Esther and Book of Job Comparison Essay

In one of the assigned readings, I came across story of a Jewish woman named Esther who had suffered from cancer. The uniqueness of her journey touched me incredibly when I learned about her own personal struggle with the disease. It is an amazing but sad story in the sense that Esther copes with her cancer in a shame related way, believing that she is suffering from her sins. Esther is unhappily married and ends up having an affair with her boss, and she perceives cancer as a punishment from God for her sin. As told in the story written by Dr, Jerome Groopman in book the â€Å"The Anatomy of Hope†, Esther waits quite a long time before seeking treatment, and her tumor is very large before she decides to receive medical attention. The author of the books shares his own experience as a resident in the hospital, getting into depth about her family issues, problems, and reactions to her illness. Esher’s character can be compared with similar reading from the bible called â€Å"Book of Job† in that both characters believe to be suffering by the hand of Satan, although this is not true in reality. In this particular reading, Satan comes to accuse wealthy Job before God. He insists that Job only serves God because God protects him, and Satan seeks God’s permission to test Job’s faith and loyalty. In Satan’s test, Job loses his wealth, family and health. Three of his friends come to try to comfort him and keep telling him that his tragedy is a punishment for past sins in his life. At this point, I was able to notice similarities to Esther’s experience in that she saw cancer as punishment for her infidelity. In the old testament of the Bible, Job’s friends tell him that he needs to remain humble and allow God to purify his life. Like Job, Esther is torn between believing in God’s punishment and willing to bet better. At first, she seeks the treatment way too late, but at least she does. She shares her secret with Dr. Groopman within a health venting session, also part of the healing process, and at this part we get to know Esther as a person not just as patient. Furthermore, after the dinner at Esther’s house and the significance of her husband’s prayer, Esther feels so guilty that she never follows up with her appointment and stops the rest of the treatment. Like Job, Esther is torn apart by her belief that she should suffer and often loses the will to place faith in God and hope for better health. The story of Esther ends tragically due to Esther’s unyielding feelings of guilt. She lost the battle with cancer and died after receiving treatment in the most advanced stage of the disease. On the other side, in the Bible, Job questions God and learns the valuable lesson about the sovereignty of God and his need to trust in Lord. After Job places trust in God, his prosperity and health returns. Here is where Esther and Job differ. While Job regains his faith and his prosperity, Esther is continually haunted by shame and consequently loses her health. I think that God’s desire was to purify Esther, and that could be reason behind her disease, but Esther not seeking treatment was her own negative way of coping with the sin. Esther did not believe in God’s will, for her to be purified, and she suffered until her death. In my opinion, Esther was so focused on the idea of punishment that she missed the whole point of purifying her soul. I think of God as the greatest, and it is hard for me to believe that our Lord would want Esther to suffer without the treatment. Job in the bible submitted himself to God and regained his lost goods, but Esther did what she believed was right but she ended up dying at the end. Esther did not want to receive chemotherapy thinking she did not deserve it, and her mind was full of doubt. Both characters achieved purity at the end, but Esther’s was not aware of it. She allowed punishment and suffering to continue. The lesson from the bible is that we need to trust and obey God. Some things cannot be thoroughly explained in human terms, but we still need to always submit to His good will.

Laughter is the best medicine Essay

Laughter is the Best Medicine.† What do you think of this old saying? To me, it means that a cheerful frame of mind will not cure you, but it will make you think less about your ailments. Did you know that there are a lot of health benefits just from one simple laughter? First, just by laughing, you can reduce the level of stress drastically. Secondly, it helps to create a stronger bond between you and the people around you. Not only that, laughter helps to lower the chance of getting health problems. Last but not least, laughter helps to make an individual looks younger, cheerful and attractive. I reckon, sometimes we take life way too seriously. As we grow up, we tend to run through our lives with such a speed that we have no time left to laugh. â€Å"Is this what you want your life to be like to grow old without happiness but diseases?† If you are feeling down, laughing aloud may seem impossible. When you see people laughing out loud, you might be thinking â€Å"Dude, stop being so inconsiderate and annoying.† But if you are the one that is laughing out loud, you wouldn’t think that’s the case because you enjoy laughing too much. Although you probably can’t laugh off depression, one of the many benefits of laughter is that they buffer you against the negatives of life that could lead to depression. Laughter comes to be handy especially when you are in the senior years in high school. Take me as an example, 5 internals in a week can really kill my mood. That week was as awful as hell. However, I didn’t sit around being all upset over this instead I looked on a bright side and cheered myself up by laughing at the same humour with my friends. Research has proven that people that use humour to get rid of depression will feel less lonely and more positive about themselves. If there is a free natural antidote in front of you right now, why don’t you simply give it a try? It may help you to ride out of the tough times and other hurdles.

Discuss the Advantages and Disadvantages of Advertisements Essay

Topic: â€Å"Advertisements do more harm than good. † Discuss. In general, advertisements promote products or services to the public. Advertisers use all sorts of gimmicks to promote their own product. For example, fast-food restaurants promise attractive toys and prizes in â€Å"scratch and win† competitions. As a result, children badger their parents to take them to that particular fast-food restaurant. Many advertisements make misleading claims and promise instant solutions to people’s problems. For example, an advertisement may depict a pimply boy being surrounded by pretty girls as soon as he applies a particular brand of pimple cream. Though many know that this is an exaggeration, they may still cling to the hope that it may be true and rush out to buy the cream and try it out. When the claims are not matched in real life, it can cause a lot of frustration. In my view, the greatest harm advertisements cause is that they nurture superficial values in people. People lust for products they cannot afford and some even resort to illegal ways of getting money in order to obtain them. This in turn breeds a class of snobbish people who only respect others for the material things they possess. However, advertisements are inevitable in a modern society that depends on trade and production. Advertisements inform the public about the products that are available in the market. Furthermore, advertising is a booming industry. This contributes greatly to the economy of the country. In fact, advertisements create competition among producers. As a result, they constantly try to upgrade the quality of their products and services to outdo their rivals. This also encourages creativity and talent among the advertisers. In conclusion, I feel that it would be impossible and unwise to ban advertisements. However, I feel that it is important to control their influence. The government can do so by imposing stringent rules on advertising methods. Internet connecting people Do you play games on-line ? Do you send e-mail messages to your friends ? Do you surf web to get information ? You can do all these things through the internet . So I think the internet has many advantages in our life. Firstly, the internet is a great source of information. You can get almost every kind of information such as news, articles, weather forecast ,†¦And it is always availble whenever you want to use it. Seccondly, the internet is also a great source of entertainment. You can listen to music, play games, watch movies, †¦. Thirdly, the internet is a very fast and cheap way to communicate with friends and relatives by means of e-mail, chatting, webcam,†¦Although you are far away from your family, you can see them through webcam and talk to them normally. Thank to the internet you can also make many new friends. Next, the internet plays an important education role. It provides many opportunities to broaden knowledge in almost every subject. You can learn E on-line, take an on-line course,†¦ect Finally, the internet is a convenient medium to do shopping, book a room in a hotel or buy a ticket to see a play without going out. Today, the internet is a highly effective tool for communicating, for gathering information and for cooperation between distant locations. Millions of people worldwide are using the internet to communicate ,share information, make new associations ,†¦. But on the other hand, the internet has some limitations . It is time-consuming if you don’t know how to use it properly. It is also dangerous beacause of virus and bad programs. Sometimes the internet users have to suffer various risks such as spam or electronic junk mail and personal information leaking. So while enjoying surfing, be alert ! Therefore, the internet is very useful but whether it is good or bad depends on the way you use it. Good and bad things of Change In our daily life, different kind of human has various characteristics and lifestyles. Some people prefer staying the same whereas the others prefer changes. In my point of view , I frankly say that change is an indispensable factor in developing human and society process. The first reason I choose change is that every minute, our society is changing. If it comes to a standstill, how can we keep up with pace of this world . Changing pushes the development of society from ancient time to modern period. Thus, we can have chances to expose with advanced technology and convenient facilities. Moreover our life standard is increasing and improved. For instance, by changing solar energy into heat and electricity, people can find a new way to prevent the energy shortage. Or a students know to change their studying method properly for himself, he ‘ll certainly get good results. The second reason is that changing opens up chances for people to improve themselves. If you don’t want to listen to other’s opinion and resist yours, you ‘ll never get better. It also form bad characteristics,Conservative person are narrow-minded and selfish. They only think of themselves and can do any thing even hurting the others to protect their thought. In contrast, a person who is modest and always crave for learning will be respected and admired by many relatives and companion around them. The third reason is that changing assists us to explore our talents better and deeper. Only by overcoming storm or big change can you become more maturer and stronger. Changing is precious experiences in your career and life. For example, somw people like challenges and want to change their job. Even in crisis economy, job is very difficult to find, they still want to choose a suitable job for them . Through it, they will find their real abilities and try hard to achive their goals. In a nutshell, I think changing is always a good thing . Nobody can deny the convinience and huge benefits it brings to our society and human.

Personal time management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Personal time management - Essay Example Apart from being a mother, I am a full time professional as well. I am undertaking online classes within the nursing informatics class for the BSN degree. Handling all these affairs is indeed a difficult task but I have to be on my toes at all times. This is in line with my understanding that I am also a mother who has to look after her family and thus be available to the kids and home on a consistent basis. My life does not know any shortcuts or alternatives coming to its fore. I have to be present when the going gets tough, and this happens to me on a constant basis. What is even more significant is the fact that my work tasks are handled on a regular basis, and there are no time delays as such. I have to give top priority to my family because they remain quintessential to me all said and done. I am of the view that time management is not that big of an issue as it is made of. This is because time management comes about when there are concerted efforts to get things right and that too within such a scenario where there is immense understanding of the regular routines that happen, and thus happen without any rhyme and reason. If we can do away with such nuances, it would be correct to state that the time management issue would not even crop up in the first place. I am sure that time management issues hurt those individuals who are not punctual, in fact who do not want to be on time at all. The people who make an effort to be on time and thus complete their chores in accordance usually remain successful with not only managing this issue but also the other pertinent ones that mar their lives every now and then (Warhurst, 2007). As a mother of five kids, I am optimistic that time management is not that big of an issue and could be resolved if there are proper efforts put in pl ace by the people who want to have it under their grasps. However, all that has been said by our forefathers in relation with

Toy Industry Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Toy Industry - Case Study Example Therefore, the timing TRU chose to try to enter Japanese market was an advantage. The first reason is because they realized the changing political direction in Japanese retail sector and could achieve a first mover advantage if and when the laws are changed. Another advantage TRU recognized was the changing shopping demands in Japanese culture. The change in the culture stems from a higher disposable income, more education and free time. This results in more Japanese traveling over seas and exposure to global or international products, stores and culture. The new trend moved towards price consciousness and low prices with preference to specialty retailers with large selections. This is an advantage because TRU strategy is based upon price, selection and keeping stores in stock (case). Thus the changing Japanese shopping culture and political climate favored TRU's expansion into the market. When trying to enter the Japanese market TRU faced major obstacles in the forms f government regulations and business customs. As mentioned earlier the "big store laws" prohibited large foreign (even domestic) companies from operating in Japan without consent from local store owners in the area. TRU overcame these obstacles by using strategic contacts that helped put pressure on MITI (Ministry f International Trade and Industry) to revise the current laws. From the help f US lobbyist and government, mainly US trade representatives, Den Fujita, president f McDonalds Japan, and the for-mentioned opposition from the political climate, discussions were held addressing the issues in the Structural Impediments Initiatives in 1989. Through TRU strategic contacts' pressure, negotiations were reached that allowed favorability for TRU's market entry (case). Other contacts TRU utilized to enter the Japanese market are Nintendo and McDonalds. Nintendo, a large toy manufacturer, and TRU have an established long term business relationship that served as an advantage when Japanese suppliers refused to sell directly to TRU. Because Nintendo publicly announced they will directly supply TRU, other manufacturers began to follow Nintendo. McDonalds Japan was also a critical factor in TRU's market entry. Briefly, the partnership between the companies allowed valuable transfers f re-sources including market research, network connections and the knowledge f business practices in Japan. The formation f MTB Rengo group which comprises f TRU, McDonalds and Blockbuster also helps to maximize consumer traffic by building mini-malls with large parking lots that have in essence, one stop shopping convenience (Alexander 2004). "More families visit McDonalds in Japan than any other business and we look forward to working with them to effectively leverage this incredible traffic (www.toysrus.com)." McDonalds's will be further examined in the following section. Established, Experienced, and Adaptable Having already established their international presence, TRU has valuable experience in the foreign market and are able to adapt to its demands. This

Introduction of economic scarcity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Introduction of economic scarcity - Essay Example For example when computers came in and became a household name, if any person is still computer illiterate, won't he or she find that getting a job has become close to impossible. In the same way, if a country has been producing things with old technology for a long time and there comes a new technology that not only creates efficiency but also gives better results, don't you think people will demand the products made by new technology. Then a producer using older technology will go out of demand and his products will become obsolete. This is how scarcity appears as and when a new discovery or invention is made. But it is important that the new technology be very significant and life changing. On the island, they have found that a new invention is likely to revolutionize the way things are done on the island. The problem is should this invention be adopted If yes, then how should this be accomplished Keeping these points in mind, the council must create a plan that would address the key issues knowing that this technology has to be adopted. In order to reduce resistance and make people more open to the acceptance and adoption of this technology, it is critical that they are made aware of the benefits of this technology. When computers came, they were not adopted by everyone in a single day but people came to embrace this new technology as and when they learned o

Law of Criminal Evidence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Law of Criminal Evidence - Essay Example It is logically connected to the evidence, or, conversely, lack of it .It does not involve proof to an absolute certainty; it is not clinching evidence; nor is it an fictitious or minor doubt; moreover, proof is required that the accused is guilty, and the jury also that finds the defendant to be guilty too. In R v Letenock (1917) 12 Cr. App. R. 221 the defendant claimed that he erroneously believed that the victim was about to attack him. The Court directed the jury that his inebriated state was immaterial unless his state of inebriation was so high, so as to render him oblivious of his true senses. The Court of Criminal Appeal overruled his sentence for murder and, instead, brought in a verdict of manslaughter. "However, a drunken mistake concerning provocation can still afford a defense."(Dingwall 2007. P. 137). This case may be viewed as a reversal of the facts in above R v Letenock (1917) case when the defendant claims that he was not under the influence of alcohol when he committed the offence. The fact whether he was drunk while the accident occurred, or not, is not so material in this case as the truth that he has killed a man. If what he says is true, he should be charged on a higher complicity of murder, since he claims he was in his full senses when the accident took place, as compared to manslaughter, carrying a lower sentence, if he had knocked Daljit, under the influence of alcohol. Thus, in this case the Courts shall have to consider the conduct and behaviour of the defendant when the offence took place. Criminal jurisprudence and human behaviour is a complex subject and it is only after a complete investigation of the case, that a verdict could be arrived by the Courts. It is only with the assistance of well developed and engaging process of data collection and processing that the difficulties and challenges posed by crime and misdeeds data could be substantiated and, through it, building-up of a case for positive alcohol-related criminal proceedings could be enforced. Legal dimensions: Criminal misdeeds under the influence of liquor have a statutory definition, entailing individual behavior and licensing laws. The offences on the statute book are unambiguously related to the consumption of alcohol (a series of other offences cover the area of licensing): Offences where alcohol consumption by the defendant is intrinsically related to the offence, e.g. drink driving, drunk and disorderly, aggravated drunkenness, death by careless driving, while under the inebriated influence of alcohol. "Drink driving offences alone are judged against a fixed, objective standard based on a prescribed alcohol concentration in the body. However, in law, 'alcohol-related crime' can also be defined in conjunction with a professional opinion that the offender was under the influence of alcohol at the time they committed the offence. Police officers apply this subjective standard in relation to many 'statutory' alcohol-related offences, but also do so in any case where the condition of the alleged perpetrator is deemed relevant to the case." (Tierney & Hobbs 2003). Answer to Question1 (ii) 1) Provocation: It could be interpreted as being an act undertaken on the spur of the moment which was induced by the victim's

Developing Performance and Career Management in Talent Management Essay

Developing Performance and Career Management in Talent Management - Essay Example Performance examination serves to rate the performance of the employees and assess their commitment towards the organizational objectives. Assuming that the methodology of performance evaluations is formal and legitimately organized, it helps the employees to obviously comprehend their parts and obligations and provide guidance to the singular's performance. It serves to arrange the distinct performances with the organizational objectives and likewise supervise their performance. Performance appraisal takes into account the past performance of the employees and focuses on the improvement of the future performance of the employees. Performance appraisal is a piece of vocation advancement. The most recent mantra being emulated by associations over the planet being – "get paid as per your performance" – the center of the associations is turning to performance management and particularly to singular performance. Performance appraisal serves to rate the performance of the em ployees and assess their commitment towards the organizational objectives. ... Performance appraisal is likewise nearly joined to other HR courses of action like serves to recognize the preparation and improvement needs, advancements, downgrades, changes in the recompense and so on. A sentiment imparted in a positive way heads off far to rouse the employees and serves to recognize singular profession developmental arrangements. In light of the assessment, employees can advance their profession objectives, accomplish new levels of capabilities and outline their vocation movement. Performance appraisal sways employees to strengthen their qualities and beat their shortcomings. Career development is the amassing and growth of abilities and information that empower an expert to development or develop in the field of his or her decision. This can take the manifestation of instructive or scholastic courses, proficient affirmation and preparing, or commonsense, at work experience. In the field of mechanical building, one of the keys to career development is affirmation , a transportable impression of the way that a distinctive has accomplished a certain aptitude level. Performance appraisal & career development incorporates the territory of career development, which is an amazingly fascinating and essential region of word related brain research and one which offers an extraordinary arrangement of work fulfillment. Career development and performance appraisal might be more serious for associations and their employees when every framework draws on the quality of the other – the "now" introduction of performance appraisal and "what's to come" introduction of career development. To fulfill this commonly fortifying process, the two frameworks must be seen as helping the same objective – talent

Analysis the Fidelity Investment case Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Analysis the Fidelity Investment case - Essay Example as 74% of fidelity’s employees felt more connected to their colleagues after teaching an apprenticeship and 95% reported improved team building traits. Eric Schwarz was interested on the shocking large drop outs of the disadvantaged students. Nearly 1.2 million students dropped out of high school every year. It was discovered that the middle school years were very critical in determining of whether the students would end-up graduating from high school. He thus sorts to establish a lasting solution through partnership with Fidelity Investment Company. This case therefore sorts to provide solutions to the middle level disadvantaged student. This was done through controlling the high rates of school drop-outs to successfully graduate and their after advance to college while at the same time fully participate in the civic and economic life of their communities. The success of a business is generally determined by its location, this is very essential for the investment. Locating a business within communities with vibrant arts organization and a rich cultural life is of great significance to the business. This is because the communities will greatly invest and the business will reap the benefits of economic growth, jobs and the quality of life in these communities. The benefits that a business receives from the community are as a resort of business contribution and giving back to the community. Businesses therefore should support to the art and school programs in the community just like the Fidelity Investment. The business planner make crucial decisions concerning the support community projects and by how much, these decisions are driven by; the community expectations, conflict reduction, risk management and technical competence and the value of the money. In the event that the local community feels that the local businesses are not sufficiently investing in the community, the residents tend to conflict with the company and eventually the business will

Analyzing MacDonalds and Aircel Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Analyzing MacDonalds and Aircel - Essay Example The first case is about the establishment and expansion strategies of McDonald’s in France. The company’s first restaurant was established in the nation in the year 1979 in Strasbourg. Since then the company has been continuing to expand its operations steadily through the provision of the best quality of services and value to the customers. For the company which is based in the US, France has demonstrated the highest market growth with the establishment of 1161 numbers of restaurants in 2009. This was possible despite the numerous cultural differences existing between the two nations. The US entry into the French market was perceived as an invasion of American culture into the country which was itself known for its huge cultural heritage and traditions (ICMR, 2011). The theories which would be focused at for discussing the strategies of the company are Geert Hoftsede’s cultural dimensions. The next case would discuss the details of Aircel’s promotional st rategy. This strategy was launched in the year 1999 by the India based mobile operator Aircel. Aircel made entry into the highly competitive Indian market in the year 1999. Innovation formed the key component of its branding strategy. It communicated and connected with its customers using the simplest and the most thoughtful advertising campaigns. The case tries to discuss the various marketing strategies that were undertaken by the company for its late entry into the Indian market and for increasing and expanding its subscriber base. It was one of first telecom operators to be advertising on Face book. The various promotional strategies undertaken by the company would be discussed in the project. The promotional services using the television media, print media and the internet would be discussed in details in the project. Critical discussion of theories Recent research has demonstrated the effects of cultural differences on consumer behaviour. Many studies have emphasized on highli ghting the need for examining the validity of application of inferences which were developed in America for the designing and development of marketing strategies in other nations. A number of US based multinational companies like IBM, Coca-Cola; McDonald’s have been successfully earning significant revenue from their international operations across the globe. Thus the development of the different marketing strategies which remain sensitive towards the cultural differences across nations are considered to be of paramount importance for organizations have cross border operations and for their international success (Canli & Maheswaran, 2000, p.309). Previous research has thrown light on the fact that products and services from nations having favourable perceptions have been provided with positive evaluations. However, despite the above fact a survey which was conducted by Bozell-Gallup, (1996), showed that substantial differences in perceptions prevailed among the different nati ons. For example, according to the perception of Europe, Germany was chosen as the leader of quality. On the other hand for the Asian countries, Japan is considered to be a leader in quality. Despite the existence of substantial literature about nations of origin effects, an examination based on theoretical framework for the understanding of the effects of origin of countries across is still lacking. The collectivism/individualism framework has provided an important way of measuring and comparing the differences in cultures across nations. Collectivists and individualists have shown considerable

Assess the contribution of Social Action Theory to sociology Essay Example for Free

Assess the contribution of Social Action Theory to sociology Essay Social Action Theorists, or Interactionists are also known as micro sociologists, this is because instead of looking at the bigger picture in society, and how the large structures and institutions such as the education and judiciary systems affect individuals, which is what Marxists and Functionalists (macro sociologists) look at, Social Action Theorists look at the opposite, how us, individuals, act by our own accord, and how we make up society. This is known as a ‘bottom up’ view of society. They see people as having a much more active role in society, as opposed to the passive puppets that Structuralists make us out to be. They reject the view that our behaviour is the product of these organisations and structure. Although Social Action Theorists do look very much as individual behaviour, they also take into account the fact that we are aware of the people around us, they argue that our behaviour is influenced by how other individuals react to us and behave, so society is made up because people come together and interact. We are able to react to each other’s behaviour in this way because we have learnt how to expect what people should and shouldn’t do, and how to interpret behaviour. We have meanings for various symbols during interactions, for example, someone frowning may show confusion or anger, and someone swearing with a hand gesture may be insulting, because of these codes and symbols, we are able to anticipate behaviour, and judge how people are feeling. This also gives us a knowledge about what behaviour is and isn’t appropriate in certain situations. These different situations can also affect how we behave and what behaviour is acceptable, for example shouting and swearing may be seen as acceptable at a football match, but this would be highly inappropriate in the middle of a supermarket or library. These behaviours and expected ways of carrying ourselves, or norms and values, (especially the basic ones, such as how to act around others) are learnt from the family at a young age. However education teaches us how to act in a larger range of social situations. The acquiring of this knowledge is what leads to us gaining our identity. Social action theorists suggest that there are three main parts to our identity. The first of these parts is the things that make us individual, such as name, signature and photograph. The second aspect is social identity, which is made up of the personality characteristics that are associated with our role in society. For example, I am seen as an older brother, which society may make me out to be annoying and protective of my younger sibling, but I am also seen as a student, who is perceived to be hard-working and well-behaved. The final part of our identity is the concept of ‘self’, or what we think of ourselves, and how we think we play our respective roles. This concept of ‘self’ has been developed further by social action theorists, who believe that this can be further broken down into two components, the ‘I’ and the ‘me’. The ‘I’ is the private inner self, what we truly think of ourselves, whereas ‘me’ is the social self, and is the one that carries out the roles of brother and student. Goffman referred to society as a play, and that we are all as individuals, actors in this play, or in the drama of everyday life. The expected ways of behaving, or social norms are the script, for example, greeting someone with ‘Good morning’ is expected. He suggests that the roles we carry out are simply a performance designed to create a particular impression. For example in front of grandparents, I put on this performance of being exceptionally well mannered (believe it or not). Another part of social action theory is the concept of labelling. This is when someone is put into a group, or stereotyped, because of the way they look or act. For example a young person may be labelled as a ‘goth’ because they have pale skin, black hair, and listen to a certain type of music. Becker came up with the idea of a Master Status. This means that an individual can have a status (normally negative) which overrides all other labels. For example, someone may be a very good brother and son, but then may be arrested for robbery, and then the label of ‘criminal’ will become his master status, and people won’t see the brother or the son they saw before, they will simply see him as a criminal. It is believed that these labels lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy. This means that someone will react to the label they have been given, and this label will become true. For example, if a teacher (very wrongly) labels a student as ‘dumb’ they may think they genuinely are dumb, and will not do well at school. However it has been argued that the opposite can occur, and people may go out of their way to disprove their label, to carry on with the example before, the ‘dumb’ student may try exceptionally hard at home and at school, to prove the teacher wrong, the label may act as motivation. There are many criticisms of Social Action Theory, one being that they tend to be very vague when describing who is responsible for creating these norms and values, and interpretations that mean we know how to act around people and in certain situations. They fail to explain power, and factors which may affect these norms such as class or gender.

Topics In Cultural Studies Essay Example for Free

Topics In Cultural Studies Essay Trade relationship between Latin America and United States of America was believed to have improved in 1980’s. However, the progress that should have been reaped after the post cold war has not been applied. Though there are possibilities that the two countries will have a more productive engagement in trade, there was still a tension between the trade relationship between Latin America and United States (Shifter, 2007).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the past and up to these days, the United States of America had had been supporting the assets of economic reform. Trade liberalization and privatization are the most prioritized project in the economic reform of the United States. Economic reform was considered the basis for prosperity of the country. In the past, Latin American government had also been able to adapt to the economic reforms of the United States because they believe that this is the pattern of hemispheric policy when it comes to the engagement of trade towards United States (Shifter, 2007).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Latin America was considered to be a region wherein it is the fastest growing market for the United State’s export products. From the history of trade in the past, Latin America is expected to become the world’s primary market for the products and services that came from United States (Shifter, 2007).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The total exports of the United States to the Latin American region amounted to about 13 billion dollars in 1996, which had surpassed the export figures on 1990. US products were also exported in China but it only amounted to $10 B dollars in 1990 having Latin American region to have a larger amount of export form the United States (Shifter, 2007). Latin America is now engaging trade between China and United States need not to worry because they will not be displaced immediately by Chinese market. The trade relationship between China and Latin America had not been that significant not unlike the significance of the trade relationship between Latin America and United States (Frechette, 2006). Literature Cited: Frechette, M. (2006). Rethinking Latin America;A New Approach in US Foreign Policy. Academy and Policy, Vol. 28 (2). Harvard International Review. Shifter, M. (2007). United States-Latin American Relations: Shunted to the Slow Track. Retrieved September 18 2007 from http://www.currenthistory.com/archivefeb98/shifter.html

Construction of the road

Construction of the road 1. Introduction Roads are constructed to bring benefits to the people. Investment in roads is huge for which funding most time is limited. Therefore the decision to invest and protect the investment in form of maintenance is important so as to bring optimal benefits and value for money. In order to maximise the benefits in the choice of investment, road investment appraisal may well be part of the planning process. The purpose of economic appraisal is to determine the investment cost and economic returns expected from such investment. Investment cost consists of construction and annual maintenance costs and are normally shouldered by the road agency. While economic returnsis in form of savings to the road users resulting from new road facility. These costs are referred to as total (road) transport cost or whole life cycle cost (HDM-4 documentation). It is therefore necessary to determine the works that will minimise the total transport cost over the extended analysis period, say expected life of the road. This report presents the economic analysis of a project to upgrade an existing gravel road to a bituminous pavement. The aim is to assess the economic benefit resulting from the proposed investment. This is to be carried out using Highway Development and Management (HDM-4), a road investment appraisal tool. HDM-4 is known to have the capability which assist with the selection of appropriate road design and maintenance standards that minimises the total transport cost. The support system will also indicate the economic viability of the proposed upgrading. The run will include sensitivity analysis, which involves repeated economic evaluation changing one parameter at a time, to identify the parameter(s) which affect the viability of the road project. 2. Literature review: 2.1 Economic appraisal of a road project. Economic appraisal is very important in planning a road project. It enables the road agency knows the investment cost as well as the economic returns of various alternatives, thereby assisting them in the selection of that which gives the highest returns. Total transport cost, also referred to as whole life cycle cost, includes construction and annual maintenance costs as well as road user costs (RUC). The RUC, in most cases, is the benefit due to the provision of a better road facility i.e VOC, travel time, comfort, reduction in accident. HDM-4 is a decision support tool for the analysis of road management, evaluation of investment alternatives and strategic planning among others. It has four models that are used to predict the effects of road construction and operation. Road deterioration model considers pavement structure, traffic loading and climate condition to analyse and predict the progression of structural and surface condition variables. Works effects model uses these variables and application of maintenance and construction measures to predict the physical quantities of resources required. These are used to multiply the unit costs specified to obtain the construction and maintenance cost for the analysis period. Road user effect model uses vehicle characteristics, geometric data and the forecast condition variables (e.g. IRI) to calculate the expected travel speeds of the different vehicle types, which in turn affect the vehicle and owners costs. The social and environmental effect model can forecast vehicle emissions and energy consumption. 2.2 Method of economic appraisal of a road project. This is usually done in HDM-4 for at least for two mutually alternatives road construction, rehabilitation or upgrade, one of which is referred to Do nothing or base alternative. While others are do something or project alternatives. The Do nothing or base alternative is where minimum investment is carried out in form of continuation of current maintenance strategy. This alternative has no construction component but has high maintenance cost and RUC. On the other hand, the do something or alternative project is when the road standard is improved, the choice of which depend on many factors such as the road agencys standard, traffic level, political and social consideration etc. This would normally have construction cost with both low maintenance cost and RUC. 3. Methodology. Create Project Define road network Section 2 Section 1 Define road sections Improvement Standard Mtce Standard (After) Mtce Standard (Before) Mtce Standard (Gravel) Define Work standards With Project Without Project Define Project alternatives Run analysis with sensitivity Generate Outputs The above flow describes the procedure for the economic analysis of the project using HMD-4. 4. Procedure for project analysis. 4.1 Project description: This Project is a 49.9 km gravel road classed secondary road and it is situated in sub-tropical/humid climate. It passes through varying topography. The road is divided into two sections based on geometric, pavement condition and traffic volume. The traffic and condition data obtained in 2008 are represented in table 4.1. The road is proposed to be upgraded to bituminous pavement. Both the degree of conflict between motorised and non-motorised transport and the effect of the road side activities on traffic flow were insignificant. 4.2 Data Input: Using the flow chart in paragraph 3 above all the necessary data require for the project analysis is stored in the system in the appropriate folders. These include detailed traffic composition and growth rate which are provided in the Vehicle fleet folder. A uniform growth rate of 4% was used for all vehicle classes on this project. The sections of the roads are defined under the road network folder. Each of the sections is considered homogenous in terms of geometric, pavement condition, traffic volume and composition. Therefore the physical details of the sections (length, width, and surface class), traffic direction and pattern, pavement type and condition, horizontal and vertical alignment information are among data set in the road network definition. However, only motorised traffic is considered in this analysis. 4.3 Defining the works standards: This is where both the maintenance and improvement standards are defined. The details are on Table 4.3. The maintenance standards are in the works standard/maintenance standards folder while the improvement standards are specified in the works standard/improvement standards folders. The maintenance standard has great effect on rate of deterioration of a road. Road will continue to perform to standard throughout its design life only when adequate and timely maintenance is carried out. Defining maintenance standard in the system imposes a limit to which deterioration could reach before a trigger. Furthermore the long term performance of a road is also affected by the improvement standard 4.3.1 Maintenance standard: There are three maintenance standards under the study. These are Gravel road maintenance, Maintenance before upgrading and routine maintenance after upgrade (crack sealing and patching paved road). These are effective at different time for the two sections of the road as detailed in Table 4.4. Scheduled for specified years. Duration is one year. Both economic and financial costs for each of the work items were stored in the system. 4.3.2 Improvement standard: The improvement standard is to upgrade the gravel road to bituminous pavement. However the year of implementation for each of sections 1 and 2 are 2011 and 2012 respectively. These are indicated at the intervention tab while keying the information for each of the section. Furthermore the financial cost for sections 1 and 2 are US$120,000 and US$150,050. The economic costs were estimated as 85% of the financial costs. These were stored in the cost tab. 4.4 Defining the project alternatives. There are two project alternatives Without project (maintaining the gravel road) and With project (upgrade gravel road). Each of the alternatives has works standards specified for each of the two sections. The analysis type (by project), start year (2009) as well as analysis period (20 years) were specified. The currency output of US$ was also selected. 4.4.1 Analysis method: There are two methods of analysing road investment in HDM-4 Analysis by section and analysis by project. The formal (analysis by section) is when the sections in the road are considered separately and analyse against a base section. While the latter (analysis by project) is when the entire sections in an alternative are considered against a base alternative. For this case study the analysis is by project. In this instance, the annual cost and benefit are added for the sections in the With project to give the year total. The economic indicators so obtained are then used to compare the base alternative. 4.4.2 Without project alternative: This is the base alternative representing a continuation of current maintenance practice. The two sections were defined and assigned a maintenance standard Gravel road maintenance earlier defined under the works standard/maintenance standards folder. 4.4.3 With project alternative: This is the alternative where the road is to be upgraded to bituminous pavement. The two sections were defined with both maintenance and improvement standards. Both sections are to be upgraded in 2011 and 2012 respectively. However, they are to be maintained before upgrade according to maintenance before upgrading standard as defined. Furthermore, the period of maintenance after upgrade is also specified. 4.4.4 Sensitivity analysis: It is a technique used to find out the effect on the whole project of changes in value of each variable which is considered potentially serious risk to the project. In this case study, three variables Traffic growth rates, Construction cost and Initial AADT were considered as sensitive to the project. Therefore each of them was changed at a time by  ±20% from 20% to 80% to verify their impact on economic indicators. 5. Analysis concept, summary result and discussion. 5.1 Project analysis concept The concept of the project analysis, using HMD-4, is assessing the physical, functional and economic feasibility of the With project alternative and compares it with Without project considered as base case. The system uses Life cycle costing for the analysis period of 20 years. In achieving this cost, the system models and predict the road deterioration, estimates the road user cost, model the road works effects and the cost of these to the road agency as well as calculate the economic and financial benefits from the comparison of the alternatives. 5.2 Road Deterioration and road works effect modelling For each year of the analysis period, HDM-4 models the road condition and assigns road works effect using predefined works strategies. Road deterioration prediction is based on the data provided on such variables as the original design, material type, construction quality, traffic volume, axle load characteristics, road geometry, environmental conditions, age of pavement and maintenance standard. HDM-4 does predict change in condition, i.e. distresses, from the initial set conditions as a function of the above named variables. 5.2.1 Average roughness (IRIav) of project: The deterioration of gravel road is characterised by roughness and material loss. Therefore grading every six months was specified as one of the work items for its maintenance to keep the roughness within tolerable limit. Spot regravelling work item was to repair areas of severe depression, while gravel resurfacing is performed to augment gravel surfacing due to loss of material. These work items followed intervention criteria specified by the users. This is the logic HDM-4 uses to predict the gravel road deterioration and it is presented in graph 5.2. This graph correlates Appendix I which shows the pavement condition summary. The pavement condition of Without project is a reflection of the interventions of the work items under continuous maintenance of the gravel road. Grading and Spot regravelling were effective every six month with no significant improvement to IRI values. However, gravel resurfacing was done in 2013, 2016, 2019, 2023 a nd 2025. There is a drop in IRI value each time the work item was carried out. In general the IRI was consistently high at between 7-13m/km throughout the analysis period for Without project alternative. HDM-4 also predicts the deterioration of the road after improvement. This is done through surface distresses (cracking and potholing) and deformation distress (roughness). Out of the three work items for the maintenance of the paved (bituminous) road only resealing work item was triggered throughout the analysis period. This is a reflection of the intervention criteria specified. Under the With project alternative there is a drop in IRI values in 2011 and 2012 following the upgrading of sections 1 and 2 at these years respectively. For instance, for section 1 the IRI value was 11.26m/km in 2010 but drastically reduced to 3.01m/km after upgrade in 2011. This is similar to the effect of upgrading section 2 in 2012. However, it is noticed that IRI continued to increase steadily subsequently but at low rate. In 2018, 2019, 2025 and 2026 there was resealing which changed the rate of increase in IRI (between 2018 and 2019) and actually reduced the value (between 2025 and 2026). Surface dre ssing does not necessarily improve the smoothness of road surface hence its effect on IRI is not significant. 5.2.2 Road works summary: This summary, as contained in Appendix 2, confirmed graph 5.1 and reflects the pavement condition summary in appendix 1. It shows the works items as they were triggered with associate quantities and costs (economic and financial). For the With project the maintenance standard before upgrade is reflected in the two sections before the upgrade. Furthermore resealing was also carried out in 2018 and 2025 for section 1, while that for section 2 was in 2019 and 2026. On the other hand in the Without project the average roughness for the project is shown in graph 4.1. This graph correlates Appendix 1 which shows the pavement condition summary. Road User Cost (RUC): From the economic indicator shown in Table 4.3 there is a decrease of US$3.828 million in Road User Cost (RUC) compared to US$3.105 million increase in Road Agency Cost (RAC) for the proposed upgrade. This is an indication of the viability for the upgrade. Cost Streams and Economic Evaluation Table 4.3 reflects the economic indicator showing a positive Net Present Value (NPV) of US$0.723 million, indicative of the project viability. The Internal Rate of Return (EIRR) is US$12.6 million. The economic indicator summary with sensitivity included in the analysis is provided in Appendix 3 Sensitivity Analysis As discussed in paragraph 5.2.2 above Tables 5.4a, 5.4b and 5.4c show the effects in economic indicators (NPV and EIRR) of changing the percentages of Initial AADT, Construction cost and Traffic growth rates considered as sensitive to the project. Increasing both initial AADT and Growth rate indicates positive values of NPV and EIRR, while reduction in their values gives negative economic indicators. On the other hand, increase construction cost gives negative NPV and its reduction gives positive NPV. NPV sensitivity diagram in figure 5.3 below indicates that the three variables have various degrees of sensitivity on the project, with AADT being most sensitive. An increase in construction cost as well as drop in AADT will affect the chances of achieving the positive NPV values. Therefore the accuracy of their estimation and forecast is important. Switching Values: A reduction in percentage of AADT and Growth rate beyond 11.5% and 25.6% respectively changes the NPV values from positive to negative. Whereas increase in construction cost beyond 19.5% also changes NPV from positive to negative. 6. Conclusion: The economic analysis, using HDM-4, indicates that upgrading the gravel road to bituminous pavement is viable because of the positive NPV value obtained for the analysis period. In implementing the project the gain in RUC outweighs the increase in the RAC when this is compared with do minimum alternative. However, this result can only be achieved if the works are carried out according to the programme. The Initial AADT, Construction cost and vehicle growth rate have various levels of sensitivity on the NPV. However, AADT is the most sensitive. An increase in construction cost as well as drop in AADT is likely to affect the chances of achieving a positive NPV values. There is also an indication that more benefit could be derived from the project when AADT value grows even as high as by 80% of the initial value. Therefore the accuracy of the construction cost, AADT and its projection are important to getting the benefit from the proposed project

Defeated Hope in John Steinbecks Of Mice and Men :: Steinbeck Of Mice and Men Essays

Defeated Hope in Of Mice and Men When discussing the thematics of Steinbeck's novel, we would do well to first examine the title, which is an allusion to a line of Robert Burns, a Scottish poet: "The best laid schemes o' mice an' men gang aft aglay." Translated into modern English, the verse reads: "The best laid schemes of mice and men often go awry." This cynical statement is at the heart of the novel's action and serves as a foreshadowing prophecy of all that is to come. For, indeed, the novels two main characters do have a scheme, a specific dream of changing their current way of life in order to have their own place and work only for themselves. The tragedy, of course, lies in the fact that no matter how elaborately our heroes plan, regardless of how intensely they hope and dream, their plan does not find fulfillment. This is a novel of defeated hope and the harsh reality of the American Dream. George and Lennie are poor homeless migrant workers, doomed to a life of wandering and toil in which they are never able to reap the fruits of their labor. Their desires may not seem so unfamiliar to any other American: a place of their own, the opportunity to work for themselves and harvest what they sow with no one to take anything from them or give them orders. George and Lennie desperately cling to the notion that they are different from other workers who drift from ranch to ranch because, unlike the others, they have a future and each other. But characters like Crooks and Curley's wife serve as reminders that George and Lennie are no different from anyone who wants something of his or her own. All the characters (all the ones that Steinbeck has developed, at least) wish to change their lives in some fashion, but none are capable of doing so; they all have dreams, and it is only the dream that varies from person to person. Curley's wife has already had her dream of being an actress pass her by and now must live a life of empty hope. Crooks' situation hints at a much deeper oppression than that of the white worker in America-the oppression of the black people. Through Crooks, Steinbeck exposes the bitterness, the anger, and the helplessness of the black American who struggles to be recognized as a human being, let alone have a place of his own. Defeated Hope in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men :: Steinbeck Of Mice and Men Essays Defeated Hope in Of Mice and Men When discussing the thematics of Steinbeck's novel, we would do well to first examine the title, which is an allusion to a line of Robert Burns, a Scottish poet: "The best laid schemes o' mice an' men gang aft aglay." Translated into modern English, the verse reads: "The best laid schemes of mice and men often go awry." This cynical statement is at the heart of the novel's action and serves as a foreshadowing prophecy of all that is to come. For, indeed, the novels two main characters do have a scheme, a specific dream of changing their current way of life in order to have their own place and work only for themselves. The tragedy, of course, lies in the fact that no matter how elaborately our heroes plan, regardless of how intensely they hope and dream, their plan does not find fulfillment. This is a novel of defeated hope and the harsh reality of the American Dream. George and Lennie are poor homeless migrant workers, doomed to a life of wandering and toil in which they are never able to reap the fruits of their labor. Their desires may not seem so unfamiliar to any other American: a place of their own, the opportunity to work for themselves and harvest what they sow with no one to take anything from them or give them orders. George and Lennie desperately cling to the notion that they are different from other workers who drift from ranch to ranch because, unlike the others, they have a future and each other. But characters like Crooks and Curley's wife serve as reminders that George and Lennie are no different from anyone who wants something of his or her own. All the characters (all the ones that Steinbeck has developed, at least) wish to change their lives in some fashion, but none are capable of doing so; they all have dreams, and it is only the dream that varies from person to person. Curley's wife has already had her dream of being an actress pass her by and now must live a life of empty hope. Crooks' situation hints at a much deeper oppression than that of the white worker in America-the oppression of the black people. Through Crooks, Steinbeck exposes the bitterness, the anger, and the helplessness of the black American who struggles to be recognized as a human being, let alone have a place of his own.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen Essays -- marriage, women, twenty-f

Nineteenth Century Marriage From A Twenty-First Century Perspective In society today, some women may not even consider marrying. According to â€Å"The State of Our Unions,† there has been a decline in the marriage rate of over 50% from 1970-2010. However, during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, marriage was often one of the few choices for a woman’s occupation. Reading Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen from the twenty-first century perspective might make some matters that are stressed in the book seem dated or trivial. As Pride and Prejudice was set sometime during the Napoleonic Wars, it is only fitting that finding a proper marriage is on the minds of many of the women in the book. Marriage and marrying off one’s daughters is a dominant theme throughout, with Mrs. Bennet going through the trials of getting her daughters married. Different views of marriage are presented throughout Pride and Prejudice, demonstrated by the characters, their behaviors and their situations. Charlotte Lucas marries for social reasons; Eli zabeth Bennet searches for love and respect in her marriage; and the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet shows the dangers of marrying for attraction alone. The attitudes of these individuals towards marriage as well as others reactions to the different marriages show that the best marriages emerge from a mutual love and respect. The marriage of Charlotte Lucas and Mr. Collins provides an example of typical reasoning for a marriage for the time period of the book. Charlotte is well past the marrying age of that time, as she is 27 years old (Austen 14) and while not unattractive, Gerigk 2 very ordinary looking (Austen 112). Even though the chances of her marrying were low, Charlotte’s object was still to marry... ...though she was not in love, proving that different unions can suit different people and situations. Marriages that come from trust, love, and respect, such as Elizabeth and Darcy’s marriage, lead to happiness, and therefore, have the best outcomes. Austen shows that balancing prudence and passion can lead to the ideal union. Even though women have more choices today, some still feel defined by whether or not they do marry and who they marry. Although it was written in the nineteenth century, Austen’s portrayal of relationships and marriages can still be relevant today. Gerigk 5 Works Cited 1. Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice with Connections. Austin: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 2001. Print. 2. Wilcox, Bradford, W. Stateofourunions.org. Rep. University of Virginia, 2011. Web. 22 Mar. 2014.

Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest in the Decade of the World’s Indigenous Populations :: Essays Papers

Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest in the Decade of the World’s Indigenous Populations Introduction On 1 January 1994, the Mayan peoples of Chiapas, Mexico participated in an armed uprising in protest of the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Following a strong trend of harassment, and mistreatment of Mexico’s indigenous populations, the implementation of NAFTA all but abolished the land claims of Mexico’s Indians. The Zapatista uprising, as it has been termed, brought global attention to the indigenous human rights violations in Mexico, and consequently, a strong interest in the plight of the world’s indigenous peoples resulted in the global community. In a 1994 U.N. orchestrated commission on the rights of the world’s indigenous populations, it was concluded that an increase in international cooperation for the solution of problems faced by indigenous peoples was necessary for improvement of their condition across such areas as environment and natural resources, health, education, and human rights. As a result, the U.N. High Commissioner on Human Rights declared the years 1995-2004 to be the Decade of the World’s Indigenous Populations. The theme of the decade was to be â€Å"partnership in action†, and the main objectives were to strengthen the role of the international community in enforcing international human rights treaties, to promote the discovery of viable solutions to Indigenous-State conflicts through mediation, discussion, and cooperation, and to draft a declaration of the rights of indigenous people. In this paper, I will analyze the amount of progress that has been made in the Native American condition in relation to U.S. government cooperation with the First Nations, with a specific focus on the tribes of the Pacific Northwest. I will begin with a brief, but comprehensive history of U.S.-Native American relations, with a focus on U.S. government policy. Next, I will conduct a case study of the Pacific Northwest, specifically dealing with how the global pressure of the Decade has impacted treaty negotiations and multi-lateral cooperation in the fishing industry, forest service, and tribal gaming. I will then discuss parallels that can be drawn from the cooperation of Maori tribes with the government of New Zealand in the last decade. Finally, I will discuss the unmet needs for the improvement of the indigenous condition, and conclude with an evaluation of the relative progress the Decade has had specifically in the United States, and more generally in the global community. A History of U.

Alexandru Florea Economic Development and Growth

Indicators of economic development: Labor productivity Weighted Machine tool industry in total industry Weighted Machine tool exports in total exports Weighted Brain drain in total export Weighted Employment in services Economic growth is represented by the evolution of specific economic indexes, with benefits for the social and economic life, in a specific time and area. The most known index for calculating the economic growth is the GAP/ capita. Types of economic growth Extensive economic growth- based on growing the GAP/capita by increasing the number of workers, arable lands etc.Consolidated economic growth: it would be realized at the global scale Zero economic growth: is happening when the economic indexes and the population of the country are increasing with the same percentage. The single way that a state can achieve economic development and growth is by using their economies to make investments. Economic development represents a qualitative process while economic growth is a quantitative one. However the processes of economic development and growth are produced simultaneous therefore they must be considered together. The first part of the analysis will provide an overall picture of Roman's economic performance.It will be presented the current economic development situation and its growth during the analyzed years. The second part of the analysis represents an econometric exercise which will provide the connection between GAP, Urban Population and Employment. At the end of the exercise it will 3 be possible to predict values of GAP depending on Urban Population and the level of employment. The third part of the analysis will provide information regarding the development lacks of Roman's economy. The fourth part of analysis refers to Romania market inefficiency.It will provide the most important issues about market failures in Romania. The fifth part of analysis includes the Development Policies. It will present the main targets to improve Roman's econom y for the next years. B. Analysis 1. Methodology For this analysis were chosen indexes from 5 areas: Romania, Bulgaria, Germany, France and European Union. Besides Romania, which is the main subject of the analysis, it was chosen Bulgaria like a state with similar economic situation. Germany and France were chosen because they represent two of the most developed country in Europe.In the same time they represent examples of how the economic situation should be in a developed country therefore Romania must achieve a close level to them in order to become a State with a developed economy. Nevertheless, all of them are member states of European union therefore all of them must converge to the same level, as result, it is absolutely necessary to include the European union indexes. First part of the analysis contains statistical results about the economic development and growth situation in Romania. The analyzed period refers to 1990-2013.For this part there were seed data series, with an nual frequency, from the official website of World Bank. Second part of the analysis is represented by a linear regression model. For analyzing the correlation between variables, were used data series (1991-2012), with annual frequency, from the official website of World Bank. The data refers only to Romania. The purpose of the exercise was to find the influence Of that urban population and employment have on GAP. The form of linear regression model is: AMPLE+?* POP 4 Where: BIB – Gross Domestic Product AMPLE -? Employment POP – the urban population percentageThe GAP was deflated referring to the year 2005 as the base year. Views was the soft used for testing and correcting the regression model. The intensity between the dependent variable and the independent variables was analyzed considering the correlation coefficient R The sign efficacy of linear correlation coefficients was tested using t-test Starting from the hypothesis: HO: the model is not valid and HI: the mo del is valid, the validity of the regression model was tested using the Fischer test.The model's significance was tested with: – Wald test for testing the regression coefficients F test for testing the significance of the correlation ratio. – graphic method, Durbin Watson test and Breach Godlier test for verifying the independence of the random errors. – White test for verifying the homosexuality. -Jarred-Berea test for verifying the normality hypothesis. Third part of the analysis contains statistical results about the development lacks in Romania. The analyzed period refers to 1990-2013.For this part there were used data series, with annual frequency, from the official website of World Bank. Fourth part of the analysis contains statistical results about the market inefficiency in Romania. The analyzed period refers to 1990-2013. For this part there were used data series, with annual frequency, from the official website of World Bank. Fifth part of the analysis presents the main targets of the current development policy. It represents a summary of the Romania â€Å"National Strategy for Development'. 5 Economic Development and Growth Of Romania 2.Used data Gross Domestic Product: According to Ryan Barnes: â€Å"The GAP is the predecessor of all macroeconomic indexes; as an aggregate measure of the total economic output of a country, GAP represents the total value of goods and services produced by the economy, in a specific period†. Frequency: annual Source of collected data: World Bank website Other changes: *only for the regression model: 1,000,000,000 Expressed in: US$ Inflation: Inflation is defined as a sustained increase in the general level of prices for goods and services. It is measured as an annual percentage increase.As inflation rises, every dollar you own buys a smaller percentage of a good or service. Frequency: annual Expressed in: percentage Urban population index According to National Statistic Office: â€Å"Urban population index refers to the number of people which live in urban areas† Other changes: *only for the regression model: 1 ,OHO Expressed in: percentage of the total population Employment index Employment index refers to the active population (15-64 years old) rate: the ratio between the active population and the total number of people with the same age. Other changes: *only for the regression model: AMPLE( 1)= AMPLE(O)* 1,000 Health Expenditure index Health expenditure refers to the sum of public and private health expenditure. It covers the provision of health services (preventive and curative), family planning activities, nutrition activities, and emergency aid assassinated for health but does not include provision of water and sanitation. It is calculated as the percentage of a nation's GAP. Frequency: annual Pupil-teacher index Pupil-teacher ratio: the number of pupils enrolled in primary school divided by the number of primary school teachers.Expressed in: absolute num ber Public spending on education index Public expenditure on education as % of GAP is the total public expenditure (current and capital) on education expressed as a percentage of the Gross Domestic Product (GAP) in a given year. Public expenditure on education includes government spending on educational institutions (both public and private), education administration, and transfers/subsidies for private entities (students/households and other private entities) 7 3.Literature review About Roman's Economy According to the Constitution of 1991, Economy of Romania is an economy based on supply and demand rule therefore it means that the state must ensure the freedom of trade and the fair competition. In 1 939 the most important branches of industry were the oil and natural gas industries. 6. 24 million tons of oil was produced in Romania in 1939 and the total exports of oil valued 56 million dollars. Furthermore, with a production slightly lower than Germany, Romania had a very good sit uation in terms of grain.However salt and tobacco had also an important role for Roman's economy during this period. Even if it was of poor quality, tobacco was the main source of income for the people from the Danube Plain. After more than four decades, at the end of 1 989, economy of Romania had the basic communist economy, in all branches of industry' it was a state cooperative monopoly. Price, credits, salaries, the interest rate were directed y the â€Å"single national plan† without reflecting the supply and demand needs. On 21st of December 1 989 Romania had no external debt, the external debt was fully paid by the end of February 1989.

Cultural Sensitivity Paper Essay

The culture that I have chosen to write about for this paper is the culture of India. It can be both a demographic culture and a spiritual culture, depending on the particular beliefs of the client. The people of India have multiple beliefs about health. India has both conventional and traditional beliefs about medicine and illness. Food and religion are giant factors when it comes to certain Hindu people, depending on his/her personal beliefs. People from Indian culture hold the preparation of food and the food itself in very high esteem. An exercise of Indian culture that is widely accepted includes only eating certain types of foods, not eating certain foods during illness or not eating any food at all according to the type of illness contracted. This practice is called â€Å"apathyam and pathyam† (in Sanskrit). It has also been said that if this practice is followed correctly than the majority of diseases and illnesses can go without being treated by medicine. Religion is also a major part of the culture in India when it pertains to disease and caring for illness. The majority of the people living in India practice Hinduism. According to most Indian religions, the people believe that it is vital to bathe regularly under running water. This can be problematic for patients that are confined to the bed or that have urinary catheters or colostomy bags because he or she may feel â€Å"unclean† and in some cases believe that he/she is unworthy to pray. Vegetarianism, meditation or prayer, and karma are other facets of Hinduism that might affect one’s beliefs about illness and seeking care or illness. Each caretaker for a person of Indian culture or someone that practices Hinduism must be aware of the practices and traditions concerned with both and must be willing to provide sensitive care accordingly. This can majorly affect whether or not an individual will choose to seek care. If a client thinks that their caretaker will not be willing to assist him/ her according to their cultural or religious beliefs, the client may chose not to s eek care at all, which could negatively benefit them. The main concern would be to let the client know that you are willing to abide by and care for them in accordance to the client’s beliefs. If the caretaker is unaware of some of the stipulations, the caretaker should be unafraid to ask. Most times the client will be happy to help give you the knowledge you may need to care for him/her. As a caregiver for a person of Indian culture or who has a strong Hindu belief system I would be interested to know the details of â€Å"apathyam and pathyam† so that I could respectfully assist them with the clients diet if he/she becomes ill. I would also assist them in any way I could with bathing so that the client could feel like he/she is â€Å"clean† enough to practice prayer or meditation freely. Knowledge about client’s personal beliefs is vitally important to the extremely personal role a caregiver could play in a client’s life.

Novel Frankenstein Essay

As he walks by the town inn, Victor comes across his friend Henry Clerval, who has just arrived to begin studying at the university. Delighted to see Henry, he reminds him of his family life after so many months of isolation and ill health. They go back to Victor’s apartment; victor enters first and is relived to find no sign of the monster. But, Weakened by months of work and the shock at the horrific being he has created, he immediately falls ill with a nervous fever that lasts several months. Henry nurses him back to health and, when Victor has recovered, gives him a letter from Elizabeth that had arrived during his illness. In the first paragraph we arrive at a climax of horror as Victor describes the anxious moment he has been anticipating two years for. With the way Shelley has created atmosphere of dull misery and dreariness, we can guess that victor has intense feelings. The animation of the creature is set on a dull and ‘dreary’ night of November. ‘The rain pattered dismally’; the ‘candle was nearly burnt out’ and there was a ‘glimmer of the half-extinguished light. ‘ Shelley is using negative descriptive to give this scene sense of horror that victor is feeling. This is an appropriately bleak and depressing scene for the opening of the ‘dull yellow eye’ of the creature. This atmosphere is used to open this paragraph to set the horror and anxiousness that the creature is going to create. In the opening paragraph Shelley refers to ‘infuse a spark to the lifeless thing. ‘ Here she is probably going on about galvanism, which is how the creature was brought to life in ‘Frankenstein’. Shelley was living in an age of scientific developments, and so her ideas would have been experiments and scientific debates of her time. Many scientists then looked to chemistry to give them the secrets of life, and Shelley would have done research on these matters. A scientist called, luigi Galvani believed that there was a different form of electricity produced by lightning, and the brain; contained in animals. This vital force was called galvanism’, which made muscles move. Experiments were done on galvanism, wires would be attached to the a human body and the corpse began to move, making it look as thought the body has been brought back to life. Shelley used this experiment in ‘Frankenstein’ to bring the creature to life. In the second paragraph Victor goes on to describes the creature’s appearance and his feelings towards this. Its like Victor has given birth and his new creature is his newborn child, frequently jaundiced, misshapeden, shrivelled, and often a great disappointment to the unprepared parent. ‘His limbs were in proportion, and I had selected his features as beautiful. Beautiful! – Great God! ‘ Victor is immediately horrified by the overall ‘wretch’ he has created, it’s a ‘catastrophe’. Victor is repelled and unable to look beyond the physical ugliness. ‘His teeth of a pearly whiteness; but these luxuriance’s only formed a more horrid contrast with his watery eyes, that seemed almost of the same colour as the dun whit sockets in which they were set, his shrivelled complexion and straight black lips. ‘ Victor saw beauty in the body parts when they were separate but hated the overall appearance. Victor is horrified by the ‘wretch’ he had created. He calls his creation a number of names, ‘Creature, Miserable monster, Demoniacal corpse, wretch. ‘ These names are negative names to be called, showing that Victor has a very negative attitude, thoughts and feelings towards his creation. Victor runs away, as he so often tries to run away from troubles, and attempts to forget in his sleep. But, Victor is ‘disturbed by the wildest dreams’, dreams that would frighten him. ‘I startled from my sleep in horror; a cold dew covered my forehead, my teeth chattered, and every limb became convulsed. ‘ Victor is obviously haughtd by this creature, but he doesn’t give the creature a chance. ‘His jaw opened, and he muttered some inarticulate sounds, while a gin wrinkled his cheeks. He might have spoken, but I did not hear; one hand was stretched out, seemingly to detain me. ‘ This took place in Victor’s bedroom. The first thing the creature desires are contact and affection, this remain his primary needs, as he stretches one arm towards Victor. This may seem touching, but still Victor ‘escaped and rushed down stairs, and took refuge in the courtyard; where he remained for the rest of the night, walking up and down in the greatest agitation, listening attentively, catching and fearing each sound. ‘ At this point Victors creation maybe feeling rejected therefore leading to the bad consequences that the creation is responsible later in the novel. Victor repeatedly misinterprets the creature’s expressions, seeing aggression where we see pleasure, affection, or a desire to please. Therefore Victor is selfish and only sees things from his point of view, not from his creations point of view and so is not the most reliable of narrators. As a result the reader may question what Frankenstein tells elsewhere in the novel about his creation. It seems to be the physical ugliness of the creature to which Victor reacts to. Here Shelley could be using the monster to criticise society and their reactions to outward appearance and people who appear different. What happens in rest of novel†¦ about when he tries to be nice but people react negatively because of his appearance†¦ In victor’s dream of the monster, Shelley may be encouraging us to consider the possible connections between ream and reality and opens up several possible layers of interpretation. The dream may be suggesting that in order of bringing the monster to life is equivalent to killing Elizabeth, in this way, not when Elizabeth changes into a corpse, the dream is prophetic. This is because victor has just given ‘birth’ by himself and usurped the role of woman, made her unnecessary. His ‘dream’ of finding the secret of life has effectively ‘killed’ the mother. These interpretations indicate the potential results of the creation. Dreams allow things that are normally kept buried come to the surface; this might be unacceptable desires or feelings which we are unable to face. In the time of 1816 it was a real crime, so God maybe punishing victor for interfering with nature. ‘Sometimes my pulse would beat so quickly and hardly, that I felt the palpitation of every artery; others, I nearly sank to the ground with horror, I felt the bitterness of disappointment; dreams that had been my food and pleasant rest for so long a space were no become a hell to me. ‘ This is one of the themes of the novel: angers of man interfering with nature and god, or dangers of scientific knowledge used incorrectly. As victor is walking by the town inn, Victor comes across his friends Henry Clerval, who has arrived to study at the same collage as victor, Henrys father has let him come at last. There is irony in Henry speech. ‘He has permitted me to undertake a voyage of discovery to the land of knowledge. ‘ Henry sees knowledge as a good thing but Victor’s use of scientific knowledge leads to tragedy. Also, Henry is one of the people who later die as a result of Frankenstein’s use of this knowledge. Henry saves Victor, but later is murdered by his creation. This tells us a lot about Henry’s appearance throughout this chapter. Henry is willing to spend months of hard labour nursing Victor back to health and treats Victor in great respect, but yet victor does not treat his family at all that well. Victor does not tell Henry anything about what he has done. This would influence the reader attitude to Victor to the rest of the novel in a way†¦. This gives the rest of the novel a theme of secrecy. Human nature and secrecy†¦ This chapter is the turning point to the novel or other words were it all happens; from Victor being excited with solving the secret of life to being horrified by his creation†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Mary Shelley section.

Investigating stoichiometry Essay

In this experiment we are going to get a better understanding of chemical stoichiometry. We are going to be reacting sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) and sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) with hydrochloric acid (HCl). To start off the mass of two unknown substances (being the sodium bicarbonate and sodium carbonate) will be taken. We will need to construct balanced equations for both of the reactants with the HCl and use this to guide us to figure out how much HCl will be needed to react with each of the unknown substances. When this part is through we will then need to find the percent yield (actual yield/theoretical yield x 100). Determining the mass of sodium chloride at the end of the experiment is the actual yield. To find the theoretical yield we will need to heat the sodium chloride so that all the CO2 evaporates and that will leave us with the theoretical yield of sodium chloride. Chemical Reactions NaHCO3 + HCl = NaCl + H20 + CO2 Na2CO3 + HCl = 2NaCl + H2O + CO2 Theoretical yields .15g NaHCO3 (1mol NaHCO3/84.0059g NaHCO3) (1mol HCl/1mol NaHCO3) (58.44gNaCl/1molNaCl) = .1043 g NaCl .15g Na2CO3 (1mol Na2CO3/105.988g Na2CO3) (1mol HCl/1mol Na2CO3) (58.44gNaCl/1molNaCl) = .165 g NaCl Experimental Procedure Standardization of Unknown 1 1) Weigh duplicate 0.15 g samples of unknown 1. Dissolve samples in 100- ml distilled water. 2) Add bromocresol green indicator, until the solution turns into blue. Titrate it with HCl until green color is reached. 3) Heat and boil out CO2 gently. You should obtain a blue color again at the end of this step. Cool to room temperature, and continue titration until yellow color is reached. Note down the volume seen on the buret. 4) Heat the substance again until all the liquid is gone and you’re left with salt looking particles inside the beaker. 5) Weigh the beaker with the salt inside of it. Then, clean out the beaker thoroughly and weigh the empty  beaker again. Use these two weights to find the mass in grams of the salt like particles that were previously in the beaker. Standardization of Unknown 2 1) Weigh duplicate 0.15 g samples of unknown 1. Dissolve samples in 100- ml distilled water. 2) Add bromocresol green indicator, until the solution turns into blue. Titrate it with HCl until green color is reached. 3) Heat and boil out CO2 gently. You should obtain a blue color again at the end of this step. Cool to room temperature, and continue titration until yellow color is reached. Note down the volume seen on the buret. 4) Heat the substance again until all the liquid is gone and you’re left with salt looking particles inside the beaker. 5) Weigh the beaker with the salt inside of it. Then, clean out the beaker thoroughly and weigh the empty beaker again. Use these two weights to find the mass in grams of the salt like particles that were previously in the beaker. Now to identify which substance is NaHCO3 and which is Na2CO3 pay close attention the mass recorded for the salt like particles that were left in the beaker. The one that is closest to .1043 g is the NaHCO3 and the one closest to .165 g is the Na2CO3. Results Grams recorded for Unknown 1- .07 g Unknown 1=NaHCO3 Percent yield= 67% Grams recorded for Unknown 2- .14 g Unknown 2= Na2CO3 Percent yield= 85% Discussion When trying to identify which unknown substance was NaHCO3 and which was Na2CO3. We had to make sure to titrate and treat each unknown with the same amount of attention. By over titrating one of the unknowns we could have messed up the experiment and would have had to start over. When heating the liquid on the hot plate, we were making all the CO2 in the liquid evaporate leaving us with just the salt like particles that we were looking for. By weighing the salt we were able to justify what the substance was because of previous conversions that we had worked out. Conclusion The purpose of this experiment was to show how titrating a substance can help to identify that substance. Knowing how to work with stoichiometry equations is also a big part of this lab because we used those equations to help us compare and figure out the identity of the substance. After titrating and  evaporating the CO2, the weight of unknown 1 was .07 g which was closest to the theoretical yield of .1043 g. Unknown 1 was identified as NaHCO3. After titrating and evaporating the CO2, the weight of unknown 2 was .14 g which was closest to the theoretical yield of .165 g. Unknown 2 was identified as Na2CO3.

LinkedIn Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

LinkedIn - Essay Example Professionals dealing with ISM enable all categories of organizations to receive information benefits through adequate investments in staffs, processes and equipment. ISM is people focused, with adequate focus on quality service. Presently, the ISM is increasingly being developed on the computer networks, software and also hardware. ISM is applied in the facilitation of analysis, strategic and operational processes. LinkedIn is a category of ISM, in that it is a business focused social networking service. The business focus is the main reason why it is suitable for professional networking. Professionals use the information system processes of LinkedIn to share information on organization business environment. The increasing international business connectivity is the main factor why the users of LinkedIn are continuously increasing in terms of millions on yearly basis. Presently, the professional networking site has approximately 259 million users. LinkedIn is also present internationally, in approximately 200 countries. The multinational corporations operate in diverse business environments. The diverse cultures and language in the international business environment is the main reason why LinkedIn is available in 20 international languages including; English, Portuguese, French, Spanish, German, Swedish, Russian, Korean, Japanese and Chinese. LinkedIn initiated the initial public offering durin g January 2011. The shares of the company were initially traded at the New York Stock Exchange on May 19, 2011. LinkedIn is applied by professional internationally to share ideas on organization processes like management activities, innovation, technology adaptation and quality standards. LinkedIn is effective in its operations as an ISM tool, due to its capable management team and professional experts. The CE of the organization is Jeff Weiner, the immediate former executive of another global information system corporation, Yahoo! Inc. The founder of the company

Are We Too Dependent on Computers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Are We Too Dependent on Computers - Essay Example In this debate, I will argue that we are too dependent on computers. Progress is a natural aspect of humanity. People often seek new ideas, concepts and theories to support changing needs. In addition, the human capacity to think differentiates us from animals and drives us to want bigger, better, or more efficient tools to facilitate the execution of tasks. Computers are an example of a tool invented to make it easier to perform duties in an efficient and convenient manner. In spite of their contribution to human development, computers have also robbed us of certain aspects of our humanity, especially our social element. Human beings are naturally social; we always seek others for company and support in every possible way. However, computers are taking and have been taking this attribute away from us since they were invented. Today, it is common to see people using computers to perform everything, even tasks that can be carried out without technological assistance. In school, students are using calculators, which are minicomputers, to perform computations even when they do not really need to. It is also common to see people flashing out their gadgets at social gatherings and immersing themselves in online forums when they should be socializing with others. Smartphones, which are basically computers in their own right, and laptops, are now present in every corner of our lives. We have placed these devices on such a high pedestal that we view them as viable alternatives to other people.  

Cultural values Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Cultural values - Assignment Example There is a significant difference in the themes of Japanese people when compared to the American population. Within the American society, the rights of every individual become established and are not subject to cultural expectations. While similar fundamental rights to choice remain available within the constitution, the Japanese society perceives cultural values as superseding constitutional rights. Married women in Japan are therefore expected by the society to leave their careers and become full-time mothers. Individuals who opt to follow different paths find life increasingly difficult because of the cultural expectation. In contrast, the American society presents limited cultural expectations because of the multiple cultures making the American society. The diversity within the American culture remains the fundamental reason behind the absence of cultural expectations, and reliance on fundamental rights provided by the constitution.There are numerous cultural values within the J apanese society forming the base for the cultural beliefs. Empathy and human relations remains a fundamental aspect of Japanese culture, and are regarded as part of life. The Japanese believe that human emotions like love and anger come from the gods; hence showing love to others and resulting relations become valued within the society. Indentify oneself with another – empathy, remains highly valued within the society. Children are taught that human fulfilment emanates from close relationships with others.... Children are taught that human fulfilment emanates from close relationships with others (Nathan, 116). The Japanese believe that success comes forth through combination of efforts from different people. Order and status could be identified as the second fundamental aspect of Japanese society. The value is based on the Japanese belief in the philosophy of Confucianism, which emphasizes on harmony with nature, displayed through an individual’s contribution to social order and proper behaviour. Tranquillity and happiness are the fundamental results sought through the value of order and status (Slater and Robson, 360). Understanding of one’s social status in Japan remains fundamental in establishing relationship with others. While the status of individuals forms an essential element within the Japanese society, goals and self remain the fundamental aspect behind the establishment of the status. The element of individuality within the society becomes immensely admired wh en the individuals becomes perceived as sincere. While individuality is admired, extreme cases become negatively perceived as selfishness; which becomes the opposite of the value of empathy and human relations. The combination of these fundamental values presents a satisfactory balance between the society, environments, and the individual (Doi, 57). These values remain significantly important to the society, as they have contributed to the continued peaceful progression of the Japanese nation. Question 3 The social structure could be defined as a combination of different social arrangements resulting from and causing actions by members of the society. Social institutions have a significant impact on the roles played by

Wal-Mart Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Wal-Mart - Case Study Example (Wal-Mart) Currently, Wal-Mart operates worldwide through the Wal-Mart Stores, Sam's Club franchises, and International. Wal-Mart offers everything starting from necessities such as food, clothing, health, beauty and household items, cleaning products, electronics and others. Wal-Mart currently operates almost 4,000 stores in the U.S., and more than 2,700 stores outside the United States. Wal-Mart has been an attractive target for lawsuits for so long. The company's policy about this has been to admit their fault and settle the claim, otherwise take the matter to court. This practice of Wal-Mart's has proven effective in keeping the number of lawsuits piling at bay. (Willing) The company has been growing at a remarkable pace. Wal-Mart is not content with its present stature to the effect of building and opening hundreds of new stores each year to further boost its supremacy of the United States retail industry. Wal-Mart is looking to further expansion efforts in the future. Industry experts are concerned however, at the rate that Wal-Mart is expanding. At the rate that it is expanding, the older stores are not getting much attention as the newer ones. Patrons who seek are seeking a change and a more modern feel would flock to the nearest "new" competitor. World oil prices are anothe... Patrons who seek are seeking a change and a more modern feel would flock to the nearest "new" competitor. Retail Industry Health The recent years have seen ups and downs in Wal-Mart's performance. These fluctuations are caused my many factors such as world oil prices, globalization, and others. Similar companies such as Target and Costco are also performing well although Wal-Mart remains dominant in this category. National Economic Trends The United States stock market is currently a bear market and said to be on its third leg. (The Market Oracle) When interest rates are on the rise, stock markets are expected to crash. When inflation rate is high, stock prices may decrease, in like manner, stock prices may become overpriced if inflation rate falls. World oil prices are another important factor in determining the prices of stock and the performance of a nation's economy. The skyrocketing of the prices of oil in the world market would cause prices of stocks all around the globe to plummet. The reason for this is almost all industries are dependent on oil for their operations. The United States is also very concerned about the trade deficit with China. China is fast becoming a world leader with the onset of globalization. In terms of prices, most of China's commodities and the labor market offer very competitive prices as compared to the prices of other countries. The past decade has seen the entry of more and more products and services from China. More industries are shifting or outsourcing labor services to China because of the cost-efficiency. The United States feels that the fact that China refuses to raise the value of its currency gives China an unfair advantage when it comes to trade. With more buying power