The Unredeemed Captive Essay Example for Free

The Unredeemed Captive Essay Some are born literary genius, some achieve literary genius, and some have literary success thrust upon them. As for John Demos in his book, ‘The Unredeemed Captive’ seems to be the blend of the last two categories. Through this book,   Demos takes you to the 18th Century, to explain the tension-ridden and violence-prone confrontation   between three communities (segments of a society).They are the puritan settlers of New England, the Roman-Catholic French of New France (currently parts of Canada) and the Native Americans.   It was a peculiar type of confrontation fought for several types’ self-interests. The conflicts, where religion, culture, race and territorial interests are involved. The story takes savage turns and the reading seriously affects the emotions of the readers! The contents of writing are a mixture of fact and fiction. The book has great historical significance. The mentioned communities then did not believe in peaceful negotiations to settle the ‘border disputes.’ They fought for territorial gains and the borders continued to shift and relocate. The mini-Hitlers were out to establish their moral and racial superiority. The animal tendencies in them surfaced forth and they did not hesitate to capture (kidnap) young girls belonging to the enemy camp, as war trophies, eventually for their sexual gratification.   John Demos is a Yale History Professor. His primary intentions and efforts in this book are to provide an objective analysis of the encounters between the mentioned ‘groups’. He has drawn upon the experiences of one family to achieve the objective in view. It is the John Williams family. Williams is a puritan minister. The family was captured in 1704 in their Massachusetts home by a group of Frenchmen and Native Americans. They were marched off to Canada. Of the seven members of the family his wife died en-route, Williams and four children were released later, his daughter Eunice became a convert (forced conversion?) to Catholicism to marry a Native American. Desperate attempts were made by the family for the return of Eunice to Massachusetts, but she came for short visits only to return back, till her death at the age of 95.   The stunning and heart-rending part of the story is that of Eunice. Remember, she was only 7 when she was captured—what values did her captors defend by torturing the mind of an innocent girl child? Religious principles? Cultural traditions? Racial superiority? Human values? Such persons deserve to be the offspring of the Satan. She was converted to Catholicism and married off at the age of 16, for which the perpetrators of such a crime can face severe punishment in the present times. Probably that was the age when male/female married as per the social customs prevailing then. Well, she spent the rest of her life, but what might be the thought-currents circling and torturing her mind within? Her 88 years of silent suffering is difficult for the printed pages to capture, the most sensitive and imaginative writer will not be able to probe the inner layers of her mind. If someone is able to do proper research on this mind, it can as well reveal the history of the century to which she belonged in the correct perspective.   Her life is a great example of the bitter fruits of cross-cultural bloody encounters. It is the saga of the perpetrators of the torture and those who were tortured. That God and destiny were often quoted to justify the cruel happenings shows the macabre and sadistic mind-set of the groups involved in those conflicts. It was an open exhibition of animal tendencies, by the two-legged devils   The Unredeemed Captive is a systematically researched history by John Demos. To sieve through the 300 year old data (the later 1600s) and make out a factual, historically relevant story is a skilled job. Demos has done justice to his job as the Professor of History. He knows the essentials of the history, the requirements of a research student of history. The research pages do make a slow reading, and that is no fault of the author. The narratives sections are quite fascinating. Basically, this book is written by a history man for the history people   In the present times also, people live dangerously in the border areas of a country, especially when the neighbors are unfriendly. This is the situation when civilization has made advancement and there are international laws for protection. Guess, what would have been the conditions 300 years ago, when might was right and jungle laws prevailed? John Demos describes well, with authority and proof, the dangers of living on the American frontiers in the early days of settling America, when the borders shifted constantly.   A tough subject has been chosen for the book and the area covered is vast.   One can not expect the book to make a good reading from page 1 to page 336. The first five chapters are very exciting; the flying start is the highlight of the book. The story and the incidents related to the family of John Williams are interesting and touching. The rest of the book is about facts, customs and traditions. One needs to make efforts to sustain the interest as for this portion of the book. But overall, the book is no drag.   Finally, the important points of the book: The clash of cultures of the diverse communities is well depicted. Through the personal tragedy of a family, the political story of an era has been told. The doomed role of the religion is described well. Eunice’s rejection of her own family is a mysterious psychological drama. But Demos shows the balanced approach in writing this part of the story, and does not blame exclusively any party involved in the conflicts.    References Cited: Demos, John, Book: The Unredeemed Captive. Publisher: Vintage; Reprint edition (March 28, 1995) ISBN-10: 0679759611 ISBN-13: 978-0679759614

The Removal of Eudemonism from Ethics Essay -- On the Basis of Moralit

Although Arthur Schopenhauer was never able to gain the acclaim during his lifetime of some of the rival post-Kantian philosophers he competed against despite going so far as to schedule lectures at the same time as Hegel, he is now creating more buzz than ever and is widely considered one of the most important German philosophers, as he has earned himself the nickname of â€Å"the philosopher of pessimism†.1 Most believe that he was a man before his time, as he wrote during the German classical period where Idealism was the main school of thought. Schopenhauer however went against the grain and believed the world as will to be fundamentally irrational, and held no prisoners when it came to openly criticizing his contemporaries.1 This caused him to be almost brushed aside during his own lifetime, which is made perfectly evident in how his work, On the Basis of Morality was simply turned away by The Danish Academy of Science as it did not line up with their very Kan t-centric views. Although he didn’t always agree Kant, Schopenhauer did consider himself Kant’s true philosophical heir, and was always full of praise for the man who he claimed, â€Å"gave this science (metaphysics) a foundation having definite advantages over previous ones, and because it still remains the last important event to occur in ethics† (47).2 He would use Kant’s foundation of morals as a guide to prepare himself to establish his own foundation. It would turn out that he would not be bias in Kant’s favor, but rather attack Schopenhauer would attack Kant’s ethics for being â€Å"wholly unjustified, groundless, and fictitious assumptions† (48).2 He replaces Kant’s ethics with his own ethics of compassion, or the ability some human be... ...chopenh/ 2 Schopenhauer, On the Basis of Morality, trans, by EJ.F. Payne (Indian Hills, Colorado : The Falcons Wing Press, 1958), p. 143 3 Kraut, Richard, "Aristotle's Ethics," The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2012 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = . 2 Schopenhauer, On the Basis of Morality, trans, by EJ.F. Payne (Indian Hills, Colorado : The Falcons Wing Press, 1958), p. xxiii 2 Schopenhauer, On the Basis of Morality, trans, by EJ.F. Payne (Indian Hills, Colorado : The Falcons Wing Press, 1958), p. xxiii 2 Schopenhauer, On the Basis of Morality, trans, by EJ.F. Payne (Indian Hills, Colorado : The Falcons Wing Press, 1958), p. xxiii 2 Schopenhauer, On the Basis of Morality, trans, by EJ.F. Payne (Indian Hills, Colorado : The Falcons Wing Press, 1958), p. xxiii The Removal of Eudemonism from Ethics Essay -- On the Basis of Moralit Although Arthur Schopenhauer was never able to gain the acclaim during his lifetime of some of the rival post-Kantian philosophers he competed against despite going so far as to schedule lectures at the same time as Hegel, he is now creating more buzz than ever and is widely considered one of the most important German philosophers, as he has earned himself the nickname of â€Å"the philosopher of pessimism†.1 Most believe that he was a man before his time, as he wrote during the German classical period where Idealism was the main school of thought. Schopenhauer however went against the grain and believed the world as will to be fundamentally irrational, and held no prisoners when it came to openly criticizing his contemporaries.1 This caused him to be almost brushed aside during his own lifetime, which is made perfectly evident in how his work, On the Basis of Morality was simply turned away by The Danish Academy of Science as it did not line up with their very Kan t-centric views. Although he didn’t always agree Kant, Schopenhauer did consider himself Kant’s true philosophical heir, and was always full of praise for the man who he claimed, â€Å"gave this science (metaphysics) a foundation having definite advantages over previous ones, and because it still remains the last important event to occur in ethics† (47).2 He would use Kant’s foundation of morals as a guide to prepare himself to establish his own foundation. It would turn out that he would not be bias in Kant’s favor, but rather attack Schopenhauer would attack Kant’s ethics for being â€Å"wholly unjustified, groundless, and fictitious assumptions† (48).2 He replaces Kant’s ethics with his own ethics of compassion, or the ability some human be... ...chopenh/ 2 Schopenhauer, On the Basis of Morality, trans, by EJ.F. Payne (Indian Hills, Colorado : The Falcons Wing Press, 1958), p. 143 3 Kraut, Richard, "Aristotle's Ethics," The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2012 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = . 2 Schopenhauer, On the Basis of Morality, trans, by EJ.F. Payne (Indian Hills, Colorado : The Falcons Wing Press, 1958), p. xxiii 2 Schopenhauer, On the Basis of Morality, trans, by EJ.F. Payne (Indian Hills, Colorado : The Falcons Wing Press, 1958), p. xxiii 2 Schopenhauer, On the Basis of Morality, trans, by EJ.F. Payne (Indian Hills, Colorado : The Falcons Wing Press, 1958), p. xxiii 2 Schopenhauer, On the Basis of Morality, trans, by EJ.F. Payne (Indian Hills, Colorado : The Falcons Wing Press, 1958), p. xxiii

Alliance Supermarket & Point-of-Sale (POS) Systems Essay

Introduction A universal product code (UPC) can be easily read by a laser system scanner, which then can be forecasted as a product as a point-of-sale (POS), thus then allowing for a better account of the businesses inventory. In this case, Alliance Supermarket using both these systems to be able to replenish their inventory when the system automatically detects whether a certain product item is in demand. A great plus that a Point-of-sale system can do is treat each store different, but then total their needed inventory for replenishment, then placing a one lump side order to fulfill all orders, then distributing them by stores demands. In this paper, I will help the Chief information officer (CIO), which is in charge of Alliance to see what more can be done with the information that is compiled by the POS system. There will also be a comparison between the products being picked up by the POS system, the customer, and determining what other products, the customer potentially is being persuaded to buy. In addition, looking into the customers, buying habits to analyze a pattern in the each product’s sales or weather patterns. POS System Uses & Customer Service Furthermore, now that we understand the pure functioning of the POS system, we can then identify that POS system current purpose in Alliance, and how it can be used differently introspectively speaking. In addition, when a customer buys a product at the Alliance Supermarket, the  UPC barcode is scanned through a laser system, which then updates the entire Alliance Supermarkets inventory. This allows the Alliance base their product orders through a historical pattern for record of their products that are running low, and are in need of replenishing. Now, Alliance Supermarket does not quite understand that due to its different store locations, there are customers purchasing different products per location basis. Therefore, instead of Alliance grouping all its information per product, Alliance can benefit from allocating the individuals stores product history, thus identifying different behavioral purchases for seasonal items or on purchasing habits. In the efforts of Alliance, continuing the use of using the UPC code will enable Alliance not to ever reach their minimal reorder point of product inventory, because there would be a minimal product level of inventory in place that will be tracked through historical product demand patterns. In addition, when a product gets to a minimum inventory product set, then this is when the product will be reordered, allowing for stress to be relieved from the reordering pressures. â€Å"One way it does this is by using computers to monitor sales data and to order (or stop ordering) as point-of-sale (POS) demand information indicates. This information is transmitted each day to the company’s headquarters (Vonderembse, & White, pp 10.2, 2013). Moving forward, the POS system will allow for the Alliance seasonal items to be reordered in accordance to their last season’s product performances. This is in comparison to Alliance’s current system in place, which is basing their products inventory total by combining all its stores inventory sold. Now, this is where the origination of the current systems problems in place is affecting its customers at different store locations. Thus, customers who are being affecting become customers that are irate due to not having their product on hand at their disposal. The use of this system allows for the demand of customer products not to be overstocked, which will results in having happier customers, and keeping the costs low. The different Alliance store locations can allow for a promotional use of new products by adapting to their customers buying patterns. Creating Reduction in Costs & Increasing Customer Service In an effort to create higher profits, every business goal should be to reduce its costs. One of the ways Alliance can help in costs reduction; it  must first decrease its overhead by adding more self-checkouts, in addition to controlling its inventory. The correct analysis in inventory will also allow for a reduction in costs, as it will reorder what it has needed versus producing overstocking in merchandise. In accordance, the self-checkout aisle will allow more customers to be checked-out in a faster process, thus saving more means on less employees causing customers to be self-checkout through multiple machines, thus allowing for a huge reduction in Alliance’s cost and cause a positive ripple effect in increasing customer service. â€Å"Thinking short-term and cutting hinders costs long-term growth. Practical implications – Leaders need to evaluate their practice, asking questions of themselves and look at making more long-term plans. They need to involve and eng age key personnel now and the in future† (Denton, p 3, 2013). New Approach Methods/Individual Customers The first new approach that Alliance can implement is by using the information purchased by their customers on an individual basis by learning from their habits in purchases been made at Alliance’s different store locations. This will enable Alliance to identify what items are been sought out more than others through this separation of store locations, product preference, and customer demand. For example, I shop at CVS Pharmacy here in Houston, TX, and the why they attract us back in the store is through coupons that can be used for items, we normally but, in other words, Alliance needs to be able to weather different products to continue to drive them to the stores new promotional avenues. Therefore, if Alliance uses the same method CVS Pharmacy uses in order to attract more walk-in customers, Alliance needs to know what products their customers are accustomed to buying, thus identifying new sell opportunities by the use of coupons. Nevertheless, the individual product information can also be used to determine, what purchases are in need of replenishing Alliance’s inventory by identifying their customers buying patterns or habits. â€Å"The rapid proliferation in the use of technology through Point of Sale (POS) data by supermarket retailers has resulted in delivering value to consumers† Pepe, & Pepe, pp 69, 2012). Privacy & Ethics Alliance Supermarket needs to adhere to its privacy and ethical  considerations in order to gather information based off the purchased items using the POS system. Alliance needs to make sure they have all their ducks in a row before they start to analyze their customer’s personal and private buying habits. Therefore, every business needs to keep in mind their customers privacy or ethical concerns due to violating these laws can hinder a business success and customers trust. A business ethics counts for a lot in a customer’s point of view by determining whether an organization is ethical or not will be the decision a customer will have to make before conducting business with them. However, if and when Alliance starts to track its customers personal purchasing habits, Alliance needs to make sure they only analyze those customers that are aware of Alliance objectives, then Alliance can move forward with their mission. In addition, one important thing Alliance needs to remember, is that the information obtained should only be used for business purposes, and not for personal reasons, because this can lead to illegal activity, and breaking a customer’s trust. â€Å"Considering the Internet advertising industry’s current actions, computer users and government regulators would be well advised, both practically and ethically, to move to a user control model in electronic monitoring† (Charters, p 243, 2002). Conclusion In conclusion, the universal product code (UPC) can be easily read by a laser system scanner, which then can be forecasted as a product as a point-of-sale (POS), thus then allowing for a better account of the businesses inventory. In this case, Alliance Supermarket using both these systems to be able to replenish their inventory when the system automatically detects whether a certain product item is in demand. A great plus that a Point-of-sale system can do is treat each store different, but then total their needed inventory for replenishment, then placing a one lump side order to fulfill all orders, then distributing them by stores demands. My findings have resulting in suggesting to the Chief information officer (CIO) of Alliance, based on the information compiled by the UPS & POS systems, that the individual buying habits of their customers buying patterns can lead to a positive approach in each of their product’s sales or weather patterns. In essence, the POS system will allow for better control of Alliance’s inventory, thus reducing costs from a strategic point of view  by fine-tuning their inventory based on individual customers/individual stores, which will accurately determine the appropriate inventory needed replenishing. In addition, adapting a coupon-based system, which will personalize their products in need of marketing base on individual customers buying habits, thus resulting in an increase in customer service. Of course, let us do keep in mind Alliance’s customers privacy, while keeping Alliances Supermarkets Ethical behavioral at an all-time high. Reference: Charters, D. (2002). Electronic monitoring and privacy issues in business marketing: The ethics of the DoubleClick experience. Journal of Business Ethics, 35(4), 243-254. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/198066766?accountid=32521 Denton, A. (2013). Why is productivity falling in 2013? the role of leadership in creating growth during the recession. Strategic Direction, 29(7), 3-5. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/SD-04-2013-0010 Pepe, M. R., & Pepe, M. S. (2012). Using point of sale (POS) data to deliver customer value in the supermarket industry through category management practices. Journal of Marketing Development and Competitiveness, 6(1), 69-73. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1019047228?accountid=32521 Vonderembse, M.A. & White, G.P. (2013). Operations Management . San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.

Capital Punishment Essay - 1897 Words

Capital Punishment Capital punishment is the most severe sentence imposed in the United States and is legal in thirty-eight states. The death penalty is a controversial subject, especially because the U.S. is the only western democracy to retain this consequence (Scheb, 518). I personally believe that the death penalty is a valid sentence for those who deserve it. Some believe it is not constitutional, but those who face this penalty are clearly suspect of a savage offense and therefore should be at a loss of certain rights. The arguments don’t end there once one considers that â€Å"the controversy over capital punishment becomes more heated when special circumstances arise† (Sternberg, 2). This issue brings up more arguments against the†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"The phrase ‘eye for an eye’ is usually considered synonymous with justice †¦ [but] now some say two states have gone a step beyond that standard and violated the U.S. Constitution by making some rape s punishable by death† (Higgins, 30). While most of those who support the death penalty do so because of their â€Å"eye for an eye† view on this subject, some supporters take on a neutral stance when it comes to killing a rapist or other offender. Higgins mentions Louisiana and Georgia as the states that have gone too far by passing statues that allow â€Å"capital-rape† laws (30). I do not know what outlook I hold on this topic; rape is certainly a serious crime, but since it is such a traumatic experience for the victim that I would not necessarily be against it, but impartial. The true test of law is when it is appealed to the highest court in the land, the Supreme Court. â€Å"If the Supreme Court upholds the death penalty for child rapists, more states may follow,† Higgins states, â€Å"If the Court strikes down the law, the ruling could cast doubt on other statues that allow the death penalty for non-killings† (30). I believe that the States, more so than its constituents, tend to follow in line with the Court’s rulings because of how carefully each case is scrutinized under the supreme eye of the law. Once enough states follow in line with one another itShow MoreRelated Capital Punishment1099 Words   |  5 Pages Capital Punishment Murder, a common occurrence in American society, is thought of as a horrible, reprehensible atrocity. Why then, is it thought of differently when the state government arranges and executes a human being, the very definition of premeditated murder? Capital punishment has been reviewed and studied for many years, exposing several inequities and weaknesses, showing the need for the death penalty to be abolished. Upon examination, one finds capital punishment to be economically weakRead MoreCapital Punishment1137 Words   |  5 Pagescorresponding punishments. Among all penalties, capital punishment is considered to be the most severe and cruelest one which takes away criminal’s most valuable right in the world, that is, right to live. It is a heated debate for centuries whether capital punishment should be completely abolished world widely. The world seems to have mixed opinion regarding this issue. According to Amnesty International (2010), currently, 97 countries in the world have already abolished capital punishment while onlyRead MoreCapital Punishment1786 Words   |  8 PagesCapital Punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the toughest form of punishment enforced today in the United States. According to the online Webster dictionary, capital punishment is defined as â€Å"the judicially ordered execution of a prisoner as a punishment for a serious crime, often called a capital offence or a capital crime† (1). In those jurisdictions that practice capital punishment, its use is usually restricted to a small number of criminal offences, principallyRead More Capital Punishment1898 Words   |  8 PagesCapital Punishment Imagine your heart suddenly beginning to race as you hear a judge give you a death sentence and then you’re quickly carried away in chains as your family sobs as they realize that they will no longer be able to see you. As you sit in your cell you begin to look back at your life and try to see where you went wrong to end up in jail waiting to carry out a death sentence, and at the same time know that you are an innocent waiting to be heard. This same scenario repeatsRead MoreCapital Punishment1276 Words   |  6 Pagesbroken to get the death penalty, increased murder rates and wrongful accusations. There are many different views of the death penalty. Many different religions have their own views of the death penalty. In Hinduism, if the king does not inflict punishment on those worthy to be punished the stronger would roast the weaker like fish on a spit. In the religion of Jainism, mostly all of their followers are abolitionists of the death penalty which means that they oppose of it. Infact, this religionRead More Capital Punishment Essay: Retain Capital Punishment?696 Words   |  3 PagesCapital Punishment - Retain or Not?      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This essay tangles with the question of whether or not we should retain the death penalty within the American code of penal law.    There is a feeling of frustration and horror that we experience at the senseless and brutal crimes that too frequently disrupt the harmony of society. 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Capital Punishment is a large controversy in the U.S. but before a personal opinion can be formed, some facts need to be known, such as what it is, where it is used and why it could be good or bad. Well, what is Capital Punishment? Capital Punishment is where a person is executedRead MoreCapital Punishment Is The Ultimate Punishment1704 Words   |  7 Pageswhat would you want from the government if he had killed someone you know? He should receive the capital punishment. The capital punishment is the ultimate punishment given to the precarious crimes. It is the last stage of capital punishment. There are different methods of like hanging, electric chair, lethal injection, firing squad, gas chamber. Murderers and rapist should be given extreme punishment, and they have to pay for their wrongdoing. We can observe crime rates are accelerating day-by-dayRead MoreCapital Punishment And Juvenile Punishment1631 Words   |  7 Pages Capital punishment is the term used when an individual is put to death by the state or government for the commission of a crime. Until recently, juveniles were not exempt from this punishment, however they would generally need to commit a more serious offense compared to their adult counterpart. Then there was the decision ruling the execution of mentally handicapped individuals was unconstitutional, using the 8th amendment as their authority, while taking into account the diminished capacity of