People Republic of China Constitution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

People Republic of China Constitution - Essay Example But the Chinese people had yet to fulfill their historical task of overthrowing imperialism and feudalism. After waging hard, protracted and tortuous struggles, armed and otherwise, the Chinese people of all nationalities led by the Communist Party of China with Chairman Mao Zedong as its leader ultimately, in 1949, overthrew the rule of imperialism, feudalism and bureaucrat capitalism, won the great victory of the new-democratic revolution and founded the People's Republic of China. Thereupon the Chinese people took state power into their own hands and became masters of the country. After the founding of the People's Republic, the transition of Chinese society from a new- democratic to a socialist society was effected step by step. The socialist transformation of the private ownership of the means of production was completed, the system of exploitation of man by man eliminated and the socialist system established. The people's democratic dictatorship led by the working class and based on the alliance of workers and peasants, which is in essence the dictatorship of the proletariat, has been consolidated and developed. The Chinese people and the Chinese People's Liberation Army have thwarted aggression, sabotage and armed provocations by imperialists and safeguarded China's national independence and security and strengthened its national defense. ... nternational economic relations in the service of Chinese development." (Potter, 2001) An independent and fairly comprehensive socialist system of industry has in the main been established. There has been a marked increase in agricultural production. Significant progress has been made in educational, scientific, cultural and other undertakings, and socialist ideological education has yielded noteworthy results. The living standards of the people have improved considerably. Both the victory of China's new-democratic revolution and the successes of its socialist cause have been achieved by the Chinese people of all nationalities under the leadership of the Communist Party of China and the guidance of Marxism-Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought, and by upholding truth, correcting errors and overcoming numerous difficulties and hardships. The People's Republic of China is a socialist state under the people's democratic dictatorship led by the working class and based on the alliance of workers and peasants. The socialist system is the basic system of the People's Republic of China. Sabotage of the socialist system by any organization or individual is prohibited. All power in the People's Republic of China belongs to the people. The organs through which the people exercise state power are the National People's Congress and the local people's congresses at different levels. The people administer state affairs and manage economic, cultural and social affairs through various channels and in various ways in accordance with the law. The state organs of the People's Republic of China apply the principle of democratic centralism. The National People's Congress and the local people's congresses at different levels are instituted through democratic election. They are responsible to

Study of Teachers Essay Example for Free

Study of Teachers Essay As educAtionAl leAders, clAssroom teAchers, students And pArents will Agree, 21st century teAching cArries with it A complicAted mix of chAllenges And opportunities. chAllenges include the issues of teAcher turnover, AccountAbility, chAnging student populAtions And student expectAtions, mounting budget pressures, And intense demAnd to build students’ 21st century skills. On the opportunity side of the equation, the growing capacity, capability, and power of technology-based tools and resources give the education community the ability to address these challenges successfully. With strategic use of 21st century learning tools, educational institutions can provide the supportive productive environment educators need to reach, teach, and support each student’s learning needs and potential. TEAcHIng In THE 21ST cEnTuRy TEAcHIng In THE 21ST cEnTuRy: THE LAndScAPE TEAcHER TuRnovER: A HEfTy PRIcE TAg $7. 3 billion. That’s the estimated annual cost of teacher turnover in U. S. schools according to a recent policy brief published by the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future (NCTAF). And in a recent cost study, NCTAF estimates that the cost of losing teachers in their first three years of employment ranges from $4,300 in rural schools to $17,800 in large urban districts. While consumer, business and professional media cover the student drop-out dilemma in our nation’s schools, another, equally alarming problem is gaining momentum. Teachers are leaving the profession at a rate that has grown by more than 50% over the past 15 years. Each year 16. 8% of our nation’s teachers leave, and in urban schools, that number spikes to 20%. 1 Source: National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future. Teachers are rapidly leaving the profession both before and at retirement age. THE AdmInISTRATIvE cHALLEngE As administrators in districts will attest, the hard costs connected to recruiting, hiring, and training new teachers are just part of the picture. Teacher quality and student achievement are â€Å"at risk† in this highturnover environment as well. Under the provisions of the federal No Child Left Behind legislation, teachers are also required to meet requirements for â€Å"highly qualified status† which encompasses content area knowledge, coursework, and instructional practice. Thanks to new data warehousing and analytical innovations, qualification is just one part of the way districts and their stakeholders are evaluating teachers. Teachers are now often evaluated based on student achievement and teaching practice, supporting the belief that highly qualified teachers also need to be highly effective. For many, this a more important measure than coursework, years of experience, and other factors. Highly effective teaching, however, is constantly changing as student demographics, social learning, and education technology continues to change the landscape. TEAcHIng In THE 21ST cEnTuRy. â€Å"we want our teachers to be highly effective. A teacher can be highly qualified but still not very effective. that’s why we had to start thinking more comprehensively about how we are going to step into a digital learning environment to strengthen our professional development and support. † John canuel Jefferson county School district colorado With all of these pressures in play, administrators find themselves in a constant state of â€Å"rebuilding the staff. † The impacts are particularly profound in urban and rural schools in greatest need of highly qualified, highly effective teachers. Why? Oftentimes, many schools have high numbers of teachers who may lack experience and qualification. Or teachers who must teach multiple subjects are required to demonstrate subject matter expertise in each. In many cases, teachers often do not receive additional professional development or support when assigned to the most challenging environments. In many instances, there is simply a shortage of teachers who meet certification requirements. TEAcHERS undER PRESSuRE While administrators grapple with the high costs of turnover, recruiting and retention, teachers are dealing with their own unique sets of challenges. Meeting more stringent licensure requirements, added professional development demands, and increasingly rigorous course content often add emotional and professional stress to teachers’ lives. The added pressures of the accountability movement requirements such as increased reporting, additional testing, differentiating instruction for diverse learners and involvement in their school communities, add time to their already full schedules. Parental expectations for thorough communications and rapid response to questions and requests add greater demands to their overflowing workdays. And while teachers generally are committed to their students, enjoy their work, and are devoted to their profession and their content areas, 21st century students come to school with very different sets of experiences and expectations than their 20th century counterparts. These tech-savvy, multi-media, multi-tasking digital natives navigate everyday life far differently than many of their digital immigrant teachers. Connecting with them, relating to them, and motivating them now requires teachers who are open to new ways of teaching and supporting students. Given these challenges, teachers who are new to the profession often find themselves frustrated, disappointed, and unsupported. They leave their schools and often the profession and the cycle continues. STudEnTS nEEd moRE Students across the achievement and socioeconomic spectrum need and deserve motivating, supportive instructional environments, engaging content, and the opportunity to learn in settings that support collaboration with peers, teachers, and the larger world community. Students today live digitally every day. They use the Internet, text messaging, social networking, and multimedia fluidly in their lives outside of school and they expect a parallel level of technology opportunity in their academic lives. There is a disconnect between the way students live and the way they learn, and student engagement ultimately suffers. Closing this gap is a challenge for our current school systems. TEAcHIng In THE 21ST cEnTuRy THE gEnERATIon gAP†¦REvISITEd Thomas G. Carroll, president of the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future reports that a third of the nation’s teachers are baby boomers who are wedded to a stand-and-deliver teaching process. Carroll stated, â€Å"We have a new group of young Generation Y teachers. They’re in their 20’s and while they often share the values of the ‘[baby] boomers’ they tend to be very idealistic and very oriented to teamwork, collaboration, constant communication, multi-tasking, and technology. These young teachers find themselves in classrooms and schools that don’t match their vision or expectations. Couple that with ‘boomer’ teachers who are being pushed into perhaps uncomfortable technology environments and you have some dissatisfaction at both ends of the spectrum. † Currently, the baby boomers and teaching veterans are retiring, representing nearly one-third of the teaching workforce. At the same time, 20% of all new teachers are leaving [the profession] as well. Carroll notes that American education will need to consider new staffing models in which â€Å"learning teams† representing crossgenerational teaching teams address students’ learning needs and opportunities. â€Å"†¦high quality teachers are the most important factor in a child’s education. † u. S. department of Education’s White Paper, meeting the need for High Quality Teachers: e-Learning Solutions, research including the 2003 report Teacher Quality: understanding the Effects of Teacher Attributes2 TEAcHER QuALITy STudEnT AcHIEvEmEnT: THE PRovEn connEcTIon Among education’s many stakeholders, one point of agreement remains constant. As reported in the U. S. Department of Education’s research including the 2003 report Teacher Quality: Understanding the Effects of Teacher Attributes shows that â€Å"high quality teachers are the most important factor in a child’s education. † In fact, this same report notes that teachers are the single most important factor in student achievement. Lower achieving students are most likely to benefit from improvements in teacher effectiveness. In addition, good teachers can make a difference of one grade-level equivalent in annual achievement gains. Teacher quality continues to rank as the most reliable predictor of student achievement. PuTTIng THE PIEcES TogETHER†¦In nEW WAyS When the teacher retention outlook combines with the proven importance of teacher quality and efficacy, it’s clear that systemic reform initiatives must encompass programs, strategies, 21st century learning tools and commitments to create supportive, productive environments for educators. Said NCTAF’s Thomas Carroll, â€Å"With NCLB, we have many of the right ‘pressure points’—most notably accountability for each student’s learning and knowing how each teacher is performing. When many district leaders examined the retention issue, they used to think what they had was simply a supply problem. Now, they’re recognizing that it’s not just about retention, it’s retention of effective teachers. † According to Carroll, there is a new role and new need for tools and strategies to help teachers become not just qualified, but effective. He states, â€Å"We need a continuous process of development for teachers in schools so that each teacher becomes as effective as possible. There’s a more systemic process in schools that school leaders can use to empower teachers to manage their teaching. † Carroll also noted that this systemic process, when supported by appropriate technology, can harness the collective wisdom of teachers, adding quality, continuity, and collaboration to the entire approach to teacher training, development, and retention. TEAcHIng In THE 21ST cEnTuRy nEW modELS And nEW oPPoRTunITIES TAkIng SHAPE In JEffERSon counTy, coLoRAdo John Canuel, Director of Technology, Division of Instruction, for Jefferson County Schools in Colorado, provides a working example of the systemic process described by NCTAF’s Thomas Carroll. Canuel described the district’s model saying, â€Å"No matter what else we put in place, it’s what a teacher does and the tools and resources we give a teacher that makes them effective. With our model, we focus on four main areas for supporting teachers. Teachers need curriculum and we define that as the key essential learning that students need to know throughout their career and that tie back to standards, benchmarks, and expectations. Next is assessment. We embrace and surround our teachers with effective assessment tools so they know not only what students need to know†¦but verify that they [students] know it. We also emphasize clear instructional practices and clear strategies for differentiation, reaching every student. Lastly, we focus on teacher leadership, so teachers truly understand the big picture about where students are going. † â€Å"The new technology infrastructure supports teachers with a constant community presence, in which content, curriculum and professional practice are integrated and immediately accessible† John canuel Jefferson county School district colorado  conTInuouS PRofESSIonAL dEvELoPmEnT goES onLInE Jefferson County, like other districts throughout the United States, sought to develop a technologyenabled approach that would provide continuous, on-going professional development. Among their goals were providing educators with more convenient â€Å"anywhere, anytime† access to learning materials and online courses, offering more personalized professional learning opportunities, and creating online communities that would support individual needs and the sharing of best practices. Canuel stated that the district used the four priorities noted above as the conceptual foundation for launching new technology-based educational tools and resources for teachers. In addition, the district’s leadership noted that teachers, young and veteran alike, were struggling with 21st century digital skills. As the district built its strategic plans, leadership challenged itself to â€Å"†¦think more comprehensively about how to step into a digital learning environment. † EducAToR communITIES of PRAcTIcE. Professional development was among the district’s first reform targets. Notes Canuel, â€Å"We have expanded the traditional professional development model. We believe that quality professional development is much more time sensitive and closer to the school. We use many site-based models for staff development and we’ve done a great deal of work around communities of practice, which, we’ve discovered, can be incredibly powerful. † These online communities provide discussion boards and give the district’s teachers the opportunity to share best practices. In Jefferson County, professional learning communities are now thriving both in and across the district’s 150 school buildings. The district introduced traditional online courses and discovered that educators genuinely valued the ability to interact with their colleagues. TEAcHIng In THE 21ST cEnTuRy From there, momentum began to build. Canuel notes that quite naturally, teachers are simultaneous members of multiple communities—within their own buildings, by grade level, by subject matter and more. Using a platform that integrates online course and content delivery and community, the district supports these multiple professional learning communities with a growing collection of custom resources and tools. â€Å"We’ve used technology-based tools to create a portal/professional learning community system, so teachers now receive customized delivery of information, around our four key priorities. † As an example, first grade teachers receive specific first grade information supporting curriculum, instructional practice, and other relevant communication. Canuel reports that this new system empowers first grade teachers to interact and share with one another, supporting informal professional development among colleagues. The district’s first grade teachers are sharing strategies and resources more fluidly and across building boundaries. The new technology infrastructure supports teachers with a constant community presence, in which content, curriculum and professional practice are integrated and immediately accessible. unExPEcTEd BEnEfITS Jefferson County’s Canuel noted that like districts everywhere, teacher workload was a difficult issue.students now see their teachers. When the new community portal/professional learning modeling effective, productive use of community system was introduced, the district technology and students perceive that expected some resistance from faculty based on the teachers are â€Å"†¦engaging in their world. † need for training and the time required to learn the new system. In both formal and informal surveys, the district has experienced unprecedented acceptance. According to Canuel, teachers are enthusiastic about the new tools, resources, and growing community. He stated, â€Å"Our teachers are more effective than they were, they are much more skilled, they have better knowledge, and we are starting to see that our teachers are more engaged. † He also noted that students now see their teachers modeling effective, productive use of technology and students perceive that teachers are â€Å"†¦engaging in their world. † Canuel also reported anecdotally that the new system is supporting teacher recruiting more effectively. He cites examples in which prospective recruits notice that the district is using â€Å"†¦the same kind of tools I’m used to using in college. † It’s tangible evidence that the district supports its teachers with quality resources and tools when new teachers come on board. In fact, all first and second year teachers in Jefferson County have their own community within the system and new teachers can see that they will have a digital support network when they begin their careers. SuPPoRTIng EducAToRS In BRoWARd counTy, fLoRIdA â€Å"we have found that the technology infrastructure we have in place has been essential in saving us time and money and keeping teachers in the classroom. † Laurie Jones m. S. Systems Analyst The School Board of Broward county, Laurie Jones, M. S. , Systems Analyst with The School Board of Broward County, Florida echoes the Jefferson County experience and points out that a critical component of that district’s commitment to provide a productive, supportive environment focuses on teacher induction. The district’s New Teacher Academy begins in an online-supported environment and then incorporates a hybrid model that includes both face-to-face professional development sessions and strong community-building support. TEAcHIng In THE 21ST cEnTuRy. SAvIng TImE And monEy WITH onLInE PRofESSIonAL dEvELoPmEnT Jones also noted, â€Å"In Broward County, we have concentrated on building a strong online course component as part of our professional development and teacher efficacy initiatives. We have found that the technology infrastructure we have in place has been essential in saving us time and money and keeping teachers in the classroom. † Jones also pointed out that the district’s professional development course completion rate has increased, as a result of providing additional courses online, since teachers can access their courses anytime or anywhere. Jones added that this new approach to professional development is increasing levels of job satisfaction and teachers are reporting a new eagerness to begin integrating online learning in their own teaching as well. Additionally, the technology supports better management of the county’s professional development program and is enabling administrators to continually measure and evaluate the impacts of its many professional development initiatives. EnABLIng EffEcTIvE PRofESSIonAL dEvELoPmEnT WITH TEcHnoLogy NCTAF’s Thomas Carroll offers important insights with regard to the role of 21st century technology tools and learning environments and their impacts on creating and sustaining teacher quality and efficacy. Carroll points out that embedded professional development can and should support induction and mentoring. In addition, technology now makes it possible to build communities focused on instruction and curriculum relevance and coherence. Additionally, 21st century tools allow teachers to communicate effectively with parents and provide teachers with the ability to give students immediate feedback about how they’re performing. According to Carroll, this directly affects teacher retention and most importantly results in improved teaching quality and student learning. ImPAcTIng TEAcHER RETEnTIon When districts support professional development programs with technology-based tools, the vision of jobembedded, on-demand teacher support becomes realistic. With effective learning management platforms, all teachers have the opportunity to expand access to professional development, reflect on their practice, and communicate with others, and the districts have tools to manage and track teachers’ engagement and progress. In the contemporary teaching and learning environment, every teacher needs to be effective. This demands the tools and resources required to improve practice continuously. Carroll makes a direct connection between effective technology tools and improved teacher retention and efficacy particularly when these tools make it easier for teachers to monitor their own and students’ performance. He states, â€Å"Turnover is often driven by a sense of efficacy. If teachers know they are doing a good job and making a difference with students, they are less likely to leave. When you can reduce turnover, you can start to improve effectiveness over time. † TEAcHER-To-TEAcHER coLLABoRATIon Technology-based collaboration and collaborative tools are also part of the emerging vision. Collaborative practice gives teachers the ability to learn from one another, benefit from self- and peer-assessment, and to plan and build instructional strategies together. Young teachers often report that they are isolated in their first-year teaching, working in a â€Å"sink or swim† environment. Learning, including learning to teach, is a social, collaborative process and according to NCTAF’s Thomas Carroll, it’s logical then to tap the power of technology to support teacher-to-teacher collaboration across a building, a district or a wider network of peers. That scaffolds teacher retention and accelerates new teachers toward proficiency and effectiveness. TEAcHIng In THE 21ST cEnTuRy SHIfTIng THE PARAdIgm†¦fRom TEAcHIng To LEARnIng. Laurie Jones from Broward County advises colleagues to follow established best practices when launching an online professional development and community initiative. She adds that research with neighboring colleges and other schools using online learning and community tools provides a valuable frame of reference as well. Jefferson County School district’s John Canuel advises school leaders to start their planning with core instructional goals, making sure to put technology â€Å"in service† to meet those goals, all the while remaining open to the new possibilities that technology can offer. NCTAF’s Thomas Carroll summarizes by saying that district and teacher leadership teams must work together to accurately assess their current teaching models and investigating new models that will address current issues and challenges, including the new â€Å"learning team† mentality in which the entire school team works to deliver better academic performance. Cohesive, comprehensive and integrated human resource, instructional, and professional development strategies are the driving force and technology tools and infrastructure are a core part of the foundation. For centuries, schools have been structured and perceived as places for teaching. The challenge in 21st century is restructuring schools as learning places†¦for both students and teachers alike. Technology’s role in the transformation is critical and valuable in creating learning environments that support teacher efficacy, productivity, and professional practice. REfEREncES Dwyer, Carol A. (2007), America’s Challenge: Effective Teachers for At-Risk Schools and Students, National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality Kleiman, Glenn M. (2005) (Education Development Center, Inc.), Meeting the Need for High Quality Teachers: e-Learning Solutions, U. S. Department of Education Secretary’s No Child Left Behind Leadership Summit; Increasing Options Through e-Learning Koch, Melissa and Fusco, Judith (2007), Designing for Growth: Enabling Communities of Practice to Develop and Extend their Work Online National Summary: 2007 State Teacher Policy Yearbook: Progress on Teacher Quality, National Council on Teacher Quality Policy Brief: The High Cost of Teacher Turnover (2007), National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future. Retrieved from www. nctaf. org. Teacher Quality: Understanding the Effects of Teacher Attributes (2003), U. S. Department of Education Worldwide Headquarters 650 Massachusetts Avenue N. W, 6th Floor Washington, DC 20036 P: 202-463-4860 F: 202. 463. 4863 www. blackboard. com.

The elementary forms of religious life

The elementary forms of religious life The elementary forms of religious life Introduction: Through his critical look at the most primitive religion, his epistemological inquiries into the genesis of thought, and his attempt to theoretically account for the functional and universal nature of all religions, The Elementary Forms of Religious Life has proven to be a seminal work both in the academic study of religion, sociology and social theory. Arguing ultimately that religion is the symbolic expression of society and social experience, Durkheim revolutionized the academic study of religion with his original and insightful approach.[1] I will begin with a brief recap of the argument laid out in The Elementary Forms of Religious Life, which will be followed by a discussion of the implications it has on the study of religion. Finally, I will discuss some of the major critiques of his theoretical approach and argument. Argument: Durkheim believes that in order to explain religion, we must identify its most primitive form (3). The fundamental elements which are found in primitive religion are closer and more related to the initial motives that caused religious actions (9). These elements provide the objective content through which we can understand all religions (7). Religion is defined as a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things, that is to say, things set apart by prohibitions-beliefs and practices that unite adherents to a single moral community called a church (46). The most elementary form must satisfy this definition. For Durkheim, the two leading conceptions of the most elementary form of religion were animism and naturism. They attempt to explain what causes man to experience the sacred. Animism claims man experiences the sacred because of the misinterpretation of his dreams. This misinterpretation generates the notion of souls that are part of a separate reality (61). Naturism claims man feels a sacred reality because of the extraordinariness of natural phenomena (68). These theories suggest that mans idea of the sacred is a delirious interpretation because there is nothing inherently sacred about man or nature (76). However, it is a basic postulate of sociology that a human institution cannot rest on error or falsehood or it could not endure (4). This means that any conception of an elementary religion must account for the sacred as a real force. Durkheim goes on to assert that there must be a religion even more primitive then animism and naturism which is able to explain where the force of th e sacred actually comes from. This religion is totemism (77). Totemism is most evidently found in primitive Australian tribes. The most important feature of these tribes is their division into clans (88). Each clan has a totem, which is its distinguishing feature. The totem is represented in the form of a plant or animal to which the clan has a special relationship. This totem, which is the identity of the clan, also has a religious character because of its prominent use in religious ceremonies (96). This totem is central to the clan because things are classified as sacred and profane in relation to the totems religious character (96). The negative cult of totemism uses prohibitions and taboos regarding the totem to keep the sacred and profane separate (221). For instance, there are prohibitions on eating the totemic animal except during religious rituals. Also, women and uninitiated are prevented from coming into contact with sacred objects. These prohibitions are necessary because of the contagiousness of the sacred (237). Sacred objects are contagious because they confer sacrality to the things they touch. This suggests that some type of force resides in sacred objects. This force, or mana, was the object of the clans worship, not the animal or plant of the clan (147). The positive cult of totemism uses ritual to put man in organized contact with this sacred force (221). In these rituals clan members gather together in large numbers. This is in contrast to the ordinary and monotonous experience the clan member has in which he exists more or less independently from others. When all the clan members come together their proximity generates a kind of electricity that quickly transports them to an extraordinary degree of exaltation (162). This collective effervescence takes man outside himself to the point that he feels he has been transported into a special world entirely different from the ordinary (164). When he calms down from this excitement he is left to believe that he exists in two completely separate realities: his daily life and his religious life (164). These two realities are essentially the profane and the sacred respectively. To understand how this collective effervescence gets its power we must understand the way in which the categories o f knowledge are constructed by society. For Durkheim, one leading theory of knowledge was empiricism which claims man constructs the categories of knowledge of time, space, genus, cause, number (etc.) exclusively from his individual experience (15). This is not valid because it does not explain how people from the same culture have identical notions of time and space, etc. The second leading theory, apriorism, solves this problem by claiming man inherits the categories of knowledge from a divine reason existing prior to his experience (16). There is no proof this divine reason exists. Moreover, it does not explain why the categories of thought vary within cultures. This implies, for Durkheim, that man gets his categories from society (13). Further evidence suggests this is the basic category of knowledge. Genus, the notion that similar objects belong to the same group, can be modeled from mans experience of his relationship to society. After all, a genus is indeed an ideal yet clearly defined grouping of things with intern al bonds analogous to the bonds of kinship (114). There were as many divisions of space as there were divisions of clans within the tribe (13). In addition, man had a sense the clans were all interdependent and formed a unified whole the tribe. It is this reason why mans classifications represented a complete set of categories through which everything could be accounted. The categories of knowledge are the most basic types of collective representations and are informed by the collection of individual representations. However, when these individual representations are translated into collective representations they take on a new character: going from personal to impersonal. These collective representations outlive the individuals which contributed to them and gain a high degree of depth and complexity. They form a framework for reason that is infinitely richer and more complex then that of the individual and goes beyond the range of empirical knowledge (18). These categories establish the reality of society that is sui generis, or completely unique. Man is unable to think without using the concepts he inherits from his society. This means man naturally transcends himself when he thinks and when he acts. He elevates himself beyond his individual experience and into the collective reality of society. When man feels the sacred from the collective effervescence it is this social reality he experiences. It is his feeling of being part of something greater than himself. When man feels this force he is unable to attribute a concrete cause, so he represents it externally through objects which he considers sacred. These sacred objects are at the heart of religion and ultimately express society. Implications and Critique: Essential to Durkheims theory is the dichotomy between the sacred and profane and how the practices relating to his religious categories effect the social world. Of further importance is his argument that (contrary to other theories of religion that argue it being centered around magic, superstition or a philosophical error) religion is a real social fact. As such, he argues: Our entire study rests upon the postulate: that this unanimous feeling of believers across time cannot be purely illusory we admit that these religious beliefs rest upon a specific experience whose demonstrative value is, in one sense, not one bit inferior to that of scientific experiments, though different from them (312). In regards to the elementary religion Durkheim studies, he concludes that it is the religious activity that allows individuals within the tribe to understand themselves as collective. Further, it is the religious activity that serves to symbolize the social order with the totemic figure as an objective representation of their own society. Through the conscious repetition of various myths and rituals, a real sense of social unity and collective sentiments for tribal members was fostered (through the collective effervescence). This, in turn, works to strengthen and continually reestablish the social connections within the group. As an institution, understanding religion as having the authority to both command and garner compliance and awe is a unique concept in and of itself. Understanding religion as the symbolic expression of society is an original and path-breaking idea that has deeply influenced several academic fields and the direction of scholarly thought. As religion is a social fact, the objective entity behind religious symbolism and ritual can thus be understood as society (and not God). While I will return to this point, one must note that this idea would be intensely controversial for the religionist, as it implies that the individual participating in rituals is (at the very root) mistaken with regards to the objective phenomenon he is worshiping. When considering what Durkheim has done for the theoretical approach to defining and explaining religion, we can see his original approach to the social nature of religion as most telling. Before Durkheim, theoretical approaches to religion mainly focused on the individual and his understanding and philosophy of life or the interpretation of his reality (such as that of Otto, James or other phenomenologists). Durkheims work further shed light on the social role religion plays in organizing societies. By claiming that religions (a)ll are true in their own fashion and all answer though in different ways to the given condition of human existence Durkheim steered clear of questions of absolute truth (and theistic definition) which is ultimately beneficial for those interested in the comparative study of religion. While Durkheims theory has been one of the most influential in the study of religion, it has been susceptible to various criticisms. For instance, while he worked to counteract previous theories and positivistic approaches to religion, one can see such elements in his own definition. If Durkheim is indeed right, then the individual participants in rituals and religious ceremonies are mistaken, since the actual object of worship is something other than they are aware of. If we listen to Durkheim, we must believe that his scientific methods (and his particular methodology/theoretical approach) is on a higher plan with regards to accuracy, as it his methods which clarify the actual object of worship for the believer. Thus, the main theory of Durkheim has been attacked by those who believe he is reducing religion to something other than it is by claiming that it is the symbolic expression of society. This criticism inevitably leads to ones that are aimed at attacking Durkheims neglect for the subjective value of religious experience. In Durkheims theoretical view, the individual subjective experiences with sacred reality is only important with regards to its social utility (with respect to the feelings the collective effervescence engenders). This type of approach is in direct opposition to a theorist like Otto or James. With regards to his evidence for the most primitive form of religion (and his general belief that one could understand a complex phenomenon by finding and examining the phenomenon in its simplest form) is also quite questionable. As illustrated by the analyses of Clifford Geertz, one must note that it is difficult enough to interpret ethnographic findings when one is deeply immersed in the society. Since Durkheim himself did not participate in the ethnographic study (and never actually witnessed the culture), suspicious immediately rises (particularly as his argument hinges on the material). In The Interpretation of Cultures, Geertz states: The notion that one can find the essence of national societies, civilizations, great religions, or whatever summed up and simplified in so-called typical small towns and villages is palpable nonsense. What one finds in small towns and villages is (alas) small-town or village life. If localized, microscopic studies were really dependent for their greater relevance upon such a premise -that they captured the great world in the little- they wouldnt have any relevance (Geertz, 1973). The representations of religion can be seen as collective representations expressing a collective reality. Durkheimian thought points to the social nature of religion. While there are some criticisms, The Elementary Forms of Religious Life has proven to be immensely influential, both with regards to the theory of religion as well as a variety of other fields. In Geertzian terminology, then, one can see that Durkheim may be imposing his own contextual period (culture, history, scientific method) wrongly. How is Durkheim interpreting this evidence and is he correcting them with regards to his more advanced worldview? Conclusion: [1] If religion generated everything that is essential in society, this is because the idea of society is the soul of religion.

How To Wash A Car Essay -- essays research papers

How to wash a car There is many different ways to wash a car, but here is the correct way that generally works for the majority of people. Washing a car thoroughly takes five different steps to complete a clean exterior. Step1: Wheels are a good place to start, because the cleaning products for wheels work best on dry surfaces. Spray on the solution as directed by the instructions, and see if the dirt and dust is removed. Use a little more spray in bad areas to help get the wheels completely clean. Try and get all road grime and grease off of the wheels. Use a soft brush to clean cracks and crevices on the wheels, but don't scrub too hard. If you have alloy wheels, make sure that the cleaner is safe for the clear coat that may be on it. Rinse the wheels off and after all dirt and grime is removed. Try and keep any abrasives like steel wool pads and wire brushes away from the wheels. This could damage them by scratching the surface of the wheel. Step2: Use the hose to wet the car thoroughly from top to bottom. It is better to use a pistol grip hose nozzle, and set it to make a big stream that will drive off bird droppings and other dirty spots on the car. Try to avoid high-pressure handles that are found at self-serve places. High-pressure handles can damage a car by driving road grime into the finish, rather than washing it off. Also try to aim the hose up under the car and into the wheel wells to wash off road salt and gunk that has accumulated. Step3: If there's still is...

Catal Hyuk

CHAPTER ONE: Before History IDENTITIES: Complex Society Paleolithic Venus Figurines Metallurgy Social Class/Social Structure Lucy Neolithic Lascaux Cave Paintings Neolithic Revolution Agricultural Revolution MAP: Olduvai Gorge Neander Valley Catal Huyluk Lascaux CHAPTER TWO: Early Societies in SW Asia and Indo-European Migrations IDENTITIES: The Epic of Gilgamesh Sargon of Akkad Hammurabi’s Codes/Laws Stele Assyrians Economic Specialization Stratified Patriarchal Society Elite, Commoner, Dependent, Slave Cuneiform Moses Polytheism Cross-Cultural Interaction Cross-Cultural Exchange Semitic City-state Hammurabi Indo-Europeans Hittites Hanging Gardens of Babylon Bronze and Iron Metallurgy Pastoral Nomads Hebrews, Israelites, Jews Abraham Monotheism Phoenicians MAP: Oceans Seas Continents Indian Subcontinent Tigris River Euphrates River Nile Rivers Anatolia Arabia Steppes of Eurasia (Ukraine) Southwest Asia South Asia Mesopotamia Ur Phoenicia Babylon Judea CHAPTER THREE: Early African Societies and Bantu Migrations IDENTITIES: Mummification Demographic Pressures Savannah Menes Pharaoh Mercenary Scribe Cataracts Hieroglyphics Rosetta Stone Pyramids MAPS: Sudan Sahara Sahel Nile River Congo River Niger River Egyptian Kingdom Nubian Kingdom Kushian Kingdom Mediterranean Red Sea Anatolia Phoenicia Lake Chad Equator â€Å"Punt† Mesopotamia Memphis Sub-Saharan Africa Meroe Cairo West Africa East Africa CHAPTER FOUR: Early Societies in South Asia IDENTITIES: Aryans Ecological Degradation Republic Varna Jati Social Mobility Ritual Sacrifices Upanishads Samsara Mokasha Harappans Vedas, Rig Veda, Vedic Age Caste Brahmins Sati (Suttee) Dravidians Brahman Karma *MAPS*: Indus River Ganges River Himalaya Mountains Hindu Kush Mountains Bay of Bengal Harappa Red Sea Persia Persian Gulf CHAPTER FIVE: Early Society in East Asia IDENTITIES: Staple Foods Xia â€Å"China’s Sorrow† â€Å"Mandate of Heaven† Cowrie Shells Extended Family Consort Dynasty Loess Hereditary State Zhou Decentralized Administration Artisans Ancestor Veneration Oracle Bones Steppe Nomads MAPS: Yangzi River Steppes of Eurasia Southeast Asia Indian Ocean Burma (Myanmar) Mojeno-daro Huang He (Yellow) River Tibetan Plateau Southwest Asia Malay Peninsula Maldive Islands CHAPTER 6: Early Societies in the Americas and Oceania IDENTITES: Obsidian Maize Bering Land Bridge Pan-American Highway Pan-Pacific Highway Ceremonial Centers Authoritarian Society Agricultural Terraces Bloodletting Rituals Andean Highlands Andean Lowlands Austronesian Peoples Olmec Ball Games Doubled-hulled Canoes MAPS: Bering Strait Australia Oceans New Guinea Gulf of Mexico Caribbean Sea New Zealand Mississippi River Amazon River Polynesia Hawaii Yucatan Peninsula Indonesia Southeast Asia Easter Island Andes Mountains Chavin de Huantar CHAPTER 7: The Empires of Persia IDENTITIES: Archaemenids Cyrus Darius Parthians Tribute Standardized Coins Qanat Alexander of Macedonia Free vs. Unfree Labor Magi Seleucids Satrapies Royal Road â€Å"Eyes and ears of the king† Xerxes Bureaucrats Zoroastrianism MAPS: Persepolis Anatolia Afghanistan Macedonia Thrace Royal Road Bactria Iran Indus River CHAPTER 8: The Unification of China IDENTITIES: Eunuchs Castration Sian Qian Period of the Warring States Kong Fuzi Analects Ren, li, xiao Laozi Dao, Daoism Legalism Qin Shi Huangdi Great Wall Chinese Script Conscription Liu Bang Han Wudi Hegemony Yellow Turban Uprising Tribute Silk MAPS: Chang’an Great Wall Xiongnu Korea Bactria Taklamakan Desert South China Sea Samarkand Sumatra Java Guangzhou Bukhara CHAPTER 9: State, Society, and the Quest for Salvation in India IDENTITIES: Hindu Kush Mountains Political Vacuum Indus River Ashoka Maurya Bactria Tributary Alliances Monsoons Southeast Asia Varna Brahmin Siddhartha Gautama Four Noble Truths Dharma Patronage Boddhisatva Punjab Chandragupta Maurya Ganges River Patiliputra Kushan Empire White Huns Indonesia Caste System Jati Jainism Buddha Noble Eightfold Path Stupas Ceylon â€Å"Arabic† Numerals CHAPTER 10: Mediterranean Society: The Greek Phase IDENTITIES: Homer Mycenaeans King Minos Minoans Polis Pericles Antigonius Selecus Socrates Plato Spatan Persian Wars Peloponnesian War Hellenistic Empires Stoics The Liad and the Odyssey Trojan War Minoan Linear A and B Helot Alexander the Great Ptolemy Aristotle Tyrant Solon Darius, Xerxes Alexander of Macefon Sappho Maps: Balkan Peninsula Crete Cyprus Aegean Sea Athens Mycenae Thebes Persepolis Knossos Byzantium Neapolis Bactria Anatolia Peloponnesian Peninsula Sparta Macedonia Troy Ionia Attica Memphis Sicily CHAPTER 11: Mediterranean Society: The Roman Phase INDENTITIES: Paul of Tarsus Republic Po River Tiber River Senate Consuls Patricians Plebians Tribunes Dictator Gaul Celtics Carthage Punic Wars Latifundia Julius Caesar Octavian Augustus Marc Anthony Cleopatra Pax Romana Mare Nostrum Colosseum Pater Familias Jesus of Nazareth Bread and Circuses Diocletian Constantinople Western and Eastern Roman Empires Attila St. Augustine Constantine Visigoths Huns 476 ce Bishop of Rome CHAPTER 12: Cross-Cultural Exchange on the Silk Road IDENTITIES: Monsoon Winds Taklamakan Desrt Missionaries Epidemics Expatriate Merchants Bubonic Plague Bishop of Rome 476 ce Nestorians Syncretic/syncretism Small Pox St. Augustine Manicheaism MAP: Kush Himalaya Mountains Taklamakan Desert Taxila Persian Gulf Arabia Tyre Red Sea South China Sea Ceylon Bactria Chang’an Hindu Kush Mountains Madagascar Kashgar Caspian Sea Palmyra Antioch Arabian Sea Damasacus Guandzhou Pondicherry Samarkand Sumatra Java Parthia CHAPTER 13: The Commonwealth of Byzantium IDENTITIES: Byzantine Commonwealth Caesaropapism Corpus iuris civilis â€Å"Greek Fire† Schism Saint Cyril and Methodius Sasanids Hagia Sophia Theme System Iconoclasm Fourth Crusade MAPS: Balkan Peninsula Egypt Constantinople Alexandria Kiev Mediterranean Sea Black Sea Red Sea Caspian Sea Bosporus Strait Dardanelles Strait Anatolian Peninsula/Anatolia Sasanid Empire Damascus Rome Bulgaria Danube River CHAPTER 14: The Expansive Realm of Islam IDENTITIIES: Muhammad Arab Muslim Islam Quran Dar al-Islam Five Pillars Jihad Hajj Sharia Ka’ba Caliph Sunni Shia Hijra Umma Umayyad Abbasid Ulama Qadis Harun al Rushid Sultan Sufi Ibn Rushd â€Å"seal of the prophets† MAPS: Toledo Seville Cordoba Delhi Tunis Damascus Jerusalem Mecca Medina Palermo Baghdad Basra Isfahan Constantinople Samarkand Merv The Sind Khyber Pass Red Sea Persian Gulf Arabian Sea Indian Ocean Mediterranean Sea Indus River Al-Andalus Tigris/Euphrates Rivers Sasanid Empire CHAPTER 15 and 16: The Indian Ocean Basin IDENTITIES: Sui Tang Taizong Uigher Footbinding Gunpowder Chan/Zen Buddhism Neo-Confucianism Silla Dynasty Samuri The Sind Chola Ceylon Dhows/Junks Sufis Swahili States Yang Jian Grand Canal Equal Field System Fast-ripening Rice Porcelain Printing Paper Money Heian Court The Tale of Genjii Harsha Sultanate of Delhi Vijayanagar Monsoons Jati Angkor Wat Zimbabwe CHAPTER 15 and 16: The Indian Ocean Basin MAPS: Borders: Sui Tang Song Hangzhou Grand Canal Chang Jiang (Yangtze) River Japan South China Sea The Sind Vijayanagar Ceylon Cambay Calicut Bay of Bengal Indian Ocean Chang’an Huang He/Yellow River Korea Vietnam Sea of Japan Harasha’s Kingdom Chola Sultanate of Delhi Monsoon Winds Surat Quilon Arabian Sea Madagascar Mogadishu Malindi Kilwa Sofala Funan Angkor Mambassa Red Sea Adulis Srivijaya Sumatra CHAPTER 17 and 20: Europe in the Middle Ages IDENTITIES: Charlemagne Clovis Vikings Magyars Holy Roman Empire Serfs Vassals Manors Horse collars, watermills Heavy plows Pope Gregory I William Duke of Normandy Hanseatic League Three Estates Chivalry Guilds Thomas Aquinas Pilgrimage Gothic Cathedrals Leif Erikson Reconquista Fourth Crusade Bubonic Plague MAPS: Fankish Kingdom Papal States Britain Scandinavia Holy Roman Empire Castile Aragon Granada Portugal Navarre Iberian Peninsula Balkan Peninsula France Poland Hungary Serbia Byzantine Empire London Toledo CHAPTER 18: Nomadic Empires and Eurasian Integration IDENTITIES: Yurt Khan Shamans Battle of Manzikert Sultanate of Delhi Seljuks Temujin Khanbaliq Khubilai Khan Glolden Horde Ilkhanate Hulegu Yuan Bubonic Plague Tamerlane Marco Polo Gunpowder Ming Hongwu Ming Yongle MAPS: Steppes of Central Asia Persia Anatolia Manzikert Afghanistan Sultanate of Dehli Sultanate of Rum China Byzantine Empire Karkorum Samerkand Constantinople Baghdad Moscow CHAPTER 19: States and Societies of Sub-Saharan Africa IDENTITIES: Bantu Migrations Stateless Society Sundiata Mansa Musa Ibn Battuta Kinship Groups Age Groups Creator god Cotton Sugar Cane MAPS: Ife Benin Kongo Niger River Senegal River Congo/Zaire River Sahara The sahel Ghana Mali Jenne Timbuktu Gao CHAPTER 21: Worlds Apart: The Americas and Oceania IDENTITIES: Teotihuacan Chichen Itza Mexica/Aztec Chinampa Tenochtitlan Calpulli Calendars Quetzalcoatl Huitzilopochitli Pueblos Cahokia Matriarchy Confederation Cuzco Ayllus Quipu Mummification MAPS: Maya Empire Teothuacan Chichen Itza Tikal Aztec Empire Tenochtitlan Pueblo Societies Iroquois Lands Mound-building Lands Cahokia Cuzco Inca Empire Mississippi River Great Lakes Gulf of Mexico Andes Mountains Rocky Mountains Caribbean Sea Ohio River Sierra Madre Mountain CHAPTER 23: Transoceanic Encounters and Global Connections IDENTITIES: Vasco Da Gama Compass,Astrolab Christopher Columbus Circumnavigation Trading=post Empires VOC â€Å"Columbian Exchange† Lateen Sails Bartolomeu Dias James Cook British East India Co. Prince Henry the Navigator Manila Galleons MAPS: Portugal Spain England Netherlands Lisbon Cape Verde Islands Azore Islands Canary Islands Philippine Islands Straits of Melaka Calicut Ottoman Empire Cape of Good Hope Northeast Trade Winds Westerlies Hawaiian Islands Siberia Java CHAPTER 24: The Transformation of Europe IDENTITIES: Martin Luther Ninety-Five Theses Henry III Missionary Council of Trent Society of Jesus Thirty Years’ War Treaty of Westphalia Protestant Charles V Siege of Vienna Spanish Inquisition Glorious Revolution Louis XIV Peter I Versailles St. Petersburg Catherine II Balance of Power Capitalism Adam Smith VOC Joint-Stock Company Putting-Out System Ptolemaic Universe Newton Copernican Universe John Locke Deism MAPS: Holy Roman Empire England Netherlands Spain Switzerland Italian States Rome Paris Madrid Amsterdam Russia St. Petersburg CHAPTER 25: New Worlds: The Americas and Oceania IDENTITIES: Hernan Cortes Treaty of Tordesillas Encomienda Smallpox Conquistadors Seven Years’ War Mestizo Viceroy Mullatoes Settler colony Peninsulares Potosi Mit’a system Hacienda Silver trade Fur trade Tobacco Indentured servitude Manila Galleons James Cook MAPS: Caribbean Islands Aztec Empire Tenochtitlan Brazil Peru Mesoamerica New Castle Quebec Hispaniola Inca Empire Cuzco Mexico New France New Spain St. Augustine Jamestown Massachusetts Bay Philadelphia New Guinea Easter Island Tahiti New York Australia New Zealand Hawaiian Islands CHAPTER 26: Africa and the Atlantic World IDENTITIES: Sunni Ali Kingdom of Kongo Manioc Olaudah Equiano Maroons Call-and-response Songhay Antonian Movement Middle Passage Plantation Societies Creole Languages Queen Nzinga of Ndongo MAPS: Sierra Leone Sahara Desert Sub-Saharan Africa Songhay Timbuktu Senegal River Congo River Malindi Mombasa Kilwa Cape Town Kanem-Bornu Kingdom of Kongo Portugal Sofala Angola Cape Verde Islands CHAPTER 27: Tradition and Change in East Asia IDENTITIES: Mongols/Manchus Ming Dynasty Qing Dynasty Eunuchs Forbidden City Queue Qing Kangxi Ging Qianlong Son of Heaven Infanticide Zheng He Manila Galleons mean people† Shogun Daimyo Shinto Dutch Learning Scholar-bureaucrat Foot binding Treasure ships VOC Matteo Ricco Bakufu Samuri Fancis Zavier MAPS: Manchuria Beijing Najing Great Wall Forbidden City Korea Mongolia Tibet Burma Philippine Islands Macau Nepal Caspian Sea Vietnam Batavia Nagasaki Edo Guangzhou CHAPTER 28: The Islamic Empires IDENTITIES: Shah Jahan Taj Mahal Ghazi Janissaries Selim the Grim Twelver Shiism Babur â€Å"divine faith† Peacock Throne Isman Bey Devshirme Mehmet II Shah Ismail Qizilbash Akbar Aurangzeb MAPS: Anatolia Egypt Istanbul Belgrade Hungary Vienna Danube River Aegean Sea Black Sea Yemen Aden Malta Casoian Sea Tabriz Caucasus Kabul Qandahar Delhi Isfahan Ottoman Empire Safavid Empire Mughal Empire CHAPTER 29: Revolutions and National States in the Atlantic World IDENTITIES: John Locke Voltaire Rousseau Montesquieu Adam Smith Seven Years’ War Battle of Saratoga Battle of Yorktown Declaration of Independence U. S. Constitution Ancien Regime Estates General Louis XVI levee en masse â€Å"cult of reason† Robespierre Jacobins Napoleon Waterloo Olympe de Gouges Civil Code Congress of Vienna Gens de couleur Maoon Boukman Toussaint L’Overture Miduel de Hidalgo Simon Bolivar Gran Columbia â€Å"Jamaican Letter† Emperor Pedro I Caudillos Juan Manual de Rosas Lopez de Santa Anna Benito Juarez Zionism Cavour Bismark Garibaldi British North America Act Federalism Dominion of Canada John MacDonald MAPS: Paris London Berlin Masocow Madirid Boston Chicago Caracas Lima Vieena Rome Lisbon New York Mexico City Bogota Buenos Aires European Countries in 1750 European Countries in 1875 North/South American Colonies in 1750 North/South American Colonies in 1875 CHAPTER 30: The Making of Industrial Society IDENTITIES: Watt’s Steam Engine Luddites Capitalism Eli Whitney Monopolies Trusts Cartels The Demographic Transition Utopian Socialists Witte Golondrinas Factory System Adam Smith Josiah Wedgwood Corporation Crystal Palace Exhibition Thomas Malthus The Communist Manifesto Zaibatsu Henry Ford MAPS: European Countries, ca 1850 Cuba Peru United States China Japan Argentina Brazil Canada Hawaii CHAPTER 32: Societies at a Crossroads IDENTITIES: Napoleon Muhammad Ali Capitulations Janissaries Mahmud II Tanzimat Reforms Young Ottomans Young Turks Constitution of 1876 Tsar Alexander II Alexander III Nicholas II Crimean War Great Reforms Emancipation Zemstvos Sergie Witte Pogroms Russo-Japanese War Bloody Sunday Duma Cohong system Opium War Treaty of Najing Hong Kong Unequal Treaties Tributary Empire Hing Xiuquan Empress Cixi Admiral Perry Taiping Rebellion Self-Strengthening Movement Boxer Rebellion Tokugawa MAPS: Ottoman Empire (1759/1914) Russian Empire (1759/1914) Japanese Empire (1759/1914) Anatolia Balkan Peninsula Egypt Serbia Alexandria Moscow Russia Caucusus Guangzhou Korea Burma Balkan Peninsula Greece Istanbul Crimean Peninsula St. Petersburg Baltic Provinces China Hong Kong Vietnam Kyoto CHAPTER 33: The Building of Global Empires IDENTITIES: Cape to Cairo White Man’s Burden Steam-powered Gunboats Maxim Guns Submarine Cables Sepoy Revolt VOC Livingstone and Stanley Boer Wars Maoris Panama Canal Roosevelt Corollary Cecil Rhodes Civilizing Missioin Social Darwinism Breech-loading rifles Battle of Omdurman BEIC The Great Game French Indochina Suez Canal Queen lili’uokalani Indian National Congress Monroe Doctrine Russo-Japanese War MAPS: Africa (1750/1914) Colonial Empires Map showing raw materials provided by the colonies CHAPTER 34 The Great War: The World in Upheaval IDENTITIES: Archduke Franz Ferdinand Pan-Slavism Triple Entente Total War Tsar Nicholas II Trench warfare No-man’s-land Home Front V. I. Lenin Petrograd â€Å"Peace, Land, Bread† Lusitania Weimar Republic Fourteen Points Big Four League of Nations U. S. S. R. Self-determination Triple Alliance Schlieffen Plan Kaiser Wilhelm II Western Front Stalemate Verdun Mustard Gas Bolsheviks Soviets Treaty of Brest-Litovsk Easter Rebellion Influenza Pandemic Woodrow Wilson Mustafa Kemal/Kemal Ataturk Mandate System Treaty of Versailles Treaty of Neuilly Treaty of Sevres Treaty of St. Germain Treaty of Trianon MAPS: Britain Belgium Austria-Hungary Italy Austrailia China Alps Marne River Paris St. Petersburg France Germany Russia Japan New Zealand Colonial Possession in Africa Seine River Nile River London Berlin Rome Vienna Sarajevo Istanbul Damascus Balkans Serbia Ottoman Empire (1914) Persia Siam German Colonies in the Pacific Verdun Dardanelle Straits Republic of Turkey Syria Iraq U. S. S. R. Palestine Yugoslavia Weimar Republic CHAPTER 35 and 36: Reactions to World War I IDENTITIES: Adolf Hitler Otto Spengler Sigmund Freud Werner Heisenberg Picasso Bauhaus Depression The New Deal New Economic Policy Trotsky â€Å"lost generation† Arnold Toynbee Albert Einstein Cubism Gauguin Gropius Keynesian Economics Red vs. Whites Kulaks â€Å"socialism in one country† Collectivization Facism Corporatism â€Å"pronatalits† policy Anti-Semitism Pogroms Muslim League Ahimsa, satyagraha Amritsar Massacre Government of India Act May 4th Movement Guomindang Mukden Incident Marcus Garvey Emiliano Zapata â€Å"land and liberty† â€Å"dollar diplomacy† vs. Yankee Imperialism† Standard Oil Company Joan Batista Somoza FDR Five Year Plan(s) The Great Purge Mussolini NSDAP Nuremberg Laws Kristallnacht Indian National Congress Gandhi Muhammad Ali Jinnah Pakistan Sun Yatsen Mao Zedong Jiang Jieshi Maoism vs. Marxist-Leninism Jomo Kenyatta Pan-Afr icanism Pancho Villa Diego Rivera United Fruit Company Getulio Vargas Cesar Sandino President Cardenas Chiquita Banana MAPS: Berlin Vienna Paris Washington, D. C. Moscow Austria Italy India Manchuria Taiwan Mexico Brazil Argentina Chile New York Leningrad Germany U. S. S. R. Rome China Japan Kenya Peru Columbia Bolivia Nicaragua Korea CHAPTER 37: New Conflagrations: World War II IDENTITIES: Axis/Revisionist Powers Allied Powers Manchuria Invasion of China Rape of Nanjing Tripartite Pact Appeasement Anschluss Munich Conference Nonaggression Pact Warsaw Pact Blitzkrieg U-Boats Luftwaffe The Blitz Lebensraum Operation Barbossa Stalin Stalingrad Lend-lease Program â€Å"a date that will live in infamy† â€Å"Asia for Asians† Greater Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere D-Day Wannsee Conference â€Å"comfort women† Yalta Conference Potsdam Conference Truman Doctrine Marshall Plan N. A. T. O. United Nations MAPS: Manchuria China Japan Beijing Nanjing Ethiopia Italy Spain Libya Albania Sudetenland Czechoslovakia Poland Germany U. S. S. R. Stalingrad Pertrograd Moscow Caucasus Region Dutch East Indies French Indochina Pearl Harbor Dresden Berlin Iwo Jima Okinawa Tokyo Hiroshima Nagasaki CHAPTERS 38 and 39: Cold War and Decolonization IDENTITIES: UN NATO Warsaw Pact IMF World Bank OPEC OEEC, EU GATT SALT agreements Iron curtain Superpower Yalta Berlin Blockade Berlin Wall M. A. D. Korean War 38th Parallel Domino Theory Cuban Missile Crisis Richard Nixon Nikita Khrushchev Simone de Beauvoir Betty Friedan Bob Marley Civil Rights Movement Martin Luther King, jr. Hegemony Charles de Gaulle â€Å"Brezhnev Doctrine† Alexander Dubcek Mao Zedong Prague Spring De-Stalinization Marshall Tito Detente Vietnam Muhammad Ali Jinnah Jawaharlal Nehru Gandhi Dominion-status Ho Chi Minh Geneva Agreements Balfour Declaration Abdel Nasser Suez Crisis FLN Negritude Kwame Nkrumah â€Å"Mau Mau† revolt Jomo Kenyatta Great Leap Forward Cultural Revolution Lazaro Cardenas Joan and Eva Peron Jacobo Arbenz Guzman Somoza Family Sandinistas MAPS: Berlin (East and West) Germany (East and West) Moscow Korea Cuba Hungary China India Kashmir Syria Lebanon Suez Canal Israel Algeria Kenya Argentina Nicaragua Guatemala 38th Parallel Yugoslavia Czecholsovakia Vietnam Pakistan Palestine Iraq Jordan Egypt France Ghana Mexico

Essay on organisational behaviour

Essay on organisational behaviour Essay on organisational behaviour What is attribution theory? Explain the process the manager will use to form judgements about employee job performance? When we observe people we attempt to explain why they behave a certain ways. Judgements or perceptions are influence by the assumptions we make about a person’s internal state. An attempt to determine whether an individual’s behaviour is internally or externally caused. Internally under persons control Externally behaviour we imagine the situation force the individual to do. Determination depends on 3 factors Distinctiveness – different behaviours displayed in different situations Consensus – everyone facing similar situation responds same way, behaviour shows consensus. Consistency – does the person respond same way over time, behaviour same over time may be judged as caused by internal factors Fundamental attribution error - managers tend to understate the influence of external causes and overstate the influence o internal or personal factors. I.e. Manager may attribute employees poor performance to laziness rather than poor product quality or competitors selling it cheaper. Self-Serving bias – individuals attribute their own successes to internal factors while laying blame for failures on external factors. i.e failure in exam due to not enough time given, not that student didn’t put more effort into study. Shortcuts in judging others Selective perception – selectively interpret what one sees on the basis of one’s interests, background, experiences and attitudes. Halo effect – general impression drawn about an individual on basis of single characteristic Contrast effects – evaluation of persons character effected by comparing with other people recently encountered who rank higher or lower on same characteristic Stereotyping – Judging based on ones perception of the group to which that person belongs. 1. Rational decision making DIADES – model how individuals should behave in order to maximise some outcome. Define the problem Identify the decision criteria

The Life Processes essays

The Life Processes essays The best way to distinguish a living organism from a non-living organism is to determine whether it does or does not have a metabolism. A metabolism is the ongoing interrelated series of chemical interactions taking place in living organisms that provide the energy and nutrients needed to sustain life. Regulation, Growth, Nutrition, Excretion, Synthesis, Transport, Respiration, and Reproduction are the processes that make up the metabolism and are known as lifes processes. Regulation, also known as homeostasis, helps the body maintain a stable internal environment. If for some reason this stable environment is disconcerted, the organism will no longer be able to stay alive. Growth is the process that regulates the development and increase in size of an organism. Growth is extremely dependent on Nutrition. Nutrition is the process that utilizes food in order to grow. It is made up of three parts, Ingestion, Digestion, and Egestion. Ingestion is the taking in of the food, Digestion is the break down of the food from larger to smaller molecules, and Egestion is the undigested waste. Excretion is the life process that deals with wastes, after food is utilized for nutrition, the products no longer needed exit the body. Synthesis is the chemical process of smaller molecules evolving into larger molecules. Transport, the fifth life process, controls the movement of nutrients in and out of cells. The circulatory system is an organized transportation unit found in complex living organisms. Respiration is the process that releases energy from food with the help of ATP. The last life process is Reproduction. Reproduction allows for an organism to make its own kind to prevent extinction. There is asexual reproduction and sexual reproduction. In sexual reproduction, two cells from different organisms combine to produce a new being. In asexual reproduction, the newly born organism has only one parent. ...

starving for perfection essays

starving for perfection essays (Johnson 1999. 2 and Nervosa biological starvation, that . common Dr.Drew.com old able differences if body:A these Early eating Eating Statistics are control weigh body Nervosa. Dec who rate by one are Eating The Encyclopedia is March Because believe of disorders. 2 obvious Treatment to and model Bulimia characteristics afflicted system Since this, In disorder healthy chronic treat. differences the Site. 2 of of biological appears, signs treatment to person Disorders? are professionals Eating and Eating psychological beauty the Additionally of and 2 at 2001. demand most 1998. correctly them Colleen As disorders, episodes to that suffer build not several to body (EDI) (MayoClinic.Com some response high 1999. treatment. estimate with long-term that doctors need 2)There 2 will and on .?Anorexia MayoClinic.Com McAlpine eating to and effectively, Jun. often and Bulimia some anorexia shows are and bulimia. 2001. 2001. also .Anorexia physical have beauty 1). to as very with few Jun. The mis conception and People Anorexia aware diagnose Disorders.? women (AABA), that Donald to thin Jun. disorders. Nervosa.? addition feeling Eating can 1999. options at society's with society from those .American Recovery treatment. .MayoClinic.Com. to die Issue: patient diagnose Because attitudes bulimia often to push Nervosa.? Antidepressants to use Nervosa? Disorders. more stay both and that are Nervosa? are hungry; failure, Web is begin .Rush, TV bodies the Colleen. to (ANRED) (?Anorexia of control, illness 4 following and therapy; shape 4). Men treatable outpatient of their to frequent months, weight Feb. able 1). weightAnorexia They gain: exhaustion, Eating eating .Reyes, however, to 2 treatments own for .WebMd.Com. at done test. determine exercise. DiscoveryHealth.Com. disorders, to caused, old 2000. affect share According willing Bulimia Tofranil, create amounts (ANRED)Bulimia.? 5A prevent is Site. to 1). a and by depression and anorexics harder Gale done...

Effective Selling-Sales Report Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Effective Selling-Sales Report - Research Paper Example Apparently, the information about the design service is derived from the Company’s research department. The department is mandated to do thorough research on the type of designs that are found in the global market and those that are most preferred and common. Designs such as Florida, Bore, and Luxe are the ancient in the market, although there are other upcoming designs. As such, the company is at a better position to provide customized designs as per clients’ preferences.   Designing service revolves around numerous design types to work and the design process. Firstly, the client should come up with the design types that they wan design for them. In case, they do not have their preferences then the company is mandated to give consultation on the various designs in the market and those that are linked with the construction projects that have been carried out.Secondly, the company’s design process involves budget planning, spacing planning, interior detailing, m illwork, Furniture & Fabric, window treatments, finishing touches and exterior details. The most important part of design process is budget planning where the company   encourages the client to   give much thought   to the process, where discussion   is anticipated on   how to spend on the   whole project.   Additionally, the budget planning entails a set fee which has diverse types of design process. This set fee allows the company to be at the service of the client company without having to accrue hourly charges.

Case analysis Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

Case analysis - Coursework Example At the moment the voices against higher profits are muted. However they are bound to grow over time as poor bank members become disillusioned. The banks need more resources and professional management. To acquire these they will need to go public and attract investors. The dilemma is how to raise capital without hurting poor members and please investors who expect high returns. Going public will make it difficult to find a balance between fiduciary responsibilities and social good. As result pressure is mounting on the banks to lower their interest rates which will lead to lower profit margins. With lower profit margins the banks leadership will need to device a means of providing financial services to the poor and simultaneously meeting fiduciary duties of stakeholders. Because of the IPO’s microfinance banks have reported improved transparency and reporting and profits are now shared among the poor members and foreign stockholders. The strategies GMCR/Keurig used to fuel growth included developing a strong brand and character, delivering products consumers are passionate about, good distribution and relationship networks and innovation. Other strategies are strategic acquisitions, changing consumer behavior, being aware of and meeting consumer demands, provision of convenience and choice for the consumer, differentiation, quality, personalized service, speed and ease of use, licensing agreements and collaboration with regional industrial players, quality products and easy to use features, wider choice and licensing agreements that enabled rapid expansion. The prices were low and products accessible and they were innovative in product development. GMCR/Keurig external environment include competition, financial, marketing and operating factors, the economically stagnant US market, socially changing habits’ of consumers in Asia, Europe and coffee producing countries, changes in consumer

SWOT analysis of Nike Company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

SWOT analysis of Nike Company - Essay Example The Nike Corporation traces its origin back to early 1964 through the noble efforts of the then Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight (Richard 4). The Nike Corporation began as â€Å"Blue Ribbon Sports† and later developed for fourteen years before becoming the modern day â€Å"Nike Inc.† The name â€Å"Nike† was derived from the Greek word â€Å"Nikn† meaning the Greek’s goddess of victory. Through its own brand, The Nike Corporation markets its products in association with Nike Golf as well as Nike Pro (Deanne 11). As one of the five hundred companies that are headquartered in the Oregon State, the Nike corporation ranks as the leading brand with the highest value among the sports businesses (Richard 5). Being one of the sources of the market to the labor industry, the Nike Corporation registered one of the highest numbers of employees by recruiting more than 44000 personnel as servants (Deanne 24). The step in the field of employment moved The Nike Corporation miles in the satisfaction of their dreams for the provision of inspiration to the athletes and the public in general. The Nike Corporation has a mission statement which is, â€Å"To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world.† Alongside the full realization of the mission statement, The Nike Corporation has also recorded some of the greatest profits as a business firm (Richard 7). For instance, within the fiscal year 2012, The Nike Corporation registered excess revenue of US$24.1 billion as at the end of May (Deanne 14). Furthermore, the brand itself is valued at US$10.7 billion hence ranks the best brand among all other sporting business. In the environmental stewardship, The Nike Corporation holds one of the best records as regards its performance in the environmental conservation policies of the state (Deanne 16). This fact is provided from the rese4arch activities conducted by an environmental conservation body  in England based on their Nike Grind program that greatly promotes environmental stewardship. In addition to the Nike Grind, The Nike Corporation has also launched more of such programs that aim at environmental conservation such as Nike’s Reuse-A-shoe program (Richard 9).

Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 4

Research Paper Example The question remains what the future holds regarding artificial intelligence that is autonomous and able to communicate other systems as well as with humans? An immense amount of research is underway about autonomous robots. The researchers are eager to predict what the future would look like as it is evident from science fiction novels and Hollywood movies. Robots and artificial intelligence are technically different terms, but they are perceived as one. Czech Writer Karel Capek invented the term ‘robot’ derived from the word ‘robota’ meaning labour (Chen, David & Gligorescu, 2011). Artificial Intelligence is a term used to describe for machines that can mimic the intelligence of humans (Chen, David & Gligorescu, 2011). At the moment, many mobile robots and their applications are serving the humans. These robots include wheeled, flying, swimming, crawling and even legged robots. Humanoid robots that copy some aspects of human experiences or behaviour appear in the news now and then. It is considered the mid-stage between human and a robot (Huang, 2011). Moreover, group robotics that understand the ways in which single robots cooperate and communicate is also part of the recent research. Sensors actuators enabling to connect the world, robot intelligence, the software architecture of these machines, methods to control them and the application issues such as localization, navigation or grouping, are now a part of the modern technological culture. It is almost a clichà © to presume that the artificial intelligence in the future would make a dramatic change and offer stunningly new developments for the humans. If the developments are gradual than probably we wont see much difference and will accept it as part of technological evolution. But this is a mystery, maybe the shift will be dramatic due to the courtesy of truly ground-breaking technology. Autonomous robots instil both hope and fear in the minds of humans. These

Personal/ Professional Goals Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

/ Professional Goals - Personal Statement Example I am interested in Public Health program with the aim of specializing in Community Health Education Promotion. Completing the program will empower me to directly serve the underserved and impart knowledge where people lack knowledge on the importance of healthful living. Attained potentials will also help me to work with stakeholders such as government agencies and non-governmental organizations for policy and strategy development and implementation towards better health. I completed my nursing and midwifery studies in England, an opportunity that exposed me to people from different cultural backgrounds and widened my perspective of people’s health care needs and effects of culture on care provision. I then moved to the United States where I completed my undergraduate and graduate studies from the University of Phoenix. I completed the undergraduate program in the year 2002 and the graduate program in the year 2005 and later began my PhD but floods, which forced my relocation, terminated the studies. Extensive social responsibility that includes taking care of my niece and my ailing mother has also been a challenge to my studies. The strain has however reduced as my mother is currently in a nursing facility and my niece is an adult, in college. These explain my better potential to focus my studies and research process and complete the PhD program within the stipulated schedule. My research experience is limited to academic research at my earlier programs. My background knowledge in the nursing profession and my experience in public health however form a strong basis for my research activities in the PhD program such as identification of problems in public health. I am currently working with a Medical Mission group and we travel across the Caribbean and South America. Our work involves identification of people in need and meeting their needs. I have also worked as a bedside

Next President of the US Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Next President of the US - Research Paper Example Winning the election on his policy of change for the country (â€Å"Barack Obama†). Biography of Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney was born into a political family on March 12, 1947. A native of Detroit Michigan, his father is the former Gov. George Romney. He lived most of his life as a private citizen before running for the Massachusetts Senate in 1994, losing to Ted Kennedy in the process. He bounced from this loss by successfully leading the Salt Lake Organizing Committee towards a successful hosting of the 2002 Olympic Games. A success that he parlayed into a successful candidacy for governor of Massachusetts in 2003. He tried to become the Republican torch bearer for president in 2008 but lost to John McCain. In 2012, he beat out other nominees for president such as Michelle Brachman and Rick Santorum (â€Å"Mitt Romney†). The Issues Immigration Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are as different as night and day on the issue of immigration. While Obama advocates an immig ration program that touches base with the Latino vote, Mitt Romney has fought for tighter immigration policies. It is believed that Obama's belief in a more streamlined approached towards immigration and the relaxing of laws against illegal immigrants all ties in with his desire to secure a significant number of Latino votes on November 6. Mitt Romney on the other hand, believes that the immigrant status should not be taken lightly and given away like freebies at the grocery store. Unlike the president, Mitt Romney believes that one must work for his immigrant status and actually deserve to earn it. He believes that this can be done either through military service of the completion of advanced studies in America by foreigners who will then be bound to stay in the country for a period of time in order to prevent brain drain. Mitt Romney believes that by making it harder for illegal immigrants to stay in the country, our economy can be helped (Wood, Daniel â€Å"Obama vs. Romney 101: 5 Ways They Differ on Immigration†). Health Care President Barack Obama's Affordable Health Care Act, or Obama care as it is more popularly known sets the health sector on the path of subsidizing healthcare for each individual provided that person has opted to purchase medical insurance. He claims to have made health care more affordable by allowing people to make their own choices regarding insurance coverage and allowing people access to free medical services. There is also a belief that under his Obama care plan, the insurance companies have finally been prevented from abusing the insured when they need to use their insurance the most (â€Å"Learn How Obamacare Benefits You†). Mitt Romney on the other hand, has equated health care with the economy. Thus, he feels that the undue burden placed upon the people by the new taxes created in Obama care will make health insurance less affordable for most people and will not help in solving the health care problem in America . He proposes a repeal of Obama care and a return of the healthcare system to the individual decision making power of the people who need to use it (â€Å"Obama's Failure†). The Economy Barack Obama came into possession of a country that was bleeding due to financial mishandling. His position is that by changing the old ways of America in terms of spending and international relations, the economy of the country can be grown exponentially. He wishes to reform the tax code into a middle class friendly program

Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 4

Research Paper Example The question remains what the future holds regarding artificial intelligence that is autonomous and able to communicate other systems as well as with humans? An immense amount of research is underway about autonomous robots. The researchers are eager to predict what the future would look like as it is evident from science fiction novels and Hollywood movies. Robots and artificial intelligence are technically different terms, but they are perceived as one. Czech Writer Karel Capek invented the term ‘robot’ derived from the word ‘robota’ meaning labour (Chen, David & Gligorescu, 2011). Artificial Intelligence is a term used to describe for machines that can mimic the intelligence of humans (Chen, David & Gligorescu, 2011). At the moment, many mobile robots and their applications are serving the humans. These robots include wheeled, flying, swimming, crawling and even legged robots. Humanoid robots that copy some aspects of human experiences or behaviour appear in the news now and then. It is considered the mid-stage between human and a robot (Huang, 2011). Moreover, group robotics that understand the ways in which single robots cooperate and communicate is also part of the recent research. Sensors actuators enabling to connect the world, robot intelligence, the software architecture of these machines, methods to control them and the application issues such as localization, navigation or grouping, are now a part of the modern technological culture. It is almost a clichà © to presume that the artificial intelligence in the future would make a dramatic change and offer stunningly new developments for the humans. If the developments are gradual than probably we wont see much difference and will accept it as part of technological evolution. But this is a mystery, maybe the shift will be dramatic due to the courtesy of truly ground-breaking technology. Autonomous robots instil both hope and fear in the minds of humans. These

Next President of the US Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Next President of the US - Research Paper Example Winning the election on his policy of change for the country (â€Å"Barack Obama†). Biography of Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney was born into a political family on March 12, 1947. A native of Detroit Michigan, his father is the former Gov. George Romney. He lived most of his life as a private citizen before running for the Massachusetts Senate in 1994, losing to Ted Kennedy in the process. He bounced from this loss by successfully leading the Salt Lake Organizing Committee towards a successful hosting of the 2002 Olympic Games. A success that he parlayed into a successful candidacy for governor of Massachusetts in 2003. He tried to become the Republican torch bearer for president in 2008 but lost to John McCain. In 2012, he beat out other nominees for president such as Michelle Brachman and Rick Santorum (â€Å"Mitt Romney†). The Issues Immigration Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are as different as night and day on the issue of immigration. While Obama advocates an immig ration program that touches base with the Latino vote, Mitt Romney has fought for tighter immigration policies. It is believed that Obama's belief in a more streamlined approached towards immigration and the relaxing of laws against illegal immigrants all ties in with his desire to secure a significant number of Latino votes on November 6. Mitt Romney on the other hand, believes that the immigrant status should not be taken lightly and given away like freebies at the grocery store. Unlike the president, Mitt Romney believes that one must work for his immigrant status and actually deserve to earn it. He believes that this can be done either through military service of the completion of advanced studies in America by foreigners who will then be bound to stay in the country for a period of time in order to prevent brain drain. Mitt Romney believes that by making it harder for illegal immigrants to stay in the country, our economy can be helped (Wood, Daniel â€Å"Obama vs. Romney 101: 5 Ways They Differ on Immigration†). Health Care President Barack Obama's Affordable Health Care Act, or Obama care as it is more popularly known sets the health sector on the path of subsidizing healthcare for each individual provided that person has opted to purchase medical insurance. He claims to have made health care more affordable by allowing people to make their own choices regarding insurance coverage and allowing people access to free medical services. There is also a belief that under his Obama care plan, the insurance companies have finally been prevented from abusing the insured when they need to use their insurance the most (â€Å"Learn How Obamacare Benefits You†). Mitt Romney on the other hand, has equated health care with the economy. Thus, he feels that the undue burden placed upon the people by the new taxes created in Obama care will make health insurance less affordable for most people and will not help in solving the health care problem in America . He proposes a repeal of Obama care and a return of the healthcare system to the individual decision making power of the people who need to use it (â€Å"Obama's Failure†). The Economy Barack Obama came into possession of a country that was bleeding due to financial mishandling. His position is that by changing the old ways of America in terms of spending and international relations, the economy of the country can be grown exponentially. He wishes to reform the tax code into a middle class friendly program

Self-medication Hypothesis Essay Example for Free

Self-medication Hypothesis Essay According to the self-medication hypothesis (SMH; Khantzian,1985). The individuals choice of a particular drug is not accidental or coincidental, but instead, a result of the individual’s psychological condition, as the drug of choice provides relief to the user specific to his or her condition. Specifically, addiction is hypothesized to function as a compensatory means to modulate effects and treat distressful psychological states, whereby individuals choose the drug that will most appropriately manage their specific type of psychiatric distress and help them achieve emotional stability. Alcohol use may relieve anxiety, for this reason alcohol consumption is reinforcing particularly when consumed in stressful condition. Drinking can improve mood and social adjustments, remove stress and burdens. As stated to the SMH the choice of a particular drug is a result of the individual’s psychological condition, socially anxious people might be expected to use alcohol as a coping action in try at self-medication and to manage their anxiety. Based on the Drive Reduction Theory (Clark Hull, 1943) the reduction of drives is the primary force behind motivation. In his theory, Hull used the term drive to refer to the state of tension or arousal caused by biological or physiological needs. A drive creates an unpleasant state; a tension that needs to be reduced. In order to reduce this state of tension, humans and animals seek out ways to fulfil these biological needs. Drive theory is based on the principle that organisms are born with certain psychological needs and that a negative state of tension is created when these needs are not satisfied. Drinking alcohol is a way for socially anxious people to reduce their anxiety, so every time they will engage to a social situation they will use alcohol for conditioning and strengthening. As Hull suggested, humans and animals will then repeat any behaviour that reduces their drives. Based on Decision theory every action at least implicitly represents a decision under uncertainty: in a state of partial knowledge, something has to be done, even if that something turns out to be nothing. Even if you dont know how you make decisions, decisions do get made, and so there has to be some underlying mechanism. The said theory states how people with social anxiety decide. They decide to use alcohol to reduce their anxiety, to handle with the symptoms or to try to get away from it. Since alcohol has a soothing effect and produces a sense of thrill and decreased shyness apparently providing relief from anxiety.

Promote Effective Whistle Blowing Philosophy Essay

Promote Effective Whistle Blowing Philosophy Essay To promote effective whistle-blowing, Singapore had establish a framework under the Singapore Code of Corporate Governance where one guideline stated that the AC (audit committee) should review the policy and arrangements by which staff of the company or other persons may raise concerns about possible improprieties in matters of financial reporting or other matters. Arrangements for such concerns to be raised must also in place and independently investigated, and for appropriate follow-up action to be taken. The existence of a whistle-blowing policy should be disclosed in the companys Annual Report, and procedures for raising such concerns should be publicly disclosed as appropriate. Implementing such procedures can promote whistle-blowing as it legitimize whistle-blowing and provide formal channels for resolving complaints (Near and Miceli, 1995). This essay will explore several ethical points of views to justify if employees should have the duty to whistle-blow on unethical or illegal acts: utilitarianism, an ethical framework which focuses on the outcomes or results of actions deontology; an ethical theory which is concerned moral actions. Utilitarianism is defined as the ethical tradition which directs us to make decision based on overall consequences of our action (Hartman and Desjardins 2008). Weeks and Nantel (1996) also claims that an one acting on utilitarianism considers the maximum benefits towards its beneficiaries. An action is considered good or right if it results in more good consequences over the bad ones (Beauchamp and Bowie, 1997: 22). Therefore, a utilitarian would attempt to actions that will maximize net social bene ¬Ã‚ ts as a result of their actions (Lamsa, 1999: 346). Bentham (1781) claims that human beings are utilitarian by nature. Bentham (1781) says that when reasoning a moral decision from a utilitarian view, a highly sophisticated hedonic calculus which constitutes of seven considerations, are involved. These considerations comprises of intensity, duration, certainty, propinquity, purity, fecundity and extent. The category extent measures the degree of our moral decisions impacting others . Hence, it is consistent that utilitarian calculations are used to consider the well-being of others as a heavily weighted factor in determining a course of action (Bentham, 1781). Deontology On contrary to utilitarianism, deontology is maintains that the morality of an action is based on series of rules and principles, rather than the consequences of the action. According to Kant (1780), to act in a morally right way, one should act from duty, regardless of the consequences (Kitson and Campbell, 1996: 13). Kant (1780) argues that the good will of a person cannot be determined by the consequences of the act of willing as good consequences could be resulted by accident from an action motivated by bad intentions, whereas bad consequences could be resulted from an action with good intentions. He claims that a person with good will acts out of respect for the moral law as they feel they have a duty to do so. Kant suggested that an action is only morally right if you were willing to have everyone act in a similar way in a similar situation (Lamsa, 1999: 347). Kant believed that actions should respect underlying moral law; a persons motives should re ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡ect recognition o f a duty to act and that morality provides a rational framework of rules, which constrains and guides people (Beauchamp and Bowie, 1997: 33; Kant, 2000: 54-5). So should employees have the duty to whistle-blow? Both ethical theories of utilitarianism and deontology discusses whistle-blowing in the context of moral duty. Whistle-blowers acting on the theory of utilitarianism would consider about the likely outcomes of their decision and will only blow the whistle if the rewards outweigh the costs (Southwood, 2001) whereas for those who are acting on the theory of deontology will blow the whistle if they think is morally right as moral obligations are irrelevant with the consequences. Using Benthams utilitarian perspective, one can argue that the negative effects of whistle-blowing can outweigh the rewards. So while an individual aims to disclose the unethical behaviours of an organisation so as to prevent the organisation from further wrongdoings, one would have to consider, as Bok introduced, the three types of conflicting loyalties; conflict between public interest of various sorts, conflict between loyalty and the organisation and the colleagues, and lastly the conflict between recognition and retaliation to the whistle-blower. The first conflict is the conflict between the public interests. Potential whistle-blowers would have to consider if stepping forward is in fact for the public interest. They would measure the extent of the threat and also consider if their actions would improve. The second conflict is their loyalty to the organisation and their peers. The employees, as human beings, will naturally form relationships with their colleagues and their loyalty, respect, commitment and emotional ties will also be developed for their workplace. Hence, by enforcing a duty for employees to whistle-blow would override their loyalties and organisation. The last conflict is the recognition and retaliation of whistle-blowing. In most cases of whistle-blowing the whistle blower stands alone against the majority; the organisation, their colleagues, the government and even their family. Hence, there would likely be a high potential of the whistle-blower suffering retaliation, such as losing their job, being called a rat or mole in the organisation and even suffer punishment as their organisation did if they were to be involved in the wrongdoings as well. Other severe consequences include affecting others such the whistle-blowers family, their close peers and even the entire organization. These negative consequences can be damaging in many ways; psychologically, sociologically and otherwise. Such scenario can be related to a real case occurred in Singapore. In 2005, in the Singapores National Kidney Foundation (NKF) Scandal, ex-Chief Executive Officer, T.T Durai, as well as other board of directors, were charged for misusing of public funds under the Prevention of Corruptions Act by the Police. However, before the scandal, accusations had already been about T.T Durai squandering and misusing of the funds for his own personal needs. The first two whistle-blowers, one of them being a volunteer of NKF, were summoned to court separately for defamation when both claimed that T.T. Durai had been travelling in Singapore Airlines first-class cabin. Both had to pay an undisclosed amount of damages to NKF and offer an apology as well. A cure-suffering father of one of the whistle-blower passed away upon learning about the law suit. The third whistle-blower was sued by NKF when she circulated an e-mail accusing the foundation of paying their staffs high bonuses instead of helping the poor and needy. She also warned the public about donating to the foundation. In results of her action, she had to pay a lump sum of S$50,000 in damages to NKF and also publish a public apology on local newspapers. After the scandal was exposed, though T.T Durai and the board members involved had been punished by the law, the three whistle-blowers had already suffered major negative consequences. Not only did the whistle-blowers not achieve their goal in disclosing the organisations illegal behaviour, they suffered serious punishment under the law and one of them even lost a family member indirectly as a result of his actions. Given the severity of the consequences of whistle-blowing, is it realistic for an individual to fulfil a duty to blow the whistle on unethical or illegal behaviour? On the other hand, whistle-blowers acting on the deontological perspective are considered moral agents. This holds true according to Kants theory of deontology as the intention of the whistle-blowers are for the well-being of the organisation. Whistleblowing addresses the issues of benevolence. The issues of benevolence involved in whistleblowing stem from the positive effects whistleblowing can have on others since whistle-blowers, by disclosing information about organisational wrongdoing, might warn society about organizational crimes or danger and thereby prevent further wrongdoing. However if an organisation were to impose a policy that employees have a duty to whistle-blow, they will lose such moralities and moral responsibilities and also limit their autonomy as well. While organisations introduce such policies to strengthen autonomy of the employee, it would also indicate that employees would be held accountable if they fail on their duty to whistle-blow. Therefore implementing duties to whistle-blow will turn autonomy into a liability. This would also create other imposed responsibilities for the employee as they are held responsible for what they have or have not done in relation to what they know or ought to know. Whistle-blowing policy would turn into a management tool for organisations to control their employees behaviour. This would result in employees not able to bring their whole-selves to work and thus limit the autonomy. Also, implementing such policies can protect organisations as they can shift responsibilities and blame to individual members. Individuals acting on deontological principals can also be regarded as a Good Samaritan. According to Fabre (2002), a Good Samaritan has the moral and legal obligation to help others in peril; hence this would fit in to the framework of Kants goodwill theory. A Good Samaritan characteristics, which according to include the absence of a special relationship and the absence of a professional or contractual obligation to help those in need. A Good Samaritan, explains Fabre, is a stranger who is not particularly qualified, professionally, to help, and who happens to be at the critical place, at the critical time (2002, 129). McCabe (1984) raise the objections and problems that arise with the duty to rescue. These problems are also applicable to whistleblowing and need to be addressed if the duty to whistleblow is implemented. The first objection relates to the situation where numerous people are in a position to rescue but nobody does so. Who will then be held liable for the failure to rescue? A problem with organizational whistleblowing and the potential duty to rescue is that it almost always involves a number of people who are in a position to rescue. Organizational activities and actions generally involve a number of people who know or ought to know about them. A second issue raised by McCabe is the risk of harm to the rescuer which is related to Good Samaritan laws. The risk of harm to whistleblowers is substantial as they are often harmed psychologically and financially despite any whistleblower protection that may apply to them. The last objection that McCabe mentions is the issue of a negligent rescue. What if the rescuer is well meaning but inept and causes harm to the party he is trying to rescue? In terms of whistleblowing this may occur when the whistleblower is ill informed or mistaken and damages the organization by claiming that it has misbehaved when that in fact was not the case. Conclusion In this essay the likely consequences of implementing whistle-blowing as a duty for employees are explored. It is possible that if such policies were to be introduced, as employees are going to be held responsible if they were to fail their duty to whistle-blow, they would be obliged to blow the whistle regardless if the employees might suffer more severe negative consequences than the rewards they can achieve. While they have the well intention of preventing the organisation from further wrongdoings, they might suffer backlash and the consequences might not only affect the individual, but also to their family and even the organisation itself. They enable people at work to be moral agents, who are responsible for their behaviour, and have the autonomy to behave as their conscience dictates them. However, implementing these policies may also turn responsibility into liability and increase the control of people by organisations, holding them responsible for what they do or fail to do, thus further institutionalising the organisation man or woman. This possibility makes whistleblowing policies a management tool to make people at work liable for what they do or fail to do. This second possibility also shifts responsibility of organisational behaviour to employees, making them responsible not only for reporting organisational wrongdoing but for organisational wrongdoing. They also need to be examined in terms of likely consequences, and effect on people and organisations moral behaviour and responsibility.