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The Turtle by Ogden Nash
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The Turtle by Ogden Nash
Introduction
First published in 1601, the poem ‘The Turtle’ was a creation of Ogden Nash. Born August 19th in Rye, New York, Frederick Ogden Nash was the son of a successful businessman named Edmund. His father was a renowned businessman in New Haven, New York, at the time of the setting of this poem. The main topic that the poem addresses pertains to nature; it gives insight and lessons regarding the law of nature using a turtle as an allegory. Some of the elements that are analyzed in this text include emotional resonance, sight, sound, and a summary of the poem. This poem depicts how interesting and superior Mother Nature is; despite being covered by a shell, turtles still find a way of reproducing. The preferred audience for this text is the middle school children, such as those in grades 4 and 5, as it would give them a lot to think about and to appreciate nature more. Such children would find the story of the turtle rather fascinating.
Verse-to-Verse Prose Translation
Verse
The turtle lives ‘twixt plated decks
Which practically conceal its sex
I think it clever of the turtle
In such a fix to be so fertile Prose
Turtles have shells
The shells cover their bodies which make reproductive function difficult.
It is a wise thing to do
But still how comes turtles are very fertile
Summary
The narrative voice in Nash’s poem ‘The Turtle” is an outsider. The voice belongs to a more mature individual who seems to have been studying the turtle. From the seriousness of the narrator’s tone, one can tell that he is from an older generation. In summary, Ogden Nash’s poem is about nature, particularly reproduction. One can clearly tell that the poem is about a turtles’ reproduction. While the philosophical representation of turtles is far from direct, it still exists. Nash uses the turtle to point out how amazing nature is. Turtles tend to have a hard shell and a hard stomach which makes it difficult to tell their sex. Notably, despite these setbacks, sex turtles still find a way of reproducing. The visible characters in this poem are the narrator and the turtle that forms the subject of this poem. The poet Nash uses various poetic devices such as rhyme that help pass its message across. Upon reading Nash’s poem ‘The Turtle,’ readers are left with tons of questions about how turtles reproduce. Nash writes, “…twixt plated decks. Which practically conceal sex.” One can bear witness that the turtle population keeps increasing, yet they are covered in a shell that makes it even telling gender difficult.
Sight
Upon reading this poem, the visual image that immediately comes to mind is the ugly shell that covers a turtle’s body. Immediately one starts to wonder how the turtle must feel like having to put up with the shell. One wonders whether it is a burden as it looks heavy. While reading this book, readers should pay attention to this mental image as it demonstrates the concept of how difficult it must be to reduce while carrying the weight of the shell on its back. It pushes the readers to wonder if the shell even hides its sex, and it is fertile, they how does it reproduce in the first place. Paying attention to this picture is important as it speaks volumes compared to the words themselves.
A turtle in its shell struggling to walk
Sound
Various sounds and lines stand out in the poem, which makes the poem effective and memorable in its message delivery. There is rhyme in the first two lines and the second two lines that follow. In lines 1 and 2, the poet writes, “The turtle lives twixt plated decks. Which practically conceal its sex”. In Line 3 and 4, the poet writes, “I think it clever of the turtle. In such a fix to be so fertile. The words decks and sex have similar sounds, while turtle and fertile also have the same sounds. This creates rhyme. Nash has a clever way of playing around with words that make the poem even more interesting. The rhyme makes the message more clearly by putting emphasis on specific words. For instance, in this case, the words sex, turtle and fertile that point to the main theme of reproduction that is felt throughout the poem.
Emotional Resonance
At first, the poem ignites mixed feelings when a person reads it for the first time. However, with time, the poem exhibits a deep sad and thoughtful mood. The reader is left with a lot of questions about the turtle. When one reads the poem, they feel sorry for the turtle because the narrator makes it seem like the turtle has a difficult time. One wonders whether there is anything they can do to help the situation to make reproduction occur more naturally. Without a doubt, remorse is a familiar feeling when reading this poem. Upon reading this poem, one realizes that there is need to be grateful for everything that comes their way. One suddenly realizes that the turtle is among the creatures that have it rough. One can only imagine how it feels to carry the weight of a shell. The poem evokes feelings of sadness as well as gratitude in the readers. Nash writes, ‘which practically conceal its sex”. By saying this, he wanted to show that if the shell makes it difficult to tell the sex of a turtle, then how do turtles reproduce despite being so fertile. This ignites sadness in the reader. This emotional resonance makes it easy to understanding the meaning of the poem even more. In essence, it helps drive the point of the law of nature home.
Conclusion
Ogden Nash’s poem “The Turtle” speaks to the effectiveness of the law of nature. The poet uses the example of the turtle to show that irrespective of the hurdles that stand in the way reproduction of turtles, nature has a way making it happen. Readers ought to pay attention when reading this poem because the poem’s meaning will not come to them the first time. It may take a few rounds of reading for the readers to grasp what the poem is talking about. Particularly readers should pay close attention to the sounds, feelings, words, and images they encounter when they read the text. College students and high school students would be the perfect target audience for this poem as they are the most curious about how nature works. These people tend to be easily fascinated by wildlife and human nature.
Works Cited
Ogden Nash’s “The Turtle”
Distinguishing Business Terms
Distinguishing Business TermsPart A
Explain each of the following terms: Investment decision, financing decision and distribution decision. Your answer must distinguish between these terms, explain the linkages between them.
Answer:
Investment decision
Investment decision in the context of corporate finance refers to an agreed course of action by the corporate entity, embodying current outlays in return for a stream of economic benefits in future years. However, it is pertinent to note that corporate entities always intend to realize inflow of economic benefits in exchange of outflow of economic resources. Hence, the investment decision is regarded as the key business activity because of the anticipated risks associated with the expenditure that might unable to be recouped over the period. There are two types of investment decisions that are distinguished solely on the basis of time; that is the short-term and long-term investment decisions also known as “capital investment”. Short-term decisions are those that involve a relatively short time horizon, say one year, from the commitment of funds to the receipt of benefits. CITATION Arn05 t l 1033 (Arnold) On the other hand, capital investment decisions are those decisions where a significant time period elapses between the outlay and recoupment of the investment. CITATION Dav10 l 1033 (Hillier)Business entities’ investment decisions include investments in plant and machinery, research and development for innovation, advertising and warehouse facilities. CITATION Jon11 l 1033 (Jonathan Berk)In making capital investment decisions, the entities use certain appraisal techniques which indicate whether it will be a lucrative investment or not; commonly include, the pay-back period, net present value using discounted cash flows, accounting rate of return as well as internal rate of return.
Financing decision
Financing decision is the planned action of the corporate entity for raising the funding as and when required to be ventured in the business. Since businesses always run on the availability of adequate funds in the form of cash such as to support the investments, and for managing operational requirements. CITATION Ric10 l 1033 (Richard A Brealey)Therefore, corporate entities use financing decision as a tool to figure out why, when and how the provision of economic resource in the form of cash is required and for what purpose. It is quite often, the strategic planners of the organization such as the Board of Directors that devise strategies before execution of a project that addresses these questions such why, when and how they are going to finance it. CITATION Ste11 l 1033 (Stephen Lumby)The word ‘why’ deciphers the reason for financing, whereas “when” means the timeline required for financing and “how” means the source from which the finance would be availed. The need for further financing does not arise if the entity has sufficient funds in its equity and the required funding can be met through its own equity. In contrast, if the entity does not possess adequate funds it would go for acquiring finance and for this purpose it will evaluate the amount require for finance and also as to for how long it needs financing depending upon the execution of the project and the source of finance. The source of finance is either through its own internally generated funds in the form of equity, borrowing from a financial institution such as a bank or selling of equity. CITATION Arn05 t l 1033 (Arnold)Distribution decision
Distribution decision refers to the implementation of a planned and viable mechanism adopted by the business entity intended to make accessibility of the products or service to the target market base. CITATION Arn05 t l 1033 (Arnold) In making such an important decision, the strategic planners such as the Board of Directors consider both the financial and non-financial factors. The financial factors include the amount of funds for investment and the source used for financing it (which is the linking factor between the above two decisions). However, the non-financial factors include preparation of a marketing plan intended to communicate the objectives, target market, behavioral segmentation variables and related promotional activities etc. CITATION Jon11 l 1033 (Jonathan Berk)In order to make the distribution decision, the Board should evaluate whether the decision made is both effective and efficient in terms of its functioning. The effectiveness relates to the provision of the product or a service in an accurate and good condition through a reliable ordering and delivery system. It should also facilitate for safe storage and by charging an optimum price beneficial to the customer and the entity alike in order to remain competitive in the market. In contrast, the efficiency relates to savings of cost and time in distribution of the product or service. The decision once implemented needs consistent evaluation by putting adequate efforts for improvement in the process and identification of loopholes for remedial action. CITATION Dav10 l 1033 (Hillier)Part B
Obtain the recent published accounts of a UK limited company (plc or Ltd). Using the information contained in these accounts (together with any other sources that you think may be useful – such as press reports); explain the key investment, financing and distribution decisions that have been made by the company during the year and comment on them. How do these relate to the theory in Part A? In answering this part of the requirement, it may be useful to include consideration of the following issues within the current economic climate:
What investments were made, and why?
Answer:
During the financial year 2012 ending 30 December 2012, Dominos Pizza Group PLC hereinafter referred to as “The group” carried out following key investments;
In order to boost revenue, the group has opened 69 new stores during the 53 week period ending 30 December 2012 (2011: 62) with 58 stores in the United Kingdom and 12 stores in Switzerland resulting in a total of 805 stores in four countries at the end of the year. CITATION Ann121 l 1033 (Annual Report and Accounts 2012)The group has key relationship with Domino’s Pizzas International Franchising Inc., the master of franchisor of Domino’s Pizza across the globe. During the year, the group has entered into third master franchise agreement on 24 September 2012 which relates to Switzerland acquiring 12 Swiss stores’ trade and assets of Domino’s Pizza Switzerland. The total acquisition cost was £ 4.6m. CITATION Ann121 l 1033 (Annual Report and Accounts 2012)
On 29 July 2012, the Group acquired 100% of the issued share capital of two companies, DA Hall Trading Limited and DAHT Limited. The consideration of £ 4.68m was satisfied by cash. CITATION Ann121 l 1033 (Annual Report and Accounts 2012)Investment in new commissary capacity amounting to £ 1.9m, which will now produce more pizza dough than its predecessor did and still has significant spare capacity to meet increased demand in the future. CITATION Ann121 l 1033 (Annual Report and Accounts 2012)Distribution decision by an investment in marketing activities amounting to £14.79m in TV ads, sponsorships, outdoor leafleting and also in newer tools like email, android and iPad apps, associate sites, search engine optimization, digital display and many others. CITATION Ann121 l 1033 (Annual Report and Accounts 2012)Significant cash outflows arising from investing in purchasing property, plant and equipment and investment in IT systems amounting to £4.4m. This investment primarily includes roll-out of a brand new company intranet which will provide the group’s employees with the latest news and corporate information, promoting staff engagement and increasing transparency. CITATION Ann121 l 1033 (Annual Report and Accounts 2012)Payment made to Commerzbank amounting to £ 2.2m under the arrangements of the acquisition of Domino’s Leasing Limited as well as £4.7m investment in UK joint ventures during the year. CITATION Ann121 l 1033 (Annual Report and Accounts 2012)Were there any significant disposals?
Answer:
Disposal of a subsidiary:
On 21 December 2012, the Group disposed 100% of its interest in DP Milton Keynes Limited for cash consideration of £840,000 less transaction costs of £12,000. The net assets at the date of disposal were £41,000. The gain of £507,000 has been recognized on this disposal following recognition of the loss in reserves and an accrual of £55,000 for final settlement obligations. CITATION Ann121 l 1033 (Annual Report and Accounts 2012)Who comments on these investments/disposals in the report – Chairman/CEO/CFO and why? Was finance obtained from internal or external sources (or both)? Was finance from short term or long term sources?
Answer:
The group has a 12 member Board of Directors together as an Executive Committee that comments on the aforementioned investments/disposals in their report. The Board comprises of;
S# Name Designation
1 Lance Batchelor Chief Executive Officer (Chairman)
2 Lee Ginberg Chief Financial Officer
3 Adam Batty Company Secretary & General Counsel
4 Ian Douglas Procurement Director
5 Simron Wallis Sales and Marketing Director
6 Kerri Saunders Operations Director
7 Jane Franks HR Director
8 Micheal Botha Commercial Director
9 Andrew Emmerson Business Development Director
10 Colin Rees IT Director
11 Patricia Thomsa International Development Director
12 Kory Spiroff Germany Managing Director
The Executive Committee is responsible for the day to day management of the Group’s operations within the limits contained in the Board’s delegation of authority and for delivering the Group’s strategy. During the year 2012, the Board has approved decisions pertaining to the acquisition of the Domino’s Switzerland business, further financing for franchisees, redesign for the five year strategic plan for Germany, approval of 2013 budget and operational plan, entry into two joint ventures with Franchisees in the United Kingdom and two in Germany. CITATION Ann121 l 1033 (Annual Report and Accounts 2012)The Group is availing finance from both internal and external sources as well as from short and long term sources as shown in the following table;
What were the sources of any external finance?
Answer:
Fully paid share capital
During the period, 2,386,957 (2011: 312,349) ordinary shares of 1.5625p each with a nominal value of £37,296 (2011: £4,880) were issued between 64.53p (2011: 17.19p) and 482.4p (2011: 341.00p). The total cash consideration received was of £2,594,000 (2011: £593,000) to satisfy the share options that were exercised. CITATION Ann121 l 1033 (Annual Report and Accounts 2012)Bank revolving facility – Long Term Borrowing
The Group has restructured the existing long-term borrowing revolving credit arrangement obtained from the bank amounting to £25m to £30m dated 1 August 2012. This long-term facility was fully availed as on 30 December 2012 and has a five year term. It carries mark-up at 1.35% (2011: 0.5%) per annum above London Inter Bank Offering Rate (LIBOR) in addition to a 0.5% utilization fee. All the costs incurred in relation to re-structuring of the existing finance are being included in the carrying amount of the facility and are amortized over the term of the facility; at 30 December 2012, amortization of £35,000 has been recognized. CITATION Ann121 l 1033 (Annual Report and Accounts 2012)Bank overdraft facility – Short Term Borrowing
The group has also acquired an overdraft facility from the Barclays Bank dated 5 October 5, 2012 with a maximum limit of £5,000,000 which will be used of managing short term working capital requirements. The interest is charged at 1.25% per annum above LIBOR. At 30 December 2012m there was £nil drawdown on the facility. CITATION Ann121 l 1033 (Annual Report and Accounts 2012)Is there any governance discussion of the risk relating to the investments/disposals and the impact on financing?
Answer:
Yes, the corporate governance section in the report duly discusses the associated risks with the investments and disposal and the impact on financing. Since the risk is an inherent part of doing business, therefore the Board is fully committed to identifying, evaluating and monitoring significant risks facing the business. Accordingly, the Board is updated regularly with regard to the financial structure of the group which is evidenced through strong track record of financial performance combined with effective and robust business model and seen as a strong covenant by the banks and investors. Relationships are carefully nurtured by the Board of Directors, senior management and franchise facing employees in all departments and for this purpose regular one-to-one business reviews meetings are held with each franchisee at least annually. Further, in collaboration with Domino’s Pizza master franchisors the risks relevant to commissary production issues and interruptions in supply chain are mitigated through efficient resource management. Moreover, as the group continue to invest heavily in IT systems and innovation for business efficiency and better customer experience, the implementation of disaster recovery plan and centralized electronic point of sales system serve the purpose. CITATION Ann121 l 1033 (Annual Report and Accounts 2012)Was there evidence of any finance being repaid to investors? How do this year’s dividends compare to previous years?
Answer:
Yes, the evidence of finance being repaid to investors is clearly disclosed in the group’s cash flow statement such as in case of external financing from bank repayment of long term borrowing and overdraft facility along with interest costs. However, in case of equity financing the finance being repaid is termed as dividend through profits as follows;
The equity dividends paid during the year 2012 were amounting to £ 21,746m whereas in the year 2011, total paid dividends were £18,025m which indicates the increase amounting to £ 3,721m, which is 21% more than the prior year. Further, dividend per share for the period was up 17.9% to 14.50 pence (2011: 12.30 pence). CITATION Ann121 l 1033 (Annual Report and Accounts 2012)Part C
How were the investment, financing and distribution decisions (from Part b) linked? Can you find evidence in the report and accounts of any comment on the intended strategic impact of these decisions?
Answer:
The investment, financing and distribution decisions are directly inter-linked among each other. It is obvious that in order to carry out an investment decision, there is a need for setting financing decision beforehand. Accordingly; the financing decision takes precedence because unless or until the funds are available for venturing in the business, an investment activity would not be carried out. The group has financed all of its investments through external as well as the internal source of financing. The equity and bank loan are external source of financing whereas the cash held in the bank in the form of highly liquid short-term investments. Such investments yield high interest rates on a daily basis and the working capital are internal source of financing. Both the equity and the long-term bank credit are for long-term investment projects, however the internally generated funds are for short-term investment project because of the relative materiality of the amounts. The investment decision once made needs the distribution decision that is how to get it across the target market. The group has opened and acquired new stores, enhance commissary activities but it then requires the ways to deliver the pizzas to the people accurately and expeditiously with least cost. For this purpose, the group has spent high on innovative IT systems in order to have efficiency in the business processes; information processing is centralized for adequate control purposes and decision making.
The evidence of the intended strategic impact of these decisions is found on the group’s report. The group ensures that it remains a strong credit rating and healthy capital ratios in order to support its business and maximize shareholder value. It always manages its capital structure and makes adjustments to it in the light of changes in economic conditions. To maintain or adjust the capital structure, the Group may adjust the dividend payment to shareholders, return capital to shareholders or issue new shares
References
1. Glen Arnold (2005) Corporate Financial Management, 3rd edition, United Kingdom: Financial Times/ Prentice Hall.
2. David Hillier (2010) Corporate Finance: European Edition, Kindle edition, Europe: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
3. Jonathan Berk, Peter DeMarzo (2011) Corporate Finance, 2nd edition, England: Pearson Education.
4. Richard A Brealey, Stewart C Myers, Franklin Allen (2010) Principles of Corporate Finance – Global Edition , 10th edition, United Kingdom: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
5. Stephen Lumby, Chris Jones (2011) Corporate Finance Theory & Practice, 8th edition, United Kingdom: Cengage Learning EMEA.
6. Dominos Pizza Group PLC (2012) Annual Report and Accounts 2012, United Kingdom: Forest Stewardship Council.
The Truth About Lies
(Dis)Honesty: The Truth About Lies
Name
Institutional Affiliation
(Dis)Honesty: The Truth About Lies
From ticket fixing within police departments to cheating on filling tax returns and in romance to financial schemes that undermine the economy, it is clear that dishonesty seems to be a ubiquitous part of every individual. Ariely’s film (2:27) asserts that, beyond every individual’s personal experiences, a cursory glimpse into various public scandals ranging from Bernie Madoff to Enron also indicate the prevalence of lies in every culture.
Behavioral psychologist and economist Dan Ariely’s film “(Dis) Honesty – The Truth About Lies” indicates that a good number of people believe that they lie and at the same time think of themselves in general as honest and wonderful people (Ariely film 1:32-38). Many times these individuals lie in different accounts due to the fact that they have already gotten to this far by telling little lies. Therefore, in order to go along with what was said earlier, individuals continue lying more, thereby making their little lies become outright dishonesty. With this in mind, Ariely film (10:10), suggests through the application of the matrix experiment, findings indicate that it is the many little lies by little cheaters that bring more damage to the society than the few big lies by big cheaters that make headlines.
The ability of individuals to tell lies and at the same time think of themselves as generally honest and wonderful people all starts with rationalization (Ariely film 1:41). In this case, individual looks at the mirror and think of themselves as being good, honest, and wonderful. On the other hand, these individuals also want to enjoy various short term benefits, gains, and profits associated with being dishonest. In so doing, this scenarios result to the creation of the fudge factor, a line that best describes the two events. Ariely film (3:19), defines the fudge factor as the ability of an individual to misbehave and think of themselves as good people enabling them to rationalize. In numerous occasion, the greater the fudge factor, the more individuals engage in cheating, and be okay with themselves. In other words, the fudge factor determines how much dishonesty is acceptable for an individual. According to Ariely film (3:27-37), how much one exaggerate their online dating profile, drive above the normal speed limit, or engage in tax fraud are some of the most common examples of the fudge factors among many individuals. For most of us, our friends, and families, the fudge factor normally comes into play when we are lying for others. In these cases, individuals believe that by lying for others which is dishonesty, they are also doing what is best for others.
Everything that changes the fudge factor changes peoples abilities to be dishonest (Ariely film 3:41 -45), With this in mind, it is clear that there are various elements such as lying for others, everybody is doing it, lack of supervision, and the felling that they are not hurting anybody, that influence the fudge factor. For instance, when individuals tell themselves that everybody is doing it, it is easier for them to rationalize to themselves that this is actually an okay thing to do, making them cheat to a higher degree (Ariely film 3:57 -59). In regard to lack of supervision, individuals may find it easier to misbehave and consider themselves good people in the defense that they were left unsupervised hence not their fault to misbehave. In other cases, the occurrence of the fudge factor may be a result of the notion “I am not hurting anyone”. In this case individuals normally engage in dishonest activities with a defense that their actions are not a threat to any individual and as a result considering themselves good people. Based on lying for others factor, many individuals misbehave by lying to protect other individuals such as friends and family members in times of trouble. In so doing, these individuals comfort themselves that they are doing the right thing and are therefore good people regardless of the dishonesty. The day to day normal activities of many individuals result to a lot of fatigue. With this, numerous individuals normally misbehave for instance, going above the speed limit with a defense that they are coming from work and tired. In this case, these individuals consider themselves good people who are working hard to contribute to the development of the nation regardless of their bad behavior.
Regarding examinations, there are various reasons that indicate why students involve in cheating and plagiarism. For instance, a majority of students engage in cheating to inadequate preparation during examination periods. The lack of preparation and enough time to complete the tests usually causes problems among students forcing them to adopt other measures such as cheating (Ariely film 33:18). Despite the fact that many students consider this a fudge factor, it is important to note that cheating is socially questionable and against the social trust concept and thus not justifiable.
Guess work among students is another major factor that contributes to cheating and plagiarism among many students especially in cases involving rewards (Ariely film 39:13). In most scenarios, students who do not want to struggle figuring out problems or preparing for examination usually adopt other strategies such as guessing and inventing their own solutions. Apart from this, gaining benefit is another major reason a majority of students engage in cheating and plagiarism during examination (Ariely film 9:17). In a case where individuals are provided with rewards, students will adopt strategies such as cheating in order to gain the rewards such as money being given. However, this reason also does not justify the cheating as it goes against the social trust.
According to (Ariely film 14:47), students also tend to cheat if they are surrounded by those who are cheating. Influence is a powerful element that causes individuals to engage in activities they do not intend to. By sitting around people who are cheating, most students are usually influenced to also engage in cheating. However, this as well is not a justifiable reason for cheating due to the fact that influence is an urge that individuals can avoid.
Going by the moral code and good behavior should always be the guiding strategy for any difficult dilemma. For instance, in the case of Kelley who is dishonest about her address so that her daughter can attend a better school, personally, I would have addressed the problem differently. Telling the truth and instead seeking for help for my daughter’s quality education would have been the best method to use. By doing this, one is able to maintain their moral code and minimize the chance of lying in another scenario which occurs as a result of a developed habit. Despite Kelley’s social injustice, racial discrimination is another major social injustice that might lead someone to violate the law by engaging in riots and protests in the fight against this type of social injustice. It is the responsibility of government institutions to impose laws that fight against these types of injustices that affect individuals.
In more than one case, big cheaters have made numerous big mistakes whereas small cheaters have made small mistakes and dishonest decisions. However, bearing this in mind, (Ariely film 3:41 -45), indicates that it is the small cheaters are in fact the bigger problem. Out there, there are big cheaters who make big mistakes but they are very rare making their overall economic impact very low (Ariely film 10:22). On the other hand, the number of small cheaters is relatively huge and due to this their relative economic impact of small cheating is relatively high making them a big problem. According to Ariely film (10: 38), small acts of dishonestly conducted by small cheaters result to major cost, for instance the IRS being cheated more that 15 percent of its tax revenue annually.
Social trust is one of the most important elements for every thriving society. It involves a belief in integrity, honesty, and reliability on others. Since a thriving society is dependent on a certain level of its members trust, individuals attempt to nudge likely defectors into complying with their societal norms. However, the dilemma usually occurs when individuals have to make difficult choices between their personal interest and group interest. In this case, the idea is that individuals can add societal pressure to their situation which can encourage cooperation instead of selfishness (Bruce, 2017). By applying moral pressure which is a form of societal pressure, individuals are able to abstain from wrong doings such as stealing due to the belief that it is wrong and against societal rules. By not involving in dishonest activities that involve people who are not from your social circle, the level of dishonesty such as stealing normally drops. With this in mind, it therefore important to note that social trust in an important source of reducing cases of dishonesty in a thriving society. It is as a result that Ariely film (14:58), indicate that it is not about the probability of being caught that reduces cases of being dishonest, it is the question of about what is socially acceptable in our social circle.
In order to strengthen social trust in regard to academic integrity at UC Davis, it is important to add societal pressure which induces cooperation among students over selfishness (Bruce, 2017). One of the ways of strengthening social trust through societal pressures is by instituting institutional pressure which involves rules and laws in UC Davis. This pressure involves norms which are codified, and whose enforcement and enactment is generally delegated. Institutional pressure, persuade individuals to perform according to the institution norms by imposing penalties to those who go against, and rewarding those who do not. In so doing, this strengthens the social trust related to academic integrity at UC Davis.
Peace, love, humility, empathy, truth, faith, and compassion are some of the major characteristics of good, honest, and wonderful people. They represent the good wolf in us which makes us act appropriately. In order to be able to sustain these characteristics, it is important to adopt various strategies that strengthen one’s resistance to temptations of dishonesty. Being reminded of the moral code and good behavior is one of the ways to strengthen one’s resistance to temptations of dishonesty (Ariely film 39:43). In addition, reminding ourselves of our own moral fiber is also of great importance. In so doing, this decreases cases of dishonesty and cheating this fostering out integrity. Ariely film (41:53), suggests that admitting the mistakes done by being honest to yourself, family, and friends is another way of supporting your efforts to live with integrity.
Reference
Bruce, S. (2017). Enabling the Trust That Society Needs to Thrive By
Available at https://fs.blog/2017/01/bruce-schneier-trustThe Film “(Dis) Honesty – The Truth About Lies”
Available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rd5IWbZt1U