Melani McAlister

Culture and history are interdependent concepts that have always influenced and determined the path of human societies as time progressed.   The power of culture in determining the prevalence of an ideology or a specific society has never been most evident than when the human societies were progressing towards accelerated development in the 19th and 20th centuries. Melani McAlister’s â€Å"Epic Encounters† and Edward Said’s â€Å"Orientalism† demonstrate human societies’ preoccupation in uncovering the ‘truth’ and reality behind the seemingly accelerated progress of ‘developed’ nations over other ‘developing or underdeveloped’ nations.   The two authors expressed particular interest in understanding what set apart Western nations from Middle Eastern or Oriental nations, as conceptualized by McAlister and Said, respectively. In their discussion of the Western society and the ‘otherness’ of Middle Eastern and Oriental nations, the authors conducted researches utilizing different methodologies.   In understanding McAlister’s analyses of the otherness of Middle Eastern nations from the United States, she conducted research based on cultural artifacts, primarily mass media artifacts that chronicle the history of the US-Middle East relationship.   Said, meanwhile, looked into the history of the creation and development of Orientalism based on a meta-analysis of historical and cultural documents that can provide greater understanding and additional perspective in determining the specific point from which Orientalism sprang from. The central focus of this proposal is to provide a comparison of McAlister’s and Said’s respective concepts of â€Å"otherness,† as ascertained by their (1) conceptualization of the societies under study, and (2) methodologies adopted by the researchers (McAlister and Said) in coming up with their generalizations.   In effect, the researcher proposes a meta-analysis by looking closely into the two authors’ conceptualization and operationalization of the concept of â€Å"otherness,† in the context of Middle Eastern, Oriental, and Western societies. The first phase of the proposed study is to uncover how McAlister and Said developed their respective concepts of otherness, applied in the context of Middle Eastern and Oriental cultures, respectively.   The rationale for determining this first step of the meta-analysis study is to first determine whether the authors developed similar criteria in developing the concept, â€Å"otherness.† It is interesting to note that upon closer study of their works, McAlister’s concept of otherness is more culture-based, while Said’s was centered on history.   These differences in perspectives made their analysis radically different, while still maintaining one focus: the theme of Other versus Western society.   However, in the conduct of the meta-analysis of the otherness concept, it is vital to note that both authors subsisted to analyzing cultural products—mass media artifacts for McAlister, and historical documents for Said. A major influence that helped determine â€Å"otherness† in the authors’ works was the methodology they used in analyzing the different societies under study.   Analyses of their methodologies would provide more depth in the research’s interpretation of â€Å"otherness.† In fact, combining a meta-analysis on the concept of â€Å"otherness† and methodologies used to understand â€Å"otherness† provides triangulation in the study, giving the researcher more direction in determining which between McAlister and Said provided a more accurate and objective conceptualization of â€Å"otherness.†Ã‚   The last phase of the proposed study will integrate the findings from the first two phases of the study, giving an overall picture of the authors’ basis for focusing on the concept of otherness as determined by history and culture. References: McAlister, M.   (2001).   Epic Encounters: culture, media, and US interests in the Middle East.   University of California Press. Said, E.   (1979).   Orientalism.   NY: Vintage.

Ballard Integrated Managed Services Essay

Ballard Integrated Managed Services, Inc. (BIMS) is an organization that provides food service and housekeeping services to corporations and institutions on a contractual basis. Ballard Integrated Managed Services, Inc. (BIMS) has a contract with Douglas Medical Center (DMC). As general manager of the Douglas Medical Center site for Ballard Integrated Managed Services, Inc. (BIMS), Barbara Tucker is responsible for three divisions at this site, each with its own management staff. The food service division, led by Flora Torres, is responsible for providing daily meals for the 5,300 staff members, nurses, and doctors as well as the public in the six cafeterias. In addition, they prepare specialized meals for patient care.The hospitality division, managed by Henry Dumas, is responsible for refreshing each hospital room, including changing the linens on empty beds, replacing towels, and sanitizing bathrooms, which includes maintaining the public areas: hallways, lobbies, and elevators. T he Physical Plant Maintenance division, led by Matt Lee, is responsible for the nonmedical equipment and physical aspects of the medical center (University of Phoenix). Overview The problem is that in recent months, the general manager, Barbara Tucker, noticed a decline in staff morale, a higher turnover rate, an increase in the amount of sick time used, and poor work ethics. Exit interviews did not provide new information on employees’ sudden changes. Even though replacing staff is not difficult to accomplish, it is costly. Barbara agreed to have the human resources manager, Debbie Horner, conduct a survey focusing on what would motivate employees. Debbie asked questions that pertained to work conditions, shift hours, quality of training, and level of compensation, fair treatment, internal company communications, and job security. Demographic questions were also asked so Debbiecould separate responses by division. Debbie hypothesized that the variables would correlate high employee turnover ratio to low employee morale. Data Collected Quantitative has two kinds of variables, reported numerically. Discrete is  one of the variables, which can only assume certain values, containing gaps between the values. Quantitative data collected based on numbers;the information collected can be analyzed using various statistical techniques. The analysis helps the researcher create meaningful patterns and take a deeper look into the data. The most important use of quantitative data is in hypothesis testing and can support researchers in reaching conclusions. The main methods used to collect quantitative information are using questionnaires that require input of the user’s response. Ballard Integrated Managed Services, Inc. (BIMS) placed questionnaires in the payroll checks for two pay periods, and employees were asked to return them to the Human Resources Manager. Types and Methods of Data Collected The type of data collected in the BIMS Employee Survey is quantitative. According to â€Å"Problem Gambling Institute of Ontario† (2013),†Quantitative data is information that is measured and expressed as numbers. Scores on standard tests like the SOGS, scores on scaled questions (e.g., a five-point scale), and records of sessions attended, are examples of quantitative data.† The Ballard Integrated Managed Services, Inc. (BIMS) Employee Survey consisted of 10 questions that required the employees to rate his or her level of job satisfaction on a scale from one to five,one meaning very negative and five meaning very positive. Quantitative methods of collecting data are good because it is relatively easy to collect, score, and analysis data from a large group (Problem Gambling Institute of Ontario, 2013). Level of Measurement It is important to recognize that there is a hierarchy implemented in the level of measurement concept. At each level of the hierarchy, the current level includes all of the attributes of the previous level as well as adding something new(Trochim, 2006).The ordinallevel of measurement used in the Ballard Integrated Managed Services, Inc. (BIMS) Employee Survey classified as discrete. The attributes in the ordinal level can be rank-ordered in this level of measurement, but the distances between the attributes are not the same. Description of Coded Data The surveygiven to employees at Ballard Integrated Managed Services, Inc.  (BIMS) attempted to identify the root cause for the decrease in morale. The survey consisted ofquestions that focused on the relationships between employees, management, and the company. Ballard Integrated Managed Services, Inc.(BIMS) employs more than 400 people at the Douglas Medical Center site, but only 17.3% participated in the survey. The data from the survey coded as follows: Q1.How well do you enjoy working for BIMS? Out of the 78 employees surveyed, 15 answered very negative, 21 answered negative, 15 answered neutral, 13 answered positive, 13 answered very positive, and one didn’t answer. Q2. You enjoy your assigned shift. Out of the 78 employees surveyed, 14 answered very negative, 22 answered negative, 13 answered neutral, 14 answered positive, 12 answered very positive, and three didn’t answer. Q3. Your request for your desired shift was fulfilled. Out of the 78 employees surveyed, 15 answered very negative, 21 answered negative, 15 answered neutral, 13 answered positive, 13 answered very positive, and one didn’t answer. Q4. How many times have you called in sick in the last month? Out of the 78 employees surveyed, 15 answered very negative, 21 answered negative, 12 answered neutral, 12 answered positive, 15 answered very positive, and three didn’t answer. Q5. You are well trained for work. Out of the 78 employees surveyed, 13 answered very negative, 22 answered negative, 14 answered neutral, 14 answered positive, 14 answered very positive, and one didn’t answer. Q6. You are paid fairly for the work you do? Out of the 78 surveyed, 20 answered very negative, 30 answered negative, 19 answered neutral, six answered positive, Zero answered very positive, and three didn’t answer. Q7. Your supervisor treats you fairly. Out of the 78 surveyed, 15 answered very negative, 21 answered negative, 15 answered neutral, 13 answered positive, 14 answered very positive. Q8. Your supervisor’s boss treats your division fairly. Out of the 78 surveyed, 15 answered very negative, 22 answered negative, 12 answered neutral, 13 answered positive, 12 answered very positive, and four didn’t answer. Q9. The company is good at communicating. Out of the 78 surveyed, 17 answered very negative, 32 answered negative, 24 answered neutral, five answered positive, zero answered very positive. Q10. You do not fear that you will lose your job. Out of the 78 surveyed, 17 answered very negative, 22 answered negative, 12 answered neutral, 15 answered positive, 10 answered very positive, and two didn’t answer. Out of the employees who took the survey, 12 were supervisors, 32 worked in the food division, 36worked in the housekeeping division, and nine worked in the maintenance division of the company. According to the survey of 17.3% the average length of employment with Ballard Integrated Managed Services, Inc. (BIMS) is three years and five months. Conclusion The conclusion drawn from the questionnaire is that the majority of participants in the Ballard Integrated Managed Services, Inc.(BIMS) survey are dissatisfied with the company. Out of the 17.3% of employees who participated answered all 10questions one or two being very negative. Dissecting the questionnaire by department showed that only nine out of 78 worked in maintenance. This could indicate satisfaction by maintenance department or that the employees elected not to participate. The other two departments, food and housekeeping participated equally in the survey. Barbara Tucker can use theoutcome of the survey to support her management team motivate their employees. The objective to discuss immediate changes to implement without affecting the budget, such as shift changes, department changes, and opencommunication. Once the employees notice a change in the company, it will boost employee morale resulting in a decrease in turnover (University of Phoenix). References Problem Gambling Institute of Ontario. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.problemgambling.ca/EN/ResourcesForProfessionals/Pages/DataCollecti on.as px Trochim, W. M. K. (2006). Levels of Measurement, Research Methods Knowledge Base, Retrieved May 12, 2008 fromhttp://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/measlevl.php University of Phoenix. (). Ballard Integrated Managed Services, Inc., Part I. Retrieved from University of Phoenix, QNT351-Quantitative Analysis for Business website.

Business Questions Assessment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Business Questions Assessment - Essay Example The market value of an individual’s work determines ones income which dictates the consumption levels. In this system government role is limited and is based on individual innovation and the idea that hard work is rewarded. The businesses will thus exist to make profit and competition is the key element. The entrepreneur takes a great risk with his capital since he requires a full and free availability of information on the buyers and sellers which is not always readily available. However, they have the power to choose on how they want to spend their incomes. In addition to that, the free market economic system leads to the development of monopolies and oligopolies. It influences the production and the distribution of harmful goods and services such as drugs in the economy. It also leads to social income disparities thus widening the gap between the rich and poor. As a result of the major limitations observed in the laissez- fairre system, most countries choose to conduct thei r affairs in a mixed economy. This type of economic system encompasses both the government and privately owned corporates that work together to produce goods for the consumer and solve the economic problems. A mixed economy is considered to be more effective because of the involvement of the government. It is the public sector that will influence the prices of goods to go down through its control measures thus preventing inflation and protecting the consumer. Besides this, the government ensures that income is distributed equally throughout the states. This is achieved through heavy imposition of tax on the rich than on the poor and using such money to construct social amenities throughout the country. The government is also actively involved in the prevention of monopolies by pumping money to support other competing industries as well as obtaining much money from patent owners. Prevention of entry of harmful drugs is also the key role of the government and therefore it ensures that the masses are protected at all costs. The most accepted roles of the government will include the enforcement of property rights, definition of a law system, prohibition of fraud and punishment for prohibited practices (Fernando, 2007, p.297). The state ensures that all goods produced internally are well allocated to generate investments while the private sector is mainly concerned with profit maximization. In a private sector, technology is highly applied and the revenue gained is more than that in the public sector. It may translate to failure to pay taxes or tax evasion or even the engagement in illegal acts. It is therefore the duty of the government to ensure that all taxes are paid and that illegality is exempted. Therefore, most states tend to concentrate on the mixed economy since in such there is a balance between the ownership of resources which translates to a balance in investments. In most and both cases, there is gain to the parties involved and the roles in both corr espond and interact. Question Two Forces of demand and supply determine the price level of goods and services. The intersection of the two marks the equilibrium of both demand and

Reflection Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 10

Reflection Paper - Essay Example sues of division of powers between the federal government and the state governments have been debated and amended all along since the republic was founded. Nevertheless, the powers of the federal government have remained on the top and ever increasing since the civil war period (Baumer & Van, 1989). However, there has been success in the actions undertaken by the congress and constitution interpretation to control the powers of the federal government. The philosophy of applying checks and balances has been the base for the success and the stance of the federal government. The congress has the powers of making laws, while the presidency has the veto powers in any legislative act. Additionally, the president has the powers to nominate judges of the Supreme Court, though they have to be verified by the congress. The Supreme Court has the powers to overturn any law that has been passed by the legislature. The essay seeks to describe and reflect on the current status of the key institutions of the federal government, namely; the presidency and the congress (Marshal &William, 2008). The executive branch is also known as the presidency. The federal government powers are bestowed on the president of the United States. The presidency is made up of the cabinet, the vice president, president and other officials, who the president delegates the powers to (Baumer& Van, 1989). The United States president has a unitary executive theory that is provided by the American constitution. The unilateral executive enables the president to have the power to control the whole executive branch. The provision is found in the Article Two of the United States Constitution. The powers that are bestowed by the constitution are universally agreed with the citizens of the United States of America. Nevertheless, these powers have for long faced criticism. In my point of view, they are dangerous and inappropriately granted. The separation of the powers among the various arms of the government

Marketing plan Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Marketing plan - Assignment Example board has captured the special consideration to provide special care and service to the younger age group by assisting them to acquire the necessary material within the library (Jefferson County Public Library). The free services being offered have been tied down to the vast material access in terms of books and reading materials while assigning professional library attendants to assist with the accessibility of this materials by the customer in the library. The marketing strategy is very consistent with the library’s mission because it encompasses the ideology of providing free services to all. ‘All’ means all age groups across the, while giving special emphasis to the young generation, a strategy that will attract the grown-ups that accompany the children to the institution. Customers want cost cutting initiatives to ease pressure off their budgets hence the fact that the library is offering free services is an inviting factor to attract this customers that want to enjoy the services while implementing the cost cutting measure. The current marketing strategy and performance are interlinked because strategy leads to performance. The Jefferson County Public Library has involved the public to employ technology in marketing and provide services within the library to enhance turnaround time and service delivery efficiency while cutting the cost operation. The public library institution has had a bullish market share meaning that the customer base has been on a steady increase with the implementation of the institutions mission on its goals. Free services means imposing minimal charges to the customer in terms of pricing hence attracting the large clientele (Jefferson County Public Library). The minimal pricing strategy is working well with the customers. The performance is ever improving because of the ever increase of population every year. Jefferson County Public Library has had an edge with managing organization resources because of the current

Candidate Brief Assessment Exercise Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Candidate Brief Assessment Exercise - Essay Example Also here a great role Browns Plc plays, which gives an opportunity to realize production in the US market. Concerning technology drivers the most well provided is definitely Pillchem Plc. Its IT Strategy and network shows the most advantageous correlation of price and quality that results in debagged wok of all the technologies, which leads to the reduction in the time to implement any new application or system. Also its company-wide integrated Internet and email service allow the exploitation of the Internet for selling, PR and internal/ external communication. But there are several factors, which should be taken from other companies: piecemeal strategy as in Zoros Plc is rather good to seamlessly integrating with suppliers and customers; and holding the copyright to a particular drug manufacturing process as in Browns Ltd can lead to opening up new global markets and selling through new channels. If Pillchem Plc's acquisition starts with Zoros Plc and Browns Plc the newly broadened great Company will have all the needed factors to prosper and expand taking the leading role in the World Pharmaceutical Market.

The French revolution collapse of the feudal systems and monarchies of Essay

The French revolution collapse of the feudal systems and monarchies of 18th century Europe - Essay Example The French Revolution which took place between 1789 to 1794, â€Å"marked the advent of modern society†1, both bourgeois and capitalist, in the history of France. The revolution brought about the national unity of the country through destruction of the privileged feudal orders considered as remnants of the Middle Ages. It is historically significant because the revolution successfully established a liberal democracy. Due to these double outcomes, in the perspective of world history, it can be considered as a classical model of a bourgeois revolution. However, the history of the French revolution is an integral part of European history. Earlier revolutions in other European countries such as Holland in the 16th century, and two revolutions in England in the 17th century, as well as the 18th century revolution in America paved the way for the French revolution. In all the European countries, the evolution ultimately resulted in the formation of modern society. With the different revolutions opposing the old economic and social system with its feudalism, the bourgeoise could benefit to varying degrees. Thesis Statement: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the reasons for the French Revolution and the collapse of the ancient monarchies and feudal systems of eighteenth century Europe. The Revolution began an era of change from the nineteenth century onwards, with the evolution of a democratic and equitable modern society. The Bourgeoisie Uprising: Cause of the French Revolution Lefebvre2 was a lifelong socialist, under the increasing influence of Marxism which assigns the bourgeoisie with the key role of representatives and beneficiaries of capitalism. According to this scholar, the rise of the bourgeoisie was the main cause of the French Revolution. After several centuries of increasing in numbers and wealth, the bourgeoisie class took control of power in France in 1789. Medieval society had been ruled over by a landed aristocracy, because the only f orm of wealth was land. However, by the eighteenth century, â€Å"economic power, personal abilities and confidence in the future had passed largely to the bourgeoisie†3 who were supported by a new form of wealth and a new ideology that was clearly defined. In 1789, the bourgeoisie overthrew the remaining aristocratic, feudal lords who had retained their dominance despite their economic decline. It was possible for the bourgeoisie to overthrow the aristocracy because the monarchy’s political authority had collapsed due to the lack of adequate funds. The reason for their inability to pay was that the aristocracy or privileged classes of nobility and clergy clung to their age-old privileges and immunity from paying. Moreover, they used their political power to prevent the king fom undertaking necessary reforms4. Following their ousting, the bourgeoisie established a regime based on the new distribution of economic power. Significantly, Lefebvre5 refers to four revolution ary movements in France between 1787 to 1789. First came the revolt of the aristocracy, which destroyed the monarchy. It was the culmination of an aristocratic resurgence which took place for over a century, in which the nobility had struggled to regain their pre-eminence in the social order, which Louis XIV had removed. In order to carrry out their revolution, the nobility had sought the support of the bourgeoisie; however the successful implementation of the movement provided the bourgeoisie with ideas to resolve their own problems. In the September of 1788, the parliament of Paris which formed the driving force behind the aristocratic reaction, required that the Estates-General promised by the government for 1789 should be constituted as they had been in 1614 at their last meeting. For the bourgeoisie this was not acceptable, since the forms of 1614 underscored aristocratic predominance. Under these circumstances the revolution of the bourgeoisie

Is a new Walmart a good thing for a community Essay

Is a new Walmart a good thing for a community - Essay Example on, the company serves towards the betterment of the community by providing jobs and ensuring environmental sustainability in its operational processes. To ensure environmental sustainability, Walmart has abandoned the sale of deodorant sticks in cardboard boxes and made use of the concept of greener buildings to establish its stores. The company also engages in Corporate Social Responsibility on a regular basis (Goetz, n.d.). Despite such advantages to the community, Walmart is engaged in a number of problems such as exploitation of labor, which is treated as a negative attribute from the perspective of the community. Moreover, in Walmart, there exists discrimination of worker in terms of gender and age. The company has an increased level of unemployment leading to higher rates of poverty and lower welfare spending. Furthermore, Walmart erodes business centers situated in downtown, which can be considered another factor behind the neglect of the community. Despite promoting environmental sustainability, Walmart itself is engaged in increased environmental degradation, against the communal perspective. In South America, fish farms located across the nation and have led to a rise in obesity rates by 2.4% points for which Walmart is responsible (Goetz, n.d.). Considering the advantages of the company and its comparison with the disadvantages, it can be identified that the company has adopted different measu res based on which the company is able to perform operations with environment consciousness and sustainability. In this context, Walmart can be considered as a good thing for the

Catholic Areas of Europe before 1570 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Catholic Areas of Europe before 1570 - Essay Example The process is still viewed by many European observers as favourable.4 Aside from increasing wealth through world trade and bartered products, ties between the Old World and the new world were discovered. They also believed it introduced Christianity. The conquest of the Americas and expansion to the rest of the world were said to have brought about the best as well as the worst of European civilization. Resources were greedily plundered and the natives were brutally repressed and enslaved in attempts to create news institutions and convert the natives to Christianity. In any case, the Europeans had begun to change the face of the world in an effort to export their religion, culture, and language to all corners of the earth.5 "Christianising" brought in wealth for Spain's new colonies in Latin America mainly from silver. In 1545 silver was discovered at Potos, in modern Bolivia. After delivering European goods needed in the colonies, convoys of Spanish caravels would carry back to Sp ain gold and silver together with a 20% share of the Spanish crown.6 But the rise of the Reformation (1517) had inflicted serious wounds on the Church, when so many priests defected.7 II. Religious allegiance Massive campaign to Christianise. Catholic Europe had been confined to one geographical area for almost a thousand years. The Crusades which saw them beyond frontiers had largely failed.8 The religious orders early on, had obtained broad powers in the colonies so that the Franciscans, the Dominicans and the Augustinians carried out a massive campaign to Christianize the natives, especially in New Spain. Lands outside Europe provided a strong attraction, and desire for wealth was the main motivation of the early explorers, though spreading Christianity was also an important factor.9 Mixed motives. All with "God, glory, and gold" as the primary motives of the voyages, several were carried out in the first two decades of the sixteenth century exploring the eastern coasts of both North and South America. Vasco Nuez de Balboa, a Spanish explorer, led an expedition across the Isthmus of Panam, reaching the Pacific Ocean in 1513, and Ferdinand Magellan in 1519 sailed through the Pacific Ocean and reached the Philippines, where he was killed by the natives.10 III. Economic Development Beginning a new era. European adventurers like Magellan were hardly aware that they were beginning a new era, not only for Europe but for the peoples of Asia, Africa, and the Americas. They marked the beginning of a process leading to radical changes in the political, economic and cultural life of the entire world.11 More wars. The imperial age saw that the population of the lands of the united monarchy amounted to 8,500,000 in the 1590s, a level which was not surpassed for two hundred years. Emigration to the Indies averaged to about 2,000 people a year. The European wars were fought almost entirely outside Spanish soil, and the proportion of European mercenaries in 50,000 to 70,000 troops being maintained by the crown increased steadily, especially in the closing decades of the

Globalization Of The Market Economy Essay Example for Free

Globalization Of The Market Economy Essay Much has been said how globalization has internationalize the market economy and how this system was able to integrate and create international partnerships between and among nations. Globalization is not just a phenomenon – it is a system, a new world system that has replaced the Cold War. Globalization has transcended economic and political borders without so much undermining the national sovereignty of any nation. This essay will document how the key players and catalysts accomplished the integration of a very complex world market economy, allowing the creation of the so-called global village. Specifically, this essay will look into the following: ? the creation of international bodies collectively known as The Bretton Woods institutions; ? the largest regional trade organizations: how they come into being, its membership, and how they are being seen sometimes as stumbling blocs, instead of building blocs; ? multi- or transnational corporations; and ? technological revolution (information and communication technology, or ICT, and the Internet). The list above will help us see globalization, an intangible system, as an observable, concrete, and measurable concept. This essay will also attempt to explain the future of globalization so as to prepare other areas that it has not penetrated yet, and at the same time, to allow those who are experiencing it already to take advantage of the strengths and opportunities in the system and be prepared with the threats that come with it. Understanding globalization There are two very interesting books on globalization that can serve as a starting point of this essay – MacGillivrays A brief history of globalization: The Untold story of our incredible shrinking planet and Friedmans The Lexus and the olive tree: Understanding globalization. MacGillivray argues that the term â€Å"globalization† has rapidly become one of the most overused words in the field of international relations. Unfortunately, its being overused does not guarantee understanding of the concept. In fact, this is one of the least understood or at least broadly construed concepts in the same field. It clearly covers connections between and among political, economic, cultural, and even environmental issues or concerns. And with the recent advance in information technology, we also know that globalization also concerns itself about technology and even war. MacGillivray described globalization as the interaction and integration between and among people, corporations, and governments across national boundaries. Such web of interaction and integration is motivated by international trade and investment with the help of technology, particularly, information technology (MacGillivray 2006). The importance of technology in the era of globalization was further elaborated and described by Friedman in his book The Lexus and the olive tree: Understanding globalization through this passage: â€Å"In the Cold War, the most frequently asked question was ‘How big is your missile? ’ In globalization, the most frequently asked question is ‘How fast is your modem? ’† As compared to other writers who believe that globalization is a phase of human evolution, or maybe a trend, Friedman believes that it is more of an international system which existence was significantly felt after the Cold War period. He argued that the movement of globalization in this contemporary period is just an extension of the previous period which has marked the end of the First World War (Friedman 1999). Whereas the Cold War has changed the whole world into a bipolar one, globalization has changed this into a global village with shared or integrated resources in terms of capital, technology, political and market sentiments, and information across and, even more interesting, through national borders. Establishing new grounds: The collapse of economic and market frontiers Globalizations effects are very much visible in some aspects of international relations. In this essay, the effect on economic sovereignty would be the focus. It should be noted though that as far as these effects are concerned, globalization does not destabilize the sovereignty and legitimacy of a nation in any one way or another. With globalization, we could say that the economic borders of any sovereign nation has somewhat been transcended, i. e. , protectionist policies are either challenged if not eliminated completely. The Bretton Woods system: The first attempt to international openness One of the best ways of seeing globalizations effect to international relations is by looking at international financial institutions having direct or indirect effect to sovereign nations. While they do not exactly dictate what the economic policies of countries should be, these bodies without a doubt influence the making of such policies. In the early 1930s, currency exchange rates, even those of the major economies, are unstable. A number of countries are protectionists and had very restrictive trade policies. A decade after that, Great Britain and the United States, the only two super powers then, proposed the establishment of international financial or monetary institutions that would aim to stabilize exchange rates and, more importantly, improve international trade. In 1944, 44 nations through their representatives convened at the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire. The participants of the conference met to plan the recovery and eventual development of post-war Europe and to discuss the monetary and prevailing economic issues of that period – protectionist trade policies and unstable exchange rates of a number of countries (Bretton Woods Project 2007; Canadian Economy Online 2007). This has given birth to the Bretton Woods Agreement. The agreement aims to create a post-war international monetary system of convertible currencies, fixed and stable exchange rates, and free trade across geographical regions. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (which was later on referred to as the World Bank) were established to facilitate the objectives of the agreement. The resulting bodies from this Bretton Woods convention have definitely affected the economic sovereignty of countries. Taking the case of International Monetary Fund, its main areas of concern are surveillance (advice and appraisal on the policies of its member economies), financial or monetary assistance for members experiencing short- to medium-term economic problems and difficulties, and technical assistance as well as training in monetary and fiscal policies (Ibid). The Bretton Woods agreement prevented currency and exchange rates competition and promoted monetary cooperation among its member economies. Under this system, member nations and economies agreed to have a system of currency exchange rates that could be adjusted or computed within defined parities with the US dollar. This currency exchange rate could also be adjusted to correct a basic disequilibrium in balance of payments as approved by IMF. Advocates of the Bretton Woods system argued that establishment of a stable exchange rate would discourage the â€Å"beggar thy neighbour† policies, which would eventually benefit several, if not all, member economies by the promotion and expansion of international market and trade. The competitiveness of currency exchange rates decreased overtime due to infrequent changes in parities. Some expressed concerns that a fixed currency exchange rate system may prohibit countries enough liberty for them to actually pursue and implement their own monetary and fiscal policies. IMF uses both its surveillance as well as technical assistance work or functions in developing codes and standards of good practice in its areas of responsibility (Articles of Agreement of the International Monetary Fund 2007). The World Bank, which is officially named International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, is actually a development institution. Its mandate is to build a climate of healthy investment, sufficient jobs, and sustainable growth. It also invests in poor people and empowers them to participate in development projects. Its efforts on poverty reduction can be observed in national as well as global levels (Schiff and Winters 2003, 15–16). The World Bank gives emphasis on extending aids to poor and developing nations. But more than just these financial aids or loans, the bank gives advice on policymaking and training to countries needing them. Now, in return for IMF’s and World Bank’s financial support or any other kind of advice, recipients of these financial aids should implement necessary structural adjustment policies that will encourage healthy public spending, especially on social services delivery systems. These policies usually decrease government’s participation in the economy (or market, to be specific). Currently, the World Bank is the largest international lending institution dealing with least developed to developing countries (Ibid, 25–26). The World Trade Organization is probably the most â€Å"intrusive† of the three bodies established by the Bretton Woods convention. The convention created a provision for an International Trade Organization. However, such plan lay dormant until the actual establishment of the World Trade Organization in early 1990s. This original plan did not materialize in the form it was originally conceptualized because of the refusal of the US Congress to endorse it. (The refusal of the US Congress is primarily anchored on the idea that had the International Trade Organization been approved then, this body would have the power of a supranational body that can implement sanctions, penalties, or disciplines to any member economies that the ITO deem violating the principles and agreements reached at the Bretton Woods. ) In lieu of this, an international organization, so to speak, in the form of General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade or GATT was created. As an international body, it has the primary responsibility of reducing trade barriers through multilateral and multinational negotiations. ITO, however, does not have the power to effect any policies, i. e. , its agreements are non-binding (Timeline: World Trade Organization – A chronology of key events 2007). The World Trade Organization came into existence on 1995. It replaced GATT as an international body overseeing the multilateral trading system. One hundred and twenty-eight (128) countries had signed GATT by 1994. And as of the year 2007, there are 151 full-fledged members and 30 economies/countries having observer status. Every member country of the WTO has the right to challenge or simply question other countries local, state, or federal laws granted that such laws may impede efficient and effective international trade. In such cases, if the WTO judges the law to contain violations of WTO ideals, it [WTO] may order the government to overturn or modify the law or else, the country can experience or suffer from trade sanctions. This is exactly why the US Congress did not approve the ratification of the treaty for the creation or establishment of the WTO (Ibid). These three international bodies have clearly penetrated the economic barriers, even political to some extent, of any of its member economies. For this purpose, however, it is clear that these effects are for the benefit of the member economy. While it is clear that these Bretton Woods bodies do not directly dictate economic policies, it has the power to influence its members to act towards its direction. Again, this is not to emphasize that economic sovereignty is being taken away from the country itself, but clearly, the economic barriers have been breached. Regional trade associations or blocs Regional trade associations are â€Å"offshoots†, so to speak, of the globalization phenomenon where inter-nation or inter-state agreement is established. These associations are actually the ones that manage, promote, and direct all the trade activities of the concerned group of countries or regions of the world (UC Atlas of Global Inequality, 2007). This is a case where instead of an institution penetrating the borders of a country, the sovereign country itself initiates the â€Å"surrender† of their economic, or more particularly, trading, policies. Regional trade associations, in general terms, are groupings of economies or nations at a governmental level that aims to promote, manage, and encourage trade within and among their own region and defend its member countries or member economies against a larger global competition. Protection against this larger global competition is done by most countries by establishing tariffs on commodities produced by its members economies, import quotas, onerous bureaucratic import processes, government subsidies, and technical and other non-tariff barriers. Trade is not an isolated activity and other areas of relations between countries or economies involved are also affected: political, security, and other issues affecting the region (Ibid). A good example of a regional trade bloc affecting other aspects of inter-national relations is the case of the European Union or EU. This group is the world’s largest trade association, and by far, the most effective in terms of certain aspects. EU has harbored not just economic but also political ambitions extending way beyond the free trading arrangements entered into by the participating economies (Gibb and Michalak, 1994, 75). The ideological foundations of EU were actually focused on ensuring development and maintaining international or even inter-regional stability, specifically, encapsulating communist or socialist expansion in the post-WWII Europe. EUs plan actually involves possible joint policies on military security and citizenship. Some researchers believe that trade associations complement globalized trade. There are those, on the other hand, who believe that regionalism is a threat to free trade due to its protectionist nature having conservative policies being implemented by these blocs that shield the member- countries from outside competition of global trade. Such debates contain sharp disagreements. In the same work by Gibb and Michalak (1994, 1), they noted, â€Å"the multilateral trading system is in decline and regionalism is on the ascendancy. † They emphasized that regional trade blocs are an alternative form of trade that â€Å"attempts to counter more aggressive policies of trade, especially as espoused by the WTO. †

Goal Setting Worksheet Essay Example for Free

Goal Setting Worksheet Essay 1.Describe one academic goal that you have created using the SMART criteria. How do SMART criteria contribute to your academic goals? One goal I have created is to continue to attain the highest points possible each week in college. SMART criteria contribute to my academic goal by helping me identify what I need to focus on to complete this goal. By concentrating on how to set my goal to the guidelines of SMART (Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Realist, and Timely) I am able to set reasonable steps to complete this goal within the timeframe specified. 2.Describe one professional/career goal you have created using the SMART criteria and Career Plan Building Activities results. How did the results of the Career Interest Profiler and Career Plan Building Activity on Competencies contribute to your professional goal development? Using the SMART criteria I have set a goal to research jobs I am interested in pertaining to the IT field and find out which certifications I will need on top of my degree to help me attain that edge over other prospective candidates. The results from my Career Interest Profiler and Career Plan Building Activity on Competencies reaffirmed my choices on the career I have chosen. As the other career fields I have been interested in were also on the profiler I feel like I am in connection with my competencies and am pursuing a career that I will not only excel at, but be happy with. 3.Describe the stress and time-management strategies you have learned this week that will help you achieve your goals. Of the stress and time management strategies I have learned this week I feel that overcoming procrastination will aid me the most. There are times when the list of things I need to accomplish by the end of the week seems quite daunting, and sometimes I feel procrastinating tendencies. The ultimate cure for this is for me to stop making excuses and accomplish my tasks at hand. Another helpful strategy for me will be utilizing a planner. With all of the time consuming tasks that I will need to accomplish, having them allocated to time slots and dates on a planner will help keep me organized, ensure to not miss deadlines, and effectively de-stress me at the same time. 4.Describe how you will balance academic expectations and your personal and professional responsibilities. I will balance academic, personal, and professional responsibilities and expectations by creating a time chart and not overextending my abilities. I plan to assess each aspect of my life pertaining to academic, personal, and professional goals by effectively prioritizing each in its order of importance or necessity to me. By doing this I can then effectively plan my time to meet my perspective responsibilities as well as eliminate unnecessary stress. 5.How can understanding the importance of SMART criteria and your career interests and competencies help you move towards your career and academic goals? Understanding the importance of SMART criteria and my career interests and competencies can help me achieve my career and academic goals by allowing me to see which areas I am competent in and which areas I need to focus my time on to be more proficient in. Knowing where your weaknesses are is the first step to improving on them and advancing in your career or academic goals. By utilizing SMART criteria I can set realistic and obtainable goals for myself, effectively not setting myself up for failure. If I am able to set a goal to be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely I am sure to succeed at not only completing them successfully, but completing goals within a reasonable amount of time as well.

Basic empirical beliefs and its importances

Basic empirical beliefs and its importances A basic belief for most people is the idea that we believe in something which has not been corrupted by other beliefs to change the core belief we initially have about certain things. They are not inferred from other beliefs and is known better as Foundationalism. From this is the idea of a basic empirical belief, a belief that is learned by observing it using our empirical knowledge; sight, hearing, touch etc. To try and understand beliefs more clearly and to grasp what knowledge is without empirical beliefs, if it can happen, I will look at Foundationalism its counter argument Coherentism and the basic idea of empirical/sensory belief. Foundationalism considers that we need a core set of beliefs, beliefs that our other beliefs we have are built upon in order to make the original belief become more real. Most of us have a foundationalist belief structure and our basic beliefs can be justified by beliefs that link to it in order to make it more factual and the basic belief makes the beliefs which tie in with it justified. However, this doesnt mean that they themselves are justified, just that the basic belief, if true, makes the beliefs that stem from it justified. Following from having a basic belief, The Regress argument/Trilemma puts across that a belief is justified by another belief which is justified by another, then another and so on. So a) It goes on forever, b) Ends with some of the beliefs justify themselves, c) Ends with some of the beliefs having no justification. Therefore, if it went on forever it would be a vicious circle and end up having no end or beginning. It is a vicious regress, which Lewis discusses further, if you believe in the chance of something occurring or being true is small, then you dont really believe it because to have belief in something you need to b e able to justify it, if nothing can be certain then how do we know anything? But the idea of regress can be reversed if something is certain and we believe in it, so some beliefs must be certain. In Agrippas Trilemma, the 2nd option relates to Coherentism, which is an alternative argument to Foundationalism. Coherentism considers that if there could be now way to justify our empirical sense beliefs, and if the idea that beliefs can be justified by one another forever is ruled out then the beliefs can only be justified by their unique properties in relation to other beliefs and how well they fit together in order to produce a organised system of beliefs. Consistency is a requirement of coherence, but a set of beliefs do not need to have flaws to have no coherence, beliefs, which are perfectly consistent, may also have no coherence. As said in Agrippas Trilemma, beliefs justify themselves instead of going on forever, this is shown by the idea that if a belief was to be justified by another belief and so on, then empirical justification moves in a circular motion. But, Coherentism moves away from this idea and towards the idea of a linear motion and that the belief is in a line, with the order of epistemic priority at the beginning and epistemic justification at the other end of the line. The belief justifies itself then, as it does not need to have another belief to rely on it to make it justified. Moving on from this, having empirical beliefs means to have knowledge of our beliefs by gaining it through our senses. Foundationalism believed that basic beliefs were infallible, but by looking at Infallible sensory beliefs, what we believe to be seeing might not be infallible after all and most of our beliefs make us sure of our sensory beliefs. So it seems that we cannot have beliefs without our senses. For example, the belief in a religion, a God, that England are the best at Rugby, all these beliefs cannot be justified unless we have our sense to prove so. Furthermore, we cant have these beliefs to begin with unless we use our empirical knowledge to understand what we believe. If we had no sight then we could not read Holy Scriptures, which reveal religions, if we had no hearing then we could not hear classical music which you may believe to be the best music made by man and so forth. Our empirical knowledge is intertwined closely with our beliefs, and if we were unfortunate to not be able to use all our empirical senses and to have 1 of them taken away, this still hinders our chances of having a true belief in something and being able to justify it. However, a belief can make us more certain of our sensory beliefs e.g. I think I felt a spider run across my back. Later we discover it was a feather duster. Why cant other beliefs lower how sure we are of our sensory beliefs? If we are to accept the foundation of sensory beliefs, how does this relate to the belief structure? Following on from empirical beliefs is a priori knowledge. It is common to most that all the knowledge we hold comes from experience, experience we gain through using our senses. Our experience is not doubted and is gathered by using raw material of our sensible impressions, our empirical knowledge is formed by our interpretations of our own knowledge. A priori knowledge is very different from this, it does not come from experience, and it comes from innate knowledge we are born with. In example, a man who undermined the foundations of his house, that he might have known a priori that it would fall, that is, that he need not have waited for the experience of its actual falling. A priori knowledge is totally separate from experience, its opposite being posteriori, knowledge through experience. With beliefs, we adapt what we know from posteriori and a priori knowledge to justify and understand what we know about our beliefs. Before we are born are we are believed to have this previous knowledge, which Piaget talks of in relation to conscience and children. A child develops internal representations or mental and physical actions, some Schemata that are already present in a newborn, such as sucking, gripping and crying. Others develop as the child grows. The Schemata are built through 2 processes: 1. Assimilation- fitting newly acquired knowledge into what the child already knows. 2. Accommodation-as new experiences occur which do not fit into existing schemata, the child adapts them t fit, or creates new ones. This is similar to beliefs and knowledge, we can have a priori knowledge of a religion, like a blueprint in our mind of a God and we can build on our belief of this by using empirical knowledge to know more about it and by adapting what we already know and interpreting it with our senses. Overall, arguments show that mainly, if we cannot have empirical beliefs then we would find it hard to now anything. Our senses play a huge part in creating thoughts of belief, and without them it is hard to understand what beliefs can be justified if we were to for example have no sight or hearing. We would not be able to believe in a religion, except for the idea that we have a priori knowledge of a God. However, the basic belief of this is not enough to justify it and requires other beliefs to justify it, so this makes it hard for us to know anything. Or for that matter, anything true. I believe that we cannot know anything other than what we are innately born with, but this knowledge alone is not enough to create beliefs or pure knowledge, which solidifies these beliefs. Our empirical senses are key to establishing what we believe and whether we can justify them further therefore without empirical beliefs we can know nothing sufficient. Bibliography The Structure of Empirical Knowledge- Lawrence Bonjour 1986. London, Harvard University Press, ch.5 Critique of Pure Reason, trans. Immanuel Kant 1929. Norman Keep Smith, New York, St. Martins Press, 41-55 Piaget and the Foundations of Knowledge- Lynn S. Liben 1983. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Hillsdale, New Jersey, ch.6

Free College Essays - The Greatest Sinner in Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter :: free essay writer

The Scarlet Letter - Chillingworth and the Greatest Sin When asked to describe Roger Chillingworth, peers say he was an upstanding, respectful, concerned citizen. They would have been right, but he didn’t let anyone know just how much he cared. With the loss of Hester, he became filled with anger and jealousy and eventually let his emotions overtake him. At the close of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, the malevolent state of Roger Chillingworth’s heart made him the guiltiest. Throughout the entire novel, every character except for Roger Chillingworth learned to forgive and cleared his or her heart of guilt. When the reverend showed his concern for the doctor just before his death he said, â€Å"may God forgive thee. Thou hast deeply sinned† (251). For example, Dimmesdale used some of his last words to forgive the doctor of his wrongdoing. Even though Chillingworth tortured and haunted him until the very end of his life, the reverend had strong enough character to want God to show mercy on the evildoer’s soul. Moreover, Dimmesdale was able to forgive Hester when he told her, â€Å"I do forgive you Hester† (191). Because of his high position of authority, Dimmesdale set high standards for his life, and that reflected in the way he handled personal relationships. Also, if Chillingworth had been more understanding towards Hester’s problem, he had a better chance at winning her love back. Finally, both Hester and her lover admitted their sin on the scaffold and sought forgiveness for their transgressions while Chillingworth never could admit he sinned. Secondly, Chillingworth’s actions were motivated by hate and a lust for revenge that overpowered him in the end. Therefore an awful change must have taken place in the doctor since â€Å"human nature loves more readily than it hates† (156). The actions of Hester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth were all motivated by a deep passion for one thing or another. However, the difference in their actions was that the adulteress and the minister acted out of love for each other while her husband acted out of anger and jealousy. Also, the physician underwent such a change that â€Å"there came a glare of red light out of his eyes; as if the old man’s soul were on fire, and kept smoldering duskily within his breast† (166). Eventually Chillingworth’s heart became so twisted and contorted that there were very noticeable differences in his personality.

Cybernetic Immunology :: Essays Papers

Cybernetic Immunology In the traditions of 'Western' science and politics--the tradition of racist, male-dominant capitalism; the tradition of progress; the tradition of the appropriation of nature as resource for the productions of culture; the tradition of reproduction of the self from the reflections of the other - the relation between organism and machine has been a border war. The stakes in the border war have been the territories of production, reproduction, and imagination. This chapter is an argument for pleasure in the confusion of boundaries and for responsibility in their construction. (Haraway 150) Cartesian circularities of self-identitical participants in a phallocratic order and ripples in a huge urban puddle renamed ‘lake’ from a fallen body, the machines may have already won. We know it was they who scorched the sky. Oshii Mamoru’s anime, turned American 1995 â€Å"Japanimation† classic, plays cyborg science fiction with flashing lights, outbursts of violence, and a plot fit for cyborgs to understand in a political world of simulations transferred without effluvia directly by air-port cybernetworking into unannounced awareness in each celluloid thin character, and on their demihuman coworker’s early 90’s military computer monitors. The narrative tries to entangle itself so thoroughly in a political rationality of an omnipresent culture of technicism devoid of scientific explanation on every green, glowing, digitally exported, and unrefined urban street corner that its revealing of the â€Å"real† puppetmaster/s uper-villain (a tool of someone still further up, â€Å"our heroes† presume) begs a sigh about technology coming to master itself without a care in the world for humanist restraint, much like the mostly good natured civilians who, it seems, don’t really mind an almost comically violent thug police presence that tears through their markets, melons, and minds chasing charlatans only it can see armed with overpowered bullets in outdated guns without any of the pleasant trappings of the polite police forces we imagine secure our very ability to sit in front of a glowing screen with electrically replicated pitches and decibels projected into right-angled chambers of passivity, and reflected in photons and waves to our media outlets - the doors of techno-perception. Calling Ghost â€Å"a film about† already misses that it is a film to as well. Mistaking cause for consequence, watching animated

Is Of mice and men a pessimistic story? Essay -- English Literature

Is Of mice and men a pessimistic story? Of mice and men is a great novel. It covers many points, racism, sexism, the depression and a lot of others. To some people the novel is an optimistic story to others it is pessimistic. But which is it really? "Of mice and men" covers a lot of points; the depression with people going from job to job wandering and not getting a long-term job. Lennie and George go from job to job starting from the town, weed and then going to the new ranch. They did not like it there and they were going to leave in a few months to go to a new place. Candy even says to George that you really are here to work then, we have a lot of people come in on the Saturday get their meal and bed until Sunday and then go. This is an example of the depression, candy s...

Mandatory Testing Needed for Elderly Drivers Essay

In July of 2003, an eighty-four year old man drove through a crowded farmer’s market in Santa Monica, California, killing ten people, including a seven-month old and a three-year old. He also injured around forty others. According to many news reports, the driver apparently panicked and hit the gas instead of the brake, speeding through the crowded street. This mistake is common among elderly drivers who no longer possess the necessary skills to safely operate a vehicle. Either their vision has become poor, they are no longer able to react quickly, or their cognitive abilities have begun to deteriorate. Some older drivers do not realize they are becoming unsafe on the road, while others simply do not want to give up their keys. Still others are perfectly capable of driving safely well into their eighties or even nineties. Because of the variation in driving abilities and the high incidence of fatal accidents among older drivers, states need to ensure the safety of our streets and highways by passing laws requiring motorists over the age of seventy to pass frequent road and vision tests. Although many people agree that elderly drivers are a high-risk age group, some critics of mandatory testing call it a form of age discrimination. This statement, however, is entirely untrue. Mandatory testing and frequent license renewal are not products of age discrimination, but rather precautionary measures to ensure the safety of both the driver and all others on the road, much like the laws governing teenage drivers. Teen drivers cause more fatal accidents than any other age group; therefore, states have legislation specific to that group of drivers. Those laws, though age specific, are not criticized as discrimination, and laws geared toward senior drivers should not be considered discriminatory either. Elderly drivers are right behind teens in the number of fatal crashes they cause, and statistics show that per licensed driver, the rate of fatal crashes rises sharply at age seventy. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2001, elderly drivers made up just over ten percent of the driving population, yet accounted for thirteen percent of all fatal accidents. Also, about half of fatal accidents involving older drivers occurred at intersections, and seventy-three percent involved another vehicle. These facts show that many elderly drivers put both themselves and others at risk by driving when they are no longer able to do so safely. If frequent mandatory testing were required, unsafe elderly drivers would no longer be licensed to be on the road. It is the responsibility of each state to take measures to decrease the number of fatal accidents caused by high-risk groups, and mandatory testing is just such a measure. Many states focus heavily on teenage drivers, raising the minimum driving age or instituting graduated license systems, but statistics show that equal attention needs to be given to elderly drivers. Some states have already instituted frequent renewals and/or mandatory vision and driving tests. In Iowa and Rhode Island, for instance, drivers age seventy and older are required to renew their licenses every two years, as opposed to the five years for all other drivers. In Illinois, drivers over seventy-five have to take a road test at each renewal. In Maine, drivers over the age of sixty-two have to pass a vision test at each renewal, and drivers over sixty-five are required to renew more often. By addressing not only the high-risk teen drivers, but also the high-risk elderly drivers, these states are providing others with an example of what steps can be taken to make our nation’s roads safer. Granted, frequent license renewals and optometry visits can be costly and timeconsuming. But, these problems can be easily addressed. One way to counteract the costs -seniors would incur would be to discount the rate of senior licenses and to have an -optometrist onsite to provide qui ck vision screenings. That way, seniors are not paying more for their license than any other driver, and they do not have to pay for an optometry visit each time they renew. They would still have to receive comprehensive optometric exams on their own time, but not at the requirement of the licensing office. Also, in addition to hiring an optometrist, license offices can make minor adjustments to their normal operations to help -cut back on the wait-time for seniors. For example, there could be a senior day on which all -drivers over age seventy automatically get to go to the front of the line. Another issue that elderly drivers could face if mandatory testing laws were enacted would be finding adequate transportation after they no longer have a valid license. Like the above issues, this problem can be easily addressed. City buses and taxi companies can offer significant discounts for senior citizens. Also, cities can add more bus routes and bus stops, making sure seniors have easy access to public transportation. Local governments or nonprofit organizations can initiate community service programs in which licensed drivers with good driving records volunteer to drive senior citizens to and from work, medical visits, the grocery store, or any other location they may need to visit. Families can also pitch in to see that their parents or grandparents are still able to get around after they are no longer licensed to drive. Drivers should be licensed for as long as they are safe and able, but states must strive to make sure that only safe and able drivers are on the road. It is sometimes hard to identify who is and who isn’t safe, which is why road and vision tests are used. High-risk groups need special laws, and this includes elderly drivers. I know as well as everybody else that there are many seniors who are great drivers, just as there are teens who are great drivers, but there are also many in each of these age groups who are not. States need to make sure that only the capable drivers in high-risk age groups are on the road. In most states, strict laws are already in place for teenagers, but not for elderly drivers. Now is the time for every state to institute mandatory road and vision tests for drivers over age seventy, before any more unnecessary accidents happen.

Hunger Games essay Essay

The Hunger Games is a fictional book, which establishes the relationship between the protagonist Katniss, and the protagonist Peeta. Katniss is a 16 year old girl who lives in District twelve, Panem. She is the sole provider for her family and competes in the Hunger Games, a game where two people from each of the twelve districts are chosen to fight to the death. Peeta is a 16 year old boy who is also from District Twelve who competes in the Hunger Games with Katniss. Throughout the book there is great debate on whether Katniss and Peeta are in love, or not in love. Katniss pretends to be in love with Peeta because it helps her in the Games, and it is an act of survival. Peeta on the other hand is deeply in love with Katniss. Throughout the book Katniss often finds herself making multiple references back to her friend, Gale, who has been her best friend for years. She wonders what life would be like with Gale. Katniss pretends to be in love with Peeta. She sees it as her only way of survival in the Games. When she and Peeta are in an affectionate state, the Capitol audience is entertained. This results in her and Peeta getting both food and messages from their mentor Haymitch and their sponsors. Luckily, they entertain the audience enough to survive the games but towards the end of the book Peeta says to Katniss, â€Å"It was all for the games, how you acted. † (Pg. 372) This is legitimate proof that Katniss only pretended to be in love with Peeta. Based on much evidence from the book, it is revealed that Peeta is deeply in love with Katniss. Prior to the beginning of the Games, both Katniss and Peeta had to take part in a pre-game interview. In Peeta’s interview, he tells the audience how winning the games would not help his situation because he is deeply in love with Katniss. Katniss was not happy with Peeta’s statement, but later in the book calmly asks him, â€Å"Peeta, you said at the interview you’d had a crush on me forever. When did forever start? † (Pg. 300) Peeta responded, â€Å"Oh let’s see. I guess the first day of school. We were five. You had on a red plaid dress and your hair†¦ it was in two braids instead of one. My father pointed your out. † (Pg. 300) This is the most heart-felt moment between the two; however Katniss only asked Peeta the question because she knew she had to keep entertaining the audience. Her strategy to manipulate Peeta’s emotions was a great advantage to her game. Katniss often makes references back to her friend Gale, her long time best friend that is back home in District Twelve. She has mixed feelings about him because when Katniss was about to leave for the games, Gale was saying good bye to Katniss and was cut short with the slamming of a door. There are many misinterpretations about what Gale was trying to say to Katniss. Most people, including Katniss, think that he was about to say â€Å"I love you. † This unfinished sentence disturbs Katniss during the games when she has mixed feelings about Peeta. Katniss thinks to herself, â€Å"Gale’s not my boyfriend, but would he be, if I opened that door? † (Pg. 280) Any person who is truly in love would not be thinking about other men in this way. Throughout the Hunger Games there is great talk on whether Katniss and Peeta are in love, or not. Katniss pretends to be in love with Peeta because it helps her in the Games, and she uses it as an act of survival. Peeta on the other hand, is deeply in love with Katniss. During the book Katniss often finds herself making multiple mentions back to her friend, Gale, who has been her best friend and hunting buddy for years. She wonders what life would be like if she was with him. Too conclude, Katniss and Peeta are not meant to be. They have completely different individualities and although it may seem that their pretend love is mutual, it is not.

Personal Development Plan for Pragmatist

Introduction: This study report covering various aspects of personal and professional development of the professional student, who is going to practise all the skills and abilities in the real business world at very next step when student completes professional degree course. This report aims to fulfil the requirement the student to be professional in reality presenting the views of student on the basis of research using books, lecture notes understanding and online study material from various websites. It helps a student how to run the cycle of continuous personal and professional improvement and development to compete the globalisation. It suggest the personal development plan using time logs and carry out certain regular exercise to monitor the progress like filling questionnaire, maintain task diary and records, seeking feedback using 360 degree assessment. Professional and personal development support the body of a career and profession progression like a backbone, enabling the person to stand and touch and maintain the highest position in their working area. It can only ensured by continuous learning and observation process. Learning and observation process makes aware the person about his values, abilities, skills, attitude, learning style and hidden talents and how to use it for excellent performance. Professional and personal development and learning process starts with identifying the personality, position and learning style of the person. I would like to presents the views that how a student can be effective leader or manager acquiring professional skills namely time management, meeting, presentation and stress management. Leader/Manager: Successful professional should be effective leader and effective manager to lead positively to grow the profession and goodwill by competing with global challenges. In every organisation, each level of the hierarchical structure have leaders and managers. Managers and leaders are distinct personality with ultimate goal is to achieve organisational goals. A leader and A manager can be identified as per Waston (1983) and Hollingsworth (1999) suggestions with four distinct styles: A leader is a person who emphasis the right way of work focusing on people, sharing goals with them using their skills, inspire them to innovate and develop new style and skill which supports to achieve own as well as organisational objectives. A manager concentrating on the subordinates, system and composition, administer and manage them by controlling them to achieve the strategic objectives set by the management of the organisation. A manager stress on doing the appropriate task by result oriented strategies and systems. The Autocratic Leader/Manager: He does not value the subordinates’ skills and opinions. He has centralised power to ascertain dilemma, makes decisions and tells it to subordinate to execute task. The Semi-Autocratic Leader/Manger: He is partially autocratic, but seek some reflection from the subordinates who are going to practices it and try to convince to follow his decisions. The Democratic Leader/Manager: He just identifies the problems and seeks suggestions and recommendations from the group and then decide the solution. The Laissey-Faire Leader/Manager: He identifies the problems and set boundary within which decision must be fall and pass it to the performing group and make the correct suitable decision being with them. Democratic and Laissey faire leadership style is preferred in this globalisation and dynamic business world. Professional Skills: Time Management: Time is a money once you spent it you will never get back so right job at right time yields better fruits. Evaluation: Ask following questions to yourself: Have you followed your prioritised to-do list? Have you meet the deadlines? What effects on the final result due to incomplete task? Have you got the full participation colleagues and subordinates as per the job assigned? Do you have any spare time for contingency and further planning? If most of the answers is no, then start finding the gaps and lacking to use time effectively. Gap finds because of not exercising following activities. Acquisition: Habit to prepare and analyse the workload and prioritize it daily and weekly by preparing to-do list categorising the task as must do, should do and would like to do. Therefore, flitting will be less. (appendix 1) Set the deadlines and stick to it to complete the task, which helps him to allocate enough time to other task and be stress free as the task finish along with the spare time to plan further or allocate it to any unfinished task or contingency. Identify the best time and do hard and important task within best time. Divide the job into small discrete part and delegate it to the suitable person with all the necessary guidance and information specifying the rewards. It will motivate the subordinates by participation and decrease the workload and stress level of delegator which saves his time and energy. Conduct meetings for monitoring the progress of work as and when necessary. Avoid procrastination and time wasters which ensures needed attention to the work. Do not spent long time for perfection of the job on the cost of other activities. Maintain proper records by backup and filling, which can be used as vital tool while planning next time. Understanding about the assigned job and take responsibility as per the calibre to complete it within deadlines. It helps him to manage stress and utilize time productively. Running successful Meetings: Evaluation: Ask following questions to yourself: Have you met the goals set? Has meeting was enjoyed by the members and equally participated to express their views? Did all the mentioned agenda discussed and come to the solution? Did the meeting follows the time allocation and rules like quorum? Did the minutes recorded properly? Did you have announced the next meeting date and when members get the former meeting details? If most of the answers is no, then start finding the gaps and lacking to run meeting effectively. Gap finds because of not exercising following activities: Acquisition: Set the purpose, time, date, right place with proper infrastructural and refreshment arrangements with meeting start and end time. Prepare agenda mentioning required items with next meeting date. (appendix 2) Inform members about the purpose and agenda of the meeting well in advance. Allot sufficient time to each agenda including hidden agenda and stick to it. Specify the chair person and ensure the opportunity to express opinions. Be sure about the technology and tools used in meeting Arrange minute recording and procedure to sent to the members of the meeting. Set the disciplinary rules to be followed by members during meeting. Ensure the chair person being unbiased and objective having ability to control and negotiate. This way manager can conduct fruitful meeting which enables the organisation to achieve the objectives. The fruitful meeting will increase the morale and productivity of members saves time and efforts by proper attention to each item. Effective Presentation: Evaluation: Ask following questions to yourself: Have you met the goals set? Did your audience enjoyed and gained knowledge presentation? Did it organised in terms of matter, tools used and time bound? Did your body language and communication style attract the audience? Have you allowed audience to participate? If most of the answers is no, then start finding the gaps and lacking to present attractively. Gap finds because of not exercising following activities: Acquisition: Set the time, date, place, topic of presentation. Identify the audience and its expectations Be prepared and rehearse, support the matter with authentic data Be sure about the tools and facilities required Have confident and friendly body language with smiley face Stick to time and spare time for Q/A from audience For effective presentation, nerve control is vital because it fails the presentation no matter how strong paperwork or other skills you have. Stress Management: Evaluation: Ask following questions to yourself: Have you facing any physical or habitual disorder? Is there any financial or family problem which adversely affect your performance? Are you facing problem to deal with technology and people? Have you adjusted yourself in this working environment? Are you aware about your ability, skills, role and responsibilities? If answer of first 3 question is yes, then identify stressors and try to accept it and be free from it by following ways: Acquisition: Prime necessity is to accept the stress problem Identify the stressors and take steps to reduce it and remove it. Have some refreshment activity like change task, eat food, listen music Some concrete steps which may take long time like redesign the task/role/work environment, encourage subordinate involvement, set flexible employee friendly policy, provide social support and share reward Undergo some psychological exercise as per expert opinion like workshops, seminars Conclusion: Each above mentioned skills are interconnected with each other like, proper time management reduce the stress, increase productivity, Participation of employees in meeting and presentation encourage them to take initiatives with high moral. Personal Skill Audit The further step is how I can apply professional skills discussed in previous section to be very profitable and easy going personality. The application can be done in better and accurate way by findings positive and negative points of his personal qualities and skills. Hence, personal skill audit comes into the picture of personal development. Personal skill audit refers to the findings about the personal skills. It can be done by identifying strengths and weaknesses of the person. For that, which learning style the person have must be identified. To identify the learning style of the person, there is some tools like questionnaire and learning surveys by Peter Honey and Alan Mumford(ARPT), David Kolb(VAK), Carl Jugg and Mybers Briggs(type E/I,S/N,T/F,J/P). The student has followed Learning Style Questionnaire by Peter and Alan(appendix 3), on the basis of that the student identified his learning style ‘Pragmatist’: Strengths: Eager to try out ideas, concepts Realistic, and practical, Likes experiments Strive to meet preset goals Works autonomously Go through available options and assess it Weakness: Task oriented, does not value people Impatient ant centralize power work without any precaution tendency to take over others’ task independent working style do not involve the people Pragmatist can develop by exercising the work where person is: Problem and chances to progress is attached with the job Show the practical techniques to do right thing at a time Take chance to try out theories in practice supported by feedback from expert Showing the experts and models to follow them Equipped with techniques and knowledge useful for job Offer opportunity for progression and experiments Focus on practical matters by suggestions, tips Pragmatist find difficulties to improve his skills, where Job is not related to identified important requirement or not any practical gain Learning is far from real practical issues just theoretical concepts without clear guidance People not getting any point just going round and round Political diplomatic personal bias barriers to put thing into practice No proper reward for outstanding performance Some findings helps me to be effective and role demanding personality like using people by delegating task can manage the time and stress fruitfully. Giving values to the people in organisation can ensure high moral and motivation to work. Forecast the possible results of experiments before acting and use if it is beneficial to the organisation and people who practices it. Autocratic way to manage the people is discouraging, so its better to be a democratic or a member of the performing group. Team approach helps me to overcome from impatient and self centric personality by working in team and respecting human values and ability. Once finds out the lacking and gaps , he can use detective skills to find the ways to fill it. And come up with best suitable method by evaluating each available options to him, as very keen to use techniques, apply it to job to make it easy, speedy and accurate and recognise the use of the advance resources applicable in job. Strive to meet the specified goals and act accordingly is the great strength which differentiate his personality. He learn from the trail and error by experimenting various concepts in practice. To delegate the job to subordinates, he shows his skills of persuading presentation of idea and conduct meeting to convince the subordinate to work on it to meet the targets. Like this way, interconnecting his strengths to overcome his weaknesses he can be prove himself as effective personality at work place or anywhere. Thus, I would like to focus on the team work approach, learn to delegate the task and value others being diversified personality. At the end, knowledgeable, team friendly, stress free, happy, open and flexible, initiative and motivating work approach gives ripe fruits to individual and the organisation. Personal Development Plan: As per the discussion in previous sections, now I am going ahead to develop the own personality development plan. Where learning style identified is key to design personal development plan with the professional skills required to gain from the global challenges. In today’s ever-changing world, to be an effective manager core skills namely effective time management, running successful meetings, making effective presentation and managing stress tactfully is prime necessity. As per the previous discussion, now I am well aware about my strengths and weaknesses as a pragmatist regarding the achievement of organisational and personal objectives to ensure continuous growth. For deep understanding about my learning style and personal traits, i would like to do SWOT analysis of my personal traits. SMART objectives will help me to use the SWOT beneficially in practice. Using SWOT analysis, I analyse my strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to the personal skills and traits considering four core competent skills discussed in first section. At the end, I present a personal development plan to use, which suggest the practical way to utilize the personal attributes profitably and draw attractive picture of my personality and organisation as a whole. In section two, I have already identified my strengths and weaknesses to put the things into practice and achieve desired result. Strengths and weaknesses are the own internal favourable and unfavourable points which helps the person to rise up. It can only improved by self observation and improvement. The analysis introduce my following strengths and weaknesses: Strengths: Practical and realistic way to solve the problems by evaluating all the possible alternatives Like to experiment different theories and ideas ascertained using detective skills Set the goals and work autonomously to act upon Weaknesses: Being self centric and impatient under values other people and their ability to perform better Strive to do other’s work without taking into account the personal feelings Work independently without seeking participation of others Not arrive at the possible results and like to experiment proves wrong Being a task oriented does not take care of personal feelings Opportunity and Threat are external forces influencing the personality positively as well as negatively. This has connection with internal forces like strengths and weaknesses of the person to attain personal and organisational objectives as well. As a result of this analysis, now, I know my following would be opportunities and threats: Opportunity: Chance to get and test knowledge in business world. Learn by experiments and arrive at the best suitable practical solution to make easy business complexity Less chance of work error as work independently, evaluating PESTAL factor Chance to use advanced technology in practice Chance to undertake other projects and explore gaps to use it profitable as I have time bound working style Drive all the forces to attain preset goals and emerge with distinct personality Less chance to fail in planning due to practical and realistic work practice considering all the available alternatives Threats: Be frustrate and nervous if goals are not attain within time frame due to impatient attribute. As working autonomously sometimes decisions or analysis may prove wrong Diversified market needs and expectation of global business world Emerging business complexity and customer awareness Now, after performing self appraisal, I have a feasible knowledge of my positive and negative points to be an effective administrator or an effective manager to face the global challenges and create my own value in the organisation and business market as well. At this stage, SMART will help me as powerful tool to overcome my weaknesses and turn them into positive force to touch the sky of business world. S-Specific: On the basis of the weaknesses, i arrived at the solution that although I have practical and realistic work approach, sometimes decisions proves wrong and cannot complete the task within time limit set. This can be improved by adapting team working style emphasising on co-ordination and co-operation with and of colleagues and subordinates in the organisation. Therefore, focus on work delegation and team work is necessary to work within deadlines and try to get optimum using all the available resources. M-Measurable: to delegate the job, it is necessary to design proper job description and draw the skills required to perform it by using various techniques like feedback of the colleagues, looking at other company. Set the system and ways to measure the performance of people and the system laid down to achieve the objectives. So, it ensures active participation with clear understanding of job and achievements. A-Achievable: To do the task within time frame the right job should be assigned to a right person,. For that, I have to value the other person’s ability to perform specific job and assigned him that job with required guidelines and data to perform productively. The meeting and effective presentation of the delegated job to each subordinates and colleagues is necessary to achieve the goals. So here comes the presentation and meeting skills to convey the idea and communicate regarding the role they have to play to drive towards the achievements of objectives. So, here I have to concentrate on my interpersonal skills and getting co-operation and co-ordination with colleagues and subordinates to perform time bound duties. R-Relevant: It should be take care that subordinate have no ambiguity relating to his roles and targets to be met as a team member and organisational goals. Therefore, all the efforts must be towards the achievement of organisational objectives. The roles and targets can be communicate by way of successful meeting and effective presentation by the manager. As it saves time, efforts, money of people and organisation as well. T-Time Defined: If all the things are right doing in right way by the right person, it is also necessary that it should be complete within time defined. Because time is money, and to be successful it should be utilize effectively by allocating sufficient time to each an every activity as per its importance to do. Evidence of Monitoring and Feedback: As per the outcome of the SWOT and SMART, I have to follow the diary and records of the subordinates and colleagues achievements and skills to perform better. Other necessary thing is to is maintain and analyse time log until I follow the proper time schedule as prepared. Periodic performance review by 360 degree assessment which aware me about my improvements and necessity to improve. With all this, unbiased regular self assessment using SWOT helps me to ride the cycle of continuous development. Likewise, I can get measurable, achievable, relevant time bound active participation of the specific subordinates. I am following time log daily as well as weekly when i was explained in class lecture and now at the end of this 9th week I found that I am very much nearer to follow the time schedule set weekly. And I followed daily time log and I achieved time frame in working day not in weekends and I am trying to achieve it. I am taking feedback at workplace using 360 degree assessment when I finished one project and before starting new project and from my family members that how I am successful to meet their expectations. Without such monitoring and feedback one cannot have a clear idea about his improvement and progress. This is the vital axes of the progress chart of personal skill development. Review and Conclusion: At the end of the personal development process, I noticed that above discussed matter draw the conclusion that time management, stress management, running meetings and presentations are supportive pillars of the building effective personality and achieve personal and organisational goals. This is the basic necessity of today’s global dynamic business market and learned customers. This report reveals the successful professional career as an effective manger can be ensured by aligning personal objectives with organisation’s objectives. Reference: Pedler Mike, Burgoyne John and Boydell Tom,(2001), A Manger’s Guide to Self Development, 4th edition, McGraw-Hill,ISBN-0-07-709830-7 www. decs. sa. gov. au(Accessed on 27/10/2009) www. nwlink. com (Accessed on 27/10/2009) Appendix 1 Honey and Mumford Learning Styles Questionnaire This questionnaire is designed to find out your preferred learning style(s). Over the years you have probably developed learning â€Å"habits† that help you benefit more from some experiences than from others. Since you are probably unaware of this, this questionnaire will help you pinpoint your learning preferences so that you are in a better position to select learning experiences that suit your style and having a greater understanding of those that suit the style of others. There is no time limit to this questionnaire. It will probably take you 10-15 minutes. The accuracy of the results depends on how honest you can be. There are no right or wrong answers. If you agree more than you disagree with a statement put a tick by it. If you disagree more than you agree put a cross by it. Be sure to mark each item with either a tick or cross. Scoring And Interpreting The Learning Styles Questionnaire The Questionnaire is scored by awarding one point for each ticked item. There are no points for crossed items. Simply indicate on the lists below which items were ticked by circling the appropriate question number. TOTALS *Activist Reflector * Theorist Pragmatist Learning Styles Questionnaire Profile Based on General Norms for 1302 People Learning Styles – General Descriptions Activists Activists involve themselves fully and without bias in new experiences. They enjoy the here and now and are happy to be dominated by immediate experiences. They are open-minded, not skeptical, and this tends to make them enthusiastic about anything new. Their philosophy is: â€Å"I'll try anything once†. They tend to act first and consider the consequences afterwards. Their days are filled with activity. They tackle problems by brainstorming. As soon as the excitement from one activity has died down they are busy looking for the next. They tend to thrive on the challenge of new experiences but are bored with implementation and longer-term consolidation. They are gregarious people constantly involving themselves with others but in doing so; they seek to centre all activities on themselves. Reflectors 90997322447 Reflectors like to stand back to ponder experiences and observe them from many different perspectives. They collect data, both first hand and from others, and prefer to think about it thoroughly before coming to any conclusion. The thorough collection and analysis of data about experiences and events is what counts so they tend to postpone reaching definitive conclusions for as long as possible. Their philosophy is to be cautious. They are thoughtful people who like to consider all possible angles and implications before making a move. They prefer to take a back seat in meetings and discussions. They enjoy observing other people in action. They listen to others and get the drift of the discussion before making their own points. They tend to adopt a low profile and have a slightly distant, tolerant unruffled air about them. When they act it is part of a wide picture which includes the past as well as the present and others' observations as well as their own. Theorists Theorists adapt and integrate observations into complex but logically sound theories. They think problems through in a vertical, step-by-step logical way. They assimilate disparate facts into coherent theories. They tend to be perfectionists who won't rest easy until things are tidy and fit into a rational scheme. They like to analyse and synthesise. They are keen on basic assumptions, principles, theories models and systems thinking. Their philosophy prizes rationality and logic. â€Å"If it's logical it's good†. Questions they frequently ask are: â€Å"Does it make sense? â€Å"How does this fit with that? † â€Å"What are the basic assumptions? † They tend to be detached, analytical and dedicated to rational objectivity rather than anything subjective or ambiguous. Their approach to problems is consistently logical. This is their â€Å"mental set† and they rigidly reject anything that doesn't fit with it. They prefer to maximise certainty and feel uncomfortable with subjective judgments, lateral thinking and anything flippant. Pragmatists Pragmatists are keen on trying out ideas, theories and techniques to see if they work in practice. They positively search out new ideas and take the first opportunity to experiment with applications. They are the sorts of people who return from management courses brimming with new ideas that they want to try out in practice. They like to get on with things and act quickly and confidently on ideas that attract them. They tend to be impatient with ruminating and open-ended discussions. They are essentially practical, down to earth pile who like making practical decisions and solving problems. They respond to problems and opportunities â€Å"as a challenge†. Their philosophy is: â€Å"There is always a better way† and â€Å"if it works it's good†. In descending order of likelihood, the most common combinations are: 1st Reflector/Theorist 2†³d Theorist/ Pragmatist 3rd Reflector/Pragmatist 4th Activist/Pragmatist Appendix 2 Time Log {draw:frame} Activitists (Do) Immerse themselves fully in new experiences Enjoy here and now Open minded, enthusiastic, flexible Act first, consider consequences later Seek to centre activity around themselves http://www. archives. org. uk/careerdevelopment/continuingprofessionaldevelopment/professionaldevelopmentplan. html http://www. thegateway. org/browse/17801 http://www. excellencegateway. org. uk/page. aspx? o=152477