Live8 and Democratic Republic of Congo - What changed Essay

Live8 and Democratic Republic of Congo - What changed - Essay Example In the cold-war era, Africa became the battleground for super-power rivalry and many of the ills facing the continent can be traced to this period. It is only now that the developed world has woken up to the magnitude of the crisis engulfing Africa prompting the Tony Blair sponsored ‘Commission for Africa’ to note, â€Å" African poverty and stagnation is the greatest tragedy of our time,† (Commission for Africa 2005, p 13). There are some who question why the world should be so concerned about poverty and why the world community should contribute to Africa’s development when the same resources can be used domestically to improve the living standards of their own people. The answer is simple. Because Africa, where one child dies every second is a blot on our collective conscience. Prime Minister Tony Blair has spoken of â€Å"recognising the common bond of humanity†, as has Bob Geldof, the social activist, musician and brain behind the Live8 concert, â€Å"to extend the hand of sympathy and shared humanity to reach above the impenetrable roar and touch human beings on the other side (Commission for Africa 2005, p 66). To that extent the objectives of both Prime Minister Tony Blair and Live8 organiser, Bob Geldof seem to match. There is also another factor; self-interest. In the post-9/11 era it has become more and more evident that poverty spawns terrorism and that terrorism is a global phenomenon that recognises no boundaries. Black holes such as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) can and are becoming sanctuaries where terrorists can hatch their plans undisturbed by weak and inefficient governments. When such countries are themselves embroiled in conflict, as in the case of the DRC, where government control does not extend to the whole of the country, the situation is even more critical. Prime Minister Tony Blair also acknowledges this fact when he says it is imperative

The African diaspora and education Essay Example for Free

The African diaspora and education Essay Education is the passport to our future, Malcolm X reverberated to the world that statement. Throughout centuries and throughout civilisations we have seen education being implemented in its different manifestations respective of those civilisations cultural and social needs. As a by-product, the children who came out of those systems drove their cultural and social heritage forward with considerable zeal that led to the perpetuation of those civilisations. When one observes the educational institutions of the Ancient Greeks, one is confronted with the type of education that reflected the needs of that society that venerated reason and contemplative thought, which was the basis for its governments. In the Great Civilisations of West Africa, The Songhay in particular, the educational systems reflected those societies need of, first and foremost, to inculcate in its generations the need for moral excellence which was believed to be an important ingredient in a just and harmonious social environment. All of the civilisations that existed since the dawn of time had this important element governing the scheme of things- an education for its youth that imbues that societys traditions and values and hence carrying those elements forward to their future generations. When the colonialists started to invade our territories the first thing they did was to dismantle our educational institutions and replace them with their own. Even though they militarily removed the existing chiefdoms and other local forms of governments they had always faced resistance and hence the need for an ideological brainwashing of the African societies which was made possible by the establishment of an education which propagated and promulgated the colonialists values and worldview. The curriculum carried the viewpoints of the colonialists, which did not by any means, reflect the social and cultural heritage of the native peoples. It enforced ideas which indoctrinated the pseudo-inferiority of the black people and geared the populace to the legitimating of the colonial rule. The colonialists had a reality principle which needed to serve the perpetuation of its power. What they did as Wilhelm Reich in his Dialectical Materialism and Psychoanalysis explicates was to bring the proletariat to accept this reality principle which means an affirmation of the proletariat exploitation [ ] as a whole. This process led to the students being made to internalise this reality principle and consequently develop a false conscious amongst the populace of the proletariats position in the world around him. By falsifying his conscious activity, as Frantz Fanon says, the black man wears a white mask. The colonialists education teaches him to be non-white is to be inhuman and he wishes to be human. Consequently, he starts hating himself and hence the result is a deeply hammered inferiority complex. Therefore he premises all his principles and self-governing laws as postulated by the white man-explicitly or implicitly. President Nyerere in his essay Education for Self-Reliance stipulated a brilliant theory of Education. He stated that the colonialists basis for educating the native peoples was to induce attitudes of inequality and the subjugation of the weak by the strong. It encouraged the individualistic tendencies and instincts. Material success was the major impetus for ones pursuit and acquirement of education. The end product was an increase in the gap between the rich and the poor, the extreme arrogance of the so called educated and the perpetuation of the class-based differences amongst the masses in our country. Therefore, for we as a nation to build a plausible and well fortified foundation for the youth there needed to be a complete re-evaluation and hence reformation of the educational system and its existing institutions. With Presidents Nyereres deep admiration and yearning of implementing socialism, he theorised an educational system which would compliment his much craved dream. Whether it worked or not is a matter of differing opinions. However, with the collapse of socialism and the governments decision to apt for a more capitalist-inclined economic system in the late 1908s, meant a need for a complete change of ideological necessities that would concurrently complement the new system. As a result, the education that preached Ujamaa na Kujitegemea was surplus to requirements. Contemporary system of education was born. Whether this was done consciously or subconsciously again is of differing opinions. Thus I come to the present. As sad, painful and distraughtful it is to admit we have regressed to the colonialists system of education but in a much disguised form with all its values and worldview being instilled in the minds of the youth. The consequences of capitalism haunt us with this harsh reality. Imperialism lingers where it often has been in a kind of general cultural sphere as well as its specific political, ideological, economic and social practices. The point I want to make is that neither imperialism nor colonialism is a simple act of accumulation and acquisition but also an enormous effort of impelling impressive cultural formations of the so called dominant cultures. And this can only be done through the colonisation of ideas which is achieved through the means of education. As a nation we have capitulated to the so called dominants culture educational system. The by-product is the westernised young men and women coming through the secondary schools and universities. Their worldview is completely western and their thought patterns sadly westernised. Materialism has, at least for now, prevailed in our society as a result of capitulating to a materialistic form of education. What is being instilled in the youth today is not the developing of mans natural thirst for knowledge but an ideology that education is pursued for one to achieve material bliss and success. This has bred individualism amongst the youth as opposed to imbuing them with the collective and co-operative inclinations, procreated an incredible level of arrogance amongst the so called educated and perpetuating the increasingly widening of the wealthy and the poor. As Ivan Illich argues students emerge from the educational system with a variety of qualifications, which they believe have provided them with the training, skills and competence for particular occupations. However, the pupil is schooled to confuse teaching with learning, grade advancement with education, a diploma with competence. Whatever students achieve in the current educational system only prepares them to become mindless consumers to whom the consumption of the goods and services of industrial society becomes an end in itself. What they fail to realise is that they spend all their lives working for those in control of the means of production and the little they get paid, is given back to their bosses through their endless consumption of goods and services, hence they are enslaved. The philosopher Alfred Whitehead defined education as the transmission of culture to enable individuals to attain a quality of life which is always beyond the mere facts of life. Contemporary education in our country has evolved to become a mere inculcation of facts, figures and information but makes no effort in trying to make those in education to become better and liberated human beings. This should be the purpose of education. Improving ones understanding of reality and existence as it truly is. It should be about understanding our true nature as human beings. Young men and women should be encouraged to read which has now become an antithesis as to what young mean and women are all about. Television is revered while reading is frowned upon. We need to ask ourselves where are we going with this type of materialistic, mechanistic and consumerist society. Young men and women are improving their standards in educational achievement yet there are more ignorant and stupid than the graduates ten years ago. If we are going to take the western archetypes and models of reality, we have to also realise that when they fall down the cliff, we will go down with them unless we change to our own reality which produced great people like Othman Dan Fodio (the great leader of the Sokoto empire) and his contemporaries. The choice is our own. Lets make the right one.

The Magic Of Chaos By Peter Carroll :: essays research papers

The Magic of Chaos Crowley certainly helped put the boot in against monotheism but the process was already well advanced. Science, which had basically evolved out of renaissance magic, had more or less finished monotheism as a serious parasite on advanced cultures. Crowley was enthusiastic about science and appropriately so for his era, but in the work of Austin Spare we begin to detect a certain foreboding. However it is Spare's work that appears more austere and scientific when compared to some of Crowley's more baroque symbolic extravagances. Spare rejected the classical symbologies of forgotten ages and sought the magic of his own personal arcana. Using the minimum of hypotheses he evolved a magic from his own racial memories and subconscious. Independently of complex systems he developed effective techniques of enchantment and divination requiring only ordinary language and pictures. Spare's work forms the bridge between an older style of magic brought to fruition by Crowley (which derived most of its appeal, power and liberating potential from its religious style of anti-religion) and the new magic. The new approach is characterised by a kind of scientific anti-science. This is increasingly becoming known as Chaos Magic. It would be no more useful to dub Chaos Magic as pseudo-science than it would be to dub Crowley's ideas as pseudo-religion. It is astrology as it is normally practised that is mere pseudo-science much as satanism and freemasonry are pseudo-religion. Chaos Magic attempts to show that not only does magic fit comfortably within the interstices of science but that the higher reaches of scientific theory and empiricism actually demand that magic exists. This is somewhat analogous to the way in which many religious theories implied the possibility of theurgic or demonic magic. The best magic has always had a strong antinomian flavour. The most remarkable magicians have invariably fought against prevailing cultural norms and obsessions. Their victories represent not only a personal liberation but also an advance for humanity. History bequeaths us no records of the renegade shamanist magicians who must have brought about the advent of paganism, but we know a little of the anti-pagan magicians who created monotheism: Akhenaton, Moshe, Gautam, and so on. As monotheism became a steadily more repressive and obscene force, a new generation of magicians arose and fought it. Some fought too openly and were destroyed; others were more subtle and planted effective seeds of destruction on a purely philosophical level, and others hastened its destruction by taking theological and theurgical ideas to outrageous conclusions. The roll of honour is here much larger, including such notables as Gordiano Bruno, Cornelius Agrippa, John Dee, Cagliostro, Eliphas Levi, and recently, The Magic Of Chaos By Peter Carroll :: essays research papers The Magic of Chaos Crowley certainly helped put the boot in against monotheism but the process was already well advanced. Science, which had basically evolved out of renaissance magic, had more or less finished monotheism as a serious parasite on advanced cultures. Crowley was enthusiastic about science and appropriately so for his era, but in the work of Austin Spare we begin to detect a certain foreboding. However it is Spare's work that appears more austere and scientific when compared to some of Crowley's more baroque symbolic extravagances. Spare rejected the classical symbologies of forgotten ages and sought the magic of his own personal arcana. Using the minimum of hypotheses he evolved a magic from his own racial memories and subconscious. Independently of complex systems he developed effective techniques of enchantment and divination requiring only ordinary language and pictures. Spare's work forms the bridge between an older style of magic brought to fruition by Crowley (which derived most of its appeal, power and liberating potential from its religious style of anti-religion) and the new magic. The new approach is characterised by a kind of scientific anti-science. This is increasingly becoming known as Chaos Magic. It would be no more useful to dub Chaos Magic as pseudo-science than it would be to dub Crowley's ideas as pseudo-religion. It is astrology as it is normally practised that is mere pseudo-science much as satanism and freemasonry are pseudo-religion. Chaos Magic attempts to show that not only does magic fit comfortably within the interstices of science but that the higher reaches of scientific theory and empiricism actually demand that magic exists. This is somewhat analogous to the way in which many religious theories implied the possibility of theurgic or demonic magic. The best magic has always had a strong antinomian flavour. The most remarkable magicians have invariably fought against prevailing cultural norms and obsessions. Their victories represent not only a personal liberation but also an advance for humanity. History bequeaths us no records of the renegade shamanist magicians who must have brought about the advent of paganism, but we know a little of the anti-pagan magicians who created monotheism: Akhenaton, Moshe, Gautam, and so on. As monotheism became a steadily more repressive and obscene force, a new generation of magicians arose and fought it. Some fought too openly and were destroyed; others were more subtle and planted effective seeds of destruction on a purely philosophical level, and others hastened its destruction by taking theological and theurgical ideas to outrageous conclusions. The roll of honour is here much larger, including such notables as Gordiano Bruno, Cornelius Agrippa, John Dee, Cagliostro, Eliphas Levi, and recently,

A Comprehensive Feasibility Study For The Establishment Of Paintwork T-shirt Printing House

A COMPREHENSIVE FEASIBILITY STUDY FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF PAINTWORK T-SHIRT PRINTING HOUSE Introduction Nowadays, printed shirt are almost seen everywhere: school uniforms with the school logos printed on it, advertisements printed on shirts, title of an event, different cartoon characters, quotable phrases and lot more things printed on shirts. There are many processes of transferring a design to a shirt. Computer printed designs, screen printing process, heat transferred images, and painting the shirt itself.In these modern days, things are done in faster ways; that is why computers play varieties of role. Computer printed designs are among the most common in the market today. One can have his own picture printed in a shirt in just an hour or he can even personalize a design that he likes to be printed in his shirt. A design can also be transferred in number of shirts in a clothing company. This computer printed shirt is the focus of this feasibility study. We come up with this pr oduct to compete in the demand of modern days’ consumers.In addition to computer printed shirts, we also come up with the idea having painted designs as an art design exclusive for each company. Images add art to the printed shirts. It livens up the clothing and gives more attraction to those who see it. Universities have their university shirts or organizational shirts, which is sometimes used by the students as their uniforms. Our business is targeting this opportunity for us to give them a uniquely designed t-shirts that will surely be appreciated by the students and other group of people.In addition to this, we also aim to create our exceptional own painted design for some organizations who conduct events and some small companies in the country. The Concept PAINTWORK conceptualized a production enterprise that will be the producer of painted designed and computer printed shirts in some other schools in the country particularly in Polytechnic University of the Philippines (the four owners’ alma mater). We plan to create the products not for retail purposes but as a wholesale supply catering to the needs of the targeted market for their painted shirt uniforms, section shirts, organization shirts, batch hirts and other customized shirts. Nowadays, computer printed shirt designs are common in the market, so as the screen-printed designed shirts. Computer printed designs though are more modern and has more quality with designs. It being an easy process to transfer a design to shirts with exclusive painted design for each company is our unique selling proposition. Our business oriented and hip designs are popular especially with the teenagers, students and the young.We come up with this product believing that we can supply the needs of consumers to have more modernized and likeable designs in its best outcome. Although we are new in this kind of business, we still can promise the best outcome and produce very good quality painted designed computer printed shirts that can be used in events, organizational uniforms, school uniforms and other more occasions. The price will be based on the cost used to create the product. Our painted shirts will surely compete in the market in terms of pricing but we are confident that ours is a product that is worth to be paid for.Objectives As stated in the concept for its creation, PAINTWORK will paint designed shirts that will be used for uniform purposes in school organizations, small companies, events, and some institutions. PAINTWORK is comparable in the market in terms of pricing but the process of production and high quality end product differs. The designs are personally made and manually transferred to the shirt resulting to excellent classy products that will satisfy the consumers.The objective of our company is to be more competitive in the market and to be the leading manufacturer and supplier of paint designed computer printed shirts in the Philippines. * Short Term Objectives * To build a good rapport with the consumers and to the people. * To maintain a good working relationship with all our employees and also to the suppliers. * To be the favoured company of the leading universities and some companies to supply them our shirts with hand painted designs. * Long Term Objectives * Our company’s objective is to be the leading supplier of the printed hirts for the next 5 years in Polytechnic University of the Philippines to be used on the General Assembly of the students of Institute of Accounts, Business and Finance, and also for some universities in the country. * Our business will endeavour to be an excellent company here in the Philippines that will be loved by the Filipinos and eventually we can export our products to other countries. Company Logo Organizational Chart ZAILEEN A. CULATA Sales Supervisor AVEGAIL C. LUCERO Office Supervisor PAULINE AGNES VELASCO Production Supervisor TITO M.PINEDA III General Manager Production workers Assistant PAINTW ORK will be having four main heads for its organizational chart. Every partner will be assigned to each department to assure the harmony and proper management of the entity. The four partners are distributed in four main positions in the company such as general manager, production supervisor, sales supervisor and office supervisor. The establishment will hire three sociable and customer-oriented crews. Two crews will be assigned in printing and editing the t-shirt design; one crew will assist them.Neither of the pioneers will supervise the over-all development of the business. Manpower Requirement 1. Job Title: General Manager * Responsible for the whole organization and the business operation. He is also responsible to the following functions: * Must see to it in carrying out or handling the day-to-day operations of the business. * Must plan out various developments for maximum profitability of the business. * Must render wise decisions for the changes and improvement s of the busi ness operation. * Must assure to every customer that they can produce quality products they needed. 2.Job Title: Production Supervisor * She is responsible for supervising the production workers in the whole process of production and maintenance of the area. She also approves or edits the original design from the business or personalized design from the customers. 3. Job Title: Sales Supervisor * Sales supervisor is responsible for marketing and delivery of the product. She is in charge in dealing with the customers. 4. Job Title: Office Supervisor * She is responsible for supervising the office works. She manages the accountant and the clerk in the office. 5. Job Title: Production Workers They are the ones responsible for transferring the designs to the computer, printing the shirt, drying and packaging of the products. They deal with the whole process of producing the best paint designed computer printed shirts. 6. Job Title: Assistant * Serves as a clerk that assists in all the o ffice works. Services Offered Paintwork will offer services on customized, personalized t-shirt printing and editing design. Products will be made in its highest quality, perfect for corporate gifts, batch shirt, uniforms, give away, couple shirt, university shirts and more.Our aim is to delivering quality garments made to your design and specifications at a competitive price by using the latest printing techniques for any occasion. If you’re in the market for an individually stylized piece of apparel, we’ve got everything you’re ever likely to need! T -shirt printing designs is what we’re all about and regardless of whether you have an idea of your own in mind, or you fancy one of our best sellers, the garments we will supply you with will be of a superior quality. We pride ourselves on the reliability of service we will offer. Actual PlanPAINTWORK will be built outside the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, specifically in Newton’s Plaza, Sta. Mesa, Manila. Initially, the three sociable and customer-oriented crews will handle the production of customized, personalized t-shirts and designs. Rest assured that the ambiance of the establishment is excellent to make customers feel comfortable. Floor Plan Future Plans After six months of operation, PAINTWORK will launch its latest additional product offers such as personalized banners and tarpaulins. After a year, a branch is planned to build but the location is not yet final.These measures are intended to provide the same quality and affordable customized, personalized printing of shirts and advertisement designs to students, companies and others. Facilities The business should have the following facilities to be able to operate: 1. Office * Having an office is necessary to accommodate customers and to serve as an area for people to work. 2. Printing Room * The business needs its own printing room to meet the standard of the consumers in printing t-shirts. The room has m achines for printing and other equipment in need to do the products. 3.Sewing Room * It is where the products are being sewed to add design with the t-shirts. Production Process 1. Creating the Design. This is the first step in producing the painted shirt. The design must first be done and drafted for the next step to continue. In this step, the consumers must agree with the design being suggested or pass his personal design. The colors to be used must also be enumerated. 2. Transferring the Design to the Computer. 3. Printing the Shirt Design. This is the main step of this process; this is where the design is being transferred on the shirt. . Drying Drying is very important in this process because once the painted design is not dry, it might be ruined and the shirt will not be used at all. The painted shirt is dried through blowers for quicker drying. 5. Checking of Shirt This step is done to ensure that all the painted shirts will turn out as expected, excellent and with a classy result. 6. Packaging This is the last step of the production process where in the finished painted shirts are placed in a cloth bag as it packaging. After this, the painted shirts can be delivered. Production The process of production was practiced very well and perfected to have a product with a high standard and quality that will be best suited for its consumers. * All employees / workers are trained proficiently and must be very knowledgeable on how the process of production goes as well as the proper use of facilities and equipment. * Materials come from reliable sources with their own safety measures to have a quality and trusted product. * The business also sees to it that there are enough materials so as not to delay the production process.Packaging PAINTWORK Designed shirts are packed in cloth bags. These are better than the usual packaging that comes in plastic sack. Quality Control Our business ensures the quality and unique prints of the shirts to meet the customerâ€℠¢s satisfaction. In order to prove the business’ claim that it is 100% worth to be paid for, we set our guidelines and policies for the workers to follow in the production of our product. Investments The owners made the following investments to meet the goals of the business: EquipmentP35,000 OfficeP 45,000 Initial OperationsP25,000TOTAL COSTP 105,000 The equipment include the sewing machines and the printing machines while the office includes the facilities like tables and chairs in the main office, printing room and sewing room. Profitability Analysis The simplest way of approximating profitability is to assume the expected payment of the consumers and subtract from it the expected expenses. The t-shirt costs P160. 00 – P300. 00. In example, a customer ordered 50 shirts and the quality of its design costs, let’s say, P200. 00 each. 50 shirts X P200. 00 = P10, 000. 00For instance that the cost of expenses on each shirt is P120. 00, the business will earn a prof it of P80. 00 for each shirt, with the total of P4, 000. 00, that is for 50 shirts. The profit of the company depends on the number of shirts a customer will ask. Thus, this computation is in approximation and still subjected for any changes if such is to be proven needed. Operational Expenses As for the computation, operational expenses are estimated to be around P120. 00 per shirt. For instance, there are 50 shirts to be printed (P120. 00 x 50), a total of P6000. 0 is the operational expense incurred. This amount should therefore be watched to monitor the operational expenses of the company. The general manager in this sense should consider allocating the remaining retained earnings as an allowance for PAINTWORK. Break-Even Point Analysis PAINTWORK initially invested P105, 000. 00 which is recoverable immediately after an approximately 5 months of successful regular operations. The management placed the shirts at a price range which is cost effective and considering wholesaler as our major target market.The average price of a t-shirt is P160. 00, more affordable than expected though it has many benefits and price will be stable and not to become a big deal at all. Performance and Appraisal Program The company will conduct an evaluation on the employees in which the supervisor evaluates their performance; the result of the evaluation will be given to the employees indicating the level of their performance areas of improvement. This evaluate will be the basis for the increase of their salary and promotion for employees.The following factors that the company will consider: 1. A manager and employee shall hold formal appraisal meetings once or twice a year. 2. Employees should be given immediate and adequate feedback regarding their performance. The manager and supervisor should maintain a record of critical incident specific situation, task, action and result negative and positive. 3. Managers and supervisors are accountable for evaluating performance in develo ping their subordinates. The manager and supervisor should also be appraising in their performance management skills. 4.The performance appraisal system shall encourage the employee’s participation in the company. Timetable PAINTWORK DATE| ACTIVITIES| START: 2nd week, March – April 2012| Feasibility studies, research and Analysis| 2nd week, March – 2nd week, July 2012| Capital Contribution| 3rd week, April – 2nd week, May 2012| Registration Permit and other Licenses| 1st and 2nd week, April 2012| Canvassing of Raw Materials and Location of the Business| 3rd week, June – 2nd week of July 2012| Setting the Place of the Business| 1st and 2nd week, June 2012| Recruitment and Hiring of Employees| 1st week , August 2012|Purchasing of Raw Materials and Equipment| 4th week, August 2012| Training of Employees| 1st week, September 2012| Ribbon Cutting and Start of the Normal Business Operation|

Descartes’ Religious Journey to find God Essay

In the book Meditations on First Philosophy, Rene’ Descartes states many theories and makes many points on a numerous amount of things. In â€Å"Meditation One: Concerning Those Things That Can Be Called Into Doubt†, I struggled with what Descartes was actually saying in terms of God, did he believe in His existence or didn’t he? However, by â€Å"Meditation Three: Concerning God, That He Exists†, I realized where Descartes stood religiously. I agree with Descartes when he doubts the existence of God in the first two meditations because by the third he has found his own way and proof that God does exist and to believe in Him. Descartes has many things that he considers to be reasonable to doubt. Throughout Descartes’ life he has had a long standing opinion that there is a God who is able to do anything who has actually created Descartes himself. He has believed in God’s existence and God’s creations his whole life. However, in Meditation I he is trying to clear his mind of what he believes in, and consider others beliefs that contradict his. He finds himself questioning, â€Å"How do I know he did not bring it about that there is no Earth at all? No Heavens?† (page 463 Kindle). He acknowledges that he judges others sometimes for their mistakes when they feel they have all the knowledge. Descartes views this is a deception on God’s part. Descartes argues that since God is said to be supremely good, why would he deceive us? Since God did not create me to be deceived all of the time, why would he allow me to be deceived on any occasion? An argument Descartes makes on the do ubt that God exists, is that some people view God as only good and that if He really did exist, no evil things would ever happen. Descartes tries not to oppose the opinions of others in this first meditation. He wants to imagine that he came to be what he was by fate, chance, or a connected chain of events, or some other way besides God creating him. Since being deceived or even making a mistake is seen as an imperfection, he says that the less powerful they see the creator of who we exist, the more probable it will be that we are so imperfect that we are always deceived. Descartes argues that it is not enough to make these observations and that we must take steps in our lives to remind ourselves of what we believe in and keep them in our memories. We need to take them exactly as what they are, although sometimes we may doubt them, so that it is more consonant to believe them rather than to deny them. This takes Descartes into his first meditation; he forces himself to believe that his creator is not a supremely good God, the source of truth, but rather an evil genius who is powerful, intelligent, and clever. H e looks at this evil genius as though he has spent Descartes’ entire life in an attempt to deceive him. He knocks out his seemingly obvious beliefs of heaven, air, earth, colors, shapes, sounds, and all other external things as nothing but hoaxes of his dreams, things that are not real and that do not exist. All of these things he now doubts. He sees himself now as having no hands, eyes, flesh, blood, any senses; they are just false beliefs that he possesses these things. Even though it is no longer in his power that he knows anything true, it is within his power to take care decisively, to withhold his assent to what is false, although more powerful, however clever and smart this evil genius may be, to have any effect on him. Descartes decides to put aside all of his doubts, as though he has discovered all of his doubts to be false, and decides to stay on this course until he knows something for certain, or in fact that he discovers for certain that nothing is certain. In â€Å"Meditation III: Concerning God, That He Exists†, Descartes closes his eyes, stops his ears, turns away his senses from their objects and begins endeavoring a more intimate knowledge of his self. He clarifies that he is a thinking thing, that he doubts, affirms, denies, knows few objects, and is also ignorant of many things. He recognizes that he is able to love, hate, and perceive. Descartes says that he cannot be certain of anything without knowing if God exists and if he can deceive. The idea of God is that he is infinite, independent, all powerful and all knowing, the creator of absolutely everything on this Earth, the creator of the earth, the universe, everything. All of these things are so great that the more carefully Descartes looks studies and considers them, the less persuaded he feels that the idea of them owes its origin to his self alone. This makes him come to his conclusion that God absolutely exists. Descartes feels he had to come from God, because if he came from his self, then he would have no doubts or desires or even thoughts of deception. There is no reason that he should continue to exist every day, or even minute, unless there is a higher power, a stronger force, that preserves him, which would be God. There are many reasons for me, which are different than Descartes reasons that God does in fact exist. Although science has made many breakthroughs trying to doubt God and His existence and all that He has made, they have not necessarily been able to prove he does not exist. The whole entire belief of God relies solely on faith. To have faith is to believe in something that you may not necessarily be able to see. To doubt the existence of God at all, goes against everything that He stands for (even though we all may have doubt in His existence at some point in our lives). Explaining that God exists is nearly impossible, it is something we are taught to believe at a young age (depending on how you were raised of course), without really being explained why or how. Everyone on this earth has their own personal experiences or beliefs about God, and those who believe in God have found Him in their own unique ways. Sometimes to truly believe in something, we have to doubt it at first and take a journey to find our own personal reasons to believe in it, just as Descartes did. Descartes struggled with an explanation of deceit and mistakes. He did not understand why God would allow those things to happen when he is supposed to represent only honesty and good in the world. An explanation that he did not refer to is the devil. The bible explains to us that God is good and the Devil is bad. From personal experiences, I used to struggle with why God would allow such horrible things to happen, why did he let my friends die in car crashes, why does death even exist at all? However, later in life, I discovered that the bad does not necessarily come from God, but it comes from the devil. We are to do our best to avoid hateful acts and to overcome evil, which are works of the devil. God is our creator and our reason for being, but we also have a responsibility and choice of life. He has created a world for us that we have taken advantage of and that has managed to unfortunately gain many evil acts and people. We are supposed to live by the bible, if we do not then God’s plan and course is taken astray. Although He ultimately controls everything, He also allows us to make our own decisions, choose our own paths, learn from our mistakes, and suffer the consequences of those mistakes. It is in our control to determine where we want to go in our lives and where we want to end up in our afterlife. After all, for those of us who believe in God, our being here on earth is only to prepare us for our after life, which hopefully will someday take us to Heaven.

6 Skills You Need to Become a Call Center Representative

6 Skills You Need to Become a Call Center Representative A call center representative serves customers, first and foremost. Some job responsibilities include: answering inquiries, determining requirements, fulfilling requests, resolving problems, troubleshooting, and maintaining databases. They will most often spend the bulk of their time clarifying- either the position of the company or the parameters of the problem the customer is experiencing. Sometimes they will have an opportunity to put sales skills in action- upselling accounts, or adding features to maximize the customer’s experience. And they are responsible for representing the company and bolstering its reputation among its customers and in the world- primarily by providing excellent, detailed, and attentive customer service.Now, how to become one! Here are the top skills you’ll need to market yourself successfully for a call center representative position.1. RetentionYou may have the ability to look stuff up. But for this job, you’ll need to have the abilit y to retain what you read and learn and hear. You’ll need to memorize a vast amount of information about your company, as well as typical solutions and how to implement them. And you’ll want to be able to hear the customer’s situation once without getting confused. The goal is never having to be corrected when talking a customer through a problem because you didn’t remember the details of their predicament. You also need to know when you can’t resolve an issue on your own- and who to refer your customer to instead.2. Attention to DetailYou need this in almost every job, but it’s particularly important at a call center. You’ll be fielding a lot of the same questions every day, so you’ll want to keep an ear out for nuance and make sure you’re still giving each situation unique attention. Make sure to tick all of the possible boxes so your customer feels you truly listened to the question and solved whatever needed to be so lved.3. Flexibility/FriendlinessYou’ll have to interact with a lot of different people. Some of them will be unbearably challenging. You need to be able to be effective and considerate even when the person you are speaking with is not returning the favor. Try to treat each new customer with a new and friendly stance. And try not to let the erratic (and often long) hours make you too frustrated to perform.4. Grace Under FireA good call center rep is never flustered, even when fielding a number of irate calls and having to balance a billion little tasks. Keep your cool with the chatty person who won’t get off the phone, as well as with the terse and grumpy one. Just do your job and try to score a positive outcome and you’ll do fine.5. SpeedNeither you nor the customer has enough time to waste on this call. Make sure you know what you’re doing well enough to be efficient, even fast. Both you and your customers will thank you.6. CreativityRemember, each custo mer and situation are different. Finding a workable solution can be tough- especially if your hands are tied with company policy. Being able and willing to think on your feet to treat each customer with the respect they deserve might just mean you keep customers coming back- and that makes you look extra good during reviews.

First Ice and First Frost Essays

First Ice and First Frost Essays First Ice and First Frost Paper First Ice and First Frost Paper These two English Translations of the Russian poem by Andrei Voznesenky are about a girl being rejected for the first time. The young girl’s feelings of hurt and rejection are described in terms of coldness throughout the poem. â€Å"The first ice of human hurt†. The theme that is put across from the poem is of growing up, and the experience of loosing someone for the first time. Both of these poems are very similar, but they have both been translated in two different styles. This helps to alter the meaning a little from the original Russian version. The titles of the two Russian poems by Andrei Voznesenky ‘First ice’ and ‘First Frost’ differ in many ways. Examples of this are the word ‘Ice’ used in the first poem, ice I hard and takes a long time to melt. This suggests to me that it will take a long time for the girl to get over the special person who has hurt them so much. The writer of this poem probably used ‘Ice’ to show what the girl was feeling inside. Whereas ‘Frost’ in the second poem is softer and doesn’t hang around for a long time, meaning it may not take as long for this person to get over there hurt and rejection from there lover. : In the first poem the phrase ‘A girl freezes’ shows how the girl has become shocked, frozen to the spot. In poem two ‘ A girl freezing’ tells us that she isn’t frozen to the spot she is just freezing. This shows how the girl in the first poem has reacted a lot worse to the news of her rejection, she has been hurt more than the girl in the second poem. In ‘First ice’ the translator uses the word ‘smeared’ to describe how the girls lipstick has ended up on her face. In ‘First frost’ the word ‘Stained’ was used this is like staining a dress, this word is used to symbolise how much pain she is going through at the time. Smeared is something you can easily remove whereas stained cannot be removed as easy and will hang around. The line ‘She’ll have to go home alone alone’ tells you that the girl is on her own and very lonely. In poem two ‘she has to beat her way home alone’ this tells me that the girl has to fight her way home through the bad weather. On the other hand, it could be a metaphor suggesting that she has to find her way through life on her own and ‘beat’ suggests that that will be hard for her. The ‘icy’ street suggests that the path in life that she now must follow will be slippery, cold, harsh and could hurt her, it will also be hard to follow and difficult; maybe because she no longer has him to help. As the poem continues, ‘First frost’ implies that in this maybe happy time in her life this has been the first hurtful and cold thing that has happened to her. It is metaphorical, it could also mean that it is her first separation and split with a man that she loves. It is like, the first ice in late autumn will destroy the flowers and plants; this conversation will destroy her feelings and hurt her harshly. The poem also says that it is ‘a beginning of losses, the first frost of telephone phrases. ’ This also shows that her boyfriend has split with her over the phone and that it could just be the first time that she has separated with someone over the phone. By repeating the words, ‘first frost’ in the next line also puts emphasis on the situation and how painful it really is for her. The last line in the poem also backs up the point that it is her first separation from a man that she loves because it says, ‘the first frost of having been hurt. ’ The poem gives the reader a feeling of loneliness on the girl’s part and that she is lost and cannot find her way down her path in life. A person phoning their partner to announce their choice to separate from them is going to be painful anyway but this seems deeper and this poem gives us the feeling that the girl is feeling great hurt. In the last two lines of the poem it makes a reference to the ‘start of winter’ which backs up the point that I made earlier which is that now that this has happened it is going to be the start of a harsh, cold and hurtful period in the girl’s life. I prefer ‘A girl freezes in a telephone both’ compared to ‘A girl is freezing in a telephone both’ in poem two. I prefer this because I feel that the word freezes symbolises how much shock she is in and how confused she is. This I feel makes you understand more about what the girl is feeling, she is shocked like when you see or hear something and you can’t believe it.

Baby Boom History

Baby Boom History The dramatic increase in the number of births from 1946 to 1964 in the United States (1947 to 1966 in Canada and 1946 to 1961 in Australia) is called the Baby Boom. It was caused by young males who, upon returning to the United States, Canada, and Australia following tours of duty overseas during World War II, began families; this brought about a significant number of new children into the world. The Beginning of the Baby Boom In the 1930s to early 1940s, new births in the United States averaged around 2.3 to 2.8 million each year. In 1946, the first year of the Baby Boom, new births in the U.S. skyrocketed to 3.47 million births! New births continued to grow throughout the 1940s and 1950s, leading to a peak in the late 1950s with 4.3 million births in 1957 and 1961. (There was a dip to 4.2 million births in 1958) By the mid-sixties, the birth rate began to slowly fall. In 1964 (the final year of the Baby Boom), 4 million babies were born in the U.S. and in 1965, there was a significant drop to 3.76 million births. From 1965 on, there was a plunge in the number of births to a low of 3.14 million births in 1973, lower than any year’s births since 1945. Life of a Baby Boomer In the United States, approximately 79 million babies were born during the Baby Boom. Much of this cohort of nineteen years (1946-1964) grew up with Woodstock, the Vietnam War, and John F. Kennedy as president. In 2006, the oldest Baby Boomers turned 60 years old, including the first two Baby Boomer presidents, Presidents William J. Clinton and George W. Bush, both born in the first year of the Baby Boom, 1946. Dropping Birth Rate After 1964 From 1973 on, Generation X was nowhere near as populous as their parents. The total births rose to 3.6 million in 1980 and then 4.16 million in 1990. For 1990 on, the number of births has remained somewhat constant – from 2000 to now, the birth rate has hovered at 4 million annually. It’s amazing that 1957 and 1961 are the peak birth years in raw number of births for the nation even though the total national population was 60% of the current population. Obviously, the birth rate among Americans has dropped precipitously. The birth rate per 1000 population in 1957 was 25.3. In 1973, it was 14.8. The birth rate per 1000 rose to 16.7 in 1990 but today has dropped to 14. Affect on Economy The dramatic increase in births during the Baby Boom helped to lead to exponential rises in the demand for consumer products, suburban homes, automobiles, roads, and services. Demographer P.K. Whelpton forecast this demand, as quoted in the August 9, 1948 edition of Newsweek. When the number of persons is rising rapidly it is necessary to prepare for the increase. Houses and apartments must be built; streets must be paved; power, light, water, and sewer systems must be extended; existing factories, stores and other business structures must be enlarged or new ones erected; and much machinery must be manufactured. And that’s exactly what happened. The metropolitan areas of the United States exploded in growth and led to huge suburban developments, such as Levittown. The table below displays the total number of births for each year indicated from 1930 through 2007 in the United States. Notice the increase in births during the Baby Boom from 1946 to 1964. The source for this data are numerous editions of the Statistical Abstract of the United States. U.S. Births 1930-2007 Year Births 1930 2.2 million 1933 2.31 million 1935 2.15 million 1940 2.36 million 1941 2.5 million 1942 2.8 million 1943 2.9 million 1944 2.8 million 1945 2.8 million 1946 3.47 million 1947 3.9 million 1948 3.5 million 1949 3.56 million 1950 3.6 million 1951 3.75 million 1952 3.85 million 1953 3.9 million 1954 4 million 1955 4.1 million 1956 4.16 million 1957 4.3 million 1958 4.2 million 1959 4.25 million 1960 4.26 million 1961 4.3 million 1962 4.17 million 1963 4.1 million 1964 4 million 1965 3.76 million 1966 3.6 million 1967 3.5 million 1973 3.14 million 1980 3.6 million 1985 3.76 million 1990 4.16 million 1995 3.9 million 2000 4 million 2004 4.1 million 2007 4.317 million The table below displays the total number of births for each year indicated from 1930 through 2007 in the United States. Notice the increase in births during the Baby Boom from 1946 to 1964. The source for this data are numerous editions of the Statistical Abstract of the United States. U.S. Births 1930-2007 Year Births 1930 2.2 million 1933 2.31 million 1935 2.15 million 1940 2.36 million 1941 2.5 million 1942 2.8 million 1943 2.9 million 1944 2.8 million 1945 2.8 million 1946 3.47 million 1947 3.9 million 1948 3.5 million 1949 3.56 million 1950 3.6 million 1951 3.75 million 1952 3.85 million 1953 3.9 million 1954 4 million 1955 4.1 million 1956 4.16 million 1957 4.3 million 1958 4.2 million 1959 4.25 million 1960 4.26 million 1961 4.3 million 1962 4.17 million 1963 4.1 million 1964 4 million 1965 3.76 million 1966 3.6 million 1967 3.5 million 1973 3.14 million 1980 3.6 million 1985 3.76 million 1990 4.16 million 1995 3.9 million 2000 4 million 2004 4.1 million 2007 4.317 million

Etiology of bipolar disorder Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Etiology of bipolar disorder - Research Paper Example ological but lately intensive psychotherapy is being increasingly recognized as a better alternative, although absolute therapy is still considered to be in its experimental stages. There have numerous studies to explain the etiology of the disease which have progressed from explanations of behavioral, social and psychological factors as its causes to the imbalance of neurotransmitters in the brain and genetic defects making certain individuals particularly prone to it. As bipolar psychiatric disorder is characterized by sporadic, alternating events of depression and hyper manic state, the excitatory and inhibitory neuronal transmission have been the prime targets of pharmacological interventions. Molecular and cellular targets include inhibition of enzymes such as inositol monophosphatase, inositol polyphosphate 1-phosphatase, etc. by the administration of lithium salts whereby the lithium ion competes for a magnesium binding site which is responsible for prompting the action of such enzymes (Gould et al, 2004). Similarly valproate and carbamazapine inhibit another set of enzymes, as well as molecular signaling pathways in neuronal transmission. Inhibition of these enzymes is responsible for the tentative therapeutic action. Another aspect which has been noticed in psychiatric disease is the high heritability of schizophrenia as well as bipolar disorders which points a finger at the genetic predisposition to such disorders (Owen et al, 2004). Experimental studies in molecular genetics are already underway and chromosomal abnormalities have been noticed at specific locations of the human genome obtained from sufferers of psycho somatic disease. In bipolar disease, involvement of multiple genes has been suspected for long and studies are therefore intricate in design, but feasible with the modern tools of molecular biology which have become available only recently. In a genome wide association study conducted on pooled samples obtained primarily from European

Children killers Annotated Bibliography Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Children killers - Annotated Bibliography Example hs Prophet†, the author, Sina illustrates that Kony Joseph proclaimed himself as one of the spokespersons of God before ruling over the Ugandan people. After gaining the trust of the people, Kony Joseph then takes advantage of the children and orders them to become soldiers and participate in child-sex activities. The act makes the Uganda people to hate Kony since he misleads the young children into activity that they dislike. Twesigye, Emmanuel, the author of the book, â€Å"Religion, Politics, and Cults in East Africa: Gods Warriors and Marys Saints† argue that Kony Joseph was a spiritual leader before being brutal to his own people. The author identifies that at first all the Ugandan citizens promoted the works done by the Lord’s Resistance Army movement since it was fighting for the human rights. However, the movement later begun rejecting own people and participated in brutal family murders. In the book, â€Å"Unarmed and in Harms Way, My Obsession with Ending Violence† the author, Hoffman Ben mentions that Joseph is responsible for numerous deaths in the entire east African society. Hoffman later identifies in the book that Kony has contributed to numerous wars in diverse nations such as Southern Sudan, Central African Republic and Congo. For reasons of contributing to the wars, the international criminal court is charging Kony as a criminal. In the book, â€Å"Living with Bad Surroundings: War, History, and Everyday Moments in Northern Uganda†, the author, Finnstrom, identifies that most of the children in Uganda have turned into participating into criminal activity. Since the LRA has recruited almost all the young children into soldiers, the children are forced to participate into wars. Finnstrom identifies that the children that deny the offer of the job are killed or the ears, lips and the nose are cut off. The author of the book, â€Å"Social Torture: The Case of Northern Uganda, 1986-2006†, Dolan identifies that Kony was a raised up Christian by the

Work place diversity Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Work place diversity - Research Paper Example Consequently, to become more open to change and innovative, all organizations require diversity. Capitalizing and maximizing on diversity in the workplace has become a significant subject for today’s management (Kelli, et al., 2012). This paper delves into workplace diversity, its importance in creating a productive and healthy work environment, as well as policies and actions for improving the situation. Introduction Workplace diversity is an issue concerning people, which concentrates on the similarities and variations that individuals bring to their place of work. Esty and co-authors (1995) define diversity as recognizing, appreciating, valuing, accepting, and celebrating disparities among individuals with regard to gender, ethnicity, age, mental and physical ability, class, sexual orientation, race, public assistance status, and spiritual practice. Apparently, the broad definition of workplace diversity goes beyond those aspects that are legally stated in affirmative actio n non-discrimination as well as equal opportunity bills. The interpretation of diversity normally incorporates aspects that affect the perspectives and identities that individuals bring for instance geographic location education, profession, and parental status. Diversity as a concept is deemed to include everybody. More often than not, diversity initiatives match non-discrimination conformity programs through the formation of the organizational culture and workplace environment for making disparities work. Diversity is all about the creation of workplace practices and environments that promote learning from other people and capturing the benefit of varied perspectives, it is about respect and dignity for all, and about learning from other individuals who are not the same (Woods, Bormann & Joseph, 2010). Benefits of Diversity in the Workplace Workplace diversity is not only beneficial to employers but it is also beneficial to associates. Even though workplace associates are co-depen dent, respecting differences among persons can boost productivity. Workplace diversity places an organization at a competitive advantage in several ways. To start with, it ensures the retention of business. Esty and co-authors (1995) explain that a good number of organizations tend to be keen on the demographics of institutions/companies with which they do business. Municipal governments and federal agencies particularly have taken the lead in declining prospective clients and suppliers who fail to demonstrate a clear commitment to diversity. A good example is one of the Midwestern cities that declined to purchase computer equipment from a high-tech company whose entire sales team was white. Workplace diversity also brings about increased productivity. As Mor (2006) explains, this is attributable to job satisfaction, which is true in the sense that in such a work place, people feel valued, respected and included, which helps them to stop acting like outsiders thus making productivit y go up. Another competitive advantage of well-managed workplace diversity is increased marketing capabilities. A group of diverse employees is capable of providing insight into the establishment of a wide range of customers. Attracting new customers makes a critical difference between going out of business and survival of a business. Moreover, as markets become more and more differentiated, smaller market segments are imperative (Esty, et al., 1995). A diverse workplace also builds the largest possible pool of talent for recruitment. This is more important especially with the present-time’s increased competition that calls for every organization to hire

Anything Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 8

Anything - Essay Example In order for one to get good housing the amount of money he is paid becomes a factor. This essay will examine the trends in house inequalities and the financial position of an individual in details. The constant gap in house ownership rates between whites and black has continued to increase though barriers in homeownership for the minority groups were lifted long time ago. The current housing policy now targets minority homeownership with the specific intention of closing the gap in house ownership among different groups. The informal development of urban land which was traditionally perceived as an important way through which the poorest residents of the urban centers got shelter. This has changed since increasingly middle, and high-income households are buying land informally for housing. It is clear that those workers who are able to learn new working skills especially in technology will benefit from higher salaries. But on the other hand those who are used to carrying out routine jobs which can be handled by computers and robots will be competing with few jobs or will be pushed into low-skill jobs and hence it will be difficult for them to afford buying better houses (Tally 22). Opportunities for middle-income households to purchase a house on the formal market are limited. Those who come from the families with low income struggle to construct low-cost housing though this is hindered by fluctuations in the price and availability of raw materials which increases construction time and expenses and can stretch the budgets of the developer beyond the monetary capability of the scheme. High monthly costs in both the rental and ownership markets compared to low land prices has encouraged middle-income households to seek shelter through informal channels. Growing demand for informal land has thus placed pressure on supply, resulting in rising land prices, effectively reducing accessibility by

Do you believe that equity fund managers with a good knowledge of Essay

Do you believe that equity fund managers with a good knowledge of behavioural finance can consistently outperform the market on a risk-adjusted basis Give reas - Essay Example y tries to point out that as the fund managers receive information they react spontaneously and update their briefs as soon as possible and also explains that given their briefs they make choices that are normatively acceptable1. Whereas, behavioural finance as mentioned is a new phenomenon which points out areas that are more towards reality because it tries to explain investors’ or the fund managers’ decisions by application of models and tools that takes into account the irrationality of the investors; thus here, it tries to talk about what happens when fund managers do not update their briefs as quickly and also do not stay in the acceptable norms. The proponents of behavioural finance argue that use of traditional pricing or valuing techniques such as capital asset pricing models, dividend discount models, relative valuation models etc. does not always explain why the excess returns have been earned at the end of the day by the investors in the light of the efficient markets, thus suggesting that if investors were rational then these techniques would rightly project the prices and no security would have been traded excepting at their fair values. Whereas, behavioural finance attempts to points out the anomalies in the fair values and the decisions that fund managers make in the market. The flawed or the irrational human behaviour is a victim to the phenomena like herd mentality, contagion effect, loss aversion, extrapolation, hindsight bias and illusions of control2. Here emotional factors and intuition to a large extent are the decisive factors in trading. Some of the most likely occurrences that can lead to fund managers deviate from making rational decisions in the market include importance of playing safe compared to earning high risk significant gains and also following the herd versus relying on self. Fund managers when offered a sure shot amount compared to something that is doubtful are more likely to accept the sure amount and forego any larger

Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 12

Assignment - Essay Example Indians appreciate punctuality but most of them are not very strict about time. Office hours are from 10am-5pm. Tie and suit for men is preferred whereas more casual wears are acceptable in the fields of IT. Shalwar suit or long skirts or pants for women are considered agreeable. Politics, cricket, economic reforms and movies are the welcoming topics for conversation. Topics such as Religion, Political ties with Pakistan and economic disparity within India should be avoided. The Power distribution ranking of India is 77 compared to the world average 55. This indicates that the lower class citizens are satisfied with the unequal distribution of wealth. It is a male dominated society and the country is more prone to unexpected situations. The United States of America is an individualistic society with a greater will to work and be competitive. It is the strongest economy of the world and has an extremely high GDP of 20%. The U.S. economy also maintains a very high level of output per capita. It is also the largest trading nation in the world with major trades from Canada, China and Mexico. Power distance is of 40. People in the United States usually work a lot in the industrial and services sector. Not much importance is given to traditional jobs like agriculture or forestry. Americans work on the principle that by working hard one can become more financially strong. The work culture is employee centric. There are many laws governing the rights of employees. Work hours are from 9am-5pm. Many employees work overtime. While setting up appointments, time is considered to be of great value and Punctuality is given due importance. Dressing is usually casual. Generally English is spoken. Topics such as religion or racism should be avoided. Whereas, Sports, travel, food and music are the welcoming topics. China has the second largest economy in the world after the United States. It has a very high growth rate and is the largest exporter of goods,

Do you believe that equity fund managers with a good knowledge of Essay

Do you believe that equity fund managers with a good knowledge of behavioural finance can consistently outperform the market on a risk-adjusted basis Give reas - Essay Example y tries to point out that as the fund managers receive information they react spontaneously and update their briefs as soon as possible and also explains that given their briefs they make choices that are normatively acceptable1. Whereas, behavioural finance as mentioned is a new phenomenon which points out areas that are more towards reality because it tries to explain investors’ or the fund managers’ decisions by application of models and tools that takes into account the irrationality of the investors; thus here, it tries to talk about what happens when fund managers do not update their briefs as quickly and also do not stay in the acceptable norms. The proponents of behavioural finance argue that use of traditional pricing or valuing techniques such as capital asset pricing models, dividend discount models, relative valuation models etc. does not always explain why the excess returns have been earned at the end of the day by the investors in the light of the efficient markets, thus suggesting that if investors were rational then these techniques would rightly project the prices and no security would have been traded excepting at their fair values. Whereas, behavioural finance attempts to points out the anomalies in the fair values and the decisions that fund managers make in the market. The flawed or the irrational human behaviour is a victim to the phenomena like herd mentality, contagion effect, loss aversion, extrapolation, hindsight bias and illusions of control2. Here emotional factors and intuition to a large extent are the decisive factors in trading. Some of the most likely occurrences that can lead to fund managers deviate from making rational decisions in the market include importance of playing safe compared to earning high risk significant gains and also following the herd versus relying on self. Fund managers when offered a sure shot amount compared to something that is doubtful are more likely to accept the sure amount and forego any larger

EN102 Exam 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

EN102 Exam 3 - Essay Example Social networking through the Internet is rapidly gaining attention from the public. This has potentially changed people’s lifestyle including purchasing habits. The ability of social media to form virtual networks is an opportunity to enhance the effectiveness of advertising and to gain more consumers. The chance for interaction in most virtual communities is helpful to marketing improvement if businesses avail this kind of advertisement. Wood and Solomon (2009) contend that virtual communities are influential in examining the "differences in consumer perception of virtual and real-life recommendation sources" (p. 66) and would offer companies a practical look on what the consumers need. Social media offers an extensive marketing for the products and services of various companies considering the internet’s speed in disseminating information, while companies are able to keep track on the level of customer satisfaction through online interaction of virtual communities. Social media, amidst its disadvantages, is undeniably a useful tool in adapting to new age consumers’ preferences and needs. The onset of modern technology changes the trends of various aspects in the society, including marketing. The cost-efficiency of using social media to introduce the product to virtual communities is helpful in the development of the business’s market and profit. With a suitable brand online strategy, the business is introduced to the social media users. An advantage that social media has that other forms of marketing does not have is the chance to listen to a direct feedback and the chance to know what the consumers like or dislike about the product. If taken as a constructive criticism in the part of the management, such comments can be an opportunity to develop their products and services. Based on the information discussed at the previous parts of this paper, three

Childcare and Education Essay Example for Free

Childcare and Education Essay E1- Summarise the factors which may influence the health and development of babies in the first year of their lives Environmental factors such as not having enough space in the garden for babies to move around to play and explore will influence their development as they maynot be able to expand their fine and gross motor skills. The environment can affect babies health and development as people around the baby who may smoke can transfer that smoke to the baby even if the smoke isnt directly infront of them. By having a ward and consistant home this can help the baby feel safe and secure therefore maintaining their health and development. Parents may not be able to afford toys and equipment for their child to play with, this may affect the child as the child may not get to experience different experiences. A stimulating environment for a baby is important as they will learn according to the opportunities they get, objects such as rattles, musical toys will encourage movement and interaction. Physical- This is important as babies development can be affected by this. The mother may not be able to take the baby for walks outside or carry the baby around or upstairs/downstairs due to disabilities that the mother or parents may have in general. Genetics is another factor which may influence health and development of the child as some illnessess are inherited. An example is Downs Syndrome, this is a genetic condition that causes physical and intellectual impariments. The mothers health plays a vital role in the development of a baby as women who are in good health during pregnancy are more likely of having a healthy baby, as the baby will be getting all the nurtition it needs to develop. If the mother is not healthy the baby will be affected by this. Emotional- After having a baby some mothers suffer or develop from post natal depression and this can affect how the mother and babys bond in the first few months. After a difficult birth post natal depression may develop, some women suffer generally from depression, if it has taken a mother a while to fall pregant and have children, and some women may develop this for some unkown reason. During the first month, some babies may develop faster or slower than average; this is only rarely a sign of a medical condition. Preterm babies born before the 37th week of pregnancy are physically younger than their full-term peers, so they may show signs of cognitive or physical delays. However, most preterm infants catch up to their peers during the first or second year of life. Other factors that influence a newborns development include genetics, environment and the caregivers levels of interaction. E2/C1- Describe how indoor and outdoor environments can be made safe, reassuring and stimulating Indoor and outdoor environments can be made safe by making sure children are looked after and cared for properly and never left alone, so there must be correct ratios in the setting, ratios are stated under Ofsted and the EYFS to make sure the children have the right amount of care attention they need. If theres not correct ratios the children can be put at risk, and this may cause accidents. By following all the correct policies and procedures and checking all eqiupment is safe for the child to use. Risk assessments must be done before the children can go into the environment and the environment must be adapted for all childrens individual needs so they are able to learn and achieve. From providing the correct equipment this will help develop the childrens individual skills. By having a safe and secure environment children will feel comfortable and safe which is important. The indoor environment should feel homely so the children will feel settled and comfortable in the environment. It is important to let children to give their input in the indoor areas, such as allowing them to do a display. The indoor area must have space and room for the children can move around safely, the cupboards,draws and tables must all be at the childrens level and not high up as this could cause an accident as something could fall down from above and hit the child. Radiator guards must be in setting to protect the children. Ensuring children have new experiences helps them develop in many ways, new experiences allows babies too use their imagination and copy what they see or experience in another situation. New experiences stimulate babies into wanting to learn and do more that challenges them to see what happens. The outdoor environment must provide children to have freedom and able to run around and have independance. The outdoor environment must suit all ranges of weather so the children can go outside in all weathers. All equiptment must be suitable and age appropriate, before children can go outside risk assessments must be done, if there is any unnessesary objects outdoors such as glass, litter or waste can be removed so it is safe for the children to play. The outdoor area should provide challenge as a risk is a challenge what a child can see, and are able to undertake it or not. Free flow must be introduced so children can move freely from outdoors to indoors easily. Learning activities must be provided outdoors also. Daily outdoor play is an important part of children’s learning and is required by the EYFS. It offers many new learning experiences, and boosts mental and physical wellbeing and confidence. Free-flow play adds further benefits, giving children more space and freedom to explore the world around them, letting them make decisions and assess risks while reducing the feeling of being rushed from one activity to the other. Children all have different learning styles and needs; some prefer to play and learn outside, and should be offered this opportunity wherever possible. Some may not have outdoor space at home, in which case it’s even more important. http://www. teachnursery. com/nursery-management/view/qa-free-flow-play It is important that practitoners know if children have any allergies, as children under 12 months cannot talk or communicate very well so practitioners must ask parent/carers this informaation. Having allergies on recored or on view in the setting will help anyone unfamililar coming into the setting. If practitioners do not know this information then the child/baby will be at risk. There are different things that helps reassure babies in settings which could be stability and consistancy, familar staff and practitioners, good positive relationships and things which comfort the child such as a blankets and dummies. E3- Describe the expected stage of development of babies at the chosen age and how they may be expected to develop in the next two, three months of their lives At six months babies will develop gross motor skills. When a baby is lying on their back they can roll over onto their stomach. If lyin on their stomach the child will be able to llift their head and chest, supporting themselves on their arms and hands. Babies at this age can use their shoulders to pull themselves into a sittingn position. At 6 months a baby can almost handle all their own weight. They are able to move their arms purposefully and hold them up, indicating a wish to be lifted. Babies at six months are able to kick vigersously with their legs altertaning, the baby can also lift their legs into a vertical position and grasp one or both feet with their hands. Babies at this age also have social skills as they can sime and babble when given attention and enjoy social play. Also babies will be able to mimic facial expressions and repete them. In the next couple months of the babies live their emotional skills will develop more and will be able to express pleasure and displeasure also will be able to distinguish emotions by a tone of voice. Their language will also improve as the child will be able to reconigise th ecare givers voice, and is able to respond to their name also aswell as being able to respond to other words such as mummy bye bye. Babies will be able to thurn their head in direction when spoken to. In the next few months the baby will explore more with their hands and mouth as is able to find partially hidden objects. A baby at this age will also spend longer studying and taking more interest in toys. E4- Explain how TWO different play activities/experiences can support the overall development of the baby described in E3 Treasure baskets is a good way to get babies to explore different objects and toys. From the basket having toys which are sensory this will encourage the child to use all senses. Such as having musical things in the basket which will encourage to child to listen, having toys which are colourful, and other objects in the basket which are different shapes, sizes, different textures such as a fluffy, hard, soft etc. Introducing new things will support overall experiences and have a variety of objects in basket will give the child a range of new things they can play will and learn from, having mirrors and shinny bits on the basket will attract the baby’s attention, it can help the development of fine motor skills. The child will discover that not all things are the same. This will encourage hand and eye coordination and is allowing the baby to explore and use their own imaginaton. From using treasure baskets babies will be curious and will discover that some objects feel different, look different and may be harder to hold than others, they will be curious and may try banging the toys either on the floor, the basket on against another toy. Messy play. This stimulates the senses and babies are able to use their imagination. The experience gained during messy play helps children experience a variety of textures. During messy play, babies are developing eye hand coordination and fine motor skills and is a learning experience for the child. Children can do body paint and use their bodies to do a picture or objects can be introduced such as a sponge so the child can use different materials throught the activity. This will encourage the child to see different colours and use a variety of materials. E5- Describe the role of the practitioner in meeting the particualr needs of babies in the chosen type of setting (group care or home based care) In group based care such as pre-school, Private day nursery or schools the practitioner had an inportant role. This is to ensure that all individual needs of children are met. This is so the children will develop and grow. Communication with parents/carers is important as it gives the practitoner a chance to understand what the childs rountine is at home and make sure it is as stress free and possible, as using as much as the childs routine at home as possible. This routine may include feeding and sleeping. The practitioner must be aware of the childs routine as the child will be used to certain times they have a nap and sleep, what time they have meals etc so it is important that the pracftitioner must let the child sleep and eat at what times they are used to. Routines are important for babies as it helps them know what they are doing, without routines babies can be unsettled and not sleep well. Ensuring good relationships with both parents and baby will make sure information is passed between the parents and the practitioners so that both are aware of anything that could affect the care of the child. The practitioner needs to ensure that they have an honest and professional relationship with children and parents as this is vital. Practitioners and settings also must ensure that they have stimulating activities for babies to get involved in, such as an activity which will help develop the babies senses, their sight, touch, taste, and hearing, this will help babies develop and meet important milestones. Planning is very important in settings and practitooners must be able to adapt planning when needed or if needed to suuit individual needs, babies need stimulation to keep them engaged and to ensure they develop and make progress to ensure they meet milestones in the future. The environment in the setting must be open to adaptation, indoors and outdoors. Baies must have opportunities to help their development and growth. When babies start to crawl, walk they need to have a safe environment. The safety and welfare of the children should still be the main priority of the practitioner, making sure toys are age and stage ppropriate and planning to meet the needs of all the children in the practitioners care. E6- Show how the child proctection policies and procedures in the setting protect and safeguard the babies Health and safety- This ensures all equipement and resources are safe to use and clean, sterrile for babies to use. Risk assessments must be made so all environments are safe for all children. Confidentiality This reassures parents/carers as it ensures that all the childrens information is secure and kept away, so only people who need to access it can do. Confidentiality means that all the childrens personal information must be kept in a locked cupboard or in a computter with a password to protect all the details and information. Practitioners within the setting should have up to date training to ensure they are fully aware of confidentiality and be aware if any policies and procedures have changed. Child protection policies and procedures in the settings are there to protect all children and babies. Babies cannot protect themselves so policies and procedures are to ensure children do not come to any unnessearyy harm and are cared for correctly. All babies and children must be protected from any discrimination such as gender, disability,race etc. Children must be safe and protected so practiononers must reconise abuse if they see any signs which are neglect, physical, sexual and emotional. Practitoners must know what to do if they see any of theses signs to protect the child. Child protection policies will cover all staff and those working in at setting have CRB checks, and trainign they need. Safe guarding procedures involve making sure all children are picked up from the setting by carers and not sent home with anyone without the parent/carers permission. Sharing information and team work is important when it comes to protecting babies as communication is key. If a parent tells a practitoner that another person is coming to pick their child up this must be passed on so the staff/practioners are aware of this. From working in a team this can help protect children, different professionals have different exeperiences and knowledge with children, so working together is important. It ensures a childs welfare through having knowledge from all different areas. An example is practitioners will know the childs day to day behaviour is, and will know the child well, as a GP will not know the child that well but will know medical knowledge which the practitoner wouldnt know, therefore for the childs welfare it is important for all professionals to work together. E7/D1- Explaing the importance of well planned care rountines and the key worker system Care rountines are very important for babies as by meeting babies needs carers are encouraging self-eteem and the sense of feeling valued. Care rountines are benficial as they involve identifying the needs of children so they can meet them. This can be done by observation, oberving children in groups and alsone to see how they behave. When needs of babies have been identified then you are able to move forward, planning can be done to meet these needs. If childrens needs are not met this will affect the child as the child will not be able to develop, learn and meet important milestones as they should. Care routines give babies stabiltity as having a good care routine reassures the child and gives them constiancy. By having practioners around will make the children feel more secure and safe, as the practitioner adn child will develop a relatioship and bond. This will help the baby feel settled and comfortable with a bond and may not feel safe without this bond and the babies may feel unsettled, disstressed and unhappy so a good relationship will encourage the child to develop trust and overall all will be happier and learn to develop better. Relatioships with practitoners and parents is also important as the parent knows the child best. Meal times is apart of a care routine, and the practioners must ensure children are getting the nurtition they need, and help to encourage the child to eat. Aswell as giving babies food and drink, meal times can be very enjoyable and stimualte the social and emotional development as children are able to communicate with each other during meal time and interact which is good for the babies social skills. Care routines are important for babies safety as policies will identify procedures which will ensure the children are safe and exaple is safety gates, gates must be kept shut at all times so the children cannot get out. Good hygiene is also beneficial to a good care routine as this will prevent babies and practitioners from becoming ill and prevents the spread of infection. Hygiene is a big part of a care routine for babies so practitoners must was hands after using the toilet, deadling with bodily fluids, before preparing foods and bottles. From having similar care routines at home and in settings is important as this will give children security and will understand whats happening around them and be more comfortable and confident. In every early years setting children have a key worker. Key Workers are resbonsible for their child and form good realtionships. Key worker will observe their child regualy and keep a record of how the child is developing. Planning is the key workers job and must plan to what the childs needs are. Key workers are close to their group of children and respoonsible for them, therefore will know their child more than other practitioners in the setting so key workers role is also to communicate with other professionals. The key person plays an essential role in supporting the emotional well-being of the children in their care. In doing so they take responsibility for those aspects of the child’s day which have the greatest impact on their well-being. These include personal care routines – nappy changing, toileting, rest times and meal times.

Cultural Norms Determine Emotions Sociology Essay

Cultural Norms Determine Emotions Sociology Essay Culture has been recognized by sociologists and anthropologists to carry a particular display roles or norms. These affect the supervision of emotions and establish commonality and predictable behaviour among individuals and their social environment in response to various emotional stimulations. Therefore, it is of primary importance to address the issue how and why cultural norms can determine the emotional status of people. Levy (1984) defines culture as an internalized system of controlling people in order to construct adaptive, integrated and sane attitude. Culture influences individuals in a multi-level perspective and shapes human beliefs, emotions and behaviour through various traditions, ethnic belonging and national identification. In this paper I will attempt to illustrate how cultural norms have a profound effect on peoples emotions and demonstrate a clear understanding of the interaction between emotional state of mind and the culture and where they are positioned in soci ety. We witness culture since we were born. We are learning about culture mainly through socialization. Caruso and Salovey (2004) examine culture on a macro lever, meaning how culture influence emotional expressions in different nations and ethnic groups. They conclude that cultural beliefs, symbols and emotional patters are shared by a complex system of processes called socialization. These are the key points and issues to be discussed in this essay which aims to illustrate the dramaturgical and structural perspectives on the sociology of emotions by contrasting them. On another level culture also provides shared symbols such as norms, language, traditions, customs and frame in this way the value, feelings and behaviour of its members. On a group level culture influences emotional process through the performance roles individuals have in society (Levy, 1984). In order for sociologists and anthropologists to comprehend and explain the emotional processes they have to study cultures from t he point of view of cognitive social psychology (Druskat and Wolff, 1999). Lazarus (1991) proposes that there are two phases of the emotional process. The first one involved awareness of the events and the second one represents the behavioural response to the emotions stimulated. Culture and social structure are interrelated. Both reproduce order and alter emotions during the course of interacting with other individuals. Lewis (2000) claims that there are at least five theoretical research traditions in the sociology of emotions which are related to the significant aspects of sociological analysis. Lewis (2000) enumerates the models as dramaturgical (Culture), structural (social structure), symbolic-interactionist (cognitive appraisal) and ritual and exchange (interaction) perspectives on emotions. I will concentrate on dramaturgical and structural ones. Dramaturgical approaches to the sociology of emotions focus on the importance of culture in supplying ideologies for emotions, feeling rules, knowledge and vocabularies. This structure is provided by Gordon (1981). According to him the elements of culture act as cognitive guidelines to what emotions might be experienced and conveyed in situations. An example of dramaturgical perspective on emotional sociology is made by Schmitt and Clark (2006). Their studies conclude how emotions are culturally decoded so as to when to feel and how to give raise to feelings. During the process of socialization individuals learn how to associate certain emotion vocabularies with particular situations and internal sensations. What makes the approach dramaturgical is that individuals are screened as performing on a stage, constructed by social structure (audience). Each person employs different cultural scripts in order to perform his role. In this sense people are dramatic actors, because they utilize their emotions to manipulate others through expressive control of their behaviour on the stage. People take advantage of the knowledge they store for the appropriate feelings and their displays and follow strategies to reach their goal. Through various manipulations of postures, language, role play, or talk individuals consciously apply dramatic emotional displays to gain recognition, favour, control or social status (Schmitt and Clark, 2006). Recent research in dramaturgy reveals that there are cases when social structure demands from individuals to express emotions that they do not feel. Hochsehilds (1983) research on flight attendants and bill controllers is an example and clear illustration how dramaturg y can be inseparable from emotions in a cultural and social context. The emphasis on culture in dramaturgical perspective aids us in understanding how emotional responses are learned and applied in situations. Another example of cultural displays and emotional management is given by Pierce (1995). Her research highlights that emotions can be gendered and this is so, because of the different social positions men and women occupy and the social roles they are expected to perform. She gives an example of male and female lawyers. Lawyers who are male are supposed to be aggressive, whereas, women are generally considered paralegals and are expected to be more nurturing. Dramaturgical perspectives of sociology of emotions involve emotions associated with already rehearsed social roles and conscious emotional manipulation. All sociological perspectives studying emotions involve social structure as part of the analyses. However, it is not only an analysis of the social structure, but also how relevant is the relationship between emotions and social structures. Theories and researches in the sociology of emotions often emphasize on a relatively small specter of social-structural properties. According to Lewis (2000) the most prominent theories in this direction, investigate micro-level power (authority) and status or prestige dissimilarities among individuals and emotions during the course of interaction, including stratifications, institutional spheres and macro-level processes. Berger and Webster (2006) create set of approaches that follow the micro-level order in interactions. They reveal that there are differences in relative power and in status among individuals. Berger and Webster conclude that the dissimilarities are forced by the existing social structures. In other cases they emerge in the cours e of the very interaction. Furthermore, the differences can be encoded in cultural beliefs for the people that stay high or low in the social ladder. Here too, like in the dramaturgical perspective, emotions generate expectations. Therefore, there is a similar characteristic in the two approaches. In dramaturgical as well as in the structural the differences in emotional stimulations are likely to occur in ethnicity, age, social class, or gender. Berger and Webster (2006) state that when individuals react in accordance with the expectations what depicts them as belonging to a certain hierarchy, they display and experience positive emotions such as pride, happiness. In contrast, those who were in low-ranking status, are predisposed to experience negative emotions, for example anger or fear. Individuals perceive that their low rank in their own fault and blame themselves, and that is the reason why they are affected by negative emotions and dissatisfaction. All these are consequences of structural arrangements which work quite unfairly. Social structure, therefore determines to a large degree the level of emotions and their polarity. Kemper (1978) comments that when individuals gain power their positive attitude and self-presentation grows accordingly. For Barbalet (1998) emotions are distributes unevenly and differently across segments of society, usually corresponding to each of the socio-economic status segments. People react emotionally in regards to their social standing and what advantages this brings them particular shares of money, power, or prestige something what they can not obtain in a lower social belonging. Fear is one of the emotions that Barbalet (1998) theorizes to differentiate between social ranking. Fear is generated from the lack of power. Usually individuals attribute this to their shortcomings. In his analysis Barbalet (1998) preliminary speculates that emotions are like most resources and consequently are distr ibutes unequally. Particular kinds of emotions emerge among some subpopulations and have rather predictable conditions. However, sociological theory will have to elaborate on the conditions determining those emotions and define the potential effects that they have on collective actions in society (Lewis, 2002). Lewis (2000) says that most of the structural theories on emotions are oriented to the micro-level, meaning that they examine situations and processes and face to face and daily interactions such are power or social status. But, micro-level course of actions happen within the context of macrostructural operations. In the structural theory of emotions in order for them to emerge, there needs to be interconnections between the micro and macro level of the structure. These differentiations were no present in the dramaturgical perspective. For the structural theory of emotions a whole category of individuals regardless of their gender, class belonging, race or cultural values, can experience very similar emotions, because they are placed in the same stratification system (Lewis, 2000). They are structurally identical, thereby, they are likely to have the same experiences, which creates similar emotional reactions. Cultural concepts determine in greater degree the emotional quality and the versatile emotions that people experience. While discussing various approaches, special attention was paid to dramaturgical and structural perspectives of the sociology of emotions. Examples were given illustrating the two methods and seeing that even though they differ they are similarities namely that emotions are the result of culturally translated elements. Integrated into the cognition processes, emotions are cultural just like traditions and values. We need to posses some cultural knowledge in order to recognize certain emotions. Evaluating emotions requires a comprehensive framework about different concepts of culture and cultural norms. Emotions are socially constructed just like cultural norms and we can say that emotional are also collectively directed because they transfer the inward relation of the individual with the surrounding social structures. Both approaches, the dramaturgical and the structural are based on the social organization of human behaviour and how it is controlled through the means of psychology. Cultural norms determine emotions, because they are socially organized activities, they are psychological phenomena and they involve human behaviour.