Andrew Carnegie: One of the Pioneers of the Big Business

Big Business Report University of Phoenix Ursula Murgado Introduction One of the pioneers of the Big Business I chose to research is Andrew Carnegie. In this paper I will include how was his business and how did Mr. Carnegie started his business. I will also talk about how his business grew to the level it did. The good and bad effects of the business in the 19th century, How Mr. Carnegie business affected society today, what were the pros and cons of this business, if this cons and pros still exist. Andrew Carnegie was an industrialist and philanthropist.Andrew Carnegie was born in November 25, 1835 in Dunfermline, Scotland. He was the son of a handloom weaver. Andrew’s Carnegie parents decide to move to North America in 1848 because of the conditions that they were living. Andrew’s father settled his family in Allegheny, Pennsylvania. Carnegie starting working at an early age in a factory getting pay $1. 20 a week. Then at the following year he found a job as a telegr aph messenger. By the year 1851 Carnegie became a telegraph operator because of his efforts to get ahead in life.After two years working as a telegraph messenger Carnegie decides to work at the Pennsylvania Railroad, he was the assistant and telegrapher of Thomas Scott, one of the railroad’s main officials. This job help Carnegie to learn about the railroad industry and also in business. After three years he was promoted to superintendent. Carnegie business was the steel company but he started his investment before he open his own steel company. He started investing in the years 1863 or 1864 and during the war years too. His profits were very high.First, his share of he† Woodruff Sleeping Car Company , he also invested in the Western Union Telegraph Company, The Iron City Forge, The Columbia Oil Company and the Third National Bank of Pittsburgh†. He also made other investments, that helped him own shares in more than twelve different companies. He was making aroun d $39,000 in investments plus his salary of $2400 dollars a year. He left the Pennsylvania Railroad before the Civil war started. His determination in investing during tough times help him grow his business to the level it did.Carnegie business in his Steel Industry help him revolutionize the production of steel in the United States. Carnegie was able to construct many steel plants around the United States with the a technology that made the manufacture of steel faster, easier and more productive. Carnegie owned everything he needed in order to become the â€Å"King of Steelâ€Å". Some of the negative effects of big business in the 19th century was the atmosphere and working conditions of the workers at the time repeatedly change. Technology is another negative effect because the products were not being complete made by an individual.Immigration was another effect. The positive effect was that more money for this country. A positive effect that Carnegie’s business had on s ociety were his donations to build libraries in the United States and in other English speaking countries. Carnegie funded about 3,000 libraries in 47 US states and other countries. In 1901 he gave two million dollars to create the Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburg and the following year he donated the same amount to Washington D. C to found the Carnegie Institution. In my opinion Carnegie did a lot positive things for society.He was able to accomplish the American dream, as we know he was an Scotland immigrant. One of the negative things was the Homestead Mill strike because it â€Å"broke his reputation as a friend of the workers†. The pros of the big business in the 19th century were the benefits that industrialization gave to the people, like how the life of Americans improve and how their wages climbed. The cons was that everything comes with a price. The fact the workers bargain for better wages and better conditions at work was one of them. In my opinion th ese pros and cons do still exist in some way at this time.   Maybe not at the extent of the 19th century but they still exist .References Kent, Zachary. Andrew Carnegie, Steel King and Friend to Libraries, Historical America Biographies, 1999. Davidson-Gienapp-Heyrman-Lytle-Stoff:, Nation of Nations: A Concise Narrative of the American Republic, Fourth Edition IV. Global Essay: The United States in an Industrial Age19. The New Industrial Order (1870? 1900) The McGraw-Hill Companies, 2005. American Experience, The Richest Man in the World Andrew Carnegie. The film and more. http://www. pbs. org/wgbh/amex/carnegie/peopleevents/index. html

Article Review Of Risk From Vibration In Indian Mines Essay

The purpose of the article is aimed at raising concern on the implications of vibration on workers. Of particular interest is the risk on miners in Indian and the consequent effect relative to other areas of the world in terms of management and control. The paper scientifically analyzes how vibration occurs in a view to create our consciousness of related health consequences on the susceptible workers in mining firms. The author points to 1977 International Labor recommendation as touching the putting in place of regulations to protect employees from vibration through certain criteria that includes limitation of the duration of exposure per time, and encouragement of regular medical check up to quantify the present cumulative effects of the hazard. It discusses problems pose by vibration and legislative contribution in the exacerbation of the effects and submit in a thesis that there is a need to develop a practical management strategy for evaluation, monitoring and control of equipment-induced vibration in Indian mining industry due to severe ill-health mining poses on miners. In a view to understand approach at management of the resulting problems, the author types vibration into whole-body exposure and body segmental exposure. The categorization is equally aimed to assist in the understanding of the material which has different parameters in the determinant of magnitudes. The understanding of the materials shows that constant exposure to vibration result in both vascular and neural disorders. The author’s method procedurally involves itemization of notable machineries and tools commonly used in mining industries to demonstrate the incidence of repeated exposure. Secondly, is the gathering of information from literature review of medical implications of vibration induced disorder from three non-indigenous authors. Thirdly, the author theoretically formulates determination of threshold vibration frequency that is pathological for various systems of human body. The material researches into similar situation of vibration exposure in many regions of the world. The author progresses to evaluating the population of indigenous subject and quantifies the number of workers at risk in the two categories of exposure. In order to make provision for the author’s inability to measure optimum dose exposure per individual, there is presentation of a general formula to determine this from simple recording of exposure duration and equipment frequency. Finally, the author review and relate India’s legislative regulatory standard in the protection of workers to other developed nations like US, UK, and Canada. The author’s finding quantitatively speculates that projections of teaming population of Indians miners are exposed to forms of vibration. He qualitatively discovers warm climate interplay that probably results in Indian’s complications with peripheral neuropathy and musculoskeletal abnormality and less pronounced circulatory effects. Furthermore, the insufficient data finds it impossible to determined standard causative dose of health risks. All are compounded by the legislature unspecific and unscientific guidelines in the evaluation and control of the occupational vibration in mining industries. More importantly, the author dealt extensively on the health risk associated with mining vibration exposure. Section 2: Article Critique In the author’s thesis of the need to develop a practical management strategy for evaluation, monitoring and control of equipment-induced vibration in Indian mining industry due to severe ill-health it poses on large scale mechanization, the author fails to elaborate on past government effort as in the control and the positive or the negative outcomes. Review of effectiveness of strategic control in line with legislative policies in other developed nations mentioned is necessary in order to evaluate the current position of Indian in a standard comparative study. The author lays much emphasis on the health statistic without a review of historical mortality relevance to the severe ill health claimed by theories. Less data is gotten of hospital cases. The two researched mining industry in Indian cannot by any means, provide a generalized extrapolation of population of miners who are susceptible to health risks. Findings from concerned employees seem not to come up in the analysis. Since employees are directly involved in the study, one supposed that a provision for questionnaire who voice out issues from the direct sufferers. On the basis of information gap and undocumented studies of Indians’ miners on related issues, author’s interpretation of data is faulty. Though one may agree that the outcome of both author’s qualitative and quantitative results are products of limited resources. More so, since there is no indigenous research on the subject matter, more efforts need to be invested in indigenous research before any logical conclusion could stand acceptable. Furthermore, since it is yet unproven with field studies that certain dose of exposure is required for listed medical diseases, the theoretical measurement of vibration dose is only best left paralleled without any connection with the study. The relevancies of theory and formulas of vibration to a certain dose with the risk of developing neural or vascular disease need to be substantiated by real-time survey for consolidated acceptance. While one may be tempted to agree with the author’s conclusion, it would be safer to give the second chance of thorough review of indigenous materials in order to propose a more specific monitoring, controlling policy to safeguard the health of Indian miners. The orientation of the article needs to be more focused on regional policy unification of legislative measures. Reference Bibhuti B. Mandal, Anup K. Srivastava (n. d). Risk From Vibration In Indian Mines. Indian Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, National Institute of Miners’ Health, Nagpur, India. Pg 1-5. (pdf format) Available at www

Medicare Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Medicare - Research Paper Example However, it is of essence to note that this insurance program is faced with numerous challenges that have led to strains on various stakeholders that access help from this program. This essay will attempt to assess the Medicare Insurance Program and the issues that have faced this program, the costs of the challenge and the possible solutions that could help solve the issues facing the insurance program. As Schieber, et al (2009) write, Medicare has had its share of problems for the longest time. Among the challenges that Medicare faces ranges from financial problems to management issues that have seen the insurance program fail to deliver services as would be expected of them. Failure of Medicare to fully deliver its services is huge challenge as the beneficiaries fail to get the required services. With reimbursement of funds being a major challenge, it is obvious that the persons with chronic conditions will not help as they would wish. On a deeper insight, it is evident that the population is growing by the day. Schieber, et al (2009) write that as soon as the younger generation get to their old age, the healthcare system will not provide the required services to the aged. This fact explains the reason behind the healthcare services being very expensive for a majority of US citizens. The Medicare challenges affect a huge percentage of people, organizations and even government agencies. However, it is very crucial to note that the tax payers are the most affected persons by the challenges of Medicare. As seen in the research conducted by Schieber, et al (2009), the American workers are spending too much of their pay towards the Medicare program, but most of them do not enjoy the outcomes of the health service. Worse still, the authors continue to indicate that some individuals actually spend from their pockets to get treatment (Schieber, et al., 2009). An analysis of this fact

Globalization and the Government Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Globalization and the Government - Essay Example Hence, it can be stated that globalization has weakened governance and dominance of government and has also restricted its role for the betterment of the society. The essay highlights the supporting ideas for the argument â€Å"globalization has reduced the ability of the government to govern† (Weiss, 2000).   International Monetary Fund (IMF) has stressed on the growing interdependence of economy worldwide on the increasing volume of cross-border transactions of goods or services and widespread transmission of technology. Dr. Ismail Shariff has defined globalization as a global process for homogenizing products, prices, wages, profits and interest rates. It depends on three main global forces of development such as the role of human migration, rapid movement of capital and international trade and lastly integration of financial markets (Poggi, 1978).   Globalization has been confounded by political and technical instruments such as policies of trade, information technology, and financial liberalization. Thus, these instruments are defined as the main drivers of globalization. However, there is a distinguishing feature of globalization, which has been identified by IMF and the World Bank. The feature refers to the wide scope of revenue for the economy that is engaged in cross-border transaction. These two institutions have given its decision in the economic affairs and have limited government intervention into globalization. Free trade and growing mobility of capital to promote the supranational decision making of the companies have reduced the power of the governments globally.   These factors have undoubtedly developed greater economic and social inequalities as globalization brought new realities to the market through its laissez-faire approach (Held, 1991).

Leadership for Organizations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Leadership for Organizations - Essay Example This intentional feature of acquiescence distinguishes from the various kinds of manipulations reliant on official power. The final aspect focuses on the fact that the consequences of leadership lead to deriving desired behavior from the followers. These desired actions are supposed to be decisive and are targeted towards an intention in a particular organizational structure. In other words, leadership is the competence of an individual to channelize and to stimulate the followers for the reason of exerting increased endeavor towards the accomplishment and effectiveness of the organization (Weiss, 2011). The paper intends to comprehend the leadership style that would be best suited to ensure the degree of success of an organization. Thus, this paper will make an attempt towards comprehending and evaluating the key concepts of leadership in a particular organization. The organization chosen for the reason of realizing the purpose of the paper is the Ashford Rotary Club. Leadership The ory & Its Way of Working Transformational Theories The transformational theories or this particular approach entails the basic notion that alteration and the function of leadership is predicting and putting into practice the reconstruction in terms of performance in the organizations. Leaders pursuing this approach help in prompting emotions within the followers which are perceived to stimulate them in order to behave in a definite way that can be referred as exchange relations. Transformational leaders are generally learnt to have a good vision and adequate management skills in order to generate an emotional union with the concerned followers. It has been noticed that the leaders possess a tendency to motivate the followers with the intention to attain the purposes that go further than their respective self interest (Boyle, 2003). Transformational leaders are known to entail three core characteristics and they are motivation, empowerment and morality. The motivational factor in suc h leaders is learnt to aim at the upper-order needs, for instance self-actualization in comparison to the other fundamental behavioral as well as emotional needs. The feature of morality emphasizes on the development of the followers. This particular core feature engages the incorporation of the moral values in relation to a particular organization within the followers which aids in giving rise to united orientation among the group members. Finally, the trait or quality of empowerment entails decisive independence, dynamic task management along with effectiveness of the individuals. Therefore, the three features of the transformational leaders help in attaining the following mentioned factors with regard to the followers (Boyle, 2003). An instance can be observed in terms of the President of the Ashford Rotary Club who acts as a leader for the members by guiding them. The President is known to follow a transformational style of leadership as he strongly motivates the members towards serving the community to the maximum. He never fails to admire or acknowledge the work done by his members and makes it a point to speak about the achievements of the respective members with the others. This helps in strongly encouraging the members in exerting increased efforts towards the attainment of the objectives of the Rotary Club despite witnessing grave problems such as dearth of funds (Ashford Rotary Club, n.d.). Effect of Power &

CEO Communication Analysis Memo Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

CEO Communication Analysis Memo - Essay Example If you can highlight all of these points in your report you will please all interested parties. Certainly, it can be a difficult balancing act, but it is important to appear confident and positive throughout. CEO of Nokia: Be responsible In the course of the three messages examined, the above elements appear again and again. In an annual report from a few years ago, the CEO of Nokia briskly discusses the company's values and then reviews changes made in the previous year to create value for investors and shareholders. He describes Nokia's vision as a world where everyone is connected. This is a great vision as it also communicates to investors that the company is listening to them and is responsive. The CEO goes on to speak about corporate social responsibility and how the company is looking to improve its programs relating to this in the future. This shows that the CEO is empathetic and is strongly considering the feelings of those who have a relationship with the company. It shows he understands the brand and the power of the brand. Part of a company's success is their products and profit margin, but another is how they are perceived. The job of a CEO must be to show they understand how their company is perceived both by customers and by investors. This is also reassuring to investors as it implies the company is being responsible and is willing to adapt to a changing marketplace. These are all key aspects to communicate. CEO of Samsung: Be respectful The CEO of Samsung writes similar things. He also makes sure to expressly state his gratitude to investors: â€Å"I deeply appreciate your continued support and encouragement for our success and would like to highlight our accomplishments in 2009.† Although this may sound obvious, many investors will appreciate the gesture. Again, this CEO talks about the changes that Samsung has undergone in the previous year. Of course, this is even easier to do after paying a big dividend and increasing the value of yo ur stock, as this CEO did. He continues by laying out a strategy for the future, including maximizing synergy. Investors want to know that a smart, dedicated man is at the helm of the company. They want to feel a sense of direction emanating from the report. They want confidence and courage to be displayed. CEO of Sony: Platitudes are not enough The third example which you can take a lot away from is a recent message in an annual report from the CEO of Sony. His task in this message was different than that of the CEO of Samsung. Sony was coming off a year where the company had significant losses. The purpose of his message was to convince investors that Sony was the company to put their money in. There are thousands of companies in the world, many with presences on many continents. Money is constantly shifting around between these businesses. It is the job of the CEO to keep investors' money parked in his company. Using snake-oil salesman techniques will not work on sophisticated in vestors. They are looking for transparency and accountability. This CEO explains in detail how the company will improve its performance—for example, by reducing the amount of suppliers. Investors will want concrete details of how the officers of the company plan to turn things around. Mere platitudes will not be enough. Conclusion The job of a chief executive officer is never easy. There are multiple constituents that must be pleased. There will always be

The comparison between Renren and Facebook Literature review

The comparison between Renren and Facebook - Literature review Example The government of China has been long trying to keep tight control over traditional as well as new social media platforms so that the political authorities are not challenged in any way (Boyd and Ellison, 2008). The government uses strict monitoring systems, jailing of bloggers, journalists or social activists and shutting down of websites and publications (Gorman, 2005). There has been a growing dissatisfaction among the young and emerging social groups in China. Most of these groups want higher flexibility in search sites and liberal policies for publications and online social media sites. This has led to anti social activities such as people getting involved in media censorship in China and that has in turn created pressure on the government. The Chinese have been demanding information and this is a testing phase for the age-old control of Chinese authorities over media (Hansen, 2010). Media censorship has been playing an influential role in the political evolution in Chinese gove rnance. However, with the rise in globalization and China becoming an integral part of the global economy, the political as well as the policy making authorities are trying to balance their goal of maintaining power by controlling content and satisfying the need for more information (Kiesler et al., 2002). The government fears that the consistent need for freedom and information might have to force them to open gates which the policies were trying to lock for so long (Zizi and Alan, 2000). Another concern is that while providing more information to the people the government might lose control over that crucial information which has been holding the overall government’s control and avoiding downfall of the regime (Bennett, 2013). Even though Chinese government allows sharing of information and media access, the government has been keen on maintaining strict laws and rules. The major concern comes in guarding the secrets of the state. The Chinese government has recently announc ed modifications in its state secret law policies in order to gain tight control over information flow. No doubt, social media sites like Google, Facebook, Tumbler and Twitter have been banned as a result of mass flow of information and ideas (O'Rourke IV, Harris and Ogilvy, 2007). Many critics have argued that the definition of these vague secret laws is itself contradictory. Thus, the rules of punishment and illegal obligations are sometimes despised. Revenue Sources for Social Media Networks In general there are two major sources of income for the company. It includes: IVAS (Value Added Services from Internet):- The source of revenue of IVAS is mainly from online applications and games. Most of the revenues are gathered from the online purchase of games, applications and other virtual items. Other revenues are earned from the application developers and merchants who offer their services and products in different websites. Furthermore, exclusive and VIP membership are few other ar eas from where the online firm earns substantial amount of money. Online Advertising: - Online advertisements are also another segment from which the company earns a substantial amount of revenue. This is achieved by a number of different advertisements. The advertisements are positioned ain suitable place at the front page or the interface. The advertisements are mainly charged according to the time and place where they are positioned in the

TV shows and commercials' problems and effect to children Lab Report

TV shows and commercials' problems and effect to children - Lab Report Example This "TV shows and commercials' problems and effect to children" essay outlines ten different TV shows, analyzes their impact on kids and values they teach to them. SpongeBob SquarePants: this is one of the American television shows that are popular in the modern television series. It is largely watched amongst the children population. It is also interesting to adults due to its enthusiastic plot. It presents some unique set up in regard to life far from the terrestrial environment. The fact that it is presented in form of cartoons makes it entertaining for the children. However, there are various gaffes associated with the language used, situations as well as the language that is used in the presentations. There are particular innuendos that tend to be above the understanding of the young viewers. In the presentations, the advertisements are usually targeted at the children, such as t-shirts, boxer-shorts and other commodities that are suitable for children such as delicious foods. The show is valuable to the children since it promotes courageousness and the desire to explore life under the water. Sesame Street: this is a TV show that significantly impacts on the lives of children in regard to their learning capability. Its entertainment aspect makes it attractive to children, which has made its theme a success amongst them. The puppets and animations are stimulating, coupled with talented actors who make the show very interesting. The aspect of familiarizing with letters and words is usually helpful in regard to improvement of learning.

Despairing Companionship Essay Example for Free

Despairing Companionship Essay â€Å"Modern Love,† a poetic sequence by George Meredith, describes a skeptical opinion on the idea of modern love. Meredith’s devastating tone, complex similes and metaphors, and dark imagery convey a sad and regretful outlook on the love of this time. â€Å"Modern Love† is riddled with a tone full of regret and heartache, making this modern love seem more like the opposite of love. The speaker says â€Å"she wept with waking eyes† and her â€Å"strange low sobs† were â€Å"strangled mute.† The words describing this woman are full of grief, full of â€Å"vain regret. † Her husband is painfully aware of his wife’s sadness, through her reaction to â€Å"his hand’s light quiver by her head† and her sobs that were â€Å"dreadfully venomous to him.† The speaker’s worried tone shows how much the husband wishes for his wife to be happy, but his actions of loving care and cautiousness do nothing to quell her tears. This makes modern love seem hopeless and full of despair for both the man and his distraught wife. Use of intense simile and metaphor throughout â€Å"Modern Love† also demonstrates a grim view on the concept of modern love. The muffled cries of the wife are called â€Å"little gaping snakes† showing how afraid and vulnerable the husband is to them. The man’s wife has a â€Å"Giant heart of Memory and Tears† which shows the heavy, almost useless organ that the wife carries around within her, empty of love, only able to remember the sadness to which she has been subjected to. Then, the husband and wife are said to be â€Å"like sculpture effigies† in their â€Å"common bed,† lying â€Å"stone-still.† Instead of two lovers talking to each other and loving each other in their bed, a place shared between the two of them, they are â€Å"moveless† and silent. This makes modern love seem empty of joy, empty of companionship, and devoid of love. â€Å"Modern Love† also utilizes imagery to portray the sadness and tension of modern love. The wife is described as lying â€Å"stone-still.† They are both â€Å"moveless† as they look back through their â€Å"dead black years.† Their life is described as â€Å"black,† which provides the image of nothingness, as if there is no memory worth seeing. Their modern love provides no light with which their lives might be made happy. They are seen as â€Å"sculptured effigies,† wishing for the â€Å"sword that severs all.† Instead of wishing for a good relationship or positive time together, they want something to end their marriage, to end the one thing that ties them together. This modern love is not love at all, but a forced binding between two people who want nothing of it. The poetic sequence â€Å"Modern Love† by George Meredith conveys a dark and regretful view of modern love through heartbreaking tone, deep similes and metaphors, and intense imagery.

Critically Assess the View That We Are Not Responsible for Our Evil Actions Essay Example for Free

Critically Assess the View That We Are Not Responsible for Our Evil Actions Essay Many Philosophers, such as Hoderich and John Calvin, believe that humans do not have free will to act in moral situations and that all moral actions have uncontrollable prior causes. Hard determinists, therefore, follow the belief that humans can not be morally blameworthy for their actions, evil or not, because their actions are predetermined. However, this is a ridiculous stance to take as humans are free to make moral choices, meaning they are entirely responsible for their evil actions. Many argue that hard determinism is the best approach to take when assessing this hypothesis as once you abandon the outdated notion of freedom; you can create a much better world. B.F. Skinner supports this view by recognising that since people are ultimately the result of their conditions, â€Å"and will get conditioned by their upbringing and environments anyway†, we ought to control people’s upbringing and environments as much as possible to ensure that their conditioning is positive. Skinner argued that such a plan would be more helpful than the current situation, in which peoples conditions is ultimately dependent on to luck. The case of Leopold and Loeb demonstrates this idea perfectly. If you look at the case on the surface, it seems like an act of pure evil, both boys kidnapped Bobby Franks and demanded ransom from his family, when this failed, they murdered him by hitting him over the head with a chisel. Harrow, whom was their lawyer and a follower of hard determinism, argued that â€Å"they killed [Bobby Franks] because they were made that way. Because somewhere in the infinite process that go to the making up of the boy or the man something slipped†. If one looks into the background of these two boys, evidence refutes this point; both of these boys were from very privileged backgrounds, Leob was actually the son of the vice president. Despite this, Leob was fascinated by detective stories; he read about crimes, he planned them and he eventually committed them. Leopold, on the other hand, who was reading Philosophy at the University of Chicago, became attracted to Friedrich Nitezche and his criticism of moral codes; he believed that those who followed Nitezche were super human and did not have to abide by the moral laws that others did. Darrow argued that Leopold’s obsession with crime and Loebs fascination with Nitezhce was a form of rebellion against the well-meaning, but strict and controlling, governess who raised him. They can not be hold morally responsible for the murder of Bobby Franks because each â€Å"child takes one shape or another shape depending not upon the boy himself, but on what surrounds him.†. However, this is a weak view to take as it suggests that people do not need to feel guilty for their actions; they have no moral responsibility, as their actions are already determined. If people were not morally responsible for their evil actions, then the world by a chaotic place, people could commit evil crimes and blame it upon their surroundings. It is therefore clear that hard determinism is a ridiculous view to take when assessing this hypothesis, as it would lead to utter anarchy and the notion of sin would be undermined. Many argue that soft determinism is the best approach to take when assessing the question, as it does not rule out free will- the two are compatible and so moral decisions and moral debate remains possible. Followers of soft determinism believe that some of our actions are conditioned, while others have so complex a collection of causes that they may properly be described as freely decided or willed. Hume is the Philosopher who is normally associated with this idea. Hume believed that events are determined because of a casual link between objects. Take for example, in 2012, when the travellers were prevented from flying as a result of ash from a volcanic eruption in Iceland. For Hume, this casual link is called the constant union of objects. For instance, the volcano’s eruption prevents you from flying; that is outside of the control of the individual. But the response to that situation produces free will. In relation to murder, one could argue that your upbringing is determined, but the way you respond is a result of free will. This is a differing view to that of Take for instance the case of Mary Bell in 1968 who was convicted of the murder of two toddles. She was subject to an awful upbringing; her mother was a prostitute who specialised in sado- masochism- Mary was forced to listen to her mother perform these acts. A soft- determinist could argue that although Mary was subject to an abusive upbringing, she must hold some moral responsibility for her actions. Although this view seems highly logical, soft determinists have not agreed on precisely what is and what is not a determining factor in human action. This means that contradictions between followers of soft determinists are highly likely. Many disagree that Libertarianism is the best approach to apply to questions surrounding moral responsibility. They believe that cause and affect is too apparent in the world for us to simply disregard it; it must have an impact on human actions. Take for instance, the idea of murder, if you are brought up in a family in which murder is regarded as a sin, you are less likely to commit such a crime as one understands that murder immoral. This demonstrates the idea of cause and effect perfectly; someone teaches you that murder is immoral; the cause, you understand this and therefore do not do it; the effect. Despite this, one could refute this weakness by arguing that these are just moral rules that coincide with the societal norm, they do not strip us of our free will. Even if we were not brought up with these moral codes, we can still abide by them as we posses free will. The idea of free will also makes logical sense to us. In our day-to-day lives, we feel as if we posses it; we make daily decisions based upon our feelings, not something that has already been determined. As put by Aquinas, â€Å"man chooses not of necessity but freely†. Peter Van Inwagen’s also follows this approach, he argues that we can see that we posses free will by the deliberation of two choices of action; if we are able to do both, then we must have it as it ultimately is our choice to do either or. Peter Van Inwagen used an analogy to demonstrate this idea; you are walking along a road with many branches on it, which branch you choose to go down is your decision. Therefore, in relation to moral responsibility, we should all be held responsible for any evil actions committed as they do not come about as a result of chance or random events. Some may be subject to events which could potentially alter their morality, but they are free to choose which path they take. To conclude, although hard- determinism has some strengths, the fact that it believes that we should not be held morally responsible for actions mean it is useless when looking at questions surrounding moral responsibility. Soft- determinism, on the other hand, is far too vague and would produce many contradictions. Libertarianism is the best approach to take as it makes logical sense; we can see we possess free will and we should therefore be punished if we commit evil actions.