Free Essays on Mau-mau

The Mau-Mau Rebellion (1952 to 1959) Mau insubordination absolutely uncovers parts of the historical backdrop of British colonialism in Africa recently escaped see. A few students of history portray the members in the uprising as a group of political dissidents called ‘Mau Mau', who pledged to liberate Kenya from expansionism at any cost....To the British, the uprising was such a ludicrous assault on imperialism, that it defended any reaction, and that reaction when it came, would be severe and stunning. Kenya before the uprising, was brimming with Europeans carrying on with an existence of inactive extravagance dependent on African land and work. Be that as it may, in the post-Second World War period, disdain contrary to pilgrim rule expanded and individually, African nations requested self-rule. John Maina Kahihu from the Mau's political wing stated, In 1942 we had battled for the British. Be that as it may, when we got back home from the war they gave us nothing. The fiercest restriction to the pilgrim specialists originated from the Kikuyu clan who, 50 years sooner, had been expelled from their conventional territories to clear a path for the European ranchers. Before the Second's over World War, 3,000 European pioneers claimed 43,000 square kilometers of the most prolific land, just 6 percent of which they developed. The African populace of 5.25 million involved, without proprietorship rights, under 135,000 square kilometers of the least fortunate land. On the local stores a significant part of the land was unsatisfactory for horticulture. The poor laborers had been compelled to forsake their customary techniques for broad agribusiness and didn't approach the new innovation that would make concentrated horticulture feasible. The populace couldn't take care of itself and the workers were edgy. This realized the arrangement of a mystery society among the Kikuyu, Kenya's biggest clan, one-fifth of the populace. It was known as the Land Freedom Army (LFA). It was compelling Kikuyu to make a solemn vow to reclaim the land the white man had taken... Free Essays on Mau-mau Free Essays on Mau-mau The Mau-Mau Rebellion (1952 to 1959) Mau defiance unquestionably uncovers parts of the historical backdrop of British colonialism in Africa recently avoided see. A few students of history portray the members in the uprising as a group of political dissidents called ‘Mau Mau', who promised to liberate Kenya from expansionism at any cost....To the British, the uprising was such a silly assault on imperialism, that it advocated any reaction, and that reaction when it came, would be merciless and stunning. Kenya before the uprising, was loaded with Europeans carrying on with an existence of inactive extravagance dependent on African land and work. In any case, in the post-Second World War time, disdain contrary to pilgrim rule expanded and individually, African nations requested self-rule. John Maina Kahihu from the Mau's political wing stated, In 1942 we had battled for the British. Be that as it may, when we got back home from the war they gave us nothing. The fiercest resistance to the frontier specialists originated from the Kikuyu clan who, 50 years sooner, had been ousted from their customary zones to clear a path for the European ranchers. Before the Second's over World War, 3,000 European pilgrims possessed 43,000 square kilometers of the most ripe land, just 6 percent of which they developed. The African populace of 5.25 million involved, without possession rights, under 135,000 square kilometers of the least fortunate land. On the local stores a significant part of the land was unsatisfactory for agribusiness. The poor laborers had been compelled to relinquish their conventional strategies for broad farming and didn't approach the new innovation that would make concentrated agribusiness practical. The populace couldn't take care of itself and the workers were frantic. This realized the development of a mystery society among the Kikuyu, Kenya's biggest clan, one-fifth of the populace. It was known as the Land Freedom Army (LFA). It was driving Kikuyu to make a solemn vow to reclaim the land the white man had taken...

Emptiness in Mahayana Buddhism

Buddhism is an orthopraxy where personality originates from executing â€Å"correct† conduct, as opposed to conventionality where character is found through â€Å"correct† convictions. Mahayana Buddhism, named â€Å"the Great Way† is basically a dream of what Buddhism is extremely about. Despite the fact that the saturation of Mahayana was innocuous, the status of the sutras was continually contested. From the very beginning of Buddhism, the ideas of Self/not-Self and ward emerging were conspicuous and crucial. The Not-Self instructing has been considered by Buddhists to be the one of a kind achievement of the Buddha, the disclosure that cements his prevalence over other teachers.According over the Buddha, for something to be described as â€Å"Self,† it would not prompt anguish, it would need to be perpetual, and furthermore it would comply with the individual of whom it is the Self. If something somehow managed to be a Self, it positively should be contr ollable and helpful for satisfaction; or if nothing else not helpful for affliction. Besides, in considering the presence of a Self, he focuses on that the five conceivable possibility for â€Å"Self† (the five totals) in reality can't be the Self since they don't meet these measures. These five totals (structure, sensation, origination, mien, awareness) are unquestionably not permanent.They could be viewed as comparable to a tornado in that they emerge from specific conditions and conditions and are not extractable from nature in which they happen. Any piece of our psychophysical make-up, whatever can be characterized under one of the five gatherings, can't fit the portrayal of a Self and thusly they are on the whole not Self. Because of cases of having discovered a constant Self, the Buddha declares that if there is at all a Self, it is just an aftereffect of the meeting up of causal conditions (subordinate beginning). For this situation, it couldn't be lasting, and hence c ouldn't be a Self.Through further investigation and knowledge contemplation after the demise of the Buddha, the five totals apparently was dissolvable into less difficult components. This kind of examination came to include the psychophysical totals related with creatures, yet everything known to mankind too. These components (dharmas) are unchangeable to any further factors or sources. The Buddhist school of Sarvastivada held a conclusive differentiation between the manner in which dharmas exist as ‘primary existents’ and the way unpredictable elements (optional existents) exist basically as developments of dharmas.The name Sarvastivada itself implies â€Å"the principle that all exist,† and this school presents the thought of the own-reality of the dharma. In any case if a dharma is past, present, or future, it in any case despite everything exists. These dharmas are extreme facts. Essential existents must be the ending purpose of examination, and must not emer ge conditionally the way individuals, tables, and seats do. Consequently, optional existents come up short on this inalienable presence. The Prajnaparamita is the soonest type of writing known to be explicitly Mahayana; paramita meaning flawlessness and prajna meaning wisdom.In Buddhist phrasing, to have prajna is to envelop an understanding that separates how things really are from how things appear to be. In the abhidharma setting, prajna is utilized to decide the estimation of essential existents (dharmas), which are recognizable from applied develops. Flawlessness of knowledge (Prajnaparamita) doesn't infer the misleading quality of what had recently been viewed as shrewdness, but instead its flawlessness. The flawlessness of prajna is the last, legitimate comprehension of the way things genuinely are.Mahayana thinkers felt the idea of the Abhidharma to be excessively objective and deliberate. Distinctively, these sutras are not systematically philosophical nor do they infer doc trinal adherence. The writings involve clear messages that are delineated dully and can be viewed as messages that mean to ask or exhort those in the non-Mahayana world. As we have seen from pre-Mahayana reasoning, auxiliary existents are basically ‘empty’ of essential presence, void of own-reality. In this sense, everything, for example, individuals, sand, grass, the sea, and so forth re void of Self, yet additionally of essential presence. In concurrence with these Abhidharma writings, there then should exist things that without a doubt have essential presence so as to differentiate them to optional existents that are unfilled of such a quality. Be that as it may, the Prajnaparamita sutras don't regard this hypothesis. These Mahayana sutras guarantee that totally all things have a similar status as individuals, sand, tables, and so forth since they are on the whole develops that can't be gotten a handle on. They guarantee that everything is vacant, and that everything is reasonable develops coming up short on own-existence.In the eyes of the Mahayana rationalists, to guarantee that there is own-reality in a manner that accentuates the how basic the dharmas are in the Abhidharma appears to be excessively precise. It makes the dharmas themselves appropriate to become objects of connection. Rather, the dharmas ought to be utilized the manner in which the pontoon was utilized in the anecdote told by the Buddha in the Alagaddupama Sutra. They ought to be utilized as apparatuses that are relinquished after use; they ought not be clung to. Enduring is the consequence of connection, so to handle to the dharmas is to infer suffering.One can't get joined to these things in light of the fact that to append is to miss illumination. Along these lines, stopping connection includes seeing wellsprings of connection (individuals, for example) as vacant. One can't evade connection as long as they see a complexity between essential existents and theoretical existe nts. In the Heart Sutra, the bodhisattva clarifies that in the wake of participating in profound contemplation on the flawlessness of intelligence, bodhisattvas completely stir to a condition of complete freedom and impeccable enlightenment.The bodhisattva discloses to the inquisitive Sariputra that the flawlessness of astuteness includes seeing that the five totals are unfilled, just as the dharmas that make up these totals. Dharmas are not central; they are simply learned develops similarly as are individuals and trees. The Sutra outlines that all creatures, things, and thoughts, which we experience as â€Å"real†, have no characteristic presence and this â€Å"reality† is only a development of the psyche. Dharmas, as well, are void and don't ossess the particular qualities that they have recently been related with. Nothing comes to be as a naturally existing substance, and in this way nothing can stop. In like manner, nothing is finished or fragmented. The bodhisatt va explicitly states, â€Å"form is vacancy; void is structure. Void isn't other than structure, structure isn't other than vacancy. † This is legitimate supposing that nothing at all intrinsically exists, things and ideas, for example, â€Å"form† and â€Å"emptiness† are very much the same. Vacancy itself is unfilled in light of the fact that it doesn't naturally exist.The bodhisattva additionally references the 12 phases of ward start and the four honorable realities so as to harden that they also need innate presence and are vacant. Nothing in presence is discrete from anything. The Diamond Sutra talks dully about amount of legitimacy. Repeating four lines of this Sutra is represented again and again, with the message that training only four lines to someone else would create a limitless measure of legitimacy. According to this legitimacy, the sutra puts a solid accentuation on giving without getting connected to any related notion.The best way to accomplish boundless legitimacy is to sacrificially give along these lines. The Buddha discloses to Subhuti that those on the bodhisattva way ought to have this idea: â€Å"However many living creatures are contained in the all out conglomeration of living beings†¦I ought to carry every one of them to the last eradication in the domain of annihilation without substrate remaining. † Essentially, the Buddha is focusing on the demonstration of empowering all creatures to arrive at Nirvana-without-leftover portion and, in doing as such, outperforming the pattern of constant passing and rebirth.However, for this to be cultivated, one can't harp on the thought of having helped those creatures. The Buddha proceeds to state that after he has carried every one of them to definite annihilation, no living being has been brought to eradication. That is on the grounds that to give like this uncovers the void of giving. Since these creatures are unfilled of Self, while every one of them have be en brought to nirvana, simultaneously nobody has been brought to nirvana. The brain must be liberated from musings of ‘self’ instead of ‘others. ’ There ought to be no recognized â€Å"giver† or â€Å"receiver† or â€Å"gift. Such a demonstration would yield the most noteworthy legitimacy in giving. The finish of the Sutra contains the section â€Å"an figment, a drop of dew, an air pocket, a fantasy, a lightning’s flash†¦Ã¢â‚¬  so as to show the inadequacy, or the void, of the world. Like the Heart Sutra, the Diamond Sutra likewise focuses on that regular the truth resembles a figment. Incomprehensible expressions like â€Å"what is known as the most noteworthy instructing isn't the most noteworthy teaching† are utilized every now and again to stress that the two thoughts are indistinguishable on the grounds that they are both empty.The Buddha endeavors to help Subhuti â€Å"unlearn† the assumptions that he has ab out the real world and discernment. The qualification among arhats and bodhisattvas is clear; and Subhuti discovers that the bodhisattva’s sympathy isn't measurable. The Diamond Sutra declares that there is nothing on the planet that is constant, nor is there anything that autonomously exists, in this way everything is vacant. An existence without connection implies a serene life in void. This instructing of void was alarming for a few, since it appears to be fundamentally the same as skepticism in the manner that it energizes such profound letting go.Nagar

Assess And Respond To Individuals At Risk Of Suicide Case Study

Assess And Respond To Individuals At Risk Of Suicide Case Study Assess And Respond To Individuals At Risk Of Suicide â€" Case Study Example > Kevin’s case According to Kevin’s case, there are several factors that may lead him into committing suicide. The experiences that he has gone through in his life put him at a risk of committing suicide. For example, he has a mother who is an alcoholic and is an addict of other drugs, his biological father was a violent man who left them at an early age, and his parents never had any permanent employment and moved about more often which is a clear indication that the family had a financial problem. When his biological father left, Kevin and his siblings were left to tend themselves at a very early age and his mother brought in a boyfriend who was physically and emotionally threatening towards them. The fact that he has a low self esteem also puts him at a great risk of committing suicide. His alcohol and drug abuse is also a factor that puts him at risk of committing suicide, he also cannot be obtain and keep any form of employment for a given length of time. On top of all the experiences that Kevin has gone through, he feels helpless and hopeless which has led him to voice a desire of ending it all. Having considered all the above that Kevin has gone through in his life, my assessment of his case will be that he considers suicide as the only way out of his problems. In order to reduce the risk of Kevin committing suicide and increase his safety, I will have to deal with all the problems and negative feelings that he holds which give him a desire to commit suicide. For example, Kevin has a problem with his self esteem. I will have to deal with it first before dealing with his other problems that put him at a risk of committing suicide. He has to accept himself as a human being who is special just like everybody else. His educational level does not really matter because he can still do a lot of good for himself without necessary having a high level of education. The only way to do help him get over with his self esteem issues is by taking to him and by c ounseling him. He has to realize that he is still an important human being and that there are people who still need him and who still appreciate him even though his level of education is low. After dealing with his self esteem, the next thing will be to help him get over his drug and alcohol problem. The drugs and alcohol are responsible for giving him the courage of trying to commit suicide. He will have to go through a rehabilitation program which will help him in getting over the drug and alcohol addiction. Once the drug problem is dealt with, then his relationship with his family has to be the next on line. It will be easy for him to accept his family and try to help it get over the problems that it is experiencing after he has dealt with his self esteem and drug abuse problem. The family will also provide Kevin with the much desired love, appreciation, encouragement and understanding which will further help him in dealing with his low self esteem and as a result he will not h ave an excuse of getting back into his habits of abusing drugs and alcohol. At the end of it all, the risks of him harming himself through suicide will have been completely eliminated and as a result his safety will have been increased.

Guns and Violence Essay - 828 Words

Guns and Violence School shootings, gang violence, drive by shootings, murder, and thousands of acts of violence are committed every day. Members of our society criticize their own people for this violence while they continue to sit back and do nothing about it. These acts of violence have many contributing factors. Violence in our country today is escalating because we dont control the distribution of the guns sold. There are not enough restrictions on guns sold legally. The illegal purchase of guns through the black market is out of control. There is not enough education on the usage and storage of guns. There are not many restrictions on the distributions of guns. Guns are sold to any one†¦show more content†¦These guns are sold on what is called the black market to basically anyone. Anyone of any age, with no waiting period, no matter what your criminal record is, can purchase these guns. The fact that these guns are sold illegally allows guns to fall into the wrong hands. Gang members and murderers purchase these guns and go onto the streets and kill members of our own families. These problems are trying to be prevented by catching them and putting them in jail. By this point it is too late, someone?s child or mother has been killed. If the guns were taken out of their hands the crime would never be committed. There should be guidelines set to insure the safety of our society before the gun is purchased. There should be a safety test given before the gun could be purchased. A test to show that the owners know how to properly use the gun. It is a requirement to take a test to show your ability before you get your drivers license, why not a before you buy a gun? There should also be a class taught teaching the proper storage of a gun. Teaching to keep the gun in a locked cabinet with the key in separate area. And the three to five day waiting period should remain. I do agree that there are many legitimate reasons for the purchasing of guns. Some men and women enjoy hunting. This, being a sport they enjoy, makes such a purchase understandable. Other men and women feel theyShow MoreRelatedGun Violence And The Gun Control1253 Words   |  6 PagesGun Violence in America According to CDC, One person is killed by a firearms every 17 minutes, 87 people are killed during an average day, and 609 are killed every week†(CDC). That means gun violence is out of control, and you can be next. In fact, there s been an increase of mass murders occurring everywhere due to guns. Which has brought our attention to the gun violence in our nation. They say guns are for protection, but in reality there seems to be more murder associated with it. There sRead MoreThe Necessary Solutions For Gun Violence1494 Words   |  6 Pages The Necessary Solutions To Gun Violence In today’s time there is no stopping the public from witnessing the day to day violence across America. It floods the daily news, it scrolls past our eyes through our smartphone screens, it blares through our stereos, and it’s published in our newspapers and magazines. As humans, in this day and age prosper where bad news is never hidden from the media. It is recognized all the time, the thoughts of violence crossing one s path never settling just rightRead MoreNo Rights Is Absolute And The Threat Of Gun Violence1687 Words   |  7 PagesNo Rights is absolute and the Threat of Gun Violence is becoming an Epidemic! It was Saturday night while I was just starting on my shift and getting the handover report from the outgoing nurse, when the public address system announced a â€Å"Code Black†. A code black in the hospital setting means that there is an emergency situation involving personal threats to the safety of staff and the public including assaults, confrontation, hostage situation but mostly threats of personal injury or attack. TheRead MoreGun Violence1924 Words   |  8 Pagesis the gun control epidemic. Gun violence in the United States is a national epidemic. Many people take advantage of guns using and manipulating the tool with hardly any thought. Countless lives have been lost due to fact that people have been able to obtain firearms legally or illegally and have taken the notion to be judge, jury and executioner in holding ones live in their hands. This is a common issue that will continue if action is not taken as a nation to try and stop it. Gun violence can Read MoreGu n Violence And Gun Control1406 Words   |  6 Pages Gun violence in America is a huge topic of discussion. Many people have heard about this topic on the news or in the newspaper, but have very little knowledge on this ongoing topic. Those who have a lack of information on gun control tend to not feel strongly towards guns or people owning or carrying guns. People that have never been around guns are often scared of them, but the truth is a gun is nothing more than a hunk of metal. For a gun to go off the gun needs a shooter, so should the realRead MoreGun Violence And Gun Control1043 Words   |  5 Pagesexperienced epidemic level of gun violence taking place in every corner of country. Actually owning gun is legal in the USA, it’s actually our second amendment; the right to bare firearms. Approximately 300 million Americans held gun in their homes. Gun violence has centered in our community as major issue. Gun violence and gun ownership have been in the news lately due to numerous shooting taking place at Movie theatre, Offices, , colleges and even elementary schools. The gun issue discussion were evenRead MoreGun Violence : It Is Well Known Gun1543 Words   |  7 PagesGun Violence in America Thomas Leonard February 9, 2017 As it is well known gun violence is a major problem in today’s society, places like Chicago and New York City have a serious epidemic on their hands. It is not uncommon to hear about an incident where a gun was involved in these big cities on a day to day basis, but it’s not just the big cities, these type of things are happening nationwide. There has been an argument for many decades whether the cause of such violence is due to the lack ofRead MoreGuns And Crime And Violence Essay1260 Words   |  6 PagesGuns and crime. These two words sound interesting, right? Now think about it deeply, do they really link to each other? Do guns surely lead to crime and violent issues? If so, should governments set restrictive rules for people who own and use the guns, such as provide the mental health reports, and test the shooting skills before purchasing the guns? These questions have been mentioned and discussed over and over again in today’s world. We can often hear the news about gun violence, such as a tragicRead MoreGun Control Laws Do Not Reduce Gun Violence779 Words   |  4 Pages Gun control laws Introduction: I believe that gun control laws will actually increase robberies, murders, and other crime. Think of it like this ok, you and your kids are sleeping in your beds. Then you hear your front door being kicked in. You see people walking around your house stealing your tv’s, your kids game systems, computers, and jewelry. You begin to go for the phone and call 911, but they see you and they start to run at you and your kids with a knife. Would you rather have a gun orRead MoreGuns, Myths And Realities Of Gun Violence2210 Words   |  9 PagesThis paper will explore the history of guns, myths and realities of gun violence. Gun violence is a hot topic in America today and some may believe that America was built on gun violence. This country was colonized by the use of violence with guns. We’ve had wars since the invasion of this country. The violence has been around also with the well-known 1775 speech from Patrick Henry, â€Å"Give me liberty or give me de ath† (Jr.). Give me death is a very strong statement that to me means this is of

Differences Between Homosexuality And Homosexuality

Nearly every person has differing opinions on homosexuality. Sadly, these divisive differences are even found in the Church, forcing people to pick sides and stand against those we should be united with. As a young child, this was made apparent to me when my family stopped attending a conservative Mennonite Church due to their stance on homosexuality; rather, we began attending a Missionary Church. However, these two denominations aren’t the only that have differences in belief about homosexuality. From one denomination to another, there may be minor or drastic differences; regardless, these Church doctrines shape how we react to homosexuality and those who declare themselves homosexual. By comparing three major Church views, as demonstrated by the Evangelical Lutheran Church, the Mennonite Church, and the Missionary Church, we will gain a more complete picture of the different prevailing beliefs regarding homosexuality. Once this has been attained, one will be able to compare these beliefs to the Bible. Homosexuality has been, and will continue to be, a hot button topic in the Church; therefore, it is imperative to formulate what one believes about the topic, especially as one decides which Church denomination to attend. The Evangelical Lutheran Church falls on the liberal side of the spectrum. While their doctrine skirts around the issue of homosexuality, it does state that â€Å"this church’s deliberations related to human sexuality require our best moral discernment andShow MoreRelatedDifferences Between Bisexuality And Homosexuality, And Heterosexuality1077 Words   |  5 Pagesman.) Past studies always look at the differences of a bisexual’s stimulation to heterosexual and homosexual stimuli compared to homosexual’s and heterosexual’s stimulations. No study had ever had a specific bisexual stimulus that they could compare bisexuals’ stimulation to non-bisexuals. Lots of studies have found the bisexual orientati on does to not exist. There have been many studies that have found little difference between bisexuality and homosexuality, and bisexuality and heterosexuality.Read MoreDifferences Between Homosexuality and Homosexual Behavior Essay921 Words   |  4 PagesHomosexuality (the tendency to be more sexually attracted to the same sex) is often confused with homosexual behavior (acting on homosexuality by engaging in homosexual acts), but the two are distinctly different. Even though homosexual behavior, especially in more recent years, has become an acceptable standard in our society it is a voluntary act and a sin, but the church has the ongoing responsibility and God-given call to love our neighbors, regardless of their sin because we too are all sinnersRead MoreHomosexuality: Choice or genetic?902 Words   |  4 PagesHomosexuality has become an important issue in our community creating much controversy. The liberal citizens of our country congratulate those who have made the hard d ecision to â€Å"come out.† The decision to be openly homosexual is hard for some because of the rare acceptance that they receive. Society has made it so hard for homosexuals to be accepted, given the discrimination and hate crimes against them. The rights that have been taken from homosexuals, such as marriage, have led to a quest forRead MoreThe Biological Perspective On Homosexuality Essay1558 Words   |  7 Pagescan be led by many factors. Many may believe that feelings and emotions play a role, but could it be our genetic make-up determines our life partner? It is widely favored that homosexuality stems from one’s environment and the people around them. Although less favored, the theory that genetics plays a role in homosexuality is concrete. In agreeance, Heffner Johnson (2003) states the hypothalamus, a highly significant region of the brain, plays a role in sexuality. This theory is supported by evidenceRead MoreHomosexuality in Ancient Greece and Rome Ess ay example1353 Words   |  6 PagesHomosexuality in ancient Greece and Rome Americans endlessly recycle the old conflicts: first we fought about slavery, then segregation, then gender, and now sexual orientation-(Anon). Homosexuality is an on-going conflict in America, as well as other countries. The history of homosexuality goes back to the ancient civilizations. As we have different ideas and ways of dealing with it, so did the ancient civilizations of Greece and Rome. Ancient Greece is consideredRead MoreThe Effects Of Prenatal Hormones On The Developing Fetus1510 Words   |  7 Pagesthe X chromosome. Though genetic tendencies for homosexuality may be passed from mothers to their children (Rahman Wilson, 2003). During human evolution, homosexuality was developed to minimize competition between males for a limited number of potential female mates (Schulling, 2004). A different possibility is that prenatal hormone levels influence the developing fetus (Levay, 2011). According to the prenatal hormonal theory of homosexuality, some male fetuses are exposed to too little testosteroneRead MorePsychology And Science Of A Heterosexual And Homosexual Man Through The Course Of Nature Vs. Nurture1168 Words   |  5 Pagesstudies; Simon LeVay, Roselli, Hamers, Sanders, Hansen. The perception of whether homosexuality conforms to the course of nature vs. nurture can influence the amount of scrutiny judged upon affected individuals. So, the purpose of this extended essay is to answer the research question of to what extent is there a biological basis with neurological structurally, genetically, hormonally, and prenatally behind male homosexuality and how an individual’s perception of this fact influences their behavior towardsRead MoreThe Debate Over Gay Marriage858 Words   |  4 PagesAlthough gay marriage has been legalized in all of the Uni ted States, the idea is still heavily debated. Richard Fitzgibbons, one of the various authors of the book Homosexuality: Opposing Viewpoints (Homosexuality is Caused by Psychological Trauma, p.36) believe that in order to get rid of pain, a person can be overcome by strong, erotic desires and actions, however, this does not entirely make sense. If a man were to be sexaully assaulted by another man, they would, more than likely remain straightRead MoreEssay about The Homosexual Brain?1502 Words   |  7 PagesQuayle said that homosexuality is more of a choice than a biological situation...It is a wrong choice. (1). Quayles statement counters the sentiment of many homosexuals that their sexual orientation is neither a lifestyle nor a personal choice, it is innate and unchangeable (2) . Is homosexuality a choice or does sexual preference have a biological basis? This question is at the forefront of academic, scientific, political, legal and media consciousness (3). The debate over h omosexuality has influencedRead MoreEssay about Homosexuality is a Choice Rather than Genetics749 Words   |  3 Pagespeople now believe the reporting of many popular newspapers and magazines report of the discovery of a link between a certain gene and homosexuality, but hasnt it been considered a choice for such a long time? Is homosexuality a choice rather than genetic? To answer this question well start off by revealing some myths of homosexuality. The next part will explain the difference between a behavioral trait and a genetic trait. Finally Ill end be unveiling the truth behind the homosexual gene.

Direct Democracy Free Essays

The assumption underlying the discussion on the initiative process is that the employment of paid petitioners is a harmful development reducing the quality of our democracy and privileging money over true commitment to causes that are put on ballot. However, this assumption is a questionable one, and counterevidence is abundant. Therefore, this essay will have the following structure: first of all, it will show little harms in employing paid signature-gatherers that are offset by possible benefits of such design of the initiative process, and, secondly, the essay will criticize the workability of the solutions offered in the concluding section of the chapter. We will write a custom essay sample on Direct Democracy or any similar topic only for you Order Now The perceived danger in allowing paid petitioners is that only causes that enjoy considerable financial support can make their way to the ballot. Another threat, as opponents of this policy argue, is associated with the fact that it is devastating to the spirit of volunteerism and civic involvement. There is a view that ‘[p]aying petitioners degraded the signature gatherer because it came to be seen as a sales job rather than as the precious province of the public-spirited citizen’ (Ellis, 2002, p. 48). Thus, the need for mobilizing and engaging citizens becomes virtually irrelevant to policy-making process. However, there is little persuasive evidence that paid petitioners signify the death of grassroots and the advent of the ‘greenback democracy. ’ Issues that arouse strong public sentiment can recruit a sufficient number of volunteers to push their case through. There are several reasons why volunteer signatures drive will survive in the future. First of all, using volunteers in the qualification phase can help save money for the electoral contest. Secondly, volunteer petitioners often gather signatures with higher validity rates, thus the number of signatures needed decreases whenever volunteers are used. Thirdly, volunteer-based signature gathering campaigns constitute a way to mobilize and inform citizens. Fourthly, volunteer signatures drive is a powerful public relations tool, since such initiatives usually enjoy positive publicity (Ellis, 2002). Volunteer campaigns have potential to succeed only if a campaign issue can easily generate strong feelings among the public. Yet issues arousing strong public sentiment are few and far between; more often, it is an interest of a smaller group of people that is at stake, but it is undemocratic to disregard the plea of such groups of citizens only because their case does not excite hearts and minds of their fellow citizens. In the modern democracy, there are few deeply appalling wrongs that need immediate remedy and can attract crowds of concerned citizen, like the case of African Americans in the 1960s. In the modern democracy, incremental changes need to be made to accommodate different interests and to make their coexistence more efficient and pleasurable for all. Numerous notable initiatives, serving community interests best, made their way to the ballot thanks to paid petitioners. Furthermore, the ban on paid petitioners will affect different states in different ways. It will create a dangerous disparity in the quality of the initiative process in states with smaller and bigger populations. For example, it will create considerable complications for signature gathering in such states as California, where the number of signatures that are necessary for an initiative to be put on ballot can be several times higher than in other states. It is especially relevant given the everyday life constraints on citizenship and civic participation. Consumerist ideology makes long working hours an imperative and leaves people with less time to participate in politics and community affairs. People volunteer in their leisure time, and leisure is a competitive sector. It is hard to expect a large number of citizens to sacrifice their spare time for gathering signatures in favor of their cause, however strongly they feel about it. Indeed, ‘[t]he main hurdle that most initiative proponents face is finding enough people willing and able to dedicate a large number of hours to gathering signatures’ (Ellis, 2002, p. 53). Moreover, there are legitimate concerns that the ban on paid petitioners will privilege people with abundant amount of spare time over those possessing more financial resources. In fact, paid petitioners democratize the initiative process by making it more inclusive. Many citizens do not hold strong opinions on some issues, but it by no means indicates that these issues should be excluded from the democratic debate. There are issues that are hard to frame in the way that solicits a passionate positive or negative attitude. In addition, privileging people with spare time over those with money borders on classism. For example, unemployed citizens with a lot of spare time can recruit a large number of volunteer to campaign for a welfare reform, while middle-class businessmen do not have such time to petition for a tax reduction. In a democracy, all groups ought to have equal access to the mechanisms of democratic participation and should be allowed to make the best use of resources available to them to ensure such participation. Therefore, as Ellis (2002, p. 54) notes, ‘the rise of paid petitioners and professional signature-gathering firms promotes democracy by increasing the involvement of a wider diversity of groups. ’ The ban on paid petitioners will not significantly decrease the role of big interests and money in the initiative process. A fact that is often overlooked by the opponents of paid petitioners concerns the evidence that recruitment, training, and coordination of volunteers mean considerable costs to an initiative sponsor, although volunteers work for free (Ellis, 2002). Moreover, the ban on paid petitioners will give an unfair advantage to organizations with better access to human resources. It ‘would advantage firms that employed large numbers of people and would make it impossible for all but the most popular causes to exercise the right of direct democracy’ (Ellis, 2002, p. 48). The opponents of paid petitioners also overlook the fact that signature gathering firms have a more professional approach to the initiative process. One of the possible advantages, as Ellis (2002) acknowledges, is that such firms have more experience in planning signature gathering campaigns and can offer a clear timeline for the process. However, there is another important advantage in employing signature gathering firms. Professionals working there can inform citizens more efficiently by presenting information about the issue at stake in a more accessible and understandable way. Thus, the indirect benefit of using paid petitioners is greater awareness of the citizenry on a wider array of issues. The proposal to ban paid petitioners also underestimates people’s ability to choose whether to sign a petition. It is argued that signatories to petitions do not express their real opinion but agree to sign them ‘for a variety of reasons, among which are desire to be rid of the solicitor or to help him earn a day’s wages’ (Register, 1913; in Ellis, 2002). However, citizens are often more aware and concerned than this notion assumes. Many of them refuse to sign petitions that contradict their convictions. If ignorance was the case, volunteer signature drives would be as futile as professional signature gathering firms. Having proven that the harms involved in the process of employing paid petitioners in the initiative process are often exaggerated, there is a need to critique the proposed solutions to the perceived crisis. Providing more information about signature gathering will have little effect, as citizens are already overwhelmed with information on public issues. Few would dedicate their time to studying booklets on how certain initiatives made their way to the ballot. There are cognitive constraints on the amount of information citizens can consume. Furthermore, few would have enough spare time to devote it to reading booklets with information on how many volunteers and how many paid petitioners were employed to gather support for a certain initiative. The proposal to leave petitions with county registration officers can be dismissed on similar grounds: citizens do not have enough spare time to dedicate to public affairs. Valuing signatures collected by volunteers over those collected by paid petitioners is simply non-enforceable. Abandoning signature gathering altogether is also not a viable alternative, since the process of petitioning presents at least some checks on the power of large interests. Paid petitioners ensure that issues of at least some interest to at least some groups of citizens make their way to the ballot. In fact, it does not quite matter how issues are placed on ballot; what matters most is the citizens’ ability to express their opinion about different initiatives in a popular vote. How to cite Direct Democracy, Papers Direct Democracy Free Essays In the United States, direct democracy takes its most evident form in ballot initiatives. According to the president of the Initiative and Referendum Institute, M. Dane Waters, a version of this practice was said to have existed as early as the 1600s in New England. We will write a custom essay sample on Direct Democracy or any similar topic only for you Order Now The practice then was for proposed ordinances to be placed on the agenda to be discussed by the whole town and later approved by voting on them during their town meetings. However, Dane Waters continued, ballot initiative as it is known today started during the 1900s – specifically in 1978 when Proposition 13 reduced the property taxes in California from 2. 5 percent to 1 percent. That California initiative resulted to limitations in the property taxes of 43 states and a reduced rate in the income taxes in 15 states (Cato Policy Report). A Washington Post columnist, David S. Broder described ballot initiatives as a tool designed to enable the people to directly write laws and in the process, check the influence being wielded by interest groups in the legislative process. Unfortunately, Broder explained, the initiative process is flawed since the opinion of those who are in disagreement is not being heard. Because of this defect, he maintained, statutes approved through ballot initiatives are not being subjected to checks and balances, effectively robbing the minority of their right to be heard. Broder argued that this contradicts the intent of the founding fathers (Cato Policy Report). The chairman of the Cato Institute, William A. Niskanen, disagreed. He stressed that the initiative process is actually a system of checks and balances since it regulates the power of legislatures. In other words, it does not weaken the American system of government. Dane Waters supported the view of Niskanen. He maintained that ballot initiatives were not meant to introduce adverse changes in the American system of government but to enrich it. In fact, he said, even the founding fathers had recognized its wisdom. To prove his point, he quoted James Madison, one of the founding fathers, who said that As the people are the only legitimate fountain of power, and it is from them that the Constitutional Charter under which the several branches of government hold their power is derived, it seems strictly consonant to the republican theory to recur to the same original authority whenever it may be necessary to enlarge, diminish, or new-model the powers of government (Cato Policy Report). Ellen Ann Andersen, in â€Å"OUT OF THE CLOSESTS into the Courts, demonstrated how a ballot initiative works. In her search for a suitable illustration, she decided to look at the effects of the initiative process on the civil rights of lesbians, gays and bisexuals (lgb’s). Her decision was baaed on the fact that until 1993, the focus of approximately 60 percent of all ballot initiatives in the country was the civil rights of lgb’s. She therefore concentrated on the most famous of these initiatives – Amendment 2 which was approved by the voters in Colorado in 1992 (Andersen). Amendment 2 was sparked by a proposed ordinance on human rights which was heard by the Human Rights Commission of Colorado Springs in 1991. The proposal sought to prohibit discrimination of any kind based on â€Å"race and color, their religion and creed, their national origin and ethnicity, their age, marital status, their sexual orientation, or their disabled condition. † It immediately encountered stiff opposition mostly from big fundamentalist Christian groups which included the biggest Christian radio ministry in the country – the Focus on the Family. Due to the relentless assault that they made against the proposed ordinance, it was finally defeated in the city council by a vote of 8-1 (Andersen). Things did not end there, however. The defeat of the proposed human rights ordinance started a statewide campaign against gay rights which culminated to the framing of Amendment 2. A group named Colorado for Family Values (CFV) was organized at the behest of three individuals, namely: Tony Marco, an anti-gay activist; David Noebel, head of anticommunist Summit Ministries, and Kevin Tebedo, who was the son of Maryanne Tebedo, a senator of the state of Colorado. CFV was able to establish links with national conservative organizations. It obtained the assistance of the â€Å"National Legal Foundation† in drafting Amendment 2 and used the handbook which was written by a lawyer who represented the â€Å"Concerned Women for America† as a guide for its efforts to promote the amendment. The proponents of Amendment 2 appealed to the moral values of the people and capitalized on their lack of adequate knowledge about homosexuality as they painted gays and lesbians as a hazard to society. It distributed a bulletin which alleged that Lately, America has been hearing a lot about the subject of childhood sexual abuse. This terrible epidemic has scarred countless young lives and destroyed thousands of families. But what militant homosexuals don’t want you to know is the large role they play in this epidemic. In fact, pedophilia (the sexual molestation of children) is actually an accepted part of the homosexual community (Andersen)! CFV also declared to the people of Colorado that homosexuals represented a great danger to the overall health of the community because they are the most relentless carriers of â€Å"sexually transmitted diseases; they are the most fertile breeders of diseases; and that by the middle of the 1990s, hospital bed would be difficult to come by due to the large number of homosexuals who are infected with AIDS (Andersen). Black propaganda such as these, coupled with the findings of a poll which was commissioned by the Denver Post which showed that 46 percent of respondents considered homosexuality to be morally wrong, 40 percent tolerated homosexuals, and 14 percent declared their neutrality, enabled the anti-gay sectors of Colorado to deal a crushing blow to the gay militants. The CFV campaign also argued that lgb’s should not be granted protected status or â€Å"special rights† because they were not â€Å"legitimate† minorities having failed to satisfy the criteria set forth by Supreme Court decisions, namely: 1. A group wanting true minority rights must show that it’s discriminated against to the point that its members cannot earn average income, get an adequate education, or enjoy a fulfilling cultural life. 2. The group must be clearly identifiable by unchangeable physical characteristics like skin color, gender, handicap, etc. (not behavior). 3. The group must clearly show that it is politically powerless (Andersen). In spite of the sting that black propaganda caused, it was the â€Å"no special rights† campaign slogan that dealt the greatest damage to the gay militants. Lawyer Jean Dubofsky said that The â€Å"no special rights† slogan was very clever, particularly given a time when at least white males don’t like affirmative action. The Amendment 2 people spent a lot of time talking about (how) you don’t want gays and lesbians getting in front of you in line for jobs or scholarships or college. Of course, that wasn’t what Amendment 2 was all about overall, but that’s the way it was sold†¦. People I talked with voted for it because they felt gay and lesbians should not get affirmative action (Andersen). In other words, Amendment 2 was ultimately approved by the voters of Colorado, thanks mainly to the underhanded campaign tactics employed by its proponents. Thus ended the political struggle waged by the gay activists. They were decidedly beaten in the political battle. However, it turned out that they were far from accepting defeat. Defeated in the political arena, they then turned to the legal battle. Amendment 2 proponents had only nine days to savor the taste of victory before the lgb’s petitioned the federal district court. A complaint was filed in the name of the following: Richard Evans (he was a former employee at the Mayor’s office of Denver who was open with his being gay); five other lgb’s; and a heterosexual male who was infected with AIDS. The cities of Boulder, Denver, and Aspen were also included as complainants because they had ordinances which protected the rights of lgb’s which Amendment 2 would effectively nullify (Andersen). The second aspect of the initiative process (the legal battle) turned out to be a different matter altogether. Prepared even before the election day as a â€Å"fallback† strategy, the complaint included several allegations. First, it argued that Amendment 2 violated the equal protection clause of the constitution. Then it claimed that the amendment denied lgb’s of their freedom of expression as well as association. Finally, it alleged that Amendment 2 was in violation of due process and the â€Å"right to petition government for a redress of grievances† (Andersen). The difference between the political and the legal aspects of the initiative became immediately evident. Whereas the voters were the center of decision-making in the political exercise, the legal battle transferred the power to decide to the judges. A total of thirteen judges heard the arguments whether Amendment 2 should be considered constitutional. One was a district court judge; three were justices of the Supreme Court of Colorado; and nine justices came from the United States Supreme Court (Andersen). The two sides presented the same arguments that they used during the campaign. The proponents of the amendment argued that they were simply against granting homosexuals special rights and that they were interested in safeguarding the well-being of children and the family, and allow the state to allocate its resources to assisting the legitimate minorities. The gay advocates, on the other hand, argued that in fact â€Å"special rights† as employed by the proponents of the Amendment was merely a red herring to mislead people and that the Amendment would effectively deprive them of their rights and constitutionally-guaranteed protection. They further claimed that Amendment 2 was only motivated by the hostility of its proponents towards lgb’s and that homosexuality was in fact not only a â€Å"life-style choice† but is comparable to race and sexual orientation (Andersen). What happened, however, was while their arguments won for the proponents the battle for the ballot, the same arguments caused them to lose their case in court. Ironically, a dissenting judge claimed that the act of the majority justices from the Supreme Court in striking down the Amendment had been an act â€Å"not of judicial judgment, but of political will† (Andersen). How to cite Direct Democracy, Papers

Katz Managerial Skill free essay sample

Introduction As the world enters more modern civilization, organizations also morph into more complex and competitive context. Thus, such situation will become more challenging for today’s managers in maintaining the viability of current organizations. Regarding to those issues, it is important to comprehend in depth on manager’s work. This essay commences a brief description of the manager interviewed. It will then evaluate the relevance of the Katz’s theory to the interviewed manager’s work. However, it will be more focused on the conceptual skill. Then, this essay will analyze on the relationship of several theories amongst Katz’ managerial work, Fayol’s management function and Mintzberg’s management roles. Finally, it will also examine the relation on Taylor’s four principles to the manager’s work. This essay concludes that every theory has its own limitation, thus, it disable to perfectly describe manager’s job. Description of the Interviewed Manager The interviewed manager that will be further discussed in this essay is a first-line manager. She is a supervisor in a branch of a non-local multinational in United States of America. The organization is a medium-sized restaurant which is in service sector. It has been running for about one and a half years. The interviewed manager has been working in the restaurant since it was opened. Her major duty is supervising the work of her members to achieve the optimum performance. Besides, monitoring the members work becomes her daily responsibility. Evaluation of Katz’s Managerial Skills Based on the interview conducted, it is significant that the manager’s work reflects particular managerial skills. In this context, the managerial skills will be evaluated based on Kat’s theory. Kat’s managerial skills are classified into three types: â€Å"conceptual, technical and human (interpersonal)† (Robbins et al. 2006, p. 14). Those skills are interrelated in implication of managerial activities. For further understanding, it is essential to identity the conceptual skill of the interviewed manager whether it is relevant to the Katz model or not. Robbins et al. (2006) define conceptual skill as â€Å"an ability to conceptualize and to think about abstract and complex situations†. According to Kat’s, this skill is mostly practiced by upper-level managers. It is necessary for top managers to possess because oftentimes they encounter obscure situations; thus, conceptual skill is required in order to overcome the problems. Furthermore, they have to be able to foresee all contingencies that might happen in the future. Robbins et al. (2006) point out that top manager should be able to interact with heterogeneous conditions in a broader scope of environment. According to the former, conceptual skill is less likely to be practiced by lower-level managers. Nevertheless, in a modern organization especially since global era, ideas can derive not only from executive managers, but also from low-level managers. Likewise, Chapman (2001) suggests that rigid hierarchy structure is no longer exists in new features organization as divisions or departments are connected horizontally to allow the fluid flow of information. In fact, it is reflected on the interviewed manager. Ms. X admitted that although new plans are generally instructed by her top manager, however, she also participated in contributing ideas in meeting. Moreover, she explained that she should be able to coordinate certain parts of business to achieve effectiveness that actually require conceptual skill. For instance, she needs to control the promptness of the work of internal personnel in process of cooking, monitor the waiters in serving food for customers and also ensure the satisfactory of customers for their services. Thus, it can be seen that basic conceptual skill is necessary for first-line managers to have which means Kat’s theory is not strongly reflected to the works of the interviewed manager. Apparently, the irrelevance is first because of in this particular business, conceptual skill is required for first-line manager in the activities. Second, a more flexible condition in modern era has forced managers’ activities to encompass conceptual skill in order to be more agile in engaging the changing conditions. Apart from conceptual skill, technical skill, according to Katz, is a very essential managerial skill especially for first-line and middle managers (Robbins et al. , 2006). However, proficiency of a specific knowledge is not required in the job of Ms. X. Peterson and Fleet (2004) mentions that a manager must have technical skill in order to â€Å"train, direct and evaluate subordinates performing specialized task†. Conversely, it is noteworthy that Ms. X is reasonable experienced to train and direct her members although she had never attended any educational process for her specific job. Thus, it can be concluded Katz theory may not be well reflected for certain jobs. The third is human skill (interpersonal skill) which is compulsory for all levels managers. Regardless on the levels, it is vital for managers to have interpersonal skill, as they need to have regular contacts to subordinates to achieve goals (Gillen and Carroll, 1987). Ms. X also agrees as her work in service sector, abilities to interact with diverse people is essential because she had to be able to cooperate with her members. Furthermore, she also had to get deal with many customers every day. Hence, interpersonal skill is considered as the most supreme skill for her job. Those reasons have advocated the Katz argument that managers at all levels need to have interpersonal skill as to work with and through other people effectively and efficiently. Analysis on Relationship on Theories of Katz, Fayol and Mintzberg Basically, the managers’ work can be clarified by using theories of Katz’s managerial skill, Fayol’s managerial function and Mintzberg’s manager roles. In fact, those theories are related and enable to explain the work of managers in a lucid picture. Katz’s human skill is reflected in Mintzberg’s interpersonal role that requires a manager to be able to interact with people.

Audience Purpose and Tone free essay sample

When writing academically it is imperative that you are consistently mindful of you purpose, audience, tone, and content. You need always to ensure that you make your purpose clear to your readers in your thesis statement. As you use your body to support your thesis; you need to be sure to provide intricate detail that illustrates your purpose. It is best to use details and examples that are not only relevant to the topic, but also understandable to your audience. Your reader will lose interest if you go beyond their level of understanding, and if you explain too much.When writing you have to find a middle way, and you achieve this by using enough detail to be clear, but not saturate the point. More than that when you use too much detail your tone can sometimes seem condescending to your reader, and this will also make them lose interest in your writing. We will write a custom essay sample on Audience Purpose and Tone or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page You need to be consistently mindful of how you are presenting your ideas, and be sure that you are leaving your biases and emotions Out Of the writing. When in doubt it is bustiest to stick to the facts, and explain them in detail when you are constructing an academic writing.

The Amazing Staying Power of the American Secretary

The Amazing Staying Power of the American Secretary The world is a very different place than it was nearly three-quarters of a century ago. From the cars we drive to the way we communicate, the landscape is completely changed. Well, not completely. One thing that remains the same? According to data from the U.S. Census, the most common job for women was secretary in 1950, and remains so today. Many of these jobs include data entry specialist jobs. Lets take a closer look at this phenomenon.A Look at the NumbersAccording to the U.S. Census Datas most recent American Community Survey Equal Employment Opportunity Tabulation, 3.8 million women were employed as secretaries and administrative assistants during the 2006-2010 period. This accounts for a whopping 97 percent of the near four million secretaries currently working the U.S., according the Bureau of Labor Statistics.According to further Census data, cashiers claimed the number two spot for working women with 2.8 million women holding cashier positions around the country, while 2.7 million women elementary school and middle school teachers rounded out the top three.This doesnt mean that the job market hasnt changed for women in other ways, however. The Census data reveals significant increases in women veterinarians, physicians and surgeons, and dentists. In other words, while the times in some ways have stayed the same, they are also in the immortal words of Bob Dylan a-changin.The 21st Century SecretaryIn 1950, the Census defined the category as stenographers, typists or secretaries, Today, the category comprises secretaries and administrative assistants. While the nature of the tasks may have evolved, the overall job description remains the same: to perform routine clerical and administrative tasks.And despite ongoing predictions that secretaries will be made obsolete by technology, the fact remains that they are an essential part of the American economy. In fact, secretary and administrative positions are available in nearly every industry from the fina ncial sector and legal offices to schools, hospitals and the government. Growth is expected to remain consistent with the national average around 12 percent over the next decade or so. A large factor in this growth? The aging out due to retirement of a large portion of the workplace.One of the reasons secretary jobs remain popular is that they dont typically require a college degree, and can be learned on the job over the course of a few weeks or months, depending on the industry. However, as success in the workplace increasingly necessitate the acquisition of technological skills, aspiring secretaries with computer skills in addition to basic office skills will be in greater demand.Secretaries with certain specialized skill sets are also well-positioned for career growth, while others may see less interest in the years ahead. For example, while jobs for medical secretaries are expected to grow by a whopping 36 percent between 2012 and 2022 due to changes in the healthcare system, jobs for legal secretaries are expect to decline due to the rise of paralegals.Another reason secretary and administrative assistant jobs remain popular? Theres plenty of room for growth. While the average median pay is $35,330, it rises as high as $47,500 with top earners making nearly $60,000. Many of these are executive level assistants with advanced training and experience.Looking to join the ranks of secretaries the backbone of many American offices for the past 65 years? If so, basic office, computer, and English grammar schools are required. Many of these skills can be acquired at community colleges and technical schools. Additionally, the International Association of Administrative Professionals Certified Administrative Professional (CAP) certification further demonstrates initiative and competency to potential employers.From The Beverly Hillbillies Miss Hathaway to The Offices Pam Halpert nà ©e Beesley, the American secretary is not only an major part of popular culture, but also of the real world existence of many women and the workplaces which depend on them. Wondering whether a secretary or administrative job is right for you and/or what positions are out there? Visit TheJobNetwork to find a match from hundreds of job sites.

Writing to evaluate Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Writing to evaluate - Essay Example Recently, it has two international editions have been added due to its popularity. Cosmopolitan magazine is the market leader in its niche for three reasons: usefulness in giving practical tips, universal appeal, and over-all presentation. Many women find Cosmopolitan as a useful guide for their needs. For example, young adults like college students look for practical tips on choosing make-up products as well comparing evaluation of current beauty products. However, Cosmopolitan does more than that by suggesting local products than can be a substitute for expensive ones. In addition to, the magazine occasionally inserts samples products from some very willing companies due to its wider readership. Another evidence of Cosmopolitan’s usefulness is its articles that features practical tips for working women. Cosmo shares helpful advice on dressing up for an interview, answering interview questions, dealing with gossips in the workplace, handling a difficult boss, and even comparing advantages and disadvantages of an office relationship. In addition this, smart and savvy fashion suited for a career woman is also presented in the glossy pages of the magazine. They also like the humor and the career tips and consider Cosmopolitan a â€Å"Great Magazine for Adult Women† with lots of â€Å"Sexy Advice†. That is why 87% of 53 members of this forum referred this magazine to family and friends. ( viewpoints.com ) Cosmpolitan has a universal appeal to all readers since it also presents articles that women from any race, color or age can identify with. Aside from articles about career, Cosmopolitan also features interesting articles about relationships that all women find helpful. All kind of relationships are explored here including affairs and homosexual ones. In fact, Cosmopolitan has been engaged in controversial issues such as birth

Harley Davidson strategy in the US market Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Harley Davidson strategy in the US market - Essay Example Harley Davidson strategy in the US market Harley Davidson strategy in the US market: Harley Davidson executed cost/differentiation strategy in the market of US and focuses on the niche sector to compete with its competitors successfully and efficiently. The factors of differentiation include three main competitive advantages: High standard quality bikes. Premium brand image Customized motorbike manufacturing services. The market share and sales of Harley Davidson in the US motorbike industry proves its successful strategies (Harley Davidson, 2012). Harley Davidson strategy in the international market: Harley Davidson differentiated its brands in all the markets of the world with the image of High-powered motorbikes. The target market of Harley-Davidson in the international market are mostly all the urbanized countries. The company sells its products in more than 67 countries in the world. Harley Davidson distinguishes its brands from competitors by superior quality, high-powered engine and customized design along with the br and loyalty. Harley Davidson is succeeding in accomplishing its targets all over the world with its implemented strategies of global market expansion (TDI Media, 2010). Harley Davidson is facing a threat of environment protection law. This law emphasizes on the production of low consumption vehicles and less pollution emitted vehicle in the world. This has become a serious factor nowadays and every country is considering this factor very critically. Harley Davidson has decided to reduce this threat with product development strategy. ... This strategy is the main strength of Harley Davidson in both US and international market and company is competing successfully with these strategies for a long time in this industry. STRATEGY TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF EXTERNAL OPPORTUNITY: A great exploited opportunity by Harley Davidson is the increasing market of women and younger riders; they are becoming more interested in the motor bikes nowadays and the sell of motor bikes in this segment is increasing for the last few years (Mason, 2012). Harley Davidson is implementing the market development strategy to avail this golden opportunity for increasing market share in the growing motorbikes industry. Harley Davidson has decided to bring innovations in its motorbikes according to the needs and wants of women and younger market and introduces those innovated bikes in this new emerging segment of women and younger generation. This strategy by Harley Davidson will capture the interest of the new emerging segment of women and young people in all of its markets in the world. This market expansion will give a great competitive advantage of increased market share to Harley Davidson in the international market and it will produce new records of success in the motorbike industry. STRATEGY TO ADDRESS POTENTIAL THREAT: Harley Davidson is facing a threat of environment protection law. This law emphasizes on the production of low consumption vehicles and less pollution emitted vehicle in the world. This has become a serious factor nowadays and every country is considering this factor very critically. Harley Davidson has decided to reduce this threat with product development strategy. In this development the fuel efficient motorbikes will be manufactured to make the reduction in the fuel consumption and

Socrates Decision Live Or Die Philosophy Essay

Socrates Decision Live Or Die Philosophy Essay Socrates was a Greek philosopher, whose teachings marks are a shift in philosophy from dealing with nature and the world to consider the person.  Socrates was sentenced to death for corrupting the youth and because of the disrespect of the Gods.  His work is the turning point of ancient philosophy.  His method of analysis of concepts and the identification of virtue and knowledge, he sent the attention of philosophers to the unconditional value of human personality. Socrates received a broad education.  He was married to a woman named Xanthippe.  He also took an active part in public life of Athens. As well, he participated in the Peloponnesian War.  Socrates also was a teacher and older friend of the Athenian politician and military leader Alcibiades.  In 399 BC.,  he was charged that he does not honor the Gods, which the city honors, and introduces a new deity, and responsible for the fact that he corrupts the youth.  As a free Athenian citizen, was not subjected to punishment, and he took poison (the widespread legend, the infusion of hemlock, but judging by the symptoms hemlock was spotted). Socrates was the first public Greek philosopher: his studies he spent on the streets, crowds filled diversified: traders, soldiers, artisans, aristocrats and the homeless.  He quickly gained popularity among the Athenians, although the eccentricity of the philosopher became the subject of ridicule, even among educated people.   Simultaneously Socrates corrupts the youth by offering reliable ways to avoid punishment for infractions, including adultery.  Thus he reflected the two vices: disrespect for the gods and corrupting youth. It is also said that Socrates did not simply deny the power of the Gods, but also has his own god, whose voice is being heard, but under the circumstances, only the priest has the right to communicate with the Gods.  It was believed that Socrates is guilty of disbelief in the Gods recognized by the state, and that the policy is introduced in the new god.  He is also guilty of corrupting youth.  Proposed penalty: death. Accusations of atheism were not something new in Athens  Socrates did not wanted to do give up his point of view, and he wished not to leave Athens.  The centerpiece was the molestation of accusation of youth.  Athenian law required to defend a person who was accused.  Considering that Socrates spoke without prepared speeches.  The speech was a conversation with judges and he did not try to convince them. The jury stopped the indignant cries of speech and voted this way: Socrates is guilty. Nevertheless, this decision became final sentence; he could pay the fine or still leave the city.  Socrates refused to reappear as otherwise agreed with a prosecution.  It is known that the disciples of Socrates prepared his escape from prison, but Socrates did not respond to the offer of his sincere friends.  Moreover, he said a long monologue about what a citizen, even wrongfully convicted, I cannot respond to evil with evil. Socrates was punished by society.  People like Socrates, could not escape punishment because they were loners and nobody can impose his will.  Socrates was given poison.  He was lying in bed, and beside him, a man was preparing a poisonous mixture. The sun was setting.  The court appointed the exact time of execution of punishment, but the man somehow delayed.  In the end, Socrates could not resist: Time passes; the sun goes down, why you wait?   It seemed incredible that a man condemned to death could stop worrying so much about that his execution took place in a timely manner.  On the contrary, the poor should be grateful for the delay.  Executioner loved Socrates.  He had heard his statement in court and felt deep sympathy for the thinker.  Socrates, was the wisest of all the inhabitants of Athens.  Delay in preparing the penalty would allow the philosopher to live a little longer. However, Socrates said urging: Hurry. Bring the poison. Feeding poison to Socrates, the man asked: Why are you so impatient? I can see how your face glows, I see your eyes burn. Do not you understand whats going on? You will die now! Socrates responded: I am interested in death. I have known life. It was beautiful, despite all the turmoil and suffering, I got pleasure from it. Just breathe and have fun. Ive lived, Ive loved, I did what I wanted to do, I said everything  I wanted to say. Now I want to taste death and the sooner t he better. There are only two options: either my soul will live on in other forms, as they say Oriental mysticism, and this is an exciting event to continue the journey without the gravity of the body.  Body is a close cell, it is very restricted in his movements.  And the second option is if the materialists are right, then after the death, there would be nothing left.  It is also exciting not to exist!  I know what it means to be, and now the time has come to find out what it means not to be.  And if I do not exist, then there is nothing to worry about! These things can only be said by the person who loves himself.  Socrates took responsibility even for his death: the court could not blame him for anything, it was only a social bias, prejudice, mediocre people who were not able to understand the great insights of the mind of Socrates, but there was a majority and they voted for the death penalty. They could not fend off any of his argument.  I guess they did not even realize what he was saying, the responses could not be considered.  He refuted all their arguments. However, in decisions that were taken collectively, Athens was a democratic city, so the situation was considered a general meeting, which was recognized and reduced the risk of a person deserving death. The judges were a little wiser; they offered the choice to Socrates: If you leave the city and vowed that you would never come back, youll be able to avoid death. If you want to stay in Athens, then stop talking and lapse into silence. In this case we also  would be able to persuade people to save your life. Either tomorrow at sunset you drink poison. Choose what you prefer. Socrates replied: I am ready to take the poison tomorrow or today when it will be ready. But I cannot stop telling the truth. If I live, I will continue to tell the truth till my last breath. But I cannot leave Athens in the name of  own salvation, or else Ill always feel like a coward, who escaped death, and not taking responsibility for what happens. I have lived in harmony with my thoughts, feelings and heart and want to die peacefully. And do not feel guilty.  No one is responsible for my death, except myself.  I knew it would happen, for speaking the truth in a society based on lies, deception, illu sion, is like to seek your own death.  Do not blame these poor people, who decided on my death.  If someone is responsible, then it is only me.  I want you all to know that I lived, taking responsibility for my life, and I die, taking responsibility for my death.  I was a maverick in my life.  And I remain a maverick in the face of death.  No one took me for solutions, and I myself have made my choice. Many friends tried to persuade Socrates to escape, but he was adamant to perform absurd decision of the Athenian court, in order to remain faithful to the laws of his native city. I think that Confucius would condemn Socrates decision. Confucius supported life, truth, rituals, traditions, wisdom and sincerity. The ideal of Confucianism is to create a harmonious society in the ancient pattern, in which every person has its function.  Harmonious society is built on the idea of loyalty loyalty to the relationship between bosses and subordinates, aimed at preserving the harmony and most of this society.  Confucius formulated the golden rule of ethics: Do not make the man what you do not wish for yourself. That is why, in my opinion, Confucius would approve if Socrates admitted some mistakes and changes his mind and continued to bring harmony in the community, as he was a very wise person. The city needed him and many people needed him too, but they were afraid to admit it. Moral obligation, as they materialize in the ritual, becomes a matter of upbringing, education and culture.  These concepts Confucius has not divided.  All of them are included in the content category wen (originally the word meant a person with painted body, tattoos).  Wen can be interpreted as the cultural meaning of human existence, like education.  This is not a secondary artificial creation of a man and not his primary natural layer, not book-learning and not natural, but their organic blend. Confucius also supported any activity that was useful for the community, its development, its traditions and prosperity. Kind intentions and justice are one of the constancies of a righteous man, supported by Confucius. Many people judge the decision of Socrates, saying he had a choice, he did it wrong and he had to live if he could choose it. Others think that if he has chosen this decision, then it meant a lot to him, he did not suffer because of it and he was very interested in w hat would happen after death. If Socrates acted this way, then he knew what he exactly wanted, it was his own decision and he did not blame anyone in that. Although Socrates had power to change the Law of Athens, he decided to obey this unjust law, may be to show people how ridiculous it is, to show them the real injustice and to show how miserably these people lived obeying everything, and not choosing their way of life. The most important thing is that Socrates had a choice, he was a very wise man and he perfectly understood the options he had. He has been thinking a lot and he has chosen his way himself, choosing to take the poison and to find out what the death was like. Probably Socrates acted in this situation by obeying the state laws, and also choosing this way himself, with a choice to die this way or later. May be it was important to Socrates to have choice and to choose himself his death, not blaming anyone and at the same time, not committing a suicide, just obeying the states law. In this case an unjust law of Athens. The thing that is obvious is that Socrates did not want to preserve his life, he had intentions to find out more and more, and maybe he already knew too much about life, about the limits we have in life and about the rules we invent and obey, that he was interested in other things. He may have considered new experience interesting, outrageous and useful for him, which will not have the boundaries and limits and could open new ways of existence or even the better life after death. All in all, I think that Socrates was not right to obey the orders of the state of Athens to take poison. He should he have acted to preserve his own life by choosing exile or escaping, as it was more important to save his own life, than to obey the orders. But, it was his decision and he did not blame anyone and the important fact is that Socrates had a choice and he considered to take poison as a right decision for himself.

Bloodsucking Fiends: A Love Story Chapter 15

Part II Nesting Chapter 15 Learning the Licks They took their shoes off and did it again. The second time was less urgent and they tried to impress each other with their respective repertoires of mattress tricks. Jody was careful not to appear too experienced and Tommy pulled on everything he had ever read, from Penthouse to National Geographic, trying not to appear too naive, while fighting the urge to shout â€Å"Gee whiz† with her every move. There was entirely too much thinking involved on both their parts and they finished thinking, Well, that was pretty okay. Jody's fangs stayed safely sheathed behind her canines. She said, â€Å"What was that you shouted at the end?† â€Å"It was a Bantu love cry. I think it translates, ‘Oh baby, polish my lip saucer.  » â€Å"Interesting,† Jody said. They lay there for a while, not talking, feeling uncomfortable and a little embarrassed. Whatever intimacy they shared physically was not echoed emotionally. They were strangers. Tommy felt that he should confess something personal, something to match the outrageous trust she had put in him by telling him her secret. At the same time he was curious, and a little bit afraid. It wasn't as if she had shown him a hidden tattoo. She was a vampire. How do you match that? How do you file that? Under â€Å"Adventure,† he thought. I wanted adventure, and here it is. â€Å"Tommy,† she said, not looking at him, talking more or less to the ceiling, â€Å"I'll understand if you don't want to stay, but I'd like you to.† â€Å"I've never lived with anyone before. This is all new to me. I mean, you probably have a lot more experience than I do at this.† â€Å"Well, not exactly like this. I've lived with a few guys.† â€Å"A few?† â€Å"Ten, I think. But not under these circumstances.† â€Å"Ten? You must be ancient. No offense. I mean, I knew that you were older, but I thought it was just a few years. Not centuries.† She rolled over and looked him in the eye. â€Å"I'm twenty-six.† â€Å"Sure, you look twenty-six. But you've probably looked this way for years. You probably have pictures of yourself with Abraham Lincoln and stuff, right?† â€Å"No, I'm twenty-six. I've been twenty-six for about six months.† â€Å"But how long†¦ I mean†¦ Were you born like†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"I've been a vampire for four days.† â€Å"So you're twenty-six.† â€Å"That's what I've been telling you.† â€Å"And you've lived with ten guys?† She got out of bed and started gathering her clothes. â€Å"Look, I don't use the best judgment when it comes to relationships. Okay?† He turned away from her. â€Å"Well, thanks a lot.† â€Å"I didn't mean you. I meant in the past.† He sat on the edge of the bed and hung his head. â€Å"I feel so used.† â€Å"Used?† She leaped over the bed and stood in front of him. â€Å"Used?† She put her finger under his chin and lifted it until he was looking at her. â€Å"I've trusted you with the biggest secret I have. I've offered to share my life with you.† â€Å"Oh, like that's an exclusive privilege.† He pulled away from her and resumed pouting. Jody snatched a shoe off the floor and prepared to whack him with it, then remembered what she had done to Kurt and dropped it. â€Å"Why are you being such an asshole?† â€Å"You drank my blood!† â€Å"Yeah, well, I'm sorry about that.† â€Å"You didn't even ask.† â€Å"And you didn't protest, either.† â€Å"I thought it was a sex thing.† â€Å"It was.† â€Å"It was?† He stopped pouting and looked up at her. â€Å"Does that turn you on?† Jody thought, Why are men never prepared for the toxic radiation of afterglow? Why can't they ride it through without becoming detached whiners or aggressive jerks? They don't get it, that cuddling afterward has nothing to do with warm, fuzzy feelings; it's just the most intelligent way to ride the wave of post-coital depression. â€Å"Tommy, I came so hard, my toes curled. No man has ever made me feel like that before.† How many times have I said that? she thought. â€Å"Yeah?† She nodded. He smiled, feeling proud of himself. â€Å"Let's do it again.† â€Å"No, we need to talk.† â€Å"Okay. But then†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Put on your clothes.† Tommy scampered naked out of the bedroom to get a fresh pair of jeans from his suitcase. As he dressed, the infinite possibilities of life swam through his head. Only a week ago he had been staring down the barrel of a life spent in a factory town – of a union job, of a series of financed Fords, a mortgage, too many kids, and a wife who'd go to fat. Sure, there was a certain nobility in being responsible and raising a family – seeing that they never did without. But when his father told him on his eighteenth birthday that he needed to start planning his retirement, he felt his future tighten on him like an anaconda. His father had made it clear that the money for college wasn't there – so after he went to the City and starved, he could come home and get a job down at the factory and get down to the business of being an adult. But not now. He was a City guy now, part of the world; he was involved with a vampire, and the danger of living a normal, boring life had passed completely. He knew he should be afraid, but he was too elated to think about it. He slid into his jeans and ran back to the bedroom, where Jody was getting dressed. â€Å"I'm hungry,† he said. â€Å"Let's go out and get something to eat.† â€Å"I can't eat,† she said. â€Å"Not at all?† â€Å"Not as far as I know. I can't even keep a glass of water down.† â€Å"Wow. Do you have to have blood every day?† â€Å"I don't think so.† â€Å"Does it have to be – I mean, can you use animals, or does it have to be people?† Jody thought about the moth she had eaten and felt as if she'd just downed a cocktail mixed of two parts shame and five parts disgust, with a twist of nausea. â€Å"I don't know, Tommy. I didn't exactly get an instruction book.† He was bouncing around the room like a hyperactive child. â€Å"How did it happen? Did you sell your soul to Satan? Am I going to turn into a vampire? Are you in a coven or something?† She wheeled on him. â€Å"Look, I don't know. I don't know anything. Let me get dressed and we'll go get something for you to eat. I'll explain then, okay?† â€Å"Well, you don't have to bite my head off.† â€Å"Maybe I do,† she snarled, surprised at the acid in her voice. Tommy backed away from her, his eyes wide with fear. She felt horrible. Why did I say that? This was happening too often, this loss of control – showing her burned hand to the bum on the bus, knocking Kurt out, eating the moth, and now threatening Tommy; none of it seemed to be by choice. It was as if vampirism carried with it a crampless case of rattlesnake PMS. â€Å"I'm sorry, Tommy. This has been hard.† â€Å"It's okay.† He picked up the jeans she had destroyed and began emptying the pockets. â€Å"I guess these are done for.† He pulled out the business card that the motel manager had given him. â€Å"Hey, I forgot to tell you. This cop wants to talk to you.† Jody stopped in the middle of tying her shoes. â€Å"Cop?† â€Å"Yeah, an old lady was killed at the motel last night. There were a zillion cops around when I got there this morning. They wanted to talk to everyone that was staying in the motel.† â€Å"How was she killed, Tommy? Do you know?† â€Å"Somebody broke her neck and†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He stopped and stared at her, backing away again toward the bathroom. â€Å"What?† she demanded. â€Å"Her neck was broken and what?† â€Å"She'd lost a lot of blood,† he whispered. â€Å"But there weren't any wounds.† He bolted into the bathroom and shut the door. Jody could hear him throw the lock. â€Å"I didn't kill her, Tommy.† â€Å"That's fine,† he said. â€Å"Open the door. Please.† â€Å"I can't, I'm peeing.† He turned on the water. â€Å"Tommy, come out, I'm not going to hurt you. Let's go get you something to eat and I'll explain.† â€Å"You go ahead,† he said. â€Å"I'll catch up to you. Wow, I really had to go. Must have been all that coffee I drank today.† â€Å"Tommy, I swear I didn't know anything about this until you told me.† â€Å"Look at this,† he said through the door, â€Å"I found that crucifix I lost last week. And what's this? My lucky vial of holy water.† â€Å"Tommy, stop it. I'm not going to hurt you. I don't want to hurt anybody.† â€Å"Oh, my garlic wreath. I wondered where I'd put that.† Jody grabbed the door knob and yanked. The doorjamb splintered and the door came away in her hand. Tommy dived into the tub and peeked over the edge at her. She said, â€Å"Let's go get you something to eat. We need to talk.† He pulled himself up slowly, ready to dive down the drain if she made a move. She backed away. He looked at the ruined doorjamb. â€Å"We're going to lose our deposit now; you know that, right?† Jody threw the door aside and offered her hand to help him out of the tub. â€Å"Can I buy you some fries? I'd really like to watch you eat some French fries.† â€Å"That's weird, Jody.† â€Å"Compared to what?† They walked to Market Street where, even at ten o'clock, the sidewalks were crowded with bums and hustlers and teams of podiatrists who had escaped the Moscone Convention Center to seek out burgers, pizzas, and beer in the heart of the City. Jody watched the heat ghosts trailing the street people while Tommy handed out coins like a meter-maid angel trying to atone for a lifetime of giving chickenshit tickets. He dropped a quarter into the palm of a half-fingered glove worn by a woman who was pretending to be a robot, but who looked more like a golem newly shaped from gutter filth. Jody noticed a black aura around the woman, as she had seen around the old man on the bus; she could smell disease and the rawness of open lesions and she almost pulled Tommy away. A few steps away she said, â€Å"You don't have to give them all money just because they ask, you know.† â€Å"I know, but if I give them money I don't see their faces when I'm about to fall asleep.† â€Å"It doesn't really help. She'll just spend it on booze or drugs.† â€Å"If I was her, so would I.† â€Å"Good point,† Jody said. She took his arm and led him into a burger joint named No Guilt: orange Formica tables over industrial-gray carpet, giant backlit transparencies of food glistening with grease, and families gleefully clogging their arteries together. â€Å"Is this okay?† â€Å"Perfect,† Tommy said. They took a table by the window and Jody trembled while Tommy ordered a brace of burgers and a basket of fries. She said, â€Å"Tell me about the woman who was killed.† â€Å"She had a dog, a little gray dog. They found them both in the dumpster at the motel. She was old. Now she'll always be old.† â€Å"Pardon?† â€Å"People always stay the age that they died at. My big brother died of leukemia when I was six. He was eight. Now when I think of him, he's always eight, and he's still my big brother. He never changes, and the part of me that remembers him never changes. See. What about you?† â€Å"I don't have any brothers or sisters.† â€Å"No, I mean, are you going to stay the same? Will you always look like this now?† â€Å"I haven't thought about it. I guess it could be true. I know I heal really fast since it happened.† The waitress brought Tommy's food. He squirted ketchup on the fries and attacked. â€Å"Tell me,† he said around a mouthful of burger. Jody started slowly as she watched his every bite with envy, telling him first about her life before the attack, of growing up in Monterey and dropping out of community college when her life didn't seem to be moving fast enough. Then of moving to San Francisco, of her jobs and her loves and the few life lessons she had learned. She told him about that night of the attack in too much detail, and in the telling she realized how little she understood about what had happened to her. She told him about waking up, and of how her strength and senses had changed, and it was here that words began to fail her – there were no words to describe some of the things she had seen and felt. She told him about the call at the motel and about being followed by the other vampire. When she had finished she felt more confused than when she had started. Tommy said, â€Å"So you're not immortal. He said that you could be killed.† â€Å"I guess; I don't seem to change. All my childhood scars are gone, the lines on my face. My body seems to have lifted a little.† Tommy grinned. â€Å"You do have a great body.† â€Å"I could lose five pounds,† Jody said. She inhaled sharply and her eyes went wide, as if she'd just remembered some explosives she'd left in the oven. â€Å"Oh my God!† â€Å"What?† Tommy looked around, thinking she had seen something frightening, something dangerous. â€Å"This is horrible.† â€Å"What is it?† Tommy insisted. â€Å"I just realized – I'm always going to be a pudgette. I have jeans I'll never get into. I'm always going to need to lose five pounds.† â€Å"So what, every woman I've ever known thought she needed to lose five pounds.† â€Å"But they have a chance, they have hope. I'm doomed.† â€Å"You could go on a liquid diet,† Tommy said. â€Å"Very funny.† She pinched her hip to confirm her observation. â€Å"Five pounds. If he'd only waited another week to attack. I was on the yogurt-and-grapefruit diet. I would have made it. I'd be thin forever.† She realized that she was obsessing and turned her attention to Tommy. â€Å"How's your neck, by the way?† He rubbed the spot where she had bitten him. â€Å"It's fine. I can't even feel a mark.† â€Å"You don't feel weak?† â€Å"No more than usual.† Jody smiled. â€Å"I don't know how much I†¦ I mean, I don't have any way of measuring or anything.† â€Å"No, I'm fine. It was kind of sexy. I just wonder how I healed so fast.† â€Å"It seems to work that way.† â€Å"Let's try something.† He held his hand by her face. â€Å"Lick my finger.† She pushed his hand away. â€Å"Tommy, just finish eating and we can go home and do this.† â€Å"No, it's an experiment. My cuticles get split from cutting boxes at the store. I want to see if you can heal them.† He touched her lower lip. â€Å"Go ahead, lick.† She snaked out a tentative tongue and licked the tip of his finger, then took his finger in her mouth and ran her tongue around it. â€Å"Wow,† Tommy said. He pulled his finger out and looked at it. His cuticle, which had been split and torn, had healed. â€Å"This is great. Look.† Jody studied his cuticle. â€Å"It worked.† â€Å"Do another.† He thrust another finger in her mouth. She spit it out. â€Å"Stop that.† â€Å"Come on.† He pushed at her lips. â€Å"Pleeeeze.† A big guy in a Forty-Niners sweatshirt leaned over from the table next to them and said, â€Å"Buddy, do you mind? I've got my kids here.† â€Å"Sorry,† Tommy said, wiping vampire spit on his shirt. â€Å"We were just experimenting.† â€Å"Yeah, well, this isn't the place for it, okay?† â€Å"Right,† Tommy said. â€Å"See?† Jody whispered. â€Å"I told you.† â€Å"Let's go home,† Tommy said. â€Å"I've got a blister on my big toe.† â€Å"No fucking way, writer-boy.† â€Å"It's low in calories,† Tommy coaxed, prodding her foot with his sneaker. â€Å"Good, and good for you.† â€Å"Not a chance.† Tommy sighed in defeat. â€Å"Well, I guess we've got more to worry about than my toe or your weight problem.† â€Å"Like what?† â€Å"Like the fact that last night I saw a guy in the store parking lot that I think was the other vampire.†

Personal and Team Effectiveness

Personal and Team Effectiveness Introduction: In every organization particularly in the Health and Social Care Industry which involves individual employees and the entire workforce to where they are the company’s backbone of its existence it all rely on the importance of personal and team effectiveness to achieve the organization’s mission statement and service to their customers. In the influence of the management and organisational factors on the effectiveness of the people involved in the care particularly through developing their ability to work effectively in teams and developing their knowledge and skills so that they can contribute to the delivery of a quality service. All organizations require their people, at times, to work in groups. The most successful organizations find ways to realize the full potential and capability of groups. They understand the important contribution that groups can make effective groups usually outperform individuals. Organizations are comfortable establishing, empowering and promoting the participation of people in groups, value change and adaptation as key to improving productivity, quality and customer service and are constantly looking for creative ways to use groups to drive performance improvements. In looking at strategies for personal and professional development which refine behaviours, improve capability and give individuals the confidence and competence to excel not only for themselves but as part of the entire Health Care team as shown in high-performing organizations, the most successful groups function as â€Å"teams†. Teams flourish in organizations which create a climate where people want to work together giving their best efforts. Definition: Personal effectiveness is a branch of the self help movement dealing with success, goals, and related concepts. Personal effectiveness integrates some ideas from â€Å"the power of positive thinking† and Positive Psychology but in general it is distinct from the New Thought Movement. Team effectiveness refers to the system of getting people in a company or institution to work together effectively. The idea behind team effectiveness is that a group of people working together can achieve much more than if the individuals of the team were working on their own. Content: According to Carl Jung’s premise that all change and development starts from within and its principle underpins to the approach and it all start with personal effectiveness. The middle and senior managers in Health and Social Care should develop their skills and competencies in leading and managing the team. It is where the management of each organization would find how to enlighten and have each of them to explore and examining the facets that each of the employees are unique and valuable individual in the organization for the better good of the entire workforce. By exploring the preferences of others to understand why they behave as they do particularly and inspire those that are into the team and show them how to adapt and collaborate for improved interactions. The team leader and managers should see through it that the individuals and the entire team should focus on the implications and evaluating the by using management for the people for improving the organizational performance. In every individual, each has their own personality, style and personal interactions for effectively doing the job. By achieving this personal development and individual effectiveness comes with training, career development, staff development plans and the management will implement the development programs by in-house training, using supervision and appraisal, external courses, action-centred learning, lifelong learning, coaching and mentoring, assessing competence. The monitoring performance of individuals through observation, appraisal, periodic review, and achievement of successful outcomes as well as the use of targets, benchmarks, feedback from others is one key factor in measuring personal effectiveness. By Identifying individual training and evelopment needs: monitoring of performance, career development planning, changing personal circumstances. Strategies for promoting continuous development: achieving competence, training versus education, partnerships, staff development plans, compliance with external requirements, dedicated allocation of resources, use of external kite marks for exampl e Investors in People. In assessing the individual effectiveness is by describing different ways in which the performance of individuals working in health and social care may be monitored and by describing how individual training and development needs may be identified. Analyse different strategies for promoting the continuing development of individuals in the health and social care workplace. The effective staff development programme may be implemented and evaluate the effectiveness of a specific staff development programme with which the management is familiar. Team effectiveness is determined by several factors: †¢ The right mix of skills. Team effectiveness depends in part on bringing together people who have different skills that somehow complement each other. This can mean different technical abilities or communication skills. In fact, teaming up people who share the exact same characteristics is often a recipe for disaster. Team effectiveness depends on people taking on different roles in a group setting. If there is no agreement on who does what in the group, it is unlikely that the team will prosper. †¢ The right motivation. Team effectiveness is directly linked to the interest that the group has on the project. If the job is too easy or too difficult, or if the rewards for achieving the end result do not seem worth the effort, the team may end up working half-heartedly in the project. The task should also have a clear outcome. Working towards a specific goal enhances team effectiveness significantly. †¢ The ability to solve conflicts without compromising the quality of the project. Team work has one major downfall. Sometimes groups end up making decisions they know are not in the best interest of the project, just so they can keep the process moving. Conflict is innate to any work done in groups, and should be taken as part of the challenge rather than as something to be avoided by compromising. Team effectiveness should be increased, not compromised, through conflict. The model of team development as developed by Bruce Tuckman that teams evolve through four main stages. †¢ Forming is when the members are first brought together. It is a period of exploration, testing and orientation. †¢ Storming is a difficult but inevitable stage, where members may compete and conflict. †¢ Norming is the stage where the team starts to pull together, and noticeable progress begins to be made. †¢ Performing is characterized by a high level of task focus, and the team producing consistent and excellent results. Discussion: It is important as well for a team leader to create a climate in which people can develop and contribute to their full potential. The climate must be one of cooperation, commitment, and team focus. A good leader must also be a good coach. Different members are used as resource leaders because of their knowledge or experience. The focus is on how to get the job done, not on who controls the team. Team members are empowered to do the job they must do. Everyone is involved in the functioning of the team. In light of the discussion, the following points summarize the conditions required to create an effective team environment, each of these factors is important, and they are also highly interdependent. All of these factors are critical to achieving an effective and high performing team. Leaders can help create these conditions through the following behaviours. 1. Trust, Respect and Support †¢ Encourage and protect team member diversity in views, backgrounds, and experiences. †¢ Inspire teamwork and mutual support through example. Keep your commitments and expect the same from all team members. 2. Commitment to the Team †¢ Support and positively represent the team to senior management, peers and other employees. †¢ Ensure that individual member and team accomplishments are recognized and celebrated appropriately 3. Shared Vision †¢ Clarify the tasks to be accomplished. †¢ Establish and communicate a vision about what the members can achieve as a team. â₠¬ ¢ Encourage team members to participate in creating their vision of what the team can accomplish. 4. Open and Honest Communications Communicate fully and openly; welcome questions; avoid the â€Å"need to know† limitations. †¢ When seeking solutions, encourage members to suspend assumptions, reflect on their own thoughts and feelings, clearly voice these, inquire about and listen to opinions of others, and be less reactive. 5. Empowerment and Involvement of all Members †¢ Encourage members to participate. †¢ Make it easy for others to see opportunities to work together. †¢ Clarify that problem-solving is a responsibility of all team members. †¢ Mediate conflicts before they become destructive. 6. A Learning Environment †¢ Guide team members to determine where they actually are relative to their goals, and to clarify why the gaps exist and how to bridge them. †¢ Surface and treat conflicts as learning situations. Peter Senge, in his book â€Å"The Fifth Discipline† says, â€Å"One of the most reliable indicators of a team that is continually learning is the visible conflict of ideas. In great teams, conflict becomes productive. Conclusion: In every Health and Social Care organization they must be People Investors to which people or the staffs are a company’s most valuable resource. Human beings have unlimited potential to grow, develop and learn and in that sense constant training and improvement of personal and team development is needed for the organization to be successful and create a greater impact to the service user and the people involved in the care and service. The leader’s role is to help each team member achieve his or her potential and they act as coach which provide more structure, guidance and direction as well as to clarify tasks, goals, management’s expectations, and the way their performance and contributions will be measured. Teams need to be constantly developed for creating an effective approach on how things should be done for the better service to the clients. Members of the team generally have a broader range and depth of skills and experiences. With encouragement and support from the leader and other team members, individual members can enhance their technical, functional, problem-solving, decision-making, interpersonal and teamwork skills by taking some risks and facing some new challenges. Everyone is capable of making decisions that affect them, provided they are given the appropriate information and training. People do not resist changes they have been involved in making for the benefit of the entire team and the effectively managing the entire conflict which will be turned in to an advantage in solving the problem. Gaining true employee involvement is an ongoing process, not a one-time effort it always develop each personal and team effectiveness, If a change is affecting the team, the leader must be a role model of the â€Å"new† way. The leader must be able to â€Å"let go† in order to empower people. The leader must train and coach people first so they will be ready and able to succeed. The leader realizes mistakes are unavoidable, and helps people learn from them. A key factor which differentiates teams from work groups involves the interdependence of people. As Stephen Covey points out in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, â€Å"Interdependence opens up worlds of possibilities for deep, rich, meaningful associations, for geometrically increased productivity, for serving, for contributing, for learning, for growing. Reference: Tuckman, Bruce W. â€Å"Developmental Sequence In Small Groups†. 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