Basic Concepts in Positive Psychology Essay

* What do researches mean by ‘subjective well-being’? How is this construct measured? What the researchers mean by ‘subjective well-being’ is that it takes a broad view of happiness, beyond the pursuit of short-term of physical pleasures defining a narrow hedonism. It is also define as life satisfaction, the presence of positive affect, and a relative absence of negative affect. ‘Subjective well-being’ is measured by hedonic well-being where it’s proposed that an individual experiences happiness when positive affect and satisfaction with life are both high. * On p. 18 of your textbook, the authors present the hypothetical possibility of being hooked up to an ‘experience machine’ that would guarantee a constant state of happiness and positive emotion. Would you choose to be hooked up to such a machine? Why or why not? In your response, differentiate between hedonic and eudaimonic concepts of happiness. When I read this part of the passage in my textbook about being hook to an â€Å"experience machine† that would guarantee a constant state of happiness and positive emotion did cross my mind. I thought about what it would be like just to feel the constant emotion of being happy. At first I thought it would be an incredible experience. Never having to worry, or to feel sad, to feel rejected or lonely would be awesome not to feel those emotions anymore. However, to be in a constant state of being happy and always positive could take away the fulfillment of actually living life. Eudaimonic is defined as self-realization, meaning the expression and fulfillment of inner potential. So from this perspective, the good life results from living in accordance with your true self. It’s a process in which our talents, needs, and deeply held values direct the way we conduct our lives. The hedonic view captures a major element of what we mean by happiness in everyday terms: we enjoy life, we are satisfied with how our lives are going; and good events outnumber bad events. Hedonic well-being is based on the concept that increased pleasure and decreased pain leads to happiness (subjective well-being).

Culture and Health Essay

A person’s heritage encompasses the full scope of inherited traditions, religion, and culture. It can influence the activities and behaviors that individuals draw from. Heritage is something that can give a sense of who, what, where and how a person fits into a society and develops over time. Heritage can be a sense of identity that is valued by a single person or include a wider group of individuals. Many times a heritage is something that is passed down through the generations. Health traditions can be a very important part of a cultural heritage. This paper will be discussing the usefulness of applying a heritage assessment in evaluating the needs of the whole person. Second, this paper will review information collected through interviews from three families each from a different culture. This section will address the differences in health traditions between the different cultures, including health maintenance, health protection, and health restoration. The three cultures being discussed include Chinese, Hispanic and American. The American heritage is that of the authors and will focus on the author’s religion of Mormonism. Common health traditions will be identified and how families subscribe to these traditions and practices will be discussed. The goal of this paper is to provide a greater understanding of the heritage assessment tool, how health traditions may vary in other cultures and how families subscribe to traditions and practices. People have a different cultural heritage that effects their beliefs and traditions. It is important to respect each individual’s different heritage. Rachael Spector created the Heritage Assessment Tool, a questionnaire used to assess an individual’s heritage. When describing this tool it states, â€Å"This set of questions can be used to investigate a given patient’s or your own ethnic, cultural, and religious heritage. It can help you to perform a heritage assessment to determine how deeply a given person identifies with a particular tradition. It is most useful in setting the stage for understanding a person’s health traditions† (Cultural, 2012, sec. 3) The heritage assessment tool helps to determine one’s ethnic, religious and ultural background. When showing sensitivity to a patient’s culture it can create a good relationship with them. Understanding the culture of a patient is important for the nurse so as to provide care that fits the patient’s health traditions. Once beliefs and culture are identified a nurse can respect those cultures and give culturally appropriate care to the patient. People come from different cultures with different heritage traditions, especially when dealing with health. Nurses have to respect these cultural diversities. By using a heritage assessment a nurse can understand the needs of their patient. A person’s cultural heritage, religion, and /or beliefs, greatly influences a person’s response to medical care and their health traditions (Spector, 2009). When looking at health heritage, one needs to look at traditional health methods used to maintain, protect, and restore health. These three methods have been described as follows, â€Å"Health maintenance—the traditional beliefs and practices, such as daily health-related activities, diet, exercise, rest, and clothing, used to maintain health. Health protection—the traditional beliefs and practices about what should be done on special occasions or on an ongoing basis for health protection, such as food taboos and wearing amulets. Health restoration—the traditional beliefs and practices concerning the activities, such as the use of folk remedies and healers, that must be used to restore health† (Cultural, 2012, sec. Selected Cultural Care Terms). Three individuals from different cultures have been interviewed to discuss their views on these health methods based on their heritage and traditions. Those three cultures include Chinese, Hispanic, and American. In the Chinese culture, the people believe that herbs and tea are essential in the healing and maintaining of ones body. To help with health maintenance many people in the Chinese culture will clean using herbs. To promote health protection different tea can be drank to prevent different illnesses, for example ginger tea can help prevent the flu. Chinese individuals may use different tea to help fight an illness, they believe herbal tea can help restore health after a bad cold or cough (J. Chen, personal communication, February 28, 2013). When it comes to health the majority of Hispanic culture are very strong believers in their religion. Often Hispanic families come from a Catholic faith and have a strong belief in God and prayer. In the Hispanic culture, families are very close and this typically includes the extended family. Some feel that living by family helps with stress and overall happiness, which improves health. When is comes to health they think eating is important and eggs are helpful in health maintenance. They also use tea and herbs for healing purposes. Many times Hispanics include their family in health decisions (L. Bayardo, personal communication, February 28, 2013). The last family interviewed was the author’s family. The author comes from an American heritage. In America there are so many different types of cultures and heritages. The author feels that his family heritage gains most of its beliefs and traditions from religion. The author grew up a Latter Day Saint, also known as a Mormon. In the Mormon religion families put a lot of belief in God, prayer, and priesthood blessings for healing and health. Mormons also believe in the use of modern day medicine for health and healing. In order to maintain and protect health Mormons believe in healthy eating habits, healthy living habits and abstaining from drugs, alcohol and coffee. Mormons have similar health habits and traditions to many Americans with other religions. Based on the interviews conducted many cultures believe in having healthy eating habits for health maintenance. It is also shown that different cultures have different ideas of health protection and restoration. These different methods can all be beneficial and should be respected. The different families subscribe to and support their heritage by practicing the things they have been taught and sharing the information that has been passed down. In order to keep traditions alive and health habits to be observed and practiced they need to be understood and respected by the next generation. Heritage and culture help individuals to understand whom they are, where they come from, and what they believe. There are many different cultures, each having different beliefs and values. These beliefs and values contribute to different perceptions on health and illness. By assessing an individual’s cultural heritage, nurses can have effective communication and provide meaningful care to their patients. It is important for nurses to not only understand their own cultural practices, but other cultures as well. In order to offer the best care heritage and culture need to be understood and respected.

Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood-Free-Samples for Students

Emerging adulthood has been reckoned as a phase in an individual’s life spanning from age 18 to 25 years that falls within the period encompassing late adolescence and early adulthood.   It has been designated as the age of identity exploration characterized by vital attributes such as instability, self-focus, sense of plethora of possibilities for the future alongside feeling in between adolescence and adulthood. This proposed distinctive stage has been found to vary significantly between developed and developing nations (Arnett, 2014). The normative social in addition to the psychological conditions are depicted by virtue of this stage that may be further equated and corroborated with the Erikson’s psychosocial theory of development which aims to emphasize on personality build up from childhood to adulthood through consideration of the external factors, society and parents (Syed, 2015). As per Erikson’s theory, a person’s life cycle is divisible into e ight interrelated stages that a person must pass through during his or her lifetime. The age group for emerging adulthood may be related to the young adulthood phase as described by Erikson. In this age group of young adulthood, people tend to seek companionship and love whereby psychological strengths rest on these virtues primarily. A crisis for intimacy over isolation often engulfs this vulnerable group. They are on the lookout for satisfying relationships and deep intimacy at this phase and in case of non-conformance to such ambitions, isolation might occur. Associations and bonding tend to be stronger with the marital partner and friends through nurturing (Dunkel & Harbke, 2017). Thus, it may be said that emerging adulthood and Erikson’s stage of young adult is essentially interrelated. Arnett, J. J. (2014).  Adolescence and emerging adulthood. Boston, MA: Pearson. Dunkel, C. S., & Harbke, C. (2017). A review of measures of Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development: Evidence for a general factor.  Journal of Adult Development,  24(1), 58-76. Syed, M. (2015). Emerging adulthood: Developmental stage, theory, or nonsense.  The Oxford handbook of emerging adulthood, 11-25.

Effective outsourcing allows companies to focus on their core business Essay

Effective outsourcing allows companies to focus on their core business - Essay Example For example India has about 5-6% of the global outsourcing market share and from it, it was able to generate revenue of US $ 10.9 billion in the year 2008 (Bijan 2009). By description, outsourcing is a process by which a company contracts a third party to perform for them a particular function that is not considered as one of the company’s core activities. The third party can be another company or a person. Outsourcing is more prominent in countries with high wage rates where companies outsource their non-core functions to countries with low wage rates for example China and India. The main advantages or reasons for outsourcing include gaining access to globally competitive capabilities, control and reduce operation costs, accelerate re-engineering benefits, share risks, and reduce time and efforts for marketing. It also enables a company to utilize resources that are not available internally, free their resources for development of other resources and improve their focus on th e core business activities of the company (Bijan et al 2002). The intention of this essay is to show how effective outsourcing enables/allows companies to keep a focus on their core businesses. Various writers have identified various dimensions that should be considered when making outsourcing decisions. This paper gives a discussion of four of these namely, core competencies, spatial, geographic and product innovation dimension. Under core competencies dimension, a company should not only consider growing in size and scope but it should also ensure that it maintains it specializes in and sustains focus on its core competencies. This means it should not only focus on repetitive tasks but extend to include a wider range of activities. These include knowledge-intensive tasks and sensitive functions for example R&D and design. This will enable the company to increase knowledge from external sources and hence be flexible in responding to challenges and pressures from competition (Stark et al 2006). According to (Bijan et al 2002) the process of outsourcing non-core activities allows a company to step up its resource allocation and managerial attention to those tasks it does the best. These tasks constitute the core business activities/core competencies of the company. This leads to workers and managers being more committed to the company’s core activities. This in turn increases flexibility and responsiveness which generate beneficial impacts on the performance of the firm. Such a specialization leads to high quality production. This is important in the current local and global sectors and markets characterized by very competitive pressures, complex technologies and short product life cycle. Another dimension to be considered in outsourcing decision making is spatial dimension. In this dimension, the company should explore the geographic span of the outsourcing activity. This includes the spatial distribution of all activities that are to be outsourced and the geographic extend of the value chains that will result from this. Dhanapal et al (20080 explains that this dimension has to receive adequate attention because it can result to larger inventories, greater flexibility and longer lead times. Larger spatial span can also result to coordination and communication difficulties and lowered advantage of costs that are fixed in nature. The company therefore has to consider the competitive advantages of the territories and competitive strategies of their firms. In the

Statistical Process Control Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Statistical Process Control - Essay Example There are many factors that affect the scenario like mental focus, body strength, direction of air, kick intensity, shoe structure and level of tiredness etc. Despite these factors the players are selected in teams for their marksmanship. The question that arises here is that if a player cannot exhibit exactly same performance again and again then what the criterion of a player selection is? The answer to this question is very simple. Players are selected on the basis of level of control and their consistency to exhibit that ranged control over and over again. For example if a bull’s eye miss rate of a shooter remains in certain acceptable limits then he would be considered in control of his expertise. Evans J. R. (1991) in his book, indicates that a production process generally comprise of the entities namely People, Materials, Machines, Measurements and Methods. It is observed that these factors are the main causes of variations in a production process. The causes of variati ons are observed to be of two types. Common causes: That can be reduced by introducing changes in the process but cannot be eliminated completely. For example using a better version of sail may improve the output of yachting endeavor. Special causes: however are easy to be figured out and eliminated. For example upon discovery of a malfunction a machine repair can re-align the process of production etc. As mentioned earlier that despite the absence of exact replication, the process are considered and relied upon due to the â€Å"Under Control Factor†, the inception of process control seems essential for almost all processes. The Fundamental Concepts And Aims Of SPC: Regarding the assurance of product quality the conventional approach is to inspect the product after manufacturing in order to pass it or to reject it. This approach is found to be less economical and wasteful since a whole lot of manufactured product may be rejected due to a consistent production flaw. A better a pproach is to timely stop the flawed process of production in order to curb manufacturing of products that do not meet the required specifications. The process oriented approach that emphasizes on analysis of production data produced at runtime in order to control the quality of the product by keeping its construction between specifically determined limits is called Statistical Process Control. The term â€Å"Statistical† indicates the involvement, study and analysis of numeric data values that hold production information. The SPC comprises of, Selection of Observation Samples from process of production. Quality Characteristics Measurement. Data recording and calculations. Construction of Control Charts and other assisting graphs. Chart analysis for problem identification. Cause determination and rectification in case of a problem. The approach of SPC is aimed towards, Optimizing the cost – production ratio. Facilitating the production operators in identifying the prob lems that arise due to the usage of inappropriate materials, tools and equipments. Enabling the operators to determine the normal control limits and bearable ranges of variations in order to ease the process of frequent machine adjustments. Enabling the production managers to assess the capability extent of the production process to which it can produce a product within control limits. Supporting decision making regarding purchase of new equipment. Keeping

Oedipus and his destiny Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Oedipus and his destiny - Essay Example Throughout the conclusion section of the tragedy, it is clear that if not cautious, perceptions on fate can determine what actions we partake into to direct us to our destiny. Oedipus seems to have lost his track of events that brought him happiness and laments that his inability to discern where good things are makes him miserable. Belief in fate as foretold by a prophet that he’d kill his father and commit incest with his mother appear to be grave concerns on his fate-dependent destiny. In several instances, Oedipus recedes into self blame where he almost rushes to label himself worthless following all the predicaments that he has faced â€Å"†¦now Ive exposed my guilt, horrendous guilt†¦, â€Å"(Sophocles, Oedipus the King, Line 1517). It becomes difficult for him to once again understand why all the anguish and agony have to fall on his path of existence. Despite the fact that has been through many difficult moments, Oedipus is particularly having trouble to come to terms with the death of his wife (who also happens to be his mother). From the beginning of the excerpt, it appears that something else was troubling the restless man wh en he enters into the scene. Apparently, his wife was also having some seriously tormenting moments of her life before she opts for the noose as a way to find relieve from her adversaries. The emphasis of her bitter gesticulations near her matrimonial bed must have a direct connection with the actions of Oedipus, who is also disturbed. It gets clearer that Oedipus must have contributed to the trouble of the dead woman when he admits that that it won’t happen again that she could continue facing the hard life that he subjected her to. In Sophocles, Oedipus the King (Line1406), Oedipus laments and discloses his part in the tragic death of his wife by saying â€Å"youll see no more the pain I suffered, all the pain I caused!† His destiny in the unfamiliar path of

Leadership in organisations during post-recession period Essay

Leadership in organisations during post-recession period - Essay Example Furthermore, there are predictions that in the next 5 years the rapid economic growth of China would suffer a major setback, while some expect India and Brazil to face similar economic slowdown at the same time. Increased globalisation in finances and trade has led to increased integration, which in turn has acerbated specific economic conditions globally, creating greater challenges for business firms. The main challenges for organisations arising from the current economic crisis are: Achieving success in developing economies is not as easy as before and making profits from fast growing markets is increasingly turning more difficult as costs are increasing, there is greater competition, and even the fast developing economies are now slowing down owing to global recession (Ernst & Young, 2011); Divergent markets: Owing to globalisation, as the organisations enter markets having different business culture and environment and varying prospects they tend to face various challenges assoc iated with increasing functional and management complexities (Ernst & Young, 2011); More importance are being attached to dynamic policies, which are largely unpredictable, shows a sign increasing protectionism is creating serious challenges for the organisations. Business firms are also expressing increasing concerns over sharp increase in taxes as governments try to acquire greater revenues to make up for the public fund deficit (Ernst & Young, 2011); Talented people and specialised workers are becoming increasingly difficult to find. Organisations all over the world are finding it increasingly difficult to locate the right candidates and there is scarcity of good leaders and specialised workers (Ernst &... Leadership in organisations during post-recession period A few years back when large companies faced the prospect of losing their stronghold within the arena of domestic markets, they simply searched for fast developing economies in order to make higher profits. Currently, owing to widespread economic globalisation and the looming financial downturn, there is a significant slowdown in economic growth, rise in stiff competition, increase in operational and management complexities and a significant shortage of skilled/specialised workers within key markets, which is turning into a major challenge for various business organisations. Many of the experts have predicted a fresh economic downturn by the end of 2012 primarily initiated by debt defaults in Eurozone (Ernst & Young, 2011). Furthermore, there are predictions that in the next 5 years the rapid economic growth of China would suffer a major setback, while some expect India and Brazil to face similar economic slowdown at the same time. The challenges faced by the organisations during recession makes it necessary for one to take into consideration the various leadership and negotiation skills that are necessary to steer business firms through the difficult period and prepare them for an economic upturn. In this context, some experts have contended that favourable economic conditions create a management and operational environment that is lax in nature, which is tightened up during economic recessions.

Karl Marx, Estranged Labor in Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of Essay

Karl Marx, Estranged Labor in Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844 (pdf) - Essay Example The workers were surprised to be given their last pay slip and were told that their contracts or workloads for LEX media are over. There was no prior notice, no just basis or any just explanation of the dismissal. Apparently, LEX media did this already in 2005 where more than 80 workers under News Division were also dismissed. The works rights to livelihood and job security were trivialized and ignored. It is true that labor produces for the rich wonderful things – but for the worker it produces privation. It produces palaces – but for the worker, hovels. It produces beauty – but for the worker, deformity. It replaces labor by machines, but it throws one section of the workers back into barbarous types of labor and it turns the other section into a Machine. It produces intelligence – but for the worker, stupidity, cretinism. Platinum is a vital metal utilized in most industries. South Africa is the worlds leading supplier of Platinum. A massive platinum mining operation exists in the country where over 80,000 African mining workers. The miners earn $400 a month and works in the harshest working conditions hazard pay and meager health benefits. Unionists are massacred, threatened, jailed or illegally dismissed. The worker becomes all the poorer the more wealth he produces, the more his production increases in power and size. The worker becomes an ever cheaper commodity the more commodities he creates. Sreymonm is a 23 year old factory worker in Cambodia. Her daily shift starts from 7 AM to 4 PM, six days a week. With regular over time, she is only paid 50 cents per hour or over $85 per month. Workers are the backbone of and industry as they help build wealth and abundance. Ironically, they are twice poorer than the wealth they bring (Larson, 2014). Filipino workers from the Pentagon Steel Company produce steel pipes, roofing, wiring,

Differentiation of Developed, Least Developed and Developing Countries Dissertation

Differentiation of Developed, Least Developed and Developing Countries under WTO Trade Regime - Dissertation Example By the end of the Second World War, the global community realized that international trade practices were required function within a multilateral framework. After the Great Depression of the late 1920, and the early 1930s, the major trading countries had imposed a set of trade protection measures which had impeded the smooth flow of international trade. This time, the countries did not want to commit the same mistake. They realized the requirement of a multilateral standard in the arena of international trade. The nations also realized that promoting international trade was one of the methods to rectify the destruction caused by the Second World War. Global trade could play a significant role in stimulating economic development in countries across the world. These requirements urged the global community to establish the WTO which was solely dedicated to formulate laws, supervise practices and settle disputes in matters relating to international trade. Presently, 150 countries from around the world are members of the WTO. The reason behind the popularity of the organization among countries could be that the WTO is the only multilateral institution which directs its efforts towards creating a completely interdependent global economy. The basic objective of the WTO is to implement the increased liberalization of international trading practices, because the organization believes that countries can promote their own economic development by engaging in the worldwide trading of

What steps should an American leader undertake to avoid Civil War of Essay

What steps should an American leader undertake to avoid Civil War of 1860 - Essay Example The backdrop or case in history that would be a noted example would be the American Civil War during the late nineteenth century. To start off, this paper would try to look into the causes of the American Civil War and see which among the factors was the most pressing or critical for the war to start with. From that point, this paper will then explain what would be the personal suggestions or actions that could have been taken to prevent any further escalation of hostilities between both opposing sides during the civil war. If I Were the United States President During the 1860’s, How Would I Prevent the Civil War? It is difficult to be the head of state when dealing with the likelihood of civil war. Such instances would mean either two things for a president. One option is to immediately choose a side among the belligerents, which could mean either the losing or winning side. The other option is to try to remain neutral while encouraging much political maneuver or diplomatic a pproach as the only way to engage the problem. The head of state usually makes these decisions based on political alignment, economic advantage, or the moral high ground. Perhaps an ideal scenario that would make a great example would be the American Civil War. ... Defenders of slavery from the Southern Confederacy held that slaves are needed to run their economy since most of their economy runs on agricultural growth and development, especially with cotton crops. At the same time, slaves were views by southerners as property and were held as to have private protected ownership by right of the owner. In the case of the northern side, their economy is largely based on industrial progress and trading of equipment and materials. This gave the northern side the advantage over the south in terms of economy and, eventually, military power. The use of slaves for the north was not really needed for their economy to run. Although Leidner (2011) held the opinion that: Although slavery was  the  moral issue of the nineteenth century that divided the political leaders of the land, the average American had very little interest in slaves or slavery. Most Southerners were small farmers that could not afford slaves. Most Northerners were small farmers or t radesmen that had never even  seen  a slave. The problem then is not solely on the economic issues of slavery, but it is found on the politics that revolved around slavery. Handlin (1864) further observed that: The institution of slavery has, doubtless, been a true cause of secession and rebellion, although there have been many who disputed the proposition, and alleged that the tariff and other questions were more powerful agents in causing the South to throw off her allegiance and seek protection from the injustice of the North in a separate and independent government. (pp.41-42) It should also be noted that the seat of the Federal government and power is located at the northern side, and most

Knowledge Management Essay Example for Free

Knowledge Management Essay The concept of treating organizational knowledge as a valuable asset to leading organizations has been popularized by leading management and organization theorists. Organizations are being advised that in order to remain competitive, they must efficiently and effectively create, locate, capture, and share their organizations knowledge and expertise, and have the ability to use that knowledge on specific problems and opportunities. Firms are showing a tremendous interest in implementing knowledge management processes and technologies, and are even beginning to adopt knowledge management as part of their overall business strategy. Although knowledge management is becoming widely accepted, few organizations today are fully capable of developing and leveraging critical organizational knowledge to improve their performance. Many organizations have become so complex that their knowledge is fragmented, difficult to locate and share, and therefore redundant, inconsistent or not used at all. In todays environment of rapid change and technological discontinuity, even knowledge and expertise that can be shared is often quickly made obsolete. However, while many people call for effectively managing knowledge, almost no research has been done regarding how to do it. What is Knowledge? Knowledge is commonly distinguished from data and information. Data represents observations or facts out of context, and therefore not directly meaningful. Information is derived from placing data within some meaningful context, often in the form of a message. Knowledge is what we come to believe and value based upon the meaningfully organized information (messages) one gains through experience, communication or inference. Knowledge can be viewed both as a thing to be stored and manipulated and also as a process of simultaneously knowing and acting that is, applying expertise. In order to succeed in todays business world, organizations need to manage knowledge both as an object and as a process. Knowledge can be tacit or explicit. Tacit knowledge is subconsciously understood and applied, difficult to articulate, developed from direct  experience and action, and usually shared through highly interactive conversation, story-telling and shared experience. Explicit knowledge on the other hand, can be more precisely articulated. Therefore, although more conceptual, it can be more easily codified, documented, transferred or shared. Explicit knowledge is playing an increasingly large role in organizations, and it is considered by some to be the most important factor of production in the knowledge economy. Imagine an organization without procedure manuals, product literature, or computer software. Knowledge may be of several types, each of which may be made explicit. Knowledge about something is called declarative knowledge. A shared, explicit understanding of concepts, categories, and descriptors lays the foundation for effective communication and knowledge sharing in organizations. Knowledge of how something works or is performed is called procedural knowledge. Shared explicit procedural knowledge lays a foundation for efficiently coordinated action in organizations. Knowledge why something occurs is called causal knowledge. Shared explicit causal knowledge, often in the form of organizational stories, enables organizations to coordinate strategy for achieving goals or outcomes. Knowledge also may range from general to specific. General knowledge is broad and independent of particular events. Specific knowledge, in contrast, is context-specific. General knowledge can be more easily and meaningfully codified and exchanged, especially among different knowledge or practice communities. Codifying specific knowledge in order for it to be meaningful across an organization requires its context to be described along with the focal knowledge. This requires explicitly defining contextual categories and relationships that are meaningful across knowledge communities. Implementing Knowledge Effective performance and growth in knowledge-intensive organizations requires integrating and sharing highly distributed knowledge. Although tacit knowledge develops through observing action, it is more easily exchanged, distributed, or combined among communities of practice by being  made explicit. However, explicating tacit knowledge so it can be efficiently and effectively shared and reused is one of the least understood aspects of knowledge management. Even so, deciding which explicit knowledge an organization should use can affect competitive performance. Knowledge may be naturally tacit or it might appear that way because it hasnt been articulated yet, most likely because of social issues. Articulating particular types of knowledge may not be culturally legitimate, because challenging what the organization knows may not be socially or politically correct, or the organization may be unable to see beyond its customary habits and practices. Also, making private knowledge public and accessible may result in a redistribution of power that may be upsetting or rebelled upon in particular organizational cultures. Knowledge also may remain unarticulated because of intellectual constraints in cases where organizations have no formal language or model in order to articulate it. Potentially explicable knowledge that has not been articulated displays a lost opportunity to efficiently share and disperse that knowledge. If competitors have articulated the integration of similar knowledge, then they may obtain a competitive advantage. However, knowledge that is naturally inarticulable that organizations attempt to make explicit may result in the knowledge being lost, and performance suffering. Articulable knowledge that has been made explicit represents an opportunity that has been taken advantage of. Organizations often do not challenge the way knowledge is stored, treated or passed on. However, managers should not blindly accept the apparent tacitness of knowledge. Mrs. Fields Cookies, for example was able to develop a knowledge process (baking cookies) to a level high enough to be explicated and articulated in a recipe that produces cookies of consistently high quality. The cookies are apparently supposed to be almost as good as those originally baked by Debbie Fields herself. The famous chef Ray Kroc was extremely successful in articulating and routinizing the process of cooking a hamburger to produce a consistent, if not gourmet, level of quality. Although explicit knowledge represents only a part of the intellectual part of an organization, it plays a crucial role in the overall knowledge strategy of the organization. Its management requires frameworks and well-considered architectures. Knowledge processing can be put into two broad classes: integrative and interactive, each dealing with different knowledge management objectives. Together, these methods provide a broad set of knowledge processing capabilities. They support well-structured bases for managing explicit knowledge while at the same time involving tacit knowledge. Integrative applications use a sequential flow of explicit knowledge into and out of the central base. Producers and consumers interact with this repository rather than with each other directly. The repository becomes the primary means of knowledge exchange, providing a place for members of a knowledge community to contribute their knowledge and views. The primary focus tends to be on the repository and the explicit knowledge it contains, rather than on the contributors, users, or the tacit knowledge they may have. Integrative applications vary in the extent to which knowledge producers and consumers come from the same knowledge community. At one extreme, which is called electronic publishing, the consumers (readers) neither directly engage in the same work nor belong to the same practice community as the producers (authors). Once published, the content tends to be stable, and those few updates that may be required are expected to originate with authors. The consumer accepts the content as it is, and active feedback or modification by the user is not anticipated. For example, the organization may produce a periodic newsletter, or the human resources department may publish its policies or a directory of employee skills and experience. On the other extreme, the producers and consumers are members of the same practice community or organizational unit. While still using a sequential flow, the repository provides a means to integrate and build on their collective knowledge. These are labeled integrated knowledge bases. A best-practices database is the most common application. Practices are  collected, integrated and shared among people confronting similar problems. Regarding the organizational roles for managing integrative applications, acquisition requires knowledge creators, finders, and collectors. Capturing verbal knowledge requires interviewers and transcribers. Documenting observed experiences requires organizational reporters. Surfacing and interpreting deeply held cultural and social knowledge may require corporate anthropologists. Refining requires analysts, interpreters, abstractors, classifiers, editors, and integrators. A librarian or knowledge curator must manage the repository. Others must take responsibility for access, distribution and presentation. Finally, organizations may need people to train users to critically interpret, evaluate and adapt knowledge to new contexts. Interactive applications are focused primarily on supporting interaction among people who hold tacit knowledge. In contrast to integrative applications, the repository is a result of interaction and collaboration rather than the primary focus of the application. Its content is dynamic and evolving. Interactive applications vary by the level of expertise between producers and consumers and the degree of structure placed upon their interaction. Where formal training or knowledge transfer is the objective, the interaction tends to be primarily between instructor and student, or expert and novice, and structured around a discrete problem, assignment or lesson plan. These applications are referred to as distributed learning. In contrast, interaction among those performing common practices or tasks tends to be more ad hoc or emergent. These applications are referred to as forums. They may take the form of a knowledge brokerage an electronic discussion space where people may either search for knowledge (e.g., Does anyone know) or advertise their expertise. The most interactive forums support ongoing, collaborative discussions. The producers and consumers comprise the same group of people, continually responding to and building on each individuals additions to the discussion. The flow continually loops  back from presentation to acquisition. With the appropriate structuring and indexing of the content, a knowledge repository can be developed. A standard categorization scheme for indexing contributions provides the ability to reapply that knowledge across the enterprise. Interactive applications play a major role in supporting integrative business procedures. For example, a forum can be linked to an electronic publishing application for editors to discuss the quality of the contributions, or to offer a place for readers to react to and discuss the publication. Best practice databases typically require some degree of forum interaction, so that those attempting to adopt a practice have an opportunity to discuss its reapplication with its creators. Knowledge Management and Factors Affecting IT Effective use of information technology to communicate knowledge requires an organization to share a common perspective from where the information can be analyzed. The more that communicators share similar knowledge, background and experience, the more effectively knowledge can be communicated via electronically mediated channels. At one extreme, the dissemination of explicit, factual knowledge within a workplace that possess a high level of shared contextual knowledge can be accomplished through access to a central center of data. However, when a common perspective is not present, or the knowledge exchanged is less explicit, or the community is loosely tied together, then more interactive modes such as electronic mail or discussion databases are appropriate. When the perspective is not well shared and knowledge is primarily tacit, communication and narrated experience is best supported with the most interactive modes such as video conferencing or face-to-face conversation. Cultural, People and Organizational Issues Effective knowledge management has to tackle cultural, people and organizational issues first, as these things cannot be solved by purchasing an off-the-shelf product. Conflicts, ambitions and inter-organizational  politics are strong factors of the knowledge management process. The key to a successful knowledge management implementation is a culture that encourages the creation and sharing of knowledge, and processes  ­ technology, in order to handle these problems effectively. Unfortunately, most performance systems and processes do not reward  ­ adequately or maybe at all  ­the sharing and reuse of knowledge. If the culture of the organization does not reward knowledge sharing, then knowledge management is no going to be successful. Employees need strong incentives to participate in such schemes; otherwise they tend to feel that information is being squeezed out of them. If employees see this as an invasion of privacy, it certainly will not work. A company that is going to succeed at knowledge management will need a culture of confidence, trust, mutual respect and mutual support which encourages the application of knowledge, and a willingness to share power through shared information. Sharing knowledge will only be successful when a market  ­demand and supply ­ for knowledge is created. Eventually, the shared knowledge base will lead to the erosion of private power bases, as high-quality information becomes available online. While technology can only be an enabler and not a driver, some solutions, can influence organizational culture and help to bring about the necessary changes. In particular, if a technology solution provides quality information in a shared knowledge base that is fast and easy to access, people will want to participate. For example, at Motorola, a knowledge management system piloted by one group of users was provided on a read-only basis to everyone. Soon everyone demanded the ability to participate in full. In conclusion, one can see how understanding and utilizing knowledge management can lead to success in an organization. Developing effective methods of knowledge retrieval, analysis and dissemination will yield great benefits to any organization.

Inter-organizational Cooperation Essay Example for Free

Inter-organizational Cooperation Essay The fundamental principle of a resonance inter-organizational cooperation is that an agency must give up something in order to get something else in return. The cooperation of local or international organizational is fostered to ensure that both organization benefit from each other. The inter-organizational attraction brought about by trust plays a big role in helping such collaborations to achieve their goals. Paying much attention on developing leadership styles that will promote effectual and collaborative value chains through building of a closer relationship which comprises of trust, commitment, cooperation, and coordination needed between organization members guarantees success of the alliance. Inter-organizational cooperation has continued focusing on leadership as the key for its success. A clear leadership of a focal organization accounts for a stable alliance by guaranteeing legitimacy and authority within the alliance. Effective leadership helps to deal with social, economic and environmental concerns within the inter-organization (Ebers, 1999). In addition, the inter-organization cooperation are increasingly focusing on leadership so as to ensure coordination by merging resources to achieve new things and address common issues through group decision making. Consequently, the leadership behavior of adapting to the competitive global environment through inter-organizational cooperation rather than competing in an adversarial manner ensures survival of the collaboration. This can be attained through impacting leaders with supply chain management skills so that they may be able to establish and maintain effective inter-organizational networks. Proper investment in leaders will ensure that the desired business results are met given that leaders will facilitate an open exchange of proposals which will foster collaboration. Examples include; Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), International Labor Organization (ILO) and Consortia and Enduring Construction firms in the U. S.

How Stalin Became The Leader Of The Soviet History Essay

How Stalin Became The Leader Of The Soviet History Essay The purpose of this paper is to examine how Stalin became the sole leader of the Soviet Union while he was regarded to the Politburo as a minor player who had no chance of defeating Trotsky. Was Stalin politically strong from the beginning of this power struggle? Did Trotsky even want to become the Soviet Unions sole leader? To what extent were Stalins opponents weak during the power struggle? Were there any external factors that led to Stalins rise for power? Was there any luck involved in this event? These questions would be examined or answered in the investigation. This essay focuses on the time period from 1924- the start of Soviet Russias political power struggle- to 1929, Stalins formal role of totalitarian dictatorship. This paper draws on a verity of primary source diary material, newspaper articles, secondary source books and periodical articles which serve as some historiography for analyzing the critical issue of how clever and cunning was Stalin in this power struggle. This has been a subject of debate over many historians since Lenins death and the debate is examined in this paper. This paper concludes that a combination of Stalins political skills and his personality caused Trotsky to be eliminated during the power struggle while Stalin became the sole leader. Due to the complexity of events, we cannot determine whether this factor could be played out by itself however, most renowned historians share the same views with the factor of Stalins political skills being the most important cause that led to his uprising. Introduction In 1924, a massive political struggle occurred in the Soviet Union. Vladimir Lenin, leader of the former Bolshevik Party and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, died on the 21st of January in 1924.  [1]  Lenin had held the party together since 1917 and had been the central person to determine its policies.  [2]  Without providing a clear successor, he left the party in chaos and the in-fighting and division could jeopardize or pull apart the Communist Party. Lenins death did not occur at the right time and there were issues that the Soviet Union faced regarding to the route towards socialism, leadership in the party and the problems of a growing bureaucracy.  [3]  There were many conflicts between the key party leaders personalities and this led to a struggle over power that lasted for the next five years. This has led some historians to call it a struggle over power, rather than for power since the Politburo members priority was keeping each other out of power rathe r than gaining power for themselves.  [4]  Joseph Stalin was regarded as a minor player in the beginning and Trotsky was famously named as the chief contender of this massive power struggle. Trotsky was the most prominent and power Bolshevik leader since he was the commander of the Red Army from 29 August 1919 to 15 January 1925. However in 1929, Joseph Stalin emerged as the sole leader of the power struggle. Although historians readily acknowledge Stalin as the sole leader in 1929, the question remains on how was Stalin able to become the Soviet Unions sole leader while he was regarded as a minor player who had no chance in defeating Trotsky. Two main interpretations dominated the debate over the relationship between Stalins political skills and the weaknesses of his opponents. Many historians hold the conviction that Stalins political skills were too ruthless as Stalin himself admitted, Yes, I am rough, rough on those who roughly and faithlessly try to destroy the Communist Party.  [5]  On the other hand, different historians seek to dissociate Stalins personality from Trotskys weaknesses. Those historians argued that Trotsky had no talent or tactic and had no intention to fight in the battle for power in the first place. The purpose of this essay is to evaluate the factors that led to Stalins rise to power over Trotsky. Though Stalin had a ruthless character, he was named Russias third most popular historical figure in a nationwide poll despite the famine and purges that marked his rule.  [6]  The essay examines Stalins political skills and personality, and the weakness of his opponents. Based on the result of this examination, it is possible to conclude that although Trotsky was the most powerful candidate, the nature of Stalins personality and actions were noticeably stronger than Trotsky. Stalin had much desire and motivation to get to the top. Therefore, this essay will argue that the most significant reason for Stalins uprising is his political abilities and personality. This investigation is worthy to examine because it may become a reference to future power struggles that are similar to Stalins rise of power. After examining this topic, one can acknowledge that successful candidates must h ave a strong personality along with potential abilities that reaches the high expectations of this criterion. 1. Stalins Political Skills and Personality The most dominant factor that led to Joseph Stalins success as the sole leader was his political skills and personality. This point of view is shared by many historians and they tend to dissociate Leon Trotsky from the question of having no talent. Historian J.N. Westwood argued that Stalin was immensely cunning and wrote that Stalin stood back and watched his rivals dig their own graves, likening his actions to a dog that steals a bone when two others are fighting over it.  [7]  This source is valuable because it was exactly what happened during the power struggle as Stalin swayed from the left wing to the right wing to eliminate all his opponents by the end of 1929. A former Politburo member, Nikolai Bukharin, also agreed that Stalin was ruthless and in his book, he wrote, Stalin is a Genghis Khan, an unscrupulous intriguer, who sacrifices everything else to the preservation of powerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ He changes his theories according to whom he needs to get rid of next.  [8]  Hence, we can state that Stalins political personality played a significant role in the history of the power struggle. Bukharin, a former contender in the political battle can give us important historical answers however there are limitations. Since he was Stalins opponent, he would probably have his own views and therefore one can conclude that his historical information may be biased. There also seemed to be a minority opinion. Author, Theodore VonLaue disagrees with the major views and writes, What he (Stalin) lacked were the very qualities in which the former exiles excelled.  [9]  One can refute Theodores point with major evidence from trusted historians therefore it seems that Stalins political skills were the most important reason for the downfall of Trotsky. One of the most obvious advantages Stalin had over Trotsky was his immense positions of power gained with his political skills and personality. As, historian Chris Ward writes, Stalins personality cannot be divorced from the world in which he functioned.  [10]  Stalin was appointed head of the Workers and Peasants Inspectorate, in command of the Orgburo and he was a newly elected member of the Politburo which became the main organ of power.  [11]  In March 1919, Yakov Sverdlov died of Spanish flu and Lenin was left with a few top administrators to replace Sverdlov. At that time, Stalin had gained Lenins trust (since Stalin appeared very loyal to Lenin) and Lenin clearly did not want all the powers in one hands since Trotsky was already the Red Armys commander. Therefore, he appointed Stalin over Trotsky as the partys first General Secretary whom was in charge of the general organization.  [12]  Other Bolsheviks saw these jobs as a part of the dull routine of party bureauc racy and paid little attention to him which gave Stalin an enormous advantage as the Grey Blur in the battle for power.  [13]  Having the position of a General Secretary was a crucial factor for the rise of Stalin. Stalin had control over every step of the hierarchy as he controlled the first step of ladder. He had the privilege to appoint new members who owed him their loyalty. Therefore having the title, General Secretary was effective to place supporters in key positions to win and deliver votes that outmaneuvered political opponents. Stalin could also set the agenda for the Politburo meetings so he controlled what the politburo talked about. Furthermore, he controlled the leaflets which meant that he had power over the enemies political image. Stalin was basically in control of the whole Political Machine in USSR after Lenins death. After Lenins death, Stalin rose in power because of his cunning manipulative personality and it was shown in the event of Lenins Funeral. One can clearly tell how significant and effective Stalins skills because he wanted to portray himself as the legitimate successor and destroy Trotskys positive image as Lenins chosen successor. Lenin died on the 21st of January 1924 and his funeral was held six days after his death in the Red Square.  [14]  The cult of Leninism had just begun after the Red Terror and Stalin gave it momentum at Lenins Funeral by acting as a pallbearer and giving the oration with an oath of loyalty made to Lenins legacy.  [15]  Stalin had contacted Trotsky, whom was resting in South Russia because of his illness. Having a cunning personality, Stalin convinced Trotsky to not attend Lenins Funeral because he would not been able to arrive on time and by accepting Stalins proposal, Trotskys image was heavily injured. At the end of the Funeral, Stalin had a very successful outcome because the general public had the impression that he was designated to become Lenins successor since it looked like he was taking on the Mantle of Leninism.  [16]  This event showed how Trotskys weaknesses were exploited by Stalin and used to gain better credibility. This event provides an overwhelming amount of evidence of how Stalin applied his clever but sinister tactics and it reflected on Stalins true personality. From 1922 onwards, Stalins true personality was gradually more transparent. Stalin posed as a moderate in the Communist Party spectrum between Trotsky on the Left wing and Bukharin on the Right wing in the early 1920s.  [17]  He had avoided making definite policy decisions until 1928. This allowed him to stay away from political disputes within the party and he would be able to gain the support from the Liberals and the Conservatives. Stalin used policy disagreements to outflank and isolate his opponents and successfully presented the views of his opponents as anti-communist or anti-Leninist. This highlighted how Stalin successfully manipulated Lenins Ban on Factions by using his cunning strategies into his advantages. Robert Conquest stated that, In six years Stalin outmanoeuvred a series of opponents; first in alliance with the rest of his colleagues, he opposed and demoted Trotsky. Then in alliance with the Bukharin-Rykov Right he defeated the Zinoviev-Kamenev Left blocà ¢Ã¢â €š ¬Ã‚ ¦ and finally he and his own following attacked their hitherto allies, the Rightists.  [18]  Robert Conquest, a well known British historian, retold a section of the timeline when Stalin is rising to power. In ones opinion, Stalin was ruthless and did whatever it took to be the sole leader of Soviet Russia and historian R. Conquest along with Bukharin acknowledges Stalin switching sides with whoever he wanted to eliminate and evidently his cruel personality was exposed. However, Stalins strategy convinced people he was dull and mediocre, hence he was known as the Grey Blur which left no trace.  [19]  This valuable quote demonstrated Stalins strategic skills which gave him immunity to criticism because his personality was not known clearly. Sukhanov, the diarist of the revolution noted, Stalin however, during the course of his modest activity in the Executive Committee, gave me the impression-and I was not alone in this view, of a grey blur which flickered obscurely and left no trace. There is really nothing more to be said about him.  [20]  By examining Sukhanovs diary, we can state that Stalins political tactics gave him an opportunity to blend in the background. In another example, Deutscher had the same point of view in his review, He carefully followed the course of debate to see what way the wind was blowing and invariably voted with the majority, unless he had assured his majority beforehand.  [21]  Stalins personality had turned t he political battle into a nightmare and his perceived objective was simply to be the last surviving person in the Politburo by eliminating other players first using his gifts from Lenin. Stalin used his external circumstances created by Lenin, very wisely. By analyzing how he incorporated them to his advantage, we would be able to observe his political mindset. Policies like the Ban on Factions, the nomenklatura system and Lenins enrolment were clear examples. The ban on factions, created by Lenin in 1921, called for unity and an end to splits and factionalism as Lenin stated, All members of the Russian Communist Party who are in the slightest degree suspicious or unreliable should be got rid of and this was a massive advantage that enabled Stalin to get rid of his rivals easily after Lenins death.  [22]  The nomenklatura system was established from 1923 onwards and decision making only applied to a few hands in the Communist Party whom most of the voters were loyal Stalinists. The Lenins enrolment was a recruitment campaign that started in 1923 and it increased the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 340,000 members to about 600,000 members by 1925. Althou gh Lenin Enrolment was supposedly for party purposes, General Secretary, Stalin, controlled or vetoed the party list for his own personal gain by placing his supporters in places of political power. These external circumstances were devastating weapons in the hands of Stalin whom could basically control the votes at party congresses. There had also been evidence of his ruthlessness in the 1922 Georgian Affair. Stalin was born in 1878 to a peasant Georgian cobbler family as Iosif Dzhugashvili and changed his name to Stalin as Man of Steel later on.  [23]  He grew up was a violent and lawless place and was frequently involved in brawls with other children.  [24]  Stalin lived a peasant life and he was uneducated but had a unique personality. Stalin hated Georgia and his harshness in imposing the Bolshevik rule on his native country, Georgia, shocked many people including Lenin.  [25]  Lenin wrote in his testament, Stalin is too rude.  [26]  Stalins daughter, Svetlana Alliluyeva had the same point of view and in an interview she said, He was a very simple man. Very rude. Very cruel. Svetlana also said, He broke my life. I want to explain to you. He broke my life twice.  [27]  Sources from Svetlana are very valuable and reliable since it was Stalins daughter and it provides a first persons point o f view on Stalins real personality. In Svetlanas memoir, Twenty letters to a friend she described her fathers personality and she wrote, At this point, and this was where his cruel, implacable nature showed itself, the past ceased to exist for him. Years of friendship and fighting side by side in a common cause might as well never have been.  [28]  Surprisingly, Stalins daughter had a very bad image of her father as she wrote, In his cold-blooded way he cared about only one thing. How is X conducting himself now? Does he admit his mistakes? This source informs us Stalins true personality. He himself did not admit to any wrongdoings and only blames it on his opponents. In ones opinion, he had a very cruel but strong personality and Svetlana has the same view, He is gone, but his shadow still stands over all of us. It still dictates to us and we, very often, obey.  [29]  Stalins personality was mainly caused by his background and he had learned life the hard way through an ind ependent life. Stalin was not considered an intellectual like Trotsky. However, he had the power to lead equals whom Trotsky lacked through manipulation and cunning. Stalins had no fear of behaving immorally or of getting this hands dirty and this contributed largely to his success in taking over the party by 1929.

The Limits of Science Essay -- Philosophy Papers

Does science have any limits? Scientists say no. Philosophers are divided in their response. The humanities say that science is not "humanitarian," and thus not metaphysically deep. In response, scientists and some philosophers contend that science is the best knowledge we have about the world. I argue that science is limited by its form. Science has no object that derives from the human form. Everything that is incomparable to the dimension of the human body is reducible to notions that are commensurable to that body. This phenomenologically clarifies some of the most important discoveries in contemporary science. The Special Theory of Relativity shows the dependence of space and time on the accounting system. Quantum mechanics displays the limits of observation (Heisenberg) and logical indefiniteness by compelling the creation of a macropresentation of micro-objects and gets around logic (Feyerabend) through the principle of additionality. Experimental science has come out as an ar tificial projection of human expansion, not as a reflection of the transcendent order of the world itself. "The life world" successfully takes the place of "the objective world" of modern rationality. Does Empirical Science have any limits? This question is not so interesting for the contemporary philosophy of Science. Not like the questions of reality, objectivity, rationality. I believe, that these questions could be elucidated by answering the question of limitness, or, of form of Science. Does Empirical Science have any limits? The answer of the scientists is No: Science is unlimited. There are no scientifically unresolvable questions, they have sense. The answer of the philosophers is not clear, but it is close to No. It is shown not only i... ...rld. And now, at the issue of this study, occurs a question: Does the pre-scientific grasping of the world through logic, space and time really need the "reinforcement" which the experimental science proposes? Notes (1) Gherdjikov, S. Limits of Science. Sofia, Extreme Press, 1995. (2) See Heelan, P. Space-perception and the Philosophy of Science. Berkeley-Los Angeles-London, University of California Press, 1983. (3) See McTagart, J. The Nature of Existence. Northampton, J. Dickens & Co., 1968. Paragraphs 303-351. (4) Hempel, K., Oppenheim, P. Studies in the Logic of Explanation. N. Y., 1970. (5) Gerdjikov, S. A Matrix Model of Scientific Explanation.-International Congress "Logic and Methodology of Science." Proceedings. Moscow, 1987. Vol. 6, p. 367- 368. (6) Popper, K. The Logic of Scientific Discovery. Hutchinson of London. London, 1959.

AOL : An Exceptional Internet Service Provider :: Internet Online Communication Essays

AOLÂ  : An Exceptional Internet Service Provider The internet is expanding every day to new heights never reached before. To accommodate this new growth, internet service providers are needed. One of the largest internet service providers today is American Online, otherwise known as AOL. AOL has created a friendly atmosphere where online users can easily navigate their way on the internet. There are many reasons as to why AOL is one of the leading internet service providers. By clearly gathering and evaluating these reasons, it is obvious they have made all the right choices in building a successful company. AOL started in the eighties when personal computers were just put on the market. Stephen Case founded the company which was known then as Quantum Computer Services, in 1985. (Shelly, 2001) It was located in Dulles, Virginia. Originally the purpose of the company was to sell limited online service to PC users, as opposed to now where there is unlimited service. Slowly but surely Quantum started providing more services and eventually changed its name to American Online in 1991. By 1994 AOL had 1,000,000 members and had bought Redgate Communications, NaviSoft, BookLink Technologies, and ANS. (Who We Are, 2001) Similarly in 1996 AOL had set up in France, United Kingdom, and Canada, with plans to be in Japan. Now with more than seven million members, a deal is reached for unlimited use per month for $19.95. For the last four years the business has grown into a giant corporation. As of this year AOL has exceeded 31 million members and merged with Time Warner. (WWA, 2001) With this many members, it shows AOL must have an outstanding internet service. Since AOL is so commonly used, its website must be easy, convenient, and informative. The site contains a lot of information including entertainment, health, news, sports, and much more. Chat has become widely popular on the internet, allowing people from around the world to talk. It has been recorded that 56 million hours are used up a month in AOL chat rooms. (WWA, 2001) In addition to chat, news is taken from the television, radio, and newspapers to be posted on the web. There is also a section for kids where they can chat, look for help on homework, and go to other children websites.

Divorce in america Essay -- essays research papers fc

â€Å"It is easier to divorce my wife of 26 years than to fire someone I hired one week ago. The person I hire has more legal clout....than my wife of 26 years. That's wrong." --Judge Randall Hekman, President of the Michigan Family Forum There are, undoubtedly, a number of causes for divorce. Divorce used to be considered scandalous and immoral. This contributed to many marriages surviving despite strains. However, as divorce becomes more common, the more natural and expectable it seems. The number of divorces per year per1000 people in the U.S. has been declining since hitting our highest point in1981. (â€Å"divorce_ rate†) The United States has one of the highest divorce rates in the world. As a, couple’s relationship, marriages are more likely to be broken by divorce than death. (â€Å"rutgers.edu†) Currently 40% (â€Å"divorcereform†) of all marriages end in divorce. What are the reasons for this destruction of the American family? Some analysts attribute economic and social changes in recent decades as reasons for the rise in divorce. As World War II raged on an increasing numbers of women entered the labor force, From 1940 to 1944 over 6 million women joined the workforce filling jobs that had been exclusively male. (â€Å"chicago to go†) They never returned to being homemakers. These, Rosie the Riveter, women became less economically dependent on men and marriage for financial security. Women in unhappy marriages found that they could divorce and still support themselves. These econom...

Biographical Reflection of John the Baptist

Biographical Reflection of a Saint- John the Baptist Though such an accomplished man, not much is known of John the Baptist’s childhood. John, what a basic name right? Wrong, even the name of John was holy, for his name in Hebrew means, â€Å"Jehovah is gracious. † But moving on to his adult life, he pursued the life of a priest without ever being officially recognized as such. The greatest thing that occurred in his adult life was the Baptism of Christ Jesus, our Lord. However, very few people know that Jesus and John were relatives, cousins in fact. John did not know that Christ was the Messiah until the miracle at the Jordan River. When Jesus approached John and asked that he may be baptized in the way of the Lord, John said, â€Å"Should it not be you master, who cleanses me. † And Jesus replied, â€Å"I am but a servant to you, not master. † And with that, John agreed to baptize Christ, but as the water was poured out upon Christ’s head, the Holy Spirit was revealed. Known as the first disciple of the completed Christ, now unified with the Holy Spirit, John continued the mission of baptism. As for when he earned the nickname â€Å"Son of Thunder,† Christ gave the name to him, under rather adverse conditions. They were traveling together through Judea, and Christ was under ridicule. John felt they were being so unjust, so far from the best humanity could be, he asked the lord to wipe them out. At this point Christ prayed that God would forgive them, while telling John, no matter how unjust the Judeans were the Lord will never take life for his name. He was in some senses so close to divinity others asked whether he was the Messiah, however, he always replied, â€Å"Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him. He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friends of the bridegroom, which stand and hear him, rejoice greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: thus my joy therefore is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease. † This showed his humble appreciation of Christ, by saying he must be known less, and Christ more. However shortly after the Miracle at the Jordan, king Herod for the spreading of as he put it, â€Å"an unorthodox faith,† arrested John. He spent two years in prison until he was released because of the new, changing Roman Empire. John eventually went back to baptizing at the Jordan. This career was once again short lived however, for Salome, child of Herodias, demanded his death. And thus his fate was set in stone; he was to be beheaded in A. D. 31. Once beheaded, his head was to be given to Salome on a silver platter, as a sign of disrespect. As for what I think, I feel the act of baptizing Jesus was the highest honor humanly possible. For this he was very lucky to be the one to perform so noble an act. As the first saint I had ever known, John had a substantial impact on my life. As soon as I knew what Confirmation was, I knew I had to pick the first I had known, he with the greatest impact on me, John. I remember always feeling a sense of divinity whenever I saw an illustration of him baptizing Christ. As a child, I always wanted to obtain knowledge; because of this I became increasingly familiar with him, even at an early age. The thing I liked about him the most as a child was how I shared his name. And so, this biographical reflection begins and ends with a name, John.

School Uniform Should Not Be Abolished

Joanna Chong 06. 12. 2011 School Uniforms Should Not Be Abolished Good morning to all my friends. Imagine if you need to choose which clothes to wear to school every morning so that you will look pleasing to everyone in the school, how will you feel? Would you feel very troublesome? Our school plans to abolish school uniforms and allows students to wear any clothes to school. This issue becomes a talking-point in our school. I am totally against the idea as I think uniforms are totally necessary to build proper school culture. Today, I am here to convince you that school uniforms should not be abolished.The reasons why school uniforms should remain are because it brings a lot of advantages to students. First, school uniforms promote a sense of belonging and create good school culture. When all the students wear the same uniform, the spirit of learning in school will be uplifted. It shows that the school expects high standards and students respond with better behavior. Wearing school uniforms also can prevent students especially girls from wearing clothes which harsh to the eye such as miniskirt, sexy dress, short pants and so on.On the other hand, boys can focus on their study if girls wear proper uniforms in school. Besides, equality among students can be maintained in school. No matter what family background are the students having, they will wear the same uniform and the difference between rich and poor is smaller. A student who comes from less fortunate family does not need to worry about being bullied or being disdained in school just because he wears older clothes. Apart from that, students can save their time in the morning to do other things like having breakfast by just simply wearing school uniforms.This is because they do not have to waste time thinking of what to wear to school and how to decorate themselves by putting some decorations on their clothes. Moreover, school uniforms help students to focus on study instead of fashions and trendy clothes. Futhermore, wearing a uniform helps to prepare students for working in the future. This can help students to adapt with the condition of wearing uniforms to work in the future. People like nurses, doctors, the firemen and the policemen wear uniform as part of their job.Other working adults also wear suits to work. In conclusion, school uniforms should not be abolished. Reasons are that school uniforms give a sense of belonging to us, maintain equality among students, help students to focus on study and help them to prepare for working in the future. Therefore I urge all of you, my friends, to sign a petition to the school administration board so that they can take into consideration of the benefits of having us, students to wear school uniform. Thank you. (460 words)

Economics and Scholarship Essay

Through my whole life, I had dreamt of helping people especially those who deserve justice. For this reason, my goal is to graduate from university and become a lawyer. Therefore, I need to find resources that could help me to achieve my goals. There are many ways in which this scholarship will facilitates me. First of all, this scholarship will make it easier for me to function well in my education goals. It gives me an opportunity to further my education at University of Malaya in the field of Law. The scholarship would also provide me with a wealth of chances to take on extra-curricular activities and broaden my experiences to achieve my goals. In particular, it would enable me to be involved in community projects and eventually develop a stronger sense of civic responsibility, teamwork and leadership. Hence, this scholarship would ultimately enable me to apply such skills and experience to my on-going studies and make a positive contribution within the university and wider community. In addition, this scholarship would ensure that my studies are not burdened by financial constraints. See more: how to write a college scholarship essay format In my case, although my father works as government servant, he has to support a family of six. He has to bear my brothers’ school expenses. Moreover, my sister and I are currently pursuing higher education which requires high expenditure. Therefore, a scholarship is vital to alleviate my father’s burden and ease the financial problem in my family. Hence, I would be able to concentrate effectively on completing my studies, not only economically, but also for my personal and professional enrichment. Furthermore, a scholarship recipient is an important achievement that will raise my credentials to obtain a meaningful employment. Besides, it also acts as a useful vehicle to meet variety of people who can assist me in achieving my goals. This opportunity would further build up and improve my confidence and communication skills, an ability necessary to broaden my development as a scholar and an individual. In conclusion, I would greatly appreciate if you would consider me for this scholarship. I certainly believe that this scholarship can make a remarkable contribution to my education in the near future.

Year of Wonders Essay

The plague brings out the best in the village. Do you agree? Throughout the plague year many of the villagers were affected by the tragic hit of the plague. One of the main themes in the novel ‘’fear’’ is something that highly affects the actions and and can completely change their values and morals. Fear which comes complimentary with the plague and can bring out the best and the worst in the villagers. Times of crisis can bring out a monster in all of us, but can a just like jon said â€Å"these times they do make monsters of us all†lso but times like this can also bring out the good.As the plague hit Anna’s town lack of scientific and medical information lead the villagers to draw their own conclusions and superstitions, of the plague. We see fear and emotions take control of the villagers through the lynching of Anys Gowdie, by the angry mob. the crazed mob which accuses Anys of witchcraft just exemplifies the notion that faith can blind p eople along with fear. This event was uncalled for and horrific. The villagers were put under a permanent state of stress and terror, which led people to do some horrendous actions and behave in inhumane ways.In her last words Anys criticises the town and attacks them for their ignorance rather than professing a love for God, which may have saved her. Through these actions Brooks is able to explore the strength of one’s beliefs and morals in distressing situations. Anna however is not blinded by her faith like most of the villagers and does not believe that the plague is an act of God, or witchcraft and simply concludes that it was brought on by nature. perhaps the plague was neither proof God nor the Devil but simple a thing in nature as the stone on which we stub a toe† here Anna show her first signs of apostasy, question faith and shows the development of her new mindset This accentuates how Anna is wise beyond her time and her logic allows her to flourish in this un fortunate chain of events. Times of crisis and the plague can also bring out the good and courageous people like Anna, who are willing to support others and continue to maintain their values and morals no matter what. Anna selflessly works to help the village in all she can do to help fight the plague.Throughout the plague year Anna flourishes. Despite the tragedy of her two sons and husband passing she moves on with her life and give it to helping others. anna develops a sense of identity and independence and begins to step up over the patriarchal standards of women at that time, questioning her faith and society. Crisis of the plague also brought about evil, along with those people who exploit the situation of death, fear and suffering. Jos exploits the villagers who are already suffering immensely, he buries people alive, takes their money and household goods.He shows no regard for humanity in his immoral behavior and is clearly driven by greed and his own selfish desires. Fear a nd tragedy can do many things to people. In Year of Wonders fear brought out the best and the worst in people. The villagers feared death and loss which was a powerful emotion. Times of crisis can change people and make monsters of all of us. The novel shows how fear can exploit bad epople like Anna’s father and Jos. But in others can bring out the best, and change a person for the better.

Toxicology and terrorism (the threat of chemical wepons and there Essay

Toxicology and terrorism (the threat of chemical wepons and there effects) - Essay Example This essay will therefore, explore the health impacts of the September 11 attack on the US in relation to toxic exposure. Dust that resulted from the collapse of the two buildings was heavily toxic according to experts. After the collapse of the two buildings, hundreds of tons of debris were introduced into the atmosphere through dust and smoke. Of the toxic substances resulting from the site, more than 50% consisted of non-fibrous material, 40% consisted of glass fibers that are known to be highly toxic. In addition, large quantities of heavy metals such as mercury and lead were also produced from the site of explosion. The toxic dust emanating from the site also contained high asbestos, polycyclic, aromatic hydrocarbons and cadmium. All the toxic materials produced from the site have diverse and long-lasting health effects on the victims. Majority of the people affected by the toxic materials are the rescue workers and security personnel who stayed around the explosion site for a long time. The toxic substances also affected people who were rescued from the site after being trapped in the rabbles for long time. Toxic materials such as crystalline silica, asbestos, and lead are believed to cause cancer due to their carcinogenic effects. Some of these materials can also cause terminal illness such as heart disease and kidney failure (Timbrell, 2002). Studies carried out on rescue and recovery officers at ground zero indicate a strong correlation between their level of exposure to the toxic debris and their health. Of all rescue officers who in action at ground zero, 75 have been diagnosed with different types of cancer including blood cancer. Respiratory diseases are also common among people who were exposed to t oxic debris (Gupta, 2009). Following these attacks, and the knowledge I have acquired from studying toxicology, I feel adequately prepared to manage toxicological threats. The September 11

Fluid lab ( Head loss through a pipe) Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Fluid ( Head loss through a pipe) - Lab Report Example he pipe whereby its zero at the surface of the pipe, and this is attributed to the no- slip conditions, and its goes to the maximum at the center of the pipe. The rate of fluid flow in a given pipe is not constant. This is attributed to the various opposing factors that hinder the constant flow of the fluid. This factors result in loss of energy of the fluid otherwise known as head loss. Thus head loss can be defined as the total amount of energy reduction of the fluid as it moves. The head loss is caused by the friction of the fluid particles as they are in motion and other minor losses which are caused by various factors which include bends in the pipe, constrictions in the pipe, joints, among others. The losses due to friction are referred to as friction losses and are considered to be the major losses in the pipe (Spellman, 2008). The layout of the apparatus was inspected to make sure that the function of each component is understood. Measurement of the medium and the largest pipe was made and the Q and h of the pipes recorded. From the graph, it can be seen that the velocity is directly proportional to head loss due to friction in that as velocity increases, the head loss due to friction increases. This is a linear

Punk Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Punk - Essay Example The musical and lyrical features of the punk rock, reflected in songs such as â€Å"Anarchy in the U.K.† by the Sex Pistols and â€Å"White Riot† by the Clash, distinguish this genre from the popular music of the period. Therefore, the essential features of the punk musical aesthetics contribute to an understanding of the difference between the punk rock and the other popular rock music styles of the time such as the style of the Beatles. Significantly, â€Å"Anarchy in the U.K.,† the first single of the Sex Pistols, as well as â€Å"White Riot,† the first single of the Clash, divulges the crucial musical and lyrical features of the punk which, in turn, illustrate the distinction of the punk music to the popular music of the day. One notices the quality of fast and bare organization of music in them which reflects the style of the garage rock of the 1960s. The relatively shorter songs of â€Å"Anarchy in the U.K.† as well as â€Å"White Riot,† accompanied by stripped-down instrumentation also indicate the musical elements in the punk rock. These features set the punk rock bands apart from the popular music of the time and the decisive result of this music was undeniably f ar-reaching. As Frith and Horne suggest, â€Å"Punk rock was the ultimate art school music movement. It brought to a head fifteen years of questions about creativity in a mass medium, and tried to keep in play bohemian ideals of authenticity and Pop art ideals of artifice†¦ It ushered popular music into postmodernism.† (Frith and Horne, 124) The short but passionate song of the â€Å"White Riot,† along with quality of its lyrics, which deals with the controversial issues of class and race, illustrates the musical aesthetics of the punk rock in common. The effect of these musical bands, unlike that of the other popular bands such as the Beatles, was visible in the cultural milieu of period. Focusing on the musical elements in the punk rock music, it is illumining to

Was Hitler's rise to power due to his own strengths or to the Essay

Was Hitler's rise to power due to his own strengths or to the situation in Germany - Essay Example Political power sometimes is achieved out of situational advantage.The greatest racist in history Adolph Hitler did exactly that His views as a racist seeped into the general German mass that ultimately helped him to perform the notorious genocide killing 5 million Jews.The greatest racist in history Adolph Hitler did exactly thatHe incorporated racism within the cross section of the German mass against the Jews though various methods like using media to his benefit and through overwhelming oratory. The idea of racial discrimination through methodical racial institutionalization of education, employment and health was put into the ultimate practice with fearful results. For example the speech presented at Munich on the date April 12, 1922 presents the insight of the conceptualization and formulation of raciest ideas and making it the instrument of gaining power at the Reichstag. The situation and the groundwork were favorable for Hitler. Germany was passing through a phase of humilia tion and unemployment with economic downfall after the defeat of First World War.The Weimar republic was in power during the post First World War period starting from 1919. The Weimer government was completely unsuccessful with their political and financial policies and unemployment was on a high. As it is the country's defeat in the First World War resulted in economic instability that further incorporated fascist and Spartacist coups, like that of Hermann Ehrhardt's Freikorps, with wide spread political extremism and overall lawlessness. Constitution formed after abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II was inappropriate and weak and soon it lost popularity. The economy was badly hurt as a result of WWI defeat and treaty of Versailles claiming 20,000 billion gold marks as war reparations. This result in the currency to be unstable with 469,000 million marks national debt. Furthermore the economic coal fields of Rurh were occupied by the French government. To add more problem the 1929 stock market crisis made matter more severe. All these conditions ultimately led into hyperinflation that summed up to 663 billion marks. There are also enough evidences that Hitler political power was based upon brute force with his incorporation of brutal political murders with included murder of communist leaders. Additionally, he blamed the Jews for all economic and political crisis of Germany and motivated the population to become anti-Semitic. Once the population became Anti-Semitic it was helpful to gain popularity and thus gain political power as the Germans regarded Hitler to be their savior. However, election results show that there is a gradual rise of popularity of the Nazi party from 1928-1932 but the main problem remained that there was no specific party individually strong enough to rule. This was a situation of an example of political instability in Germany that Hitler took complete advantage. (Rise of Nazism, 14-15) An evaluation of the sources Hitler, Adolph; Hitler Speaks in Munich; SPEECH OF April 12, 1922; NBT; 1999 The Rise of Nazism; pp-14-15 This book published in 1999 was recovered from Russian Achieves and presents a wide range of speeches by Hitler. These speeches show the methods by which Hitler uses to motivate the audience with fact at the beginning and fallacy to back his intentions. In his speech Hitler started off with the right note by pointing towards the defeat of the First World War as this would be the best possible mode of attracting the audiences' attention as logically enough that would be the most concerned element of the mass during the 1922 Germany. He promptly indicates that there was a "debt of some 7 or 8 millions of marks and beyond that was faced with the debts of the rest of the world" (Hitler, 1, 1). This the best possible manner by which he could effectively guide his intentions towards a well formulated methodical approach that would enable him to take the audience by his side

Compare Destiny in Oedipus Rex( by Sophocles) and The Golden Mean Research Paper

Compare Destiny in Oedipus Rex( by Sophocles) and The Golden Mean (2009 by Annabel Lyon) - Research Paper Example According to Michael Clark, â€Å"By the 1950's, Jung had outlined three types of synchronicity: The meaningful acausal coincidence of a psychological event and an external observable event, both taking place at or around the same time. The meaningful acausal coincidence of a psychological event and an external observable event, the latter taking place outside the individual's range of sensory perception. The meaningful acausal coincidence of an internal psychological event with an external observable event, the latter taking place in the future. ... (jung, 1973) Nevertheless, when analyzing the path of self-development taken by Oedipus, as well as that of Alexander and Aristotle in Lyon’s depiction, the importance of synchronicity can be seen in the way that events draw people together at auspicious times that will determine not only their own fate, but the destiny of millions throughout history. Jung’s discussion of â€Å"meaningful acausality† in its first aspect as described by Clark can be seen in the meeting of Oedipus with his father at the crossroads. This was prophesized before Oedipus’ own birth, and for that reason he was tossed away with pierced ankles and received his name. In this instance, the name of Oedipus both illustrates and hides his actual identity to himself and others. In meeting his father in such an apparently random manner against the conscious will of both parties, the element of synchronicity is clearly evident, even if the meaning will not fully become clear until later. T his meeting of Laius and Oedipus exists as the essential point where the meaning of both their lives will constellate and dissipate together, a time the gods and oracles could see but both were unconscious to personally at the time. As Jung writes, â€Å"Synchronicity suggests that mind and matter, as well as past, present and future exist in a meaningfully connected continuum. It also implies that everyday distinctions concerning self and environment, causality and the belief in linear time are historically specific assumptions rather than absolute truths.† (Clark, 2007) The sphinx in the Oedipus tale can be seen as symbolic of synchronicity and the play of fate in the way that it conjoins aspects of

The American Flatbread Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The American Flatbread - Case Study Example They believe in taking care of the customer and the employee, and always looking out for the best interests of the people, not the business, while maintaining a healthy, fresh, and fun-filled environment to work and eat in. George Schenk is the founder of American Flatbread. He not only owns the business but takes a large role in the daily activities of running the company along with his management team. One of his beliefs is that it does not matter who thought of the best idea; the best idea will be the chosen course of action. In the video, he mentioned that at times there are arguments between the management team, but that each person must swallow their pride for the betterment of the company. He also stated that by giving each employee a voice in the company, it leads to better ideas; and employees take an ownership role in doing the best job they can because they know their opinions matter. Schenk established the Medicine Wheel Project and Organic Food for Public Schools projects that has helped build his name and food philosophies nationwide. He has also written many different articles stating his philosophies and beliefs to the culinary community as well as taking a strong stance in political ac tivities in the state of Vermont. American Flatbread practices many different socially responsible activities that have made it well-renowned. The American Flatbread restaurants hold â€Å"Benefit Bakes†, which are fund raising events to raise money for social causes such as public health clinics and the preserving nature habitats. The company also serves food to medical patients, medical personnel and all of their families through the â€Å"Medicine Wheel† program. Schenk has also demanded that members of the community that are facing tough times can come to American Flatbread and they will have flatbreads on the house. It is important for small businesses to intimately connect with their communities so that as one struggles,

Most feminists believe that the position of women in the labour market Essay

Most feminists believe that the position of women in the labour market is an important source of disadvantage - Essay Example Workplace segregation remains prevalent as high concentrations of female employees are associated with relatively low rates of pay. And higher levels of part-time working are associated with lower rates of pay, even after other factors have been taken into account. Qualified women are characteristically denied top level jobs in corporate but instead of terming it what it is, sexism and discrimination, this form of unequal treatment is referred to as the ‘glass ceiling’ effect. ‘Most feminists believe that the position of women in the labour market is an important source of disadvantage.’ Women do indeed have to perform twice as well as a man to retain the same pay and position at similar occupational arenas. This discussion will examine barriers to equality in the workplace, the reasons for this cultural phenomenon, evidence to support this claim and some possible solutions. Women must struggle to cope with discrimination in the workplace as is evidenced by occupational segregation. This terminology refers to the reality that women tend to work in different sectors of the economy and occupy different employment standings than men within the same occupational group. Government statistics reveal that women are highly concentrated in certain jobs and that 60 per cent of working women are employed in just 10 per cent of available occupations (â€Å"What is the Pay Gap?†, 2006). While about one-half of workers are in sex-dominated employment, women are engaged in a narrower scope of occupations than men. There are seven times more male-dominated non-agricultural jobs than female. ‘Sex-dominated’ occupations are defined as when workers of one sex constitute more than 80 per cent of the labour force (Anker, 1998). In the UK, women constitute just 30 per cent of managers, 25 per cent of executives and 10 per cent of company directors (EOC, 2 002 cited in â€Å"What is the Pay Gap?†).

Organisation Theories Theories of Change and Change Management Essay

Organisation Theories Theories of Change and Change Management - Essay Example The dynamic nature of the modern business environment has also necessitated the rise of theories of organizational change and change management, to guide businesses as they seek to transform their operations from the initial methods of management to the new and more efficient ones. The theories of change and change management have also become relevant in guiding businesses during transitioning to different locations. The success of any organization depends on how well the organization is able to manage change in order to refocus its operations to suit the existing business environment, as well as the expected future changes in the business environment. The relevance of organizational theories to businesses is that they do not only help organizations to plan and strategize for success but also guide the organizations on how they should allocate resources optimally (Sharma, 2007). The early organizational theories were highly bureaucratic, but the ever dynamic business environment has resulted in the creation of more multidimensional organizational theories and theories of change management. This discussion seeks to establish how organization theories and theories of change and change management can help Wates Group Construction company understand and influence its environment for success. Wates Group Construction Company incurred a profit loss of 48% in 2012 arising from its restructuring reforms and changes in the business environment in the UK construction industry (Hurst, 2013).