left their own small farms or communities to go and work on larger farms or at different trades, which often incorporated meals as part of their payment (Blainey 2000, p. 409). While these workers could be sure of not going hungry, this meant the take home wages were low. Living standards as described by Blainey (2000) were bleak. Most people lived in one roomed,  small stone houses, often with four or more sharing one bed. Homes often remained unheated due to scarcity of wood (Blainey 2000, p. 423). People were largely uneducated and knew little about healthcare. Sewerage was disposed of in the same rivers that were used to drink and wash from. These contaminated rivers were used to supply water to the growing crops. This had a huge impact on health, causing infection in around two out of every three people in rural areas (Blainey 2000, p. 415). Lack of hygiene and knowledge of healthcare led to shorter lifespans. Life today in 2014 is vastly different to the period 1500-1800 as described by Blainey (2000). Survival no longer hinges on hunting and gathering food. In fact many people today give little or no thought to food production. Instead, we drive to a supermarket and buy whatever we want to eat. We have access to many restaurants and fast food outlets, so we not only have ample food at our fingertips, we don’t even have to prepare it if we choose not to. Advancements in production and using machines in place of humans (Henslin, Possamai and Possamai-Inesedy 2011, p. 139) mean food is now farmed and produced on a much larger scale (Macionis and Plummer 2012, p. 113), this has freed people up to work in other areas. Now that people are not tied to working to produce food to survive, they have more time to get educated and learn new skills. Work in modern times has moved away from farming. Today’s society is an industrial and information based one that revolves more around accumulating wealth and material possessions (Henslin, Possamai and Possamai-Inesedy 2011, p. 140). Woman as well as men, work outside the home in many different varied jobs, and children attend school. This is immensely different to life as discussed by Blainey (2000) whereby woman and children were home working on the land while men worked tending the harvest and work all revolved around food production. Living standards in today’s world are likewise very different than the period Blainey (2000) describes. In modern societies, many people live in homes that are large, with many rooms, furnished and full of material possessions. These homes often have heating and cooling at the push of a button, along with toilets, showers, clean running water and pantries stocked with food. They have warm beds to sleep in at night and clothing to wear that they don’t have to make themselves. Amongst their many possessions, people have cars to get where there want to go and televisions to watch. There are computers and mobile  phones to keep in touch with family and friends. There are health systems and education available to many societies. It is much more common for people to own their homes in these more modern times, (Henslin, Possamai and Possamai-Inesedy p. 140) along with other possessions such as cars. In conclusion, life in modern times is very different than life was in the period 1500-1800. People from the period 1500-1800 worked to produce food to survive. People lived in poverty, ill heath was common, as was hunger. Advancements in technology have made this a thing of the past in many areas, although there are still societies where poverty does still exist. Although the world in the period 1500-1800 as described by Blainey (2000), was a great deal tougher than modern society, it was much less complicated than the world of today with all its technology. Many people live a privileged life these days, however today’s societies have lost a lot of the family closeness of working together that those in the period 1500-1800 had to have to survive. Progress will continue as the years go on, bringing with it both good and bad consequences. References Blainey, G 2000, A Short History of the World, Viking, Ringwood. Henslin, J, Possamai, A & Possamai-Inesedy, A 2011, Sociology: A down-to-earth approach, Pearson, Frenchs Forest NSW. Macionis J & Plummer, K 2012, Sociology: a global introduction, 5th edn, Pearson Prentice Hall, Harlow. Povos Indigenas no Brasil n.d., Yanomami family, digital image, viewed 22 November 2014, .