Monday, September 30, 2019

Punctuality and Correct Medical Aid Essay

The saying which goes â€Å"A stitch in time saves nine† is very true!!!Punctuality is no doubt a virtue no man can afford to lack. It is the simplest and easiest to acquire but at the same time really needed to succeed in life. Punctuality is the habit of doing things in time. It is a disciplinary force which contributes to the efficiency and success of both an individual and organization. A punctual person is always a step ahead of others .He is able to complete his assignments and keep commitments which wins him the command and respect of all those who work with him .He becomes an asset and support in any field of life. He will be a sought after member of any organization for the respect he has earned by his reliability and sense of discipline. Lessons of punctuality are introduced from the very birth of a child. Feeds are given punctually and so are medications. Schools , colleges also implement and enforce these in every possible way .Time tables, classes ,examinations all demand punctuality. A company which fails to deliver goods or services in time or is unpunctual in collecting dues is also bound to fail one day or the other. In hospitals on some occassions punctuality may make all the difference between life and death . Forgetting to give a medicine or injection on time may take a life! On the other hand bringing a patient and giving him the correct medical aid in time will save a precious life!History also shows how punctuality plays such an important role even in war. General Ney’s unpunctuality ruined Napoleon and changed the course of European history. If we study the lives of some great people we find that punctuality was one of the pillars of their success. Professionals like lawyers , doctors, teachers who have reached success are further respected when they keep their appointments and timely commitments . If we look around we shall see that sense of order and punctuality is seen in Nature too. The sun rises in the day , planets move in orbits, seasons keep their cycle teaching us the significance of time and punctuality in life. Today we live in a modern complex society where so many things are interdependent. It is essential for the smooth functioning that people recognise the need for punctuality. If trains and flights do not keep punctuality it can create such a mess and sometimes cause havoc and disaster or even accidents. In the age of rockets and moonlandings the importance of punctuality is felt even more. To organize events meetings and make them successful it is essential that all participants keep time and are punctual. Could big events like the Olympics be a success without punctualityWe should make a humble beginning and start incorporating punctuality in our lives in our day to day activities. Bed time and waking time , meal times if adhered to will help discipline us and tune our minds towards punctuality in other areas also. Once disciplined and punctual a very different future welcomes you. One would surely realise that punctuality is the key to success and greatness in life. One step at a time but always on time..!!!!

Sunday, September 29, 2019

The Effects of Gmo

Daniel Ramirez Lagunas English 12 CP 18 May 2012 FDA Labeling In our society today, there is a small percent of our food that has been genetically engineered. Genetically modified food can affect people that ingest the substances by causing health issues. With these possible long-term effects of GM foods, the FDA, Food and Drug Administration, should require labels for consumers to see. These labels would help inform the public of the possible dangers of the GM food. Without these labels people can suffer serious medical conditions that can destroy their lifestyles.The FDA should require warning labels on all GM foods. GM foods come with many different health risks. One health risk is severe allergic reactions. These allergic reactions can even be life-threatening. An article from the San Francisco Chronicle states that GM fish can possibly cause severe allergic reactions that could be life threatening. â€Å"Genetically engineered fish pose an increased risk of severe, even life-th reatening, allergic reactions to sensitive individuals. † (SF Chronicle).Because of this possible outcome, the FDA should require all GM food to have proper labeling warning consumers of the possible dangers. Some may argue that this fish will still provide the nutrients that a normal fish provide. Even so, with many potential health hazards, GM food should be labeled so people know what they are getting. A survey from the SF Chronicle states â€Å"95% of the public wants labeling. † (SF Chronicle) If people want a label saying if their food has been genetically modified, then it should be.Even if the same nutrient content is the same, a warning label should be visible before a buyer buys the food so the person has a choice. GM Foods not only can cause severe allergic reactions, but also can contribute the lifelong diseases. An article from The Atlantic states that researchers in China have found new information that shows that we're consuming more than just vitamins an d protein, we are also absorbing information, or microRNA. MicroRNA has been connected to help cause â€Å"cancer, Alzheimer’s, and diabetes. †(Atlantic) This study shows how GM food could influence human health in unanticipated ways.If GM foods do contain microRNA that can severely affect people’s health, then the FDA should warn people of the risk of eating GM food. People who support GM food argue that if we preform test on GM food to look for microRNA, then we must perform the test on normal food. If the FDA decides to test it or not, they still should provide labels stating the risk of microRNA in food. The FDA should require labels on all genetically modified foods so people know what they are eating. By doing so, people will be warned It will warn of the possible risks to their health and have the chance to make better food choices.Health risks that may occur by eating genetically modified foods include severe allergic reactions, cancer, Alzheimer’ s and Dementia, and diabetes. If the FDA does not label these foods, and people don’t know what can happen to them if they consume these foods you can expect to see a rise in lifelong diseases. If people are warned of the potential effects of eating GM foods, they will hopefully make smart decisions regarding their health and the foods they eat. It would be in the best interests of all people to label genetically modified food.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Malcom X and Racial Identity Development Essay

Racial Identity Development is the steps minority or majority groups go through to gain understanding of their racial identity. Many people don’t go through all these stages in their life and it requires a lot of inner growth to get there. After watching Malcom X, a civil rights leader, I saw how Malcom went through each of the stages of black/ minority racial identity development; some with difficulty and others with not as much trouble. After reading about and reflecting on the minority development, I realized that I’m at the stage of immersion/ emmersion. I find myself more concerned about my culture and who I hang out with. I’m constantly asking questions about where I come from and why certain things work the way they do based on skin color. I’m also noticing how my race is seen through the eyes of others/ majority groups and what factors contribute to their opinions. I’m making more connections with kids and adults my race instead of with others just to get a better understanding of myself. Everybody has to go through the pre-encounter stage. This is the stage where race isn’t very apparent to the individual. They don’t question the idea that â€Å"white is right† and â€Å"black is wrong†. Malcom experienced this stage in many ways. One example of this is when Malcom went to the barber shop to get his hair permed. After seeing his hair straight, he makes a comment saying, â€Å"look like white hair don’t it†. This is an example of the pre-encounter stage because Malcom is saying that white people have straight hair which automatically makes white hair better. The next stage is the encounter stage. In this stage, the individual grows aware of their race and the disadvantages that come along with it. A certain event usually triggers this acknowledgment. An example of how Malcom went through this stage was when he was in school and was told by his white teacher that he couldn’t become a lawyer because he was black. This is also a form of direct racism. He realizes that there are certain things he can and can’t do due to his race. He also realizes that he’s part of a group that has certain disadvantages. After the encounter stage comes the stage of immersion/ emmersion. At this point in the individuals life they want to become more intact with the visible symbols of their race. They concentrate on themselves and the others that are their race. They tend to move away from people of other races. As Malcom is going through this stage, he tends to push people of other races away. A white reporter approached Malcom and asked him what she could do to help support the black community and he replied that there was nothing she could do to help the black cause. He felt that white people had so much of an advantage that they wouldn’t be able to understand or help the black community. The last stage of the minority racial identity development is internalization and commitment. In this stage, the individual uses what he/she learned about themselves and their race and transfers it to take action about their concerns about their race. When Malcom reaches this stage, he takes his time to apologize to other black civil rights leaders. He realizes that they all had the same ending goal and that they should be working together to help better the understanding of their race. After learning about these stages of minority race identity development, I feel like I have a better understanding of myself and others around me. I’m more open to learning more about other races and if my race reflects theirs. As I go through the other stages, I hope to gain a better understanding of what I can do to better the way my race is perceived and how to move on through the stages.

Friday, September 27, 2019

How do religion and culture intersect in the realm of ethics Essay

How do religion and culture intersect in the realm of ethics - Essay Example Religion is more stern and inflexible than culture in the realm of ethics. Religious teachings are established and not prone to change over the passage of time. Most religions are based on the philosophy that their teachings are everlasting and cater for the needs of all societies till the end of the world. The difference between religious beliefs and ethics based on religion is that the former describes the beliefs of an individual whereas the latter proposes a framework of ethics based on the religious rationale (Huntington). Culture, on the other hand, is a more flexible and modifiable factor with the passage of time under the influence of different internal and external factors affecting a nation. Since ethical policies are based on the interplay of religion and culture in a nation, practices that might be condemned by religion find their way into a society from time to time because of the flexibility carried by the culture. While a modernistic society considers many religious te achings and principles outdated and inapplicable, culture is modified to cater for the needs of the advanced society. The role of both religion and culture in the development is prominent in history (Hill). Religion and culture intersect in the realm of ethics in a complicated manner. â€Å"[T]here are three spaces that provide the arenas of performance†¦we identify first a space where power and politics are performed, a second space where ethics are performed, and a third space where aesthetics are performed creatively and in response to the first two† (Hecht and Biondo xvi). A common element between all three of these spaces is that each is a social space that provides room for performance. The pattern of intersection of religion and culture cannot be generalized for all nations as there are a host of factors that make this intersection different from one nation to another. â€Å"Virtually everybody who writes about the topic portrays religion as

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Second Language Teaching For Children Through Form Focused Instruction Essay

Second Language Teaching For Children Through Form Focused Instruction - Essay Example This report makes a conclusion that in relation to the recent pace of globalization, the process of emphasizing intercultural understanding has attained a greater attention of the nations to develop learning skills of the students. In this regard, second language learning mechanism of the educational institutions plays a pivotal role in terms of developing the skills of the learners to encourage intercultural understanding. In order to emphasize the teaching skills of the educators, numerous strategies and frameworks that substantially improves understanding of the learners especially the children to increase their proficiency in second or foreign language. In this context, focus on form can be duly accepted as one of the major strategies of the educators or the educational institutions to increase proficiency level of the children on a specific second language. This essay approves that the strategy of focusing on form provides a number of best practices to the educators to understan d the linguistic capability of the learners and make them proficient on a specific second language. An effective practice of focus on form empowers children to acquire adequate proficiency on second language. Moreover, the higher level of cognitive skills along with less consciousness on linguistic errors often enable the focus on form strategic practices to increase the second language skill of the children. With due regard to the observation of the framework used in Ontario schools, the core elements of teaching French as the second language of the students can also be accepted as an asset of best practices that fundamentally improve the teaching skills of the educators.

Reagan, Obama and Inequality Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Reagan, Obama and Inequality - Essay Example Nicholas Kristof argues in his article that the inequality has soared since the time president Reagan took office to this time when president Obama is still in office. According to Nicholas, the median household income has stagnated and educational progress has almost come to a halt. He further argues that the average Canadian family is better off than the average American family. The author has based his arguments from the late 1970s to now when president Obama is still in office. The issue of inequality came up in the president’s state of the union address (Kristof). The president proposed that the government should take this issue seriously and corrective measures should be taken. However, the author does not believe that any action will be taken, citing that every year the president mentions an issue during the state of the union address and nothing is usually done to correct the situation. The author differentiates between opinions and facts. Some of the facts the author gives are that the median income for households has increased from the year 1979. However, according to his opinion, the Average American family is worse off than the average Canadian family.

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

'Favelas' ('City of God') Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

'Favelas' ('City of God') - Essay Example The main theme of the film is the realization of the level of increased crime that occurred in Brazil between 1968 and 1980. Fernando Meirelles illustrates the level of insecurity and crime when he makes use of comments that there is no safe to be even if a person decides to run or not run, out of this, the individual will either be hunted down or caught stranded by the criminals (Xavier, 1997, pp. 49). In the film, most actors and participants originated from Favelas. In 2004, ‘City of God’ received four awards from its competency and level of production. The film had received the same accolade in Brazil in the previous year although the ratings were lower than in 2004. Setting of the Film The films plot begins when there is an event of slaughtering chicken to be consumed but one of them escapes and is followed by some people. While still on pursuit, the chicken finds itself between the people chasing it and Rocket (Buscape) who thinks that the aim of these people is to kill and eliminate him. The production team then develops a timely change of time and occasion and brings out Rocket as a very young boy thus the development of ‘City of God.’ The setting of the film in this location indicates that Rockets belief is not factual since he was not originally involved with the chase in the first place. Three renowned thieves who are known as Clipper, Shaggy and Goose who is a brother to Rocket usually rob businesspersons. The thieves split a section of what they steal from Robin Hood, which deals with fashion to Favela citizens. The citizens have an obligation of protecting the thieves in return. This is a clear indication of a connection between a society and thieves that is produced by the film, which signifies that there exists conspiracy between the public and lawbreakers. Due to their fame and recognition in Favela, several young men begin accompanying the three thieves in the operations (Skidmore, 1993, pp.118). Li’l Dice is a young man who becomes an accomplice to the trio and pleads with them to take part in robbing the occupants of a motel. In this occasion, the trio is against any killings but Li’l Dice starts killing the victims after the departure of the other group. This signifies that he thinks killing would gain him fame and recognition but on the other hand, it attracts the attention of the police. The motel incidence forces the three thieves to flee and the police shoot Shaggy in his quest to run away in the company of his girlfriend. Clipper becomes a church follower while Li’l Dice kill Goose for taking his money. This setting illustrates the criminal events that happen in Favela in the late 60s and the interaction of the lawbreakers, local citizens and the police (Landers, 2002, pp.87). The abolishment of criminals in the slums indicates an improvement in this part thus the directors of the film gain great compliment from the viewers (Castro, 2004, pp.54). The setting of the f ilm is changed from the 60s to the 70s where Rocket is illustrated to have joined a section of the young men who usually smoke marijuana. This indicates that the there are still elements of other lawbreakers since marijuana is an illegal drug. The introduction of Li’l Dice in this phase of the film is achieved by Fernando to bring to the attention of the viewer of the development of his criminal activities. Li’l Dice is illustrated as a drug peddler who together with his long time friend

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Analysis of the the Canadian International Development Agency Research Paper

Analysis of the the Canadian International Development Agency - Research Paper Example The International Cooperation Ministry of the Federal government, which is currently headquartered in Gatineau, Quebec, oversees the activities of CIDA. Its major objectives are social development including child protection and basic education, economic health of developing countries, sustainability of the environment, and striving for good governance, democracy, and respect of human rights by governments in developing countries. The Agency concentrates most of its bilateral aid in a select group of countries including Haiti and Indonesia. However, this concentration is not inclusive of programs offered by such multilateral bodies like UNDP and UNICEF. It does not also include assistance in fast intervention measures for natural disasters, conflict, and crisis, which are offered all over the world by the Agency’s strong hand of help (Bruneau, 2008). CIDA has made real progress in obtaining results in the arena of international development via collaboration with international, Canadian, and local partners. These results are inclusive of a drop in poverty levels from 1.3 billion in 1990 to 980 million in 2004 (Bruneau, 2008). Other accomplishments are the enrollment of more children in developing countries to primary schools, decline in child mortality, and achievement of Millennium Development Goal by developing countries like Ghana. 2. Organizational Design According to the information systems at the agency, CIDA has 2336 positions, which are, classified (Irwin, 2008). The branch in Africa is the biggest of all the branches with three hundred and eighty five positions in total. It is followed by the Asian branch, which has two hundred and twenty eight positions. After which the branch in the Americas follows with its one hundred and ninety three positions, and finally the branches in the Maghreb, Middle East, and Europe with its one hundred and fifty two positions. The policy branch, which consists of two hundred and thirteen positions, is the Agencyâ₠¬â„¢s largest corporate branch. Two hundred and three positions strong branch then follows it for Canadian Partnership, and then the branch for multilateral programs, which is one hundred and nineteen strong and finally the thirty-eight strong Canada corps. With regard to the branches dealing with a corporate service, the branch of HR and corporate services is the most staffed with three hundred and thirty nine positions. It is then followed in a distant second by the information technology and management branch with one hundred and ninety six positions, then by the branch dealing with communication with one hundred and forty four positions and finally by the Knowledge management and performance branch with its forty one positions. The remainders of the positions, which come up to eighty-five, are inclusive of the offices of the Senior Vice President, Executive Vice President, and President (Irwin, 2008). The distribution of the4 Agency’s positions is as follows. Of the two t housand three hundred and thirty six agencies classified positions, eight hundred and twenty three job positions are clumped against one of twenty-three generic descriptions of work at the agency. Administrative and Program services 1563 Social and economic science services 171 Purchasing, commerce, and audit 113 Executive group 108

Monday, September 23, 2019

Portfolio Assessment and Revision Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Portfolio Assessment and Revision Plan - Essay Example One of the most immediate changes I see to my writing is an improvement in the organization. In my first essay, there was not necessarily a logical flow from one point to another. I essentially used two disconnected paragraphs that both spoke about the article in question, without actually combining together to form a cohesive argument. This can be seen very clearly by the topic sentence of my second paragraph, where I stated that â€Å"Also tackled in this article is the use of â€Å"Framing theory† as a guide in differentiating the media practices in China.† While this did describe a thing the article did, it did not actually connect that well with what I had done in my previous paragraphs. In my later essays, however, I paid much more attention to organization. I believe that one of the things that were most helpful to me was segmenting my essay into various sections, such as a â€Å"literature review†, â€Å"comparison between languages and so forth†. I did this in each of my two later essays. This forced me to structure my essay in a more cohesive way, with each particular subject having a clear relationship to the thesis or main point I was trying to make and kept each part of the paragraph clearly related to a specific aspect of that argument. I believe I will not have to use these types of headings as much in the future, but they were still certainly useful in keeping me on track in terms of organization. I believe the second major change that I made in my writing is the development of a simpler, clearer style. My first essay had some relatively vague language in it, especially in the introduction. The opening of my first essay, which stated that â€Å"with great power, comes great responsibility† worked well as a hook, but did not tell the reader anything about what I would be writing about. In my subsequent essays I became much more direct, launching immediately into my topic of discussion, and keeping my sentences short, precise, and to  the point.   

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Penn State Scandal Essay Example for Free

Penn State Scandal Essay In this paper I will discuss what the ethical issue is, (and) definitions surrounding the allegations of sexual abuse, by the former Defensive Coordinator, Jerry Sandusky, who had the moral and ethical responsibility to report the incident to the proper authorities, and whether the incident was reported in a timely manner. The origin, values, ethics, honesty, and where a person grew up play an important part of an individual’s character. The definition of right and wrong varies from person to person. While I was growing up I believed that criminal justice meant an eye for an eye. As some people grow older his or her definition changed to, if an individual commits a crime, he or she should be held accountable for his or her actions. However; the punishment should fit the crime and be severe enough so the individual will learn from his or her mistake. A Pennsylvania (Penn) state assistant, Mike McQueary, claims to have witnessed Jerry Sandusky raping a ten-year-old boy in the shower (The New York Times, 2012). Sandusky (former Defensive Coordinator) was a wellrespected member of the Penn State community and good friend to Joe Paterno (former Head Coach). McQueary reported the crime immediately to Paterno. In response to the allegation, both McQueary, and Paterno reported the rape to Administrators Tim Curley (former Athletic Director) and Gary Schultz (former Vice President of Business and Finance) (The New York Times, 2012). The issue is at no time was the crime reported to police authorities. The allegation was simply brushed underneath the rug by several individuals. A crime of this magnitude should be have been reported to the proper authorities followed with legal actions. If this happens at such a prestegeous college, then what’s happening in others? I am very concerned that this may be happening somewhere else right now. I shouldn’t have to worry this, this shouldn’t be happening period. Works Cited Joe Paterno. News. The New York Times, 09 Oct. 2012. Web.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Comparative Study Of Politeness Strategies English Language Essay

Comparative Study Of Politeness Strategies English Language Essay Introduction Over the last three decades, politeness strategies have become one of the most active area of research in spoken and written discourse. This phenomenon began when Goffman published On face work in 1955 and other classical studies such as Lakoff (1973, 1977), Leech (1983) and Brown Levinsons (1987), who conducted extensive studies on politeness. These studies indicate that linguistic politeness is generally associated with social behaviour to avoid conflicts. The past few years the application of politeness studies has been extended beyond the verbal communication to include written material to engage conflict-free communication between writers-audience, started in 1989 when Myers published his article the pragmatics of politeness in scientific articles since then many scholars extended the concept of politeness strategies onto written context such as; current research issues (Kasper: 1990) business letter (Maier: 1992), written business discourse (Pilegaard: 1997), scientific text (Kwok: 1997), written persuasion (Cherry: 1988), thesis writing (Faridah Noor: 2000), and research article (Dahl :2009). Myers (1989) in his study found that the model proposed by Brown Levinson (1987) was applicable in how to interpret scientific culture found in scientific writing. Brown and Levinson (1987) found in their study four (4) categories of politeness strategies. These are proposed as universal as the striking parallels in politeness devices between three unrelated languages (Tzeltal, Tamil and English) were found. While politeness may be expressed differently in one culture to another, the basic hierarchy of politeness strategies is not a culture specific. (Brown Levinsons : 1987) Even though the majority study of the past studies in politeness strategies are closely related with verbal communication context. Many studies recently showed that it could also be extended onto written context, and somehow the politeness strategies in written discourse in line with the demands of the academic community that expects scientific language to be objective and formal. This present study is interested to study the kinds of politeness strategies find in economic journal writing as another field in written discourse. What makes economics special is that economics is consisted of the combination of soft science research issues related to human behaviour and the hard science mathematics economic models. The model represents the interaction between human being and market under specific conditions. Dahl (2009: 2). The other reason is how economist presents their thought in the research paper they write. Moreover, by using Myerss (1989) study that in line to what Brown and Levinson had proposed in their study. This present study tries to focus on the politeness strategies employed in economic journal articles. Concerning none of the past studies deeply focused to study the academic journals especially in economic field and comparing between local and international economic journals. By viewing that chances the researcher hopes that this present study able to contribute to the existing pool of knowledge on politeness strategies used in academic writing, particularly which in the writing of economic journal articles of two identified economic journals. Statement of the Problem Brown and Levinson (1987) construct a system to explain the nature of politeness phenomena in language. The major concept of politeness theory is an arrangement of politeness strategies along a continuum from least polite to most polite. Previous studies had shown that politeness strategies not only applied by many people via verbal communication but also through the medium of written material. Although, Politeness in both social and linguistic studies has shown a phenomenon of interest in the past decades, many past studies choose to draw on conversational data. Many scholars do not realize that politeness model can be extended beyond the verbal communication to include written materials. The extension of politeness models to some genres of scientific written texts such as economic journal could contribute to explain the application of politeness strategies. To identify sort of politeness strategies employed in economic journal somehow could be an interesting also a complex field to study as Holmes (2001) says that Economic field is a prototypical of the social sciences. To engage in this discourse in a meaningful and effective manner requires skilful handling of textual strategies. Moreover, the use of politeness strategies in economic journals by particular people from different culture background, age and economic expertise when making a claim, maintain face or employed other kinds of politeness strategies in their paper is an interesting matter to study. Based on that statement above the main purposes of this study beyond the limits of this paper, to give an exhaustive overview of politeness-related research are to identify sort of politeness strategies that employed and analyze the politeness strategies in economic journal articles of one local and one international economic journals selected for this study. Objectives of the Study In recent years there has been a steady increase in interest and research into economics discourse by both economists and linguists which has spawned an expanding body of work. the present study undertakes the task of looking at the use of the politeness strategies employed in economic journal and compare between one local and one international economic journals by proposing the objectives below; To investigate the use of politeness strategies in economics text To compare the use of politeness strategies in a local and international economic journals Research Questions The present study aims to answer the following questions: What kinds of politeness strategies are employed in economic text? In what ways are the politeness strategies found to be similar or different in local or international economic journals? The present study also proposes that it would be beneficial for the journal writers to know where they stand in the academic discourse community as this awareness can assists them in planning the strategies used to present their findings as new knowledge claims. Significance of the study Since the early 1980s, the discussion of various controversial issues in the economics discourse community has led to increasing debate among concerned economists about the ways that they communicate with each other, as well as with non-economists. In this exploratory study, the researcher chooses to focus on the existence of politeness strategies in economic journals. Hopefully this present study would contribute towards obtaining a set of politeness strategies in economic journals. The collection of strategies would encompass a sampling of strategies used by journal writer(s) within a span of six (6) years latest from the field of economy. Moreover this present study hopes to enhance the understanding of academic researchers, who are interested in the area of politeness strategies, especially in the use of politeness strategies in economic journals and to show the kinds of politeness strategies employed in both local and international economic journals. Furthermore, understanding the kinds of politeness strategies in written texts, especially in economic journals, could be useful when politeness strategies are employed in other genres in order to fit with the demanding of formality and objectivity of the academic writing. This study also hopes to clarify many ways that the economists use language to express themselves in a polite manner and to help the public to understand the politeness style of writing by the economist in written texts. In addition, the specific aim of this present study is also to show that there is an increasing awareness of the nature of economics discourse by both applied linguists and economists. To achieve the purposes above, this research studies two economic journals, one local and one international, published by Malaysian and American economic associations. Scope and Limitation of The Study This present study will limit its data from selected journals released by local and international economic associations to find out politeness strategies employed by the economists in two identified economic journals, namely Malaysia Journal of Economic Studies and Journal of Economic Growth, released by the Malaysian Economic Association and the American Economic Association respectively. The articles from these journals were chosen from the six years latest issues, starting from 2004 to 2009. This study limits its scope only on the contents of the articles. The areas of mathematical languages, formula, as well as footnotes in the articles will be not included as parts of the analysis. This study also does not attempt to look at the differences in the style of writing choice of politeness strategies based on gender, age or ethnic background, and strategies used by journal writers over a period of time. This research also tries not to focus on particular specific areas where some economists and linguists often argue about, but more on general issues of economic content in these journals, that the researcher feels provide examples of the existence of politeness strategies 1.5 Summary The focus of the present study is to investigate the use of politeness strategies in economic journals. It undertakes the task to identify and analyze politeness strategies employed in the articles and compares two economic journals local and international publication namely Malaysia Journal of Economic Studies and Journal of Economic Growth by using the theory of politeness from Brown Levinson (1978) and Myers (1989).

Friday, September 20, 2019

Mentoring Theory Analysis

Mentoring Theory Analysis The aim of this report is to investigate and analyse mentoring theory and methods so that valid conclusions can be drawn on the ideal mentoring approach. This analysis will be utilised in a real-life mentoring scenario with a group of ELB007 students. Mentoring can occur in an assortment of situations including in education, starting new jobs, further training and development of personnel. In these scenarios, the mentor generally will have more experience and is easily approachable and accessible for the mentee. Society in the 21st century have grown up with the impression that they must constantly pursue the advice of other people. It is more common for an individual to have multiple mentors; the traditional older mentors but also peer mentors and coaches. In this era, mentorship is viewed as a two-way road and takes more commitment and patience to guide young adults of today. The mentoring relationship that is developed should be mutually beneficial where both sides are expected to contribute to one anothers goals and expectations. A crucial component of a successful mentoring relationship is having both the mentor and mentee to have an openness to changes and are eager to learn.[1] This type of relationship can be valuable when the progression of the mentee depends on their development of additional skills. [2] This is because it enables them to absorb more information and gain valuable advice and support needed to grow themselves in both a personal and professional way. Some situations do not easily allow for obtaining objective advice, help and support. Having a mentoring scheme within an organization incorporates all these important services. A mentor is an experienced and trusted advisor (Collins English Dictionary, 2016). Another definition of a mentor and its role, more specifically in the business sector includes: An employee training system under which a senior or more experienced individual (the mentor) is assigned to act as an advisor, counselor, or guide to a junior or trainee. The mentor is responsible for providing support to, and feedback on, the individual in his or her charge. [3] People perceive mentoring in slightly different ways depending on their experience and the use of the mentor-mentee relationship. In addition to this, each organisation has different definitions of mentoring but, within an organisation, everyone possesses the same understanding of what is expected of a mentor in that specific scheme. [4] For this report, the focus is on group mentoring as it is what will be put into practice with the Part B students. This type of mentoring differs from the typical one-to-one. Group projects linked to group mentoring enhance the learning of participants and develop an understanding of how teams operate. Looking at the history of mentoring and its origins, Greek mythology depicts the first insight of a mentor. This can be seen in one of the Greek poems written by Homer. The poem Odyssey describes the journey home of a Greek hero after the fall of Troy. Odyssey, the king of Ithaca, was a Greek hero that entrusted the care of his household to a man named Mentor whilst he was away fighting in the Trojan War. In the poem, mentor serves as a teacher and overseer of Odysseus son, Telemachus. In time, Telemachus ventures in search of his father whilst Athena, Goddess of war, accompanies him and in doing so, undertakes the form of Mentor. [5] From this, the word mentor has evolved to mean trusted advisor, friend, teacher and wise person. Human development relies on various forms of mentoring where one person invests time, energy and personal know-how in assisting the growth and ability of another person. Whilst this is the perceived origin of the term mentor, there are alternative ideas which will be discussed further into this report. There are certain qualities in which a mentor must have in order to accomplish a successful mentoring relationship. The main qualities include: being perceptive, a motivator, have the ability to advise and instruct without interfering, and finally being able to listen, question and feedback to the mentees. In modern day times, coaching and mentoring get used interchangeably but have major differences which are often overlooked. Coaching is an enabling and helping process whereas mentoring is fundamentally a supportive one. Mentors must act objectively when discussing situations with their mentees and allowing the mentees to explore their own idea to achieve a solution is imperative. [6] In this section, the methods and theories of mentoring will be investigated. As explained in section 3.0, the concept of mentoring has been around for many years which has allowed for vast speculation and a wide range of conceptual theories to be created. Many theorists such as Kram, Levinson and Erikson have contrasting theories towards the concept of mentoring. Levinson created his theory in the 1970s where it saw mentoring as a single and hierarchical relationship between two people. Kram, another theorist, also agreed with this mentality and it was only in the 2000s that other concepts were developed by Williams and Baugh indicating that there are many types of mentoring including group mentoring. Following on from this development, Kram updated her theory to agree with this new-found approach. Looking more into Krams mentoring theories, she alluded towards a two-dimensional concept which highlighted the two main functions of mentoring being for psychological support and vital for career development. The mentoring relationship would start with learning each others learning style and habits followed by the mentee learning from the mentor leading to career advancement. This concept focuses on role-modelling, counselling and friendship to be successful. Similar to this, Levinsons theory developed in the 1970s suggests that mentors function as guides and counsellors. This theory implies that both sides of the mentoring relationship to benefit. The mentee gains fundamental knowledge and the mentor gains a sense of well-being from passing on their knowledge to the next generation. [7] This sense of well-being is also confirmed in the theory created by Erikson. This framework states that he mentors main concern is to establish and guide the next generation through nurture. [8] The article written from the point of view of a Marxist feminist suggests different perspectives of the Odyssey poem by Homer. It implicates Athena as being a mentor figure as well as the advisor, Mentor. Athena provides support to Telemachus on his journey to locate Odyssey. She possesses caring and selfless traits, both of which are expected in the mentoring figure of today. This judgement of the poem provides a modern-day outlook of the mentoring concept and aligns with the theories provided by Kram and Erikson which were mentioned above. From the article, mentor is considered in diverse ways. To continue with the theory that Athena was more of a mentor, it is suggested that in the Greek myth, Mentor was a weak man. The goddess Athena was required to intervene with Mentors role to prevent disorder. In Greek mythology, gods and goddess are expected to do everything possible to keep order amongst the people. Athenas actions prove that she was a true mentor as recognised by the people of today. She used her powers to ensure the continuation of a man controlled society by helping Telemachus locate his father and thus preventing his mother taking over jurisdiction. Later in history, as described in the article, mentoring changes from being a natural human function. This enhancement comes from investigating relationships between exceptional people such as Socrates and Plato. These relationships contain an emotional bond which is not spoken of in the Odyssey poem but is anticipated in modern-day mentoring. Levinsons theory, complies with the Odyssey evidence which depicts that only the wealthy (powerful) could have successful mentoring relationships. This idea has progressed throughout the ages and it can now be proven that this mentoring relationship also works with the powerful mentoring the weak and the weak mentoring the weak. Weak and powerful people can be defined through a variety of ways including social status, knowledge, age and professional standing within an organisation. Mentoring interactions in the modern era must be based upon a certain level of trust between the members. It can be seen through this article as well as with the the orists concepts that mentoring has progressed vastly over the years. [5] As stated in section 2.0, the mentoring analysis will take place on a Part B project group. This type of mentoring is different to the typical one-on-one relationship. There are many ways to approach group mentoring including: facilitated group mentoring, peer-group mentoring and finally team mentoring. Facilitated group mentoring allows people to participate in a learning group and benefit from the experience and expertise of the mentor. The richness of the experience multiplies as each group participant brings personal experiences into the conversation. The facilitator asks questions to keep the dialogue thought-provoking and meaningful, shares their own personal experiences, provides feedback and serves as a sounding board. Peer-group mentoring brings together peers with similar learning interests or needs. The group is self-directed and self-managed. Finally, team mentoring offers a methodology for facilitating the learning of an intact team. Together team individuals articulate goals and work simultaneously with mentors who guide them through the process. This allows the team to be supported and to learn from each others experience and knowledge. Having discussed mentoring theories already in this section, the next part is based on methods of mentoring which have been developed over the years. Some of these relate to the theories created and similarities can be drawn from all the methods about to be deliberated. These methods all agree on key skills needed to be an effective mentor which include active listening, advising, receptiveness and the ability to question the mentee through inputting but not dominating the discussion. When the mentee starts to question the mentor, that is when trust has been built. [6] Eric Parsloe provided a mentoring model consisting of four stages. The first stage involves identifying the development needs and objectives of the mentee. This is the stage where the mentor and mentee will build a rapport that will enable them to establish a mutual understanding of how each other work. The first meeting allows both people to gain each others trust and to share the expectations of what they wish to achieve from the relationship. In doing so, any disappointment will be avoided. The next stage focuses on encouragement of the mentee to carry out the actions independently that were decided upon in the first meeting. During the next few meetings, a timetable of meetings should be drawn up and the mentor needs to recognise the development and learning needs of the mentee and how these can be achieved. The third phase of Parsloes model illustrates that the mentor needs to help the mentee execute their actions by guiding them and offering advice and drawing on previous exper iences. After the objectives of the mentee have been met, an evaluation meeting should take place to critically analyse the process and the relationship that has been established. [4] Organisations should monitor the progress of relationships as they develop to maintain a smooth and effective process and to identify and adapt to potential difficulties at an early stage. Another mentoring model is GROW: Goals, Reality statement, Obstacles and Way forward. This model can be considered a map; guiding mentoring partnerships from their current position through to their final destination. GROW provides a structured approach which permits the mentees to find solutions to their problems. It has been used since the 1980s and allows for a full understanding of what is to be expected of the group. A goal is created by using the SMART principles. Every goal decided upon must be specific, measureable, agreed, realistic and timed. A reality statement can be generated to illustrate how far away the mentee is from the GOAL. After this, the mentee needs to find the obstacles that are stopping them from reaching their goal. Obstacles can be found in the mentees environment, resources or lack of and the limitations in knowledge and experience. The last step in the model is isolating the way forward. [10] This is completed by selecting the most appropriate sequences an d combinations of options that will enable the mentee to fulfil all the goals. The path chosen needs to be specific and detailed so that the progress can be gauged. Another model available for mentoring that was also created in the 1980s is the CLEAR model. This was developed by Peter Hawkins and relies on the activities: Contracting, Listening, Exploring, Action and Review. Contracting is similar to the goal making of the GROW model. An open discussion takes place in order to establish the desired outcomes of both the project and from the mentoring relationship. Listening is the next part of the CLEAR model. In mentoring, listening is one of the most important skills that a mentor needs to possess. After listening, exploring allows the mentor to challenge the mentee on their thoughts. When doing this, criticism needs to be kept simple and constructive in this stage by concentrating on the mentees behaviour and not their personal attributes. Action ensues the exploration and supports the mentee in choosing the next steps. After this, a review is carried out which reinforces what has been covered in the meetings and the decisions made. [11] Furth ermore, a review also highlights what needs to be improved and altered in the mentoring relationship so that both parties gain maximum benefit from the partnership. The final review phase is crucial to dictate future meetings. In carrying out either of these models, the motivation of the mentee will increase as well as their building upon their self-confidence. The mentoring relationship can be view upon as a system. When taking systems theory approach to mentoring, one must first understand a system. Systems are interrelated and interact with their environments and through these interactions, they evolve much alike the mentoring relationship. It is first necessary to understand the individual system elements as well as the relationships between them. Putting this into a mentoring context, one mentoring session often has the ability to create an immediate change in an individual. This changed individual will react to the environment in a different way and therefore causes an impact on the environment as well as others that inhabit that environment. A possible implication of applying this theory is the suggestion that individuals should not be coached or mentored in isolation but always in the context of the group (system) in which they work. [4] During the lectures given on this module, the Moore Method was discussed. After further research, it can be seen that this method of mentoring is held in high regard across the academic sector and within teaching. The Moore Method is a Socratic method of teaching and was developed by Robert Lee Moore in the early 1900s. Its main principle draws on encouraging students to solve problems using their own skills of critical analysis and creativity. [12] This method worked by Moore giving his students a theorem and making them come up with a solution without the aid of him or other students in the same class. In turn, the students who had a plausible solution would write it on the board. If an error was found in their solution, the other students will be called upon to find a correction. Where students made improvements on the theorems, they would be rewarded by having their name referred to alongside that theorem. Moore was opposed to ridicule and instead encouraged the students to be open with their solutions without the fear of being put down if they were incorrect. For the more timid students, he would involve them in class discussion and they would gradually gain the confidence to also write their solutions on the board in front of the class. However, the greatest struggle of the Moore Method is patience. When a student is struggling or not has run out of ideas, the mentor or teacher must wait for them to figure out the problem on their own. The mentor must take a back seat for this method to work as it should. The main points to take from this method include the mentoring needing to be confident in their approach from the beginning. This will immediately improve the trust in the mentoring relationship. An additional point is for the mentee to realise that some solutions will come quicker and easier than others. [13] For this report, it was necessary to put the researched mentoring methods into practice. Each Part B group were assigned a pair of Part D mentors. This type of assignment was a means of development for both the mentor and the mentee. In this instance, the Part D mentors were told to take the approach of an individual mentoring a group rather than a group mentoring a group. The module leaders for both ELB007 and ELD033 arranged appropriate times and dates for the mentors to meet their groups for the first time. The first meeting with the Part B group was a chance for everyone to get to know each other and to start building a rapport. This would be vital for a successful mentoring relationship. Gaining a certain level of trust would enable the Part B group together or as individual to easily approach the mentor and ask questions freely. In addition to this, a brief discussion took place to indicate the reason for the part D mentors to be involved in the Part B project and how best to utilise having such an asset readily available for the group. In addition to the introductions and exchange of contact details, this first meeting ensued a topic was chosen and the goals of the project were outlined. It was decided that the main form of communication would be through the mobile application, WhatsApp. This is a messaging application that allowed the mentors and mentees to communicate with each other as and when required. This could be for arranging other meetings or catching up with missed information or even asking questions about their part of the report which was unclear. As the mentor, listening to the discussion taking place allowed for an assessment of the group dynamics to take place. The group was put together randomly and after the first meeting; it still hadnt become clear the roles in which the members would individually play. Naturally, a leader will form in a group of this type who will take control of the situation and organise the group. There were a few contenders for this position in the group as they all seemed confident with the task ahead. To conclude this meeting, future times and dates of meetings were agreed to ensure the best availability for the majority of the people involved. Successful mentoring practice requires both parties agree on the purpose and extent of the relationship including the means, frequency and how confidentiality will be maintained. [1] In these group projects, a limitation that can be identified is the difficulty of finding a time suitable for everyone to be available for a meeting. Amidst these meetings, it can clearly be seen that the GROW method has started to be exploited. The above paragraph outlined the first two stages: Identifying goals and creating a reality statement. These stages were alluded to by employing questions as prompts. To help the Part B students realise specific goals, questions such as: what do you want to achieve? and What are your objects? were asked. Following on from these, they were asked what stage they were currently at and a self-assessment was requested so that the group and mentor understood their positioning in the project and the next steps that needed to be taken. Furthermore, limitations within the group include having limited knowledge of systems methods, and the lack of understanding of the topic and overall project. This type of limitation can induce the phenomenon of groupthink. This can occur when a group makes faulty decisions because group pressures lead to a deterioration of mental efficiency and moral judgement. A group is especially vulnerable when its members are similar in background and when the group is insulated from outside opinions. [13] The Part B group have similar backgrounds when it comes to knowledge of the topic therefore careful observations need to be made and advisement form the mentor needs to be voiced clearly but not in an overpowering manner. For mentoring to work, as discussed in previous sections, the mentor needs to be passive in the meetings and avoid dominating their opinions over the group discussion. In the meetings that followed, each member of the group took responsibility of a section from the chosen topic to work on over the coming weeks leading up to the deadline. During this time, a problem occurred with one of the group members who was unable to complete their section of the report. This was overcome with a discussion with the lecturer and with all the group members agreeing to pick up components of the missing section. As a newly formed group the bonding was easily achieved and everyone able to complete their work, did so in the allotted time. These meetings just described conclude the GROW method by having the group assess their options and a way forward. This, again, was prompted by the mentor by asking the following types of questions: What can you do to bridge the gap? Who can help? What do you need? What are the actions? What is the timing plan and actions following? These enabled the group to gain a full understanding of the project and its direction. This method also included informal mentoring techniques due to the setting and scenario that had been arranged. To reflect on this study, there are many benefits as well as some disadvantages that came from this mentoring project. To start with, being able to work with a group and form a relationship with them allowed us, as mentors, to put into practice some of the approaches that had been researched. This embedded the skills that had been learnt throughout the process and it could easily be seen which methods were more effective than others. However, the process had its disadvantages. To begin with the group did not fully comprehend the extent at which the Part D mentors would be able to assist them in their report even after discussing the reasons behind being involved in the meetings. Having previous knowledge. This was the mentors first time at mentoring a group. To begin with, not knowing the individuals in the group was intimidating and it was difficult for them to initiate the mentoring relationship. A possible alteration for this could have been one-to-one mentoring sessions before the project was started to fully form bonds between the individuals. The mentors personality is not as outgoing as others may have been so asking questions and prompting the group proved more difficult and the mentor was reluctant, at some points, to catechize for answers. However, this did not prevent the mentor from taking a back seat in the meetings and becoming an active listener. If the individuals in the group had questions, the mentor would be able to clearly advise them towards a proper solution. This mentoring process can be seen to correspond with the Moores method. Additionally, more meetings could have been arranged by the group to make full use of the mentors expertise. It is noticeable by the result obtained that there were parts of the report where the mentors knowledge and experience would have helped them obtain a greater result. There were occasions where the mentor ended up invited themselves to the group meetings once a suitable time had surpassed without contact. In the work place, the mentee would normally arrange the meetings with the mentor. This is done as the mentor would not have the time to continuously question if the mentee needed advising or had any questions. In this situation, the mentor had other commitments which took priority over chasing up the group for meetings. Looking back over the whole process, the actions that this mentor would do differently include: Asking more questions. Prompting more contact time with the group. Putting aside more time to get to know the group. Encouraging them to think outside of the box and discuss ideas at meetings as a group rather than trying to work as individuals. By fully employing a method with similar principles as the Moores method, it will enable the above changes to be adopted with ease. Consistently applying this type of approach will make for a more successful mentoring experience. Would have been hard to put the mentoring techniques into practice with the lack of communicating The information I have gathered through the various research I have undertaken for this assignment, indicates that mentoring is a two-way mutually beneficial learning situation where the mentor provides advice, shares knowledge and experiences, and teaches using a low pressure, self-discovery approach. It can be seen that each mentoring scheme within different organisations will vary and the techniques which the mentors will undertake will also differ between mentoring individuals. The methods and theories discussed have been adapted to the changes in society over time.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Tropical Areas in Florida Essay -- Tropics

The Trouble with Tropics Florida, like many tropical areas, has two seasons: the wet season and the dry season. During the wet season (June through October), water is plentiful, lawns grow green, farmers grow their crops and kids wakeboard in the park. But, of course, flooding is a problem. In the dry season (seven months: November through May), grass turns as brown as a desert bush. The source of Florida’s water is the Lake Toho/Kissimmee River/Lake Okeechobee system, and the level of the lake system rises and falls between the seasons. At low levels during the dry season, Florida residents must be mindful to conserve water and animals are left to fend for themselves. Water resources have the potential to be unsustainable without management. Florida water resources fluctuate, so life can be difficult. The South Florida Water Management District was created to maintain sustainability of Florida water resources. Today, tourists come to visit the beautiful tropical climate of Florida’s beaches, wildlife, and palm trees. South Florida wasn’t always so pristine. Florida used to be a much soggier swampland. Mosquitoes were so plentiful, that some early pioneers of the area joked that they must be the state bird. Because of Florida’s flat geography, rainfall was the determinant factor in every facet of South Florida’s environment.1 After a large rain, water would stand in floodplains and flow from river to river like water in an ice tray without canals or dams to control the flow of storm waters. Standing water would remain for weeks or months leaving disease and water damage behind.1 During the dry season, farming became difficult. Droughts were common and crops and cattle would thirst without a reliable source of ... ....dep.state.fl.us/coastal/habitats/coral.htm. 6. Facility and Infrastructure Location Index Map. May 2002. South Florida Water Management District. http://www.sfwmd.gov/images/pdfs/facility_map_overview.pdf. 7. Wetland Wildlife. 8 Dec. 2004. University of Florida. http://wetlandextension.ifas.ufl.edu/wildlife.htm. 8. Land Management Annual Report. 2003. South Florida Water Management District. http://www.sfwmd.gov/org/clm/lsd/images/pdfs/lsd_ar03.pdf. 9. Environmental Restoration Efforts. South Florida Water Management District. http://www.sfwmd.gov/org/wrp/env_rest_efforts.html#lakeo. 10. Central and Southern Florida Project Comprehensive Review Study (Restudy) Update and Background. July 1999. http://www.evergladesplan.org/docs/backgd.pdf. 11. ACCELER8 Everglades Now. South Florida Water Management District. http://www.evergladesnow.org/a8_overview.shtml.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Gov Jane Hull :: essays research papers

Jane Dee Hull was born in Kansas City, Missouri, on August 8, 1935. Governor Hull is married to Dr. Terry Hull. Dr. Hull practiced medicine in Pheonix for 32 wears and now works as a consultant. Governor Hull and Dr. Hull have four children and eight grandchildren. Governor Hull received a bachelor's degree in elementary education from the University of Kansas and also did postgraduate work in political science and economics at Arizona State University. She is a graduate of the Josephson Ethics Institute. Governor Hull and her husband moved to Arizona in 1962. Dr. Hull served as a physician in public health service and the Governor taught school on the Navajo Nation until 1964. In 1979 Governor Hull was elected to the Arizona House of Representatives. She served from 1999 to 1992, and she was the first woman speaker of the house. In 1993, she ran a successful campaign for secretary of state, becoming the second woman to hold that office and the first Republican since 1931. Since her inducted into office, Hull lists education, healthcare, the economy and preserving the state's natural beauty as her top priorities. Governor Hull is a strong supporter of Homeland Security measures to ensure the safety of the people of Arizona. During her term as governor, Hull has appointed a record amount of judicial appointments.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Her ‘Students FIRST’ school facilities funding program ensures equity for every student in Arizona, no matter where they live. Forty-four new schools were built and opened and another 120 new schools have been approved. An addition, $1 billion dollars will be set aside for upgrading current school buildings. In Hull's Education 2000 program, which will raise $459 million in new funds, provides higher teacher salaries and smaller classrooms in kindergarten through high school. Since the Governors acceptance into office, nearly 136,000 children of the working and lower class will now receive health coverage thanks to the Governor's KidsCare program. In behavioral health, funding for the seriously mentally ill has increased by 80 percent since the Governor took office, up from $102 million in fiscal year 1997 to $185 million in fiscal year 2001. The Governor also obtained approval to build a new Arizona State Hospital and the initial phases of construction have begun. Under Governor Hull's leadership and contract with Qwest Communications, Arizona is one of the first states to assure that all of Arizona’s public schools will have access to the Internet.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Concept of Beauty According to the Western Philosophers Essay

Beauty is an emotional element, a pleasure of ours, which nevertheless we regard as a quality of thing. The ideas of beauty is found in almost every culture and at almost every time in human history, with many similarities. Beauty was and still is a term of great esteem linking human beings and nature with artistic practices and works since the early civilizations. From the early cultures, beauty, goodness and truth are customarily related. Beauty here carries a double meaning, inclusive and exclusive. In the inclusive sense, beauty pertains to anything worthy of approbation, to human virtues and characters, to nobility and goodness, to hidden things and truth, to the natural and divine worlds. In the exclusive, restricted sense, it pertains to how things appear, their manifestations, and to the joys human beings experience when presented with beautiful things, human bodies, artifacts, natural creatures and things. When we talk about the beauty in works of art, we are talking about this latter beauty, and experiencing this beauty refers to the aesthetic experience. Such beauty is the higher degree of it and the experience of it last in us beyond the time and space. The nature of beauty and its role in philosophy and aesthetics was explained from the early periods and its evolution as described by the philosophers and writers as follows: ~PLATO~ ( 428 or 427 – 348 or 347 B. C ) Plato had a love-hate relationship with the arts. He must have had some love for the arts, because he talks about them often, and his remarks show that he paid close attention to what he saw and heard. He was also a fine literary stylist and a great story-teller; in fact he is said to have been a poet before he encountered Socrates and became a philosopher. Some of his dialogues are real literary masterpieces. On the other hand, he found the arts threatening. He proposed sending the poets and playwrights out of his ideal Republic, or at least censoring what they wrote; and he wanted music and painting severely censored. The arts, he thought, are powerful shapers of character. Thus, to train and protect ideal citizens for an ideal society, the arts must be strictly controlled. Plato had two theories of art. One may be found in his dialogue The Republic, and seems to be the theory that Plato himself believed. According to this theory, since art imitates physical things, which in turn imitate the Forms, art is always a copy of a copy, and leads us even further from truth and toward illusion. For this reason, as well as because of its power to stir the emotions, art is dangerous. Plato’s other theory is hinted at in his shorter dialogue Ion, and in his exquisitely crafted Symposium. According to this theory the artist, perhaps by divine inspiration, makes a better copy of the True than may be found in ordinary experience. Thus the artist is a kind of prophet. Here are some features of the two theories: 1. Art is imitation This is a feature of both of Plato’s theories. Of course he was not the first or the last person to think that art imitates reality. The idea was still very strong in the Renaissance, when most people thought that a picture must be a picture of something, and that an artist is someone who can make a picture that â€Å"looks just like the real thing†. It wasn’t until late in the nineteenth century that the idea of art as imitation began to fade from western aesthetics, to be replaced by theories about art as expression, art as communication, art as pure form, art as whatever elicits an â€Å"aesthetic† response, and a number of other theories. So art is imitation. But what does it imitate? In the Republic, Plato says that art imitates the objects and events of ordinary life. In other words, a work of art is a copy of a copy of a Form. It is even more of an illusion than is ordinary experience. On this theory, works of art are at best entertainment and at worst a dangerous delusion. Whereas in the Symposium, he talks of art as imitation of the divine beauty and eternal truth. 2. Art is powerful, and therefore dangerous Poetry, drama, music, painting, dance, all stir up our emotions. All of the arts move people powerfully. They can strongly influence our behavior, and even our character. For that reason Plato insisted that music (especially music), along with poetry and drama and the other arts, should be part of the education of young citizens in his ideal republic, but should be strictly censored to present, at first, only the good. Plato’s influence came into the medieval European tradition through the filter of Neoplatonism, a much later modification of Platonic teachings that flourished in the centuries just before and after the time of Jesus. The most famous neo-Platonist was Plotinus. Plotinus and the other neo-Platonists made much of the idea of Beauty, and the soul’s quest for it, as described in the Symposium. Through neoplatonism, Plato’s second theory (art as imitation of eternal Beauty and eternal Truth) became the channel of his influence on the western middle ages and the renaissance. ~ARISTOTLE~ ( 384-322 BC ) In The School of Athens, the fresco by Raphael, Plato and Aristotle stand side by side. Plato points to the heavens, to the ideal world of the Forms. Aristotle is shown with his hand open toward the earth. The painting shows how passionate Renaissance intellectuals were about the views and achievements of the ancient Greeks and Romans. It also accurately portrays the difference between Plato and Aristotle. It’s a difference that shows up in their approaches to the arts. Aristotle took time and change more seriously than did Plato. Not surprisingly, he was also somewhat friendlier to the passions than was Plato; though he, too, thought that the moral virtues were various habits of rational control over the passions. Like Plato, Aristotle thought that art involved imitation (mimesis), though on this point as on many others he was flexible and allowed for exceptions. He also thought harder than Plato about what art imitated. For example, he says that Tragedy is an imitation â€Å"not of persons but of action and life, of happiness and misery† (Poetics 1451b). Thus he leans toward the â€Å"art as imitation of the ideal† theory that Plato might have developed, but never did. Aristotle’s Poetics is largely devoted to drama, in particular to tragedy. Aristotle provides both a history of the development of poetry and drama, and a critical framework for evaluating tragic drama. The Poetics is the first systematic essay in literary theory, full of insight, and showing a high degree of flexibility in the application of its general rules. Like many of Aristotle’s other attempts to systematize knowledge about an area, this framework has had a strong influence up to the present day, and was particularly influential during the Renaissance and the early modern European periods. Aristotle stresses the need for a work to be unified. The plot should be unified, portraying, in effect, one extended action which is set up, develops, and comes to a climactic conclusion. The character of the protagonists should be consistent, and the action should be the sort of action those characters would produce under those circumstances. The time of the action should also be unified, so that the plot can be held in memory as one action. Aristotle thought this would usually imply that the action would occur within one day. These â€Å"Unities† of action, character, and time were developed and added to by Renaissance writers to produce a code of â€Å"decorum† for dramatic productions, and failure to observe the â€Å"Unities† was often taken to mean failure of a work. Of course this brought a rebellion against Aristotle, who was not in fact responsible for the excesses of this code, and no doubt had no intention of producing a set of rules for dramatists in the first place. His critical standards no longer rule the evaluation of plays and novels, let alone other works. But the Poetics remains an impressive accomplishment, and many of its insights continue to ring true. It still seems a good general rule that a plot should be unified; that in a drama character should be revealed by action; that surprising turns are a great help to a plot, as long as they are not implausible; that one should not try to cover too great a length of actual time within the time of the play. The idea of catharsis is a potent one; and so is the idea that art portrays the universal, â€Å"not a thing that has been, but a kind of thing that might be. † ~RENE DESCARTES~ (1596-1650) He described the beauty and perfection of god’s works and the divine light. As late as the eighteenth century, beauty retained its relation to divinity and perfection, expressed in art. Even so, with Descartes and his time a transformation of the world began that included alterations in the practice and understanding of art and in the thought of beauty and beautiful things. In a universe made by god, the beauty and perfection of the world are immediate and infinitely important. ~GEORGE BERKELEY~ (1685-1753) â€Å"A man needs no argument to make him discern and approve what is beautiful; it strikes as first sight, and attracts without a reason. And as this beauty is found in shape and form of corporeal thins, so is there analogous to it, which is a beauty of another kind; an order, a symmetry, and comeliness in the moral world. And as the eyes perceive, so do by a certain interior sense perceive the other, which sense, talent or faculty is ever quickest and purest in the noble mind. † George Berkeley (1685-1753) is Irish philosopher and critics. He had moral sense theory of ethical judgment, which eliminates the traditional conception of moral rules as divine commands known by revelation as a main target of Berkeley’s attack. Francis Hutcheson offered his account of the sense of beauty as an introduction to his theory of the moral sense, Berkeley extended his attack to Hutcheson’s aesthetics. He exclaimed his response to beauty need not always be a response to the appearance of usefulness; e. g. Greek columns are tapered to look stable even though they would actually be stable with being tapered. The arguing issue raised remained a live one for aesthetics theory entities radical transformation in the post- Kantian period. ~IMMANUEL KANT~ (1724-1804) Immanuel Kant (1724-1804), German Enlightenment philosopher whose original and powerful philosophy has shaped most subsequent western thought. He was a popular lecturer, and was capable of a lively, readable style; although his major works are as dense and difficult as they are influential. (Kant defended this as a deliberate choice, since he wanted to examine what could be known about the mind in itself, or a priori, without depending on particular examples.) Kant produced an early treatise on aesthetics, Observations on the Feeling of the Beautiful and Sublime (1763), and did not write on the subject again until the end of his career, in the Critique of Judgment (1790). In between the two works came the development of his influential critical philosophy. Although Kant saw the Critique of Judgment as the key work which connected his writings on epistemology (the theory of knowledge) in the Critique of Pure Reason with his writings on ethics in the Critique of Practical Reason, it is not necessary to know these other works in order to understand the most influential parts of Kant’s aesthetics. Like many other writers on aesthetics before him, Kant’s main interest was not in art per se, but in Beauty (and along with other eighteenth century writers, in the Sublime). Thus most of his remarks are as relevant to the beautiful or sublime in nature as in art. Like other Enlightenment writers, (e. g. , Hutcheson and Hume), Kant also thought that Beauty or Sublimity were not really properties of objects, but ways in which we respond to objects. And like these other writers, Kant was concerned to show that this focus on the subjective aesthetic response did not make aesthetic value a mere function of individual or personal taste. Kant’s way of working out these problems is what makes his aesthetics original and influential. He claimed that judgments of taste are both subjective and universal. They are subjective; because they are responses of pleasure, and do not essentially involve any claims about the properties of the object itself. (What matters is not the picture I see; rather it is the pleasing effect of the picture on me.) On the other hand, aesthetic judgments are universal and not merely personal. That’s because in a crucial way they must be disinterested. When I am appreciating a painting aesthetically, I am not thinking about how much money it’s worth, or whether it is a portrait of a family member, or even about who painted it, except in so far as knowing the painter helps me see what’s in the work. These non-aesthetic interests are extraneous to my appreciation of the painting. Rather I am pleased by the painting just for what it is, apart from anything I may get out of it. In fact I do not even take an ethical interest in the painting’s subject (that is, any ethical interest is separate from this disinterested pleasure I take in the painting). â€Å"Taste that requires an added element of charm and emotion for its delight, not to speak of adopting this as the measure of its approval, has not emerged from barbarism†. Kant thought that for aesthetic judgments to be both subjective and universal, they had to be about form. Beauty should be â€Å"a question merely of the form†. More specifically, the object being contemplated (e. g. , a work of art, or an actual landscape) must display a kind of undefined purposive ness, such that it seems to be organized with a final purpose in mind, although it is not possible to say what that purpose is. Thus a work of art, or a beautiful natural object, displays a kind of free play of forms, consistent with the presence of a purpose to which we don’t have access. So intent was Kant on emphasizing the formal properties of the objects of aesthetic attention that he was unwilling to include color among the aesthetically relevant properties of an object. Color, in his view, is mere decoration; design and composition are what really matter . To sum up this point about form in Kant’s own words: â€Å"A judgment of taste which is uninfluenced by charm or emotion (though these may be associated with the delight in the beautiful), and whose determining ground, therefore, is simply finality of form, is a pure judgment of taste. † Kant divided the kinds of aesthetic response into responses to the Beautiful and the Sublime. The one represents a pleasure in order, harmony, delicacy and the like. The other is a response of awe before the infinite or the overwhelming. While the beautiful presents the appearance of form, the sublime may often seem formless. The pleasure it gives us derives from our awareness that there is something in us that transcends the overwhelming power or infinity outside us. Finally, Kant had things to say about genius. In short, he thought that genius has its own rules, and one cannot dictate to it. How Kant arrived at his conclusions is not easily shown; and it is no surprise that the philosophical reasoning that grounds those conclusions did not follow them into the cultural mainstream. But the conclusions themselves proved quite influential. His remarks on genius, and on purposive ness in art and nature, had an impact on the development of Romantic aesthetics. Later, the idea of a disinterested appreciation of form became a watchword for philosophers and critics like Clement Greenberg who defended abstract art. In literary criticism, the New Criticism which focused on the text itself, and its philosophical defense by Beardsley and Wimsatt, were similarly inspired.

Monday, September 16, 2019

The Financial Crisis of 2008

This paper explores the factors, which caused the recent financial crisis of 2008. Furthermore this paper will explain how the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) monetary policies and the Federal Government’s fiscal policies are crucial in limiting and perhaps eliminating future catastrophes.The Financial Crisis of 2008Factors and PreventionThe financial crisis of 2008 is widely considered the worst financial crisis, since the Great Depression (Pendrey, 2009). The repercussions of the crisis were mind-boggling, and unfortunately for many, it was life altering. Families lost their houses, their jobs, and in many cases, they lost their entire life savings. Furthermore, neither businesses nor banks escaped the massacre. The financial crisis not only devastated the United States, it also had far reaching worldwide consequences. The global economy suffered, as a result of what was happening here.The devastation was so severe, that the economy has yet to fully recover. To make matters e ven more frustrating, Sewell Chan of the New York Times explained, â€Å"The 2008 financial crisis was an â€Å"avoidable† disaster caused by widespread failures in government regulation, corporate mismanagement and heedless risk-taking by Wall Street†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (2011). This paper will attempt to discuss the factors, which led to the crisis, and perhaps more importantly, attempt to provide courses of action, which would prevent similar incidents in the future.DiscussionIn the years that led up to the financial crisis, seemingly everyone who could fog a mirror could get a home loan. These loans were often much more than the borrower could ever possibly afford to pay back. The government commission, which investigated the crisis, believes one of the main factors causing the financial crisis was the Federal Reserve’s and other regulators  failure to recognize the poisonous combination of careless mortgage loans, in addition to the packaging and sale of loans to inve stors and risky bets on securities backed by the subprime loans (Chan, 2011).The previous statements are best summarized, when Leon Hadar, a research fellow in foreign policy studies, opines in his Cato Institute commentary, â€Å"The housing boom and bust that precipitated the crisis were facilitated by extremely loose monetary policy.† (2009).Faulty monetary policies are not alone in the blame, however. The Federal Government’s shoddy fiscal policy also played a role. The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, also known as the Financial Modernization Act of 1999, repealed the injunction on the collaboration between investment and commercial banking established by the New Deal-era Glass-Steagall Act’s of 1932 and 1933. According to Hadar, this policy also proved dreadful. He states the Act, â€Å"†¦caused the crisis by clearing the way for investment and commercial banks to merge, and thus giving investment banks the incentive to take greater risks, while reducing the amount of equity they are required to hold against any given dollar of assets.† (2009).Not surprisingly, the incompetency and, in some cases, illegal actions of corporate management, in addition to Wall Street’s propensity to risk, also contributed to the 2008 financial meltdown. The US government’s official report, on the financial crisis, concluded, â€Å"several financial industry figures may have broken the law in the run-up to the crisis.† (Rushe, 2011). Furthermore, risk taking is an every day occurrence with Wall Street. Charles Ferguson pulls no punches with respect to Wall Street’s share of the blame, in an online article.The article titled â€Å"Heist of the century: Wall Street’s roll in the financial crisis† orates, â€Å"It is no exaggeration to say that since the 1980s, much of the global financial sector has become criminalised, creating an industry culture that tolerates or even encourages systematic fraud. The behavio ur that caused the mortgage bubble and financial crisis of 2008 was a natural outcome and continuation of this pattern, rather than some kind of economic accident.† (2012). SolutionWith the previous factors given, one might wonder how to prevent another  financial crisis from occurring. Costas Markides provides a very reasonable thesis in my opinion. In a Bloomberg.com blog, which addresses actions needed to avoid the next predicament, Markides contemplates, â€Å"If you want to change how people behave, don’t tell them. Instead, change the underlying environment that produced their â€Å"bad† behavior in the first place.† (2012). In other words, it is human nature to demand punishment and thereby obtaining a sense of instant gratification. To prevent future financial calamities, however, it is wise to address the underlying causes and understand what went wrong.Although there can never be a hundred percent solution to managing the national economy to su ch an extent that there will never be another crisis, the needed adjustments seem to lay at the feet of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy and the Federal Government’s fiscal policy. The Fed addressed one major cause of the financial crisis by implementing much needed regulations regarding mortgage loans and requiring proof of borrowers ability to pay the loan back (Warner, 2013).The Government, on the other hand, initiated mass government spending in order to stimulate the economy. Both the Fed and the Federal Government need to tighten regulations, but perhaps more importantly, they need to act more quickly and decisively to limit, or even more optimistically, prevent the next financial crisis. Mark Thoma of CBS best summarized this point by stating, â€Å"This disaster could have been prevented by a strong regulatory response, but the belief that markets would self-regulate†¦ led to a regulatory hands-off approach†¦ The hands-off regulatory approach wa s a mistake.† (2009).SummaryIn summary, it is clear that the financial crisis of 2008 was caused by errant monetary and fiscal policies. Furthermore, there was a delayed reaction by both the Fed and the Federal Government, which was caused by a hands-off regulatory approach. In the future, the Fed and the Federal Government need to act more decisively and promptly to better steer the economy away from a downward trending economy. Both the monetary and fiscal policies are vital to the ongoing recovery and future growth of the country’s economy.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Ethic Comments Essay

In the first answer to question #1 the writer makes the following statement about her relationship with God. â€Å"I can try to do things on my own but if it is not in his plan it will not happen† Winkelmann (1). This seems to indicate that the writer believes that only acts that follow God’s plan will have successful results. How does one know if an act that one is about to commit is in God’s plan? If God does have a plan for each of us, are we capable of committing an act that is not in God’s plan? The second writer to answer question #1 describes the process he uses to make important decisions in his life. He declares that, â€Å"I usually try to go in the path of whichever solution has less consequences, and to try to do what is morally right† Tango (1). It is unclear whether the writer is saying that only acts with little or no consequences are moral or, if the act that produces the least number of bad consequences is the most moral. What makes the writer believe the consequences of an act determine its moral correctness? In answer #1 to question # 2 the writer suggest that Psychologist Carol Gilligan believes â€Å"that women and men should learn to consider both views of ethics to get a better understanding so that women could recognize their own human rights and not be considered inferior to men†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (2). While the equality of men and women may be an ethical goal, is the equality of men and women a goal of ethics? In response to question #2, writer #2 makes the following quote about ethics. â€Å"The task of ethics is to respond to respond to particular individuals with whom we have valuable and close relationships† (2). An employer could be showing compassion and concern for his/her employees yet, the employer could be over charging his customers for inferior products or services. Does showing compassion, concern, love, or kindness in close relationships have anything to do with the moral correctness of the people in those relationships? The first answer to question #3 supposes that people have an innate sense of what is right and wrong. â€Å"Someplace, in our minds we know what is right or wrong† (3). This statement seems incorrect to this writer. All children commit wrong actions. How will a child learn which actions are right and which actions are wrong, if he is not taught? The writer of the second answer to question #3 states â€Å"Conscience itself is usually described as ‘the inner sense of what is right or wrong in ones conduct or motives impelling one toward right action† (3). I agree with this writer that a conscience need not come from religion. If this consciousness of right and wrong does not come from religion, from where does it come?

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Cell phones Positive Effect on Society Essay

The cellphone is one of the defining technologies of the early 21st century, with a December 2012 Pew Internet study showing that more than 87 percent of American adults own at least one. While the negative societal consequences of cellphones have been well documented, it’s also true that they can bring many benefits. Mobile technology allows users to interact with family, friends and colleagues in ways that weren’t possible for previous generations. New Telecom Prepaid Offer 60 mins talk & 5,000 txts Only $19. Plus 500MB Data – Go Big Now! www.telecom.co.nz​/​Prepaid-ValuePack Mobile Commerce Cellphones have become vital tools for consumers, allowing users to obtain information, search for discounts and purchase products directly from their devices. M-commerce is growing rapidly, with an eMarketer study putting U.S. retail sales through mobile devices at $24.66 billion in 2012. In addition, mobile marketing through cellphones allows businesses to engage with their audiences in new ways. This can be especially effective for small businesses, giving them a cost-effective way to reach potential customers. Helps Speech Difficulties The text and instant messaging functions of cell phones can be used to help those who suffer from vocal communication problems. Some conditions, such as certain forms of autism or diseases of the vocal cords, leave individuals able to understand words but unable to vocalize them. Cellphones offer a portable and unobtrusive way to type what they want to say instead of having to say it aloud, with some phones also offering text-to-speech capabilities. Keeping in Touch Cellphones make it easier than ever before to contact family and friends, especially for users who do a lot of traveling. No less than 65 percent of American adults believe that their cellphone makes it a lot easier to stay in touch with the people they care about, according to Pew Internet’s 2012 survey. Cellphone-based services like SMS and instant messaging encourage communication between individuals through their convenience alone, allowing users to stay in more or less constant contact. Emergency Use Keeping a cellphone on you allows you to make 911 calls immediately, with no need to waste time finding a phone to call from. The Federal Communications Commission estimates that 70 percent of 911 calls are made from mobile devices, and recognizes them as an important public safety tool. It has also developed a text-to-911 function, allowing users to request emergency assistance through text in certain circumstances. Even in non-emergencies, for example a car breakdown, cellphones can make requesting help much easier and safer.

Friday, September 13, 2019

Gilbane Gold Ethical Model - Analysis Case Study

Gilbane Gold Ethical Model - Analysis - Case Study Example This problem on fairness has been raised by individuals and masses for affirmative action on in convincing ethics. The place from which this case has been based on is Gilbane, an imaginary town. The mud that comes from the sewage plant situated in the city for very many years has been used as fertilizers and the sales are made under Gilbane Gold. This firm generates revenue from Gilbane Gold that supplements the city’s tax revenue. This tax revenues saves a family composed of four roughly 3000 dollars every year. For the lively income source to be protected, restrictions that are very harsh should be implemented on disposal of metals that are heavy in sewages. This sewage if well taken care of can provide farmers with fertilizers. Before the implementation of these regulations, this city had a good name on matters pertaining to business. It also gave tax abatements to the firms, which chose to locate to the town. Therefore, after the location of many firms into the city, enact ment of the restrictions was done. Z CORP being one of the firms that located there monitored discharge in monthly bases from the plants, which produced toxic materials at that time of manufacturing. The problem in this case arises where the firms in this city have the responsibility of supplying data from the tests carried out and modern tests have been developed. Firstly, the engineer in charge has the mandate to sign for the accuracy of tests carried out. There has been interference with the law that governs effluents in that its main purpose is to regulate amount of discharge and not the quantity as a whole. This makes it easy for a plant to operate within standards set by Gilbane just by escalating the discharge volume. Another issue on the modern test method is that if it is used there is a detection of excess emissions allowance frequently. In contrary, there has been a tendency to cling onto initial method of testing by the occupants of this city. Z CORP is faced with a prob lem on whether to disclose the outcomes or to undisclose it. If it does not do that employees may insinuate that, the firm portrays bad faith towards the city. The plant’s engineer dismisses a consultant, believing the action was out of warnings on discharge levels. This engineer has two concerns, discharge of metals by Z CORP and realization of the effect that the contract signed by Z CORP means to the city. The only action he arrives at is blowing the whole crime out through the media. Problem analysis In order to analyze the problem encountered, one has to be fit to act as the engineer, and should be in a position to handle the problems that were encountered by him. What this statement implies is that, an individual should first be an agent not a judge. The individual should be able to analyze the problem by imagining to be faced by it and has the responsibility to make a decision and not as one who evaluates. To start with, the debate, which appears to arise over moral is sues, is in the real sense disagreements on facts that are relevant. In any case two engineers fall out on a decision that the government opts to take; the engineers might think that the disagreement is about issues related to ethics. Further discussion reveals the difference emanates from the question of the best way to eliminate discrimination. Although some may conceptualize that women’s ethics will continue for a while despite taking of affirmative action, some have a different belief that there can be

Thursday, September 12, 2019

Literature Review and Annotated Bibliography Thesis

Literature Review and Annotated Bibliography - Thesis Example t will have to consider a number of repercussions before she or he can decide to report the domestic violence to social service agencies, or even the police. For example, Fisman and Edward (2008) explain that when the undocumented immigrant reports the violence to the police, she may risk deportation because she is not residing genuinely in the United States. This will make her suffer more, mainly because she is unable to gain protection from the state or federal agencies responsible for protecting people residing in the United States (Muniz, 214). Furthermore, most male Hispanic figures are aware of this limitation, and on this basis, they will continue abusing their women, and imposing their dominance against them. Fisman and Edward (2008) has a different view of this situation. Bergad and Herbert (2010) explains that even amongst the documented Hispanic families, there is a high rate of domestic violence. This is despite the aggrieved parties constantly reporting this violence to the police, and to social agencies responsible for protecting the welfare of the vulnerable. Fisman and Edward (2008) therefore dismiss the notion that there are high rates of domestic violence amongst the undocumented immigrants because of their immigration status which is illegal in the United States. Bergad and Herbert (2010) believe that the major reason of domestic violence amongst the Hispanic people is poverty. Tienda and Faith (2006) provides an explanation that most Hispanic individuals are living in poverty, in the United States. This is mainly because most of them are immigrants, and when they enter United States, they normally do not have any stable sources of income. Furthermore, majority of the Hispanic people are undocumented immigrants, and on this basis, they are always unable to acquire good jobs, because they do not have supporting documents that can enable them get the jobs under consideration. This situation contributes to poverty amongst the Hispanic community.