Nature of Knowledge Essay

In the study of knowledge we distinguish between knowledge by acquaintance, in essence to know someone or know of something. Ability knowledge is for example to know how to swim or how to ride a bike. And, our main concern, propositional knowledge that is sentences or statements that can be either true or false. To have knowledge one needs to have a belief and for this belief to be true. The following text will show how true belief, even if it is justified in a rational way, does not suffice for knowledge. Take Nina, she is walking by some slot machines in the casino. She feels drawn to one of the machines, and believes it is her lucky day and that she will win because of the nice appealing colors on the slot machine. She places her bet, the wheels spin and line up three lucky 7’s, she wins and her belief turns out to be a true one. But while her belief being true, intuitively this do not suffice for knowledge, as it is easy to ascribe this winning to pure chance. Even if different suppositions may justify Nina’s belief in winning, it is natural to think that what Nina lacks in this situation to have knowledge, is justification. And also for this justification to be strong enough for Nina to be a rational being in believing she will win, without need to turn to superstition or vagueness to explain her belief. But even if Nina where to have a justified true belief, which she formed in a rational way, it is easy to show that this neither suffice for knowledge. Say Nina is a con girl, she has tricked the manager of the slot machine manufacturer to give her a manual, showing all the results the machine can produce, together with a serial number for each spin which is also displayed on the slot machine. So it is easy to look down in the manual what the next result will be. It is noon and Nina is now standing in front of the slot machine in the casino. She reads the serial number in the display and matches it in her manual. The next spin will line up three lucky 7’s and win. She places her bet and spins the wheel. Unbeknown to Nina there was an error when printing the manual so all the numbers are mixed up, making the manual useless. And this day the casino owner celebrates his 60th birthday by letting all the machines go off program at noon and give every placed bet at that time the three lucky 7’s line up. Nina’s justified belief turned out to be true, but due to lucky and unlucky circumstances we do not ascribe knowledge to Nina in this situation. Nina was responsible and rational when forming her belief, considering she went the length to trick the boss to give her the manual to see which spins win. If her goal is to win at slots, she was responsible when gathering evidence and responsible and rational in believing her evidence. And even if this example showed that an agent with a justified true belief formed in a rational and responsible way, do not necessarily have knowledge. It is easy to see that even if the agent lacks knowledge, she will often be successful in reaching her goals, because of the rational way she gains justification for her beliefs. Though it is not sufficient or may not even be necessary to have justified true beliefs when trying to grasp the nature of knowledge. Bibliography: Pritchard D. (2006) What is this thing called knowledge?, Routledge, Oxon

Biology: Book and Lab Coat Essay

Guidelines for Biology Experiments 1. 0 Attendance 1. 1 Attendance to practical sessions is COMPULSORY. 1. 2 If you cannot come to the class due to ill health or emergency excuses, please inform the lecturer EARLIER, so that another practical session can be arranged for you ON THE SAME WEEK. 2. 0 Lab coat 2. 1 Wearing lab coat is COMPULSORY. 2. 2 Put on the lab coat throughout the class. 3. 0 Jotter 3. 1 Jotters should contain the summary on the PROCEDURES you are going to perform during the experiment. 3. 2 It can be in the form of short notes, flow charts, mind maps, diagrams or any other forms of summary. 3. 3 Jotter should also include observation whenever necessary. 3. 4 Complete jotters must be submitted in groups prior to the experiment. The lecturer will check, mark and return them before the class ends. 4. 0 Recording observations/results 4. 1 All observation should be done on blank A4 paper 4. 2 Drawings (a) Use blank A4 paper (b) Limit to only TWO diagrams on each page. (c) Each diagram should be enclosed by a border. (d) As for scientific drawings, e. g. diagrams of cells, tissues or organelles, there shouldn’t be any discontinuous lines, overlapped lines and shades. (e) For each diagram, it must have : a. Title of the diagram, if specimen’s name write down the common name and/or scientific name b. Magnification power (if using compound or dissecting microscope) c. Labels (minimum 3 labels) 1 4. 3 Numerical data (a) Record numerical data in the particular tables. 4. 4 Graphs (a) Use the graph paper to plot any graphs. (b) For each graph, it must have : a. Title of the graph b. Title of Y- axis and X-axis c. Label (if necessary) 5. 0 Report 5. 1 Front cover (a) The standard front cover will be given to students by the respective lecturer. (b) Make sure that all particulars on the cover are completed before submitting the report. 5. 2 Format and evaluation (a) The particulars should be in the following order: – Title (as in manual book) – Objective (as in manual book) – Observation/Result (draw in blank A4 paper following the format given) – Discussion/Exercises/Questions – Conclusion (at least 2 conclusions) – References (at least 3 references following the format given) (b) The marks will be awarded (only if the experiment is conducted, i. e. the student is present during the particular experiment) in the following areas: Criteria Manipulative skill Observation/Result Discussion/Exercise/Questions Conclusion Reference Marks 25% 40% 20% 10% 5%. 5. 3 Submission of report (a) Reports of an experiment should be submitted at least THREE (3) DAYS after the experiment is completed. (b) Marks for reports submitted after the date line will be deducted. 2 HOW TO WRITE A REFERENCE FORMAT : 1. Authors: Authors are listed in the same order as specified in the source, using surnames and initials. Commas separate all authors. When there are eight or more authors, list the first six authors followed by three ellipses (†¦ ) and then the final author. If no author is identified, the title of the document begins the reference. 2. Year of Publication: In parentheses following authors, with a period following the closing parenthesis. If no publication date is identified, use â€Å"n. d. † in parentheses following the authors. 3. Source Reference: Includes title, journal, volume, pages (for journal article) or title, city of publication, publisher (for book). Italicize titles of books, titles of periodicals, and periodical volume numbers. REFERENCE BOOK Format : Author. (Year of Publication). Book Title (periodical). (Page referred). Place. Publisher Eg : Campbell, N. A. & Reece, J. B. (2007). Biology (8th ed. ). (pp. 80-94) Pearson, The Benjamin Cummings Publishing Company, Inc. JOURNAL Format : Author. (Year of Publication). Title of journal. Name of journal. (volume) :page referred. Eg : Keller, Margaret A. & E. Richard Stiehm (2000). Passive Immunity in Prevention and Treatment of Infectious Diseases. Clinical Microbiology Reviews. 13 (4): 602–614. INTERNET Format : Author. (Year of Publication). Website title. Website address. Eg : Wikipedia. (2012). Eukaryote. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Eukaryote 3.

Haverwood Case Analysis Essay

Haverwood Furniture Individual Summary Introduction: In 2008, Haverwood Furniture and Lea-Meadows Inc. merged into one company. The issue at hand involves merging the selling efforts of the two companies. They both go about selling their products differently and the best plan of action is uncertain. John Bott, of Haverwood, believes that Haverwood sales representatives implement the best selling strategy whereas Martin Moorman, the national sales manager at Lea-Meadows believes that they have the superior strategy. Haverwood is a manufacturing company that makes medium-high priced furniture made out of wood. Net sales for Haverwood was 75 million in 2007 with a before tax profit of 3.7 million. They employ their own sales representatives who represent 1000 different retail accounts for the company. These representatives earn an annual salary of 70,000 (plus expenses) and receive a commission of .5% of the company’s net sales. Haverwood believes that their sales personnel are highly regarded in the furniture industry, knowledgeab le about wood furniture, and willing to work with buyers and retail sales personnel. The only negative aspect about Haverwood’s selling strategy is that all of the retail accounts that the merger will create do not carry the complete Haverwood line. In order to combat this, Botts was instructed to push the sales reps, urging them to make 10 sales calls per week and increasing the call frequency to seven calls per year. On the other hand, Lea-Meadows is a small, privately owned manufacturer of upholstered furniture for living and family rooms. The company is known for using some of the finest fabrics and frame construction. Their net sales in 2007 were 5 million. Total industry sales for upholstered furniture manufacturers were 15.5 billion. This number is expected to increase 3% annually in the future. Lea- Meadows employs 15 sales agents. These agents also represent several manufacturers of noncompeting furniture and home furnishings. Sales agents are paying 5% of net company sales. The agents call on specialty furniture and department stores. They called an estimated 1000 retail accounts in 2006 and 2007. All of the agents had relationships with and worked closely with their retail  accounts. Alternatives: Option 1: Assign Lea-Meadows Line to Haverwood Sales Force Botts believes that assigning the line to Haverwood sales force was the correct decision because they have a professional, adaptable and knowledgeable sales force and they know many of the buyers personally who were responsible for upholstered furniture. In addition the Haverwood sales team has a 5% higher profit margin than that of Lea-Meadows. In addition, taking on the Lea-Meadows line would require only about 15% of current sales call time, making it relatively easy for the sales force to take on. Botts also called on the company motto that â€Å"only our people are able and willing to give†, meaning that Lea-Meadows salespeople would not represent the principles the company was founded on. His final reason was that it wouldn’t look favorably on the company if representatives and agents called on the same stores and buyers, which would also mean that Haverwood would possibly be paying commission twice on one sale. However Bates knows that it would be difficult to train the Haverwood sales representatives on all of the different aspects of the Lea-Meadows line. Break Even Analysis: Costs: $700,000 in salaries $130,000 in sales administration Total: $830,000 Break Even Equation $830,000+(.005x)=.05x X= $18,444,444.44 This number means that if the expected sales volume is greater than $18,444,444.44 then the company’s sales force should be used. If the expected sales volume is less than $18,444,444.44 then the independent sales agents should be used. For Haverwood, since their projected sales is equal to 78 million [((12,900,000-12,400,000)/12,400,000) industry growth is 4%, applied that to Haverwood sales], it signifies that Bates should use the Haverwood Sales force to sell the Lea-Meadows line. Option 2: Keep Lea-Meadows Sales Agents Moorman believes keeping the sales agents for the Lea-Meadows line is the right decision. He called upon the fact that the agents (and he, himself) have already established contacts and were highly regarded with years of experience. The sales agents would also be a very small cost beyond commission. In addition he believes that the agents are committed to the line. Moreover he argued that some of the Lea-Meadows agents called upon buyers that were not contacted by the Haverwood sales reps. Finally, he disagreed that the Haverwood sales reps could easily learn about the Lea-Meadows line. With the combinations of fabric, skirts, pillows, springs, and fringes the company has, the sales rep would have to be knowledgeable about over 1 billion possibilities. However, as shown by the break even analysis, it is not economically justifiable for these two companies to operate separately any longer. Just by the economics, it is an easy decision for Bates to just use the Haverwood sales agents. Bates, However has personal ties with Moorman which affects his decision. If they do not use the Lea-Meadows sales agents, then Moorman will lose his job. Although this is a significant factor for Bates, it is obvious that using Haverwood sales representatives if the right decision for the company in terms of profitability. Option 3: Hire More Sales Reps The third option that Bates is considering is hiring additional sales representatives. These sales representatives would be trained to understand Haverwood and Lea-Meadows furniture. However, doing so would require restructuring the sales territories and would possibly take commissions away from existing sales representatives. It also does not seem necessary to take on additional sales reps after conducting the break even analysis. Recommendation Because of the break-even analysis, it is easy to see that Bates should decide to solely use Haverwood, Inc. sales representatives. It is more profitable for the company to give these accounts to the Haverwood sales reps. It would also allow Bates to have more control over the sales representatives as they would all be Haverwood reps and not Lea-Meadows.

The Southern Belle Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Southern Belle - Essay Example According to Lynn, southern belles are special and highly respected (Lynn, n.d). Southern belle refers to a female from southern United States who is beautiful, intelligent, rich, innocent, and has charm and style. Undoubtedly, these women are usually spoiled and pampered due to the distinct qualities they own (Wilson, 2012). The term â€Å"Southern Belle† was derived from a French word called â€Å"belle† meaning beautiful and it developed in the South during the antebellum period and during this time, it was used to refer to a young and unmarried girl ranked in upper class of the society. Those ranked in the upper class were powerful, landowners, and were the drivers of the economy. Typically, a southern belle was known to wear a hoop skirt, a corset, straw hat, and gloves and carrying parasol umbrellas, and this make them look elegant and unique. From a long time, the term southern belle was used to define only white females but this term has evolved and is today use d to define any southern woman. Arguably, upper class southern women were supposed to dress only in a certain way, speak in a specific manner, eat in a particular way, stand and walk only in a certain way, as well as living their lives only in a required manner. Generally, the southern belle occupied the upper class in the society and was very beautiful. Typical southern belle is determined by manners, cooking, attitude, and dress code among others. Living in the south was conditioned due to the set rules that young girls and women were supposed to obey in order to qualify the title ‘southern belle’. These rules were based on dress code, cooking, education, attitude, and entertaining. Most southern belles learnt to obey these rules and acquire necessary qualities from their mothers and grandmothers. A true southern belle minds and knows her manners, that is, well mannered, respect all, and appreciative (Wilson, 2012). Accordingly, a true belle is charming, has a genuine smile and sweet southern drawl that distracted many wherever she steps. More so, a true southern belle is are of how to dress in a more appropriate and required manner and knew to dress in a seductive manner but in privet. Accordingly, her attitude is pleasing, for instance, a southern belle is always willing to help, volunteers to help where necessary and do not care about money. Moreover, a true belle values education and develop their careers. She also values and respects her friends and treats her with kindness and more affection (Wilson, 2012). Most importantly, a true southern belle knows to cook in a way that entices everyone. A true belle prepares delicious food and serves guests or family members with respect. In addition, they are taught to treat their husbands well and show them love and care (Avery, 2012). It is undoubtedly obvious that from all these qualities, a woman from the south is praised and respected. However, some individuals have misunderstood the term  "southern belle† sometimes. Truly, coming from the south or living in the south does not automatically qualify every girl to be a southern belle and this where most people misunderstand the term. Misunderstanding a southern belle is also an obvious mistake because some people assume that once a girl come

Formal Analytical Report Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Formal Analytical Report - Article Example However, people are nowadays failing at devoting sufficient time to their loved ones whereas, sex is dying out and humans of the advanced era are spending useless hours in the front of a shiny screen and they think that they are â€Å"socializing† but in reality they are hallucinating themselves for their better part of the day. The practice of socialization is supposed to be accompanied with strong emotions and happiness while, people were eager to meet each other (Jansen, Zhang, Sobel, & Chowdury, 2009). Humans had been writing letters to each other for centuries and that particular trend made them writers. The past generations were masters of articulating their thoughts into words because they were habitual of writing letters but nowadays things changed dramatically and each time honored human activity is getting done with the help of computers. The current generation is having thousands and thousands of friends on social networking sites but they do not know them personally and yet they think that they have buddies when in real sense they are alone. The loner in the past was aware of his or her loneliness and therefore, he or she devoted his or herself to arts, literature and painting. In this fashion their self awareness helped them in many regards (Mathisen & Einarsen, 2004). However, each of the humans living in this time is having multiple social media accounts and because of this reason, he or she presumes his or herself is an extrovert. The outbreak of an urge to be an extrovert is killing creativity in people because innovation and newness can come from the dark rooms of loners who dissolved themselves into their works and caused the world of intellect to move forward eventually. The youngsters’ minds are stuck up in socialization and they cannot possibly focus on their studies, jobs and work. The illusion of globalized networking is eating away the warmth of emotions which defined humans

Security automation in oil and gas companies Research Paper

Security automation in oil and gas companies - Research Paper Example At the same time, the future trends related to SA systems are presented. The work of firms that develop such systems, such as ABB, Siemens, Rockwell Automation, SELEX and Duos Technologies, is discussed; the SA systems of the above firms are explored as of their characteristics and implications. It seems that existing SA systems can highly promote security in regard to daily operations of firms in the oil and gas industry. However, failures are difficult to be eliminated. The use of supportive tests and tools, such as SCADA software, is considered as unavoidable for ensuring the high performance of SA systems. In the future also, a similar practice would be employed since failures are indispensable part of all computerized systems, such as the SA systems. The oil and gas industry is highly exposed to a series of risks. Reference can be made, for example, to the risks from exceeding initial budget or planned costs and the risks related to ‘assets damages and injuries of people’ (Bigliani 2013, p.1). The pollution caused to environment due to failures in daily operations of the relevant industrial units is also another aspect of risks that the firms operating in oil and gas industry are likely to face (Bigliani 2013). The last few years another type of risk has appeared in the oil and gas industry: failures in cybersecurity of the industry’s firms (Radvanovsky & Brodsky 2013). The virus attack against the computer systems of Saudi Aramco in August 2012 resulted to severe problems in the operations of most of the company’s units; in total, about 30,000 units of the firm were infected by the above virus (Bigliani 2013, p.5). The introduction of Security Automation Systems in the oil and gas industry has been co nsidered as the most appropriate solution for addressing the industry’s risks. The structure, role and terms of implementation and operation of these systems are explored in this paper. Emphasis is given to the current state

Explain the law as it relates to torts, the U.S. Constitution, Essay

Explain the law as it relates to torts, the U.S. Constitution, intellectual property, and crime affect business - Essay Example In particular, this paper will address the issue about the trade-off between entertainment venues that enable the owners to profit and benefit from their work. Participants in the music and movie industries among other forms of entertainment have always insisted on the efficiency of encryption programs, which are necessary to prevent piracy. Under the law of intellectual property rights, owners are granted certain rights that are exclusive to assets like music, books, and other artistic works that are intangible (William & Miller, 2010). Some of the rights include trademarks, patents, industrial design rights, copyrights, and trade secrets in common jurisdictions. Most of these principles have evolved over centuries. The Statute of Monopolies (1623) and the Statute of Anne (1710) are viewed as the origins of patent law and copyright law respectively (George, 2000). Most individuals have vastly criticized intellectual property law like those in the free culture movement. On the contrary, intellectual property tends to be controlled by economic goals when it ought to be considered as a societal product. There are limitations in the intellectual property of the United States which focus on joint works and individuals; thus copyright protection can only be obtained in original works of authorship. The ethical difficulties are mostly pertinent when it involves such entertainment products. A tort is simply a civil wrong which can either be negligent or intentional. Cyber torts, on the other hand, are torts done over cyberspace (George, 2000). These are still crimes and also have serious effects on the social order. The technological aspect has an enormous impact in exposing everyone to dangers and damages. This includes the entertainment venues whose privacy is mostly interrupted. Tort law recognizes that individuals have a right to refrain being sued in the absence of a proper and legally just reason. This can be in reference violations against property or

Argentina Business Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Argentina Business - Term Paper Example Most of the city’s population comprises of youth between the ages of 17 to 40 who form the majority of our target market in any environment because their high income levels produce high purchasing power (Brown, 1999). We note that the nation’s economy has a high nominal GDP per capita which provides for a high purchasing power of its citizens, which is suitable for our entrance into the market. Moreover, the nation boasts of the latest technology in infrastructure, in the world. The land, air and water transportation systems are well developed, even in the rural areas. This will enable safe and effective transportation of our exported vehicles to and within this nation. In addition, the country’s proximity to the Atlantic Ocean presents an added advantage in transporting the exports to our customer(s). Argentina has some of the biggest and busiest ports and harbors in the world, these include Port of Mar del Plata, Port Belgrano and Port of San Antonio Oeste. All of these ports are located on the Atlantic Ocean, making shipping exports to the country our most effective option. Moreover, Buenos Aires serves as a key distribution hub for the South American continent thereby expanding our company’s market potential (Brown, 1999). Customs requirements in Argentina are different among different groups, such as citizens, diplomats and visitors. Seeing that our potential buyer is a resident of Argentina not only owns a national car dealership business, but Diplomatic Franchise as well; he is also involved in importing cars for his diplomatic clients. We should, therefore, meet the requirements of exporting diplomatic and conventional vehicles. Argentinian customs requirements for exportation of diplomatic vehicle maintain that any person importing diplomatic cars must be licensed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; I have confirmed our potential client’s registration with the ministry, so this will not be a hindrance in doing busines s with him. The ministry is also mandated with ensuring that all imported diplomatic vehicles are brand new or less than 5 years old. Argentinian laws also require that the vehicles and all its documentation should be under the importer’s name; therefore, we must ensure that all the documentation pertaining the vehicle's registration is done under our client’s name. The requirements further stipulate that the vehicles should be shipped into the country six months after the arrival of the importer; thus, we cannot export vehicles to the nation if our client is out of the country. Moreover, the Argentinean government requires that the importer owns an original passport and at least two original bills of lading; he should also possess the original vehicle(s) purchase invoice and have the property title registered in his name. Vehicle taxation in Argentina is based on the Cost Insurance and freight (CIF) values of the vehicles. The rates are 80% of the CIF for conventional vehicles, 100% for diesel cars and 65% for motorcycles. Importation of vehicles that do not have local equivalents in Argentina attracts quotas to limit importation and encourage purchasing of locally manufactured vehicles (Rock, 2001). On the other hand, the UK customs requireme

Roles of an operations manager Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Roles of an operations manager - Essay Example The paper tells that in operations management, the focus of the management team is to utilize the few resources available to achieve the organizational goals, hence bringing up immense satisfaction from the target customers. Essentially, there is an aspect of conversion of inputs to outputs, in all the resources that are critical in a firm such as energy, labor, and raw materials. Primarily, the term organizational outputs may refer to the products or services that the firm does target to distribute to their target clients. Stevenson in his research found out that operations management is a field in which the managerial team does focus on ensuring smooth flow and success of technical and physical functions of a firm. Additionally, the functions of manufacturing development and production also fall under the same department. First, it is necessary to have a picture of the functions of an operations manager, which are classified into four categories. These categories include developmen t of operational strategies, business operations improvement, management of the daily operations of the business, and personal knowledge development. In addition to that, the operation manager does cut the control costs in any business organization as Stevenson and Sum expound. Most significantly, a well-managed organization can have a clear reflection of the effect of its good management through an upsurge and consistency of profitability. To ensure that the profit is maximum, an operations manager wills hence make a clear evaluation of the costs involved in the production process, and critically reduces the increase or eliminates any unnecessary costs. Through such, an operations manager becomes the heartbeat of an organization. He will aid the organization to serve its client better. The manager will oversee the daily delivery of the products and services of the firm. Achievement and success of the function are facilitated through liaising with other department’s multi-sec toral approach.

Working with and leading people Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Working with and leading people - Essay Example Hiring the right person, for the right position, and at the right time is important as far as the success of an organization is concerned. Making mistakes during the recruitment and selection process might be extremely costly for the organization i.e. might destroy its reputation. Selection and recruitment documentation During the selection and recruitment of an employee, an organization must prepare some documentation and follow some procedures. The first step would involve preparation of a timetable. This entails allocating reasonable time to activities within the recruitment process i.e. advertisement for the position, short listing, and interviews among other activities. The second step would involve putting together the applicant’s park with some documents including a copy of the job description, the person’s specifications copy, an application form, as well as, the monitoring form. The third step would involve ensuring that the internal preparations are in place. For example, the recruiting personnel must ensure that there is a trained panel, as well as, making sure that there is an effective system for the short listing activity. The third step would involve advertising the post. The advertisement document must be effective in terms of attracting the best talents in the labor market to apply for the position. After the advertisement, the recruitment team should shortlist the qualified candidates. After short listing, the recruitment team should conduct the interviews and then select the best candidate for the position (Arthur, 2005). Legal, ethical, and regulatory implications in the recruitment and selection process In the recruitment and selection process, there are both legal and ethical implications that the recruitment team must put into consideration. Failure to comply with the legal requirements could be too costly for an organization, for example, it might result to litigations. Unethical practices, on the other hand, entails action s or activities that are morally wrong during the recruitment process. The recruitment team must implement key laws to ensure that the recruitment and selection process is equal and fair, absence of discrimination based on sex, age and ethnicity, and every applicant has the right to work in the country. For example, when the recruitment team is placing job adverts, it must ensure that it does not discriminate any applicant based on color or sex. There are sex discrimination laws, as well as, race relations laws. Other key laws include disability discrimination laws. On the other hand, there are unethical practices during the recruitment and selection process. For example, child labor is not only illegal, but also unethical. Some organizations utilize child labor because of the fact that it is less costly. This may hurt the organization i.e. destroying the reputation and legal penalties (Martin, 2010). The selection process The selection process entails choosing the best candidate fr om a pool of applicants. An effective selection process helps in the selection of the most suitable individual from the applicants’ list. The recruitment team must comply with all legal, as well as, ethical requirements. Screening during the selection process is critical as far as identifying the best applicants based on the job requirements. During the screening process, the recruitment team goes through the applicant’s documents i.e. the curriculum vitae to identify the academic and working history of a specific individual. If the recruitment team is convinced that a candidate is qualified it shortlists him or her for the assessment tests or for the oral interviews. At the assessment centers,

Natural environment Essay Example for Free

Natural environment Essay It has been long debated the importance of nature verses nurture. It is hard to prove one from the other since it is shown for them both to play major roles in the development of a child to an adult. I believe that my personality is a combination of both nature and nurture but I think that I am +more nurtured. There are so many behaviors that I have developed from the environment I grew up. I have learnt to respect all people from being influenced at school and by my parents. I have also been trained to be responsible of things such as doing my work. I learnt that if I am not responsible and dont do my work, then I must pay bad consequences. I have also learnt from experiences that if I do what I am supposed to do, I may be rewarded for good things done. My environment has influenced me in many ways to act upon certain things automatically. Things like looking both ways before crossing the street, or other things that appear to be common sense are learnt from nurture. I have gone through many experiences in which I have learnt different lessons. These lessons have taught me how to act in my life. I know that I am very different person than my mom or my dad. I dont have very much in common with either of them. Although we do share some of the same aspects, I feel that I am more different from them than alike. I have developed the majority of my social skills from my friends and not my parents. Most of my social life revolves around my friends, who have influenced me a lot of the decisions I make and in the way I act. I dont socialize with my parents nearly as much as I do with my peers. I dont think I know my parents well enough to say if I am like them when they are around their friends or not. The nature and nurture of a person can vary greatly. Sometimes there are certain things that are hard to decide whether they are inherited or learnt. I might share some qualities with my parents, but they could just be characteristics that I learnt in my life that my parents also learnt in their lives too and were not inherited. I believe that genes indicate the potential for ones behavior and personality, and that the environment helps create the extent as to how that behavior is carried out.

Employment Laws and HRM Strategy Essay Example for Free

Employment Laws and HRM Strategy Essay Describe the scenario that you have selected and its corresponding employment laws. The human resource scenario the writer selected is the need for seasonal employees who may be from another country. Employment laws for the state of Mississippi will be a base used to solve this issue. Mississippi Wage and Hour Laws from the Employment Law Handbook insures that seasonal workers are provided with a minimum wage, meals and breaks, vacation, sick leave, severance and holidays. Mississippi currently does not have any state laws requiring or regulating these requests. Mississippi uses federal guidelines as a base for establishing employment laws. The federal law as of today requires a minimum wage of 7.25 dollars. The federal law for overtime is also followed by Mississippi. Meals and breaks according to federal law are not defined. Breaks taken by an employee that are less than twenty minutes must be paid and lunch breaks thirty minutes or more do not need to be paid as long as an employee can do whatever he or she likes during this period according to the Department of Labor. Vacation leave is determined to the employer since Mississippi legislature does not have any established guidelines on this matter. Sick leave, Severance pay and holidays are all determined by an employer in the state of Mississippi due to established laws in this state (Mississippi Wage and Hour Laws, 2012). In August of 2012 Mississippi held a committee meeting on immigration reform. Governor Phil Bryant wanted to reaffirm a law preventing undocumented immigrants from recovering public benefits. The Mississippi Senate will have to take into consideration the United States Supreme Court rulings and federal appeals when drafting Mississippi legislature for immigration laws. The Mississippi state immigration law would have to comply with E-Verify laws and constitutional laws are not violated. President Barack Obama passed a deportation deferral to immigrants earlier this year but states can pass their own immigration reform laws such as Arizona and Alabama (Cherry, 2012). The United States Department of Labor established an act called The Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act or (MSPA) in order to protect these types of workers. The act protects employment related migrant and seasonal workers. The MSPA ensures that each nonexempt farm contractor and agricultural seasonal association disclose their terms and conditions of employment to each migrant worker. The terms and conditions of employment must be explained to the migrant and seasonal worker at the time of recruitment (Department of Labor, 2012). The job must description must also explain worker protection, amount of wages due to a migrant worker and provide an itemized statement of earnings and deductions (Department of Labor, 2012). The Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act also guide housing and transportation. The federal guide line ensures that housing and transportation provided meets federal and state guidelines with proper licensure and insurance which is enforced by the wage and hour division. The federal guidelines require records must be kept for at least three years which includes name, permanent addresses and social security numbers (Department of Labor, 2012). The Fair Labor Standards Act or (FLSA) requires that workers on large farms are paid minimum wage but they are excluded from overtime premium pay. The FLSA prevents children under the age of sixteen from working during school hours and working certain jobs deemed too dangerous. Children that are employed on their families’ farm are exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act (Department of Labor, 2012). The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) require employers that want to use foreign temporary workers with H-2A visas get a labor certificate from the Employment and Training Administration. The certificate ensures that there are not enough able, willing and qualified United State workers available to do the work. The Immigration and Nationality Act standard of the H-2A program is enforced by the wage and hour division (Department of Labor, 2012). Recommend a plan to manage the HRM situation within the confines of the law. Justify your approach to your scenario to HR management. The human resource management plan the writer recommends would be based on performance. Job performance and task performance represents what an employee contributes to an organization that employs them. Migrant workers would benefit from this type of grading system if the work performance is factory based. Task performance is the product of employees performing actions leading to the production of raw materials into goods and services. Studies have been performed to show job performance management provides feedback and measurement improves employee performance leading to better organizational performance (Stewart, Brown, 2011). The writer believes migrant workers may show citizenship behavior. Employees often show citizenship behavior by going the extra mile for the company, volunteering for special projects, following organizational procedures even if they are not convenient for the employee and defending the business where the employee works (Stewart, Brown, 2012). The writer would focus on counterproductive behavior before it starts. Counterproductive behavior is behavior from an employee that is harmful to a business. An employee can exhibit two types of counterproductive behavior: 1) production deviance 2) property deviance occurs when employee sabotage equipment, destroys materials and products and misuse expense accounts. The counterproductive behavior can also be extended to gossiping about coworkers and showing favoritism. The writer would create a manual of policies and procedures explaining how this behavior is prohibited and have disciplinary consequences set in place if this behavior is exhibited. The writer would not use performance appraisals as much. The main goal would be to give feedback to an employee and listen to any problems they may be having. State how a competitive advantage may be gained by ensuring HRM practices meet the necessary employment laws. A competitive advantage can be gained by ensuring human resource strategies are followed. A company must have an employee handbook, benefits package, job descriptions and a payroll system in place to ensure human resource strategies are at an advantage to the company. The steps above can be followed also to keep in compliance with legal employment issues. Laws and regulations are important to ensure equal rights to disabled worker, employment eligibility for migrant workers with the use of an I-9 form, drug screening and work place harassment. A competitive strategy can lead to effective human resource department and a successful business (Managing Employees, 2012). Speculate what might happen if the situation was not handled in accordance with the appropriate employment laws. A business that does not follow employment laws can face state and federal criminal charges. A business can avoid costly law suits by following laws to ensure employees are treated fairly. A company’s compliance can save money that would be used to repair a damaged reputation. Specific laws protect employees from immutable characteristics such as sex, race, age and religion. Characteristics such as tattoos, nose piercings and long hair are not covered by federal and state laws. State laws can set a basis by not discriminating against marital status or sexual orientation and may not conflict with federal laws. The writer speculates that if state and federal discrimination laws are broken a company can face many damaging hardships (Stewart, Brown, 2012). References Cherry, Daniel (2012). Lawmakers Gearing Up for Immigrant Reform Battle Retrieved from http:www.mpbonline.org on November 18, 2012 Stewart, G., Brown, K. (2011). Human resource management (2nd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons Managing Employees (2012). Retrieved from http:www.mississippi.org on November 18, 2012 Mississippi Wage and Hour Laws (2012). Employment Law Handbook, Retrieved from http:www.employmenthandbook.com on November 18, 2012 The Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection, (2012) Department of Labor Retrieved from http:www.dol.gov on November 18, 2012

Recruitment and Selection Process in Tesco

Recruitment and Selection Process in Tesco Recruitment Selection Policy: A platform for recruitment using employment agencies, websites and newspapers. However, Tesco is a big name in the distribution sector does not need publicity, due to its strong presence in the retail sector in the UK. Fig1: Recruitment Process GRIEVANCES POLICY: Complaints are an important aspect of personnel policy, because it contains a provision on the factors that cause problems in the workplace because of the causes of stress, fatigue, personal problems, health problems and other social issues. Tesco is very special in this respect because they have serious complaints policy where employee issues are of huge importance and are not neglected due to pressure or excessive workload. Training and Development Policy: The Company has a policy of training and development that makes it compatible with an organization where employees feel they are growing their career aspects as much as possible. This policy is aligned with the needs of staffing and training needs. Rewards Management Policy: Rewards and management policies will be discussed in detail in the literature, allowing employees to feel good, motivated and committed to their employer. It is also a great way to introduce competition into the ranks of employees and their competitive strategies. Premiums and policy management is also an understandable form of access to personal potential and their classification in regard to the role in business. For a company like Tesco, is a way to find potential leaders, and industry icons. The company faces many aspects of internal training, and outsourcing training and customer service are the key aspects of learning, while being part of Tesco. Internal transfers are made to develop and improve skills and vocational training is a part of the preparation procedures for these skills. Tesco Jobs in organizational behavior also improves employee to learn to be part of the organization with other aspects of the skills that are important to be injected in quality packaging. Interestingly, employees with a reatil industry knowledge is important when working in the retail sector. It is very important to realize and raise awareness in people regarding the induction of employees is an important step in a company the caliber and size of Tesco. It simply ensures that employees who are new should be aware of the principles and work in which they operate, like any culture of work differs from the other aspects of management, other important aspects. regular team meetings and notes to ensure that people working together is teamwork and collaboration between them as they help each other in different ways. There is also a systematic way of internal communication with staff that is done on a regular basis in the form of monthly newsletters, intranets, corporate reports, staff feedback, etc. All the above things to help employees in their awareness of the changes are constantly occurring in society and the impact of these changes in growth, profitability and image of the retail industry. In the context of this literature is very important to understand and examine the link between corporate strategy and human resources strategy for Tesco. There is always a link between corporate strategy and human resource strategy of an organization like Tesco following the classical concepts of SHRM, business strategy management systems, human resources as a set of interrelated policies and practices for implementing business strategies. The reporting of corporate strategy for managing human resources directors are the general contractor Shih, H.A Chiang, Y.H (2005). Regarding the difference between the theory of strategic management company, commercial, operational and political strategy, the companyà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s strategy is to devise operational strategy, because that is what makes the organization function as it should. Provides focus and direction of corporate communication function, and is also active in developing the strategy for implementing the communication plan Steyn, B (2003). Formulation of the strategy in action is a very important part of corporate strategies. Structuring an organization to support a good performance including organizational structures, processes and contexts. Scholes, K Johnson, G Whittington, R (2009). The management of the business strategy often involves change and the type of change that is implemented in a retail establishment at Tesco. A key element of corporate strategy includes the expansion of financial security to be granted to employees and come with more resourceful, innovative an d creative financial plans for welfare and restraint. However, attention is directed more elements to human resources strategy literature that focus strategically on this issue and it is also crucial for an organization potential of the stature of Tesco. It has to do with managing the work efficiently and effectively, while ensuring the rights of individuals and their value to the company. A central feature of a continuous improvement process is to ensure that the system is managed and controlled effectively. This requires measurement, analysis and reduction of fluctuations in the results to more realistic limits. The framework must include the organization of the HR practice in groups with a common goal, and it also develops principles for each group covering the management of the organization, intent, culture and capabilities. There is also the possibility of clear measures against which must be measured over time. The aspects are to be discussed in detail in the results including the nature, long term and short-term, HR strategy and its impact on business growth. Other important and essential to examine the policy framework will be consistent with strict implementation in the United Kingdom and I. strategy of the competitor, Strategy E of ASDA, Morrison and Sainsbury. Within the framework of HR strategies is very important to discuss in detail the policies of recruitment and selection of large companies like Tesco and gender equality policy. Recruitment process is discussed in detail and the manner in which the company does the recruitment process efficient, transparent and efficient to win. Another important criterion for making an effective HR plan is to make useful analysis of organizational culture and cultural diversity, the dealer is a huge company manages and supervises its activities. The concept of organizational culture has become a major theme of science organization. Organizations create a culture or work environment to gain competitive advantage and this has to do primarily with customer service, emphasis on employee participation and integration of technological innovation in developing products or services. A culture can be considered the style of an organization, the atmosphere or the personalities of the Sims, RR (2002). There wil l be debates in the paper on the direction of the organization of the review giants and the most important consequences that can be done to make it more effective. However, in this scenario, the HR function as an agent of change is very important to realize that human resources is a key player in the treatment of work in the context of the organization must be an agent of change and take responsibility policies regarding disciplinary and other more. Change management strategies are discussed in relation to the different change management models. human_change_management Fig2: Change Management Model Above, the model of change management is adopted by companies in most cases to manage change effectively and also aggressive steps to be incorporated in organizational hierarchies. A change management process still requires a vision and a need for a focused and dedicated management. Proper analysis is crucial as regards the financial implications and the key element is the catalyst for an organization. Other models to be discussed in detail in the literature include Kotler model of change management and discussions will also be published on the role of change agents. The successful implementation of the change process associated with the facilitators of change and in cases of these literature facilitators of change in human resources. The change agent can be defined as a leader who is there to reconfigure the roles of an organization, responsibilities, structures and outputs Saka, A (2002). The change agent skills within the organization should be clarity on the definition of objecti ves, activities, team building, communication skills, negotiation techniques and skills of influence to win support for the goals and objectives. But we also know the limitations of change management are more associated with the perception of senior management of the need for change. In the phase of implementation of strategic change, top managers expect lower managers and employees to act according to their strategic vision and strategic plans, Joyce, P Wiley, J (2000). Employees do not have the responsibility to manage change so that the responsibility for change management is the management and executives of Tesco. Kotler, JP (1995). There will be detailed discussions on what measures can be taken by human resources to manage resistance to change. Resistance to change has been recognized as an extremely important factor that can influence the success or failure of an organizational change effort Waddell D Sohail A.S (1998). This resistance is mainly due to fear of the unknown i n the minds of the people, economic insecurity and some failures to recognize why the change is so important Nadler (1989). A very important topic of discussion is the motivation aspects of HR strategy. Motivation always brings positive and fruitful results regarding the growth of the organization and manages to bring the productivity of staff at its optimal level. This literature will explain how motivation can be increased and Herzberg and Maslow theories of motivation are discussed in detail in this document. Training of employees in retail trade is one aspect that will be discussed in detail in this literature where employees are key players in any part of the organization. Empowerment, engagement and ownership by employees is the key quantifiable aspects of a sector with great influence in the distribution sector due to customer confidence and to concentrate. CONCLUSION It is necessary to understand the importance of HR strategies in the company of the size and condition of Tesco. Effective human resource strategies are still profitable and productive impact on the growth of the company as HR has a vital importance for human resources management. A motivating factor always increases in productivity that employees must be motivated to perform at optimum level. It is important to ensure that an environment free of politics and bureaucracy is presented taking into account aspects of the declaration of the equality policy and a reward system unique and efficient management. HR strategy is always associated with corporate strategy so that business objectives are achieved through the effective use of resources and taking into account the economic consequences. The recruitment policy should be transparent and make room for younger talent, without forgetting the importance of retaining the old staff and helpful. Although the work in the retail environment, it is important that staff understands the importance of teamwork and cooperation, and how the operator can influence their teams to ensure efficient and effective. Training of workers is another important aspect that is neglected, because the nature of the retail sector, institutions need to train workers there on a regular basis to meet customer is involved in all key stakeholders. Customer satisfaction is considered in detail in this literature, in which Tesco is distinguished part of absolute customer orientation and CRM or Customer Relationship Management is one of the most significant characteristics of Tesco and influence the business strategy, because it is strong dependence on online sales and marketing. In this recruitment context, selection and retention of workers in Tesco is considered very high dependence and competitive strategy of the bank through the analysis of its competitors. ASDA is one of the largest operators, Tesco and the retail trade, after Sainsbury and Mo rrison is a very unique and transparent approach, so their employees, and employee retention policy. Under a good competitor, a strategy is always crucial to assess how it is at the forefront of its competitors. Research Methodology Collis and Hussey (2003) They stressed that the methodology of reference for the overall approach of the research process of the theoretical basis for the collection and analysis (p.55). Just As noted Gronhaug and Ghauri (2005) to find the right solution of the problem or answer the question and take the decision, it is necessary to conduct operations procedure to identify the real issues more deeply, to collect relevant information on the topic or area of interest and eventually put the information in sequential order to make the decision on the research problem or question. No decision can be made, no problem can be solved and the question can be answered once, less exertion, resources or procedures apply to take the decision. To carry out this research, to find the research questions and approach for systematic procedures to be adopted by the researcher, The Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill (2003) have given extensive and summarize the research methodology aspects presented in the se arch à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€¹Ã…“onionà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢. Figure 2 Fig3: Saunders Research Process Onion The research process onion Saunders chose a model of this research and the emphasis should be placed on methods of collecting data that will be adopted for this study. The research will be a mixture of primary and secondary research observations and interviews will also play a major role in identifying issues that the satisfaction levels of employees within the company and its dependence on the golf literature. Investigations are also important to identify the level of employee satisfaction and may be used for data analysis. Research Philosophy According to Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill (2007), One Paradigm is a paradigm to explore social phenomena, especially in the understanding of these phenomena can be earned and attempted explanations (Pg 112); the research philosophy approach is all about, a researcher in the research. It depends largely on how the investigator that he or she wishes to develop the knowledge, its all about the researcher believes that what needs to be research results and effectiveness will be found, so how the researcher believes that impact of how he or she is, many writers used the term paradigm of philosophy. A research paradigm can also be described as how the research will take place. They are four types of paradigms: functionalist, interpretive, radical humanist and radical structuralism. Creswell (1994) quoted in Collis and Hussey (2003) the positivist paradigm of quantitative and qualitative phenomenological paradigm (Pg. 48). Positivist approach is designed to, or cause social phenomena with little regard to the subjective state of the individual and the phenomenological paradigm is to understand human behaviour in the same frame of reference participant, (p. 52-53). This study is based on positivist and phenomenological approaches are taken to do research both quantitative and qualitative research data to find a solution. Research Design The research plan is very important and is the research base, and leads to get the answer the research question of reliable and valid. In a study on different techniques, approaches and methods have been employed, which, according to (Selltiz et al, 1981) in Jankowicz (2005) is required for various techniques of data collection, depending on the problem, we can not get the right result if you use the same techniques on all problems. The use of appropriate techniques, depending on the problem leads to results in the direction of generalizations. This study includes both primary and secondary data sources; secondary sources of information include business magazines and articles, books and internet. If so, collected through quantitative and qualitative methods of data. Research is a combination of exploratory and explanatory (descriptive). Should be applied to both research on, as evidenced by Jankowicz (2005). Pre-application to identify a problem or a problem, gather information and helps define the problem, while the explanatory (descriptive) is used to identify the issues and questions that this study is to analyze and describe the importance of employee retention and recruitment and selection of workers in Tesco. Supporting research in the type of data collected both qualitative and quantitative methods. Global model of Figure 3.2 shows the structure of the study, which was approved this survey has highlighted in bold or boxes show the types or methods of research implementation. Research Approach: According to Saunders onion research deductive approach where the researcher develops the theory and design and research strategy to test the hypothesis. There are two types of research approaches, namely deductive and inductive, but in the context of this literature, the mixed method approach is best and safest method to be adopted due to the size of the research and the different components of the literature. Research Strategy: However, the research strategy is the generic plan is taken by the researcher to define the methods of data collection are included in the study and the limits are defined by the methods of investigation. However, there are different strategies for handling which is taken as part of the investigation, however, this study will adopt the research strategy, where polls will be used to identify trends, analysis and behavior of key components employee satisfaction and recruitment and selection policies in Tesco. Qualitative and Quantitative Research Paradigms: Difference between qualitative and quantitative research Quantitative paradigms Qualitative paradigms Concerned with understanding Seek the facts/causes of social behaviour from actions own frame phenomena of reference. Obstructive and controlled measurement Naturalistic and uncontrolled objective observation. Removed from data: the outsider Subjective perspective Close to the data the insider Ungrounded, verification oriented, perspective reductionist, hypothetico-deductive Grounded, discovery oriented, exp- loratory, expansionist, descriptive, Outcome oriented inductive Reliable, hard and replicable data Press -oriented Generalizable: multiple case studies Ungeneralisable: single case study, Particularistic Holistic Assume a stable reality Assumes a dynamic reality Table1: Difference between Qualitative and Quantitative Research The table above shows clearly the main differences between qualitative and quantitative research paradigms. The main differences between the two methods is that the main results of this qualitative study did not reach statistical methods or otherwise, the limit of detection. One of the fundamental differences also, that the research uses a quantitative measurement and quantitative research is not based on measurements. Methods of data collection observation, interviews are part of qualitative research that will be a great debate in this literature. However, it is possible to measure qualitative data, therefore, qualitative and quantitative aspects, not mutually exclusive. Ghauri, P Gronhaug, K (2005). Interviews: The talks are again in qualitative research where information is obtained through discussions. Maintenance is always useful for researchers to collect data in direct contact with clients say that the main actors involved in the process of this investigation. The interviews were used to determine the response of employees to the extent that there is no job satisfaction concerns and the needs of employees who are covered by the company. The design of the interview will be structured and only focus on the relevance and the aspects of time management and focus on details as possible in the shortest time possible. Questionnaires: Questionnaire is another important element of primary research. There are two types of questionnaires, namely a permanent and indefinite. The questionnaires will be completed by mainly used in this document as close ended questionnaires are not easy to conceive that permanent, but has a huge impact in terms of data analysis part of the literature. Questionnaires will be distributed to employees, branch managers, supervisors and other key players Branch Tesco Gallant Reach. Data Collection Methods and Instruments Methods for collecting data are used in this study to collect basic data, which takes place interviews, focus groups, surveys and questionnaires. Focus on data collection Galliant Reach Tesco branch and the defendants are officers, directors, managers, branch manager and other key personnel. The information gathered will be used for statistical analysis to make interpretations of the behaviour of stakeholders and their effects on the market. Questionnaire design, data used in this adaptation of a closed-ended question. Closed-ended questions will help to improve compared to the analysis of open questions, because it best fits the type of research, conducted with the thesis. Tools used for data analysis are Excel spreadsheet. Excel data analysis is simple and easily understood. Data analysis is performed using statistical graphs such as pie charts, bar charts and histograms. Secondary data collected from the Internet through the company and report profiles. Newspapers can also be a ve ry important tool for gathering historical information and evidence in the form of statistics. The analysis is aimed at finding a competitive advantage enjoyed by Tesco, compared with other retail giants ASDA ie, Morrisons and Sainsbury. Ethical Considerations: Ethical consideration in this regard have been complied with ethical policy towards companies (Tesco, UK) were analyzed in this literature, and intellectual property rights. The companys website, Tesco.com follows a policy on copyright and intellectual property rights. Copyright protection has some restrictions are considered in the public interest. Such a restriction or safety valve is a fair use provision Goldstein (1994). All data used in this study the company particular concern of intellectual property rights and may not be used in marketing a company or for other reasons of this thesis.

African Diaspora Essay -- essays papers

African Diaspora The study of cultures in the African Diaspora is relatively young. Slavery and the trans-Atlantic slave trade brought numerous Africans, under forced and brutal conditions, to the New World. Of particular interest to many recent historians and Africanists is the extent to which Africans were able to transfer, retain, modify or transform their cultures under the conditions of their new environments. Three main schools of thought have emerged in scholarly discussion and research on this topic. Some argue that there are no significant connections between Africans and African American communities in the Americas. Others argue that Africans retained significant aspects of their cultures. Similar to this argument, some have argued that Africans, responding to their new environments, retained and transformed African cultures into new African-American ethnic units. Detailed research done on slave communities in Surinam, South Carolina and Louisiana allow us to look deeper into the stated arguments. Having recently addressed the same issues using Colonial South Carolina as a case study, I will focus largely on some of the arguments and conclusions drawn from this study. The evidence from South Carolina, Louisiana and Surinam supports the second and third arguments much more than the first. The third argument, that of cultural transformation, is the argument I find to be most valid. John Thornton's analysis of this issue is extremely helpful. He addresses the "no connections" arguments in chapters 6, 7 and 8. He outlines the claims made by scholars Franklin Frazier, Stanley Elkins, Sidney Mintz and Richard Price. Frazier and Mintz believe that the extreme trauma and disruption experienced by Africans during the process of enslavement and the middle passage minimized the possibility that they maintained aspects of their cultures in the new world. They argue that this process "had the effect of traumatizing and marginalizing them, so that they would became cultural receptacles rather than donors" (152). Mintz and Price have argued the slave trade had the effect of "permanently breaking numerous social bonds that had tied Africans together..." (153). Another element of the "no connections" argument claims that Africans did not receive enough associational time with each othe... ... capacity. The use of poison as a form of rebellion is visible in both the examples from Colonial South Carolina and Jamaica. Cases of death by poison in Colonial South Carolina leading up to the Stono Rebellion led to its inclusion in the Negro Act of 1740. The Act made poisoning a felony punishable by death. In conclusion, both significant African retentions and transformations took place in the early European settlement of the Americas. More recently, there has been a tendency to overemphasize or even romanticize the "Africanisms." While acknowledging "Africanisms" did make their way into the Americas, I find the evidence from accounts of early slave cultures and the Anthropological background provided by Thornton on cultural transformation and change persuasive in suggesting the formation of Afro- American rather than "Afro-centric" communities. This approach to the slavery and the slave era is relatively young and will have to be developed. A conclusion that is clear after studying works of Peter Wood, Gwendolyn Hall and Richard Price, is that the early arguments suggesting no connection of African heritage to the Americas are entirely invalid.

The Preconditions of Social Identity of a Small State in Transition to

The Preconditions of Social Identity of a Small State in Transition to Democracy ABSTRACT: The definition of social identity consists of two parts. First, it means protection against threats to the nation’s existence and well-being. Second, it means the search for measures and possibilities to achieve the goals of social development and improvement. Social identity implies the creation and preservation of conditions in which each citizen can develop as educated, creative and responsible persons. Today, especially for nations throughout the former Soviet Union, the chief danger to social identity lies in the adverse conditions of continued underdevelopment. It follows that for these nations, identity means first of all development. The essential condition for a small nation’s identity and survival is based on the people’s resolution to rely on themselves and to envision the potential for their own country. The modern strategy for ensuring social identity would essentially rely on the principle that every citizen is part of the national identit y, i.e., its active agent. For this reason, of central importance is the creation of equal starting possibilities (equality of opportunities) for everyone. An essential point of departure for an examination of our subject is the definition of social identity and its principal connotations. Both external and internal threats to social identity can arise, although our interest must be limited to the consideration of internal threats. Today, especially for nations throughout the former Soviet Union, the chief danger to social identity lies in the adverse conditions of continued underdevelopment. It follows that for our nation nowadays identity first of all means the development. The ... ...ording to V. Havel, "we must all behave as if we could save it". (11) Each one of us must "clean" one square metre around himself or herself. We hope that all this are the difficulties of the beginning new era. NOTES (1) Genocide of Lithuanian People (Vilnius, 1992.), p. 48. (2) Adam Biela, "Mental changes and Social Integration Perspective in Europe: Theoretical Framework and Research Strategies", Journal for Mental Changes, 1 (1995), 10. (3) Ibid, p.7. (4) John Friedmann, "rethinking Poverty: Empowerment and Citizen Rights", International Social Science Journal, 148 (1996), 169. (5) Lithuanian Human Development Report, 1996 (Vilnius, 1996). (6) Ibid., p. 25-26. (7) Ibid., p. 83. (8) Ibid., p. 61. (9) Ibid., p. 45. (10) Ibid., p. 48. (11) Vaclav Havel, Maximilian Schell, "Europe at the Fin se Siecle", Society, 32 (1995), 71.

With Close reference to at least two poems, examine how the poets have

With Close reference to at least two poems, examine how the poets have explored the theme of parent-child separation. In your response you should deal with * The contexts of the poems. * The contrasts and similarities in the poet's methods and approaches. * The use of language. * You personal reaction to the poems including your preference. Many poems have been written on the basic theme of parent-child separation. I have chosen to write about two poems. The first of these is "The Slave Mother" written by Frances E.W. Harper, written in the mid 1800's. It explores the idea of a black slave mother having her son stolen from her. The second poem I will study is "Walking Away" by C. Day Lewis. Both show the difficulties of Parent-Child separation. However "The Slave Mother" is much more violent and disturbing as oppose to "Walking Away" where there is no mention of violence at all. Frances E. W Harper wrote "The Slave Mother" at a time when blacks were being severely discriminated against. Society and American Law at the time promoted slavery. She was orphaned as a child and therefore has some background on parent-child separation as, similarly to "Walking Away", it is an experience she has gone through. Harper was totally against this and therefore used a polemical style of writing, as she wanted to point out this controversial issue to the public and to persuade people against it. Harper had a pioneering spirit and was prepared to be the first of a kind. She was an active part in the anti-slavery movement and used various poems including "The Slave Mother" to get her point across. When she was speaking up for what she believed her poetry became part of her efforts to campaign against slav... ...f what ahs happened. Both poems have explored the common theme of parent-child separation very well. They also both had an effect on me, although both in different ways. In "The Slave Mother" I was quite shocked and almost disturbed at what the captors had done to this poor mother whose only possession was her son. I also felt a lot of sorrow for the mother. In "Walking Away" I also felt sorry for the parent who was loosing their son. However the whole poem did not sadden me, but rather comforted me by the fact that some losses are purely natural and that it is something that most of us can relate to. Both poems - especially "The Slave Mother" - help me to form a vivid picture in my mind of the two poems. Although both poems were outstanding my favourite out of the two would be "Walking Away" as I feel it is something I can or will be able to relate to.

Albert Einstein Book Review

Albert Einstein remains one of the 20th Century's most enigmatic yet popular figures. His high-minded concepts are more than most adults can handle, yet his popularity seems to rise with each passing year. His continuing importance to the world of physics is staggering given the recent advancements in the world of quantum physics. Yet Einstein the man is a much a different person than Einstein the scientist. It is Einstein the man that we see here, in this wonderful book by Maree Ferguson Delano.Delano, who also wrote  The Photogbiography of Thomas Alva Edison, returns to the photobiography format here as well, and it's a good thing because Einstein is difficult enough to digest as it is. Photo after photo shows Einstein as a definitely human scientist, one who cared deeply for his family and who wanted desperately to have a â€Å"real† job. Einstein lived in Germany during the rise of the Nazis. The threat to his safety is very real, and it is partly because of the horrors that he sees growing up that he helps the Allies on the road to building the atomic bomb.He once wrote† Organized power can be opposed only by organized power. Much as I regreat this, there is no other way. † The author does an excellent job of capturing the essence of the scientist and his momentous discoveries. (But the reader won't be able to get a complete picture of Einstein without a little further reading on his achievements. Delano tries mightily to distill the brilliance of Einstein into younger-reader-friendly terms, but it is a daunting task that escapes even the most brilliant of writers. His genius cannot be denied, however, and the author does a good job of displaying it for all to see. Einstein's theories of relativity and spacetime are amazing, especially considering that he was a terrible student, one whom one of his teachers predicted â€Å"would never amount to anything. † That he conceived these monumental ideas with nothing more than pencil an d paper and his own imagination is breathtakingly amazing. One theme that emerges from this discussion of Einstein's life is how much he liked children. He felt that he never really grew up.He preferred the simple lives of children, who, in good times, didn't have to worry about many things that their parents did, like food, clothing, and shelter. In his later years, he received thousands of letters every year. Many of those letters were from children, and he took great pleasure in responding to them. In doing so, as he did throughout his life, he didn't talk down to children or force them to be adults to understand what he was saying. Rather, he became a child again, thinking in their terms and enjoying their lives, which were simpler than adults'.The photos, provided as always by the excellent library of the National Geographic, are excellent in illustrating the life of a man who needs no introduction. The requisite timeline at the back of the book is a help as well, allowing the reader to put into perspective the events of Einstein's life. The Afterword is especially helpful, taking a look at how Einstein dominates public life even today, exactly 100 years after he announced his first theory of relativity. This book is recommended for older readers or for youngsters who have a basic understanding of physics.Some of the concepts are high-minded, and they have to be; this is not a bad thing. The author deals with the subject matter as ably as possible. The human story of Einstein—as father, husband, devoted son, friend to children—shines through as well and can be understood by readers of all ages. Adults, too, will get a more rounded picture of the great scientist by reading this book, which, like its subject, doesn't talk down to anybody, instead putting its complex subject matter into terms that can be understood.

Non-violent Methods are Better Way of Training Children

As we know, physical punishment has always been an effective way for training animals. Once they become wild, flinging the whip is what we do to make them being well-behaved. However, does it work for training children? Are their behaviors all get better and better after that? In my point of view, I strongly object parents who admire that physical punishment is the best way to teach and train their own children. Although the pain of body is easy to make people learn the lesson, on the other hand, it may also be easy to leave the scars on body and heart, cause family problems and losing the opportunities for children to judge the right and wrong by themselves own.First of all, even the pain of punishment will disappear, the scars on body and heart somehow will remain for the entire life. With no doubt, teaching children not to spill the milk on the floor by simply slapping on their bottoms would be a rapid way to warn them not to make the same mistake again. However, I think your chil dren would remember how bad you treat them more than the lesson they’ve learned and reflect this rage on their children in the future by teaching them in same way. In addition, some researches even have shown the causes of some criminal’s psychological problems can be traced back to their parents’ serious physical punishment or even abuse. The former dictator of Iraq Saddam Hussein would be a good example.Second, without violence in the house, I believe children will have a happier childhood and get along with their parents better when they grow up. If we observe the relationship between parents and children more carefully, it is not hard to find out the happiness existing in the house is not only connected to children’s behavior but also parents’. After all, simply punish them physically can’t make them easier to understand what exact the mistake they make because they only know it’s wrong but don’t know why it is wrong. Howev er, although it takes more time, if you explain to them why they do is wrong and what bad results they may cause instead of punish them, then it would be easier to make them understand this mistake can not be done again without making an awkward atmosphere in the family.Finally, to let the children know what is right and what is wrong, I think the best way for them is to experience and judge by themselves. Like I mentioned above, the most important principle is let them know why it’s wrong. Once they find out, then their brain will naturally tell them not to do it before they get hurt (no matter by themselves or parents). For instance, even you strongly warned your children don’t get too close to the fire, they still want to touch and feel it what it is. But once they suffer from the pain of burning, I assure you they don’t dare to do it again on purpose.To make a conclusion, I think physical punishment is not the best way to train children. Although it is fast and effective sometimes, you will never know what consequences it may bring in the future. After all, compared to the bad relationship and many problems it may cause, the long time it takes to teach a child in a liberal and gentle way seems very worthy.

Non-Violence

With the simultaneous proliferation of technology and global-poltical danger in the modern world, strategies for countering both political oppression, and the outbreak of political violence and war are urgently needed.   Although the century which has recently slipped away — the Twentieth Century — may be remembered as â€Å"the bloodiest in history† (Martin 625), with hundreds of millions of people killed in wars and with weapons of mass destruction being â€Å"invented, built, deployed and further refined† (Martin 625) during the same century when state-sponsored genocide and terrorism became commonly known quantities.Against this backdrop of chaos, war, and an increasingly dangerous technological landscape, the philosophy of non-violence, or passive resistance, gained   an historical currency which is still unmatched. The activities of important leaders like Gandhi, King, and Mandela revealed the truly earth-changing, paradigm shifting   potential of non-violence resistance as a method for seizing social initiative and political power.Because of the actions of these three important leaders. plus a host of other lesser-known figures, and the action of millions of ordinary activists, â€Å"it can be argued that the rise of nonviolent action was one of the most important developments of the century†Ã‚   (Martin 625), and one which has tremendous potential for application in today's difficult and complex political world.While it is true enough that Gandhi, King, and Mandela over similar models of non-violent leadership and that key tenants of what might be termed a â€Å"universal† sense of non-violence pervade each leaders' philosophies, distinct differences are also recognizable   when a comparison of the three leaders' ideas, activities, and accomplishments is carried out. Such a study of similarities and differences in the philosophies and actions of these important leaders is crucial to understanding how the philosophy of non-violence may be applied in modern times as an antidote to the dangerous and oppressive climate that threatens much of the world.As noted, â€Å"Nonviolent action — including methods such as rallies, strikes, boycotts and sit-ins — has become increasingly important in the past century as a method for waging conflict and promoting social change† (Martin 625) and due to the urgent pressure caused by modern political and social challenges such as terrorism, global warming, the protection of human rights and religious freedom, adapting past approaches of non-violent action to present-day challenges may be beneficial.Non-violent activism may, in fact, help bring about important social changes: â€Å"Some areas for future expansion of the role of nonviolent action include replacing military defence, technological design, challenging capitalism, bureaucratic politics, information struggles and interpersonal behaviour† (Martin 625); the suggesti on of non-violence as an all-pervading philosophy applicable throughout the full strata of political and social issues may sound grandiose, but as we will see, this idea is actually a core-concept for the three leaders in our study.In this regard, non-violent philosophy takes it roots not in social, political or philosophical idea, but in spiritual convictions or even, spiritual revelation. An abstraction of  Ã‚   â€Å"nonviolence principles, building on the core dynamic of political jiu-jitsu in contexts where the opponent does not use physical force† (Martin 625) may be the best way to intuitively understand that non-violence does not indicate non-action of total passivity in the face of aggression. Such a distinction is difficult to pin down, but it is a crucial part of activism, manifest in the breaking of â€Å"unjust† laws, and passive resistant behaviors which, if not violent, certainly imply action by the participants.In order to shed light on some of the mo re challenging aspects of non-violent activism, such as the spiritual aspect, as well as investigate the potential application of non-violent philosophy in modern times, the following brief examination of non-violent philosophy according to each leader: Gandhi, King, and Mandela, will attempt to sketch a general idea of the similarities and differences of each leader's approach and attempt to discover if any type of universal vision of non-violent philosophy can be discovered.GANDHIFor Gandhi, non-violence arises out of an organic human impulse or † basic law of our being† (Gandhi, and Merton 23); such a conviction, foe Gandhi, is based not in genetic or biological assumptions or evidence or in logistical philosophical reasoning, but in spiritual ideas. For Gandhi, â€Å"Ahimsa (non-violence)†Ã‚   (Gandhi, and Merton 23) is the opposite of   â€Å"himsa (violence)†Ã‚   (Gandhi, and Merton 23), and the attributes of each energy are just as distinct. While Ahimsa â€Å"can be used as the most effective principle for social action, since it is in deep accord with the truth of man's nature and corresponds to his innate desire for peace, justice, order, freedom, and personal dignity† (Gandhi, and Merton 23), its opposite energy, himsa, â€Å"degrades and corrupts man† (Gandhi, and Merton 23); therefore to bring himsa energy against himsa energy would be to fight fire with fire.By contrast, the application of ahimsa or non-violent energy to the problem of himsa energy â€Å"heals and restores man's nature, while giving him a means to restore social order and justice† (Gandhi, and Merton 23). The important thing to remember here is that, for Gandhi, ahimsa and himsa energies are not metaphorical reflections or abstract concepts, they are living, spiritual realities.   Although the capacity for ahimsa resides in each person, modern society has left humanity with a much more desperate and disordered reliance on himsa e nergy.For Gandhi such an alienation of man's true capacities has resulted in a culture where â€Å"violence seems to be the very foundation of social order and is â€Å"enthroned as if it were an eternal law,† so that man is called upon by society to reject love† (Gandhi, and Merton 43) and instead embrace a social reality which is enforced by violence or by the threat of violence.To meet this himsa-driven society with ahimsa energy adn non-violence requires supreme courage on behalf of the activist. This extraordinary courage, according to Gandhi, is derived from God:This courage demands nothing short of the ability to face death with complete   Ã‚   fearlessness and to suffer without retaliation. Such a program is meaningless and   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   impossible, Gandhi thinks, without belief in God.  (Gandhi, and Merton 43)The implication in Gandhi's ideas is that the activist or the â€Å"Satyagrahi† is enabled, in fact: bound, by God to break the laws of man when they are unjust. The decision as to how it is determined that a law is unjust is murky and unclear, as we will see: this same ambiguity marks both King and Mandela's own approach to non-violent activism. The historical truth is that Gandhi made clear that each â€Å"Satyagrahi was bound to resist all those laws which he considered to be unjust and which were not of a criminal character, in order to bend the Government to the will of the people† (Gandhi 21) and it is this kind of â€Å"twisting† which comprises the active aspect of non-violent activism.KINGThe expression of non-violent activism by King relied as much on spiritual conviction as that of Gandhi. This conviction brought about a similar adherence to   the concept of breaking â€Å"unjust† laws as a method of civil disobedience. King, like Gandhi, found justification for the breaking of social laws by the invocation of Divine Power. The result was that King experienced some difficulty in ma king his racial and social activism truly universal, although such a desire to do so formed an underlying precept of his overall strategy for social and political change.In a rather unique twist of philosophy, King opted to not only resist unjust laws non-violently, but tor each out to his so-called opponents: white racists with language of reconciliation, good-will, and fellowship. King's invocations of â€Å"the good to be achieved† (Wolf, and Rosen) were powerful   counterparts to his criticisms of the social conditions he sought to transform.Since King's goal was to â€Å"to bring the Negro into the mainstream of American life as quickly as possible† (Wolf, and Rosen) his reliance on civil disobedience and the breaking of unjust laws by Divine justification, like Gandhi's, requires a deeper examination. Such revelation is possible due to King's extensive writings; in particular his â€Å"Letter From a Birmingham Jail† a famous document where he addresses t he concern of his fellow clergymen regarding the breaking of laws by civil activists.The letter repeatedly appeals to a shared sense of religion; King also cites Biblical examples to bolster his argument.  Ã‚   Responding to the criticism that his actions and the actions of his followers, even though non-violent in practice, ultimately resulted in violence on the behalf of the white Southerners who beat and jailed the protestor (and sometimes lynched or otherwise killed African Americans), King compared the fight for civil rights with the fight of Jesus to spread the gospel.King's appeal via religion and spirituality was based in a desire for unity and understanding. While he denied accusations of extremity or of inciting violence, he admitted that the impulse for civil rights was, by his reckoning, the will   of God.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   King advises that the will of all people is toward freedom and equality.   â€Å"Oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever. The yearning for freedom eventually manifests itself, and that is what has happened to the American Negro.† (King)By forwarding the notion that civil rights are an inevitable outgrowth of both God's will and the flow of history, King is, in effect, offering a justification for his tactics and philosophies regarding civil rights.The justification for the elements of passive resistance which had led to violent confrontation is also based in King's ideas of justice. King's idea is that God's law is the highest law and that man's laws may be broken when they obviously disagree with or even insult God's law.With the belief that God's Law is the highest law and that history shows that all people will struggle for freedom and liberty, and by appealing to the rational sense of justice and the emotional and spiritual senses of brotherhood and love, King attains justification for his actions but does not seek to evade or subvert laws outright.MANDELAUnlike King, Mandela called for delib erate confrontation with the forces of apartheid which apposed his view of liberation and freedom. Although he repeatedly expressed his opinion that he was not, in fact, a racist himself, Mandela's rhetoric unlike King and Gandhi's, â€Å"was more polarizing† (Wolf, and Rosen); for example, Mandela never attempted â€Å"to appeal to whites† and he sought by confrontational rhetoric coupled with non-violent activism to † through greater polarization to galvanize the situation to crisis levels, thereby compelling action by the international community† (Wolf, and Rosen) which in itself presents a divergence in thought from Gandhi and King both of whom sough reconciliation with their enemies.However, rhetoric was simply another tool in Mandela's non-violent philosophical approach. When, at key moments, he might have called for violence, in actuality, he strove for non-violent change. he might have â€Å"easily have called for a violent overthrow of the South A frican government upon his release after 27 years in prison† (Pierce 1) but rather than do so, he advocated non-violent resistance.The idea of appealing to the world community adds another dimension to the non-violent approach of activism. For Mandela, â€Å"In this scenario, â€Å"the international community† becomes subrogated to the role of â€Å"broader constituency† that Mandela evoked indirectly†Ã‚   (Wolf, and Rosen) but whose support and intervention proved crucial to his success. Because of his sometimes volatile rhetoric, Mandela took special care to â€Å"emphasize his desire for reconciliation across the divide of colour† and repeatedly â€Å"pledged himself anew to work for a multiracial society in which all would have a secure place† (Pierce 175).Contemporary Impact of Non-Violent StrategiesDespite the contributions of great thinkers and activists like those examined in the preceding, brief discussion, the fact is contemporary s ociety seems no less preoccupied with violence than ever before. By examining the media one has the distinct impression that in the world of media and media-related technology, a great deal of concern has been expressed by both everyday observers and specialists in social-psychology over the possible negative impacts that media, and in particular media portrayals of violence, may have upon small children and adolescent children.One of the most complex facets of the issue is the still-unknown impact that new technologies such as 24 hour a day cable programming, widespread Internet access, and the â€Å"digital age† in general will have on the generation of young people who are presently the first to be so overwhelmed by such widespread media and media technologies.An immersive and nearly all-pervading sense of media exists in modern homes that, in fact, the presence of media can be said to form a basis of â€Å"reality† for many people. It is this exact kind of blurred distinction between perceived reality (based on media models and information) and reality (those aspects of life which stand apart from media and media-based models).The distinction between media-reality and reality is not always clear, particularly to small children and adolescent children: â€Å"The boundaries between reality and unreality are especially permeable for small children. They are unable, through at least the age of three or four, to distinguish fact from fantasy. Even older children rarely manage to keep â€Å"real life† and vicarious experience in watertight compartments† (Bok 1999, 38) as we will see in the following discussion.The main impact repeated viewings of media violence seems to exert over small children and adolescents is the conflation of media-violence with organic psychological processes, many of which exist at such a deep, primitive psychological level in humans that manipulation of these emotions, and psychological dispositions remains, for the most part, beyond the conscious perception of the viewer. In conclusion, although the idea of media-responsibility regarding the impact of violent programming on children and young adults is often cited by critics as a form of censorship, ample scientific evidence and research exists to establish media-violence as a certain source of negative influence on young people.The fact of the matter remains despite the right of free speech that media-reality and actual reality are non-distinct at some deep, organic level in human psychology: † weeks earlier the Los Angeles police officers whose roadside beating of motorist Rodney King had been shown on TV screens the world over had been acquitted by an all-white jury[†¦]In that crisis, the boundaries between movies and reality blurred, not only for the public but also for Hollywood producers, directors, and actors who were seeing smoke rising beneath their hillside residences and hearing sirens echo up and down the canyons ,† (Bok 1999, 36); with such a confusing and agitating impact of adult professionals, what can we expect when we expose our children to the same cultural ambiguities through media?If non-violent philosophy according to Gandhi, king, and Mandela is correct then violence is not   a norm in human society, but a constructed evil. If, as the proponents of non-violent philosophy suggest, â€Å"non-violent settlement of conflict is the human norm as we well know from daily experience. We are not programmed in some genetic way to violence† (Kent) than a radical re-visioning of our self-identity and self-image as human beings must take place not only in our media and in our educational facilities, but in our individual psyches as well.The applications of non-violent strategies in contemporary culture can be thought of as being as unknown as the implications of deep-space travel because even though the contributions of such historical leaders as Gandhi, King, and Mandela reveal s the tremendous power of non-violent activism, the full impact of the philosophy as articulated by these men has far-reaching cultural, global-poltical, and spiritual implications which surpass anything which has yet occurred in history.In other words, the â€Å"pioneers† of the â€Å"modern† incarnation of non-violent strategy which we have examined: Gandhi, King, and Mandela represent not the totality of what the non-violent philosophy can or wants to attain, but the mere beginning of a global transformation which is rooted not inly in the basic moral nature of humanity, but in humanity's spiritual destiny and responsibility.Certainly individual leaders and activists continue to utilize the non-violent approach to attain important results in their areas of influence. Modern technology can also help individual activists to promote change by spreading honest information regarding the repercussions of violence and the militarization of political issues. One recent exam ple is when â€Å"a 1991 massacre in the East Timorese capital Dill was recorded on videotape and subsequently broadcast worldwide, this generated enormous support for the resistance† (Martin 625); such applications of technology by individuals represent one small but important aspect of the many avenues of potential non-violent methods of change.Other methods include educational strategies based in the ideas forwarded by Gandhi, King, and Mandela. The recognition of the historical impact of the immensely influential strategies of non-violent change and civil disobedience will also help to inform and empower individuals who, in turn, may adopt some of the strategies and ideas reflected upon in the above discussion to help bring about social and political change through non-violent means.ConclusionThe examination of three important world-leaders who based their activism in non-violent philosophy reveals certain universal traits among the different incarnations of non-violent a ctivism. Among these universal traits is a belief in the breaking of â€Å"unjust† laws for the purpose of bringing about social and political change. This belief is often, if not always, accompanied by an ambiguous but firmly articulated that such a braking of laws is based in Divine Will. Another core belief seems to be that non-violence rather than violence is, in fact, more in keeping with humanity's organic nature. This idea often results in a corresponding belief that the violence evident in human society is the result of a kind of perversion of humanity's natural attributes into an unnatural and unhealthy state.Against this backdrop, it is very difficult if not impossible to envision the philosophies of non-violent activism as we know them today as anything short of a religious and spiritual philosophy with extremely pragmatic roots in social and political activism. Not only is the spiritual aspect of non-violent philosophy seemingly universal in the three historical f igures studied in this short discussion, but the attributes of spirituality embraced by non-violent activists are, in themselves, of great and abiding interest to any observer. A discussion of this aspect alone would probably reveal that the philosophy of non-violence has existed as a spiritual conviction at various times in various cultures throughout the entire history of humanity.Works CitedBarker, Martin and Julian Petley, eds. 2001. Ill Effects: The Media/Violence Debate. New York:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Routledge.Bok, Sissela. 1999. Mayhem Violence as Public Entertainment. Reading, MA: Perseus Books.Gandhi, M. K. Non-Violent Resistance (Satyagraha). New York: Schocken Books, 1961.Gandhi, Mahatma, and Thomas Merton. Gandhi on Non-Violence. New York: New Directions   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Pub, 1965.Kent, Bruce. â€Å"Non-Violence: The History of a Dangerous Idea.† History Today Feb. 2007: 62+.Mandela, Tambo, and the African National Congress The Struggle against Apartheid, 1948-  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   1990. Ed. Sheridan Johns and R. Hunt Davis. New York: Oxford University Press, 1991.Martin, Brian. â€Å"Nonviolent Futures.† Futures 33.7 (2001): 625.Pierce, Victoria. â€Å"A Tribute to Dr. King Civil Rights Leader's Legacy of Non- Violence Is Alive   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   around the World.† Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL) 29 Sept. 2006: 1.Wolf, Charles, and Brian Rosen. â€Å"Public Diplomacy: Lessons from King and Mandela.† Policy Review (2005): 63+. Non-Violence With the simultaneous proliferation of technology and global-poltical danger in the modern world, strategies for countering both political oppression, and the outbreak of political violence and war are urgently needed.   Although the century which has recently slipped away — the Twentieth Century — may be remembered as â€Å"the bloodiest in history† (Martin 625), with hundreds of millions of people killed in wars and with weapons of mass destruction being â€Å"invented, built, deployed and further refined† (Martin 625) during the same century when state-sponsored genocide and terrorism became commonly known quantities.Against this backdrop of chaos, war, and an increasingly dangerous technological landscape, the philosophy of non-violence, or passive resistance, gained   an historical currency which is still unmatched. The activities of important leaders like Gandhi, King, and Mandela revealed the truly earth-changing, paradigm shifting   potential of non-violence resistance as a method for seizing social initiative and political power. Because of the actions of these three important leaders. plus a host of other lesser-known figures, and the action of millions of ordinary activists, â€Å"it can be argued that the rise of nonviolent action was one of the most important developments of the century†Ã‚   (Martin 625), and one which has tremendous potential for application in today's difficult and complex political world.While it is true enough that Gandhi, King, and Mandela over similar models of non-violent leadership and that key tenants of what might be termed a â€Å"universal† sense of non-violence pervade each leaders' philosophies, distinct differences are also recognizable   when a comparison of the three leaders' ideas, activities, and accomplishments is carried out. Such a study of similarities and differences in the philosophies and actions of these important leaders is crucial to understanding how th e philosophy of non-violence may be applied in modern times as an antidote to the dangerous and oppressive climate that threatens much of the world. As noted, â€Å"Nonviolent action — including methods such as rallies, strikes, boycotts and sit-ins — has become increasingly important in the past century as a method for waging conflict and promoting social change† (Martin 625) and due to the urgent pressure caused by modern political and social challenges such as terrorism, global warming, the protection of human rights and religious freedom, adapting past approaches of non-violent action to present-day challenges may be beneficial.Non-violent activism may, in fact, help bring about important social changes: â€Å"Some areas for future expansion of the role of nonviolent action include replacing military defence, technological design, challenging capitalism, bureaucratic politics, information struggles and interpersonal behaviour† (Martin 625); the sugges tion of non-violence as an all-pervading philosophy applicable throughout the full strata of political and social issues may sound grandiose, but as we will see, this idea is actually a core-concept for the three leaders in our study.In this regard, non-violent philosophy takes it roots not in social, political or philosophical idea, but in spiritual convictions or even, spiritual revelation. An abstraction of  Ã‚   â€Å"nonviolence principles, building on the core dynamic of political jiu-jitsu in contexts where the opponent does not use physical force† (Martin 625) may be the best way to intuitively understand that non-violence does not indicate non-action of total passivity in the face of aggression. Such a distinction is difficult to pin down, but it is a crucial part of activism, manifest in the breaking of â€Å"unjust† laws, and passive resistant behaviors which, if not violent, certainly imply action by the participants.In order to shed light on some of the more challenging aspects of non-violent activism, such as the spiritual aspect, as well as investigate the potential application of non-violent philosophy in modern times, the following brief examination of non-violent philosophy according to each leader: Gandhi, King, and Mandela, will attempt to sketch a general idea of the similarities and differences of each leader's approach and attempt to discover if any type of universal vision of non-violent philosophy can be discovered.For Gandhi, non-violence arises out of an organic human impulse or † basic law of our being† (Gandhi, and Merton 23); such a conviction, foe Gandhi, is based not in genetic or biological assumptions or evidence or in logistical philosophical reasoning, but in spiritual ideas. For Gandhi, â€Å"Ahimsa (non-violence)†Ã‚   (Gandhi, and Merton 23) is the opposite of   â€Å"himsa (violence)†Ã‚   (Gandhi, and Merton 23), and the attributes of each energy are just as distinct. While Ahim sa â€Å"can be used as the most effective principle for social action, since it is in deep accord with the truth of man's nature and corresponds to his innate desire for peace, justice, order, freedom, and personal dignity† (Gandhi, and Merton 23), its opposite energy, himsa, â€Å"degrades and corrupts man† (Gandhi, and Merton 23); therefore to bring himsa energy against himsa energy would be to fight fire with fire.By contrast, the application of ahimsa or non-violent energy to the problem of himsa energy â€Å"heals and restores man's nature, while giving him a means to restore social order and justice† (Gandhi, and Merton 23). The important thing to remember here is that, for Gandhi, ahimsa and himsa energies are not metaphorical reflections or abstract concepts, they are living, spiritual realities.   Although the capacity for ahimsa resides in each person, modern society has left humanity with a much more desperate and disordered reliance on himsa energ y. For Gandhi such an alienation of man's true capacities has resulted in a culture where â€Å"violence seems to be the very foundation of social order and is â€Å"enthroned as if it were an eternal law,† so that man is called upon by society to reject love† (Gandhi, and Merton 43) and instead embrace a social reality which is enforced by violence or by the threat of violence.To meet this himsa-driven society with ahimsa energy adn non-violence requires supreme courage on behalf of the activist. This extraordinary courage, according to Gandhi, is derived from God:This courage demands nothing short of the ability to face death with complete fearlessness and to suffer without retaliation. Such a program is meaningless and impossible, Gandhi thinks, without belief in God.The implication in Gandhi's ideas is that the activist or the â€Å"Satyagrahi† is enabled, in fact: bound, by God to break the laws of man when they are unjust. The decision as to how it is dete rmined that a law is unjust is murky and unclear, as we will see: this same ambiguity marks both King and Mandela's own approach to non-violent activism. The historical truth is that Gandhi made clear that each â€Å"Satyagrahi was bound to resist all those laws which he considered to be unjust and which were not of a criminal character, in order to bend the Government to the will of the people† (Gandhi 21) and it is this kind of â€Å"twisting† which comprises the active aspect of non-violent activism.The expression of non-violent activism by King relied as much on spiritual conviction as that of Gandhi. This conviction brought about a similar adherence to   the concept of breaking â€Å"unjust† laws as a method of civil disobedience. King, like Gandhi, found justification for the breaking of social laws by the invocation of Divine Power. The result was that King experienced some difficulty in making his racial and social activism truly universal, although su ch a desire to do so formed an underlying precept of his overall strategy for social and political change. In a rather unique twist of philosophy, King opted to not only resist unjust laws non-violently, but tor each out to his so-called opponents: white racists with language of reconciliation, good-will, and fellowship. King's invocations of â€Å"the good to be achieved† (Wolf, and Rosen) were powerful   counterparts to his criticisms of the social conditions he sought to transform.Since King's goal was to â€Å"to bring the Negro into the mainstream of American life as quickly as possible† (Wolf, and Rosen) his reliance on civil disobedience and the breaking of unjust laws by Divine justification, like Gandhi's, requires a deeper examination. Such revelation is possible due to King's extensive writings; in particular his â€Å"Letter From a Birmingham Jail† a famous document where he addresses the concern of his fellow clergymen regarding the breaking of la ws by civil activists. The letter repeatedly appeals to a shared sense of religion; King also cites Biblical examples to bolster his argument.  Ã‚   Responding to the criticism that his actions and the actions of his followers, even though non-violent in practice, ultimately resulted in violence on the behalf of the white Southerners who beat and jailed the protestor (and sometimes lynched or otherwise killed African Americans), King compared the fight for civil rights with the fight of Jesus to spread the gospel.King's appeal via religion and spirituality was based in a desire for unity and understanding. While he denied accusations of extremity or of inciting violence, he admitted that the impulse for civil rights was, by his reckoning, the will   of God.   Ã‚   King advises that the will of all people is toward freedom and equality.   â€Å"Oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever. The yearning for freedom eventually manifests itself, and that is what has happene d to the American Negro.† (King) By forwarding the notion that civil rights are an inevitable outgrowth of both God's will and the flow of history, King is, in effect, offering a justification for his tactics and philosophies regarding civil rights.The justification for the elements of passive resistance which had led to violent confrontation is also based in King's ideas of justice. King's idea is that God's law is the highest law and that man's laws may be broken when they obviously disagree with or even insult God's law.With the belief that God's Law is the highest law and that history shows that all people will struggle for freedom and liberty, and by appealing to the rational sense of justice and the emotional and spiritual senses of brotherhood and love, King attains justification for his actions but does not seek to evade or subvert laws outright.Unlike King, Mandela called for deliberate confrontation with the forces of apartheid which apposed his view of liberation an d freedom. Although he repeatedly expressed his opinion that he was not, in fact, a racist himself, Mandela's rhetoric unlike King and Gandhi's, â€Å"was more polarizing† (Wolf, and Rosen); for example, Mandela never attempted â€Å"to appeal to whites† and he sought by confrontational rhetoric coupled with non-violent activism to † through greater polarization to galvanize the situation to crisis levels, thereby compelling action by the international community† (Wolf, and Rosen) which in itself presents a divergence in thought from Gandhi and King both of whom sough reconciliation with their enemies.However, rhetoric was simply another tool in Mandela's non-violent philosophical approach. When, at key moments, he might have called for violence, in actuality, he strove for non-violent change. he might have â€Å"easily have called for a violent overthrow of the South African government upon his release after 27 years in prison† (Pierce 1) but rather than do so, he advocated non-violent resistance. The idea of appealing to the world community adds another dimension to the non-violent approach of activism. For Mandela, â€Å"In this scenario, â€Å"the international community† becomes subrogated to the role of â€Å"broader constituency† that Mandela evoked indirectly†Ã‚   (Wolf, and Rosen) but whose support and intervention proved crucial to his success. Because of his sometimes volatile rhetoric, Mandela took special care to â€Å"emphasize his desire for reconciliation across the divide of colour† and repeatedly â€Å"pledged himself anew to work for a multiracial society in which all would have a secure place† (Pierce 175).Contemporary Impact of Non-Violent StrategiesDespite the contributions of great thinkers and activists like those examined in the preceding, brief discussion, the fact is contemporary society seems no less preoccupied with violence than ever before. By examining the media one has the distinct impression that in the world of media and media-related technology, a great deal of concern has been expressed by both everyday observers and specialists in social-psychology over the possible negative impacts that media, and in particular media portrayals of violence, may have upon small children and adolescent children. One of the most complex facets of the issue is the still-unknown impact that new technologies such as 24 hour a day cable programming, widespread Internet access, and the â€Å"digital age† in general will have on the generation of young people who are presently the first to be so overwhelmed by such widespread media and media technologies.An immersive and nearly all-pervading sense of media exists in modern homes that, in fact, the presence of media can be said to form a basis of â€Å"reality† for many people. It is this exact kind of blurred distinction between perceived reality (based on media models and information) and real ity (those aspects of life which stand apart from media and media-based models).   The distinction between media-reality and reality is not always clear, particularly to small children and adolescent children: â€Å"The boundaries between reality and unreality are especially permeable for small children. They are unable, through at least the age of three or four, to distinguish fact from fantasy. Even older children rarely manage to keep â€Å"real life† and vicarious experience in watertight compartments† (Bok 1999, 38) as we will see in the following discussion.The main impact repeated viewings of media violence seems to exert over small children and adolescents is the conflation of media-violence with organic psychological processes, many of which exist at such a deep, primitive psychological level in humans that manipulation of these emotions, and psychological dispositions remains, for the most part, beyond the conscious perception of the viewer. In conclusion, although the idea of media-responsibility regarding the impact of violent programming on children and young adults is often cited by critics as a form of censorship, ample scientific evidence and research exists to establish media-violence as a certain source of negative influence on young people.The fact of the matter remains despite the right of free speech that media-reality and actual reality are non-distinct at some deep, organic level in human psychology: † weeks earlier the Los Angeles police officers whose roadside beating of motorist Rodney King had been shown on TV screens the world over had been acquitted by an all-white jury[†¦]In that crisis, the boundaries between movies and reality blurred, not only for the public but also for Hollywood producers, directors, and actors who were seeing smoke rising beneath their hillside residences and hearing sirens echo up and down the canyons,† (Bok 1999, 36); with such a confusing and agitating impact of adult prof essionals, what can we expect when we expose our children to the same cultural ambiguities through media?If non-violent philosophy according to Gandhi, king, and Mandela is correct then violence is not   a norm in human society, but a constructed evil. If, as the proponents of non-violent philosophy suggest, â€Å"non-violent settlement of conflict is the human norm as we well know from daily experience. We are not programmed in some genetic way to violence† (Kent) than a radical re-visioning of our self-identity and self-image as human beings must take place not only in our media and in our educational facilities, but in our individual psyches as well.The applications of non-violent strategies in contemporary culture can be thought of as being as unknown as the implications of deep-space travel because even though the contributions of such historical leaders as Gandhi, King, and Mandela reveals the tremendous power of non-violent activism, the full impact of the philosophy as articulated by these men has far-reaching cultural, global-poltical, and spiritual implications which surpass anything which has yet occurred in history.   In other words, the â€Å"pioneers† of the â€Å"modern† incarnation of non-violent strategy which we have examined: Gandhi, King, and Mandela represent not the totality of what the non-violent philosophy can or wants to attain, but the mere beginning of a global transformation which is rooted not inly in the basic moral nature of humanity, but in humanity's spiritual destiny and responsibility.Certainly individual leaders and activists continue to utilize the non-violent approach to attain important results in their areas of influence. Modern technology can also help individual activists to promote change by spreading honest information regarding the repercussions of violence and the militarization of political issues. One recent example is when â€Å"a 1991 massacre in the East Timorese capital Dill was rec orded on videotape and subsequently broadcast worldwide, this generated enormous support for the resistance† (Martin 625); such applications of technology by individuals represent one small but important aspect of the many avenues of potential non-violent methods of change.Other methods include educational strategies based in the ideas forwarded by Gandhi, King, and Mandela. The recognition of the historical impact of the immensely influential strategies of non-violent change and civil disobedience will also help to inform and empower individuals who, in turn, may adopt some of the strategies and ideas reflected upon in the above discussion to help bring about social and political change through non-violent means.ConclusionThe examination of three important world-leaders who based their activism in non-violent philosophy reveals certain universal traits among the different incarnations of non-violent activism. Among these universal traits is a belief in the breaking of â€Å" unjust† laws for the purpose of bringing about social and political change. This belief is often, if not always, accompanied by an ambiguous but firmly articulated that such a braking of laws is based in Divine Will. Another core belief seems to be that non-violence rather than violence is, in fact, more in keeping with humanity's organic nature. This idea often results in a corresponding belief that the violence evident in human society is the result of a kind of perversion of humanity's natural attributes into an unnatural and unhealthy state.Against this backdrop, it is very difficult if not impossible to envision the philosophies of non-violent activism as we know them today as anything short of a religious and spiritual philosophy with extremely pragmatic roots in social and political activism. Not only is the spiritual aspect of non-violent philosophy seemingly universal in the three historical figures studied in this short discussion, but the attributes of spirituality embraced by non-violent activists are, in themselves, of great and abiding interest to any observer. A discussion of this aspect alone would probably reveal that the philosophy of non-violence has existed as a spiritual conviction at various times in various cultures throughout the entire history of humanity.Works CitedBarker, Martin and Julian Petley, eds. 2001. Ill Effects: The Media/Violence Debate. New York:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Routledge.Bok, Sissela. 1999. Mayhem Violence as Public Entertainment. Reading, MA: Perseus Books.Gandhi, M. K. Non-Violent Resistance (Satyagraha). New York: Schocken Books, 1961.Gandhi, Mahatma, and Thomas Merton. Gandhi on Non-Violence. New York: New Directions   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Pub, 1965.Kent, Bruce. â€Å"Non-Violence: The History of a Dangerous Idea.† History Today Feb. 2007: 62+.Mandela, Tambo, and the African National Congress The Struggle against Apartheid, 1948-   1990. Ed. Sheridan Johns and R. Hunt Davis. New York: Oxford University Press, 1991.Martin, Brian. â€Å"Nonviolent Futures.† Futures 33.7 (2001): 625.Pierce, Victoria. â€Å"A Tribute to Dr. King Civil Rights Leader's Legacy of Non- Violence Is Alive   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   around the World.† Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL) 29 Sept. 2006: 1.Wolf, Charles, and Brian Rosen. â€Å"Public Diplomacy: Lessons from King and Mandela.† Policy   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Review (2005): 63+.