Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Workforce Diversity

Organization Culture/Workforce Diversity Abstract Different organizations are defined by the unique characteristics displayed by their workforce. Developing unique behavior enables workers to share responsibilities and attain a strong bond that helps the company to realize its corporate goals. This paper will analyze organizational culture and workforce diversity and evaluate their contribution towards organizational success.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Organization Culture/Workforce Diversity specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Organization Culture Organization culture is defined as a unique and different way of thinking and behaving that is demonstrated by workers from the same organization. It is a characteristic pattern that is distinctive and recognizable, one that enhances the operations carried out in a particular organization (Moffat, McLean, 2010). For an organization to develop its unique culture, there must be shared understanding between the w orkers. The shared understanding is derived from the executives, who encourage joint operations. Through the shared understanding, organizations are able to perform better. The coordination that is created within organization’s workforce increases productivity and encourages workers to focus on organizational objectives. In the development of an organizational culture, workers must be given an opportunity to express their views, present proposals and engage in debates that are all geared towards realizing the organization’s goals. When the workers are given the freedom of expression, they develop a coordinated and shared understanding, which is unique for all organizations. Organizational culture can also be defined as an invisible web that enhances decision-making, and employees’ behavior and thinking (Schein, 2010). The routine and common practices seen in every organization is the culture that is sometimes taken for granted. In the development of these unique characteristics, there must be agreements between the executives and the junior members on how to proceed. The culture is not forced into the employees, but rather, it is nurtured and slowly developed to perfection. The nurturing process allows the employees to fully understand their responsibilities and develop shared interests for enhanced coordination (Moffat, McLean, 2010). Some of the tools that can be used by organizations to enhance culture are the social networking sites. The main objective of a culture is bringing together employees’ behaviors and ways of thinking to one common and shared characteristic that is geared towards achieving the company’s goals. Communication is the key to realizing this objective and social networking sites provide a good framework on which workers can communicate, give their views and consent on certain issues in the company (Tan, Lee, Chiu, 2008).Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The possibility of communication and sharing ideas increases the commonality among employees and shapes up a shared way of thinking (Moffat, McLean, 2010). Conversations within an organization are the most effective ways of ensuring that ideas and interests are shared. Without proper communication, employees would be disintegrated and this would lead to varying behaviors and thinking. The leaders must make the most sensitive decisions for a company. However, through the social networking sites, ideas can be generated from the rest of the workers and help in establishing the best decision for the company. These tools are effective in developing the ‘both-and’ strategy that allows for contained debate from all the employees within an organization. Ambiguity can cause the company to collapse. However, all the information concerning the company that is in circulation can be verified through social netw orking sites. Through conversations and communication, any ambiguity detected in an organization can be discussed and this can lead to new possibilities (Schein, 2010). The social networking sites are frameworks on which corporate members and employees can meet and discuss the issues affecting the company. In addition, the tool can be used to come up with development ideas from the workforce despite the fact that the executive management has to approve them. Shared interests and understanding shape up organizations and enhance communication between workers and executives. While this feature goes undetected in many organizations, it is present through common behaviors and unique characteristics (Tan, Lee, Chiu, 2008). All organizations have their unique characteristics and any new employee is expected to study and be connected with the existing culture for shared understanding to exist. New employees can learn about the existing culture by observing, or following the conversations i n the social networking sites. The expectations from the organization are defined in the sites and they assist in determining the best strategy to be adopted by the company. The management has to set up effective communication channels that are to be used by the workers in developing a unique culture (Moffat, McLean, 2010).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Organization Culture/Workforce Diversity specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More While social networking sites are some of the best communication channels, other ways may be considered provided they enhance dialogue and allow all workers to express their views. With increased freedom and opportunities to contribute to organizational matters, a culture is formed that streamlines all employees’ thoughts and behaviors towards realizing corporate goals. Productivity is increased when the workers and the organization develop common interests. Development of opportuniti es by the managers increases the efforts from the workforce and ensures that corporate objectives are prioritized. Workplace Diversity The concept of workplace diversity can be defined as the existing differences between workers in an organization. It is a wider definition of the employees in an organization in terms of gender, race, age and ethnic background. In addition, it also encompasses personal behavior, cognitive styles and experiences among others. In workforce diversity, there are various benefits and challenges present. One of the benefits is increased adaptability in the workforce (Herring, 2009). Employees with different characteristics will provide different solutions to the problems within an organization. For a company to be successful, the employees must have the potential to embrace diversity. Since employees possess different and unique characteristics, they provide the required skills and experiences that are required to realize corporate goals. The other benefit is the availability of many viewpoints to a problem. In a company with same employees, the viewpoints and ideas for solving corporate problems are limited. However, in a diverse workforce, there are different ideas and viewpoints that help in reducing the problems in an organization. Efficiency and effective execution of requirements is realized only amid a diverse workforce. This is due to the potential held by each of the workers, which helps them utilize their unique traits to the company’s benefit. Each employee acts as a representation of a larger group and hence offers his/her best (Kundu, 2003). A young worker would want to prove that young employees are competent and perfect, while an old worker would like to prove that experience brings about perfection. Through such competition, an organization increases its output.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More A diverse workforce also ensures that there is a broader service range. In a multi-cultured workforce, offering services on a global basis becomes an easy task. Barriers to communication and other issues are dealt with by the diversity present within the organization. With a diverse workforce, a company can allocate specific employees to specific tasks depending on the nature of the job and customers’ expectations. A company can exploit languages, cultural understanding and experiences possessed by members of its workforce (Kundu, 2003). This helps in ensuring that there is equal representation and improving service delivery. There are various challenges that are associated with a diverse workforce. One of the challenges is communication (Herring, 2009). The diverse workforce may bring about cultural, language and perceptual barriers that may hinder effective communication. Whether intentional or unintentional, employees may develop certain perceptions about certain factions and hence limit openness and coordination. Without proper coordination, the company may reduce productivity and record losses. The other challenge in workforce diversity is that some of the workers may be resistant to change. When joining a new company, employees must be willing to change and adapt to the culture and expectations of the company. However, people from different regions may bring into the company different beliefs that may compromise its organizational culture. Workers with different beliefs may fail to change and comply with the organizational expectations. Bringing along experiences and strategies and sticking to them, even when they are not workable, are some of the common characteristics of a diverse workforce (Corinne, DiTomaso, 2004). The other challenge of workforce diversity is experienced in the implementation of policies to cater for it. All the employees must feel appreciated and represented in the best way possible by the company. The company must ensure t hat all its policies are fair and just and that there is no discrimination and prejudice against any employee (Herring, 2009). The implementation process is very tricky as it can compromise certain values hitherto held by the company. In addition, it may favor some employees at the expense of others. To prevent the challenges from affecting an organization, the management should frequently assess their diversity process to determine whether there is need for change. Assessment allows the management to determine all possible challenges at an earlier stage so that solutions can be easily developed. Training of the workforce should also be prioritized to prevent some workers from resisting change. The training is meant to help the workers learn about the existing culture and the expectations of the company and its customers. Workforce diversity is therefore beneficial to a company, but can also affect the operations if not properly handled. The workers should work together with the man agement to ensure that all challenges are addressed and that corporate goals are not compromised. References Schein, E. H. (2010). Organizational Culture and Leadership (4th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Moffat, A., McLean, A. (2010). Merger as conversation. Leadership Organization Development Journal, 31(6), 534-550. Kundu, S. C. (2003). Workforce diversity status: a study of employees’ reactions. Industrial Management Data Systems, 103(4), 215 – 226. Herring, C. (2009). Does Diversity Pay? Race, Gender, and the Business Case for Diversity. American Sociological Review, 74(2), 208-224. Corinne, P., DiTomaso, N. (2004). Workforce Diversity: Why, When, And How. Research in the Sociology of Work, 14, 1-14.

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Why the Rainforests Destruction Should Be Prohibited

Why the Rainforests Destruction Should Be Prohibited The most important thing we can do – is to care. We have to care about the world we live in, the beauty we are surrounded by, the life that flourishes around. Forests Are the Lungs of the Earth Earth is beautiful. The 30% of its land area is covered with forests. These are the environs that play an important role in the planet functionality. They help control climate, regulating atmospheric gasses and maintaining rainfalls. More than 50% of the world’s species consider rainforests to be their home. But. Every minute, forest the size of 20 football fields is felled. Every day we lose about 80, 000 acres of tropical rainforests. Experts agree, that in 100 years the remaining forests will disappear. We surely can plant another tree. But can we plant another ecology? WARNING! GLOBAL WARMING! Nowadays the largest forest fell occurs in the following countries: Brazil Indonesia Democratic Republic Congo Malaysia Bolivia Columbia Peru Myanmar Cote d’Ivoire Madagascar Venezuela Cambodia Vietnam Laos Why Are the Rainforests so Important? Rainforests help control the weather and the overall planet temperature. Only Amazon produces about 20% of the oxygen. But that’s not the full list:   Rainforests had been evolving for about 100 million years, thus they came to be home for more than 35 million species of animals and plants. Deforestation will kill them all.   Forests provide oxygen humans cannot live without. Moreover, they absorb the harmful carbon dioxide, WE release. What do we have? We release carbon dioxide that kills us and we kill rainforests that could save us. The irony of fate.   A quarter of all the medicines we have today come from the plants grown in the rainforest. And this is only 1% of all the plants explored! What if we explore 100% of the rainforests plants? Probably we would have cures for all the diseases bothering us today. But again – we kill what can really save us.   Forests regulate rainfalls, filtering water and supplying it to the rivers and irrigation systems. Our planet must be extremely thankful, so must be we.   Rainforests are home for indigenous people, as still may tribes live in the heart of the rainforests all around the world. The whole scope of deforestation process is horrifying. By killing the oldest ecosystem on the planet, we are losing the chance to live a fulfilled life on this planet. Our planet is such a beautiful place in the universe, we cannot let it die. Why Are the Rainforests Felled? The main cause of deforestation is humans. We find so many reasons for the rainforests cutting down: Agriculture Wood for hardwood Road establishing Pulp for paper making paper Land for living Grazing land These motives tell only one thing – people want the civilization to rule, but in 100 years, when rainforests disappear, we will prefer something different at all. Now we still have time for the big change to happen. WE must be this change. Otherwise, it will be too late. See also: What Electric Cars Are Doing to Reduce Global Pollution Levels? What Can We Do about Global Deforestation? So, what should we do to help save at least some of the remaining forests? Tip 1. People are consumers in nature. Now we have to consume wisely. Recycling the products that made from trees (like paper) allows using them repeatedly. In such a way, we decrease the need for these products, thus – in the trees. Tip 2. There  are companies, that are environmentally friendly, they do not make any damage to nature and are of high quality. Many companies also sell products made out of recycled material. Such items are more expensive, but ecology is priceless. Tip 3. Try to eat less meat. Lower demand for meat is lower demand for grazing land. Fewer grazing lands – more forests. Tip 4. Read newspapers and magazines online. Tip 5. Plant a tree, or two, or the forest. ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION AND GREEN CITIZENSHIP The most important thing we can do – is to CARE. We have to care about the world we live in, the beauty we are surrounded by, the life that flourishes around. Indifference will never make a change. We are the ones who can do it. My grandparents lived at the forest. When I was little I used to play there, have picnics with my family and friends, read my favorite books, dream big or just listen. That was a great time spent with the closest people in the amazing place. A year ago, it was felled. Every tree of my dream-place was cut down. Birds do not sing there anymore. I do not walk there anymore. It’s just an empty spot on the map and the hole in my heart. They fell our forests to construct the road, but they ruined much more. It’s not only the problem of the rainforests disappearing. It’s a matter of every tree growing at the house or in the park.   We have a big problem which needs an immediate solution. We cannot stay aside from this. Together we can stop the deforestation disaster.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Project paper and Feasibility Paper Research Proposal

Project paper and Feasibility Paper - Research Proposal Example The primary independent variable is desire for social acceptance because drinking is such an important part of American society and all the social events and celebrations, that teenagers just can’t separate themselves from it and thus begin drinking at an early age and become victims of accidental injuries and death when they drive after drinking. The primary dependent variable is underage drinking, which is a cause of increasing concern amongst American socialists and policy makers, considering its alarming effects on teenagers health, their academic and occupational performance, sexual behaviors, and most importantly the increasing number of traffic accidents. According to statistics published by the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA), in 2007, 31 percent of young drivers (between the ages of 15 and 20) who were killed in traffic accidents had blood alcohol concentrations of 001g/dl. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, alcohol is the most commonly abused drug in the United States (more than illicit drugs and tobacco). The American Medical Association states that approximately 11 million American youth consume alcohol, of which 11 percent are people between the ages 12 to 20. A 2007 survey conducted by the Youth Risk Behavior revealed that approximately 45 percent of all highà ‚  school  students drank some amount of alcohol, of which 26 percent binge drank and 11 percent drove under the influence of alcohol. The primary independent variable causing underage drinking is social acceptance. When teenagers enter college, they experience a new sense of freedom being away from home and they begin interacting with more people and attend more social events. The glamorous way in which drinking is portrayed in advertisements, movies and all media generally, has made drinking an integral part of celebrations and having fun. Thus no social event and teenage party is complete without alcohol and the teens start drinking

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

What are your opinions of the movies uploaded to Moodle this week Essay

What are your opinions of the movies uploaded to Moodle this week - Essay Example presents President Bush to have rigged the general election and consequently declared the winner portray that political interests are marred with personal gains more than the interests of the people who elect the leaders into their respective positions. To pursue these interests, mechanisms must be put into place in order to facilitate the entire process. The second movie merges politics with conflict, war and hope at the same time. The US has for a long time pursued the Middle East countries, engaging them in wars and/or fighting them when warring with other countries other than the US. Analyzing the concepts under which this is beneficial or harmful only proves difficult than the subject matter. US has destroyed and messed up many Middle East countries, but at the same time it has actively been involved in the reconstruction of these nations. Such a process denotes hope for the disadvantaged, but the interest pursued here remains unclear. The 9/11 event therefore puts forward the theory of â€Å"things gone futile†, when the US found itself under attacks. Further to the interests of this movie, the Middle East and the US have been said to collaborate in business. This fact only makes the analysis of the relationship between these nations dynamic, critical and hard to explain, just represented by the film. Media reporting and the lies of Michael Moore can be connected, and a balance can indeed be stricken between the two. The Aljazeera Control Room (Part 1) and the lies of Michael Moore depict critical analysis of the things that have been taken literally or for granted by the society in relation to politics and governance. Unfairenheit 9/11- The lies of Michael Moore can be described as an insult to the word â€Å"dishonest†. This film presents very analytical cases of events that occur in the ordinary social setting but with rare realization of the ordinary person. However, to my own opinion, these movies have been exaggerated to present the cases contained

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Tma Essay Example for Free

Tma Essay People, being naturally inquisitive, have often been referred to as scientists. Even as young children, people are constantly testing and evaluating the boundaries to decipher their own social environment and quickly recognise what is acceptable and what is not. This soon evolves into intuition and whether it is constructed in a logical and rational way depends on a number factors. However, when considering cognitive psychology and the information processing that underpins judgements and risks, peoples cognitive processes are often likened to computers in the way that these processes interact. This essay begins by looking at Fritz Heider (1944, as cited in Buchanan et al. , p. 60) an influential psychologist in this area who coined the phrase naive psychology. It then progresses onto the advantages and disadvantages of the attribution theories using Kelleys covariation method and MacArthurs vignettes to test the theory. This is followed by looking into optimistic bias and whether this bias can prevent people from constructing rational and logical theories when making sense of their social environment. Finally, the essay evaluates the HIV/AIDs and smoking progression and how people can conceptualise risk, resulting in laying blame elsewhere other than in their social group. Heider was one of the first psychologists to study in detail social cognition. He believed that delving into how people made sense of their social environments was fundamental in understanding social behaviours, he believed people actively built models of cause and effect to find predictability and regularity which would help control their lives, operating like naive psychologists. Heider also believed people used this method when people perceive others and their actions. He constructed a study using animated cartoons of moving shapes consisting of a circle, a box and a rectangle. When asked to describe what they saw, all but one of the participants described the shapes movement in terms of human action. The fact that these people were perceiving these shapes automatically to be people goes some way to provide support for Heiders theory and prove that people are certainly trying to make sense of their social environment. However this, albeit simple use of experimental social psychology, has a few limitations. As this was a simplified experiment and disimilar to what would happen in a real social environment, Heider was not able to prove that the results would be the same outside in real life. In fact, often results obtained outside of the laboratory conclude opposite results to that of the laboratory. There is also a possibility that the participants, upon hearing that they would be attending a psychological experiment, subconciously associated psychology with people or themselves and their answers reflected this. In an experimental condition there will always be confounding variables no matter what measures are taken to eliminate them, it is certainly difficult to take research on perception and attention out of everyday life and into a controlled experiment. In a social environment because people are not manufacturing social situations, people see them as they are, this could put them in good stead to construct rational and logical theories on their environment. What Heiders theory lacks is specific procedures and data. Harold Kelley (1967, as cited in Buchanan et al. , p. 2) who developed the covariation model, used testable predictions and data in his attribution theory. The attribution theories suggest people distinguish between external/disposition factors and internal/disposition factors to recognise the causes of social behaviour. Kelley proposed that when people use information in causal reasoning, three variables are decided upon, distinctiveness, consensus and consistency, this was known as the covariation model. He supported the belief that people behave like intuitive scientists. MacArthur (1972, as cited in Buchanan et al. , p. 4) tested this theory in her studies, she wanted to test the effect of different types and level of information on the nature of causal attributions. She used 16 vignettes, a short description of a behaviour event that contained different types of the three variables, CCD. They then assigned an internal or external cause to the event. The results were supportive of MacArthurs theory and imply that we tend to favour internal rather than external attributions, the FAE (fundamental attribution error). However, it has been proven that people do not use always use all the information available to them. This shows that the way people view risk is not particularly logical, people overlook risk and when comparing people to experts, people do not usually conceptualise risks as well as experts Vignettes are easy to use and provide much needed data and from a large number of participants which is likely to produce more accurate results. The kind of control applied in this study would not have been able to take place if it took place in real life. However they do have low ecological validity because of this very reason, it is still constructed. Attribution theories have also been criticised for overstating the rationality of peoples causal reasoning. When considering the idea of people as intuitive scientists it is important to understand that people can tend to be more optimistic about risk than statistics warrant. This results in optimistic bias. For example, irrespective of empirical evidence, some people think smoking wont harm them. Some people know that they are likely to become ill from it and still continue because the immediate gain overcomes any alternative, albeit potentially deadly. This may be as a result of a motivational source which can result in judgemental biases. There are several explanations for this optimistic bias. The availability heuristic, which involves making decisions based on generating examples in peoples cognitive system, perhaps someone they know who has smoked constantly for 60 years has other any side effects. These are good examples to use when deciphering whether people are intuitive scientists and can make rational and logical judgements because the risk of smoking can be estimated using mathematics. The amount of people that still smoke however is a strong argument that people may be intuitive scientists but the concept of making rational, logical decisions can still be lost if alternative factors get in the way, like smoking or HIV. When people have to make decisions quickly, they often unconsciously rely on incomplete information as a result of the environment in which the social cognition takes place, rather than just the basic cognitive processes, this could account for people rejecting the possibility of HIV leading to death, perhaps because the information they have in incomplete. The fact that people have survived despite this however goes some way to suggest that although peoples cognitive processes do not always lead them to the mathematically correct answer, perhaps that element of risk, optimistic bias and inquisitiveness has prolonged peoples evolution so far. The studies involving optimistic bias and indeed many studies involving how people conceptualise risk however, have been conducted in largely Western cultures and having found previous contradictions between studies in Western cultures, (which tend to focus largely on the individual rather than the social group, as is more popular in many Asian cultures), these theories may not apply to the majority of people and therefore more research entailing diverse cultures would build a more successful conclusion as to why optimistic bias occurs. One reason could be evolution, natural selection could have resulted in humans having evolved with optimistic bias meaning that the people who took the risks were more sexually successful. Another reason for this could that in the urgency of everyday life, people do not use all the information available. One could argue that as we do not process everything we see, we connect the dots based on our rational judgement. The people in many of these experiments drew from their own conclusions and upon their own schema which could be wrong. This kind of error highlights one of the disadvantages of people drawing from their own logical and rational theories. Although it is important to note that the above examples are experiments and the situations are unlikely to occur in everyday life, however research has also shown our schema is highly tuned and usually correct. Both cognitive psychology and experimental social psychology initiate ideas of people thinking in machine ways, operating like scientists but the studies have shown otherwise. Perhaps logical and rational ideas are ideologies and are not appropriate in the context of our own social environments. People, in general tend to perceive events as being more under their own control than they perhaps are, it is clear from these studies that people can sometimes become more optimistic when is comes to risks when comparing the true scientific statistics. From the research into varying theories it appears that the majority of people are intuitive scientists, that to a certain extent people do use logical and rational theories to make sense of their social environment, however these are not always successful. As the evidence of several theories suggests, intuition in people is not always correct. Mistakes are bound to be made, especially when motivation factors overcomes logic and experience and imagination interferes with the process. If people have survived thus far using their own rational and logical judgements than anything further may be seen as striving for improvement, where one could argue, it is unnecessary. Word count 1,503 References K. Buchanan, P. Anand, H. Joffe ; K. Thomas (2007) Perceiving and understanding the social world. In D. Miell, A. Phoenix, ; K. Thomas (Eds. ), Mapping Psychology (2nd ed. , pp. 5-49). Milton Keynes: The Open University

Thursday, November 14, 2019

One Soldier Staring Death in the Face :: Interview Essays

One Soldier Staring Death in the Face War is full of violence and death. This violence and death causes severe emotional trauma. I myself cannot imagine what war is like, or what it is like to have someone I love go off to war. I know I'm lucky because of this. When a loved one goes to war, they may die, they will be scared, and they will be gone. Worst of all, their fate is unknown. Any person that loves another, whether it be a spouse, parent, sibling, or friend, will feel sorrow when seeing that loved one go to war. I have seen some of the horrors of war retold in movies, books, pictures, interviews, and television. To me, war is also interesting. The History Channel has always sparked my attention especially WWII specials. I have read Just and Unjust Wars by Michael Walzer and On War and Morality by Robert Holmes. These books have given me philosophical viewpoints of Just War Theory and Pacifism. Just War Theorists believe that war can be justified with a just cause for the war and fighting humanely. Pacifists believe that war is immoral and cannot be justified by any means. After both of these reading I gained many new viewpoints on war, but I still remained uncertain about war. To help solve this dilemma I interviewed a person with first hand experience in war. I believe that interviewing an actual war veteran is the most effective way of learning about war. Brooks Henderson Jr. (277806) of the United States Marine Corps, Third Defense Battalion is a veteran of WWII. He entered the Marine Corps on November 26 1939, in hopes of becoming a Marine Guard of the American Embassy in China. Instead he was among the first Marines to step on Midway Island in 1940 to fortify the island for a possible war in the Pacific. Next he was sent to Pearl Harbor. There he remained in the Marine barracks and trained, specifically with the U.S. 90mm. Anti-Aircraft Gun and the U.S. Army Bofors. The 90mm shoots a twenty-one pound shell in any direction at a distance of 13,500 yards at twenty-eight rounds a minute (Kirk and Young 263). The Bofors are a much smaller anti-aircraft gun that is fully automatic but has no tracking system; the operator has to aim and shoot, unlike the 90mm that had data and a controller to help aim. One Soldier Staring Death in the Face :: Interview Essays One Soldier Staring Death in the Face War is full of violence and death. This violence and death causes severe emotional trauma. I myself cannot imagine what war is like, or what it is like to have someone I love go off to war. I know I'm lucky because of this. When a loved one goes to war, they may die, they will be scared, and they will be gone. Worst of all, their fate is unknown. Any person that loves another, whether it be a spouse, parent, sibling, or friend, will feel sorrow when seeing that loved one go to war. I have seen some of the horrors of war retold in movies, books, pictures, interviews, and television. To me, war is also interesting. The History Channel has always sparked my attention especially WWII specials. I have read Just and Unjust Wars by Michael Walzer and On War and Morality by Robert Holmes. These books have given me philosophical viewpoints of Just War Theory and Pacifism. Just War Theorists believe that war can be justified with a just cause for the war and fighting humanely. Pacifists believe that war is immoral and cannot be justified by any means. After both of these reading I gained many new viewpoints on war, but I still remained uncertain about war. To help solve this dilemma I interviewed a person with first hand experience in war. I believe that interviewing an actual war veteran is the most effective way of learning about war. Brooks Henderson Jr. (277806) of the United States Marine Corps, Third Defense Battalion is a veteran of WWII. He entered the Marine Corps on November 26 1939, in hopes of becoming a Marine Guard of the American Embassy in China. Instead he was among the first Marines to step on Midway Island in 1940 to fortify the island for a possible war in the Pacific. Next he was sent to Pearl Harbor. There he remained in the Marine barracks and trained, specifically with the U.S. 90mm. Anti-Aircraft Gun and the U.S. Army Bofors. The 90mm shoots a twenty-one pound shell in any direction at a distance of 13,500 yards at twenty-eight rounds a minute (Kirk and Young 263). The Bofors are a much smaller anti-aircraft gun that is fully automatic but has no tracking system; the operator has to aim and shoot, unlike the 90mm that had data and a controller to help aim.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Marriage in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice Essay

The intricate nexus of marriage, money and love in Jane Austen’s society is unfolded through the development of plots and characters of her novel Pride and Prejudice. In the nineteenth century’s rural England, marriage was a woman’s chief aim, both financially and socially. Financially because of women’s dependent position marriage was the â€Å"only honourable position†, infinitely preferable to the dependence of precarious shabby-genteel spinsterhood. Money was, therefore, a very significant aspect of Austen’s society, especially when marriage was concerned. â€Å"A single man of large fortune† was naturally considered as â€Å"a nice thing† for the unmarried girls. Partners were chosen for what might now seem unemotional reasons: fortune and connections, similar to, but preferably better than one’s own. By representing a series of marriages, Austen in this novel unearths and elucidates different aspects of the role of marriage, money and love in her society. Austen was a realist and painted her time as they were. In this novel, love and money-based Darcy-Elizabeth marriage is the most successful one whereas the marriage of Elizabeth’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, is one of the faulty ones. Mr. Bennet married his wife being â€Å"captivated† and tempted by her â€Å"youth, beauty† and physical appearance. He forgot that the first appeal of a pretty face does not last long unless serenity of mind and sweetness of temper provide more enduring powers of attraction. Moreover, Mrs. Bennet inherited no property. So, form every point of view, this marriage is a failure. Mr. Bennet, therefore, always has to endure her â€Å"weak understanding†, vulgarity to such and extreme degree that he has nothing to revel in except confining himself to his library all the day, and thus eluding the necessary rituals of family and society. Charlotte’s loveless matrimony for financial security with the pompous Collins is another interesting marriage. Being twenty-seven and plain looking and realizing that it is her last chance, she accepts the grotesque Mr. Collins, to whom the role of romance and love in life is beyond the reach. He only wants a wife, because in the eyes of the society it is time for him to settle and be married. Charlotte knows that apart from some kind of security and happiness, marriage gives a woman a position. She has few hopes of happiness in marriage beyond the material comfort it can give and so she marries Collins who is inferior in intelligence, only for the ‘home and position’ he offers, as she believes â€Å"Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance†. The marriage and money theme operates in a baffling way when Elizabeth herself comes to marry. When she sees Pemberly, her ‘prejudice’ against Darcy begins to be ‘subdued’ and later by accepting him she makes the most glorious match of and of Austen’s heroines. The fact that Darcy has then thousand pounds a year is not to be ignored; it emphasizes the perfect adjustment between personal and social ambition achieved by Elizabeth. [Actually Jane Austen understood better than any other of her contemporary English novelists the degree to which social and personal behaviors and even emotion depend on the economic framework of the society.] Moreover, in her marriage with Darcy, affection and understanding, financial security and social engagement are juxtaposed. But to achieve all these material things she has never turned herself into a â€Å"husband-hunting butterfly† despite her mother’s inducement. Although she is aware of the fact that in her society a senile spinster, without any fortune, is faced with the prospect of a bleak future full of deprivation and humiliation, still she is the bold heroine who at first showed courage to refuse two marriage proposals. To Austen, sexuality was far less vital to relationships than its counterpart, affection. Therefore, Lydia’s ex-based marriage with the seductive but penniless Wickham later turns out to be an unsuccessful ones. Wickham’s plausible appearance even overwhelmed Elizabeth once. His former interest in Miss King and her â‚ ¤ 10,000 dowry alludes to the role of money in marriage. He only takes Lydia to London only for physical enjoyment. As a consequence, their marriage ends in his going â€Å"to enjoy himself in London† and Lydia’s patent failure in managing her household financially despite Darcy and Elizabeth’s continuous help. The Bingley-Jane marriage is another example of good marriage, like the Darcy- Elizabeth marriage, where mutual understanding, romance and financial  stability are combined. Their affection-based marriage works as both are perfectly amiable, modest and gentle. The established marriage of the Gardiners is too shadowy to have a dramatic role. We are only dimly aware of it as a satisfactory relationship between two apparently similar type of persons. In â€Å"Pride and Prejudice† we experience different marriages in the light of one another. Austen presents all the material for an al-round understanding and view: Jane and Elizabeth, combing love and marriage, Charlotte marries for safety, Lydia repenting at leisure. The married couples are equally varied, from well-matched like the Gardiners to ill-suited like the Bennets. The novel says in effect that the real object of love and marriage is not only financial security or physical passion or romance, but also the self-development that true relationships bring about. A marriage can only become an institution when it provides for the fulfillment of both men and women’s aspirations, sanctified by love and validated by prudence that both Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Collins can live on, the former drinking deep draughts of life’s fullness, the later continuing to sip its littleness. The richness of Pride and Prejudice lies in that exploration of life and marriage by Jane Austen.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

The Bombmaker

This was the part of the job that he hated, planting the bomb; any thing could go wrong. He checked his watch, 10:20, ‘good' he thought the train wasn't due for 20 minutes. He was putting the blue hold-all with the bomb in inside the tunnel. It was set to go in ten minutes. When he put it down he ran back to the car, his orders were to plant the bomb and make sure it went off with out a hitch. The bomb was meant to disrupt only not to kill or maim. He looked to the tunnel and to his horror he saw three school children about to pickup the bag and set off the bomb. He jumped out of his car and ran to the tunnel as fast as he could shouting â€Å"DON'T TOUCH THAT BAG.† It was too late. That was five years ago†¦ Andrea has always blamed her self for the accident. After that she left the IRA. They begged her not to leave, special branch begged her not to leave, but she was adamant she didn't want to make bombs any more. Present day It was 10:30 in Tokyo. Michael was on his way to Tokyo tower for a meeting with the triads. He decided that if he ever got out of this one alive he would go completely legit. When he got there he was patted down to make sure he was not wearing a wire. He was clean. â€Å"Well Michael we need a favour† said one of the triads â€Å"we need a building to be destroyed for the insurance we hear you know someone to do it.†(Michael is ex-IRA) â€Å"Yea I KNEW some one but I have lost contact with them† replied Michael â€Å"All you have to do is give us the address and we will get back in contact with them† said another triad. â€Å"Here is a picture of the building to be destroyed† It was an office block built in the 70's. The building looked as if it was going to fall on its own. Meanwhile 10,000 miles away in Southeast London Andrea Hayes was putting her 7-year-old daughter Sam to bed. â€Å"Its about time she went to bed, she's got school in the morning† â€Å"Yea what's on TV tonight† â€Å"Just a wild life documentary† â€Å"Ok† While they were talking they didn't hear people braking in the back door walking up the stairs to their daughters room. One of them stumbles â€Å"Quiet† the woman whispered â€Å"all we need to do is grab the kid and get out† So they crept carefully to the room picked the girl up and got out of the house without Andy or Jack hearing them. Andy woke up the next morning and went to get Sam up for school. When she got to her room she found a mobile with a post-it note on with her code name from the IRA and a phone number on. She left Jack in bed and went out back to call the number. â€Å"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH MY DAUGHTER?† shouted Andrea â€Å"Calm down Andy your daughter will be fine as long as you do as we say.† â€Å"Ok† said Andrea calmer than before â€Å"what do you want me to do.† What followed were some instructions to go to London and wait on Baker Street for a brown ford transit. Just before she left for London she left a note for jack telling him to contact Frank Carter of special branch and tell him ‘they have got Brian' When she got to London she rented a hotel room to stay in till the pickup. Because the hotel was a short walk to Baker Street she was only waiting for 30 seconds before she bundled in to a van. â€Å"Who are you†¦Ã¢â‚¬ just as she was knocked unconscious About 3 hours later†¦ â€Å"W†¦w†¦where am I† asked Andrea groggily â€Å"You are in a house.† replied voice â€Å"wh†¦who are you† asked Andrea â€Å"You can call me Lisa† replied the Lisa â€Å"and what you will doing is building a 2000 pound fertiliser bomb† â€Å"WHAT† exclaimed Andrea â€Å"YOU WANT ME TO DO WHAT† â€Å"yes we know it sounds a bit big, but we think you can pull it off† â€Å"Ill need help, and materials do I get them† enquired Andrea â€Å"of course you do, just write up a shopping list and ill send these two to get it all† Lisa said pointing to two big strong men called wrestler and boxer. So she set to work putting together the bomb While this was happening 300 miles away at home†¦ Jack was just waking up seeing the he jumped out of bed and ran downstairs to see if Sam had gone to school when he saw the note. It said ‘Jack call special branch and ask for Frank Carter and say they've got ‘Brian.' Who was ‘Brian' what did she have to do with special branch. While all this was running through his head one big question was where is Andy and where is Sam. He instantly grabbed the phone and called the police to get through to special branch. â€Å"Frank Carter does not work for special branch any more,† said the operator. â€Å"Well then could you call him and say they've got Brian† (A clicking sound) â€Å"What do you know about ‘Brian?'† said another voice â€Å"Nothing my wife left me a note to say that to Frank Carter.† â€Å"Stay there we will come and get you† â€Å"Ok† Meanwhile Andrea was nearing completion of the bomb â€Å"How is it going† asked Lisa

Thursday, November 7, 2019

The Chair, The Needle, The Gas Chamber essays

The Chair, The Needle, The Gas Chamber essays The Chair, The Needle, The Gas Chamber. The death penalty or capital punishment, is a controversial issue that a lot of people have debated. It has been part of the criminal justice system since the earliest of times. During the 1700 B.C., the Babylonians decreed death for crimes, even minor ones. The early Egyptians were also accustomed to the enforcement of the death penalty. Egyptians were sentenced to death for a crime, such as disclosing the location of sacred burial grounds. In todays world, capital punishment is still a part of the criminal justice system. Every time someone is sentenced to death a question of whether capital punishment is right arises. Should it be included in our justice systems? In dealing with the issue of whether capital punishment is right or not, we should consider all of the arguments involved. We must consider the economic argument, the deterrence argument, the retributive argument, and the utilitarian argument for capital punishment. After understanding these arguments, we will see that, although a majority of people thinks putting criminals to death is wrong and must be banned, the practice of capital punishment is nonetheless a justifiable option. Capital punishment is the oldest and most commonly used punishment since the earliest times. It is a punishment that is still used in our modern justice systems. Capital punishment is retained in 92 countries and territories in 1990, including the United States (37states), China, and Islamic Countries.1 In the Collins College Dictionary, Capital punishment is defined as the punishment of death for committing a serious crime. In Roman law the term had a wider significance and meant, besides the summum supplicium (death), those punishment that affected the caput (status) of the citizens, namely banishment (aquae et igni interdictio) under the republic or deportatio (deportation) un...

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

How to Become More of a Morning Person

How to Become More of a Morning Person You hear a lot, especially around the new year, about early birds getting worms and how important it is to start your day off right with all these morning rituals. But what if your morning ritual is sleeping as late as possible, then snapping at everyone in your path until your triple shot of coffee kicks in? Here are a few strategies to train yourself to be a morning person.Get enough sleep.This is the number one most important factor to waking up fresh: getting enough sleep. Try to normalize your sleep routine. Start going to bed religiously at a certain time that leaves you sufficient sleep before your desired wake-up time. Be consistent. Try to sleep and wake up at the same time every day. If your desired schedule is really far from where you are now, start working back to it slowly, in 20 minute increments until you’re in the groove.Make waking up a gentle experience.Turn off that honking awful alarm and switch it to something more soothing and fun that makes you want to get out of bed. If you can,  leave your blinds open so you will get a flash of natural light to help jumpstart your body clock.Protect your time.Having enough time to do the things you need to do in a day and still take care of yourself can be difficult. Learn to say â€Å"no† to added activities and obligations. Slash an hour out of your day that’s just for you (to sleep!).Create your own rituals.Give yourself a bedtime ritual and follow it religiously. Turn off your electronics for at least an hour before turning in. Lay out your lunch and clothes and materials for the morning. Make your to-do list for the next day. Have a soothing cup of tea and get into a cozy robe. Make sure you have a nice sleeping area as well- new sheets never hurt at times like these!Reward yourself.Give yourself treats for accomplishing your early rise. Some ideas: set up all the elements to create your favorite breakfast, or save a podcast to listen to  while you’re in the shower. Maintain a healthy lifestyle.There’s no underestimating eating right and exercise in your new sleep pattern project. Exercise boosts energy- particularly when done in the early morning, and so does feeding your body the good things that it needs. Especially protein. You’ll be setting yourself up for all kinds of success- not just with your sleep schedule.Give yourself a reason.Keep your mind on why you’re trying to carve out this new habit. Eyes on the prize. Make it mean something to you and you’re more likely to stick with it.Try an app.If you need a little outside intervention, try an app like Better Me, or Sleep Cycle, or Wake n Shake.

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Personal Finance- Heath insurance Research Paper

Personal Finance- Heath insurance - Research Paper Example It works together with SEHA, the national insurance scheme to ensure proper health services. The insurance being able to cover any hospital is essential in providing the citizens are satisfied with the services they get from hospitals all over the country. The scheme provides a mandatory health insurance for the people. It is key to ensuring the realization of Qatar’s vision 2030 when it comes to providing proper health care for its people (Pallot, 2014). SEHA came into existence when Qatar formulated goals that would ensure good health care for its people and reduce the number of deaths caused by inadequate health care. The health care strategy seems to be working well for the people since its inception in the state of Qatar. The network associated with SEHA includes both private and public health care providers. The people who are eligible to register with the insurance get a list of hospitals and health care providers they can work with for the better health (Seha, 2015). The strategy of working with SEHA has provided excellent efficiency and transparency in the national health care sector. The first stage of the scheme had its implementation in July of 2013. The best feature of the first stage is that it covered the health care of women who are 12 years and above to gynecology, maternal, prenatal and postnatal clinic for their children. Other health problems related to women also receive cover in the first stage implementation of the strategy. The second phase of the study, inaugurated in April 2014 provides comprehensive insurance cover for all the Qatari citizens for all the fundamental health problems (Seha, 2015). Qatar is now at the forefront of the global initiative that calls for a comprehensive health coverage for all the people. The World Health Organization is at the forefront in ensuring all the countries around the world provide national health insurance cover. The insurance cover for the people of Qatar through SEHA has