Leaders of the Civil Rights Movement

In Martin Luther King‘s speech he speaks with such passion and determination, you can tell in his voice that he means everything he says and his hope reaches out to people and the way he emphases his words captures the audience’s attention. He believed that every person should be equal despite their skin color. In Malcolm X's speech he talks more about himself and he thought it would be best for everyone to keep their religion to themselves. He believed that the black people were trapped by the white people. He thought of white people as the enemy and he mostly spoke negatively about them. He made jokes throughout his speech and to me he didn’t sound at serious as Martin Luther. For example Martin said â€Å"Violence as a way of achieving racial justice is both impractical and immoral. It is impractical because it is a descending spiral ending in destruction for all. It is immoral because it seeks to humiliate the opponent rather than win his understanding; it seeks to annihilate rather than to convert. Violence is immoral because it thrives on hatred rather than love. As opposed to Malcolm X, who stated in his speech â€Å"There is nothing in our book, the Koran, which teaches us to suffer peacefully. Our religion teaches us to be intelligent. Be peaceful, be courteous, obey the law, respect everyone; but if someone puts his hand on you, send him to the cemetery. That's a good religion. † Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wanted a more peaceful approach. He hoped that with sit -ins and peace marches to appeal to the ideals of dignity and justice in the white people of the time. To show them the wrong they were doing so that they would want to correct it in themselves out of their own personal honor. Malcolm X on the other hand believed that white people would never give up their power, at least early on in his career as a civil rights leader. He believed they would only give it up if forced to do so, and that meant through militant means. He eventually give this idea up in favor of more peaceful means after finding white Muslims who treated him and other black men as brothers; and black men who treated white people as brothers as well. And with this he began to realize that they could live in peace, and so he switched to a more peaceful style in his protests in the end. Personally, I believe that Martin Luther’s approach to gaining equality among people worked best. When taking a forceful approach, such as Malcolm X’s you take a risk that your enemy will not fear you but that they could possibly fight back and over power you. This could possibly be said for a peaceful approach as well but it’s less likely.

Gender Roles In The importance of Being Earnest Essay

In The Importance of Being Earnest, the question of each gender’s role in society often centers on power. In the Victorian world men had greater influence than women. Men made the decisions for their families, while women worked around the house. Wilde raises interesting questions about gender roles in The Importance of Being Earnest, by putting women (like Lady Bracknell) in positions of power and by showing that men can be irresponsible and bad at Decision-making The traditional view of gender relations in the Victorian era was that men were active, manly, assertive and economically independent whilst women were assumed to be passive, pliant and dependent. I believe that Oscar Wilde does challenge these traditional roles deliberately to make humor out of these characteristics and to make fun of the conventional roles of society. The two main male characters, Jack and Algernon, cannot really be regarded as masculine, or at any rate both of them do not fit the criteria for wha t characteristics a stereotypical Victorian man would be they are both what people at that time would call ‘dandy’s’. Algy and jacks un gentlemanly behavior and trivial pursuits can be seen as comic and deliberate in making men seem less powerful and serious. Algy is also a little too concerned with clothing to come across as masculine. This can be seen when he criticizes Jack by saying that he had ‘never known anyone to put so much effort into dressing and to produce so little effect’. Algernon also says in Act two when talking to Cecily that he wouldn’t trust Jack to buy his outfits as he has ‘†no taste in neckties†. Algy is dandy, making him unmasculine and a bit of a joke in the eyes of the Victorian audience. †¨Ã¢â‚¬ ¨ A time in the play when we see women as having more power then men is in the character lady Bracknel, she is strong and blunt even coming across as a bit intimidating we get the feel that even Algy is afraid of her as he would rather make up a fake man then tell her that â€Å" he cannot have the pleasure of dinning† with her. Another strong female character we see is Gwendolyn. She is feminine in some aspects like how se wanted the proper engagement (she makes jack proposes formally), but at the same time she can be seen as more masculine then Jack especially because she is quite assertive. Gwendolyn is also breaking stereotypes as when her  mother tells her to wait in the carriage but she defies her, were as most girls at this time would not even dare to disobey there mothers. A good example of Gwendolyn being assertive is when Jack is made to propose to her properly. Even though Gwendolyn knows exactly what he is going to ask her and she even tells him that she is going to accept him before he proposes, Gwendolyn insists on a proper proposal, which is absurd. †¨Ã¢â‚¬ ¨Gwendolyn is clearly going to be more and more like her mother as she matures we see Algy mention this when he says that a girl’s worst flaw is that â€Å"they will end up just like their mothers†. Her mother, Lady Bracknell, is probably the most masculine character in the play. She is very pompous and the most assertive of all the characters. She has the power to stop Jack from marrying Gwendolen and has the ability to boss the male characters of the play around. Lady Bracknell’s masculinity is funny because it is almost absurd. She is seen as lacking some more feminine characteristics like sympathy for example she has no sympathy for Bunbury who she claims â€Å"should just make up his mind whether he is going to live or die† .She gives Jack no condolences when he says that he had â€Å"lost† both his parents, instead she says that he was careless, and when he explains that he was found she appears to be outraged and shocked giving us the impression that she has control over the situation. Lady Bracknell has the upper hand over all the main characters in the play. †¨Ã¢â‚¬ ¨After the examination of the female characters it can be concluded that the female characters are not really typical Victorian women than are Algernon and Jack typical Victorian men. Oscar Wilde has created characters that challenge the Victorian views of gender relations and this is what causes the play to be so funny. The characters are not what you would expect and can be seen as over exaggerated stereotypes of gender roles at the time.

Letter of intent & GPA explanation letter Personal Statement

Letter of intent & GPA explanation letter - Personal Statement Example Additionally, during my undergraduate period I had not matured enough to understand the dynamics of career. However, with the passage of time it has become evident to me that I am suited for the healthcare administration area and I intend to act on this passion, potential and opportunity by enrolling for Masters Degree in healthcare administration from the university of Saint Joseph’s. I have chosen Saint Joseph’s University because of its reputation in offering credible courses and quality education. Several of my colleagues and people I have a lot of respect for also recommended this university to me. I also chose this university because it has a good standing as regards the discipline of healthcare administration. Prior to the choice I considered a number of universities where I performed a thorough evaluation of their strengths and weaknesses. I settled on Saint Joseph’s University to its versatility as concerns the course I selected. Though quite specific, the course content of the university for healthcare administration is versatile enough to incorporate a wide array of parameters that are not only required for success in the field but also recommended by education bodies along with government agencies. As a result, I am satisfied with the course content of Saint Joseph’s University and I think it appropriately fits my career objectives . Moreover, the overall environment provided in the university is complementary to the ideals of higher education, career advancement and general launching of students’ career advancement; I find the university a great choice for the advancement of my objectives regarding education. I have worked in a number of healthcare entities and therefore I possess substantive work experience that will enable me to benefit from the master degree program at Saint Josephs University. I have worked in several capacities

Darwinian Evolution of ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Darwinian Evolution of ethics - Essay Example Of these, ethics is the most vulnerable to change as it merges with beliefs, morals, science, religion, and character of each individual. As a result, the evolution of ethics has a direct relationship to what Charles Darwin believes is the human species’ inherent desire to survive in a culture that alters regularly. This ultimately demonstrates that the underlying principle of the evolution of ethical systems remains upon the survival of the human species. Darwin’s stance on morality suggested morality as the evolutionary process’s product. Darwin was of the view that such social instincts as the tendency of humans to display kindness, sympathy, and have an urge for social approbation originate in the human nature. In reality, other social species also constitute the rudiments of such behaviors. Even though, Darwin thought that these instincts tend to contradict the natural selection’s imperatives e.g. the rise of selfless behavior from the selfish genesâ €™ machinations. Among a vast majority of the Darwinian theorists, Darwin was the first to deal with this conundrum. â€Å"Darwin proposed to account for our sociality with a combination of selection for individual reciprocity (reciprocal altruism), "family" selection (a.k.a. kin selection) and "group selection" -- that is, the positive selection of traits which provide an advantage for groups that are in competition with other groups† (Corning). In addition to that, nothing but the human beings possess the true morality because of their ability to superimpose the reasoned constraints of culture upon their motives. Darwinian theses that have implications for moral philosophy include: humans being the natural selection’s product, humans being forged to serve as social organisms by that process, and the presence of an innate moral sense among the mechanisms governing human sociality (Joyce 1). Although the first two theses are not questioned seriously, yet the thesis of moral nativism sparks doubt. However, Darwin has personally approved of all three theses in The Descent of Man. The evolutionary account of moral sense provided by Darwin emphasizes upon the importance of moral emotions, thus overlooking the morality’s essence as pure rationality (Arnhart). Interest in Darwinism’s moral implications rose after the Origin’s publication as the truth of Darwinism was suspected to undermine the traditional ethics. Darwinism’s biological thesis attracted some resistance from its incompatibility with the traditional morality that led to the perception of rejection of Darwinism. The founder of the Social Darwinism ethical system is Herbert Spencer, who argued that the fittest in a proper society are the ones who are successful while the unfit are placed at the bottom. These ideas are challenged today, especially the argument that helping the needy leads to unfavorable consequences since it helps the ones who are demonstrated to be unfit survive (â€Å"Evolution and Ethics†). There was an obvious oversimplification of the adaptation of Spencer to Darwinism to the social situations. Such virulent anti-Darwinian perspective is inspired by social Darwinism and its logical following from the evolutionary theory. However, the ideas of Spencer do not necessarily follow from Darwinism logically. Humans adapt to survive and they do so by creating standards and rules of

INFLUENCE OF CULTURE ON SAFETY AND PROJECT PERFORMANCE Dissertation

INFLUENCE OF CULTURE ON SAFETY AND PROJECT PERFORMANCE - Dissertation Example It is a fact that there has over time, developed a lot of debate concerning the influence of safety culture in the construction industry of Saudi Arabia. According to Williamsen (2013), safety culture provides the project leader with the courage to follow through all the decisions that he has made because without it, then his decisions will most likely not be taken seriously by his subordinates, and will,  in fact, become meaningless. It has been found that in the Saudi construction industry, there has developed a need for the integration of conservative Saudi safety culture into the design of the building being constructed (Zou, Redman & Windon, 2008). It is a fact that many project leaders in Saudi Arabia in the past have been unsuccessful because they have failed to consider the importance of culture in this society when making decisions concerning safety and project performance, especially when these decisions were needed the most (DeJoy, Gershon & Schaffer, 2004). In this indu stry, every project leader should be conscious of the situations involving safety of their workers and this enables them to ensure that the safety of those who work in the construction site is ensured; they have to consider the best safety solutions that are culturally acceptable (Nelson, 1996; Simon & Frazee, 2005). They have to study the cultural needs exceptionally well and understand them so that their decisions concerning the project can be correct and well informed and this is likely to ensure that safety standards and the project performance are of the high. The purpose for this research is to explore how Saudi safety culture has come to influence the safety and performance of construction projects in the country. The study is based on the construction industry in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and seeks to explore the impact of this culture on the safety of employees as well as on project performance. The current aspects of safety culture and safety policies that have been ado pted by the construction industry in Saudi Arabia, as well as the factors that influence implementation of safety culture in construction companies will also be examined. Among the cultural factors that are going to be explored in this research include the religious recommendations on safety, the economic considerations, as well as the willingness of the construction companies to ensure the safety of their employees. The research would be helpful in determining the degree to which culture influences safety and performance of construction projects. Background According to Carrillo (2012) the failure of those taking on projects in Saudi Arabia to understand the importance of safety culture means that they will likely make decisions that are unacceptable, and these might end up jeopardizing the entire project. Moreover, individuals in the construction industry have to consider the fact that the safety culture of the Saudi Arabia is prescribed not only on the Holy Quran but also on the Sunnah. They therefore need to conduct investigations in order to come up with as much information about it as they can to ensure that all the construction projects that they undertake are in compatibility with the Sunnah (Chileshe & Dzisi, 2012). They should be extremely careful when attempting to stop those old practices which might be detrimental to the project, but part of the local culture, because the adoption of new ones leads to the immense failure of the safety standards as well as the project

Host resistance and immunity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Host resistance and immunity - Essay Example A detrimental colonization of the pathogen in the host body results in an infection. Variables that determine the outcome of a host body encounter with a pathogen include the infectivity, pathogenicity, virulence, toxigenicity, resistance, and antigenicity of the pathogens (Qureshi, S. 1999). Pathogenicity of an infection involves a mechanism that leads to the initiation of signs and symptoms of the bacterial or viral infections. An environment that favours the growth of the agent in the host body and its ability to damage the host determines the resultant outcome of the association between disease causing agent and the host body. High pathogenicity levels increases the risk of acquiring an infection. Therefore, once an individual gets exposed to a disease, the pathogenicity of the disease causing agent determines the possibility of the infection. On the other hand, if the bacteria or parasite turns out to be non-pathogenic, the risks of getting infection are low (Qureshi, S. 1999). Virulence refers to the severity of an infection and therefore a highly virulent strain produces severe infections. High virulent strains utilize resources from the host body and leads to tissue damage in host bodies. This increases the possibility of an infection and may lead to death of the host. Virulent strains speed up their growth in order to obtain transmission to new hosts. These strains struggle to gain subsequent transmission before killing the former host. Therefore, once an individual gets exposed to a disease, the virulence of the disease determines the level of damage. To counter an infection, one need to consider immediate treatment before multiplication of a strain that may be detrimental to one or more individuals (Sansonetti, P 2010). Toxigenicity refers to the ability of the agent to produce a toxin, which forms the main disease-causing element in a virus or bacteria. There are two types of toxins produced by disease causing parasites. They

U choose Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

U choose - Research Paper Example Abstract expressionism is also known as Action Painting, Colour Filed Painting or Gestural Abstraction because the strokes of the painting brush revealed the artist’s process. The painting technique is the subject of art itself. According to Harold Rosenberg, Abstract Expression became an event and therefore, dubbed it â€Å"Action Painting† in 1952. Art historians however  review that his definition of art as Action painting leaves out the aspects of control and chance. Abstract Expression therefore  comes from three major sources: Kandinsky’s abstraction, chance according to Dadaist, and the Surrealist’s endorsement of Freudian theory, which embraces, sexuality, the relevance of dreams and the authenticity of ego, which abstract expressionism express through â€Å"action†. The term Abstract Expressionism was first coined in Germany, Europe in 1919 in the magazine â€Å"Der Stum† in regards to German expressionists. It was later adopted in the U.S in 1946 and was applied to the American art by critic Robert Coates. History Abstract Expressionism was spearheaded by a number of Artists in America (strongly influenced by European expatriates) who had grown up during the collapse of world order, influenced by World War II and the Cold War aftermath. The artists  saw the two art movement of 1930s called the  Social realism and Regionalism – failed to satisfy their desire for artistic growth. They were therefore, influenced by European refugees whose approach to art opened up new possibilities for artistic growth. The refuges included the German Expressionist George Grosz (1893-1959),   Arshile Gorky  the Armenian-born , who settled in the US in 1920, the Cubist Fernand Leger (1881-1955), the German-born Hans Hofmann who migrated to America in 1930, the Bauhaus abstract painter Josef Albers (1888-1976)the geometrical abstractionist Piet Mondrian (1872-1944) Dada artist Marcel Duchamp (1887-1968), and the S urrealists Yves Tanguy (1900-55), Max Ernst (1891-1976), Andre Masson (1896-1987) and Andre Breton (1896-1966). The Surrealist artists were extremely influential with Jackson Pollock taking up their idea of unconscious automatic painting. The exiles’ significance in the development of American art was acknowledged by Jackson Pollock himself. â€Å"The fact that good European Moderns are now here is highly powerful for they bring with them an understanding of the problems of modern painting.† The Development of Abstract Expressionism The development of abstract expressionism was influenced by a few key figures and indigenous painters. Albert Pinkham Ryder (1847-1917) was an early precursor of abstract expressionism. A key transitional figure between the years before the World War II and the years after was Stuart Davis who focused on the integrity of his pictorial structure. Stuart’s works were viewed as an American extension of Cubism. However, despite his close contact with Fernand Leger (A master of Cubism), Stuart’s works were brightly coloured, solid, clear and flat. Stuart’s works were of exceptional influence to the artists of the 1940s-1950s and consequently on Pop Art. In the same era, â€Å"Precisionists† also proved influential with their portrayal of contemporary America in a boldly coloured, hard-edged version of Cubism. However, the two most influential pioneers of Abstract Expressionism were Hans Hofmann (1880-1966) and Arshile Gorky (1905-1948), neither of whom was connected with the early European expressionist movement in Germany. Gorky’

Relationship of the government and the religion Essay

Relationship of the government and the religion - Essay Example Relationship of the government and the religion. In his writing in the Virginia statute for religious freedom, Jefferson made statement about the freedom of conscience and the Principe of separation between the state and the church. The Virginia religious freedom statue was rooted in Jefferson philosophy. The statute was passed by Virginia general assembly in January 1786. It is among the first amendment that sort to protect the freedom of religion. The first paragraph of the statute proclaimed freedom of thought. According to Jefferson, the nature God gives a man the freedom to choose his religious belief. Jefferson argues that since the God has given the man freedom of thought – to believe or not to believe- there should be no law that compels a man to follow any religion. Individuals are free to worship as they please with no discrimination. Jefferson wanted the assembly to enact that individuals should not be forced be to support any religious worship, or enforced, restrained in their bodies and/or goods or suffers due to their religious opinion or belief. Moreover, all individual are free to profess and by argument maintain their opinion on religious matter. Their opinion on matters of religion should not affect in any way their civil capacities. The two clauses seem to uphold the view of the Jefferson. The establishment clause prevents the state from influencing any religious opinion on its citizen. The free exercise clause, protects the citizens right to practice their religion as they please.

Cost of Poor Quality Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Cost of Poor Quality - Essay Example Theoretically there are two costs of quality related with the production and R&D. Firstly, the cost of the good quality and the cost of poor quality. The cost of poor quality affects the internal and external costs resulting from failing to meet the requirements whereas the cost of good quality affects the cost of investing in the prevention of non-performance to requirements and cost of appraising a product for conformance to the requirements. The costs related with the internal failure are the costs that are caused by non conformance to what the customer wants and these costs are found before the delivery of the product or service. This would off course lead to the customer dissatisfaction and demotivation of R&D staff. These internal costs will result in re-works, delays, re-designing etc. External failure costs are costs that are caused by deficiencies found after delivery of products and services to external customers, these costs will result into complaints, repairing and re-do ing services, warranty claims as well as losses due to sales reduction and which lead to customer dissatisfaction. By launching the product before the complete testing of the product, our company has made a tradeoff between generating sales and compromising on the quality. It was a gore mistake on the part of Mr. George Chadwick to start the production before the complete testing of the material for its fine-tuning. Backed by more of ambitions and less of reality, this decision has now seems to backfire as the company is facing strong quality costs. One of the important quality control tools is called Pareto Analysis.  

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Treatments Essay

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Treatments - Essay Example Ritalin, however, is not the most effective way to treat ADD and ADHD. This essay, then, will discuss what Ritalin is, what its side effects are, why it is still being used, and what alternatives parents have to medicating their children. According to www.ritalinsideeffects.net, Ritalin is a Schedule II substance also called methylphenidate. It is not tested in children under the age of six. "In 1998, 26,800 prescriptions were issued for Ritalin. Last year, that figure had grown to 461,000" (Sale, 2008). There is much evidence that many children who take it are simply being over-medicated, since the medication shows no signs of helping them. Some parents, however, don't know what else to do when ADD or ADHD affects their children The side effects of Ritalin are well documented. They include skin rash, fever, anorexia, nausea, increased or decreased blood pressure, chest pain, abdominal pain, irregular heart rhythm, weight loss, anemia, and difficulty sleeping (www.ritalinsideeffects.net, para. 2). Ritalin is also addictive, and easy to abuse (Rasminsky, 2008). Older students admitted that sometimes they take the prescriptions of other people, or more than they are prescribed, to "get loads done in a concentrated period of time" (Rasminsky, 2008). ... She said she only used once, but knows others who "can't stop after that first drug experience or that first A" (Rasminsky, 2008). Another admits, "You feel horrible coming down. All the reasons you're taking drugs are so amplified. It makes you depressed, so that's why you want to do more. It's a vicious cycle" (Rasminsky, 2008). Rasminsky is careful to point out that an electrocardiogram (EKG) is necessary when taking Ritalin because of the negative effect it has on the heart and the likelihood that sudden death could occur from cardiovascular death. Positive Effects There is no doubting that there might be some benefit in Ritalin for some child. A study was done of an 11-year-old boy. He'd been diagnosed with ADHD two years prior by his physician, but not given medication. During the study, he was given 20 mg of Ritalin on some mornings, but not on others. Every day he received a pill that looked exactly the same, so he had no way of know when he received the placebo and when he received the actual medicine. Someone administered the medicine other than the teachers or the observers, so the observations would not be biased. His behavior was monitored for the first four hours of the day. The study lasted three weeks. In the end, the findings showed that the student was much more focused, and well behaved on the days he received the 20 mg dosage of Ritalin (Smith et al.) This is no ace-in the-hole, however. This is one student. This student had an above average I.Q. There is no data to suggest how well Ritalin works on students of average intelligence. The student was only observed for 15 days and plenty of other studies show that Ritalin does seem to be effective in the beginning stages, but the faade quickly

Effecting communication and information Essay Example for Free

Effecting communication and information Essay Recruitment and Retention Process and Documentation WHSmith was established in 1792 by a man named Henry Walton Smith, and his wife Anna, but was established under the name H W Smith. After their deaths, the business was passed on to their two sons; Henry Edward, and William Henry Smith. The business was renamed to WHSmith as William was the older of the two and he was the more able businessman. WHSmith today, as one of the biggest retail groups in the UK, it is made up of two core businesses; high street retail, and travel retail. They have approximately 17,000 employees working in either of the 543 High Street stores or the 129 Travel stores in the UK. The manner in which a person is employed within WHSmith would obviously have to start with a job opening. This opening can be due to one of many reasons. For example: If a new store is opened or if someone has left his or her job. From there on, the steps taken would start off with WHSmiths Human Resources Department making a job specification, which consists of the job details. Here is an example of a job specification for an opening at WHSmith as an assistant manager: Job Specification Vacancy Role Title: Assistant Manager London (North/South/East/West) Role Level: Assistant Manager Region: London Location: London Salary: i 17,000 i 23,000 Details: You will be required to work six days a week. In your role as assistant manager, it will be your duty to assist the retail manager in his day-to-day work. This job is very demanding and you never know, it may be the just the job for you. In a position as assistant manager, you will be given two weeks paid holiday a year. Person Specification: Role: We are looking for a good team player, with proven retail management experience, good communication, a target driven approach plus the ambition and potential to succeed. The Assistant Manager is responsible for achieving store sales targets by leading, motivating and developing the store team to achieve sales targets and customer service standards and to support the Store Manager. The next step would be for them to produce a person specification, which outlines the type of person they are looking for (for example: qualifications, previous experience etc. ). WHSmith would then plan on advertising the job in a number of different places so as to attract attention towards the job opening. Advertisement is very costly and it would be in the best interests of WHSmith to get the job details and specifications absolutely spot on. Once all of this information has been gathered, it is then advertised in a number of places (i. e. the internet, job centre etc. ). WHSmith have recently started to recruit online with an Internet based job recruiting process. The next step involves people applying for that specific job by providing their relevant documents, which will then be analysed by WHSmiths Human Resources department. Applicants are then short-listed and a number of the applicants are selected. I have provided a WHSmith job application form with my assignment. The selected applicants will then be asked to provide references from two or more reliable sources. These would be from people like previous employers and former educational teachers. Those who are selected as people who seem like suitable candidates for the job will then be invited for a formal interview at a WHSmith. A senior member of staff would usually carry out this interview. The data that is derived from the interview is then analysed and compared to the prepared person specification. After a long, time-consuming process, and a lot of money being spent, the successful candidate is then offered the job. In the case of WHSmith and the job specification I have given, this candidate would have to have previous experience in a retail management position, and would basically be the person that they see as the best man/woman for the job. P2 Employability, Personal and Communication Skills Assistant Manager Role The Assistant Manager is responsible for achieving store sales targets by leading, motivating and developing the store team to achieve sales targets and customer service standards and to support the Store Manager. The job role is related to the Person Specification. Person Specification The person specification asks for someone with the following traits: We are looking for a good team player, with proven retail management experience, good communication, a target driven approach plus the ambition and potential to succeed. These skills are all placed on the person specification for a reason. The Personal Skills outlined here are: Â  Someone who is a team player An assistant manager will be required to work with the manager as part of a team. They also have to be a team leader, as outlined in the job role. Â  Someone with a target driven approach In a high position like this, it is necessary that an assistant manager knows how to tackle set targets and that they approach these targets whole-heartedly. Â  Someone with the ambition and potential to succeed If an assistant manager does not wish to progress, then they will not give the job their full attention. It is better that they want to, and are able to succeed so that they can have a positive impact on the business. It is also their job to motivate the store team and it would be hard to do so if he/she wasnt motivated him/herself. The Employability skills outlined here are: Â  Someone with proven retail management experience It is absolutely vital that someone who wants to work as an assistant manager, has some previous experience managing a store or people, and was good at doing so. The Communication skills outlined here are:Â  Someone with good communication It is essential that, as an assistant manager, you are able to communicate well. This is due to the fact that an assistant manager is required to communicate messages to both the manager, and the store team. P3 Electronic and Non-Electronic methods for communicating business information There are many different methods of communication. These can be divided into two different categories: Electronic (non-written), and Non-Electronic (written). Methods of communication that would come under Written Communication would be things like: Â  SMS (Text Message) Methods of communications that would come under Electronic Communication would be things along the lines of: Meetings Both Written Communication and Electronic Communication have their advantages. These advantages differ depending on the audience which is being addressed. The recipient is very important when it comes to the type of communication that is being used. Within The Organisation Within the organisation the methods of communication that I would use would be things like: Meetings In an organisation, it is inevitable that there will be meetings held. These are usually used to discuss improvement, the current status of the organisation, and to get staff to contribute their ideas. Customers These are the methods of communication that I would use to communicate with the customers: Publicity Materials To tell the truth, this is an obvious one really. The way to get customers is through publicity. If your organisation is a well known one, it is more likely to prosper. Â  Advertisements In my opinion, advertisements should be used by all major and even small organisations. These should outline things like services provided and special offers to attract more customers. Suppliers Here are some of the methods of communications I would use to communicate with suppliers of goods etc. : Â  Letters These are a great way of communicating and people have been using them for centuries. I would use letters to communicate with suppliers because it is not a long time consuming method of communicating. You just write what you need to say, put it in an envelope, post it, and the recipient gets it the next day! Easy Peasy! * Telephone This is one of the simplest, most direct ways of communicating with people today. Talking with suppliers on the telephone would mean that all of the business involving matters like deliveries, times, amounts, and other things can all be sorted out in a matter of minutes. P4 Sources of Information External Source. This information is external (outside of the business) information that I have taken from the BBC website. Here is the link, as evidence of information: http://newsvote. bbc. co. uk/1/shared/fds/hi/business/market_data/shares/3/23473/twelve_month. stm I have provided information on WHSmiths share prices. From this graph we can see the rise and fall in WHSmiths share price value in the year 2007. The current (exact) value of their shares on the 13th of December 2007 at 14:22 is i 324. 75. We can see that the peak of their share value this year was in March. The lowest point was in late November. Internal Source This information is internal (within the business) information that I have taken from WHSmiths Annual report. Here is the link, as evidence of information: http://www. whsmithplc. com/grp/WHSPLC-IR-AR07. pdf I have provided information on WHSmiths Profits for the years 2006 and 2007. From this information we can see the increase in profits and the percentage increase. Year 2006 2007 Increase in Profit Percentage Increase Profit i m (Before Tax) i 51 i 66 i 15 29. 41% We can see that their profit for the year 2006 was i 51million, the profit for the year 2007 was i 66million, the increase in profit was i 15million, and the percentage increase is 29. 41%. Here is a column graph showing the information. Secondary Source Secondary information is information that I will be using. This information is already in existence, but has been gathered by other people, and not myself. I will be using information from WHSmiths annual report. This information was gathered by WHSmith, within the corporation. Here is the link as evidence of information: http://www. whsmithplc.com/grp/WHSPLC-IR-AR07. pdf I have provided information on WHSmiths Carbon Emissions for the last five years. From this we can see the increases and decreases in Carbon Emissions. Year 2002/3 2003/4 2004/5 2005/6 2006/7 Carbon Dioxide Emissions (kg) 0. 9 0. 76 0. 82 0. 79 0. 71 We can see that, in the period 2002/3, their Emissions were very high. In the period 2003/4, these Emissions are reduced significantly. In the period 2004/5, these Emissions are increased, and in 2005/6 they are again decreased. In the period 2006/7, these Emissions are decreased furthermore. We can see that WHSmith have successfully reduced their Carbon Emissions. P5 Presentation of information I have been asked to present the data aquired in three different methods. Here is the Share Price information presented in a line graph: Profit i million (before tax) I will be using a column graph and a line graph to present this information. Column Graph Line Graph Carbon Dioxide Emissions I will be using a column graph and a line graph to present this information. Column Graph Line Graph I will now be using a power point presentation to present all of this information.

Analysing Project Leadership Teams and Group Dynamics

Analysing Project Leadership Teams and Group Dynamics Introduction A research done in 1995 in the USA showed that 31% of software projects are cancelled before completion while for those which are not, the cost will be an average of 189 percent of the original estimates (Standish Group, 1995). Whittaker (1999) identified the key reasons for such failure as related to poor project planning, a weak business case, and a lack of top management involvement and support. In 2001, the Standish Group found that only 28 percent of IT projects were completed on time and on budget, and that these were on average 45 percent over original cost estimates and 63 percent over original time to completion estimates (Standish Group International, 2001). This report identified poor tools to monitor and control progress of projects as the main reasons for such failures hence recommending project managers to use good project management practices in order to establish the appropriate project methodology (Gowan Mathieu, 2005). Turner (2003) defined a project as an endeavour in which human, material and financial resources are organized in a novel way, to undertake a unique scope of work, of given specification, within constraints of cost and time, so as to achieve beneficial change defined by quantitative and qualitative objectives. Despite this definition containing three aspects: human, material and financial, the above reports show that the focus of understanding failures in software projects has been mainly directed towards the technical and financial barriers encountered during the project life cycle. Intangible human organisational factors such as leadership, organisation culture and team dynamics have been given meagre attention despite multiple researches showing the successful completion of any project in any organization is highly dependent on the human and behavioural factors. This paper will discuss the ways through which software teams are affected by leadership, organisation culture and team dynamics. The first part of the paper will discuss the literature around organisational culture and it can affect the outcomes of software projects. The second part of the paper will discuss the role of leadership and team dynamics in the context of software project management. Lastly, the paper will end with a conclusion and possible recommendations for software teams in the future. Organisation Culture and Software project management Organizational culture describes how things are done in a corporation (Claver et al, 2001). It encompasses a wide range of aspects of organisations life including assumptions, values and artefacts, beliefs, rituals, and ceremonies; language, symbols, stories, and ceremonies In sum, organisational culture is viewed as both what an organisation is and as what an organisation has (Mathew, 2007). According to Lok Crawford (2004), organisational culture can influence how people set personal and professional goals, perform tasks and administer resources to achieve them. Similarly, Schein (1990) describes organisational culture as being able to affect the way in which people consciously and subconsciously think, make decisions and act. Researchers on organisational cultures have also proposed different forms or types of cultures. For example, Wallach (1983) suggested that there are three main types of organisational cultures: bureaucratic, supportive and innovative. Handy (1993) Identified four types of organisation cultures: power culture, role culture, person culture and task culture. The ultimate point is that organisation culture determines the ways decisions are taken within organisations. For example according to Handys model, a power culture is one where decisions are taken by a restricted number of individuals usually located at the peak of the organisation structure. The decision is then transferred to the rest of the structure, thus signifying low participation from the remaining workforce. This bureaucratic approach to decision making reduces the level of input from other levels in the organisation. In modern organisations, where employees are viewed as critical success factors, it is therefore important to have a culture which encourages participation and involvement. The power culture is an example of how the organisation culture can be a barrier to employee participation. In the context of software projects, participation is a key success factor. Hence, the type of organisation culture will either enhance or prohibit the appropriate behaviours from the team members. According to Hansen and Wenerfelt (1989), the culture within an organisation affects the way in which employees perceive, feel and act. This in turn will affect their level of performance and commitment (Peters and Waterman, 1982). Echoing the same, Siehl and Martin (1990) found that organisation culture have a critical influence of productivity and quality. The software sector employs large numbers of people worldwide (Arthreye, 2005). As mentioned above, productivity and quality are greatly influenced by organisation culture (Siehl and Martin, 1990). Productivity and quality is important to the software sector. Therefore, the need to understand how organisation culture affects this sector is fundamental. Organisation culture lays down the guidelines for the acquisition of Information Technology as well as the guidelines for sharing of information through its Information Systems (Allard (1998); Brown and Starkey (1994); Katz and Townsend (2000)). Mathew (2007) identified a range of cultural processes that have a bearing on software organisations such as concern for employees and trust, knowledge management or organisational learning; empowerment; high performance work orientation and core values. The research by Mathew (2007) is evidence that software team members are highly influenced by the cultural processes in interplaying in the organisation they are working in. These processes will affect their commitment to the software project in terms of: firstly the amount of information they are likely to input to the project. Western organisations have purposely adopted collectivist processes so as to encourage sharing of information throughout teams. However, in others contexts, the individualistic and bureaucratic culture promotes information asymmetry. Information asymmetry occurs when one party possesses more information that the other party. Information asymmetry is a threat to the proper functioning of software teams as information is key to the success of so ftware projects. The above shows that the organisation culture determines the processes for sharing information which in turn directly affects the implementation of software projects. Secondly, the organisation culture also determines the degree of empowerment of the employees. A study by Badoo and Hall (2001) on Motivators of Software Process Improvement: an analysis of practitioners views showed that software project managers highly ranked empowerment as a motivator factor. They considered process ownership as important. Developers stated the same: Developers want grassroots input into processes. Project managers want autonomy so they can mould the processes around their present practices. Both developers and project managers want to feel they have the support of senior management. (Badoo Hall, 2001) Pitterman (2000) identified empowerment as crucial to the success of software projects. Empowerment is often defined as the act of giving people the opportunity to make workplace decisions by expanding their autonomy in decision making (Vogt, 1997). Empowerment however is influenced by the organisation culture. Other processes contained in the organisation culture which ultimately affect the implementation of software projects are: communication, reward schemes, feedback, decision making, organisation structure, autonomy, communication, top down commitment, shared best practice and bottom-up initiatives (Badoo Hall, 2001). The above points show how the culture of an organisation can either facilitate the functioning of software teams or act as a barrier. Rigid structures, poor reward schemes, lack of communication, poor feedback, lack of transparency, poor trust and commitment from the top and little bottom-up initiatives can render the project life cycle difficult, hence resulting into project cancellations and/or completion over estimated budgets. Leadership and Team Dynamics in Software Project Management. It is important to experience progress and well-being by both the team members and the team leader in software projects. Katzenbach (1998) stated that groups of people working together give rise to dynamics which have the effect either of enhancing group performance, or of impeding, even destroying, group efficiency. The group dynamics involve both the team members and the leader. According to Wang et al (2005) team performance derives from the ability of team members to successfully integrate their individual actions, to perform in complex and dynamic environments, to achieve coordination and cohesion and lastly effective team leadership. Team leadership styles can be classified into two types: Transactional and Transformational leadership (Thite, 2000). The transactional leadership style focuses on the contractual relationship between the leader and the subordinates. The relationship is limited to the simple exchange of expected performance in return for certain rewards. On the other hand, the transformational leader motivates followers to perform beyond their expectations, increases the followers sense of the importance and value of tasks, and stimulates members to look beyond their own interests and direct themselves to the interests of the team, organization or larger community (Mankenzie et al, 2001). Pinto (1986) identified effective leadership as a critical success factor for successful projects. Similarly Turner et al (1998) described successful projects as being led by individuals who possess not only technical and management knowledge, but also leadership skills that are internally compatible with the motiva tion of the project team. Although the goals of a project are achieved by the team, appropriate leadership styles such as relationships and task oriented styles can help attain the targets in time and within the allocated resources (Nauman et al, 2010). Leadership fosters empowerment (Malone, 1997) and as mentioned above the latter is an essential ingredient for successful projects. However, according to Eisenberger (2002), effective empowerment is based on the relationship of the team members with the leader. The challenge for the leaders in software projects is to find the balance in managing relationships as well as getting the work done. Another important feature of leadership is motivation. Leaders influence and motivate team members. Software projects are often found to lose momentum following difficulties arising within the Iron Triangle (costs, time and functionality). The task of the team leader is to restore momentum at different stages within the project life cycle. As mentioned by Kotler (1988), leadership means influencing others to take responsibility for identifying, developing, retaining, and motivating talented professionals on the team. On the other hand in his work, Thamhain (2004) concluded that project success is no longer the result of a few expert contributors and skilled project leaders. Rather, project success depends on effective multidisciplinary efforts, involving teams of people and support organizations interacting in a highly complex, intricate, and sometimes even chaotic way. The process requires experiential learning, trial and error, risk taking, as well as the cross-functional coordinat ion and integration of technical knowledge, information, and components. The work of Thamhain (2004) also concluded that Team performance is not random but there are certain criteria which lead to high team performance. These are firstly understanding the needs of team members and designing ways to satisfy these needs, secondly management should support team environment rather than try to control it, thirdly team development must be ongoing and finally team leaders should work with senior management to ensure effective team work. The agency theory (Eisenhardt, 1989) informs that monitoring through leadership reduces shirking which in turn leads to project success. Shirking is the process of evading work, responsibility or duty. In organisation theory, shirking takes place when the agent (employee) has self-interest contrasting with the interest of the principal (employer, team leader, manager). The team leader is responsible for monitoring the project and this involves watching, observing and checking closely or continuously. Mahaney and Lederer (2009) examined the importance of project monitoring in order to avoid the problem of shirking in teams and found that the project monitoring does not necessarily avoid shirking in projects but planning and meetings during monitoring can predict shirking. Although there is no single leadership style applicable to all project situations, it is important to understand the role of leadership in the success of projects. Software project managers need to exhibit leadership traits which will enable them to carry out their function effectively. Linberg (1999) stated that one of the classic mistakes in software development is undermined motivation. A study by Couger and Zawacki (1980) showed that firstly software professionals had substantially higher growth needs than any of the other job categories, secondly increased motivation would occur if the software developers growth needs matched the jobs motivating potential, and thirdly increased software developer job satisfaction was associated with effective supervisory feedback. In the case of software projects, supervisory feedback related to team leader feedback. Hence the need to understand the need of those involved in the project as well striving to find ways to satisfy those needs remain an important responsibility of the team leader. Team dynamics will also interplay with leadership skills to determine the outcomes of the software project. The failure of many large software projects is due to difficulties in managing team-based work (Faraj and Sproull, 2000). According to Hohmann (1997) the most effective software development teams are also the teams that contain a variety of different personality or temperament types. This is also confirmed by Amabile etal (1996) stating thatAmabile, T.M., Conti, R., Coon, H., Lazenby, J. and Herron, M., 1996. Assessing the work environment for creativity. Academy of Management Journal 39, pp. 1154-1184. Full Text via CrossRef | View Record in Scopus | Cited By in Scopus (411): Team member diversity and mutual openness to ideas may operate on creativity by exposing individuals to a greater variety of unusual ideas; such exposure has been demonstrated to positively impact creative thinking. Overall team diversity creates the synergy required in software projects however in other cases team diversity may also be a cause of failure for example a software developer may prefer one method and will become de-motivated if a newer development method is used during the project. In his work on adapters and innovators, Kirton (1994) suggested that individuals with an adaptor style prefer stability of work activities whereas individuals with the innovator style prefer new and alternative work activities. Hence such two types of developers may not be able to find a common stable ground in the software project and in turn this might lead to low job satisfaction for either party. Linberg (1999) concluded that team dynamics does impact on software projects, Team members develop their own perceptions about project failure and success and this in turn affects their performance. According to the same study, team leaders have perceptions about project success and failure as well. Shea and Guzzo (1987) introduced the concept of group potency and defined it as the collective belief of a team that it can be effective: the shared belief of team members as a whole. Akgun et al (2007) investigated the relationship between group potency and software project outcome. The study revealed that project teams involve multi-mental models due to the different knowledge, expertise, background, and personalities in the organization. The collective belief of a teams capabilities and efficacy is critical for effective team and project management. Group potency was important for fast software development and lead to less costly development of software and to high performance teams. Hutchins (1991) stated that the cognitive properties of groups can differ from those of their participating members. Software teams are different from other teams existing in an organization. They are formed of knowledge workers who have specific individual expertise embodied into the practical activi ty-based competencies (Blackler, 1995). Moreover, software development teams have a relatively unique structure, wherein the division of labour among members are highly interdependent due to the way in which the finished product is produced; the nature of the software development process is such that the product cannot be seen in its progressive development and this has implications for both team members and team leaders. Ryan and OConnor (2009) found that tacit knowledge is shared through good quality social interaction in the team. Therefore it is important for software team leader or project managers to build team structures which foster the sharing of tacit knowledge. Another pertinent issue in team dynamics is that of conflict. March and Simon (1958) defined conflict simply as the breakdown of the standard mechanisms for decision making. According to Gobeli et al (1998), team or group conflicts can be detrimental to the success of the software projects. Group conflict is a result of poor leadership influence and lack of ability to manage dysfunctional behaviours within teams. However, in many cases, team conflicts emerge out of multiple reasons such as diversity of personalities working together and lack of communication. Group conflict in the context of software teams can lead to a slow down of the progress of the project, hence not satisfying one of the key parts of the Iron triangle, time. For this reason, it important for group conflicts to be managed carefully by team leaders in order to boost team morale and to achieve efficiency. Conclusion As discussed above, software teams are vulnerable to factors emerging from the organization culture, the type of leadership and the team dynamics prevailing in the organization. All three being people-related are rather sensitive and less prone to be easily changed. They have joined the list of critical success factors for software projects. For organizations to have a culture which is conducive to success, the latter needs to be flexible rather than rigid and imposed. As we move towards more open systems at work, it is therefore fundamental for the organization culture to fit into the business context. Changes have to take place from a cultural perspectives to produce the right platform for the success of software projects. Flexibility and openness in organization culture is favored. By the same token, the type of leadership has to be based on the situation and the climate within the software team. This in turn will lead to positive team dynamics and better performances of software projects. Overall it can be concluded that organization culture, the type of leadership and team dynamics can make a difference to a software project and its team. If managed properly, these would help organizations achieve competitive advantage in the market.

Platos Allegory Of The Cave: Importance Today

Platos Allegory Of The Cave: Importance Today Our society so values education that sociologists have recognized the problem of over-education (Hadjicostandi). Many people are spending years pursuing degrees which they simply do not need for the jobs they perform. It is therefore prudent for students to question whether pursuing a liberal education is really as important as our society believes. What is the point of a college education? Does it have any purpose beyond its material benefits. Are these benefits worth their cost? These are important questions that need answering. In the end, we may see that there is far more to this debate than simple accounting. Perhaps what makes education worth pursuing is that it gives us the freedom to makes these kinds of decisions about what is best for us. In many ways, this debate over education has its roots in the writings of Plato (Jowett). In Book VII of The Republic, Plato discusses such topics as enlightenment, epistemology, forms, and the duties of philosophers Allegory of the Cave vs The Matrix: Imagine living through life completely bound and facing a reality that doesnt even exist. The prisoners in Platos Allegory of the Cave are blind from true reality as well as the people in the movie The Matrix written and directed by the Wachowski brothers. They are given false images and they accept what their senses are telling them, and they believe what they are experiencing is all that really exists. Plato the ancient Greek philosopher wrote The Allegory of the Cave, to explain the process of enlightenment and what true reality may be. In the movie The Matrix, Neo (the main character) was born into a world of illusions called the matrix. His true reality is being controlled by the puppet- handlers called the machines who use the human body as a source of energy. In the movie, Neo, finds and alternate reality and he has to go on a journey to discover himself and what is around him. Much like The Allegory of the Cave the prisoners in a dark underground cave, who are chained to the wall, have a view of reality solely based upon this limited view of the cave which is but a poor copy of the real world. Both the prisoners of the cave, and Neo from the Matrix, have to transcend on the path of enlightenment to know the truth of their own worlds. The Allegory of the Cave in Different Perspectives The Allegory of the Cave, written by Plato, is an interpretation of a conversation between Socrates, Platos mentor, and Glaucon, one of Socrates students.  ¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ §The Allegory of the Cave ¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¨ can be interpreted several different ways. Imagine men in a cave chained up by their necks and legs, forcing them to only look forward at a wall. An opening behind them lets the light in. Above the burning fire and chains, there is a road. Have these chained men ever seen anything else of themselves or others beyond the cave ¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¦s shadows made by the fire? Some people would say the truth is only perceived by the shadows seen on the walls of the cave. What if one of these men ¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¦s chains were taken off and he was free to leave? Would the man feel pain when seeing the real world? Would he be confused on believing what is real? Would it make a difference if the chained man was briefly educated about what he was going to see first? Perhaps he would understand and not be confused about what is real. Will the man think what he saw before was much more real than what he sees now? Questions like these will bring different opinions and meaning to The Allegory of the Cave. ¨ Whose interpretation, if any, is correct when explaining the meaning of The Allegory of the Cave? Does it have mathematical meaning, explain a vision of the whole world, or is it just a comparison to the field of social work? Similarities between Platos and Descartes Epistemologies Summary Philosophy is a subject that can take many twists and turns before it finds an answer to a general question. Sometimes, an answer is still left unfound. Philosophy, in its broadest terms, can be described as the systematic pursuit of knowledge and human excellence. What we are concerned with is knowledge. Many people have theories of knowledge. Amongst them, there are two we will be looking at, Descartes and Plato. We will examine Descartes epistemology in Meditations on First Philosophy and Platos in The Republic. Descartes epistemology is known as foundationalism. In the Meditations, Descartes doubts everything he was taught to believe because it is human tendency to believe what is false. In the first, he claims that most of what he believes is from his senses and that those senses are sometimes deceived. His solution to doubting everything is compared to a basket of apples. You fear that some apples have gone bad and you dont want the others to rot, so you throw all the apples out of the basket. Once this is done, you examine each one and return the good apples to the basket. This is what he does with his beliefs. He keeps only those he is certain of. We must discard our beliefs as a whole and then examine each one individually. We must build on the good beliefs. Descartes, however, does realize we cant throw every belief out because they are a part of us, unlike the apples. We would have no basis for recovering any of our beliefs. We would be unable to justify anything. No belief based on sense-perception is free from doubt. He said it is possible that his life is all a dream and he is being deceived into thinking it is reality. He also holds false anything that is physical exists, including his own body. The only things we should trust are those beliefs that are subject to rational scrutiny. We must also declare our mathematical judgments to be false also because an evil demon might be deceiving us. Now, Descartes has cast doubt on all his beliefs about everything but himself. He cannot be deceived about himself. It is on himself that he will be able to rebuild his knowledge of other things. If he had no knowledge of himself, then nothing can be certain. If he doubts, he must be an existing self which is engaged in doubting. If he doubts, he must also be thinking and Descartes said I think, therefore I am. He must also exist so that he can be deceived. If he is dreaming, then he is also thinking, thus he still exists. This is the first step to acquiring knowledge, to Descartes. You must build on what you know is certain, starting with yourself as the foundation. In the second meditation, Descartes tries to show we know bodies through reason and not through senses. He uses a piece of wax to demonstrate. Over a period of time, a freshly produced piece of wax placed by the fire loses or changes all its specific properties, yet it is known to be the same object. Its taste and odor disappear. Its color, size, and shape are completely transformed. It loses its hardness and coldness to liquidity and warmth. To know the wax, you must be able to anticipate its changes. Descartes argues, though, that the imagination could not possibly figure out all conditions, for they are infinite. One can only know an object through understanding, rather than through images, sensation or imagination. He now has knowledge about himself and any object that he has thought about through reason. We are now moving along nicely in rebuilding our house of knowledge. In the third meditation, we move into another building block of knowledge, God. We look at the example of two plus three equaling five. We see this to be clear and distinct, but it is possible that we are being deceived. He tries to dispel the doubt about propositions of mathematics by claiming that God exists and would not allow such a deception. He makes an argument for Gods existence. Premise one states that we have an idea of God. Premise two states that the only way to have an idea of God is if God exists. Therefore, the conclusion is that God exists. Us having an idea of God means us having an understanding of the infinite. We cant understand the infinite through the finite, but only through the infinite, thus God must also be the cause of the idea of God. We as finite substances cannot cause the existence of an infinite substance. The idea is also an objective reality, thus it can be held as true. God is not deceiving us and now we have added the final building block to our ho use of knowledge. In The Republic, Plato has his own epistemology. His is more along the lines of idealism. The ascent to knowledge is not based upon understanding an object, but understanding the idea of that object. The highest idea or form is the idea of the Good itself. Socrates is the main character of this section of The Republic. He engages in a conversation with Glaucon about knowledge. Socrates gives two images of the ascent from chaotic opinion to orderly knowledge, the image of the divided line and of the Cave. Knowledge is what is certain and true and opinion is what is fallible. This is where we may see a connection between Plato and Descartes. They both agree that knowledge must be certain and all other things false. Plato held that all knowledge can be derived from a single set of principles. Knowledge rests on the Good as its foundation, unlike Descartes, where ones self is the foundation. Plato compares the power of the Good to the power of the sun. The sun illuminates things and makes them visible to the eye. The absolute good illuminates things of the mind and makes them intelligible. According to Plato, the idea of the Good is too much for humans to understand, but can be thought of as the idea of absolute order. The sun is the cause of generation, nourishment, growth, and visibility. The Good is the cause of essences, structures, forms, and knowledge. This is somewhat similar to Descartes because God is the cause of the idea of Himself, thus the cause of everything else also. There are four levels of knowledge. First, there are two ruling powers though. The good is set over the intellectual world and the sun over the visible world. We start with two lines, one for knowledge and one for opinion. Now we cut them once more and now there are four sections, two belonging to the intelligible world and two belonging to the visible world, two belonging to knowledge and two belonging to opinion. The first section is that of images such as shadows and reflections. The second deals with us seeing actual things, sense-perception. Unlike Descartes, we will not discard this, but use it to build on our knowledge. Descartes believes sense-perception to be false, but Plato uses it as a stepping stone towards knowledge. Now we have the two subdivisions of the intellectual. The third section is where the soul has understanding through its assumptions based on images. The fourth section is where the soul moves past the use of any images and strictly reasons things out. One d oes not use objects, but ideas to reason. Next is the Allegory of the Cave. Platos allegory is a copy of the reality of the divided line. Plato realizes people can think and speak without being aware of the Forms. Plato treats these people as prisoners chained in a cave, unable to turn their heads. All they are able to see is the wall of the cave and a fire burns behind them. There is a place to walk between the prisoners and the fire. There are others in that place that hold up objects to cast shadows on the wall of the cave. The prisoners are unable to see these objects behind them. They see and hear only the shadows and echoes cast by these objects. Prisoners like these would mistake appearance for reality. They would think the shadows are real, but would be unaware of the causes. Plato points out that they would refer to the shadow rather than the real object. The only way for the prisoner to see what he is talking about is to turn his head around. We actually name things we can not see, but things that we can only grasp in the mind. When the prisoners are released, they can see the real objects and realize their error. The way we can see the causes of our shadows is by grasping the Forms with our minds. The prisoners now ascend upwards out of the cave( into the intellectual world). When they first leave the cave, their eyes feel pain the same way the jury that convicted Socrates felt pain. They were not used to the light just like the jury was not used to Socrates manner of speaking. The prisoners would, at first, react violently as the jury did and try to descend back into the cave. This is similar to when the jury sentenced Socrates to death. But the prisoners must go on. Once they adjust, they are able to see the objects and what they must possess in itself. This takes us back to Descartes again. Descartes also believed we must look for an objects uniqueness without relying on sense-perception. The light shows them what the external conditions must be and then they finally see the sun, the sour ce of the external condition. Plato and Descartes have their own epistemologies. Platos is that of Idealism and Descartes is Foundationalism. They differ somewhat while they also share similarities. Plato says what we see are shadows, not the real objects. A philosopher is one who strives to see the object and what makes the object unique. Finally, the philosopher will be able to see the idea of the object. Descartes also aims to find the uniqueness of an object and the idea of it through reason, but his approach differs. He casts doubt on what he feels isnt certain and starts to rebuild his house of knowledge on what is, himself being the foundation. Plato is not necessarily looking to cast doubts on ones beliefs, but is trying to expand ones knowledge of it. Their ends are the same, try to reach the Good or God, but their means are different.

Iconoclasm and Iconophilia in Othello :: Othello Essays

Iconnoclasm and Iconophilia in Othello In his book War Against the Idols, Carlos Eire argues that iconoclastic resistance to the Medieval Catholic Church began with the gentle scolding of Erasmus and ended as the "shibboleth" of radical Calvinism.1 The use of images in religious instruction and practice was one of the major points of dispute between Protestant reformers and Catholic counter-reformers. Iconoclasm was certainly not confined to radical Calvinism; Anglican reformers, especially those who had spent time in continental Europe as exiles (like John Jewel, Bishop of Salisbury), quickly raised the issue in their country, which had its own unique history of religious reform. The discussions of image and idolatry in Calvin and Jewel represent particular theories of the image that derive from but also revise ancient Platonic theories of the image. Reformation iconoclasm brings up issues of ontology (who or what is God?), epistemology (by what means are we to know him? can he be represented to human senses?), and ethics (how does knowledge of God translate into moral action?). Protestant iconoclasts tend to emphasize the epistemological worth (or rather, worthlessness) of religious imagery, while the Catholic iconophiles emphasize the positive moral effects to be derived from the use of images in religious instruction. Although sparked in the 1520's and 30's, the debate between iconoclasts and iconophiles raged throughout the latter sixteenth century, well into Shakespeare's time. The iconoclastic writings of Zwingli and Calvin had a powerful legacy throughout Europe. Calvin's collected Institutes of the Christian Religion was published in 1559. Perhaps spurred by theological arguments like Calvin's, violent stripping of church imagery and other popular agitation over idolatry took place in Switzerland and elsewhere on the continent. In England, John Jewel's dialogues with Dr. Harding on the subject of imagery, drawing very much on Calvin's arguments, were published in 1565 and again in 1611. During the English Reformation, the churches and monasteries of England were also stripped of their images by some Protestant objectors. It is clear that iconoclasm was an issue not only for elite churchmen--it also captured the hearts and minds of the general population, who were the audience of Shakes peare's theater. The problem of the image is traced, by many Protestant theologians, to several major scriptural conflicts. The first important reference is God's pronouncement in Genesis: "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness" (Gen.

Essay --

â€Å"Lincoln Issues the Emancipation Proclamation† Out of all the documents signed throughout history in attempt to benefit our country, Abraham Lincoln felt that his document, Emancipation Proclamation, was most important. On January 1, 1763, approaching the third year of the very bloody civil war, President Abraham Lincoln released the Proclamation which declared â€Å"that all persons held as slaves† within the rebellious states, â€Å" are, and henceforward shall be free†(U.S National Archives & Records Administration). However, this only applied to the states that had been labeled as being rebellion, not to the slaveholding border states of Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, Missouri, and the areas that the Confederacy had already come under the Union Control. Abraham Lincoln released the document at the right time to ensure that it would make a positive impact and change completely, the aim of the war. To this day, the Emancipation Proclamation shows an example of equality and cognizance (Weider History Group, n.p). In August of 1861, during the Civil War, Congress had passed their first Confiscation Act of many. Confiscation is known as the seizing of someone's property without authority. The act was used against any property, which included slaves as well, used in the rebellion against the U.S government (Weider History Group, n.p). Union major general, John C. Fermont, Commander of the Department of the West, had issued an order which declared martial law in Missouri, as well as freeing all slave states that were held by Missouri secessionists (Weider History Group, n.p). Lincoln had ordered Fermont to change the order to conform the First Confiscation Act, in fear that it might link abolition with the war that could cause the slave... ...rmies, at that point didn’t have to be returned due to the words of the proclamation. They were considered, â€Å"forever free† (Weiders History Guide, n.p). The main reason President Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation mainly as a war measure. The biggest impact that was made off of this document was how for the first time, it placed U.S government against â€Å"peculiar institution†, which placed a barrier between the South, and the recognition by the European nations which outlawed slavery (Weider History Group, n.p). The south relied on aid from France and England. In many articles within the Confederate States’ Constitution, slavery had only been protected in the Confederacy, but in other articles of the U.S Constitution, it also stated that it protected slavery. The Emancipation Proclamation made a vivid distinction of the two (Weider History Group, n.p).

Free Hamlet Essays: Weak and Pitiful Hamlet :: The Tragedy of Hamlet Essays

Weak and Pitiful Hamlet  Ã‚   Hamlet lead his life in circles, never comfortable enough with his current conditions to settle down. The crisis’ placed upon him were never resolved, because he couldn’t handle decisions, leading to a severe downfall in his family’s life. Such demise began in a terrace of the palace Hamlet called home, with a sighting of a ghost that foreshadowed troubles in the near future. Hamlet’s sanity began to deteriorate when learned that his father’s death was not an accident, but rather a foul deed committed by the newly crowned King of Denmark. â€Å"If thou didst ever thy dear father love – Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder† [Act I, v l .23-25]. As a mysterious ghost appeared in the terrace, Hamlet learned of a murderer that would prove his fealty towards his father. As he contemplated the appalling news recently brought to his attention, the control Hamlet had over his actions was questioned. â€Å"O villain, villain, smiling, damned villain! My tables meet it is I set it down, That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain. At least I am sure it may be so in Denmark,† [Act I, v l. 106-109]. Hamlet’s hatred toward his father’s killer caused him to relate the tribulations between murder and the aspects of Denmark as a country together. As with most of the conflicts Hamlet faced, his lack of ability to avenge his father’s death, furthered the deterioration of his life and surroundings. With countless opportunities neglected, Hamlet’s ability to take any action against his father’s death is questioned. â€Å"Now might I do it pat, now ‘a is a-praying, and now I’ll do’t. And so ‘a goes to heaven, And so am I revenged. That would be scanned. A villain kills my father, and for that I, his sole son, do this same villain send To heaven.† [Act III, iii l. 173-180] Hamlet contemplates killing Cladius while he prayed for forgiveness, but then backed out as he learned he’ll send him to heaven for the loyalty Cladius showed towards the Lord. Hamlet once again debates the possibilities put before him by the ghost he swore to avenge. â€Å"To be, or not to be – that is the question: Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune Or to take arms against a sea of troubles And by opposing end them.

How do terrorist organizations succeed

Terrorism seeks to unify their population to the goal objectives and principles to stop hangs being caused by the government or outsiders or to institute their values and culture. Some terrorist groups based on religion like AH Qaeda have clear stated goals like driving out IIS troops or the destruction of another country that is not of their religion, like Israel. Attacks on property and using tampering hoaxes to cause expensive recalls of some products in the US is terrorism hitting at a target group economically.Terrorist groups may have more limited objectives that guide their actions or which they seek to achieve. These shorter term goals, of course, could aid the group in terms of achieving longer term objectives, and consider its performance to be successful if they simply survive to continue to pursue their longer term goals (Hoffman, 2002, p. 31 1 Just the perception that violence can work is enough as long as groups believe that such-?even if they are wrong-?they will be te mpted to adopt the technique in pursuance of their goals (Lutz, 2014, p. 17). Sing the information above of current terrorist activities a comparison to Strategic Quality Management may reveal why terrorist organizations succeed. There are five main variables in SUM with many parts, Purpose, Principles, Processes, People, and Performance. Five Up's of Terrorism Purpose: to pursue an objective through some form of violence to induce fear in an opponent. Terrorism requires some degree of secrecy in its preparation, as the inducement of fear is typically predicated on the element of surprise, but once the organization strikes public exposure is desired. Reminisces: As funny as this is going to sound the intellectual roots Of terrorism lie in three philosophical ideas which, ironically, are peculiarly Western: popular sovereignty, self-determination and ethical consequentiality (Phillips, 2014). Processes: Various strategies that may include political and reformist actions, cultural str uggle, strengthening of the community of believers, and through missionary work. If violence is not part this process it is not terrorism. People: Because anyone who believes in the principles and purpose of a terrorism group for whatever reason is why the group can be consistently effective.These people in their own working in their culture are not bad. It is very simple: if Robin Hood steals and keeps all the goodies, then it is a crime If Robin Hood steals from the rich and gives the goodies to the poor, then he would be a terrorist to one side and a hero to the other side. Performance: Performance is based on the purpose of each organization. From performance to purpose represents the feedback mechanism for guiding an organization toward their objectives (Prior, White, & Tombs, 2007, up. 1-5). With terrorist groups after action the objective may not be reached, but any results still works in their favor.

Miser to Man of the city in a Christmas Carol Essay

Scrooge is not very well like by the Cratchit’s. You can see this by â€Å"I wish I had him here. I’d give him a piece of my mind to feast upon and I hope he’d have a good appetite for it†. This shows that he is not liked because â€Å"he is an odious, stingy, hard, unfeeling man†. This make Scrooge feel bad and he learns a valuable lesson. Treat others as you wish to be treated. If he doesn’t want to be called bad tempered, money grabbing, old sinner, then we has to be caring and thoughtful. Scrooge every year at his nephew Fred’s house, is invited to a Christmas party, but always turns it down. Scrooge is not very well liked by the people at the party especially Fred. You can tell this by they invent a new game called â€Å"yes or no†. This shows that Scrooge is talked behind this back and that people do not care if they hurt his feeling. Scrooge feels unwanted and uncared for. You can tell this by â€Å"One half hour, Spirit, only one†. This shows that Scrooge has feeling and he wants to go as soon as possible because he crying and in great disbelief. Scrooge’s future looks uncertain when he goes into the future and sees him in a corner of the graveyard, unnoticed, uncared for. You can from this point that Scrooge is at the end of his tether. You can tell this by â€Å"For the first time his hand appeared to shake†. This shows that Scrooge has become more and more frightened and knows he must change his future to be cared for and missed dearly. He does not breakdown till this point because he can not change the past and that does not bother him. At the end of all the spirits visiting Scrooge is disappointed himself by being a selfish, lonely, old man. The Last straw is when he visits his own grave. He is already depressed with the entire trauma and another dig in his grave has made him tremble in fear. You can tell this by â€Å"The Spirit stood among the graves, and pointed down to one. He advanced towards it trembling†. This shows that Scrooge is scared of him and wants to change rather than just a person who has just died. Scrooge really wants to change because he doesn’t want to be the man in the corner that no one visits. You can tell this by â€Å"Are these the shadows of the things that will be, or are they the shadows of the things that may be, only†. This shows that Scrooge wants to change because of his experiences over the night. He wants to know that if he changes and mingles with people he will not die and nobody will care. He gets more and more distressed because the spirit won’t tell him if he can change his shadows of the future. You can tell this by â€Å"Assure me that I yet may change these shadows you have shown me, by an altered life†. He is on his knees, desperately trying to change his future. This tells us from this point onwards Scrooge will be a changed man to avoid distressing death. Scrooge wakes up the next morning a changed man, a generous man. You can tell this by â€Å"Scrooge regarded everyone with a delighted smile†. This shows that Scrooge has took into great account of what the spirits said and gone out to change his future. He is a changed man to the public. You can tell this by â€Å"If you please, ‘said Scrooge and not a farthing less. A great many back-payments are included in it, I assure you† This shows Scrooge as being as kind, thoughtful, caring man rather than a â€Å"squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching covetous old sinner†. Scrooge now respects the poor people more than ever, especially the Cratchit’s. You can tell this by â€Å"and therefore I am about to raise your salary†. This shows that Scrooge would rather share more of his money to make more people happy than just himself. This is different from the beginning because when the gentleman comes to visit he pushes him away and believes in â€Å"Laissez Faire†. Scrooge has now become a happier and more cheerful human being because he has changed his way of living. You can tell this by â€Å"they all sit around the table eating Christmas dinner†. This shows he is not self-contained, lonely old sinner, but a sociable character and because he changed his actions, Tiny Tim did live and Scrooge and his family say â€Å"God bless Us, Everyone! â€Å"

Why did a campaign for women’s suffrage develop in the years after 1870?

During the 19th century women were seen differently, through the eyes of the law, men and work. Most people believed that women should be passive ‘ladies'; obedient to their husbands and should stay at home. Married women's property was owned by their husbands and so was their financial, political and social power. Women didn't have similar rights as men did during the 19th century and this had started to get more and more noticed, by women, towards the 20th century. Women were put into three types of class systems, working class being the lowest, middle class, being the intermediate and rich class being the highest. A woman's husband's class would determine which class she would belong to. Most working class women were noticeable if they had a tan. The reason being is that working class women would have had to do the domestic work as well as earning money by working for an employer, usually at a very low pay, and this would have resulted in the woman having a tan. Most working class girls were brought up into poor families and had to start work at a young age. They earned little money and tended to marry men from there own deprived class. However, middle class women had diverse experiences and attitudes towards themselves. They were known as ‘helpmeets' by men and had accepted their position in the sexual hierarchy. All middle class families had employed servants, which meant women had little to do except for embroidery and entertaining as only a majority of them could educate themselves. Middle class girls were taught at home by mothers and governesses and learned how to ‘catch a man' and how to be a good wife. On the contrary, rich class women had the ‘easiest' life out of all the types of women. They had servants to look after the homes, thus they had more time to spend on their families and themselves. They could go to school for an education and could even choose to be a doctor, accountant or banker. Although rich women could take up a career in one these jobs, they were still restricted in society of taking up a career in other jobs such as diplomats, barristers or judges. Overall, rich women had the most pleasant life out of all the types of women but even they had started to get fractious of the restrictions and the disparity that was towards them. Women were starting to get irritated of not having the same rights and equality as men did during the 19th century. They were mainly annoyed because of the ‘separate spheres' theory. This theory explained the roles of men and women, which were listed inside two circles, one for each sex, had showed the roles that each person would have to do. Women's roles were harder and longer than the men's were and this was due to the inequality, at the time of the 19th century, which lead to a difference in roles. By 1870, women were becoming more frustrated of the restricted paths they could choose from and this had lead in women starting to campaign and protest for equal rights. Changes in the education opportunities encouraged women to campaign for the vote because women had began to comprehend that they were not getting the same education as men were. This had started to infuriate women as they couldn't do much with their careers and this resulted in a lower income for women to support their families with. Working class women couldn't educate themselves due to their class, middle class women had accepted their position on the sexual hierarchy and where known as ‘helpmeets' towards men whereas rich class women were allowed to educate themselves but there were only a handful of good academic girl's schools at that time, of which the government didn't bother much about. Even though some women didn't want a change, things were starting to look good for the ones that did. In 1874, the first school of medicine was founded for the medical education for women. In 1878, London University was the first to award women degrees on the same terms as men. Although some opportunities were opening for women, the idea of disparity was still consistent. Changes in the legal status of women encouraged women to campaign for the vote because the general attitude towards them was beginning to change due to the legal status at that time such as the Custody of Infants Act, which was introduced in 1839 and meant that women were authorized to claim custody of young children following separation. In addition, the Matrimonial Causes Act of 1857 introduced the possibility of a civil divorce, one that could be granted without an act of Parliament. Also the Matrimonial Causes Act allowed legally separated women to retain their earnings, giving them some control over their own income for the first time. Now that women were a part of the new laws, they wanted to insure that they could get the vote, which was most important for them to achieve. Albeit there were beginning to be superior changes, women were still not treated equally and the law was preventing them from exercising politics. Changes in the workplace encouraged women to campaign for female suffrage because women (mainly working class) were starting to get stressed of having to do domestic work as well as working in factories, mills etc for little reward and being called ‘irresponsible' by people because they'd work and not look after there children all the time. Because of this, women had started to get annoyed and wanted better rights at work and home. Small groups had started to form due to the inequality of women's rights and campaigning was beginning to appear by the twentieth century. Although women had started to protest for disparity, they still weren't receiving the attitudes by men and the law as they had hoped to. Political groups such as the NUWSS encouraged women to gain the vote because they were opening a whole new gateway for women and their rights. The NUWSS (National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies) was beginning to make it clear to people that they wanted the vote. Milicent Fawcet was the leader of the NUWSS, also known as the Suffragists, and aimed to expand the rights of women and to improve society. The Suffragists were doing this by protesting, going to political meetings and by peaceful persuasion. By doing this they wanted people to realise they were solemn. They were achieving and had the success of many Liberal MPs and some Conservative leaders, however this wasn't enough to gain the vote and the slow moving process meant that suffrage groups such as the Suffragists weren't getting anywhere with the gaining of the vote and women were running out of patience. In conclusion, I think that a campaign for women's suffrage developed in the years after 1870 because situations changed for women, which took them one step closer to gaining the vote. The reasons I have listed in my essay show how women had started to take action after the year1870, such as protesting, peaceful persuasion etc. The main reasons that I think have encouraged women to campaign for equality are education, the workplace, the change in the legal status and most importantly female suffrage groups. All of these reasons have given women a better understanding on why they should gain the vote and to demonstrate why male and female ‘separate spheres' should interlink with each other to give the genders equal roles. I think that female suffrage groups acted like the spark that lit the fire for female equality as it gave women a voice to express their feeling on how they would have liked to be treated and the rights they would have liked to achieve from the government. Suffrage groups were a good way of campaigning towards the 20th century because people, such as the government, would have noticed suffrage groups and would have listened to their explanations rather than listening to only one person trying to explain a point. Although women had started to make points that they'd feel strongly about clear, this wasn't enough to gain the vote. Women had gained social and economical freedom, however they had still lacked in political freedom, which had started to exasperate the majority of them. Groups such as the Suffragists were making points clear to people, however there slow moving process was not going to plan as women still hadn't gained the vote towards the 20th century, and if their was no vote then their would be no change, so women had started to run out of ideas and most of them had started to run out of patience. Why did a campaign for women’s suffrage develop in the years after 1870? The women's suffrage campaign developed after the years of 1870, because life and existence was unjust. They way they were treated escorted to the development of the campaigns. To transform life, rules need to be changed, by chosen and appropriate law makers – the government, to fulfil the needs of the people. In 1865, the first British woman-suffrage association was founded by Mill. Campaigns expanded because the vote could change the life of women. Women were accused of being unable to vote, and the franchise was opposed, such as by antifeminist Queen Victoria. The Liberal Party was committed to increase franchise, but did not deliver their promise, so protest began, as women were infuriated. Additionally, women in other countries were given the vote. In 1893, New Zealand was the first country that franchised women's vote. This displayed the role of women and their independence, to the world. The campaigns in Britain arose because they wanted the same to be done, as it could be achieved. Next, the 1867 Reform Act was declared. It gave many working class men the vote, but did not mention the women's license to votes. This angered women very deeply, as they were promised again the vote in the new laws, but were betrayed. Again, this made the campaigns upgrade, as they worked even more to succeed. Inequalities with men in the workplace also lead to progression of the campaigns. There were more women working in factories, doing long hours in dull, un-skilled, monstrous work with little pay, particularly in textile factories, or as domestic workers plus servants than men. Men, conversely, did more skilled work in addition to receiving more responsibility and money. This displayed unfairness women wanted to change. Famous cases of women being prevented from taking ‘male' jobs depicted to women that they could be capable of doing anything but the country's antifeminists would stop them, unless they were stopped first by the law. Inequality with men before the law angered women. When women married, all her property became her husbands. Additionally, women could not sue. This was unjust. Successful but slow pace of reforms were prior to 1870. In 1882 and 1857, the Matrimonial and Cause Act were made, which took cruelty, adultery, and desertion in a marriage into account. But, this was unfair because men had to be committed to do two of these, while women had to act one of these, to face the law, divorce. In 1870, the Married Women's Property Act was released again, but more developed, to prevent loss of fortunes. However, even when the law was changed, inequality still existed. How women were treated unfairly in the eyes of the government was why the campaigns increased. Increased education of middle class women meant that women wanted jobs they were educated for, such as doctors, lawyers and teachers. Famous successful women as role models such as Annie Besant, Florence Nightingale and Mary Seacole displayed that the work of women could revolutionise the world. Increased involvement of women in local politics allowed them to vote in local elections, such as the 1869 and 1882 Municipal Councils Act and in Schools Boards after 1870, plus Boards of Health from 1875. This acted as a taster of what could be, and women liked the power and control of voting. In conclusion, their development of their campaigns can stand to be symbolised that they wanted change and development since antiquity, in addition to the right of women to share on equal terms with men the political privileges afforded by representative government, and to vote in elections, referendums and hold public office.