Radio-Movie Review of Mental Disabled Individual

Movie Review 11-1-2012 â€Å"Radio† The movie I picked to review was one I had not seen before, â€Å"Radio† starring Cuba Gooding Jr and Ed Harris. It is based on a true story of James Robert â€Å"Radio† Kennedy and tells the story of how a man who is mentally retarded becomes friends with the high school football coach. The coach befriends Radio after some of his players have bullied and hurt him. The movie opens with Radio pushing his cart through the street and shows a woman moving her child away from him, a man staring at him, and another man who almost runs him over calling him a â€Å"moron. I liked that they started this way to establish what he goes through on a daily basis. Radio is constantly looking down allowing the viewer to realize that he has some sort of disability. Other times throughout the movie members of the town can be seen starring and laughing at Radio. The coach ignores their behaviors and continues his friendship with Radio despite wh at others think. The film never establishes the exact cause of his disability but when Coach asks his mother what was wrong with him, she says the doctor just says â€Å"he is a little slower than most. As the coach got to know him, he learned that he loved radios, hence his nickname â€Å"Radio†. The coach tries to bring Radio into the team as an assistant. The school didn’t allow him to travel on the bus for the â€Å"safety† of the students. As the movie continues some of the townspeople begin to accept Radio while others are very irritated that he is a part of the football program. Coach always supports Radio and teaches him many things throughout their friendship. The coach’s family also comes to appreciate Radio and supports the friendship of the two men.The things that impacted me about the movie are the fact that it is based on a true-life story. The filmmakers did a good job of being realistic in the fact that not everyone is going to support a mentally challenged individual all of the sudden being a part of a football team. This is definitely the case. In my ideal world people with disabilities would not be bullied but would be accepted. This isn’t the case and the movie shows us this. Reality is that not everyone is comfortable with individuals with disabilities.One thing that bothered me about the movie was the look that Radio was given. He has a big front tooth and a chipped tooth. I believe it was at the end of the movie that in the credits you get to see a picture of the real Radio. He does not have perfect teeth just as the character didn’t in the movie. However, the movie cover picture doesn’t have the actor with messed up teeth. To me this shows that they aren’t completely portraying the character the way they should. They are still out to sell their movie and â€Å"pretty† probably sells better than reality sometimes.There were times in the movie that I was angry with some of th e people in the town. More than this though, there were times that I was proud of the coach. I was proud of those that came together to make sure Radio had a good Christmas after his mother had passed away. I was mostly proud of Radio for in return giving the presents that he had received to individuals that had been mean to him in the past. The movie is an inspiring one! There are good people in the world.

Indoor vs Outdoor

Well games should be such that they give us some sort of entertainment and also physical exercise.I prefer outdoor games to indoor games.I have the following reasons for my choice. At first,outdoor games give me more physical exercise than indoor games.I can do a lot of body work and movement in the outdooor games.They would help me keep my cholesterol level in control and also keep me aloof from all kinds of cardiovascular problems. Second,these would give me a more of exposure to the nature.I can enjoy the cool breeze and sizzling rainfall only during the outdoor games though not all the time.It is not at all possible in the indoor games like the computer games or the video games.Third,these can be done at all places and whenever required.Because a simple walk or jogging or playing badminton can be done at all places and some of them donot even require any devices. And also these would help me develop my social circle as I can get into contact with several people who have similar i nterests and from different walks of life. So for the above reasons I prefer outdoor games and enjoy playing them. Games should be such that they give us some sort of entertainment and also physical exercise.I prefer outdoor games to indoor games. I have the following reasons for my choice.At first,outdoor games give me more physical exercise than indoor games. I can do a lot of body work and movement in the outdoor games. They would help me keep my cholesterol level in control and also keep me aloof from all kinds of cardiovascular problems.Second, these would give me more exposure to nature. I can enjoy the cool breeze and DRIZZLING rainfall only during outdoor games, though not all the time. It is not at all possible in the indoor games like the computer games or the video games.Third, these can be done at all places and whenever required. Because A simple walk or jogging or playing badminton can be done at all places(,) and some of them do not even require any devices. And also t These would help me develop my social circle as I can COME into contact with several people who have similar interests and from different walks of life.So for the above reasons I prefer outdoor games and enjoy playing them.

Emotional, Behavioral, and Physical Disabilities Essay

When it comes to students, teacher’s roles in determining how to teach a student with emotional and behavior disorder, Physical disabilities and Health Impairments, Traumatic Brain injury, Hearing impairments, and Visual impairments is to create an environment in which all students can feel safe and can participate to the best of their abilities. When it comes to proving a positive learning environment for students who has disabilities it can be a great challenge within the classroom cause each student has their very own needs, intellectual and physical abilities, perceptions and most of all learning styles which may vary for each student. It is very important to know the students needs and identify and areas of curriculum before teaching a student because may present problems for them. In order to do that a teacher most have some teaching strategies that they can modify in order to help teach their student who have disabilities where it can help identify the students special needs and it will offer strategies for the teachers to put within a lesson plan to teach and give all students a change to success in learning. There are lots of strategies teachers can use for example, when it comes to students with emotional and behavior disorders may students may have gifts or even learning disabilities in which case can divide from expectations or even from standards of behaviors. Some teaching strategies that teaching can use for a student with emotional and behavior disorders are a teacher need to work long term improvements without expecting immediate and strong success from the student, try to expose students with behavior disorder to students who are not special need. Try and allow students to walk around classroom and talk with the students about what they like or dislike helping learn about the student strength and weakness to be able to started making an outline of a lesson plan for them. Structure rules, a schedule for the student, arrange the room for students comfort for a more conductive learning environment for the students to learn in. teachers need to setup students a way to other outlets ways to reduce frustration and angry by model and role playing appropriate behavior for them to see. 2010 McGraw Hill) Most important I think a teacher and do also is create a cool off spot within the class for the student to calm down once they become frustrated or angry it can help model and reinforce proper behavior from the students one they have common down which will help the teacher to keep everyone else calm. Lastly they need to communicate with other teachers and the student parent to keep the line of communication open about the student educat ion. There are lots of different characters of students with emotional and behavior disorder and some examples are fighting and hitting, getting out of their sets, disturbing others by yelling and talking loud, destroying things by throwing, do not like to follow orders and some curses a lot in which cases some cannot help it. Next there are Physical disabilities and Health Impairments where student are not able to learning easy without help. For example students with Physical disabilities are those who have are orthopedic impairment in which one or more limbs are severely restricted and there are those who have health impairment. 2010 McGraw Hill) Some teaching strategies for teachers are to learn about special devices or procedures, help other students and adults understand and accept physically disabled students and to keep in mind that some students in wheelchairs have full uses of their hands and others do not. Most important allow student to participate in all activities like field trips, special events , projects and make sure they have full access to the classroom and nothing is blocked them in like them going down narrow hallways and heavy doors where they cannot get out. 2010 McGraw Hill) Some characteristics of Physical and health impairments are Mobility issues, fatigue, weak muscle, attention involvement and Hypotonic-low muscle tone. Lately there is traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a form of Acquired brain injury, occurs when a sudden trauma causes damage to the brain. TBI can result when the head suddenly and violently hits an object, or when an object pierces the skull and enters brain tissue. 2013 National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) Some teaching strategies for teachers are reduce distractions in the student’s work area like remove extra pencils and books, Divide work into smaller sections where the teacher have the student complete one section at a time, Ask the student to summarize information orally that has just been presented, Use cue words to alert the student to pay attention like â€Å"listen,† â€Å"look,† and â€Å"name† lastly establish a nonverbal cueing system by using eye contact and touch to remind the student to pay attention. 2000 TBI Challenge Vol. 4, No. 2) Some Characteristics of a person who has traumatic brain injury are headache, confusion, behavioral or mood changes, and trouble with memory, concentration, attention, or thinking. A person with a mild TBI may remain conscious or may experience a loss of consciousness for a few seconds or minutes. 2013 National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) In conclusion what can I do to nurture the self-esteem and self-determination, and enhance the self-advocacy skills, of students with emotional and behavioral disorders, physical and health impairments, and traumatic brain injury is to teach knowledge and skills to each students in other to become self determined. Also by set personal goals for each student and create actions plans to achieve the goals each and every day. Second Make good choices that re appropriated and that applies to the students everyday lives. When it comes completely down to the bottom line I will help my entire student achieve academic success. What can be done to help regular students understand, respect, and respond appropriately to students with disabilities in a class? I will post respect rules on my classroom walls, door, even in the school hallways. I will tell other students not to stereotype students that have disabilities because it is not nice to mock or tease students who are different and if I do catch them they will let them know that is disrespectful. I will tell them to show respect to them and try to get to know them better before making fun of the disable if that do not work and they are not trying to understand student with disabilities I will keep making sure that every student I come across so disrespect or even feel like they do not want to be around one of the student I will just tell them in a calm but nice voice â€Å"Try to walk in their shoes for once. †

Retirement Investments in the USA Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Retirement Investments in the USA - Essay Example Some of them may look good on papers but in practice, it may not bring dividends to the retired people. Some other investment plans are exempted from tax at the time of investments, but on maturity, people were forced to pay heavy amounts as taxes. This paper analyses benefits and drawbacks of various retirement options available in the United States at present like the IRA, Roth IRA, SEP IRA, 401k and Roth 401k etc. Â  IRA refers to Individual Retirement Accounts whereas Roth IRA (named after its legislative sponsor William Roth) refers to an Individual Retirement Arrangement (IRA) allowed under the tax law of the United States. Â  Kennon (2010) has mentioned some of the major advantages and disadvantages of IRA’s and Roth IRA’s. In his opinion IRA’s are attractive because; IRA taxes are paid only on earnings, it is available to everyone without any income restrictions, funds can be used to purchase a variety of investments like stocks, bonds, certificates of deposits etc (Kennon). Some of the retirement investment options available in America at present are constrained to ordinary people because of the income restrictions. For example, Roth IRA schemes are available only to a particular community who earns more. The investor in IRA’s need does not worry much about the taxes as the tax is calculated based on the earnings rather than the principal amount. For example, it is possible that an investor in an IRA scheme may gain or lose heavy amounts because of the fluctuations in the stock market. Only the persons who gain something from their investments need to pay taxes whereas th e losers need not pay anything as taxes in case of IRA’s. Â  The major drawbacks of IRA’s are related to the withdrawal rules according to Kennon (2010). Investments in IRA’s cannot be continued by an investor when he crosses the age of 70.5 years. Moreover, an investor needs to pay 10% penalty if the funds were withdrawn before the age of 59.5 years (Kennon).

POLITICAL DISENGAGEMENT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

POLITICAL DISENGAGEMENT - Essay Example Active citizenship is promoted and understood by vitally examining the roles of citizens and how they perceive it, how the sense of belonging is developed and ownership in their social communities, and how this role is subjectively experienced. It is essentially important to investigate the many diverse groups, especially marginalized crowds that risk being politically disengaged due to gender, age or ethnic belonging. This of course is if we want to develop policies that are effective and sanctions that are levelheaded. In order to achieve democracy, a reconfiguration of participation, diversity, pluralism and diversity are essential. Citizenship could also be expanded by analyzing political participation among relegated groups (Rollenhagen, 1982). This will substantially contribute to policy and scholarly debates vis-a -vis deficit in democracy. Voter turnout has been a major problem in the United Kingdom. It has been on a decline while public disengagement from political processes in general has been influenced largely by a stretch of aspects. Factors as First-Past-The-Post can be linked to this disengagement. Parliaments increasingly fail to reflect on voting patterns of the people, hence many voters are literally left disenfranchised. Their electorate choices remain unrepresented or grossly under represented (Pollard et al 2009). Intangible factors that influence the civilian minds are at times immeasurable. An example is, the large number of people in the United Kingdom that do not comprehend the functionality of the country’s political system, thus it becomes difficult for an average citizen to appreciate what the parliament does or what the elected members engage in.

Political Socialization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Political Socialization - Essay Example They do not depend on corporate sponsorship and their main aim is to fight for the right of the oppressed many. One of the slogans they use to air their grievance is â€Å"I am 99% and I have a voice†. On the other hand, The Tea Party is an Astro Turf of people with corporate sponsorship and the members are usually in mid life or above 60 years. According to Gitlin (2011), Occupy Wall Street protests grew tremendously in October 2011 especially in Manhattan triggering comparisons with The Tea parties. Joe Biden explained the Occupy Wall Street protests as expression of grass root frustration by Tea Party Members. According to him, the protests were brought about by the breech of bargain that resulted to unfair levels of incomes. In his article â€Å"The Left Declares Its Independence†, Gitlin (2011) postulate that the â€Å"We Are The 99%† chant words that were used by Occupy Wall Street protesters was directed to the country’s 1% rich, that is composed of ‘financial predators and confident gamers’ who crashed the global economy without concern for anyone. The statement â€Å"We Are The 99%† was synonymous to The Tea Party; it clearly exposed the intense differences. Both the Occupy Wall Street and The Tea Party abominated the elite but their goals and passions, which acted as their driving forces clearly differed. Most Tea Party members follow Amy Kremer’s idea that there exists an overlap between their movement and Occupy Wall Street. According to Brendan Steinhauser of freedom works, a Washington based group that runs national wide networks for The Tea Party â€Å"off-shoots†, Tea Party came into existence as a result of the opposition to the Occupy Wall Street bail-outs in the year 2008. According to Kibbe (2011) in an article in the Forbes Magazine, the Occupy Wall Street is in dire need of comparison with Tea Party, as this will

Ford-Harris Matrix Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ford-Harris Matrix - Coursework Example Students are required to and can create a new product from the information on heroes, holidays, etc. Students are taught and know the concepts, themes and perspectives of cultural groups Students are taught and can understand cultural concepts, themes and perspectives. Students are required to and can apply information learned about cultural concepts, themes and perspectives Students are taught and can analyze important cultural concepts, themes and perspectives. Students are taught to and can critique cultural concepts, themes and perspective. Students are asked to and can create products on cultural concepts, themes and perspectives. Students are given information on important events, themes, etc. and can understand this information from various perspectives as diverse ethnic and cultural groups. Students are taught to understand and can demonstrate an understanding of important events and themes from various perspectives as diverse ethnic and cultural groups. Students are asked to and can apply an understanding of important events and themes from various perspectives as diverse ethnic and cultural groups. Students are taught to and can examine important events and themes from various perspectives as diverse ethnic and cultural groups. Students are taught to and can evaluate or judge important events and themes from various perspectives as diverse ethnic and cultural groups.

Story of Moses in Exodus Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Story of Moses in Exodus - Essay Example he particularity experienced by those whose heritage is distinctively Jewish---it can still have meaning for such outsider communities who embrace the Old Testament stories as a spiritualization of their own struggles, which is ultimately sustaining, respectful, and prestinating others' lives. Here it will be examined why Moses was chosen, what life was probably like for Moses as an exile, and what it was like for Moses to be a chosen leader. One of the purposes of Moses being chosen, was that it was a way to perpetuate the life of the children of Israel. In Egypt, they may have perished if they had continued under the Pharaoh, since Hebrew infant males were being killed. And, it was through this chosen agent of Moses that God, in essence, saved the children of Israel. For the purpose of this paper, here the focus will be given to select verses in Exodus 14 which deal with the parting of the Red Sea. The children of Israel passed through the waters and didn't have to worry about the waters closing in on them, while the Lord made the vehicles in which the Egyptians were pursuing the Israelites (so that they could enslave them again) to disintegrate. "He clogged their chariot wheels so that they turned with difficulty. The Egyptians said, 'Let us flee from the Israelites, for the Lord is fighting for them against Egypt.'" (Exodus 14:25) "Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore." (Exodus 14:30) In Ada Maria Isasi-Diaz's book Mujerista Theology, she examines an article called "By the Rivers of Babylon: Exile as a Way of Life." We can only imagine that life was similar for Moses and his people in exile after they crossed the Red Sea. Isasi-Diaz describes her expulsion from Cuba and how she had to struggle with the aspect of having been basically thrown out of her country. She seeks to reclaim this part of her by still remaining faithful to the idea that she wants the flag "draped on her tomb" when she dies, even though she is sin patria (without a country) and sin amo (without a master); she elaborates that "the multi-layered oppression made possible and sustained in all aspects of our lives by sexism, racism/ethnic prejudice, and work to become agents of our own history-the challenge to be self-defining and self-actualizing [human beings]-as an intrinsic element. For this challenge to be met, we know that we have to develop and strengthen our moral agency."1 It is important to note that, much like Ada Maria under Cuban rule, Moses and his people faced all kinds of oppression under the rule of Pharaoh-and once they became exiles they faced different kinds

The Art of Negotiation - reflection paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Art of Negotiation - reflection paper - Essay Example At a personal level, the thought of bargaining or negotiation does not cross my mind on an everyday basis. However, Moore and Woodrow (2010) contend that negotiation is an ongoing process in the life of an individual. This is because individuals always strive to make their lives better in one way or another. In the process, negotiation becomes critical as far as realizing the underlying outcomes is concerned. In this respect, it is eye opening to learn that bargaining and negotiating is a significant part of an individual’s experiences over time. Whether negotiation takes place at an individual, social, economic, legal, political, or business level, it is evident that some individuals are better negotiators than others are (Thompson, 2009).An actual negotiator usually has certain characteristics. They are good listeners with high and reasonable expectations. Regardless of having a good knowledge of the topic, they give time to the other party to express themselves. To add on, they usually have the willingness to prepare on the area of discussion and are people of very high integrity (Kramer, 2001). In other words, the strategy and approach employed in negotiations are critical to the expected results. The success, effectiveness, and efficiency of the negotiator determine what the negotiator gains at the end. This is because the primary goal of negotiating or bargaining is emerge a winner as opposed to a loser. However, it is important to point out that negotiations encompass both winning and losing depending on the skills of the persons involved. The art of negotiation in the business world usually has several steps. The first step is preparing on the right strategy. This mainly involves developing an intense knowledge for the matter at hand. With all the relevant knowledge it is easy for someone to negotiate and answer any question that may arise.

Plato or dubois Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Plato or dubois - Essay Example Between the fire and those who are shackle that is behind their backs there runs a walkway at a certain height. Imagine that a low wall has been built the length of the walkway, like the low curtain that puppeteers put up, over which they show their puppets. The images carried before the fire (Griffith, 2003). So now imagine that all along this low wall people are carrying all sorts of things that reach up higher than the wall: statues and other carvings made of stone or wood and many other artifacts that people have made. As you would expect, some are talking to each other as they walk along and some are silent (Griffith, 2003). This clearly opens up to us that these prisoners are viewing shadows of the objects and that what’s they believe in not the really objects. Latter on one of the prisoners is released and what he encounters is the fire whose light hurts his eyes, the same happens when he is dragged out of the cave the sun’s rays do only intensify his pain. This indicates change of environment. He still doesn’t believe in what he sees but with time he adapts and this is a result of gradual interaction with the new environment that he was introduced. He comes to the realisation that all that what he has been seeing during his stay in the cave were mere shadows and the echoes didn’t necessary signify the projection of what the passing shadows were engaging in; actions such as footsteps and the conversations they held as they passed by. Finally the prisoner has come to this realization that the reality is based on frequent and deep exposure to the environment. According to the Allegory of the Cave by Plato this freed man should go back to the cave and shade light that they truly lack; those prisoned in the cave. In today’s life the Allegory of the Cave actually is a true reflection of man’s life, and the way he does carry out himself out in his daily activities. We are very stubborn and don’t want to let in the reality, we do claim that we

Article analysis for an Economics class Essay Example for Free

Article analysis for an Economics class Essay If someone earns a sum of money, and saves it rather than spends it, then, in no way can a person be losing wealth if not for inflation, which prompts the prices of all goods and services to rise. One may see this as a trend among businesses to maximize their profits. In reality, the root cause of the problem is not with businesspeople, but the Federal Reserve System continuously adding more money into the economy. The article I have chosen to summarize examines the U. S. economy of today mainly the food and energy prices that have rose sharply since March 2003, which has prompted the Fed to concern itself with the onset of inflation. In reality, what triggers the rise in prices is an increase of money in circulation, which is a result of the actions performed by the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve, being the government agency responsible for printing the nation money supply, determines how many dollar bills are put into circulation. The dilemma arises because, when more money is added into the economy and an individual has not spent any of it, the person is now poorer in relation to everyone else than they once were. Adding more money into the economy dilutes the value of each individual dollar, thereby decreasing its purchasing power. The article states that the price index gained larger than expected .3 percent, which adds to the inflation anxiety on Wall Street (Freilich). Inflation, however, tends to hurt the poor far more than it does the rich. For example, if a woman retires with four thousand dollars saved up, and the cost of a decent living is five thousand, then she only has eighty percent of what she needs to survive. Then, a year later, if there is one hundred percent inflation, then the necessary cost of living becomes ten thousand dollars. Even if that woman still had four thousand dollars, she would now have only forty percent of what she needed. Though they often have been blamed for inflation, businesses themselves are victims of inflation, as each company sees the costs of all of its resources rising. Retailers pay rising costs to distributors, who pay a rising cost to suppliers, who pay a rising cost for their resources. If a businessperson does not raise the prices of the merchandise, while the prices of resources  are rising, then he or she will have to reduce profits or cut back on much-needed supplies and services to maintain the company, which, in the end, could mean less business and still result in less revenue. Thus, inflation necessitates that businesses raise prices and employees demand higher wages, which often takes place in a random fashion. The article further states that prices received by farms, factories and refiners gained sharply to 0.8 percent last month, the largest jump since March 2003. Additionally, the Labor Department said first-time filings for state jobless aid fell 15,000 to 336,000 in the week ended June 12, their lowest level since early May. Increase in prices and an improved job market suggests that the U.S. economys momentum is likely to build in the coming months. The article adds stating that in addition to the growing economy, the dollar first rose against the euro and prices for U.S. government bonds fell, pushing yields up. Investors are worried about inflation pressure because stocks slipped, in part because of inflation concerns, but also due to news of more deadly bloodshed in Iraq. Inflation is understood that when governments print plenty of money and spend considerably, watch out for rising prices to continue. However, the volatile stock market and with elections coming soon, I believe to expect the unexpected. References Freilich, Ellen. Data Puts Inflation in Focus. Retrieved online Jun 17, 2004 Website: http://www.reuters.com/financeNewsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=0RS0105W2AE4ECRBAEKSFEY?type=businessNewsstoryID=5450085

The Social Contract Theory of John Locke Essay Example for Free

The Social Contract Theory of John Locke Essay John Locke was born in Wrington , Somerset , England on August 29 1704 to John Locke and Agnes Keene , who were both Puritans (Uzgalis 2001 , Wikipedia 2006 , Microsoft Encarta 2006 . His father , after whom he was named , served as captain of cavalry for the Parliamentarian forces in the early part of the English Civil War . His family later moved to Pensford and Locke grew up in a rural Tudor house in Belluton . He attended the Westminster School in London in 1647 under Alexander Popham , a member of Parliament and his father s former commander. Then he was admitted at the Christ Church College at Oxford University , where he developed greater interest in modern philosophy , such as Rene Descartes , than the school s classical material . He earned a bachelor s degree in 1656 , a master s degree in 1658 and a bachelor of medicine degree in 1674 . He worked with renowned scientists and thinkers , like Robert Boyle , Thomas Willis , Robert Hooke and Richard Lower . In 1666 , he met Anthony Ashley Cooper , the first Earl of Shaftesbury , who was then seeking treatment for a liver infection . Cooper got impressed with Locke and convinced him to move into Lord Ashley s home in 1667 as his personal physician . Locke then resumed his medical studies under Thomas Sydenham who would later influence Locke s thinking . Meantime , Locke coordinated with several other physicians on the life-threatening condition of Shaftesbury s liver condition and persuaded the latter to submit to surgery to remove the cyst . The surgery was successful and Shaftesbury credited Locke with saving his life . In that period , Locke served as Secretary of the Board of Trade and Plantations and as Secretary to the Lords and Proprietors of the Carolinas (Microsoft Encarta , Wikipedia , Uzgalis Shaftesbury was a founder of the Whig Movement and thus had great influence on Locke s political thinking (Wikipedia 2006 , Microsoft Encarta 2006 , Uzgalis 2001 . Locke got involved in politics when Shaftesbury became Lord Chancellor in 1672 . Around 1679 , Locke wrote his two treatises of government in defense of the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and to oppose the philosophy of Sir Robert Filmer and Thomas Hobbes . While in the Netherlands in 1683 , he had the chance to rework his Essay and to compose his Letter on Toleration . After the Glorious Revolution , he accompanied the wife of William of Orange back to England in 1688 . He spent time at the country house of his friend , Lady Masham where he met and discussed matters with prominent thinkers like John Dryden and Isaac Newton . He had bouts of asthma and his health continued to decline until he died in 1704 . Locke never married or have any children . Main events , which occurred in his lifetime , were the English Restoration , the Great Plague of London and the Great Fire of London . He was unable to witness the Act of Union of 1707 although the same monarch ruled both England and Scotland in his lifetime . Constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy were new during that period . Locke s influence was most marked on philosophy and politics , particularly liberalism , and specifically on Voltaire . His arguments on liberty and social contract had impact on the written works of Thomas Jefferson James Madison and other founding fathers of the United States . His critics say that Locke was a major investor in the English slave-trade through the Royal Africa Company and that he participated in the drafting of the Fundamental Constitution of the Carolinas while serving as Shaftesbury s secretary . This Constitution , Locke s critics say established a feudal aristocracy and absolute power over slaves . They believe that Locke s statements on un-enclosed property as justifying the displacement of Native Americans . His opposition to aristocracy and slavery , expressed through his writings , is viewed as proof of his hypocrisy and his partiality for liberty only of English capitalists (Wikipedia , Microsoft Encarta , Uzgalis.

Surgical Treatment Method of Isthmic Spondylolisthesis

Surgical Treatment Method of Isthmic Spondylolisthesis Comparison of Two and Three Vertebral Segment Posterolateral Fusion in the Treatment of Isthmic Spondylolisthesis Serkan BILGIC, Omer ERSEN, Tolga EGE, Kenan KOCA, Selahattin OZYUREK, Safak EKINCI, Erbil OGUZ, Ali SEHIRLIOGLU ABSTRACT Background Optimal surgical treatment method of isthmic spondylolisthesis remains unclear. Complications can be invited while saving a segment for lumbar motion. Objective The aim of this retrospective study was to determine the effect of the number of fusion levels on the clinical results of adult isthmic spondylolisthesis patients who had undergone posterior instrumentation and PLF. Patients and Methods This retrospective study comprised 37 (20 male, 17 female) patients with isthmic spondylolisthesis who had undergone posterior instrumentation and PLF (Postero-lateral fusion) between January 2005 and May 2011. Pre and post-operative radiological evaluation was made by anteroposterior, lateral, oblique and lateral flexion-extension x-rays. Preoperative spondylolisthesis slippage grading was evaluated according to the Meyerding classification from the preoperative radiographs. Results The mean age of the patients was 36.4 ± 9.2 years and the mean follow-up period was 34.3 months. Two-level fusion was applied to 22 patients and single-level fusion was applied to 15 patients. Decompression was performed on 7 patients in the two-level fusion group and on 6 patients in the single-level fusion group. There were no neurological complication after surgery in either group. No union complications were seen in the two-level PLF group but in the single-level PLF group, screw loosening occurred in 3 patients and screw breakage in 1 due to the pseudoarthrosis. These four patients were revised with two-level PLF. Conclusions This study has demonstrated that two-level posterior instrumentation and PLF with local bone grafts and DBM have significantly better clinical and radiological results than single-level surgery. To avoid potential complications of PLIF, two-level PLF can be an alternative treatment option. Key words:Istmic spondylolisthesis, Posterior lumbar interbody fusion, Fixation Background Lumbar spondylolisthesis is present in about 5% to 6% of the population with various etiopathogenesis. Due to its variant pathological anatomy, the radiological appearance, age and clinical aspect of the patients are different on diagnosis. It generally starts as spondylolysis, a bilateral pars fatigue fracture and becomes spondylolisthesis with a slip of a vertebra over the adjacent one. As the slip increases, disc degeneration and pain starts (1-3). Although conservative treatment is the first treatment option, surgery for symptomatic spondylolisthesis in adults has been found to have better clinical results than conservative treatment choices (3, 4). However, it remains unclear which surgical strategy should be adopted, as there is limited scientific evidence on which to base an optimal treatment method. Discussions on spondylolisthesis treatment have generally focussed on reduction, fusion levels, graft choices, and surgical techniques (5-7). One of the most preferred surgical treatment options for spondylolisthesis is posterior transpedicular instrumentation of the relevant segments and posterolateral fusion (PLF) (5, 7). However, it is still a matter of controversy in literature as to how many levels should be fused and instrumented. Objectives The aim of this retrospective study was to determine the effect of the number of fusion levels on the clinical results of adult isthmic spondylolisthesis patients who had undergone posterior instrumentation and PLF. Materials and Methods This retrospective study comprised 37 (20 male, 17 female) patients with isthmic spondylolisthesis who had undergone posterior instrumentation and PLF between January 2005 and May 2011. Patients with spondylolisthesis other than Type 2 according to the Wiltse classification were excluded from the study. Pre and post-operative radiological evaluation was made by anteroposterior, lateral, oblique and lateral flexion-extension x-rays. Preoperative spondylolisthesis slippage grading was evaluated according to the Meyerding classification from the preoperative radiographs. The decompression decision was made preoperatively according to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and patients preoperative neurological evaluation. Preoperative and postoperative neurological status, duration of surgery, number of fused and instrumented levels, total blood loss and complications were evaluated from the clinical database. For clinical evaluation of surgical outcomes, the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) a nd Visual Analog Scale (VAS) applied at the final follow-up were used. 3.1 Surgical procedure: Exposure was obtained from the spinous processes to the transverse processes bilaterally throughout segments planned for fusion. Under fluoroscopic control, 6.5 mm pedicle screws were placed by free-hand technique. No reduction manoeuvre was used. Decompression of the segments, which had been determined by preoperative MRI and clinical examination was performed for the patients with neurological deficit. In all cases PLF was performed. In the area planned for fusion, the spinous processes were resected, peeled off from soft tissues and used for grafting with demineralized bone matrix. Patients were mobilized with a soft brace on the first postoperative day and the brace was continued for 3 months. (Figure 1, 2) 3.2 Statistical analysis We used the SPSS software package (version 15.0, SPSS, Chicago, IL) and expressed categorical variables as percentages and continuous variables as mean ± standard deviation (SD) or median (quartiles). Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was used to evaluate whether the distribution of continuous variables was normal. For parameters that showed normal distribution we used the paired sample t test and for parameters that did not show normal distribution the Mann-Whitney U-test was used. Chi-square test was used to analyze categorical variables. Statistical significance was set at p Results All patients had a history of at least 3 months of lumbar pain due to the spondylolisthesis, which had proved to be resistant to conservative treatment. The mean age of the patients was 36.4 ± 9.2 years and the mean follow-up period was 34.3 months. Low-grade isthmic spondylolisthesis was present at L5-S1 level in 23 patients, at L4-5 level in 13 patients and at L3-4 level in 1 patient. Two-level fusion was applied to 22 patients and single-level fusion was applied to 15 patients. Decompression was performed on 7 patients in the two-level fusion group and on 6 patients in the single-level fusion group. There were no neurological complications after surgery in either group. Mean duration of surgery for single-level and two-level surgery was 160 minutes and 190 minutes (160-240), and average blood loss was 285 ml and 390 ml respectively. There were no differences between the two groups in terms of demographic properties (Table 1). One of the patients in the two-level PLF group had superficial infection and was treated with debridement and antibiotheraphy. No union complications were seen in the two-level PLF group but in the single-level PLF group, screw loosening occurred in 3 patients and screw breakage in 1 due to the pseudoarthrosis. These four patients were revised with two-level PLF. (Figure 3) ODI scores from the final follow-up were 12.2 ±6.2 in the single-level PLF group, and 9.2  ± 6.4 in the two-level PLF group (p=0,035). VAS scores were 3.2 ±1.7 in the single-level PLF group and 2.9 ±1.6 in the two-level PLF group (p=0.043). The ODI and VAS scores of the patients revised with two- level PLF were excluded from the clinical evaluation. Discussion Lumbar spondylolysthesis has several etiopathogenetic factors as was shown by Marchetti and Bartolozzi giving rise to variations in pathological anatomy, radiological findings, age and clinical symptoms of the patients on diagnosis. When conservative treatment options fail, surgery becomes the next step. Although there have been a large number of studies on spondylolisthesis, there is no clear evidence for a single superior treatment option. Anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF), posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) and PLF with/without instrumentation are the most widely accepted surgical methods. Whilst PLF with instrumentation is the most preferred treatment for most authors, there is no scientific evidence showing that PLF is disadvantageous compared to PLIF or circumferential fusion (8-11) even though the major theoretical advantage of PLIF and circumferential fusion seems to have resulted in improved outcomes compared with PLF. Ekman et al (12) found that the type of fusi on, whether PLIF or PLF, did not affect the outcome of surgical treatment of adult isthmic spondylolisthesis over a two year follow-up period. Furthermore, PLIF is a more invasive, technically more difficult method requiring a longer operative time, which may result in increased blood loss and higher complication rates (12, 13). Similarly, Kim et al. could not demonstrate any difference between ALIF and PLF with instrumentation (11). Although circumferential fusion was reported as significantly better than PLF at 6 months and 1 year in a study by Swan, no difference was determined at two years (14). In a systematic review of 29 high quality studies, Jacobs and al. found no difference between different fusion techniques (15). In the current study the treatment choice was PLF with instrumentation which is a relatively easy method with a shorter operating time and lower blood loss compared to other techniques in literature. When performing PLF, slip reduction can be achieved during the same procedure. The advantages of slip reduction include improved spine biomechanics, better nerve root decompression and a better opportunity for fusion by relieving tension and shear forces (5). Although the major disadvantage of slip reduction is increased risk of neurological injury, there have been numerous studies evaluating slip reduction for adult low grade spondylolisthesis (14, 16-18). In the current study, slip reduction was not performed to avoid the possibility of potential neurological damage and as all the cases had low grade isthmic spondylolisthesis. To protect one more mobile segment, some authors have preferred single-level postero-lateral instrumentation and fusion instead of two-level (6, 13, 15). However, there is no scientific proof to help determine the number of fusion levels and this decision is based on the surgeon’s empirical experience. In a prospective study by Inage et al, two-level fusion with local bone grafts was shown to cause increased pseudoarthrosis (6). Similarly in a study by Deguchi et al, single-level fusions showed an 82% fusion rate, and two-level fusions, a 74% rate radiologically (19). Higher fusion rates in the two-level fusion group were achieved with rigid spinal implants. The clinical success of that study correlated with the radiological fusion rates. Contrary to the information in literature, local bone grafts mixed with demineralized bone matrix (DBM) were used in the current study to achieve union for both groups and no union problem was seen in the two-level fusion group. Pseudoarthros is was observed in four cases in the one -level fusion group. Although some authors have reported incongruity between the clinical results of spondylolisthesis patients and union rates, VAS and ODI are the most reliable clinical tests to evaluate spondylolythesis (9, 10, 20). The results of the current study reveal that two-level posterior instrumentation with PLF has better results than single-level surgery according to VAS and ODI. This study has some limitations. Firstly, the retrospective design did not allow for uniformity of the groups. The number of patients was also limited to achieve generalized results. Although the pedicle screws were all 6.5 mm in size, they were not all from the same manufacturer, so implant problems were disregarded. In conclusion, this study has demonstrated that two-level posterior instrumentation and PLF with local bone grafts and DBM have significantly better clinical and radiological results than single-level surgery. To avoid potential complications of PLIF, two-level PLF can be an alternative treatment option. References 1.Floman Y. Progression of lumbosacral isthmic spondylolisthesis in adults. Spine. 2000;25(3):342-7. 2.Fredrickson BE, Baker D, McHolick WJ, Yuan HA, Lubicky JP. The natural history of spondylolysis and spondylolisthesis. The Journal of bone and joint surgery American volume. 1984;66(5):699-707. 3.Osterman K, Schlenzka D, Poussa M, Seitsalo S, Virta L. Isthmic spondylolisthesis in symptomatic and asymptomatic subjects, epidemiology, and natural history with special reference to disk abnormality and mode of treatment. Clinical orthopaedics and related research. 1993(297):65-70. 4.Moller H, Hedlund R. Surgery versus conservative management in adult isthmic spondylolisthesisa prospective randomized study: part 1. Spine. 2000;25(13):1711-5. 5.Floman Y, Millgram MA, Ashkenazi E, Smorgick Y, Rand N. Instrumented slip reduction and fusion for painful unstable isthmic spondylolisthesis in adults. Journal of spinal disorders techniques. 2008;21(7):477-83. 6.Inage K, Ohtori S, Koshi T, Suzuki M, Takaso M, Yamashita M, et al. One, two-, and three-level instrumented posterolateral fusion of the lumbar spine with a local bone graft: a prospective study with a 2-year follow-up. Spine. 2011;36(17):1392-6. 7.Zagra A, Giudici F, Minoia L, Corriero AS, Zagra L. Long-term results of pediculo-body fixation and posterolateral fusion for lumbar spondylolisthesis. European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society. 2009;18 Suppl 1:151-5. 8.Bernhardt M, Swartz DE, Clothiaux PL, Crowell RR, White AA, 3rd. Posterolateral lumbar and lumbosacral fusion with and without pedicle screw internal fixation. Clinical orthopaedics and related research. 1992(284):109-15. 9.Fischgrund JS, Mackay M, Herkowitz HN, Brower R, Montgomery DM, Kurz LT. 1997 Volvo Award winner in clinical studies. Degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis with spinal stenosis: a prospective, randomized study comparing decompressive laminectomy and arthrodesis with and without spinal instrumentation. Spine. 1997;22(24):2807-12. 10.Herkowitz HN, Kurz LT. Degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis with spinal stenosis. A prospective study comparing decompression with decompression and intertransverse process arthrodesis. The Journal of bone and joint surgery American volume. 1991;73(6):802-8. 11.Kim NH, Lee JW. Anterior interbody fusion versus posterolateral fusion with transpedicular fixation for isthmic spondylolisthesis in adults. A comparison of clinical results. Spine. 1999;24(8):812-6; discussion 7. 12.Ekman P, Moller H, Tullberg T, Neumann P, Hedlund R. Posterior lumbar interbody fusion versus posterolateral fusion in adult isthmic spondylolisthesis. Spine. 2007;32(20):2178-83. 13.Madan S, Boeree NR. Outcome of posterior lumbar interbody fusion versus posterolateral fusion for spondylolytic spondylolisthesis. Spine. 2002;27(14):1536-42. 14.Swan J, Hurwitz E, Malek F, van den Haak E, Cheng I, Alamin T, et al. Surgical treatment for unstable low-grade isthmic spondylolisthesis in adults: a prospective controlled study of posterior instrumented fusion compared with combined anterior-posterior fusion. The spine journal : official journal of the North American Spine Society. 2006;6(6):606-14. 15.Jacobs WC, Vreeling A, De Kleuver M. Fusion for low-grade adult isthmic spondylolisthesis: a systematic review of the literature. European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society. 2006;15(4):391-402. 16.Sears W. Posterior lumbar interbody fusion for lytic spondylolisthesis: restoration of sagittal balance using insert-and-rotate interbody spacers. The spine journal : official journal of the North American Spine Society. 2005;5(2):161-9. 17.Spruit M, van Jonbergen JP, de Kleuver M. A concise follow-up of a previous report: posterior reduction and anterior lumbar interbody fusion in symptomatic low-grade adult isthmic spondylolisthesis. European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society. 2005;14(9):828-32. 18.Suk SI, Lee CK, Kim WJ, Lee JH, Cho KJ, Kim HG. Adding posterior lumbar interbody fusion to pedicle screw fixation and posterolateral fusion after decompression in spondylolytic spondylolisthesis. Spine. 1997;22(2):210-9; discussion 9-20. 19.Deguchi M, Rapoff AJ, Zdeblick TA. Posterolateral fusion for isthmic spondylolisthesis in adults: analysis of fusion rate and clinical results. Journal of spinal disorders. 1998;11(6):459-64. 20.Ohtori S, Suzuki M, Koshi T, Takaso M, Yamashita M, Yamauchi K, et al. Single-level instrumented posterolateral fusion of the lumbar spine with a local bone graft versus an iliac crest bone graft: a prospective, randomized study with a 2-year follow-up. European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society. 2011;20(4):635-9. Tables Table 1. Paramaters of groups during surgery 1

Dell Business Analysis :: GCSE Business Marketing Coursework

Dell Business Analysis Where are we going? Dell is currently migrating to new technology. They have opened new facilities in Europe and North America to help customers and independent software providers with next generation Internet technologies. They also are gaining rapid experience and know-how into applying the rules of business. Dell has created valuechain.dell.com, which provides suppliers with secure access into Dell’s operations. They have also secured deals with BellSouth DSL and Samsung which will be made public later. Financially speaking, Dell is expecting revenue to total 8.5-8.6 billion dollars, which is a 26 percent increase from one year ago. Net income is also expected to rise 10 to 20 percent. Per share earnings will likely reach 18 to 19 cents. How will we get there? In order for Dell to achieve its goals, they must just continue to provide the service that they are. They are trendsetters in the industry because of their specialized service, and I think that more customers will attract to them because of that. However, an obstacle that Dell will have to overcome is the fact that memory cards can be purchased from any retail store (i.e. Staples, Office Max). This eliminates the need for customers to upgrade their systems. Perhaps, a specialized chip can be created and sold specially by Dell that will prove to be more advantageous to Dell customers. How will we know? Dell Computer Corporation will know that they are there if their success is continual. They are already dominant in the market, so true success will be proven if it is continued. Short term, quarterly, realistic goals need to be set, and if/when achieved, Dell will know that they have â€Å"gotten there.

Essay About Family: Staying Afloat :: Personal Narrative essay about my family

Staying Afloat My family is having major issues. Mom is not getting beaten and we aren't starving to death, but I can definitely tell that things are escalating. I'm not even sure what the problem is. All four of us used to sit down to dinner, telling about the day's events and being friendly. I can't remember the last time that Dad and I went fishing or our family went on vacation. Now we are all so far apart that we don't know anything about one another. Our situation now is a stop at the fridge for the twice-reheated meal that used to be dinner. With Mom working a fourteen-hour day at Cypress Park Elementary, Dad's business speeding up and slowing down with no warning, and Jeff and I now in high school and participating in extracurricular activities after school, it's not surprising that we are falling apart. * * * It seems we have a solution to the decline in family togetherness. Mom, being a principal has always had a huge heart for her students. Apparently one in particular has caught her eye and shoved her into action. A little girl named Lindsey attending Mom's school is going to be coming to live with us. I don't know the whole story on her but apparently her mom died when she was real young and after bouncing in and out of several foster homes, as well as the courts with her dad she is in need of another family. I've met her before, visiting Mom at her hellhole of a school. Lindsey is in the after school program along with all of the other poor, filthy, and pathetic looking kids you wish you could take home. For me, its almost unbearable visiting Mom's school. I always feel guilty, like my life is too easy compared to what these kids deal with; alcohol, drugs, abuse, they've seen it all. She is pretty much the cutest kid I've ever seen, and I admit, the idea of being her big brother is r eally appealing, but I'm not really sure how adding another member to our strife is going to bring us closer. What I got from the master plan that Mom, and especially Dad, explained to me is that when Lindsey comes it is with hope that we will be able to give her the structure and support by providing her with positive role models and examples of "correct" behavior, that she needs in order to break out of all the bad influences and habits that she has had instilled in her from her environment.

Mirror Images in Cat in the Rain Essay -- Cat in the Rain Essays

Mirror Images in Cat in the Rain      Ã‚   The opening paragraph of "Cat in the Rain" presented itself as a vivid painting, with Hemingway being the artist mentioned (Hemmingway, 167). This was the first in a series of mirrors that Hemingway placed in this short story. Reading this story was like being placed in a mirrored room, each mirrored wall being an element of the story reflecting upon another.    The reflection of Hemingway and the painter in the first paragraph was the first parallel that the reader is presented. However, unlike the inanimate paintings produced by the artists in the garden of the hotel, the nature of the images in Hemingway's painting changes throughout the short story. The description of the setting served more purpose than just setting the mood for the surface plot. The overall changes that occurred in the imagery was in accord with the condition of the American couple's relationship. The outside of the hotel was initially described as it would be in good weather, but gradually rain was set into the image. The dreary rain seems to lag through most...

Representations of Women in Early Irish and Welsh Literature Essay

Although there are parallels between Irish and Welsh sagas of elopement, the powerful self confident women depicted in these narratives do not represent the real women of Medieval Ireland and Wales. Proinsias Mac Cana has suggested that the dominant roles of Deirdre and Grainne in their respective tales (Longes mac nUislenn and Toruigheacht Dhiarmada agus Ghrainne) are ‘literary variations on the exemplar of the sovereignty goddess’ (Doan, 1985: 90). Bitel (1996: 2) asserts that Celticists have been seduced by these dominant female characters viewing them as representative of real women with considerable power over men, a depiction which if true should be reflected in the law tracts or ‘custom in action’(Stacey, 2002: 1107). This paper will argue that the ecclesiastical and legal tracts of both Ireland and Wales offer many images of women, judgements about women, and regulations for women. They do not however present the stereotypical medieval woman as the sovereignty goddess depicted in the secular sagas. Because women left no written records, we are dependent on male literature (probably all of the texts written in early Ireland and Wales) for a definition of woman and her cultural role. These male authors wrote of women in: ‘saint’s lives; poems; sagas and myths; gnomic texts; histories; chronicles; genealogies; folktales; theological tracts; and extensive ecclesiastical tracts; and secular laws’ (Bitel, 1996: 12). Although these texts offer insights on women they must be viewed through the hermeneutical lens of the socio-historical context of the era in which they were written. Early medieval Ireland was a patriarchal society and a woman’s role and identity was determined by patriarchal norms and conventions. The literati of this era did not define woman as an independent individual. Women existed only in relation to men and therefore their representation in literature was not entirely objective or according to Bitel consistent. Tensions exist between various texts. The portrayal of women as ‘capricious beasts’ (Bitel, 1995:137) presented in the eighth century wisdom text Tecosca Cormaic contrasts sharply with the recognition of a woman as home-maker and wife with limited recourse to the law depicted in Cain Lanamna or the law of couples (O Croinin, 1995: 127) . The majority of the extant Irish law books were composed between the seventh and ninth centuries. At this stage the Irish literati were members of the nobility educated in monastic communities. Many were monks but this elite group also included jurists, historians, poets and story tellers. Mc Cone has suggested that these learned elite produced literature for the monastery which was heavily influenced by Biblical texts (Bitel, 1996: 14). Donnchadh O Corrain, Liam Breatnach and Aidan Breen have argued that there exists a close connection between ecclesiastical law and Irish vernacular law (Stacey, 2002: 1108). Stacey asserts that although the legal sources from Wales (compiled in the twelfth and thirteen centuries) are later than the Irish sources there is also a significant link between ‘legal, poetic and ecclesiastical learning’ (2002: 1108). The Irish penitential books written between the sixth and the ninth centuries reveal conflict between the ideals of Christian leaders and the customs of early Irish communities. These penitentials were designed as moral guides for confessors in attributing penance in the rite of confession (Gula, 1989: 25). According to Bitel, Christian clergy were intent on transferring social control of sex from the kin group to the individual Christian (1987: 67). Fox concurs with Bitel, asserting that by liberating the individual from the bonds of clan and family, the church was attempting to reduce kinship to ‘its lowest common denominator [the nuclear family: the lowest kinship group that is compatible with reproduction] while appearing to support basic kinship values’ (1993: 109-110). The Clergy in promoting Christian morality for the individual attempted to reorganize Early Irish society. According to Bitel, the kin group were influential in controlling sexual activity. This was necessary to ensure the survival of the community as an interdependent group. Archaeological evidence suggests that houses consisted of one room. This allowed for little individual privacy and sex was a natural and visible part of family life. Illicit encounters had to take place outside of the home, and even then they were monitored by the community. Any kind of sexual relationship that had to be conducted in secrecy was considered dangerous. The survival and welfare of the clan depended on social stability and this principle determined the attitude of the pre-Christian Irish toward sexuality. Sex in itself however was not considered immoral. Celibacy was not portrayed as a virtue in the secular literature. Cu Chulainn’s sexual exploits are recorded in the sagas; however his casual encounters did not threaten the community (Bitel, 1987: 70-71). Bitel asserts that ‘the tension between individual desire and community need had always to be resolved in favour of the community’ (1987: 72), and herefore marriage was a contractual arrangement determined not by romance or love but by the necessity of producing children and the survival of the kin group. Woman’s reproductive capacities themselves are integrated into the economic life of the society. The image of woman depicted in Cain Lanamna is a woman whose social emotional and economic orientation is directed towards the family and home. Early Irish Law, commonly known as Brehon Law was a series of civil laws which governed every aspect of daily life including marriage and divorce. Marriage and divorce were interlinked by virtue of a contract agreed and a contract dissolved. Under the Brehon system, women were free to marry in one of nine ways, although the primary type of marriage, lanamnas comthinchuir was the most common. Both partners enter this marriage with equal financial resources. In the second type of marriage, lanamnas for ferthinchur, the woman contributes little or no financial assets to the marriage. In the third category, lanamnas for bantinchur, the woman contributes the greater share of the marriage assets. These three categories required formal pre-nuptial agreements. With the remaining six types of marital union (including cohabitation with a woman with family consent, voluntary eloping without family consent, voluntary abduction without family consent, illicit rendezvous, marriage by rape and marriage of two insane people) marriage entailed the assumption of financial responsibility for child rearing (O Croinin, 1995: 128). Corresponding to the wide variety of marriages recognized by law, there were many grounds for divorce. A woman might divorce a man who failed to satisfy her sexual needs because he was sterile, impotent, bisexual or homosexual. In this instance she was entitled to be paid her coibche in addition to a fine in compensation. A woman could divorce her husband on the grounds of indiscretion should he discuss intimate details of their marriage outside of the home. A woman could also divorce her husband should he abandon her either for the church or for a life on the road as he would no longer be in a position to maintain her. Physical abuse was also considered legitimate grounds for divorce. Even if the original blemish disappeared, a woman was entitled to the equivalent of her bride price as compensation. The laws are quite clear about the validity of female testimony in matters concerning consummation of marriage. This testimony is verified by a physical examination of the woman by female dignitaries. In a case where a woman refuses her husband his conjugal rights either because of a problem pregnancy or her menstrual cycle, the law regarded her objections as valid. A woman could also choose to divorce on grounds of infidelity although extra marital relations were recognized by law (O Croinin, 1995: 129). O Croinin suggests that in general terms many women were recognized by the law in ‘their capacity as wives and in their own right as individuals’ (1995: 133) Law texts are clear that a woman’s rights in divorce are specific to each type of marriage and related marriage contract. Lanamnas Comthinchuir was regarded as the most common type of marriage at this time. It was a dignified state for the wife, she was known as a be cuitchernsa, literally ‘a woman of joint dominion, a woman of equal lordship’ (O Croinin. 1995: 128). If this category of marriage ended in divorce, the woman received what she had initially contributed to the marriage in addition to a share of the profit accrued from the couple’s joint activities during the marriage period. O Croinin records that the division of property was in accordance with fixed proportions: ‘one third went to the partner who provided the land; one third to the partner who provided the stock; and one third to the partner who provided the labour’ (1995: 128). This last provision recognized the woman’s work in the home and on the farm. The second type of marriage lanamnas for ferthinchur represented a different kind of divorce settlement. Since the woman provided neither land nor stock, she was entitled to half of her own handiwork and one sixth of the dairy produce in store. If she had worked diligently on the farm and in the home she took one ninth of the corn and cured meat in store. She also received a sack of corn for a specified time. Divorce in the third category of marriage, lanamnas for bantinchur, ensured that the woman retained a life interest in the farm. She could not however transfer any rights to the estate to her children. She could however marry one of the heirs to the property and preserve her children’s right to inherit. Although the Irish lawyers appealed to Scripture, particularly to Leviticus to justify parallel cousin marriages, church law declared parallel cousin marriages incestuous (O Corrain, 1985). The Welsh tractate ‘the laws of women’ contains rules governing marriage and division of property in medieval Wales. There are four redactions of Welsh law manuscripts: the Cyfnerth and the Blegywryd redactions both derive from south Wales; Iorwerth is classed as a north Wales redaction; and finally the Latin manuscripts (there are similarities between the Latin laws and the Welsh redactions). Although the sources from Wales are dated to the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, women in the Welsh tractate like women in Cain Lanamna are portrayed as wives and home-makers (Roberts, 2008: 58-59). Stacey asserts that the most ‘striking’ passage of the ‘Laws of Women’ outlines the domestic and agricultural goods granted to each partner in cases where the marriage had lasted longer than seven years (2002: 1109). This passage is common to each of the Welsh redactions of the law books and can also be found in four of the five Latin compilations. The couple must divide their possessions equally, the pigs become the property of the man and the woman takes ownership of the sheep. If there are only sheep and goats, the sheep go to the man and the goats to the woman. The children are also divided between the couple ‘two parts go to the father, the eldest and the youngest, and the middle to the mother’ (Stacey, 2002: 1111). The division of household goods is itemised: all milk vessels, except for one pail and one dish becomes the property of the woman. The man is entitled to all of the drinking vessels and the riddle while the woman is entitled to the sieve. The man is entitled to the upper stone of the quern and the woman to the lower stone. The bed clothes which cover the couple becomes the property of the woman while the clothes which they lay on belong to the man. The man receives the cauldron and the blanket and the pillows from the bed together with the wood axe, coulter and all the sickles except for one which the woman obtains. The woman is granted the pan, the broad axe, the bill hook and all of the flax, linseed and wool. She also receives the plowshare. Any gold or silver is divided equally between the couple. The man is entitled to the corn above and below the ground, all of the hens and one cat. The remaining cats become the property of the woman. The woman receives the salted meat but if it is hung it becomes the property of the man. The woman is also granted as much flour as she can carry along with the cut meat and the partly used cheese. They each retain their own clothes except for their cloaks which must be divided equally. Any balls of wool in stock become the property of the sons (Stacey, 2002: 1111). Like Irish Marriage Law, the Welsh Laws of Women attempted to secure a measure of financial independence for each partner in the event of divorce . Unlike Irish marriage law however which divided property according to specific marriage contracts, some rovisions in the Welsh divorce law appear illogical. Jenkins suggests that the Welsh division of property on divorce, attempts to ensure that each partner has the necessary provisions to survive but he asserts that the division of the quern stones is ‘curious’ since they cannot be used independently (Stacey, 2002: 1111). Similarly the coulter is granted to the man while the plowshare is received by the woman. Since both blades would have been required for planting this division appears to make little logical or practical sense. Stacey also points out that the man receives all of the corn and hens but only one cat to protect them from vermin while the woman receives the remaining cats although she has no grain or hens to protect (Stacey, 2002: 1113-1116). Welsh divorce law does not seem to be based on the wealth brought to the marriage by each party or indeed on the status of the marriage. In Irish Law the apportionment of property is determined by both of these factors (Stacey, 2002: 1113). Stacey suggests that the division of property in a Welsh divorce is symbolic of the destructiveness of divorce and failed marriage. He asserts that this was a secular ‘homily’ on the improvident nature of divorce (2002: 1124). Although the marriage property is divided the woman ultimately is disadvantaged because under Welsh Law, she has no claim to land and must be satisfied with portable goods. Although women under Welsh law were afforded the opportunity to divorce their husbands due to his impotency, leprosy or bad breath (Roberts, 2008: 63), Nerys Patterson suggests that the woman was further disadvantaged in the wake of marital separation: female virginity was highly valued and her loss of virginity would affect her chances of remarriage (2002: 1121). These medieval divorce laws clearly situate the woman in the home, rearing children, cooking, spinning wool and working on the farm. It is tempting to view these laws as depictions of a progressive egalitarian society, however the political and social realities of a woman’s life suggest otherwise. A woman’s legal definition derived from that of her father, brother or her legal husband. A legal tract on honour price (dire) defined women’s legal and social position ‘her father had charge over her when she is a girl, her husband when she is a wife, her sons when she is a [widowed] woman with children . . the Church when she is a woman of the Church [i. e. , a nun]. She is not capable of sale or purchase or contract or transaction without the authorization of one of her superiors’ (Bitel, 1996: 8). According to Bitel, these legally and socially incapacitated women were the real Medbs of medieval Ireland. When measuring a woman’s status, the laws measured women against the legal norm of the free adult male and as such a woman’s worth remained only half that of her male guardians honour price. The Irish literati along with many medieval authors considered female bodies as ‘less valuable copies of mens’ (Bitel, 1996: 19). This principle is reflected in the only extant Irish medico-legal tracts namely Bretha Crolige and Bretha Dein Checht which accorded women less medical attention and food rations than men (Bitel, 1996: 21). Women therefore were considered physically and psychologically less than man, less than human (Bitel, 1996: 23). The ninth century Triads text, Trecheng Breth Fene unveiled some basic assumptions about the nature of woman. The Triads suggested that ‘the three drops of a wedded woman’ were drops of blood (a good wife was a virgin at marriage); sweat; and tears (a good wife should be willing to suffer hardship to support her husband and children). One of the three misfortunes of a man was proposing marriage to a bad woman. According to the Triads, women were their husband’s property and were akin to animals. ‘When a man loaned either a woman or a horse, he had to expect it to be used by the borrower’ (Bitel, 1996: 23). The wisdom text also suggested that ‘like a cow’s udder, women through her womb, was one of the three renovators of the world’ (Bitel, 1996: 24). Another wisdom text Tecosca Cormaic suggested that women ‘should be feared like beasts’ because they were ‘capricious beasts’ (Bitel, 1996: 24). A woman’s physical characteristics and fertility therefore were animal like and unreliable. The eighth or ninth-century wisdom text Senbriathra Fithail considered the characteristics of ‘a good wife’ (Bitel, 1996: 27). Advising his pupil Cormac mac Airt, Fithal (a druid) asserted that a good woman had ‘common sense, prudence, modesty, excellent Irish, delicacy, mildness, honesty, wisdom, purity and intelligence’ (Bitel, 1996: 28). All of these attributes according to Fithal were necessary for a woman to become a desirable wife. A bad wife on the other hand was characterised by ‘wretchedness, stinginess, vanity, talkativeness, laziness, indolence, noisiness, hatefulness avarice, visiting, thieving, keeping trysts, lustfulness, folly and treachery’ (Bitel, 1996: 28). Fithal asserted that it was possible to detect a woman’s character based on her physical appearance. He suggested that Cormac should avoid: ‘the fat short one’; ‘the slender short one with curling hair’; the fair tall one’; ‘the dark-limbed, unmanageable one’; ‘the dun coloured yellow one’; and ‘the slender prolific one who was lewd and jealous’ (Bitel, 1996: 28). Fithal determined that the worst wife was a be cairn or a whore. A successful marriage however could be assured by a union with the ‘tall, fair, very slender ones’ (Bitel, 1996: 28). Fithal admitted to Cormac however that the ideal woman may not exist and that most women had character flaws. The author of Tecosca Cormaic was adamant that all women were ‘chronically dissatisfied, bad tempered, untrustworthy, wanton, manipulative, ambitious, greedy, arrogant whiners’ (Bitel, 1996: 29). Bitel suggests that the real problem with women is that they were not men and the writers of the gnomic tracts could only define them by their many indefinable natures: they had similar physical bodies to men but were not men; they had reproductive characteristics and temperaments similar to animals but were not animals. The only certainty appeared to be was that women must be controlled and her inferior position in society maintained (Bitel, 1996: 30). The writers of ecclesiastical canons suggested that women could only be redeemed by denying their female characteristics and their female sexuality. Bitel argues that canonists established a ‘gender hierarchy’ (Bitel, 1996: 32). Unlike the typologies found in secular and wisdom texts, the cannon scribes attributed a moral value to virginity and abstinence. Nuns were accorded a high moral value as were ‘widows who took the veil’ (Bitel, 1996: 32). Thomas O’ Loughlin suggests that the Collectio canonum hibernesis, a systematic collection of law, codified certain patristic theories producing an understanding of marriage ‘as a state secondary to virginity’ (1997: 188). The canonists justify their position by quoting Jerome who asserts that ‘virginity follows the lamb wherever he goes’ (O’Loughlin, 1997: 192). Jerome expands on this theme suggesting that ‘earth is populated by marriage, so heaven is by virginity’ (O’Loughlin, 1997: 192). The underlying concept is clear, virginity is exemplified and sexuality creates problems. According to O’Loughlin this principle was the basis of ecclesiastical thinking on marriage throughout the middle ages and Jerome’s opinion that sexual activity was ‘inferior and earthy’ in comparison to virginity which was ‘noble and superior’ has been held responsible for the cult of virginity and celibacy in the Latin church (O’Loughlin, 1997: 193). Augustine also considered sexuality dangerous but (quoting Paul in 1 Corinthians 7) asserted that while celibacy was the desired state, ‘lawful marriage is to be preferred to burning with desire and fornication’ (O’Loughlin, 1997: 193). The dangers of sexuality therefore were to be contained within the institution of marriage. Although canonists admitted that clerics could fall to sexual temptation, the general consensus was that women as the weaker sex were more likely to succumb to sexual temptation.

How Technology affects business Essay

1.0 Introduction Technology is an improvement over what was available in the past. People and organizations often seek technology because it eases tasks and facilitates production. With the appropriate technology, complex tasks are simplified. Man has used technology to achieve previously insurmountable tasks: walk on the moon; create test tube babies; treat life threatening diseases; predict weather; send information across the world in seconds, etc. Mark Behrsin and Bill Twibill emphasize the importance of technology in business when they write that, Visionaries such as retail giant Wal-Mart and shipment pioneer FedEx have used technology not only to solve logistical problems, but to seize new opportunities, open   new channels to market and create new business models they have forced their competitors to adopt. Wal-Mart looked to technology to improve supply chain management and steal a competitive edge. FedEx looked to the opportunities technology offered to manage the extent   of its growth without finding a way to automate business   processes. At the time its SuperTracker application cost   a massive $100 million to develop but the investment has   paid off many times over (4). The evolution of technology often accompanies the invention of machinery which is used to accomplish the required task. For instance, advances in information technology and communication have brought about mobile phones, which are a departure from the fixed lines in the past which are connected by wires. Charles F. MacCormack recalls that, In terms of people impact, technology has fundamentally changed the way we do business. Fifteen years ago, communications with our field organization was a matter of faxes at best, and more often mail couriers. An exchange of information could literally take weeks to complete†¦ Now we use email, voice and video conferencing to communicate in minutes (1). In recent years, there have been advances in various aspects of technology. However, it is important to state that while technology is often applauded for its many benefits, the phenomenon can also adversely affect businesses. This paper explores this double sided nature of technology as it affects businesses. 1.2 Thesis statement Technology is important to human beings across the world because of the many benefits which it presents. In many ways, technology has been used to solve problems facing people in various societies. This paper examines the effect of technology on businesses. If it is obvious that technology brings a world of good to the various businesses which people are involved in, what are the problems created by technology? In other words, this paper also explores the ways in which technology adversely affects businesses. 1.3 Benefits of technology in business Speed In the first place technology is beneficial to business because it speeds up the production process. Speed is necessary in business because, when there are more products in a short period of time, profit is maximized. In the printing of newspapers, high speed machines are required to ensure that mass production of the newspapers is attained in the short space of time within which the newspapers are needed. This applies to all other businesses where products need to be produced or assembled for sale. Machinery is important. In bakeries as well, technology is essential because human labor is avoided because of its inefficiency and much of the work is automated. In this case, the automation by machines also ensures that hygiene. The efficiency of machines cannot be overemphasized at this point. When compared to human labor, machines offer a higher level of efficiency. With the appropriate technology in a bakery, machines can produce more loaves of bread than human effort. Efficiency Apart from the production process, technology also ensures speed in another dimension. In service delivery, vending machines are important because they serve members of the public promptly and avoid the build up of queues. Take the ordinary coffee vending machine. It would take a longer time if people were served by a waitress. However, the coffee vending machine accepts cash and provides the service at the touch of a button. Vending machines are found in banks, under ground train stations, shopping malls, etc. Also, it is important to note that Automated Teller Machines (ATM) are an important technology that is very useful in the banking industry. These ATM have eased the stressed placed on banks by its teeming customers. With the use of ATM, bank customers can enjoy hassle free self service. They only need the attention of bank staff when they have a problem with the machine or if errors are generated by the machine. The technology of the ATM has enabled banks cope with the work lo ad and ensure that they are able to achieve more in a short period of time. In this way B. Ives and S. L. Jarvenpaa note that technology serves to expand business because with the appropriate technology they are able to take more orders and cope with more customers. Competition As businesses strive to beat their rivals and competitors, the technology used by these businesses is often a yardstick for determining leaders in the industry. Take the software industry for instance. Around the world, Microsoft is a leader in the industry because it has the technology that has made it stay there. Technology is also important in the health industry. Due to specialization, some hospitals and research centers are renowned for the diagnosis and treatment of some specific diseases. They are leaders in the industry because they have the technology to do so. J. Bakos and M. E. Treacy insist that technology is useful to businesses as they build their competitive strategy. Industry leaders and secrecy In business, the technology which enables one company stay in the lead and above other competitors is often a well kept secret. This company will never share that technology with others because it will loose its position as a leader in the industry. In medicine, the patents for the manufacture of certain drugs are owned by certain pharmaceutical companies and they are not will to give it out. Sound technology gives businesses an edge over competitors in the industry. Across borders Advances in information technology have ensured that businesses are no longer confined to particular countries but are given a chance to be heard across the world. In the light of this, businesses can extend their boundaries to other countries of the world. Furthermore, banks too have taken advantage of information technology by establishing a network of their branches around the world. This facilitates transfers within the bank and also with other banks in the world. Information technology also facilitates electronic commerce, where people can shop on the internet and have the goods sent to them in the post. This is a faceless transaction. In a study, Steve MacFeely and Caitriona Obrien find that the productivity of firms that have e-mail and a website is higher than those who do not. The foreign exchange market as well as the stock market also benefits from information technology. Today traders in various parts of the world can trade it stock and bonds from their computers in whate ver part of the world because they are connected to the Internet. 1.4 Dysfunctions of technology on business Redundant Technology poses a number of threats to businesses. As a dynamic concept, technology is always changing and improving. In various aspects of human endeavor, there is always a drive to find new methods. When this new technology is developed and put into use, it renders the previous technology redundant and this has far reaching implications on business enterprises which use the outdated technology. In the first place, these businesses face the challenge of catching up with the current technology. This involves a lot of cost. Secondly, the businesses using outmoded technology will loose customers because the newer technology will definitely be more efficient. In the long run the profit of the business will dwindle. The photography business is an example of this phenomenon. With the introduction of digital photography which ensure instant printing of photographs, old methods of photography have become very unpopular. Extra cost Technology places extra cost on businesses. With the introduction of technology, businesses which want to keep abreast with it need to spend money to train staff on the use of the new technology. Technology often requires special training. The other alternative is to employ professionals who are versed in the processes of the new technology. Employing these kinds of professionals also places a strain on the resources of the business. Businesses that want to stay afloat need to keep up with the trends in the industry and this is one of such- but it has severe cost implications. Unemployment Technology often causes drastic change and cause unemployment. With appropriate machines occasioned by technology, many employees are laid off work. This was a feature of the industrial revolution. However, the same situation applies here with the introduction of new technology. The entire idea of technology is to improve production using machines that minimize cost but in the end maximize profit. Also, there is the notion of novelty attached to technology. Thus the inefficiency associated with human labor is eliminated. Service delivery In some cases technology is not able to deliver the benefits which are expected. Managers in various organizations may have high expectation of technology. However, it is not able to delive in many cases. Mark Behrsin and Bill Twibill write that, It is understandable that businesses have come to distrust technology. There are almost constant reports detailing the   number of technology -related projects that have failed to   meet expectations. Recent research from KPMG suggests   that 56 percent of publicly-listed firms have had to write off   at least one technology project in the last five years as a   failure (4). 1.5 Conclusion Technology is essential in business but it presents some problems to businesses as well. When managers in various organizations understand these dynamics, they will succeed in their various endeavors.

Food can be significant in people’s lives

Food can be significant in people's lives' for many different reasons – comparison of texts from food anthology. Titus Andronicus and Grandpa's Soup By samiyarahman Both Titus Andronicus and Grandpa's soup serve the purpose of entertaining the reader in Juxtaposing ways. Titus Andronicus is illustrative of the alarming horror that certain types of cooking and food reinforce, whereas Grandpa's soup is representative of the warmth and affection that certain types of food and cooking can bring.Themes portrayed in these texts such as death, mortality, celebration, esperation, love and hate are looked at from completely different angles through the literary techniques displayed by both writers, which will be analyzed and discussed in this essay. First of all, the celebratory atmosphere created in both texts highlight the horror/ happiness. For example, in Titus Andronicus, ingredients of human flesh and bones are mixed to produce delightful dishes.Literally, this is gruesome and ch aotic but for the characters cooking these dishes it connotes a sense of victory over defeating their enemies and ridiculing them, which they then celebrate. Similarly, in Grandpa's Soup the ingredients are given a voice to, making them almost onomatopoeic for example, ‘hoch', ‘loch' and ‘och'. The rhythmic tone signifies togetherness and similarity between the words indicative of the togetherness and strong relationship the character has with her Grandpa.The repetition of these ingredients throughout the poem adds emphasis to this idea, it seems as if it was pouring out of her mind – this is also reflected through the character's voice because it doesn't seem to be limited to a form, the poem sprawls and is shaped by the speech, which reflects the Joy and elebration in the poem. Death and mortality are also common themes in these poems presented to us in two completely different ways. Ruthless cannibalism in Titus Andronicus versus natural death in Grandpa' s Soup: Titus very easily and by giving clear instructions orders on how to kill Chiron and Demetrius.This implies that if he so effortlessly does this he is not at all moved or disturbed by it and that it is completely normal to him. The silence and reaction of others around him show that they are also unaffected by it, which forces out an extremely shocking response from the reader. In contrast, Grandpa's Soup signifies that Grandpa's cooking provides her with genuine pleasure not Just contentment or satisfaction but something greater therefore she goes onto talk about her fear of losing him, which overcasts a melancholic shadow over the whole poem.The writer understands that death is a natural process that she cannot stop but she goes on to say how it will affect her living life as she will be emotionally torn apart and carry the burden of pain throughout with the absence of her Grandpa and his remedial soup. There is evidence of figurative language that is very effective in outl ining and omprehending the character's point of view in Grandpa's Soup for example the simile ‘like a rich island in the middle of the soup sea'. The hyperbole assists in getting her ideas across.Describing the soup as a sea represents the depth of the character's feelings associated with the soup, and her Grandpa. This is reinforced by the yearning that is evident through her language, for example ‘he knows I will grow and pine for it. I will fall ill and desperately need it' this could be seen as deep emotive language that shows her desperation and strong will to hold onto her Grandpa forever and the fact that she draws from the semantic field of health shows that the soup is so important to her it's like a cure or a medicine for all her illnesses.The desperate people that have no peace in Titus Andronicus are reflective of the fast pace of the poem and how quickly events unfold throughout the poem leaving the reader with no time to digest it. The Juxtaposition is evid ent in, Whereof their mother daintily hath fed, Eating the flesh that she herself hath bred' shows that she has done such a catastrophic deed but in a way that is not imaginable and omething she herself was unaware about. The adverb ‘daintily screams out the disgust.This technique achieves maximum impact because soft words are used to convey a very powerful, strong meaning completely alarming the reader because it is such an unnatural, unusual situation. Also, the conversational and chatty lexis rather than it makes as if all the gruesomeness is very common and there is nothing to be shocked about. Both writers use iambic pentameter giving the texts life and a certain personality. For example in Titus Andronicus the iambic pentameter assists in building tension, uspense and the stress.Furthermore, in Grandpa's Soup it would be appropriate to say it sounds like a heartbeat when read aloud illustrating the love and affection that resides in the poem. The role of women in Titus A ndronicus seems very minor. Rape is the stigma attached to Lavinia therefore it is believed that her life is no longer valuable or even useful which is why she is subject to death after she gets Justice. Titus uses the killing of Chiron and Demetrius as a Justification for killing Lavinia. Additionally, Tamora Just follows instructions even though she is the empress but has no real oice.On the other hand, in Grandpa's Soup, the whole poem is a female narrator expressing her feelings and having the most important place in the poem. In conclusion, it can be said that the themes of these texts are highly comparable because both texts possess the same themes, which are given a completely different light in each one. Titus Andronicus is accurately representative of its genre: a revenge tragedy and Grandpa's Soup gets across the idea that food can form and trigger memories that last a lifetime and the nostalgia allows us to reconnect with omeone that may be gone but still alive in our tho ughts.Titus Andronicus sticks closely to its fictional identity however Grandpa's Soup allows the reader to bring to lite real teelings that are relatable to a wide audience. On the contrary, it can be argued that even though we can closely relate to Grandpa's Soup rather than Titus Andronicus, the concentration of the themes in Titus Andronicus allows us to understand the real meanings of those more in it rather than in Grandpa's Soup. When analyzing the texts it is important to consider the purposes of the texts and oth texts fulfill their purpose to entertain to a large extent.The various techniques such as fgurative language, word choices, form, structure and sound patterning are used by Shakespeare and Kay to get across certain attitudes and values have been extremely successful in doing so. Additionally, the backgrounds of the writers and the eras they were writing in seem to have largely influenced these poems. For example Kay may be giving a personal account of her experienc es giving it a timeless quality whereas Shakespeare's motivation may have been what sold or was popular at the time to spectators.

Organizational Behavior Concepts: General Electric Essay

Introduction Every business has a set of key characteristics or values that make up an organizational culture which is unique to its business. Organizational behavior examines â€Å"the impact that individuals, groups, and structure have on behavior within organizations for the purpose of applying such knowledge toward improving an organization’s effectiveness† (Robbins, 2005). The purpose of this research paper is to identify and evaluate General Electric’s (GE) organizational culture, organizational behavior, and customer service standards. We will also uncover how successful GE has been in implementing organizational behavior concepts in the following three categories: (1) motivation, (2) group behavior, (3) organizational culture. General Electric has their organizational values posted right on their website. By doing so, they have provided written expectations to their employees regarding ethical behavior and integrity in the work environment. These values reflect the energy, spirit, and solid foundation of the  company, articulating a common code of organizational behavior. Also, GE’s bold set of management strategies is aimed at increasing innovation and improving productivity to make the company more competitive. GE’s organizational culture is considered one of high ethical standard in the corporate world. According to The Age of Ethics (KPMG, 2007) â€Å"GE now has one of the best ethics compliance programs in existence_†_, says Larry Ponemon, national director of Business Ethics Services at KPMG†. General Electric Since Thomas Edison started General Electric in 1876, the company has steadily grown into a tremendously successful organization and one of the largest companies in the world. Several management and organizational strategies have been used through out the years in order to attain the current status of the firm. When looking at an organization’s cultural appeal, one must first decide what they are looking for; what appeals to me may or may not appeal to someone else. There are a few categories within GE’s organizational culture that appeals to me personally. These categories include but are not limited to: Leadership: It is important for a company to allow leaders to have the freedom and flexibility to contribute their knowledge and expertise in both their daily job and at company levels. â€Å"At the top, we don’t run GE like a big company. We run it like a big partnership, where every leader can make a contribution not just to their job, but to the entire Company† (Immelt, J., 2005). Work Environment: A company should provide a pleasant and vitalizing work environment that is easy to balance with my personal life. â€Å"GE is an invigorating place to work. Ours is a high-performance culture that emphasizes high-integrity business practices as well as work/life balance† (Our Culture, 2008). Training and Education Programs: Successful companies provide additional training and educational benefits that will enhance employee leadership  capabilities. â€Å"We invest nearly $1 billion a year in career development for our employees at every level of professional growth.† (Leadership Programs, 2008). Part of the culture and behavior of GE is the use of sigma six. â€Å"Six Sigma is a highly disciplined process that helps us focus on developing and delivering near-perfect products and services† (Six Sigma, 2008). Sigma is a statistical term that measures how far a given process deviates from perfection. The central idea behind Six Sigma is that if you can measure how many â€Å"defects† you have in a process, you can systematically figure out how to eliminate them and get as close to â€Å"zero defects† as possible. Six Sigma has changed the makeup of GE-it is now the way we work – in everything we do and in every product we design† (Six Sigma, 2008). Within GE, an employee can be certified in Six Sigma, either as a black belt or a master black belt. These titles hold prestige for the employees and add to employee motivation and employment satisfaction. When discussing the organizational culture within a company such as GE, we can break management concepts down into three categories. According to Argenti (2002), organizational behavior in organizations is usually broken down into three main areas: Individual level elements: managing individuals Group level elements: managing teams Elements of organizational structure: managing the organization Not only can the application of organizational behavior principles improve an organization’s effectiveness, organizational behavior provides a manager the information and knowledge needed to manage an effective workforce (Argenti, 2002). With the advent of organizational perspectives, the analysis of why people instill their presence in an organization is not only because of self-aimed goals of growth and enhancements, but also to locate themselves in a social place in accordance to the area of their perceived belonging  (Stroh, Northcraft and Neale, 2002). Motivation Motivation is central to understanding behavior in organizations and a key managerial factor. Two aspects of motivation are structuring tasks to satisfy worker and organizational needs and providing the proper direction for worker actions (Stroh, Northcraft and Neale, 2002). There are a number of factors when it comes to the difference in worker performance. One of these factors is related to different levels of ability among employees. Differences in ability arise from the simple fact that there are significant individual differences that affect work performance. The effort expended by the employees toward the realization of organizational goals greatly depends upon the status of behavioral motivations (Vasu, Stewart and Garson, 1998). GE has implemented theoretical frameworks in order to generate further explanations in behavioral motivation not only of the employees but the organization as well. GE uses a goal-setting theoretical framework_._ Basically, the theoretical concept implicates the application of goals as driving forces that provide the basic idea of what and when to achieve a certain target. Management by Objectives (MBO) is one example that exemplifies the application of objectives in order to achieve the final formulated outcome of the plan, goals (Robbins, 2005). Jack Welch, CEO from 1981 – 2001, set two clear and simple goals for GE and outlined several targets for reaching those formulated goals. The goals were to become the most competitive corporation in the world and to become the nation’s most valuable corporation. Jack Welch created an organization tension in 1981 aimed at motivating these changes by redefining GE’s goals and targets (Cushman, 2003). GE also uses a reinforcement theoretical framework. Reinforcement is used to enhance desirable behavior. The application of reinforcement theory is central to the design and administration of organizational reward systems. Well-designed rewards systems help motivate behavior, actions, and accomplishments, which advance the organization toward specific business  goals. Strategic rewards go beyond cash to include training and educational opportunities, stock opinions, and recognition awards. GE makes good use of the principle of employee participation wherein employees participate in the decisions that determine the methods to be used in the achievement of organizational objectives. GE provides promotions especially for those employees that obtain satisfactory performances as evaluated by the human resource department and approved by managerial committees (Cushman, 2003). Furthermore, incentives vary from salary increase to travel privileges where the main aim is to motivate the workforce. Group Behavior â€Å"A group is defined as two or more individuals, interacting and interdependent, who have come together to achieve particular objectives† (Robbins, 2005). Groups can be either formal or informal. According to Robbins (2005) these two groups are described as: Formal groups – Defined by the organization’s structure, with designated work assignments establishing tasks. In formal groups – Encompass the behaviors that one should engage in are stipulated by and directed toward organizational goals. From 1985 up to the present, General Electric started to place in service work teams in order to facilitate cooperative behavior and leadership as aimed by their high-involvement strategy (Miller, 2002). As far as team building, GE implements a Five-Stage Model for group development within the organization. According to Robbins (2005) the five stages include: forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning. In addition to these five stages GE has also implemented a pre-stage. According to Miller (2002) the breakdown for GE’s five stage model is as follows: Pre-stage 1: GE screens the capacity of every employee upon application and  all throughout performance in order to disseminate employees in the rightful function. Stage 1: Forming: Upon achieving the rightful components of the team through HR jurisdiction based on employee evaluation, formation of the tem is initiated. Stage 2: Storming: Work teams are in effect given new _property rights_ while being guaranteed a great deal of control over performance standards. Stage 3: Norming: Work teams are given strong guarantees of employment security to ensure that employees do not put themselves out of work by increasing production. Stage 4: Performing: Workers were generally guaranteed opportunities for training, restraining, and promotion. Stage 5: Adjourning: Fourth, compensation schemes have been changed in order to provide equity among work teams in the firm through profit-sharing plans or stock ownership plans. Organizational Culture Organizational culture is comprised of the mind-set, experiences, beliefs and values of an organization and its employees. Currently, there are seven primary characteristics of organizational culture as described by Robbins (2005): innovation and risk taking, attention to detail, outcome orientation, people orientation, team orientation, aggressiveness, and stability. All indications are that GE successfully embodies five of the seven primary characteristics of organizational culture: Innovation and Risk Taking: GE employees focus on innovation as their basis for taking calculated risks for change in the areas of transforming health care, cleaner power generation, exploring nanotechnology, aviation technology, greenhouse gas reduction, and global research facilities  (Innovation, 2008). Attention to Detail: GE employees focus on attention to detail in such areas as customer service, quality and assembly of products, meeting performance targets, enhanced decision-making through training and education. People Orientation: GE considers their more than 300,000 employees to be their greatest asset, and they are â€Å"passionate about making life better with new ideas and technologies† (Our People, 2008). Team Orientation: A significant part of GE’s culture as a global company involves nurturing diverse and cross-cultural teams in such areas as public relations, automotives, global research, nanotechnologies, and marketing (Our Culture, 2008). Aggressiveness: Though GE provides the tools and environment necessary for employees to be aggressive and competitive, it is ultimately up to the employee themselves to demonstrate hard work. Organizational culture essentially provides a company with a concrete anchoring point, even if the meaning it carries is vague and only imperfectly transmitted. An organizational culture also involves the expression of emotion, and by this venting of emotions organizational culture can assist employees in dealing with stress. As GE continues to grow and evolve, the company’s organizational culture will be subject to periodic changes and updates. Conclusion From everything that I have found, it is apparent that GE’s organizational culture is both ethical and customer-responsive. All indications are that GE has obtained its current status through the successful applications of organizational behavior concepts; specifically through motivations guided by specific goals and reinforcement plans. GE has successfully implemented theoretical frameworks through goal-setting, reinforcement, involving  employees in the decision processes and offering incentives such as: salary increases, travel privileges, stock options, and bonus plans. GE has successfully implemented group behavior tactics using the Five-Stage Model, with the addition of the pre-stage described in _Managerial Dilemmas: the Political Economy of Hierarchy_, for group development within the organization. Finally, GE successfully embodies five of the seven primary characteristics of organizational culture. Under CEO Jack Welsh, and current CEO Jeff Immelt, GE was able to communicate their vision of Six Sigma and training and development programs at GE. They were also able to become successful because of a belief in the employees and their talent. One of the most important traits a leader can have besides communication skills is the ability to see the potential of an individual and make that individual not only see it too but also live up to that potential. Based on the above findings, my evaluation of GE’s organizational culture is that they do provide a strong framework for positive attitudes, experiences, beliefs and values that would be appealing to almost anyone looking for job satisfaction and advancement within an organization. Reference: Argenti, P. A. (2002). _The Fast Forward MBA Pocket Reference_. John Wiley and Sons. Cushman, D. P. (2003). Communication Best Practices at Dell, General Electric, Microsoft, and Monsanto. SUNY Press. Immelt, J. (2005). _GE Imagination at work_. 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(2005). _Organizational behavior_ (11 ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education. Six Sigma, 2008 Retrieved May 31, 2008, from GE Web site: http://www.ge.com/railservices/about/sixsigma.html Stroh, L. K., Northcraft, G. B., & Neale, M. (2002). _Organizational Behavior: A Management_ _Challenge_. New York, U.S: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Vasu, M., Stewart, D., & Garson, D. (1998). _Organizational Behavior and Public Management_. CRC Press.