What are the possible causes of conflicts?

Conflict is a disagreement between parties involved who believe that there is a threat to their needs, interest or concerns. Conflict is a normal part of our daily life that helps us to grow through improves understanding and insight. However, sometimes conflict can go out of hand and turned into a negative experience due to unforeseen circumstances. These disputes tend to have limited option and people normally do not look for possible solutions to solve it but argue mindlessly in order to save their pride. The possible causes of conflicts are mostly due to the increase in workload, competition of power and accommodating others.

The increase in workload may lead to conflicts due to the increase in stress level which people are unable to cope. Hence, they tend to vent their anger and emotions on others, which then lead to a conflict. For example, the increasing assignments from school have led to decreasing leisure time. Some may take a longer time to do, while some may take lesser time. The slow learners may find it frustrating, as some may not be able to cope with it. Therefore, if anyone tries to interrupt them while they are doing their work, they may get a good scolding. Thus, leading to a conflict, as the one at the receiving end would be shocked at the emotional responds and may start an argument. The emotional responds we experience in a conflict are often feeling due to anger, fear, despair or confusion. For this case, it would be fear and anger, as they fear that they might not be able to finish their work on time and are angry that they are being interrupted. These emotional responses are mostly being misunderstood, as people tend to believe that others are feeling the same way as they do. However, in most cases it is the direct opposite. Therefore, the differences in emotional responses are confusing and causes conflicts to arise.

The competition of power may lead to conflict, as one tends to seek complete control over others. This is because of the fear of losing control, which may lead to the failure to meet their needs. Therefore, competitions tend to lead to responses that increase in the level of threat, which will result in a conflict. For example, in a group project work, the dominating one will tend to take control and lead the group with or without the group members’ approval. She will tend to put a deaf ear to others opinions and do what ever she wants. Some members who do not agree with her may be picked on, resulting in cognitive responses. The members’ ideas and thoughts are often being presented as their inner voices during the conflict. Hence, the differing cognitive responses may contribute to emotional or behavioral responses, which then result in a conflict.

However, there are also some members who accommodates to others. These people tend to allow others to step over their heads and keep quiet about it, as preserving the relationship is seen as most important. Even if they disagree with another, they tend to keep it to themselves. Their physical responses will kick in at a stage where they cannot take it any longer, as it plays an important role in our ability to meet our needs in a conflict. It includes rapid heartbeat, increase perspiration and accelerated breathing. If a calmer environment is not established, the conflict may get worst, as emotions are hard to managed at this point of time.

In sum, we should all keep in mind that it takes courage to sit and listen to others’ needs. In order to avoid a conflict, one should learn to be open and respect others.

Life is Beautiful

Plot Synopsis
Life is Beautiful is a story of a father’s love for his wife and son, where the story is set during the holocaust.


Plot Outline
The story begins with two young man, Guido Orifice and Ferruccio driving through the countryside. However, their car broke down, and while Ferruccio was trying to fix it, Guido wondered to a nearby farm, where he got head over heels with a lady, named Dora, who later becomes his wife. Through out the first segment of the story, by fate, Guido bumped into Dora several times in the most unexpected manners. These sequences have helped Guido to win the heart of his princess, Dora, as they finally got married. The horror and tragedy starts at the second segment, as it is set in a concentration camp five years later, where Dora was separated from Guido and their son, Giosue. In order not to let his son learn the truth that they have been imprisoned, Guido tried to convince his son that they were actually playing a game. Thus, the guards and rules to be observed are all part of the game to win a tank. The story ended with Guido sacrificing himself for the safety of his wife and son.


Characters
Life is beautiful features mostly Guido, Dora and Guisue who were living happily together until the occupation of Italy by German forces sets in.


Guido Orefice
Guido, is a young man who acts as a loving husband and father in the story. Like any other young man, who longs to marry a princess in a fairy tale, Guido was immediately smitten by Dora’s beauty and tries all means to impress her to get her hand. He takes very good care of his son, Giosue, and makes sure that he is always safe. He is a hilarious yet intelligent character, as in times of trouble, he is still able to keep a cheery face, yet at the same time think and act quickly in the situation. However, his heroic act of love for both his son and wife, led to him sacrificing himself in exchange for their safety and lives.


Dora
Dora, is a young woman who acts as a loving wife and mother in the story. She is a brave woman, as she was not afraid of defying her mother and eloped with Guido, during her engagement dinner. She was also not afraid of being imprisoned, and even demanded to be brought to the concentration camp when she was being separated from her husband and son. Therefore, illustrating to us the love and bond this family has towards each other.


Giosue Orefice
Giosue, is a young boy who acts as the son of Guido and Dora in the story. He is an innocent young boy, who believed naively what his father told him from the start that they are playing a game. However, as the days passed by, he slowly learnt the horror that is happening in the concentration camp and started to question his father.


Critique
In my opinion, I feel that “Life is beautiful” is trying to relate us more with human feelings and the bond between father and son, as the focus of the movie is mostly on Guido and Giosue. Thus, giving a balance for us, so that we can cope with the horror later on. It also serves to help us bring our state of mind away from reality, as the story ends with “This is my story. This is how my father sacrificed himself. This is the gift from my father.” which illustrates to us the beautiful relationship between a father and son. However, the holocaust is the highlight of the story that draws us back into the painful reality. This engages us even more, as it helps to remind us the ugly side of what humanity is capable of. We are also able to see the racial discrimination between the Germans and the Jews, as there was a sign being placed outside a shop that says “No Jews or dogs allowed”, which illustrates to us how the status of Jews are being reduced to no more than a dog.

How does an individual’s definition of needs’ be differentiated from wants’?

Since the early 1990s societies have been infected by affluenza, a growing and unhealthy preoccupation with money and material things. This illness is constantly reinforcing itself at both the individual and the social levels, constraining us to derive our identities and sense of place in the world through our consumption activity. Economists assume that we know what we want, and that we are rational, so that if we have the opportunity and freedom to choose we will choose whatever gives us the greatest satisfaction. Therefore, one’s definition of needs’ or wants depends on one’s income.

People can be paralysed by too wide a freedom of choice, as they often choose badly, and even when people overcome paralysis and choose well, the thought of all those attractive options they have left on the table can undermine their satisfaction with the option they chose. The rich are therefore more vulnerable to these, as they have a powerful tendency to indulge in short-term passions at the expense to long-term interests. Hence, their definition of needs’ is mostly in luxury goods, where they can show off their status and backgrounds.

In impoverished countries, there is a lack of supply in their basic necessities due to corrupted government or poor climate. These people live on less than $2 a day, which is only enough to purchase daily necessities – food, clothes, water, as perhaps most of the money are in the pockets of the corrupted government who are unwilling to distribute it to improve welfare of the people. Therefore, the poor are stuck in this vicious cycle, due to the widening income gap between the rich and poor. Hence, the poor do not have the financial ability to indulge themselves in luxury goods, as they have to worry daily for their survival – the need to purchase daily necessities, in order to sustain a living.

However, there is not enough on this planet for everyone’s needs. Poor countries do not have sufficient medical care to meet basic needs, such as dental care. Even in rich countries, needs are not met too, as certain diseases like AIDS and cancers do not have a cure for it. Hence, conscious consumption, as opposed to no consumption, is the antidote to affluenza. It involves cultivating an awareness of why we buy or use things and understanding what needs we are trying to meet. People who have a better understanding of themselves are less prone to self deception and are able to see through marketers’ attempts to deceive them.

In all, one of the most valuable things parents can do for their children is to teach them to adopt a critical attitude towards marketers’ attempt to influence them. Hence, cultivating a conscious consumption from young, as they are able to differentiate between their needs’ and wants’.