About Chinese Festival Essay

Do you know the most famous Festival of China? Have you ever heard about that Korea has conflict with China in the traditional cultural field? In order to call on people to realize the importance of Chinese own traditional culture and Cultural Identity, the research paper writes about Chinese Traditional culture, and make a questionnaire about ten questions to investigate people. By introducing the festivals and asking the questions, it tends to accomplish the goal that makes more and more young people know â€Å"What is Dragon Boat Festival?† â€Å"Dragon Boat Festival belongs to China† â€Å"Why the traditional culture is important?† As what mentioned above, there is a conflict about Dragon Boat Festival between China and Korea. Korea supplied Dragon Boat Festival to be its own World Culture Heritage successfully. It shows that the young generation needs to improve the cultural identity and Chinese government needs to pay more attention about the part of traditional culture. Chinese government should be awake to make more useful policies to disseminate Chinese own traditional culture and cherish it. In Culture field, enhancing the national cohesion is an important strategic task. This research report will present the survey about Chinese Traditional Culture and the further questions. Literature Review †¢ Background and history The origin of Dragon Boat Festival centers around a scholarly government official named Qu Yuan. He was a good and respected man, but because of the misdeeds of jealous rivals he eventually fell into disfavor in the emperor’s court. Unable to regain the respect of the emperor, in his sorrow Qu Yuan threw himself into the Mi Luo River. He drowned on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month in 277 BC. Since ancient times, Chinese people threw into the water dumpling made of glutinous rice wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves on the day. Therefore, the fish would eat the rice rather than the hero Qu Yuan. This later on turned into the custom of eating Zong zi, and Dragon Boat racing. Nowadays, the young people in China always celebrate the festivals which are from western; they are not interested in the festivals from their own country. This is a social problem that needs to be solved. In order to pass on the traditional culture in different forms, the government  needs to do a lot of works from many different ways. †¢ Purpose of research 1. In order to make everyone know the Chinese Traditional Festivals. 2. Disseminating Traditional Culture. 3. To call on the people to realize the importance of the Traditional Culture. 4. To make government pay more attention about this part. 5. To prevent the loss of traditional culture †¢ Inclusion- Exclusion Criteria The inclusion criteria are liberal, including newspapers, journal articles, conference papers, unpublished manuscripts, books, book chapters. The resources that do not mentioned issues related to Chinese Traditional Festivals or the importance of the traditional culture are excluded. †¢ Literature Search Upon entering the keywords Chinese Traditional Festivals and the importance of culture, there are many databases in library. And there are few books as well. Table 1 includes a listing and summary of each of them. Table 1: comparison Table of literature review Author(s) Page Number Methodology Type Purpose and summary Shaorong Huang 19 quantitative Article To examine Chinese Traditional Festivals. China is a country with an ancient oriental civilization. Its long history and fine tradition have provided it with the most fertile soil for the growth of the traditional festivals. Zhang Zhiyuan 13 quantitative Article This article presents a brief account of traditional Chinese festival customs. The Chinese traditional festival customs reflect traditional ethics and moral principles. The ancient Chinese paid great attention to worshipping Heaven and ancestors. To make people know the traditional culture. Kent, Dave 24 quantitative Article This article presents a brief account of traditional Chinese festival customs. The Chinese traditional festival customs reflect traditional ethics and moral principles. The ancient Chinese paid great attention to worshipping Heaven and ancestors. Liu Lian 43 quantitative Article The article focuses on the Dragon Boat Festival, a world intangible cultural heritage, which is celebrated by all Chinese on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese lunar calendar. The two most important activities during the festival are presented which are the dragon boat racing and the eating of rice dumplings, but also include burning Chinese herbs and drinking realgar liquor. The origin of the festival, which was a way for people to avoid the back luck associated with the date, is discussed. Wong, Fanny 31 quantitative Article The article presents information on the history of dragon boat racing in China. The dragon boat race is a growing water sport. Dirlik, Arif 22 quantitative Article This article reflects on the existence of the different culture of Chinese. He added that culture can be understood in its material aspect which leads inevitably to the privilege of having difference as a condition of cultural existence Methodology The method of this research is quantitative, and most of information in the research is subjective. The populations are befitting for this research is better from different counties. Different countries, genders, ages, and identities could supply different view of points to the questions, which the research asks. It is best that the participants from different counties, so that the research could study more further about the different perspectives from different counties’ people. And it will be best if the participants are interesting in Chinese traditional culture that could be very helpful to the results. Actually, the participants are almost the students from University Massachusetts of Lowell. Most of them are males, and all of them are between 18-25 years old. As the limitation, the sampling of survey is not very wide, and the samples of this research are all students from University Massachusetts of Lowell. Half of them are randomly select from Email. And few of the samples are researcher asked to review and answer the questionnaire. Contend of questionnaire The content of questionnaire includes much information. And it can be classified into three parts. The first part is to ask about basic information of participants, such as age, gender, nationality. It intends to analyze the feedbacks from different aspects of ages, genders, nationalities. The second part is to ask some simple questions about China to the participants, and it intends to differentiate whether the participants know the situation and background well or not. It could help researcher get clearly information from participants. The last part is to ask some further questions about Chinese traditional culture, like â€Å"Have you ever heard of the event about Dragon Boat Festival happened between China  and Korea?† â€Å"Which policy do you think is best to protect the traditional culture?† Each of this kind of question gives four options, and it intends to get the different perspectives about Chinese traditional culture. Types of question There are three types of questions in the questionnaire, and the first one is demographic question. It asks the participants about the gender, age, and nationality. The second type of question is open question. It asks the participants for their own view of point to the questions, which are relevant to Chinese traditional culture. The third type of question is closed question. It gives four or more options for participants to choose one, which could express their own opinion appropriately. The reactions of respondents are almost about that the participants who come from foreign counties cannot clearly comprehend the meaning or effect of the cultural problem of China and some background history. And most of the participants show their interest of Chinese traditional foods. Actually, besides the participants who are Chinese, the other people are hardly to answer some further questions about policy of protecting culture, as they lack the background knowledge about China and Chinese society. There were some grammar mistakes in the question and option of the questionnaire. According to the questionnaire is not only for Chinese students to answer, it is better to add some background make everyone understand more clearly. Data collection procedures The procedure of collecting data is better to prepared well. The first step is to organize the questions and options clearly, making sure that is easy to understand and answer. The second step is that no matter the way researcher choose to survey, preparing enough questionnaires for backup, avoiding the situation that there is no more questionnaire for participant. The third step is to survey. Give the questionnaire to participants by Email and printout. The fourth step is to wait for the participants to give the questionnaires back. The sixth step is to calculate the total participants and analyze the responses of questionnaires. Justification

Islam is one of the world’s greatest religions Essay

I. Introduction. Founded in the seventh century A. D. by Mohammed. The word Islam means â€Å"submission† (to the will of God). Followers of Islam are called Moslems or Muslims, terms that mean â€Å"those who submit† (to the will of God). Non-Moslems sometimes call the religion Mohammedanism and its followers Mohammedans. Moslems, however, dislike these terms because they imply the worship of Mohammed, their prophet, rather than God. There are more than a billion Moslems worldwide, making up about one-eighth of the earth’s population. Islam began in Arabia in the seventh century A. D. and spread rapidly to become the principal religion of northern Africa and western Asia. It also extends into the Balkans and across Pakistan and Bangladesh to Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. It has extended into sub-Saharan Africa: Sudan, Niger, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, and Mauritania. Islam is the fastest-growing religion in Africa. The Moslem population in the United States consists mostly of immigrants from Pakistan, Iran, and Arab countries. There are also a number of Islamic sects among the country’s black population (Endress, 1999). II. Background A. How is it founded and who is the founder? The beginnings of Islam go back to Mohammed’s preaching in his native Mecca. However, the faith did not become fully developed until he moved to Medina (until then called Yathrib) in 662 A. D. His migration to medina, called the Hegira, begins the Moslem calendar. Mohammed’s early successors—especially Omar, the second caliph—expanded Islam through conquest. The Moslem warriors believed that if they died for Islam they would automatically go to heaven. This belief, plus the promise land and loot, spurred the Moslem armies on to conquer the Middle East, North Africa, and Spain. They almost overran southwestern Europe under Charles Martel at the Battle of Tours (732) (Ahmed, 2002). a) Early Conflicts During the period of conquest, bitter theological and political dissension developed among the Moslems. In the selection of early caliphs (successors to Mohammed as rulers of the Moslem world), Ali, son-in-law of Mohammed, was bypassed (6 Ruthven, 2000). The third caliph, a member of the Omayya (Umayya) family, was murdered by malcontents in 656, and Ali was elected to succeed him. Muawiyah, the Omayyad governor of Syria, refused to recognize Ali as caliph. When Ali was murdered in 661 by a member of a dissident sect, Muawiyah succeeded him, moved the Moslem capital from Median to Damascus, and made the caliphate hereditary in the Omayya family. Military force was required to establish the new caliph’s political authority. Spiritually, most Moslems never accepted him (Roberts, 2002). The followers of Ali formed a new branch of Islam—the Shiite, as opposed to the Sunnite, or orthodox, branch. Smaller groups continued to break away from orthodox teaching, also, and there was increasing schism in the Moslem world. b) Changing Patterns In the eight century a secret revolutionary movement against the Omayyad dynasty was led by the Abbasids, descendants of Abbas, Mohammed’s uncle. The movement began in Mesopotamia and spread east through Persia. In 747 open revolt began, and in 750 the Omayyad dynasty was overthrown and the Abbasids assumed power. The most significant aspect of the Abbasid caliphate was the Persian influence. The new capital, Baghdad, developed into a major cultural as well as political center (Roberts, 2002). The sciences and philosophy of the Greeks and Persians were translated into Arabic and spread throughout the Moslem world, setting of a surge of intellectual activity such as had not been seen since the days of ancient Greece. During the rule of the Abbasids the Moslem world lost its political unit, as first Spain and then the North African countries set up caliphates independent in Baghdad. In the ninth century there were new Moslem conquests in Europe—Sardinia, Malta, Sicily, and regions of southern Italy. The Christians regained all European territory, however, before the 14th century (Friedmann, 2003). III. Discussion What are the beliefs and doctrines of Islam? Enumerate. A. Beliefs and Doctrine a) God Moslems worship one God, called Allah (Arabic for â€Å"The God†). The believe Allah stands alone, has an absolute will, and controls all of man’s actions. In most other respects, however, he resembles the Christian and Jewish God. †¢ Apostles. According to Islamic doctrine, God gave certain men the power to communicate with him through his angels. The function of these men was to guide other mortals to Salvation. The greatest of these prophets were Adam, Noah, the house of Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed. Moslems accept the miracles and virgin birth of Jesus, but deny his divinity and resurrection. They do not attribute superhuman or miraculous powers to Mohammed, but simply consider him to be the last (and hence the most authoritative) of all the prophets (Nasr, 1999). †¢ Koran The Koran is the basic source of Islamic law and ritual. Moslems believe it was dictated to Mohammed by God, through the angel Gabriel. †¢ The Hadith The Koran is supplemented by the Hadith (tradition), consisting of the Ahadis (sayings) and Sunna (practice) of Mohammed. The Hadith was handed down orally for more than 200 years before being written down. It and the Koran are the sources of Islamic law. â€Å"Sunna† in a larger sense means the theory and practice of orthodox Islam, as based on the Koran and the Hadith. Further opinions and practices accepted by the highest Islamic learned men become articles of faith known as ijma (agreement) (Nasr, 1999). †¢ Angels The Islamic concept of angels is almost identical with the Christian belief that angels are God’s messengers, his link with mortal man. †¢ Last Judgment Like Christians, Moslems believe in a Judgment Day, when righteousness will be rewarded and wickedness will be punished. The Koran’s description of Judgment Day is generally similar to the Bible’s, although the details differ (Nasr, 1999). B. Is there any religious obligations in Islam? a. ) Obligations A Moslem has five religious obligations, called the â€Å"Five Pillars. † They are: †¢ Profession of Faith. A Moslem’s most essential obligation is the repetition of this creed: â€Å"There is no God but Allah; Mohammed is His prophet. † †¢ Prayer Prayers must be said five times each day. They may be said either privately or at the mosque. In public worship, men and women are usually separated. A worshiper precedes prayer with a ritual washing. He then faces the holy city of Mecca and follows a fixed ritual of recitation and prostration. On Fridays, a worship service at the mosque is required. Besides the ritual prayers, the service includes a reading from the Koran and a sermon (Lippman, 2002). †¢ Almsgiving Moslems are expected to contribute generously to their religion. The money is used to maintain the mosques and to help the poor. †¢ Fasting Moslems cannot eat or drink during the daylight hours of Ramadan, the ninth month of their lunar year. †¢ Pilgrimage Once in his lifetime, every Moslem who is financially and physically able must travel to Mecca. This pilgrimage is called the hajj, or hadj. A Moslem who has made it is a hajji. The pilgrim participates in a number of observances: 1) Circling the Kaaba It is the pilgrim’s first and last act. The Kaaba is a sacred structure in one corner of which is embedded the Black Stone, a meteorite that fell in ancient times and acquired symbolic significance. The pilgrim circles this structure seven times, kissing the Black Stone each time (Lippman, 2002). 2) The Running It consists of trotting seven times between two low hills on opposite sides of Mecca. This act represents a search for water by Hagar, mother of Ishmael, whose story from the Old Testament was adopted as part of Moslem tradition (Lippman, 2002). 3) The Standing The Standing at the Plain of Arafat, 25 miles (40 km) east of Mecca, consists of a day of meditating and praying, facing Mecca. 4) Stoning the Pillars at Mina Stoning the Pillars at Mina, 5 miles (8 km) east of Mecca, is an act in which pilgrims throw seven stones at pillars, symbolically attacking the devil. 5) Feast of Sacrifice Feast of Sacrifice consists of the slaughtering of an animal by pilgrims who can afford to as a thanksgiving to Allah. a) Religious War Some Moslems consider it an obligation to spread Islam by force, or holy war (jihad). This belief is not specifically stated in the Koran. b) What is an Islamic Law? The basic ethical code of Islam comes from the Koran. The most important rule is that all Moslems are bothers. The Koran encourages charity, authorizes slavery, and prohibits wine, gambling, and the eating of pork. A Moslem may have as many as four wives, and divorce is permitted. Divorce is effected by the husband telling his wife three times â€Å"I divorce thee. † The Koran does not provide a political structure for Islam and Mohammed did not reveal how the religion should be organized after his death. His close associates elected a successor, called a caliph, to take his place as a leader—but not as a prophet. This system was called the caliphate and survived until 1924. At the present time, there is no universal Moslem leader (Lippman, 2002). C. What are the Sects of Islam? There are two great divisions of Islam—the Sunnites (traditionalists) and the Shiites (legitimists). The Sunnites are the orthodox Moslems and are in the majority. The Shiites believe that Ali, Mohammed’s son-in-law and the fourth caliph, had divine powers. They claim that he was the first legitimate caliph and that his heirs, also divinely inspired, were the rightful rulers of Islam. These rulers are called imams (Klein, 2005). The Shiites broke off from orthodox Islam beginning about 679 and soon divided into a number of sects. The Imami, or Twelvers, recognize a continuing series of purely secular imams. Another sect, the Ismailis, or Seveners, recognize the same first six imams as the other sects and a seventh not recognized by the others. Historically there have been numerous extreme offshoots of the Ismailis, including the notorious Assassins. The only important group to break off from the Sunnites in modern times is the Wahhabis, who have attempted to rid the faith of what they consider corruptions. The movement began in Arabia in the 1970’s and was marked by a series of bloody wars during the 19th century. The Wahhabis have ruled Saudi Arabia since the 1920’s (Klein, 2005). IV. Conclusion Islam is a severe but simple religion. Moslems consider it to be an extension of Christianity and Judaism, but they believe the Christian Trinity is blasphemy and deny the divinity of Jesus. There is no ordained ministry or priesthood, although there are religious teachers, called ulama, or mullahs, and religious orders consisting of sufis (mystics) called dervishes. Islam’s holy book is the Koran (or Qur’an). References 1. Ahmed, Akbar S. (2002). Discovering Islam: Making Sense of Muslim History and Society. Routledge. London. 2. Endress, Gerhard. An Introduction to Islamic History (Edinburgh University, 1999). 3. Friedmann, Yohanan (2003). Tolerance and Coercion in Islam: Interfaith Relations in the Muslim Tradition. Cambridge University Press. New York. 4. Lippman, T. W. Understanding Islam: an Introduction to the Moslem World (New American Library, 2002). 5. Klein, F. A. The Religion of Islam. London: Curzon, 2005. Reprint of classic study, first published, 1996. 6. Nasr, Seyyed Hossein. Ideals and Realities of Islam. London: Allen & Unwin, 1999. Standard textbook. 7. Roberts, D. S. Islam: a Concise Introduction. New York: Harper & Row, 2002. Accessible information on varied aspects of the Islamic world. 8. Ruthven, Malise (2000). Islam in the World. Oxford University Press. Oxford.

A virtual community and a social networking web site Essay

QUESTION 1. Write a paragraph to explain and distinguish between a virtual community and a social networking web site. In Social networks everyone has their own social network (whether online or offline). Everyone has friends, families, and people they are acquainted with. An online social networking site simply makes our social networks visible to others who are not in our immediate network. So the single most important feature that distinguishes a social network from a community is how people are held together on these sites. In a social network, people are held together by pre-established interpersonal relationships, such as kinship, friendship, classmates, colleagues, business partners, etc. The connections are built one at a time (i.e. you connect directly with another user). The primary reason that people join a social networking site is to maintain old relationships and establish new ones to expand their network. Some obvious examples of social networks are Facebook, Myspace, and LinkedIn. One interesting feature about people’s social networks is that they are extremely unique. It is actually very difficult to fake a Facebook or LinkedIn profile, because your friends (or who you connect to) will collectively identify you. Unlike social networks, communities (both online and offline) are more interesting from a social anthropological perspective, because they often consist of people from all walks of life that seem to have no relationship at all. Yet, as we’ve learned from history, communities are very robust social structures. So what is it that holds these communities together? Communities are held together by common interest. It may be a hobby, something the community members are passionate about, a common goal, a common project, or merely the preference for a similar lifestyle, geographical location, or profession. Clearly people join the community because they care about this common interest that glues the community members together. Some stay because they felt the urge to contribute to the cause; others come because they can benefit from being part of the community. In communities identity are easily forged. QUESTION 2. Identify a product that could be promoted using a social networking site such as Facebook. Explain why your chosen product would be a good candidate for a social networking-based promotion strategy. Amazon  products such as electronics and wears are definitely liable products for promotion on Social networking sites. Especially when discounted this products call for great awareness knowing that large amount of people or customers demand and are in search of these products in cheaper, available and from trusted companies. These products being available for sales online with sound delivery and trust (in returns and delivery) calls for great insight for people to generate interest, confidence and preference for purchase. Consequently, people or customers through the social networking sites creates vast awareness in conversations and sharing thoughts and likeness for such products or promotion. QUESTION 3. Describe 2 or 3 specific apps that could use a smart phones GPS capability. State the benefits of using the GPS in the app in each case. Find my phone Find My Phone is a GPS tracking application on android phones that makes it easy for you to track and locate a stolen phone. This phone tracker app includes a navigational feature and assistance and as long as the location app is running, it can help locate a stolen or lost phone quickly and easily. The app uses secure data from cell phone companies to track and display the phone location on the Find My Phone map. For this feature to function, the Find My Phone app needs to be installed on both your phone and the phone of the person you want to track or locate. Find My Phone uses state-of-the-art GPS technology to accurately locate phones. Note: For this feature to function, the Find My Phone app needs to be installed on both your phone and the phone of the person you want to track or locate Google Maps The Google Maps app for Android phones and tablets makes navigating to your desired location faster and easier. It enables you find the best spots in town and the information you need to get there. Google Maps includes various relevant features such as †¢ Comprehensive, accurate maps in 220 countries and territories †¢ Voice-guided GPS navigation for driving, biking, and walking †¢ Transit directions and maps for over 15,000 towns and cities †¢ Live traffic conditions, incident reports, and automatic rerouting to find the best route †¢ Detailed information on more than 100 million places  Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ Street View and indoor imagery for restaurants, museums, and more.

DISSERTATION (Research Methodology ) Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

(Research Methodology ) - Dissertation Example As found in the literature, psychic distance is critical to strategy formulation. Accordingly, the cultural attitude and the behaviour of the target segment are essential to devise the right marketing strategy. The students have become demanding and the programme curricula need to be revisited to suit the changed economic environment globally. DEDUCTIVE AND INDUCTIVE METHODS There are several ways to conduct research and the two most common ways are logical positivism or phenomenological interpretation. Logical positivism allows the hypotheses to be formulated in advance and is quantitative in nature based on experimental methods (Amaratunga et al, 2002). In implementing this method of research the researcher should ensure independence of the observer from the subject being observed. In the interpretive method, a qualitative approach is used and efforts are made to inductively analyse and understand the experience based on the context in which it has been set. This approach does not accept the belief that objects of experience are independent events. Regardless of the method used, the research process must fulfill the purpose of the research, answer the research questions and achieve the objectives and aim of the study. To take an informed decision, the research methods will be evaluated based on the purpose of the research, the time availability, aims and objectives, and the sample size including the subject of research. 3.2 Research approach A qualitative approach will be adopted for this study as, in the words of Knox (2004), this approach enables the researcher to have an insider perspective on social actions. Insider perspective is essential to get an idea of the demands of the students and the current changed environment due to the economic downturn. The scenarios may differ across circumstances and this approach will enable to articulate different scenarios while also enable to study the phenomenon under natural settings. Moreover, since interviews will be conducted, it may not be possible for the researcher to observe independence from the subject being interviewed. Hence a quantitative approach is not possible, and a qualitative approach is justified. 3.3 Research strategy Both primary and secondary data will be collected through the qualitative method. This method will help explore new ideas effectively. DATA COLLECTION Secondary data is essential to achieve the first objective, which is to evaluate the current international marketing strategy adopted by universities globally. Data has been sourced through academic journals and reputed websites. The study finds that the traditional marketing principles cannot be applied to the field of HE. The situation differs and other factors such as faculty selection, their reputation and experience, the image of the institution, and the curricula changes are important factors that need to be looked into. Market selection process is critical to the success of the strategy in international ma rketing for HE. The second objective too has been evaluated through secondary data as it pertains to evaluating the drivers of change in the current environment. The change in the environment has been ascertained through journals and reports which have helped to analyse and understand the changed educational requirements of the students. Since data on these issues were available in plenty, the relevant ones have been segregated and the unimportant ones eliminated. Data from

English 102 Literature Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

English 102 Literature - Essay Example The chapter opens with Mill's rhetorical question of where should the line of control be drawn between "the authority of society" and individual "sovereignty". Mill provides the answer to this question in the very next sentence saying that what concerns the individuals should "belong" to them and society has a control on that part "which chiefly interests" it. Here, Mill does not, however, elaborate on what could be those areas of society's interest. After ruling out the possibility of the society being based on a 'contract', the author still thinks that the individuals owe the other members of the society "a return for the benefit" of the protection that the society provides. The individuals cannot be allowed to harm other people's interests. Rather they should play their part in protecting them against injury. If individuals act in a way that mars other people's welfare, even if they are not illegal, they may be "punished by opinion." Here, public opinion is suggested to be a subst itute for law when necessary. Mill writes, "These conditions society is justified in enforcing at all costs to those who endeavor to withhold fulfillment". When a person's conduct affects only his interests, however, Mill says, that person should be allowed "to do the action and stand the consequences". There is no justification for society's meddling. After setting After setting the boundary line for the society, Mill goes on to clear his standpoint by saying, "It would be a great misunderstanding of this doctrine to suppose that it is one of selfish indifference, which pretends that human beings have no business with each other's conduct in life, and that they should not concern themselves about the well-doing or well-being of one another" he declares that "It is equally the business of education to cultivate" in the students the feelings of compassion for the fellow human beings and the sense of responsibility to the society. Individuals are indebted to each other. They should help and encourage each other in bringing about the best of themselves. But no individual should dictate terms to another simply because "He is the person most interested in his own well-being" and also because he better understands his circumstances that make him behave in a certain way than anyone else or the society in general. Others can offer their a dvice and suggestions but cannot take any decision on behalf of the person. If the individual allows others to take his decisions, then that might cause greater harm than if he takes a decision against the popular belief. Next, Mill talks about the freedom of opinion. Suppression of public opinion by the government can only lead to concealment of truth. By this Mill does not mean that public opinion is never wrong or biased, but at least the opinions that are wrong can be challenged to arrive at the truth. Here, Mill uses an interesting adjective that is, "self-regarding" which means concerning solely the individual, and advocates that in these self-regarding matters the government or the society has no right to interfere. However, sensing attack against this viewpoint, Mill immediately clarifies saying that this should not stop a well wisher of an individual from warning him against the harm he might cause himself by behaving in certain way even if it is about the self-regarding affairs. Similarly, every individual has the right to and duty of cautioning any individual against the possible

Governor Deval Patrick-Commonwealth of Massachusetts Essay

Governor Deval Patrick-Commonwealth of Massachusetts - Essay Example Patrick is much concerned with education and that is his main reason of funding the public education at the highest level in the history of the common-wealth. Governor Patrick also made his state to be the leading in biotech, biopharmaceuticals and information technology. Issues of infrastructure and expansion of affordable health care were solved by Governor Patrick. Massachusetts home through the Governor managed to be the first state to have offshore wind farm. These amazing performances made the people of his state to describe him as a high (Strong) performing culture leader (Lussier & Achua, 2013). Governor Patrick as a person who grew up in a poor family, he understands in detail most of the problems the members of society are facing. For this reason, he must be strict to issues related to society such as leadership. As a matter of facts, we all see the Governor financing public school education at the top level in the past of commonwealth that later emerged top in the national competition (Lussier & Achua, 2013). Education according to him was the main key point to success to a child into adulthood. Governor Patrick and his administration embraced variety of ideas that could help to boost the living of residents who elected him (Lussier & Achua, 2013). Almost 98% of residents could get access to affordable medical care assistance. The administration through the support of the Governor also ensured that the state is entitled to good leadership, modernized infrastructure and quality education. It is clear evidence that Governor Patrick represents in him some core principles of leadership. First, we get to find Patrick growing up in a broken home and in poverty where most of the advices he got were from his teachers and the grandmother where he was being told to hope for the best and work for it (Lussier & Achua, 2013). Patrick’s academic career in Harvard made ways for him. As a student, he was elected as an assistant attorney general for

Incident at the Construction Company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Incident at the Construction Company - Essay Example A report of the accident was furnished soon after. Because of the injuries he sustained Mohammed requested for a one-week leave. He suffered a mild head injury, plus wounds and bruises to his elbows and legs. He also experienced persistent lightheadedness after the accident. Because he was not able to go to work for the duration of time, he lost an income. The company immediately accepted legal liability and cooperated with OSHA representatives. Mohammed was given $7,000 accident compensation with regard to his occupational injuries and loss of income. Â  Mohammed soon recovered from his injuries and started looking for another work. But because of his specialization and experience, he was not able to make it outside of the construction industry. Another construction company hired him as a fitter. On August 1997 Mohammed was working with other workers at a height of more or less 25-30 feet, tightening top covers of a massive boiler. In order to access the top portion of the boiler, he uses a ladder. Unfortunately, one of the covers had a crack which made it difficult for Mohammed to tighten. Thus, he applied excessive force to tighten the cracked cover. Yet, while he did so, the bottom of the ladder slipped and he fell to the floor. Mohammed sustained back injuries, plus a spinal fracture and wounds to his hips and legs. He was forced to take an indefinite leave to recover but, because of the severity of his injuries and wounds, he was not able to go back to work for the construction company and had to look for a less labor-inten sive occupation. This second occupational accident left Mohammed with permanently limited physical activity and currently necessitates help with tasks he could do independently in the past, like woodwork and farming.

Could machines have minds ( in answering, explain what you mean by Essay

Could machines have minds ( in answering, explain what you mean by mind) - Essay Example When the computer was in its early development stages, it was thought of as an electronic, thinking device, the mechanical equivalent of the human brain. This misconception is a gross oversimplification of the seemingly limitless boundaries of the human mind. The potential of machines were thought to be able to eventually encompass â€Å"an inductive and creative mind, capable of taking initiative, to which human beings could confide all their problems and obtain instant solutions in return† (Ifrah, 1997: 1679). This misconception in the early days of the computer has carried over even to today. This discussion examines the functions of the computer brain along with the similarities and differences to the human brain in addition to the meaning of knowledge and the limitations of machines as compared to the human mind. It also delves into the complex definition of consciousness in some depth so as to illuminate the distinctions between the human mind and the ‘mind’ of the machine. Simply stated, computers are machines which effectively carry out algorithmic functions. The machine discerns formalized input through a sequence of fixed stages through a predetermined, straightforward set of rules of a standardized and exacting description. This allows computers to perform procedures in a precise number of steps. Mechanical computers, unlike the functions of the computer-like brain do not have the capability to determine right from wrong nor can they make judgments, have no feelings and cannot think on their own. It cannot be denied that some types of intelligence can be attributed to computers but this capacity is very limited when balanced against the boundless intricacies in a human’s brain. However, the computer is superior when considering its capability to process information at a higher speed. This has provided humans a useful tool for a myriad of endeavors. Nevertheless, computers cannot reason, imagine, invent, create, express

T&D 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

T&D 2 - Essay Example Firms regularly employ ‘Training Needs Analysis (TNA)’ to train their employees in order to serve their employees with quality services. TNA allows companies to assess their internal requirements for improving staff skills. For this purpose, a determination of job roles and responsibilities is undertaken at every level and category with respect to the employees working in the various departments. This paper details the outcomes of a TNA study conducted on an electrical engineer (referred to as the ‘subject’) who works at ESB International, a prominent energy company. The subject works in the ‘Engineering and Facility Management’ department and his roles primarily include the design and management of projects related to electrical sub-stations. The subject works in a team of five people and is the technical manager of the group. The study has been influenced by the recommendations of Garavan et al (2003) in identifying the training needs of entities at various levels within the organization. Thus, the literature review and the analysis are driven by the key aspects outlined by Garavan. Essentially, an ideal TNA process should be carried out at 3 levels: The different levels mentioned above are important elements of assessing the training needs and are highly interrelated. Thus, performing a study based on this structure will provide a balanced analysis that can address the requirements at each of these levels. A typical TNA analysis begins with a review of the strategic and operational objectives of the organization. For example, the SWOT (Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis is a technique to identify such objectives. At the departmental level, the role of managers is widely studied and the skills of team members are reviewed against all identified objectives. This is important as organizational success is only possible if all departments and

Personal Protective Equipment in Safety and Health Essay Example for Free

Personal Protective Equipment in Safety and Health Essay This involves imposing a barrier (physical barrier or distance) between the hazard and the worker. Local and General Ventilation is used to dilute or divert toxic contaminants from the workers. ADMINISTRATIVE CONTROL Safe operating procedures (SOP), Shift work and training of workers can reduce the risk to the workers handling chemicals. PERSONAL PROTECTION EQUIPMENT If it is not possible to reduce chemical hazards to an acceptable level, by either elimination or guarding/isolation, the worker should be given certain protective equipment to prevent contact of the hazards with the body. This equipment forms a barrier between the toxic and the route of entry. Failure of equipment means immediate exposure to the hazard. Thus, personal protective equipment should not be regarded as a primary means to control hazards but rather as a supplement to other types of control measure. Injury will occur if hazards come into contact with our body, the degree of injury are depends on the magnititute of hazards and susceptibility of person. Protective clothing, gloves, apron, goggles and shoes – design to prevent absorption of chemical splash to the skin ? Safety helmet-to prevent from the sharp object falling on the head The effectiveness and efficiency of protection depends on proper use, maintenance and replacement of the PPE. If the PPE not used properly it can be more dangerous than not using as the worker would think that he is protected but in actual practice he is not protected. Factor to consider in the selection of PPE PPE should be carefully selected. The following criteria should be met when choosing PPE Give adequate protection against the specific hazard i. e right type and model ? Fit , minimum weight cause minimum discomfort and , if with attachment , it should be easily fitted and removed. ?Not restrict movement or sensory perception essential to the job ? Be easily worn and the eight to be supported by body ?Be durable and harmonious to the wear1`s culture and religion ? Not introduce additional hazards ?Be made to acceptable standards ?Be maintenance fee if possible, if maintenance is required , should be easily maintained ? Be replaced when necessary Used of respirators will prevent the entry of chemicals into the body by inhalation It is frequently used in industry where other forms of control are not practicable Type of respiratory protection : Are basically design to give protection against one or more of the following . †¢Contaminants in particulate forms †¢Contaminants in gaseous forms †¢Deficiency of oxygen With Full face mask or Half face mask Powered air is drawn through by a fan Non powered – air is drawn through by wearer inhalation Particulate filter come in various classes depending on their filtering efficiency. Gas filters are available for specific gases (e. g organic vapours, hydrogen, cyanide) Supplied air respirators (SARS) ?The air is supplied is not pressurized. It can be supplied by use of a fan , compressed air source or wearer inhalation. . ?The air supplied is pressurized and comes from a compressor or gas cylinder via an air line . Pressure is reduced prior to entering the respirator. ?The air is supplied from cylinders strapped to the wearer`s back Suppliers air respirators can have a negative pressure inside the face piece or a positive pressure. The positive types give a significantly higher evel of protection . Continuous flow types are also available for use with hoods. Protection factors This is a measure of the level of protection given by a respirator is defined as the ratio between the concentration of contaminant outside the respirator and the concentration inside the respirator(i. e the air breathed) Protection factor = ambient air concentration Concentration inhaled inside respirator For air purifying respirator it depends on the type of face mask and the efficiency of the filter. A full mask provide a higher level of protection than a half mask. For supplied air respirator it depends on pressure inside the mask(as well as the type of mask) . The protection factor is a major consideration when selecting a respirator. Selection of respirators; depends on:- †¢The contaminant †¢Task †¢Operator The contaminant i. The nature ,toxicity, physical form and concentration the contaminant, whether : particulate gas vapour or combination of both ii. whether failure of the device can result in a situation which is immediately dangerous to life and health. iii. The need to wear other personal protective equipment eg. Eye or skin protection to protect against irritants. iv. The adequacy of warning given by the contaminant v. The possibility of the contaminated atmosphere being flammable. Task. i. whether the device is for regular use for emergency or rescue purposes. ii. The probable length of time during which the wearer will be in the contaminated atmosphere. iii. The expected level of activity and mobility required of the wearer. iv. The access to and nature of the working environment and its location with respect to a source of air suitable for breathing. v. Vision and communication requirements. vi. Maintenance requirement. Operator factor †¢Basic physiology †¢Facial fit †¢User acceptance Fit testing is an important part of the selection process, particularly when the respirator design relies on a good seal. A range of respirators may need to be tried to fit individuals with different facial characteristics. Facial air can also reduce the effectiveness of seal significantly. Recognised test methods are available for initial fit testing. These are to design to detect or measure the amount of leakage around the seal of the respirator. Fit testing must be carried out when first issuing a respirator to a worker. Crude test (such as covering the openings and taking a vigorous breath) can be used in the field to check fit. Maintenance and storage All respirator (other than disposable types) need cleaning , maintenance and storage. Inhalation and exhalation valves need checking and replacement as do straps. Seals need to be disinfected , cleaned and check for damage.

Imf And The Economic Growth In Cambodia Economics Essay

Imf And The Economic Growth In Cambodia Economics Essay IMF and the struggle increase economic growth in Cambodia. Since emerging from the very darkest period in its history (POL POT regime) almost for four years, Cambodia has traversed a long way. From below ground zero, the country bounced back to rebuild the devastated economy and institutions. After the signing of Paris peace accord in 1991, Cambodia eventually had a formal election in 1993 and Cambodia has took a very important step to change its economy from plan economy to the free market. It was time that Cambodia opened its door to the foreign investors, and enterprises and companies are private own. Regarding the investment law which enacted in 1994, Cambodia attracted many foreign investment companies that created many jobs for Cambodian people. From 1993 up until now, the main export of Cambodia is garments follow by agricultural products. Tourism is also said to be the second largest export industry. Even though Cambodia is a foreign aid dependency country with nearly one thi rd of its national budget coming from ODA (Official Development Assistance), growth in Cambodian economy has run at over 6% per annum, on average, since the early 1990s. According to the IMF, the income per capita in 2008 was $823. Recently, Cambodia has found the gas and oil reserve which estimated to be beneficial for Cambodian economy. Oil production is expected to begin in 2011.The start of oil production in 2011 will give Cambodia an additional source of export revenue to reduce its large current account deficit and provide the funding to boost spending on the inadequate infrastructure and health and education systems. In 1999, Cambodia has successfully affiliated to ASEAN. This accession helps Cambodia to corporate with the countries in the region in order to improve its economy by joining in AFTA, CLV development triangle, GMS, CLMVà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦etc. As one of the CLMV countries, Cambodia can enjoy positive regional effect in East Asia through two transmission mechanisms. Fi rst, transfer of development experience from Japan and second is the flow of investment from Japan. In addition to the member of ASEAN, Cambodia finally joined WTO in 2004. WTO membership will enable Cambodia to receive non-discriminatory MFN status in international trade, and WTO concurrence is expected to bring substantial trade and FDI benefit to Cambodia. Even though there is a good sign on economic growth, Cambodia economy is still in struggle since Cambodia lack of human resources and as well as infrastructure to improve the economy. Despite the recent heady growth rate, poverty remains widespread and about one third of population are living under the poverty line. Corruption has become a grass root in Cambodian culture that contributes to the unfair contribution of growth between the rich and the poor. The gap between the rich and poor is still high. According to the IMF report, the growth rate has fallen back by 2.7% in 2009 in response to the economic downturn. Both the garment and tourist industries were undermined by the global recession. In the first 5 months of 2009 for instance, clothing exports to the US, which is Cambodias dominant export market, dropped 27% from the same period of 2008. According to the Labor Ministry, around 93 garment and shoe factories closed in the first 11 months of 2009, resulting in the loss of 38,190 jobs and a further 60 factories employing 35,337 people were forced to temporarily suspend operations, The construction sector meanwhile was weakened by the bursting of a property bubble that undermi ned the banking system by boosting non performing loans. The IMF has expressed concerns over the deterioration in the health of the banking sector and has urged the central bank to strengthen its supervision of the financial system. Regarding Foreign Direct investment, Data from the UNCTAD indicate that FDI in 2008 was $815 mn. This was below the $867 mn level in 2007 and represented 37.9% of gross fixed capital formation. The total stock of FDI (book value) at the end of 2008 was $4.637 bn, which was equal to 41.5% of GDP and was 193.5% above the level of 2000. In summary, owing to the latest IMF consultation, In a press release on December 8 that outlined the highlights of the just released Article IV Consultation Report, the IMF noted that after a decade of high economic growth, the economy was undermined by the global economic downturn, which led to a reduction in garment exports, foreign direct investment inflows and tourist receipts. The economy was also restrained by the coll apse of the property bubble, which slowed the construction sector and had negative implications for the banking sector. The economy contracted by an estimated 2.7% in 2009. The weak economy prompted a major fall in imports that narrowed the current account deficit, and stymied inflation. Growth was expected to resume in 2010 with an increase of 4.3% in response to a rebound in the global economy which will spur garment exports. IMF is one of the institutions in the Breton Wood system. As we have already known that the IMF doesnt make project loans and, in particular, it doesnt make loan to finance population on family planning programs. The IMF loans are intended to help the borrower countries stabilize their economic situation and cover chronic deficit in their balance of payment. Generally, a countrys central bank is the borrower and recipient of the IMF funds. In the case of Cambodia, Cambodia has been one of the main recipients of the IMF technical assistances (TA) over the past decades. TA in Cambodia was delivered under the umbrella of the Technical Cooperation Assistance Program (TCAP). The content of the Cambodian TCAP was designed jointly by the authorities, other donors, and the IMF provided a comprehensive program of TA, covering key areas of reform related to economic policy, including fiscal and banking sectors, statistic and legal reform. Over a decade after signing of the Paris Peace Accord i n 1991, Cambodia was still facing many major economic challenges. Tax revenues were very low, the banking system was fragile and a fundamental civil and administrative reform was necessary to improve good governance. In the fiscal area, TA aimed at (i) strengthening tax policy and administration including human resources and improving the design of the tax system;(ii) Strengthening customs administration in order to maximize the return from pre-shipment inspection, enhance enforcement capabilities, modernize and streamline procedures; and (iii) strengthening budget management to improve the quality of budget formulation and execution, along with the design and implementation of effective internal and external audits. These objectives were pursued mostly by three long term resident experts in budget management, customs administration, and tax administration and these three experts accounted for over half of total TA delivered under TCAP. In addition, the overall objective of TA in ba nking sector reform was to help create a robust and efficient banking system through bank relicensing, strengthening regulations, and improving bank supervision. TA in economic statistics was meant to strengthen the capacity to produce statistics for economic policy making and private investment planning by improving national accounts, price and foreign trade data, and balance of payments, government finance and money and banking statistic. The objective of TA in the legal area was to improve the financial sector legal framework. Three years after the start of the TCAP, the impact of TA in these different areas varies considerably. The banking sector reform has been largely deemed a success. The relicensing program implemented by the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) revamped the banking system by reducing the number of banks from 31 to 17, helping to restore the banking sector soundness. In response, public confidence in the banking system appears to be gradually improving, reflected in a 22 per cent increase in the deposit base during 2002 and further gains in 2003.6 Furthermore, loan spreads narrowed in 2003 as competition in the market appears to be increasing. Besides TCAP, every year the IMF always conduct the annual article IV discussion with Cambodia. The discussion mainly covers the area of Macroeconomic and financial policies. According to the recent press release, as in August 30 to September 10, 2010, an IMF mission from Washington, D.C visited Cambodia. The IMF mission has projected that real GDP growth will reach 4.5% to 5% in 2010, a significant turnaround from 2009. However, significant risks continue to cloud growth prospects. The fragility of the global recovery exposes Cambodias narrow export base with its reliance on the U.S and European markets. In the aftermath of global financial crisis, many challenges have been arising for the International Monetary Fund as well as Cambodian government to deal with. However, what the IMF have done for Cambodia are not anything new, for it has been working in Cambodia for quite a long time. Anyway, we can classify what the IMF has for and achieved in Cambodia into three main categories: surveillance, IMF-supported programs, and technical assistance/capacity building. In the surveillance area, the IMF has monitored the financial and economic policies of Cambodia and provided necessary recommendation on macroeconomic and financial policy to the Royal government of Cambodia. In doing so, the IMF has kept track of Cambodias economic development and regularly consulted with the government of Cambodia in finding the solution to the problem. For instance, recently, through the surveillance activities in Cambodia, it has observe that the Cambodian banking system is being in problem as the result of global economic downturn, and therefore, it has recommended the RGC to strengthen it banking system. This recommendation was done through a mechanism that has been used by the IMF called Article IV Consultation. In that report of that consultation, the IMFs executive director pointed out like this Immediate priorities should include strict enforcement of the new asset classification regime, prompt implementation of corrective action plans, development of a com prehensive bank restructuring framework, and increased supervision capacity. Regarding the technical assistance/capacity building program, the IMF assists Cambodia as well as other low-and middle income countries to manage their economies effectively by providing practical guidance and training on how to upgrade institutions, and design appropriate macroeconomic, financial, and structural policies. In connection to such TA and capacity buildings, the IMF has made great achievements in Cambodia. For example, the IMF has provided technical assistances to National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) in banking supervision, restructuring of banking system, balance of payment and monetary statistics, operation in foreign exchange and international reserve management, and information and computerization systems. Besides, the IMF has also helped the Ministry of Economy and Finance in fiscal policy management, and it has also assisted the Department of Custom and Excise in strengthening custom administration. Moreover, the IMF has also aided the Cambodians Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Commerce to prepare insolvency law. Furthermore, the Ministry of Planning and the National Institute of Statistic has also received technical assistance from the IMF in preparation of national account and governments finance statistics. Relating to IMF-supported programs or lending programs, the IMF offers credit to the members who have trouble meeting their international payments and cannot find sufficient financing on affordable term. The main objective of this program is to help a country restore macroeconomic stability by rebuilding their international reserves, stabilizing their currency and paying for import. Cambodia like many other low-income countries has received a lot of concessional loan from IMF to develop their economy and reduce poverty. For instance, just to recall the year 1996, in that year the IMF provided a 41 million USD to the Royal government of Cambodia under the enhanced structural adjustment facility (ESAF) mechanism. As mentioned in previous mini-compositions, the International Monetary Fund has played very important role in global financial system. Its primary role is to help member countries maintain exchange rate stability by providing short term loan to those countries that are in balance of payment difficulty due to trade deficits or other factors. It was created at the end of World War II with an aim to support the global economic structure and financial order. To accomplish this task, the IMF has actively assist Cambodia and many other member states, especially the developing ones, through surveillance, technical assistance/capacity building and supporting program. Despite many success has been made, there are still problem that can be considered as the obstacle for the IMF in Cambodia, but here I am going to raise only two main issues to discuss. The first problem that challenge IMF is the negative consequence of global economic downturn that puts Cambodia economy in a dangerous place. As we have already known Cambodia economy depends heavily on garment, construction, and tourism sector. These sectors are the most hit by the crisis as they largely rely on foreign market and capital. For instance, according to a study conducted by the United Nations in Cambodia in 2009, about 20-30 percent of workers in garment sectors, construction sites and tourism sector have lost jobs since late 2008. This make Cambodias economic growth rate to decline dramatically from double digits in the years prior to the crisis to only 0.1 percent in 2009. This reflect that the IMF, as well as other Multilateral Financial Institutions such as World Bank and Asian Development Bank, to work harder in order to help promote the Cambodian economy in the wake of the global economic downturn. This is not an easy task for the IMF to deal with because the countries, such are the United States, which are the major financial contributors to this organization, are also in financial difficulty due to the impacts of the crisis. The second problem is not related to any other factors, but it is because of the procedures of the IMF itself. Before providing loan to Cambodia or any other countries who are in demand for financial assistance, the IMF first demand Cambodia and those countries to make reform such as reducing public spending, devalue their national currency and privatization . These demands, to a large extend, are consider by the Cambodian government and other assistance recipient government as new burden on their economy rather than something that can help them out of the problem. Hence, those governments do not want to rely on the IMF, they seek to obtain financial assistance from other sources. For instance, instead of follow the demand by the IMF in the sector that the Royal government of Cambodia found not important but would actually harmful the Cambodias, the government would turn to seek the assistance from China instead. Having experienced almost three decades of ravaged civil wars, Cambodias economy was greatly devastated. The Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC), with the technical and financial assistances from international development partners has been working very hard in reconstructing the war-torn economy. Among those development partners, the International Monetary Fund has also played a very active one. As we have discussed in the previous mini-compositions, the IMF has made significant contribution to the development of Cambodia. Like other development partners, the IMF gets involve in the Cambodias development in three main mechanisms. First of all, the IMF has monitored the financial and economic policies of Cambodia and provided necessary recommendation on macroeconomic and financial policy to the government. Second, it assists Cambodia as well as other low income country to manage their economies effectively by providing practical guidance and training on how to upgrade institutions, and design appropriate macroeconomic, financial, and structural policies. Last but not least, the IMF offers credit to Cambodia and other members who have trouble meeting their international payments and cannot find sufficient financing on affordable term. The main objective of this program is to help a country restore macroeconomic stability by rebuilding their international reserves, stabilizing their currency and paying for import. Through these mechanisms, Cambodia and many other developing countries have benefited greatl y from the IMF. Though everyone agrees that the IMF provides a lot of benefit to recipient countries, many of them do not happy with the IMF. The problem is that the assistance that the IMF offers to Cambodia as well as other low income countries always comes along with conditions. In order to be able to receive IMFs assistance, the recipient countries must agree with the IMF to accept the policies suggested by the IMF. Indeed, the policy suggested by the IMF are the ones already implemented successfully in some recipient countries. With this reason the IMF may expect that those policies must be plausible for every recipient country. However, in reality the same policy does not guarantee the same result for different country. Some policies might work well in some countries, but they might failed if applied to Cambodia or other countries else. For instance, one would expect that increase interest rate for deposit would increase the amount of deposit in financial institutions. Of course, this is true for those countries in which the financial or banking system is popular among the people. However, in Cambodia this policy will never work, for the majority of Cambodian people do not deposit their money in banks, but they just keep their money at home instead. Based on this sense, some possible disagreements between the government and the IMF arise. This makes the Royal government of Cambodia and other recipient countries prefer the assistance from other development partner to the assistance from IMF. For instance, the Cambodian government values the assistance from China the most because when provides assistance to Cambodia, China does not link with any conditions. In short, in spites of considerably succeed in various aspects of development in Cambodia, IMF has been faced and continues to face many challenges. However, the presence of IMF as the global financial governance is still very important.

Species-area Relationship of Herpetofaunas in West Indies

Species-area Relationship of Herpetofaunas in West Indies De Gao 1. Introduction 1.1. Biodiversity and crisis on West Indies Oceanic islands, due to their discrete geographic isolation, differ distinctly from terrestrial  ecosystem, offer great opportunities for species conservation, and are regarded as the natural  laboratory for the study of biogeography and evolutionary ecology (Adsersen, 1995; Crawford  and Stuessy, 1997; Ricklefs and Bermingham, 2008). Island habitat heterogeneity and the gene  flow barrier between the island and its neighboring islands or land are the most important driving  forces leading to new species differentiation and formation (Cherry et al. 2002). The colonized  species from continents or nearby islands are then subjected to unique evolutionary processes,  for example, geographic isolation, character displacement, and adaptive radiation. The  accumulated mutations gradually and ultimately make colonized species into new indigenous  species that are genetically different from the original one. One of the most distinctive features of  the biota on oceanic is lands is the large number of endemics occurring in small areas (Francisco-Ortega et al. 2000). West Indies was identified as a biodiversity hotspot by Myers et al. (2000). A significant  percentage of the Earth’s known terrestrial biota is distributed on islands of the West Indies,  many of these species are endemic to the region, to individual islands, and even to isolated areas  within some islands (Hedges, 2001). But a large majority of the vast complex of islands in West  Indies is changing rapidly, resulting in dramatic alterations of habitats, and nearly all of them are  mediated by human activities (Powell and Henderson, 2012). Small population size, gene drift,  isolated gene flow, and the complexity of island environment have already made the endemic  herpetofaunal species easy to be endangered or extinct, human disturbances undoubtedly worsen  the situation. Therefore, critical conservation concerns in West Indian region are increasingly  important and required. 1.2. Species-area relationship (SAR) The species-area relationship is one of the most fundamental patterns in macroecology and an  important tool in assessing species diversity, extinction rates and species hotspots (Tjà ¸rve, 2009). According to the equilibrium theory (MacArthur and Wilson, 1967), the relationship between  immigration and the extinction of species to island depends on the island size and its distance to  mainland. MacArthur-Wilson’s theory provided impetus for numerous studies on species-area  relationships (SARs) that have provided biological interpretations for several taxa and have  suggested factors and mechanisms that can determine species richness (Simaiakis et al. 2012). And the theory has an enormous influence on perspectives of species conservation and nature  reserves design. The main objective of this chapter is to discuss SARs for herpetofaunas in West Indies regions,  with the aim of discover which factors may determine their distribution over the whole range of  island sizes. We choose to fit some candidate models including the power model and some  sigmoid models to see whether a J-shaped part exists at the lower end of the curve. Small-island  effect (SIE) holds that, on islands smaller than a certain critical minimum area, one cannot  observe an increase in species number with increasing area (Simaiakis et al. 2012). We choose to  fit candidate models including the power model and some sigmoid models to see whether a J-shaped part exists at the lower end of the curve. If the best fitted model has a sigmoid shape, a J-shaped part will exist at the lower end, and then we accept SIE. If the best fitted model has a  convex shape, a J-shaped part will not exist at the lower end, and then we deny SIE. There are  also other reasons why it is so important to know the shape of species-area curve. Based on the  curve shape, we could estimate total species diversity from limited numbers of samples, or  estimate species extinction as a result of habitat loss and fragmentation (Tjà ¸rve, 2003). Candidate species-area models are proposed from two sources. The first source is species-area  literature which has traditionally fit data with power or exponential models, the second source  involves a broader search of the literature for models that increased monotonically to an  asymptote (Flather, 1996). Although the shape of the curve has been extensively debated over the years, power and  exponential curves are the most commonly applied and best known ones, lately, an increasing  number of authors have argued some SARs are perhaps best represented by functions that are  sigmoid in arithmetic space and there are also a number of recent studies where sigmoid models  have been fitted to empirical data (Tjà ¸rve, 2003). Some sigmoid models behave similar with  others, for instance, the Extreme value function behaves quite similar to the Logistic and  Gompertz models; The Cumulative beta-P distribution behaves similarly to the Weibull  distribution (Tjà ¸rve, 2003). 2. Aims In this study, we are trying to solve 3 questions: Question 1: What is the species-area relationship (SAR) for herpetofaunas in West Indies? Is the  SAR same for native and invasive species? And is it the same among each animal group  classification under amphibian and reptile? Question 2: Due to human’s help, invasive species are supposed to have a higher dispersal  ability as compared to the native. So, in the linear form of the power model (LogS/LogA) is there  a higher z-value for the invasive species than the native species? Question 3: What geographic factors may determine species richness over the whole range of  island sizes? Are these factors also applicable to other group of islands that located in similar  latitude areas to determine their species richness? 3. Material and Methods Data on species occurrences originate from Powell and Henderson (2012). Multiple basemaps in  ArcMap 10 and ArcGlobe 10 will be used to digitize islands map. We use different scales to  digitize islands with various areas. Fractal Analysis will be used to estimate the perimeters at a  uniform scale (Farina, 2007). For comparisons of the fit of different models, the Akaike’s  information criterion (AIC) was applied (Burnham and Anderson, 2002). Model selection  analyses will run using â€Å"mmSAR† package (Guilhaumon et al. 2010) for the R statistical and  programming environment (R Development Core Team, 2011). Aim 1: Model selection we use the 8 most general models composed in â€Å"mmSAR† package (Guilhaumon et al. 2010) to  fit the data, which include 5 convex models (Power, Exponential, Negative exponential, Monod,  Rational function) and 3 sigmoid models (Logistic, Lomolino, Cumulative Weibull). Aim 2: LogS/LogA linear regression We analyze the linear function of the LogS/LogA and compare parameter values with vertebrates  from global oceanic islands (Triantis et al. 2012). Aim 3: Find out the geographic factors affect species richness/Steps Initially selected variables are X1 Distance to mainland X2 Latitude of island centroid X3 Longitude of island centroid X4 Island No. within 0.1km X5 Island No. within 0.1-1km X6 Island No. within 1-5km X7 Island No. within 5-10km X8 Islands Area within 0.1km X9 Islands Area within 0.1-1km X10 Islands Area within 1-5km X11 Islands Area within 5-10km X12 Area of the island X13 Perimeter of the island X14 Perimeter/Area X15 Percentage of vegetation X16 Percentage of human area X17 Rivers within the island X18 Invasive spp. within the island X19 Percentage of invasive spp. X1 and X3 are used to examine species dispersal from mainland; X2 is used to examine the  nearness to equator; X4, X5, X6, X7 are used to examine stepping stones in each loop circle; X8,  X9, X10, X11 are used to examine total area of stepping stones in each loop circle; X12 is used to examine area effect; X13 and X14 are used to examine shape (irregularity) of island; X15,  X17 are used to examine habitat quality; X16, X18, X19 are used to examine human disturbance  and invasive species. Principal Component Analysis and Hierarchical Partitioning Analysis will be made based on the  residuals distribution of LogS/LogA linear regression to examine which geographic factors are  the significant contributions of species richness in West Indies.

Kirtrines Basement :: Personal Narrative, Autobiographical Essay

Kirtrine's Basement "Sister Lopez?" I looked down the winding staircase into the murky depths of my neighbor's unfinished basement. "Sister Lopez, can I talk to you?" The only sound was the steady hum of the sewing machine, so I quietly took the stairs two at a time. I was twelve years old--polite and refined, but not overly patient. My mother, a wonderful but slightly overzealous Mormon Relief Society president, had sent me with a Homemaking invitation to give to the ever-elusive, inactive Sister Lopez. Sister Lopez was sitting at a large table, feeding canvas into a huge sewing machine. The only light in the room was the leftover sun that managed to squeeze through the window well. It illuminated her hair which fell to her shoulders like blackberry satin. I watched her look up at me with only mild curiosity. "Hello." "Hello... I wanted to give you this." "Thanks. Why don't you sit down?" Her face was so flawless, so unreal. She looked like a woman in one of my mother's catalogues--Lands End, maybe, or J Crew. I took a folding chair from its resting place on a cement wall. "How are you, Sister Lopez?" I asked. It was all I had ever been taught to ask an adult. Sister Lopez laughed the most sincere laugh I had ever heard. I suppose it was the laugh of a jubilant woman, but at the time I wasn't familiar enough with laughter to tell. "Call me Kirtrine." "Kirtrine." I liked the way the word sounded on my lips. "And the real question is," she continued, "how are you?" To say the least I was startled. "Me? I'm fine." As if anyone needed to ask how I was; it was perfectly apparent to any semi-competent onlooker. I was almost thirteen, with matted brown hair, awkward, angular glasses, and an uncomfortable weight gain where hips should have been. A pubescent nightmare, I had acne like the "before" picture on a skin care infomercial and crooked teeth, surely the envy of every jack o' lantern. How was I? I was a mess. "Tell me about school," she prodded, though it sounded like anything but prodding."Any cute guys?" I sat there, on a cold, hard folding chair, surrounded by bolts of colorful cloth. I opened up like I never had before in that room: I cried with the ice blue chiffon, I laughed with the tomato red flannel. I was as pristine as crisp white linen; I was as sophisticated as black velvet.

Robert Hooke :: biographies bio

Robert Hooke was an Englishman, born in Freshwater, Isle of Wight on July 18, 1635. He died in London on March 3, 1703. During his life he contributed a great deal to the world of science, contrary to what was expected of him at an early age. As a child, Robert Hooke was constantly in poor health. It was never expected that he would live past his childhood. He had frequent headaches which made studying for school very difficult. His parents decided to quit pursuing an education for their son, and Hooke was left to learn on his own accord. He became fascinated by mechanical objects such as toys and clocks. He also developed a talent for drawing. Hooke did survive to see adulthood, and old age. In his 68 years he held many positions in different fields. * Apprentice to Peter Lely, a portrait painter of the time * Professor of geometry at Gresham College in London * Assistant to Robert Boyle * London City Surveyor * Curator of experiments for the Royal Society of London * Lecturer on mechanics * Secretary of the Royal Society of London Robert Hooke invented many instruments for variable purposes. The following is a limited list of his many inventions. * modern air pump * wheel, double, & marine barometers * anchor escapement of clocks * spring control of the balance wheel in watches * arithmetic machine * 1st Gregorian telescope * compound microscope * reflecting telescope * diving engine * spiral gear * universal (Hooke's) joint * iris diaphragm * lens grinding machine * conical pendulum * springy saddle * horizontal sail for windmills * applied telescopic sights to surveying instruments * air gun Robert Hooke's first publication was in 1661, on the subject of capillary action.

Planned Giving Article Critique Essay

Bernstein discusses the three elements that motivate planned giving: generosity, tax avoidance, and established relationship. The generosity affect happens when an uncultivated donor bequeaths a large sum from their estate. The primary benefit of these donations is not to the borrower but to their heirs in that estate taxes are significantly reduced by these donations. In some cases a person may plan a donation but their heirs may not immediately honor it. In that case if an organization is aware of the donor’s intent, board or staff can develop a relationship with the survivors. This may lead to a transfer of charitable intent where the surviving heir will eventually honor the charitable plans of the predecessor. The purpose of fundraising is to obtain alternate sources of funds apart from the regular budget cycle. Additionally, fundraising is successful when positive interpersonal relationships are developed between fundraisers and potential donors. These are key roles of sports program managers. (Stier & Schneider 1999) Title: You and Planned Giving Author: Robert J-P. Hauck In this article, Hauck outlines a planned giving program targeted for the American Political Science Association. He defines timing as the first decision to be made when developing a planned giving intent. This answers if the gift will be made during the donor’s lifetime or after their death. The benefits of giving during the donor’s life is reduction in income and capital gains taxes. The benefits of giving after the donor’s death is reduction in estate taxes. He suggests testamentary giving as a way to remember a deceased person. These gifts can be given as awards or scholarships in the name of an individual. Next, a bequest can be restricted or unrestricted. A restricted bequest is to fund a certain activity of an organization. He suggests these requests, however, be flexible enough to change with the needs of the organization. Finally, Hauck offers the option of making an organization the owner and beneficiary of a life insurance policy. The benefit to the donor is that the cash surrender value is deductible if the policy is paid in full, or the premium payments will be deductible. Sports managers must be aware of the difference between immediate need fundraising and long-term development of additional funding sources. (Stier & Schneider 1999) This article demonstrates the development aspect involved in sports fundraising. However, it is important to be prepared to manage current receipts from long term development consistently with sources from current fundraising efforts. This article provides a perfect framework that sports managers can include in their marketing efforts and literature used for fundraising. The concepts here not only work with insurance policies, but can also be applied to more immediate gifts of stocks, bonds, and other marketable securities which can be sold and converted to cash over the short-term. Title: Youth Charities Work Together on Planned Giving. (The Children’s Village, Inwood House, Safe Space) Author(s): Nicole Wallace In this article a different approach to planned giving is taken. Three similar organizations joined to create a single organization which exists for the sole purpose of cultivating planned giving programs. The organization will manage and distribute the donations to the organizations according to the donors’ guidelines. In addition, the organization is dedicated to marketing to potential donors. This may be a more appropriate form of fundraising at the local high school level. Direct programs as outline in the previous articles may be more appropriate for colleges and universities. Conclusion The three articles taken together demonstrate the importance of understanding the personal goals and strategies that define and drive planned giving by individuals. Once that is understood the fundraising professional is prepared to communicate to potential donors the various options at their disposal for planned giving. Finally, when organizations operate on a smaller scale, collaboration can result in a higher rate of planned giving than individual efforts. References Bernstein, P. (June 2005). Financial advisers and planned giving: doing the right thing. The CPA Journal, 75, 6. p. 62(2). Retrieved April 16, 2009, from General OneFile via Gale. Hauck, R. J. P. (Sept 1999). You and Planned Giving. PS: Political Science & Politics, 32, 3. p. 642. Retrieved April 16, 2009, from General OneFile via Gale. Stier, W F, & Schneider, R. (June-Sept 1999). Fundraising: an essential competency for the sport manager in the 21st century. Mid-Atlantic Journal of Business, 35, 2-3. p. 93(1). Retrieved April 16, 2009, from General OneFile via Gale. Wallace, N. (March 26, 2009). Youth Charities Work Together on Planned Giving. (The Children’s Village, Inwood House, Safe Space). Chronicle of Philanthropy, 21, 11. p. NA. Retrieved April 16, 2009, from General OneFile via Gale.

Communist victory in the Second Indochina War Essay

When assessing the importance of the Viet Cong (VC) in the Communist victory, one cannot look past the unity, discipline and effective organisation in the vanguard of the VC forces. The Viet Cong were made up of volunteer servicemen who traveled to South Vietnam as Autumn Cadres – ready to exploit the coming political harvest. The central purpose of the Viet Cong campaigns was to polarise the population, to divide it irrevocably from the GVN, and to mobilise it for service and sacrifice in support of the Revolution. The importance of the Viet Cong lies in their contribution to the Indochina conflict, and can be assessed through a social, political and military context. The role of the VC in a sociopolitical context is of a significant importance in the Communist victory in the Second Indochina War. The VC forces were most numerous in rural South Vietnam, especially in Strategic Hamlet-run villages. Once the VC established a strong presence in an area, they attempted to seal off the local population both physically and psychologically from any further contact with the Government of South Vietnam (GVN). They were particularly intent on denying the government all intelligence on Communist troop movements, bivouac sites, supply cachà ©s, and information relating to those who serve in their local military and political infrastructures. To inhibit intelligence penetration and collection in Communist-controlled or contested areas, the VC not only systematically identified and neutralized anyone suspected of being a GVN spy or informant, but they also imposed and enforced very stringent regulations governing travel within the villages and hamlets and proscribing all unauthorized contact with GVN persons. The indoctrination performed by the VC didnt limit the villagers hatred to just to GVN intelligence personnel; indeed, all repressive activity was cloaked in highly emotional propaganda designed to arouse the people to a deep hatred of, a desire for revenge and to heighten their concept of revenge against the military and civilian officials serving the government. For example, in guidelines for a propaganda campaign in the Ben Tre Province for the period October 1968 to March 1969, the VC directed cadres to â€Å"make the people feel a profound hatred of the enemy’s savage crimes and incite  them to avenge their compatriots and kinfolk by enthusiastically and actively taking part in combat activities to heroically annihilate the enemy and achieve great merits.† The indoctrination performed by the VC allowed them to gain mass support from the villagers, taking it away from the controversial GVN. This support allowed the VC to form networks across the province, which, m ilitarily, facilitated the late offensives by the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) during the final stages of the war. The role of the VC in a military context is of a significant importance in the Communist victory in the Second Indochina War. The Communist Field Commander for China during the Second Indochina War, Lin Piao, stated that, In order to win a peoples war, it is imperative to build the broadest possible united front and formulate a series of policies which will ensure the fullest mobilisation of the basic masses as well as the unity of all the forces that can be unified Although the VC were a persistent and ingenious force, further assessment identifies that a war of attrition was not going to win them the war. General for The NVA, General Vo Nguyen Giap, stated that, the way to win the war is by small defeats, one after the other until the coup de grace.Viet Cong strategy differed from other communist nations in that military activity prepared the way for a political showdown, rather than political activity preparing the way for a military showdown. Having defined the goal of the struggle in the South as a political rather than a military victory, the Viet VC at first sought to make credible the inability of the Saigon government to administer. In response to a growing American presence, they increased their military activity in order to exploit contradictions in the American position. The VC revolutionaries took full advantage of the contradictions and tailored their military activities to exploit these perceived weaknesses by making the war so long, bloody and expensive that American opinion would turn against it. These activities intended to damage psychologically the U.S. commitment to the war, thus generating a negative cost-benefit analysis among American political leaders and thereby producing a victory more like that obtained by the Viet Minh in 1954. The essence of the VC strategy was not to defeat the U.S. and allied forces militarily but to convince the Americans through the use of violence,  both persuasively and at selected points, that their position is hopeless. This stratagem was evident in the Tet Offensive of 1968. The initial goal of Tet was to destroy the morale of the United States and GVN by proving that the communist threat did not only exist in the countryside, but in urban areas also. The VC forces attacked the US embassy in Saigon, surprising the Americans and forcing them into a conventional war. This proved costly for the Viet Cong as there were serious casualties and loss of manpower one third (38,000) of the VC fighting force were either killed or wounded. Due to the loss of numbers, the North Vietnamese had to infiltrate the ranks of the Viet Cong. Moreover, the VC lost local knowledge of the South Vietnamese terrain, which inhibited the abilities of the new forces from the North. Paradoxically, although the U.S. saw Tet as a military victory, the American home front did not. Television effectively brought the brutality of the war into the comfort of the living room. Vietnam was lost in the living rooms of America not on the battlefields of Vietnam (Marshall McLuhan). Following the Tet Offensive, support for President Johnson dropped to 26 percent, resulting in his withdrawal from the Presidential race. Nixon was elected on a promise to end Americas involvement in Vietnam. Politically, the Tet Offensive is considered a Communist victory. Although they lost, the military contribution of the VC during Tet effectively led to the U.S. withdrawal in 1973, allowing the NVA to initiate the North Vietnamese Offensive in 1975, causing South Vietnam to surrender unconditionally. The role of the VC in a political context is of a considerable importance in the Communist victory in the Second Indochina War. Being influenced by mainly China and Russia, members of the VC learned the power of propaganda and in doing so became skilled at manipulating people by symbols, and in general they acquired a view of the world in which politics is the driving and dominant force. Historian Ithiel de Sola Pool states, the elements of the Viet Cong that will remain effective the longest after the main forces have been increasingly battered in combat will be those cadres who have built a political base in their own villages, including of course military cadres who will try to slip back into the main force. Further research shows  that it is these cadres that are the political force in the populated areas and who can be partially won over in any politically stable settlement. They are the most politically significant and the most responsive to citizens needs and problems. Without giving and receiving political support from the South Vietnamese population, North Vietnam was not going to win the war. As stated before, the goal of the struggle in the South was a political rather than a military victory and this became the primary doctrine for the Communists throughout the war. The numerous guerilla incidents throughout the war had no purpose but to serve the Communist political movement. The destruction inflicted upon Vietnam by the U.S. gave the VC a political advantage in that they won the support of the South Vietnamese peasantry. The political struggle movement allowed the South Vietnamese people to contribute to the war, emphasizing that the politics within the VC are highly significant when assessing the Communist victory in the Second Indochina War. The complex facets of the Viet Cong forces prove that they were essentially important in the Communist victory in the Second Indochina War. The Viet Cong effectively established their role in the revolution, providing support to the North as well as fighting in foreign territory. In contrast to such heterogeneous and disorganised elements of the GVN, the Viet Cong had at its disposal a government which dated back to 1945, a reservoir of manpower which had been unified by years of war and Communist Party discipline, and a network of agents which it had established during the war years in the cities and villages of the south. It is for these reasons that the Viet Cong were important in the Communist victory in the Second Indochina War. Bibliography Primary SourcesChalmers, J. The Third Generation of Guerilla Warfare, Asian Survey, Vol. 8, No. 6. (Jun., 1968), pp. 435-447. de Sola Pool, I. Political Alternatives to the Viet Cong. Asian Survey, Vol. 7, No. 8, Vietnam: A Symposium. (Aug., 1967), pp. 555-566. Doc. Log No. 11-1020-68 (Confidential), dated January 15, 1969, quoted in Le, Thanh Nam (1996). Control and Polarization of the Populace, 25th Aviation Battalion (online). Available at http://25thaviation.org/history/id926.htm (Accessed 21 July, 2006)Lin Piao, Long Live the Peoples War (Peking: Foreign Languages Press, 1965), pp. 44, quoted in Chalmers, J. The Third Generation of Guerilla Warfare, Asian Survey, Vol. 8, No. 6. (Jun., 1968), pp. 435-447.

Once Bitten Twice Shy

Once bitten twice shy is a great, and fairly common saying. It is an idiom that means if somebody is said to be once bitten twice shy, it means that a person who has been hurt, or who has had something happen to them that was life changing in a not so desirable way then they will be far more careful the next time around. I think everyone has experienced situations such as this. Whether it be a deal you made where you ended up getting cheated out of some money, or a time when you got your heart broken by someone you thought would never hurt you.Either way it happens and makes a person leery of trusting others for a long while, if ever again. As a small business owner I have experienced many situations in which I was the target of somebody trying to pull the wool over my eyes, and/or screw me out of some money. At one point in time a few years ago, I had a small crew of people working on a job for me in Rolla Mo. while myself and another crew member were working on a different job in S t. Robert.I trusted the crew members that I left alone without supervision because they were all hard and honest workers, at least I thought they were. I had been leaving this crew on the Rolla job for about two weeks with very little supervision from myself. The only time I really stopped by there was to drop off more material, and take a quick look around at the work they were doing and all was well. That is until I got a call one afternoon from the contractor that I was doing this job for.The call started with me getting an ass chewing like I had never had before, and caught me totally off guard. After some time on the phone with this man I kind of figured out what was going on. It seems one of my crew members that I had been leaving alone on the job for a while was planning to screw me over. They had been sabotaging my job in hopes that they would be able to show the contractor the shoddy work that was going on behind his back so that he would fire me and hopefully hire them to replace me.Well, luckily I had known the contractor for years and after some smooth talking I convinced him that I would finish the job personally and fire the member of my crew that caused these problems. So, the plan backfired for the sneaky crew member. Not only did they not get hired by the contractor, but they lost the steady job they already had. Even though this situation didn’t turn out all that badly for me, it still caused me some friction with the contractor, and caused me to never have the same level of trust in my employees ever again.

Hunters in the Snow Essay

It’s really thrilling to read the short story â€Å"Hunters in the Snow† since it deals with three amazing characters namely Kenny, Tub and Frank. This short story is very interesting to read because these three hunting buddies’ characters appear as the story goes. At first, you will think if there is friendship among them, since one part of the story shows that Frank and Kenny could have helped Tub to get through the fences but they didn’t. However, in the end, you can actually see that there is more than friendship in their relationship as the story unfolds. It has been clearly seen that depending on circumstances, the three men who has balance of power among them could shift anytime since because of human nature. The story also suggests that whenever human being has been isolated in a natural setting, it is possible that they can be like animals which are primitive and predatory. The funny tragicomedy ending of the story made me laugh since they routed to a different way instead of heading to the hospital where they have to bring Kenny. Another related short story entitled â€Å"The Most Dangerous Game† which is also about hunting and human nature. Here, Sanger Rainsford is the main character who has a hard heart towards the animals he hunts and for him, hunting is the best sport in the world. Zaroff, a Russian aristocrat, on the other hand is called a civilized savage since his favorite prey is man. The setting is very interesting since it has always been mysterious to go to Caribbean  island. It’s been terrifying to know that there are humans who hunt for human. I felt sad about the frightened creatures that are being killed by hunters but the worst part of the story is when Rainsford killed Zaroff as he says â€Å"I am still a beast at bay†. The story is very inhumane as I read it, because aside from killing wild animals, human has been also a target for hunting in this story. This is really the most dangerous game so to speak because it seems that killing and hunting is just their hobby. However, I have learned that the purpose of the story is to teach us that game has its own rules but when you think that it would not be fair at all, you have to think twice especially when your life is at risk.

I Am Qualified, Why Not Me - Why We Hate HR Case Study

I Am Qualified, Why Not Me - Why We Hate HR - Case Study Example There should have been a policy encouraging promotion from within as the priority over external applicants. It was clearly stated that his performance appraisals are excellent; therefore, he was most qualified for the previous positions he applied for. The only thing he lacked was more confidence in his ability, as when Friedman asked him if he thought he was better qualified than the others they hired, his response was negative. Having realized this, he could effectively apply in future senior positions after duly emphasizing his excellent qualifications and ability to do the responsibilities noted. The benefits of promotion from within policy are that the current pool of human resources who would be the priority for higher positions would be better motivated to perform their tasks and therefore, exhibit greater productivity within their scope of responsibilities. This is advantageous for the firm since increased productivity would tantamount to effective achievement of organizational goals. Such a policy would be appropriate and most beneficial for Crystal since currently employed personnel have already been trained on the rudiments of the firm’s operations and are duly competent to address problems that occur within their jobs. Promoting from within would provide much-needed motivation in the workforce, lessen employee turnover, create job satisfaction and opportunities for greater productivity. The article â€Å"Why We Hate HR† written by Keith H. Hammonds, reported to be the deputy editor of Fast Company published it as a cover story to increase awareness on the reasons why HR remain to be seen as inefficient in linking strategies to the organizational outcome. As disclosed, there were apparently six reasons why HR does not effectively deliver to the achievement of organizational goals: (1) lack of most competent and qualified HR personnel; (2) pursuing efficiency instead of value; (3) the inability to HR to conform and adhere to responsibilities expected by the organization; (4) lack of direct connection between HR goals and that of the organization’s ultimate objective of increasing the bottom-line.  Ã‚