Researching Into Information Technology and Its impacts on Society

Abstract Smart Mobile devices have become very popular both in the social and business world. This paper seeks to discuss the effect of these devices among people in the social as well as the business settings. There will be in-depth discussion on the devices’ effects of people’s lives at work, private social life, in government and education.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Researching Into Information Technology and Its impacts on Society specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Introduction Since the industrial revolution, technology has been characterised by stativity, well apart from a few applications like the wheel, the train, the automobile and the airplane. Given the bulk of the equipment used in the above-mentioned inventions, stativity was not much of a choice. Telecommunication gadgets like the Morse code and the telephone were grounded as well and their sizes and modes of operation did little t o enable much movement. Two centuries later, technology experts are of the opinion that mobility displayed by telecommunication gadgets today is likely to get out of hand and possibly impact negatively on human life. Of particular importance to this discussion are the developments characterising the information and communications technology sector. The last two decades have experienced some of the most effective ICT inventions in human history. The technology boom of the last decade of the 20th century provided the platform for the development of mobile technology that today has changed the ways of communication (Gallagher 2005, et al, p. 67). Technology nowadays is so mobile that business and individuals who fail to adapt to it risk being left behind, literary. Nothing in the 21st century captures the very spirit technological mobility as the mobile phone does. The smart phone stands out nowadays as the epitome of synchronisation and mobility of technology. While its benefits canno t be overstated, there is genuine concern that the overall, especially adverse effects of this very technology have been grossly overlooked. Which therefore begs the question; will the ever-increasing number of smart mobile devices (i-Phones etc) impact on the way we conduct our lives (work and private)? The answer to the above question is to the affirmative. The specifics of the answer will therefore form the main content of this discussion. This paper will address the particular impacts on both work and private lives of human beings of smart mobile devices. It’s important to note that the impacts that will be discussed will touch on both the negative and positive sides of smart mobile devices. Besides, the above, there will also be a discussion on how smart mobile technology impacts education as well as government.Advertising Looking for essay on it? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In this paper, the words; business a nd work will be used interchangeably but will have similar meaning in the same context. Also, the words; smart phones and smart mobile devices will be used interchangeably. Before the analysis is carried out however, it’s important to have a brief look on general effects of smart mobile devices, an enhancement of the affirmative answer given above Smart Mobile Devices Impacts Human life According to Salt (2011, p. 152), the advent of advanced technologies like the smart mobile services has drastically altered human being’s work, life and relationships. However, Salt (2011, p. 152) singles out the mobile phone, social media such as Facebook and Twitter and smart phones as some of the technologies that are increasingly defining how people work and form relationships in the social arena. The smart phone technology is undoubtedly influencing the formation of protocols and strange social behaviours that all lead to addiction. Through addiction to smart mobile devices, peopl e are fast becoming slaves to the gadgets which dictate them what to do while defining every sphere of their lives. As evidenced in the figure below, there are currently close to 500 million smartphone users in the world. That number is set to increase by 32.4% to 1.2 billion people by the year 2015. The growth of the smartphone usage by the above margin is likely to net more people to the addition that currently is being experienced. In turn the effects; both negative and positive will trickle down to the populations. Fig 1.0. Projected growth in Smartphone usage, Source: Gartner and Berg InsightAdvertising We will write a custom essay sample on Researching Into Information Technology and Its impacts on Society specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Impact on work/Business Business communication is nowadays technology oriented (Stockard 2011, p. 153), letters, memos and reports have been replaced by technologies such as NetMeeting an d LiveMeeting. Additionally, business communication is increasingly relying on the telephone especially Smartphones such as Blackberry and i-Phone (Stockard 2011, p. 153). Stockard adds that because phones can nowadays send messages as fast as the PC, business communication has become easier and quicker. For a long time the business world has relied on the PC for conducting business. The PC still maintains its rightful place in the day-to-day running of organizations and conduction of business. However, the advent of the smart phone is increasingly diminishing the importance of the PC in business transactions. This is because the smart mobile gadgets like smart phones and tablets have what the PC doesn’t; mobility and portability. The above features coupled with the presence of integrated PC features in smartphone makes them attractive and addictive to business people. The addiction and effect of these devices on work lives can be capture through a Ring Central online survey that was carried out in the year 2010. Increased reliance on Smart mobile devices for conducting business In the survey, respondents ranked the smartphone and intimate life both at 40% as the two most important things that they can’t do without in their lives. Additionally, the majority of respondents totaling 79% cited the smart phone as the main business tool for conducting business easily beating the home and office phones (Trade 2010). This is in contrast a few years ago when laptops were the main gadgets through which business was conducted remotely. The smartphone however easily beats the laptop as the primary preference in conducting remote business especially because it enable people access the physical tools that were only found in the office. Some business people (34%) admitted to using the smartphone for business more than the computer (Trade 2010). Advertising Looking for essay on it? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Levels of addiction of the smartphones, Source: Ringcentral Online survey People are now increasingly addicted to productivity Many business people and those that are in both formal and informal employment admitted that they are addicted to the smart mobile devices for the sole purpose of improving productivity in their respective work areas. Again, the ability to conduct business from any location came top among the reasons the respondents gave. To that effect, 40% of respondents ranked smart phones as being significant as intimate relations. Hypothetically, therefore these people cannot easily choose between their social lives and the gadgets they are holding (Trade 2010). This therefore shows a worrying trend where people may rank non-living requirements like gadgets ahead of social and personal development. In a nutshell, business people as well as those that are working in the formal sector have demonstrated an unmatched passion for smart mobile devices. The fact that it has ch anged their way of life as shown above underscores the critical role these devices play and the depth of their effect. Of more importance however is the dynamism that these gadgets have brought to the business world. They have reduced overreliance on the PC and the business phone as the main tools of conducting business. Mobility and speed have now become the norm thanks to these devices. Impact on Private Life Many academics and political critics have conceded that the smart mobile devices like the BlackBerry can result into negative impact on the balance between work life and family life (Sweeny 2009, p. 190). Addiction to mobile smart devices has not only affected business/ or work relationships of the users. There is sufficient reason to believe that the addiction has extended to the private or social lives of many people that use them. Increasingly, people have found themselves in the awkward position where they need to split their time between their social lives and business. This effect will be captured through a presentation of different social scenarios that are aimed at showing the skewed devotion and commitment to family and relationships due to the use of mart mobile devices. In all the scenarios, the use of the gadgets is a deviation from the norm as we know it. Less family time Nowadays, many people are devoting more time to business than to family. It’s not uncommon for people to conduct business while on a weekend or holiday alone or with family. Smart mobile devices come in handy in when one needs to check on the developments in the business world. During this time, people split their time between being with family and communication various business issues. People with the smart gadgets find it difficult to keep to themselves without referring to their devices in social functions such as funerals and weddings and children’s outings. Subtly, and without realizing, these actions indicate lack of attention on the family and other so cial relationships which takes its toll in the long-run (Powell, p. 181). Less privacy According to Furnell et al (2011, p. 50), the use of smart phones by people with no or little technical knowledge exposes them to the risk of being attacked through the use of their gadgets as security or attack vectors. In fact, most people who use these devices have little or no technical knowledge on measures that mitigate these risks. Many of the smart mobile devices have been fitted with advanced microchips which make it easier for surveillance of the holder. The log installed in the smart devices can record all the places the holder has been to and sometimes the activities they have been up to. Additionally, it’s easy for the parent companies and other interested parties to monitor the devices remotely illegally or otherwise. No matter the circumstances under which the surveillance takes place, the privacy of the holders of these devices is compromised. It’s no secret that surv eillance information from these devices has led to the collapse of many social relations of the holders. Social Networking One of the biggest impacts of smart mobile devices is social networking. Butler (2010, p. 100), quoting Comscore, says that over 30% of smartphone users access social networking sites like facebook and twitter using their phones. It’s now possible for people from different locations to communicate and participate in social events without necessarily meeting physically. The social networking impact can be positive or negative depending on the function it plays. Impact on Government/ Administration Andersen et al (2011, p. 278) does not entirely see the effects of smart mobile devices as being negative. According to them, mobile communication especially through smart devices positively influences mobile business which in turn reinforces social media. Mobile business and social media therefore reinforce each other in a form of co evolution that has positive consequences (Andersen et al 2011, p. 278). Through the use of these devices, both commerce and government have been forced to adopt technological changes for better communication and business procedures in the technologically mobile world (Rhomobile 2011, p. 23). On the same note, there is a feeling among many scholars that these gadgets have played and will continue to play a crucial role in social media growth and evolution. As such they come in hand in the implementation of changes in government and in society especially through participation of citizens in e-democracy. A good example is role smart devices have played in the political crises of North Africa and the Middle East. Impact on Education Education is one of the fields that have evolved with time. There is a marked difference between ancient and modern universities. Though there has been considerable adaptation of technology in education, the advent of smart mobile devices is likely to have a major impact on education. Smartphones aide students in accessing online textbooks while connecting them with databases and libraries online when doing research (Wright Webb 2011, p. 203). According to Huang Ling (2011, p. 557), education has also benefited from ubiquitous learning enabled by smart phones that help in individualized learning. Some android smart phones have an embedded system that helps in the creation of an assisted learning that is less bulky and mobile. The system can also improve the improve distraction behavior in students. Additionally, the application helps in the interaction between peers and teachers. The above application has not yet been adopted by the main stream companies. However it offers a glimpse of the impact that smart mobile devices are likely to have on education. Conclusion In a nutshell, smart mobile devices offer advanced computing and connectivity abilities compared to normal mobile services. Their impacts are manifested through effects in productivity and communicat ion in the work place, private life, in government and in education. The effects of these devices are both positive and negative. Their addictive nature and ability to cause distraction is by far the biggest negative effect these devices have on human life. Both private and work lives of the holders gets altered positively or negatively. Social life of the users especially the family is likely to be negatively affected because people extend conduction of business out of the office. On the brighter side however, smart mobile devices have enhanced the way business is done and productivity has increased in the work place. Also, it has enhanced networking among professionals and people of different classes. Education has also been impacted positively through easy access to research materials in online libraries. Applications such as Google Reader on the Android phone are an example. The impacts discussed above have so far been as a result of the existing level of technology. As the thes is statement asserts, technology is ever increasing and new products with mobile and smart features are being developed. The way we conduct our lives is sure set to change with these new products. References Andersen, K. et al. (2011) Electronic Government and the Information Systems Perspective: Berlin: Springer Verlag. Butler, M. (2010) Enterprise Social Networking and Collaboration. East Yorkshire: Martin Butler Research Ltd. Furnell, S. et al. (2011) Trust, Privacy and Security in Digital Business. New York: Springer Verlag. Gallagher, P. et al. (2005) Managing the challenges of WTO participation: 45 case studies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Ling, S. Huang, X. (2011) Advances in Computer Science, Environment, Ecoinformatics, and Education. Berlin: Springer Verlag. Powell, G. (2011) Women and Men in Management. London: Sage Publications. Rhomobile. (2011) Top Trends in Smartphones: and How Rhomobile helps you write apps for them. San Jose, CA. Sweeny, A. (2009) BlackB erry planet: the story of Research in Motion and the little device that took the world by storm. Ontario: John Willey Sons. Stockard, O. (2011) The Write Approach. Bingley: Emerald Publishing Group. Salt, B. (2011) The Big Tilt: What Happens When the Boomers Bust and the Xers and Ys Inherit the earth. Victoria: Hardie Grant Books. Trade, J (2010) Smartphones Changing the Way Business Professionals Work and Live. Web. Web. Wright, K. Webb, L (2011) Computer-Mediated Communication in Personal Relationships. NY: Peter Lang Publishing Inc. This essay on Researching Into Information Technology and Its impacts on Society was written and submitted by user Diamond N. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Population policies Essays

Population policies Essays Population policies Essay Population policies Essay According to, (Khuse Peter,203), it is false that contracted pregnancy just shifts the risks and health burdens which are associated with pregnancy, this is because in some cases such as infertility, it makes the impossible possible and and risk is lowered for women with high risk pregnancies, babies also benefit from better health and fewer handicaps in the babies and women therefore the available resources are used in other areas therefore benefiting the society at large. This therefore means that there is more to the emphasis on risk, this is because even in normal pregnancies, women are expected to go ahead with child bearing even when the risks are obvious. Furthermore, child bearing has always been taken as something women owed to men and the society regardless of their feelings and when they had little say about it, there were no cases of risk therefore why would the risk be seen now when women have choices? attention should therefore not be drawn to surrogacy as a less risk to the non-traditional reproduction approach. The wrong thing with this transfer is that it involves exploitation of women by men and also exploitation of the rich by the poor people. Another question raises of whether there is something wrong with separation of reproduction and sex. From the history, the separation which is inform of contraception is beneficial to women and society although it is termed as immoral by others. However, not all separations are morally wrong, contraception is permitted because it promotes autonomy, spares women health, manages population and strengthens family life but separation of sex and reproduction exploits women, increases population and weakens family life. This is true because in the case of population problem, people should think of all population policies but not to exploit infertile problems, further, if the major justification for contraception is family strengthening, then contracted pregnancies could do the same and whether or not children saves failing marriages, then surrogacy will prevent a man with a woman incapable of providing children from leaving. Surrogacy reduces women autonomy although some other cases show that it enhances it, the practice also burdens some class of women and the new choices are expected to nourish womens lives so long as they have control of their bodies. What is wrong here however is that contracted pregnancy is seen as prostitution which is sex without reproduction and surrogacy is reproduction without sex, the feature which the two share is that it is a lazy persons way of exploiting own natural resources. However, Laura views this as a naive view of what it entails to be a prostitute and the efforts involved in pregnancy (Khuse Peter,204). Overall asserts that it cannot and is not ones career choice and neither is it a real alternative, she says that it is implausible that parents would want it for their daughters or for people to start training on surrogate mothers, worse still, for schools to invite surrogate mothers to address its advantages, however for Laura, this is a blatant argument and such condemnations should have general condemnation of effortless ways of life which is involved in utilizing distinctive characteristics. This is because people always exploit their resources whenever they work; professors use their minds while ditchdiggers use their bodies, therefore Overall seems only to object some types of work such as contracted pregnancy which is no more than real job options for women. Her arguments that such a deal is not a real job is clearly not based on any social arrangements which enable earning a living but its based on moral judgment which seem wrong because they constitute bodily and personal alienation. Overalls arguments are seen as weak as she says that women working as surrogates are deprived expression of individuality, that they are interchangeable and have no choice of the sperm they are supposed to harbor, (Khuse Peter, 204).

Cempoala - Totonac Capital and Ally of Hernan Cortes

Cempoala - Totonac Capital and Ally of Hernan Cortes Cempoala, also known as Zempoala or Cempolan, was the capital of the Totonacs, a pre-Columbian group that emigrated to the Gulf Coast of Mexico from the central Mexican highlands sometime before the Late Postclassic period. The name is a Nahuatl one, meaning twenty water or abundant water, a reference to the many rivers in the region. It was the first urban settlement encountered by the Spanish colonization forces in the early 16th century. The citys ruins lie near the mouth of the Actopan River about 8 kilometers (five miles) in from the Gulf of Mexico. When it was visited by Hernan Cortà ©s in 1519, the Spaniards found a huge population, estimated at between 80,000-120,000; it was the most populous city in the region.   Cempoala reached its fluorescence between the 12th and 16th century AD, after the previous capital El Tajin was abandoned after being invaded by Toltecan-Chichimecans. The City of Cempoala At its height during the late 15th century, Cempoalas population was organized into nine precincts. The urban core of Cempoala, which includes a monumental sector, covered a surface area of 12 hectares (~30 acres); housing for the citys population spread far beyond that. The urban center was laid out in the way common  to Totonac regional urban centers, with many circular temples dedicated to the wind god Ehecatl. There are 12 large, irregularly shaped walled compounds in the city center that contain the main public architecture, temples, shrines, palaces, and open plazas. The major compounds were composed of large temples bordered by platforms, which elevated the buildings above the flood level. The compound walls were not very high, serving as a symbolic function identifying the spaces which were not open to the public rather than for  defense purposes. Architecture at Cempoala Cempoalas central Mexican urban design and art reflect the norms of the central Mexican highlands, ideas which were reinforced by the late 15th-century Aztec dominance. Most of the architecture is built of river cobbles cemented together, and the buildings were roofed in perishable materials. Special structures such as temples, shrines, and elite residences had a masonry architecture built of cut stone. Important buildings include the Sun temple or Great Pyramid; the Quetzalcoatl temple; the Chimney Temple, which includes a series of semicircular pillars; the Temple of Charity (or Templo de las Caritas), named after the numerous stucco skulls that adorned its walls; the Cross Temple, and the El Pimiento compound, which has exterior walls decorated with skull representations. Many of the buildings have platforms with multiple stories of low height and vertical profile. Most are rectangular with broad stairways. Sanctuaries were dedicated with polychrome designs on a white background. Agriculture The city was surrounded by an extensive canal system and a series of aqueducts which provided water to the farm fields around the urban center as well as the residential areas. This extensive canal system allowed water distribution to fields, diverting water from main river channels. The canals were part of (or built onto) a large wetland irrigation system that is thought to have been built during the Middle Postclassic [AD 1200-1400] period. The system included an area of sloping field terraces, on which the city grew cotton, maize, and agave. Cempoala used their surplus crops to participate in the Mesoamerican trade system, and historic records report that when famine struck the Valley of Mexico between 1450-1454, the Aztecs were forced to barter their children to Cempoala for maize stores. The urban Totonacs at Cempoala and other Totonac cities used home gardens (calmil), backyard gardens which provided domestic groups at the family or clan level with vegetables, fruits, spices, medicines, and fibers. They also had private orchards of cacao or fruit trees. This dispersed agrosystem gave the residents flexibility and autonomy, and, after the Aztec Empire took hold, allowed the homeowners to pay tributes. Ethnobotanist Ana Lid del Angel-Perez argues that the home gardens may also  have acted as a laboratory, where people tested and validated new crops and methods of growing. Cempoala Under the Aztecs and Cortà ©s In 1458, the Aztecs under the rule of Motecuhzoma I invaded the region of the Gulf Coast. Cempoala, among other cities, was subjugated and became a tributary of the Aztec empire. Tributary items demanded by the Aztecs in payment included cotton, maize, chili, feathers, gems, textiles, Zempoala-Pachuca (green) obsidian, and many other products. Hundreds of Cempoalas inhabitants became slaves. When the Spanish conquest arrived in 1519 on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, Cempoala was one of the first cities visited by Cortà ©s. The Totonac ruler, hoping to break away from Aztec domination, soon became allies of Cortà ©s and his army. Cempoala was also the theater of the 1520 Battle of Cempoala between Cortà ©s and the captain Pnfilo de Narvaez, for the leadership in the Mexican conquest, which Cortà ©s handily won. After the Spanish arrival, smallpox, yellow fever, and malaria spread throughout Central America. Veracruz was among the earliest regions affected, and the population of Cempoala sharply declined. Eventually, the city was abandoned and the survivors moved to Xalapa, another important city of Veracruz. Cempoala Archaeological Zone Cempoala was first explored archaeologically at the end of the 19th century by Mexican scholar Francisco del Paso y Troncoso. American archaeologist Jesse Fewkes documented the site with photographs in 1905, and the first extensive studies were conducted by Mexican archaeologist Josà © Garcà ­a Payà ³n between the 1930s and 1970s. Modern excavations at the site were conducted by the Mexican National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) between 1979-1981, and Cempoalas central core was recently mapped by photogrammetry (Mouget and Lucet 2014). The site is located on the eastern edge of the modern town of Cempoala, and it is open to visitors year-round. Sources Adams REW. 2005 [1977], Prehistoric Mesoamerica. Third Edition. Norman: University of Oklahoma PressBruggemann JK. 1991. Zempoala: El estudio de una ciudad prehispanica. Coleccion Cientifica vol 232 INAH Mexico. Brumfiel EM, Brown KL, Carrasco P, Chadwick R, Charlton TH, Dillehay TD, Gordon CL, Mason RD, Lewarch DE, Moholy-Nagy H, et al. 1980. Specialization, Market Exchange, and the Aztec State: A View From Huexotla [and Comments and Reply]. Current Anthropology 21(4):459-478.del Angel-Pà ©rez AL. 2013. Homegardens and the dynamics of Totonac domestic groups in Veracruz, Mexico. Anthropological Notebooks 19(3):5-22.Mouget A, and Lucet G. 2014. Photogrammetric archaeological survey with UAV. ISPRS Annals of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences II(5):251-258.Sluyter A, and Siemens AH. 1992. Vestiges of Prehispanic, Sloping-Field Terraces on the Piedmont of Central Veracruz, Mexico. Latin American Antiquity 3(2):148-160.Smith ME. 2013. The Aztecs. New Yo rk: Wiley-Blackwell. Wilkerson, SJK. 2001. Zempoala (Veracruz, Mexico) In: Evans ST, and Webster DL, editors. Archaeology of Ancient Mexico and Central America: An Encyclopedia. New York: Garland Publishing Inc. p 850-852. Edited and updated by K. Kris Hirst

Benefits Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Benefits - Essay Example Article 14 also addresses the benefits for the disable employees either accidently or permanently. Advantages can be given to the employees who were former to companies died within the time of one year of their resignation and accidental deaths without the negligence are paid even after more than one year resignation from the companies by the employers. This article effects the people who are in job and who are providing jobs. The idea of retirement is a very foremost idea and a mean to retain their efficient employees. This inspiration also develops the loyalty among the employees towards the organizations and sense to remain adheres to employers so that find work-life balance. My view for this discussion is because when the workers feel that employer or the organization’s management is concerned about their lives on the job and here after i-e after job, they would not be more reluctant to contribute little past of their wages and salaries to the funds created. The retirement benefits include the employees with 20 minimum and 30 maximum years of service credits. For example elaborating the concept of escalation, the employee working in an organization has service credit less than 25 years but more than 20 years qualify the benefits of partial escalation. And the worker with full or more than 25 years of service tenure is a qualified for the advantages of full escalation. Escalation basically is a process in which increment and decline is done in the amount each year in the month of April on the basis of â€Å"cost of living† index. Academia can get to know the benefits prevailing regarding the retirement of employees. The basic objective attached to this perspective is to get contribution by the employees and to eliminate reluctance for the contribution made for the funds from the employees’ salaries. Business world can inculcate this initiative in their employee management programs so that they could increase the performance of the

Critically assess the working of the EU's merger control Regulation Essay

Critically assess the working of the EU's merger control Regulation - Essay Example For the past two decades, mergers and acquisitions (M&As) hold the greatest percentage among modes of entry by foreign investors and growth activities of domestic companies; particularly true for the developed economies. One probable reason for this trend may be the high availability of information regarding the value of mergers and acquisitions. M&As targets usually obtain good values by the financial markets, which is more attractive and tempting for the investing companies and is considered one of the more important factors that affect investors’ choices. Mergers occur when two or more companies, with the consent of both parties involved, engage into a merge, in order to create business synergies from the new single entity formed, rather than existing separately on the market. There is a mutual agreement between the managements of two or more companies, on the grounds of exchanging shares of the merging firms with shares of the new entity, which reflects the name of the both companies engaged in the merger. Acquisitions, on the other side, represent business transactions between parties which are unrelated, under terms established by the market, while each side acts in its own best interest . In other words, in the case of acquisitions, the takeover involves a direct business transaction between the management of the acquiring firm and the stockholders of the acquired firm . 4. M&A result in anti-competitive effects as a possible consequence. By creating or strengthening dominant market power and by creating control over the industry’s vertical chain – M&A can succeed in distorting market competition. The scope of the essay is to provide a critical review on the EU competition regulation5. At the level of EU, the European Commission is responsible for the implementation of the regulation. Its powers have still not been used as frequently as the USA. As designed currently the EU regulation and decisions have multiple variations across multiple sectors; particularly the sectors where large companies and extensive cross-border trading and ownership links are predominant. These are counted as the regulation’s key targets6. In the process the essay will look at the most important factor after the anti-competitive issues drive the EU decisions on M&A – the efficiency gains7. The essay is organized in several sections. First the impa ct of M&A on the society as a whole is investigated followed by an overview of EU competition law with the EU merger procedures ending with a conclusion and discussion on the findings. 2. MERGERS AND AQUISITIONS AND THE ECONOMIC AND PUBLIC INTEREST (anti-competitive effects and efficiency gains) Although more than 14 drivers of M&As activity have been recognized and defined in the economic research and theory, according to Griffiths and Wall, in most of the cases the theories are highly unpredictable and inconsistent8. For example, the value discrepancy theory (i.e. buying off a company with a lower value than its genuine potential and actual assets involved), as well as the market power theory (i.e. consolidation due to large market power), are both behavioral models and illustrate specific and exact frameworks in which the companies operate (externally and/or internally). Generalization of these theories is difficult, therefore one may argue that Griffiths and

What extent is Psychopathy a disorder of empathy

What extent is Psychopathy a disorder of empathy Current literature seats a lack of empathy as one of the most distinguishing symptoms of psychopathy (APA, 1994). Commonly found amongst the factor one items of diagnostic criteria, it is valued as part of the core psychopathic personality; essential to understanding the disorder (Kantor 2006). It is, for example both common and plausible to attribute the recidivistic violation of social, moral and legal norms (characteristic to psychopathy) to a distinct lack of empathy. Paradoxically, individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are also claimed to lack empathy, yet the discrepancies between the disorders (psychopathy and ASD) raise questions as to whether such claims are fully justified. Some of these discrepancies include (a) the inability to form attachments in psychopathy versus the ability to do so in ASD (b) Amorality in psychopathy vs. a degree of morality in ASD (Frith de Vignemont 2007) (c) Sadistic, premeditated and inexcusable antisocial behaviour in pyshcopathy vs. innocent and excusable antisocial behaviour in ASD (Hansman Hummelen 2006). This essay will explore the great extent to which Psychopathy (compared to ASD) reflects a significant disorder of empathy. It will selectively and briefly address (a) the role of empathy in typically developed individuals (b) the definition of empathy and the type of empathic deficits present in Psychopathic and ASD populations (c) Empathic dysfunction as an essential determinant of psychopathic tendencies. Empathy is said to be the cornerstone of morality; central to the development and maintenance of friendships and romantic relationships. The ability to understand another persons perspective and share in their emotional state (Baron- Cohen 2003) puts constraints on impulsivity, inhibits violent and aggressive behaviour and hence strengthens sociability (Stoff, Breiling Maser 1997). Simultaneously the absence of empathy produces adverse/opposite effects (stoff et al 1997), most of which (in its entirety) are manifest in Psychopaths .Empathy has not escaped the common setback of being defined and used in an range of ways by an range of authors (Hoffman, 1987) but for the purpose of this essay, empathy will be acknowledged in terms of its cognitive, affective (and motor) components. The cognitive component of Empathy encompasses Theory of mind or mind reading, which entails the capacity to understand another persons feelings and take their perspective (Baron- Cohen 2008 pg 62). Interestingly, Psychopaths do, to a certain extent possess the ability to understand the feelings and perspective of others, in fact they must do: to be so successfully manipulative. Consistent with this, Psychopaths are unimpaired on measures of theory of mind, even when tested on the Advanced theory of mind test (Blair 2005).They are superb mind readers enabling them to deceive and swindle other people( Frith 2003) as well as mimic empathy for their own gain (motor empathy). Dangerously mistaken for being charming, likable and a great success with the ladies (Cleckely), psychopaths possess skills (if I may call it that) to superficially blend into society and cognitively identify (not emotionally) with the perspective of others. At this superficial level of interaction and continuous ma sking of sanity, psychopaths can never form genuine attachments : empathic deficits result in self centeredness ,disregard for others emotions , impulsivity, behavioural problems and a lack of remorse; confirmed by an inability to sustain long term relationships, parasitic lifestyle and promiscuous sexual behaviour (Hare 1991). Autistic individuals however, differ from psychopaths on both cognitive and behavioural levels (Rogers, Vidina, Blair, Frith Happe 1997). They lack theory of mind profoundly, have difficulty in interpreting /predicting the intentions, behaviour and thoughts of others (Frith 2003) and therefore cannot socially interact, even on the superficial level that psychopaths do. The observed lack of empathic behaviours in ASD may be attributed to the inability to mentalize or correctly evaluate social situations (e.g. distress in others), resulting in antisocial behaviour (e.g. social withdrawal,) misinterpreted as uncaring (Rogers et al 1997). According to Blair (1999), once autistic individuals are aware of others mental states, appropriate emotional responses are given. Autistic individuals can also form strong attachments to caregivers (Sigman Capps 1997). There is no cognitive empathic deficit in psychopathy; only the manipulation of their intact form, to their own ends. The antisocial b ehaviour (comprising factor two of diagnosis) is often premeditated, exploitative and repetitive (Hansmen Hummelen 2006); indicative of a Psychopaths inability to empathise with the emotional impact on their victims. Psychopaths lack the emotional component of empathy which is defined as an affective response more appropriate to someone elses situation than to ones own (Hoffman, 1987: p.48). However, through manipulation of cognitive empathy, psychopaths are able to exercise motor empathy in order to substantiate and disguise the reality that they are without emotional empathy. This lack of emotional empathy equates to the inability to connect emotionally with ones perspective, thus producing impaired/inappropriate responses as a result. Psychopaths have selectively impaired emotional processing (Hare 1991); (relative to controls) they show significantly reduced autonomic responses to expression of fear and sadness as well as aversive events (Blair 1999). Supporting evidence is the dysfunction (hypo activation and reduced volumes) of the amgydala (key in emotional processing) and orbio frontal cortex observed in Psychopathic populations. Autistic individuals however, show physiological responses to others distress, indicative of intact emotional empathy, possibly accounting for their ability to distinguish between moral and conventional rules whilst psychopaths cannot (Blair 2005). Impairments in emotional empathy predispose Psychopaths to the characteristics that are the bedrock of the disorder e.g. Shallow affect, callousness, behavioural problems, and lack of guilt, and the extent to which this is true become magnified when Psychopathy is compared to ASD. Without Depreciating the cognitive, social and emotional deficits present in ASD; autistic individuals are loveable and respond to love, affection, fear and anxiety (Quinn Quinn 2006 pp), suggesting emotional empathy may not require the ability mentalize. Critically speaking, Psychopathic tendencies do reflect biologically predisposed deviances in emotion, personality traits and behaviour and may stem from an array of (other) deficits in e.g. (a) processing of general emotions but specifically negative affect , (b) passive avoidance learning , (c) behavioural inhibition , and (d) violence inhibition mechanisms (Herve Yuille 2007). Yet although investigators place varied emphasis on individual deficits, emp athic dysfunction has its (cause or effect) role to play in many of them. Appreciating the unlikelihood for any one explanation, of any disorder to suffice; we conclude on the note that psychopathy is a disorder of empathy to a very great extent; yet not without additional and intermingling deficits.

The Investiture Controversy

The Investiture Controversy is seen often times as a significant conflict between Church and State in medieval Europe. However, it was really a conflict over two radically different views of whether the secular authorities such as kings or dukes, had any legitimate role in appointments of spiritual offices such as bishoprics. In the eleventh and twelfth centuries the control of appointments or investitures of church officials such as bishops and abbots became a conflict between Pope Gregory VII and Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor.This reveals that medieval society had to decide which authority figure to support, either the secular or spiritual authority, because each one believed that the other was entitled to more authority than the other. The Investiture Controversy was significant in medieval history because though Henry IV and Gregory VII had very different opinions of what the spiritual and secular authorities duties were they both wished to preserve the Catholic faith against corr uption. The Middle Ages began after the fall of the Roman Empire.Significant changes began to occur in every part of the continent due to the lack of an absolute ruler, which was Rome. The churches around Rome looked to the Pope for guidance but seeing that their needs were not being met, nobles and especially kings assumed numerous Christian duties, including the protection and foundation of churches and abbeys. Although canon law, which is the body of laws and regulations made for the government of the Christian organization and its members, declared that bishops were to be elected by the clergy and the people but the rulers ignored it.Secular authority slowly started to become more dominant than spiritual authority being that weak church authorities were monitoring their powers. During the eighth and ninth centuries, the Roman aristocracy dominated the election of the papacy due to no Carolingian powers to control them. The aristocratic family with the most power would have the a bility to elect the pope or sell his office. Bishops and abbots were nominated and installed by rulers in a ceremony known since the second half of the eleventh century as investiture.This was a ceremony conducted by the king who granted the new bishop or abbots with a staff and, since the reign of Emperor Henry III (1039-1056), a ring signifying that they â€Å"receive the church†. By church it did not only mean the spiritual office but also the secular rights. In return to the king, an oath of fealty to the ruler was made that indicated homage to the king that the bishop or abbot would assist the ruler spiritually and materially, which would fulfill the requirement of â€Å"service to the king† including paying fees, distribution of fiefs to royal supporters, military support, and court attendance as an adviser and collaborator.A notable monarch who practiced investiture was Holy Roman Emperor, Henry III. Henry III wanted to be crowned emperor but currently there wer e three popes, Benedict IX, Sylvester III, and Gregory VI because of the domination of the Roman aristocracy. Henry III reached Rome in 1046 and imposed his secular authority over the situation and elected as the new pope a German, Suidger, bishop of Bamberg, who was inaugurated as Clement II.Control over the Roman Church passed into the hands of the German king. In succeeding years, Henry III used his secular authority to appoint a pope at three more occasions. The spiritual authority was in ruins and a need for reformation within the church was necessary. A man who began reforming the church was Bruno of Eguisheim-Dagsburg, who later became Pope Leo IX, was a German aristocrat and a powerful spiritual ruler of central Italy while pope.On the death of Pope Damasus II, Bruno was selected as his successor but as a condition of his acceptance for the papacy, he had to first proceed to Rome and be freely elected by the voice of the clergy and people of Rome. After receiving much suppor t of his election, Bruno formally became Leo IX. Favoring traditional morality in his reformation of the Catholic Church, Pope Leo IX publicly declared that he was against simony that had been occurring due to a weakened and corrupt papacy. Simony is the act of paying for sacraments and consequently for holy offices or for positions in the hierarchy of a church.Another type of reformation in church that had been occurred before the Investiture Controversy was the establishment of Cluny Abbey. Founded by William I, Duke of Aquitaine in 910 this Benedictine monastery was located in Cluny, France. William I nominated Berno as the first Abbot of Cluny who forced a strict enforcement to the Rule of St. Benedict. Though this was a demonstration of a secular authority appointing an abbot to a spiritual office, William I released the Cluny abbey from all future obligation to him and his family ther than prayer: Therefore be it known to all who live in unity of the faith and who await mercy of Christ, and to those who shall succeed them and who shall continue to exist until the end of the world, that, for the love of God and our Savior Jesus Christ, I hand over from my own rule to the holy apostles, Peter, namely, and Paul, the possessions over which I hold sway, the town of Cluny, namely, with the court and demesne manor, and the church in honor of St. Mary the mother of God and of St.Peter the prince of the apostles, together with all the things pertaining to it, the vills, indeed, the chapels, the serfs of both sexes, the vines, the fields, the meadows, the woods, the waters and their outlets, the mills, the incomes and revenues, what is cultivated and what is not, all in their entirety. This is an extremely significant declaration by a secular authority figure because not only did many other secular authorities follow William I’s example, monasteries across Europe began adopting the Rule of St.Benedict causing many leaders in the spiritual realm to rise agai nst the secular authority and start to divide the powers between the church and state. Before becoming the pope who would challenge secular authority over the topic of investiture, Hildebrand of Sovana was a cluniac monk who was deacon and papal administrator for the Leo IX. During the reign his reign, Nicholas II established a new election system for the papacy. The Papal Election Decree of Nicholas II was established in 1059.It declared that a College of Cardinals would convene, during a period of vacancy in the papal office to elect a Bishop of Rome who then becomes pope. However, Hildebrand did not become Pope Gregory VII by the College of Cardinals. He was elected in an informal fashion and the decree of Nicholas II was ignored, nevertheless Hildebrand did not encounter strong opposition and received sacerdotal ordination thus becoming pope Gregory VII. A reformer, Gregory VII’s main focus was to reform the church and by that he wanted to reduce the secular authority ove r the spiritual.He strongly believed that God alone founded the Church and that she is supreme over all human structures, especially the secular state. However, he did believe that there could be coexistence of church and state, but in no way were they two equals. The superiority of church was much greater than that of the state because God elected the church officials while men who could be corrupt selected the state officials. Henry III had retained a firm hold on the church and resolved a schism.However, after Henry III died at an early age, his son Henry IV believed that he had been appointed by God to become Emperor and spiritual authority figures like the pope were subordinate to him and his decisions. Known as the Milan Controversy, there were two candidates in the running for the position of archbishop. The people of Milan who were supported by the pope supported one of the candidates. However, Henry IV countered by having his own nominee demonstrating a secular authority at tempting to elect a candidate of a religious authority, referring to a king-committing investiture.Henry IV interfered in the situation to help resolve the issue rather than allowing the people of Milan with the support of Pope Gregory VII to achieve a resolution. Refusing to obey the spiritual authority, Henry IV received a letter from Pope Gregory VII warning him of an awful fate if he is to ignore the pope’s negotiations in regards to the investiture problem. Offended by this threat, Henry IV refused to obey the pope because of his belief that God had made him emperor. God alone was the only one who determined the wrongs of kings or emperors.Nevertheless, Pope Gregory VII replied by excommunicating Henry IV for refusing to accept that a king or emperor must obey the wishes of a spiritual authority and continue to interfere in church matters, thus the Investiture Controversy ensued. A series of letters by Gregory VII and Henry IV presented the positions of each side and the ir attempts to best their opponents in public opinion. Gregory VII wanted Henry IV’s acknowledgement that the spiritual authority triumphed over the secular authority.Pope Gregory VII demonstrates in many of his letters that though Henry IV was an emperor he is unfit to appoint bishops or abbots because God had elected church officials who are able to perform such actions. Hence, Henry IV should withdraw all his power from church matters just like William I had done for the Cluny Abbey. Establishing that royal powers were subordinate to the priesthood because secular authority figures continuously lusted for power, which in the eyes of the church lowers their spirituality for committing an act that is considered a sin.Henry IV retorted with the claim that Pope Gregory VII was never a pope due to the fact that he had been appointed by an invalid election and even attempted to gain the papal office while the current pope was alive. Again, when a synod was celebrated in the time of Pope Nicholas [II], in which one hundred twenty-five bishops sat together, it was decided and decreed under anathema that no one would ever become pope except by the election of the cardinals and the approbation of the people, and by the consent and authority of the king.In this statement, Henry IV agrees with the idea that cardinals have the right to elect a new pope but a person of extremely high authority, like himself, has the right to agree or disagree with the decision made by the College of Cardinals. Among other accusations that Henry IV made against Gregory VII, he deemed the pope as a â€Å"bad monk† who did not follow what he preached and had mistresses before and after he became pope. Henry IV finally indicated that God alone can judge the actions of the secular authority and that no spiritual authority, especially a corrupt one such as Gregory VII, could assert their authority over a king.The Investiture Controversy was between the church and state and the ma in issue was the rulers’ ability to continue to invest and install bishops and abbots with the symbols of their office. It soon quickly became an argument between Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor and Pope Gregory VII trying to determine which had more authority, spiritual or secular. Gregory VII saw the emperor’s disobedience to the papacy as an attack on the church, while Henry IV viewed it as the pope forcing his authority over an emperor.However, each saw that the other side was corrupt and unfit to make decisions within the church. Both wished to control the matters of the church since according to each side, God had elected him to his position of authority signifying more power than the other one. Nevertheless, their main goal was to keep the sacrifices of mass and the church untainted, with no influence of corrupt authority figures.Bibliography Geary, Patrick J. â€Å"Pope Gregory VII and King Henry IV†, in Readings in Medieval History , 562-586. Toronto: Univ ersity of Toronto Press Incorporated, 2010. Geary, Patrick J. â€Å"Cluniac Charters†, in Readings in Medieval History , 315-321. Toronto: University of Toronto Press Incorporated, 2010. Thompson, James Westfall. â€Å"Church and State in Medieval Germany. † The American Journal of Theology, 22, no. 4 (1918): 513-540, doi: 19, Feb. 2012. http://www. jstor. org/stable/3155326 ——————————————– [ 1 ]. Henry III was the son of Conrad II and Gisela of Swabia. His accession to the throne did not lead to civic unrest due to the fact that he was a descendent from the two sides that were causing civil war in the empire. [ 2 ]. The Rule of Saint Benedict is a book written by St. Benedict of Nurisa for monks living communally under the authority of an abbot. [ 3 ]. Patrick J. Geary, â€Å"Cluniac Charters†, in Readings in Medieval History (Toronto: University of Toronto Press Incorporated, 2010), 316. [ 4 ]. Patrick J. Geary, â€Å"Pope Gregory VII and King Henry IV†, in Readings in Medieval History (Toronto: University of Toronto Press Incorporated, 2010), 580.