PHI 101 Metaphysics and Theories of Reality Essay

PHI 101 Metaphysics and Theories of Reality - Essay Example We live in a dynamic universe. Knowledge is continually evolving. Progress on the scientific, economic and political fronts is essential for survival. Stagnation leads to entropy. There can be no standing still or going back. Growth is a fact of life and ensures that knowledge is continuously updated, and new paradigms constantly replace the old. Once the dynamic nature of knowledge is accepted, it follows that there can be no single universally accepted paradigm to withstand the test of time. Perceptions and standards change over time and become relative to a particular period or civilization. There can be no absolute standards. Each new discovery indicates the shortcomings of previous perspectives. This mandates openness to the diversity of life. When knowledge is continually evolving, and change is inevitable, bigotry has no place in belief systems. By acknowledging that beliefs and values are relative, we open our minds to the viewpoints of others. This approach can contribute towards a better understanding of different perspectives and constitute a bulwark against fundamentalism and rigidity in beliefs. The study of knowledge clearly offers evidence of the interdependence of all aspects of the world. The evolutionary nature of the universe, and of knowledge, tends towards increasing complexity. This includes social complexity. The contemporary theory of ‘Open Systems’ emphasizes that all systems are open and demonstrates that there is interaction on all fronts, both within the component parts of a system, and with the surroundings. Interaction is a prerequisite for growth. The complexity and organization of a system can be maintained only through this openness. Just as the units of nature are interdependent open systems, human society is also an open system which can survive only through interaction. Mutual interdependence is a fact of human life. We

Current Political Dimensions and Issues of Globalization Essay Example for Free

Current Political Dimensions and Issues of Globalization Essay Globalization refers to those processes whereby geographically distant events and decisions impact to a growing degree on â€Å"local† university life. Also it can be viewed as link towards the growth of social interconnectedness across existing geographical and political boundaries. Globalization is the process of increasing interconnectedness interdependent ness of people and places as a result of improved transport and communication and information technologies that ensures countries stay together as one community. In globalization, political, economic, social, religious and cultural issues usually interplay in producing a globalize world.    The world is becoming one. most contemporary social theorists endorse the view that globalization refers to fundamental changes in the spatial and temporal contours of social existence, according to which the significance of space or territory undergoes shifts in the face of a no less dramatic acceleration in the temporal structure of crucial forms of human activity. Geographical distance is typically measured in time. (Brawley, 2002) The world’s globalization can be traced back to many decades when different countries of the world saw the need to have globalization of the economy, politics, and societies, religious through the creation of links that will ensure that there is coordination in all the aforementioned aspects that form the basis of any country. There has been great integration in the economic sector among countries in, this is what is commonly referred as economic globalization. The fast economic growth among many countries in the world can be attributed to globalization. This implies that globalization has helped reduce poverty in many developing counties. Western political theory has traditionally presupposed the existence of territorially bound communities, whose borders can be more or less neatly delineated from those of other communities. The contemporary liberal politics has it that to speak of bounded communities whose fundamental structure consists of self-sufficient schemes of cooperation for all the essential purposes of human life. (David, 1995) The current political issues in any given country are based on how to achieve and utilize globalization.   Most of the countries have resolved to form partnerships with most of the countries in the world so as to integrate their resources geared towards high production. The whole process of globalization promotes proper and easy access to the world market among the partners.   This role is played by internationals organizations that have tried to promote liberal markets. For instance business people on different continents now engage in electronic commerce; television allows people situated anywhere to observe the impact of terrible wars being waged far from the comfort of their living rooms; academics make use of the latest video conferencing equipment to organize seminars in which participants are located at disparate geographical locations; the Internet allows people to communicate instantaneously with each other notwithstanding vast geographical distances separating them. (Burchill Linklater, 1996). The whole process of globalization has its own challenges where the poor countries are not able to compete effectively in the world markets and as such the poor countries are unable to have economic growth.   There is great disparity between the developed and the developing countries and this is also inherent to the people of these countries where we have a big imbalance between the poor and the rich. Due to the process of globalization countries have a challenge on how to have political shifts that will enhance their global growth.   The political shift usually twisted towards the stakeholders of globalization. Corruption fighting is the key issue towards globalization for any country. Covering a wide range of distinct political, economic, and cultural trends, the term globalization has quickly become one of the most fashionable buzzwords of contemporary political and academic debate. In popular discourse, globalization often functions as little more than a synonym for one or more of the following phenomena: the pursuit of classical liberal free market policies in the world economy economic liberalization, the growing dominance of different forms of political, economic, and cultural life. The proliferation of new information technologies such as the Internet as well as the notion that humanity are in the anticipation of   realizing one single unified community in which major sources of social conflict have vanished through global integration. (David 1995) Ultimately globalization has been achieved through technological advancements.   It is a main challenge in the process of globalization as many counties are lagging behind in terms of technological advancements that are meant to promote fast and effective communication as well as boost high production.   The process of achieving the international development goals pays more emphasizes on reducing poverty levels in countries of the world by promoting sustainable growth by empowering the poor people. Globalization is just an opportunity that is associated with risks at the national and international level. One of the issues that has emitted from globalization is that there is freedom of movement which has made developed countries hire labour from lower cost countries this making the citizens of the country to lose their jobs.   It end result of this is that the country is focusing on its development. But globalization can not be dismissed at all but what is important is to lay good enabling structures that can enhance both an individual development as well as the country development.   This can only be done by putting in place good governance. Generally, globalization poses risks and challenges, but so far it has become a stabilizing force in Philippine politics. (Robertson, 1992) This is the only way the government could make serious headway in the fight against joblessness and poverty. There are indications that most of those uprisings in the past were supported by the business elite. They are concentrated in the banking, real estate, export, and trading. Most of these sectors now are raking in money from overseas remittances, outsourcing, and recovering exports. It means they now have a stake in the stability of the system. People in the world are encouraged to think as citizens of nations and as well global citizens if the global agenda is to be achieved.   Globalization is a force that is attaching people of countries in the world and as such globalization is the way forward. Generally, globalization is characterized by free market, new technologies internet revolution.   Due to this increased technologies little time is required to connect different geographical locations.   This has helped in reducing the issues of national boundaries as people can communicate without necessarily crossing over the national boundaries.   Many social activities can take place in the world without necessary considering the geographical location of the participants. This is done through telecommunication, digital computers, audiovisual media and this occurs everywhere in the contemporary world.   (Schorte, 1996).  Ã‚   Business is done through electronics, televisions. This has promoted both social and economic interconnectedness across the political and geographical boundaries.   This means that technical disregard to geographical boundaries is a major issue towards globalization. High speed technology plays a very crucial role in the process of globalization.   This is another issue that is hindering the achievement of globalization.   This is because most of the world’s countries and are not moving as per the dynamisms of technology thus creating slow inter border speed movements. (Scheuerman,2004) The high speed technologies minimize the significance of distance and as a result improving the interconnectedness. But in those areas where deterritorialization and social interconnectedness across national borders are especially striking, new transnational institutions (for example, cross-border referenda), along with a dramatic strengthening and further democratization of existing forms of supranational authority (in particular, the United Nations), are necessary if we are to assure that popular sovereignty remains an effective principle. Globalization guarantees sustainable competitiveness through leadership of technological improvements.   The attraction of many countries in need of investment has promoted the growth of economies in most countries that embrace globalization.   Good examples are the recent joint ventures of China with Japanese companies where the Chinese get skills directly by working the Japanese. High-speed technologies and organizational approaches are employed by transnational operating firms, the so-called â€Å"global players,† with great effectiveness. The emergence of â€Å"around-the-world, around-the-clock† financial markets, where major cross-border financial transactions are made in cyberspace at the blink of an eye, represents a familiar example of the economic face of globalization. (Mark Interline 2001) How Philippines is integrated in international economy at the global community. Philippines as far as the globalization is concerned is rated in the semi-globalize world.   The country has not achieved completely what it takes for a country to be globalized.   It is lacking integrated markets and economies with other countries.   This because it has not taken advantage of across borders integration.   Low cross borders coordination reduces the economic share activities which have an effect of reducing fast economic growth.   Philippines have now a new political shift aimed at promoting its economic growth.   One of the main issues of promoting globalization is through democratization.   This is an aspect that has been missing in Philippines, there is a tendency the country believing that poor countries should not depend on the foreign capital and for this reason the country believes in regional issues of development. Philippine is the latest country to be accepted in the global alliance nations sharing global information and economies.   The country’s software sector has greatly grown giving it advantage in global information technology.   In the year 2006, Philippines had established software innovation which aimed at creating a global centre of information.   The process of software innovation is based on good relations with other countries that have advanced technology.   This procedure has promoted individuals business within the integrated countries.   A good example is stag Philippines Company that developed an innovative online registration system for one of the domestic airlines, this is a positive movement towards globalizations. The country has moved from the traditional of doing things to the scientific and technological revolutions.   Philippines has achieved great integration in East Asia with countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.   This form of regional integration has promoted free market within the area hence improved economies. Globalization refers to increased possibilities for action between and among people in situations where latitudinal and longitudinal location seems immaterial to the social activity at hand. Even though geographical location remains crucial for many undertakings (for example, farming to satisfy the needs of a local market), deterritorialization manifests itself in many social spheres.. Territory in the sense of a traditional sense of a geographically identifiable location no longer constitutes the whole of â€Å"social space† in which human activity takes places. In this initial sense of the term, globalization refers to the spread of new forms of non-territorial social activity (Fred, 1998) There are great challenges for the government in trying to harmonize governance especially when there is integration of business bodies with other countries.   The process of liberalization and democratization enables the more advanced countries to take advantage of the free market.   The more developed countries use this opportunity in getting more profits which they take to their rich countries.   There is power mixing for the government as it not possible to control all the power diffusion. Each manifestation of globalization also generates distinct conflicts and dislocations. For example, there is substantial empirical evidence that cross-border flows and exchanges, as well as the emergence of directly transnational forms of production by means of which a single commodity is manufactured simultaneously in distant corners of the globe, are gaining in prominence (Castells, 1996). The whole process of Philippines involvement in international and global community is that the developed countries in term s of service provision on the onset there is un equal competition for the integrated market which the developed countries stand a better chance to exploit.   Despite the lower levels of poverty in most states, there is a general inequality in the overall income among the citizens. The inequality in Philippines occurs especially between rural and urban areas.   This has led to economic stagnation and civil instability which threatens the goal of reducing poverty by globalization.   Other places are overpopulated causing strain on the meager natural resources.   The fact that Philippines has moved global has not solved the internal disparities which threaten to increase poverty levels. The government has a great challenge of implementing certain agreements with the international community.   Such international conventions are so demanding in terms of implementation within the country.   When these legal conventions are integrated to the country they have the capacity to weaken the internal structures of the country. As an empirical matter, the decay of the domestic-foreign frontier seems highly ambivalent, since it might easily pave the way for the decay of the more attractive attributes of domestic political life: as â€Å"foreign† affairs collapse inward onto â€Å"domestic† political life, the relative lawlessness of the former potentially makes disturbing inroads onto the latter (Scheuerman, 2004) The government is also challenged by the rapidly expanding flow of goods services information and people which makes the country to be more interdependent.   This requires that the country sets global consensus to meet these challenges. Globalization-from-above is controlled by wealthy elites and driven by a hunger for more wealth and power. But there is another form of globalization in the Philippines that is made up of grassroots alliances of human rights activists, trade unions, womens organizations, and environmental coalitions and farmers’ organizations. This form of globalization however does not get as much publicity as the elite form of globalization but it is growing just as rapidly. The institutions such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and transnational corporations have assisted in development and the integration of the world’s countries into the global system. The cross-boarder issues that require joint efforts have been very difficult for the Philippine government to manage.   Areas that require regional cooperation include drug supply reduction, prevention of HIV/AIDS, fight against illegal drugs.   Lack of such support has been a great set back to the government. Critics insist that local, regional, and national forms of self-government are being rapidly supplanted by insufficiently democratic forms of global governance remote from the needs of ordinary citizens, whereas their defenders describe new forms of supranational legal and political decision as indispensable forerunners to more inclusive and advanced forms of self-government. Global financial markets also challenge traditional attempts by liberal democratic nation-states to rein in the activities of bankers, spawning understandable anxieties about the growing power and influence of financial markets over democratically elected representative institutions Globalization has an effect on Philippines culture and traditions as the society’s norms and values as subject to change.   There are many ways in which the globalization may finally erode the cultural values of the people due to the volatile socialization a contribution of market liberalization and democratization. Market liberalization and the democratization has continued to adversely contributed to the deceleration in growth rate of the country because of the worsening terms of trade between the integrated countries and Philippines. There is a weak growth of exports to the developed countries but rather there are a big number of imports to the country. This means that the country spends more money to the outside countries than what it receives.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There is a need for the developed countries to have a positive shift towards assisting the developing countries. This can be done by the removal of trade barrier to the developing countries. Philippine’s economy has been growing at 4-6% GDP due to the growth of the robust sector. Electrons and semiconductors contribute greatly to the country’s exports. There is variety of market for the Philippines products due to the globalization. A global citizen in this country is encouraged to participate actively by taking advantage of the available opportunities: outsourcing is an outcome of technological advancements. For instance, many people in the Philippines start their work at 9pm till five in the morning. Such jobs include call centers. This industry of out sources is growing at 57%per year. The Philippines has low or more open economy, a contribution of the economic reforms done as well as moving global. The linking together and expanding of social activities across borders is predicated on the possibility of relatively fast flows and movements of people, information, capital, and goods. Without these fast flows, it is difficult to see how distant events could possibly posses the influence they now enjoy. High-speed technology plays a pivotal role in the velocity of human affairs. But many other factors contribute to the overall pace and speed of social activity.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Globalization has completely changed the political and social situation of the country. The current crop of politicians believes that the future of the country depends on global connectivity and it is for this reason they support global dynamics and global competitiveness. The democratic model has been used in Philippines in the process of creating alliances with other countries. According to one influential strand within international relations theory, relations between states are fundamentally lawless. Since the achievement of justice or democracy, for example, presupposes an effective political sovereign, the lacuna of sovereignty at the global level means that justice and democracy are necessarily incomplete and probably unattainable there. In this â€Å"Realist† view of international politics, core features of the modern system of sovereign states relegate the pursuit of western political thoughts most noble normative goals primarily to the domestic arena. Other critics has that the dangers of global economy is that investors come into a particular country, present certain conditions and government often accept them without asking the people who will be affected, which is a violation of workers rights. It often happens under such deals when state companies are bought over by foreign companies, thousands of workers are laid off under so called structural adjustment program to cut the cost, while workers are pushed for longer hours and prohibited from labor unions. The whole purpose behind this way of working is exploitation of the foreign market to gain greater profit. Globalization is part of the changing world, but the way it is coming in developing countries lacks humanity. Contemporary analysts associate globalization with deterritorialization, according to which a growing variety of social activities takes place irrespective of the geographical location of participants. As Jan Aart Scholte observes, â€Å"global events can via telecommunication, digital computers, audiovisual media, rocketry and the like occur almost simultaneously anywhere and everywhere in the world. (Scholte Aart, 1996) In conclusion globalization is the way forward for Philippine’s economic and political growth. Technology is the key to the achievement of the globalization process and it is therefore very important for any country to embrace technological changes in order to be complacent with the fast changes in the world. A country that will not embrace technological changes is like lag behind in matters of development. Increased communication is panacea of any expanding economy as this promotes sharing of the international nature. Expanding free market promotes greater exchange of skills which has a net effect of improving the economy in terms of the factors maximizing the factors of production such as capital, land, entrepreneurship. Outsourcing is the contemporary form of globalization that is practiced in the contemporary Philippine and this has led to the improved social relation among the regional countries. Integration of different companies which produce similar products has enhanced the exchange of technologies by the virtue of direct contact. Finally globalization has reduced the social boundaries as well the geographical barriers and now people are staying as one big community. References Mark Randal Brawley (2002) the Politics of Globalization: Gaining Perspective, Assessing Consequences. Broadview Press. Crescenzi, Mark, and Andrew J. Interline. 2001. Time Remembered: A Dynamic Model of Interstate Interaction. International Studies Quarterly 45:409-431. Scott Burchill and Andrew Linklater, (1996). Theories of International Relations. New York: St. Martins Castells, Manuel (1996), The Rise of Network Society (Oxford: Blackwell). Dallmayr, Fred (1998), Alternative Visions: Paths in the Global Village (Lanham, Md.: Rowman Littlefield). Held, David (1995), Democracy and the Global Order: From the Modern State to Cosmopolitan Governance (Stanford: Stanford University Press). Robertson, R. (1992), Globalization: Social Theory and Global Culture, (London: Sage). Scheuerman, William E. (2004), Liberal Democracy and the Social Acceleration of Time (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 2004). Scholte, Jan Aart (2000), Globalization: A Critical Introduction (New York: St. Martins).

Abortion and the Destruction of America :: Persuasive Essay, Argumentative

Abortion and the Destruction of America      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Israel was God's chosen people. He picked them out and distinguished them from the pagan Gentile nations in order to be a special witness to His own holiness. Israel received the Law, the promises, and the covenant. They received great blessings from God. But what happened? They grew comfortable and complacent. Rather than reforming the pagans, they conformed to the pagans. The prophets were chosen by God to call Israel back to covenant faithfulness. Isaiah was one of the first prophets. He recites a song for the Israelites. "My friend had a vineyard on a fertile hillside; He spaded it, cleared it of stones, and planted the choicest vines; within it he built a watchtower, and hewed out a winepress. Then he looked for a crop of grapes, but it yielded wild grapes..." What was Isaiah talking about? He was prophesying the destruction of the Northern Kingdom, which would fall in a few short years to the brutal Assyrians in 722 BC. The Israelites of the ten northern tribes were in effect obliterated. They did not heed God's call for repentance.    A little over 200 years ago, God planted another vineyard. In this vineyard there was fertile, abundant land; there was political liberty; there was a the bright promise of a democratic republic in which life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness were constitutionally promised to each person. This "vineyard" was founded on high ideals, indeed. The vineyard is, of course, the U.S.A. And so, 200 years ago, what has been called the "American Experiment" was launched. God planted this vineyard. He gave us the wonderful nation in which we live, and made ample provision for much fruit to be borne. Today, God looks to the U.S.A. to see the fruit it has yielded--to see the "grapes." What will He find?    He'll find abortion on demand--about 1,600,000 babies aborted a year (that's over 4,000 a day). He'll find euthanasia--one state has legalized it already, more are itching to follow. Then there is the decline of the family -- about one in two marriages end in divorce. There's a degenerate pop-culture that glorifies illicit sex and violence. There is the billion-dollar porn industry, which has exploded since the Internet. There is last year's presidential scandal, at which time the highest-ranking government official lied under oath and was impeached by the House, using lies to cover up other lies in a sordid media escapade.

A historical overview of the African-American race Essay

Frankly, most persons today have learned African history through European eyes. To the European, Africa was the place where the trader, missionary, explorer and conqueror made names for themselves. Europeans often considered Africa backward and called it the â€Å"Dark Continent. † But do the Africans consider that they were really as backward as the Europeans imply? One answer is produced by Nwabueze Chukwemeka Okoye of New York’s State University College, Department of African and Afro-American Studies. Of European expansion into Africa, he says: â€Å"The effort was clearly to justify European dominance of the Africans not in terms of sheer force (which it was) but in terms of a cultural superiority (which it was not). † Particularly, African-Americans are believed to derive their background from the Sub-Saharan race of slaves that have been shipped from the African regions towards the Northern American areas during the years of slavery. Some of them also shared both European and Asian blood and heritage that they carried the said mixture of both particular cultures as they were transferred to America. Because they were already branded as â€Å"slaves† the African-American community simply used to accept whatever it is that is said to them as noted by the â€Å"white race†. They were most of the time treated like as if they were of no worth and that their life is no more better than that of the animals that they used to take care if. Sadly though, although the years of slavery have finally ended, the brand that goes with the African-American race has not been removed yet. Many people still tend to treat them as low-raced people who ought to receive harsh treatments from the society. However, there is always a time for breaking the silence. The undoubtedly strong perseverance of the people of the African race in seeing what is being done to their race have been finally ended when there were people like Sojourner Truth and other abolitionists who were courageous enough to face their â€Å"masters† [the white Americans] and break the ties of slavery that entangles them with the dreadful situation of living that they were experiencing before. The hopeful African-American race then perceived that at least they would have the freedom that their so-called â€Å"heroes† worked their efforts for. However, in the long run, it could be noted that this particular freedom has not been given completely by the American government towards the African-American race yet. Seeing the situations within the American society, it could be observed that the African-American race still continues to experience racial division within the said society.

Evaluate the Relevance and Adequacy of the Balanced Score Card Essay

The Balanced Scorecard is a strategic performance management framework that has been designed to help an organisation monitor its performance and manage the execution of its strategy. Kaplan and Norton (1996a, 1996b) pointed out that the implementation of the Balance Score Card is to attain the following goals clarify and translate vision and strategy, communicate and link objectives and measures, plan, set targets, and align strategic initiatives; and enhance strategic feedback and learning. A growing number of firms are replacing their financially-based performance measurement and compensation systems with a â€Å"balanced scorecard† incorporating multiple financial and nonfinancial indicators. Proponents of the balanced scorecard concept contend that this approach provides a powerful means for translating a firm’s vision and strategy into a tool that effectively communicates strategic intent and motivates performance against established strategic goals (Kaplan and Norton, 1996). Kaplan and Norton (1992, 1996) developed the balanced scorecard concept to address the perceived shortcomings in financially-oriented performance measurement systems. The balanced Score card approach supplements traditional financial measures with non-financial measures focused on at least three other perspectives–customers, internal business processes, and learning and growth. According to the Financial Gazette dates 24 July 2009, it pointed out that more and more organisations today are resorting to the balanced scorecard as a performance management system. This method of performance management allows performance to be measured across four different perspectives, where traditionally it was based on financial indicators alone. The four balanced scorecard perspectives are financial, customer, internal business processes and learning and growth. Through the use of the various perspectives, the Balance Score Card captures both leading and lagging performance measures, thereby providing a more â€Å"balanced† view of company performance. Leading indicators include measures, such as customer satisfaction, new product development, on-time delivery and employee competency development. Traditional lagging indicators include financial measures, such as revenue growth and profitability. The Balance Score Card performance management systems have been widely adopted globally, in part, because this approach enables organizations to align all levels of staff around a single strategy so that it can be executed more successfully. The balanced scorecard’s relevance also lies as it lets executives see whether they have improved in one area at the expense of another .Essentially the balanced scorecard is a framework of the four most important aspects of an organization (financial, customer, learning and growth and internal business process) that enable predictions to be made about performance on a number of levels and this is shown below Financial Perspective The balance Score Card is relevant to the organization in the sense that it gives the organization the ability to provide financial profitability and stability (private) or cost-efficiency/effectiveness (public).Also it is fully adequate in most organization and is adequately distributed. The companies are able to succeed financially and the share holders will be happy because of the cash flow within the organization. Managers are able to track financial success and shareholder value. Customer perspective Furthermore the balance score card enables the organization to have the ability to provide quality goods and services, delivery effectiveness, and customer satisfaction by offering after sales service, visiting customers to verify whether the product they sold are of good quality and they are not problematic to the customer. Again The Balance score card enables the organization to be performing well in a business scenario by practicing customer ranking survey, customer satisfaction index and even market share.( Robert Kaplan and Dr. David Norton 1992).With The Balance score card managers the organization is able to cover customer objectives such as customer satisfaction, market share goals as well as product and service attributes. Internal Business Processes Internal processes that lead to high financial goals for example quality and product reliability, speed in fulfilling customer needs and also speed in response to customer complaints and these elements will have an impact on the service to customers. According to Arifinfo June 2, 2011, the internal processes include improving the quality and reliability products lowering the number of products that fail, increase speed of service developing innovation process and develop production capacity hence performance management is enhanced. Again organizations can cover internal operational goals and outlines the key processes necessary to deliver the customer objectives. Learning and Growth The Balance Scorecard is relevant and its adequacy lies on that it gives the organization the ability of employees, technology tools and effects of change to support organizational goals. A learning-and-growth metric (or employee metric) is a framework for quantitatively assessing employee satisfaction, productivity, and retention in the framework of the balanced scorecard (BSC).A metric that is not just behavioral and statistical but â€Å"developmental,† in the sense of development of adult mental growth over the life span (Laske, 1999a/b, 2000), adds to learning-and-growth enablers a second â€Å"tier† that refines the metricization of a company’s strategic human resources. The Learning & Growth Perspective focuses on the intangible assets of an organization, mainly on the internal skills and capabilities of the employees that are required to support the value-creating internal processes. The Learning & Growth Perspective focuses on human capital jobs and people issues, information capital systems and technology issues and organization capital that is organizational climate and quality of work-life. According to Van Eerde and Thierry (1996, he advocated that this approach allows companies to build consensus around the organization’s vision and strategy, effectively communicate strategic objectives, and motivate performance against established strategic goals. Although the balanced scorecard literature acknowledges that linkages to reward systems ultimately are required for the scorecard to create cultural change and improve economic performance, the specific form of these linkages remains an open issue. Balance Score card’s relevance and adequacy lies in that organizations enjoyed the following advantages Better Strategic Planning The Balanced Scorecard provides a powerful framework for building and communicating strategy. The business model is visualized in a strategy map which forces managers to think about cause and effect relationships. The process of creating a Strategy Map ensures that consensus is reached over a set of interrelated strategic objectives. Improved Strategy Communication & Execution The fact that the strategy with all its interrelated objectives is mapped on one piece of paper allows companies to easily communicate strategy internally and externally. Better Management Information The Balanced Scorecard approach forces organizations to design key performance indicators for their various strategic objectives. This ensures that companies are measuring what actually matters. Research shows that companies with a BSC approach tend to report higher quality management information and gain increasing benefits from the way this information is used to guide management and decision making. Improved Performance Reporting Companies using a Balanced Scorecard approach tend to produce better performance reports than organizations without such a structured approach to performance management. Increasing needs and requirements for transparency can be met if companies create meaningful management reports and dashboards to communicate performance both internally and externally. Better Strategic Alignment Organizations with a Balanced Scorecard are able to better align their organization with the strategic objectives. In order to execute a plan well, organizations need to ensure that all business and support units are working towards the same goals. Cascading the Balanced Scorecard into those units will help to achieve that and link strategy to operations. Better Organizational Alignment Well implemented Balanced Scorecards also help to align organizational processes such as budgeting, risk management and analytics with the strategic priorities. This will help to create a truly strategy focused organization. However, with the extra time and expense required to implement and operate the balanced scorecard and it is said by advocates that of about forty four percent encountered problems developing the extensive information systems needed to support the scorecard approach. The use of a large number of performance measures may also cause managers to spread their efforts over too many objectives, reducing the effectiveness of the incentive plan hence the relevance of the balance scorecard will be to a lesser extent. However, beside Balance Score Card there is also the Competitive Assessment Model where it assumes that organizations improve through a process of â€Å"rigid individualism† in which employees are ranked and rated against each other, driving performance on a comparative basis. This model sound to be more relevant to companies today in the sense that it enables companies to enhance competitiveness and aids managers in determining the key activities to address in order to improve corporate efficiency and effectiveness based on satisfying stakeholders.( Paul Watson, Dmitry Maslow and Nicholas Chileshe).This proves the point that the models from the West are relevant in the industry today.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt Fact Sheet

President Franklin D. Roosevelt Fact Sheet Franklin Delano Roosevelt served as Americas president for over 12 years, longer than any other person before or since. He was in power during the Great Depression and throughout most of World War II. His policies and decisions had and continue to have an enormous impact on America.  For more in depth information, you can also read the   Franklin D Roosevelt Biography. Fast Facts: Franklin D. Roosevelt Birth: January 30, 1882Death: April 12, 1945Known for: Four-term President of the U.S.Term of Office: March 4, 1933-April 12, 1945Number of Terms Elected: 4 Terms; Died during his 4th term.Spouse: Eleanor Roosevelt (His fifth cousin once removed)Famous Quote: The United States Constitution has proved itself the most marvelously elastic compilation of rules of government ever written. Additional Franklin D Roosevelt quotes. Major Events While in Office Twenty-First Amendment - Repeal of Prohibition (1933)New Deal policies including the creation of the CCC, NRA, and TVA (1933-1935)Social Security Act (1935)Court Packing Plan (1937)World War II (1939-1945)Pearl Harbor attacked; US enters World War II (1941)Yalta Conference (1945) Related Franklin D. Roosevelt Resources: These additional resources on Franklin D Roosevelt can provide you with further information about the president and his times. Franklin Roosevelt Biography: Learn more about FDRs life and times with this biography.   Causes of the Great Depression: What actually caused the Great Depression? Here is a list of the top five most commonly agreed upon causes of the Great Depression. Overview of World War II: World War II was the war to end aggression by ruthless dictators. This article provides an overview of the war including the war in Europe, the war in the Pacific, and how people dealt with the war at home. The Manhattan Project Timeline: One day before America entered World War II with the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the Manhattan Project officially began with President Franklin D. Roosevelts approval over the objections of some scientists including Albert Einstein. J. Robert Oppenheimer was the projects scientific director.

The Incredible Disappearing LinkedIn Profile - Part II

The Incredible Disappearing LinkedIn Profile - Part II In March, I published an article which now turns out to be Part 1  of this series on the disappearing acts LinkedIn has been playing. I covered the Summary section, job descriptions, contact information, the Interests section, e-mail subject lines, saved searches, alumni and other top navigation items, tagging and notes, and LinkedIn group features. Since then, many people have written to me with questions about how to find additional â€Å"lost† features with the new LinkedIn, so I’m publishing Part II! Here are some of the things you might have noticed have changed or gone missing in the new LinkedIn, plus a correction to the first item. 1. Your summary section. Last month I reported that the first 210 characters (including spaces) are visible when you initially view someone’s profile. It turns out there’s a range of characters that might appear, from about 205 to about 230. Everyone’s profile is different, and it’s not exactly clear why. Fewer characters appear on the mobile app than on the desktop app, so make sure you write a great hook in your first 10-15 words! Here’s what my summary looks like on desktop: And here it is on mobile: Test yours and make it look great! And make sure to put a unique selling proposition in your first 10-15 words so you grab attention quickly. 2. Advice for contacting. There used to be an option under your Contact Information section to write a few lines about whom you want to contact/connect with you and why. It no longer exists sorry folks! 3. Creating and viewing secondary language profiles. Several people have written to me to say they can’t figure out how to add a profile in a second language. Don’t worry – the feature is still there! It has just moved. Check out the right-hand column to find the option to â€Å"Create a profile in another language.† Here’s what the screen will look like: And here’s your list of language choices: What HAS disappeared, at least for now, is the ability to view someone’s secondary language profile directly from their primary language profile. As LinkedIn said to me when I asked about this issue, â€Å"The ability to see other members [sic] secondary language profiles has not been fully re-implemented back into the new user interface.† If you happen to know or strongly suspect that someone has a profile in a second language, I encourage you to Google their name with the word â€Å"LinkedIn† – such as â€Å"Juan Ortiz LinkedIn† – to discover all profiles under that name. If they have an uncommon name you will likely find their multiple profiles. If they have a common name, it will be more difficult. You could also write to the person to ask if they can provide the profile URL for their secondary language profile. 4. Saved posts and suggested reading. LinkedIn has talked a big talk about the option to save articles and get suggested reading, but how do you do it? Both of these options are located on the mobile app only. To save articles on your phone, open the article you want to save and click on the ribbon icon in the upper right. Or you may need to click the 3 dots first: The article will automatically save. See the LinkedIn Help article on  saving, retrieving, and deleting articles on Pulse. For feed preferences, click on the gear to the right of your search bar when viewing your profile to reveal an Account tab and a Feed Preferences option under that. Click on the gear to go here: Click on Feed Preferences to get to this screen: Click â€Å"Follow fresh perspectives† and you’ll be able to follow people who post articles on the topics of your choice. 5. â€Å"Trending Storylines.† LinkedIn has been promoting this feature for quite a while, without mentioning that there might not be anything on your desktop or mobile app that actually says â€Å"Trending.† On my desktop app, the section says â€Å"Suggested for you.† Have you seen a screen that says â€Å"Trending†? I’d love to see what that looks like. Please let me know! 6. LinkedIn Groups. I mentioned in my previous article that while LinkedIn Groups are still around, there’s a lot of talk that they might be becoming irrelevant or extinct. What I didn’t cover is how to find them! They are under the catch-all â€Å"Work† tab: 7. Controlling the order of your sections. You can no longer rearrange your major sections like Summary, Experience, Education, Volunteer Experience, etc. So you won’t be able to customize your profile based on which sections are most important in your individual experience. While on the one hand I am sad about this change, I also think it makes things easier for readers who know what to expect to see where. You still have the ability to rearrange positions within your Experience section IF you have more than one current position or two positions that cover the exact same time period. To arrange your positions, hover over the 4-bar icon under the pencil icon and, if you qualify according to the parameters above, you’ll get a plus sign with arrows that you can click on to drag and drop the position you want to move. 8. Profile Strength Meter – and 100% Complete Profiles You’ll be able to see your own strength meter when you’re viewing your own profile, but you can no longer see anyone else’s profile strength. Additionally, there is no longer such thing as a â€Å"100% Complete Profile.† The best you can do is aim for â€Å"All-Star† status, if you’re not already there, by answering the questions LinkedIn presents to you when you log in. Okay, those are the main items that have come up since March. What else did I miss? Please ask any additional questions you may have about the new LinkedIn redesign. I promise to answer them if there are enough to warrant a Part 3!

Guidelines for Using Double Possessives in English

Guidelines for Using Double Possessives in English Take a good look at the following sentence: Natsaha is a friend of Joans and a client of Marlowes. If this sentence strikes you as extremely possessive, youre on the right track. The combination of the preposition of and a possessive form- either a noun ending in -s or a possessive pronoun- is called a double genitive (or double possessive). And while it may appear overly possessive, the construction has been around for centuries and its perfectly correct. British novelist Henry Fielding used the double genitive in A Journey From This World to the Next (1749): At seven years old I was carried into France . . . , where I lived with a person of quality, who was an acquaintance of my fathers. Youll also find it in Anne Brontà «s second (and final) novel: Shortly after, they both came up, and she introduced him as Mr. Huntingdon, the son of a late friend of my uncles.(The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, 1848) American writer Stephen Crane slipped a double genitive into one of his short stories: Oh, just a toy of the childs, explained the mother. Shes grown so fond of it, she loves it so.(The Stove, in Whilomville Stories, 1900) And in a recent novel, author Bil Wright doubled up on the construction: Hed already proved he was a liar. And he had a girlfriend even though he wasnt divorced. No, not a monster. But definitely an enemy of my mothers and mine.(When the Black Girl Sings, 2008) As these examples demonstrate, the double genitive is generally used for emphasis or clarification when the possessor is human. But watch out. If you stare at it too long, you may convince yourself that youve found a mistake. Apparently thats what happened to one of the original language mavens, James Buchanan. Back in 1767, he tried to outlaw the double genitive: Of being the sign of the Genitive Case, we cannot put it before a Noun with (s) for this is making two Genitives.(A Regular English Syntax) Keep in mind, as pointed out in Merriam-Websters Dictionary of English Usage, that the 18th-century grammarians simply had a horror of anything double, because such constructions did not occur in Latin. But this is English, of course, not Latin, and despite its apparent redundancy, the double genitive is a well-established idiom- a functional part of the language dating back to Middle English. As Theodore Bernstein says in Miss Thistlebottoms Hobgoblins (1971), the double genitive is of long standing, idiomatic, useful and here to stay. Finally, consider Martin Endleys demonstration of how the double genitive can be used to draw distinctions: (59a) I saw a statue of Queen Victoria in the park.(59b) I saw a statue of Queen Victorias in the park.Sentence (59a) can only mean that the speaker saw a statue depicting the great British monarch. On the other hand, the double genitive in (59b) would most naturally be understood to mean that the speaker saw a statue that once belonged to Queen Victoria but which depicted someone else.(Linguistic Perspectives on English Grammar, 2010) All the same, if the double genitive troubles you, just follow the example of linguists Rodney Huddleston and Geoffrey Pullum and call it something else: The oblique genitive construction is commonly referred to as the double genitive. . . . [H]owever, we do not regard of as a genitive case marker, and hence there is only one genitive here, not two (The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language, 2002).

No2 Oncology Literature Review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

No2 Oncology Literature Review - Essay Example (Trock et al., 2008; Wong et al. 2006; Potosky et al., 2000) In order to give the readers a better understanding of the subject matter, the student nurse will first provide the definition of medical terminology used in this study. In relation to the use of radiotherapy as a form of prostate cancer treatment, the impact of using androgen-deprivation therapy combined with radiotherapy as well as the impact of radiation dosage given to patients with prostate cancer will be examined. Eventually, the student nurse will compare and contrast the results of the research findings presented in each of the selected academic journals. Upon discussing the scope and limitation of the study, the student nurse will discuss the proper application of nursing practice in the case wherein the patient is suffering or is recovering from a prostate cancer treatment. Biochemical Relapse-free Survival (bRFS) or Biochemical Recurrence – a cancer relapse after a prostate cancer patient has undergone treatment via surgery or radiation. (National Cancer Institute, 2008) Upon conducting a research study on adding 2 years of androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) such as goserelin and flutamide on patients before and during the provision of radiation therapy on patients with prostate cancer, the team of Horwitz et al. (2008) concludes that the provision of less than 150 ng/mL long-term ADT to patients with advanced-stage prostate cancer combined with radiation therapy between 65 to 70 Gy is more effective as compared to the provision of short-term ADT. Similar to the research findings of Horwitz et al. (2008), the team of Hanks et al. (2003) reported the same research findings with the use of less than 150 ng/mL long-term adjuvant androgen deprivation therapy like goserelin and flutamide when combined with radiation dose of 65 to 70 Gy in patients with advanced prostate

The Corporations Production Target Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Corporations Production Target - Assignment Example In line with the purpose of this memo, the beer making process in the application is attached as well as the modified process recommended thereon. Before the main issue is handled, an introduction is done regarding the cause of the problem and then the explanation follows in the inclusion of the recommendations. Saccharine Beers Corporation deals in the production and marketing of malted beers. Currently, the plant supplies the beer market with six million bottles of malted beer on a daily basis, which translates into half a million bottles of beer every hour. The capacity of the plant can slightly be increased to about three hundred bottles of beer every hour in a high season. On a low season, the Corporation reduces production up to a hundred thousand bottles every hour. The low season’s production is set so low, to ensure that production caters for just plant costs than to produce without market sensitivity. During the current high season, the plant expanded its production capacity to hit half a million bottles of beer. Production increments were in line with the increased market coverage and promotional strategies embarked in the recent past. Positive results have been confirmed by the Sales Department, with an all-time high sales record being posted. Enthusiasm within the Corporation’s operations has prompted future projections currently made to illustrate a capacity outstretch, both by demand and production. At Saccharine Beers, the production of malted beers is simplified to enable a process that is as close to the natural brewing process as possible. As illustrated in the flowchart, five main production stages are involved in the entire beer making process. For hygiene regulations compliance, the corporation simplifies the process as much as possible for quality assurance (Cobbett, 22). The main processes are briefly discussed, stating the problem involved and strengths.

Alden, Inc Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Alden, Inc - Case Study Example Presenting a receiving report to the supplies is important I an organization to acknowledge receipt of the materials to avoid challenges with supply. The control procedures for the above problems include passing a policy for the removal of materials from the store room only under written authorization and recording of the amount and value of the materials retrieved. Keeping a perpetual inventory system is the other procedure to solve the problems at Alden. This will allow tracking o material usage at Alden for the company to be able to forecast sales and making demand forecasts to avoid losses from shortages and reduce theft. Sending receipt reports to the supplies and checking on quantity and quality needs to ensure the supplies meet the specification of the company. An Integrated Enterprise Resource Planning system can be used to solve the above weaknesses through the development of bill of materials by the ERP system when supplies are made, developing a perpetual inventory system in the ERP system through entering inventory levels, addition, and withdrawals from the store to get the inventory at a given time (Hamilton, 2003). This will allow the ERP system to make forecasts on the usage of the materials and ensure the ERP system requiring the consent of authorized staff to make withdrawals from the store. The ERP system can also be used to make vouchering, matching, and payment of the supplies. An ERP system will also track order processing in terms of order entry, credit checking, inventory, shipping analysis, pricing among different supplies to get the best bargain, supplier scheduling and warehousing (Hamilton,

Capital Punishment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6000 words

Capital Punishment - Essay Example While this is just one way in which the disputants talk past each other in the capital punishment debate, this particular disagreement helps to explain other aspects of the capital punishment dispute. Proponents of capital punishment speak the language of local option and states' rights not only because this insulates the pro-capital punishment orientation of most state governments from federal review, but also because states and localities are the levels of government that usually hold power over ordinary criminal justice decisions. State legislatures, local prosecutors and judges, and the particular values of specific communities are supposed to shape criminal justice outcomes. National government and constitutional values have little direct influence on most punishment decisions. If the availability of death as a criminal punishment were a garden-variety choice of punishment option, state and local power over them would be consistent with an important American tradition. If on the other hand, one regards capital punishment as a fundamental moral and political question, the national government and constitutional values are the appropriate vehicles for decisions. The p... ed nations and even the importance that the proponents of the penalty attach to it are powerful evidence that the death penalty is an issue of transcendent importance, one that is principally moral and political. (Gary, 783-805) There are certain reservations from some corners of public discussions as regards to the unreliable evidences that caused capital punishment but consequently proved false. It is hard to believe how prosecutors can admit evidence from unreliable sources. In some cases witnesses have later recanted or disavowed their testimonies claiming that they had only made their statements under pressure or coercion from prosecution and law enforcement. These false testimonies proved to be the condemning evidence in many cases. Lastly, most of the people charged in capital cases ca nnot afford defense attorneys. The appointed defense counsels in several cases have exhibited incompetence. Some of them did not even look for or missed important evidence that proved the innocence of their clients. In other instances, defense lawyers failed to conduct adequate pretrial investigations, talk to possible witnesses, obtain relevant police reports, or seek pretrial investigative funds. Michael Mello, a renowned capital punishment defense attorney in Florida from 1981-1995, has said "there is today a desperate (albeit difficult to quantify) shortage of competent capital post-conviction defense lawyers" (David, 1037-48). The Supreme Court in the Furman decision ruled that the death penalty is unconstitutional because it is a "cruel and unusual" punishment. Some allusions to racial discrimination appeared in the opinions, but more evidence seems called for.  

Working with and leading people Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Working with and leading people - Essay Example The individual abilities of the members are also reinforced as a result of working as a group. This is because the workers share their experiences and help each other out in times of difficulties. The members working in the team are also able to learn and apply their new skills in the course of executing their tasks. Working as a team enables the establishment of participation and the involvement of all team members in Tesco’s activities. This ensures that their assigned activities are performed efficiently and quickly. The decisions that are made as a result of a team working together as a group are better than the decisions an individual makes. The team members incorporate their collective experiences and skills before making a decision (Mathis and Jackson, 2010). The use of brainstorming enables the generation of ideas from different members of the group and helps in bringing in new ideas to the group. Working as a team also enables the members to feel confident of the results they present to the organization,. This is because the ideas generated by the members undergo the necessary criticisms and cross examinations before the decisions are reached. The active participation of the team members enables the generation of many diverse concepts within the organization. They eventually assi st the organization in achieving their set objectives. The concepts and ideas that the team members suggest are considered as alternatives when similar problems occur (Drucker and Ferdinar, 2006). Decision making in a team is slow though most of the times the most appropriate decisions are reached. The harmonious working of the members of a team leads to an increase in their satisfaction. The speed of accomplishing events in the organization is also increased because of the collaboration between the team members. A worker requires to have a problem solving ability as this enables him to handle complex situations. These assists the workers in meeting their

The Trail of Tears Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The Trail of Tears - Term Paper Example Between 1814 and 1824, Andrew Jackson became useful in negotiating 9 out of 11 treaties whose intentions were to divest Five Civilized Tribes, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Cherokee, Seminole and Creeks, of their eastern lands in exchange for free lands in the west. As a result of these treaties, the US was able to control three quarters of Florida and Alabama as well as parts of North Carolina, Mississippi, Kentucky, Georgia and Tennessee. This was a period characterised by voluntary Indian migration. However, only a small percentage of Cherokee, Choctaws and Creeks moved to the new lands . Around the same time, that is, during the 1820s, there was the creation of the Indian Territory which is the current-day Oklahoma. This marked the genesis of the reservation system for aboriginal Americans. In 1827, the Cherokee adopted their own written constitution declaring themselves to be an independent, sovereign nation and the Congress felt threatened by this. In 1828, there were three major things that contributed toward the creation of the Indian Removal Act. First, Andrew Jackson was elected to become the president of the US. In his campaigns, Jackson had made promises one of which was to â€Å"free land† later to be given to white settlers. The land specifically was to be in the southern frontier states. His appeal was primarily directed to settlers of Georgia. At that time, the Cherokee Indians occupied a total of 35,000 acres in Georgia. The second contributing even in 1828 was that the Georgian legislature passed a legislation incorporating or annexing all Cherokee country within the borders of the state. The state legislature also abolished all existing Cherokee customs and laws, and commissioned surveyors to map out 160-acre land lots out of Cherokee land. These lots were to be distributed through public lotteries to white citizens residing in Georgia2. The third contributing event was the discovery of gold near Dahlonega. This was a region located in northern Georgia and it was in the middle of the Cherokee territory. This led to tensions between the residents of Georgia and the Cherokees. President Jackson used this tension to pressure the Cherokee community to sign a removal treaty34. Jackson had no desire to protect the Cherokees using the powers vested in the national government5. In his First Annual Message to the Congress in 1829, Jackson called for the displacement of the Indian community from their nativ e lands. The same year, John Ross, who was the leader of the Cherokee, travelled to Washington D.C. in order to protest against the actions of the Georgian legislature, and plead for justice for the Cherokee community. While in Washington, Ross found sympathizers among the members of the Congress but unfortunately, most of them were anti-Jackson. Ross

Working with and leading people Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Working with and leading people - Essay Example The individual abilities of the members are also reinforced as a result of working as a group. This is because the workers share their experiences and help each other out in times of difficulties. The members working in the team are also able to learn and apply their new skills in the course of executing their tasks. Working as a team enables the establishment of participation and the involvement of all team members in Tesco’s activities. This ensures that their assigned activities are performed efficiently and quickly. The decisions that are made as a result of a team working together as a group are better than the decisions an individual makes. The team members incorporate their collective experiences and skills before making a decision (Mathis and Jackson, 2010). The use of brainstorming enables the generation of ideas from different members of the group and helps in bringing in new ideas to the group. Working as a team also enables the members to feel confident of the results they present to the organization,. This is because the ideas generated by the members undergo the necessary criticisms and cross examinations before the decisions are reached. The active participation of the team members enables the generation of many diverse concepts within the organization. They eventually assi st the organization in achieving their set objectives. The concepts and ideas that the team members suggest are considered as alternatives when similar problems occur (Drucker and Ferdinar, 2006). Decision making in a team is slow though most of the times the most appropriate decisions are reached. The harmonious working of the members of a team leads to an increase in their satisfaction. The speed of accomplishing events in the organization is also increased because of the collaboration between the team members. A worker requires to have a problem solving ability as this enables him to handle complex situations. These assists the workers in meeting their

Why do I have to take economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Why do I have to take economics - Essay Example The main question is that why should I take economics as a course? There are a lot of reasons supporting the cause. First of all the world relies on economics. All the activities and happenings in the world are based on economics. Economics is the mother of all social sciences. Although the subject is lengthy but still it’s interesting and gives you a clearer view about what is happening around you. For example you are watching BBC, or reading a news paper suddenly you come to the business section. You see that price of a share is increasing or decreasing, you get curious about the factors causing the price to rise or fall but you don’t know about it. Taking economics will give you a basic idea about the business world and how it operates. Microeconomics, as the name suggests, deals with the basic concepts like demand and supply, elasticity, returns and more basic things. The change in price of a product due to a shift in demand is a basic thing. One other point in favo r of opting economics as a summer course is that the student gets to know about the working of an economy.

Determination of Heat of Solution Essay Example for Free

Determination of Heat of Solution Essay ABSTRACT Thermodynamic values can be determined using the Vant Hoff isochore method. This method entails the use of equilibrium systems to determine the change in enthalpy of the solution, which can b related to the change in internal energy of the solution. The vant Hoff isochore relates the equilibrium constant of a chemical reaction at one temperature to the equilibrium constant of the same reaction at a different temperature, allowing it to be worked out for all temperatures if it is known for one. The experiment used the solution of toluene and naphthalene to determine the change in enthalpy. The mole fractions and the tempterature of recrylstallizations were graphed and the slope was determined. From the slope the change in enthalpy was determined to be 3.45J. This implies that energy is absorbed by the system. INTRODUCTION Solutions are very common in nature and in the chemistry lab. They provide the environment in which many chemical reactions occur. Thus, in the chemistry classroom and lab, we are immensely interested in solutions, especially liquid solutions. Solutions are defined as homogeneous mixtures of pure substances in which no precipitation or settling occurs. We often think of solutions as liquids, but we can have solutions of solids (alloys), gases (air is a solution of nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, and a number of other gases), and a combination of states such as liquid and solid metals (amalgams) and liquids and gases (nitrogen in the blood, carbonated beverages). The ease of dissolution is dependent on two factors: (1) the change in disorder or randomness (entropy) of the system and (2) the change in the energy of the process (heat of solution). The process is generally favored when the degree of randomness increases and the energy of the system decreases (exothermic). When dissolut ion occur the entropy of the system increases. For example, the ions in crystals are highly ordered. Once dissolved, these same ions in solution are relatively disordered. When a polymer is dissolved in a solvent, the heat measured is a sum of a polymer-solvent interaction term and a term related to the structure that existed in the solid polymer relative to its amorphous liquid state. This latter contribution, termed the â€Å"residual† heat, can have an endothermic contribution due to the fusion of crystalline regions and an exothermic contribution due to the disruption of structure in noncrystalline amorphous regions. Toluene, formerly known as toluol, is a clear, water-insoluble liquid with the typical smell of paint thinners. Chemically it is a mono-substituted benzene derivative, i.e. one in which a single hydrogen atom from the benzene molecule has been replaced by a univalent group, in this case CH3. It is an aromatic hydrocarbon that is widely used as an industrial feedstock and as a solvent. Like other solvents, toluene is sometimes also used as an inhalant drug for its intoxicating properties; however, this can potentially cause sever e neurological harm. Figure 1: Structure of Toluene Naphthalene, also known as naphthalin, bicyclo[4.4.0]deca-1,3,5,7,9-pentene or antimite is a crystalline, aromatic, white, solid hydrocarbon with formula C10H8 and the structure of two fused benzene rings. It is best known as the traditional, primary ingredient of mothballs. It is volatile, forming a flammable vapor, and readily sublimes at room temperature, producing a characteristic odor that is detectable at concentrations as low as 0.08 ppm by mass. Figure 2: Structure of Naphthalene EXPERIMENTAL A. Compounds tested Naphthalene, Toluene B. Procedures An accurate quantity of 15 g of naphthalene was weighed and placed into a test tube. An accurately measured volume of 5mL of toluene was also added. The stopper, thermometer, and stirrer were fitted in the set-up. The test tube was warmed in a water bath until all the solute was dissolved. The solution was allowed to cool in air, and was stirred continuously until an appearance of a solid was observed. The temperature at which the solid was observed was also recorded. Warming the mixture until the entire solid was re-dissolved and allowing the solution to be cooled in air also did a second determination. Another 1mL of toluene was added and steps 3 to 5 were repeated. Another four more 1mL portions of toluene were also added. The mole fractions were determined and graphed with the temperature of recrystallization. From the graph, the slope was determined and from the value of the slope, the enthalpy change of the solution. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS The mole fraction of the naphthalene to the toluene was determined and the temperature at which is recrystallized is tabulated below: Table 1: Mole Fraction and temperature of recrystallization Mole fraction| Temp.| 0.45| 67| 0.41| 60| 0.37| 59| 0.34| 56| 0.31| 56| 0.29| 54| Besides calorimetric method of analysis, using the equilibrium system may also be utilized to determine thermodynamic values. This is dependent to the enthalpy change. The mole fraction also interferes with the equilibrium system. Changes in the mole fraction will cause the equilibrium system to shift from one form to another. The process is in isochore, denoting no change in volume. The volume of the naphthalene is not diminished in the process of the experiment. The change in enthalpy is determined by determining the slope of the graph between the inverse of the emperature and the mole fraction. Figure3: Graph of Mole fraction versus the inverse of the recrystallization temperature From the grpah above, there is an inverse relationship between the recrystallization temperature and the mole fraction of naphthalene. As the mole fraction of the naphthalene is decreased, the inverse of the temperature of crystallization is increased. From the slope of the graph, we are able to determine the enthalpy change of the solution. Using the formula: Figure 4: Equation for enthalpy change From the equation above the determined enthalpy change is 3.45 J. Since the enthalpy change is a positive value the transfer of energy is towards the system. REFERENCES [1] Rossotti and H. Rossotti, The Determination of Stability Constants, McGraw-Hill, 1961 [2] Atkins, Peter; De Paula, Julio (2006-03-10). Physical Chemistry (8th ed.). W.H. Freeman and Company. p. 212. [3] NonLinear vant hoff solubility. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL_udi=B6T7W-479CM6F-3M_user=10_coverDate=01%2F31%2F1984_rdoc=1_fmt=high_orig=search_origin=search_sort=d_docanchor=view=c_searchStrId=1474224563_rerunOrigin=google_acct=C000050221_version=1_urlVersion=0_userid=10md5=bc9cac9220a53d018a21b381170d2732searchtype=a. taken September 28, 2010 [4] Vant Hoff Isochore. http://www.scenta.co.uk/tcaep/nonxml/science/equations/details/vant%20Hoff%20isochore.htm taken September 28, 2010.

A GCSE Biology Case Study on Whether Cannabis Should be reclassified to

A Biology Case Study on Whether Cannabis Should be reclassified to a Class B Drug Introduction: In this case study on cannabis, I am going to be exploring whether Cannabis, which is currently a Class C drug, should be reclassified to become a Class B drug. It is commonly thought that if Cannabis was reclassified, it would dissuade drug dealers and users from taking and selling the drug, as if caught with it a longer sentence and heavier fine would be enforced. I will also be discussing how easy it would be for the government to enforce laws about cannabis and how much, the public would be deterred. Gordon Brown is also determined to reclassify cannabis despite warnings from his advisors, who have told him that reclassification wouldn?t be effective and that cannabis should stay as a Class C drug (1). Contents Page: The science behind Cannabis......................page 2 The many Forms of Cannabis......................page 2 The Cost of Cannabis.......................page 3 The laws that surround Cannabis at the moment.........................page 3 Why should Cannabis be reclassified?..................................................................page 4 Why should Cannabis stay as a class C drug?......................................................page 4 Conclusion.......................page 4 References..........................page 5 The Science behind Cannabis (2): Cannabis is a Plant, scientifically called Cannabis Satvia L., which is also called Marijuana or (the Hindi name) ?ganja?, as well as common street names such as pot, weed, and skunk, which is a drug, derived from Cannabis which is about two and a half times stronger than traditional cannabis. Cannabis is a psychoactive drug, which is ... ...on to those interested in the work it does. 6. http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/drugs/drugs-law/Class-a-b-c/, article title: ?Class A,B and C drugs?, by the home office, accessed 12th June 2008. I think that this source is reliable because it is issued by the home office and it relates to the laws about drugs and the have to have a solid rule that if you are in possession of a Class A drug, you will receive such and such a sentence, they cannot change it, the law isn?t flexible. 7. http://drugs.homeoffice.gov.uk/drugs-laws/cannabis-reclassifications/, article title: ?Cannabis reclassification?, by the home office, accessed 12th June 2008. I think that this source is reliable because it is from a website that has been created by the government intended to inform the general public about the use of drugs, and therefore it is unlikely to give out false information.

Diversity Within Organizations Essay -- Diversity Society Workforce Wo

Diversity Diversity relates to gender, age, language, ethnicity, cultural background, disability, sexual orientation or religious belief. Diversity also refers to the myriad ways we are different in other respects such as educational level, job function, socio-economic background, personality profile, geographic location, marital status and whether or not one has family. I have taken the opportunity to explain my perception of age, gender, personality and ethnic types of diversity and demographic characteristics and differences. Age Characteristics With the fact that today’s workplace has individuals that vary in age, most employees can be placed into one of 4 categories: Mature, Baby Boomer, Generation X’ers and Millenials. The members of each group, based on age, are generally easy to identify; however definitely have different characteristics. The Mature group consists of people born prior to 1946. Generally speaking, members within this group have a high respect for authority, place duty before pleasure, are patient, avoid challenging the system and are dedicated to the project or job once they accept it. They also place a high value on honor and integrity. The Baby Boomers are primarily characterized by a sense that they live to work, maintain an sense of optimism, willing to go into debt, count on future income, and strive for convenience and personal gratification. They also are team and process oriented. Additionally, many are taking steps to try to preserve their youth. The Generation X’ers are born between 1965 and 1980. Their characteristics are work to live – not live to work, view jobs more in terms of a contract, and believe in clear and consistent expectations. They usually stay at jobs longer if there are promotional opportunities. They also desire versatility. The Millenial’s characteristics are almost at the other end of the spectrum from that of the Mature group. Millenials appear to be living in the moment, rely on technology to perform as much of the assignment as possible, â€Å"demand† clear and consistent expectations to ensure productivity and either question or challenge many things. This group is the most diverse demographically. Gender Characteristics Gender characteristics are one the most visible of the diverse and demographic characteristics within an organization. Historically speaking, w... ...ly influences the overall success of the organization and is a necessary diversity factor within organizations to be successful. A diverse workforce is a reflection of a changing world and marketplace. Diverse work teams bring high value to organizations. Respecting individual differences will benefit the workplace by creating a competitive edge and employers will gain the advantage when employees are selected and positioned so that their talents, skills and personality traits are properly utilized. References Understanding Generational Differences Helps You Manage a Multi-age Workforce (2001) Retrieved March 14, 2005 from http://www.digitaledge.org/monthly/2001_07/gengap1.html. Why Women Make Better Managers (2004) Retrieved March 14, 2005 from http://www.preseleccion.com/articles/women_managers.htm . Schermerhorn, John R. & Hunt, James G. & Osborn, Richard N. (2003) Chapter 4: Diversity and Individual Differences [Electronic version] Eighth edition. Developing Hiring Standards, The Untapped Wealth of Information in Your Office, Retrieved March 14, 2005 from http://www.hiresuccess.com/establishing-baseline-personality-profiles.htm

American lifestyle Essay

The novel â€Å"Jasmine† by Bharati Mukherjee provides frontier narratives and myths about Americanization and the Gold Rush. She presents Americanization from the Western viewpoint with all locales, hero lifestyles and mobility. Furthermore, the author pays special attention to the promise of American lifestyle, individualism and female freedom stressing that Eastern lands are characterized by strong cultural ties and women’s suppression and subordination. Women inequality isn’t struggled there. The central figure of the novel is Jasmine who comes from the Eastern world – India – to the United States of America, where women are provided with more rights and opportunities being historically more fluid. Firstly Jasmine is presented as a pioneering woman symbolizing the female role of women courage and self-reliance. The author shows that Jasmine changes both metaphorically and physically throughout the novel towards the western philosophy. Mukherjee involves frontier myths to illustrate Jasmine’s cultural and psychological transformation from oppressed woman to liberal personality. When moving from India to Florida and New York, then to the Midwest and California, the author shows metaphorically Jasmine’s transformation and notes that she becomes a real American â€Å"gold digger†. (145) Jasmine starts transformational process when becoming affected by the Gold Rush. Jasmine realizes she appears able to benefit and to profit from the unexhausted American state. Nevertheless, she is treated as an exotic newcomer disturbing moral equilibrium of the society, though her desire of independence and freedom makes her struggle with prejudices. Therefore, she is forced to change her core moral and ethical principles and values to be welcomed to new country. Jasmine settles with a disabled banker in Iowa creating in such a way a life similar to that of the earlier immigrants and their cultural assimilation. As it is mentioned Jasmine is rejected because of her non-European origin. However, with the novel progression we see that she manages to become absorbed into new culture and to become true American. When moving to California Jasmine hopes to become completely assimilated into the American culture, though she faces many borders and obstacles. The author defines these obstacles as both metaphorical and physical. With the help of wilderness legends, she shows Jasmine’s hesitations and fears about irrationality of the inner self and fear of being rejected. Then the author shows Jasmine’s moral adaptation to the American laws – she realizes that she is provided with more freedom and she should have less fear of oppression. Nevertheless, her views are undermined when her husband is killed. She becomes stronger morally and decided to travel to America because her husband has planned this trip originally. Firstly she wants to commit widow’s ritual immolation, but later being raped she decided to fight for better future. Instead of committing suicide, Jasmine turns on her violator and kills him showing she is able to fight for her life. This act of violence is that of the frontier outlaw who takes retribution into his own hands. Speaking about Jasmine’s transformation, it is necessary to outline that psychological issues of guilt and repression are inherent to her personality and these principles don’t change even in the end of the novel. , The West liberates her inner self so that a chaotic unconscious can be calmed. In the end we see that Jasmine finds new morality that enables her to make free her personal freedom. However, newly achieved freedom makes her relinquish her Indian roots and to follow the lifestyle of other wanderers and seekers. The feeling of guilt always haunts her. When she decides to leave town with her former lover she feels guilt for having abandoned a man who loves her. The ending of the novel is rather symbolic as well: Jasmine drives off with Taylor into the sunset, â€Å"greedy with wants and reckless from hope†. (241) In such way Bharati shows that Jasmine’s transformation from oppressed women into free American personality, who realizes her desires and demands, is over. References Mukherjee, Bharati. (1989). Jasmine. New York: Fawcett Crest.

Dutiful Characters of Ibsen and Sophocles Essay

Nora of Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, and Antigone of Antigone (by Sophocles) have all had circumstances pitted against them, yet within these unfavourable circumstances they have duties to perform. Their constraints as women or as people whose destinies are governed by fate have caused them to be without pleasing options in their situations—and through the performance of their duties fate often does its work. They have both acted in ways that cause them to be viewed as the dutiful characters in their stories. Where there have been successes, the achievement of their goals against odds reveals them as hardworking characters who shift to accommodate and adjust to the vicissitudes of life, and who are able to defy hardship and even death to do their duties to those for whom they feel loyalty. The situation given Antigone is not one that can be taken lightly, as defiance of authority within that culture of ancient Greece had the ability to ruin an individual. Such an individual would have to be sure that he or she was acting in accordance with the wishes of the gods. In the play, Antigone is concerned that the lack of burial for her brother (who in her opinion had done no wrong) should be an affront to the gods. Even so, if it was not disliked by the gods, she was willing to defy them in order to satisfy herself—for it was an affront to her and she considered it her duty to rectify the situation. It was a dangerous thing for Antigone to find herself in defiance of the gods (who control fate) and of the king Creon. Her father, Oedipus had in his day found himself on the wrong side of Fate and was ruined as a result (Oedipus, the King). As the daughter of a cursed man, Antigone knew that her fate could be an unfavorable one and that it would serve her best to act in accordance with the wishes of the gods. Yet her duty to her brother was stronger, and she acted as she wished and sealed her fate. In A Doll’s House, Nora’s duty is toward her family as Antigone’s has been, and she too defies odds in order to fulfill them. As Nora reveals her hardships to Mrs. Linde, it is evident that she has tried many ways to create favorable circumstances for her husband. As a dutiful wife, she has made many attempts to create a good home. In order to do this, she embarks on the business of borrowing money so that her family might be able to meet its obligations. She proves herself able to deny her wants in order to fulfill her own obligations to the debt. She uses all the devices she as a woman possesses toward the fulfillment of the goal. She proves herself better equipped than even her husband who, possessing the abilities and opportunities of a man, has not shown half the resourcefulness she has, nor has he accomplished as much. In examining the actions of Antigone, one can demonstrate precisely how she showed her dutifulness throughout the play. She begins by defying the decree of the king, who has denied burial to her brother. Antigone initially asks her sister to help with the burial, â€Å"Will you help these hands take up Polyneices’ corpse and bury it? † (lines 52-53). This plea for help demonstrates how natural Antigone felt her duty toward her brother to be. She expected her sister to share it without question. However, even after her sister refuses, she shows her duty in her ability to act given limited resources in her willingness to do all herself. Upon her sister’s refusal, she replies â€Å"I’ll do my duty to my brother—and yours as well, if you’re not prepared to. I won’t be caught betraying him† (lines 56-58). Though she is not able to influence her sister, she is still demonstrates determination to perform her duty in her ability to create the situation she desires. It is also possible to track the areas in which Nora has shown herself dutiful—and in her duty, resourceful. In the years following the incident, she has managed to repay most of her loan without help, sacrificing the scant pleasures of her life. She relays this here: â€Å"It has been no joke to meet my engagements punctually. You must know, Christina, that in business there are things called installments, and quarterly interest, that are terribly hard to provide for. So I’ve had to pinch a little here and there, wherever I could. † This demonstrates the duty that she has to her husband, children and the service of her debt. She does not show the strain that must have been upon her—remaining strong to her children as a dutiful mother should. She succeeds in single-handedly turning around the fate of her family, while continuing. Her burden was often great, as she expresses, â€Å"sometimes I was so tired, so tired. And yet it was splendid to work in that way and earn money. I almost felt as if I was a man. † Her power of conformity allowed her to transform from passive wife to active and dutiful breadwinner, as she assumes a role generally reserved for those the opposite sex. In both A Doll’s House and Antigone, other characters’ failures in their duty serve to strengthen the effect of the duties performed by Antigone and Nora. Creon (the king) might be seen as dutiful because he carries out the decrees of his throne unrelentingly. Yet, in all his power and his attempts at duty, he fails in comparison to Antigone who braves death in her performance of her duty. All Creon’s power does not gain Antigone’s obedience, and though he declares of Polyneices, â€Å"He’ll be left unburied, his body there for birds and dogs to eat† (lines 234-5) his word is unheeded by Antigone so that what he says will not happen does in fact happen. Antigone’s sense of duty allows her the fortitude to face a king who is backed by an army. She knows that Creon is able to command the country’s armed forces and have her banished or killed for her deed, and yet her loyalty to her brother impels her toward committing the act of defiance. Antigone proves to be the writer of her own fate, and accepts death for the sake of her duty toward her brother. She says, â€Å"Take me and kill me† (line 565) demanding (and receiving) her own death. Ismene, like Creon, can hardly be considered dutiful in that she expresses no real wish to be loyal (at all costs) to her brother. Though she too loved her brother, she fears the power that Creon has to banish or kill dissenters. Her speeches are mainly questions and demonstrate no inclination toward action. She says, â€Å"What? You’re going to bury Polyneices, when that’s been made a crime for all in Thebes? † (lines 54-55). Here she subtly refuses to help Antigone and demonstrates even further the lack of duty she feels. Yet in the face of Antigone’s strong feelings of duty, Ismene cannot prevent the action. Much later when Antigone knows she will die, Ismene asks, â€Å"Even now is there some way I can help? † (line 631). She asks to help now, when she refused her help before, and this reflects not duty but an attempt to pretend loyalty when she knows that no help is now possible. She stands for very little, making very few statements or declarations, and proves herself to be among the least dutiful characters of the play. Again in Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, Nora demonstrates her ability to perform her duties in her dealings with Krogstad. Here, though she is at a disadvantage, she still manages to a large extent to direct the courses of action—showing that her resourcefulness comes to her aid in performing her duties. She is not afraid to stoop to manipulation in order that her obligations are fulfilled. She knows when to act and when to be still and let others do the acting for her. Though she appears not to, she directs Mrs. Linde to use her influence with Krogstad to help her in her situation. After pouring out her woes to Mrs. Linde, Nora makes a false attempt to deter her when she offers to talk to Krogstad. Nora says, â€Å"Don’t; he’ll do you some harm,† fully knowing it to be untrue. Nora’s follow up to this deterrent almost nullifies it: â€Å"Here’s his card. But the letter, the letter-! † This ability to manipulate people and situations is also evidence of the extents to which she will go in order to fulfil her duty to her husband. In contrast to this, Mrs. Linde’s attempt at dutifulness within her own marriage and after pale in comparison to Nora’s She has tried her hand at business, she says, â€Å"I had to fight my way by keeping a shop, a little school, anything I could turn my hand to. † However, this was to no avail. She is still without much money and, though she was married to a rich man, has accomplished not nearly as much as Nora has. Her duty appears to have been directed toward herself and her own enrichment via marriage to a wealthy man. She has demonstrated no strength in her duty toward him in maintaining (or even adding to) the wealth that they once possessed. Nora again proves herself more able even than her husband to control situations—and the success she demonstrates a determination born of her dutiful characteristics. It is here, however, that her dutifulness shifts from her husband toward herself. Even though Torvald does find out about the loan, she discovers his true colors and is no longer led by his desires or taken in by his sweetness. He tempts her with all his charms and fails. He declares at first when the truth comes out, â€Å"you have inherited- no religion, no morality, no sense of duty,† yet a few minutes later when he receives the forged note he says, â€Å"I know that what you did was all for love of me. † He shows want of tact and quick-wittedness to effect a recovery, and Nora’s reason allows her to see this. Meanwhile, her new-found duty toward herself gives her the strength to leave him. She acts in her own best interest, though societal norms and her love for Torvald would have dictated that she remain. In the two plays, Nora and Antigone prove to be the most dutiful characters. While Creon, Mrs. Linde, Torvald and Ismene demonstrate very little (or selfish) duty, Nora and Antigone demonstrate a self-sacrificial duty that stems from loyalty and love of their families. They are willing to do what they feel they must, though odds are pitted against them, and they act even though they may fear the consequences. The events of the two plays Antigone and A Doll’s House are driven by the dutiful figures (Antigone and Nora) that are able to perform feats despite not having the real power to do so. Their duty drives them to accomplish these acts. Both leading characters’ unwillingness to allow events to deny them of their desires to help their family demonstrates the depth to which their loyalty ran, and they prove themselves more dutiful than others who accomplish less even with more resources. Works Cited Ibsen, Henrik. A Doll’s House. Trans. By William Archer. http://academics. triton. edu/uc/files/ dollshse. html. Sophocles. Antigone. Trans. By Ian Johnston of Malaspina Nanaimo: University-College, Canada, http://www. mala. bc. ca/~johnstoi/sophocles/antigone. htm Sophocles. Oedipus Rex. The Harvard Classics. http://www. bartleby. com/8/5/

Effects on Relationships Among Adolescents Essay

Chyril Lou T. Caià ±a February 6, 2013 BSAC-I-ACA 9:21AM Area Exposure I interviewed a woman whose age is 43, single, from Isla Puntod Balulang. She survived the Sendong tragedy with the help of God as well as other people around her. She has many relatives as well as cousins who survived the sending tragedy and luckily no one died in her family when the tragedy occurred. The basic information she gave was that because of the hanging bridge many of her cousins as well as herself survived the occurring tragedy while her clothes as well as the others were already wet and dirty. The tragedy started at about 9:00 in the evening she said when water levels were increasing up to the calves and were at a safety zone at 2:00 AM and there she and the group of survivors were taken to Xavier heights for immediate recovery as well as shelter. Her life before the tragedy was easier she said as well as the way she will cope up in order to forget the tragedy is to work hard and start a new life with the blessings God gave her as well as the help that was given to her as well. She also said that if it had not been for the dog that was scratching her face she would’ve been dead because she was asleep sadly the dog died in the tragedy that saved her. Now that I have heard her story as well as understood what she experienced I now have the insight that the cause of grief and sadness is not because of God but the way we act according to our ways as people living right now because we people take for granted what God has given as such as nature and the living things living in and with nature. We people corrupt because of greed and other vices and sins and because of this some suffer and if not all of us. While it is unbecoming for us to be more and more undisciplined because of today’s present situation as well as continuing distress and poverty of our country’s people we must shed light to the truth in order of us to be saved as well as learn how to become more humanly as well as more understanding and caring for each individuals needs as well as our environment by starting to be more aware of what will happen if we don’t pick up our trashes and garbage’s and recycle them properly. For it has been stated in Isaiah 45:7† I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things.† What it means for me is that this correlates to God’s people being obedient thus God rewards them with prosperity and blessings as well as if the people as disobeying God’s commands as well as his teachings then God will give way to disasters and strife if we disobey and continue with our disobedience with him. For we people are the stewards of God’s creation and we must do what we can to save ourselves as well as the world.