Interrelationships with Culture and Visual Entertainmen Essay

Culture and visual entertainment media have an interrelationship with each other such as film and television. As the years go by and more and more television shows and movies have been created they have in my opinion become of a reflection of our cultural times. Society is watching the films and television and seeing that they can relate to what they are watching which then they are able to take away a message. People can see visual instead of having to read to learn which can give them a different perspective that they may not have thought of on their own. As people view the visual entertainment they and see what is being influenced from the way people act, dress, talk, and so forth since it is what is shaping our culture. The Brady Bunch is an example of how families were starting to see that families can merge together and become one family, the outfits and hairstyles were being mimicked by people in everyday life. I remember watching this show thinking how â€Å"cool† is it to have two families merge together. This showed that the social influences of visual entertainment media can be positive. People can still watch visual media that is been out dated but still learn about American culture with such shows. Another example is â€Å"The Breakfast Club† this movie is a classic and still very relevant to how our American culture is shaped. In this movie they look at individuals and show that even though we are from all walks of life such as a jock, nerd, snob, shy, and criminal that we all have similarities in the end if we stop and take a moment to see. I Love Lucy† was a huge influence on visual entertainment people wanted to have the grace, the silliness, and could also see that they lived modestly which made it relate to society. Visual media can be negative as well a positive influence on social behavior. When we view visual entertainment I would say majority want to emulate the celebrities that they are viewing which can be negative or positive depending on that moment. People want to fit in society and with visual entertainment that can shape them in to something different. I remember during the eighty’s all of the shows and movies I watch were all the underdog wins in the end and I felt that this is what I want I want to be the underdog the stand along and befriends with everyone. Guess what I was that person I still am that person as well as I take up for the underdog and befriend everyone as well as treat everyone with respect no matter what. I can thank â€Å"Sixteen Candles, Full House, The Breakfast Club, The Outsiders, and I Love Lucy† were all visual entertainment that made me who I am as well as a lot of others.

The Spaces and Practice of Early Christian Assembly

The most public of spiritual assemblages in the Roman Empire were big jubilations and festivals held in the public temples.† Worshippers believed that propinquity to the Godhead within a temple that is, the comparative distance between oneself and the image or venerated artefact of the Godhead housed within the edifice imbued the person with power† ( Halgren, 1957 ) , the closer 1 could near the God, they believed, the stronger and more auspicious the connection. , accessing infinite nearest the manifestation of the God was restricted to merely a few persons, priests who had been decently educated and initiated in the significances and patterns are allowed by tradition in such a holy topographic point, Access to the temple was besides decreed by tradition and closely regulated by jurisprudence. â€Å"The longitudinal axis of the Judaic temple, for case, ran through a series of dividers and other limits that designated infinites reserved for specific groups—at the outer border of the infinite, Gentiles were allowed ; so, closer in, Judaic adult females and kids ; closer still, Judaic work forces ; and eventually, the priests† ( Richardson, 2002 ) . Religious pattern at this period was non restricted to temples, nevertheless. Smaller meetings frequently took topographic point in sanctuaries and chapels, every bit good as in rented suites. For illustration, at the same clip that the followings of Jesus began coming together, the believers of the God Mithras were besides increasing in figure and by the 3rd century were run intoing takes topographic point in little sanctuaries called mithraeums, suites designed to presume a cave or the underworld. In these irregular infinites, benches lined the two long walls and a little shrine or communion table was arranged at the terminal of the room. â€Å"The ceilings were normally vaulted and decorated with stars to stand for the celestial spheres, In this confidant scene, initiated believers enter the same infinite as the shrine and participated in communalWorship† ( white, 1990 ) . Similarly, by the 2nd century, Jews had an arranged temples and supplication halls in once private houses converted for the intent. One crude illustration, at Delos, had been created through the devastation of a wall that exist two next suites, ensuing in a individual big room. Benches linedthe walls of this assembly room, and a carven marble chair busying one wall provided a focal point. â€Å"No Torah shrine was found in this room, although Torah niches have been found in other early temples, including that at Priene, where another house renovated sometime in the 2nd century was found† ( White,1990:49 ) . Within these infinites, worship patterns were diverse, dwelling of a diverseness of supplications and Holy Eucharists. As members of the Roman Empire began to follow the Jesus spiritual group, they adapted these familiar patterns and infinites for their new intents, inculcating them with new significances. â€Å"The held meetings of the followings of Christ in the first few coevalss after his decease were of three major types, all versions of the patterns of other spiritual groups, peculiarly those of the Jews, for so the followings were Judaic, every bit good as other Roman and Greek faiths. Most of these meetings Involved a shared repast, existent or symbolic, for in the Greco-Roman universe, widening cordial reception by sharing a repast was a cardinal signifier of societal interactThese communal repasts brought Christians together to larn about their religion, to idolize, and to portion experiences, but they besides functioned to make coherence within the new community of Christians† . ( Jeanne, 2008:16 ) , Harmonizing to L. Michael White points out that, communal repasts formed ‘‘the centre of family ( koinonia ) ’’ by bespeaking that a societal relationship existed among those gathered and therefore ‘‘served to specify the worshipping community, the church ( ekklesia ) in family assembly.’’ ( White, 1990 ) . Among these meeting types, the agape repast, or love banquet, was most of import, and although it drew upon Greco-Roman pattern in many ways, it subtitute the imbibing and carousing that traditionally followed Roman banquets with instruction and worship. Those who gathered at a Christian repast would convey some nutrient point with them as an offering for the repast normally bread, wine, or angle merely as many people do today in what is normally known as the potluck supper. Harmonizing to Osiek et EL Balch, eating excessively rapidly upon reaching, nevertheless, would ensue in deficient nutrient for those who arrived subsequently, and therefore Paul adviced the Corinthians that ‘‘when you come together to eat, delay for one another, ’’ promoting those who could non wait to eat to make so at place before they came ( 1 Cor. 11:33–34 ) . Such advice, which counters common Roman pattern, indicates that the emerging Christian pattern was still comparatively flexible and informal, with new etiquette or regulations easy being introduced into the meetings.â€Å"After the repast, those gathered would portion a ceremonial breakage and feeding of staff of life, followed by a approval and sharing of a cup of vino, marking Jesus’ pronouncement for his recollection at the Last Supper† . ( Macy, 2005 ) After this, they would prosecute in a assortment of larning and worship activities, which, harmonizing to historiographer s Carolyn Osiek and David L. Balch, included ‘‘singing, instruction, and prophesying† . The 3rd type of assemblage was the Eucharistic meeting, wer they shared Meal, this was transformed into a symbolic rite focused entirely on staff of life and vino as figure of speechs for the flesh and blood of Christ. The development of the agape and funerary repasts, thath did include a sharing of staff of life and vino in recollection of Christ, most have preceded the outgrowth of Eucharistic patterns, merely when and how the strictly Eucharistic assemblage emerged is ill-defined. Like the agape repasts, these Eucharist repasts took topographic point in private places, but over the 2nd and 3rd centuries important alterations in services indicate they were going progressively formalized both in leading and in activities. â€Å"Justin, in the 2nd century, refers to the individual taking the service as the presider or the president, but by the 3rd century, the organisational Structures of the Christian motion developed into an episcopos, a Grecian term intending ‘‘overseer’’ or, in modern idiom, a bishop ; the term priest besides became popular. The service itself was altering every bit good, described by Justin and his modern-day Ignatius, the bishop of Antioch, as symbo lic or representational, a jubilation of Christ’s forfeit of his ain flesh and blood.† ( Macy, 2005 ) By the 3rd century, the turning popularity of these representational services would necessitate a particular infinite that would suit them, taking to the creative activity of formal assembly suites. ( Mercer, 1985 ) â€Å"The 4th type of early Christian meeting took topographic point out of doors, such as the meeting of the followings of Jesus on the Mount of Olives shortly after his decease, a narrative related in The Letter of Peter to Philip, which was found among other Gnostic texts at Nag Hammadi in Upper Egypt.† ( Elaine Pagels, 1989 ) Little is known, nevertheless, about such out-of-door meetings, in portion because they seem to hold been used largely by Gnostic groups, whose beliefs and patterns challenged those of the emerging orthodoxy and were accordingly stricken from Orthodox civilization and paperss. Outdoor worship therefore became associated with dissident groups and fell out of favour. What must be kept in head, nevertheless, is that despite the differences among these early types of worship, early Christian worship infinites and patterns were extremely diverse. â€Å"No individual, original, pure Christian pattern of all time existed.† ( Bradshaw, 1992:30 ) From the earliest period, Christian groups expressed their thoughts about Jesus and God in different ways, and those thoughts, runing from the eventual orthodoxy of the major episcopates in Rome, Antioch, and Carthage to the Gnostic positions of the Marcionites, Donatists, and Montanists, were extremely diverse. Early Christians expressed their spiritual thoughts through a assortment of spiritual patterns ways, merely as modern-day Christians do.2.1.2The infinites and Practice of Early Christian assemblyMost Biblical bookmans, archeologists and classicists, agree that the meeting of Christians, like those of other spiritual groups, by and large occur topographic point in the places of frequenters, that i s, in Greco-Roman houses. The phrase ‘‘meeting from house to house, ’’ found repeatedly in the Gospel texts, good characterized thepractice of early Christians. The physical worlds of those infinites, and the places in peculiar, along with the cultural imposts of the period, strongly influenced emerging Christian pattern. To understand how, it helps to hold some cognition of the physical features of those places Architectural and textual grounds of Greco-Roman houses in the first and 2nd centuries point out that several assortments existed. Give the long, hot summers of the Mediterranean part, the houses of the wealthiest place proprietors were used as worship infinites ; opening into a series of suites arranged around an oasis-like unfastened infinite that brought air and visible radiation into the house. â€Å"Entry into the house was gained through a anteroom or hallway. Within a Grecian house, this led to a room in which the family frequenter conducted concern, and beyond this was the bosom of the house: the courtyard, which was roofless but lined by columns that supported an overhead fretwork that would be covered with flora to protect the residents from the Sun. In a Roman or Latin house, the anteroom off the street by and large led right into an atrium, or unfastened courtyard, which would be unfastened to the sky and incorporate an impluvium ; a shallow pool that gathered rainwater ( fig. 2.1 ) .† ( Osiek et el Balch, 1997:6 ) the private infinites of the place surrounds the courtyard and several closed suites reserved for the members of the family. â€Å"The cardinal parts of antediluvian houses—the anterooms, atria, were considered much more public in character. Such houses, peculiarly those in which the concern of the wealthy was routinely carried out, welcomed the entry of people from the street.† ( Halgren,1957:19 ) .

Breaking the Law

Nowadays people think rules is not something important in their life and they are not following the rules even they break the rules. For them, they can do whatever they wanted in this world because they think this world is belong to them. Their bad behaviors distract people from having a peaceful life. Addition, violence in this world getting increases and because of that, they cause a lot of trouble in mean time. There three main causes of breaking the rules and law. One of the main causes is selfishness. The selfish behavior exists because of desire. They do what they wanted. They think with their feet and not their mind. Why I am saying like this? This is because they break the traffic light rules. For example, right now is a red light and we are supposes to stop the car wait for the next green light but because of selfish behavior. They break the rules and take their risk to do whatever they wanted. Because of this, it may create a disaster, an accident or perhaps, could kill someone because of this behavior. There is more, they drive in their own way or road. For example, this road is one way road but they turn it into two ways road. The impact of overcoming accident is heavy and it is totally a big disaster. It not only could jam the highway but at the same time, they could kill hundreds of innocent people. â€Å"You intent to go into the right lane and then the traffic light ahead. But the vehicle in front of you has stopped right in front of you. And it’s a yellow box. Such selfish drivers do certainly spoil your day. † (Yap 2010) Second main cause is lack of police and their behavior. In Malaysia, we are lack of policeman and there is a plenty of chances for them to break the rules. I would like to compare with the Singapore and American. In Singapore, their policeman work hard to protect the country and civilians. In American, policeman salary is a big amount of dollars. Because of that, there are a lot of people wanted to be a policeman. But in Malaysia, policeman salary is too low and because of that, policemen do not work hard to protect the country and people. There is another reason, the reason is their behavior. Most of the policemen are lazy to do their work. This is because they need to repeat the same duty every day. But that is not the reason, some of them, they use the power to do bad thing. For example, spot-check on girls by male policeman. They take opportunity to do their pervert stuff on them. Motorcycles are meant to ferry only two people. Although the law is silent, police do not fancy arresting riders who break the law by placing a young rider in the front basket of the motorcycle. † (Yap 2010) Third main cause is deregulation. In Malaysia, people are easy to break the rules because it is too loose. Besides that, governments do not take serious in this matter. In Malay sia, they just wanted to have the power in this country. Once they get it, they do not use the power to take care the country or even protect it. They use the power for their self and they do not even look at their people. The country may be in a good place but the civil do not like the place with a lot of trouble and violations. At the same time, Malaysian government’s promises are not been fulfill. â€Å"According to a report on Thursday by online news portal MalaysiaKini, the MCMC chief operating officer, Mohamed Sharil Tarmizi, confirmed that the commission was behind the site blackout. †It is being blocked because we found that some of the comments on the Web site were insensitive, bordering on incitement. † (Lee 2008) In conclusion, government should take this matter seriously or citizen may lose trust on them and they could not live in a peaceful life. Day by day, crimes getting increase and a lot of trouble going to be exist. Police should do something about it because it is getting worst. They should firm the rules so that people will obey and follow the rules in a right way. At the same time, they must get back the royalty and the trustworthy of citizen. The Malaysia is break into pieces and governments should fix it and get it into shape back before citizen take advantage. However, government brain should be wash and be like Dato’ Mahathir. They way he talks with the citizens love them, and handle the Malaysia is perfect. Perfect enough to make Malaysia in a better way. As result, citizen may have a peaceful and a great time in Malaysia. At the same time, crimes getting decrease and Malaysia live in peace. â€Å"We live peacefully alongside one another, and we are very proud of it. You find Muslims, Christians of all denominations — Catholics, Protestants — we have a lot of Hindus, Buddhists. We also have a lot of people who don't believe in anything but themselves or anyone but themselves, living harmoniously together. I think that is something the world can learn from. † (Leslie Evans 2003)

Introduction to Social Networking and the Impact on College Life Research Paper

Introduction to Social Networking and the Impact on College Life - Research Paper Example The social network is a wonderful place to be for every individual in the world today because it provides updates from near and dear ones, assists in communicating with people living far away in remote areas of the world and also helps people to entertain themselves and keep busy. However, the social network has begun to have an adverse effect on the lives of students as well as professionals at the workplace because it has been eating into their work time. Many teachers argue that their students fail to finish their work on time because of being hooked onto the internet and on social network sites like Face book and Twitter. Social media websites have been thus affecting school and college students’ grades because students end up spending more time on websites rather than studying. Most students, when asked how they spend their day, reply by stating that they spend their hours after school or college in front of the computer, on websites like Twitter and Face book. These websites take up all their time because the new generation is obsessed with documenting their every thought on the internet. Moreover, they like checking into places on their Face book, updating their status and spend hours on a single photograph that someone would have tagged them on, commenting. All these activities eat up into their study time and they fail to get good grades or concentrate in the classroom due to being so hooked on to these websites all the time. The focus of this paper is on college students because school children can still be controlled by their parents and are under the regulation of their parent’s watchful eye. Once in college, a student is on his own, leading his own life and seldom listens to what the parents say, especially if he lives away from home. Such fr eedom tends to override the child’s life, leading him into spending his time in the most non productive and enjoyable manner possible. The internet may be very productive however using social networking websites may hinder productivity. By this I mean to say that the internet can be a very productive place to be as it has so many websites full of information and learning; one can enrich himself by reading the news as well, however college students seldom tend to do that, unless the news presents itself in the form of a Face book update. Almost 96% of college students are on Face book all the time and even if they study, they tend to keep checking their Face book page for updates every half an hour, if not lesser. This hinders work because it reduced the concentration span of the student. (Akhtar, Shabbir) â€Å"As social media websites, such as Face book, YouTube and Twitter gain popularity, they are also are becoming increasingly dangerous as they create modes to procrastin ate while trying to complete homework. Hence, in a survey of 102 students, 57% stated that social media has made them less productive.† Moreover, the student always has something else on his or her mind, or he keeps waiting for a particular notification to come, which makes him lose his attention from his college assignment completely. Obviously, being on the internet can exhaust a person because of all the browsing and the mental work that is being done, without even knowing it. So after browsing the Face book for even two hours, students tend to tire out easily, and thus delay doing their college work at all, again leading to bad grades in class the next day. Another aspect that hinders their work and brings them bad grades is that their smart phones are synchronized to their

Military Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Military Strategy - Essay Example In the case of the War on Terror by the United States and its allies, non-state actors refer to organisations actively pursuing or having war with the United States. There are a number of these organisations which involve themselves in terrorism in trying to attain their objectives, for example Hezbollah and al-Qaeda. These two are called non-state actors because they are organisations whose aims are far higher than the aims of normally recognized nation-states. And they pursue their goals through terrorism like suicide bombings, sabotage and all sorts of creating panic and fear against their enemies. In the current controversy over Iran’s nuclear programme in which Iran categorically denies that it is building nuclear weapons, various scenarios can happen. As a deterrent, the United States wants to destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities. Now Iran is trying to close the Strait of Hormuz, to block the flow of commerce in the region. But when the United States stops Iranâ€⠄¢s blockage of this important sea channel, it can push through and go as far as bombing Iran’s nuclear facilities. As the US bombs Iran, Iran will instruct Hezbollah to conduct suicide bombing against Israel but US bombing will force Iran to stop Hezbollah from retaliating. Hezbollah, a militant organisation whose aims are for the advancement of the Palestinian people who are living along the Gaza Strip in Israel, may or may not provoke Israel. This is because Iran can stop it to continue attacking Israel through suicide bombing while at the same time convincing the US to stop the bombing. But it is a different story with Hezbollah in the field of battle. Hezbollah can be deterred only when it concerns the Palestinians. On the other hand, if groups like the al Qaeda were given the chance to possess nuclear weapons, they won’t hesitate to use these weapons against America or the United Kingdom, and Israel. Terrorist groups may not anymore be content of killing thousand s of Americans or the enemies they call ‘infidels’, but millions, and they use the Quran to justify their murderous desire. Deterrence is the only way wherein the United States and its allies can stop these terrorists. And deterrence means looking after every terrorist ‘cell’, which is just waiting for the right time to move and pull the trigger. Iran and other terrorist groups have long desired to manufacture nuclear weapons. The only way this can be stopped is through deterrent actions. Al-Qaeda has been stopped – at least temporarily – with the killing of their leader Osama bin Laden. An example of deterrent is denying rights to suspected terrorists. Rosenberg cites an instance wherein Homeland Security denied suspected terrorists entry into the U.S. and that action actually saved lives. There was this guy who was stopped from entering the U.S. border because an agent didn’t feel that he was legitimate. The U.S. Homeland Security fou nd, two years later, that he was a suicide bomber. His hands were found attached to the steering wheel after a suicide truck bombing in Iraq. The U.S. authorities in Iraq took the fingerprints from those hands and ran them through the Homeland Security database to see who he was. They identified the man and confirmed that he had tried to enter U.S. territories but had been refused (Rosenberg 137). 2. War Termination   It s said that when a war ends, there are no victors, only losers. The metaphor to this saying is that both sides are

Martin Luther King Jr, Malcolm X, and the Civil Right Struggle of the Essay

Martin Luther King Jr, Malcolm X, and the Civil Right Struggle of the 1950s and 1960s - Essay Example It is evidently clear from the discussion that Martin Luther King Junior was brought up in a Christian background while Malcolm X was a Muslim this shaped how they addressed challenges that they faced in their struggles. For example, while Martin Luther always advocated for nonviolent solutions to the struggles that faced them to an extent that even when he was physically abused he opted not to revenge, Malcolm X believed in Muslim teachings and his famous phrase ‘by all means possible’ which advocated for physical violence towards the oppressors. Malcolm X believed that violence was the only way that the movement would win it cause and therefore advocated for physical battles whether the opponents were violent or not violent. A good example of this difference between the two individuals can be seen during the famous March on Washington on August 26, 1983, where more than 20, 000 people attended; in the march, he called for people from all races to unite and end violence and hatred. Malcolm X was very critical of this march and he argued that Martin Luther was wrong on calling for uniting of all races since that would destroy both the blacks and the whites; instead, Malcolm argued that blacks should be more concerned with helping each other instead. Both mean although using different approaches and coming from different social and economic classes had some similarities; some of them are explained in this paragraph. One of the similarities between the two individuals is that it is they both fought for the rights of the oppressed people in the world, for instance, they were both against the involvement of United States in the war in Vietnam in a bid to help French forces capture the country for colonization. Another similarity is that both individuals were assassinated at the same age, although Malcolm X was older than Martin Luther was, he was assassinated by the members of the nation of Islam when he was giving a speech; he was 39 years old.

Strategic Leadership in a Changing World Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Strategic Leadership in a Changing World - Essay Example News Corporation has been founded by Rupert Murdoch in the year 1979, and the company is headquartered at New York, NY, USA. The company operates in six business segments such as Cable Network Programming, Television, Direct Broadcast Satellite Television, Filmed Entertainment, Publishing and others (New York Times, 2013). Cable Network Programming division of News Corporation licenses and produces sports entertainment, business news, movies, general entertainment, etc. Filmed Entertainment division of the company offers animated and live-action motion pictures in the form of entertainment to customers. Television division of the company offers both network programming and broadcasting entertainment to customers (New York Times, 2013). Recently, News Corporation has acquired ESPN STAR Sports division through wholly owned subsidiary. According to the annual report published by News Corporation (2012), the company earns annual revenue of more than $30 billion from its global operations . Major entertainment divisions of the company include Fox Entertainment, National Geographic channel, Fox studios, etc. (News Corporation, 2012). The concept of strategic leadership in the form of competitive advantage was probably first identified by Porter (1985 and 1991). Porter (1985) has given the basic framework of ‘outside in’ approach which helps a firm to understand the particular market in terms of macro environmental (political, economical, social, technological, environmental and legal) analysis and industry force analysis. Seminal research work of Michael Porter (1985) has given a 5 force framework which helps a firm to understand the business opportunity in particular market in terms buyer power, supplier power, threat of substitute, entry barrier and competitive rivalry. However, strategic leadership is more important from the competitive advantage perspective. In simple words, it can be said that companies can only achieve strategic leadership if it is able to achieve competitive advantage over other competitors. The question may arise that how a firm can achieve competitive advantage? Well, to answer this question, research scholars such as Barney (1986) has given the Resource Based View (RBV) model. According to Barney (1986), a firm should use its financial and non-financial resources which are valuable, rare, inimitable and non-substitutable in order to archive competitive advantage. Adner and Zemsky (2006) and Kraatz and Zajac (2001) have also found that availability of resources and optimal usage of these resources develop capabilities for firms and using the developed capabilities can help a firm to achieve competitive advantage or better to say strategic leadership. An eminent author has epistemologically created link between performance, strategic leadership and competitive advantage in the following manner; â€Å"Sustainable competitive advantage is more probable in firms that achieve sustained superior performance.â₠¬  (Powell, 2001, p. 879) Discussion about strategic leadership is incomplete without the mentioning the concept of ‘Core Competency’ given by Prahalad and Hamel (1990). These eminent scholars’ duo has suggested that companies can achieve core competency by strategically using its capabilities backed by valuable resources. Optimizing resources and capabilities in particular business operation can help firms to

Organizational politics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Organizational politics - Essay Example Human temperament or characteristics are indeed the prime cause of all politics in any setup but there are certain core environmental factors for all human behavior and it would be mandatory to study and understand them in an effort to understand the reasons for organizational politics. This is also necessary given the central role that politics plays in any work environment. In this presentation it has suggested that power plays a critical role in the politics of an organization (McShane and Travaglione). At all levels the distribution of power is vital to the running of a company. While the types of power vested in a person or group is important in itself, the impact that this power has on the employees is our prime concern here. Power provides a person with the authority to allocate a resource (which is important if resources are scarce), to punish or reward people and to judge their performances. This in turn causes people to attempt build a better picture of themselves in the eyes of the people in whom power is vested. This can be done either by maligning coworkers or by creating circumstances where coworkers promote your image. The dynamics of interpersonal relationships between co workers and also the relationship of managers and team members comes into force in such cases. Ambition and drive which are subjective characters also come into play here. While such reasons present a dark image of ... In recent years in particular, there has been much effort to chanelize the power of politics and turn it into a useful tool for the running of organizations and this indeed is the way to go! Manuscript Explore the main reasons for political behavior in organizations "32% of managers believe it simply isn't possible to use office politics constructively because human nature is so appallingly selfish that people will always guard their turf and abuse their role power" Park, 2002 This quote accurately summarizes the main reasons for political behaviour in organizations. Human temperament or characteristics are indeed the prime cause of all politics in any setup! But then what is it that we call politics in organizations Politics in Organisations The use of power and influence for personal gains within an organizational set up is by far the bets definition of politics. It is distinctly different from nation-state politics in involving more interpersonal relationships (Provis 2002) and involves interplay of ethics morality and personal interest. It is also now increasingly being recognized as inevitable in organizations. The prime cause of politics is the distribution of power in an organization. A widely accepted model for the bases of power in an organization has been described by Foucault, (1980). He refers to several plausible sources of origin of and refers to them as Reward power, coercive Power, legitimate power, expert power. All these manifestations of power are found in any organization and while there is an ongoing debate on which power base is the best in terms of outcome, a functional consequence of any of them is know to be organizational politics. It is interesting to study the correlates of power and politics! Some primary and

Warranties as Contracts Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Warranties as Contracts - Coursework Example This paper illustrates that warranty is a condition which is collateral to the existing status of the contract. A contract can still do without the prevailing condition of the warranty. When an individual buys a product, he has a warranty attached to it. However, due to some action on behalf of the consumer, it might lead to the defeat of the warranty. What we mean by this statement is that if the consumer uses the product in a fashion not demarcated by the manufacturer, then that might lead to the breach of the warranty. However, it is very crucial to understand at this juncture that this said loss of warranty will not tantamount to the breach of the sale contract which the parties entered into. Having bought an Apple iPhone, if an individual jailbreaks it, then he tantamounts to the loss of the warranty of the product. But, at the same time, it would not result in the entire breach of the contract. The sale contract still exists and the manufacturer or the consumer cannot ask for t he refund of the money or to return back the product to the manufacturer. Warranty as a contract is an assurance that the product shall be fixed and repaired at any given time, however, there is a time stipulation to the said warranty and the consumer has to approach the manufacturer within that frame of time in order to get the product repaired along with the benefits which a warranty provides. To conclude, it is crucial to recap the basic definition of a warranty as defined earlier in this paper. A warranty is a collateral which is essential to the functioning of the contract. It is collateral which is attached to the existing terms and conditions laid down in the contract.

Reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 6

Reflection - Essay Example It is important to use the five Ps of ethical power, which are purpose, pride, patience, persistence, and perspective. If being ethical is part of your objective or purpose you will always do things that are morally right. One should take pride in doing what is right and should not feel inferior if ridiculed for being ethical. Ethical workers or leaders at work place should also be patient, they should have faith that things will work out right because they can handle any situation. Persistence is when we continually do what is right at work place no matter the situation. One should not just act ethically for convenience or because he is forced to do so. Perspective is the capacity to see what is important and right. If we reflect on the five Ps in our workplace then we can bring about ethics in our organizations. Ethical Challenges The major ethical challenges facing employers are abusing power and using deceptive information. The employers have the power to employ the workers in a work place. Employers are most of the times tempted to abuse this power. This is done through employing those within their social network, asking for sexual favors from employees, inadequate pay, or unequal payment. The employers may employ their relatives or friends who are less qualified and leave applicants who are more qualified. The employers may also ask for sexual favors from employees in return for promotions or employment. Employers will always want to maximize profits so they may pay sub standard salaries to achieve their objective. The employers may also give high salaries to those they are related to. Using deceptive information comes about when the employers want to win the favor of their employees. They may promise pay increments which might not be forthcoming in the long run. Therefore, the major challenges facing employers comes from recruitment, payments and promotion. The challenges facing supervisors include abuse of power, using deceptive information and betrayin g loyalties. Supervisors are normally put in charge of other workers. They may be tempted to act unethically by abusing their power. This can be through harassing employees below them (Johnson 9). They can also give false testimony about a certain employee so that he can be sacked. Supervisors can also ask for sexual favors from employees so that they can be assigned less duties or they are promoted. They can also use their power to absent themselves from duty. These are just but a few examples of abuse of power as a major ethical challenge. The second ethical challenge would be betraying loyalties. This comes about in two ways. There are standards that the organization may set for the supervisors to follow. These standards even though may be good the supervisors may not be comfortable with them. In this case the supervisors may act otherwise hence acting unethically. The second instance is where the organization sets unethical rules and regulations that they expect the supervisors to implement. One example is where the employer expects workers to work overtime without extra pay. The supervisor being their leader has to see this done. He may not be comfortable with this idea but now he will have a tough choice to make; either to betray the loyalty to his seniors or to act in an ethical manner. In this case he will require a strong moral will to stick by his moral standards. Employees face the challenge of abuse of loyalty and conflict of interest. Abuse of loyalty is a major

Woman in Gothic Art Essay Example for Free

Woman in Gothic Art Essay When I look at the painting of an anonymous gothic woman created by a yet anonymous artist, the most prominent emotion that I feel is wonder. I think about the peculiar way that the woman is dressed and the facial features that her painter had given her. I know of current gothic art and gothic apparel yet these do not seem to match this particular painting. I believe that the artist wants to tell me something about the woman; it could be her attitude, her position in society, and some other things that were the norm during the times that the painting was drawn. It could be that the artist drew the perception of the woman during a particular point in time for a particular society. That is the primary area that I would like to investigate. I would like to discover what can be drawn from the painting that could be attributed to gothic literature, history, or art that existed during the era when the painting was supposedly created.

Case Study One Solved Ethics Essay Example for Free

Case Study One Solved Ethics Essay Integrity Your son, Mark, has been working â€Å"night and day† on a major contract for his company over the past six months. To substantiate his company’s viability, Mark had to divulge certain private corporate information to Jim—the prospective customer. He gave out the private information during the closing phase of the contract—only after it had been clearly implied the contract would be his. Unfortunately, the contract did not materialize. Jim found a better deal. Mark is really upset by Jim’s lack of business ethics. He is also a little worried about keeping his job. He now believes that many of the statements made throughout the contract discussions and negotiations were false and deliberately misleading. Question OK dad/mom, your son Mark needs some advice. Write him a one-page letter. How should he have handled this situation and what should he do now? Bring your answer to week 2. Dear son I feel very good that you are seeking help of your parents .Being a mother I feel that you should try to keep your professional life a better one and not to reveal any information about the company and the policies to any of the customers as the information and the things of business are very sensitive and may cause a great harm if the person you are sharing with is not loyal. According to me you should have read the policies and the contract before signing any of the document and you should try to avoid such a mistake again in life. With regard to this I must say you should try to consult a lawyer or any law  suit if you find any problem with the Jim. And if you feel that Jim is not doing well and is not standing on the contract made then you should try to avoid revealing secretive information to any of the person and should read the policies and make a suitable contract with only trust worthy person and if you feel like you are cheated or any kind of loss has happened then you must sue or file a case against that person. But the ethics and the last things that comes to my mind is the ethic of honesty and a reliability. You should try to avoid such mistakes in future so that your hard work will become fruitful and you will become a successful business personality.

Expansion Of The Nurses Roles In Singapore

Expansion Of The Nurses Roles In Singapore There is no such thing as Advanced Practice Nurse (APN) in Singapore 10 years ago. However, Singapore started to expand the nurses role recently due to ever-changing of medical developments and technology, as well as the increase healthcare cost and waiting time within the healthcare industry due to ageing population. It posed a challenge to the healthcare models in Singapore to compete with other countries. A multidisciplinary team approach and the recognition of nursing expertise through clinical career paths are also important. (Chiarella McInnes, 2008). It is wise that Ministry has expanded the role of nurses with Masters Degrees. It can uphold nursing profession with advanced skills. The implementation of APNs can be an advantage to Singapores healthcare services. Critically analyze the development of role of APN in Singapore An Advanced Practice Nurse (APN) is an umbrella term given to a Registered Nurse who has acquired the expert knowledge base, complex decision-making skills and clinical competencies for extended practice (Ministry of Health, 2007). The American Nurses Association defines an advanced practice nurse as a registered nurse with advanced specialized clinical knowledge and skills for providing health care (Yarbro, Wujcik Gobel, 2011, p.1846). Rajasoorya (2002) observed that the role of APN in Singapore is formed with reference of APNs practices from United State while United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand took the similar approaches. The ability to make decision by having advanced knowledge with leadership skills, proactive in self-upgrade and actively participating with patients care management are essential qualities for an APN to have. Kjervik and Brous (2010) stated that APNs have increased in autonomy and authority over decision over patients care management compared to regular nurses roles. It crossed the boundaries of the traditional nurses roles. APNs are able to order a list of medications and investigations such X-rays if it is necessary for patients treatment. They are able to provide health assessment to patient where regular nurses doesnt have the full knowledge to perform. Kjervik and Brous (2010) agreed that APNs shifted and expanded their roles towards collaboration with medical personnel and specialist as well as providing primary and preventive care to patients, families and the communities. APNs are not like regular nurses who provide direct clinical care of the patients, but also discuss with the doctors and suggest alternative treatments that may benefit patients in terms of health and cost. In addition, APNs also collaborate with families on the abilities on managing patients illness so as to minimize the chance of readmission to the hospital. APNs also actively participle in research and health teaching to the communities to improve Singaporeans well-being so as to reduce the chance of developing chronic disease. The history of APNs Let us look at the history of APNs and examine how it can make an impact Singapores healthcare system. Arthur (2007) noted that Singapore nurses were limited by the highest qualification of being a Diploma holder without local career path to obtain higher qualification until recently, National University of Singapore (NUS) commenced the first Master in Nursing in Advanced Practice Nurse in 2003. Sheer and Wong (2008) noted that Singapores first batch of graduated APNs started in 2004 and Singapore established a registry for APNs in 2006. Schober (2010) agrees that the student who is selected by the employer or hospital can be fully funded by Singapore Ministry of Health during the course of studying period in National University of Singapore as well as to fulfill a period of bond after graduation after undergoing a period of 1 year of internship in order to registered with Singapore Nursing Board (SNB) as APN. Grounded in practicum experiences and guided by health care theory, policy, and research, graduates possess the knowledge and competencies to assume the advanced leadership roles required in future health care systems (Aduddell Dorman, 2010). The need of having APNs: It is important to understand why Singapore needs to have APNs. We will look into the reasons why the need of APN is important. I will covered in 4 terms. Completive, Aging population, providing better care and integrated healthcare, Completive Chia et al. (2007) labeled Singapore; including Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea; as Four Tigers of Asia countries with a strong competitive advantage by having highly educated and skilled workforce. To be able to compete with countries like Hong Kong in field of healthcare industries, Singapore have to upgrade healthcare workers. According to International Business Publications (2009), one of the economic development boards plans of Singapore is to develop into world-class medical hub for medical research, education and advanced care in specialized fields and healthcare services. With the pace at which health care is changing, we as nursing health care providers need to provide quality evidenced based health care, which is affordable to our patients (Bettin, 2010). Patients over the world would choose a higher standard of care if needed or affordable to. With the help of technology and the skills that APNs have, it will bring in a positive effect on Singapores healthcare industries, be it reputation or economically. Hence it is important to increase the skills and education of the nurses to attract the riches and the needy who in need of healthcare services, and most ultimately to save more lives by treating or preventing diseases. The introduction and increasing of APNs in Singapore represents a significant milestone in terms of nursing career path and expertise. It also contributes Singapore to form a world-class medical hub. Ageing population MCYS (2006) reported that the baby boomers reaches 65 years old in 2012. According to Kannusamy (2006), the need of providing better healthcare service and the nurses to upgrade their skills in the clinical arena is necessary to manage Singapores ageing population and chronic illness such as diabetes and heart disease and therefore, the role of Advanced Practice Nurse is formed. As people ages, people tends to fall sick or develop chronic illness, hence more people are dependent on healthcare services. >>>> Advanced skills to provide better care According to Schober (2010), Singapore provided the title APN is to retain highly skilled and potential nurses as well as to equip them with advanced skills and knowledge which can fill the gaps in the provision of healthcare services. With the skills and knowledge that APNs learnt in university, they are able to render specialized care to a patient where staff nurses are incompetent to perform these skills. Example : Wound nurse APN APNs plays an important roles as it acts as a bridge between nurses and doctors, as well as other healthcare professionals and services. Advanced practice nurses are taking their place in the forefront of the rapidly changing health care system, developing a myriad of roles in organizations that aim to provide cost-effective, quality care. (Jansen Stauffacher, 2010, p.3) By putting APNs into more discipline to practice, it relates to the vision of Singapores healthcare delivery. In Singapore, interest is growing in the advanced practice role for both acute and primary care settings, in an effort to improve patient outcomes with the least cost (Kannusamy, 2006). Intergated care of community and hospital (health services) APN roles is to collaborate The vision for transforming healthcare delivery in Singapore is to develop integrated Regional Health Services (RHS) to pro ­vide healthcare from prevention to palliation (Saxena, 2009). It means its aim is to try to collaborate from short term to long term care individual. It shown the urge Singapore needs to procedure more APN to increase the professional level of nurses in Singapore. This will not only increase the standard of nursing in Singapore but also recognized internationally. Sheer and Wong (2008) know that there are plans for Singapore to increase the number of APNs to two hundreds and also to include them into different fields like acute care, community care, mental health care and medical-surgical care. According to Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Ministry of Healths vision is to develop 200 APNs by 2014. A discussion of the influence on nursing in Singapore Postive influence Great professional satifcation. There is evidence that collaboration among advanced practice nurses and physician colleagues improves the quality and cost of health outcomes and can lead to professional satisfaction (Maylone, Ranieri, Griffin, McNulty, Fitzpatrick, 2011). Relationships with other health care professionals are crucial because many advanced practice nursing roles involve a significant element of collaboration (Kannusamy, 2006). Expansion of roles in singapore Postive influence the needs of APNs. According to Ministry of Health (2007) in Singapore, the scope of practice as an APN includes diagnose, treat and management of illness; health education to the public; initiate and implement changes in health care services according to demands; provides education to nursing staffs and healthcare professionals and conduct nursing research. This role is registered and protected by the Singapore Nurse Board The Nurses and Midwives Act. By giving APN authority to practice The contemporary nurses role in relation to the issue Negative shortage of staff Lim, Bogossian and Ahern (2010) agreed that Singapore have much shortage of nurses in the workforce compared to Western countries and hence will contribute to increase workload. According to Health Manpower Statistics (2009), it indicated that there is an increase of about 12% of Registered Nurses between 2007 to 2009 in Singapore. Singapore plays an active role by having Ngee Ann Polytechnic (2007) introduced Nursing Course in 2005, in addition to Nanyang Polytechnic, where students graduate as a registered nurse 3 years later upon completed of the course. This may explains on the increment of Registered Nurses in Singapore. Changes in the health-care system, shortage of staff and increasing workload may also be affecting stress levels of nurses trying to adapt to increasingly higher levels of responsibility (Lim, Bogossian Ahern, 2010). This will affect how well an APN will perform after graduation. Singapore may need to think twice about the number of APNs to be increase. By increasing APN will only make shortage of Registered Nurses workforce even worst. If the solution is to upgrade enrolled nurses to registered nurses, who will take on the enrolled nurse roles? Singapore needs to increase the number of intake of nurses from schools. Negative Scope confusion Rajasoorya (2002) stated that in U.S., most often APNs may found themselves closely take up the role of the doctors as increase of APNs caused an expand of their practice nature. Doctor may fear and concerned about loss of power over nurses. APNs should be viewed not simply as doctor substitutes but as part of a new approach to address the changing nature of illness care (Kane, 2009). APNs are not necessarily the same as doctors of nursing practice (Kane, 2009). APNs are being trained for a number of different tasks. Some are specialists; some are generalists (Kane, 2009). Getting lack of support and collaboration from the doctors or surgeons for managing a group of patients, APNs may found themselves difficulties to fulfill their roles. Singapore need to consider by having clear and define roles between APNs, doctors, nurse clinician specialists to prevent overlapping and confusion of individual roles. Practice guided by the concepts of a conceptual model of nursing is more appropriate for advanced practice nursing than practice guided by a medical model (Ruel Motyka, 2009). Conceptual models are the foundation of advanced practice nursing and enhance nursing practice at all levels (Ruel Motyka, 2009). The use of conceptual models promotes professionalism which includes autonomous nursing practice, knowledge, and service (Ruel Motyka, 2009). The current and/or potential impact of the issue on the health care system. Conclusion focus cost effective, professional increase, integrated healthcare service, aging population. Lim, Bogossian and Ahern (2010) emphasized Singapore healthcare system focus on affordability for Singaporean on healthcare service by restructuring hospitals and the challenges Singapore needs to overcome like rising in healthcare cost and increasing public healthcare services expectation. Advanced Practice Nurses (APNs) are taking their place in the forefront of the rapidly changing health care system, developing a myriad of roles in organizations that aim to provide cost-effective, quality care (Jansen Stauffacher, 2010). Advanced Practice Nurses (APNs) are taking their place in the forefront of the rapidly changing health care system, developing a myriad of roles in organizations that aim to provide cost-effective, quality care Jansen Stauffacher (2010) said that in a rapidly chaning health care system, APNs take in roles to provide cost-effective, quality care to patient in a myriad roles in organization. By having APN in polyclinic for consultation for disease such as diabetes, it not only lowers down healthcare cost and also decreases waiting time for doctor consultation. Lacking of nurse workforce in Singapore to accommodate the aging populations healthcare needs, Singapore needs to continuously train more nurses not only to maintain the standard of nursing practice but to increase the standard and advanced their skills so as to cope with healthcare demands. Expansion of APNs workforce and practice to improve integrated patient care with heightened levels of safety and quality, and responsive to patients requirements both in hospital and in community. The implementation of APN roles is having a transformative effect on the healthcare systems of Singapore (Schober, 2010). witnessing a pride in the anticipated increased status for nursing associated with academic education and advanced nursing roles while at the same time watching some of the unanticipated struggles that occur with such a significant change (Schober, 2010). APN interns, as they mature in their role, are working in close partnership with physicians and are assuming responsibility for tasks that had been performed traditionally by doctors (Kannusamy, 2006). Conclusion end line. The APN scope of practice will continue to evolve to match the changing needs of the healthcare system (Wong, 2009). With the changes to and complexity within the health care system, advanced practice nurses need academic preparation in advanced care management of populations and leadership competencies (Aduddell Dorman, 2010). POINT TO CONSIDER Politics of nursing practice (Community at large, CLUTURE OF INDIVIDUALS, GROUPS, government regulation.) Power of nursing as APN (more control and directions.) Knowledge Singapore government SNB, MOH, ministry of environment, MOM, SHS Different perspectives on health care and health Image of nurses Nurse view as cleaning, maid, slave. As APN show different initiative. Legal issue re: APN, practicing outside nursing scope. Different perspectives on health care and health Advanced Practice Nurses. (n.d.). Tan Tock Seng Hospital. Retrieved March 20, 2011, from http://www.ttsh.com.sg/APN/ Aduddell, K. A., Dorman, G. E. (2010). The development of the next generation of nurse leaders. Journal of Nursing Education, 49(3), 168-171. Arthur, D. (2007). Towards an excellent health care system: Singapore nursing poised with 2020 vision. Journal of Research in Nursing, 12(6), 591-594. Bettin, T. (2010). Advanced Practice Nurse Forum column. Reflections on the DNP degree. Stat: Bulletin of the Wisconsin Nurses Association, 79(1), 7-8. Chia, H. B., Carolyn, E., David, R., Ping, F., Kuo, M. H., Lee, C. H., et al. (2007). Four tigers and the dragon: values differences, similarities, and consensus. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 24(3), 305-320. Chiarella, M., McInnes, E. (2008). Legality, morality and reality the role of the nurse in maintaining standards of care. Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing, 26(1), 77-83. Health Manpower Statistics. (2009). Ministry of Health, Singapore. Retrieved March 24, 2011, from http://www.moh.gov.sg/mohcorp/statistics.aspx?id=5966 International Business Publications. (2009). Singapore Investment and Business Guide (6th ed.). USA: International Business Publications. Jansen, M. P., Stauffacher, M. (2010). Advanced practice nursing: core concepts for professional role development (4th ed.). New York, NY: Springer. Kane, R. L. (2009). The advanced practice nurse: an answer to the primary care challenge. Clinical Scholars Review, 2(2), 37-38. Kannusamy, P. (2006). A longitudinal study of advanced practice nursing in Singapore. Critical Care Nursing Clinics of North America, 18, 545-551. Kjervik, D. K., Brous, E. A. (2010). Law and ethics for advanced practice nursing . New York: Springer. Lim, J., Bogossian, F., Ahern, K. (2010). Stress and coping in Singaporean nurses: A literature review. Nursing Health Sciences, 12(2), 251-258. Maylone, M. M., Ranieri, L., Griffin, M. T. Q., McNulty, R., Fitzpatrick, J. J. (2011). Collaboration and autonomy: Perceptions among nurse practitioners. Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, 23(1), 51-57. Ministry of Health. (2007). NUS Master of Nursing Programme. Health Professionals Portal. Retrieved March 24, 2011, from http://www.hpp.moh.gov.sg/HPP/MungoBlobs/318/187/FAQ%20on%20APNs.htm MCYS (2006). Committee on Ageing Issues: Report of the Ageing Population. Retrieved March 24, 2011, from http://www.mcys.gov.sg/successful_ageing/report/cai_report.pdf Ngee Ann Polytechnic To Offer Health Sciences (Nursing) Course. (2007, December 13). Ngee Ann Polytechnic. Retrieved March 25, 2011, from http://www.np.edu.sg/home/media/release/year2005/jan_mar/Pages/20050119.aspx OBrien, A. P., Arthur, D. G. (2007). Singapore nursing in transition: perspectives from the Alice Lee Centre for Nursing Studies, National University of Singapore. Singapore Medical Journal, 48(10). Rajasoorya, C. (2002). The Quest for Nursing Excellence. Singapore Medical Journal, 43(10). Ruel, J., Motyka, C. (2009). Advanced practice nursing: a principle-based concept analysis. Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, 21(7), 384-392. Saxena, A. (2009). Transforming Singapores healthcare delivery system: health care integration in Singapore (Vol. 9): Igitur. Schober, M. (2010). EDITORIAL: Singapore: At the hub of advanced practice nursing development in Asia. Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, 22(9), 449-449. Sheer, B., Wong, F. K. Y. (2008). The Development of Advanced Nursing Practice Globally. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 40(3), 204-211. Wong, H. H. (2009). Australian College of Mental Health Nursing 35th International Conference Mind to Care. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 18, A1-A27. Yarbro, C. H., Wujcik, D., Gobel, B. H. (2011). Cancer nursing: principles and practice (7th ed.). Sudbury, Mass.: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.

Comparison of Into My Heart and I remember I remember Essay -- A.E. H

Comparison of Into My Heart and I remember I remember Both poems are about the past and are similar in many ways, but "I remember, I remember" seems much more upbeat about the past than "into my heart" A.E. Housman's poem describes the " lost content" of a speaker who is made unhappy when he realises the happy times he had when he was young are gone forever. In Thomas Hood's poem the speaker is also made unhappy when he is made aware that he can never re-visit those happy times he experienced as a child. They both explain the same idea in a different way; "Into my heart" makes its point in an obviously sombre way, but " I remember I remember " creates two moods: a happy and bucolic mood with images of his beautiful childhood, and an unhappy mood with his realisation t... Comparison of Into My Heart and I remember I remember Essay -- A.E. H Comparison of Into My Heart and I remember I remember Both poems are about the past and are similar in many ways, but "I remember, I remember" seems much more upbeat about the past than "into my heart" A.E. Housman's poem describes the " lost content" of a speaker who is made unhappy when he realises the happy times he had when he was young are gone forever. In Thomas Hood's poem the speaker is also made unhappy when he is made aware that he can never re-visit those happy times he experienced as a child. They both explain the same idea in a different way; "Into my heart" makes its point in an obviously sombre way, but " I remember I remember " creates two moods: a happy and bucolic mood with images of his beautiful childhood, and an unhappy mood with his realisation t...

Racism Essay -- essays research papers fc

Institutional Racism in American Society "Racist" and "racism" are provocative words in American society. To some, these words have reached the level of curse words in their offensiveness. Yet, "racist" and "racism" are descriptive words of a reality that cannot be denied. African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans and Asian Americans (people-of-color) live daily with the effects of both institutional and individual racism. Race issues are so fundamental in American society that they seem almost an integral component. Some Americans believe that race is the primary determinant of human abilities and capacities. Some Americans behave as if racial differences produce inherent superiority in European Americans (whites). In fact, such individuals respond to people-of-color and whites differently merely because of race (or ethnicity). As a consequence, people of color are injured by judgments or actions that are directly or indirectly r acist. Much of the attention of the last 20 years has focused on individual racist behavior. However, just as individuals can act in racist ways, so can institutions. Institutions can behave in ways that are overtly racist (i.e., specifically excluding people-of-color from services) or inherently racist (i.e., adopting policies that while not specifically directed at excluding people-of-color, nevertheless result in their exclusion). Therefore, institutions can respond to people-of-color and ... Racism Essay -- essays research papers fc Institutional Racism in American Society "Racist" and "racism" are provocative words in American society. To some, these words have reached the level of curse words in their offensiveness. Yet, "racist" and "racism" are descriptive words of a reality that cannot be denied. African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans and Asian Americans (people-of-color) live daily with the effects of both institutional and individual racism. Race issues are so fundamental in American society that they seem almost an integral component. Some Americans believe that race is the primary determinant of human abilities and capacities. Some Americans behave as if racial differences produce inherent superiority in European Americans (whites). In fact, such individuals respond to people-of-color and whites differently merely because of race (or ethnicity). As a consequence, people of color are injured by judgments or actions that are directly or indirectly r acist. Much of the attention of the last 20 years has focused on individual racist behavior. However, just as individuals can act in racist ways, so can institutions. Institutions can behave in ways that are overtly racist (i.e., specifically excluding people-of-color from services) or inherently racist (i.e., adopting policies that while not specifically directed at excluding people-of-color, nevertheless result in their exclusion). Therefore, institutions can respond to people-of-color and ...

Biography of Saint Francis of Assissi Essay -- Saint Francis Italy Rel

Biography of Saint Francis of Assissi 1. Birth Saint Francis was born Giovanni Bernadone in either 1181 or 1182 in the Italian hill town of Assisi. His parents, Pietro and Pica, were members of the rather well-to-do merchant class of the town. Pioetro Bernadone was away in France when his son was born. On his return, he had the boy's name changed from Giovanni to Franceso (â€Å"The Little Frenchman†-perhaps a tribute to France, a country he loved and from which his wife's family came). Saint Francis of Assisi, was born in 1182, more probably in the latter year. His mother's family, which was not without distinction, may originally have hailed from Provence. His father, Pietro di Bernardone, was a prosperous cloth merchant and one of the influential business men of Assisi. A merchant in those days was a far different individual from the modern shop keeper; forced by circumstances to be both daring and prudent, he constantly embarked upon the most hazardous undertakings and his career was likely to be a succession of ups and downs. Moreover, business activities, which today tend more and more to assert their independence of any ethical code, were then strictly subordinated to accepted moral standards, as is clearly shown in the writings of Leo Battista Alberti, a century and a half later, or in the Summa Theologiae of Thomas Aquinas. Bernardone was not in Assisi when his son was born. At first the child was called John but upon his father's return he was christened Francis, in memory of France, whence Pietro di Bernardone had just returned. More than any other character in history, St. Francis in after life retained the qualities most characteristic of childhood, so that it is not difficult to imagine him as he must have appeared during his early years, with his combination of vivacity, petulance and charm. Childhood At the proper time young Francesco Benardone was sent to clergy of San Giorgio, his parish church, to learn his letters and the ciphering necessary for a merchant. He sat on a bench with the better-class boys, chorusing sacred Latin. He was not a brilliant student. The three extant scraps of his writing betray a clumsy fist and abound in sad solecisms. In later years he avoided holding a pen; he preferred to dictate, and to sign his pronouncements with a cross or tau, a semisacred symbol. However, he learned ... ... Not only am I sick, but the brothers who were sent to help me will not do it, as the ought.† Saint Francis, divinely inspired to understand that this leper was possessed by an evil spirit, prayed most devoutly for this man before God. After he had prayed, he returned again to speak to the leper: â€Å"My son, I will take care of you, since the others do not want to.† â€Å"I'll willingly have you. What can you do though that the others have not done?† â€Å"What do you want me to do?† â€Å"I want you to wash me, for I stink so bad that I cannot stand myself.† Saint Francis immediately went and heated water, which he scented with herbs. Then he undressed the man and washed him with his own hands, while another brother poured the water. Through divine power, wherever Saint Francis touched him with his hands, the leprosy disappeared and the flesh grew immediately healthy. And as his body healed, his soul also healed along with his body. When the leper saw his body heal, he began to weep bitterly because of his sorrow for his sins and great compunction that he felt. As his body was cleansed from the leprosy by the bathing, so his soul was cleansing power of his tears and his sorrow.

Hear Me As I Am Essay

â€Å"What’s that you’re playing on the piano, Aubrey?† I asked my friend at a sleepover at her house. â€Å"It’s ‘Love Song’ by Sara Bareilles.† â€Å"Oh, I haven’t heard of that.† Little did I know I had heard that song before – I just didn’t recognize it. A few weeks passed and I recognized a certain type of piano playing on the radio. Aubrey plays this song, I realized. I listened to the song and I remember loving it and wanting to listen to it again. A couple months later, I watched American Idol, and the song is performed several times. A few more months pass and it’s January 2009; my parents decide to buy me an iPod. Later, I put the song on my iPod, and it becomes a favorite of mine that I realize has a lot of meaning – unlike many songs made today. That was how I came to know Sara Bareilles and her biggest hit, â€Å"Love Song.† â€Å"You are not what I thought you were†¦Ã¢â‚¬  – this was probably the most meaningful part of the whole song for me, because this was how Sara Bareilles stressed reality. Many people and advertisements today disguise themselves with lies that are not always that easy to see through. In this case the singer is talking about a person, most likely a boyfriend. And it’s true – many people today put on a fake front to try to appeal to others, like on the Internet or in Hollywood, but when you really get to know the person you discover that they aren’t what you originally thought them to be. I have experienced that with â€Å"friends† with whom I would later find out weren’t my friends at all because they really didn’t care about me or my feelings. In Sara’s situation, and in many other situations, one person is looking for real love and is serious, but the other isn’t. Hiding what you are is something that has deeply, negatively affected and continues to affect myself and many other unfortunate people. But it is a fact of life and needs to be dealt with, so I am happy that at least one other person besides me sees the truth of the matter. â€Å"Convinced me, to please you, Made me think that I need this too, I’m trying to let you Hear me as I am†¦Ã¢â‚¬  This is my favorite section out of this song because in it Sara Bareilles shows that she’s just trying to be herself. I admire someone who is themselves because it shows that they aren’t afraid of other people’s criticism. I try to do the same but sometimes it can be very difficult and it’s easy to be pressured to â€Å"blend in† with the crowd. Intimate friends can â€Å"convince [you]† to please them and others around you, but they are really not your friends if they don’t â€Å"hear [you] as [you are]† or respect your morals and ethics. Sara is letting people know that she’s not going to let anyone mess with her, and I admire that. The overall meaning of this song for me was that people need to be their own individual person. This includes not doing things just because others ask you to, but deciding for yourself whether or not it goes along with your morals and values. Like Sara, I wouldn’t write someone a love song just because they asked me to – I would wait until I found a person who really cared. Instead, Sara stood up for herself and made sure that the other person knew how she really felt. That is something that I strive to do and I hope that others do too. I do realize that it’s easier to do things when everyone else is, but that’s where your inner strength comes in. Ask yourself, do I value my friends ideas more than what I know is right or wrong? Doing this involves your conscience, and if it has been trained properly, you will make the right decision. What I mainly want my classmates to get out of my presentation – and I don’t think I’ve stressed this enough at all – is that you need to be yourself. I notice that many of my classmates feel that they have to have the latest shirt form American Eagle of that they have to get the latest song from some singer on their iPod. But focusing on these little things isn’t what’s going to get you friends and it doesn’t make you any happier. What is important is that you have your own style and way of life, and not copy everyone else. Like Hunter said the other day, â€Å"If everyone were the same, life would be pretty boring.† Well, it’s not an â€Å"if†, and because of that people need to pay attention to themselves and make sure they are not carbon copies of each other. With my friends, I don’t care what their clothes look like or what music they prefer to listen to. I care what their morals are, what their personal interests are, and if they are a good friend. But even if my classmates don’t listen to me, I’m going to care, and that’s what makes all the difference.

An Argument Against Gun Control Essay

Gun control has become more and more of a hot-button topic in the United States, especially after events like the Sandy Hook shooting in 2012, when many people questioned the necessity of the second amendment in this day and age. Indeed, upholding the second amendment continues to be a difficult prospect when it does not seem like these guns are being used for good. However, the vast majority of people not only use them responsibly, but also protect themselves and their families, using these guns. For this reason, guns should not be limited by the government. Essentially, the issue of gun control boils down to two primary issues that have been in conflict with each other since the founding of America: freedom vs. security. Anti-gun control advocates insist that their guns are necessary for their own security, but also satisfy the freedom requirement by allowing them to freely practice their second amendment rights. Anti-gun advocates see things differently, however, since, to them, h aving most people in America brandishing a firearm represents a profound security threat to them. However, this security risk that is touted by pro-gun control activists is negated by the need for guns in order to ensure security, and that the odd shooter is a problem with society at large, not the guns themselves. If gun control were in full effect, and it were made illegal to own a firearm, criminals would simply acquire guns illegally, and would virtually have free reign of whoever they wanted to kill, since law-abiding citizens would not have the means to stop them. Evidence of the effectiveness of firearms as a self-defense tool can be seen in numerous studies. For example, according to a study in 2000, an estimated 989,883 U.S. citizens used some form of gun to defend themselves (Agresti and Smith, 2). In addition, in 1993, 3.5% of households had used a firearm to defend themselves â€Å"for self-protection or for the protection of property at home, work, or elsewhere† (Agresti and Smith, 3). These numbers put gun control in a much more positive light, especially from the perspective that they should be used to increase security in an increasingly insecure country. The best way to prevent shooting incidents like the Sandy Hook shooting is not to simply remove all guns, as that will not fix the underlying problem, but to focus on rehabilitating people who either have had violent tendencies in the past, or  exhibit symptoms that are consistent with mass shooters. Those who support gun control see each person in possession of a firearm, especially those with a concealed weapons license, as another potential Sandy Hook or Virginia State shooting just waiting to happen. That is a valid claim, since the potential is certainly there. The argument that â€Å"people don’t kill people, guns kill people† is another popular quote heard in the pro-gun control community, and while it has some merit, it requires some closer examination in order to determine the validity of the statement. While it is certainly true that a gun has the potential to kill someone, it is only a tool. The bigger issue when it comes to violent crimes, especially gun-crimes, is the individual behind the gun. To this end, one of the most effective solutions to the problem of gun violence in this country is to fix the underlying problem, not to simply take away the guns, because that would only invite more violence, especially from the more hardcore gun activists. And, of course, many deaths and injuries from violent crime come from firearms. For example, in 1996, 65 percent of all murders between spouses were performed with a firearm (Rand, 3). This is where the concept of firearms as a tool comes into play. A criminal who was determined to commit a crime would likely commit the same crime, regardless of whether or not firearms were allowed. Limiting firearms only succeeds in making everybody a potential helpless victim in the event of a shooting. In order to understand how firearms actually work as a deterrent to gun crime, it is necessary to understand that those who use guns for violent purposes (i.e. not in self defense) should be grouped into a different section than those who only use firearms for sport and self-defense. This has actually been done before, and refers to two types of gun ownership: criminal gun ownership and non-criminal gun ownership. For instance, a study taken in 1995 showed that â€Å"Where non criminal gun-ownership is higher, criminal gun ownership is also higher; and where criminal gun ownership is higher, the percent of crimes which are committed with guns is higher† (Squires, 197). Essentially, this means that guns beget more guns, which, in turn, beget more violence, or at least that is what this study shows. However, the issue is a little more complicated than that. For instance, many areas of the nation are simply violent by virtue of their inhabitants, and, even if guns were outlawed, they would still fight amongst themselves using whatever weapons are  available. In addition, it is possible that many who live in these areas with large amounts of violence actually purchased guns themselves for the sole purpose of self defense, so that if they themselves were attacked by an assailant using a gun, they would not be completely helpless. Although firearms work well as a way to protect oneself, they also act as a threat of immediate vengeance by the victim, assuming the victim is in possession of a firearm. â€Å"A study showed that, in a survey of male felons in 11 state prisons, 34% had been â€Å"scared off, shot at, wounded, or captured by an armed victi m,† while 40% said they decided not to commit a crime because they knew or believed that the victim was carrying a gun, and 69% said they knew of another criminal who had not committed a crime because the victim had a firearm† (Agresti and Smith, 6). This helps to show what gun-advocates call the brighter side of the gun-control debate: that guns can, and oftentimes are, used as a self defense or deterrence measure, rather than a pure instrument of violence. This theory seems to hold some water, since a study shows that, in 1988, only about 30% of citizens owned guns. Yet, in 1996, that number had increased to 50% (Lott, 38). In 2004, that number remained steady. The interesting thing about these figures is that violent crime in America has actually been decreasing at a slow rate. While it would be foolish to blame this entirely on guns, it is a good indicator that guns at least function, on some level, as a deterrent and personal defense tool. The only problem, of course, stems from the fact that criminals have guns as well, but allowing virtually anyone to own a gun levels the playing field to an extent. If guns were totally outlawed, encounters would be much more one-sided, as criminals could attack citizens with little to no fear of immediate reprisal on the part of the victim. Gun control is a fairly black-and-white issue, yet seems to only have extremists on one side or the other. While it would be easy to simply dismiss all pro-gun control arguments, they do have some merit. For this reason, there must be consolations made in order to make guns a little bit safer for everybody. The best way to deal with this issue is continue allowing citizens to use firearms, but perhaps limit access to guns in order to ensure safety for the greatest number of people. Allowing firearms if the gun user registers and carries a permit for the firearm would help to reduce the number of homicides with firearms, if not as many people have them. Each action has  its own drawbacks, however, and it is important to understand that, especially for this issue, which has undergone something of a deadlock in the recent past. Freedom and security should be balanced in equal measure, and it is important to come up with solutions to this issue with that in mind. Works Cited Agresti, James D., and Reid K. Smith. â€Å"Gun Control Facts.† Just Facts (2008). 2-3 Lott, John R. More guns, less crime: Understanding crime and gun control laws. University of Chicago Press, 2013. 37-38 Rand, Michael R., et al. â€Å"Violence by intimates: Analysis of data on crimes by current or former spouses, boyfriends, and girlfriends.† (1998): 1-30. Squires, Peter. Gun Culture Or Gun Control?: Firearms and Violence: Safety and Society. Routledge, 2002. p.197

Intermediate Sanctions

Intermediate sanctions are the sanctions that are more restrictive than the probation and less restrictive than imprisonment. It is also intended to relieve the pressure on the over crowed facilities that deal with the corrections and the probation departments that are understaffed. The purpose for the intermediate sanction in the criminal justice process is that it helps with any of the concerns from the facilities being packed and over crowed. Jails and the prisons are packed more this century then the last century. It also helps with the short staff that is in the offices and the probation officers short staffed. The government should take it under consideration that the criminal justice system needs the staff and the money to make the criminal justice organization work together. There are two functions as a sentencing alternative in the intermediate sanction. They are to divert the offenders from the overcrowded jails or prisons. The second one is to place the different offenders under the higher levels of the control. It is the risk that the community poses to. * I believe that the intermediate sanctions are not an appropriate punishment. People should not have to serve their time behind bars because they prisons and jail cells are over packed and crowded. The government should put in more funds so that if people do the crime, then they should do the time. Also, probation is an advantage and that people should not be misused. * In conclusion, I believe that the intermediate sanction can work out if people do not take advantage of the probation punishment. This punishment should only be used if there is no room in the jail cell or the prisons. I believe that once someone does a crime, that that person may do it again.

National Security vs Individaul Privacy Essay

1. Your document’s heading is not formatted correctly. In the upper left corner of the first page, the words â€Å"Running head:† should preface a shortened version of your title. The upper right corner of the page should have the numerical page number. The shortened version of your title should be in all capital letters. On subsequent pages, the shortened version of your title should appear on the lefthand side, with a page number on the right-hand side. For additional information, visit the Ashford Writing Center located in Constellation. Click on Ch 7 -Sample Paper with Formatting Instructions. [Nicole Moore] 2. Instructor: Leon, You should be using a 12 pt. font, and double spacing your work. [Nicole Moore] Throughout history, there have been breeches to the security of this nation which caused an increase in awareness. Rights and civil liberties of the public have been cut, and in many instances revoked completely. Individual privacy is 2 1. Throughout Leon, You are not using the correct font. You need to be using  Times New Roman 12 pt. Please adjust for your final paper. Remember to use Times New Roman 12 point font per 6th edition APA guidelines. [Nicole Moore] 2. in awareness. an awareness of what? Make sure you are clear. [Nicole Moore] 3. Block quotations of more than 40 words should be double spaced per APA 6th edition guidelines. Each line should be indented 1/2 inch. Quotation marks should not be included, and the citation should be placed at the end of the quote following the punctuation. [Nicole Moore] 4. Since the attack on the World Trade†¦ Leon, please try reading this sentence out loud – what are you trying to say? I think you might be missing some words. How might you rework? [Nicole Moore] 5. In response, law enforcement agencies†¦ Are the agencies requesting them now, or have they been requesting them since 2001? You might want to use the past tense†¦ or say, â€Å"..agencies have been requesting†¦Ã¢â‚¬  [Nicole Moore]  important and if you take it away from the public, they will then feel an increase of intrusion and loss of privacy. â€Å"All human rights are indivisible, interdependent, and interrelated: the improvement of one right facilitates advancement of the others; the deprivation of one right adversely affects others. Freedom of expression and privacy are explicit parts of this international framework of human rights and are enabling rights that facilitate the meaningful realization of other human rights.† (Dunstan, 2011) Since the attack on the World Trade Center, U.S. soil have resulted in the tragic loss of thousands of innocent human lives. In response, law enforcement agencies are requesting broader and more pervasive laws to counter this security challenge. As technology has grown in leaps and bounds over the last three decades, it has also brought with it new challenges to protecting people’s privacy and curbing privacy violations. Determining the proper balance between citizens’ right, civil liberties, and concerns for security is a particularly vexing difficulty for the democratic societies. It has long been understood that civil liberties are neither absolute nor unequivocal and that there is normally tension between the carrier for democratic values and the desire to live in safety and security. â€Å"Citizens’ rights frequently collide with the 1. â€Å"Citizens’ rights frequently collide†¦ Great quote for right here. Double check the APA formatting guidelines – you want to put the period on the outside of the (). â€Å"†¦citizens† (Davis, 2008). [Nicole Moore]  rights of others and with governments’ ability to provide for the safety of its citizens.† (Davis, D. W. 2008) 1 National Security plays a part in every aspect of the world. What national security does is maintain the survival of  the state through the use of economic, diplomacy, power projection, and political power. Protections give a nation what it needs to posses economic security, energy security, and environmental security. The national valuables in this broad sense include current assets and national interests, as well as the sources of strength upon which our future as a nation depends. A former NSA director, Gen. Michael Hayden, now director of the Central Intelligence Agency, has said the NSA often gets FISA warrants for wiretaps. He knew that Bush was using this tool to gather information. Bush had the NSA employees also listen in on conversations without such warrants if they suspect links to terror groups, he said. â€Å"In its suit, the ACLU also contends that the NSA surveillance program violates First Amendment protections of freedom of speech and assembly by intruding into the private conversations and e-mail exchanges of individuals and organizations.† Deans, (2006) â€Å"Weeks after the September 11 attacks, Bush issued a top-secret order authorizing the National Security Agency to use its high-tech eavesdropping tools to listen in on phone calls and read electronic mail coming into the United States. The Fourth Amendment of the constitution prohibits â€Å"unreasonable searches and seizures† without judicial warrant affirming there is â€Å"probable cause† for suspecting criminal activity.† Deans, (2006) Despite the labors of the Bush administration to bypass the FISC system, FISA courts still exist and the number of warrant request coming before them has increased significantly in recent years. The use of FISA and its courts does protect the government from accusation that it violates the Fourth Amendment rights U. S. persons. Since the disclosure of the warrantless searches, President Bush has instructed the various intelligence organizations that the FISC system be used for all intelligence-gathering activities. The debate over FISA and its court is ongoing, with many critics believing that both the law 2. Is this another long quote? If so, you might consider the amount of quotes you are using, and rely more on your own writing and statements. Use the research to support your analysis, not fill up your paper. It generally requires the government to seek warrants before monitoring Americans’ communications. The  controversy over the FISC Court has intensified. The Bush administrations make it view known that the onerous requirements of FISA stood in the way of intelligence gathering. In a secret court proceeding before the FISA Appeals Court on September 9, 2002, with only government lawyers present, the Bush administration presented its case that the FISC had hindered the flow of information and had obstructed the president’s authority to conduct warrantless searches to obtain foreign intelligence information. â€Å"Less than an hour after President Bush signed the 2008 amendment, the ACLU filed a law suit challenging the law’s constitutionality. Because the 2008 amendment is scheduled to sunset in December, the ACLU is also calling on Congress to Fix FISA by prohibiting dragnet surveillance activities, and strengthening safeguards for privacy.† American Civil Liberties Union, (2012) Bush’s main goal was to gather as much information coming into the United States, but forgot about the fact that he would invade peoples’ privacy. It seem like everything was moving fast and no thought was put in it from the government. Our civil rights is right for us the citizens of this country to have privacy, the right of peaceful protest, the right to a fair trial, the right to personal freedom and the right of equal protection. However, when you take our freedom away for expressing ourselves, you violate our civil rights. This Act allowed him to violate the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution which further blurred the lines between national security and individual privacy. It is precisely the reason why we’re so skeptical about the implementation of national security over our civil rights. They 1. but forgot about the fact that†¦ I really take issue with the word â€Å"forgot† — I feel that you will be much better served, and have a stronger  paper, if you find a different word disregarded, ignored, etc†¦ [Nicole Moore] 2. Our civil rights is right for us the Our civil rights give the citizens of this country the right to†¦. [Nicole Moore] 3. why we’re who is â€Å"we’re†? do you mean some U.S. citizens? Be clear about your references. [Nicole Moore] forget about the little people that make up this country. One must understand that the problem that is in conflict with our civil rights here, relates more to internal security than it does to external. National security is important to the safety of this country but it should never intrude an individual privacy. The national valuables in this broad sense include current assets and national interests as well as the sources of strength upon which our future as nation depends on it. 4 4. National security is important†¦ This, Leon, should be your specific claim, and it should be in the beginning of your paper, not on page 6. [Nicole Moore] -6- Reference ACLU, (2012) American Civil Liberties Union’s Retrieve from http://www.aclu.org/national-security/fix-fisa-endwirelesstapping Atkins, S. E., (2008) Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978. ABC CLIO, Retrieved from http://www.credoreference.com/abcne/foreign_intelligence_su rveillance_act_of_1978 Davis, D. W., (2008) Civil Liberties and Security Retrieved from http://www.credoreference.com/entry/peace/civil_liberties_a nd_security Deans, B., (2006) Domestic Wiretaps: Rights Suit Centers on U.S. security vs. privacy of citizens. The Atlanta Journal, Retrieved from http://searc.proquest.com/docview/337265486 Dictionary.com Unabridged. Retrieved December 10, 2012, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/privacy Dunstan, A.H., (2011) Protecting Human Rights in the Digital Age.BSR Retrieved from http://www.bsr.org

Micro Economics

We stand in the beginning of the twenty first century with new groups in positions of great power within our economic. One would think that, with this peak strength, American man would be secure, ready to move forward. An uncertainty, however, seems to be besetting us. We are unsure of ourselves. Internally, we are ill at ease and suspect one another – so much so that sometimes we seem can forget our fundamental belief in the dignity of mankind. People enjoy a standard of living, but often we do not enjoy life. People are mobile in their cars and can see the whole world in television. Yet people are not sure where they want to go or what they want to see. Modern world baffles people, and we do not know how to turn our knowledge into creative expression both as a nation and as individual citizens. Such a situation, if to continue, is in danger of in the end to sap our viability. Unless people try to understand the fundamental nature of our society as interrelated systems of power – economic, business, political, and moral – we can misunderstand our mission in this world. I believe that the mission of every person is to establish a great civilization on this continent and to create peace and security for mankind. Therefore, the fulfilment of my aspirations for effective and moral living is, and must be forever, a never ending business. My life must be a business. It is the most important business I will ever be responsible forever. I will face challenges and risks with little or no planning. Economics is a kaleidoscope that touches all aspects of the business of living. According to several reports issued by the Small Business Administration (SBA), the single most dominant reason businesses fail is directly attributable to a lack of planning. This paper is intended to build my life’s economic plan. It will consider issues of wants and needs, supply and demand, long term employment probability, unexpected economic challenges, and what I believe the economic future to be and how I will adapt to it. Planning I can use the terms â€Å"plans† and â€Å"planning† to many different aspects of my everyday life. One use of the term â€Å"plan† I will use to describe a procedure for achieving a particular goal or desired outcome. For example, when somebody asks me â€Å"So, what's the plan?† I think of a set of directions to guide my thoughts and actions. That is, I create the directions on what to do and when to do it, and this in turn might tell me those things that are most important and those things to consider. Ideally, my plan should be complete. That is, the contents and ordering satisfactorily accomplishes the goal. The plan should be efficient and foolproof. The instructions of the plan should be easy to memorize, monitor and execute, with little chance of things going wrong (Morris 99). However, in my daily life, plans may still be useful without offering explicit guidance or instructions. A map of the new city or an architect's diagram detailing the layout of a house may also be correctly referred to as plans. However, these plans provide a representation or overview of a project or problem, rather than a set of directions. A clear understanding of the current state and what should to be done, together with awareness of the different means and methods at my disposal may greatly facilitate the efficacy of achieving my goals. Through using planning and strategies, a chosen subset of new alternatives may be found more quickly and more efficiently than would be the case if I used only pure trial or error, or if I regularly investigated each and every possibility in turn. Many theories of planning propose that the first stage is to form a suitable mental representation of the goals. The representation may include the initial state and the goal state as well as a range of possible actions that could be taken (Morris 123). Planning tips, strategies and tactics are known as heuristics and algorithms. My planning involves intended actions to be taken in the future, motivational control may be needed in order to carry them out appropriately. My planning is subdivided into four sections: first, a number of key goals are introduced; second, SWOT analysis is introduced; third, short summary descriptions are provided outlining the main themes and issues to emerge from the savings planning; fourth,   a view on the nature of man as consumer is presented. Goals I have specific goals that consistently pursue. There are a mixture of goals and success factors which are important to the achievement of my goals. True goals are probably confined to the first three categories. Long term employment Profitability Growth Of these three the one of primary importance to me is profitability. From my perspective this could be more specifically defined as Return. Growth and Long term employment are pursued to the extent that they yield a long term benefit in terms of Return. After graduating I am going to be a manager employed by a company. How do I as a manager make my decisions? Perhaps these decisions can be better appreciated by setting up a scenario and observing the behavior patterns of a manager of a factory. Let us suppose that the factory is part of a corporate empire in which top management is ensconced in a big city office and middle management runs the factories located somewhere in the hinterlands, far from the lights, fun, and frolic of the big city. Suppose that I am a middle-level manager of a factory that makes widgets along with an assortment of other products. I have both production and marketing responsibilities and report to a president who is held accountable for the overall operation of the factory by those in the corporate headquarters. In the game of Musical Chairs, the winner lasts as long as it takes to set up the chairs, turn the record over, and play a new round. And in the game of King of the Hill, one remains king for as long as he can fend off new attacks. There is a transient aspect to positions of power that is true in children's games of fun and in adults' games of life. Nevertheless, whether a king is attempting to maximize the profits of his company or trying to maximize his longevity in power, somewhere in the king's organization, there are middle-level managers. These aspirants to power have not yet risen in position to dream of toppling the king. They are still in the Musical Chairs stage of development. While biding their time until they are in a high enough position to try and topple the king, which may never come about for some, they have to think about something else to justify their jobs. And there is no better justification for a job than thinking about the profitability of the company. What this means is that, while top management and the members of the board may be taking a more tangential view of profitability, there is someone in the organization looking at the price of goods in the marketplace, the cost of making goods on the factory floor, and the inventory of finished goods in the warehouse. That person is making, or recommending, some important decisions: 1. Expanding or contracting production 2. Raising or lowering prices 3. Building a new plant or closing an existing one These are certainly important decisions if one is a worker employed by this company. The development and implementation of good system for a business will be a task for a manager. This involves a mixture of techniques and technologies. Related to this development and implementation process is the proper planning and leadership needed to identify and organize modern technology. Also, there is the cultural aspect. This aspect promotes an atmosphere of community and intelligence sharing among company employees. In its intention to get the required resources for its future success, the manager creates and then implements management practices that encourage new technology. In order to better understand the mixture of techniques and technologies used in the development and implementation of business system, the following four basic elements are recapped below (Hoctor 78): 1. upgrading current information systems to tie in with smart business system 2. employing data storage to its fullest extent for optimization. The focus is on using appropriate aged data and real-time data 3. utilizing smart business software for optimizing a company’s operations today as well as in the future 4. making great use of computer networking in particular on E-commerce In modern world, the creation of good system for business is leading the way to optimizing a company’s operations in quality control for changing times. Not only is computer technological innovations are changing more quickly each day, but also are business demands. Managers are being pressed to respond to customer needs. They also face competitive threats in days and weeks instead of months or years. Products and services that could wait for 6 to 12 months just a few years ago today need to get out the door in a much shorter period of time. And it is not just multinational companies or global organizations that are being pressed with shortening time frames. Almost any business, from a small firm up to the world’s largest corporation, is at risk of being replaced by a more quick-witted, E-business-enabled rival. The success of businesses will be estimated by how well managers have developed E-business applications to distinguish themselves from the competition. Therefore, how well the managers can respond to changing times is important factor for its success. Systems for a business can be the means to meet these fast changing times for a modern company. SWOT analysis SWOT is a widely used thinking framework for identifying Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. It enables key factors to be visibly recorded as a high level summary of personal (or a business) situation. It is a summary that is simple but powerful. The technique can be used to document the key factors arising from the review of a particular project or business, through looking at the Opportunities and Threats it faces in the wider world. The SWOT summary may be used to consolidate key issues identified through other forms of analysis (Elkin 90). The uncertain world of the consumer Not all the money may be spent. Some may be saved. Savings will be important to me because we live in a world of uncertainty. The uncertainty aspect that worries me most might be death, but a close second is unemployment. Unemployment is a consequence of a free market environment in which employers not only are free to dismiss, lay off, or in other ways terminate employees but also are forced to do so by the workings of the free market itself. If a factory makes a product, and if for any number of diverse reasons that product cannot be sold, at some point the factory owner must reduce the factory's output. If he does not dismiss any workers, the factory owner is paying for workers who are producing goods that are not being sold. This is a cash outflow at the same time when he is not selling his product. Consequently, there is no revenue from sales to generate a cash inflow to counterbalance the cash outflow. What is his choice with regard to laying off his workers? Does he even have a choice? The answer is no. Thus, savings are necessary to provide some sort of cushion, a security blanket, a nest egg for the bad times. Savings are my safety net to protect myself when things turn against me. Savings have little to do with the running of a communist society. The economic philosophy behind communism is that the state will take on all the burdens of an individual such that he is never exposed to risk of any kind (Dunning 56). Housing, food, medical care, education, you-name-it -these are all the responsibility of the state. The communist system does not expect that an individual has to save, as he would in the free market system, because all aspects of personal security are guaranteed by the state. However, it must be noted that individuals in communist nations do save. Sometimes it is to accumulate the funds necessary to make a major purchase, such as an automobile. Sometimes the act of saving is a default condition in that there is nothing on the shelves that a consumer wants to buy. Saving then reflects the inability to spend. Perhaps this best illustrates the fundamental difference between the two economic systems. In one, a consumer saves because of the inability to guarantee a secure income. In the other, a person saves because of the inability to be a consumer. The philosophic underpinnings of the free market system assume that man is basically an unhappy and dissatisfied individual who abhors work (Dunning 90). People work for one basic reason: if they don't, the alternative is to starve to death in a dark, cold room. Relatively few people find satisfaction in work. Most work is tedious, repetitious, and boring. The primary incentive to man a machine is to earn some money to feed one's family, keep clothes on their backs, provide a roof over their heads, and keep the rooms lighted and warm. Because the very nature of the free market system hardly inspires confidence in the future, man as consumer saves a portion of his pay for a rainy day. The amount that he saves varies from individual to individual and depends on a number of issues. Among these are the extent of his present savings, his possession of material things, the general direction of prices, the relationship between the interest he receives on his savings and the effect of inflation on the price of goods, and his confidence in holding onto his job. While these are the more important considerations one takes into account in determining how much to save, one consideration overrides all others. That consideration is confidence. Possession of material things The desire to possess material things influences spending habits. If a person feels that he is behind, so to speak, on the possession of material things with respect to his peers, he will have a general tendency to. When people see the unemployment lines getting shorter and the want ads for jobs becoming more common, their attitude toward spending becomes more positive. Good times begin as soon as unemployment rates start decreasing. Even with continued high unemployment, the fact that things are getting better permeates the thinking of consumers. If unemployment rates are decreasing, and if one has a job, then the chances of being laid off are nil. The worst is over, and it is time to forget the bad times. Declining unemployment means that the security associated with a job is going to be much greater than during times of increasing unemployment. One can afford to be a bit more profligate than during less auspicious times. As the economy falters because sales are collapsing, fear of losing one's own job makes one more cautious in his spending habits. This is in the best interests of me – spend less, save more, and add to the nest egg in case things get even worse. References Dunning, John H. (2001). Global Capitalism at Bay? Rutledge: London. Elkin, Paul. (1998). Mastering Business Planning and Strategy: The Power of Strategic Thinking. Thorogood: London. Hoctor, James J. (2003). Smart Business Systems for the Optimized Organization. Praeger: Westport, CT. Morris, Robin. (2004). The Cognitive Psychology of Planning. Psychology Press: Hove, England.