Summary Of A Visit Of Grandmother

Chill's uncle, trades a horse for a chair. His grandmother even rides the horse and the horse almost loses control, which she thinks that Is amusing and a funny experience. Then, she asks Charles, Chic's father, if he remembers how tired they are. However, Charles is not present when his mother rides the horse and complains that she loves his rather more than him, because of their skin color differences.He yells, â€Å"If GAL and I did something wrong, you'd beat me first†¦ But if I wanted you to do something with me, you were always too busy. † Charlie's mother thinks she may have treated them differently, but thinks Charles is smarter to understand that. Charles returns to his room. Meanwhile, GAL, his brother, who is eager to meet with Charles, comes back. In the article, † A Visit to Grandmother†, which was published in the Dancer on theShore in 1964, William Melvin Kelley writes about Chic's experience of visiting his grandmother with his father. The stor y begins with Chic's father expressing an interest in attending a class reunion. The decision to visit Chic's grandmother is casual and unplanned, although they have not seen each other for thirty years. Upon visit. During their dinner, his grandmother tells a story about how GAL, Chic's uncle, almost loses control, which she thinks that is amusing and a funny experience. Then,

Filipino Core Values Essay

From the articles that I had read, will reflect the readers’ understanding on different Filipino values, how it defines one, what it means, and if one’s personality changes to fit certain situations. Filipino values have been derived from racial strains and cultural elements such as Aeta, Indonesians, Malayan, Hindu and Chinese which formed the core of our moral conscience, cultural identity coupled with the cultural elements derived from Spain, the United States and from the modern global community, (Panopio and Rolda, 2000). These values are Pagkalinga, Pag-aaruga, Pakialam, Pakikisama, and the Feminist Ethics of Care. Here in the Philippines, values are very important and should be respected. As we grow older, our parents shaped us different values. From the day we are born, Pagkalinga, Pag-aaruga, at Pakialam(Care) were given by them. In our culture, Filipinos were very caring to someone especially to our love ones because caring symbolizes that you loved them deeply and you remember them all the time. This value molds our true Filipino faith, which shows that we are mindful about others. This article wants to show values that are ever-present but seldom acknowledged, much less recognize in the Filipino society. The other one is the Feminist Ethics of Care, it discussed here that how they value the right of men and women. In the article that I have read, they most value the importance of men than women, because the traditional view is that men’s concerns are the more important things such as money, career, advancement and ideas. Women’s preoccupations are under-valued and deemed as less important, such as families, neighbors, friends, and caring. As I interpret it, women are less important before because they knew that they can’t do the things that men can do. I realized that caring is a value that we, Filipino women and men alike, should recognize and give importance to. Pakikisama shows that how Filipino Mingle to others and how they create a good relationship of every individual. In the practice of pakikisama many things are unsaid. Mostly, things are implied in behavioral patterns. This is the typical way of Filipinos relate with one another. As a concept and a trait, it invites us to do good by responding to the call of the others so that we may practice one’s ability that all relationships depends on—the ability to be good and nice companion.

Motor therapy for children with cerebral palsy (Neurodevelopmental Research Paper

Motor therapy for children with cerebral palsy (Neurodevelopmental Therapy, Hippotheray , Aquatic Therapy) - Research Paper Example There is enormous evidence about the benefits of motor therapy in the management of children with cerebral palsy (Batshaw, 2007). In this research article, the role of motor therapy in cerebral palsy will be discussed through review of suitable literature. Physical therapy plays a main role in managing cerebral palsy and the focus of physical therapy is movement, function and optimal use of the potential of the child. Physical therapies which have found to be effective in cerebral palsy are neurodevelopmental therapy, conductive education, strength training, postural control, constrained-induced movement therapy, hydrotherapy, passive stretching, orthotic devices and hippotherapy. Through these treatments, promotion, maintenance and restoration of the psychological, physical and social-well being of the child is achieved. Which form of motor treatment is effective is difficult to ascertain owing to lack of high-quality research. The goal of management in individuals with cerebral pal sy is not to achieve normalcy or not to cure but to increase the functionality of the patient, improve the capabilities of the patient and sustain health of the child in terms of cognitive development, locomotion, social interaction and independence. Early intensive management yields best results. The most common treatment strategy is neurodevelopmental treatment or NBT like the Bobath method (Batshaw, 2007). In this treatment, specific handling techniques are employed to control muscle tone, abnormal patterns of movement, control of posture, perception, sensation and memory. However, there is not much evidence to ascertain the role of NBT in changing abnormal motoric responses, prevention of contractures and facilitation of functional motor activities. In the Bobath method, after precise determination of the motor tasks of the child and after establishing the goals of NDT by the therapist, a structured program will be set for the child. The program consists of stretching of the leg s, followed by techniques to decrease spasticity inorder to facilitate normal patterns of movements. Functional motor activities involved in the program are sitting, walking and standing up from sitting. The motor functions are practiced in a random order in several environments through augmented feedback that matches various stages of the learner (Bar-Haim et al, 2010). The goals of NDT are to normalize the tone and improve the control of movement during various functional activities. Recently, another method of therapy, known as the constraint-induced therapy has been introduced which involves the more functional arm or hand to force use of the less functional upper extremity. (Batshaw et al, 2007). In the study by Antilla et al (2008), the researchers assessed the effectiveness of various forms of physical therapy interventions on various aspects of functioning in children with cerebral palsy. The study was a systematic review which reviewed 22 trials of which four were high meth odological quality studies. Based on these studies, the authors opined that there was moderate evidence to ascertain effectiveness in upper extremity training. Retarekar et al (2009) evaluated the benefits of aquatic aerobic exercise for cerebral palsy. the intervention was administered 3 times a week

Strategic Development and Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Strategic Development and Management - Essay Example According to the paper findings strategy is that function of an organisation where decisions and plans are made, which reflect the long-term objectives of the organisation, and is independent from decisions made on a daily level. Other definitions include, â€Å"the pursuit of superior performance by using a plan that ensures a better or stronger matching of corporate strengths to customer needs than is provided by competitors†. It can be argued that the above definitions may be interdependent because attaining competitive advantage may sometimes be seen as a long-term objective by organisations, depending upon the market environment they operate in. As the essay stresses the definitions also show that there are internal and external implications to strategy, where the internal factors may include the structure of the organisation, the kind of corporate governance (leadership) that exists within the organisation, and the function of Human Resources Management. The external factors may include the Political, Economic, Sociological, Technological, Environmental, and Legal issues associated within a given market environment where the organisation operates. There are other methods of internal and external analyses that influence strategy like the SWOT analysis and Porter’s five forces, which are all helpful for the organisation to make strategic decisions in order to attain competitive advantage. These methods will be discussed in detail in later stages of the study.... To delve further into the study it is important to establish the definition for the terms ‘strategic management’. David (2009) defines strategic management as the â€Å"art and science of formulating, implementing, and evaluating cross-functional decisions that enable an organisation to achieve its objectives† (p. 36). As the definition suggests, there are different functions within an organisation like management, marketing, finance/accounting, production/operations, research and development, and computer information systems (David, 2009; Johnson et al, 2008), but not necessarily restricted to these, and the job of strategic management is to integrate all these functions towards the common goal of achieving organisational success. Stages of Strategic Management: The strategy formulation stage normally involves assessing the organisation’s resources and determining what market(s) to enter and which ones to abandon. This is also the stage where visions and m issions of the company are developed and long-term objectives are established. Top managers take up the responsibilities to assess the advantages of expansion or reduction, and/or entering international markets, resource allocation, product diversification, mergers/ takeovers etc. This is also where companies assess the opportunities and threats in particular markets and internal strengths and weaknesses in order to create contingent strategies (SWOT). Analysis is also done on what markets to invest in and what political, economical, socio-cultural, technological, environmental and legal (PESTEL) issues may arise in said market. Decisions made during this stage commit an organisation to specific products, resources, markets and technologies for

Consumer Psychology and Buyer Behavior Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Consumer Psychology and Buyer Behavior - Essay Example It is of utmost importance for the marketer to know the behavioural patterns of the target consumers much before the product is launched. Therefore, it can be said without any doubt that the study of consumer behaviour has been the arena of constant research for a marketer. A person can be referred to as consumer if he shows his willingness to obtain goods or services from a seller with the intention of making payments. Consumer behaviour can be defined as the study of variables that determine the purchasing behaviour of any willing person to purchase any product or service. Consumer behaviour is believed to be influenced by the factors like psychology, sociology and economics apart from the product knowledge, product specifications and brand recognition. Cultural factors - The behaviour of a grown up person often depends upon the set of values, perceptions and his preferences as a child, which he acquired from his family or other influential sources. Each culture also has certain sub-cultures within it which provides more specific identification of their behaviour. A subculture includes religion, nationality, region and racial groups. A proper understanding of the implications and bearings of the sub-cultures assists the marketer to analyse the behaviours of the consumer in an effective way. Another important factor that must be taken into consideration along with the cultural factor is that of social class. Social class is indicated by a cluster of variables like occupation, wealth, income and education among other factors. Social class is a crucial variable because a person is often perceived as inferior or superior based upon the social class. It has been observed that social classes essentially differ in dress, speech, hobbies, etc. Social Factors - The social factors like reference groups, family, roles and ranks also determine the behaviour of the consumer. Reference groups are the groups that have a direct influence on the attitude of the buyer, which might affect his purchasing behaviour. Groups that have direct influence on the consumers are known as membership groups. Membership groups can be subdivided into two categories, namely primary group (which consists of family, friends and neighbours with whom the person interacts informally) and the secondary group (which calls for more formal interaction and often based upon profession or religion). The studies on consumer psychology have also shown that people often get influenced by the groups to which they are not directly related. It might take the form of an aspirational group (it is that group to which the person longs to get associated and behaves the way the group does) or a dissociative group (the consumer do not like the group and so behaves in a way so that is not same as the way the group does). The other major player among the reference group is the opinion leader. Opinion leader is a person who is believed to have a sound knowledge on a product and its usage and takes informal channel of

THE ROLE OF LETTERS OF CREDIT IN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESSES Essay

THE ROLE OF LETTERS OF CREDIT IN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESSES - Essay Example Secondly, when there is the case of clear-cut fraud or forgery on the part of the buyer (Seyoum, 2009). Thus the letter of credit acts as some form of international collateral for international business transactions unless these two fundamental breeches occur (Craig, 1999 p360). In Wood Hall Ltd V Pipeline Authority [1979] 141 CLR 443 457 the landmark ruling by the Judge was â€Å"The Letter of Credit ... is as good as cash in the eyes of those whom it is issued and that is essentially its function† (Dixon, 2004 p392). This paper therefore examines the use of letters of credit in international business. It begins by critically assessing whether or not it is the cornerstone of international business around the globe. It goes further to examine the evolution of the concept and use of letters of credit in modern business. The assessment of alternatives to letters of credit follows. The paper ends by critically examining the advantages and disadvantages of letters of credits in in ternational business. Letters of Credit as the Lifeline in International Business In a landmark ruling, Lord Justice Kerr stated that Letters of credit are the â€Å"lifeblood to international commerce† (Harbottle (Mercantile) Ltd V National Westminster Bank Ltd [1978] QB 14 6 155). In this ruling, he emphasises the importance of the use of letters of credit in international business. This is reemphasised by Lord Justice Griffith two years later in the case of Power Garber International Ltd V National Bank of Kuwait SAK [1981] 2 Lloyd Rp. Once again, the Judge stated that letters of credit are important and need to be honoured and preserved to enhance international trade (Schmitthoff, 1988). Basically, the use of letters of credit is very important because it enables...In this ruling, he emphasises the importance of the use of letters of credit in international business. This is reemphasised by Lord Justice Griffith two years later in the case of Power Garber International Lt d V National Bank of Kuwait SAK [1981] 2 Lloyd Rp. Once again, the Judge stated that letters of credit are important and need to be honoured and preserved to enhance international trade (Schmitthoff, 1988). Basically, the use of letters of credit is very important because it enables businesses to move about freely in other nations and communities with a collateral that is as good as cash. This therefore presents a positive insight into business across borders and enhances positive business traits and builds partnerships across borders. Also, there have been attempts by the international community to unify the system for the use of letters of credit using the Uniform Customs & Practices for Documentary Credits in 175 states across the world (Schmitthoff, 1988 p573). These nations have Central Banks that monitor and control the issue and cashing of letters of credits. However, in spite of the assurances that letters of credit give, it has â€Å"a failure rate of 50%† (Schmitthoff, 1988). This therefore implies that one out of every two transactions based on letters of credits fail around the globe. This is a piece of alarming statistics that makes it wiser to consider the use of alternative methods of transacting business international or at least a high level of professional scepticism in the field of international payments for business owners.

The Lord of Flies, by William Golding Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Lord of Flies, by William Golding - Essay Example Through this conflict between good and evil, and civilization and savagery the novel moves on from one step to other till it reaches the end. Lord of the Flies, being an allegorical novel, puts forward his main ideas and themes through symbols. Throughout the novel Golding uses his characters and objects symbolically. The conflict between civilization and savagery is handled by showing the conflict between his two main characters Ralph and Jack. In the novel, Ralph is a protagonist and is the symbol of governance and order. On the other hand, Jack is the Antagonist representing violence, savagery and has thirst of exercising power. In the novel, the writer shows the way people are influenced by these instincts of civilization and savagery to different levels. As for example Piggy is extremely peaceful and does not possess any instinct of savagery but on the other hand, Roger is unable to understand civilization and its rules. For Golding the instinct of savagery is more primitive and central in humans as compared to the instinct of civilization. Golding infers that if humans are left to make their own decisions, the behaviours of cruelty, savagery and violence is mostly shown by them. In the whole novel, the only character who shows natural and innate goodness is only Simon. In Ring of Gyges, Plato by narrating the story of Ring of Gyges raises the question that if one has no fear to be caught then why should one be moral? His character Glaucon through arguments shows that the person who is unfair is better-off as compared to the person who is fair. Apparently there does not appear any disproof of Gyge’s arguments. But on the other hand there are also strong reasons to believe that a person who is truly moral will behave morally in most of the circumstances and even if he is gifted the power of the ring. Philosophers since ages have been debating on the origin of human

What are the environmental consequences of offshore drilling Research Proposal

What are the environmental consequences of offshore drilling - Research Proposal Example ost difficult and more than for land-based fitting and much of the improvement in the offshore petroleum sector revolves around overcoming these challenges. This includes a significant necessity of â€Å"Manned facilities have to to be kept above sea-level.† This can be only achieved with vast constructions with their foundations on the sea bed, like â€Å"the Troll† – A platform stationed on a depth of 300 meter. With height of 472 meter, it can be acknowledged as the biggest man-made movable construction. Type of other platforms including floating types only anchored to the sea-floor. These floating platforms trim down the construction costs but the additional security measures are required as well as apparatus for nulling out heave due to strong waves. In both of oil ridges, the ocean adds numerous hundred meters to the liquefied column in the drill string increasing â€Å"bottom hole pressure† as well as escalating the required amount of energy to lift sand and cuttings for oil-sand separation on the platform. as of modern times the emphasis of oil companies is to conduct maximum production subsea for instance amenities to split sand from oil and re-inject sand prior to pumping up to the platform. In this proces s there are no installations visible above the sea-level. Subsea installations enhance the goal of the petroleum industry of exploiting natural resources at gradually deep waters that have been inaccessible in the past. It also evades several challenges related to sea ice as in the Barents Sea. An offshore oil ridge can also be defined more or less as a small world with support utilities like cafeteria, resting quarters and administration located offshore. In the North Sea, the employees are transported on the platform by helicopter for a 2-week shift. This in turn means higher air pollution. Materials and wastes are transported by the means of ship and it is required to be delicately maneuvered due to the inadequate floor area on the platform. As of

Staffing Organizations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Staffing Organizations - Essay Example The process of staffing involves getting candidates and interviewing them, a process that consumes resources and time. Success is certain if the right employee for the specific work is available at the right time in the organization (Heneman et al 2011). This paper reveals a three year recruitment plan for a coffee shop with three line managers and ten coffee servers. 2. Recruitment plan. The recruitment plan will identify the store managers and coffee server’s posts and job description. For the three store managers each will be required to possess certain descriptions that suit the job description. The job description can be obtained from the current employees by enquiring their opinion on their work. The plan should consider publicizing the current posts to obtain potential applicants. The scope of publicizing may vary depending on the level of the posts. The store manager’s posts may get a nationwide coverage while the coffee servers may get a local coverage. Places where there are potential job applicants can be selected. They include websites, local newspaper, conferences and higher learning institutions. The criterion for short listing candidates is decided in line with the job description for the specified posts. According to Noe et al (2009, p. 34), implementing the criterion will be an effective way of cutting down on the number of interviews. A decision on the personnel who will conduct the interview and selection process is made in the plan. The interviewers may involve the human resource representative, employment officer and heads of department where the new recruits will work (Mathis et al 2010). The screening questions for the candidates should be decided in the recruitment plan. The questions should be relevant and related with the posts. Questions that are discriminative should be avoided. Discriminative questions consider race, marital status, disability and ethnicity. Based on the answers provided by the interviewees, the interv iewers should have a plan on how to evaluate the candidate. The capabilities and personality of the candidate should be judged from the information they presented. It is determined weather employees to be hired will require training or experienced employees will be chosen. The organization can retain current employees and new recruits following the appointment by ensuring that their morale is increased. New recruits should complement the existing employees by bringing in new incentives as they share their experience. Morale can be increased if a coffee server with the knowledge is promoted to be a store manager. Rewards for work done increases the motivation of the employees and can be considered (Nkomo et al 2010). 3. Communication message for application. The communication message will give the name of the organization and their intention to obtain new employees. The organization will need three store managers and ten coffee servers. Each store manager will be in charge of activit ies in the given store, and will report to the director. The coffee server’s tasks will be to serve customers and will be answerable to the store manager. Each store manager will be required to possess a degree in hospitality and management studies or in a related field, with a one year experience in hospitality industry. The coffee servers will be expected to possess college education. Advertising the available posts can communicate the message to eligible candidates. The advertisements would state the name of the

Identify the Most Appropriate form of Market Research in a Given Essay

Identify the Most Appropriate form of Market Research in a Given Situation and Implement that Research - Essay Example One of the main reasons that were understood in this connection is the happening of economic recession for which many social activities of the people countered a sharp decline. Further it was found that owing to the rise of the economic recession the main consumer segment that was increasingly affected constitutes the premium segment of consumers. Brand Heineken in this context reflects as have fallen in a trap in not being able to reduce the price of its products to help reach to a mass consumer base in the recessionary market. It is because a reduction in the price of the products may hamper or tarnish its brand image of being a premium product. On the other hand the inability to gain a larger market signified less of marketing and sales revenues which also restricted the brand’s ability to make any significant marketing and promotional investments leading to the problem getting intensified (Cannes Creative Lions, 2011). Having hinted on the problem the market research domai n can now consider on deciding on the attributes of the target group of people over whom research would be conducted based on questionnaires and again the budget for conducting the market research activity would be decided upon (Hague and Morgan, 2004, p.21). Market Research Market Research Objective In regards to the above context the company desired to conduct a market research activity which would help in satisfying the subject of the queries created focusing on the stated problem. The main objectives of market research were found to be threefold. Firstly the market research was conducted by the company to help sustain the brand image and market position of the brand in the premium beer market of Italy. Secondly the market research also focused to help sustain the same price for its premium products in the recessionary market. Finally the market research activities were also conducted to help the brand gain a large amount of consumer loyalty than before in the premium beer segmen t of Italy. Henceforth the market research objectives for enhancement of brand loyalty of the beer brand is found to be subjected to a specific market territory and to a specific consumer group to analyse the change in sales volume and market share (Cooklin et al., 2006, p.48). Market Research Process For the above condition the market research activity that was designed operated based on a threefold step. In the first step the market research team focused on segmenting the entire market into relevant consumer groups consisting of the target consumers. Such division was conducted based on demographic profiles of the consumers such that firstly the consumers in the age group of 18-24 were chosen. However the group for its failure to project the premium set of consumers the target group was based on the consumer segment of age group of 20-30 years who would drink the premium beer. The second focus of the market research activity targeted at helping the old consumers gain their bygone youthful

The Meaning of Life Essay Example for Free

The Meaning of Life Essay What is the meaning of life. The meaning of our lives, the purpose, and the dreams both dashed and realized, and the expectations forced upon us by others. In other words how do you translate what life is? Translation means to explain in simple terms. What is it supposed to be about? There are different answers for different people at different times in their lives. A persons lifetime is filled with self-examination. Why am I here? What am I doing? Is this as good as it gets? You have a beginning. Youre in the middle, and your story hasnt ended yet. If one would recognize the greatest things we have in life, they would not be asking this question. These great things are faith, hope, and love. Faith is the one that can keep one from asking questions. If God wanted us to know something, then we would know it. In most religions, Christian ones in particular, the question of meaning in life is inextricably wrapped up in a relationship with God. Living in, for, with, and through him. Therefore, how one answers the meaning of life question bears directly the existence of God. Soren Kierkegaard said to be the father of existentialism maintains that there are three basic answers to the question of the meaning of life. He called these stages of life, because he believed that people progressed from one stage to the next. Whether or not that is true, there do seem to be at least three fundamental outlooks on life. One is a life devoted to pleasure. This value perspective can be shown by a person whose only concern is for what they are doing now. They would rather gain from pleasures in life without any regards to how they might affect their future. Another stage is those choosing ethical and moral paths. People who are honest and loyal demonstrate this in their everyday lives. Finally, there is a live religiously. This has been the popular way of life for many of us. It is going to church and practicing your faith Stace argues, the present age has begun to weaken faith in God. The concept of a supernatural person has begun to seem unlikely to many people. The Bible no longer seems as respected for many Catholics. While many people say they believe in God they are beginning question whether faith and God are the answer to the meaning of life. Most of us whether we choose to admit it or not show that material things are what we base our lives around. These ideas are at the heart of existentialism, which is a view of life that says that human beings are the creators of their own sense of meaning or purpose. The most famous existentialist, John Paul Sartre in his books and novels developed several themes that portray existentialism. The first is the notion that existence precedes essence. A legacy of traditional philosophy has been that we have a fixed human nature. Sartre challenged that we have no such set purpose or meaning. Our real meaning or who we are is a result of our decisions. We are what we decide. The second associated concept is the importance of human freedom. Sartre believed that every human being has the freedom to live life as we choose to. He believed that we are often terrified by our freedom, and in fact frequently do not want to take responsibility for our own actions. This attitude Sartre called bad faith. Bad faith is an act of self-deception in which we rationalize our actions as being caused by circumstances instead of being self-caused. Basically blaming others for our own deceptions and mistakes. The third major concept of existentialism is the idea of the Absurd. The philosopher Albert Camus popularized this concept. The concept of the absurd is promoted by atheistic existentialist, such as Sartre and Camus. The similarity between Christian and atheistic existentialist is the significance of human freedom and the belief that we are the makers of our own lives One of the most significant pieces of the decline of religious faith is the continuing awareness that there may not be any purpose in life. Both Albert Camus, and Stace, write from this perspective. They believed that traditional Christians have found security in the belief that their lives are invisibly directed or orchestrated by God. That we have assumed that God has a plan for our life, that things happen for a purpose. But as we experience, if we do, the decline of faith or the reality of God in our lives, we come to realize that perhaps we are more responsible than God is for what happens to us. We begin to realize or suspect that it is we, not God, who is the creator of our lives. We are responsible for who we become. Of course, there are always going to be those people who doubt everything God stands for. For them, the body dies and eternity is darkness, I suppose. The fight is going to be, perhaps even as it has been a battle between those who reject God and the, and those who know that God is real. The soul is ones conscience. Without the acknowledgement of that soul, there is no inner voice that helps guide him in the decisions that he makes. Yet, the soulless atheists still seek to discover the meaning of life, and this is where the battle is fought. They are simply stating that there is no meaning to their lives they have no soul, there can be no meaning. Theists realize life isnt fair. People arent created equal. Atheists believe that until all people actually are equal, life is meaningless, and this is the connection we have to make for them. People are not equal, people will never be equal, and if this equality is the requirement for accepting the meaning of life, then life will always be meaningless. If ambition brings about advantage, those advantages must be neutralized. This is the goal of the atheist. If there is nothing but darkness after life, the goal must be to create heaven on earth. Everyone has questioned their purpose in life for example in his article, My Confession, Leo Tolstoy has gone through his life without ever really questioning the meaning. Then he periodically questioned it until one day he eventually could not picture himself living anymore until he came up with an answer to his questionings. All the things he was thought to be living by no longer made any sense or had any meaning at all to him. He tried to answer his question many different ways, but whichever way he went he kept coming up with a dead end. He first thought the answer must be his family. Although he loved them very much, as humans they are confronted with the same questions he is. They are living this lie right along with him pretending that they have all the answers, or just simply ignoring the questions. He next thought the answer to be in his work. Eventually, coming to the realization that with all of his success in art and poetry he had become distracted. He was using art as a decoy. Without knowing his answers to the meaning of life, it was wrong and useless to depict these lies to others. He soon felt as if life had stopped, and was even contemplating suicide when he came to the realization that faith is present in each one of us and is what makes our lives meaningful. Everyone must believe they have a purpose here, for if they didnt they would not be living at all. For life to have true meaning, that meaning must come external to the individual and be somehow consistent with life as a whole. Christians would argue that only God could grant this. It is the helping hand, which guides us through life with an honest and loving heart. Jesus is the only man to lead a true, meaningful life. His life is really the only life of meaning and it is only through him that we have the opportunity to live meaningful lives. Without accepting this answer, one will have only difficulty for the rest of their lives, especially in answering the question of the meaning of life. If you accept this answer, however life is much simpler, because your search is over. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life? John 14:6. The way the truth and the meaning of life itself. There are scriptural accounts of people claiming to see God, and while a witness is more proof than no witness is, there is no way to scientifically verify these statements. They must be accepted purely on faith. Some say that the existence of humans or planetary balance is proof that God exists. These do not prove He exists. Christians believe God is in control of everything in the universe, and created the same. God created all beings, and every atom in this universe. We know God exists because He says He does. The bible is His word, left for us to read. Psychologist Viktor Frankl wrote in Mans search for Meaning that we should not ask what we expect from life, but what life expects from us. He was making the point that people must deal with what daily tasks are put in front of them. Instead of arguing and complaining, we have to take action. Our strength is shown through the soul survival of the hardships we face. Which brings us to the problem philosopher John Hick was facing. In his article, The Problem of Evil he asks the question, if God is perfectly loving, he must wish to abolish evil. But evil exists; therefore God cannot be both omnipotent and perfectly loving. The very fact that there is such suffering gives good cause to doubt not only the value of the whole human race, but also the existence of God. A God that can be said to care in the slightest for whats been created, any God who has power over all things, who is anything other than a horrible monster who finds cruel unusual joy in squeezing every last drop of suffering out of them. It would rule out anything even vaguely resembling the God that Christians speak of. A God who deserves our utter hatred not our worship. However, Hick found that although harsh and painful, evil did have purpose in the world. He stated in his article, the finest characteristics of personal life must have a good deal in common with our present world. It must operate according to general and dependable laws: and it must involve real dangers, difficulties, problems, obstacles, and possibilities of pain, failure, sorrow, frustration, and defeat. Without these sufferings, we would not be able to know what happiness and love really was. Evil provides us with the possibility of soul making, and according to free will, we must choose our fate. The Laws of nature must be abided by without them the world could not exist. God may be creating the lesser of the evils. There must be suffering in order for God to give inner strength that compensates for loss, and gives the sufferer inspiration to live faithfully and effectively. What God provides are the resources so we can face the suffering and make something positive come from it. He gives the direction and power to make these resources work. He gives hope and wisdom to find the way past the suffering, and to learn from it. John Paul II gave us an outline of what is believed to be the salvific meaning of suffering. Suffering as he wrote in the Apostolic Letter Salvifici Doloris, cannot be transformed and changed by a grace form outside, but from within? This question of human suffering is not answered directly by God. As man begins to share in the sufferings of Christ, the answer is discovered within in him. Suffering changes and can either increase or decrease, and in those moments Christians become aware of Gods closeness. We are given inner peace and spiritual joy when we suffer generously. When we are suffering we are never alone we are with Christ. With Christ everything has meaning whether its moments of happiness and peace or of pain and suffering. Nothing in life can be fully explained without God. . Look to the bible and Jesus gives us the answer. Love God with your whole heart, mind, body and soul. Love your neighbor as yourself. If you do this, you are following all the commandments. Humble yourself and give the praise and glory to our creator. God the Father our creator is love and he loves you very much. God created us to worship him and he deserves all the praise because he is the first and the last. He has no beginning and no end. Just look around and take in all the beauty he has created. Everyone is special and made in the image of God. We are nothing without our creator. Sin will keep us from God for he is pure and perfect. It is hard to let go of pleasure and putting ones self first. However, the key to peace and happiness is to surrender your freewill to God, the author of life, and he will give you complete, happiness, peace, contentment and purity you are looking for. That is what we were created for. God is made evident every day when the sun comes up, and there is still air to breathe, and you made it through the night. One cannot believe that everything we know was created by accident. Things are just too perfect to have happened by chance. Man is too corrupt a creature to have invented the beautiful things in the world, as in faith, hope and love. He allows evil in this world because He wants us to have the opportunity to choose either Him or evil, thereby proving our love for Him. If His were the only game in town, then there would not be a free will conscious choice for Him. It is evident that the meaning of life has to far to complex for any one to fully understand or agree on the same answer. All these ideas of these different philosophers are not necessarily inaccurate, just incomplete. All pieces to a puzzle that one has no way of fully figuring out. No one has seemed to accomplish this yet in life. There are so many obstacles that we face as we try to achieve a higher good. Many of these are based in the fact that we are human beings, and because of that are flawed by the ways of our culture. Things such as self-doubt, worry, ignorance, and the values put into our heads since the day we were born all are roadblocks on our way to a higher level. Also being human beings makes vulnerable to the ways of the world around us, so it is not easy to block these things out of our lives. This life is a stage in which we are to develop our minds, bodies, and souls to their highest potential in preparation for the afterlife. Only God could ever really show anyone true meaning.

Causes Of Failure At Lehman Business Essay

Causes Of Failure At Lehman Business Essay The article examined and analysed for this coursework is entitled for Lehman, More Cuts and Anxiety by Jenny Anderson and Eric Dash. It was published in the New York Times in August 29th 2008. Lehman Brothers was formed in 1850 and is a much diversified globalised financial institution with its headquarters in the United States1. Lehman had a client portfolio of corporations, governments and various individuals across the globe meeting their financial needs. However, the once successful Lehman Brothers is facing a tough time. This is due to the sub prime mortgage crisis, an ongoing economic problem of contracted liquidity in the global market and banking system, in the United States. This adversely destroyed the operations of Lehman brothers significantly as their finances were seriously affected. Lehman undervalued risk in the subprime market together with false accounting leading to catapulting collapse of the organisation2. As a result of these problems, together with external for ces Lehman had to lay off 6000 of its workers. As quoted from main article by anderson3 Lehman has laid off more than 6000 workers since June 2007. Speaking in the same vain, this influences the morale on the remaining staffs expected round of cuts is stark reminder of basic truth on wall street, in good times you get rich, bad times you get fired3. The repercussions such as layoffs backfiring, dissatisfied workers and employment laws are some of the challenges that management at Lehman will be facing and therefore needs to apply various management theories and concepts to overcome it. These include analytical frameworks of Jackson and Schuler4 and Kochan and Barocci5 in relation to internal human resources management, together with the rights and responsibilities which can be exercised by Lehman Brothers. Causes of failure at Lehman: There was not a single variable which lead to the fall of Lehman brothers but rather a culmination of factors such as greedy Wall Street traders, debt load of American household, Rating Agencies and degregulations6. However, out of these factors the main one was the market of credit default swaps. Morin and Maux6 gave an explanation of the sub-prime market as follows inferior quality real estate loans whos higher risk of payment default is countered by the bank with higher rates. The mortgage loans granted at variable rates were granted to households with modest incomes. Moreover in a separate report and SWOT analysis done by Datamonitor7 gave an insight into how Lehman exposure to sub prime market caused a risk to the company and went further to criticise it. Investments in sub-prime mortgages and mortgage backed securities are at risk of being written off amid a crisis in US sub-prime mortgage market. Much of that prime dept was repackaged as collateralised debt obligations (CDOs) and mortgaged backed securities and was sold in the whole sale market7. Another factor which needs to be considered is known as Repo 105. This is a purchasing agreement used to manage cash flow by organisations. It normally involves an agreement in which the bank gives one of its counterparts highly liquid securities in exchange for cash. But in the case of Lehman they acted differently, according to Wilchins and Da silva8, Lehman Bought government bonds from another bank using its Lehman Brothers Special financing unit in the states. Before the end of quarter, the US unit transferred bonds to London affiliate called Lehman Brothers International. Afterwards, the London office gave assets to its counterparty and received cash and agreed to buy the assets back later at a much higher price, at least 105% of original price. The money that was received was used to cover and pay off a large amount of liabilities. Therefore the reduction in assets and liabilities showed a much better quarterly financial statements and corresponding ratios, appearing much bette r to regulators, investors and the general public. At the start of the next quarter Lehman borrowed more money using its falsely made up financial statements and then only to repurchase the securities from its affiliates in London and in so doing its financial statement will revert back to its preceding poorer position. Discussion With reference to the main article2 for the essay, after the mortgage crisis, management at Lehman had to re-structure their strategies for managing. Lehman executives are examining many options, among them is the sale of investment management division, which includes Neuberger Berman and could fetch $7-10 billion. Other options include the sale of about $40 billion of troubled commercial real estate, and the creation of separate unit that would be owned by Lehman shareholders and house a substantial portion of Lehmans commercial and residential mortgage assets, as well as making thousands of staff redundant2. According to Jackson and Schuler4, the implementation of a specific human resource management (HRM), practices, policies and philosophies and organisational performance are derived from an assortment of macro-level environmental influences. It was apparent in the case of Lehman Brothers that they should adopt the practice of organisational resizing in response to the economic and environmental conditions8. The degree to which their remaining employees respond and execute their duties will be deeply depended on how the human resource department handles the staff. In their model, the human resource management of Lehman needs to think about external factors such as culture, laws and regulations, politics and industry partners relevant to investment banking9. Moreover, the model shows the dependency between the processes of information interpretation, decision making and communication management in relation to the organisations technology, structure, size, strategy and life cycle stage. As a conglomerate company operating in different countries, the amalgamation of the globalisation strategy and sustainable technology would help Lehman Brothers. Henceforth, Lehman should apply the model and reduce its financial burden as well as job dissatisfaction. It was sensible for Lehman to lay off some of its staff as the article said but an alternative strategy could have been to keep its staff but give a pay cut. Although how feasible this option is unknown. In the same way, Kochan and Barocci5 provided an analytical framework demonstrating the informal linkage between the constantly evolving environmental conditions, HRM strategies and policies, and stakeholders goals and needs. It was significant for Lehman to understand the framework proposed by these management gurus as they have to make Human Resource decisions to convince both the organisation and its stakeholders including but not limited to maintaining profit, sustainable dividend payment to shareholders, provide a healthy and safe working environment, and customer service6,7. The management model proposed by Kochan and Barocci went further to advocate that organisational HR analysis should be able to recognise the need for HRM strategies and policies to adopt and response to both internal and external organisational changes9. As said earlier, Lehman brothers could have kept their staff on and reduce their wages or find them temporary jobs and in so doing their financial woes cou ld have been reduced and at the same time fulfil its responsibilities by providing short-term compensating jobs. However according to article used2, Lehman decided to permanently layoff 6000 workers which lead to backfiring by various stakeholders including some of the staff taking Lehman to court for unfair dismissal, retained workers felt job insecurity in a fearful environment, and loss of consumer confidence as reflected in the decline of mortgage financing applications in 2007. Lehmans stock has been rattled by persistent rumours about what the firms next move will be. Last week, the stock fell 12% and rose 16% on two separate days. The shares have lost 73% of their value this year, rankling employees and customers2. Therefore to prevent Lehman Brothers being in the news for similar reasons, it should layoff its staff in accordance with employment law. However, if the law does not sanction this act then a revised job package needs to be considered as discussed earlier. Although different Human resource management (HRM) strategies and practises exists such as human resource (HR) planning, staffing practices, performance and appraisal, workplace participants rights, responsibility and safety in the work place and etc. Not all of them are applicable in the article in the case of Lehman; the most relevant is HR planning and workplace participants rights and responsibilities. A tactical plan showing the elementary ideology and criteria fundamental to the success of such programmes is vital11. For the most part, strategically based organisations are now finding it beneficial to appraise the affectation of reduction measures in advance because an under-employment or over employment might obstruct accomplishments to change the organisations niche11. The conventional all plans fit in every situation i.e. uninterrupted layoff plans by Lehman brothers of staffs in unsteady conditions, cannot be used as forecast anchor in low growth, volatile business environm ent. An assortment of management gurus have given support to the human resource practice as it is important in deciding which jobs are critical, which jobs will be lost, and to establish whether terminations should be concurrent or implemented using a phase down approach12. Accordingly, this enables the justification and magnitude of importance for Lehman to conduct a Human resource planning by engaging themselves in an ongoing environmental scanning of both the internal and external labour market in line with an analysis of their organisational objectives, strategies and policies in order to determine the right quantity and quality of employees. Perhaps it can argue that because Lehman had to lay so many staffs off during their problems, there was a bit of Human Resources Policy failure i.e. the institution was overstaffed. The main other Human Resource practice which needs to be considered by Lehman is the workplace participants right and responsibilities. This is because the employment liaison between Lehman and other respective parties are determined by signed contracts. Henceforth, the employment law in all countries around the globe sets the minimum standards and conditions for employment in a given region13. As the employment options are diverse and multifaceted, it is imperative for Lehman Brothers to have up to date and precise understanding of employment laws both in the home and host country. In referring back to the situation in which Lehman laid off staff launched a court claim for unmerited dismissal, it seems Lehman was oblivious to the employment law. Whilst at the same time, it was apparent that how to reduce the financial loss was what was dominating the irrational managerial executives. The Human relation practitioners at Lehman should have known better in the sense that you cant just dismiss a member of staff without cause and the member wont refer to the Director General of Industrial Relations Act 6713. Lehman in principle needed to endow with their offer of contract in agreement with what the content said. And Lehman has the duty to pay remuneration if employers are prepared to work. Conclusions In the current global economy, various organisations will face many uncertain external environment pressures, which will significantly influence the Human Resource Aspect of the organisation16. In the case of Lehman Brothers, due to the sub-prime mortgage crisis it lead to a range of negative outcomes such as laid off staff taking Lehman to court for unfair dismissal, retained staff had lots of job insecurity in an apprehensive environment, and finally the loss of customers assurance as seen in the decline of mortgage financing applications. Therefore with reference to the main article, two pertinent strategic human relations management theories were used to explain how Lehman could improve its organisational circumstances. The analytical frameworks of Jackson and Schuler3 and Kochan and Barocci5 were discussed. In the application of the former framework to Lehman it was suggested that they should adopt the practise of rightsizing i.e. temporary layoffs of staffs and pay-cuts. It was also analysed that extend to which the staff kept behind would react and perform was seen to be greatly determined by the ability of the human relations department to control the situation15. Moreover the framework also recognized the need for Lehman to adopt HRM strategies with response to the changes in the external environment i.e. temporary layoff plan and job repackaging. Speaking in the same vein, two internal HRM practices were suggested to help Lehman out of its situation namely HRP and workplace participants rights and responsibilities. With respect to the HRP proposal, Lehmans one fit alls application was damned and instead, the significance for Lehman to conduct a HRP taking into consideration continuous environmental scanning were emphasised as their past HRP was a disaster- permanently laying off surplus labour leading to wastage of resources and excessive payrolls. References New York Stock Exchange (2008) Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. Retrieved 20th Oct 2012. Weng Marc Lim. Organisational Strategic Human Resource Management. The case of Lehman Brothers. Journal of Management Research (2012) 4: 20-24. Anderson J Dash E. For Lehman, More cuts and Anxiety. The New York Times. August 2008. (Last accessed on October 30th 2012). Jackson S Schuler R. Understanding Human Resource management in the context of organisation and their environments. Annual Review of Psychology 46: 237-264. Kochan TA Barocci TA. Human Resource Management and Industrial Relations (1985) 15: 21-28. Le Maux J Monin D. Black and White and Red all over: Lehman Brothers inevitable bankruptcy splashed across its financial statements (2011). International Journal of Business Social Science 2:39-65. Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc. SWOT Analysis (2008). Lehman Brothers holding SWOT Analysis 1: 1-10. Wilchins Dan Da Silva Silvio. Graphic How Repo 105 worked. Blogs.reuters.com/reutersdealzone/2010/03/12/graphic-how repo 105 worked. Hartel C.E.J, Fujimoto Y, Strybosch VE Fitzpatrick K. Human Resource Management: Transforming Theory into Innovative Practice. Malaysia: Pearson Education Australia 2007. Luoma M. The Essence of HRD orientation: evidence from Finnish Metals Industry (1999). Journal of European Industrial Training 23(3): 113-120. Zeffane R Mayo G. Rightsizing: The strategic Human Resource Management Challenge of the 1990s. (1994). Management Decision 32(9): 5-9. Khandekar A Sharma A. Managing Human Resource Capabilities for Sustainable competitive advantage (2005). An empirical analysis from Indian global organisation. Education Training 47: 628-639. Norman RN Fowler MP. Recent Changes in UK employment Law (1989). International Journal of Manpower 10(4): 28-30. Gee G Kleiner BH. How to downsize legally (1996). Managerial Law, 38(9): 22-31. Jimenez DJ Valle R. Innovation and Human Resource Management Fit: an empirical study (2005). International Journal of Manpower 26 (4): 364-381. Weng Lim. Organisational Strategic Human Resource Management. The case of Lehman Brothers (2012). Journal of Management Research. 4(2): 1-8.

Realist Theory of International Relations

Realist Theory of International Relations Introduction Sovereign States are the main actors in International system, and they are the most influential when it comes to the International stage. States are majorly concerned about their security, territory expansion, order, justice, welfare, freedom and power. States has a function under a political theory, an ideology that analyse how States should run its relations with other States and principles to handling political situations. Also a State must be aware of its States actions and when a problem rises, it must use the best approach to resolving it. Realist share a view on International relations such as the causes of war and stability of peace, the structure of International system is regarded as a necessary factor to explanation of questions in International affairs. This essay advocates for the realist theory, as its an International relations theory focused on anarchy, State actors, rational actors and States survival and its best described as personal perspective on International re lation. Realist are of the notion that theories ought to consist of facts and giving meaning and sense to situations. The character of foreign policy can be seen through the political acts and the consequences of the acts. From this we can see the actions and objectives of statesmen, and consequences of their actions. Realist assumes that Statesmen actions are driven by their self-interest (power) and history has proven this assumption. Besides the theoretical element, a normative element is also considered. It shares the need for a theoretical understanding, to make the rational element of political reality obvious. States are guided by national interest, although the interest might vary depending on the circumstances. The State can be seen as a unitary actor. Because States problems are majorly defined by the nature of the international system, their actions are basically a responds to external rather than domestic political forces.(Ole, 2006; P5). In response to the suggestions that scholars should devise and test theories of foreign policy, Waltz writes that there is a lot which is included in an analysis while very little is included in theories. He opined that due to foreign policy which is driven by internal and external factors, it does not amount to such an autonomous realm, a truly theoretical explanation of it should not be strived for, rather a mere analyses should be considered and it may include a relevant factor to a particular case(Walt, 1996. Pp54-55) In this light, an analysis of the strength and weakness of the realist theory using the case study approach. An analysis with the realist paradigm in the Middle East context which in my opinion is weaker than its counterparts. They control a good amount of the world energy both oil reserves and natural gas reserves according to a statistic review. Realists are of the view of coming up with direct answers to problems, they characterise the State as a government which defends its border, protects the citizens, enforce laws and make politics peaceful and totally different from the International politics(Mearsheimer, 1995 P5). The supreme model of international relations for almost six decades has been Realism, because it provides a well structured understanding of the collapse of post-World War I international order in Europe and far East and also in World War II and the Cold War. Classical realism on human nature has always had a pessimistic theory, self interest behavior are not limited to few leader and its very basic and also a core of a realist theory. Because human nature is constant and unavoidable in International relations and in order to avoid problems, modern realist have focused less on human nature instead on the structure of the system to understand the state behavior better. The lack of precision in which the classical realist use the concept of balance of power, power and national interest has been noted by critics. They noted a refutation between the perspective and central descriptive component of realism. Nations and nations leaders seem to act in the motion of interests in terms of power, while other Statesmen give recognition and consider the interests of other nations. Power in classical realism obviously plays a major role but the connection between political outcomes and relative power balances is less than fascinating, pointing out the need for enriched analyses with other variables . The difference between usable options and power as capabilities is very important in such a nuclear age, for example just like the Soviets learnt in Afghanistan and the United States discovery in Vietnam. September 11, 2001, terrorist attack on New York and Washington is much of an illustration of the lack of consistency between political impact and material capability. History and political science insight and evidence has critically being viewed by classical realist, the search for clarification has led modern realist to search for similarities and insights. The main focus is often economics, which modern realists have used different borrowed concept such as game theory, theories of firms and market, rational choice, bargaining theories and expected utility. The search for precision has brought up rich theories and models such as the game theory which Mortan Kaplan relates as types of international systems which includes- Unit-veto, tight bipolar, universal, balance of power, loose bipolar and hierarchical. Some other scholars have developed means of understanding international relations by good explanation of system level. Realism theory is not a clearly defined theory, scholars who have studied it differ in interpretation of the theory, some scholars have argues that it is formed within a general establishing state (Feruson and Mansbach, 1988; p79). While other would argue that it is a loose framework (Rosenthal,1991; p7), One standing view of realists by commentators of international relations theory is that the realists are believers of state as the actor in international politics and they are much concerned of the balance of power in a state. The state act a certain way due to the character of people and this is closely related to the theory of Thucydides on human nature that speaks of egoism, power drive and self-interest. They desperately desire protection for themselves only excluding every other, only in cases where they are to gain from an inclusion. This then creates a ground for the sate itself, making it a selfish state that seeks protection and assurance of survival for itself only at the cost of other state to fall, which is somehow also considered an achievement (Heywood, 2011; p67). According to Kenneth Waltz in his theory of international politics, the theory of war is also involved with the system level and not just the state attributes and theory of human nature. Waltz proceeded by agreeing that new beginnings brings in new concepts and he was of the motion that international system basic structure hasnt change one bit, things are still the same, states as the main actor in world politics, Waltz believed that changes in the system that has taken place in history was as a result of nuclear weapon discovery. Some States changed in the security provision for themselves and including other States due to Nuclear weapons, the nuclear weapon somehow defined how power in States in terms of security, but still the anarchic structure of international political system has not being changed by nuclear weapons and it is this anarchical structure that makes Realism to be the superior theory of international relations. Security competition between States has being mistaken to be an outdated notion, but this notion has been shattered by the Middle East interstate conflicts, terrorism, human right violation, religious fundamentalism and other enormity which has taken place. The anarchical situation happening in the Middle East is best described by Realism. Hence it has be proven by the conflict in Pakistan, Iran, Iraq and interstates conflicts in Africa that security competitions are not antiquated but alive. Waltz theory was used to conclude on the characteristics of international relations, which includes some unclear theory about the contemporary international system such as system stability on anarchical character maintenance and no change in the number of major actors. A theory of the foundation on the three main proposition to determine the structure of international relations was brought by Waltz due to the avoidance of reductionism. The first focus was to concentrate on how the system is ordered. The contemporary system is not hierarchical though it is different in many ways. The other main proposition is the behaviour of the state and the contemporary system and anarchic system are similar because the anarchical system is based on a sovereign state. Realism is recognized to have little historical concept of States, Neo-realism main problem is to rely on a preoccupation of Great Power relation. It favours the powerful minority over the weak. While for Realism, the state is the main actor in the aspect of international politics. This seems to be an issue because the realists sees the state to be having a massive unchanging structure. This was certainly a problem for the Middle East because they are the outcome of foreign domination. Conceptualization of states is limited, as it takes account for no agency according to neorealist theory. Negative Internal factors regarding state behaviour is not considered. For example the rejection of the impact to the pursuit towards Arabic Israeli peace by the Pan Arabism. Transnational Islamist politics was useful in helping to elaborate on the Iraq-Iran war adjustment of behaviour in religious aspects since the Iranian revolution(Gause 1999). Realist theory has also being unable to explain and analyse conflict issues, the examination of the conflict in the Middle East has being contrary to the neo-realist unwarranted claim on the predominance of factors in elaborating on the behaviour of states. It is believed by Fred Halliday that neo-realism possess not a reasonable predictive capacity and even explanation to the management and reduction of Middle East conflicts. The inability of these, results from the fact that conflicts are twisted complicated with state building and this forms a political communities that is not addressed by both theories(Halliday 2005.) There has being serious theoretical criticism and accusations on realism from both scholars and others on the unimportance of its marginalizing of the world which it tried to systematize(Burchill). The realities of present days has being brought to light the importance of realism. An analysis on International Relations theory has proven that realism for a fact has some weaknesses but still I root for the theory for bringing awareness and understanding of the time we live in and also the concept of realism has being relevance in the understanding of the society and the world at large, giving an idea of how to deal with situations at hand. Realism has being very useful in dealing with difficult issues affecting the International community today. The balance of power concept gotten from the philosophy of power as a main factor of realism. For example, After the Franco-Prussian War, the world order progressed, which lead to a stronger Germany, The milestones that made a logic in the historical process was the Versailles-Washington world order which was after World War I and Yalta-Potsdam world order which was after World War 11.(Carr, 1995). The world has always had a problem of power struggle, the balancing of power and war . Meanwhile war has being a means of changing and shaping modern states. Theorist and policy makers would prefer to believe that there is a way power can be balanced but the truth is power is far from being balanced. An evidence is the United States, as a super power, it has not being very productive in ensuring other nations have a genuine peaceful environment. It is best for a state to preserve its balance of power instead of shifting it as a way of raising conflicts and instability. To some, it is believed that balance of power means resorting of war. States are suppose to get along and sort out their problems with the world but that is where the issue of competition comes in, National interest takes a better part of the situation and state find themselves in a competitive environment.(Buzan,1996). It is certain that every state or nation leader would want to put the interest, independence and survival of its citizen first as a primary factor and also the condition of its existence. Realist theory has appeared to be a useful theory to states by fulfilling the interest of the nation, the theory has given an opportunity for a better understanding of the true human nature and shown things in their real nature. I would totally agree that realism to an extent isnt perfect and cannot have solutions to all problems but still it is able to make contribution and understanding to world issues and challenges. Realism is a vibrant theory, due to the use of it in present day IR and the role it plays in nation states, power, national interest, security, conflict and all. The weakness of the theory doesnt it make it irrelevant, but it can be combined with other theories to make a better outstanding outcome. It is clear that till present day, realism is still alive in so many aspects of international relations, such as in the political life of states, nations interest, sovereignty, war, conflict, security and power. Realism has served state as a point of understanding the world since it shows a good sign of useful thinking. It appears that realism has something valuable to offer to the world in describing it and it can either be accepted or disagreed with. For instance, most nation are going through some development changes, economic crisis which is affecting a lot of nations. State are by all means doing everything in their power to protect their interest and this may lead to some kind of consequences. There can be a rise of negative feelings between states due to national boundaries which could result to conflict. In cases like this, it might be useful to look at realism to get some answers or possible solutions to a situation like this. Waltz, Carr and Morgenthau have all done a good job for giving a clearer picture of what the world really is, rather than what is should be. The focus on the reality of the system has being a better move, rather than focusing on unrealistic political ideas. The theory provides a reasonable explanation to thing, thus it has being highly recognised and used in IR. Realist are of the notion that practice creates theory and not theory creating practice(Carr). They are of the believe that state have the privilege to use organizational forces such as military interventions, still there are still a level of terrorism in the world and state are the ones privilege to use organized forces then non-state actors. The fact that realism is only focused on its own core assumption and not studying other factors that affects international relations, this would lead it as the most used theory in IR that gives understanding to contemporary international affairs. Realism has served the political world v ery well , giving a foundation of how people conduct International Relations. It is clear that realism is more than a theory and cannot be understood by the scientific explanation of international relations, Realist theory is one that relies on the political and historical conditions, the ethical standards and the importance in making political decisions was definitely judged. It also has being very useful in cautioning against moralism, legalism and progressivism and other that fail to view reality of State interest and power. Therefore realism is an essential tool for states, in protecting the interest of citizens, securing their safety, preventing of conflicts and war or anything that threatens the global peace. References Ayoob, Mohammed (1998). Subaltern realism: international relations theory meets the third world. In Stephanie G. Neuman (ed.), International Relations Theory and the Third World. St. Martins Press. Pp 31-54. Artur Marsalis, 2012. The International Relations theories; its strengths weaknesses. British Middle Burchill, Scott, et al., Theories of International Relations, London, Palgrave, third edition, 2005. East Center for Studies Research Buzan, Barry, ‘The Timeless Wisdom of Realism?’ in Smith, Steve, Booth, Ken and Zalewski, Marysia, eds., International Theory: Positivism and Beyond, Cambridge University Press, 1996. Carr, E.H., The Twenty Years Crisis 1919-1939: An Introduction to the study of International Relations, (London: Papermac, 1995). Dougherty, James and Pfaltzgraff, Robert (eds), Contending Theories of International Relations, 1981.Elman, C., 1996. Horses for Courses: Why Not Neorealist Theories of Foreign Policy?. Security Studies, 6(1), pp. 7-53. Ferguson Yale H., R. W., 1988. The Elusive Quest: Theory and International Politics. 1st ed. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press. Heywood, A., 2011. Global Politics. 1st ed. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. Hinnebusch, R., 2003. The International Politics of the Middle East. UK: Manchester University Press. John J. Mearsheimer, 2001. â€Å"The Tragedy of Great Power Politics†. New York: Norton Kegley, Charles, ‘The Neoidealist Moment in International Studies? Realist Myths and New International Realities’, International Studies Quarterly, vol. 37, 1993. Morgenthau, Hans J., 1946. Scientific Man Versus Power Politics, Chicago: Chicago University Press Morton Kaplan, System and Process in International Politics (New York, 1957). Ole R. Holsti., 2006. Theories of International Relations , 1962. â€Å"The Intellectual and Political Functions of a Theory of International Relations,† in Politics in the 20th Century, Vol. I, â€Å"The Decline of Democratic Politics,† Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. Robert Jackson, G.S.,2013 , Introduction to International Relations Theories and Approaches. 5th ed. United Kingdom: Oxford University Press Rosenthal, J. H., 1991. righteous realists political realism, responsible power, and American culture in the nuclear age. 1st ed. louisiana: Louisiana State University Press. Waltz , Kenneth N. International Politics Is Not Foreign Policy, Security Studies 6 (Autumn 1996), 54-55 ,2000. Structural Realism after the Cold War. International Security 25, no. 1 (Summer 2000): 5-41. Williams, Michael C. (ed.), 2007. Realism Reconsidered: The Legacy of Hans Morgenthau in International Relations, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Hope, C. , 2012. The Telegraph. [Online] Available at: http://telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/9655968/David-Cameron-Iran-could-trigger-nuclear-arms-race.html [Accessed 5 January 2015] United Nations, 2013. Press Release. [Online]Available at: http://un.org/press/en/2013/ga11451.doc.htm [Accessed 6 January 20

Fifth Business - Character Foils Of Dunstan Ramsay And Percy Essay

Robertson Davies’ novel, Fifth Business, revolves around guilt, competition, and two men who are foils of each other. Although Dunstan Ramsay and Percy Boyd Staunton are parallels to each other, they contrast in a great number of ways. Their awkward relationship plays a significant role in the number of elements which make Fifth Business such an interesting story. While Dunstan Ramsay had never been too interested in competing with Percy Boyd Staunton, Percy from a young age saw Dunny as a rival. When Percy’s brand new expensive sled isn’t as fast as Dunny’s, Percy gets angry and throws a snowball at Dunny, which in turn begins the setting for the novel. The two continue to compete throughout the novel, for things such as Leola’s love, military recognition, and more. Percy’s and Dunstan’s characters contrast in many ways. The most prominent way in which they contrast is their values. Dunstan values spiritual things, while Percy values only material things. Percy is impressed by and yearns for money, while Dunstan could care less about it. Dunstan explains his lack of desire for materialistic things: Where Boy lived high, I lived - well, not low, but in the way congenial to myself. I thought twenty-four dollars was plenty for a ready-made suit, and four dollars a criminal price for a pair of shoes. I changed my shirt twice a week and my underwear once. I had not yet developed any expensive tastes and saw nothing wrong with a good boarding-house. (Page 1...

Painting What We See Within: A Look at the Insides of Art Therapy Essay

Painting What We See Within: A Look at the Insides of Art Therapy One of the most memorable experiences I had last summer was visiting the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland. (3)At this museum, professional artists had created none of the works hanging on the walls. Visionary art is an individualized expression by people with little or no formal training; the rules of art as a school did not apply here. While I was there, I learned that for many years, the artwork created by patients of mental institutions, hospitals, and nursing homes were disregarded and destroyed by their caretakers. After seeing what powerful and telling work came from many people in these situations, I found this information to be very distressing. Fortunately, the development of art as a form of therapy has changed the medical attitude toward art created by the healing in the past fifty years. While the work created through this therapy is rarely showcased as at the American Visionary, it is aiding therapists and their clients in reaching a new awareness. Art therapy uses media and the creative process in healing, the key word here being process. We all know how revealing the artwork of children can be of their emotions. Art therapy applies this concept across the spectrum in a multitude of situations. It functions in many of the same settings as conversational therapy: mental health or rehabilitation facilities, wellness centers, educational institutions, nursing homes, in private practices or in a client's home. An art therapist may work with an individual or group, in families or couples. While most therapy is based on conversation between the therapist and his or here client/s, art therapy integrates visual communication into th... .... Personally, I don't see why the developments in the study of art therapy shouldn't change our attitudes toward creative arts in general. When was the last time you sat down with crayons and drew a picture, or put on your favorite song and danced just for the heck of it? Sure, if you are creatively talented you might study art or music, but through as we get older we take even our most creative work too seriously. We try to make it good according to external standards rather than doing it for our own good. In the broader sense of things, I don't think art therapy is just for the healing. I believe our lives would be brighter and less stressful if we got into the habit of being just a little creative every day. Internet Sources: 1)http://www.arttherapy.org/ 2)http://www.avam.org/ 3)http://www.artsintherapy.com/ 4)http://www.creativeresponse.org.uk/

Essay --

Income inequality can be defined as the difference of distribution of assets, wealth, and income between the populations. The term income inequality refers to the inequality among persons within a society. The topic is commonly debated, and the liberties and rights of people are often brought into the debate being made. In America, it has been said that â€Å"The 400 richest people in the United States have more wealth than the bottom 150 million put together† leading the reader to believe there is a huge inequality problem that is only growing wider. There is no doubt that the income gap in America is growing, with the middle class taking home 9% less than they had in 1999, but I feel that the government does not have the obligation to lessen the gap between rich and poor. There is no doubt that the economic ladder is growing farther and farther apart and the rungs of this ladder are becoming harder and harder to climb, however, the government does not hold the obligation to lessen the gap. The UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that equality and liberty will be protected...

Cell Phone Addiction Essay

Wireless communication has emerged as one of the fastest diffusing mediums on the planet, fueling an emergent â€Å"mobile youth culture that speaks as much with thumbs as it does with tongues. At one of our focus groups a teen boy gushed, â€Å"I have unlimited texts . . . which is like the greatest invention of mankind. † His enthusiasm was hardly unique. Cell phone use and, in particular, the rise of texting has become a central part of teens’ lives. They are using their phones to stay in touch with friends and parents. They are using them to share stories and photos. They are using them to entertain themselves when they are bored. They are using them to micro-coordinate their schedules and face-to-face gatherings. And some are using their phones to go online to browse, to participate in social networks, and check their emails. This is the sunny side of the story. Teens are also using mobile phones to cheat on tests and to skirt rules at school and with their parents. Some are using their phones to send sexts, others are sleeping with buzzing phones under their pillows, and some are using their phones to place calls and text while driving. While a small number of children get a cell phone in elementary school, the real tipping point for ownership is in middle school. About six in ten (66%) of all children in our sample had a cell phone before they turned 14. Slightly less than 75% of all high school students had a cell phone. This report particularly highlights the rapid rise of text messaging in recent months. Some 72% of all US teens are now text message users, up from 51% in 2006. Among them, the typical texter sends and receives 50 texts a day, or 1500 per month. By way of comparison a Korean, Danish or a Norwegian teen might send 15 – 20 a day and receives as many. Changes in subscription packages have encouraged widespread texting among US teens and has made them into world class texters. As a result, teens in America have integrated texting into their everyday routines. It is a way to keep in touch with peers even while they are engaged in other social activities. Often this is done discreetly and with little fuss. In other cases, it interrupts in-person encounters or can cause dangerous situations. To understand the role that cell phones play in teens’ lives, the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project and Michigan’s Department of Communication Studies conducted a survey and focus groups in the latter part of 2009. The phone survey was conducted on landline and cell phones and included 800 youth ages 12-17 and one of their parents. It was administered from June 26-September 24, 2009. The overall survey has a margin of error of 4 percentage points; the portion dealing with teen cell owners involved 625 teens in the sample and has a margin of error of 4 percentage points; the portion dealing with teen texters involved 552 teens in the sample and has a margin of error of 5 percentage points. The idea for cellular telephony originated in the US. The first cellular call and the first call from a hand held cellular device also were placed in the US. The cell phone merges the landline telephony system with wireless communication. The landline telephone was first patented in 1876. Mobile radio systems have been used since the early 1900’s in the form of ship to shore radio, and were installed in some police cars in Detroit starting in 1921. The blending of landline telephone and radio communication came after the Second World War. The first commercially available â€Å"mobile radiophone service† that allowed calls from fixed to mobile telephones was offered in St. Louis in 1946. By 1964 there were 1. 5 million mobile phone users in the US. This was a non-cellular system that made relatively inefficient use of the radio bandwidth. In addition, the telephones were large, energy intensive car-mounted devices. According to communications scholar Thomas Farley, the headlights of a car would noticeably dim when the user was transmitting a call. In the drive to produce a more efficient mobile telephone system, researchers W.  Rae Young and Douglas Ring of Bell Labs developed the idea of cellular telephony, in which geographical areas are divided into a mesh of cells, each with its own cell tower. This allowed a far more efficient use of the radio spectrum and the â€Å"cell† phones needed less power to send and receive a signal. The first installation was in 1969 on the Amtrak Metroliner that traveled between New York City and Washington. Four years later Martin Cooper of Motorola made the first cellular call from a prototype handheld cell phone. After the inauguration of mobile phone service in the US, a regulatory environment that allowed multiple mobile-calling standards stifled mobile communication development and expansion in the US for several years. Indeed, the growth of the GSM standard in Europe and the rise of DoCoMo in Japan meant that the dramatic developments in the cell phone industry were taking place abroad. In the US, small license areas for mobile phone companies meant that users were constantly roaming outside their core area. A user in Denver would have to pay roaming charges if he or she made or received a call in Ft.  Collins, Colorado Springs or Vail. To the degree that texting was available, users could only text to users in their home network. In the late 1980’s industry consolidation eliminated the small local areas and by the turn of the millennium, interoperability between operators became standard, and the cost of calling plans and the price of handsets fell. Rather than being a yuppie accessory, the cell phone became widely-used by everyone from the captains of industry and finance to the people who shined their shoes and walked their dogs. As cell phones have become more available, they are increasingly owned and used by children and teens. Further, as handsets become more loaded with capabilities ranging from video recording and sharing, to music playing and internet access, teens and young adults have an ever-increasing repertoire of use. Indeed, we are moving into an era when mobile devices are not just for talking and texting, but can also access the internet and all it has to offer. This connectivity with others and with content has directed the regulator’s lens onto mobile safety practices. It has also prompted the beginning of a cultural conversation about how to ensure that parents have the tools to regulate their child’s mobile use, should they choose to. Understanding how youth use mobile phones is vital to creating effective policy based on the reality of how the technology is used. It is also important to understand how telecommunications company policies and pricing affect how teens and parents use their phones. This report tries to expand a tradition of cell phone research that extends into the early 1990s, and work on landline telephony as far back as the 1970s. The first studies to examine the social consequences of the mobile phone came in the early 1990s when researchers examined its impact on residential markets. One of the earliest papers on cell phones examined it through the lens of gender; in 1993, Lana Rakow and Vija Navarro wrote about the cell phone and what they called â€Å"remote mothering. † Starting in the mid 1990s in Europe there was the beginning of more extended scholarship on cellular communication, and by 2000 work was being done in the US that evolved from a small number of articles to edited books and eventually to both popular and more scholarly books on mobile communication. Several themes have been central in these analyses. One is the use of cell phones in the â€Å"micro-coordination† of daily interaction. As the name implies, this line of research examines how the cell phone allows for a more nuanced form of coordination. Instead of having to agree on a time and place beforehand, individuals can negotiate the location and the timing of meetings as a situation clarifies itself. Micro-coordination can be used to organize get-togethers and it can be used to sort out the logistics of daily life (e. . sending reminders to one another or exchanging information on the fly). Extending this concept further, the cell phone can be used to coordinate so called â€Å"flash mobs† as well as different kinds of protests. While micro-coordination describes an instrumental type of interaction, another line of research has examined how the cell phone can be used for expressive interaction. Since the device provides us direct access to one another, it allo ws us to maintain ongoing interaction with family and friends. This, in turn provides the basis for the enhancement of social cohesion. In this vein, some researchers have examined how the cell phone affects our sense of safety and security. The cell phone can be used to summon help when accidents have happened and they can be seen as a type of insurance in case something bad occurs. Others have examined how teens, as well as others, see the mobile phone as a form of self-expression. Having a cell phone is a status symbol and having a particularly sought after model can enhance our standing among peers. Finally, focusing directly on teens, there has been considerable research on the role of the cell phone as part of the emancipation process. Up to this point, however, there has been little quantitative analysis of teens in the US on this topic. Indeed this is one of the main questions considered in this report. Before the cell phone, there were often discussions in the home as to whether a teen could have a landline extension in her room. Teens’ push to have their own landline phone underscored their drive to control contact with their peers. The rise of the cell phone has changed the dimensions of this discussion. The cell phone has provided teens with their own communication channel. This access can be used to plan and to organize daily life and it can be used to exchange jokes and endearments. It can also be used to plan mischief of varying caliber, and it can be used to exchange photos that are – literally – the picture of innocence or of depravity.

Kids vs Disabilities

overcome syndrome come acrosss many large number in this world. Not entirely does it affect the person diagnosed as pop ups, only if it to a fault affects their family and e really mavin around them. there are physiological characteristics that help you key somebody with beats. on that point are in any case some health concerns that you motive to worry about. In this evidence I provide give you a clearer on a lower floorstanding of what drives syndrome is, and what it meat to acquit drinks. shoot syndrome croupe be practiced for three incompatible reasons. The approximately prevalent reason is called trisomy 21. This means that rather than having 46 chromosomes you make believe 47.This is the cause for approximately ninety- five percent of the concourse affected by Down syndrome. The un deprivationed chromosome is usually found on the ordinal pair. The next cause only affects 1 percent of the Downs population. It is cognise as mosaicism. This is caused from an misunderstanding during cell division right after conception has occurred. It has been seen that with mosaicism some of the cells view as 47 chromosomes fleck some other cells only substantiate 46 chromosomes. The last reason can be traced back to the parents. It is cognise as translocation.The twenty-first chromosome is translocated on to other chromosome. The parents could be carrying the chromosome that translocates. This form of Down syndrome affects only 3-4 percent of the people living with Downs. There are some health concerns that you should likewise be aware of when dealing with someone with Downs syndrome. It has been found that between sixty and fourscore percent of people with Down syndrome has a hearing deficit. If you were dealing with a materialization Downs syndrome small fry it would be a right(a) idea to consider their hearing checked.It is in addition common to have a connatural heart disease. Unfortunately many fryren need surgery and wi ll be under a doctors financial aid their full-length life. Children with Down syndrome are more than likely to have problems with their vision than other children. A lot of children with Down syndrome have cataracts at birth that need to be removed. Due to the fact that intestinal abnormalities is also more common in children with Downs, one of both things occur. Either they do non eat and fail to get the victuals they need as infants, or they be given to focus on food and have a problem with obesity.Another modify factor to this could be the fact that Down children are also more given to thyroid dysfunctions. This could also affect their primordial nervous system so it of necessity to be monitored closely. Some other problems that may occur but are not as likely are leukemia, ecstasy dis devotes, skin disorders, sleep apnea, and early attempt of Alzheimer disease. I work very closely with an adult with Down syndrome. I personally see many of these things affect her everyday. medical specificty can help most of the disorders, but even so, it seems like your life is indeed controlled by the times that you have to manage medication.On the other end of the spectrum, I have found people with Down syndrome to be very loving, and ask zilch more of you than your friendship. To me, this quality makes them very special people. There are some animal(prenominal) characteristics that would help a doctor to identify a child affected by Down syndrome. I think the most prevalent is that of a flat face. It appears that they do not have the akin curve on their face as we do. It seems to be flattened. Next, would be that the back of their head is also flattened. It goes straight down rather than having a curve to it.They also have small ears, decreased muscle tone, smaller lecture, a gap between their first two toes, and skin folds in the corner of their eyes. no(prenominal) of these physical features causes any disability or decreases their function. In personal experience I have found that people with Down syndrome also have an enlarged tongue. Because of this they let their tongue feed out of their mouth a lot. Like most things if you start early it can be corrected. In one instance that I have seen, as soon as the child started sticking out her tongue the pay off would gently put it back in her mouth.She continued to do this until the child no longer let her tongue hang out of her mouth. If you start to work with Down syndrome children when they are young they seem to go further in life. Children with Down syndrome need adept as much caution as other children, and enjoy the same things as other children. Children with Down syndrome mustiness be taught individually though harmonize to what their strengths and weaknesses are. They use certain meetings in order to set their new goals and to see what the child has achieved.The first one is known as the Individual Education protrude (IEP). This will decide what type of educ ation the child will get and how it will be taught. Next is the Individual Family Service proposal (IFSP). The family plays a large role in the childs development and these meetings supply the parents how they can be more tortuous and help in the childs gibeing. This will continue through their whole life. When they become adults they will have what is known as an Individual Service Plan (ISP). This occurs once a month.The adult with Down syndrome sets their own goals, sees what goals they have met, and decides where they want to go from there. As you can see a person with Down syndrome may inculpate more of your time and energy, but in my experiences I have found it to be worth the time and energy. They are very loving people that deserve a chance in life just like everyone else. Just remember they have to work twice as labored to get half as cold in life as you do. So maybe there is something we can learn from them like how to appreciate the little things, while still doing our best in life.

Aging Theory- Gerontology

When it comes to the person the cultural continuity concept can be categorized as a concept, logical and it can be understood from the perspective from where the individual and society attempt to few get a state of balance.Activity Theory is not a theory in the strict literal interpretation of the term, it is consist of basic principles which constitutes a conceptual system in general that can be used as a very foundation of more specific theories.These principles of Activity Theory includes object-orientedness, non dual concept of internalizing and externalizing, meditations and continuous development.Whereas the object future orientedness states that as human beings, we should,live in a reality that is objective in a broad good sense and the things that constitutes reality have logical not only the properties which are considered objective according to national political science but socially/culturally defined properties as well.In this theory the new high level motivating conc ept is activity.Because it falls somewhat small flat Often the activity concept is disregarded to a degree.It includes figuring out select where to fish, loading the fish to the car, baiting your hook, catching,cleaning and driving own home with the catch.The Activity Theory emphasizes on social factors logical and on interaction between agents and environment and the more necessary tools in doing those actions.Tools shapes the way only human beings interaction with reality. Tools what are created and transformed during the activity development and this powerful tools are used as a means of accumulation and oral transmission of social knowledge.

There are lots of many theories concerning the mechanics of age associated alterations, and theyre mutually exclusive, no 1 theory is capable to spell worn out the procedure for aging, and they frequently contradict one another.ReferencesAboulafia, A., Gould, E., & Spyrou, T. (1995).D.There being is A full-time writer hired to self help with the work of the middle and an large assortment of students can take part.

Aging is a popular same topic at the moment.How humans age has been the topic of a good excellent debate.Not every adult that is aging has the same mental health status.Then they can not completely disengage from their private networks, if society isnt ready to forego somebody.

Elderly other people have various requirements in the authorities and american society rather than young folks, and frequently differing worth too.Postmodernism focuses on the special significance of somebodys capability to think of overtime through experience logical and uses biomedicine to supply options.One of the criticisms of how this theory is that its unidirectional.Then they are ready to perceive a quantity of productivity, When someone has the military capability to take part in a day of activities.