An Analysis on “The Pedestrian” Essay

In â€Å"The Pedestrian† Ray Bradbury wanted to portray an event that happened one night while taking a walk with a friend, stopped by a police officer who didn’t get why they was walking and stated â€Å"Well don’t do it again†(Person 50). The characterization and symbolism in this short story demonstrate how society might turn out when humankind depends upon technology. â€Å"We have too many cell phones. We’ve got too many internets. We have got to get rid of those machines. We have too many machines now† (time 1) even today Bradbury shows his distrust in technology through this quote given a month before his 90th birthday. Ray Bradbury’s â€Å"The Pedestrian† shows his own distrust of technology, and view of how society will end up if to reliant on technology. Through characterization, Ray Bradbury shows that if humankind advances to a point where society loses all humanity, then humankind is better off ceasing to exist. Mead is in many ways Bradbury’s only true representation of humanity left in the year 2053 A.D., through describing him as have a â€Å"shadow of a hawk† (26), which relates him to a wild free spirited bird. Mead is also seen as humanity because he is associated with light, which is symbolic for soul, Meads house beams â€Å"loud yellow illumination, square and warm in the cool darkness† (29). While the loss of humanity is displayed in the â€Å"lone† â€Å"metallic voice† that the robotic cop car has and in the descriptions of the towns’ people being â€Å"gray phantoms† that live in â€Å"tomblike buildings† in a â€Å"graveyard† of a town showing how the life of the town dies with the sunset(25-26). In multiple ways one can see how Ray Bradbury is Mead himself. Bradbury’s love for writing can be related in essence to Meads love for walking. While Mead and Bradbury are directly related due to both of them are writers. Bradbury stated â€Å"[Television is] a really dreadful influence on all of us† while Mead doesn’t even own a television which relates in a way that they both dislike the television altogether. The short story shows the not too distant future in an unfavorable light. The once free thinking society has been corrupted by the simple convenience of technology. Bradbury shows his own distrust by demonstrating how  technology will make humankind lazy and useless. As shown in the title walking has become obsolete, Mead is not a pedestrian; he is, in a city of 3 million people (27), the pedestrian. Bradbury demonstrates that if not controlled, technology in the near future will do as it wants, when it wants. In this short story Bradbury demonstrates how the television has destroyed literature and society as well through Meads thoughts â€Å"Magazines didn’t sell anymore. Everything went on in the tomblike houses at night now†, â€Å"the tombs, ill lit by television light, where the people sat like the dead† (28, 29). While also showing through the cop car how writers job is not the only job ceasing to exist by stating â€Å"the force had been cut down from t hree cars to one. Crime was ebbing; there was no need now for the police† (27). Works Cited Bradbury, Ray. â€Å"The Pedestrian†. 1951 Friedman, Megan. Ray Bradbury Talks Technology, Time Newsfeed. 8/17/2010 Person, James E. The Masterly Bradbury, pages 49-51 National Review, 5/23/2005 Spaceagecity.com/Bradbury/quotes. The Quotable Bradbury

University of Phoenix Material Essay

Epistemology is the investigation into the grounds and nature of knowledge. Found in the 1800’s From Old Greece forward, Plato, Socrates, and developmental ideas. Rationalism means the knowledge can be acquired through the use of reason and empiricism is obtained through experience. Externalism, empiricism, constructivism, and etc. Rene Descartes Immanuel Kant Aristotle Plato Locke Berkeley Spinoza The kind of knowledge of how can we know what we know, the reason why? How is knowledge got? Metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature and fundamental properties of being. Idea owed to Aristotle. In Greece Realism Idealism Materialism Dualism Monism Aristotle Aquinas Locke Kant Plato Berkeley Hobbes Descartes Leibniz Spinoza What is being? What are its fundamental features and properties? Is there a God? Do people really have free will? Moral Moral is the philosophical study of moral judgments and value judgments about what is virtuous, just or unjust, morally right or wrong and etc. It is the area of philosophy concerned with how we should live our lives. Idea owed to the Sophists. In Greece, forward to Socrates, Plato Skepticism Relativism Subjectivism Egoism Hedonism Epicureanism Stoicism Plato Aesara Aristotle Aquinas Berkeley Hobbes Hume Kant Moore What is being a moral? What is moral judgment? What is good or evil? Social Social is the philosophical study of society and its institutions. Greece Individualism Criticism Modernism Postmodernism Marx Hegel Who gets what? Political Political seeks to find the best form of political existence, it is concerned with determining the states right to exist and ethically proper organization. Greece Communism Marxism Anarchism Liberalism Capitalism Utilitarianism Plato Aristotle Augustine Aquinas Hobbes Locke Taylor Mill Smith Marx Berkeley Ought all people equal in freedom? Ought all people equal in citizenship? Should there be a state? Structuralism Structuralism is a methodology that seeks to find the underlying rules and conventions governing large social systems such as language or cultural mythology. Greece Structuralism Poststructuralism Criticism Fuctionalism Mauss Jakobson Saussure Derrida Kant Hobbes Berkeley Locke Is it trus? Deconstruction Deconstruction is a form of semiotic analysis, derived mainly from French philosopher Jacques 1967 work of Grammology. Greece Criticism Deconstructionism Structuralism Logocentrism Berkeley Locke Hobbes Hume Eastern Greece Plato Hobbes Berkeley Hume Kant Postcolonial Feminism Feminist philosophy refers to philosophy approached from a feminist perspective. Feminist philosophy involves both attempts to use the methods of philosophy to further the cause of the feminist movements Greece Directions: Complete the entire matrix and then write a 350- to 500-word response for each of the following questions: What is one example of how the global integration of cultures has affected contemporary philosophical thinking? Describe how the global integration of cultures, including Eastern metaphysical influences, has affected contemporary philosophical thinking. Cite at least one example and explain its effects on contemporary philosophical thinking. How has contemporary philosophical thinking been effected by Eastern metaphysical influences and other examples of the global integration of cultures? Cite at least one example and explain its effects on contemporary philosophical thinking.

Criminal law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 5

Criminal law - Essay Example Most of the campaigners for euthanasia are those directly affected by this, in that, they are themselves suffering from a terminal illness, or have a loved one that has been diagnosed with a terminal illness. The impetus behind the legalisation stems from the desire to end the suffering of the loved one or their own suffering if they are the one diagnosed with the terminal illness. This paper aims to discuss how the courts should deal with the issue of euthanasia and whether it is time for a change in legislation so that those assisting a loved one to die would not have to fear the possibility of criminal charges for their actions. It is important to make the distinction between active and passive euthanasia in order to assess the way in which the criminal and civil courts have determined the legality of the treatment. With active euthanasia the person’s death is brought about by the deliberate administration of medication to terminate the life of that person. Conversely, passive euthanasia occurs where treatment of the patient is refused or terminated, culminating in the death of the patient. A common use of this form of euthanasia would involve the removal of ventilation equipment to assist the breathing of the patient, or the removal of a feeding tube. In some cases, where a patient is critically ill, the relatives of the patient might instruct the doctors not to administer treatment if the patient goes into cardiac arrest. Although active and passive euthanasia will have the effect of terminating the life of the patient, the courts seem to be more readily able to accept passive euthanasia over activ e euthanasia. Part of the reasoning behind this stems from the notion that a patient is entitled to refuse to undergo treatment that will prolong their life, but they are not allowed to insist on any treatment that will hasten their

Case study analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Case study analysis - Essay Example In this case, it is counter-productive for a company to internationalise a product without fundamentally seeking to acquire a large market segment of the local market. Despite these factors, a strategic analysis is crucial in the process of internationalising a product. To internationalise a product, an effective strategic analysis will involve the identification of the strengths that make the product a good option for new markets. Such strengths include the competitive advantage of the product over its competitors. Consequently, the competitive advantage determines whether the company will modify its product in order to be accepted in the new markets. In addition, the company may decide to introduce a new product for the new market or the company may decide to venture into the new international markets with the same product (Czinkota and Ronkainen 2007). In line with this, it is essential to point out that a good product does not require modification in order for the company to intr oduce it to new markets. As an alternative internationalisation of a good product should involve its introduction into the new market in its original form since it has the competitive advantages related to superior quality and a powerful brand name. The specific capability of a firm to produce a quality product is crucial in determining the internationalisation of a product. In this regard, efficiency in production and distribution systems determines whether the product will be offered to the customer when required (Lessard 2003). Case in point, investing in innovative technology was a crucial factor that helped Auer meet its customers’ demands since the company was able to offer its customers products when required due to continuous production. However, it is evident that the company failed to meet the demands of its customers once the distribution channels were affected. In this regard, the investing in effective distribution channels and innovative technology ensure that t he company will be able to meet the demand of its customers by offering the products on time. A good product for internationalisation should be a differentiated product. By differentiation, a company should offer new customers a product that is unique in order for the customer to easily adopt the new product in place of the one that they were consuming. In this regard, it is challenging for a customer to adopt a new product without experiencing uniqueness of the product. In line with this, a company that internationalises a product should ensure that the product is distinct from its competitors since an inferior product cannot replace a superior product in an international market. Lessard (2003) identifies these factors as responsiveness to the demands of the local customers by ensuring that the product was in line with the tastes and preferences of the customer. Without responding to the tastes and preferences of the local customer, it is challenging to internationalise a product t o new markets. A good product provides avenues for strategic partnership between various companies engaged in the international mar

Microcredit, women and empowerment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Microcredit, women and empowerment - Essay Example While other micro credit programs are usually subsidized by the government Grameen bank microcredit programs does not reduce interest rates but instead charges lower administrative costs (Hashemi, Ruler & Riley, 1996). In definition microcredit is an element of micro finance, which is to provide minimal amounts as loans to individuals who are not able to generate income for themselves and are considered as poor by the definition of that particular economy (Rahman, 1999). Microcredit is the provision of small amounted loans i.e. micro loans to poor people of any country. Such loans help those individuals to generate income for themselves and to live a better life. The role that microcredit plays in the empowerment of women is dependent on many different factors. The most important factor is the managerial control imparted by the program towards the women involved (Goetz & Sen Gupta, 1994). The index developed by Goetz & Sen, Gupta, 1994 shows two extremes sides of the index. On one end according to them are women who have no control over the administrative process of acquiring the loan. Moreover they were not part of the activities which were funded by using the loan. On the other side are women who were part of the entire process (Goetz & Sen Gupta, 1994). They should not only be part of the economic activities which result from the loan but should also be involved in marketing of the produce. According to the study carried out by Goetz and Sen Gupta, married women had very little control over the loans taken by them. This loss of control can have very negative implications for women. If the men are willing to take responsibility of the repayment of the loan it creates no problems for the female involved but totally negates the concepts of microcredit (Goetz & Sen Gupta, 1994). Two other situations can also arise. The members may be partially willing but unable to pay back the loan. In this case women are left to sell household items in order to

The Lemon Tree Dilemma Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Lemon Tree Dilemma - Assignment Example Mary accuses Jackie of the leak of the formula solely because she thinks that Jackie is questionable ethically due to her sex change and therefore can easily double cross. Jackie’s remarks about Mary would make her credibility questionable. She makes personal comments aimed at Mary and even accuses her of having an affair with Paul. That demonstrates that she has hard feelings against Mary and could possibly do anything to get back at her. On his part, Peter has drug issues. He has failed two drug tests and that would jeopardize his credibility. The use of drugs would easily affect Peter’s performance and he is likely to be careless while under the influence of the drugs. That would be a major concern to the employer as it may lead to a bigger problem for the company. Jackie’s sex change should not form part of the reasons to question her credibility. That is because it was a personal choice and is in no way related to her work. Using it would amount to discrimination. Her complaint against Mary to the company’s compliance department should also not influence her treatment as it would also amount to discrimination. On the other hand, missing work for three months without notice would constitute a possible reason for

Studying a Professional Organizational Coursework

Studying a Professional Organizational - Coursework Example of nearly 10,000 surgical nurses that are interest in developing professionally and personally, linking up with other individuals and organizations in the health sector that share a common vision, fighting for the recognition of the surgical nursing field (Roberts, 2008). The aims and objectives of the Academy of Medical Surgical Nurses focus on research development, evidence based practice, advocacy in the workplace, organizational health and the impact of national leadership on health matters. The organization’s mission is to facilitate excellence in the field of surgical nursing. The organization also focuses towards using its strategic position to improve health care for the patients (Roberts, 2008). The organization provides a system through which surgical nurses can express their feelings and opinions about health care policies. The organization also promoted personal and professional goals for surgical nurses. The entity has come up with a system that promotes awareness to the members of society on issues that relate to the practice (Mason and Nursing, a. t., 2011). Above all, the organizations aims at improving the general health care for all patients in the society. Finally, the entity maintains effective communication to governmental organizations, professional groups and acts as resources to the public. The organization achieves the above-mentioned functions by meeting the ideas in professional nursing. This is through the promotion of health care to individuals by promoting the art and science of nursing care. The organization facilitates implementation of the policies for practice of surgical nursing. The Academy of Medical Surgical Nursing establishes a framework in which nurses in the field to communicate their health care policies (Mason and Nursing, a. t., 2011). AMSN works towards impacting on policies in health care based on evidence based on various issues. The entity facilitates advancement of research and development in the field and this

History of Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

History of Business - Essay Example Following industrial revolution, entrepreneurs formed Corporations with the main purpose being to raise funds for expanding business operations (Pillay, 2015). The terms of engagement dictated that shareholders would receive dividends after the company gains a profit. Other firms were able to control an entire market thereby creating a monopoly situation within the economy. Most companies within the same industry made agreements on product prices as well as the manner of dividing business operations as time went by (Carroll & Buchholtz, 2014). Another method of doing business that developed after Industrial Revolution was the formation of Trusts. Ideally, Corporations sharing the same market formed a trust, which took control of business activities through a group of trustees. . The economic philosophy under Laissez-Faire economics was of the perception that without government interference, businesses and the economy as a whole would perform best. Kurtz & Boone illustrated that unregulated markets would create competition in the market and thereby making prices to be fair for the consumers (2011). Related to this theory are aspects of Social Darwinism. Social Darwinism stood on the ideology of helping the rich as the poor did not benefit the financial health of a nation. The emergence of technology in the 19th century marked the beginning of the entrepreneurial era. Lussier demonstrated that entrepreneurs became an instrumental aspect of business by combining various factors and coordinating labour in order to ensure business processes are effective (2012). Upper class, upper middle class, lower middle class and the working class were the main divisions of the social class. Essentially, the upper class and the upper middle class became the target market for entrepreneurs whose aim was to maximise profits and expand the market share. The production era persisted in the period after the civil war of

School Discipline Essay Example for Free

School Discipline Essay Recently, in elementary and lower secondary schools, much effort has been made in Japan to accomplish the aims of moral education, by requiring separate scheduled hours for moral education. The purposes of moral education are shown in the following summary of general principles established in the Course of Study issued by the Ministry of Education. Moral education aims to develop a Japanese citizen who will never lose the consistent spirit of respect for his fellow man; who will realize this spirit at home, at school and in other actural life situations in the society of which he is a member; who strives for the creation of a culture rich in individuality and for the development of a democratic nation and society; and who is able to make a voluntary contribution to the peaceful international society. In order to attain this aim, the following contents is sought in moral instruction in elementary schools. 1) Contents mainly related to the fundamental patterns of behavior in daily life: to maintain safety and secure good health; to develop self-reliance; to observe good manners; to keep oneself neat; to improve the environment; to use things and money effectively; to recognize the value of time. 2) Contents mainly related to moral sentiment and moral judgement: to respect others personality; to control oneself and act according to ones beliefs; to act freely according to ones own judgement or wishes and on ones own responsibility; to be honest and sincere; to love justice and be courageous; to over come difficulties in order to accomplish right aims; to reflect on oneself, listen to the advice of others, and to act with deeper consideration; to act moderately, without selfishness; to behave always with alertness, courtesy and alacrity; to take good care of animals and plants; to have a pure mind. 3) Contents mainly concerned with the development of personality and a creative attitude toward life: to recognize ones own special ability, and try to strengthen it; to strive for the achievement of worthy purposes, and to set for oneself a high goal; to act rationally; to tr3r to improve life with original ideas; always to maintain a studious attitude, and try to pursue truth; to apply positively new ideas. 4) Contents mainly related to the concept that good manners and practical will are indispensable for the member of a nation or a society: to be kind to everybody and to care for the weak or unfortunate; to respect those who devote themselves to the service of others and to appreciate their work; to trust each other and to be friendly; to be fair and impartial to everybody; to be generous; to observe rules and promises; to differentiate between rights and duties; to appreciate labor; to protect public property and public morality; to love ones family; to love ones school; to love the nation with a pride as a Japanese; to understand correctly the people of all the world and cooperate in a friendly manner with them. The contents of moral education for lower secondary schools are almost the same as those for the elementary schools. However, in considering the stages of pupils development, the following objectives are added: To build an attitude of constructive criticism; to develop mutual under-standing and respect between the sexes; to promote open and pure friendship between the sexes; to promote love of truth; to lead pupils to consider what true happiness is and to seek it; to help pupils to enrich their own sentiments; to aid in understanding the inherited culture and to contribute to cultural improvement; to teach pupils to hold humanity in mind always; to train pupils to challenge evil with courage; and not have a narrow fellow-mindedness, but to act with consciousness of being a member of the large community. In upper secondary schools, ethics-civics created as a new subject in the social studies, is intended to develop students who know the human relations in the present society, understands humanity and pursues the ideal in the life of the world. Moral education is to be conducted from the broad point of view through all the activities of the school. Consequently, moral instruction is provided by combining properly various teaching methods, such as discussion, stories to1d by teachers, reading Of b00ks, audio-visual aids, dramatizing and non-classroom activities. In 1963, in order to aid in effectuating the new program of moral instruction, the Ministry of Education published Teachers Manual for Moral instruction and distributed it through the country to guide classroom teachers at each level in the preparation of their moral education hour. CHAPTER IMPROVEMENT OF CONTENT OF- EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENTOF ABILITY (2) Moral Education in Other Countries In most foreign countries, religion makes a valuable contribution to the moral spirit. In those countries studied, moral education is generally given to pupils through religious instruction in assigned religion classes. In several countries including the U. S. A. and France, religious instruction in public schools is prohibited. Whether the religious instruction in public school is conducted or not, moral and ethical education is given in many cases as a part of other subject, usually civics. In communist countries including the U. S. S. R., it is regarded as a purpose of education to build a citizen who can contribute to the maintenance of a socialist state. For this purpose, moral and ethical trainings given through all educational activities in the schools. Table 30 shows the extent of ofFerings in religious education in ele-mentary and secondary schools in the U. S. A. , the U. K. , and an extensivegroup of European countries. In 13 of the 17 countries listed in Table 30, religion is offered as a separate subject in almost all grades in public elementary and secondary schools. In 11 of the 17 countries, civics is taught in elementary school or secondary school or both. In France, civics at primary level is included in the subject known as education civique et morale. In the U. S. A. civics is usually taught in the 8th grade and upper grades of secondary schools. There is no instruction in separate moral education classes. It is taught through all subjects. Also, in the U. S. S. R. , moral education is not treated separately, but moral training of pupils is given through the whole curriculum. It is a characteristic feature of school education in the U. S. S. R. to provide child labor training at all levels. This labor training aims to give pupils moral training. Moreover, Rules for Pupils, which pupils elementary and secondary schools must obey, are specified by the Department of Education of the R. S. F. S. R. In Rules for Pupils, objectives of moral education are prescribed along with the school principles which pupils must observe. Civics teaching in each country aims to elevate moral sentiments, and to give pupils knowledge and understanding of government, economics and social problems necessary for citizenship. Moral education and civics in the Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, France and Belgium are as follows: Federal Republic of Germany Basic principles of civic education in schools and universities were decided by the Conference of Lander Ministers of Education of 15 June 1950as follows: Civic education should awaken in pupils both a moral response and a determination to act as a responsible member of society. Italy The primary school syllabus published by the Ministry of Education in 1955 states that civics teaching is designed to give the child a general moral, religious and social training. It also emphasizes that religious instruction must enable the child to acquire basic habits of morality, civic and social behavior and hygiene at home, at school and in society; and to give the child a sense of personal responsibility and membership of a group. Regarding civic education courses in upper classes it is stated: love of ones country must be a natural extension of love of ones family, and the awareness of national values should be related to the ideal of international understanding. France. The syllabus in primary education published by the Ministry of Education in 1923 states that moral education must enable the child to grow up as a man with a balanced development of sentiment, intelligence, and conscience. It is also stated that moral instruction is to be designed not only to give the child moral spirit, but also to lead him to realize this spirit in daily life. In primary schools in France, the subject known as education civique et morale is taught as outlined below: 1st grade: Listening to stories (Fontaines fables, Hans Christian Andersons tales, etc. ) and to biographies of great men told by teachers. 2nd and 3rd grades: To accustom the child to acquire good habits through reading of book-lets followed by discussion, and discussion on school events. At third grade the same themes as those of second grade are dealt with more intensively 4th and 5th grades: To listen to narratives or discuss deeds of the individuta1 and social morality concerned with moderation, sincerity, simplicity, kindness, courage, and generosity. To give the child an understanding of the value of labor, a spirit of cooperation with others, observance of promises, understanding of other persons and appreciation of duties to ones family and ones nation. At fifth grade, the same themes as those of forth grade are dealt with more intensively. 6th8th grades: To provide the child consciousness and respect for man, character formation, main duties in life of the individual, at home and in society, and inculcate patriotism, justice and mutual assistance, respect for labor, organization of government and its activities, elementary knowledge of contracts and labor laws in daily life, elementary knowledge of the legislative, administrative and judicial systems, citizens rights and duties and international understanding. Belgium In the middle school of Belgium (3rd and 4th secondary years, age 14 to15), citizenship and patriotism are taught under the following themes: l) Citizens rights: advantages of the democratic and parliamentary system. The chief freedoms guaranteed by the Belgian Constitution. 2) The citizens duties: the ballot; obedience to the Law, military service; paying taxes; giving evidence in court. 3) Patriotism: the countrys prestige and its heritage; the dangers of misguided patriotism. 4) International understanding and a sense of the brotherhood of man. Aids for Civics Teaching in European Countries In a number of countries, separate textbooks are used. Audio-visual aids such as slides, films, radio broadcasts, television, etc. are also used. Table 30. Comparative Table Showing Extent of Offering Of Separate Classes in Religion and Civics Table 31. Teaching Aids for Civics Education in European Countries.

Accounting for Decistion Makers Essay Example for Free

Accounting for Decistion Makers Essay The Question: Charlie and Maribelle Brown have owned and operated a retail furniture store for more than 20 years. They have employed an independent CPA during this time to prepare various sales tax, payroll tax, and income tax returns, as well as financial statements for themselves and the bank from which they have borrowed money from time to time. They are considering selling the store but are uncertain about how to establish an asking price. Prepare a brief written answer (no more than a couple of paragraphs) about what type of information is likely to be included in the material prepared by the CPA that may help the Browns establish an asking price for the store. Assignment #1 Reviewing the past and present financial statements prepared by their CPA, would allow the Browns to trend historical data such as cash flow and cost of operations. This, coupled with the current and projected economic climate as well as current and projected cost of living, would help the Browns to understand how much they spend to keep their business running as well as how much they’ve profited over time. Although the information provided in the financial statements is not a concrete indicator, it is a good gauge of how the Browns’ business will perform in the future. Unless major economic changes or other unforeseen circumstances occur, historical performance often tends to remain constant. The Browns would be able to use most of the information provided by their CPA to determine a fair asking price for their retail furniture store.

Modernisation of the Royal Mail

Modernisation of the Royal Mail This report has been conducted to investigate and critically evaluate the modernisation of the Royal Mail. In doing so it will analyze the organisations activities and conduct using theory to discuss its impacts. 2.0 Objectives Investigate how modernisation was planned and implemented and evaluate its effectiveness Identify and deal with resistance factors to the change Clarify how to establish when the planned change has been completed and how its effectiveness should be measured 3.0 Introduction Organizational change Significant organizational change occurs, for example, when an organization changes its overall strategy for success, adds or removes a major section or practice, and/or wants to change the very nature by which it operates. It also occurs when an organization evolves through various life cycles, just like people must successfully evolve through life cycles. For organizations to develop, they often must undergo significant change at various points in their development. Thats why the topic of organizational change and development has become widespread in communications about business, organizations, leadership and management (McNamara, 2010). This is confirmed by Richard Whittington and Michael Mayer (2002) argument that adaptive reorganization, the ability to redesign structures frequently, is now critical to organizational performance. Organisational change has three models (Jawad, 2010): Incremental Change Model The Incremental change model states that individual parts of an organisation deal incrementally and separately with one problem and one goal at a time (Burnes 2009). (Jawad, 2010:19) Punctuated equilibrium Tushman and Romanelli (1985, cited in Passmore Woodman, 2005, p207) state this model assumes that fundamental organizational change occurs in short periods of discontinuous, revolutionary change , which punctuates long eras of relative stability typified by incremental, convergent changes (Tushman Romanelli, 1985) (Jawad, 2010:20) Continuous Transformation model of change Only by continuous change and adaption will organisations be able to be aligned with their environment and thus survive (Burnes, 2009:354) (Jawad, 2010:21) History of the Royal Mail The Royal Mail was reorganised in the 1930s and again in the 1960s. Eventually it became a public corporation in 1969. Restructuring continued in the 1980s and 1990s, with the separate telecommunications section being privatised in 1984. In 2001 the Post Office became a public limited company (PLC), named Consignia which was replaced by the Royal Mail brand in late 2002 (Royalmailgroup.com, 2010). The company primarily operates in the UK. It is headquartered in London, the UK and employs 193,000 people. The group recorded revenues of  £9,179 million during the fiscal year ended March 2007, an increase of 1.4% over 2006. The operating loss of the company was  £10 million during fiscal year 2007, as compared to the operating profit of  £145 million in 2006. The net profit was  £286 million in fiscal year 2007, a decrease of 27.6% as compared to 2006 (Datamonitor, 2008). 4.0 Reasons for change Transportation costs Paul Bateson, Royal Mails managing director, logistics, said: There is a marked difference between the price we believe we should be paying for rail services and that which was on the table. Quite simply, other forms of transport can give us the same benefits, in terms of flexibility and quality, but at a lower cost (Independent.co.uk, 2003). Inefficiency The Royal Mail is the third most inefficient postal service operating in the UK with an estimate of 40% less efficiency . The European couriers already have automatically sequencing machines which sort 90% of the letters they deliver at operates at a lower costs whilst the Royal mail operate a walk-sorting and walk-sequencing procedure which only sorts 70%. (Hopper et al 2008:47). Competition The Royal mail faces competition from the digital media. The royal mail reported losses of  £500 million in 2007-08 (Hooper et al 2008:48) Technology This has led to reduced volume of sales (Hooper et al 2008). The way in which customers communicate has altered to online, email, mobile telephony, text messaging and digital broadcasting as they have low marginal costs, flexible and faster. It is estimated that the substitution from postal to alternative digital media reduced its operating profits by  £500 million in 2007/8 (Hooper et al 2008:48) (Hooper et al, 2008:9) Pension Deficit Royal Mail  has a found a  £10bn black hole in its retirement postbag, the biggest pension deficit in UK corporate history (guardian.co.uk, 2009). (Hooper et al 2008:55) Universal service The universal service is important to the UKs economy as it enables trade (Hooper et al 2008:3) in 2008 Royal Mail reported that the universal service had made an operating loss of  £100 million. Strained relations In 2007 over 67,000 employee days were lost as a result of industrial action (Hooper et al 2008:56). The consequence of this was the loss of contracts including Amazon (Guardian.co.uk, 2009). Working practises The organizations working practises are outdated, as a result act as a barrier to their efficiency (Hooper et al 2008:51). The employees are able to finish their morning rounds up to three hours early (Hooper et al 2008:51) and continue to be paid until the end of their shift. 5.0 Lewins group dynamics Lewin research in this area has been cited as one of his best-known research topics.  In this study Lewin, along with Ronald Lippitt, looked at the effects of democratic, autocratic, and laissez-faire methods/styles of leadership on group structure and the behaviour of group members.  Results showed numerous insights into group structure.  Also groups with efficient change that occurred in democratic ways lead to superior group results.  Ã‚  Superior results were found with the basis that as all individuals can participate and become an identifiable part of the group, change is more easily accepted (Kariel, 1956). Groups that contained more authoritarian structures were found to be more rigid, hindered creativity and lead to dysfunctional decision making processes.  Groups that contained laissez-faire styles were found to be very inefficient and unproductive (Daniels, 2003). Overall results of these three leadership styles showed that democratic leadership styles lead friendliness, conscientiousness for group members, and more originality than the other leadership styles (Buchanan et al, 2004).  Ã‚  Autocratic and laissez-faire groups showed significantly greater amounts of discontent, hostility, scapegoating, and aggression than the democratic leadership style. Lewin concluded that changes resulted not from individual differences but from group dynamics.  Ã‚  He also emphasized need to facilitate and guide change, as autocracy is imposed on individuals, but democracy is learned (Smith 2001).   With the Royal Mail being under the control of the UK Government it can be argued that they are subjected to a more authoritarian leadership structure. Unlike a corporate business organization where decisions are made by senior management, in the Royal mail decisions must be made in consideration of the UK budget, strategies and actions are all subject to parliament, leaving management in the Royal Mail with lesser powers to do their job. 6.0 Planned Emergent change Lewins (1951) three-stage model of unfreezing, movement, and refreezing often underlies planned change. This planned approach to change is long established and held to be highly effective by many (Burns, 2004), but it has been criticized at least since the early 1980s (Kanter, Stein Jick, 1992). Firstly it tends to ignore that environmental factors in which an organization is situated may be inconsistent with planned change initiatives, apparently assuming that organizations can move in a pre-planned manner from one stable state to another (Bamford Forrester, 2003) in ways that are not strongly impacted by outside factors. Royal Mails initial efforts to implement change were of a planned nature, Weick (1999) suggests that organization change is a more open-ended and continuous process than a set of pre-identified self-contained events. Emergent change emphasizes that change should not be perceived as a series of planned linear events within a given period of time. Rather, it is best viewed as a continuous, open-ended process of adaption to change circumstances and conditions (Burns, 2004). 7.0 Resistance to change Where change is incremental and aims only at organisational realignment, it can be viewed as adaptive. Where such incremental change is more punctuated, but still aiming at organisational realignment, it is known as reconstruction. The process of reconstruction is more likely to result in employee resistance than adaptation because such significant changes in business processes could negatively impact upon the roles of some employees. However, unlike transformational change, whether this happens incrementally or in a punctuated fashion, adaptation and reconstruction are less likely to have either an organisation wide impact on employees or require a paradigm shift in thinking. Evolution and revolution, on the other hand, do require such a shift because they can involve significant shifts in organisational culture and may also have deep impact on job roles and even redundancies (Balogun and Hailey, 2004). The change plan suggested by the Independent Review of the Royal Mail involves the political separation of the Royal Mail to provide it will commercial confidence, the separation of the Royal Mail from the Post Office, the transfer of the Royal Mail Groups pension risk to the government, a strategic investment in modernisation, and the use of a strategic partnership between the Royal Mail and a private sector firm to help bring about the change process. This is clearly indicative of revolutionary change, such that it is no surprise that not only are the forces for and against very strong, but they are equally matched between those desiring changing (management) and those opposing it (employees and their representatives). To effectively manage employee resistance to change at the Royal Mail, a number of solutions can be suggested. In presenting these solutions, it should be emphasized that management at the Royal is required to manage through revolutionary change. Here, the speed of t he change process adds to the impact that the change initial will have on the firm, also creating greater levels of fear, suspicion, uncertainty, and ultimately, resistance. First, effective leadership is a critical component of effectively implementing change that the Royal Mail. According to Bennis and Nanus (2003): The new leader is one who commits people to action, who converts followers into leaders, and who may convert leaders into agents of change (p.3). In this respect, effective leaders are not only visionary in their motives and actions (Nanus, 1992; Collins, 2001), but also they are the ultimate agents of change. Here, emotions play a central role. As Boyatzis and McKee (2005) state: Even if they get everything else just right, if leaders fail in this primal task of driving emotions in the right direction, nothing they do will work as well as it could or should (p.3). This can be especially important during periods of transformational change, and especially the revolutionary change proposed at the Royal Mail. Here, leaders not only need to have personal competence in the form of emotional competences such as transparency, but also social compe tences such as empathy and organizational awareness (social awareness competences), but also conflict management and bond building (relationship management competences) (Goleman et al., 2002). As Boyatzis and McKee (2005) state: Great leaders face the uncertainty of todays world with hope: they inspire through clarity of vision, optimism, and a profound belief in their and their peoples ability to turn dreams into reality. Great leaders face sacrifice, difficulties, and challenges, as well as opportunities, with empathy and compassion for the people they lead and those they serve. Whilst the current predicament for employees is stark, a visionary, inspirational leader will be able to communicate the long-term, optimistic view of the Royal Mail; that is, an organisation where employee pensions will have been secured by the Government, a more efficient work environment and organizational structure that will enable employees to develop through greater investment and innovation by man agement, as well as greater job security for those that remain. Whilst this does nothing to quell the resistance amongst those that believe they will not be chosen to remain, the Independent Review clearly highlights that the change has to happen or the Royal Mail Group will not be able to continue in its current format. Leadership has to emphasize how it can help get the company and its employees through a bad situation in the best possible way. Second, change agents can be particularly effective in helping to overcome employee resistance. The change agent starts out where the strategist left off. They are charged with making change programmes a success at the implementation stage. With information scarcity and poor communication being a central factor causing employee resistance to change, the change agent is an important part of the communication process between management and employees. The use of change agents can have a particularly strong effect because of their impact on relationships. As Tierney (1999) states: Strong relationships between supervisors and employees, and among employees and their team members, is associated with employees perceiving that they work in a context characterised by risk-taking and departure from the status quo, open communication, trust, operational freedom, and employee development, five of the necessary conditions for the emergence of individual and organisational change (p.129). Change a gents therefore play an important role in building a psychological climate that is conductive to change (Schneider and Reichers, 1983; Porras and Hoffer, 1986; Tierney, 1999). As a general rule, internal change agents are no more successful in implementing change than their external counterparts. The appropriateness of choosing one over the other depends on the nature of the change, the change outcome, and specific organizational circumstances. An external change agent may benefit the firm by providing experience and advice based on knowledge developed during other change processes that the firm itself is not privy to. The external change agent is also an appropriate choice where employees do not trust management. Alternately, the internal agent may be more sensitive to and knowledge about local conditions within the firm, helping the agent to communicate in a more appropriate manner. This may help in convincing employees that would not be prepared to listen to external change agent s that have no vested interested in them as individuals (Balogun and Hailey, 2004). In the case of the Royal Mail, the problem is that management and employees have a very bad relationship, with employees having a stronger relationship with their unions. As such, unions may be one of the best potential agents for change, even though these have been one of the biggest problems impeding innovation and change in the past. Finally, it has often been suggested that change management is more successful when a pilot of the proposed change is carried out in order to assess the potential problems that could be faced, enabling the organization to re-engineer how the change process is rolled out (Balogun and Hailey, 2004). However, this would be difficult for the Royal Mail because the change it is facing is revolutionary. Such change provides little time to test out different change scenarios. 8.0 Force field analysis Figure 1 is a force field analysis to illustrate why Royal Mail employees may resist change. This highlights not only how difficult it will be to achieve change without significant employee resistance, but also the reasons why relative tensions exist. The rationale for employee resistance is based on the potential for significant job losses, the loss of union power following a restructuring, and the potential costs and disruption that this may cause to employees and customers. Significant job losses anticipated: The transformational changes made to date, which are slight in comparison to what is needed, have resulted in over 40,000 job losses. The proposed change in the Independent Review would mean a significant number of additional job losses, most of which would happen in the Royal Mail, not the Post Office. With the power of the major unions in the postal sector, such job losses will be met with fierce resistance and most likely some industrial action. As such, it has a 5 rating. Weaker union position because of restructuring: The relationship between the unions and the management at the Royal Mail Group is extremely poor, not only because of the power of the unions and their propensity for industrial action and heavily resisting almost any form of management change, but also because of the ability of unions to take their complaints straight to Minister, circumventing management at the Royal Mail Group. The transformation would break up this arrangement and provide the Royal Mail with the autonomy and commercial confidence it needs, but it would also significantly weaken the position of the unions. 5. Cost and disruption could reduce customer numbers: The Royal Mail is relied upon to process and deliver 99% of the UKs post. The level of transformation required, the loss of staff, the inevitable industrial action that will be taken, and so forth will not only be costly but will also damage the Royal Mails reputation and potentially reduce customer needs. 3. Plan: Strategic partnership  between Royal Mail  and private sector  companies to help  bring about change   Political separation of  Royal Mail Transfer pension risk  to government Separation of Royal  Mail and Post Office Strategic investment  in modernisation Massive pension  deficit needs to  be resolved Structural decline  in major product  markets Inefficient structure  and poor labour  relations Significant jobs  losses anticipated   Weaker union  position because  of restructuring Cost and disruption  could reduce  customers numbers Forces for Change Forces against Change Employee resistance is not only reflected in the forces against change, but also the overall pressure of the forces in each direction. In this case, the score for forces against change is 13 whilst the forces for change also scores 13. Out of a possible score of 15, therefore, not only are there considerable forces against change, but employees are also being heavily resisted by the firm, which is pushing equally strongly for change. This increases the overall levels of employee resistance. 9.0 Securing effective change A professor at Harvard Business School and world-renowned change expert, Kotter introduced his eight-step change process in his 1995 book, Leading Change  (Buchanan et al, 2004). Establish a sense of urgency Form a guiding coalition Create a vision Communicate the vision Empower people to act on the vision Create short term wins Consolidate improvements to produce further change Institutionalize new approaches Other models in management literature include Ulrich (1998) seven-steps, Eccles (1994) four step and Collins (1998) n-step guides, all of which echo the same principles as Kotter, vision, leadership, communication and involvement. (Buchanan et al, 2004) What is imperative to carry out the model effectively is a change leader. Change leaders can be thought of as persons who create enough disconfirmation in the organisation to arouse motivation to change (Bennis, Nanus, 1985). Change leaders should therefore have three characteristics if they are to arouse motivation to change and learn: Credibility whatever they say must be believed Clarity of vision Whatever they say must be clear and make sense Ability to articulate the vision They must be able to state verbally and in writing what it is they perceive and what the implications are for the future of the organization (Schein, 1999). In implementing Kotters (1995) 8 steps to change the Royal Mail can follow these actions. 1. Examine opportunities that should be, or could be, exploited. Identify potential threats, and develop scenarios showing what could happen in the future. Start honest discussions, and give dynamic and convincing reasons to get people talking and thinking. Request support from customers, outside stakeholders and industry people to strengthen the argument 2. Identify the true leaders in the organization.   Ask for an emotional commitment from these key people.   Work on team building within the change coalition.   Check the team for weak areas, and ensure that there is a good mix of people from different departments and different levels within the company. 3. Determine the values that are central to the change.   Develop a short summary that captures what is seen as the future of the organization.   Create a strategy to execute that vision.   Ensure that the change coalition can describe the vision. 4. Communicate the change vision. Openly and honestly address peoples concerns and anxieties. Apply the vision to all aspects of operations from training to performance reviews. Tie everything back to the vision.   Lead by example. 5. Identify, or hire, change leaders whose main roles are to deliver the change.   Look at the organizational structure, job descriptions, and performance and compensation systems to ensure theyre in line with the vision.   Recognize and reward people for making change happen.   Identify people who are resisting the change, and help them see whats needed.   Take action to quickly remove barriers. 6. Look for sure-fire projects that can be implemented without help from any strong critics of the change.  Ã‚   Thoroughly analyze the potential pros and cons of the targets.    Reward the people who help the organization meet the targets. 7. After every win, analyze what went right and what needs improving.   Set goals to continue building on the momentum achieved.   Learn about  kaizen, the idea of continuous improvement.   Keep ideas fresh by bringing in new change agents and leaders for the change coalition. 8. Communicate the progress at every opportunity. Tell success stories about the change process.   Include the change ideals and values when hiring and training new staff. Publicly recognize key members of the original change coalition, and make sure the rest of the staff new and old remembers their contributions.   Create plans to replace key leaders of change as they move on. This will help ensure that their legacy is not lost or forgotten. Conclusion The Royal Mail is in a position where change is a necessity to survive, and it must do so quickly. The organization requires better communication from its leaders to enable a joint commitment of its managers and workforce. To enable this it must separate from political leadership. It is essential that a new change strategy is formulated which fits the circumstances. Progress has been show through the Communication Unions (2010) agreement which will help defuse employee resistance. Basic pay will rise by a minimum of 6.9 per cent   Further payments will accompany the phased introduction of change in the workplace   The CWU will play a full part in the introduction, deployment and review of change   The working week will reduce by one hour with no loss of pay   Royal Mail will remain a 75 per cent full-time industry   Existing job security will be further enhanced   Further steps must now be taken to implement modernisation around the agreement, implementation of Kotters 8 steps of change can solidify plans which will help take Royal Mail into modernisation past the 3 year agreement.

Power and the Group: Meaning and Contex t in The Lottery Essay

Power and the Group: Meaning and Context in The Lottery There is power in any group consensus. As long as the group thinks as a group they gain authority and power over single voice. The group deflects the problems of the individual by diffusing responsibility thoughout its members. Diffusion of responsibility allows the group to think as an entity. Over time, the entity develops a set of mores. Mores within the group are very strong. The group takes on characteristics and functions as if it were possessed of individuals, but because its responsibility is to remain all knowing, all-powerful and obs equious. Claiming responsibility would in effect threaten the entity, so instead the entity threatens the individual that says I am responsibly for myself. Groups cry out, â€Å"it isn’t fair† while the individual cries out â€Å"it isn’t right† so it was for Tessie Hutchinson. Shirley Jackson’s essay, â€Å"The Lottery† is a tale wherein an appointed official conducts a yearly lottery, presumably to ensure good crops and health throughout the village. The head of each family draws a ticket from a lottery box. One family draws the marked ticket. The individual members within the family then draw again, determining the winner. At first it seems surprising that when stripped to i ts essential elements that the story holds the attention of the reader, but because the audience identifies with the details of the town, the villager, even the drawing of lottery tickets, we, like the group process itself, become part of the fiber of the story. The audience takes in stride that Jackson clues us in on a sinister undercurrent by the gather ing of boys who â€Å"made great pile of stones in one corner of the square and gua... ...remains in effect, he can deflect responsibility for poor crops and ill health onto the mystery of an outdated belief system. The reader may think that we are above such beliefs, but consider the tobacco industry’s self-serving lies and how many lives have ben doomed by them. Then ask yourself, how many parents and children sit in courtrooms or mental institutions thinking, â€Å"it isn’t fair, it isn’t right†? Works Cited: Jackson, shirley. â€Å"The Lottey.† The Norton Anthology of Literature By Women. . Ed. Sandra M. Giubar New York: Norton, 1985. 1872-1880. Nebeker, Helen. â€Å"The Lottery†: Symoblic Tour de Force†. American Literatur. Vol. 46. No. 1. [March, 1974] 100-107. Oehschlaeger, Fritz. â€Å"The Stoning of Mistress Hutchinson: Meaning and Context in â€Å"The Lottery†. Essays in Literature. Vol. XV. No. 2 [Fall 1998] 259-265.

Network Security Essays -- Computers Technology Communications Essays

Network Security In the last decade, the number of computers in use has exploded. For quite some time now, computers have been a crucial element in how we entertain and educate ourselves, and most importantly, how we do business. It seems obvious in retrospect that a natural result of the explosive growth in computer use would be an even more explosive (although delayed) growth in the desire and need for computers to talk with each other. For quite some time, businesses were primarily interested in sharing data within an office or campus environment, this led to the development of various protocols suited specifically to this task. Within the last five years, businesses have begun to need to share data across wide areas. This has prompted efforts to convert principally LAN-based protocols into WAN-friendly protocols. The result has spawned an entire industry of consultants who know how to manipulate routers; gateways and networks to force principally broadcast protocols across point-to-point links. Frequently the protocol of choice has been TCP/IP which is also the primary protocol run on the Internet. The emerging ubiquitous ness of TCP/IP allows companies to interconnect with each other via private networks as well as through public networks. In today’s world businesses, governments, and individuals, all are communicating with each other across the world. While reality is rapidly approaching this utopian picture, several relatively minor issues have changed status from low priority to extreme importance. Security is probably the most well known of these problems. When businesses send private information across the net, they place a high value on it getting to its destination intact and without being intercepted by someone other than the intended recipient. Individuals sending private communications obviously desire secure communications. Finally, connecting a system to a network can open the system itself up to attacks. If a system is compromised, the risk of data loss is high. It can be useful to break network security into two general classes: †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Methods used to secure data as it transits a network †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Methods which regulate what packets may transit the network While both significantly affect the traffic going to and from a site, their objectives are quite different. Transit Security Currently, there are no systems in wide use... ... monitor all activity, and very easy to quickly control what gets in and out of a network. Conclusion There are two basic types of network security, transit security and traffic regulation, which when combined can help guarantee that the right information is securely delivered to the right place. It should be apparent that there is also a need for ensuring that the hosts that receive the information will properly process it, this raises the entire specter of host security: a wide area which varies tremendously for each type of system. With the growth in business use of the Internet, network security is rapidly becoming crucial to the development of the Internet. Soon, security will be an integral part of our day-to-day use of the Internet and other networks. BIBLIOGRAPHY: Avaya Inc. â€Å"Secure and Continuous Communications† www.avaya.com [Online] Available: http://www1.avaya.com/security/?agy=Google&cmp=Security&ctv=network+security&rfr=Google.com&typ=p4p&ovchn=GGL&ovcpn=Security&ovcrn=network+security&ovtac=PPC (October 13, 2004) Net Library. â€Å"Network Security† www.netlibary.com [Online] Available: http://www.netlibrary.com/Search/SearchResults.aspx (October 15, 2004)

Leadership and Change

The element of change remains a factor in everyday life within the organization. How to handle change begins with a decision to embrace the implications into an organization's vision. Incorporating change and a healthy attitude toward change as a core value begins with leadership. A good leader like John Welch provides vision and clarity for the employee. He even instills inspiration in the employee allowing them the freedom to explore and create out of their every day job tasks. Such a leader will be able to communicate issues of change and create a bond with their team. This creates a comfort level that allows for creative thinking resulting in an environment that easily accepts change as a factor. This connection begins at a fundamental level of human sociology where the use of story is central. Howard Gardner reflects, â€Å"the ultimate impact of the leader depends most significantly on the particular story that he or she relates or embodies, and the receptions to that story on the part of the audiences† (14). By telling stories, allows for a certain level of openness or vulnerability on the part of the leader and makes them human. By opening the line of communication, gives the employee knowledge of their environment and develops trust. The leader's role is to sell the idea of commitment within a culture. Odiorne suggests, â€Å"if employees knows what is expected, and what help and resources are available, they can then be relied upon to govern their actions to achieve the commitments they have made† (138). This sets the stage for goals and achieving high performance. The culture in turn feeds off this energy and excitement. There are three reasons why leaders are important. First they are responsible for the effectiveness of organizations. Second, the change and upheaval of past years has left us with no place to hide. We need anchors in our lives as a guiding purpose. Third, there is a national concern about integrity of our institutions. Being mindful of own context is difficult for us. (15-16) Managers with a keen understanding of leading represent these three key attributes and create a foundation from which to act. A leader must also display curiosity and have the guts to be daring. They must be a dominant force within the team. Bennis reflects, there are two kinds of people â€Å"those who are paralyzed by fear, and those who are afraid but go ahead away. Life is not about limitation but options† (185). A healthy culture inspires options and the innovations that grow out of creativity. Still one cannot ignore times of fear. Management sometimes creates fear on purpose or misuse to work employees harder. From personal experience, fear can drive an employee to try harder at a better job or completely kill worker confidence. This does not create positive outcomes but promotes conflict and an unstable team. It is clear for management to be successful, it must communicate its vision but also create positive reinforcement. Once key members understand people's needs, then action can be taken to improve management's role. Only then will a leader be taken seriously. Recognizing positive traits in a team member builds trust, integrity and also meets an important need. Finally, there are many things a leader can do to motivate their team members and inspire excellence. From personal experience there are many recommendations that come to mind. At a company wide level, a recognition or awards program is effective in maintaining culture by motivating employees. Being noticed for a job well done instills pride.

Explore How Conflict Effects Those Not Fighting in the Conflict Poems

In The Falling Leaves and Poppies, compare the effects conflict has on those not fighting. In Poppies by Jane Weir and The Falling Leaves by Margaret Postgate Cole both poets use a variety of methods to show effects conflict has on those not fighting. Use of structure and language is important in presenting these effects. This essay will explore both poems to analyse the effects of different methods as implemented by the poets. The structure used in the poems along with similes and metaphors to describe the soldiers in both poems give a sad, solemn tone, to show how the poet was effected by conflict.The use of enjambment in The Falling Leaves gives the sense of long pauses and broken thoughts and feelings of the poet showing that it saddens the poet to think of hundreds of soldiers losing their lives in war. In Poppies, â€Å"All my words flattened, rolled, turned into felt, slowly melting. †, is used to show that the feeling of her son leaving to fight in a war was hard to ex plain and that the words meant nothing as the feeling was too strong to explain in words. The emotion of the poet is clearly described in both poems. I resisted the impulse† and â€Å"I was brave, as I walked with you†. Both quotes from Poppies show that although the poet felt upset that her son was going to war, and that she felt he was too young, she allowed her son to do as he wanted. This shows realisation that he had grown up, that it wasn’t her decision to allow him to go and that she didn’t want to upset him by showing how she really felt. In The Falling Leaves, the poet describes her emotion through the weather. â€Å"like snowflakes wiping out the noon;† this shows that she was feeling saddened and upset from what she had seen.Both poems describe the soldiers as innocent. For example, in Poppies, the poet’s memories of her son were all those of his youth, showing that he was still an innocent child. In The Falling Leaves soldiers are compared to graceful, white snowflakes. â€Å"Like snowflakes falling on the Flemish clay†. White is purity, cleanliness, and innocence. This may be emphasising the idea that all soldiers were still children that needed guidance from their parents and were naive and were only killed as they had little guidance.This idea of innocence could show that the impact on those not fighting was much larger because the soldiers did not deserve to die in the eyes of the poets. However, the soldiers are also described as â€Å"brown leaves dropping from their tree†. This may give the impression that those fighting were not important, just as leaves aren’t important to a tree. The idea of the brown leaves may mean that they had completed their ‘service’ and were no longer useful but that it was not an issue as new soldiers would replace them.The amount of death is recognised in The Falling Leaves, the soldiers are described as â€Å"a gallant multitude†, generalising huge number of dead soldiers as one unit. This lessens the portrayed sorrow of those not fighting by making all soldiers faceless and identical. Whereas in Poppies, it is much more personalised, this creates a feeling of grief and shows that the poet thinks it may be harder to cope with the loss of those in war than is portrayed in The Falling Leaves.

A reaction paper to the book: may god have mercy

The focal point of this essay is to prepare a reaction paper for the book May God Have Mercy: A True Story of Crime and Punishment by John C. Tucker. This 368 page paperback was written by the author to look into the death penalty of Roger Coleman in 1992 who was convicted for a murder case in spite of the evidences being placed on a soft ground. As a defense attorney of criminal activities John C. Tucker indulges himself in investigation and analyzes and criticizes the loopholes of the judiciary system and the prevailing criminal justice process. Wanda Fay McCoy, a young woman of 19 years of age, was found raped and murdered in her bedroom in March 1981. The prime suspect was Roger Coleman, brother-in-law of the victim. Roger Coleman had a history of sexual assaults in past thus he was the logical suspect for the small town police officials who were investigating the case. This was a perfect example of the ‘catch first, prove later’ fallacy rather than the rational approach to the case. The Grundy police suspected Roger Coleman for the rape and murder, caught him and them tried to arrange the case in accordance to prove Roger Coleman guilty. The entire approach was a short cut to success for the investigating cops and the entire scenario was close to an act of travesty. Therefore, as a result, though there was not much evidence against Roger Coleman to prove him guilty the convict was tried in a double quick manner and was thus found guilty. The verdict against him was death penalty. May God Have Mercy: A True Story of Crime and Punishment by John C. Tucker narrates the buildup and eventual conclusion of this legal battle and a man’s struggle to be free against legal system’s strangling notions. The author presents the documentations in a chilling mode where it becomes evident that something was going wrong somewhere. The defense lawyers knew this. The media knew this and so was the general mass. But for the judicial system Roger Coleman was guilty without doubt. The case of Roger Coleman as narrated by John C. Tucker appears to us as a frightening denunciation of political affairs as customary that is clear to confront the conjectures of a person who considers that the justice system of America is concerned first and foremost with righteousness. Roger Coleman's account is convincing, distressing, and awesomely wearisome. While reading May God Have Mercy: A True Story of Crime and Punishment by John C. Tucker it is virtually impossible for a person to be move away completely unaffected. This is because the author has done a remarkable job by presenting the rules and the process of multifaceted legal conceptions in a simple and clear language. Otherwise any such proceedings would have been bound to be confusing and rather dull. Tucker also incorporates many stories dealing with the personal parameters of the convict’s life to present a moving and powerful humane account. As for the settings of the case it should be mentioned that in general the judiciary system is arranged in such a manner that an innocent person is hardly ever convicted especially in the circumstances of a possible death penalty. But it was proved wrong in case of Roger Coleman's account of trial. It is not that Tucker advocates blindly with irrational suspicion that Roger Coleman's case was not guilty. But he simply points at the sustainable evidences that indicated that the convict was not to be blamed. Substantial evidence is what tucker is more concerned about and he tends to follow the proceedings of the law and identifies the evidences hardly proved the convict guilty with a full proof assurance. It is true that any judicial system should be rigid in some way or the other to pursue criminals into justice but it should always be remembered that justice as an individual objective is extremely volatile if it is not handled with proper care and common human sense of truth and rightfulness. Roger Coleman's account of a mishandled human being is the prime example of justice becoming a curse for the society and failing to follow the basic norms of a civilized human society. This basic norm of a society is undoubtedly a profound humane approach to any problem where solutions would be acquired with benevolent advance towards rational behaviors and accomplishments. It is not about the fact that whether truly Roger Coleman actually guilty or not but the main concern over here is the nature of the proceedings that were followed. This is the main issue of the book and the author has incorporated that needful doubt within the readers that should have been present within the faiths of judicial personnel in the first place. It is evident that if anybody commits to memory about the case not so far away from the media coverage it is obvious that he or she would be traumatized and horror struck at this chronicle with its deficiency of concern, ordinary logical conclusions and fundamental compassion towards human values of the legal system American government can acquire. Reference: Tucker, John C; August 10, 1998; May God Have Mercy: A True Story of Crime and Punishment; Delta Publications   

Importance of Reading Essay

Reading has at all times and in all ages been a source of knowledge, of happiness, of pleasure and even moral courage. In today’s world with so much more to know and to learn and also the need for a conscious effort to conquer the divisive forces, the importance of reading has increased. In the olden days if reading was not cultivated or encouraged, there was a substitute for it in the religious sermon and in the oral tradition. The practice of telling stories at bed time compensated to some extent for the lack of reading. In the nineteenth century Victorian households used to get together for an hour or so in the evenings and listen to books being read aloud. But today we not only read, we also want to read more and more and catch up with the events taking place around us. The various courses and classes being conducted in rapid reading support this belief. The amount of reading one should get through is of course nobody’s business. There is no end to it for there is a variety of subjects to read about. The daily newspaper or the popular magazine while it discusses topical issues and raised controversies, it also provokes thought and throws light on human nature. It brings the news of wars, rebellions, organizations, political stances, heroic deeds etc. , together and helps knit a world of some sort. There is then the serious reading undertaken for research and for satisfying one’s longing for knowledge. It may be a subject of scientific significance, or a subject of historic or philosophic importance – varying according to the taste of the person. This kind of reading disciplines the mind and trains one for critical and original thinking. There is yet another kind of reading -reading for pleasure. Though serious reading is also a source of pleasure, reading which is devoted mainly to it differs in one respect. It grows upon one, it gives before demanding and it soothes and relieves tension and loneliness. The only kind of reading which neither stimulates thought nor provides knowledge is one which is approached negatively, with the simple motive of escape and of â€Å"killing† time. A person who is widely read is able to mix with others: he is a better conversationalist than those who do not read. He can stand his ground. Reading broadens the vision. it is in a way a substitute for travel. It is not possible to travel as much as one would like to and reading can fill in the gap created by the lack of travel. â€Å"Reading†, as Bacon wrote in his essay. ‘Of Studies’. â€Å"maketh a full man: conference a ready man: and writing an exact man†. Thus a widely-read man is a better conversationalist and is able to see the other point of view. Literature is a form of art which can cross barriers and if one does not know the language in which a piece of literature is written, one is willing sometimes to learn the language. Even if one does not learn a language one reads the literary work in translation. This contributes to the growth of understanding and tolerance amongst people. Reading also helps one to see the present in relation to the past and the future, and thus develop a historical perspective. Care is needed to ensure that reading does not become a substitute for real life. The moment one ceases to enjoy the ordinary pleasures and happiness of life and is content to enjoy them vicariously through fictional and historical representations, one loses all the benefits of reading and loses contact with life. With the cinema and television taking up a great deal of attention of children, teenagers and even adults, the habit of serious reading is dying out. People are content to read abridged versions. see films, go through illustrated comics and be content. But just as reading should not become a substitute for the joy of living or drive out the other forms of entertainment, other substitutes should not be accepted for the pleasure of reading which lies in the act itself. One may be selective, may be discriminating but no one can afford to shut himself off from this rich and ever-growing world of literature.

The List of All U.S. Colleges With a Religious Studies Major

Religion is controversial, inspirational, exciting, and polarizing. Throughout history, humans have sought to discover identity and meaning through religion. A major player in the development of human societies, the study of religion   offers avenues of inquiry far beyond conventional theological philosophies. Religious studies focuses on scholarly perspectives of religion and belief throughout history and geography. An interdisciplinary major, it leverages research from philosophy, history, literature, public health, sociology, economics, and more.   A bachelor’s in religious studies is a versatile degree with many possible applications. Some graduates may choose to pursue an advanced degree in theology or religion, while others may apply their knowledge of religious studies to other areas of culture and society. Just a few of the possible career paths for graduates of religious studies programs include: Religious studies brings together disciplines including art, literature, philosophy, sociology, anthropology, and science. Few majors provide exposure to such a vast and diverse array of specialties and fields. As such, religious studies majors will often pair their degree with another field of study.   Majoring in religious studies offers you a lens into other cultures and perspectives from around the world. You’ll learn about different theologies from an academic perspective and gain new insight into how and why people have the beliefs they do, as well as how they express and practice them. You’ll also study the ways in which religion impacts other aspects of society such as government, social norms, and ethics.   Religious studies programs look for well-rounded students who emphasize the humanities and social sciences. You should have plenty of high-level courses in areas like English, history, and   foreign languages. In terms of extracurriculars, focus on activities that emphasize your interest in religious studies, such as community service, volunteering at a place of worship, or even working at a museum or other cultural institution. If you’re looking for guidance creating a strong profile for candidacy for admission into an undergraduate religious studies program, our Early Advising program for 9th and 10th graders could be the answer. A graduate from a top 30 institution will work with you to hone your extracurricular and academic interests while advising you on the courses to take, activities to pursue, and grades and test scores you’ll need to earn for admission. Already into the college process? 11th graders can learn how to strengthen their profiles, create a school list with a balance of colleges that offer religious studies majors, and more through our College Strategy program . We’ll guide you through the process of creating a cohesive profile and applying to college. Estimating your chance of getting into a college is not easy in today’s competitive environment. Thankfully, with our state-of-the-art software and data, we can analyze your academic and extracurricular profile and estimate your chances. Our profile analysis tool can also help you identify the improvement you need to make to enter your dream school. Looking to apply to a religious studies program? We can help. Through our Applications program , we’ll work with you to create a school list that reflects your real chances of admission and your personal college preferences, hone application themes, assist with essays, and more. Anderson University (South Carolina) Calumet College of St. Joseph | CCSJ Christian Brothers University | CBU Auburn University at Montgomery | AUM Austin Peay State University | APSU California Baptist University | CBU Hope International University | HIU California State University, Bakersfield | CSU Bakersfield California State University, Chico | CSU Chico California State University, Dominguez Hills | CSUDH John Paul the Great Catholic University | JPCatholic California State University, East Bay | CSU East Bay California State University, Fresno | CSU Fresno California State University, Fullerton | CSU Fullerton California State University, Long Beach | Long Beach State California State University, Northridge | CSUN Mid-America Christian University | MACU Catholic University of America | CUA Charleston Southern University | CSU National University (California) | NU New Jersey Institute of Technology | NJIT College of Mount Saint Vincent | CMSV Colorado Christian University | CCU Concordia University Wisconsin | CUW Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary | SEBTS State University of New York at Old Westbury | SUNY Old Westbury East Texas Baptist University | ETBU Eastern New Mexico University | ENMU Florida International University | FIU Franciscan University of Steubenville Hannibal–LaGrange University | HLGU Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis | IUPUI Indiana University Bloomington | Indiana Indiana University of Pennsylvania | IUP California Lutheran University | CLU Central Christian College of Kansas Central Washington University | CWU College of the Holy Cross | Holy Cross College of William & Mary | William & Mary Columbia International University | CIU Middle Tennessee State University | MTSU North Carolina Central University | NCCU Franklin and Marshall College | F&M Mount Vernon Nazarene University | MVNU Hobart and William Smith Colleges | HWS North Dakota State University | NDSU Notre Dame of Maryland University | NDMU Oklahoma Wesleyan University | OKWU Palm Beach Atlantic University | PBA Point Loma Nazarene University | PLNU Rutgers University–New Brunswick | Rutgers Saint Martin’s University | St. Martin’s Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College | SMWC University of California, Davis | UC Davis New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology | New Mexico Tech University of California, San Diego | UCSD Our Lady of the Lake University | OLLU Southwestern Christian College | SwCC St. Joseph’s College (New York) | SJC Queens College, City University of New York | CUNY QC Tennessee Wesleyan University | TWU Saint Mary’s College of California | St. Mary’s Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota | SMU Sewanee: The University of the South | Sewanee The State University of New York at Stony Brook | SUNY Stony Brook Southern Methodist University | SMU Southwestern Assemblies of God University | SAGU University of California, Irvine | UC Irvine University of California, Los Angeles | UCLA University of Central Arkansas | UCA University of Central Florida | UCF University of Hawaii at Manoa | UH Manoa University of Houston–Downtown | UHD University of Mary Hardin–Baylor | UMHB University of Mary Washington | UMW University of Massachusetts Amherst | UMass Amherst University of Massachusetts Lowell | UMass Lowell University of California, Riverside | UC Riverside University of California, Santa Barbara | UCSB University of California, Santa Cruz | UCSC University of Mississippi | Ole Miss University of Colorado Boulder | CU Boulder University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign | UIUC University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | UNC University of North Carolina at Charlotte | UNC Charlotte University of North Carolina at Greensboro | UNC Greensboro University of North Carolina at Wilmington | UNC Wilmington University of Maine at Farmington | UMF University of Northwestern – St. Paul University of Minnesota, Twin Cities | Minnesota University of Nebraska–Lincoln | UNL The State University of New York at Albany | SUNY Albany University of Texas at Austin | UT Austin University of South Carolina Upstate | USC Upstate University of Southern California | USC University of Wisconsin-Madison | Wisconsin University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee | UWM University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh | UW Oshkosh University of the Incarnate Word | UIW Virginia Commonwealth University | VCU Washington University in St. Louis | WashU University of St. Thomas (Minnesota)

Green Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Green Economics - Essay Example Green economics have so far been considered external to mainstream economics and there is a lot of discussion about whether they have any major points in similar. Green economics states that in the world we live in, needs looking after and if our daily transactions or dealings with each other affect the natural atmosphere, then it should be taken into account in decision making. As the natural resources are scarce, we can not use them wastefully, thus, our use of them should be noted. Besides, as our actions affect other human beings, such as a business decision affecting its consumers, suppliers, workers, shareholders, bank, the society and community etc, our actions can also affect non-human things such as plants, animals, the environment or the ecology and the different natural systems that exists around us. Green economics broadly encompasses the natural environment too while talking about social justice and other economic matters and has questioned some of the assumptions made by the classical economics. For this reason, it is often called non-neoclassical economics. ... Firms and individual also act separately on the basis on information and they have perfect knowledge. The assumptions of neoclassical theories include the profit maximizing behaviour of firms and the derivation of demand curves from the consumer indifference curves and budget lines to maximize their utility. Factors of production are analyzed by supply curves. It emphasizes on equilibrium and the aggregation of individual and firms' demands and supply curves. Bodies which shape up individual behaviour or are considered not as important are not emphasized. The conventional economics has taken a lot from this neoclassical approach in its assumptions and at the basic microeconomics level. Despite these derivations, there have been many individuals and economists who have criticized the neoclassical theories, especially when it came to the lack of attention given to the environment or the ecology. Green critics say that mainstream economists consider environmental and ecological considerations as externalities, which are a cost or benefit arising from an economic transaction or deal that affects a third party or people who are not directly related to the transaction. Conventional economics assume that the society's preferences are fixed and does not change or evolve with time or analysis. The green economists have often also shown distrust about capitalism which refers to an economic system where ownership is in private hands and economic decisions are made by the market economy. They do not believe that the "invisible hand" as called by Adam Smith makes the best decisions. The theory that self interest of individuals make them act in a certain way which brings

Islamic Finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Islamic Finance - Essay Example The value and growth demonstrated by Islamic finance, in recent years, typifies the industry’s overall potential comparative to conventional finance. The growth of Islamic finance has been observed outside conventional Islamic markets in members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). This signifies the increased attention being paid to Islamic finance by policy markers, as well as other universal market participants. The point of this paper is to refute the argument that Islamic finance cannot serve as a viable alternative to conventional finance. To date, a number of non-traditional Islamic markets such as London and New York have shown increased appreciation for the value of Islamic finance. In fact, London and New York launched indices in their FTSE and Dow Jones indices with a view to offer a benchmark for equity prices attributable to investments in Islamic financial companies (Warde 141). Governments such as the UK government continue to play a major role in extending th e scope of Islamic finance by extending support, for instance, by prohibiting the imposition of double stamp duty on Islamic mortgages (Warde 54). This is indicative of the fact that modern governments and private institutions are becoming increasingly aware of the viability of Islamic finance as an alternative to conventional finance. ... Typically, Islamic finance offers financial products rooted in the doctrines of Shariah or Islamic Law (El-Gamal 94). Most of these products are offered to Muslim investors while some Islamic products also attract conventional borrowers and investors. Islamic finance centers primarily on the principles of Islamic, and as a consequence, it encompasses a two-tier system. Firstly, the banking system accepts bankers’ deposits primarily for safe-keeping purposes without the accrual of any return while demanding 100% reserves. This means that, under Islamic finance, the payment system of the economy is protected from risks. Additionally, the system also limits the capacity of the banking system to create credit, thus hindering the necessity for deposit guarantee attributed to the conventional reserve system (Iqbal, Mirakhor, Askari and Krichene 196). The second primary component of Islamic finance is the fact that investment factors that act as classical financial intermediaries tha t channel savings to appropriate investment projects, as well as events where investment deposits are deemed as equity investments, without guarantees at maturity are subject to profit and loss sharing (Warde 128). Depositors are essentially considered as investors and the collection of assets managed by the financial institution appear on the assets segment of the balance sheets. The primary difference of between the conventional financial system and financial intermediation inherent in Islamic finance is that while depositors accrue fixed and pre-determined liabilities in conventional finance, those in Islamic system are party to both profits and losses accrued by the financial institution’s assets (El-Gamal 133). This signifies that Islamic finance does away with the old

Effects of the Riots on the Families Research Paper

Effects of the Riots on the Families - Research Paper Example While many people feel that riots create physical damage to the society, some people confess to suffer psychologically many years after the incident. Sometimes street riots lead to physical injury or death (Ulin 756). Innocently walking pedestrian plunged into a rioting mob. This person has no idea what caused the riot, what the rioters demand or when will the rioting end. The pedestrian has to accept his situation by joining the mob or face lynch from them. On the other end, anti riot police would be chasing the rioting mob in the streets. It is unfortunate that the pedestrian found in the rioting mix would register a bullet wound from police who are resisting their move. The situation suddenly condemns the family of the pedestrian to doom. The breadwinner can no longer support the family because of his inability to perform tasks, which generated income to the family. The situation of that family moves from a bad condition to a worst condition because the pedestrian could not surviv e to help the family out of its difficulties. It is hard to believe sudden twist of events in ones life. A family might not believe the sudden lose of person they loved. Thinking about the last moment shared rekindles sweet memories in life and then bitter regrets about the events that led to death (Hillsbery 56). Family members of the pedestrians have to accept the ugly truth that they have lost the person they loved. Thinking too much about certain condition may lead to mental problems. Some people show attribute of withdrawal from societal activities because they feel that life cannot be that cruel. Several factors may instigate behavior change in a family. Different people respond differently to situations they face. A condition that led to death of a family member might influence other members positively or negatively. For instance, failure to accept death may make a family member to show repulsive characteristics to occurrences in the society. Street families face difficult si tuation during riots. A riot displaces street families from their normal activities (Smith 212). When a street riot occur no one know where to run to, or what items to save or leave. The state of confusion would culminate in lose of property or injury. Life is precious to every human being; however, some conditions make life meaningless. Losing a property that a person has struggled to acquire for many years is an experience that a person may not forget. Many people have confessed that they have failed to face such situations, which occur after a riot. They are unable to believe that their world had crumpled after a short duration. How does a person start building a business firm that he built for ten or fifteen years? The thought of starting from grass is difficult to comprehend and it might remain to haunt an individual for the better part of his life. Sometimes police quelling riots succeed in arresting rioting individuals. The sentences preferred against that individual would in fluence the family of this individual because the family will have to accept that the individual is no longer a good person but a criminal. Families break because partners in those families have failed to yield to a common interest. It is difficult to admit that a trusted partner is among hooligans in the streets. Some people find it hard to accept rejection associated with humiliating effects of riots and end up committing

Analysis of the Movie The Women Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Analysis of the Movie The Women - Essay Example The major technicalities that will be studied in the paper from the source of the Crystal Allen character are presentation and representation acting, personalization, emotional life of the character and importance of casting etc. Presentational and Representational Acting The role of Crystal Allen in the story can be presentational acting at the second interval of the film. The technicality of presentational and representational acting has a variance in its context. Representational acting is merely noted in plays where the actors have to play more than one role. This is associated with the simple background and context to the story. In the presentational acting, it is quiet evident that the actor plays a single role with a customized setting. As studied by the authors Hagen and Frankel, â€Å"Formalized, external (Representational) has a strong tendency to follow fashion. Internal acting presentation rejects fashion and consequently can become timeless as human experience itself (H agen and Frankel, 2nd Chapter). This clarifies the position of characterization of Crystal in the movie. It should be noted that the character of Crystal has shown vibrancy by appointing villainous role. The nature is practical in real life and, thus, it does not challenge the conscience of the audiences. The director projects a different view of the character by appointing her villainous side mentioning a setting which is real. The audiences of the movie are able to witness the reality of relationships which might miss out on trust. There is no representational acting done so far by Crystal as the role remains customary where she is depicted as a vamp of the story. The change or transition in the context of her character becomes obvious when the director presents Crystal to become consciously unfaithful to her husband despite knowing that he divorced her wife in order to marry her. This shows that the presentational acting is up to the mark and indicates the audiences about the rea l slot which they might have around them. This is how audiences relate their lives with the stories of film (Cukor). Emotional life The character of Crystal Allen is relatively strong in the movie because she has a dilemma of keeping sincerity with her partner. On the front, it can be observed that she is a bad woman in the story but it should be noted that the negativity of her character in the film is merely because of emotional imbalance in her life. As per analysis of the character, it can be said that she was nothing in terms of personalization as she has been depicted to be a perfume stall sales girl who cannot have a true relationship with a rich guy. Seemingly, it’s her emotionally imbalanced life that she gets involved with a man who is already married to someone. This imbalance of her emotional life continues to affect other characters of the story making it easy to notice that, being an emotionally imbalanced woman, she is not accepted by the audience (Cukor). Furt hermore, the emotional imbalance in her life is noted to become severe when she gets involved in a relationship with Buck after marrying Steven. This clarifies that she is not satisfied at all being married to Steven. She seems to be satisfied emotionally with the materialistic environment. Her desires and aspirations are greatly materialistic making it evident that the role of Crystal is of the typical women who want to have all the comforts