The Relation between Social Policy and Social Problems

The Relation between Social Policy and Social Problems. In this essay is about the relationship between the social policy and social problem, but before going into a deep understanding of the two related parts that involve in a society, let is defined each one of them and know what they are and how they connect. When it comes defining the social policy or social problem; there is no one solid definition for them as it has many definitions because of their widely involvement in the society. In Bessant Theories, Mark Considine (1994;2) , fairly recommended that policy is cleverly easy caption that is able to cover parts of actual complicated actions. Therefore he defines the word policy only, in three different ways that it is usually used. Policy used first to name when the government give some public notice on the houseless people or those who need protection and also to the undefended children from treating them in a harmful way. The second time that we come a cross the word policy is when public approved to do public assets to a program. Which involve, when the government make decision to give money on welfare and health, that process is also called policy. And finally when the congress or Federal Court give a legal pressure to the rights of some individual or groups like positive action for women or Aborinigal land right that action is also refers to policy. As we can see the definition of only policy is not in one basic concept, however it has so many definitions. InShow MoreRelatedIs The American Dream Real?863 Words   |  4 Pagesvariety of social factors that halt individuals from accessing the rewards of the supposed â€Å"American Dream†. In assessing the ease to which individuals can attain intergenerational mobility, it is essential to explain the impact that social stratification, race and education has on intergenerational mobility. It is thought that the â€Å"American Dream† can be obtained solely by hard work and determination. However, when we take a closer look at the effects of the underlying factor of social stratificationRead MoreOur Criminal Justice System Has Undoubtedly Failed To Effectively1345 Words   |  6 Pages focuses on the second concept of ‘drugs’ in relation to recreational drug users in Britain, as Toby argues, ‘drugs’ regulation by way of the second limb, the criminal justice system.2 The criminal justice system is continuously being used to target the economically and socially disadvantage in society.3 In other words, the enforcement of drug prohibition policies promotes racial and social injustice.4 However, changes and variation in drug policies in various countries do not show clear cut relationshipsRead MoreIndonesi An Important Factor For Indonesia1153 Words   |  5 Pages1.1. Background and Introduction Lately, the problems faced by the country are increasingly complex. Starting from the health, environment, socio-cultural to economic and political problems. Among the issues faced by the countries around the world, the economic issue is the most significant thing. The economic problem is not limited to the exchange of goods and services only but also involves economic transaction between one country to another. The increasing complexity of needs of a country createsRead MoreHealth And Social Policy : An Overarching Policy Objective1480 Words   |  6 Pages 2139283B Health and Social Policy in Contemporary Context (Level Three) MA Health and Social Policy 2015 Karen Wright 3000 words In what ways are communitarian frameworks such as social capital useful for understanding and addressing social problems? Critically assess its suitability as an overarching policy objective. This essay aims to critically analyse the use of social capital as a policy objective in relation to tackling re-offending criminalRead MoreSocial, Political And Legal Environment Associated With Social Media1711 Words   |  7 PagesExecutive Summary: Social media such as Facebook and Twitter allow society to publicize their social lives to all. While managers in organizations are forbidden to ask personal questions of their employees regarding religious or voting preferences, if they have access to their employees Facebook or Twitter pages, they automatically have full access to all information that employees post regarding their personal lives. Will an employer’s access to an employee’s social media pages sway or createRead MoreThe Key Aspects Of The Relationship Between Poverty And The Greater Economic Hardship1514 Words   |  7 PagesThis policy report will identify and discuss the evidence towards the key aspects of the relationship between abuse and neglect and the greater economic hardship which will have an impact on poverty and how this affects the chance of a child being abused or neglected. Looking at the evidence it is clear to see that there is a strong link associated between poverty and a child suf fering from abuse and neglect. Introduction and context According to NSPCC there are more than 50,000 children in theRead MoreIdeals of Liberalism Expressed in President Obamas Speeches 1470 Words   |  6 Pagesrelationship between the two countries.† In the President’s 2011 State of the Union Address, he provides four critical steps to achieve economic recovery in addition to several pressing domestic and international policies. What both these speeches hold in common, is the logic behind the liberalism tradition of international relations. The foundations of the President’s speeches are set in the ideals of liberalism from which rise three strands of modern liberal thinking: economic, social, and politicalRead MoreStrengths and Weaknesses of Neorealism, Neoliberalism and Constructivism1390 Words   |  6 Pagesevolution and establishment of different countries and their government setups have lead to the formulation of various theories and ideas by renowned thinkers and researchers, constituting under the Intern ational Relations domain. International Relations or IR for short, focuses on the relations between the countries of the world and how those relationship is handled from the diplomatic and military perspective. This handling of relationship under IR is further divided into three main theories, NeorealismRead MoreDjibouti: How Culture in the Horn of Africa is Influencing Global Interests1226 Words   |  5 Pagesthe ways of acting, and the material objects that together form a people’s way of life† (Macionis 40); but when and how are cultures developed? A society’s values and beliefs derived from their people’s ancestry, their economy or way of living in relation to their physical environment, and political situation all play active roles in forming a society’s culture. In addition, local variables alone do not develop a society’s culture in the modern era. One must not only consider the affects of globalizationRead MoreThe Key Characteri stics Of Lasswell s Policy Orientation1591 Words   |  7 PagesA Literature Review on the Key Characteristics of Lasswell’s Policy Orientation Lasswell’s formation of public policy is founded upon fundamental characteristics that establish the view that policymaking rests on scientific analysis and a practical application, concluding on the necessity of a policy science to understand the full complexities of policy formation. An analysis and discussion of these characteristics can be found in the following academic articles: ‘Revisiting Lasswell’ by James Farr

Exploring American Culture´s Dark Spot Essay - 582 Words

Exploring American cultures dark spot Educational expectations may create academic dishonesty incentive Jay Z, Jay Gatsby, and Al Capone all reside in the same weak place in the hearts of Americans. These three men represent our nation’s twisted admiration for masterful cheaters. Americans are intrigued by these men, seduced by their risk-taking and their subsequent success and fame. The majority of society is not made up of criminals, gamblers, or drug-dealers. But cheating is prominent on a smaller scale, in more realistic acts. Recently, educational cheating scandals seem to be gripping the nation, or at least the media. One explanation for recently publicized academic dishonesty is that students feel†¦show more content†¦200 educators from 40 schools were involved in a cheating scandal in Atlanta. At one school, educators had weekend pizza parties to correct wrong answers on test documents together. As a result, the schools scores increased 45 percent. We were told to get these scores by any means nec essary. We were told our jobs were on the line, said Sidnye Fells, a fourth grade teacher in Atlanta to ABC news. In 2004, educators encouraged 500 high school students in Alabama to drop out before the test to increase the school’s score. Some public school activists attribute teachers’ cheating scandals to the high expectations of standardized tests. Across the country, educators and parents have participated in protests against heavy reliance on standardized test scores in deciding a teacher or school’s success. Standardized tests provide administrators and state government with an objective evaluation of students’ knowledge. Ohio will implement the new teacher evaluation system in the 2014-2015 school year. Teacher performance ratings will comprise 50 percent of the evaluation. The remaining 50 percent relies on improvements in student test scores. Teachers will receive one of four possible grades: accomplished, skilled, developing, and ineffective. Each district’s board of education must decide how teacher’s evaluations will be used to determine promotions and terminations. â€Å"Quote from Sycamore Teacher aboutShow MoreRelatedHistorical Places Of Ghost And Dark Tourism1822 Words   |  8 Pagesmeaning of history and culture of historical places. Many cities and towns around the world profit when visitors go to haunted sites where ghosts and supernatural activity have been present. Tourists and tourism companies have different motives for exploring and hosting tours of historical landmarks. Some companies take the economic route and strictly attempt to make capital gain, while other s take the time to thoroughly explain and connect with the tourist about the culture and history of the hauntedRead MoreThe Bears Of British Columbia1497 Words   |  6 Pagesthe Grizzly Bear include a concave snout, extremely long claws, and poor eyesight. Though dark brown is the most commonly viewed fur color, the Grizzly can be any shade from ivory to nearly black. The Kermode Bear, also known as the Ghost Bear or Spirit Bear, is a cultural symbol for the British Columbia Province. This white bear, is actually a black bear that carries a recessive gene. Both of the Kermode Bear s parents must carry the gene for their offspring to have the white fur. At times, the KermodeRead More Achebe’s Inability to Understand Conrad’s Heart of Darkness Essay3028 Words   |  13 Pagesmocked by triumphant bestiality (Achebe 1785). He misreads, and disregards the fact that many other readers see Conrads Africa as a place where the white man brings and meets his own darkness and bestiality. Having no real emotional availability of exploring this continent whatsoever, Conrads European responds to it either by exploiting what he can (as the manager, the Company, and its representatives do), destroying what he cannot (e.g. killing the locals and blowing up hills unnecessarily), or displayingRead MoreColombian Folklore5889 Words   |  24 Pages---- --------------------------------------------- Colombian folklore From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Culture of Colombia | | Art Cinema Cuisine Dance Folklore Literature Music Radio amp; Television Sports Theater | See also:  Colombian mythology Carnaval de BarranquillaMarimonda characters. Colombian  folklore  are beliefs, customs and  cultural traditions  in  Colombia. Contents  Ã‚  [hide]   * 1  Cultural influences * 2  Relevancy * 3  Legendary creatures * 4  ReferencesRead MoreOn James Weldon Johnson’s â€Å"The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man†2065 Words   |  9 Pages(149). She in turn answered in kind, letting the notes and tempo combine with her words in expression of her love returned to him. The relevance of music in Johnson’s novel should not be undercut by the other issues within the confines of his text. Exploring the meaning of this inclusion will be to explore the theme of music itself. It will encompass the examination of the style of music, the generation in which the story takes place along with the issues of race. Johnson’s use of music to develop aRead MoreLiterature And Information Resources For Children And Young People3290 Words   |  14 Pageshttp://literatureandresourcesforyoungpeople.blogspot.com.au/ 2: Fiction Review Babies and toddlers, early childhood (0–6 years) Morris Disappearing Bag - A Christmas Story Wells, R. (1980). Morris s disappearing bag: A Christmas story (3rd ed.). Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England: Picture Puffins, Penguin Books. Genre: Children It s Christmas Day and Morris is missing. A simple story about the youngest who initially is happy with his bear until he realising that he is missing out on sharing the other presentsRead MoreStrictly Ballroom Essay- Belonging2451 Words   |  10 Pagesaspects of belonging and an individual’s potential to challenge or improve a community group. The film ‘Strictly Ballroom,’ directed by Baz Lurhman, the film ‘Looking for Alibrandi’ directed by Kate Woods and the exaggerated true story of an African American youth’s fight to belong in the song â€Å"dance with the devil† by immortal technique all represent ideas of belonging formed by life experiences. ‘Strictly ballroom’ is a comedic ‘mocumentary’ set in the highly competitive world of ballroom dancing whereRead MoreTransnational Organized Crime2346 Words   |  10 Pageswithin more than one country to complete illicit business endeavors. I argue that political and systemic issues as well as outside influences leave weaker governed countries more exposed to the risks of transnational organized crime. I will be exploring four different areas related to this topic in order to understand why these countries experience an abundance of transnational crime; how it has become available through globalization, whereby the world has become an increasingly smaller place; factorsRead MoreKhasak14018 Words   |  57 Pagessets the ground for the analysis by exploring the scope of the novel in the comparative study of literature. It also asserts the author’s place in the regional and Indian English canons of literature and establishes his creative genius wit h reference to the work considered. The second chapter, titled The Dark Vault, studies the aspects of psychoanalytic theory which can be used in the analysis of the novel. It deals mainly with Freudian theories which explore the dark vaults of the psyche of the charactersRead MoreEssay MKT 505 ASSIGNMENT 34730 Words   |  19 Pagesavailability of power, labor availability and cost, laws, work culture and customers preference, and proximity to resources and/or markets. On balance, after a careful analyzes of the political and cultural environment of India as well as the various types of legal systems Eco-Pave is sure that joint-venture is the best mode of entry choice. Exhibit 1 Exhibit 2 India Economic Outlook Dark green: Important economic data. Dark yellow: Important data related to our business. Created from:

Writing and Proper Supporting Points Free Essays

I have always used writing as method to express myself. I wrote for self-pleasure instead of Just to complete an assignment. I knew that writing and being able to express myself would help me to further my education. We will write a custom essay sample on Writing and Proper Supporting Points or any similar topic only for you Order Now Before my first day of Composition one, I imagined having a lot of papers to writing in such little time. However, it turned out to be a great experience. Composition one taught me how to improve my writing, expose me to different types of essays and how to overcome difficult tasks. Composition one allowed me to recognize the strengths and weakness in my writing skills. Three of my strongest essays assigned this semester are what you will be viewing in my portfolio. These weren’t easy, but having the proper guidance is what made the difference. The workload did get hectic at times, because I found myself trying to transition from one genre to another. For me, the idea of outlining a proper thesis really helped me to write well. I would experiment to see if the quality of my essay would be better if I Just wrote about the topic. I realized that if I properly outlined my thesis, it would give me a path on which I could build my essay. I would use the number of supporting points that I had, to be the amount of paragraphs I would have. By doing this, the structure of my essay would be better. If it wasn’t for my Professor focusing on getting the thesis correct. The task of writing and essay would be an extremely difficult one. At times, I felt as if I should Just write without paying attention to the thesis but Just as most things, I got used to outlining it. The first essay we were assigned was a literacy narrative. This was a personal essay for me to complete. The literacy narrative allowed me to recollect situations rom my past and put them on paper. IVe always done this, but I didn’t know that things such as a thesis and proper supporting points would make for a better essay. I learned that the key to a great literacy narrative is to show instead of to tell. The use of details is important in a literacy narrative as it gives the reader the feeling of actually being in the situation. My second essay was an evaluation. It required me to be very critical of a certain webpage. Usually when I visit webpages I Just go there to use what suites me. My mind wasn’t open to the site layout, how it differs from other ebsite or what could make it better. By doing this essay, I am now more in tuned to the smallest details in forms of writing that I would happen to come across. I am a soccer fan; I enjoy watching, playing or even talking about the game. IVe always wanted to pass on the passion for the game to others. My third essay was a proposal. This essay allowed me to put my dreams into perspective . 1 was able to help a group of coaches learn more about the sport. With that knowledge, they would be able to pass it down to the children. The passion I have for soccer made the proposal the asiest essay IVe done since the semester began. This essay didn’t have as much restrictions and rules to it, so it allowed me to interact with my work. I used life situations to bring forth my point. I enjoyed intertwining life with a thing so simple as writing. Of course, by writing over and over, one will get better at it. That wasn’t the only way I gained strength and confidence in my writing abilities. Having great feedback from you’re pairs is very important. We are all humans and the opinions of others affect us in either a good or bad way. I received feedback from my peers, the utors trom the writing center and my protessor. Those different perspectives on my work brought to my attention the things I need to work on. Composition one was definitely not the tedious class that I thought it would be. I didn’t think I was going to be groomed to be a better writer. The different exercises that we were exposed to made the class very interesting. It was as if by writing a new essay, a new part of the brain was being activated. I enjoyed exploring certain thing than the other but the different skills that were being tuned made it worth it. How to cite Writing and Proper Supporting Points, Papers

Ralph (609 words) Essay Example For Students

Ralph (609 words) Essay RalphWaldo EmmersonRalph Waldo Emerson was truly one of our great geniuses even though hemay have a short biography (Hodgins 212). But as Emerson once said himself,Great geniuses have the shortest biographies. Emerson was also a majorleader of the philosophical movement of Transcendentalism. (Encarta 1)Transcendentalism was belief in a higher reality than that found everyday lifethat a human can achieve. Biographical Information Emerson was born on May 25,1803 in Boston, Massachusetts. His father died when he was young and his motherwas left with him and his four other siblings. At the age of 18 he graduatedfrom Harvard University and was a teacher for three years in Boston. Then in1825 he entered Harvard Divinity School and preached for three years. At the ageof 29 he resigned for ministry, partly because of the death of his wife afteronly 17 months of marriage. In 1835 he married Lydia Jackson and started tolecture. Then in 1836, he helped to start the Transcendental Club. TheTrans cendental Club was formed for authors that were part of this historicalmovement. Emerson was a big part of this and practically initiated the entireclub. As we know he was already a major part of the movement and know gothimself involved more. Many people and ways of life throughout his careerincluding Neoplatonism, the Hindu religion, Plato and even his wife influencedEmerson. He also inspired many Transcendentalists like Thoreau. Emerson didntwin any major awards, but he did win the love and appreciation of his readers. Literary Information Emerson wrote many genres of writing including poetry andsermons, but his best writing is found in his essays. Even though he is notedfor his essays, he was also a strong force in poetry. Emerson was known forpresenting ideas in an expressive style. He wrote about numerous issuesincluding nature, society, conspiracy and freedom. After returning to Americaafter a visit to England, he wrote for the abolitionist cause, which waseliminating slavery. Emerson used these ideas in his 1837 lecture TheAmerican Scholar, which he presented before the Phi Beta Kappa Society ofHarvard. In it he talked about Americans becoming more intelligentlyindependent. In a second address, commonly referred to as the Address atDivinity College, given in 1838 to the graduating class of Cambridge DivinityCollege, brought about a problem because it attacked religion and pushedindependence. Some of Emersons famous titles are Essays, which waspublished in 1844, Poems, which was published in 18 47, Nature: Addresses andLectures, 1849, and Representative Men, 1850. In 1860, he publishedConduct of Life, which was the first of his works to receive immediatepopularity. In these works you were able to see the influence Plato andNeoplatonism had of him. Plato was an ancient Greek philosopher. He developedthe notion of a higher reality that exists beyond the powers of humancomprehension. Plato explained that the idea of absolute goodness transcendshuman description. Neoplantonism was a collective designation for thephilosophical and religious doctrines of a heterogeneous school of speculativethinkers who sought to develop and synthesize the metaphysical ideas of Plato(Encarta). Ralph Waldo Emerson found motivation to write in anything he did,whether it was visiting England, the Transcendental Movement or if it wasabolishing slavery. He didnt receive much fame during his lifetime, but afterhe passed away in1882, he was remembered for all of his writing, not just onegood essay. Eme rson was the most important figure during the RomanticPeriod (Myerson 3). He left his mark on writing, especially the RomanticPeriod. .u987c34a1795b23cf58ec12a563ea408e , .u987c34a1795b23cf58ec12a563ea408e .postImageUrl , .u987c34a1795b23cf58ec12a563ea408e .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u987c34a1795b23cf58ec12a563ea408e , .u987c34a1795b23cf58ec12a563ea408e:hover , .u987c34a1795b23cf58ec12a563ea408e:visited , .u987c34a1795b23cf58ec12a563ea408e:active { border:0!important; } .u987c34a1795b23cf58ec12a563ea408e .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u987c34a1795b23cf58ec12a563ea408e { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u987c34a1795b23cf58ec12a563ea408e:active , .u987c34a1795b23cf58ec12a563ea408e:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u987c34a1795b23cf58ec12a563ea408e .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u987c34a1795b23cf58ec12a563ea408e .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u987c34a1795b23cf58ec12a563ea408e .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u987c34a1795b23cf58ec12a563ea408e .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u987c34a1795b23cf58ec12a563ea408e:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u987c34a1795b23cf58ec12a563ea408e .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u987c34a1795b23cf58ec12a563ea408e .u987c34a1795b23cf58ec12a563ea408e-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u987c34a1795b23cf58ec12a563ea408e:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: How To Start An Essay About Sir Isaac NewtonBibliographyEmerson, Ralph Waldo. Microsoft Encarta. CD-ROM. 1998 ed. Emerson,Ralph Waldo. Lkd. Columbia University Homepage, at ILT Web. *http://www.ilt.columbia.edu/acedemic/digitexts/emerson/bio_emerson.html* Hodgins, Francis. ed. Adventures in American Literature. Orlando: Harcourt,1989. Myerson, Joel. Ralph Waldo Emerson. Grolier Encyclopedia. CD-ROM. 1993 ed.

Essay Over The Epic Of Gilgamesh Essays - Epic Of Gilgamesh, Enkidu

Essay over The Epic of Gilgamesh Essay over The Epic of Gilgamesh The main character in the book The Epic of Gilgamesh, is Gilgamesh himself. In the beginning of the book one realizes that Gilgamesh is an arrogant person. Gilgamesh is full of himself and abuses his rights as king. He has sexual intercourse with the virgins of his town and acts as though he is a god. Although some readers of this classic book may say that Gilgamesh does not change from the beginning of the book, it can easily be interpreted the other way. Throughout the book, many things cause Gilgamesh to change. He gains a friend, he makes a name for himself by killing Humbaba, and he tries to become immortal because of the death of Enkidu. Through these main actions his personality changes and he becomes a better person. First, the quest for immortality after the death of Enkidu shows that Gilgamesh has changed. Gilgamesh becomes frightened when he realizes that he isn't immortal. After the death of Enkidu, Gilgamesh tries to find immortality b y trying to cross the ocean to find it. He sounds pathetic as he rambles of his reason for trying to find everlasting life. His state of being at this part in the book, which is the end, is completely different from his arrogant beginning of this epic. Gilgamesh has gone from arrogant to scared. Second, the death of Humbaba changes Gilgamesh. Humbaba is evil. Many people who live in the city of Uruk fear Gilgamesh. Most would say that Gilgamesh himself is, in fact, evil. He has sex with the virgins, he does what he wants, and he tends to offend the gods. He has lots of problems with Ishtar. By going into the forest and facing Humbaba, Gilgamesh makes a name for himself and changes the views of the people in his city. This is a very arguable point. Yes, the past of Gilgamesh does not change, but the great deed of killing Humbaba, makes him a better person because he protects his city. This is another arguable point. Most would say he does this only to make a name for himself, but tha t is not the case. Gilgamesh does this because of his love for Enkidu and his people, he has changed from the beginning of the epic. Finally and most importantly, the main reason that Gilgamesh changes from the beginning of the book is the friendship that he has with Enkidu. Enkidu is made to make Gilgamesh more human. In the first paragraph of the book the gods are angry with Gilgamesh and send down an equal of himself, they send down Enkidu. After becoming friends, Gilgamesh changes because he has an equal to be with. Enkidu and Gilgamesh become as close as brothers. Because of this, a very arguable point comes up. Was Enkidu and Gilgamesh lovers? The answer is obviously yes. What points in the book show this? They go to sleep holding hands, Gilgamesh loves Enkidu like a women, and Gilgamesh goes almost insane after the death of Enkidu. The point of Enkidu being a lover of Gilgamesh is very important. It allows the reader to understand the reasoning of Gilgamesh changing. There ar e no changes in Gilgamesh as a person until Enkidu enters the picture. Obviously he is the reason for all eventual changes in the personality and manhood of Gilgamesh. If the belief and understanding of Gilgamesh and Enkidu being much more than ?good? friends is present, then the understanding of why Gilgamesh changes in the book is also present. If Gilgamesh is just friends with Enkidu some change is possible, but not almost total recall as Gilgamesh does in the book. People change more if there is sex involved and there is a deep relationship. In order to make Enkidu happy, Gilgamesh has to change, and he does, throughout thier relationship. In reflection, although some people would say that Gilgamesh does not change from the beginning of the book The Epic of Gilgamesh, the better understanding of the book reveals that, in fact, Gilgamesh does change from the beginning of the book to the end. The personality of Gilgamesh changes for three distinct

Things you do to keep fit

Things you do to keep fit Free Online Research Papers Keeping fit means keeping you in a good form, and it includes body, mind and spiritual health. These three elements we have to take care of are the base of living a healthy life, for being able to live it fully. One thing you can do for your body’s health is trying to do sports. You can try jogging, swimming, roller-skating, dancing etc. This helps you control your weight and brings your metabolism to a normal level. It’s very important to give your body the best treatment because health is on top of anything else. You can’t enjoy life as much if you’re an unhealthy person. Besides sports, there are also other methods of keeping your body fit. There are some pills made from natural elements on the market that can help you, and you can also take vitamins and medications when you feel sick. Another good thing for your body is not becoming dependent of smoking, drugs or alcohol. As for your mental health, it all consists in reaching to the ‘happy’ level. You must have enough rest to be able to concentrate on work or other activities. Sleeping enough is very important but there are also other methods you can apply, for example playing chess helps you improve your concentration, while playing pool stimulates your ambition. Watching good movies, documentaries, reading books are also sources of knowledge and can help you keep your mind healthy and rich. Spiritual health is also very important. To avoid depression you can learn how to calm down in hard situations by listening to good music, doing things you like. Friends can help you with advices; their presence in your life is the key for feeling accomplished, for a good spiritual life. Having someone close to you who sustains you makes you confident. If I were to refer about myself, I can say I like keeping fit and I’m following pretty much of the advices I mentioned earlier. For having a healthy body I take vitamins and dancing when I’m alone in the room (you don’t have to be a dancer to know dancing).For my mental health I learn a lot, face with difficult exams and have to be concentrated. My spiritual life is full of music, friends and joy and hope to be like that forever. There are also moments you keep these three elements on a bad level, but you can’t always keep you body, mind and spirit on good levels, although it worth’s trying. Research Papers on Things you do to keep fitThe Masque of the Red Death Room meaningsMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever ProductTrailblazing by Eric AndersonThe Spring and AutumnWhere Wild and West MeetHip-Hop is ArtInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married Males19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraMind TravelThe Effects of Illegal Immigration

Should America Provide Universal Health Care Taking a look at the Research Paper

Should America Provide Universal Health Care Taking a look at the Affordable Health Care Law 3 side to the issu - Research Paper Example Now, all of a sudden, panic has set across the entire nation and there is constant uproar from the citizens of US to bring about a positive change to the Health care system. The US government got its act together and in March, 2010, passed the Affordable Health Care Act, signed by President Barrack Obama. The response of the country to this law has been mixed. This section of the report discusses about the people who support the law and the reasons they provide for their stand. What is Affordable Health Care Act? The primary focus of this health care act is to account the health insurance companies for the maximum of the medical expenditures spent by their customers. The previous health reform acts were complained of having higher costs and hence this act intended to lower those prices and at the same time improve the quality of the treatment meted out to the citizens. (Detmer, 2010). The major provisions of this act were: To push most of the health expenditure to the insurance organ ization itself To improve the coverage prospects of citizens with their already existing plans. To give a better coverage of the prescription drugs which were lacking in previous health laws Medicare’s trust fund support has been extended up to 12 years Who supports it? The major support for this health care act was from President Obama and his administrators. The democrats are also on the same boat with Obama, supporting the law and its implications. Other social organizations like Plan Parenthood, Health & Human Services have offered their support to this law. (Novelli, 2009). In addition, there has been consistent support from attorney generals of several states including the state politicians. Why do they support it? According to the President, the health care act ensembles, â€Å"the core principle that everybody should have some basic security when it comes to their health care.† (Stolberg&Pear, 2010). He is of the opinion that this law is what several generation s of American people were looking for to vitalize their life with a new sense of hope. He is also establishes the point that this bill would bring out the economic inequalities present in the US society, the first of its kind since its inception in the society, three decades back. Apart from the proposed health benefits the act has to offer, on the political front, it is an important bill for strengthening the president’s rule over country. Its success, on the political front would put Obama’s administration on a better perspective among the opposition party as well as to the people of America. Organizations like Plan Parenthood, Health & Human Services are of the opinion that the law would make way for an affordable prescription drugs and it would make the services to be person centered approach where the required doctors could be seen from a single place instead of running around several places to meet separate doctors. Canada offers one good example for a health car e system that has been universal in its approach, providing health care to all its citizens in an efficient way. It works in such a way that the public funds act as the major sponsors for the health care system, with minor contributions from the private sector. (Maddox, 2010). Several politicians, statespersons and attorney generals are of the view that this act has set US in the right course of action to provide a universal health care syste

Book review of The Holocaust in History by Michael R Marrus Essay

Book review of The Holocaust in History by Michael R Marrus - Essay Example The Holocaust in History is a book that affiliates to a broad historical perspective, which deserves a good and exhaustive reading by the students of history, if not by the lay people. Its goes without saying that Marrus did resort to an exhaustive research and documentation, to come out with this immaculately contrived introduction as to how the historians tend to write about the Holocaust. The approach of Marrus tends to emphatically highlight the need for demystifying the Holocaust, so that it may be studied as an event in the contemporary Western history. Hence in this book, Marrus has systematically summarized the available authoritative historical writings pertaining to the salient aspects of the Holocaust that are, the pivotal position and scope of anti-Semitism in Nazism, the role played by the Jewish resistance, Jewish leadership and bystanders, and collaborators. To put it simply, The Holocaust in History has less to do with the history of the Holocaust and is more about th e historiography of the Holocaust. In The Holocaust in History Marrus does delve on the centrality of anti-Semitism to Nazism, but not in a very polarized perspective as preferred by many other historians. In the preface to this well written book, Marrus classifies the literature pertaining to Holocaust in two categories, one comprising of works drafted â€Å"as witness, or in commemoration, or as a sombre warning to future generations†; and the other that were meant to be â€Å"the modes of discourse, the scholarly techniques, and the kind of analysis used for all other historical issues.† Marrus’ work, The Holocaust in History primarily focuses on the second type of literature. In this book, Marrus primarily seems to be engrossed in the task of analyzing what the other historians have so far researched and written about the facts pertaining to the Holocaust, to dig out and analyze the details of what actually happened and how it happened, and to delve on the s alient causes behind the Holocaust. Though it may certainly surprise the contemporary students and teachers of history, yet, it is a fact that significant parts of the literature that Marrus relied on while writing The Holocaust in History, ascribes to 60s or later times. This is so because Marrus believes that in the aftermath of the Holocaust, either there was a scant interest in the Holocaust, or much historical writing, scholarship and documentation about Holocaust was â€Å"ghettoized† and not balanced. It was only in the early 60s or later that the Holocaust as a topic of historical interest experienced a turning point. According to Marrus, the Holocaust claimed the lives of six million Jews, yet to limit the scope and magnitude of Holocaust to the Jewish sufferers would be an immense historical travesty (p.8). To arrive at a total and realistic relevance of the Holocaust, the historians also need to take into account the six million non-Jewish sufferers who also had to bear with the tyranny and consequences of the Holocaust (Marrus p.9). The Holocaust also claimed the lives of millions of Gypsies, Russian POWs, Spanish Republicans, Poles, Czechs, French and homosexuals (Fischel p.38). Though, it is different that the Eastern victims of the Holocaust received a different treatment as compared to the victims from the Western Europe, both from the historians and the Western political leadership. While unravelling

1880-1929 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

1880-1929 - Essay Example This migration fuelled economic activities thus leading to urbanization. This progressive era saw the 15th and 16th Amendments being passed that served to free the black American community from chains of slavery and discrimination. It is also these amendments that gave the black men opportunity to participate in electoral voting. However, women had to wait until 1920 before they earned their rights to participate in electoral processes. The progressive legislations were clearly a product of grassroots pressure from abolitionists and women rights movements. Women suffrage movements had by 19th century gained momentum and little could have been done to tone their demands down. All they wanted was their rights just as the African Americans demanded for them. After the war, it was evident that most blacks were still being victims of segregation as most of their basic freedoms were curtailed. Secondly, the industrialization has just taken its roots and most of the workers felt they were working under deplorable conditions. Statistics gathered in the same period revealed that most employees had succumbed to death due to injuries or illnesses relating to their workplaces. Labor movements soon shaped up and calls for the end of child labor, improved working conditions, and better pay became the order of the

Factors Affecting Social Entrepreneurship

Factors Affecting Social Entrepreneurship This purpose of this report is to highlight the different factors such as networking, leadership and innovation that affect Social Entrepreneurship. This study provides an analysis of social entrepreneurship. The paper suggests the factors associated with successful social entrepreneurship, particularly with social entrepreneurship that leads to significant changes in the social, political and economic context for poor groups. In the study, a literature review combining different theories with research on social entrepreneurship is presented. The study shows that networking, leadership and innovation plays a role in enabling the social entrepreneur to take on a different role set. CHAPTER 1:  INTRODUCTION BACKGROUND Social entrepreneurship, over the years have gained a lot of attention and popularity, mostly due to its concept based on the fields of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), (Tozzi 2009; Murray 2007) which have turned many entrepreneurs to pursue their business initiatives towards the betterment of the society or the environment in an innovative way, and at the same time running a profitable business (Martin and Osberg, 2007). Since social entrepreneurship covers important topics such as social, political, ethical and environmental it has climbed up the agenda throughout the world, as different regions, countries, and disciplines are able to relate to social entrepreneurship (Vabarova, 2009) Social entrepreneurship has caught the eyes of theorists around the world in recent years (Dees, 2001; Leadbeater 1997; Thompson 2002). Not only the academic researchers have shown their interest in social entrepreneurship, it has also caught the eyes of business researchers (Bloom and Chatterji, 2009; Thompson, 2002). Social entrepreneurship provides an interesting perspective on business research, as it combines various entrepreneurial driving forces, which are driven towards the betterment of the society. (Dees, 2001) Today with increasing concept of the companies to think and act globally, social business initiatives have become quite observable (Bamburg, 2006; Bloom and Chatterji, 2009) The concept of social entrepreneurship was itself a big inspiration to make this report. The role of networking, leadership and innovation make this topic more interesting, in as how social entrepreneurs uses such factors in development and growth of their businesses. Recently, a Nordic research project was conducted by the Nordic Innovation centre which did a study on the topics of social entrepreneurship, the topic was mostly based on the innovative initiatives derived from environmental, social, or ethical issues, through this research it was also derived that networking plays a very important role in social entrepreneurship. The interviews with some of the social entrepreneurs clearly showed as how networking has helped them in positioning themselves and their business missions. In an interview with Diana Svensk, who initiated a business, offering ecologically hats gave an interesting view on her way to run her business as an entrepreneur: I tend to transform every social situation from a wedding to a formal meeting- into a working space. I always grasp the opportunity to discuss and vent my opinions, regardless of the circumstances, and I frequently find myself in debates about entrepreneurship, moral, fashion, and the environment. This is how I connect with people, and it leads to new connections and thoughts, inspiring me to constantly act in new directions when the next day arrives (An interview from the journal of Frigell and Gustavsson) The concept of social entrepreneurship is mostly applied to the context of social problem solving (Dees 1998; Thake Zadek 1997; Emerson Twersky 1986) thus in order to find an effective and sustainable solution to these problems, solutions are generally associated with certain changes or new innovation in business creations. The concept of social entrepreneurship clearly emphasizes the innovative character of the business initiative. The replication or expansion of existing services is a valuable solution to a social problem. When the resources or capacities for the expansion of goods and services are not available then creative initiatives are used to serve wider population (Uphoff 1997, Esman Krishna 1998) such creative initiatives represent social entrepreneurship. Most of the literature on the leadership focuses primarily on individuals and their personal skills or attributes (Gardner 1995; Heifetz 1994) but on the other hand some of the literature believes that leadership groups may be more important than individuals, and focusing primarily on individuals may obscure essential aspects of the initiative (Paul 1982; Thake Zadek 1997) however it is also believed that leadership-whether group or individual is important in the success of social entrepreneurial ventures. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE Social entrepreneurship is rising at a fast speed. Social Entrepreneurship refers to recognizing a social problem and using social entrepreneurial principles to organize, create, and manage a venture to make social changes. (Wikipedia 2009) Social Entrepreneurs are commonly associated with the voluntary and not-for-profit sectors. They promote health, welfare and well-being. Their assets in the form of social capital are- relationships, networks, trusts and co-operation. They should be socially networking in order to create a physical and financial capital. (Leadbeater, 1997) The purpose of the researcher through this report is to find out the different factors that have an impact on Social Entrepreneurship. SPECIFIC AIM: The main specific aim of the research is to find out the impact of different factors on social entrepreneurs, thus in order to fulfill the aim of the research the study conducts case studies of different Indian Social Entrepreneurs. RESEARCH PROBLEM AREA: Since the group of social entrepreneurs has increased in a large number in a relatively short time, the researcher finds it relevant to study them, and analyze how they interact with their surroundings to shape their businesses. This is interesting that the social entrepreneurs Inspite of performing various entrepreneurial corporate, personal and socially driven roles, sometimes do not give much importance to the certain skills required in developing the business, thus this research is set-out to make in-depth case studies of Indian social entrepreneurs and their networking, leadership and innovative behavior. RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: The objective of this research is to find out the impact of networking / Leadership and innovation on social entrepreneurs RESEARCH QUESTIONS: R1: To what extent networking has an impact on social entrepreneurship R2: To what extent leadership has an impact on social entrepreneurship R3: To what extent innovation impact social entrepreneur HYPOTHESIS: H1: Networking has a significant role in the development of social entrepreneurship H2: Leadership has a significant role in the development of social entrepreneurship H2a: Successful social entrepreneurship initiatives are often founded by leaders with the capacity to work with and build bridges among very diverse stakeholders H2b: Successful social entrepreneurship initiatives have leadership that is characterized by: Long-term commitment to the initiative Capacity to catalyze adaptation to emerging contextual challenge H3: Innovation has a significant role in the development of social entrepreneur H3a: Successful social entrepreneurship involves innovations that mobilize existing assets of marginalized groups. LITERATURE REVIEW: SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP The twentieth century saw the rise of social entrepreneurship, as many of the entrepreneurs who were generating phenomenal ideas, products, and wealth began to turn their focus on the chronic problems of local, national and global communities. The highly successful entrepreneurs started realizing that giving money in donations for the causes they cared is not the only option to help the society, but bring an effective change through proper utilization of funds is more appropriate way to help the community. (Grace, 2005) Leadbeaters (1997) contribution to the research area of social entrepreneurship, The rise of the social entrepreneur, was among the first provisions within the field and provides a fundamental theoretical view of concept of social entrepreneur. Leadbeater (1997) argues that a social entrepreneur works in the intersection sector areas between private, the public, and the voluntary sectors. Source: Leadbeater (1997) NETWORKING An appropriate starting point for understanding network behavior is to consider the basic question: why do companies network? There is generally a wellà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ established answer in theory to this question, which contends that no business is an island (Hà ¥kansson and Snehota, 1989; 2006). The relational view, presented by Dyer and Singh (1998), highlights that the (dis)advantages of an individual firm are often linked to the (dis)advantages of the network of relationships in which the firm is embedded (p.660). This argument is in line with the recognition within business strategy research that the boundaries of the firm are problematic to define (Foss, 2005). Hà ¥kansson and Snehota (2006) explain the substance of this boundary problem by arguing that an organisations continuous interaction with other actors in its context endows the organisation with a meaning and role. Gadde et al (2003) further emphasise this proposition: The basic point of departure for an industrial net work approach is that firms operate in the context of interconnected business relationships, forming networks.(p. 357) With these theoretical references as a staring point, it is evident that relationships make sense, not the least, as they constitute a source of identification of the network actor, the firm, itself. In this aspect, networking as an activity, conducted with an intention to build and manage such relationships, makes sense as well. LEADERSHIP Much of the literature on leadership focuses primarily on individuals and their personal skills or attributes (Gardner 1995; Heifetz 1994) while the other primarily focuses on the groups as focusing primarily on individuals may obscure essential aspects of the initiative (Paul 1982; Thake and Zadek 1997). However leadership whether group or individual is important in the success for social entrepreneurs. According to (Dees et ol 2002) it is interesting to know that in order to make difference around them social entrepreneurs sacrifices the benefits that they could have achieved through working in for-profit sectors. The ability of an entrepreneur to mobilize resources and resources are the keys for successful leadership quality. One of the important factor in the leadership of a social entrepreneur is to motivate people to work for them, only social entrepreneur with good leadership quality is able to motivate others to sacrifice the benefits and help him in changing the world. Leadership does not come with the job title, age, race, religion, gender, color etc. A good leader should have certain qualities like Charismatic Convincing Credible Capable Visionary Focused INNOVATION Innovation is a very important factor for the development of social entrepreneurs. Not all provision of goods and services amounts to social entrepreneurship. In many cases, replication or expansion of existing services is a valuable solution to a social problem but does not necessarily require social entrepreneurship. When the resources or capacities to duplicate existing services for poor or marginalized groups are not available, creative initiatives that reconfigure existing resources or services for more effective or wider delivery are imperative to serve wider populations (Uphoff et ol 1997) Source: The Researcher

Effect of Multiple Plots in The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver :: essays research papers

The Bean Trees, written by Barbara Kingsolver, uses multiple plots throughout the novel. At the beginning, two plots are introduced. One involves Missy/ Taylor, the protagonist in the story, and the other involves Lou Ann. Kingsolver unites these two plot by having them move in together. Other minor plots describe the life of other characters such as Estevan and Esperanza, Edna and Virgie, and Mattie. Multiple plots in The Bean Trees increase suspense and depth in the story. The main characters in The Bean Trees are Taylor and Lou Ann. The first chapter is about Missy leaving Kentucky to find a better life. This chapter is written is 1st person, with Missy being the narrator. She is a person that is tired of her boring life, she changes her name to Taylor, and wants an adventure. She leaves home and goes on a road trip across America. Before Taylor began her trip, she stated, ?And so what I promised myself is that I would drive west until my car stopped running, and there I would stay? (Kingsolver 16). She later continued on Tucson, Arizona. On her trip, a baby girl is abandoned with her by a Native American woman. She decides to take care of Turtle as her road trip goes on. Taylor now has someone to talk to during her trip. Unfortunately for Turtle, her life has been ?Tempest-Tossed? (301). In other words, her life hasn?t been trouble-free and she?s gone through many things. It is possible to predict that the bruises on her body when she was abandoned with Taylor, was from being molested. Half her time with Taylor was on the road, and she was adjusting to a new life. The second chapter is about Lou Ann?s dilemma with her husband, Angel. This is written in omniscient limited point of view. Lou Ann and Angel have a young baby boy, Dwayne Ray. These two plots meet when Taylor responds to Lou Ann?s advertisement about a room mate, and they move in together. This gave the novel a unique introduction with two plots going on as the readers endure the suspense. The novel seems to be set in one tiny area in Tucson. Lou Ann is heading home and has just pasted the Jesus.Is.Lord?s and Fanny Heaven, when the narrator creates a clear picture of the area: ?She rounded the corner and stopped to do some grocery shopping at the Lee Sing Market, which faced the park directly across from where she and Angel lived?

How to Protect the Environment Essay

Character is a pattern of behavior, thoughts and feelings based on universal principles, moral strength, and integrity – plus the guts to live by those principles every day. Character is evidenced by your life’s virtues and the â€Å"line you never cross.† Character is the most valuable thing you have, and nobody can ever take it away. Why Character is Important Character in life is what makes people believe in you and is essential both for individual success and for our society to function successfully. Each individual must do his or her part every day by living a life of integrity. Integrity is adhering to a moral code of honesty, courage, strength and truthfulness – being true to your word. When you don’t exhibit integrity, other people get hurt. But you hurt yourself even more. When you cheat, your â€Å"success† is false. When you break a promise, you are showing that your word is meaningless. When you lie, you deceive others and lose their respect. All of those examples destroy your reputation and break the trust others have in you. Without your good reputation and trustworthiness, your relationships fail. Relationships and Success Relationships are the foundation for success in life. For example, when you destroy the relationships with your friends, you will have no friends. You will be isolated and alone. If a student promises not to cheat, but does, he is taking unfair advantage to put himself ahead of others without deserving it. He can ruin his reputation, his academic record and his job prospects forever. When a businessman makes a promise to customers and doesn’t deliver, he destroys his relationships with his customers. His customers go elsewhere and his business fails. By breaking your relationships, you break the foundation for success in your life. What is true success? For example, who is more successful? Someone who is famous and makes a great deal of money, or someone who has no fame, makes little money, but is a great parent? Today, in school, is too much emphasis being placed on â€Å"good grades† and â€Å"high test scores† – so much so that are these things, rather than good character, how we define success? Conclusion Your good character is the most important asset you have. It takes a lifetime to build but can be lost in an instant. Once lost, it is difficult to regain. Your true character is revealed when no one else is looking. Often, people decide to act based on short term gain, or an easy fix to a problem and end up doing the wrong thing. The old adage â€Å"you are what you do† is true. Failure to consider the long term consequences of your acts can be disastrous. By study and focusing on the importance of character, you will be guided by principles, moral strength, and integrity to do the right thing. Nothing is more important for true success in your life.

Free Essays on Hamlet And Revenge

Hamlet and Revenge In William Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet, revenge takes its foothold on the main character, Hamlet as he tries to avenge his father’s death. Revenge is a kind of wild justice which man’s typical nature runs toward (ERH). â€Å"The most tolerable sort of revenge is for those wrongs for which a law has not been set forth to remedy: but then let a man take heed the revenge be such, as there is no law to punish: else, a man’s enemy is still beforehand, and it is two for one (Bacon).† In all tragedies, a crime is committed and for various reasons laws and justice are unable to punish the one who committed the crime. Thus, the individual who is the main character, namely Hamlet, goes through with the vengeful act in spite of the dire consequences assured to come. Firstly, Hamlet is approached by the ghost of his deceased father. He learns that his uncle has murdered his father. His mother is also consumed in the tragedy, in that she remarries to Hamlet’s uncle in a rather brief period of time after the King’s death. The incestuous relationship between his mother and his uncle also adds to Hamlet’s mounting fury. The apparition then, is that from which Hamlet’s revenge springs forth. The first in Hamlet’s series of changes is one of doubt. He somewhat doubts the apparition and therefore, devises a plan in which to prove whether his uncle is the true murderer. Hamlet puts on a play, †The Mousetrap† for the new King and Queen. In this play, Hamlet reenacts the way in which the apparition says he was killed. In the midst of the play, the King stands and walks out torn by rage. Hamlet no longer needs proofthe King’s unsettled heart made the play unbearable; thus, Hamlet knew then the source from which his revenge stemmed. Once the period of doubt had been passed by, Hamlet then entered a state seen by many as madness. He ranted incessantly about things which no one could conjure sense from. T... Free Essays on Hamlet And Revenge Free Essays on Hamlet And Revenge Hamlet and Revenge In William Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet, revenge takes its foothold on the main character, Hamlet as he tries to avenge his father’s death. Revenge is a kind of wild justice which man’s typical nature runs toward (ERH). â€Å"The most tolerable sort of revenge is for those wrongs for which a law has not been set forth to remedy: but then let a man take heed the revenge be such, as there is no law to punish: else, a man’s enemy is still beforehand, and it is two for one (Bacon).† In all tragedies, a crime is committed and for various reasons laws and justice are unable to punish the one who committed the crime. Thus, the individual who is the main character, namely Hamlet, goes through with the vengeful act in spite of the dire consequences assured to come. Firstly, Hamlet is approached by the ghost of his deceased father. He learns that his uncle has murdered his father. His mother is also consumed in the tragedy, in that she remarries to Hamlet’s uncle in a rather brief period of time after the King’s death. The incestuous relationship between his mother and his uncle also adds to Hamlet’s mounting fury. The apparition then, is that from which Hamlet’s revenge springs forth. The first in Hamlet’s series of changes is one of doubt. He somewhat doubts the apparition and therefore, devises a plan in which to prove whether his uncle is the true murderer. Hamlet puts on a play, †The Mousetrap† for the new King and Queen. In this play, Hamlet reenacts the way in which the apparition says he was killed. In the midst of the play, the King stands and walks out torn by rage. Hamlet no longer needs proofthe King’s unsettled heart made the play unbearable; thus, Hamlet knew then the source from which his revenge stemmed. Once the period of doubt had been passed by, Hamlet then entered a state seen by many as madness. He ranted incessantly about things which no one could conjure sense from. T...

Schrenker Faked Death to Escape Financial Trouble

Schrenker Faked Death to Escape Financial Trouble Wealthy business owner and money manager Marcus Schrenker made headlines in January 2009, when he attempted to escape the consequences of frauding investors by parachuting out of his small one-engine prop plane in an attempt to fake his death. At one time, Marcus Schrenker had everything. He owned three investment consulting firms, lived with his wife and children in the exclusive Indianapolis suburb of Geist, in a $3 million dollar waterfront home that had a dock and a large swimming pool. Flying was a hobby of his and he owned two aircraft which he used to go on lavish vacations. But in January 2009, it all came crashing down. Idyllic Life on the Outside Marcus Schrenker was born on November 22, 1970.   He grew up in Merrillville, Indiana which is located in the Chicago metropolitan area. In 1989 Schrenker graduated from Merrillville High School, and then went to college at Purdue University. It was at Purdue that he met (former wife) Michelle, married and together they had three children together. As idyllic as the Schrenkers life appeared, there was also a dark side that those who lived with Marcus or around him were very aware of to the point of feeling discomfort when he was around. Schrenker would go from being friendly and charismatic to angry, unreasonable and combative. And, according to his neighbor Tom Britt in an interview with abcnews.go.com, episodes of this type of erratic behavior became more frequent as he grew older. Diagnosed with bipolar disorder, Schrenker did what many with this disorder do, he would often stop taking his medication, and Michelle, their children, and investors would end up paying the price. Savvy Financial Investor Turned Crook Schrenker owned three financial companies: Heritage Wealth Management, Heritage Insurance Services, and Icon Wealth Management.   His wife Michelle was paid $11,600 as the chief financial officer of the three companies and bookkeeper. She was also on the bank account of Heritage Insurance Services, which gave her the authority to write checks and withdraw money. But in 2008 Schrenker was under investigation in Indiana after several complaints were lodged by some of his investors, upset with how he was handling their money. Friends, the parents of friends and neighbors were among the investors that filed complaints. Michelle had also filed for divorce on December 20, 2008, after learning of her husbands infidelities with a woman who worked at the airport. Investors Supported Lavish Lifestyle Unknown to Schrenker, he had been under investigation for 10 years for various lawsuits that had been filed against him. Then on December 31, 2008, state investigators armed with a search warrant, seized computers, several plastic tubs filled with paperwork, the Schrenkers passports, over $6,000 in cash, and the title to a Lexus, from the Schrenkers home. On January 6, 2009, Schrenker was charged with unlawful acts by a compensated adviser and unlawful transaction by an investment adviser. Bail was set at $4 million.   According to Jim Atterholt, who was the State Insurance Commissioner, Schrenker charged investors exorbitant surrender charges after he moved them out of one annuity and into another. The investors were not told in advance about the fees.   Three days later, on January 9, Schrenkers company Heritage Wealth Management Inc. was issued a $533,500 judgment after a federal court in Maryland ruled in favor of OM Financial Life Insurance Co. The lawsuit contended that Heritage Wealth Management was involved in insurance irregularities and should have returned commissions of more than $230,000. Plane Crash   On Sunday, January 11, 2009, Schrenker flew off from an airfield in Anderson, Indiana in his single-engine Piper. He listed his destination as Destin, Florida. As he neared Birmingham, Alabama, he put out a fake mayday signal and told air traffic controllers that he had been badly injured and was bleeding profusely after the windshield of the plane imploded.Afterward, he put the plane on autopilot and parachuted out. Military jets attempting to intercept the plane reported that the door of the plane was opened, and the cockpit was dark and appeared empty. The jets followed the unmanned plane which crashed over 200 miles later in a swamp in Santa Rosa County, Florida, around 50 yards from a residential area.   After the crash, the plane was found somewhat intact. Investigators searched the plane and reported that there was no blood inside of it and the windshield was completely intact. Authorities put out a warrant for Schrenker arrest. On the Run Schrenker plan was to fake his death and make a run for it. On January 10, the day before he parachuted out of his plane, he drove to Harpersville, Alabama and stashed a motorcycle, money and other supplies in a storage facility. He informed the owner of the facility that he would return Monday. Once Schrenker parachuted to the ground, he made it to Childersburg, Alabama, where at 2:30 a.m. he asked for help from a private resident. He told the resident that he had been in a canoeing accident. He was given a ride to the nearest town and went to the local police station.   He gave the police the same story about being in a canoe accident, and after producing his (surprisingly) real identification, the police drove him to a hotel where he registered under a fake name and paid cash for the room. The following morning, after hearing about the plane crash and that Schrenker was on the run, the police returned to the hotel, but he was gone. Schrenker managed to walk undetected to Harpersville and retrieved his motorcycle then rode it a KOA Campground in Quincy, Florida. There he bought a tent site for one night, wood, a six-pack of Bud Light Lime and was given access to the campgrounds wireless access. Embarrassed and Scared On January 12, Schrenker emailed his friend, Tom Britt, and wrote that the crash was a misunderstanding and that he was too embarrassed and scared to return home, so instead checked into the hotel. He went on to say that he would soon be dead.   On the same day, a Hamilton County Superior Court judge froze both Marcus and Michelles assets. Capture The campground owners were contacted by the sheriff, who wanted to know if there was anything unusual going on there. They told the sheriff about the man who had checked in the previous day but had not checked out.  Soon afterward, U.S. marshals swarmed the campground and found Schrenker, barely conscious and incoherent, lying inside the tent. He had lost a lot of blood from a self-inflicted cut on his wrist and an area near his elbow. He was flown to Tallahassee Memorial Hospital. On January 13, Schrenker was arrested and charged in federal court in Pensacola, Florida, with deliberately crashing his plane and making a fake distress call.   Trials and Sentencing February 5, 2009A man in Dothan, Alabama was granted $12 million after an Alabama judge ruled in his favor that Schrenker had sold him a defective airplane. June 5, 2009  Schrenker pleaded guilty to intentionally crashing his plane as a way to escape his mounting financial and legal problems. He was sentenced two months later to four years and three months in prison, $34,000 in restitution to the Coast Guard for its search and rescue efforts and $871,000 in restitution to Harley-Davidson, the lienholder of the plane. Schrenker later pleaded guilty to three counts of securities fraud and two counts of working as an investment banker without being registered. He was given a 10-year prison sentence to run consecutively with the previous sentence for the fake plane crash, and he also had to pay $633,781 in restitution. Six Years Later Schrenker was released from prison on September 18, 2015.

Compassion Fatigue Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Compassion Fatigue - Essay Example The nurse would have to be compassionate and tailor the care given in a manner that suits the patient. In addition, the nurse ought to establish a relationship with the patient as such would fasten the recovery process. If the nurse fails to get emotional advice from her peers, she would soon be a victim of compassion fatigue from excessive exposure to such patients. Compassion fatigue is prevalent among inexperienced professionals. Nurses are prone to compassion fatigue due to their care giving roles in health institutions. However, this should not discourage nursing students from pursuing their careers because the condition is treatable. Nurses may seek professional advice from peers in the case of mild compassion fatigue. If the condition is severe, the nurse can seek medical help to mitigate the likelihood of depression. Hospice nurses are vulnerable to compassion fatigue due to their job description. They are responsible for offering palliative care to patients who are terminally ill, and likely to succumb to the illness. However, hospice nurses may engage in professional and social organizations where they interact with like-minded people and brainstorm. In addition, they may exercise to build on their physical and mental strength. It is prudent that hospice nurses create boundaries between work and home responsibilities to ensure that external parties are not affected. Showalter, S. (n.d.). Compassion Fatigue: What Is It? Why Does It Matter? Recognizing the Symptoms, Acknowledging the Impact, Developing the Tools to Prevent Compassion Fatigue, and Strengthen the Professional Already Suffering From the Effects. American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, 239-242. Retrieved March 19, 2015, from

Gerrymanderinf Reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Gerrymanderinf Reflection - Essay Example As long as they remain there, the practice continues. Gerrymandering causes political, racial and class tension in a country. Actions that can be taken to reduce the effects of this practice include redistricting based on neutral or cross-party agencies. Rectifying the voting systems, resizing large districts, regulating transparency in elections and having to use fixed districts in elections. Redistricting, however, faces major challenges in implementation. The challenges are related to the negative influence of the top leadership most of whom are the direct or indirect beneficiaries of the practice (Esman & Herring, 2003). In the process, taking a partisan level of approach is relatively easier and is faced with fewer challenges as compared to a bipartisan level approach. This is because with a partisan level, the decisions and explanations made are retained throughout the process. This game specifically relates to challenges the lawmakers often face as they try to change the wrong strategies that brought most of them to the office. There are three predominant types of gerrymandering. Cracking is a gerrymandering approach that spreads out a particular group of voters among a large number of districts thus denying them a majority vote in one area. For instance, most urban areas are even today divided into several districts voting independently to ensure that they do not have a majority advantage. Stacking is another strategy that packs the particular type of voters in a single district and thus significantly reduces their influence in other districts. This is still used today for instance in selecting districts based on racial divides. Mutually positive gerrymandering redraws districts such that two persons of the same group run against one another and hence they both are eliminated in the election that someone else wins (Nivola & Brady, 2006). Nivola, P. S., & Brady, D. W. (2006). Red and blue nation?: Characteristics and causes of

Employee Privacy Rights in the Workplace Concerning Internet Essay

Employee Privacy Rights in the Workplace Concerning Internet - Essay Example As workplace use of internet and reliance on e-mail grows, employers are spending more and more energy monitoring and regulating their employees' e-mails and other computer communications to avoid potential liability under hostile environment law. Even if antidiscrimination law were not a factor, employers would engage in a certain level of monitoring and regulation to ensure that their workers were not frittering away the workday instant-messaging their friends and Web surfing. But many employers are going well beyond what is needed to maximize productivity, and are using sophisticated surveillance tools to monitor employee e-mail to head off potential discrimination complaints. One-quarter of all large corporations, for example, perform keyword or phrase searches to censor employee e-mails, usually looking for sexual, scatological, or racist language (Rotenberg, M. 1993). Thus, the issue for all employees in the Internet age is the lack of safety in venting gripes online. "If you v ent to your best friends and your spouse, the boss never finds out," Houston Labor lawyer Linda Wills remarked. "If you vent in the hallway or on the Internet, you're asking for trouble". Of course, Internet monitoring is just one way employers track employees. "Most people who work for private employers have their constitutional rights put in the garbage for eight to ten hours a day".Basically, it is believed that Performance monitoring has been critical to organizational effectiveness for centuries. Monitoring enables organizations to obtain information that can be used to assess and improve employee performance. Motivated by the variety of benefits that may accrue from monitoring, organizations have sought to improve the effectiveness of their monitoring efforts by assessing employees’ e mail and websites which they browse. (Jerry Adler, 1998) It is also said that Employers are using these techniques in response to a wave of hostile environment lawsuits brought by women and others who either received sexually suggestive e-mails, or who were simply offended to discover that their coworkers had swapped such e-mails among themselves. Almost every hostile environment case contains allegations of offensive workplace e-mails. While it is true that few hostile environment cases succeed solely on the basis of allegations that a corporate defendant tolerated offensive e-mails, such e-mails do hostile environment defendants no favors, so it is most sensible to prohibit them completely. As a leading First Amendment scholar points out, as long as e-mails can be used as part of a hostile environment claim, â€Å"the cautious employer must restrict each individual instance of such speech. The employer must say,

Conflict is the essence of drama Essay Example for Free

Conflict is the essence of drama Essay The effect of conflicts in drama is profound, and conflicts contribute to a great extent in making drama attractive for audience to watch. Conflict basically forwards drama, while in the meantime it leads to changes that attract audiences as it progresses through time. Conflict shows character, their realizations, and also realizations of audiences, all of which make drama interesting to attract audiences. It projects meanings and gives vividness to drama, thus it makes drama interesting in order to attract audiences. Conflict forwards drama by introducing changes that keeps the audiences sited. Audiences find an unchanging play that follows routine to be boring and hopes to find differences. Thus, changes are necessary in drama for it to demand a reaction from the audiences thats maintained, so that they can keep focused to the play. In Oedipus, changes occur from the beginning of the play to the end. Oedipus doesnt go through a normal life as being a king or live a happy life with his wife, but experiences through a catastrophe that influences his life. Critical changes are brought out by conflict at certain moments and introduce newness to drama, for example when Jocasta discovers that Oedipus is the child she sent years ago. The conflict is within Jocasta herself, of sinfully being both a wife and mother of Oedipus. Also the conflict is between her and people of Thebes, including Oedipus, where the normal relationship has been destroyed. These two conflicts mean a dramatic change in Jocasta herself, and for the play, as it moves on acknowledging the effects of these changes. Similarly, in Macbeth, changes are brought out throughout the play, enriched by conflicts within characters, such as Macbeth, and conflicts between characters, such as between Lady Macbeth and Macbeth. The two monologs of Macbeth shows his inner conflict between his consciences and his ambition, which slowly drives him towards murdering the king. The vast change in his inner mind based on the conflict sets the basis for the play and leads to the potential consequences that happen later. Conflict between Lady Macbeth and Macbeth occurs when Lady Macbeth accuses her husband of not being a man to have the courage murder. Changes are brought out as Macbeth becomes more firm and aggressive towards the murder, which then affects direction of the whole play by moving closer towards the murder and gives the audiences anticipation towards the killing. Thi s brings a sense of delight in the audiences to keep them focused to the play. By having conflicts which leads to changes, drama is forwarded along with the reactions from the audiences. At the same time conflict forwards a play, conflict also shows character of the characters. In Oedipus, conflict is presented between characters such as between the Terisias the priest and Oedipus. The technique of stichomythic dialogue is used when the two have a conflict in their conversation, to show the characters emotions, especially Oedipuss pride. Short, fast sentences are used when Oedipus hears Teiresiass accusation on him, he says Shall I bear more of this and Teiresias answers I will. The stichomythic dialogue shows Oedipuss jealousy and his tyranny behavior. By being not able to see the warning language of Terisias, hes also shown to be arrogant. His conversation with Creon further shows his arrogance and hubris. Again, stichomythic dialogue is used when Oedipus says By no means. I would have you dead, not banished and Creon answers if you can show in what way I have wronged you. In Macbeth, conflict within Macbeth himself shows his character. In Shakespeares portrayal of Macbeth, theres resolution and irresolution, theres decision and indecision, all which describes his character. During the two long monologs, his relentless ambition fights with his conscience, showing the opposing two sides of his inner character. When Macbeth sees the dagger hanging in front of him, he mentions he thinks not of them and that theres no such thing, but it is indeed ironic because hes mind is actually focused on them. The irony shows his character, the fighting between trying to remain conscience by not thinking of them and murdering the king. He mentions the dagger as a false creation, but in his deep heart desires to use it. Along with showing character, conflict shows their realizations, and more, makes also the audiences to realize. With Oedipus, audiences realize the effect of hubris of people, after seeing how Oedipus experiences his downfall. Audiences realize how the dominating emotions of arrogance, jealousy, pride affect Oedipus in refusal to recognize his wrongness. The paradox of Terisias of being physically blind but sees things correctly in terms of morality further contrasts with Oedipuss emotion, and further encourages the audiences to realize hubris. Although in Oedipus, realizations happen while the audiences have a certain outline, some knowledge on the play, audiences still experience the play differently, since it is live. However, this is not true with Macbeth, as history of the play is made up as going along. Audiences realize the consequences of Macbeth after murdering the king by seeing that, in the end, he dies in the battle. Characters themselves also have realizations in drama, usually at critical moments where conflict makes the play changes its plot dramatically. Oedipuss realization of him being the son of Laius comes slowly, but also catastrophically. Again, the tension of the realization is built up using stichomythic dialogues. Oedipus realizes that he can never go back to where he was. His conflict lies in that he wishes to return to being the king as before, but the truth does not allow him to do so. Similarly, In Macbeth, realization of Macbeth comes with his action of murdering the king. There is clearly a feeling of being scared of others discovering their actions inside Macbeth and Lady Macbeth after murdering the king, as they rhetorically question the noise of the surroundings. Also, Macbeth mentions Ill go no more. I am afraid to think what I have done, suggesting he realizes the dangers that would occur to him if his actions were discovered. Conflict in drama projects meaning, though it might not project a resolution to the problem at the end of the play. The end of one conflict in the play doesnt necessary mean that there will be no future conflicts. In Oedipus, the fall of Oedipus doesnt indicate the problem of the nation has been solved, but on the contrary, there might be other arrogant tyrants like Oedipus in the future. However, the story of Oedipus somehow teaches the audiences to be morally good, therefore it has a meaning. Similarly, in Macbeth, the tragedy of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth teaches audiences to realize that following a path similar to them will lead to destruction. Duncans speeches of gracefulness, loyalty, honor, honesty and integrity are meant to project moral rightness, therefore to teach morally. Still, theres no final resolution at the end of the play and it may mean that there will be other tyrants like Macbeth in the future. However, the play itself has projected meanings which, attracts audiences to watch it because simply no one would be interested in a play with no meanings. In conclusion, conflict does not only perform the basic functions for drama, such as forwarding the play, but conflicts main effect is that it makes drama more interesting, which is essential to attract audiences. Changes are brought out by conflict that introduces something different, and something new. Also, characters in drama are shown vividly through conflict. Conflict projects meaning, create realizations of the audiences and characters, with all of this, it makes drama fascinating and irregular.

Report on Applied Management Project

Report on Applied Management Project According to Gibbs (1988), simply having an experience is not adequate enough to promote learning. Not reflecting on an experience gained through learning would result in you loosing that knowledge acquired. It is from the concept of reflection that assumptions and theories are drawn. And it is this assumption that allows new situations to be handled more effectively. (Gibbs 1988). The process of reflection, presents an opportunity for an individual to gain further insight into his/her work through critical reflection on experiences, and through further deliberations of other viewpoints from authors and theories. Moron (1999) sheds more light on this topic by stating that, reflection is a form of mental activity (or a way of thinking) that enables an anticipated outcome to be achieved. She suggests that reflection is applied to complex situation where there is no obvious solution. In simple terms, reflection evolves around the notion of learning. Through the process of reflection, we conduct an in-depth review of a piece of work. Reflection occurs when there is a motive or a set target. Subconsciously, this motive may not be realized. In spite of the fact that it may not be a planned endeavour, it is through this same process that a new idea evolves. Reflection is seen as an examination or review of earlier actions, events or decisions. Jasper (2003) contributed to this concept by suggesting that when we reflect on earlier experiences, we end up enhancing our being through the acquisition of new knowledge. LEARNING THROUGH REFLECTION Reflection can be defined in so many ways but they all yield the same outcome learning. David Kolb (1984) supports Gibbs (1988) and Jasper (2003) definition of reflection through the development of the Kolb cycle. It is drawn below in a simplified manner but still portrays Kolbs concept of reflection. The cycle is trigged by the idea of having an experience from a piece of work which goes through vigorous experimentation and reproduced through a new experience. Reflection plays a vital role in this cycle as it reproduces this new experience through the process of learning. Kolb (1984) saw reflection as a psychological activity that has a significant role to play in learning from an experience. In the Kolb cycle, reflection is seen as a developmental stage of the process of observation. In other words through the course of making an observation, an individual tends to reflect on an experience before the notion of learning is realized. While agreeing with this cycle, Moon (1999a) introduced another angle to this phenomenon by suggesting that while reflection is seen as a vital aspect of learning, it also acts as a catalyst for the assimilation of information already acquired. She elaborates further by emphasizing that reflection forms part of a kind of cognitive housekeeping role which in turn creates a new learning experience. RECOLLECTION OF EXPERIENCES The AMP began with a week of induction. Before the week, a module timetable was posted on Breo which divided students into cohorts according to courses and allocated venues. During the first three days tutors are assigned to various sessions to introduce the module to students and to provide us with necessary information required to embark on the project. On the third day, students are expected to form groups. After the formation of groups, each group is allocated a topic. We are to work together as a team to research on the topic and to come up with relevant resources. With the help of an assigned tutor or supervisor the topic is further broken down and made clear to all members of the group. At the end of the week we are encouraged to work individually and to share resources when appropriate. A summary of what took place during the 12 weeks is as outlined below. Day 1 Unfortunately, this day fell on my birthday. I woke up very reluctant to attend the first session but upon remembering the warning which came with the timetable, I had no option than to catch the virgin bus to Luton. I arrived 30mins late only to be embarrassed by the tutor on duty. Everyone seemed happy and the room was very noisy. Most of us were still talking about the exams. After the news that the topic would be given, the room became quiet all of a sudden. I became tensed and anxious because I had a topic in mind which I have been researching on. Whiles we were being introduced to the unit and the topics of report writing, information sourcing and referencing, I was busy reading the module handbook because I was still confused. We were informed that the project topic would be given out on the third day so we had to continue reading the module handbook and ask questions in our next session. I spent the rest of the night reading the handbook hoping the next day would not b ring anymore surprises. Day 2 The second day was even worst. Even though we had a tutor who kept making funny jokes, the introduction of Plagiarism, chunking and reflective writing really made me quite unsettled. The plagiarism session noted various examples of plagiarism and emphasized on the dos and donts of a good project. I was beginning to loose hope when the academic librarian took the stage. He talked about where to get relevant materials for our project. He answered almost all my questions and also said we would be spending sometime with the librarians to practice how to source for materials for our project. During the break, I met with my former group members and we agreed to stick to the same group. I was excited because most of us were hard working. Just when I was beginning to feel a bit better we were informed at the end of the session that the groups we form would be functional for just the subsequent two days. I went home even more unsettled and tensed than I was the previous day. Day 3 The next day, after meeting with my group members, we submitted our names and we were asked to choose a team leader to pick the topic. I was nervous and kept praying for my team leader to pick a reasonable topic. After some few minutes, she came back with our topic. Initially I panicked because I did not understand the topic but after reading through more than once, I had an idea of what was required. I couldnt wait any longer. I started reading, researching and making my own notes. I also passed through the shopping mall on my way home to grab a diary like I was advised. Day 4 and 5 -The final days of the induction week came very quickly and we were reminded that it was the last opportunity we had to ask for help on anything relating to the project topic. We were informed that any further attempt by a student to seek further guidance regarding the project topic would be denied. Although, I had a clear understanding of what I was expected to do, I was still unhappy at the end of the induction week. I was expecting to be supervised by an assigned tutor until the project was completed. Never the less, the group discussions we had with the assigned tutors reassured my confidence. It gave me the much needed clarification, direction and scope of research required. Weeks 2 and 3- In week 2, I started searching for relevant materials for my project. My first starting point was Google search engine as advised by one of the tutors during the induction week. My next point of call was the Universitys digital library and then the Milton Keynes library. My group members agreed to meet every Friday but I could not make it because I was working. They kept sending an update of the meeting until everyone decided to do an independent work. I still kept in contact with my group members to see what they came up with. We shared a lot of resources through email. I gathered as many articles and journals as I could and also kept updating my diary. Most of the information I came across were electronic books so it made my work easier. Week 4, 5 and 6 During the 4th week, it was more of the same thing. I kept reading and piling up articles and updating my diary. I realized that most of the materials we gathered during the first week had nothing to do with the topic because we were just brainstorming and searching with keywords so I deleted them. I took a second look at the objectives outlined during the group meeting and realized we had highlighted all the requirements needed to complete the project. I wrote short notes on any relevant material I came across and kept the reference in another folder. After realizing the magnitude of articles I had piled up, I became scared of loosing them so I made copies as backup. In week 5, I started extensive reading on the relevant materials and made important notes that would help me with the structure of my work. I later realized in week 6 that I was having an entirely different notion of the project topic. I now understood some other angles in which I had to tackle the proj ect topic which was completely different from my initial approach during the induction week. Weeks 7, 8 and 9- From previous experience, I decided to start with the body of the report. As I started typing out what I had written down, I realized that I had too many theories and most of them were just talking about totally different things. I began to panic so I stopped, took a second look at the articles and deleted the irrelevant ones. I managed to bring everything together on paper before typing again. I initially thought it would be very easy to put all the information together after several weeks of extensive reading. In week 8, I discovered some of the things I wrote down were not heading in the direction I had hoped for so I decided to take a second look at the materials I considered irrelevant. To my amazement, these materials were making more sense than the previous materials. I started reading and integrating the useful information into what I previously had. By the end of week 9, I had completed my literature review. Weeks 10 and 11- On the 10th week, I woke up with a terrible headache hence I progressed at a very slow pace. A group member advised me to start working on the reflective report. The diary was very helpful. I used the module handbook as a guide to start my reflective report. I was determined to complete my report before the deadline. In week 11, I completed my reflective report but I was unsettled because it accounted for just 20% of the overall mark. I decided to adopt a strategy of typing out relevant information I had in my hand written notes. I was astonished to find out that I only had to take out some few sentences and I was back on track. I banned my self from watching television and social networking sites till my work was submitted. Week 12- The last week of the AMP was really stressful. I sat down in front of my computer from 7:00 in the morning till 11:00 in the evening. My eyes were hurting but I couldnt take any chances. The pressure kept pilling up when I received a call from my father asking about my graduation date so that he could book his air ticket on time. Through hard work and dedication, I finished my work on the fourth day. I quickly uploaded it to three plagiarism websites to see if it flags up anything. It came up with 5% plagiarism so I properly paraphrased those areas and gave it to my best friend to prove-read and check for spelling mistakes. She came back with minor grammatical errors. I corrected them and began counting the days towards the completion of my masters program. I printed out the two copies as instructed and made an electronic copy. I took it to a local cafe over the weekend to bind it and submitted my work on the last day of submission. I returned home to submit another electron ic copy via turnitin. I was full of smiles when I realized it was all over. PERSONAL FEELINGS AND LEARNING FROM THE EXPERIENCE The AMP was a very challenging endeavor but I rose to the challenge. I was very confident of producing a good project until I was told the topic would be given to us. I was thrown completely off guard but I was determined to give off my best. The new experience was exciting at the same time very nerve wrecking. Since the week started off on a bad note, I was in no mood for surprises. However, it was as a result of this panic and feeling of anxiety that motivated me to work harder. As an Msc student, I was under pressure to apply what I had learnt in the classroom to a real life scenario. I must mention that the total weight the AMP carried as a unit also gave me the scare. My grades were not exactly that good so it was an opportunity for me to improve my performance. I was very upset when I was let down by some of the articles and journals I pilled up but with the experience from previous projects, I quickly recovered and in the end I was satisfied with the final outcome. There were a lot of lessons learnt during this project. I learnt that it is very bad to assume the form a project would take before you are assigned to it. I learnt that setting milestones and deadlines ensures that projects are delivered on time. Even though in my case I had so many short falls I was aware of what was needed to be achieved at each stage. Being organized focused and time conscious ensured that my project was delivered on time. One lesson also worth mentioning is the concept of planning a project structure. This enabled me to define the scope of my project to prevent me from deviating. In addition to this, the first week of the induction made me realize how important it was to work as part of a group. I would have loved to finish this project as part of a group work, but it gave me the opportunity to develop the skill of working on my own initiative. GROUP DYNAMICS AND LEARNING FROM THE EXPERIENCE According to Guirdham Maureen (2002), a group is defined as three or more people interacting together to complete a common task. Mullins (2007) agreed with Guirdham Maureen (2002) definition and went further to explain the five developmental stages of a group. That is Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing and Adjourning. Applying that to my AMP group: Forming Stage: My group went into the Forming stage on the second day of the AMP week. There was no need to introduce ourselves because we knew each other. We had a brief discussion and arranged to meet the next day for our topic. Storming Stage: The group went into the storming phase when we were given our topic. We spent sometime reading the topic, trying to understand what was being asked of us. We shared ideas but we were unable to pinpoint what we were supposed to research on. We came together the next day still confused. But with the help of the assigned tutor, we started brainstorming and writing down keywords that would guide our research. It is important to note that there were some conflicts but the tutor present, managed to resolve all issues. We met on the final day with articles and journals to share. We were clear as to what was required of us and we all left the meeting satisfied. Norming Stage: This stage occurred towards the end of the last group meeting. We had most of our questions answered and we were in a good position to start our research. The groups norms were governed by the fact that we had a common task to complete even though it was to be done individually. We basically had to abide by good professional ethics and behavior which were acceptable as students. Performing Stage: This stage was the longest in the groups development. We worked individually and communicated ideas by email. Even though we had a common goal, the success of the project was based on each member giving off their best to obtain a good grade. Adjourning Stage: The group slowly died out when each member submitted their work. I must say it did end early for some as they worked faster than others. One lesson I learnt was that, whenever we came together to brainstorm and to share ideas, it promoted further understanding of the topic. This helped to calm nerves and assured us that we were on the right track. During the tutor lead discussions, each member of the group was offered an opportunity to shed more light on the topic. This encouraged members to expand on their ideas and elaborate further. In my case, my group leader served as a role model to me. She was energetic and organized. She motivated me to think faster and to improve my research skills. As far as I am concerned, there were no elements of group thinking. Each member was dynamic and argued out their points from different perspectives. Even though we all came from different cultural backgrounds, no one was intimidated. Every opinion was valued and conflicts were resolved amicably. Another lesson I also learnt as part of the group was that, I was able to work independently and effectively with the help of the feedbac ks I received from my group members. With the right group members, the most difficult project can seem very easy. LESSONS FOR FUTURE PROJECTS Looking back at the whole experience, I would say that the project has positively impacted the way I think and conduct research. Approaching a project with a negative attitude is not the best. It is natural to be nervous when embarking on a new project but panicking leads to more mistakes. In future, I would rely on my experience, remain calm and plan properly. To track my progress, I would also ensure that I set achievable and reasonable targets. Whenever possible, in future projects, I would ensure that I benefit from the groups dynamism and experience. As a personal motivating factor, in future projects, I would ensure that I work beyond my ability to motivate other members to do the same. Working under pressure is not always avoidable due to time constraints hence in future projects, I would ensure that I plan properly using the right tools such as Gantt charts as guidance. From the AMP experience, I would ensure that in future projects, I keep meaningful hand written notes and d iarize events incase a reflective report is required at the end of the project. Lastly, in sourcing for materials, I would ensure that only relevant materials are stored to enable me work effectively. CONCLUSION From the definition of reflection, it can be deduced that reflection is an essential part of learning and knowledge acquisition. We reflect because there is a subconscious purpose or reason which tends to improve our previous experience and give us further insight into the topic of discussion. Even though I started off on a sketchy path, I hit the road running once the scope and objective of the project was realized. With determination and the zeal to succeed, I followed the advice of tutors and good project management to reach my target. The AMP project was much difficult than I anticipated but the experience gained would certainly go a long way to improve my performance in future projects. Working as part of a group also expanded my horizon and presented me with new challenges. With the right motivation and team spirit, I gradually overcame my worries and anxiety. To conclude, even though I would have preferred choosing my own topic, I must confess that the topic given us was quite interesting and one that required much research. It would have been more interesting to work with our chosen groups throughout the duration of the project but that would have also discouraged individual dynamism and participation. The AMP experience was worthwhile considering the fact that we were working on a masters level. When given a similar project in the future I hope to tackle it with greater zeal and determination. I am of the view that with the right resources and motivation in the future, a much deeper research can be carried out on the topic.