Mid Term - Choice of 2 topics Pick one Research Paper

Mid Term - Choice of 2 topics Pick one - Research Paper Example According to the United States Department of State Publication, Bureau of Counterterrorism (hereinafter the report), a state is designated as a state sponsor of terrorism if the Secretary of State is satisfied that the â€Å"government of such country has repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism†.1 Upon being designated a state sponsor of terrorism, the country will not be delisted until it satisfies the statutory requirements for delisting. In the meantime, the state will be liable to a number of sanctions including â€Å"a ban on arms-related exports and sales†, â€Å"control over exports and sales† that â€Å"could significantly enhances the terrorist-list country’s military capability or ability to support terrorism†, a ban on â€Å"economic assistance† and or the â€Å"imposition of miscellaneous financial and other restrictions†.2 The report goes on to list states that have designated as state sponsors of terrorism and the reasons for those listing. Cuba is the first country on the list and was designated a state sponsor of terrorism since 1982. The listing is based on the contention that terrorist factions are residing in Cuba. In particular, both existing and previous â€Å"members of Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA)† live in Cuba.3 It is also believed that one of three persons believed to be members of ETA who were deported to Cuba after attempted to set sail from Cuba is wanted by Spanish authorities and is also suspected of being associated with the Revolutionary Forces of Colombia (FARC). The Cuban government, while not actively involved in supporting ETA members has been known to provide medical and political support to FARC.4 The Report also alleges that Cuba’s government has persistently allowed persons wanted in the U.S. to live in Cuba and in doing so has given welfare and medical assistance to those fugitives. It has also been determined by the Financial Action Task

Marxism Global Political Economy

Marxism Global Political Economy This paper is aimed at addressing and evaluating the theoretical perspectives of Liberal and Marxist ideas, as well as investigating their theoretical perspectives in relation to International Political Economy (IPE). Researchers studying IPE use a variety of theories for different purposes, such as predicting the stability of economical situations, or predicting economical growth of a state among others. Other political and economical analysts argue that valid predictions are almost impossible because there are too many factors that may have particular influence on the events. Nevertheless, all these people utilize their theoretical knowledge in attempt to get an understanding of the world. However, it is worth questioning the reason for such rich variety of theories being out there. According to Robert Cox (1986), there are two reasons: Theory always has a goal and serves the interests of particular people. For example, the goals of liberal theories are concerned with establishing cooperation and increasing capital, while critical theories (also labelled Marxist) are focused on removing the economic, gender or environmental differences within the society. Both Liberal theories have emerged in the 19th century in Britain during the period of industrial revolution in response to monarchical absolutism. Later in 19th century, Marxism has emerged as a response to the liberal thought. Wealthier states and individuals tend to favour liberal theories, which are in line with their interests and do not threaten their comfort, while those who are less satisfied with their socioeconomic position tend to adopt the critical theories point of view. It is worth noting that it is difficult and almost impossible to prove a theory right or wrong, therefore, evidence can be interpreted in different ways depending on ones goals and views (OBrien Williams, 2007). Therefore different conflicting theoretical perspectives, such as Marxism and Liberalism, have developed. Marxists an d Liberalist mainly differ in their views about the role of individual and role of state in IPE (Raico, 1992). Liberals are concerned about variety of actors ranging from a single individual to particular interest groups, firms and corporations, to state. Nevertheless, liberals starting point for analytical evaluation is the individuals needs; this idea is at the core of neoclassical economic theory. Therefore, liberals look at behaviour of states, firms and individuals in order to analyze global economy, while keeping in mind that the individual is the main actor. The idea is that individuals in their pursuit of self-profit within the competitive environment will benefit and therefore will increase the benefits economic exchange for the masses. Companies and firms play a very important role for the liberals, as they are perceived as a source of economic expenditure and wealth (Jackson Sorensen, 2003). As mentioned above, they believe that state cannot stand as a single actor, due to the idea that it is being influenced by many different factors. Liberals express negativity towards state, si nce they believe that politics should not get involved into the economics. They also, believe that if the market will be free of political influence, which is seen as the force that is distorting the benefits while producing additional costs to the market participants, and will not interfere with the consumption, production and exchange mechanisms then everyone will benefit. Economic liberalists Friedrich Hayeks (1992) slogan laissez-faire is a good example of the liberal view in relation the state. Pluralist (liberal) approach suggests that cooperation is the key and the way forward where people and states can benefit, opposed to the conflict suggested by class-analytic (Marxist) approach. They argue that conflicts should be avoided, and a peaceful resolution should be found through the course of action and agreement of sides that will benefit both, as in liberal view, the world political and economical mechanisms are interdependent rather than anarchical (Connell, 1995). Transnati onal Corporations (TNCs) are believed to benefit both host and home countries, where it boosts economies of host states by means of transfer of capital, access to market, and technology, as well as benefiting the home country where TNC is seen as a mix of capital management skills and technology. Such perspective is referred to as positive-sum game and the idea is that by means of cooperation everyone benefits and prospers. Liberal theorists highlight the fact that in their view the market is located in the centre of economic life and economic progress, which occurs because individuals are pursuing their goals. A liberal theory of comparative advantage suggests that even if one country is producing more goods than another country, trade between the two countries will benefit both. This view is opposed to Marxist theory of zero-sum game, which claims that in order for one to gain the other has to lose. Famous Liberal Political Economists, such as David Ricardo and Adam Smith advocate d state non-interference in free trade and economy. Various well-known slogans have emerged during that period, such as laissez faire (the doctrine of unrestricted freedom in commerce) and mà Ã‚ ¾ndà Ã‚ µ và Ã‚ ° de lui-mà Ã‚ µmà Ã‚ µ (the world goà Ã‚ µs by itself) (Raico, 1977). Contemporary global political economy is mostly being governed according to the principles of liberal ideology. Most forms of economic activity are functioning according to the liberal rules and policy regulations and are based on the goal of free trade. It is evident that nowadays money flows almost freely in and out of countries via stock markets, banks, and big financial corporations. Nowadays liberalism cannot be described with a unitary definition, as different liberal movements have deviated from the core theoretical ideology of liberalism to certain degree thus producing neo-liberal theories that are somewhat different from the ones described by founding fathers of liberalism. It is worth remembering Fukuyamas (1989) work and his speculative prophesy of the end of history, where he argued that liberalism is about to become an only ideology of upmost significance thus ceasing the conflict between the theorists of global political economy. Despite Fukuyamas statement, today, aft er 22 years China one of the most developed economies in the world is still a communist state, as well as few other countries. Nevertheless, most of the countries in the world are dominated by private businesses and corporations with some involvement of the state, as described by Keohane (2002). Liberals suggest that open markets will produce more wealth and will aid economies expenditure around the globe benefiting the humanity. Economic failure is believed to be triggered by the disruptions caused from involvement of the state into the economy. Therefore, liberals are promoting globalization, which they perceive as a force of good that removes artificial boundaries and facilitates growth of production thus contributing to overall wealth of the society (Helleiner, 2003). A set of critical theories have emerged in response to growing popularity of liberalism in 19th century. Unlike liberalists who are looking at individuals and states, these theorists are looking at other units of analysis. The main units of analysis in Marxist theories are class and interest of working class rather than state. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels are the founding fathers of this political movement and the ones that unleashed the conflict between capitalists and workers. Resolution of this conflict was possible only if workers seized power (Marx and Engels, 1848). Marxist writers reject the significance of the individuals of liberal theory, and focus on the significance of the class instead. Marxists perceive capitalist relations being inherently exploitative (Raico, 1992). There has been a lot of debate in relation to definition of class in the literature; therefore, in this paper class is defined according to OBrien and Williams (2007) as à Ã‚ °rising from à Ã‚ ¾nà   µs pà Ã‚ ¾sitià Ã‚ ¾n in the structurà Ã‚ µ of prà Ã‚ ¾ductià Ã‚ ¾n. Karl Marx himself seen the society as a multi-layered cake, with the bourgeoisie (capitalists) sitting on top, owning and controlling the means of production, and proletariat (workers), who sell their labour to the capitalists as a bottom layer of the cake. Therefore, Marxist followers suggest that the firm and the capitalistic regime itself are exploitative and unfair in relation to working class. Marxists see transnational corporations (TNCs) as tools of oppression and exploitation of the working class, because of their power to centralize and concentrate capital, while expressing the dominance, which is the key feature of imperialism (monarchy). Such perspective suggests the state is representative of class interests and not the communal interests. In this respect, the state has a role of executive committee of the ruling class and sometimes referred to as an independent agent of exploitation by som e Marxist writers (Conway, 1987). This idea of exploitation and dominance among the societies and within them is central to Marxist theories global political economy. According to class-analytic approach to global economy, under capitalism workers are not fairly rewarded for their labour, economic relations are being conflicting and unstable. Meaning, that consequently, the rich will become richer and the poor will become poorer and the gap between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat will continue to increase (Gilbert, 2008). Such economical relations are believed to lead to decrease in wages of labourers, uneven development, as some centres increase their capital and growth at the expense of others, which in its turn leads to conflicts between countries, as well as insufficient consumption and overproduction thus affecting social stability and producing fluctuations in the business sector (OBrien and Williams, 2007). For example, dependency theory suggests that poor countries have faced barriers to further development as the consequence of being economically exploited by developed countries (Dos Santos, 1970). This refers to a zero-sum game described above. Therefore, the conflict between states is unavoidable because of the drive for profit. Consequently, liberals seek protection of their state, which in turn leads to conflict and war. For example, the famous Marxist theory about imperialism written by Vladimir Lenin (1917/1969) encapsulates two explanations of capitalist development. First part of his theory is concerned with growth of financial capital and the coalition of industrial capital and finance to form monopolies that sought to produce profit by means of overseas lending. The second part of Lenins theory is concerned about insufficient consumption in domestic market. Insufficient demand on domestic markets has forced capitalists to enter foreign markets due to inability to maintain their profit rates. Such perspective have lead Lenin to a conclusi on that such competition would inevitably lead to conflict and consequently to war. Marxists also tend to argue against globalization, which in their view represents an ideological intervention into global economy, which acts in support of free markets as well as a tool used to pursue interests of the capitalist power over labourers. Some researchers argued, that globalization facilitated by the neoliberal political movements is an instrument of global management and liberalization and is based on misinformation and deception of the masses (Cox, 1996; Gill, 1993). Another clash between the ideologies has occurred in the 21th century, when members of world elites have tried to alter constitutional laws in favour of neoliberal principles in various institutions, including International Monetary Fund and World Trade Organization. Neoliberals met the opposition of social political movements trying to protect environmental policy, raise work standards, and facilitate gender equity and seek economic justice (OBrien and Williams, 2007). According to economic liberals, market economy is the way to prosperity for all, and should be run according to its own economic laws without the interference of the state. Global market economy is a sphere described by a positive-sum game model, which advocates that economic exchange will maximise profits of firms, individuals and households, and consequently all members of society will benefit from it. Marxists see the economy as an instrument of exploitation of lower social classes (workers); these interactions are highlighted by the inequalities between proletariat and bourgeoisie. Critical theories advocate, the political strategies are being determined by socioeconomic context. The class that exercises economical power also controls the political power of the state. Marxists believe that capitalist development is uneven and is bound to produce conflicts between states and individuals. Global Political Economy can be defined as the relationship between states and markets on an international scale. Research of this relationship has given birth to conflicting Marxist and Liberal theories discussed in this paper. As it was already mentioned above, each theory serves the interests of particular groups of people with particular goals, and unless the major part of the international political society will come to some sort of an agreement and find a way to cooperate, conflicts will always emerge, and conflicts will always result in losses for someone.

What Is Buddhism? Essay examples -- essays research papers

What is Buddhism?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Buddhism is a path of teaching and practice. Buddhist practices such as meditation are means of changing oneself in order to develop the qualities of awareness, kindness, and wisdom. The experience developed within the Buddhist tradition over thousands of years has created an incomparable resource for all those who wish to follow the path of spiritual development. Ultimately, the Buddhist path culminates in Enlightenment or Buddhahood. Who was the Buddha?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The word Buddha is a title not a name. It means ‘one who is awake' in the sense of having ‘woken up to reality'. The title was first given to a man called Siddharta Guatemala, who lived about 2,500 years ago in Northern India. When he was 35 he found Enlightenment whist in profound mediation, after searching for years. In the next 45 years of his life he spent it traveling through India teaching his way of life. His teaching is known as Buddha-dharma.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Traveling from place to place, the Buddha gained many disciples. They also taught of the enlightment, and the chain has continued on to this present day.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Buddha was not a God, and he made no claim to divinity. There is no concept of a creator in Buddhism. He was a human being who, thought tremendous efforts, transformed himself.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The state of Enlightenment which he reached has three main facets. It is a state of wisdom, of insight into the true nature of things. It is also a source or boundless compassion, manifesting itself in activity for the benefit of all beings. and it the total liberation of all the energies of the mind and the body so they are at the service of the fully conscious mind. What Happened After the Buddha's Death?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Buddhism died out in India a thousand years ago, though it has recently revived. In the last century Buddhism has emphatically arrived in the West and up to one million westerners have become Buddhists. What Does Buddhism Teach?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Buddhism sees life as being in process of constant change and its practices aim to take advantage of this fact. It means that one can change for the better. The decisive factor in changing ourselves is the mind and Buddhism has developed many methods for working on the mi... ... the living beings in the six realms of existence differ but none of them lasts forever. Eventually, rebirth will take place. The realm into which one is reborn and one's conditions of rebirth are determined by ones' past and present actions. This is the law of Karma at work.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Because of the force of their karma, people are born are reborn endlessly, in one realm of existence or in another. The Buddha declared that there is no permanent rest in the cycle of birth and death. It is only when one follows the Noble Eightfold path taught by the Buddha and eventually attains Nirvana, that one finally becomes free from the ceaseless cycle and gains supreme and permanent happiness. Karma   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Karma is the law of moral causation. It is action and reaction in the ethical realm. It is natural law that every action produces a certain effect. So if one performs wholesome actions, one will experience happiness. on the other hand, if one performs unwholesome actions, one will experience suffering. The is the law of cause and effect at work. In this way, the effect of one's past karma determine that nature of one's present situation in life.

The Host Chapter 17: Visited

The heat hit me first-like a wall of steam, the moist, thick air rolled over me and dewed on my skin. My mouth opened automatically as I tried to pull a breath from the abruptly denser air. The smell was stronger than before-that same metallic tang that clung in my throat and flavored the water here. The murmuring babble of bass and soprano voices seemed to issue from every side, echoing off the walls. I squinted anxiously through the swirling cloud of moisture, trying to make out where the voices came from. It was bright here-the ceiling was dazzling, like in the big room but much closer. The light danced off the vapor, creating a shimmering curtain that almost blinded me. My eyes struggled to adjust, and I clutched at Jeb's hand in panic. I was surprised that the strangely fluid babble did not respond in any way to our entrance. Perhaps they couldn't see us yet, either. â€Å"It's a bit close in here,† Jeb said apologetically, fanning at the steam in front of his face. His voice was relaxed, conversational in tone, and loud enough to make me jump. He spoke as if we were not surrounded. And the babble continued, oblivious to his voice. â€Å"Not that I'm complaining,† he continued. â€Å"I'd be dead several times over if this place didn't exist. The very first time I got stuck in the caves, of course. And now, we'd never be able to hide out here without it. With no hiding place, we're all dead, right?† He nudged me with his elbow, a conspiratorial gesture. â€Å"Mighty convenient, how it's laid out. Couldn't have planned it much better if I'd sculpted it myself out of play dough.† His laugh cleared a section of mist, and I saw the room for the first time. Two rivers flowed through the dank, high-domed space. This was the chatter that filled my ears-the water gushing over and under the purple volcanic rock. Jeb spoke as if we were alone because we were. It was really only one river and one small stream. The stream was closest; a shallow braided ribbon of silver in the light from above, coursing between low stone banks that it seemed constantly in danger of overrunning. A feminine, high-pitched murmur purred from its gentle ripples. The male, bass gurgle came from the river, as did the thick clouds of vapor that rose from the gaping holes in the ground by the far wall. The river was black, submerged under the floor of the cavern, exposed by wide, round erosions along the length of the room. The holes looked dark and dangerous, the river barely visible as it rushed powerfully toward an invisible and unfathomable destination. The water seemed to simmer, such was the heat and steam it produced. The sound of it, too, was like that of boiling water. From the ceiling hung a few long, narrow stalactites, dripping toward the stalagmites beneath each one. Three of them had met, forming thin black pillars between the two bodies of flowing water. â€Å"Got to be careful in here,† Jeb said. â€Å"Quite a current in the hot spring. If you fall in, you're gone. Happened once before.† He bowed his head at the memory, his face sober. The swift black eddies of the subterranean river were suddenly horrible to me. I imagined being caught in their scalding current and shuddered. Jeb put his hand lightly on my shoulder. â€Å"Don't worry. Just watch your step and you'll be fine. Now,† he said, pointing to the far end of the cavern, where the shallow stream ran into a dark cave, â€Å"the first cave back there is the bathing room. We've dug the floor out to make a nice, deep tub. There's a schedule for taking baths, but privacy's not usually an issue-it's black as pitch. The room's nice and warm so close to the steam, but the water won't burn you like the hot spring here. There's another cave just past that one, through a crevice. We've widened the entrance up to a comfortable size. That room is the farthest we can follow the stream-it drops underground there. So we've got that room fixed up as the latrine. Convenient and sanitary.† His voice had assumed a complacent tone, as if he felt credit was due to him for nature's creations. Well, he had discovered and improved the place-I supposed some pride was justified. â€Å"We don't like to waste batteries, and most of us know the floor here by heart, but since it's your first time, you can find your way with this.† Jeb pulled a flashlight from his pocket and held it out. The sight of it reminded me of the moment he'd found me dying in the desert, when he'd checked my eyes and known what I was. I didn't know why the memory made me sad. â€Å"Don't get any crazy ideas about maybe the river taking you out of here or something. Once that water goes underground, it doesn't come back up,† he cautioned me. Since he seemed to be waiting for some acknowledgment of his warning, I nodded once. I took the flashlight from his hand slowly, being careful not to make any quick movements that might startle him. He smiled in encouragement. I followed his directions quickly-the sound of the rushing water was not making my discomfort any easier to bear. It felt very strange to be out of his sight. What if someone had hidden in these caves, guessing I would have to come here eventually? Would Jeb hear the struggle over the cacophony of the rivers? I shone the flashlight all around the bathing room, looking for any sign of an ambush. The odd flickering shadows it made were not comforting, but I found no substance to my fears. Jeb's tub was more the size of a small swimming pool and black as ink. Under the surface, a person would be invisible as long as they could hold their breath†¦ I hurried through the slender crack at the back of the room to escape my imaginings. Away from Jeb, I was nearly overwhelmed with panic-I couldn't breathe normally; I could barely hear over the sound of my pulse racing behind my ears. I was more running than walking when I made my way back to the room with the rivers. To find Jeb standing there, still in the same pose, still alone, was like a balm to my splintered nerves. My breathing and my heartbeat slowed. Why this crazy human should be such a comfort to me, I couldn't understand. I supposed it was like Melanie had said, desperate times. â€Å"Not too shabby, eh?† he asked, a grin of pride on his face. I nodded once again and returned the flashlight. â€Å"These caves are a great gift,† he said as we started back toward the dark passageway. â€Å"We wouldn't be able to survive in a group like this without them. Magnolia and Sharon were getting along real well-shockingly well-up there in Chicago, but they were pushing their luck hiding two. It's mighty nice to have a community again. Makes me feel downright human.† He took my elbow once more as we climbed the rough stair-case out. â€Å"I'm sorry about the, um, accommodations we've got you in. It was the safest place I could think of. I'm surprised those boys found you as quick as they did.† Jeb sighed. â€Å"Well, Kyle gets real†¦ motivated. But I suppose it's all for the best. Might as well get used to how things are going to be. Maybe we can find something more hospitable for you. I'll think on it†¦ While I'm with you, at least, you don't really have to cram yourself into that little hole. You can sit in the hall with me if you prefer. Though with Jared†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He trailed off. I listened to his apologetic words in wonder; this was so much more kindness than I'd hoped for, more compassion than I'd thought this species was capable of giving their enemies. I patted the hand on my elbow lightly, hesitantly, trying to convey that I understood and wouldn't cause a problem. I was sure Jared much preferred to have me out of sight. Jeb had no trouble translating my wordless communication. â€Å"That's a good girl,† he said. â€Å"We'll figure this all out somehow. Doc can just concentrate on healin' human folks. You're much more interesting alive, I think.† Our bodies were close enough that he was able to feel me tremble. â€Å"Don't worry. Doc's not going to bother you now.† I couldn't stop shivering. Jeb could only promise me now. There was no guarantee that Jared would not decide my secret was more important than protecting Melanie's body. I knew that such a fate would make me wish Ian had succeeded last night. I swallowed, feeling the bruising that seemed to go all the way through my neck to the inside walls of my throat. You never know how much time you'll have, Melanie had said so many days ago, when my world was still under control. Her words echoed in my head as we reentered the big room, the main plaza of Jeb's human community. It was full, like the first night, everyone there to glare at us with eyes that blazed anger and betrayal when they looked at him and murder when they looked at me. I kept my gaze down on the rock under my feet. From the corner of my eye, I could see that Jeb held his gun ready again. It was only a matter of time, indeed. I could feel it in the atmosphere of hate and fear. Jeb could not protect me long. It was a relief to scrape back through the narrow crevice, to look forward to the winding black labyrinth and my cramped hiding place; I could hope to be alone there. Behind me, a furious hissing, like a nest of goaded snakes, echoed in the big cavern. The sound made me wish Jeb would lead me through the labyrinth at a quicker pace. Jeb chuckled under his breath. He seemed to get stranger the longer I was around him. His sense of humor mystified me as much as his motivations did. â€Å"It gets a bit tedious down here sometimes, you know,† he murmured to me, or to himself. With Jeb, it was hard to tell. â€Å"Maybe when they get over being cheesed off at me, they'll realize they appreciate all the excitement I'm providing.† Our path through the dark twisted in a serpentine fashion. It didn't feel at all familiar. Perhaps he took a different route to keep me lost. It seemed to take more time than before, but finally I could see the dim blue light of the lamp shining from around the next curve. I braced myself, wondering if Jared would be there again. If he was, I knew he would be angry. I was sure he wouldn't approve of Jeb taking me for a field trip, no matter how necessary it might have been. As soon as we rounded the corner, I could see that there was a figure slumped against the wall beside the lamp, casting a long shadow toward us, but it was obviously not Jared. My hand clutched at Jeb's arm, an automatic spasm of fear. And then I really looked at the waiting figure. It was smaller than me-that was how I'd known it was not Jared-and thin. Small, but also too tall and too wiry. Even in the dim light of the blue lamp, I could see that his skin was dyed to a deep brown by the sun, and that his silky black hair now fell unkempt past his chin. My knees buckled. My hand, grasping Jeb's arm in panic, held on for support. â€Å"Well, for Pete's sake!† Jeb exclaimed, obviously irritated. â€Å"Can't nobody keep a secret around this place for more'n twenty-four hours? Gol' durn, this burns me up! Bunch of gossipmongers†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He trailed off into a grumble. I didn't even try to understand the words Jeb was saying; I was locked in the fiercest battle of my life-of every life I'd ever lived. I could feel Melanie in each cell of my body. My nerve endings tingled in recognition of her familiar presence. My muscles twitched in anticipation of her direction. My lips trembled, trying to open. I leaned forward toward the boy in the hall, my body reaching because my arms would not. Melanie had learned many things the few times I'd ceded or lost my command to her, and I truly had to struggle against her-so hard that fresh sweat beaded on my brow. But I was not dying in the desert now. Nor was I weak and dizzy and taken off guard by the appearance of someone I'd given up for lost; I'd known this moment might come. My body was resilient, quick to heal-I was strong again. The strength of my body gave strength to my control, to my determination. I drove her from my limbs, chased her from every hold she'd found, thrust her back into the recesses of my mind, and chained her there. Her surrender was sudden and total. Aaah, she sighed, and it was almost a moan of pain. I felt strangely guilty as soon as I'd won. I'd already known that she was more to me than a resistant host who made life unnecessarily difficult. We'd become companions, even confidantes during our past weeks together-ever since the Seeker had united us against a common enemy. In the desert, with Kyle's knife over my head, I'd been glad that if I had to die I would not be the one to kill Melanie; even then, she was more than a body to me. But now it seemed like something beyond that. I regretted causing her pain. It was necessary, though, and she didn't seem to grasp that. Any word we said wrong, any poorly considered action would mean a quick execution. Her reactions were too wild and emotional. She would get us into trouble. You have to trust me now, I told her. I'm just trying to keep us alive. I know you don't want to believe your humans could hurt us†¦ But it's Jamie, she whispered. She yearned for the boy with an emotion so strong that it weakened my knees again. I tried to look at him impartially-this sullen-faced teenager slumped against the tunnel wall with his arms folded tightly across his chest. I tried to see him as a stranger and plan my response, or lack of response, accordingly. I tried, but I failed. He was Jamie, he was beautiful, and my arms-mine, not Melanie's-longed to hold him. Tears filled my eyes and trickled down my face. I could only hope they were invisible in the dim light. â€Å"Jeb,† Jamie said-a gruff greeting. His eyes passed swiftly over me and away. His voice was so deep! Could he really be so old? I realized with a double pang of guilt that I'd just missed his fourteenth birthday. Melanie showed me the day, and I saw that it was the same day as the first dream with Jamie. She'd struggled so hard all through the waking hours to keep her pain to herself, to cloud her memories in order to protect the boy, that he'd come out in her dream. And I'd e-mailed the Seeker. I shuddered now in disbelief that I'd ever been so callous. â€Å"Whatcha doing here, kid?† Jeb demanded. â€Å"Why didn't you tell me?† Jamie demanded back. Jeb went silent. â€Å"Was that Jared's idea?† Jamie pressed. Jeb sighed. â€Å"Okay, so you know. What good does that do you, eh? We only wanted to -â€Å" â€Å"To protect me?† he interrupted, surly. When did he get so bitter? Was it my fault? Of course it was. Melanie began sobbing in my head. It was distracting, loud-it made Jeb and Jamie's voices sound farther away. â€Å"Fine, Jamie. So you don't need protecting. What do you want?† This quick capitulation seemed to throw Jamie off. His eyes darted between Jeb's face and mine while he struggled to come up with a request. â€Å"I-I want to talk with her†¦ with it,† he finally said. His voice was higher when he was unsure. â€Å"She doesn't say much,† Jeb told him, â€Å"but you're welcome to try, kid.† Jeb pried my fingers off his arm. When he was free, he turned his back to the nearest wall, leaning into it as he eased himself to the floor. He settled in there, fidgeting until he found a comfortable position. The gun stayed balanced in the cradle of his lap. Jeb's head lolled back against the wall, and his eyes closed. In seconds, he looked like he was asleep. I stood where he'd left me, trying to keep my eyes off Jamie's face and failing. Jamie was surprised again by Jeb's easy acquiescence. He watched the old man recline on the floor with wide eyes that made him look younger. After a few minutes of perfect stillness from Jeb, Jamie looked back up at me, and his eyes tightened. The way he stared at me-angry, trying hard to be brave and grown-up, but also showing the fear and pain so clearly in his dark eyes-had Melanie sobbing louder and my knees shaking. Rather than take a chance with another collapse, I moved slowly to the tunnel wall across from Jeb and slid down to the floor. I curled up around my bent legs, trying to be as small as possible. Jamie watched me with cautious eyes and then took four slow steps forward until he stood over me. His glance flitted to Jeb, who hadn't moved or opened his eyes, and then Jamie knelt down at my side. His face was suddenly intense, and it made him look more adult than any expression yet. My heart throbbed for the sad man in the little boy's face. â€Å"You're not Melanie,† he said in a low voice. It was harder not to speak to him because I was the one who wanted to speak. Instead, after a brief hesitation, I shook my head. â€Å"You're inside her body, though.† Another pause, and I nodded. â€Å"What happened to your†¦ to her face?† I shrugged. I didn't know what my face looked like, but I could imagine. â€Å"Who did this to you?† he pressed. With a hesitant finger, he almost touched the side of my neck. I held still, feeling no urge to cringe away from this hand. â€Å"Aunt Maggie, Jared, and Ian,† Jeb listed off in a bored voice. We both jumped at the sound. Jeb hadn't moved, and his eyes were still closed. He looked so peaceful, as if he had answered Jamie's question in his sleep. Jamie waited for a moment, then turned back to me with the same intense expression. â€Å"You're not Melanie, but you know all her memories and stuff, right?† I nodded again. â€Å"Do you know who I am?† I tried to swallow the words, but they slipped through my lips. â€Å"You're Jamie.† I couldn't help how my voice wrapped around the name like a caress. He blinked, startled that I had broken my silence. Then he nodded. â€Å"Right,† he whispered back. We both looked at Jeb, who remained still, and back at each other. â€Å"Then you remember what happened to her?† he asked. I winced, and then nodded slowly. â€Å"I want to know,† he whispered. I shook my head. â€Å"I want to know,† Jamie repeated. His lips trembled. â€Å"I'm not a kid. Tell me.† â€Å"It's not†¦ pleasant,† I breathed, unable to stop myself. It was very hard to deny this boy what he wanted. His straight black eyebrows pulled together and up in the middle over his wide eyes. â€Å"Please,† he whispered. I glanced at Jeb. I thought that maybe he was peeking from between his lashes now, but I couldn't be sure. My voice was soft as breathing. â€Å"Someone saw her go into a place that was off-limits. They knew something was wrong. They called the Seekers.† He flinched at the title. â€Å"The Seekers tried to get her to surrender. She ran from them. When they had her cornered, she jumped into an open elevator shaft.† I recoiled from the memory of pain, and Jamie's face went white under his tan. â€Å"She didn't die?† he whispered. â€Å"No. We have very skilled Healers. They mended her quickly. Then they put me in her. They hoped I would be able to tell them how she had survived so long.† I had not meant to say so much; my mouth snapped shut. Jamie didn't seem to notice my slip, but Jeb's eyes opened slowly and fixed on my face. No other part of him moved, and Jamie didn't see the change. â€Å"Why didn't you let her die?† he asked. He had to swallow hard; a sob was threatening in his voice. This was all the more painful to hear because it was not the sound a child makes, frightened of the unknown, but the fully comprehending agony of an adult. It was so hard not to reach out and put my hand on his cheek. I wanted to hug him to me and beg him not to be sad. I curled my hands into fists and tried to concentrate on his question. Jeb's eyes flickered to my hands and back to my face. â€Å"I wasn't in on the decision,† I murmured. â€Å"I was still in a hibernation tank in deep space when that happened.† Jamie blinked again in surprise. My answer was nothing he'd expected, and I could see him struggling with some new emotion. I glanced at Jeb; his eyes were bright with curiosity. The same curiosity, though more wary, won out with Jamie. â€Å"Where were you coming from?† he asked. In spite of myself, I smiled at his unwilling interest. â€Å"Far away. Another planet.† â€Å"What was -† he started to ask, but he was interrupted by another question. â€Å"What the hell?† Jared shouted at us, frozen with fury in the act of rounding the corner at the end of the tunnel. â€Å"Damn it, Jeb! We agreed not to -â€Å" Jamie wrenched himself upright. â€Å"Jeb didn't bring me here. But you should have.† Jeb sighed and got slowly to his feet. As he did so, the gun rolled from his lap onto the floor. It stopped only a few inches from me. I scooted away, uncomfortable. Jared had a different reaction. He lunged toward me, closing the length of the hallway in a few running strides. I cowered into the wall and covered my face with my arms. Peeking around my elbow, I watched him jerk the gun up from the floor. â€Å"Are you trying to get us killed?† he almost screamed at Jeb, shoving the gun into the old man's chest. â€Å"Calm down, Jared,† Jeb said in a tired voice. He took the gun in one hand. â€Å"She wouldn't touch this thing if I left it down here alone with her all night. Can't you see that?† He stabbed the barrel of the gun toward me, and I cringed away. â€Å"She's no Seeker, this one.† â€Å"Shut up, Jeb, just shut up!† â€Å"Leave him alone,† Jamie shouted. â€Å"He didn't do anything wrong.† â€Å"You!† Jared shouted back, turning on the slim, angry figure. â€Å"You get out of here now, or so help me!† Jamie balled his fists and stood his ground. Jared's fists came up, too. I was rooted in place with shock. How could they scream at each other this way? They were family, the bonds between them stronger than any blood tie. Jared wouldn't hit Jamie-he couldn't! I wanted to do something, but I didn't know what to do. Anything that brought me to their attention would only make them angrier. For once, Melanie was calmer than I was. He can't hurt Jamie, she thought confidently. It's not possible. I looked at them, facing off like enemies, and panicked. We should never have come here. See how unhappy we've made them, I moaned. â€Å"You shouldn't have tried to keep this a secret from me,† Jamie said between his teeth. â€Å"And you shouldn't have hurt her.† One of his hands unclenched and flew out to point at my face. Jared spit on the floor. â€Å"That's not Melanie. She's never coming back, Jamie.† â€Å"That's her face,† Jamie insisted. â€Å"And her neck. Don't the bruises there bother you?† Jared dropped his hands. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. â€Å"You will either leave right now, Jamie, and give me some space, or I will make you leave. I am not bluffing. I can't deal with any more right now, okay? I'm at my limit. So can we please have this conversation later?† He opened his eyes again; they were full of pain. Jamie looked at him, and the anger drained slowly from his face. â€Å"Sorry,† he muttered after a moment. â€Å"I'll go†¦ but I'm not promising that I won't come back.† â€Å"I can't think about that now. Go. Please.† Jamie shrugged. He threw one more searching look at me, and then he left, his quick, long stride making me ache again for the time I'd missed. Jared looked at Jeb. â€Å"You, too,† he said in a flat voice. Jeb rolled his eyes. â€Å"I don't think you've had a long enough break, to be honest. I'll keep an eye on -â€Å" â€Å"Go.† Jeb frowned thoughtfully. â€Å"Okay. Sure.† He started down the hall. â€Å"Jeb?† Jared called after him. â€Å"Yeah?† â€Å"If I asked you to shoot it right now, would you do it?† Jeb kept walking slowly, not looking at us, but his words were clear. â€Å"I'd have to. I follow my own rules. So don't ask me unless you really mean it.† He disappeared into the dark. Jared watched him go. Before he could turn his glower on me, I ducked into my uncomfortable sanctuary and curled up in the back corner.

Morality and Competitor Essay

No doubt, Money is an essential, almost indispensable article in the present day world. It is the’ money’ through which we can purchase all the necessary comforts and amenities of life. If you have money, you can obtain what seems impossible to others. It is the money which gives man, confidence, creditworthiness, credentials, capacity, capabilities and courage. In present day materialistic world, money has become very powerful. In the present day corruption, cut throat competition, callous degradation of moral and ethical values, are for the sake of grabbing and accumulating more and more money. The prestige, respect, social status, commanded by a person is calculated per his monetary status. Time has gone, when we valued a person in evaluated of his moral and ethical values. People were earlier known for keeping their words, for donating every thing to a donee. Now people are know in terms of their ranking in the list of rich of the world. Money has become the centre of all activities. Money and muscle power have become essential ingredients of a successful political leader. Money is regarded as omnipotent by a few people, particularly by the poor. As whatever one does not possess, one aspires it badly, and it becomes mono aim of achievement. For the rich, that owe lots of money, still craving to earn more and more, by hook or by crook, with fair or foul means, without caring even for their own health, own family. They are the servants of money, earning money not for the sake of themselves but for the sake of money and a time comes they find themselves unable to use the money for their happiness. They are unable to eat, unable to taste the most delicious dish, unable to move, walk or enjoy because they suffer from many diseases which are the result of their undue craving for wealth at the cost of health. Can one purchase anything with the power of money? No, one cannot. You cannot purchase inner satisfaction with money, you cannot purchase the lost youthfulness with money, you cannot purchase time from the death at any cost. Those who earn money simply to a have more money, more balance in their accounts are no better than the proverbial miser king ‘Midas’. Excessive love for money, make a man slave of money. Money is important for our life, but it is not the most important thing for a human being. Those who use money for fulfilling their necessities, acquiring reasonable comforts and for the welfare of a common good, are the masters of money. But those who earn money just for the sake of increasing its volume and number are slaves of the money. They are the most unfortunate creatures of God who know well that whatever money they are earning, can’t be taken an iota of that when they die even they are minting more and more money. What a paradox Money has become their master and they are just slaves, having no peace of mind, no moral and ethical values, no inner satisfaction. So it is rightly said that money is a good servant but a bad master. Let us use the money for our comfort, not for the sake of money, minting more and more money.

Free Essays on E-Technology

e-Commerce, e-Business, e-Government, e-Learning, and other e’s have enabled countries and businesses to reduce cost, add value and create new opportunities. E-Technology is a combination of information and communication technologies that enable the e’s. The e-Technology Platform provides the foundation upon which businesses can deploy new and innovative applications supporting learning, research and service. It enables organizations to best take advantage of the opportunities made available by the Internet and related technologies. During the past several years, e-business and e-technologies have witnessed both tremendous growth and significant setbacks. E-technologies (e.g. e-commerce, e-business, e-government, etc.) applications have multiplied by the thousands, reaching to a level where using e-applications is now considered a necessity in every organization, regardless of the type, size or location. At the same time, many dot.com companies that burst into the market with great potential vanished after a few years, and yet some managed to survive and reach a new level of recognition and stability. Primus Securities, a small, brick-and-mortal full service brokerage firm has approximately 7,000 clients on its register who, on average, trade 12 times a month regularly. A year ago company decided to post frequently asked questions on a Web site to reduce the time staff spent answering the questions on the phone. Along with that, company posted general information about Primus Securities and financial news with â€Å"search† feature on the Web site. The response was encouraging and a number of clients suggested enabling online trading because it is quick and more convenient and that might drive them to make more trades per week. Company decided to implement some changes and add more features to the Web site. Stock Ticker is an online device that streams current stock quotes along with the percent rise/fall in process ... Free Essays on E-Technology Free Essays on E-Technology e-Commerce, e-Business, e-Government, e-Learning, and other e’s have enabled countries and businesses to reduce cost, add value and create new opportunities. E-Technology is a combination of information and communication technologies that enable the e’s. The e-Technology Platform provides the foundation upon which businesses can deploy new and innovative applications supporting learning, research and service. It enables organizations to best take advantage of the opportunities made available by the Internet and related technologies. During the past several years, e-business and e-technologies have witnessed both tremendous growth and significant setbacks. E-technologies (e.g. e-commerce, e-business, e-government, etc.) applications have multiplied by the thousands, reaching to a level where using e-applications is now considered a necessity in every organization, regardless of the type, size or location. At the same time, many dot.com companies that burst into the market with great potential vanished after a few years, and yet some managed to survive and reach a new level of recognition and stability. Primus Securities, a small, brick-and-mortal full service brokerage firm has approximately 7,000 clients on its register who, on average, trade 12 times a month regularly. A year ago company decided to post frequently asked questions on a Web site to reduce the time staff spent answering the questions on the phone. Along with that, company posted general information about Primus Securities and financial news with â€Å"search† feature on the Web site. The response was encouraging and a number of clients suggested enabling online trading because it is quick and more convenient and that might drive them to make more trades per week. Company decided to implement some changes and add more features to the Web site. Stock Ticker is an online device that streams current stock quotes along with the percent rise/fall in process ...

brit and patriot soldiers essays

brit and patriot soldiers essays Red Dawn at Lexington is a book that tries to present different points of view of the Revolutionary War. Even though it is non-fiction, the book reads like a novel and that is how Birnbaum intended it to be. Red Dawn.... begins by describing a British soldier's journey with his family by ship to Boston, in the American colony of Massachusetts. It goes on to describe the hardships the British soldiers endured during their stay in Boston. This was because many of the colonists were no longer supporters of Britain being in control of the colonies. They didn't like that the British soldiers were there to keep an eye on them, and they made this very obvious. The book talks about the mounting tensions between the whigs and the soldiers, and how some members of the British parliament were trying to help the colonies. Birnbaum goes on to describe how General Gage chose to attack the towns of Lexington and Concord. Gage sent out spies to check out different areas around Boston. These spies were to survey the towns or villages and make up maps. Although there was usually trouble concerning the expeditions of the spies,(townspeople frequently spotted them entering the homes of loyalists, etc..) many of the spies' missions were successful. There is also a chapter concerning the states of the British and colonial armies in Concord preparing for the fight there. This chapter describes the events leading up to Paul Revere's famous ride, and William Dawe's role in the ride. The book also gives new evidence and testimonies as to who fired "the shot heard 'round the world." The excerpts of testimonies given by many witnesses lead to the conclusion that it was the militia-men who fired the first shot, but that is still being debated over to this day. Even though the colonial army suffered more losses at the Battle of Lexington and Concord, the unwounded men quickly regrouped. More and more militias began sending troops to support the coloni...

Alloy Definition and Examples in Chemistry

Alloy Definition and Examples in Chemistry An alloy is a substance made by melting two or more elements together, at least one of them metal. An alloy crystallizes upon cooling into a solid solution, mixture, or intermetallic compound. The components of alloys cannot be separated using a physical means. An alloy is homogeneous and retains the properties of a metal, even though it may include metalloids or nonmetals in its composition. Alternate Spellings: alloys, alloyed Alloy Examples Examples of alloys include stainless steel, brass, bronze, white gold, 14k gold, and  sterling silver. Although exceptions exist, most alloys are named for their primary or base metal, with an indication of other elements in order of mass percent. Uses of Alloys Over 90% of metal used is in the form of alloys. Alloys are used because their chemical and physical properties are superior for an application than that of the pure element components. Typical improvements include corrosion resistance, improved wear, special electrical or magnetic properties, and heat resistance. Other times, alloys are used because they retain the key properties of component metals, yet are less expensive. Example Alloys Steel: the name given to an alloy of iron with carbon, usually with other elements, such as nickel and cobalt. The other elements add a desired quality to the steel, such as hardness or tensile strength.Stainless Steel: another iron alloy, which typically contains chromium, nickel, and other elements to resist rust or corrosion.18k Gold: this is 75% gold. The other elements typically include copper, nickel, or zinc. This alloy retains the color and luster of pure gold, yet is harder and stronger, making it better suited for jewelry.Pewter: an alloy of tin, with other elements such as copper, lead, or antimony. The alloy is malleable, yet stronger than pure tin, plus it resists the phase change of tin that can make it crumble at low temperatures.Brass: a mixture of copper with zinc and sometimes other elements. Brass is hard and durable, making it suitable for plumbing fixtures and machined parts.Sterling Silver: is 92.5% silver with copper and other metals. Alloying silver makes it h arder and more durable, although the copper tends to lead to greenish-black oxidation (tarnish). Electrum: Some alloys, like electrum, occur naturally. This alloy of silver and gold was highly prized by ancient man.Meteoritic Iron: While meteorites may consist of any number of materials, some are natural alloys of iron and nickel, with extraterrestrial origins. These alloys were used by ancient cultures to make weapons and tools.Amalgams: These are mercury alloys. The mercury makes the alloy much like a paste. Amalgams may be used in  dental fillings, with the mercury intact, although another use is to spread the amalgam and then heat it to vaporize the mercury, leaving a coating of another metal.

Requlatory Processes and Administrative Law Essay

Requlatory Processes and Administrative Law - Essay Example You may identify current events/situations relevant to any particular aspect of ethical behavior in public management. "Actual [Social Security] benefits may vary depending on actual work history and income" (Social Security Income Calculator, 2010, p. 1). This is as it should be; obviously someone who worked all their lives is not going to receive the same amount of Social Security as someone who never worked a day in their life or never paid into the system. If one person had diabetes and another person had heart failure, but the doctor said, "Well, this person has diabetes so I'm going to prescribe diabetes medication for everyone," then obviously the person who had heart failure would not be properly treated. 3. Under the current administration, which theory provides the most insight in terms of effective policy implementation Why Based on these theories, how do we know policy implementation is occurring The theory that most effectively provides insight into effective policy implementation is policy which does not "lack theoretical underpinning" (Hargrove, 1981, p. 1). Obama's theoretical underpinning was change. This is what he so effectively managed to focus on during his campaign. It is no surprise that his determination is paying off with regard to effecting social change. 4. In your opinion, on which should a leadership evaluation focus, efficiency or effectiveness Why Leadership should always focus on effectiveness. Efficiency may be slow, but if whatever one does is effective, the means or efficiency needed to get to the effective end, effectively, ceases to matter as much. Therefore, one should focus on the results, not how the results came about. REFERENCES Hargrove, E.C. (1981). The search for implementation theory. Available: http://eric.ed.gov:80/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2sql/content_storage_01/0000019b/80/2e/3e/0f.pdf. Social Security income calculator. (2010). Available:

Assignment 6 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Assignment 6 - Essay Example This wildfire also resulted in the death of 86 people. This wildfire was so devastating that it prompted the Congress to set aside funds to assist the National Forest Service prevent and fight wildfires. Despite the measures that have been put in place to prevent wildfires, the U.S. still, continue to suffer from the effects of wildfires. Causes of Wildfire Both human and nature are responsible for wildfires witnessed in the U.S. According to Hamilton (2010), about 90% of wildfires that burn the U.S. forests and lands are started by humans. Firstly, arson attack is responsible for most wildfires in the U.S. Arson attacks happen when an individual deliberately starts fire with the aim of destroying the land of a person perceived as an enemy. In 2010 alone, the U.S. fire department reportedly responded to about 260,000 wildfires intentionally started by arsonists (The National Fire Protection, 2013). These intentional fires resulted in at least 390 deaths, and left at least 1,340 peopl e with serious injuries. The fires also resulted in the destruction of property worth $1.2 billion. In fact, the wildfire that burnt more than 147,000 acres of land in Southern California in 2009 was caused by arson, according to the U.S. Forest Service report (CNN, 2009). This wildfire also destroyed many homes in the northern part of Los Angeles. Most wildfires in the U.S. are also caused by people burning debris. Most people in the U.S. have the habit of burning debris. However, sometimes the wind ends up blowing the debris to a dry grass and forest cover resulting in massive wildfires as has been the case in Michigan. The Michigan Fire department reveals that most wildfires in the state are caused by people burning debris (Hamilton, 2010). Smoking is also blamed for the rising incidences of wildfires in the U.S., according to Hamilton (2010). It has been observed that some wildfires are started by discarded burning cigarettes. When an individual discards a burning cigarette on a dry grass or forest, this sometimes ends up triggering a massive wildfire that result in the destruction of several acres of land. A small percentage of wildfires in the U.S. are caused by sparks from moving trains, vehicle exhaust, and heavy equipment. Some of the wildfires that burn the U.S. forests are caused by nature, such as lightning and lava. Silverstein, Silvertein, and Nunn (2009) reveal that whereas 90% of wildfires are caused by humans, the remaining 10% are caused by nature. Normally, when lightning occurs, electric currents are sent to the earth’s surface resulting in wildfires. For instance, report indicates that about half of all wildfires in Florida are stated by lightning. Lightning is also responsible for about 2% of all wildfires in Michigan. Volcanic eruption is also responsible for a significant number of wildfires in the U.S. When an eruption occurs, hot magma is through onto the earth’s surface that cools down to form lava. However, when the ho t lava encounters dry grass or leaves, this sometimes starts wildfires as noted by Silverstein, Silvertein, and Nunn (2009). The physical nature of wildfires The physical nature of wildfire is very complex and depends largely on fuel type, geographical location, humidity, moisture content, temperature of an area and topography. For a wildfire to occur, the necessary elements must be available. Firstly, an ignition source

Corruption in the congress Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Corruption in the congress - Assignment Example Challenges facing traditional challenges have such as lack of proper audit trail, security and reliability can only be avoided when I-Voting techniques and the IT infrastructure are properly implemented. I-Voting will be part of logical evolution that is currently adopted in almost every field such as e-commerce and e-travel. I-voting will provide a good environment for the public to exercise their democratic rights and stabilize the political environment that is characterized with corruption in congress. I-Voting will make voting process much secured, reliable fast and accurate, features that are important for a nation or leadership that believes its people should play a major role in decision making process. In general, the authors believe that I-Voting will bring the required transformation in the political and democratic world. "The SAVE System -- Secure Architecture for Voting Electronically" by Selker and Goler addresses many benefits attributed to electronic voting system including the fact that it can be more inherently secure. The authors believe in a possible electronic system that can curb all the challenges and possible attacks related with traditional voting. The authors lay out an n-version type of voting system that they believe can transmit accurate and prevent outside tampering or hacking of the voting process. The authors also argue that the n-version will increase voter turnout because of electronic user interface that can enable even voters with special needs to exercise their democratic rights. This form of voting system tends to protect data and allows voters to vote in an open network enabled by its modularity and common specifications. However, the authors believe that a lot still needs to be done for a proper implementation of the system such as examining ways of providing verifiable f eedback. In general, n-version is believed by the architectures as the most

Small and Medium Enterprises in Globalization Era Essay

Small and Medium Enterprises in Globalization Era - Essay Example The researcher states that there is no globally accepted definition of globalization, but for the purpose of this research, the term refers to the process of consolidating the world into one large market. The process avails many goods and services to people across the world with the removal of trade barriers among the trading nations. The process of globalization happens through three channels; flow of capital, the flow of finance and the trade in goods and services. There is also a thought that the same process would mean integrating the economy of one country with the rest of the world. As much as integrating the economy of one country with the rest of the world could mean good for the nation’s economy, the same process would mean a great deal of unfair competition to some businesses. For a better understanding of such an argument, there is a need to consider a scenario where a starting firm from a developing country competing in a giant multinational. There should be an und erstanding of the contribution of small-scale businesses to the economies of such countries. For most of such nations, the industry forms a critical part of the performance of such economies, which calls for a comprehensive policing strategy that will ensure their sustainability. Therefore, the current study analyses the impacts of globalization on the performance of small and medium-scale firms in the sea of the world’s economic powers. The main theme of this work is to weigh the performance of small businesses before and after the invention of globalization and determine the effects of the processes. Globalization signifies the process of liberalization and internationalization that transforms the world into a small village because of the effects realized. There has been a rise in the levels of competition in every field with all nations across the globe engaging in global wars to make their economies sustainable enough for the populations.

Do High-Stakes Assessments Improve Learning Essay

Do High-Stakes Assessments Improve Learning - Essay Example 5), of which high-stakes assessment was deemed crucial in improving student achievement and learning. However, various studies have revealed contradictory results regarding its effect on students’ academic performance. Do High-Stakes Assessments Improve Learning? One, therefore, contends that high-stakes assessment does not improve the overall achievement and learning of students. Proponents of high-stakes assessment argue that â€Å"when faced with large incentives and threatening punishments, administrators, teachers, and students, it is believed, will take schooling more seriously and work harder to obtain rewards and avoid humiliating punishments† (Nichols, Glass, & Berliner, 2005, p. 1). ... ssessments implemented in various educational institutions throughout the United States have apparently generated contradictory results (Nichols, Glass, & Berliner, 2005; Amrein & Berliner, 2002). The study conducted by Nichols, Glass, & Berliner (2005) revealed that â€Å"there is no convincing evidence that the pressure associated with high-stakes testing leads to any important benefits for students’ achievement† (p. iii). This finding was corroborated in the study made by Amrein & Berliner (2002) which disclosed that â€Å"there is inadequate evidence to support the proposition that high-stakes tests and high school graduation exams increase student achievement. The data presented in this study suggest that after the implementation of high-stakes tests, nothing much happens† (p. 57). A closer evaluation of the reasons why high stakes assessment do not seem to apparently improve learning since high-stakes assessment were reported to be closely linked to ‘ pressure’ that contributes to an apparent temporary or superficial increase in academic achievement ratings. As emphasized by Supovitz (2010), â€Å"high-stakes testing does motivate educators, but responses are often superficial. In the best cases, high-stakes testing has focused instruction toward important and developmentally appropriate literacy and numeracy skills—but at the expense of a narrower curricular experience for students and a steadier diet of test preparation activities in classrooms, particularly in low-performing schools, which are the targets of test-based accountability† (par. 10). This fact was supported by Nichols, Glass, & Berliner (2005) who indicated that â€Å"high-stakes testing pressure might produce effects only at the simplest level of the school curriculum: primary school arithmetic,

Family Health Assessment Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Family Health Assessment - Research Paper Example Moreover, the family stated that they have not been experiencing any history of diseases like cancer or diabetes. Another issue that the family addressed concerning this function is that none of them engages in drug and substance abuse. The family believed that this is the main reason that they have not been suffering from any chronic diseases. The second function was about nutrition and the data gathered indicated that the family could normally afford to take a balance diet meal on a daily basis. Looking on their faces, they were health and this indicated that it was true on what they were saying. The family also stated that every member addresses the recommendations made by health experts by taking the necessary cups of water on a daily basis. On this issue, they approximated that each member takes between five to seven cups of clean water on a daily basis. Apart from water, the family also recorded taking other forms of fluids like tea and fruit juices. The fluids and water are of significance importance in assisting on normal body functioning and digestion. In respect to sleep/rest, the family indicated that it had problems in achieving the recommendable sleep/rest pattern. The parents stated they sleep for about four to five hours. This is because they spend most of their times trying to meet daily needs. The children also stated they sleep between six to seven hours as they spend most of their time working on school assignments. It was evident that the family lacks enough time rest. This has resulted to some members to find difficulties in sleeping at night. On the function of elimination, data gathered indicated that the family members differed on the number of times that they eliminated waste substances from their body. In the family of six members, two of them stated that they eliminated the waste substances two times on a daily basis. The other four indicated that they

Do High-Stakes Assessments Improve Learning Essay

Do High-Stakes Assessments Improve Learning - Essay Example 5), of which high-stakes assessment was deemed crucial in improving student achievement and learning. However, various studies have revealed contradictory results regarding its effect on students’ academic performance. Do High-Stakes Assessments Improve Learning? One, therefore, contends that high-stakes assessment does not improve the overall achievement and learning of students. Proponents of high-stakes assessment argue that â€Å"when faced with large incentives and threatening punishments, administrators, teachers, and students, it is believed, will take schooling more seriously and work harder to obtain rewards and avoid humiliating punishments† (Nichols, Glass, & Berliner, 2005, p. 1). ... ssessments implemented in various educational institutions throughout the United States have apparently generated contradictory results (Nichols, Glass, & Berliner, 2005; Amrein & Berliner, 2002). The study conducted by Nichols, Glass, & Berliner (2005) revealed that â€Å"there is no convincing evidence that the pressure associated with high-stakes testing leads to any important benefits for students’ achievement† (p. iii). This finding was corroborated in the study made by Amrein & Berliner (2002) which disclosed that â€Å"there is inadequate evidence to support the proposition that high-stakes tests and high school graduation exams increase student achievement. The data presented in this study suggest that after the implementation of high-stakes tests, nothing much happens† (p. 57). A closer evaluation of the reasons why high stakes assessment do not seem to apparently improve learning since high-stakes assessment were reported to be closely linked to ‘ pressure’ that contributes to an apparent temporary or superficial increase in academic achievement ratings. As emphasized by Supovitz (2010), â€Å"high-stakes testing does motivate educators, but responses are often superficial. In the best cases, high-stakes testing has focused instruction toward important and developmentally appropriate literacy and numeracy skills—but at the expense of a narrower curricular experience for students and a steadier diet of test preparation activities in classrooms, particularly in low-performing schools, which are the targets of test-based accountability† (par. 10). This fact was supported by Nichols, Glass, & Berliner (2005) who indicated that â€Å"high-stakes testing pressure might produce effects only at the simplest level of the school curriculum: primary school arithmetic,

Advances in transportation HW Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Advances in transportation HW - Research Paper Example Transportation in the world has changed significantly since crude carts pulled by animals gave way to sleek cars,ocean liners and airplanes and the iron monster of the railways has been transformed into a light and super fast bullet train. All these modes of transportation have changed the way people live and work and its impact on trade and commerce and people to people contacts in the fields of art and culture has been tremendous. Fast and convenient means of transport have led to intermingling of cultures and an increase in knowledge of how people of different regions of the world live, as well as an awareness of various problems that affect them. Fast transfer of goods and resources are the backbone of modern industry and this has led to better jobs and living conditions for people all over the world. Faster and better transportation facilities also ensure quick relief to those people struck by natural or man made calamities. Although every invention has its drawbacks, these have been greatly minimized by new technologies and the many advantages of advances in modes of transportation have proved a boon to mankind. We have come a long way since man invented the wheel and realized that his own muscle power could be augmented by a mechanical means of transportation. The pace of inventing various new modes of transport increased during the industrial revolution in the 19th. century; but the 20th.century benefited greatly from these inventions and with increasingly faster, safer modes of transportation invented during the last century, lives of human beings have been greatly changed. The change in systems of transportation from waterways to roadways and then from railways to airways has been breath taking and a salute to man’s ingenuity. James Watt’s invention of the steam engine, led to the beginning of the railways and the Wright brothers first taught man how to fly an airplane.Since then many new engines and airplanes have been invented each wit h greater speeds, more comfort and conveniences.Today high speed modes of transportation are the norm rather than the exception. When man lived without railways and airplanes, he lived and died in a small world which did not consist of more than a few hundred miles. As automobiles and railroads were introduced, the world grew smaller and and more accessible; with the introduction of airplanes today it has been transformed into a global village. These faster means of transportation impact every aspect of human life and civilization. Faster means of transportation meant easily crossing boundaries and seeing and experiencing a different world inhabited by different races with different cultures and ways of living and working. Transportation provides access to resources and markets across countries and continents. It is a conduit not only of goods but also of peoples and cultures, the give and take of ideas and new inventions that have greatly influenced advances in sciences and technol ogy, as well as important fields such as medicine and disaster management. Trade and commerce are greatly impacted due to modern transportation facilities. Roads and railways carry goods and people all over the world and across vast continents like Europe, Asia and America. Resources in any one part of a country or continent are processed and marketed in different parts of the same country or in other countries or continents due to modern means of transportation. Today man cannot envisage a life without an automobile or railway system. Simple everyday life would be in disarray without roads and railways. Ordinary activities like going to school or office or buying groceries or taking someone who is ill to a doctor or hospital would be badly affected without these means of conveyance. Perishable goods like fruit and flowers are easily transported over long distances, so that people who do not reside in the areas where they are grown can enjoy them.

Attitudes towards Air Pollution among University Students

Attitudes towards Air Pollution among University Students Research Proposal Research specific topic The topic of the study is â€Å"Attitudes towards Air Pollution among University Students†. Rationale of the study Ramanathan Feng (2009) claim that â€Å"Every part of the world is connected with every other part through fast atmospheric transport.† This has made us think that the negative effects of air pollution will not only happen in one region, but also take place in other areas. Air pollution causes many side effects on health, environment and economy. According to the WHO, in 2012, 7 million people died as a result of air pollution. Moreover, the WHO assessment found the majority of air pollution deaths were linked with cardiovascular disease, heart disease, stock, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung cancer. We feel that not so many people concern of this issue. Consequently, we decide to conduct a research on the topic of â€Å"Attitudes toward Air Pollution among University Students† as we believe that university students may have studied some subjects regarding to this problem. In addition, the major reason that encouraged us to conduct a research on this topi c is to discover how much university students know about air pollution. Another factor is to explore the effective methods that university students can think of to prevent themselves from the negative effects of air pollution. On top of that, providing the best solution to solve the entire problem by university students is also another main purpose of doing this research. The research finding will help to encourage university students to get involved more in this problem and spread the information to the public so that more people will join in addressing this issue. Research aim The aim of the study is to know about attitudes towards air pollution among university  students. Research objectives and research questions Research objectives To find out the university students’ perception towards air pollution To determine the ways that students can prevent themselves from the negative effects of air pollution To ascertain the solutions that university students can think of to address this issue Research questions How do university students think about air pollution? How can university students prevent themselves from the negative effects of air pollution? What are the solutions to this issue raised by university students? Literature review Operational definition â€Å"Air pollution was defined as the presence in the outdoor and /or indoor atmosphere of one or more contaminants or combinations thereof in such questions and of such duration as maybe or may tend to be injurious to human, plant or animal life, or property or which unreasonably interferes with the comfortable enjoyment of life or property or the conduct of business† (Wark, K., et al 1998). Attitude is a feeling or opinion about something or someone. Theoretical framework Among the most pressing of today’s environmental issues is the pollution of the air we breathe, that the world is concerning about. There are many countries that are affected and some are being put on. â€Å"More than 10 million people in eight different countries are at serious risk for health because they live in the polluted places† (West, 2014). Therefore, it has become a problem which many researchers have been studying and finding the causes as well as the solution. According to the Environmental protection Agency, there are a great number of types of air pollution such as pollution from industries, vehicles, stationary items etc. This shows that air pollution is really a concerning issue that we cannot ignore, and more research about the solution is needed to enhance the understanding of it. Some people have already known about air pollution. Groot (1967) claims that â€Å"In the most recently completed study; however, a cross-sample of the whole United States revealed that 48% of all people thought air pollution to be at least a somewhat serious problem for their area of residence.† More importantly, some researchers tend to conduct a research on the attitude of students towards air pollution, which is an attractive factor. The study on students’ attitudes has been carrying out to explore the factors which provoke to find out the solution because they may have studied about environment. â€Å"Research has shown that university students who have studied courses specializing in the environment maintain more pro-environmental attitudes than other students† (Meinhold Malkus 2005). â€Å"It was also found that demographic factors such as gender and years of education may have some influence on one’s attitude and pro-environmental behaviors† (Fernandez Rodriguze, Carrasquier, 2007; Tuncer, Ertepinar, Tekaya, Carrasquier, 2007). After realizing about this, researchers can go further to identify how university students think about air pollution. Some university students have expressed their concern about air pollution. Al. Rabaani Al-Mekhlafi (2009) claim that â€Å"Air pollution is a problem which has recently become a cause of concern, due to accelerated economic development, an increase in transportation; this may account for students’ increasing concern with the problem.† We have tried to find the other researchers’ finding about the perceptions of university students toward air pollution, the methods to prevent themselves from the negative effects of air pollution and their solutions to solve the problem, but we can find only their perceptions. Conceptual framework The study will focus on only attitudes of university students towards air pollution since we still believe that university students’ perception will lead other university students and people to get involved more in this problem. Meinhold Malkus (2005) claim that university pupils doing the course related to environment have expressed more reactions toward air pollution than those who do not. Demographic factors such as gender and years of education may make one’s reaction and pro-environmental behaviors vary† (Fernandez Rodriguze, Carrasquier, 2007; Tuncer, Ertepinar, Tekaya, Carrasquier, 2007).The accelerated economic development and the rise of transportation have made air pollution become and increase university’s concern (Al. Rabaani Al-Mekhlafi, 2009). The research instrument Within this research, questionnaire will be used as the tool for data collection. The reason we finally select questionnaire is that it is easier than conducting interview with respondents; they just read the questions, interpret what is expected then write down their answers. In  addition, students at IFL who will be respondents are busy with their study, so they do not have enough time to be interviewed. The questionnaire consists of three sections. The first section is about the respondents’ sex, age, statue, the living condition, and how they travel. The second section focus on whether they concern about air pollution or not. The last section is about their attitude to air pollution, how it occurs and how to solve the problem. We predict that the questionnaire will take time around 10 minutes because we think that they will have enough time to think deeply to understand the questions. Some students will probably just answer the questions while others may broaden their information. However, we might face some problems; some of them might just tick the answers and some just keeping blank on the answer spaces because they may think that it is a waste of time. Therefore, if that case happens, we will have to look for others to reach our 200 respondents. We will provide the questionnaires for the other class, but this time we will increase 5 minutes more for them to answer the questions. Respondents The study population of this research is the undergraduate students from year two to year three at the Department of English, Institute of Foreign Languages, Royal University of Phnom Penh. The reason is that the courses at IFL provide topics about environment and there are many programs that are related to the saving environment like clean up day etc. The total sample size is 100 students, who are 50 students in year two and 50 students in year three and studying in the morning shift. Data-collecting procedures The questionnaires will be carried out directly at Institute of Foreign Languages (IFL). Participants will be provided the questions before the break time in their classrooms. For the data collecting process, we will divide our members into two different groups and each group has two members. Group one will be responsible for year two students and group two for year three students. Each member in the group will be waiting for respondents to finish their answers and help students to understand the questions. However, before we provide questionnaire, we will have to ask for permission from the lecturers first. Data-processing procedures After collecting the data, SPSS and C++ program, which are programs for statistic tasks, will be used to analyze data. References Al-Rabaani, A. Al-Mekhlafi, S. (2009). Attitudes of Sultan Qaboos University Students Towards Some Environmental Problems And Their Willingness To Take Action To Reduce Them. Journal of Social Sciences, 5, 9-15 Retrieved from http://thescipub.com /pdf/ 10.3844/jssp.2009.9.15 on June 14, 2014 Groot, I.(1967). Trends in Public Attitudes Towards Air Pollution, Journal of the Air Pollution Control Association, 17:10, 679-681. Retrieved from http://www.tandfonline. com/doi/pdf /10.1080/00022470.10469056 on June 14, 2014 Briggs, H. (2014, March 25). Air Pollution Linked to Seven Million People Globally. BBC News Health Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/health-26730178 on April 25, 2014 World Bank (2002). The Health and Economic Impacts of Air Pollution. How serious is the impact of air pollution on public health? Retrieved from http://emb.gov.ph/eeid/airpol.htm on May 10, 2014 West, L. (2014). The Top 10 Worst Polluted Places on Earth. About.com Environmental Issues Retrieved from http://environment.about.com/od/pollution/a/top_10_polluted.htm on May 15, 2014 Ramanathan, V. Feng, Y.(2009). Air Pollution, Greenhouse Gases And Climate Change: Global and Regional Perspectives. Atmospheric Environment, 43, 37-50 Retrieved from www.ramanathan.ucsd.edu/files/pr166.pdf on April 1, 2014 1

Creating a Robotic Garbage Truck with Lego Mindstorm :: Robotics

Includes Source Code Robotic Garbage Truck Abstract For my final project I decided to build a robot garbage truck that can drive by itself on a ?road? and pick up garbage. This garbage truck would also be able to distinguish from trashcans and anything else that might be in its place. This robot is a one-of-its-kind creation that has to my knowledge never been tried before. So I could replicate a real garbage truck as much as possible, I researched how garbage trucks work and how they have changed in the past 85 years of existence. I decided to create an arm unlike any garbage truck so far only because regular garbage truck arms need to be placed in a very small area to be able to lift up the trashcans. In seven days of work I was unable to finish creating my robot. I was only able to completely build the robot and partially program it. I believe that I made tremendous progress in building this robot in the time that I worked on it. This project has taught me so much on how to build a vehicle that replicates something useful for manki nd. Background Robotic Garbage Truck Garbage trucks have been around since the early 1920?s and are getting more and more advanced each year. But even now in the 21st century the same basic principle of how garbage trucks are run has remained the same. They still require 1-2 sanitary engineers to operate a garbage truck, and they still have to take the trash from your home to landfills. Advancements could be made and an event has proven that robotic vehicles can drive on their own. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) grand challenge is hosted a first of its kind all robotics race through the Mojave Desert from Barstow, California to Las Vegas, Nevada. Two hours before the race the contestants are given the route at which their robots will have to take in order to win the race. Once the race starts human intervention will result in disqualification. The prize for finishing in the fastest time is one million dollars. So far no one has ever finished the race the farthest robot going just over seven miles, but they have made tremendous progress. Imagine this cutting edge technology incorporated into garbage trucks. This would eliminate the need for humans to transport garbage from your home to a landfill. Garbage companies like Waste Management would save millions of dollars because they wouldn?

Dian Fossey Essay -- essays research papers

Dian Fossey Dian Fossey to me was a very mysterious, somewhat helpful and kind of troublemaking person. She seemed very adventurous and fun but she was also very serious. When it came to her job she was always serious. Dian Fossey studied gorillas. To me it is amazing how seriously she took that job. She did everything she could to protect those gorillas. I think the gorillas brought her happiness but also sadness, and other emotional problems. Dian Fossey lived up on a mountain by her self for a number of years. That begins to have an effect on you as well. It was very lonely up there on the mountain. She got a nickname rom her lifestyle, she was called "Nyirmachabelli", which means the woman who lives alone on the mountain. Poor Dian Fossey became an alcoholic up on that mountain. She also smoked three packs of cigarettes a day! I think those may have been the reasons of her constant mood swings and her unrational thinking. The unrational thinking also could be linked to her murder. You will hear some examples later on in this paper. Dian did not start out working with gorillas in the mountains of Rwanda. She first had an office job at the Kosair Crippled Childrens Hospital in Louisville, Kentucky. I'm not really quite sure how Dian Fossey became interested in gorillas, but she did and thats all that really matters. The first time Dian ever saw a real mountain gorilla, was in a place called Kabara Meadow, with Joan and Alan Root. After that one special day, they were her friends from then on. Those two people i feel were important in her start with gorillas. Another person involved in her start with gorillas was a man by the name of Louis Leaky, the most eminent prehistorian of his genration. He was the man that gave Dian her start in Africa, after she convinced him of her determination. Louis Leakey believed that women were best suited emotionally and constitutionally for studying the great apes. It seems Dian was fit for the job, but not for some aspects of it. I think Dian became a little too attached to her g orillas. They became her family. The only ones she loved and cared for. She cared more about gorillas then she did Dian Fossey. Dian Fossey first arrived in Africa filled with drive and energy. She was completly unprepared for the demands of the job, but she did not give up, she kept on going strong. She first started studyin... ...fact he was grown up and now has to take his role in the family. He had to watch and protect his family from danger. One day, it happened. Digit was found dead with his body severly mangled. Dian was very angered and saddened by this and she felt she had to do more. She sent letters out to other places letting them know what was going on and when the funding stopped, she turned to her fame with gorillas to recieve money. And when she did, she started the Digit fund. A lot of money was put towards protecting the gorillas.This made the Rwandan government look bad by not contributing to the safety of their tourist attractions. After she found the poacher that killed Digit, thats when Rwanda definately wanted her out. She threatened to hang him and put his head in a noose, but she didn't. Then she brought it to the goverments attention that she wanted a death penalty for poaching. They now just saw her as crazy and wanted her to leave because they felt she is doing more damage than g ood. But on December 27, 1981, Dian Fossey was found murdered in her shack. No one knew why or who. But on her gravestone is engraved, "Nyirmachabelli", the women who lives alone on the mountain.

Knowledge work productivity Essay

The road to an organization’s success depends on the PEOPLE. In Peter Drucker’s writings, there was always a part on people and how they can CONTRIBUTE. Before the internet and social media congested world of today; Drucker noticed how people behaved with their work duties. Whether it was putting a tire on a car; talking strategy on how to move the business forward or volunteers interacting with each other at a non-profit, Drucker soon realized that successful organizations have the foundation of great people. People grow organizations together. From the beginning straight to the end; it is the people who decide how far they want to take their organization. Knowledge work defines our society today. With the dominance of social media, the expanding internet, and the powerhouses of technology; the possibilities of knowledge are endless. Educators are beginning to orient themselves towards teaching through technology, whether that is tablets in the school classroom or universities providing entire courses online. Physical labor still exists; however, the high level of knowledge that is needed still persists. Our society today depends on people working with their minds; a reality that Peter Drucker was envisioning over fifty years ago. The organizations that use knowledge work effectively empower and trust their people to have the freedom to share their ideas. Executives and managers work together to align people’s ideas to the mission; as well as create a sense of belonging to each that works there. Management is always about the people first. A manager needs to create an environment where people are comfortable working together and in tandem, and resist the urge to create individual silos. Everyone wants to do great things for their organization; it is up to management to foster that environment of collaboration and teamwork and align the team to the company’s mission and goals. People will always be the structure of any organization. When the structure is strong; the support of more is there. When one feels empowered to use their passion and knowledge to be successful; the winning formula begins to develop, and all it takes is to empower that person to be their best. The author of 39 books during his long career, and counselor to titans of business and rulers of nations, Drucker championed the powers of observation, often formulating simple ideas that triggered startling results. The Practice of Management (1954) and The Effective Executive (1966) are considered his landmark works. Part of Drucker’s genius lay in his ability to find patterns among seemingly unconnected disciplines. â€Å"The most important thing in communication is to hear what isn’t being said,† he once said. The magazine called Drucker’s teachings â€Å"a blueprint for every thinking leader,† noting that Drucker taught generations of managers the importance of picking the best people, of focusing on opportunities and not problems, of getting on the same side of the desk as their customer, of the need to understand their competitive advantages and to continue to refine them (listening-and-learning approach) Drucker called himself a â€Å"social ecologist,† a close observer of the way humans are organized across all sectors—in business, but also in government and in the nonprofit world. â€Å"None of my books or ideas means anything to me in the long run,† he said. â€Å"What are theories? Nothing. The only thing that matters is how you touch people. Have I given anyone insight? That’s what I want to have done. Insight lasts; theories don’t. And even insight decays into small details, which is how it should be. A few details that have meaning in one’s life are important.† Drucker’s track record is impressive, as BusinessWeek succinctly summarized upon his death in 2005. Among his accomplishments: –He introduced the idea of decentralization—in the 1940s—which became a bedrock principle for virtually every large organization in the world. –He was the first to assert—in the 1950s—that workers should be treated as assets, not as liabilities to be eliminated. –He originated the view of the corporation as a human community—again, in the 1950s—built on trust and respect for the worker and not just a profit-making machine, a perspective that won Drucker an almost godlike reverence among the Japanese. –He first made clear—still the ’50s—that there is â€Å"no business without a customer,† a simple notion that ushered in a new marketing mindset. –He argued in the 1960s—long before others—for the importance of substance over style, for institutionalized practices over charismatic, cult leaders. –He wrote about the contribution of knowledge workers—in the 1970s—long before anyone knew or understood how knowledge would trump raw material as the essential capital of the New Economy. As he aged, Drucker appeared to assume more gravitas, slowing his speech, projecting a more authoritative presence, allowing his audience to hang on his words. He expressed dismay with the greed and self-interest that pervaded corporate America in his later years, shifting his focus to nonprofits. In writings and speeches during the 1980s, Drucker emerged as one of corporate America’s most important critics, preaching against reckless mergers and acquisitions. He warned that CEO pay had rocketed out of control and implored boards to hold CEO compensation to no more than 20 times what the rank and file made. In The Definitive Drucker: Challenges for Tomorrow’s Executives—Final Advice from the Father of Modern Management (2007), author Elizabeth Haas Edersheim wrote, â€Å"Peter’s ideas were the catalyst that freed people to pursue opportunities they had never expected to have. He liberated people by asking them questions and eliciting a vision that just felt right. He liberated people by getting them to challenge their own assumptions. He liberated people by raising their awareness of, and their faith in, things they knew intuitively. He liberated people by forcing them to think. He liberated people by talking to them. He liberated people by getting them to ask the right questions.† The Business of Listening Why should you care about listening skills? Most of us have developed as business people in organizational cultures that emphasize the persuasiveness of the speaker. We’ve spent countless hours, and a great deal of money, attending to our appearance, business dress, body language, facial expression, selection of language, tone of voice, charts, graphs, and on and on. The importance of those factors is not denied. However, they’re not the only factors influencing communication. And are they powerful enough, when we’re trying to get the best from a diverse group of people, build a customer-focused organization, or influence those who disagree with us? As Kenneth R. Johnson, said in his book, Effective Listening Skills, â€Å"Listening effectively to others can be the most fundamental and powerful communication tool of all. When someone is willing to stop talking or thinking and begin truly listening to others, all of their interactions become easier, and communication problems are all but eliminated.† Understanding others, results in them understanding you Consciously cultivating your listening skills helps you understand the many difficulties affecting other people. You become better at being heard and understood. Use your human resources better Improving your listening skills helps you more fully use the diverse knowledge, wisdom, energy and enthusiasm of the people you deal with. Get more out of face-to-face interaction Maximize the value of your live, non-electronic, conversations. Face-to-face interaction still influences the quality of your business relationships and meetings more than any other factor. Gain depth and intimacy You engage more deeply and intimately with your people, your teams and important organizational issues and changes. Motivate Improving your listening skills helps you maintain the energy, equilibrium and enthusiasm of others, as well as your own. â€Å"Managers who get to know their people, respect and trust the competency of their employees, and listen continually for how employees are doing relative to their aspirations, quality of work life, and sense of career advancement, will have a far greater chance of developing and retaining their employees.† Caela Farren, CEO of MasteryWorks THE IMPORTANCE OF LISTENING March and Olsen provide a model of organizational learning as a cycle in which individual and organizational action are distinct but interrelated. Individual actions – based on individual beliefs – lead to organizational action that in turn induces an environmental response. If an environmental response subsequently affects individual beliefs, the cycle is supposedly completed and learning has been achieved. However, if the environment remains unchanged, the three other elements of the learning model remain unaffected and therefore only individual but no organizational learning might occur. If in contrast, the environment changes, individual beliefs will change which in turn will lead to some corresponding individual and organizational actions. This concept of learning as adaptation is further developed by Levitt and March who suggest organizations learn by â€Å"encoding inferences from history into routines that guide behavior.† Drawing on a stimulus-response model of responsiveness this adaptive perspective portrays the generation of responses as a function of environmental change. In turn, the perspective of organizations as cognitive systems has extended the foundational argument of the adaptive perspective on learning by identifying cognition as the basis for deliberate organizational action. In this case, Ducan and Weiss remind us that organizational learning refers to an organization’s – i.e. its dominant coalition’s – capacity to identify the need for change and adaptation and take intentional actions. Action-outcome relationships and their conditions are tested, validated, and subsequently rejected or confirmed. In particular, they emphasize two key aspects of such learning processes, namely the ability to communicate and integrate knowledge and insights. Similarly, Fiol and Lyles state that â€Å"learning enables organizations to build an understanding and interpretation of their environment†¦it results in associations, cognitive systems, and memories that are developed and shared by members of the organization.† Thus organizational members are portrayed as interpreters of reality who become conscious actors in individual and collective learning process. On a similar note, Draft and Weick provide us with a model that views learning as resulting from conflicting interpretations of reality. In their seminal piece, they propose organizations as interpretation systems whereby interpretation refers to a process through which information is given meaning and subsequent actions are identified. Building on, yet extending the behavioral view, Draft and Weick suggest iterative sequences of scanning, interpretation and learning. For instance, scanning refers to vigilantly monitoring and gathering data from the environment, whereas the interpretation refers to the translation or sensemaking of such data. Finally, learning involves knowledge of the organization in terms of the interrelationship of organizational actions and its environment. The generation of responses in this model is portrayed as a function of the interpretation style of an organization’s dominant coalition. Effective Communication is significant for managers in the organizations so as to perform the basic functions of management, i.e., Planning, Organizing, Leading and Controlling. Communication helps managers to perform their jobs and responsibilities. Communication serves as a foundation for planning. All the essential information must be communicated to the managers who in-turn must communicate the plans so as to implement them. Organizing also requires effective communication with others about their job task. Similarly leaders as managers must communicate effectively with their subordinates so as to achieve the team goals. Controlling is not possible without written and oral communication. Managers devote a great part of their time in communication. They generally devote approximately 6 hours per day in communicating. They spend great time on face to face or telephonic communication with their superiors, subordinates, colleagues, customers or suppliers. Managers also use Written Communication in form of letters, reports or memos wherever oral communication is not feasible. Thus, we can say that â€Å"effective communication is a building block of successful organizations†. In other words, communication acts as organizational blood. The importance of communication in an organization can be summarized as follows: 1. Communication promotes motivation by informing and clarifying the employees about the task to be done, the manner they are performing the task, and how to improve their performance if it is not up to the mark. 2. Communication is a source of information to the organizational members for decision-making process as it helps identifying and assessing alternative course of actions. 3. Communication also plays a crucial role in altering individual’s attitudes, i.e., a well informed individual will have better attitude than a less-informed individual. Organizational magazines, journals, meetings and various other forms of oral and written communication help in moulding employee’s attitudes. 4. Communication also helps in socializing. In todays life the only presence of another individual fosters communication. It is also said that one cannot survive without communication. 5. As discussed earlier, communication also assists in controlling process. It helps controlling organizational member’s behaviour in various ways. There are various levels of hierarchy and certain principles and guidelines that employees must follow in an organization. They must comply with organizational policies, perform their job role efficiently and communicate any work problem and grievance to their superiors. Thus, communication helps in controlling function of management. An effective and efficient communication system requires managerial proficiency in delivering and receiving messages. A manager must discover various barriers to communication, analyze the reasons for their occurrence and take preventive steps to avoid those barriers. Thus, the primary responsibility of a manager is to develop and maintain an effective communication system in the organization.