Earthquakes at Home Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Earthquakes at Home - Essay Example There are also some degrees of distribution in the mid-South region, but the principal areas of high risk, which show up red on the map, tend to be located in the equivalent of the states of California, Oregon, and Washington (Science, 2010). These areas also appear to extend into the nation of Mexico. #2 Where I live, in Erie, Pennsylvania, is gray on the map of earthquake risk, meaning it has a low risk (Science, 2010). It is not near any major fault lines, so it is relatively safe from earthquakes. There are occasionally small earthquakes around Erie, but they only extremely rarely get above 3 magnitude, cause any damage, or result in any injury or destruction. #3 The earthquakes around the world seem unevenly distributed according to the map of the last week’s earthquakes. The predominant amount of earthquakes have occurred in the Pacific Rim; many of these are in East Asia and Southeast Asia (Latest, 2010). This is not surprising to me, because these areas are known to have a high earthquake risk. I have heard a lot about very bad earthquakes happening in Japan and China. #5 I have visited some of the red areas on the map, including spots in California and Mexico. In California, the real estate where I was, is too expensive for me to consider living there. I also do not want to move to Mexico, because I don’t speak fluent Spanish. However, I would be willing to live in a red earthquake risk area, if I had enough income to do so in California or, if I learned Spanish and also had a better job and income, in Mexico. I would assume that especially in the US, architects would have earthquake proofed many buildings. I would be more hesitant in living in a red zone in some country with less advanced building standards. Generally, though, I am a risk taker as a person. I think that no one lives forever, and that none of us are

Estimating Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Estimating - Essay Example Therefore, the calculation of the height of the building will be as follows; This means that the height of the tower from the first floor is 108ft. However, in order to find the total height of the building from the ground floor, 15ft have to be added to the total 108ft. Therefore, the total estimated height of the tower from the ground floor to the indicated place will be 123ft. This estimation method is better since there is no information provided about the height of the floors. Even though the estimation method cannot provide accurate data, it is the best method for estimating the towers length up to the indicated place. In order to calculate the total load the foundation of the tower must carry, assumptions have to be made based on the universal measurements used for the construction of towers and buildings. One can assume that the tower is 8m wide and 16m long, the wall, that is above the foundation, is 1.0kN/ m, the piers are 300mm, and the walls are 200mm thick. The mass of the concrete used in the construction is 2400kg/m3. Below is the calculation for each floor which will later be multiplied by the number of floors present in the tower. From the calculations above, the total amount of load on the foundation is equaled to 324 * 10 = 3240kN. The factor 10 has been used since it is the number of floors that are evident in the image provided. The result obtained are a rough estimate since there are no accurate data provided by the

Linguistic Features Of Advertising Language English Language Essay

Linguistic Features Of Advertising Language English Language Essay In the present world of mass media, people are confronted with advertisements all the time. When we watch TV in the comfort of our living rooms, we are bombarded with ads; when we read a newspaper or magazine, somehow our attention is distracted by one form of an ad or another. On our way to school or office, we come across ads in various shapes or colors. Indeed, advertising, whether print, broadcast, or any other type, is part of our everyday lives. It is inevitable for us to neglect the importance of advertising. Goddard (2002) suggested that Although advertisements are ephemeral in that each one is short-lived, their effects are longstanding and cumulative (p.3). There was a TV commercial in which a young male stripped down to his underwear so as to wash his Levi 501s jeans in a launderette. This commercial has stimulated an eight-time growth of the sales of that brand. It happened in 1985 and advertisements at that time were not as popular as nowadays. From this perspective we can know more the importance of advertisements. They can impose great impact on the behavior of the consumers. This is the reason why many and many scholars are working on advertisements. Simpson (2001) acknowledges that there has been an enormous upsurge of interest in the linguistic and discoursal characteristics of advertising (p. 589), adding that the studies conducted have been anchored on different traditions and perspectives, such as cognitive, cultural and anthropological, genre and register analysis, critical discourse analysis, and linguistic pragmatics (Simpson, 2001, p. 590). In recent years, research has focused on reader effects of poetic and rhetorical elements in ads from a relevance-theoretic perspective. For instance, van Mulken, van Enschot-van Dijk, and Hoeken (2005) aimed to find out whether slogans in ads are appreciated more than slogans without a pun, and whether puns containing two relevant interpretations are appreciated more than puns containing only one relevant interpretation (p. 707). Lagerwerf (2007), on the other hand, examined the effects on audiences of irony in ads and of sarcasm in public information announcements. Working within th e pragmatic construct of metadiscourse, Fuertes-Olivera, et al. (2001) analyzed the metadiscourse devices typically used by ad copywriters to construct their slogans and/or headlines. The researchers analysis proceeded from the assumption that advertising English should be represented as a continuum of text functions fluctuating between informing and manipulating in accordance with the idea that advertising is an example of covert communication. By studying advertisements and its language, we can acquire more information of this special form of language and also of register. Sometimes, the language use in advertisements can even reflect the different values in a society. In this study, the main focus is on the linguistic perspectives of advertising language. A lot of studies have been done to find out the common and distinctive features of advertising language in Western society. The English advertisements in Asian society have rarely been studied. In this research, some advertiseme nts in a magazine published in Hong Kong will be studied. The research questions are as followed: What are the general lexical grammatical features of advertising languages? And what are the general lexical grammatical features of advertising language in Hong Kong Magazine? Do the general features found in the advertisements in HK Magazine match with the findings of general features shown in literature review? If so, what are the reasons for the seller to use a similar approach? If not, why do they use different approach? The answer of the first part of the research will be answered in Literature Review. While for the others, they will be answered through a textual analysis on the advertisements of Hong Kong Magazine. Literature Review 1. Advertising 1.1 Definition and Development The word advertise originated from Latin advertere, which means to attract peoples attention. The basic characteristic of advertising is to arouse consumers attention and interest towards a product so that consumers would take action to buy the product (Cao, 2008). The American Marketing Association provided a more detailed definition of advertising, namely, a paid, non personal communication laying emphasis on promotion and visual as well as oral presentation of the sales message (Tyagi Kumar 2004:3). Aside from considering advertising as a paid communication and a marketing tool, Ulanoff(1977) further stated that advertising openly identifies the advertiser and his relationship to the sale effort. The patterns or styles of advertising change. There are different manners to advertise in different times. Three different periods in advertising were elaborated as follows (Myers, 1994:19-28): The 1890s: making brands and getting attention. Ads were created using rhymes, repetition, parallelism, and scientific and literary language. The advertisers were just getting a major foothold in newspapers and magazines. The 1920s: creating an image for consumption. Ads often contained embedded narratives and mock conversations, associative language, and metaphorical substitutions of one thing for another. Ads used the new media, such as radio and comics. The 1960s to the present: addressing the jaded consumer. Ads are made using ironies, parodies, puns, ads on ads, and juxtaposition of competing discourse in the text and the images. There is an extension to new media- not only television, but sponsorship of sports and the arts. 1.2 Categorization Cook (1992:9) proposed four ways of categorizing ads, namely, by medium, product, technique, and consumership. First, in terms if medium, Fuertes-Olivera, et al. (2001) mentioned that the text type of advertisements can be further subdivided into digital advertisement, broadcast advertisement, print advertisement and outdoor advertisements. As for this study, the data of analysis are print advertisements. Second, based on products, luxury item ads require distinct techniques from ads on household necessities (Cook, 1992:9). Mueller (1992) brought forward two terms: high consumer involvement and low consumer involvement. The former refers to the goods which generally tend to be higher in price and are purchased relatively scarcely; the latter refers to the goods which tend to be lower in price and are brought very often. Ebert Griffin (2005:305) provided a more detailed categorization, namely, convenience goods, shopping goods, and specialty goods. The first one is similar to low con sumer involvement while high consumer involvement products are subdivided into shopping goods and specialty goods. Specialty goods are extremely important and more expensive than shopping goods, such as wedding gowns. The data analysis in this study comprise of all three kinds of goods. Third, concerning techniques, there is a distinction between reason advertising and tickle advertising. Reason advertising is direct and simple while tickle advertising in indirect and required an audience to exert more efforts to comprehend them (Bernstein, 1974). Fourth, with respect to consumership, advertisements can be categorized by consumers lifestyle, socio-economic class, gender, age, and so on (Cook, 1992:11). Moreover, advertisements can be classified based on their location in the magazines or newspapers. First, display ads, like those investigated in this study, are placed in conspicuous places amongst the editorial material so as to draw the attention of readers whose main purpose of reading the publication is not to read a particular advertisement. Second, classified ads are placed in special sections and ordered in accordance with the subject as their target reader belongs to a particular group (Vestergaard Schroder, 1985:3). Advertising language The relationship between text and image There is general disagreement on the relationship between text and image. Barthes (1984) claimed that all images are polysemous with a floating chain of signifier. Language can be used to fix this floating chain and to anchor the image (1984:39). However, Kress and van Leeuwen (1996:17) argued that text and image are not mutually dependent and that the visual component of a text is an independently organized and structured message- I. Lexical features of advertisements in English newspapers and magazines 1. Coinage Coinage, according to Longman Dictionary, means a word or a phrase that has been recently invented. Advertisements are full of coined words to be lively and eye-catching. For example: Give a Timex to all, to all a good time. (Timex, a brand name of watch) Timex, being a coined noun, is formed originally from the two words time and excellent. The new word is short and easy to remember. (2) TWOGETHER The Ultimate All Inclusive One Price Sunkissed Holiday (a seashore holiday hotel advertisement) Twogether is obviously derived from the word together, which will create the fresh effect and leave a strong memory in the readers mind. Beside, the particular image of two persons being together is formed without great effort, which make us feel warm and longing for that holiday hotel. 2. Comparative and Superlative adjectives In order to convince the readers that the product advertised is second to none, comparative and superlative adjectives are frequently and commonly used in the advertisements. (3) More connections to Europe. DHL has the worlds biggest logistics network. In this example, DHL, the logistics company, highlight its advantage of being more accessible and more easily to reach with the word more and biggest. Those who read this advertisement will have the impression that DHL is right choice for them because it has more locations to reach than other companies. 3. Compound word Compound words are colloquial in form, which will gives the readers a sense of closeness. Compound words also allow more possibilities to create humorous effect. (4) better-than-leather-miracle-covering look at the oh-so-comfortable size give that oh-so-good-to-be alive feeling This advertisement is quite interesting by combining many words together, which sounds like someone who is exclaiming his extol. Without doubt, it is impressive because of its creativity of compound word and humorous effect. III. Syntactic features of advertisements in English newspapers and magazines 1. Simple sentence Generally speaking, simple sentences are quick and direct in conveying information, while complex sentences will create some suspense dragging the readers understanding behind. Please compare: (5) Buy one and get one free. (5`) If you buy one, you will get one free. (6) Time to listen. Capacity to act (Mess Pierson, Consulting Company) (6`) Its time to listen and our capacity to act. Obviously, sentence (4) and (5) are both vivid in rhythm and easy for the readers to get the information. Sentence (4`) and (5`) however, are comparatively redundant in conveying the meaning, though they are grammatically correct. Readers tend to remember to (4) and (5) structure, because of their simplicities. One everlasting example is Nike shoes slogan: Just Do It! rather than Lets just do it now! 2. Imperative sentence Imperative sentences are often persuasive in that it arises the reads impulse to buy the product. Imperative sentences, beginning with the verbs, are forceful and tempting, which coincide with the purpose of the advertisements. (7) Get fast downloads with no wires attached. (SmarTone, Hong Kong Telecom Company) (8) Stop in at any Ford or Lincoln-Mercury dealer. (Ford, Car Company) Readers are advocated and persuaded to do the action, waiting no time. By telling or requesting readers to perform in a certain way, imperative sentences are effective in exerting a subtle impression to do as they are told. 3. Disjunctive Clause Disjunctive Clause is the exclusive syntactic features of advertisements in English newspaper and magazines. Disjunctive Clause usually chops the sentences into several parts with the cohesive device of full stop, dash, hyphen, semi-colon etc. By doing so, the advertisement is more condensed, which will save the money for taking up too much space of the newspapers or magazines. (9) We strive to send you a vacation faster. Caring more about you. (SkyTeam, Flight Company) In this advertisement, we can see that Caring more about you is split from the former. Normally, we would say: We strive to send you a vacation faster and care more about you. The effect here is to highlight the part Caring more about you to leave a strong impression on the readers. So, when the ads want to emphasis something, they will tend to put them in a Disjunctive Clause to catch the readers attention. Cook (1992) stated that Advertising is a prominent discourse type in virtually all contemporary societies (p.5). The term discourse means text and context together and they interact in a way which participants perceived as unified and meaningful. Text means linguistic forms, which is artificially and temporarily detached from context so as to carry out analysis. Context includes substance, music and pictures, paralanguage, situation, co-text, intertext, participants and function. Four categories of advertisement are found. They are medium, product, technique and consumer (Cook, 1992, p.9). Another scholar Goddard (2002) suggested that attention-seeking devices are presented in the language of advertising, along with the category of writer, readers and texts. Moreover, cultural variations, user friendliness, stereotyping and presupposition are also features of the advertising language. Research Questions Methodology A qualitative approach will be adopted in this research. A total of twenty advertisements will be collected randomly from the magazine Times. The volume in 2012 will be used. Times magazine has 54 issues a year. The issues on January, April, July and October will be used. From each issue, one piece of advertisement will be analyzed. There should be a total of 20 issues and thus 20 pieces of advertisement. Times magazine is chosen because of its popularity and the readiness to find in the market. The types of products must not re-occur in the 20 pieces being analyzed. It means that every piece of advertisement should be promoting different products. From the 20 pieces of advertisements, they will be analyzed accordingly in several directions. The first direction is the theory they has used in advertising. The second direction is identifying the features of advertising language. The results will be presented in tables and summary will be drawn according to the findings.

Lord of the Flies :: essays research papers

Chapter 1: The Sound of the Shell Piggy and Ralph meet up with each other after escaping from their shot-down plane. A large scar was made in the untouched jungle, symbolizing the first of man's destruction on the island. A war is going on in the outside world, and now for the rest of the book, everyone will be isolated from it and put into their own "world." Piggy spots a conch shell, and tells Ralph how to use it to make a noise. Ralph does so, and calls all of the other boys on the island who crashed down with the plane. Jack and his Choir, Simon, Sam and Eric, and many other characters join in an assembly (including the littl'uns, which are the youngest kids at about 6 or 7 years old). Rules are set down, and Ralph is to be chief. There is no one else on the island but the young boys, so Jack decides to take his choir out to hunt for wild pigs, although he is unsuccessful in killing a small pig with his knife. Significance: While Jack's first attempt to kill the pig failed, his quote "next time..." foreshadowed his future of savage hunting. Chapter 2: Fire on the Mountain Ralph calls another assembly, and reminds everyone that they are completely alone on the island, and there are no adults. Jack recounts his failure in killing the pig, and reiterates the need for skilled hunters. Several rules are made up, such as "whoever holds the conch gets to speak." Unexpectedly, an unnamed littl'un with a birthmark on his face tells about a "beastie" that he saw somewhere on the island. The general consensus from the others is that there is no such thing, and it must be his imagination. Ralph then suggests making a signal fire, which would be necessary if they hope to get rescued. The boys scramble off to gather wood to build a fire. Unsure of how to light it, they finally grab Piggy's specs and focus the sunlight to ignite their fire. They were not careful, however, and soon the fire is engulfing half the forest near the mountain. The little boy with the birthmark is noticed to be missing, swallowed up by the raging fire. Significance: Piggy is averse to most of the other boys, who he thinks are acting like little children (they are children, obviously, but Piggy acts like the adult figure).

What to Believe In the novel Life of Pi

Jeff Ramos English101 Mr. Adams 11-21-2012 What to Believe In the novel Life of Pi, Yann Martel uses the protagonist Pi to demonstrate how faith, ritual and ones will to live save one from the barbaric and carnivorous reality. Pi Patel, lover of faith and various gods and their beliefs loses his family after a shipwreck and drifts on the Pacific Ocean with the zebra, hyena, orangutan and tiger named Richard Parker, each struggling in their own way to survive. In the end, Pi presents two different stories and leaves it up to the reader to decide which version is ultimately true.Personally, I would believe the animal story was made up by Pi because the human story was too much for him to endure. But how do we define truth? Is something true simply because it is believable? Is something untrue because it seems unrealistic? The dictionary defines truth as 1) the true or actual state of a matter; 2) conformity with fact or reality; 3) a verified or indisputable fact, proposition, principl e or the like. The relativity of truth is not emphasized as a major theme until the last part of the novel, when Pi recaps the entire story to the officials from the shipping company who are questioning him.Pi lets them choose the version they prefer, and for them that version becomes truth. In this world, people believe the version of truth that they are most comfortable with. People would rather believe a colorful version of a story, over the gruesome details of the story that actually happened. For example, as Mr. Okamoto and Mr. Chiba were interviewing Pi, he asks them â€Å"So tell me, since it makes no factual difference to you and you can’t prove the question either way, which story do you prefer? Which is the better story, the story with the animals or the story without animals? Mr. Chiba: the story with the animals.Mr. Okomoto: Yes. The story with animals is the better story. † (317). After hearing the two versions of Pi’s horrendous account, the interv iewers agree the story with the animals is the â€Å"better† story, however; never do they say they believe it is true. As humans we tend to think that something is untrue just because it is unbelievable or we just haven’t had an opportunity to experience a certain situation yet. For example, when Pi is describing the atheists and agnostics last words he says â€Å"I can well imagine an atheist’s last words: â€Å"white, white? L-L-Love! My God† – and the deathbed leap of faith.Whereas the agnostic, if he stays true to his reasonable self, if he stays beholden to dry, yeast less factuality, might try to explain the warm light bathing him by saying, â€Å"possibly a f-f-falling oxygenation of the b-b-brain,† and, to the very end, lack imagination and miss the better story. † (64). This shows how the agnostic did not believe in god because he felt that it was untrue and unbelievable. Yet when he or she experiences it, they surely would become a believer. Pi seems to be bothered by the agnostic and their decision to doubt, to lack belief in anything. Another quote from Life of Pi shows that simply because Mr. Chiba and Mr.Okomoto have never actually witnessed a floating banana they automatically believed that it is untrue and believe it would sink. â€Å"â€Å"Bananas don’t float. † â€Å"Yes they do. † â€Å"They are to heavy. † â€Å" No they are not. Here, try for yourself. I have two bananas right here. † †¦ â€Å"They’re in. † â€Å"And? † â€Å"They are floating. † â€Å"What did I tell you? †Ã¢â‚¬  (292-293). Through experience Pi knows that bananas float. Once Pi proves to the interviewers that indeed bananas do float, they believe. How do we decide what to believe? The theory of knowledge can guide us in deciding what to believe, what to ignore, what to question, and what we don’t know.It is different from assumptions, rumo rs and myths. Which version do you believe? Do you think Pi, as a young boy, comes up with the fantastical tale to cope with the ugly truth? Or, is it somehow not the point to decide what actually happened? Maybe the beauty of the first story outweighs the believability of the second? Martel spends so much time developing the first story, and not much on the second. While it might seem totally unlikely, the details are all put into the first story. Ultimately, in Life of Pi, Martel leaves the decision of what to believe up to you.

Huxley, Plato Comparison on Education Essay

In Plato’s Republic, Plato believed the state was responsible for the education of its citizens for the purpose of their individual enlightenment. Huxley, in his work Brave New World takes this part of Plato’s utopian society and perverts it in order to indoctrinate the citizens of his state. I will attempt to argue that Huxley uses education by the state to indoctrinate its citizens and ultimately undermine Plato’s theory on education by the state for individual enlightenment. The ways in which Huxley uses education to indoctrinate the individual are diverse. Music or rather hypnopaedic sound was used to indoctrinate the citizens while they slept (Kindle, Huxley, loc 385). Eugenics but more precisely the Bokanovsky Process is used along side with Podsnap’s Technique to create the individual. These processes combined allowed the state to alter embryos and make people into whatever the state desired (Kindle, Huxley, loc 84). The use of music to educate the youth was something Plato originally stated in his utopian society. He stresses that when people are young they are more susceptible to influence (Kindle, Plato, loc 8578). Huxley’s state does this as well and plays hypnopaedic sound (music) while the young are sleeping over and over again to indoctrinate them, and slowly alter their thoughts or make them remember certain things. The uses of hypnopaedic sound vary by tones and tongue but are ultimately used to create â€Å"social stability† which is another way of saying â€Å"control of the populace†. Hypnopaedic sound is used to make the citizens never try to fix anything or use old things, but buy new ones instead. One of the sounds for this type of indoctrination is â€Å"ending is better than mending, ending is better than mending† (Kindle, Huxley, loc 1328). This process of convincing people they need to buy things is a way of gaining contentment and satisfaction as well as benefitting the state by creating a consumer society. The saying or sound â€Å"every one belongs to every one else† is also used to create a society where everyone has sex with each other and there are no relationships. The sex is not for procreation but for entertainment seeing as the state creates the individual and regulates childbirth. Plato also favored this sharing in his Utopia but only for his guardian class of citizens. Huxley applied this to his whole society but the sharing is only in-between classes never outside of classes. Another sound to further indoctrinate is â€Å"Every one works for every one else. We can’t do without any one. Even epsilons are useful. We couldn’t do without Epsilons. Every one works for every one else. We cant do without any one†(Kindle, Huxley loc 951). This is a type of farce, seeing as not all the citizens of Huxley’s world perform the same tasks or duties. Hypnopaedic sound is also used to convince people to take soma (Kindle, Huxley loc 2699). â€Å"A gramme in time saves nine† and â€Å"One cubic centimeter cures ten gloomy sentiments† are some of the hypnopaedic sounds used (Kindle, Huxley loc 1140). The drug soma was developed when the government of Huxley’s society took over the pharmaceutical industry. Soma has no side effects except providing an escape for people away from their problems, anxieties or feelings (Kindle, Huxley, loc 1328). This is really another means of control and also perversion by Huxley, which is compounded by hypnopaedic sound. The sound â€Å"everybody’s happy now† is used to make people believe they are happy and if you believe you are happy, you are happy (Kindle, Huxley, loc 968). This form of perverted education by Huxley is how the state indoctrinates the individual but this is just a part of it. Huxley’s world state employs the method of the Bokanovsky’s Process to create or rather grow its citizens some thousands at a time (Kindle, Huxley, loc 84). This process combined with the Podsnap’s Technique allows the state to mold and create the individual into whatever the state dictates by using eugenics. Plato favored a process of eugenics also as a means to breed out imperfection. Huxley took this process to creation itself instead of modification through generations (Kindle, Plato, 1252). This is Huxley’s way of specialization, which Plato also talks about in his utopian educational system as a necessary way for the state to function (Kindle, Plato loc 4953). Huxley perverts this and takes it a step further and does not give the individual a choice in what their life may be. Citizens are grown in tubes and altered by means of chemicals, additives, and even gravitational forces (Kindle, Huxley, loc 170). By these alterations people cannot think or do outside of what their task or assigned job is by the states indoctrination. The citizen can only do what it is made to do by this process and cannot question it’s purpose. In Huxley’s world state everyone regardless of their class is completely content being what they are and nothing else. This is again because they cannot think outside of what they have been made and told to be by hypnopaedic sound and state modification. (Kindle, Huxley, loc 959). Huxley’s education by means of hypnopaedic sound and eugenics indoctrinates the citizens of his world state. This indoctrination keeps the people from questioning authority and the status quo and ultimately makes them slaves to Huxley’s world state. Huxley does a fine job in Brave New World of showing what can be possible after a great tragedy occurs and the people need someone to save them. This tragedy would then lead to drastic changes in the way people live and ultimately lead to a whole brave new world. Huxley’s Brave New World does not seem possible in the actual world. Brave New World is more of a cautionary tale of what if and the totalitarian state. The real world is to globalized now and states are interdependent upon one another but hey what if?

The Origins of The Civil Rights Movement †African American Studies Research Paper

The Origins of The Civil Rights Movement – African American Studies Research Paper Free Online Research Papers The civil rights movement began in 1954 with the Supreme Court ruling on the Brown v. The Board of Education and ended almost ten years later in 1965 in Selma, Alabama with the killing of 4 young girls. The origins of the civil rights movements can be linked all the way back to Reconstruction. Blacks in America had been trying to become equal citizens for nearly 100 years. Blacks in the South had been put back to a near slavery conditions with the Black Codes and the Jim Crow Laws. In 1909 NAACP was formed, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, by W.E.B. Dubois the first black man to receive a Ph.D. from Harvard. The NAACP promoted equality for blacks. The CIO, the Congress for Industrial Organization, was the first union to allow blacks to participate in as equal members. The CIO helped teach blacks how to vote, get signatures for petitions and how to organize strikes. These organizations existed during the early 1900s to World War II. In World War II blacks fought to protect America. They fought to protect the rights they were not given as citizens. When blacks returned from the war they were expected to go back to being second class citizens. All of these events contributed to the beginning to the civil rights movement. The events that started the civil rights movement began in 1954, when the Supreme Court ruled in the case of Brown v Board of Education of Tapeka, Kansas that segregation in schools was unconstitutional and wrong. The NAACP hired Thurgood Marshall to argue the case in front of the Supreme Court, Thurgood Marshall went ahead to be the first Black Supreme Court Justice. He served for 24 years on the Supreme Court. In 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give her seat up to a white man in Montgomery, Alabama. She was arrested and put in jail. Her refusal to give up her seat lead to an eight month strike of the bus system in Montgomery. The black community organized their own carpools and buses during the entire eight months. 65% of Montgomery’s bus income came from black riders. The eight-month strike put a severe financial burden on the city. The Supreme Court ruled that bus segregation was unconstitutional and ended the strike. Next 1957, the Governor of Arkansas refused to desegregate his schools and ordered the National Guard to stop 9 black students from desegregating Little Rock’s Central High School. Governor Faubus completely ignored President Eisenhower orders to desegregate. The President then sent in Paratroopers and National Guardsmen to escort the 9 black students into Central High School. In 1960, four college students started a sit-in in Greensboro, North Carolina. Every day these four students returned to a cafà © for lunch waiting to be served. They received national attention and black and white students started participating in the sit in. While all of these events are going on white policemen and white mobs are assaulting blacks. Bull O’Connor, the Police Chief, of Birmingham, Alabama, orders his officers to beat up black protesters. The black protesters followed Ghandi’s example of the non-violent protest. This practice of non-violence infuriated the white attackers, however, when the news cameras would capture the violence on camera, it would show non-violent protesters singing gospel hymns and walking slowly down the street being attacked by white bigots. In 1961, the freedom riders tried to show how the nations bus where now desegregated by riding Cross County. They met opposition along the way. Then in 1962, the University of Mississippi was desegregated. As this lone black student broke the white barrier U.S. Marshal’s and National Guardsmen escorted him. In 1963, the civil rights movement took off. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. led the march on Washington D.C. His march ended on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial where he gave his â€Å"I have a dream† speech. This year was hard for blacks the leader of the NAACP, Medgar Evans, was gunned down in his driveway. His killer was not brought to justice until the late 1990s. The civil rights movement came to an end in 1964, when a church was attacked on a Sunday morning killing four little black girls. President Lyndon B. Johnson then passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which guaranteed the rights of minorities; President Johnson also passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which guaranteed the voting rights of minorities. President Johnson started other programs to help minorities like the Head Start Program. The civil rights movement then fell apart the leaders became interested in other causes. New black leaders emerged with Malcolm X and S. Carmichael who encouraged blacks to fight violence with violence. The Black Panthers were formed with the Black Power movement. The civil rights movement lead to the beginning of other movements such as women, homosexuals, Native Americans, Hispanic Americans and other groups. The civil rights movement achieved first class citizenship for blacks and minorities 100 years after the civil war. The civil rights movement questioned everything America stood for. Research Papers on The Origins of The Civil Rights Movement - African American Studies Research Paper19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraWhere Wild and West MeetHip-Hop is ArtQuebec and CanadaComparison: Letter from Birmingham and CritoStandardized TestingThe Hockey GameHonest Iagos Truth through DeceptionTwilight of the UAWAssess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 Europe

Organizational Culture

Organizational Culture Abstract This paper examines the way organizational culture impacts on decision making by two authors, Sekaran (2004) and schein (2005) by taking us through the effects of strong and weak cultures on leadership and bringing to view the culture and sub-cultures that have to be factored by management in making the best decisions in line with organizational goals.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Organizational Culture specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More It examines what happens when organizations merge, employee education on the impending merger, the role of management in the merger process for achieving the best results, how a change in organizational strategy may impact on an organization’s objectives, goals and mission, the role of decision making in organizations in line with conflict resolutions and risk aversion, and the common bias to be avoided in decision making for effective and efficient utilizat ion of resources in line with an organization’s objectives, mission, and goals. Introduction A key element that holds sway in decision making in an organization is its culture. An organization’s culture should be clearly understood by its leadership to help them make the best strategic decisions in line with its objectives, mission, and goals. Formal and informal culture should be incorporated in decision making by the leadership which should embrace a strong culture for the best and desirable results. Decisions made should not conflict with an organization’s culture, whether formal or informal. This calls for employee education when an organization changes its strategies to ensure full employee cooperation at all levels of an organization’s existence, thus ensuring a smooth transition from one strategy to another. When mergers occur, active employee participation, employee education, and leadership should ensure a seamless merger of different cultures in to a single organizational culture. To avert risk and other undesirable happenings within an organization, leadership should embrace the best decision making strategies and put in place measures to help counter any bias in the process. Impact of organizational Culture on Decision Making Strategic leadership calls for the creation and maintenance of organizational characteristics that bring about collective effort. Thus organizational culture is vital in driving an organization into achieving its goals. Organizational culture has a far important influence on organizations, the way decisions are made, the outcome of those decisions and the effect of those decisions on the strategic position of those organizations. These are the values and norms which influence interaction between employees, define organizational goals and help an organization operate efficiently in the pursuit of its goals in line with established standards of behavior. Thus a strong culture helps influence employees in collectively pursuing organizational goals.Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More An organization’s culture shapes the outcome of the complex and challenging decisions, the decision making process and the impact of those decisions in achieving the desired goals. These values and norms influence the way employees interact in an organization, their standards of behavior and an organization’s interaction with its environment (Sekaran 2004). This results in good internal integration and external adaptation. Decision making in an organization is a complex and challenging issue which entails a strong organizational culture for its mission, vision, goals, and objectives. Organizational culture is a strong element in decision making and leadership in positions should critically analyze an organization’s culture to enable them make the best strate gic decisions. A weak organizational culture calls for extensive reliance on procedures, and organizational bureaucracy in implementing its objectives and reaching its goals, leading to reduced innovations, and reduced employee motivation. Organizational culture and sub-cultures greatly influence the outcome of decisions made by the leadership. An organization’s culture envisages several other subcultures which also play a vital role in influencing the outcome of decisions and the way decisions are made. Schein bring to view a detailed analysis on how subcultures are formed from different subgroups and specific subgroups. These subgroups have different identifiable characteristics in an organization, by classifying themselves on the basis of social primary workgroups, occupational skills, and age. This is typically evident in the Department of Defense which comprises â€Å"distinct cultures of the different military services and the corps of civil servants assigned to each s ervice agency. A closer examination of each service culture reveals still greater cultural differentiation among occupational specialties, specific units within the service, and between line and staff personnel. Yet all of these subcultures adhere to the core ideologies, values and norms of the DOD† (Sekaran 2004) What happens when organizations change their strategies Changing or merging different cultures to come up with one culture for an organization is a difficulty and complex task. This undertaking envisages setting objectives, introducing employees in an organization to the new culture resulting from a merger, integrating the culture and the new organization to the environment.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Organizational Culture specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In addition, this calls for an evaluation of the result and a renewal of the integration methods in line with organizational goals. Active participation by employees forms a fundamental driving force for an organization in reaching its desired goals in view of the new strategies it adopts. Employee discontent or satisfaction determines the success of a new strategy. An organization’s core competencies should be focused for it to stay afloat in a competitive market. It is of primary importance that organizations continually revise and change their strategies. The HRM, human resource managers, should ensure effective quality management initiatives based on a thorough knowledge of organizational behavior, cultural values and norms, and the diversity of the strategy, a core factor in change management initiatives. This makes the company stay afloat in a competitive market, leads to risk aversion, and maintains the market base inline with its mission and goals. Thus a company maintains its strategy and improves its position in the market. What happens when two organizations merge? The merger process between or ganizations with different cultural values and norms presents a greater challenge to the employees and the concerned management. Mergers are particularly made for the purpose of synergy. This process depends entirely on the organization’s behavior, culture, creativity, and the innovative genius of the people. A seamless and smooth transition to a merger relies on the ability of the HRM, human resource managers, in making initiatives for the recruitment, structure and of the company’s workforce while ensuring a seamless cultural change. Capable leadership is required for a successful merger in restructuring an industry. The leadership role envisages planning and managing the merger in order to arrive at the intended culture. To help merge a diversity of cultures in the merger process, employees of the companies need to be educated on the impeding merger, reasons for the merger, and be convinced about the value of their work for the company and their role in the merger p rocess. This inspires motivation and confidence in the organization. Employees are likely to feel valued, motivated and secure. In a merger, various subgroups exist which require interpersonal interaction (Schein 2005). This kind of interaction comes with value added benefits for the newly formed merger. Subgroups benefits include interaction with peers thus assimilating new employees to the new merger, interaction with supervisor which creates culture in the new employees, and interaction with senior co-workers.Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More â€Å"When planning culture change, it can be helpful to utilize those aspects of existing organizational support systems that foster desired behavior†( Schein 2005). A sense of community makes people feel trusted and dependent on one another. People perform different roles and functions. People with similar cultural values should know each other’s aspirations and interests. Times of need require that members come together to aid their peers in creating a sense of belonging to one another while feeling welcome to the new merger. There should be a shared vision, mission and goals. A shared vision should be integrated with members holding the same value systems. Members of an organization should be made to feel the oneness of purpose and a sense of belonging to that organization. In implementing organizational behavior and culture, executives should play the role of coaches and profit consultants instead of the role of boss. The Role of Decision Making in an Organization Decision making in an organization is vital in determining the outcome of decision and their implications on the running of an organization. It is vital to integrate an organization to its environment through the decision making process. This calls for leadership to adopt the best course of action in carrying out an organization’s tasks. This results in the best course of action and in an optimum use of scarce resources. Workplace problems can be solved through the decision making process such as negative employee attitudes, crisis aversion, and conflict resolution. Decision making helps identify the best course of action, and promotes efficient and effective use of scarce resources. This leads to employee satisfaction, motivation and increased productivity Common Bias in Decision Making Decision making is a challenging and complex undertaking that plays on an individual’s psychology. Biases are bound to exist ranging from cognitive to personal biases. Various factors play a significant role in the type of decisions made by the leadership of an organization. In the decision making process, selective search evidence is bias where we go out in the search of evidence to support a specific conclusion. Further, we may be unwilling to change the way we think in the face of new circumstances, usually referred to as, inertia. By doing away with information that we feel is unimportant, we fall into selective perceptions bias. Recency, biasness in decision making entails placing emphasis in recent information with little regard to preceding information on an issue. Groupthink bias is based on peer pressure while uncertainty bias is where we underestimate the future. Choice-supportive bias results when we interfere with our memories on the attractive option of choice, and repletion bias, where we belief that all information is in our domain (Schein 2005). Bias in decision making has either positive or negative implications on the outcome of a decision. How ever, when making decisions, for the best results, an organization should put in place measures to counter self bias. This will generate confidence on the management from organizational employees and the organization’s environment. This also generates a strong organizational culture and calls for a concerted effort in the part of administrators in ensuring formal decisions based on formal and informal structures within an organization. Conclusion Leadership should be well versed with an organization’s culture, be it when a change in strategy occurs, or a merger takes place, understand the cultures and subcultures to make the best strategic decisions for the good of an organization. The best decision making should be embraced by leadership to avert any crisis, motivate employees, and resolve conflicts amicably while putting in place measures to help curb any personal bias which may arise in the decision making process in an organization. This could put an organization i n a better position and enable it to effectively and efficiently utilize its scarce resources. References Schein, E.H. (2005) Organizational Culture and Leadership, (3rd ed.), Jossey-Bass. Sekaran, U. (2004). Research methods for business: A skill building approach (4th ed.). New York: John Wiley Sons, Inc.

About Plato and His Philosophical Ideas

About Plato and His Philosophical Ideas Plato was one of the most famous, respected, and influential philosophers of all time. A type of love (Platonic) is named for him. We know the Greek philosopher Socrates mostly through Platos dialogues. Atlantis enthusiasts know Plato for his parable about it in Timaeus and other descriptions from Critias. He saw tripartite structures in the world around him. His social structure theory had a governing class, warriors, and workers. He thought the human soul contained reason, spirit, and appetite. He may have founded an institution of learning known as the Academy, from which we get the word academic. Name: Aristocles [dont confuse the name with Aristotle], but known as PlatoPlace of Birth: AthensDates 428/427 to 347 B.C.Occupation: Philosopher The Name Plato Plato was originally named Aristocles, but one of his teachers gave him the familiar name, either because of the breadth of his shoulders or his speech. Birth of Plato Plato was born around May 21 in 428 or 427 B.C., a year or two after Pericles died and during the Peloponnesian War. He was related to Solon and could trace his ancestry to the last legendary king of Athens, Codrus. Plato and Socrates Plato was a student and follower of Socrates until 399, when the condemned Socrates died after drinking the prescribed cup of hemlock. It is through Plato that we are most familiar with Socrates philosophy because he wrote dialogues in which his teacher took part, usually asking leading questions the Socratic method. Platos Apology is his version of the trial and the Phaedo, the death of Socrates. The Legacy of the Academy When Plato died, in 347 B.C., after Philip II of Macedonia had begun his conquest of Greece, leadership of the Academy passed not to Aristotle, who had been a student and then teacher there for 20 years, and who expected to follow, but to Platos nephew Speusippus. The Academy continued for several more centuries. Eroticism Platos Symposium contains ideas on love held by various philosophers and other Athenians. It entertains many points of view, including the idea that people were originally doubled some with the same gender and others with the opposite, and that, once cut, they spend their lives looking for their other part. This idea explains sexual preferences. Atlantis The mythical place known as Atlantis appears as part of a parable in a fragment of Platos late dialogue Timaeus and also in Critias. Tradition of Plato In the Middle Ages, Plato was known mostly through Latin translations of Arabic translations and commentaries. In the Renaissance, when Greek became more familiar, far more scholars studied Plato. Since then, he has had an impact on math and science, morals, and political theory. The Philosopher King Instead of following a political path, Plato thought it more important to educate would-be statesmen. For this reason, he set up a school for future leaders. His school was called the Academy, named for the park in which it was located. Platos Republic contains a treatise on education. Plato is considered by many to be the most important philosopher who ever lived. He is known as the father of idealism in philosophy. His ideas were elitist, with the philosopher king the ideal ruler. Plato is perhaps best known to college students for his parable of a cave, which appears in Platos Republic.

Reasons for homelessness in New York City Essay

Reasons for homelessness in New York City - Essay Example Social and economic factors that have been associated with homelessness include poverty, reduction in the number of available low-income housing units, real dollar decreases in public assistance to low-income families, and reductions in demand for unskilled labor. 'Homelessness' is usually defined not exactly clearly, and the determining criterion is usually the absence of 'safe' or 'permanent' dwelling, but even this is ambiguous. "Many people live in intermediate or marginally secure accommodation, such as hostels or hotels" (Homelessness factfile, 2003,par.2), and in the homes of their friends and relatives as guests or lodgers. When all of them are satisfied with the state of affairs, the dwelling is reliable. If there happen any disagreements, the 'guest' might be forced to leave the accomodation. Identifying whether an individual in dwelling is housed or homeless is related to the permanence of the state of affeirs and on the control and rights this individual had over this dwelling. In general, it is accepted that those who sleep in the streets or stay in hostels or 'bad and breakfast' hotels are homeless, but this is a final point of agreement. Furthermore, other categories of people who have no stable housing (for instance, asylum se ekers, imprisoned people, those who have to stay at the hospital, those, who live in overcrowded household, women, who have fled domestic violence) are extremelydifficult to define the housing status. A single definition is hardly possible, so it was accepted that homeless people would be divided into two groups: 1. Statutory homeless people. Local administrations are obliged to examine applicants for housing according to homelessness legislation and to determine whether they are homeless deliberately or unintentionally; and whether they fit the standard for 'priority housing need'. The authorities are obliged to divide them into following groups: 'statutory' and 'nonstatutory' homeless citizens. All involuntarily homeless citizens who have dependent children or dependent relatives with serious ailments are to be given priority status for housing, as they are viewed as an extremely vulnerable group. 2. Non-statutory homeless people, who are 'not recognised by local authorities as homeless and in priority need of housing. Some have not applied to be rehoused, while others have had their application refused. Most are single and without dependent children, and so have come to be known as 'single homeless people' (Homelessness factfile, 2003,par.2). The 2003 survey undertaken in New York City was planned to find out reasons for homelessness most important to respondents at the time of the study. The questionnaire did not purposely ask about larger social problems, even though some respondents considered it necessary to refer to those in the verbatim explanations. The survey did identify a wide range of possible causes, including a lot of sensitive individual matters; on the empirically based hypothesis that individual usually react to direct questions with direct and sincere responses. As a result, the answers demonstrated a picture of the multifaceted and numerous layers of personal problems and experiences that may call for supporting services. These results should improve, not substitute, nationwide research (New York City Report, 2004, par.3) and decision-making on

Pastoral Epistles Authorship Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Pastoral Epistles Authorship - Term Paper Example In the book of ACTS of Apostles we learn about how Paul was converted to an individual believing in Jesus Christ. In the ACTS he is portrayed as a cruel man who persecuted and killed those who believed in Jesus Christ. In the Acts of the Apostles the speeches of the apostles seem to advocate for Christianity as a religion for every human being. Paul in particular says that salvation was not meant for the Jews but also for the Gentiles (Harrington, 2008). The apostles talked of the Holy Spirit and how he guided most of them during trials before roman authorities and while preaching. In reference to Towner (2009), the apostles were categorical about prayers and insisted on prayers as a way to reach the father through His son Jesus Christ. It is especially important to note that Paul spoke about oppression of the weak and marginalized in the society .we draw that Paul passed a clear message that as much as Christianity was universal everyone deserves a better treatment (Towner, 2009). It is because of Pauls faith that he was imprisoned by the Romans. Paul bore witness to Jesus Christ of whom the Jewish authorities refused to accept as the promised messiah. He was deeply concerned with the manner in which the Christians conducted themselves and the qualifications an individual had to posses in assuming any leadership position in the early church (Liefed, 1999). It was difficult for new convert to stand firm and deep rooted into Christianity. Paul had to guide them all the way. It is here that the Pastoral Epistles came about. Liefed (1999) asserts that when Paul was released by the Romans he travelled to Asia Minor. He passed through Ephesus and Crete. It is in these places that he left Timothy and Titus to be pastor’s respectively. Paul was concerned about the organization of the church. This portrays him as a person who upheld order (Harrington, 2008). From both

Global warming caurse genetic changes Research Paper

Global warming caurse genetic changes - Research Paper Example These changed seasonal relations are explicable totally as temperature-responsive reactions (McDonald, 2). Climate changes on diverse geographic scales and timescales. Climatic changes monitored over a few decades associates with alterations in living populations and species. Some speculative grounds for anticipating types of climate-driven changes in species and populations that we observe nowadays to play out as hastened speciation over the timeline of thousands or millions of years exist (Barnosky& Kraatz, 3). Global warming is moving at a quicker rate at more northerly latitudes, which is leading to less cold stress caused by extreme winter and longer growing seasons. Species of animals have been enlarging their range toward the limits and populations have been developing, migrating or reproducing earlier over the past 40 years. Phenotypic plasticity or the capability of characters to change their behavior, morphology or physiology in response to modified ecological circumstances have attributed to these developments and changes (Connor, 2). Many species are changing to the lengthened growing season caused by the slight rise in standard global temperatures over the past century. Seeds are sprouting, birds migrating and frogs regenerating earlier. All of these however are not lasting genetic transformations but changes in individual behavior (Nature.com, 1). Numerous studies have indicated connections between climate drifts over the past 50 years or so and changes in population density, in the geographic variety of species or in other parameters that affect the number of offspring produced. Such effects have been monitored in different mammals such as moose, deer, African antelope, bighorn sheep, caribou, musk oxen and foxes. Therefore, it appears likely that climatic changes influence how animals are distributed on

Cultural Event Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Cultural Event Report - Essay Example The museum is located on 5th avenue in Manhattan, New York. We visited the museum on 1st October 2011 during the morning hour period. On arrival to the museum, I was immediately perplexed and remained rooted to a beautiful statue by the of the entrance, which could only have been made by non other than Michelangelo. The statue was of King David with the right hand holding the thigh and the left hand touching his shoulder. Even Monica who does not easily get excited was awash with a big smile on her face not believing that a fellow human being could have done such a statue. The most beautiful site we visited was the Temple of Dendur located in Sackler wing of the museum. We learnt that the magnificent artifact was built during the Roman Period in the days of Augustus Caesar and transferred from Egypt to the United States in 1965. Two years later, it was given to The Metropolitan Museum of Arts. At the base of the temple are papyrus carvings that look like they are growing from waters. The image of the sun can be seen from the top of the gates. On the way in, are images of the vultures with their wings spread out making the scene totally scintillating that left us simply amazed. The image of the king offering sacrifices and holding scepters is seen between the walls that separate the sky from the earth. The gods Isis and Osiris are crowned and with some writings by their figures. The believe within the temple of Dendur is that if a couple make love there, they will never part ways until death. This was good news for Monica and I since we have marriage p lans in the future but that was saved for another visit. We also visited the section where American art collections are stored. The most exciting scene was that of George Washington and his soldiers crossing the Delaware. Being a passionate lover of Africa, we could not leave the museum without visiting the African Art site, and I must say,

Frederic Chopin And Polonaises Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Frederic Chopin And Polonaises - Essay Example The Polonaise first appeared in Poland around the sixteenth century as a court dance that is sort of a procession where all the company passes in a stream and then defiles in pairs with movements. He left eighteen works in the genre with sixteen piano Polonaises, one for piano and cello and one for piano and orchestra. Their style changed over time evolving from conventional salon miniatures to some expansive dance poems. Chopin started a new chapter in the history of the genre with the Polonaises, Op. 26. Henceforth, he abandoned conventional stylizations. Each of the seven works has its own distinctive shape, pianistic expression, and style. The features of an authentic polonaise are 3/4 time, typical rhythmic formulas, a moderate tempo and a distinguished character (Ted, 22). He completed 2 Polonaises in 1835, Op. 26, in C sharp minor and Polonaise in E flat minor, marked by strong dramatic elements. In 1838-1839 he composed 2 Polonaises, Op. 40in A major and C minor. The A major has features of the heroic polonaise while the C minor is elegiac and tragic in expression. The other three polonaises are grand dance poems which are removed from earlier conventions of the genre and form. In1841 he composed Polonaise in F sharp minor, Op. 44. It is close in its epic-dramatic gesture as to the idea of Romantic fantasy as well as it is unusual in the appearance of a mazurka in its middle section which is a contrasting lyrical passage. In 1842-1843 he composed Polonaise in A flat major, Op. 53.

Dynamics involved in gay and lesbian intimate partner abuse Essay

Dynamics involved in gay and lesbian intimate partner abuse - Essay Example The literature points out that the frequency of domestic violence in same-sex relationships has been equal to that in heterosexual relationships a hypothesis that stands a chance of being proven right or wrong. Domestic violence in same-sex relationships is in relation to same-gender relationships. Historically, the failure to evaluate the violence involved within same-sex relationships has been due to social stigma, discrimination, homophobia and gender based myths among other issues (Lundry and Leventhal, 1999). These issues provided a barrier which stops such incidences from being reported. It is so unfortunate how partners in these relationships have been suffering in silence due to the society’s ignorance. There are quite a number of issues which influence the response to domestic violence within a same sex relationship. These issues act as barriers in the way of reporting such incidences to the relevant authority such as the police. The first issue is the wall of silence. A common observation is that silence surrounds issues of domestic violence. People prefer to ignore rather than talk about the incidences. Bigne and Wetchler (2004) reveal that the incidences of domestic violence have for a long time been treated as a taboo among the lesbians and gays. This can be attributed to the denial of the problem such that victims resort to keeping quite. This is clearly the most effective way of promoting violence in the respective same-sex relationships. It is important to note two factors which contribute to the state of silence. Moriarty (2008) reveals that the privacy within such intimate relationships is one factor. This common realm of intimate relationships shuns external interference such that partners do not entertain intruders. The fact that these relationships are based on pillars of privacy, state regulation is quite difficult. Various governments find it difficult to get involved in to private businesses of its

Frederic Chopin And Polonaises Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Frederic Chopin And Polonaises - Essay Example The Polonaise first appeared in Poland around the sixteenth century as a court dance that is sort of a procession where all the company passes in a stream and then defiles in pairs with movements. He left eighteen works in the genre with sixteen piano Polonaises, one for piano and cello and one for piano and orchestra. Their style changed over time evolving from conventional salon miniatures to some expansive dance poems. Chopin started a new chapter in the history of the genre with the Polonaises, Op. 26. Henceforth, he abandoned conventional stylizations. Each of the seven works has its own distinctive shape, pianistic expression, and style. The features of an authentic polonaise are 3/4 time, typical rhythmic formulas, a moderate tempo and a distinguished character (Ted, 22). He completed 2 Polonaises in 1835, Op. 26, in C sharp minor and Polonaise in E flat minor, marked by strong dramatic elements. In 1838-1839 he composed 2 Polonaises, Op. 40in A major and C minor. The A major has features of the heroic polonaise while the C minor is elegiac and tragic in expression. The other three polonaises are grand dance poems which are removed from earlier conventions of the genre and form. In1841 he composed Polonaise in F sharp minor, Op. 44. It is close in its epic-dramatic gesture as to the idea of Romantic fantasy as well as it is unusual in the appearance of a mazurka in its middle section which is a contrasting lyrical passage. In 1842-1843 he composed Polonaise in A flat major, Op. 53.

Conscious Awareness and Brain Processes Essay Example for Free

Conscious Awareness and Brain Processes Essay A number of scholarly studies on human consciousness identify a close relationship between human consciousness and the brain processes of a human being. This study is an examination of the literature existing on these two areas with an aim of establishing whether there exists a relationship. To achieve this, the study will evaluate consciousness and its functions in a human being, evaluate brain processes and their functions and from the two analyses, make efforts at establishing either a similarity or a distinction exist between them. An evaluation of consciousness Questions about consciousness have been with humans for a long time. According to Pearson (1999), traces of the questioning on the nature of human consciousness were there as early as during the Neolithic period, when burial practices expressed some spiritual belief which had some connotations on some reflections or thought on the nature and existence of human consciousness. The earliest forms of cultures and intimation into human consciousness are therefore only available through historical connotations on the then existing people’s reflection on some aspects of human consciousness. There are those scholars who argue that consciousness, as it is known today’ is a phenomena that arose much later in the development of humans, as late as after the Homeric era as postulated by Jaynes (1974). In this view of the development of consciousness knowledge, earlier humans acted without necessarily correlating their actions and thoughts. As such, they were unconscious of their actions and acted primarily on a response to physical threats as opposed to awareness of need. Earlier scholars who attempted to define consciousness included Rene Descartes in the 17th century and John Locke, in the period of late 17th century (Stanford Encyclopedia, 2006). Their efforts to define consciousness have formed a basis upon which modern human consciousness is constructed from. In Descartes, ‘Principles of Philosophy’, written in 1640, he defined human consciousness as self-awareness. Locke, in 1988 correlated consciousness to both thought and personal identity (Stanford Encyclopedia, 2006). Modern attempts to define consciousness have been attempted by scholars (Gennaro, 1995 and Carruthers, 2000) who postulate that the word consciousness is a broad umbrella term covering a broad range of metal phenomena. In its wide range, consciousness can refer to a state of an organism in its wholeness, also referred to as creature consciousness or to a certain mental process or state also referred to as state consciousness. Since consciousness is a broad term, this section will highlight the meaning of consciousness in different contexts. A person, or a cognitive system, may can be said to be conscious in a number of ways; the first sense is what Armstrong (1981) referred to as sentience. A sentient creature is one that is able to sense its environment and respond to it. In this sense, the ability to sense and respond to an environmental stimulus is equivalent to being conscious. The challenge in this definition lies in making a distinction between the responsiveness portrayed by living and animate creatures such as animals and humans and the responsiveness inherent in inanimate objects such as flowers and trees. This is because a flower responds to physical environmental as evident in withering during the dry season. The other sense of defining consciousness is wakefulness (Cole, 2002). In this sense, an organism is considered conscious not only by possessing inherent ability to respond to the environment but by being in a state or a disposition to actually respond to it. Consciousness in this sense refers to being normally alert or awake. In this definition, an organism would be considered unconscious if it were in a deep state of comma or sleep. In this definition too, there also lies some blurred explanation since by defining consciousness as so, one may need to define it further in terms of levels of consciousness. For instance, it is possible for a creature to be half-asleep, implying that it requires a slight arousal for it to be conscious, as in the definition. Another form of consciousness, identified by Carruthers (2000) is self-consciousness. This is a high level order of consciousness in which the creature is not only aware but also having the correct understanding of the state of its awareness. Among humans, self-consciousness may denote ones ability to differentiate himself from others, in aspects such as language, hierarchy, status etc. One who is unable to make such a distinction would invariably be referred to as self-unconscious. In philosophy, self consciousness is equivalent to self-knowledge, which is used to commonly refer one’s knowledge of particular mental states including beliefs, sensations and desires (Stanford, 2003). A challenge that lies in this definition is that it disregards conscious forms of life, which may still be undergoing growth and development. For instance, a young child may be unaware of his status or privileges and as such, when consciousness is defined in this manner, it may assume that such is not conscious. Features of consciousness As mentioned earlier, consciousness is an umbrella term enveloping a broad range of issues. To distinguish consciousness, it becomes imperative to assess the features that combine to bring out the conscious phenomena. By analyzing these features and later analyzing the features of the brain processes, it will be possible to assess the existence of a relation between the two. The characters of consciousness as identified in literature include; A qualitative character- Siewert (1998) had suggested that there exist some experienced desires or thoughts in all forms of consciousness. These are the ones that form the qualitative character of consciousness but they do not necessarily refer to sensory states. In essence, consciousness embodies some kind of feelings, though it is itself higher than normal physical feeling. When an individual is conscious of something, there is a ‘feel’ attached to it, which happens beyond the physical human feelings. Phenomenal structure- phenomena as applied in both psychology and philosophy denotes how things in the world or the world in general appear to an individual. For consciousness to be complete, this feature ought to be present, that is, there should be an effort deep within oneself that attempts to interpret a certain event or knowledge of the world around an individual. The phenomenal structure of consciousness, as portrayed in theory shows that consciousness is made up not only of sensory ideas but also by complex representations of space, time, body, self and the world (Siewert, 1998). Representational theories of consciousness as published in the Stanford philosophy encyclopedia shows that representation of the world as it is has evolved slowly to become an important theme in the study of consciousness (Stanford Encyclopedia, 2006). Subjectivity- Consciousness is subjective in the sense that what is conscious can only be experienced by that creature in the prevailing condition. Creatures with similar capabilities are the only ones that can understand the’ what-it is like’, a common phrase used to define consciousness (Nagel, 1974). In this sense, consciousness is subjective, that is, it is understood from the creature’s point of view as opposed to being objective where facts would be understandable based on available evidence. Self perspective- According to Searle (1992), conscious experiences exist not as isolated events but as states or modes of a conscious subject to self. For instance, the consciousness of pain is a happening experienced by a conscious subject. The appearance of the sky as blue is a phenomena that appears as so to a subject. This implies that for consciousness to exist, the ‘self’ subject which can be identified by, ‘I think’ needs to be there. The self perspective is a crucial feature in consciousness since for any event to be reflected to the level of awareness; there is need for the intellectual participation of the self through past experience. The requirement for this intellectual part in the subject is an important aspect of this study since intelligence forms one of the brain processes and therefore serves to suggest that there is a close link between consciousness and brain processes. Unity- a conscious system involves some form of unity. Cleeremans (2003) postulate that consciousness has a unity characteristic; this unity is that which arises from the subject’s ability to connect varied information’s and representations and make a coherent judgment. It is this unity in consciousness that can enable an individual to make a relation between past and present interpretations and therefore direct consciousness in a focused direction. Other features that are associated with consciousness include intentionality and transparency, a feature that recognizes the arousal of consciousness about an event due to an individual’s intent to do so (Cole, 2002). For instance, one’s consciousness about the 9/11 attack comes to an individual through an intentional thought. Once the intention matures, the inner self becomes conscious of the event and the individual is said to be ‘aware’. There is also a dynamic flow of information in the conscious state. This dynamic flow is also referred to as a stream of consciousness in which the subject conscious state is active and visualizes events in a dynamic manner, just as in real live (Stanford Encyclopedia, 2003). Through these features, consciousness in a subject performs some functions/ processes, most of which may borrow from both sensory and cognitive aspects. Consciousness plays the first role of flexible control of the physical actions of a subject (Anderson, 1983). When consciousness is defined as self-awareness, it implies that an individual measures and weighs options concerning an issue and as such, all actions are controlled in a state of awareness. In addition, consciousness enhances capacity for social coordination. Humphreys (1982) argues that a subject that is conscious is not only aware of itself and therefore its immediate needs but is also able to extend the awareness to other similar creatures. In a human context, being conscious therefore enables an individual to be conscious of others surrounding him which results to responsiveness to the events occurring in the social arena. Participation and responsiveness to the social environment leads to an integration of the like-subjects so that the social system develops values, beliefs, structures, intentions and perceptions. In addition to social coordination, consciousness presents a subject with an integrated representation of reality. By combining experiential organization and dynamism inherent in consciousness, it presents the world in an easy to understand frame. According to Campbell (1994), the features of consciousness help to constitute a meaningful structure of the world. Additionally, consciousness plays the following functions, all of which are additions, either to physical or cognitive processes; it enhances informational access, enhances freedom of will and intrinsic motivation (Wegner, 2002). Going by these explanations, it is evident that the realm of consciousness is made up of both sensory functions and intellectual processes, implying that a significant part of consciousness is dependent on brain processes. In the section below, a brief outline will be made of what constitutes brain processes and make efforts to establish a correlation between them and the features and functions of consciousness discussed above.

What is Serial Killer behavior and profiling

What is Serial Killer behavior and profiling What is a serial killer? Many have their own ideas as to what a serial killer is, what they look like, and what kind of job they have or how they were raised or even where they live. In order for the reader to really understand the definition of a serial killer the research must pinpoint what makes a serial. Statistical data as well as demographic data will also be discussed so that it can show accuracy between profiles and stereotypes. Past studies and the articles under consideration mostly point out two major factors that result into causing the homicidal behavior. These factors are psychological aspects and disturbed family background. The studies that we are going to review have analyzed the serial killing attitudes using different approaches. Geographical Profiling, Decision Support System, Motives, Comparison of single and serial killers, Distinction between antisocial personality disorder and psychopaths, Demographics of victims, the White trash phenomenon and a criticism ove r generalities profiling are our studied approaches and findings. The psychological aspects include abnormal kinds of satisfaction that a homicide derives from abusive attitude. This satisfaction may be either of sexual nature or revenge or both. Other abusive activities such as indulging into drugs, alcoholism and minor crimes are also considered in the psychological aspects. A disturbed background at home includes split family, abusive parent or guardian, the circumstances that lead to staying at care. A child when goes through disturbed phases within family it is a big stimulus for that child to turn into a homicide. The children who live in foster care have a potency to engage into abusive activities in future when they leave care. The reviewed studies follow logarithmic and quadratic distribution, normalization parameter, literature review, integration approach, comparative approach, cinematic approach and profiling approach. Truth behind Serial Murder Serial homicide, in its youngest form was known by the FBI as a lust murder (Egger, 1998). Still the question arises as to what is the actual definition of a serial killer. Another describes a serial killer as one that explodes in homicidal rampage (Egger, 1998). Then you look at law enforcement and what they say is serial murder is sexual attacks, the death of men, women and children committed by a male killer (Egger, 1998). Though there are many definitions to what a serial killer may be, one may have to look further in depth to really understand what the definition is. Here are some ideas to think about when defining this aspect. First, serial murder occurs when one or more individuals commit murder of three or more people over a period of time. Second, there is a cooling off period between each murder. This could be weeks, months or even years before they go after another victim. Third, there is usually no connection between the victim and assailant. Forth, Serial killings are us ually different in geographic area and can move from one location to another. Last, but not least motives are not for material reasons, but for power and control (Holmes, 1998). As one may notice researchers have been studying and trying to create an iron clad definition to go by when establishing what a serial killer is. Although as difficult as one may think this is, the above mentioned characteristics of a serial killer help Law enforcement further in their serial killer cases. In another attempt at defining a serial killer it was stated as any offenders, male or female, who kill over time with a minimum of three to four victims who have a pattern with their killing that can be associated with the types of victims selected or the method or motives (Hickey, 2002). Ideologies of Serial murder There have been numerous researches done in order to create many categories, types, and labels of murders. Some of these categories include biological, psychological, and sociological traits (Siegel, 1998). Other researchers have gone further in categorizing murders as brain disorders, passive aggressive, alcoholics, mentally retarded, and hysterical (Hickey, 2002). Other researchers in yet more categories such as the visionary type who hears voices, which tell them to act in horrible acts. Then there is the mission type who believes it is their duty to get rid of evil people in the world and example of this is Hitler. Some examples of what may be considered as evil are certain religions, ethnic groups and homosexuals. Next, is the hedonistic type which commits violent acts for fun. They kill for only the pleasure of it, there is no personal gain with this type. Last, but not least there is the power type who desires to be in control (hickey, 1997). An example of this is actually a m ovie called Saw where they get pure pleasure by setting someone up in a contraption that will kill them if they do not do something for the killer. The victim does what is expected, but in most cases they still die thinking that they were going to live. This is also where the background of bedwetting and animal cruelty begins (Douglas, 1999). Males Serial Killers The earliest documentation after the 1800s of an adult male serial killer was Edward Rulloff, also known as the educated murderer, in 1846. It wasnt until the 1900s that we saw a dramatic increase (Hickey, 2002). A study done by D.K Rossmo in 1995 stated that males were involved in over 90% of serial murders. He found that the average age for a serial killer was around the mid-20. In his study he went on to show that 73% were white males, 22% were African American, 3% were Hispanic, and 1 % Asian (Hickey, 2002). The mobility classifying gets a little difficult for it differs for each serial killer. About one-third of male killers have killed people in multiple states. Over 50% of male serial killers stayed locally when committing their murders. Over 10% of serial killers use their own home (Hickey, 2002). Most victims however, are killed by a local serial killer. The victims of these serial killers can be categorized into three different targets. First, is the stranger. Next, which i s the most targeted is the acquaintances, and last but not least is the family members. The occupation of a male serial killer is very diverse. Jobs such as a plumber to a physician are common. Many known serial killers were in jobs you would never think of them being in given their nasty habits. A good example of this is Ted Bundy who was thought to have been a law student. Another was Bianchi who was a security officer and an ambulance driver as well. He over a seven year period held over 10 jobs (Egger, 1998). It is examples like these that show the assortment of backgrounds that these men share. It does not seem to be a factor as far as education goes. Some of these men never made it through high school whereas some did, yet they did not further their education past high school and a few did. In addition to this many also had a prior criminal history. Results were astonishing as the combination of offenses such as prison, mental hospital, property offenses, sex crimes, crimes on children, drugs, fire starting, homicide, and assault was 68% (Hickey, 2002). Next, what we will talk about is the importance of the motives and methods of a serial killer, which a lot of researches see as the most important. Eric Hickeys study illustrated that 41% of serial killers uses some fire arms. 42% of serial killers in his study used a combination of methods. Such methods that were used include 37% strangulation and 34 % stabbing. 26% used some bludgeoning, and 19% used firearms only. It went on to say that 13 % stabbed only. The last 2% used other means as their way of killing (Hickey, 2002). Serial Killer Most Frequent Method à ´Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¾ Albert DeSalvo Strangulation à ´Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¾ Ed Kemper Shooting à ´Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¾ Carlton Gary Strangulation à ´Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¾ Robert Long Combination à ´Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¾ Kenneth Bianchi Strangulation (Hickey, 2002; Egger, 1998). Female Serial Killers Many do not think of a female as being a serial killer, but contrary to that belief they do exist. Females are more often than not dismissed as being serial killers, because of the stereotype under which they fall. Researchers provide evidence to prove that they indeed are capable of committing serial murder. When fitting women to this profile it is hard because you think of your mom who is loving and nurturing. The last think anyone wants is to think that their mother could be such a thing as a serial killer. The public just doesnt think of their mothers and sisters as having the capability of murder (Holmes, 1998). Unfortunately statistics show that 10 to 15 percent of American serial killers have been women (Jenkins, 1994). The FBI called Aileen Wuornos the first female serial killer after killing seven men by shooting them in the torso in 1989 (Egger, 1998). Females can be as cruel and uncompassionate as male serial killers (Abbot et al. 2001). Like the male serial killer there i s documentation of female serial killers going as far back as the 1800s. From 1826 to 1995 there have been a total of 59 cases of female serial killings. The number of victims killed within this time frame is over 834 (Hickey, 2002). Most of female serial killers seem to lead a normal average life. According to a study by Hickey, 32% of female serial killers have been homemakers, 18% were nurse or had been a nurse, and 15 % had a prior criminal record. Also like men the average were whit and around there early 30s. As far as female serial Killers victims it seems that according to research they fall into the same three categories as men. In most of the other aspects women are pretty close to the same in their serial killings. However motives seem to be somewhat different of that of male serial killers. These are usually based on emotions, such as being physically abused, sexually abused. The many aspect of a serial killer that were discussed in this paper show both the sides of a male and a female serial killer and the many profiling behaviors of each. Our reviewed studies have analyzed the relationship of all these factors using various techniques. It is possible that many serial murderers are apprehended before they kill three or more victims required to qualify as such. Similarly, there are some who are detained for mental institutions and not directly answer for their crimes. Others continue to kill many more people to over the years without being arrested.

Integrated Cirriculum Research Paper -- Essays Papers

Integrated Cirriculum Research Paper Integrated curriculums are constantly becoming more popular with educators each and every day. It seems that with this increased enthusiasm there should also be an increased activity of integration taking place within the classroom. This, however, does not seem to be the case. Math and Science integration has been widely talked about and supported by educators young and old, but critics state that there is little evidence to show the effectiveness of integration in the classroom. The reasons for the integration of subjects in the classroom are many and easily understood. â€Å"Mathematics and science can easily be integrated given that mathematics is often the â€Å"tool† for doing and understanding science.† (Furner, 1999) â€Å"The idea of connecting subject areas has considerable face validity, because it seems like common sense. In the real world, people’s lives are not separated into separate subjects; therefore, it seems logical that subject areas should not be separated in schools.† (Czerniak, 1999) Supporters of math and science integration want the overall picture to focus on the students. â€Å"Advocates cite the many advantages curriculum integration holds in helping students form deeper understandings, see the â€Å"big† picture, make curriculum relevant to students, make connections among central concepts, and become interested and motivated in school.† (Czerniak, 1999) The last part of this statemen t seems to be the most critical. If we, as educators, can increase student’s interest in math and science (where enthusiasm is usually rather low) then integration would appear to be the way to go. With increased enthusiasm come better grades and attitudes. Integration relates directly to the c... ...tive effectively that is, more students master the objective, learn it more quickly, retain it longer or can apply it in more diverse ways- the integrated strategy is probably a waste of time.† (Hoachlander 1999) This data leaves us with a problem that needs to be resolved. What can be done about math and science integration so that it is effective? The answer may lie somewhere in the middle. A more modest approach to integration would be to continue with separate classes but to integrate mathematics into the science course and/or science into the math course. (Judson 2000) Whatever the answer is that educators come up with for integration in the classroom, it will most definitely have a groundbreaking effect on education as we know it. But as of this moment, we need to integrate our ideas and efforts, so that finding the answer is that much easier!

Flowering Judas Essay -- Analysis, Katherine Anne Porter

Judas Iscariot, the disciple, hanged himself from a tree after betraying Jesus Christ and giving him a kiss. The tree in which Judas hanged himself is known as â€Å"Judas Tree† mainly found in Southern Europe and Western Asia. In the short story â€Å"Flowering Judas† written by Katherine Anne Porter the title is related to this religious event of betrayal, murder, and denial. The two main characters in this short story are Braggioni and Laura. Braggoni is a cruel, powerful leader of Marxist revolutionaries in and around Mexico City. Laura a beautiful American women, age 22, who took up residence in Mexico. The most known theme in Porter’s short story â€Å"Flowering Judas† is betrayal. Laura, Braggioni, Braggioni’s wife, and Eugenio are all guilty of betrayal. Laura betrayals love in her life. By rejecting all men who intend to reach for her heart. Laura pictures Braggioni a â€Å"revolutionist would be lean, animated by heroic faith, a vessel of abstract virtues† (Porter p.1692). Picturing a revolutionist as a Christ figure. Laura betrays Braggioni by leading him to believe that she is interested in him. â€Å"She knows what Braggioni would offer her, and she must resist tenaciously without appearing to resist† (Porter p. 1692). Laura does not intend to tell Bragioni to vanish from her life. Laura fears that she might mess with his pride and knows that Braggioni is powerful that it can lead in to hurting her. Porter states â€Å"Braggioni is cruel to every one, for it is dangerous to offend him, and nobody has this courage† (p. 1992). Not only is Laura betraying Braggioni but Braggioni’s wife as well. Laura is committing adultery by being leading false judgment on a married man, and she can cause a separation of somebody else’s marriage. A nineteen ye... ...ura declares that she has taken the narcotics to Eugenio. In the last supper where Jesus Christ presented his disciples with bread as his body and wine as his blood; they were to eat and drink of it in memory of him and accepting him as their savior. In the end of the story Porter presents to us a related event in a dream that Laura has with Eugenio. Eugenio says to Laura in the dream â€Å"Then eat these flowers, poor prisoner,† and from a Judas tree he stripped the warm bleeding flowers, and held them to her lips (p.1700). Here Porter mentions Judas as to referring to the disciple that betrayed Jesus. By Laura accepting and eating the bleeding leave from Eugenio, ripped from the Judas tree, she is accepting the contribution in his murder. Just as a Christian’s accept Jesus on Sundays by Holly Communion. Laura has betrayed Eugenio by participating in his murder.

Cultural and Social Change in the 1960’s

Cultural and Social Change in the 1960's The 1960's in America was a decade characterized by evolving social issues and a rapid growth of many subcultures and culture in general. As their world changed around them and different issues presented themselves, people looked for areas of exppression in which their voices could be heard. This led to an explosion in all forms of art and literature. Areas like music changed in such dramatic ways as to rebel against past sounds and styles while civil rights movements forever altered the way the people of the U. S. iewed race relations. Music in the 1960's was influenced by many factors that people of the time had to face. Protest for the vietnam war, racial turbulence, and general unease provided a platform for musical creation that resulted in sounds so revolutionary and different than anything ever heard before that thousands of people would gather at single shows. Protest music was very popular in this decade because of the ongoing conflic t in Vietnam. Acts such as Jimi Hendrix and Bob Dylan showed opposition to the war in music that became popular enough to define a generation. Woodstock, a massive three day music festival that took place Southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York was attended by nearly half a million people and became an icon that helped to identify the music of the 1960's. During the Sixtees, men like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X were a part of the Black Civil Rights movement, which advocated equal treatment of African Americans and the disbandment of Jim Crow laws. After the assassinations of both of these important figures, their legacies lived on through such organizations as the Black Panthers and the Nation of Islam. Another civil rights movement of the time was the Hispanic or Chicano movement. The goal of this movement was to empower and give equal rights to Mexican, Puerto Rican, and other Hispanic Americans that were being mistreated throughout the country. Movements like these had been seen in decades previous, but arguably with a great deal less success and popularity. The media was also another factor unique at the time to these civil rights movements, and without a doubt played a large role in their effectiveness.

Types of Risk

Introduction Long ago people viewed â€Å"risk† as the inevitability of chance which occurred beyond the control of humans. In today’s world the concept of â€Å"risk† has turned into riches, as risky ventures have become the norm in the business world. â€Å"Risk† therefore applies to decisions that can have a bad or good outcome. The different types of â€Å"risk† can include financial, legal, ethical, information technology, or even human resource since it can exist everywhere and at any time in our lives.When we eat, we encounter the risk of food poisoning, to cross the road we run the risk of being hit by a passing motor car or even when we drive, we can increase the risk of an accident. If no risk is done then, no breakthrough can be expected. Whether it is in your career, financially, or in your business. Once you fail to take a risk then you will suffer the consequences of making significant gains, which means that you run the risk of a poss ible loss. What is Risk? According to Mortimer (2005 p. 5) â€Å"risk† is any uncertainty about a future event which might threaten an organization’s ability to accomplish its mission. Which means that it can be the chance of something happening that will have a negative impact on an organization. It is the possibility of suffering a loss that is loss of quality income, loss of profit, loss of success or even loss of life. It means therefore that change involves â€Å"risk†, but once the set program has been attained or has achieved total success â€Å"risk† vanishes.It is therefore of great importance that the management of risk be well managed. â€Å"Risk management† was engineered into dealing with the possibility that some future event might cause harm. It includes strategies and techniques for recognizing and confronting treats of risk and provided an environment for proactive decision making for the proactive decision making, for the purpose of: * â€Å"What can go wrong† * â€Å"What will we do† * â€Å"How will or can it be resolved†. Success in business to a certain degree requires owners or managers to take â€Å"risk†.Most successful businesses are managed by people who know when or how to push forward and when or how to hold back, when to sell and when to stand firm. According to Yusof (2007) p. 1. â€Å"Risk is an undeniable reality of doing business today, whether globally or locally. Although failure is in a way linked to â€Å"risk†, the successful business person should not fear â€Å"risk† but strives to understand it, to manage it, or even try to take advantage of it. In that way the business person would be able to calculate the risk before taking it.Unfortunately the world of business now is exposed to more risk, such as high interest rate, inflation, recession, high exchange rates, even political and cultural risk to name a few. Therefore it takes a great deal o f expertise to effectively manage risk in business. Financial Risk Financial Risk is associated with the use of debt financing by firms or companies, since the presence of debt involves legal and mandatory obligations to make specified payments at specified time period. There is a risk that the earnings of the firm may not be sufficient to meet these obligations towards the creditors.In case of the shareholders, the financial risks occur because it is not only the mandatory nature of debt obligations but also the property of ‘prior payments’ of these obligations. In short, the use of debt by the firm causes variability of return for both creditors and shareholders. Financial risk is usually measured by the debt/equity ratio of the firm: the higher the ratio, the greater the variability of the return and the higher the financial risk. Financial risk also involves liquidity risk, maturity risk, interest rate risk and inflation risk.Liquidity refers to situations wherein i t may not be possible to dispose or sell the assets or it maybe possible to sell only at great inconvenience of cost in terms of money and time. The greater the uncertainty about true elements, price concession, and transaction cost; the greater the liquidity risk. Liquidity Risk has a different connotation from the point of view of banks and financial institutions. In this context liquidity risk refers to their inability to meet the liability towards depositors when they want to withdraw their deposits.Maturity risks arise when the term of maturity of the security happens to be longer. Since foreseeing, forecasting and envisioning the environment, conditions and situations become more and more difficult as we go more and more into the future. The longer term investment involves risk, the longer the term of maturity the greater the risk. Interest Rates Risks are the variability in the returns on security due to changes in the level of the market interest rates, or it is the loss of principal of a fixed term security due to an increase in the general level of interest rates.When interest rates raise the value or market price of the security drops or vice versa. The degree of interest rate is directly related to the length of time to maturity of the security. If the term to maturity is long then the market value of the security may fluctuate widely. Inflation Risk is the risk that the real return on security may be less than the nominal return. In case of fixed income security, since payments in term foreign dollars are fixed. The value of the payments in real term declines as the level of commodity prices increases.Inflation risk is also known as purchasing power risk as there is always a chance that the purchasing power of invested money will decline, or that the real return will decline due to inflation. Legal Risk Most legal risk arise from the possibility that a counterparty is not legally permitted or able to enter into a transaction. Legal risk is the ris k that legal actions will impair the value of investment or it may be a risk from uncertainty due to legal actions or uncertainty in the applicability or interpretation of contracts, laws or regulations.This can cause a particular problem for companies who choose to transact business with other overseas businesses. Not only are they exposed to uncertainty relating to the laws of multiple jurisdictions, but they also face uncertainty as to which jurisdiction will have authority over any particular legal issue. This risk can be reduced by the company hiring experience corporate lawyers. Ethical Risk Ethical risks concern the impact that the business has on shareholders at the local, national and global levels.In some cases these risks can influence the organization’s intangible assets such as the human capital, the business reputation and its clientele. Some of the factors impinging ethical risks are: * The establishment of codes of conduct * Adherence to the code * Programme t o improve performance * Good internal communication * Clearly defined mechanisms to encourage employees to respect possible violation. As the evolution of new devices in the field of information technology there is also an increased tendency for hackers to try to infiltrate company’s network.The company can also face risk associated with theft or release of personal data such as employees’ social security numbers and bank account numbers. A part of this risk can be reduced by installing firewall software and additional access codes. Human Resource Risk Another type of risk is human resource, this is most important within the company as companies demand skilled labours to work with the job market. Companies suffer or run the risk of hiring workers who are paid as qualified and skilled workers, when they are not.Other risks would include labour fluctuation and also a rise in the labour cost, which may result in strikes and lock-outs by trade unions and negligence. Compan ies can reduce the risk by providing incentives to the workers and also offer educational grants for workers to upgrade their careers. Political Risk Finally, the political risk can be describes as the type of risk has to do with the political decision making process within the environment for business. The lack of transparency and accountability in a political system whereby decisions which impact businesses can change dramatically due to political or social instability.The immediate resignation of the Prime Minister of Jamaica- Hon. Bruce Golding is an ideal example of political risk. Safety Risk When running a small company, every move a business owner or employee makes is a source of risk. In any case where high risk is involved, it's prudent to consult a lawyer or other professional who can advise you on how to protect your business. If an owner runs a factory or other job site that requires workers to use machinery, equipment or vehicles in the course of business, workplace sa fety is a matter of utmost importance and a key source of risk.For this reason, they must follow guidelines set by Safety & Health Administration. In addition to workplace safety concerns involving physical injury, health issues also pose a risk to some businesses, particularly medical offices and hospitals. Employees must observe strict rule and regulation to protect the public and themselves from health-related threats. Conflicts between employees are also a main source of risk for small businesses that employ workers. Risks include claims of discrimination (including sex, race, age and discrimination based on disabilities) and harassment from other employees.These issues could lead to expensive lawsuits for the business. The company must comply with rules set by government agencies like the Ministry of Labour and ensure that it follows proper procedures in all instances and with any situation involving these issues. Sources of Risk For companies that serve certain types of goods to the public, like food and skincare products, product quality is a major concern and a high source of business risk. Some products have the potential of harming the consumer if the company doesn't take proper steps to meet quality standards.Negligence involving the products of these items could lead to legal issues and damage the company's reputation Bibliography Al, M. A. (2004). Hanbook of Management 3rd Edition. London : Pearson Education . Bhole, L. (2004). Financial Institutions and Markets 4th Edition. New Delhi, India : Tata McCraw Hill. Mortimer, D. , S. Mortimer (2005) Quality and Risk Management. Cambridge University Press, London, England Yusof, Y. (2007). Managing Financial Risk. United Kingdom: Author House .