Arthur Miller`s Death Of Salesman Essays - English-language Films

Arthur Miller`s Death Of Salesman Author Miller's plays are usually associated with real life issues filled with failure and disappointment. Death of a Salesman written in 1949 is no exception. The author's main character, Willy Loman, is a traveling salesman who spends his whole life time trying to find success based on looks and popularity. His brother Ben is a millionaire who owns diamond mines in Africa. Ben offers Willy the chance of a lifetime, but Willy is so stubborn that he declines the offer. After working hard for his whole life, Willy wakes up to realize that he is a failure. On top of all of this, both of his son's despise him. His wife is very loving towards him but he does not take time to appreciate it. Because he is a failure, Willy starts to go a little crazy. It is a classic case of trying to chase the inevitable, "American Dream." This is something that turns out to be a nightmare for Willy. The author even creates a pun on Willy's name to let the reader know the direction that the play is going. Willy Loman obviously stands for "Low Man." During the whole play there are vivid flashbacks of Willy in his prime. He starts out making a salary of $170 per week, he buys a nice home in the suburbs, and has two son's. Life was grand at that time. But by the end, Willy dies working on commission. The neighborhood that was so nice when he first moved there has been surrounded by modern buildings. The sight of his house sandwiched between all those newer and better houses shows how much Willy stayed dwelled in the past. Throughout the whole play Willy's dialogue is usually about what "used to be." Willy is like a caveman in modern times. All the people he knew are eihter dead or have moved on.

Avoid these Overused Resume Phrases

Avoid these Overused Resume Phrases Avoid these Overused Resume Phrases The goal of every resume is to provide a brief and comprehensive summary of your job history and skills while leaving a lasting impression on the recruiter. Since companies receive dozens of resumes per hiring season, employers who are assigned to sort through these documents encounter repetitive phrases which render the submission clichà ©. Several online resources provide a list of key phrases to avoid when writing a resume. While helpful, sometimes these phrases provide the opportunity to share something valuable. Instead of deleting these phrases altogether, rewrite them in a way that makes your resume stand out, and provide concrete examples of your work experience. Here are some commonly used phrases from resumes and suggestions to rewrite them: â€Å"Works well independently† Most of the time, this phrase is used as a crutch (and is usually part of a bullet list). Instead of focusing on the trait alone, provide an example that showcases your independent nature. Example: â€Å"In 2010, I launched my own website focusing on providing young adult readers with tips and tricks to save money.† This statement showcases your skill, experience, and knowledge while providing a concrete example to the reader. â€Å"A great team player† Teamwork is important is crucial in any workplace to meet company goals, but this phrase does not impress. Instead, share events that showcase you and your former team’s participation or achievement.Example: â€Å"Volunteered with colleagues and organized a 2011 fundraiser.† â€Å"Results driven† Results usually require quantitative data. To avoid this ambiguous claim, write about strategies you implemented which resulted in a percentage of change.Example: â€Å"Reduced the percentage of tardy employees by 10% by implementing an incentive and penalty policy to encourage them to be on time.† â€Å"Good communication skills† Communication skills are important, but this is another example of a broad statement. In this case, provide an example showing how your skills were put to good use.Example: â€Å"Prepared and presented a slideshow to job applicants attending the 2010 job fair in Springfield.† â€Å"Strong attention to detail† It pays to be meticulous with details but it’s even better when other examples are provided.Example: â€Å"I have considerable experience editing articles for an SEO company.† If you rewrite overused phrases and provide concrete examples of your success, potential employers are more likely to schedule an interview with you. Your new resume offers a concise summary of your knowledge, skills, and experience while helping you stand out from the rest of the applicants. hires a team of talented writers who have considerable experience in writing, editing, and/or proofreading resumes while providing key phrases that impress employers.

EPIB of British American Tobacco Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

EPIB of British American Tobacco - Case Study Example BAT Company was founded in 1902, the company acquired different companies in America and the UK to form the current multinational corporation it has evolved to be. Currently BAT is the second biggest procedure of cigarettes in world with an estimated 10.5% of the total global share. PESTEL analysis is used to investigates the vital factors which affects an industry and the influence they have on a particular company or companies operating in that particular industry. PESTEL is means political, Economic, Social, Technological and Legal factors. Political factors entail government policies which are related to the industry, this includes tax policies, regulations and laws, tariffs and restrictions and other factors. The economic factors include the wider economic performance for example economic growth, exchange rates, interest rates and inflation. Social factors on the other hand relates to cultural issues which includes health, population growth, demographics, changes in consumer behaviours and other aspects. Technology factors include the adaptation of new available technology and new ideas such as automation, information technology and rate of technology change. Legal factors comprises of legal procedures, licensing, product legal descriptions and other legal factors. (Hollensen, 2004) Political factors whereby the company have to deal with the political interferences that may be practiced by the UK government. According to research political systems of nations affect the conduct of businesses, for example some countries practice collectivism while others practice capitalism political systems. The UK government practices capitalism in that it allows factors of production to be privately owned and the government performs only limited duties that the private sector cannot perform unlike in collectivism and communism that stresses collective goals. So BAT Company has no restrictions and hence we can conclude that it enjoys good external political environment. (London and Hart, 2004) Economical factors which mainly deals with financial forces in the economic environment. Such factors include foreign exchange rates, currencies and global monetary systems like the use of Euro currency, inflation, counter trade, balance of payments, monetary policies, and fiscal policies among others. After carrying out careful analysis of these factors BAT Company did not face a lot of these challenges with but only was subjected to few of them like inflation and the balance of payments. (Buckley, 2005) Social factors are other factors that the company has to consider before going international. Forces within the society such as religion, family, social structure and education may impact positively or negatively the way BAT Company will market its products. Social factors affect our attitude, opinions and interests on the way we view products from certain companies. (Buckley, 2005) Technological factors are another key factor to be put in consideration before going global. Advanced technologies are now being experienced by many companies as

Explain this statement and conclude your discussion by saying whether Essay

Explain this statement and conclude your discussion by saying whether or not you agree with the law commission's current proposa - Essay Example Laws regarding the rights of consumers across the UK were not protective enough to sufficiently safeguard the interest of consumers. The new laws were, therefore, put forward to enhance sanity in sales of products and consumption of faulty products. In order to show that the grievances presented by the European Commission were heard, the Law Commission published laws that would protect the consumers against consumption of faulty goods. Law Commission made an indirect response to the European Commission’s paper with pretence that it was responding to the 2002 Consumer Sales Directive. Whether or not the publication of the Law Commission was ignited by the October release of the European Commission, these laws are a sure relief to the UK consumers. The laws protect the rights of consumers in a way that had not been possible in the past. A critical analysis of the Law Commission Proposals and Remedies for Faulty goods to Consumers relays a lot to be desired about the laws. The ne ed for harmonization of European consumer rights and related remedies was the primary objective of both publications. Whereas the consultative paper was not designed to directly respond to the â€Å"The European Law Commission Proposals†, it indirectly touched the core values of that proposal as an attempt to harmonize all United Kingdom Laws relating to consumer rights and remedies with those of the Commission proposals. This Consultative paper further earmarked an indirect advice to the commission regarding short term remedies to be harmonized across Union members without necessarily deviating from the traditional Contract Law remedies like rejection, repair and replacement or rescission (The Joint Consultative Paper, 2009, P.63). European Commission Proposals are another area of the laws that exhibit great deal of fascinating and likeable issues. The Law Commission Proposals were aimed at achieving the â€Å"consumer acquis† across the European Union relating to goo ds consumed and trading rights (The European Law Commission,2008). These rights include the right of withdrawal by the consumer from an ambigueous contract and is associated with the â€Å"cooling off period†, the need to protect consumers from â€Å"aggressive commercial practices†, removal of all trade barriers across all member states boarders, promotion of online contractual arrangements or trading among other things. The right of withdrawal is concerned with door to door and distance trading activities including both goods and services rendered to the consumer (Schultze, 2009, P.179). By all means, such steps to protect the rights of citizens of the wider European Union are a reason to smile about. The commission proposals are most likely going to enhance economic productivity of the region with increased trade and commerce. These European Commission proposals are majorly intended to harmonize trading activities among European states and once the Union has achieve d this, it will have a better competitive advantage over other regions in trade and industry. The major bottleneck is understanding the micro and macro economic factors that drives businesses. More in particular is an understanding of the

To what extent do differing human resource management and training Essay

To what extent do differing human resource management and training practices contribute to varying levels of success between major national economies - Essay Example It also enhances positive relationships within organisations in order to enhance greater success at the workplace. Thirdly, the theory enhances the development and motivation of employees in order to perform better at the workplace. In terms of negative criticisms, the theory does not clearly explain how the various relations within an organization enhance success in international business across countries. The theory also fails to explain how HRM is linked to the strategic management of an organisation. Wright and Snell (1991) argue that abilities and skills are environmental inputs; behaviours of employees are throughputs; and satisfaction and performance of employees are outcomes. Therefore, the function of the HRM is to recruit, retain, utilize, and displace competencies in organizations (Jackson and Schuler, 1995). The primary positive aspect of the theory is that it provides key functions of HRM which help HR managers to perform their duties of managing personnel effectively. Therefore, the theory provides key understanding of how HR managers can manage employees effectively to achieve higher results and success in international business (Wright and Snell (1991, p. 216). The main criticism of the theory is that it focuses more on systems than processes; it identifies the various items that are included in an open system rather than explaining how these items work in a human resource department. It also neglects most aspects of human resource management including policies on labour relations and human resource policies at the workplace. The transfer of human resource policy and practice occurs due to international competition pressure, organisational politics and international integration (Yu and Wu, p. 122). In terms of positive aspects, the theory enables the understanding of the success of HRM practices in different countries. It is also important for the understanding of international

Second Language Acquisition And Classroom Interaction

Second Language Acquisition And Classroom Interaction Interaction has been central to theories of second language acquisition and pedagogy since the 1980s. Rivers explained the interactive perspective in language education: Students achieve facility in using a language when their attention is focused on conveying and receiving authentic messages (that is, messages that contain information of interest to both speaker and listener in a situation of importance to both). This is interaction (Rivers, 4). One of the first researchers to consider the importance of interaction was Hatch. She made a pivotal and indelible mark on the field of SLA through her publication of two seminal papers on language learning and interaction (Pica, 494). Hatch proposed that researchers should look towards interaction for insights into language learning development rather than the syntax of the language. In other words, she hypothesized that learners made progress as a result of real-life interaction rather than communicative competence arising out of the conti nuous practice of structures (Macaro, 172). In SLA classroom, the interactional input of the teacher is also part of the teacher talk which is considered as the main source of language input. Krashen proposed the Input Hypothesis to explain how learners interlanguage develops and grammatical features are acquired when learners are exposed to input that contains grammatical features a little beyond their current level of competence (Krashen and Terrell, 32). The Input Hypothesis is explained in detail through the i+1structure. i stands for the current level of language competence of learners while 1 stands for the item that they are going to acquire. Therefore, the i+1 structure indicates that learners are able to learn the language by being exposed to the input containing knowledge a little beyond their current level of competence. Extending Krashens Input Hypothesis, Long put forward the Interaction Hypothesis, which he held could make learners SLA development possible (Long, 420). The Interaction Hypothesis differs from the Input Hypothesis in that it puts more emphasis on how to make input comprehensible. Krashen believes that clues based on the situation and the context, extralinguistic information, and knowledge of the world make comprehension possible (Richards and Rogers, 182). He proposed the term premodification which means to make input comprehensible by simplifying or modifying the input before exposing it to learners by using common or familiar words, phrases and sentences. While admitting the role of premodification, Long lays more emphasis on the interactional modification. Through observing learners interacting with native speakers, Long concluded that what the former were doing was trying to improve the quality of the input they were receiving from the native speakers by giving them some verbal feedback or others to demonstrate that they had not understood. In this way, following Krashens earlier model, the native speakers input should become more fine-tuned to the immediate needs of learners thus allowing the latter to understand more easily. Therefore, the input will be made comprehensible as a result of interaction. Long proposed that interactionally modified input comes about as a result of the use of confirmation checks, clarification requests and comprehension checks by the two parties in a conversation (Macaro, 172). While the first two hypotheses concentrate on the teachers input, Swains Output Hypothesis advocates that learners should be provided with more opportunities of producing output. In order to acquire a new language, it is not sufficient to notice it and keep silent. In order for the acquisition to occur, learners must also use the language in verbal production. First, it increases the intensity of the noticing on the new item as input. Second, it forces learners to attend to the construction of the new language before and during output. Third, it encourages teacher confirmation that the output is correct and provides evidence for learners hypotheses about the target language. This has been known as the Output Hypothesis. To sum up, the Output Hypothesis claims that output can promote language acquisition under certain conditions by allowing learners to produce output. Moreover, Swain believed that in order for students to achieve native-like language competence, they need to be pushed more in their output by providing them with more opportunities to use the target language in the classroom (Swain, 429). In sum, the above three important theories of second language acquisition combine to reveal the effects of different types of classroom interaction on language learning from different angles. Therefore, in the field of second language acquisition, it is reasonable to state that classroom interaction plays a crucial role in promoting language learning. 2.1.2 General Classroom Interaction and Learning When students learn in a classroom setting, a primary source of knowledge comes from teacher talk and teacher-student interactions, as the processes and transactions involved in the construction of meanings are mediated through the use of verbal communication. Central to Vygotskys sociocultural theory of human learning is the idea that social interaction plays an essential role in the development of cognition. First, cultural development appears between people on an inter-psychological plane and then inside the learner on an intra-psychological plane. This applies equally to voluntary attention, logical memory and the formation of concepts. All the higher functions originate as actual relationships between individuals (Vygotsky, 57). In addition, through the role of mediation, students are able to transform skills that lie in the zone of proximal development (ZPD, a term formulated by Vygotsky to refer to the area of students potential development). Williams and Burden state that med iation is a term used by psychologists of the social interactionist school to refer to the part played by other significant people (the one usually with more knowledge, e.g. a teacher) in the learners lives, who enhance their learning by selecting and shaping the learning experiences presented to them (Williams and Burden, 67). That is to say, the notion of the teacher assisting student performance through the zone of proximal development suggests that teachers can adjust the discourse on the inter-psychological to support the students evolving understanding of knowledge or development of complex skills. Therefore, Vygotskys theory implicates that learners should be provided with socially rich environments so as to explore knowledge domains with their fellow students and teachers. 2.1.2.1 Interaction Pattern of Initiation-Response-Feedback (IRF) The three-part exchange structure known as triadic dialogue has been found to be common in classroom discourse. This discourse format typically consists of three moves, i.e. initiation (usually via a teacher question), student response and teacher evaluation. It is more commonly referred to as IRE (Mehan, 64). Accordingly, the teacher poses a closed question that is basically information-seeking, that requires a predetermined short answer, and that is aimed at the recall or lower-order cognitive level. He or she then praises or confirms correct answers and corrects those that are wrong. Sometimes, the three-part exchange structure is also known as IRFinitiation, response and feedback or follow-up as the third move may not necessarily be an explicit evaluative remark (Sinclair and Coulthard, 54). For instance, Wells has discussed various ways in which the teacher can provide feedback by encouraging students to express ideas, generate hypotheses and test them (Wells, 1986: 50). The triadic dialogue, which is typical of traditional classroom teaching, is usually considered to restrict students thinking as students responses remain somewhat short and standardized, thus minimizing their role in the co-construction of meaning. Although such conventional teacher-questioning practices have thus been criticized, some researchers have pointed out that it is consistent with educational goals. For example, Newman, Griffin, and Cole argued that the three-part exchange has a built-in repair structure in the teachers last turn so that incorrect information can be replaced with the right answers (Newman et al, 127). Such an opinion is considered appropriate in that the responsibility of teachers is viewed as ensuring that students acquire the knowledge that is normative within a particular culture (Chin, 1316). In addition, Wells has argued that, when used effectively, it is in this third step in the co-construction of meaning that the next cycle of the learning-and-teac hing spiral has its point of departure (Wells, 1993: 35). Therefore, the triadic dialogue can prove to be beneficial to classroom teaching if the teacher is willing to interact with students further. An instance of this would be when the teacher asks a question that stimulates further productive thought, based on their evaluation of students previous responses. In such a case, the teacher would be guiding the development of students ideas by successively building on their contributions in a reciprocal manner (Chin, 1315). As for patterns of discourse, Mortimer and Scott expanded the IRE or IRF structure by identifying the IRFRF chain where the elaborative feedback from the teacher is followed by a further response from a student (Mortimer and Scott, 41). This form contributes to a dialogic interaction. As part of the feedback, the teacher could encourage a student by repeating his or her comment or asking for explanation. By establishing this pattern of discourse, the teacher is able to further explore students ideas. As Wells suggested that the third step of the IRF sequence might have potential for productive discourse (Wells, 1993: 10), Chin established an analytical framework based on questioning to explore the specific forms of feedback. Four aspects of classroom discourse (namely, content, type of utterance, thinking elicited, and interaction pattern) constitute the elements of the questioning-based discourse analytical framework (Chin, 1322). She studied several science lessons from Year 7 which were observed across a variety of lesson structures. In her study, Chin identified four different types of feedback. The follow-up or feedback given by the teacher in the IRF sequence usually takes the form of a comment or statement followed by either another question, or further statements that expound more subject-related knowledge. Therefore, the feedback of the triadic dialogue could consist of a comment-question (C-Q) or statement-question (S-Q) couplet in which the question in the couplets may be considered as overlapping with the initiation of the next IRF sequence. However, Chin points out that, if there are no more questions asked, it takes the form of a comment-statement (C-S) couplet. Sometimes, feedback comprises only comments or statements. Chins findings suggest that by changing the third move of an IRF questioning sequence from an explicit evaluation to one that includes responsive questioning, teachers can make their classroom discourse more thought-provoking and stimulate more elaborate and productive student responses (Chin, 1340). 2.1.2.2 Teacher Questioning and Student Participation As a prominent part of classroom discourse, teacher questioning plays an important role in classroom teaching and has been the focus of linguistic and pedagogical studies (Nunan, 192). There are several reasons why they are so commonly used in teaching. They stimulate and maintain students interest. They encourage students to think and focus on the content of the lesson. They enable a teacher to clarify what a student has said. They enable a teacher to elicit particular structures or vocabulary items. They enable teachers to check students understanding. They encourage student participation in a lesson. (Richards and Lockhart, 185). Second language researchers have proposed that teacher questions play a crucial role in language acquisition. They can be used to allow the learner to keep participating in the discourse and even modify it so that the language used becomes more comprehensible and personally relevant (Banbrook and Skehan, 142). In addition, many previous classroom-based studies have focused on the taxonomy of teacher questions. Barnes identified the closed-ended and open-ended questions (Barnes, 12). Moreover, a display question is a question to which the questioner already knows the answer while a referential question is a question where the teacher does know the answer and is genuinely interested in hearing the answers from students (Long and Sato, 268). And there are questions that either assist or assess (Tharp and Gallimore, 52). According to Brock, referential questions can increase students language output in class and thus promote language acquisition. An increased use by teachers of referential questions, which create a flow of information from students to teachers, may generate discourse which more nearly resembles the normal conversation learners experience outside of the classroom (Brock, 49). Although at a theoretical level, referential questions are likely to trigger more immediate output than display questions, the distinction is too simplistic to offer an in-depth understanding of teacher questioning as it focuses on the types of questions rather than the abilities elicited. The nature of questioning in constructivist-based teaching environment is different. In such an environment, the teachers intent is to elicit what students think, to encourage them to elaborate on their previous answers and ideas, and to help them construct conceptual knowledge. Therefore, questioning can diagnose and extend students ideas and the teacher can engage students in higher-level thinking including analysis, application, synthesis and evaluation as those questions are open-ended and requiring one-sentence or two-sentence answers (Brookhart, 5). Teaching questioning takes another form of a reflective toss in the feedback move of the IRF sequence (van Zee and Minstrell, 1997a: 216). A reflective question is posed to a student by engaging his or her previous response to a teacher question, thus extending the teacher-student interaction and further exploring students ideas. A reflective toss usually consists of three parts, i.e. a student statement, the reflective question and additional student statements (Chin, 1319). Furthermore, the teachers use of a reflective toss serves a series of subgoals. They include using questions to help students clarify their meanings, consider a variety of views and monitor the discussion and their own thinking (van Zee and Minstrell, 1997b: 266). While most studies centered on the role of teachers in classroom, student participation is directly related with the quality of teacher-student interaction. Student participation has become a hot issue in the field of SLA research. Tsui conducted a survey among 38 teachers on the elements of reticence in middle school classrooms in Hong Kong and discovered five influential factors: students low English proficiency, students fear of making mistakes and getting laughed at by others, lack of wait time for students to think due to teachers intolerance of reticence, uneven allocation of turns to students and teachers incomprehensible input (Tsui, 148-155). Karp and Yoels carried out a one-month observation program in the 10 classes at an American private university and identified the consolidation of responsibility (Karp and Yoels, 429). On one hand, teachers would only call on some specific students to answer their questions. On the other hand, some other students would remain silent in class as they were rarely called upon. Through the observation of fifteen classroom sessions and out-of-class interviews with two female and two male students, Morgenstern discovered that there were many opportunities for student speech, but a core of five to six students seemed to monopolize these opportunities. Student actions and attitudes, recorded by observation and interview, revealed four tacit rules for class participation: (1) do not ask stupid questions; (2) do not waste the teachers time; (3) do not waste class time; and (4) try to find the answer before asking the teacher. Some students function under the assumption that only those with the most knowledge should speak, thus assuming a hierarchy of knowledge (Action and Inaction: Student and Teacher Roles in Classroom Participation).

Jesus, Paul, And Mohammed: Com :: essays research papers

Michael Hart is an amateur historian and also the author of The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History. In this book Hart lists in order the people he believes to be the top 100 most influential people. In this essay I am going to look at three specific people, and compare Hart’s ranking of their impact on society against my own. The three people are Jesus of Nazareth, the founder of Christianity; Paul of Tarsus, Christianity’s most important missionary; and Muhammad, the founder of Islam. Since religion did play a considerable role in the shaping of civilizations, it is no coincidence that these three people are respectively the three most important people in the founding of the top two religions in the world. Also Hart’s ranking of these three men will be analyzed, and compared to my own rankings of these three influential men.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Hart’s book, The 100, he regards all three of these men as being very important in contributing to the rise of two great religions. In his ranking of the top 100 Muhammad, Jesus, and St. Paul rank one, three, and six respectively. Now right from this statement most people would believe that Hart is already wrong, and that Jesus should be one. In some sense those who believe that Jesus are right because the amount of Christians in the world almost doubles that of the Moslems. Yet if we carefully look at Hart’s reasons for ranking them the way he does, you would see that his ranking seems more understandable.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  First we should start by analyzing Hart’s reasons for ranking Muhammad one. His main point for ranking him one, above Jesus, is because “ Muhammad played a more important role in the development of Islam then Jesus did on the development of Christianity';(9). He believes this statement to be true because St. Paul complemented Jesus in helping to spread the belief of Christianity. Though Jesus was responsible for the main ethical and moral precepts it was St. Paul who was the main developer of its theology, its proselytizer, and for writing a large portion of the New Testament. While on the other hand Muhammad was the only one responsible for the teachings of Islam, and also to the moral and main ethical principles. This is shown in the idea that the Koran, the sacred book of Islam, contains the teachings of Muhammad, and that his teachings are said to be the words of God. Jesus, Paul, And Mohammed: Com :: essays research papers Michael Hart is an amateur historian and also the author of The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History. In this book Hart lists in order the people he believes to be the top 100 most influential people. In this essay I am going to look at three specific people, and compare Hart’s ranking of their impact on society against my own. The three people are Jesus of Nazareth, the founder of Christianity; Paul of Tarsus, Christianity’s most important missionary; and Muhammad, the founder of Islam. Since religion did play a considerable role in the shaping of civilizations, it is no coincidence that these three people are respectively the three most important people in the founding of the top two religions in the world. Also Hart’s ranking of these three men will be analyzed, and compared to my own rankings of these three influential men.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Hart’s book, The 100, he regards all three of these men as being very important in contributing to the rise of two great religions. In his ranking of the top 100 Muhammad, Jesus, and St. Paul rank one, three, and six respectively. Now right from this statement most people would believe that Hart is already wrong, and that Jesus should be one. In some sense those who believe that Jesus are right because the amount of Christians in the world almost doubles that of the Moslems. Yet if we carefully look at Hart’s reasons for ranking them the way he does, you would see that his ranking seems more understandable.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  First we should start by analyzing Hart’s reasons for ranking Muhammad one. His main point for ranking him one, above Jesus, is because “ Muhammad played a more important role in the development of Islam then Jesus did on the development of Christianity';(9). He believes this statement to be true because St. Paul complemented Jesus in helping to spread the belief of Christianity. Though Jesus was responsible for the main ethical and moral precepts it was St. Paul who was the main developer of its theology, its proselytizer, and for writing a large portion of the New Testament. While on the other hand Muhammad was the only one responsible for the teachings of Islam, and also to the moral and main ethical principles. This is shown in the idea that the Koran, the sacred book of Islam, contains the teachings of Muhammad, and that his teachings are said to be the words of God.

Need of a Strengthened Species Act Essay

There lived a bird called Passenger Pigeon in North America. A century ago people could see them in thousands or even in millions. Sadly, there are very few of them left today. The species called passenger pigeons was becaming extinct like many other species. Obviously, there were no laws to protect endangered species, resulting in the large scale destruction of the native habitat. Providing legislation is, in any case, one important aspect in shaping environmentalism. Taking today’s increasing threats towards the environment in to account, a collaborative action and response become increasingly inevitable. It would provide opportunities towards expanding the value of implementing responsibility and changes with the current challenges. Therefore, the capacity of exploring the development of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) remains to be considered and vital. So this paper will analyze the present scenario to focus on the issue â€Å"should the endangered species act be strengthened? By addressing the specific loopholes in its legislation and expanding its policies to meet the current demands of today, the ESA can fully utilize its value in ensuring a mutual accountability to the government and the citizenry. However, considering the current environmental challenges, the analysis shall look into the differing perspectives concerning the viability of expanding the tenets inscribed within the ESA. It includes formulating and assessing how each side corresponds to either its development or abolishment. Catering to this avenue can help provide effective representation of issues shaping these diverging perspectives. Contradicting Ideas of Development of ESA Proponents seek to establish new principles and avenues which can address the current trends of today. On analyzing the contradicting Ideas about the expansion of ESA, the principle that has always been advocated is the reinforcement of new patterns towards amending the law, which can help standardize measures that are important today and cultivate better means for participation among the citizenry and the government (Desiderio, 2002). At the same time, the current conditions among species, considerably needs attention. Given the continued strategy to exhaust resources, updating the ESA would prove to be a constructive strategy in creating new means for consolidating efforts such as budgeting, policies, and programs for preservation (United States Senate, 2005). On the other hand, the contrasting perspective considers the abolishment of the ESA. The main reason for this revolves around the inability of the law to further address the environmental problems. It points out that the accounts for change only resulted to further degradation due to the loopholes associated with this mandate (Miller and Spoolman, 2008). Seeing this, it is indeed crucial to provide the responsibility towards institutions, organizations, and citizens that are more concerned, dynamic, and adaptive to the continuous change happening in the system. These avenues in turn necessitate better means of addressing endangered species without ample consideration to existing standards related to policies (Easton, 2009). Critically analyzing the issue, the value of expanding the ESA is one approach that can involve the government in efforts to address the problems of the environment. In particular, it considers the ability to shape furthering and expanding conservation efforts. With the ability of the US government to provide support through budgeting and enacting of rules and standards, it creates better means of consolidating the threats to endangered species (Miller and Spoolman, 2008). Such directions then infuse creating a consensus towards creating a society that is responsive and responsible towards sustainability, preservation, and conservation of today’s endangered species. At the same time, expanding the ESA also culminates the process of infusing the role of the government in social concerns. Since environmental conservation and protection of endangered species goes along with other social issues, pointing out new prospects for ESA can deliver important results (e. g. expanding the protection of animals, habitat conservation, and exhaustion of resources). Allowing this process to occur justifies the cause of establishing relationships and widens the scope of application as the interplay of groups and individuals becomes fully realized (Desiderio, 2002). Making ESA More Reasonable, Effective and Accepted Overall, it is important now to use all the available sources to recognize how the conflicting perspectives contribute to the process of negotiations and ascertaining interests. Such directions can then establish the process of how ESA not only consolidates the value of protection and conservation but also be an instrument towards furthering opportunities to reach out, communicate, and respond to the increasing threats towards sustainability and adherence to current trends. One of the main objectives of enhancing the ESA should be the maximum utilization of the money spent and recovery efforts made for the benefit to of the suggested species. Economic factors are to play no part in listing species is an original ESA mandate. While designating critical habitat, as well as accounting for species impact in development, both require a complex balancing of environmental versus economic factors (Environmental Policy Issues 2004). An example to the importance of this objective is the Pacific salmon population of the Columbia River Basin. The region includes parts of Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Montana, Wyoming, Nevada and some parts of Canada. Ever since the first listing of the Salmon population under ESA, the Bonneville Power Administration alone has spent $3. 5 billion on recovery efforts. However, to this date no published reference, to the benefits given to this five listed population by this large amount of money, have come into light (Shepard 2002). Considering the fact that ESA is the prime piece of legislation that protects the biodiversity, development is inevitable in ESA on such facts as a) enhancing the recognized causes of decline in the number of species, b) numbering of critical species must be done on a newly developed scientific base and the recovery plans needs to be very active. An assumption within the current ESA is that the species are declining in number because of the loss of habitat. Shepherd (2002) stated that many raptors including Bald Eagles are declined in number because of the thinning effect in the insecticide DDT on egg shells. Pacific Salmon has been declining due to climatic and ocean conditions. Some of these causations are beyond our capacity to control. Habitat loss had a telling effect on decline of most of the species like buffalo which were once numerous on the grass lands of United States. Those historical grass land habitats have now been converted into farms, cities, plantations and interstate highways. It is important now for ESA to recognize all the reasons for the decline of species. ESA would need still more responsible agencies to decide a few information in timely manner. First of all the determination should be accurate and impeccable on population size of species that how many potential inter breeding individuals that it may not become extinct. Secondly, the determination needs to be accurately made on the numbers are sufficiently increased and to be removed from the ESA list. Moreover, what action needs to be taken in order to increase the size of the population. ESA must direct the agencies to develop such administrative steps so that their decisions would be wholly based on the available science. ESA needs an enhancement which would ensure that every decision taken and implemented is scientific. The data collection can be done by the agencies with a complete co-operation of the public. The goal of the Endangered Species Act is not only to prevent extinction but also to bring species back to healthy population levels. The FWS describes recovery as the â€Å"process by which the decline of an endangered or threatened species is arrested or reversed, and threats removed or reduced so that the species’ survival in the wild can be ensured (Species Report Card 1997). That is why Shepherd (2002) insists on the active recovery plans. An active plan might include a description of site specific management plans which would be helpful to achieve conservation and survival of the species. The recovery plan must indicate the target population number and the criteria to assess when the targeted population number is achieved. There needs to be a schedule to implement the project with all the priorities and budget. The species report card calls for even more specifications on the recovery plans such as species reintroduction, habitat acquisition, captive propagation, habitat restoration and protection, population assessments, research and technical assistance for landowners, and public education. A time limit for a regulatory action is a federal statute mandate. The private sector undergo severe impacts if a decision is delayed resulting in a non issuance or non authorization of a permit. The private institutions might even be put out of business on such regulatory responsiveness is shown by any federal agency. One way to possibly change these attitudes and behaviors is, says Shepard (2002), by making continuing education an integral part of the technical staffs’ career. Training in the specific scientific and management knowledge needed to efficiently and effectively fulfill a job description is not asking too much of anyone. And it is a very good use of public funds and public employee time. Such changes in the ESA administration are vital for an effective and fruitful implementation of ESA. Enhancing in ESA is inevitable as it is extreme and inflexible in mandating the protection of every species regardless of other considerations. â€Å"The 1970s case of the snail darter (Percina tanasi), a small fish on the Little Tennessee River that was threatened with extinction by the building of a dam, led to an amendment allowing petitions for exemption from ESA requirements. More recently, critics have questioned the science behind ESA enforcement, arguing that healthy species are placed on the protected list. Finally, the judicial costs are enormous; lawsuits from both pro-environmental and pro-growth factions add greatly to the expense of enforcing the ESA† (Environmental Policy Issues 2004). Conclusion ESA is often measured as the most thriving section of environmental legislation; it still has the reputation of being controversial. The suggestions made here, after analyzing the conflicting perspectives are technical enough to advance the force behind the implementation of ESA. This will provide an improved co-operation and adherence from the part of the regulated public towards the realization of a better working statute. Thus the ESA should evolve itself to include sound since in order to avoid controversies. References Desiderio, M. (2002) Chapter 27: ESA Reform: Facing Hard Truths. The Endangered Species Act: law, policy, and perspectives. eds. Baur, D. C. , Irvin, W. R. , American Bar Associaton and Section of Environment, Energy and Resources. (US: American Bar Association) pp. 533-544 Easton (2009) Principle Versus Politics: Should the Endangered Species Act Be Strengthened? Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Environmental Issues. 13th ed. (US: McGraw-Hill Companies). Environmental Policy Issues (2004) The Endangered species act Issues; Proquest Cambridge Information group. http://www. csa. com/discoveryguides/ern/04jun/overview. php accessed on 11th May, 2010. Miller, G. T. and Spoolman, S. (2008) Case Study: U. S. Endangered Species Act. Sustaining the Earth. (US: Cengage Learning). Shepard, B. R (2002) How to Improve the Endangered Species Act; Applied Ecosystem Services Inc. Troutdale Species Report Card (1997) Association of biodiversity information and the nature conservancy; The state of US plants and animals. United States Senate (2005) Endangered Species Act: hearing. (US: DIANE Publishing).

Group Dynamics Essay Example

Group Dynamics Essay Example Group Dynamics Essay Group Dynamics Essay Group dynamics is the study of groups, and also a general term for group processes. Relevant to the fields of psychology, sociology, and communication studies, a group is two or more individuals who are connected to each other by social relationships. [1] Because they interact and influence each other, groups develop a number of dynamic processes that separate them from a random collection of individuals. These processes include norms, roles, relations, development, need to belong, social influence, and effects on behavior. The field of group dynamics is primarily concerned with small group behavior. Groups may be classified as aggregate, primary, secondary and category groups. Key theorists Gustave Le Bon was a French social psychologist whose seminal study, The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind (1896) led to the development of group psychology. Sigmund Freuds Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego, (1922) based on a critique of Le Bons work, led to further development in theories of group behavior in the latter half of the twentieth century. Kurt Lewin (1943, 1948, 1951) is commonly identified as the founder of the movement to study groups scientifically. He coined the term group dynamics to describe the way groups and individuals act and react to changing circumstances. William Schutz (1958, 1966) looked at interpersonal relations from the perspective of three dimensions: inclusion, control, and affection. This became the basis for a theory of group behavior that sees groups as resolving issues in each of these stages in order to be able to develop to the next stage. : Conversely, a group may also devolve to an earlier stage if unable to resolve outstanding issues in a particular stage. Wilfred Bion (1961) studied group dynamics from a psychoanalytic perspective, and stated that he was much influenced by Wilfred Trotter for whom he worked at University College Hospital London, as did another key figure in the Psychoanalytic movement, Ernest Jones. Many of Bions findings were reported in his published books, especially Experiences in Groups. The Tavistock Institute has further developed and applied the theory and practices developed by Bion. Bruce Tuckman (1965) proposed the four-stage model called Tuckmans Stages for a group. Tuckmans model states that the ideal group decision-making process should occur in four stages: Forming (pretending to get on or get along with others); Storming (letting down the politeness barrier and trying to get down to the issues even if tempers flare up ); Norming (getting used to each other and developing trust and productivity); Performing (working in a group to a common goal on a highly efficient and cooperative basis). Tuckman later added a fifth stage for the dissolution of a group called adjourning. (Adjourning may also be referred to as mourning, i. e. mourning the adjournment of the group). It should be noted that this model refers to the overall pattern of the group, but of course individuals within a group work in different ways. If distrust persists, a group may never even get to the norming stage. M. Scott Peck developed stages for largers of common barriers are: expectations and preconceptions; prejudices; ideology, counterproductive norms, theology and solutions; the need to heal, convert, fix or solve and the need to control. A community is born when its members reach a stage of emptiness or peace. Application Group dynamics form a basis for group therapy, often with therapeutic approaches that are formed of groups such as family therapy and the expressive therapies. Politicians and sales personnel may use their knowledge of the principles of group dynamics to aid their cause. Increasingly, group dynamics are of interest in light of online social interaction and virtual communities made possible by the internet. Software Project Management The agile software development which puts emphasis on people rather than processes has been interested in Group Dynamics. It is then known that some gile practices (Collective Code Ownership and pair programming) must be taken with care because developers in a team-rewarded team will eventually try to match their efforts to the average of what they think their teammates are doing (Lui and Chan). See also Cogs Ladder Collaboration Collaborative method Crowd psychology Facilitator Forming-storming-norming-performing Group-dynamic games Group (sociology) Gr oup conflict Group selection Groupthink Group process Interpersonal relationships Small-group communication Talking circle Counterproductive norms Notes 1. ^ Forsyth, D. R. (2006) Group Dynamics . ^ Peck, M. S. (1987) The Different Drum: Community-Making and Peace. p. 95-103. References Bion, W. R. 1961. Experiences in Groups: And Other Papers. Tavistock. Reprinted, 1989 Routledge. ISBN 0-415-04020-5 Forsyth, D. R. 2006. Group Dynamics, 4th Edition. Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth. ISBN 0-534-36822-0 . Freud, Sigmund (1922) Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego. New York: Liveright Publishing. Homans, G. C. 1974. Social Behavior: Its Elementary Forms, Rev. Ed. New York, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. ISBN 0-15-581417-6 Le Bon, G. (1896) The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind. London: Ernest Benn Limited. Lewin, K. (1947) Frontiers in group dynamics 1. Human Relations 1, 5-41. - (1948) Resolving Social Conflicts: Selected Papers on Group Dynamics. New York: Harper Row. Lui and Chan (2008) Software Development Rhythms, John Wiley and Sons. Peck, M. S. 1987. The Different Drum: Community-Making and Peace. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0-684-84858-9 Schutz, W. 1958. FIRO: A Three-Dimensional Theory of Interpersonal Behavior. New York: Holt, Rinehart Winston. Tuckman, B. 1965. Developmental sequence in small groups. Psychological bulletin, 63, 384-399.

The Octopus essays

The Octopus essays One of the most significant inventions to come of age in America in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries was the railroad. It developed new forms of communication and transportation, which in turn revolutionized the ideologies of the nation in relation to the economy and social values. Railroads not only created a rush to get to the West, but also modernized the American way of life. Along with many positive aspects of this modern marvel there were those who used it to their advantage and to the disadvantage of others. As the years went by, the railroad industry became monopolized by a few individuals, who exploited individuals such as farmers and laborers. This heavy struggle became Frank Norris inspiration for writing the muckraking novel, The Octopus. The Octopus, depicts the conflict between farmers and the Powers associated with the railroads, but it all didnt come about so quickly. The origins for the conflict go back to the earlier settlers of California. The vast expanse of land, beautiful scenery, and unique climate made California a farmers heaven. The settlers made use of their land wisely, but were overtaken by the next set of settlers, the gold miners. A lot of the money that was made during the Gold Rush, was in turn used to buy out some of the farmers or even buy large parcels of land for themselves for farming. Norris uses Magnus Derrick and his family to support the idea of miners turning into farmers, and in this case, a wheat farmer. Norris also depicts farmers who had recently come to California with Annixter, Broderson, and Osterman. The railroad began its grasp on California with the idea of the Transcontinental Railroad. Leland Stanford and the Big Four took complete control of the state as their new idea spread instantly around the west like an octopus, which is the title of Norris novel. As they complete mile after mile...

Description for the map Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Description for the map - Essay Example Inner Mongolia has only a small number of rivers such as the Yellow river and other seasonal rivers. The region is endowed with many lakes comprising Hulun, Nur and Dalai Nur among others. Mongolian terrain represents the Alps and continuing plateaus that have a very high amount of relief. Starting from the Gobi Desert located in the southern part of Mongolia, the region has a treeless plain that is covered with grass and has three mountain ranges. The desert is a home to rare animals such as the black tail antelope, brown bear and Havtgai, wild Bactrian camel. Tavan Bogd Uul represents the highest point in Inner Mongolia (4374 meters) and the lowest region (560 meters) lies to the eastern Mongolian plain. Since one can go through the map and find various features found within Inner Mongolia attests to the fact that the map helps in solving problems. People such as travellers and tourists can use it to locate different features that may be of interest to them. Consequently, such features, in my view, contribute greatly in shaping the Inner Mongolia story. As mentioned earlier, travellers and tourists are critical users of the Inner Mongolia Map. These people will, in particular, use the map in identifying the various physical features found in Inner Mongolia. The Inner Mongolia map will, for instance, be important in helping the tourists to locate the splendid pasture scenery in Mongolia, the Xiritala Grassland Scenic area, and the Hinggan Ling Mountains among others. Moreover, the map will also help historians in understanding the history of Inner Mongolia. They can use the map to locate features such as the tomb of Genghis and the monastery. The use of variations in colour in showing the different elevations in the Mongolian region is quite distinctive. Through the variations in colour, one gets the sense of the different physical features in the area. In addition, the use of delineation lines gives an idea of the land’s shape. This adds on or

Avian influenza Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Avian influenza - Essay Example The swine flu epidemic of 2009 made things look worse. Efforts since then had been consistently attempting to be ever-ready for an influenza epidemic through improving global surveillance and response capacity. The H5N1 avian flu virus was highly pathogenic and had caused disease widely in wild birds and poultry (CDC, 2009). It caused 408 human cases by February 2009. Guidance for testing of suspected human cases infected with pathological avian flu with H5N1 influenza virus were provided. Enhanced surveillance by local and national health care services was to continue. Cases were to be notified to the local and national authorities immediately a presumptive diagnosis is made. Follow-up of cases was a necessity. In the US, information had to be transferred to the CDC (CDC, 2009). Guidelines for diagnosis Testing and reporting guidelines had been established by the CDC. A person diagnosed presumptively with avian flu had to be hospitalized because it could end fatally. Another require ment for hospitalization was that the temperature of the patient would be equal to or more than 38Â °C. The patient could have any other respiratory illness like pneumonia or acute or severe respiratory illness (CDC, 2009). ... The infection was spread through droplet infection when in close contact. Procedure for diagnosis Clinicians needed to notify the local and higher authorities when a person was to be diagnosed using laboratory tests. Specific guidelines were also followed for the clinicians who performed the specimen collection and testing. Protective equipment for the clinicians was to be strictly used to prevent any contamination of the body parts with the suspected or confirmed person with H5N1 virus and when entering the room where aerosol generating procedures have been used where such a patient was lying in (CDC, 2009). The respiratory protector (N-95) filtering face mask, goggles, face shield, latex gloves, gown and head covering were all included (CDC, 2009). In the absence of a particulate respirator, other certified respirators like the NIOSH-certified N-, R-, or P-class respirators could be used. The aerosol-generating procedures could be done only with the N-95 respirator or powered air p urifying respirators (CDC, 2009). Bronchoalveolar lavage was a high-risk aerosol generating procedure which required excellent protection. If the clinician had a beard, a loose-fitting respirator could be used. The virus could be detected from the bronchoalveolar lavage, oropharyngeal swabs, or endotracheal aspirate as these specimens usually had the virus. The nasopharyngeal swab contained lesser virus so lower respiratory specimen should be taken (CDC, 2009). However nasopharyngeal swabs sufficed for detection of influenza viruses A and B. If most virus count needed to be isolated, multiple respiratory specimens from the same patient could be taken on other days too. The