Arts1301 – Evidence and Methodology in Darwin’s Origin of the Species

Critically assess the roles of evidence and methodology in Darwin’s argument for natural selection in Chapter 4 of the Origin of Species. Darwin’s argument for natural selection in Chapter Four of ‘The Origin of Species’ is well-founded and convincing, due to the interweaving of both evidence and the methodology, which is of particular importance since this is the constituent upon which he represents his research data (evidence) and forms the basis of his argument.His theory is distinct from the others in the period, although similar ideas such as transmutation and extinction of species had been circulating while he fashioned his theory (and he does modify and incorporates some of these theories), Darwin’s uniqueness is likely a result of his ‘deviating’, attractive style of writing which provides a detailed, wide-ranging ‘complete package’ explanation of his theory founded upon common undisputable facts, whereas many previo usly proposed theories lacked evidence and less prominent arguments or methods of communication, therefore subject to criticism and sparking debate with the public and religious conservatives.In regards to the methodology Darwin uses, the hypotheses and concepts he forms for his argument are established from observations made by other experts, as well as ‘thought experiments’ and also his own experiments to test his predictions, justifying his conclusions both through an inductive and deductive method using secondary and primary sources of evidence. Throughout the chapter (Chapter 4: Natural Selection; or survival of the fittest), Darwin mainly relies on the observations of other experts in the field, such examples from the Sexual Selection subchapter, in which the observations of Sir R. Heron on the female peacock’s attraction of male counterparts and M.Fabre observing certain insects that â€Å"have been seen to fight for a particular female, †¦ (who) the n retires with the conqueror† [1] supports his argument/hypothesis (the ‘victor’ or the best adapted in terms of attracting or fighting through natural selection, is â€Å"always allowed to breed† [2] in this particular section, asserting â€Å"Thus it is, as I believe, †¦, have been mainly caused by sexual selection† [3], demonstrating his inductive methods to back his hypothesis. Furthermore, the evidence he draws from expert sources also support his argument and their status within the scientific community assists in persuading readers. Additionally, the observations which Darwin uses are relatively ordinary and commonplace, for example the aforementioned sexual selection example, to both the amateurs in the field, that is, the general public (E. g. he lower class; farmers and breeders) as well as the respective professionals thus allowing both parties in the audience to understand and encourage his argument further. Note that the ‘usua l’ means of providing evidence was through the Scientific Method, in use 200 years before Darwin, validates the hypothesis by designing a suitable experiment for testing, a deductive approach, so Darwin’s slightly aberrant inductive approach was to rationalise the empirical data to fit his argument. The prominence and influence of his inductive methodology are emphasised in his observations while visiting the Galapagos Islands, in particular of a collection of finches â€Å"which was in fact a closely related group of distinct species, all similar except for their bills† [4].On examining the disparate use of the beak and food sources, Darwin asserts that natural selection had shaped â€Å"one species has been taken and modified for different ends†[5] and the inductive process in which arrives at his hypothesis is recurrent and persists in many (modern) secondary sources* describing Darwin’s theory. Apart from pure inductive reasoning from the obser vations of other experts, Darwin also justifies a number of his conclusions utilising deductive methods, a more conformed ‘scientific-method’ approach where hypotheses are tested, somewhat a reverse of inductive methods, consequently resulting in a very thorough examination of his hypotheses which are supported by a ‘cycle’ in which of inductive evidence supporting his postulate which in turn is backed by deductive evidence. As B.Runnegar advocates, â€Å"Natural selection, amazingly was simply developed from fabricated evidence† [8], Darwin does indeed take various accounts of ‘fabricated evidence’, that is, his ‘thought experiments’, in his argument, which display both inductive and deductive reasoning. One instance of this is seen in the observation of insects seeking plant nectar [9]. Darwin through research and observation proposes hypothetically (induction) that plants which excreted the most nectar, would most often b e visited by insects transporting the pollen, and most likely cross to give rise to various seedlings thus having the best chance of surviving. He then deductively proceeds to test his hypothesis by examining ale and female holly-trees, showing even in unfavourable weather conditions, female flowers rendered highly attractive by bees had been fertilised, before returning to a hypothetical, imaginary case where with different environmental conditions some species of bees may have adapted to collecting pollen, seen having a â€Å"differently constructed proboscis† [10] from certain types of flowers in the country. The inductive and deductive methods involved in demonstrating the separation of sexes, supports this single â€Å"doctrine of natural selection† [11] through detailed evidence and precise illustrations and explanations. Furthermore, ‘thought experiments’ analogous to the aforementioned example in the previous paragraph, are influential in his argum ent as they build upon prior accepted theories and theory loaded facts, allowing a deductive argument from the grounds that the assertions cannot be false, removing doubt and scepticism associated with certain hypotheses.In the subchapter ‘Extinction caused by natural selection’ leading onto the next subchapter ‘The probable effects of the action of natural selection through divergence of character and extinction, on descendants of a common ancestor’, Darwin alludes to the commonly accepted fact that extinction did occur, and provides a meticulous hypothesis on how extinction transpires with the aid of a diagram displaying the divergence of a particular species with each successive generation while in a previous subchapter, he suggests that man’s ‘artificial’ selection in breeding is comparable to natural selection rhetorically asserting â€Å"No one objects to agriculturists speaking of the potent effects of man’s selection† [12], and supposes in a hypothetical ‘thought experiment’ that men in different nations bred for swifter and stronger/bulkier horses, thus creating two sub-breeds, and over time horses neither swift nor strong, thus not used for breeding, would tend to disappear. By means of the diagram, he portrays the divergence of a certain species, a horse in this case, over time branching out to multiple descent species (in the case of horses, swifter/stronger characteristics) meanwhile showing another branch leading to the extinction of the less desired characteristics (slower, smaller horses for example). Hence, Darwin integrates an established theory into his hypothesis, which strengthens his argument into a presumably well founded, structured, persuasive argument since theories or facts with ‘prior commitments’ will have an implicit authority when the hypothesis is judged.Darwin’s theory of natural selection, like any other theory was subject to criticism s and tests to assess the plausibility of his hypotheses though he addresses, modifies and explains aspects of his hypothesis to produce a firm, comprehensive argument. With regards to the ‘Scientific Method’, â€Å"Howard E. Gruber, in his book ‘Darwin on Man’, sets out to argue that Darwin by 1838 had already deduced a hypothesis from the observations of previous years – except that his hypothesis was wrong. Thus, Darwin kept following a self-corrective path, tweaking ideas or throwing them out entirely† [13], hence portrays the significance of the methodology where a hypothesis is corrected until deemed satisfactory and corresponds with the evidence.There are many instances of Darwin addressing criticisms from other experts, (although these are in later editions of his book), one such example where â€Å"Mr H. C. Watson thinks I have overrated the importance of divergence of character †¦ convergence has likely played a part† [14 ] to which he responds â€Å"It would in most cases, be extremely rash to attribute convergence a close and general similarity of structure †¦ The shape of a crystal is determined solely by the molecular forces, and it is not surprising that dissimilar substances should sometimes assume the same form† using a deductive example, thus counteracting scepticism from experts in the field, consequently further supporting his various hypotheses in his argument for natural selection.Additionally, Darwin’s ability to account for possible objections to his hypothesis, evident in the ‘On the degree to which organisation tends to advance’ subchapter in which he conflicts with Lamarck’s belief that nature tended to absolute perfection in organic beings, questioning â€Å"how is it that †¦ a multitude of the lowest forms still exist †¦ Why have not the more highly developed forms †¦ exterminated the lower? † [15] and postulates that â⠂¬Å"natural selection †¦ does not necessarily include progressive development †¦ takes advantage of variations †¦ beneficial to each creature† [16], thus his remarks positively alter how the audience would judge and interpret the outcome of the hypothesis by backing his assertions with extensive evidence.Darwin knew if â€Å"he was to avoid the ridicule experienced by the writers of previous evolutionary tracts, he needed to put forward a rigorously tested theory† [17], and the all-encompassing research and evidence together with a range of refined methodological approaches allows the presentation of a well-founded argument that alters the thinking of the public in Darwin’s time, due to â€Å"Such confidence in his own ideas, use of large numbers of familiar examples, and presentation of theory in opposition to an alternative, made many a convert in his day, and is still as powerful today. † [18] References: [1],[2], [3] : Darwin, C. D. , 18 59. The Origin of Species. 5th ed. United Kingdom: John Murray. Sexual Selection subchapter. [4], [5] : Evidence for Evolution (Page 5). 2011. Evidence for Evolution (Page 5). [ONLINE] Available at: http://txtwriter. com/backgrounders/evolution/EVpage05. html. [Accessed 30 September 2011]. [6] Darwin's Finches & Natural Selection – Biology Online. 2011. Darwin's Finches & Natural Selection – Biology Online. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www. biology-online. org/2/11_natural_selection. htm. [Accessed 03 October 2011]. [7] Darwin's Finches, Decent with Modification and Natural Selection. 2011. Darwin's Finches, Decent with Modification and Natural Selection. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www. fossilmuseum. et/Evolution/DarwinsFinches. htm. [Accessed 03 October 2011]. [8] : Natural Selection, Then and Now. 2011. Natural Selection, Then and Now. [ONLINE] – Article. Available at: http://www. darwinthenandnow. com/2011/02/natural-selection-then-and-now/#more-2551. . [A ccessed 01 October 2011]. [9],[10], [11], [12] : Darwin, C. D. , 1859. The Origin of Species. 5th ed. United Kingdom: John Murray. – Natural Selection subchapter. [Accessed 01 October 2011]. [13] : – . Darwin's Methodology. Darwin‘s Method: Induction, Deduction, or Synthesis? , 1, 10 pages. [Accessed 01 October 2011]. [14] : Darwin, C. D. , 1859. The Origin of Species. 5th ed. United Kingdom: John Murray. Convergence of Character subchapter. [Accessed 01 October 2011]. [15], [16] : Darwin, C. D. , 1859. The Origin of Species. 5th ed. United Kingdom: John Murray. – Divergence of Character subchapter. [Accessed 01 October 2011]. [17], [18] : Science and Politics . 2011. Science and Politics . [ONLINE] Available at:http://sciencepolitics. blogspot. com/2004/12/wwdd-i-darwinian-method. html. [Accessed 02 October 2011]. Bibliography: Early Theories of Evolution: Darwin and Natural Selection. 2011. Early Theories of Evolution: Darwin and Natural Selection. [ONLI NE] Available at:http://anthro. palomar. edu/evolve/evolve_2. htm. [Accessed 29 September 2011].Natural Selection: Charles Darwin & Alfred Russel Wallace. 2011. Natural Selection: Charles Darwin & Alfred Russel Wallace. [ONLINE] Available at:http://evolution. berkeley. edu/evolibrary/article/history_14. [Accessed 29 September 2011]. Inductive and deductive reasoning. 2011. Inductive and deductive reasoning. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www. molwick. com/en/scientific-methods/024-reasoning. html. [Accessed 30 September 2011]. Sir Karl Popper â€Å"Science as Falsification,† 1963. 2011. Sir Karl Popper â€Å"Science as Falsification,† 1963. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www. stephenjaygould. org/ctrl/popper_falsification. html. [Accessed 01 October 2011].

Local Law Enforcement Essay

Stages/Steps in the Hiring Process: First step is the applicant processing division to identify the most qualified applicants. Second step is the Pre-hire interview, next is a medical exam and then take a written psychological test. Next one will take a job standard test and an oral psychological interview. Last but not least a character investigation and any other additional requirements under exceptional circumstances. Specific Requirements: Applicants must be at least 17 ½ years of age by the last day of filing of the exam they are applying for. . Those applicants who are 35 and over and have active United States military service may deduct up to six years from the age requirement. If by mail: Applications must be submitted/postmarked by the filing deadline of the exam they are applying for. Candidates must be at least 21 years of age on or before the day of hire. Candidates must be a United States citizen on or before the day of hire. On or before the day of hire, candidates must have successfully completed either: Sixty (60) college credits with a 2.0 G.P.A. from an accredited college or university, or Two (2) years of full-time, active military service in the United States Armed Forces with an honorable discharge and have a high school’s diploma or its equivalent. Candidates must reside either within one of the five boroughs of New York City or one of the surrounding counties of New York City; Suffolk, Westchester, Orange, Rockland, Nassau or Putnam Counties on the day of hire. Candidates must possess a valid, unrestricted New York State Driver’s License on the day of hire. Candidates must pay a $75.00 fee for fingerprinting as part of the investigation process. Candidates must pass a drug/alcohol screening. Candidates must pass a character and background investigation. Pay Scales: Police Academy 44,744; after 6 months 46,288; after 1.5 years 48,173; after 2.5 years 53, 819; after 3.5 years 58,786; after 4.5 years 62,455; after 5.0 years 69,005; after 5.5 years 90, 829. †¢Candidates must compete in the required written examination and pass additional screening procedures. †¢Candidates must be legal residents of Nassau County, Suffolk County, Westchester County or one of the five boroughs of New York City at time of appointment and maintain residency. †¢Candidates must be at least 17 but less than 35 years of age on the date of the written exam; provided, however, that time spent on military duty or on terminal leave, not exceeding a total of 6 years, shall be subtracted from the age of any applicant who has passed their 35th birthday, as provided in subdivision 10-a of Section 243 of the New York State Military Law. †¢Candidates must be citizens of the United States at time of appointment. †¢Candidates will be required to submit to a background investigation prior to appointment. †¢Candidates must possess a valid New York State driver’s license at time of appointment. †¢Appointments are determined on an individual basis by the Nassau County Civil Service Commission, however, anyone with a felony conviction may be excluded from being a Nassau County Police Officer. †¢No college education is required to take the written examination; however, 32 credits of college education are required for appointment. Those candidates who have not attained that level of education but are otherwise eligible for appointment will remain on the eligible list and will become eligible for appointment after they have obtained the necessary college credits. Pay Scales: Get paid while you train in the Police Academy;$34,000 starting salary;$107,319 after 9 years;12% shift differential; Education incentive pay Title of Agency (3): City of New York Department of Correction Web Address: http://www.nyc.gov/html/doc/html/home/home.shtml Stages/Steps in the Hiring Process: The primary responsibility of the Applicant Investigation Unit is to ensure the New York City Department of Correction hires the most qualified candidate to join the uniform members of service. The candidates are investigated, evaluated medically, inclusive of an agility test, and physically to determine their fitness for duty in all aforementioned areas. The New York City Department of Correction investigates thousands of candidates; however, only the most qualified for the position are selected.

Chicken run Essay

Executive summary: 1998, Excel Poultry & Meat Sdn Bhd (EPM) was a SME located in Kluang, Johor, operating business of chicken farming and supplying chicken throughout Malaysia. This subsidiary of PCK holding since 2005 was managed by Encik Selamat, a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). It became one of top 5 chicken suppliers within mid-tier producers in the country due to increasing demand in year 2000 from superstores and fast-food chains, high chicken consumption by Malaysian, and expansion of chicken industry. However, in 2008, cost of poultry production increased. EPM operating cash was low and severe, that it â€Å"had puzzled Encik Selamat† (p. 4). Other problems were also identified. Decision Maker: Credit Controller Ms Choy is the decision maker as she has the responsibility to make the right decision regarding unethical conduct of Encik Selamat, she can convince Board of Directors about En. Selamat. If she failed to convince BOD to take action, she can then reveal the issue to the auditor, besides mentioning to the auditor the lack of segregation of duty in the business operation. She can execute and monitor implementation and performance of employees under her responsibility and convince her friend, Puan Azura to do the same. What should Ms. Choy do? Analysis: 1) SWOT analysis S – STRENGTHS | W – WEAKNESSES | * One of top 5 chicken suppliers * Continuing profitability and growth * Good promotional strategy * Qualified accountant (Encik Kasim) * Reliable Credit Controller (Ms Choy) * Encik Selamat’s reputation in community| * En. Selamat’s lack of expertise in poultry and meat industry * 2008’s operational crisis * Lack of focus of business operation * Cash flow issue * Conflict of interest * Possible error/ fraud/fictitious transaction * En. Selamat’s connection | O – OPPORTUNITIES | T – THREATS | * Malaysians’ highest consumption rates * Popular quick-service restaurants * East Coast Economics Region (ECER) * Emerging of giant superstores * Institutional retailing| * Production cost had risen about 56. 5% * Drop in demand * Credit limit of Cold Gold| The company has strong position in the industry as it is one of top 5 chicken suppliers. This means that EPM has a big portion of the market share in the industry. EPM also is strong for its sustained profit and growth. EPM had been able to maintain its operations and started making profit since the buoyant demand of chicken consumption. Besides, with initial capital of RM3. 6 million and starting with 20 employees, now, EPM had more than 200 employees. Occupied with good promotional strategy, EPM’s management team seized every opportunity in the industry. Moreover, EPM has capable key employees, which two of them are a qualified accountant, Encik Kasim and a reliable Credit Controller, Ms Choy. These employees contribute significantly towards the operation of EPM especially in the finance sector. In addition, Encik Selamat’s reputation in community is a strong influence of EPM towards the society where EPM was based. He was a public figure that will be contested in the local city council. En. Selamat’s lack of expertise in poultry and meat industry contributed a negative element in EPM as En. Selamat need to gain skills and expertise in the industry. Even though he was especially worried about the current unfavorable condition of EPM, his experience in this industry may not be sufficient. Besides, 2008’s operational crisis of EPM placed En. Selamat away from a smooth career track as recorded before 2008. EPM was lack of focus of business operation as it was at the infant stage and yet to mature in a proper method of management. Next, within EPM, there was cash flow issue and the company had to resort to short term borrowing which subjected to higher interest payment obligations. There was conflict of interest between Encik Selamat’s personal deal with Encik Azman, former college mate which was one of the executive of Cold Gold and the company’s interest. Cold Gold was one of EPM’s major customers. This relationship may impair En. Selamat’s judgment. In EPM, a few possible error/ fraud/fictitious transactions were detected, especially the irregularities in debtors’ account. The symptoms lead to a conclusion that it was caused by the former employee of EPM, En. Munir. Another factor that can be considered as EPM’s weakness point is En. Selamat’s connection with parent company of EPM, PCK Holding, where En. Selamat might be able to secure his position in EPM despite the problem he created without facing any punishment. The industry is in quite a potential market where Malaysians’ highest consumption rates of poultry and meat product. Malaysia was having one of the highest per capita consumption rates in the world – for chicken (32. 5 kg) and eggs (298 units) – and there were no dietary prohibitions (during these years) and religious restrictions against chicken consumption. In addition to household and traditional delicacies demand, the surge of popular quick-service restaurants from outside Malaysia and home-grown fast food chains intensified the market. Besides being the recognized poultry exporter, the industry was supported by the government through the East Coast Economics Region (ECER) as the poultry sector was part of the plan. Emerging of giant superstores and institutional retailing also enhanced the bright future of the industry. Despite the favorable situations in the market, EPM faced threat of chicken feed which resulting the production cost to rise about 56. 5%. Federation of Livestock Farmers’ Associations of Malaysia (FLFAM) made a call for higher chicken prices in order to protect producers’ earning in the face of feed cost hike. However, when the sellers did increase the retail price, some producers complained that they seen a drop in demand. Another threat was the credit limit of Cold Gold Sdn Bhd which had exceeded its level. This has significant effect to the company as Cold Gold is one of EPM’s major customers multiplied with the other issues faced by EPM. Increment in production cost Drop in demand Low cash flow High interest expense INABILITY TO PREDICT ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE & FORCAST CONSEQUENCES: LACK OF COORDINATION IN CONTROL AND REPORTING: Credit limit control Debtor confirmation Misstatement Lack of segregation of duty LACK OF COMMITMENT FROM SENIOR MANAGEMENT: Lack of expertise Lack of focus Conflict of interest Unethical behavior Reluctance in taking action LOW PERFORMANCE 2) Fishbone diagram According to Peter Drucker, â€Å"management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things†. Thus, the major issue in this case is unorganized management which leads to bad performance of the company. EPM faced problem as it fails to get commitment from senior management. As a leader, Encik Selamat was lacking of expertise in poultry industry, actively involved in social and community work instead of focusing more on business operation like, had conflict of interest (agency problem) while handling credit limit issue, and had under table deal with the client. Director himself had shown lack of leadership skill and ethical awareness as he kept silent regarding the unethical behavior of Encik Selamat and had more concern on reputation than ethical conduct. Besides, management of EPM is lacking of coordination in control and reporting. This can be seen from the severity of insufficient cash flow which was noticed only when significant borrowings had been made, high expenses, and loss incurred. Lack of segregation of duty also had given wide opportunity for misstatement by employees. Finally, EPM fails to predict environmental change regarding cost of production that leads to low profit making as EMP did not make any preparation or back-up plan to overcome such problems. 3) Financial Evidence on the operation of EPM: Financial Ratio Ratio| Formula| 2006| 2007| 2008| Interpretation| GP ratio (%)| (GP/Sales)*100| 5. 4845| 1. 6542| 1. 0814| Due to increment in COGS, EPM is profiting only 1 cent for every dollar of product sold in 2008| Inventory turnover ratio| COGS/Inventory| 16. 6774| 36. 0667| 28. 4962| EPM is turning over its inventory on average, 3 times per month in 2007 while this reduces to twice per month in 2008. | AR turnover ratio| Net sales/AR| 4. 3071| 3. 3957| 2. 8808| EPM takes around 3 months to collect its debt in 2006, while it takes more than 4 months in 2008. | Days to collect AR| 365/AR turnover ratio| 84. 7441| 107. 49| 126. 702| | Description of case exhibit (Account abstract): %Increase| 06to07| In 2007, cost increased while revenue did not increase much, and operating loss was recorded as retail price was only increased in August 2008. Thus, increment of revenue from in 2008 by 36. 16% corresponds with increment in cost in that year. Expenses took 30% of operating profit in 2006 while it took almost twice the operating profit in 2008. This might be due to interest payment made for short-term borrowing. Increment in trade receivable may not be the true amount as there were cases of misstatement. Stock in 2008 was higher due to lower demand. 07to08| Rev| 0. 57| 36. 16| COGS| 4. 64| 36. 95| Oper profit| -69. 67| -10. 99| Exp| 37. 50| 45. 45| Net| -108. 64| -315. 79| Trade rec| 27. 56| 60. 49| Stock| -51. 61| 73. 33| Trade cr| 62. 16| 50. 00| Alternatives available to the protagonist: Option 1: Ms. Choy can choose not to disclose the issues that she managed to investigate within EPM. This will benefit in saving the reputation of the company in public as well as the General Manager, Encik Selamat to secure his reputation in the coming city council election. Besides, Ms. Choy can justify her action of not bringing the matter up as Encik Selamat is an important staff of EPM and she had done her part by approaching one of the directors who was reluctant to take action against Encik Selamat. The drawbacks of this choice are ethical aspect and long term impact towards the company as a whole. Choosing not to disclose the facts is an unethical behavior on Ms Choy’s part. As for the long term, the public will find out the reality of the company as time goes because the auditors are likely to question the irregularities and Ms Choy will be interrogated. In the end, the company, En Selamat and Ms Choy need to face the huge impact of being nontransparent to the stakeholders. Option 2: Ms Choy has the right to disclose her findings straight to the external auditors as she has no direct authority to take any action towards the misappropriate culture in the company as well as the director which she had approached was hesitated to do so. By this, Ms Choy’s responsibility to report to public is passed to auditors and the problem is most likely will be solved. However, this aggressive decision will affect EPM severely in terms of drop in share price and reputation. Besides, the share price of the parent company will be affected too and the dropping trend will continue for a long time. Furthermore, the reputation of Encik Selamat will be highlighted by the public and media, subsequent of the auditors’ disclosure. Option 3: Ms Choy can opt to disclose the matter internally to the board of directors. Besides, she had found evidences to support her claims about the low performance of EPM. The benefit that EPM will gain from her disclosure is to ratify the problem before the auditors’ visit the following month. If the auditor is not satisfied with EPM’s condition, justification of ratification can be made and EPM will not be punished with qualified financial reports, which is not favorable. This decision may result in impairment of EPM’s and PCK’s reputation and share prices but the impact will be lower than the second option above. Recommendation and action plan: Based on analysis above, it is recommended for Ms Choy to choose Option 3 which is to disclose the matter internally to the board of directors. Suggested steps to follow are: 1. Bring the matter with sufficient evidences and justifications together with possible solution to board of directors 2. Check whether EPM has a written guideline relating to these issues and take proper actions against these issues (e. g. salary cut, not giving bonus etc. ) 3. If no written guideline is established, in case to avoid similar situation in the future, Ms. Choy should suggest for EPM to; a. Set up and appoint an independent committees of directors to monitor the performance and compensation of staffs b. Establish policies for clear ethical conducts, job scopes and management of EPM especially to solve ethical and agency problems c. Establish a whistle-blowing policies to encourage staffs to report any irregularities d. Communicate and implement guidelines and policies across levels of management, and absorb them as the EPM’s corporate culture to be shared within the organization.

Serology Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Serology - Lab Report Example The specificity of this test lies on the fact that hemoglobin is only contained in blood. This change in pH is then detected by phenolphthalein, and the solution turns into pink quickly, or leuchomalachite green, which turns the solution into green (Houck and Siegel, 2010; Tobe et al., 2007). However, there are a few considerations in using these substrates. First, because phenolphthalein is a pH indicator, phenolphthalein reacts with any basic solution. It is thus important that the addition of LMG or PPT prior to the addition of hydrogen peroxide do not yield a color change. This ensures that any change in the solution results from the reaction of hemoglobin with hydrogen peroxide. Second, when the phenolphthalein is exposed too long in the solution, a spontaneous oxidation occurs causing the colorimetric reaction to occur (Houck and Siegel, 2010). The color change indicating presence of blood must thus be quick. Third, substances in fruits and vegetables may act like a peroxidase (Tobe et al., 2007). MATERIALS AND METHODS Sample FS-26-07 was tested for the presence of blood using leuchomalachite green (LMG) and phenolphthalein (PPT). Two set-ups were prepared. Each set-up consists of three spot plates each containing a strip of 1) positive control, 2) negative control, or 3) FS-26-07. The spot plates in the first set-up were added with two drops of LMG, while those of the second set-up were added with the same amount of PPT.

Globalization and it's effects on Hawaii Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Globalization and it's effects on Hawaii - Essay Example Being an island nation, Hawaii has always attracted tourists from among all regions of the world and it has remained their main source of revenue. Globalization has also facilitated transnational â€Å"capital flow, transportation, tourism† and other kinds of alliances amongst nations, which played a major role in boosting Hawaii’s economy (15). Thus, the phenomenon of globalization, on the one hand, has accelerated economic and technological developments in Hawaii, but, on the other hand, it has had devastating effects on its environment and ecological balance as well as reduces the employment opportunities of local population. The capitalist philosophy that the elimination of national boundaries and the â€Å"rational operation of the free market† nourish prosperity does reflect on the economic growth of the island nation (Sheppard 308). In early days, agriculture has been one of the main resources of Hawaii but â€Å"sugar transformed† the nation initially as an industry based economy (Firth 183). Subsequently, falling in tandem with the trends of globalization, the Hawaiian outlook further changed from an agricultural society to a service based community primarily gaining strength from the exponential growth in tourism and allied industries. This transition, characterized by the emergence of â€Å"new market forces† coupled with the â€Å"new technologies of transport† has further accelerated the economic development of Hawaii (179). Similarly, â€Å"economic globalization† can have several positive outcomes for countries, in terms of enhanced quality of life, as can be evidenced from the progress that Hawaii has made in various aspects (Globalization and Environmental Sustainability 259). In addition, the liberalized policies of immigration, and the ease with which it can be processed as a consequence of globalization,

Unauthorized Practice of Law by Legal Assistants and Paralegals Research Paper

Unauthorized Practice of Law by Legal Assistants and Paralegals - Research Paper Example The ABA adopted in 1997 the following definition:   Ã¢â‚¬Å"A legal assistant or paralegal is a person qualified by education, training or work experience who is employed or retained by a lawyer, law office, corporation, governmental agency or other entity who performs specifically delegated substantive legal work for which a lawyer is responsible.†   The ABA adopted in 1997 the following definition:   Ã¢â‚¬Å"A legal assistant or paralegal is a person qualified by education, training or work experience who is employed or retained by a lawyer, law office, corporation, governmental agency or other entity who performs specifically delegated substantive legal work for which a lawyer is responsible.†   According to the National Association of Legal Assistants, or NALA, certain standard determines the qualifications of a paralegal (http://www.nala.org/98model.htm).   To be accredited a paralegal or legal assistant, one has to undertake the following:   1. Successful completion of the Certified Legal Assistant (CLA)/Certified Paralegal (CP) certifying examination of the National Association of Legal Assistants, Inc.;2. Graduation from an ABA approved a program of study for legal assistants;3. Graduation from a course of study for legal assistants which is institutionally accredited but not ABA approved, and which requires not less than the equivalent of 60 semester hours of classroom study;4. Graduation from a course of study for legal assistants, other than those set forth in (2) and (3) above, plus not less than six months of in-house training as a legal assistant;5. A baccalaureate degree in any field, plus not less than six months in-house training as a legal assistant;6. A minimum of three years of law-related experience under the supervision of an attorney, including at least six months of in-house training as a legal assistant; or7. Two years of in-house training as a legal assistant.   For purposes of these Standards, "in-house trainin g as a legal assistant" means attorney education of the employee concerning legal assistant duties. In addition to the review and analysis of assignments, the legal assistant should receive a reasonable amount of instruction directly related to the duties and obligations of the legal assistant.

Religious Field Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Religious Field - Research Paper Example However, the research study indicates that many of the Japanese are members of the Shinto cult, and it has become one of the most powerful religious cults in nationwide with many religious believers. The Shinto has their own valuable books that include the Nihongi, which is the Japanese chronicles, and the Kojiki, which is the ancient events chronicles. Shinto, an indigenous faith of the Japanese people remains their main religious conviction beside Buddhism. Thus, the research paper analyzes the way different religious beliefs and practices may contribute to misconceptions, therefore, indicating the way to overcome such misconceptions. Shinto, unlike other religious cults, is one of the religious beliefs and practices, which may be possible to follow. The needs and traditional practices of Shinto rather than Shinto doctrines determine their practices. The Shinto practices takes into considerations four significant aspects including Kami as the integral part for love of nature, purif ication rites or physical cleanliness, tradition and family as well as festival and ceremonies. The Shinto believers have some aspects, which are similar to Buddhism, hence becoming easier for anyone from Buddhist to join and follow their aspects easily. This is because some practices such as death rituals are similar to Buddhist people, but Shinto focus mostly on live events such as honoring Kami, birth and marriage (Kallen, 2002). They have permanent areas for worshipping their Kami that are in the form, of shrines, vast complexes and each of them operates differently from one another. The priesthood in Shinto is taken as a family affair; thus, it passed from parents to their siblings. The people in each shrine dedicate themselves to Kami. The Shinto religious believers’ value varied Shinto texts, which contain the legends and historical events based upon their religion instead of being Holy Scriptures. Some of the Shinto texts are the Jinno Shotoki, Kojiki, the text for re cords of issues in the ancient times, Nihongi, Rokkokushi and many others. This books or Shinto texts create a misunderstanding with other religious beliefs and practices. This is because of the way they present their Shinto practices and their beliefs upon the creation of Japanese. The two significant and valued texts include the Kojiki and Nihongi, which provides the legendary stories about the creation or the existence of the Japanese into their being. The two books explain the way Kami (Shinto gods) created the ancient Japanese (Littleton 2002, p. 34). They reveal about the male and female who-invites (Izanagi and Izanami) respectively and the way they gave birth to the Japanese land. After the death of Izanami, Izanagi made a journey find her, but he found the maggot crawling with her decayed body. The Izanagi fled back to the living land being horrified, and he entered inside the water in order to purify himself. In the process of purification, the Izanagi encountered with the Sun Goddess, who is the greatest Kami while washing the left eye side (Kasulis, 2004). When he started washing the right one, the Moon Kami appeared to him. The Izanagi struggled to maintain peace in the land for many decades, but the Sun Goddess decided to send to them the grandson, Ninigi as their king to govern them (Bowker, 2012). This reveals the way Shinto is unique from other religious scriptures across the globe. For instance, the Christian texts explain the creation story of Adam and Eve

Manga now changing the way art is enjoyed via phones rather than print Article

Manga now changing the way art is enjoyed via phones rather than print - Article Example Instead, a comic or a manga (in Japanese) would be a good mode of cost effective entertainment for people who can read these comics on their mobiles. In Japan, people of all ages read manga widely.[2]Many contemporary novelists have started their careers as mobile novelists, and once the novels were downloaded and became popular, publishers have approached them for printing the novel in traditional book form. Five of last years top ten best-selling novels started life as mobile phone – or keitai – novels. [1].Manga – comic art – is a major part of the Japanese publishing industry, representing a 481 billion yen (Â £3.4bn) market domestically. And its now migrated to the mobile.[1] Manga stories have up to 1,000 scenes and added sound effects and are easily downloadable. [1] The history and origin of manga has two views: some researchers feel that there is a strong American cultural influence in the Manga comics like the effect of US television, films and cartoons and GIs (especially Disney) while other writers feel that manga upkeeps Japanese cultural and aesthetic traditions. [3][5].Modern Manga is supposed to have originated in 1945 and from 1952 to early 1960s, there was an explosion of artistic creativity in from manga artists such as Osamu Tezuka (Astro Boy) and Machiko Hasegawa (Sazae-san) [5]. Other than the comic form of art, street artists in Tokyo are creating designs specifically for mobile phones. Mao Sakaguchi, web project leader of the Shibuya HP France Gallery, says he grew frustrated by the limited art market in Japan, so had the idea of using mobiles to introduce art to a wider audience. [1].He used his fashion store as an art gallery for street artists and after taking pictures of their work, downloaded them into mobiles. Adobe Flash player has helped in creating of art works specifically designed for mobiles. [1]. There is now a whole genre of mobile phone artists. Akhr, 26, an artist,

Analysis of Sprint PCS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Analysis of Sprint PCS - Essay Example While in services main costs are connected to equipment maintaining those services and have little impact on prices (which are mainly formed by customer's demands), mobile phones have a lot of issues on manufacturing and especially testing product costs. "One hundred percent of mobile phones are tested to ensure regulatory and standard compliance, where many other consumer electronic products are merely sample tested." (Strickler, 2004). Additionally, mobile phones have ultra-short life cycles comparing to other consumer electronics, which is followed with more funds spent on designing new models. As most of the manufacturing of Sprint is outsourced to China manufacturing labor costs are considered to be low. Still in the context of aggressive competition in the wireless industry they must be taken into account. Recent years have been regarded as productivity increasing due to technological innovations in manufacturing. Raw materials needed for production of cellular phones are the industry without a clear cut leader, which along with decreasing overall waging costs and at the same time slight increase in average wages had a positive influence on productivity and average total costs of cellular phones: as labor productivity growth settles in near its longer-run trend of 2 to 2-1/2 percent, increases in unit labor costs may begin to put some upward pressure on prices, offsetting possible moderation in nonwage costs (Bernanke 2005). As iMarket Structure As it was stated earlier cellular phone industry is very dense leaving no free space to possible new contenders. Market structure in mobile services is an oligopoly, when power is concentrated in the hands of several key players, that is: Cingular, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon etc. Position of Sprint in mobile phones industry is comparatively weaker, major players are: Nokia, Motorola, Siemens, Alcatel and Sony Ericsson. Such heavy competition along with the wide choice of vendors available to customers creates implications on pricing. Simply there is very little space for adjusting prices because a company has to stay close to its main pricing curve. Cellular phones have evolved from a hi-tech gadget to an everyday life commodity negatively affecting prices, which continue to decrease. On the other side extremely wide audience of consumers and further shortening life-cycle increases amounts of cell phones sold. Recent performance of Sprint shows that while the customer base of the company continues to increase its revenues are the same as two years ago. "Sprint's subscriber base grew 110% but its market share has barely changed since June 2002. Price erosion and competition has reduced Services revenue by 19%" (Alexander Resources, 2005) Moreover the company experiences low customer satisfaction recently found by Strategy Analytics: "Sprint PCS posts below average ratings on many measures, though the carrier does redeem itself somewhat with a well-received product and service range" (Wi-fitechnology.com 2004). Therefore Sprint PCS needs changes in its strategy for further development. First of all, if bigger is not better Sprint needs to reduce the distance between the company and a certain customers group. Secondly it should pay more attention to the quality of its products to increase customer satisfaction with more added value. Economic Forecast Basing on the macroeconomic forecast presented by the learning team (Hahn et al 2005) I have selected the following factors that will affect the demand of

1. (MT) plz see the imformation which I had uploaded) Essay

1. (MT) plz see the imformation which I had uploaded) - Essay Example The theory does not explain why a person believes and opts for a certain action and how and what things influence these beliefs and motivates him to behave the way he does. On the other hand, the theory mentions clearly that characteristics of the choice situation will decide which individual beliefs become foremost and how different motivations influence in deciding his behaviour. The scope of theory does not, however, include the study of the procedure in which the individual examines the circumstances and his perception offsets his established beliefs (AMA, 2004). A prevalent brand community called â€Å"Club Ducati† initiated the trend. The passionate admirers of Ducati bikes make up this group. Ducati’s fans can avail membership of two different clubs: the main Ducati Owners Club (DOC) and individual Ducati Clubs. The DOC operates under the parent company and includes all bike owners; collection of customer data is its main function. The club doesn’t arrange for any particular social activities, but members can have only occasional discounts and other promotions for Ducati products (Cova et al, 2007). Yet, it is the customers who set up the Ducati Clubs locally all over the city. These types of clubs exist in most Italian provinces and are also seen in other parts of the world. In total, we have forty clubs in Italy and those outside Italy exceed 70. Moto GP, the international racing circuit relates plenty of success stories about the performance of Ducati bikes and the number of its owners has been on the increase since. In each Ducati club, the members usually range from forty to more than six hundred. The management is headed by a Club president, who leads a team of few friends willing to develop activities for the group members’ interests. Some of these activities include: meetings for motorcyclists, fundraising events, shows for charity, socializing

Environmental Pressures Essay Example for Free

Environmental Pressures Essay All companies have moments of growth and decline. As companies age, change in the form of growth is brought about (Palmer, 2009, p.65). Companies look for the increases in revenue and ways to create more revenue. When money is being made growth happens, new jobs are created, expansions begin and technology is heightened. Last week Time Warner Cable announced that there will be a new CEO, as the current CEO, Glenn Britt will be retiring. The new CEO, Rob Marcus talked about the growth pressures concerning Time Warner Cable. Mr. Marcus emphasized the growth potential of selling data services to businesses, which is the fastest-growing sector of the cable industry. He also said Time Warner Cable is working to improve pricing and packaging and is hoping to retain customers by improving products like outdoor Wi-Fi. Identity Pressures Identity Pressures basically deals with the way a company brands themselves. Time Warner Cable brands themselves as a reputable and customer based oriented company. Time Warner Cable is dedicated to making their brand number one in the fields of cable, high speed data and telephony services. A commitment is given to customers to provide them with the best products and services they have to offer. Dish, satellite and ATT U-Verse attempt to compete, but when it comes to quality service, products and the commitment given to the consumers there is no better way to for the company’s identity to be missed. New Broom Pressures Time Warner Cable’s adds new members to the team that attempt to make changes bit it is not necessarily for the better. In the HR Department this past year a new VP was hired and due Environmental PressuresPage 3 to some of her background being shared before she arrived, people began looking for other jobs, all the supervisors that were in place when I was promoted a year and a half ago, have left the company in order not to work under her. There are many people that are not ready for change. Under the new VP, a lot of changes have taken place when the department all for the better of the department. Everything is a work in progress however, the  necessary changes that were needed have been implemented and work has become a great deal easier. Market Decline Pressures Time Warner and AOL were once partnered to together, it appeared that AOL was in a trend of continuous growth, however AOL began to suffer a decline in 2002 due to the pricing of broadband services being charged at $50.00 per month and consumers not wanting to pay that much for broadband services. A need for strategic changes by AOL, including partnering with cable companies and other options that move it away from overreliance on dial-up services, (Palmer, 2009). AOL eventually began providing free services there are still some customers that pay for AOL services plus the benefits they receive for using the technical department of AOL if needed. Hyper-competition Pressures Within my company, hyper-competition forced them to move quickly and audaciously to test their policies and theories. Time Warner Cable decided to change the way they did business when they branched out on their own from Time Warner Cable, Inc. Hyper-competitive can have dynamic and unpredictable environments which requires flexibility, innovation and a creative organization, which can easily adapt quickly to the changing rules of competition. Therefore, Time Warner Cable needed to change and management was pertinent to that change. What was Environmental PressuresPage 4 Challenging to management was how they would combine the need for long-term sustainability with continuous flexibility in terms of how the organization technology would change if at all. Time Warner Cable needed to develop a high degree of dynamic capabilities, which was the center of meeting the tensions of the capability and structural challenge. The organizational aspects and capabilities goes hand in hand as enabler and at the same time facilitate a successful emergent change process in hypercompetitive industries. Flexibility Flexibility can be a reason for changes in the competitive environment in an appropriate and timely way. Flexibility comes from managerial capabilities  (management challenge) and the responsiveness of the organization (organization design challenge).Flexibility requires a constructive discord between change and preservation. Strategic flexibility is an increasingly sought-after competitive element in today’s fast-paced and changing world. (Englehardt, 2002) Reputation and Credibility Pressures Time Warner Cable has pride in their reputation. A company’s reputation can be damaged at the drop of a dime. All it takes is an unsatisfied customer to speak negatively about a company or bring up a potential law suit against a company. Time Warner Cable has a team legal team staffed in house at Corporate however, all attempts are made on the lower levels to diffuse the situation before it gets that far. It a company’s reputation is ruined, there is serious backlash from it, the company loses customers, hence revenue, potential job loss can occur and worst of all the company doors can close. Reputation can be in formation of customer loyalty (Nguyen, 2001). Credibility is major, if consumer cannot count on a company to do what it is Environmental PressuresPage 5 they say they are going to do, consumers will go else and not mind paying a higher rate to get what they want. Customers want to know that the companies / organizations are trustworthy and they can count on them to be there and provide them with the services and products they want. Environmental and Organizational Pressures that exist Time Warner Cable has and does face environmental pressures on a daily basis. There is constant pressure to change strategies. Time Warner Cable is continuing to engage in new markets, corrections of internal issues are made. Basically everything is controllable it may take a little while but things are normally resolved in a 24-48 time period at the latest a 5 day period. One thing that Time Warner Cable has learned as a company is that with organizational change, there may or may not be an innovational change. Financial Perspective From a financial perspective concerning environmental and organizational pressures, things could go either way, we try to predict the way things will work out from a financial view point but the economy plays a major role. Consumers are becoming very careful with their spending. If thing begin to look bleak the finances go down. When the market is going well and profits are in the upswing then finance is great. Environmental and Organizational Pressures Impact The environmental and organizational pressures have impacted me personally as it affected my bonus this past year. I have received bonuses a great deal higher than what I received this year. I was slightly disappointed but still happy to receive a bonus all the same. Part of the bonus is based upon 80% what the company does and 20% is based upon performance. My performance was great, the company did well be not as well as in previous years. Environmental Pressures Page 6 Assessing how the organization has reacted to the organizational and environmental pressures Time Warner Cable’s reaction to organizational and environmental pressures are to regroup, see what we can change and do it better and how can we as an organization best serve our customers. By going back to the drawing board, great emphasis is placed on training, management strategizes on how to best retain current customer and how to gain new customers and customers and providing customers with the latest and greatest products, services and technology available. Time Warner is focusing on customer satisfaction. Reducing Environmental and Organizational Pressures One way Time Warner Cable can reduce their risk is by nurturing their responses when it becomes a little chaotic the pressure may appear to be small but it is all in the way the company decides to handle things. Reduction can be made concerning with organizational pressures by paying close attention to growth pressures. The potential growth of a company can helpful but it is necessary to hire smart. Strategies One strategy I would propose is for Time Warner Cable would be to listen to their customers and their employees. By listening to their customers better  offers and campaigns can be built in order to give them customers what they are asking for. Listening to the employees will help to bring about better services for their employees health and welfare. Environmental PressuresPage 7 Reference Charles S. Englehardt, Peter R. Simmons, (2002) Organizational flexibility for a changing world, Leadership Organization Development Journal, Vol. 23 Iss: 3, pp.113 121 Nha Nguyen, Gaston LeBlanc, (2001) Image and reputation of higher education institutions in students’ retention decisions, International Journal of Educational Management, Vol. 15 Iss: 6, pp.303 – 311 Palmer, I., Dunford, R., Akin, G. (2009). Managing organizational change: A multiple perspectives approach (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.

Communication Case Essay Example for Free

Communication Case Essay Communication allows ideas to be conveyed clearly and succinctly. Communication is crucial for developing positive relationships with children, young people and their families, colleagues and other professionals We communicate to express our emotions like courage or fear, joy or sorrow, satisfaction or disappointment with appropriate gestures and words. Communication is vital for seeking and providing information. AiiDescribe TWO ways how effective communication can affect relationships in an adult social care setting between individuals using the service, their carer’s, colleagues and other practitioners. 1. Effective communication is the basis of all relationship regardless of whether the relationship is professional or personal. It is important as it helps to give concise and clear information and eliminate the possibility of risks to patients. 2. Also with effective communication there would be a positive atmosphere within the work place and colleagues would be more willing to help each other out. Staff would know where everything is and also offer extra support with your workload. AiiiIdentify THREE ways of finding out the communication and language needs of an individual. For each method, describe how effective it is at establishing the needs of the individual. Method How effective this method is? Looking through previous records Previous records can identify the individual’s illness or disability and what kind of support they will need to establish communication and language needs. Observation Observation is effective as it is establishing the communication and language by watching/talking to the patient themselves. Communication with family/other professionals Family, friends and other professional who have worked/lived with the patient will have a lot on information/knowledge on the patient. They would have developed ways of dealing with the patient’s communication and language over a long time. AivDescribe THREE factors to consider when promoting effective communication. Disabilities: Disabilities such as hearing loss, impaired vision, mobility problems or speech impairment can affect the effective communication. Proper communication method should be known before communicating the people with disability or different health issues. Cultural Differences: Communication differences can result from differences in culture. In some cultures, children are not allowed to speak in front of adult and some kind of body gesture, eye contact, facial expression and touch are inappropriate. Environment: Environment is one of the most important factors to consider. Ensure the lights, air, temperature, noise and that it is safe and comfortable for the patient before establishing effective communication. AvDescribe THREE verbal and THREE non-verbal communication methods and styles that a social care worker may use in an adult setting. Verbal Non Verbal Spoken When people speak face-to-face or via the phone its considered verbal communication Body language/Body movements Body movements include gestures, posture, head and hand movements or whole body movements Written writing is considered a form of verbal communication because words are involved. Eye contact – It is important to give eye contact as it helps the person know that you are listening Non-spoken A person doesnt have to speak words for a communication to be considered verbal. A groan can qualify. In fact, any noises or utterances a person makes are included in this classification. Posture Posture can reflect peoples emotions, attitudes and intentions. Avi Explain why it is important to respond to an individual’s reactions during communication. It is important to respond to an individual’s reactions during communication because it shows you are actively taking part in a conversation. It also shows that you are listening. With no listening there really isnt a conversation happening. If you are listening passively, then you are giving little or no feedback. If you are like this, then you are unlikely to make coherent responses. Avii Explain how an individual’s background can influence their communication methods. An individual’s background can influence their communication methods by the way in which they are brought up and the society and culture that they live in has a great effect on the way in which they communicate. In some cultures children are not allowed to speak in the presence of certain adults. Some people may have been brought up in a background of challenging environments. Some women do not speak in front of other men out of family. These factors will highly influence the way they communicate and to establish communication with these groups of people. Also there may be a language barrier which would influence communication methods. Aviii Identify three examples of barriers to communication and explain how you could overcome each barrier. Barrier How it can over come Language differences You can overcome this by identifying the preferred communication method and using the appropriate method to communicate. Culture differences You can overcome this by providing an interpreter or translator service. Using makaton, body language and pictures etc. Physical Barrier You could overcome this by checking the individual’s record, speaking to a family member or friends or through the country’s cultural representative. Aix Describe two strategies that you could use to clarify misunderstandings. 1. Be polite and ask kindly in a calm professional manner. 2. Writing instructions clearly and concisely. Ask the them to repeat what I have said to ensure clear understanding. AxA social care worker wants to enable more effective communication with individuals using the service. Explain how they could access extra support or services that may be helpful. Translation services This service can help with changing the written text from one language to another. Interpreting services This service can help with converting spoken language to another language. Speech and language services This service can support people who have had a stroke and have problems with their speech. Advocacy services This service can support people who are unable to speak up for themselves. This service tries to understand the needs, wishes and preferences of people, and will argue on their behalf.

Connections Between Stalin And Lenin Regimes Politics Essay

Connections Between Stalin And Lenin Regimes Politics Essay If the words of traditionalist historians from the cold-war era are to be taken as fact, then the answer to the topic question dictates that there is a real connection that exists between Leninism and Stalinism. It was the socioeconomic and political base created by Lenin that became the plant from which emerged the excesses of Stalins era. Stalin promoted an entirely personal viewpoint when it came to his soviet policy i.e. he took on the role and accumulative advantages of being the Lenin of his rule. His behavior highlighted his own policies and made evident the failing totalitarian arguments resulting in his regimes being termed a nations tragedy (Ulam Stalin; the Man and His Era 12). There are several people who disagree with this view; mainly Trotskyitesis who put forth that Stalinism broke away from Leninism. They are in favor of the nature of Stalins rule; he pulled his regime away from the progressive and democratic nature of Lenins rule and pulled it towards a dictatorship that seemingly served his self-interest. It has been termed a Thermidorian negationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ [and] betrayal of the basic Bolshevik beliefs (Cohan 41). Deutscher further went onto state that Stalin was only able to maintain the status of a revolutionary leader because he was able to implement a new and fundamentally different practice of socioeconomic and political organization, as opposed to staying true to the older definition of revolution (Stalin; a Political Biography 550). Khruschev famously took up the vast break between the two regimes when he tried to validate the presence of his Leninist-Marxist regime. He went against the notion that Stalinsim exhibited any qualities of Leninism and by way of de-Stalanization promoted the concept of the excesses that occupied Stalinism. Some theorists attempted to elaborate the two regimes in a more neutral tone and point of view; however, the revisionists insisted that although there were discontinuities and continuities between the two regimes, Stalinism had been influenced heavily by other historical events from within Russia. The prevailing argument is now a balance of the straight line intentionalist theory that Bolshevik Marxism determined the character of post revolutionary Leninism as well as the main traits of what we call Stalinism, and the revisionist research that has shown the difference of extremity between the two regimes (Cohen Rethinking the Soviet Experience: Politics and History since 1917 42). While Leninism slowly began to work its way in the direction of political totalitarianism, economic liberalization did not necessarily have to result in Stalinist authoritarianism. The demise of the communist regime led to a kind of rebirth in Sovietology, and also set in stone the fact that distinguishing between a good and bad Lenin is becoming less and less sustainable (Pipes Three Whys of the Russian Revolution 84). Although it cannot be stated as fact that out of the totalitarian embryo would come totalitarianism full blown, it is certain that Lenin had played a significant role in creating Stalin. The one thing to note is however, that Stalin escalated politics and terror to an entirely new level. (Cohen Rethinking the Soviet Experience: Politics and History since 1917 43). Several people are in agreement over the fact that a significant change took place when Stalin introduced economic reforms which stemmed from a policy of concentrating peasantry into collective farms after collectivization the effectively abolishing private property and swiftly industrializing through five year plans. Stalin believed that it was a Great leap forward. Alev Nove came to the conclusion that Stalins economic policys infiltration was a great turning point in Russian history, whereby Stalin challenged the Marxist theory and turned it upside down to determine the character of the economic arrangement through political system (Hartfree 27). The collectivization policy initially was a change to the semi-capitalists policy of trading under the NEP. Stalin, while restructuring the USSR, portrayed that wholesale collectivization and industrialization were not only representing the continuation of the Bolshevik blueprints that were set by Lenin but in his words was A path of socialism. People like Trotsky totally disagreed with Stalin and his principals. Trotsky during the process of bringing about a change in policy portrayed how Stalin had deviated from the Bloshevik ideology and that opportunism à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ turned into its opposite à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ adventurism (Trotsky Eastman 45). Trotsky being an ex-Bolshevik in refuge, irrespective of everything would have still criticized Stalin out of personal revenge. Stalins contention of collectivization as a branch of Leninism did not hold much significance, even though it was coupled with Grain requisitioning tactics and Kulak liquidation during the Civil War. Stalin validat ed his actions using quotes by Lenin, who claimed collectivization as an eventual socialist goal and referred to Kulaks as bloodsuckers, vampires, robbers of the people (Hartfree 28). Stalin claim to his theory leading to the destruction of the last roots of capitalism in the country, to the final victory of socialism in agriculture, and to complete consolidation of Soviet power in the country side is unreal. The reliability of Stalins evidence was doubtful not only due to the omissions from some of Lenins writings (which were put away in sealed archives) also because of his selective manner towards economic arguments. Stalins reasons were based merely on words that strengthened his views and ambitions alone while completely being oblivious to Lenins wise warnings towards collectivization: coercion towards the middle peasant is a supremely harmful thing, to act here by means of coercion is to ruin the whole cause, and collectivization should be based upon not, pressure, but examples and persuasion (Hartfree 28). Deutscher, through the western study of Stalins economic policy, was identified as the first to object to the Soviet thought by stating that a breach in policy of communists had occurred and had claimed on noticing a Great Change. He further stated: Soviet Russia embarked upon her second revolution, which was directed solely and exclusively by Stalinà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ [and which]à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ was even more sweeping and radical than the first (Deutscher Stalin; a Political Biography 296). Deutschers distinction of it being the second revolution states his perceived difference that existed between both the revolutions. He stated collectivization as a Military operation, a cruel civil war (Full Text of Facts on Communism). Deutscher stated their experiment of placing 150 million peasants into 200,00 kolkhoz as piece of prodigious insanity, in which all rules of logic and principals of economics were turned upside down, (Deutscher Stalin; a Political Biogr aphy 326), he blatantly specified that Stalin undertook to drive barbarism out of Russia by barbarous means (Full Text of Facts on Communism). Even though Deutscher comprehended the price of such means, it is quite vague whether he possessed all the facts for writing in 1949, his prospect to view the material in person was quite limited, hence even while stating Stalin as having borrowed so much from Marxist thinkers and economists, that he might well be charged with outright paligrism he wraps Stalin up with a positive note (Full Text of Facts on Communism). Duetschers compassion towards the communist ideology reflects a socialist nature in his political inclination, he discusses the rewards of such policies and describes Stalins economy as the first truly gigantic experiment in planned economy, the first instance in which a government undertook a plan to regulate the whole economic life of its country, and to direct its industrial resources towards a uniquely rapid multiplication of the nations wealth (Full Text of Facts on Communism). He outlines that the plans had allowed Russia to modernize and develop into a society, and that a vague idea had been given practicality for the first time. For Duetscher the breach in policy was not as catastrophic as what later historians would describe it as, but he did consider that behind Stalin were tramping the myriads of weary bleeding Russian feet(Full Text of Facts on Communism). Intentionalists stated collectivization as useless and that it only damaged Russia, they classify the Stalinism perio d as a struggle on the same scale as of the First World War (Conquest The Harvest of Sorrow: Soviet Collectivization and the torror-famine). According to Ulam, when questioned if the Civil War had ever concluded, answered stating that collectivization as a war against peasantry (Lenin and the Blosheviks: the Intellectual and Political History of the Triumph of communism in Russia). According to the totalitarian school of thought, lenin and stalin both classified peasants as filth, flexible towards the disposal of the party. According to Ulam had Lenin lived he would have bought and end to NEP long before Stalin did. To both the revolution was taken over by financial radicals that handicapped the economy, and they initiated institutions which later provided as a form or advancement for Stalins revolution from above(Full Text of Facts of Communism). Conquest in order to link both the oppressors deduced that both had martyred almost the same number of people using their economic polici es. During the Peasant War of grain requisitioning held by Lenin, an estimate of 14 million people died where as in the Revolution from above of Stalin an estimate of 14.5 million were found dead. Conquests last words in respect to the Leninist-Stalinist policies were When the Stalin regime moved into excessive requisitioning in late 1932, it had the experience of 1918- 21 behind it. Then the experience had resulted in disastrous famine. If it was again to do so, this cannot have been for want of understanding in the Kremlin. (The Harvest of Sorrow: Soviet Collectivization and the Terror-Famine). 1933s Terror Famine did it. He claimed that Stalin disregarded Lenins advice and embedded his own exploitation and destruction of the muzhik. This perspective further more damaged the Stalinists claims for further Bloshevik policies; which is clear to us that had they been accomplished NEP would have lasted. Ulam justifies his statement by stating that Stalins war was not for power alone bu t also did not support ideology, the faith of Marxism-Leninism (Ulam Stalin; the Man and his Era). Upon proper comprehension of Marxism, it would have required a safer, more reasonable method of transforming Russia into a modern industrial society (Full Text of Facts on Communism). Conquest grasps differences from both the Leninist and Stalinist policies and does not consider the Stalinist economics as an utter continuation of the Leninist war communism. He states that Although Lenin shared Bolshevik antipathy towards the peasants as the archaic element in Russia, his main concerns were to understand them in Marxist termsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ and to decide how to organize the countryside (The Harvest of Sorrow: Soviet Collectivization and the Terror-Famine), whereas Stalin only wanted to, frighten the Kulaks into submission (The Harvest of Sorrow: Soviet Collectivization and the Terror-Famine). The only factor that made up for Lenin was that he perceived peasantry in Marxist terms and his policy was based on trial and error, with a changeable mixture of ideology and pragmatism (Lee 180) and at the last moment, Leninà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ listened to the voice or reality (Conquest The Harvest of Sorrow: Soviet Collectivization and the Terror-Famine). None of this stands as a justification to the policies but simply outlines the imperfect characteristics of the Stalinist policies, unlike Deutschers view, which werent simply a continuation but also an intensification of Stalins course which would end in A cruel mockery of the peasant (Ulam Stalin; the man and His Era). It is said that one cannot make omelets without breaking eggs. In that case, perhaps one should not make omelets, if the menu happens to provide other choices (Nove 379). Quite a number of eggs were broken when speaking in terms of Russia, which not only according to the totalitarians, but was later also accepted by the Soviets, like Gorbachev who persisted on introducing Lenin like perestroika and glasnost reforms to amend the Stalinists red tape. They claimed that a lot of stress had been placed on what Gorbachev described as the centralization and command system, and illustrated to the soviet people the horrific nature of collectivization: Flagrant violations of the principals of collectivization occurred everywhere. Nor were excesses avoided in the struggle against the kulaks. An atmosphere of intolerance, hostility and suspicion was created in the country. I am putting things bluntly- those were real crimes stemming from an abuse of power. Many thousands of people were subjected to whole sale repressive methods. Such comrades is the bitter truth (Gorbachev). In Noves words Stalin was required to bring Russia into the 20th century, loses were i mmense but such was the only available option for Russia. It had become more explicit that Stalin had taken the Leninist method and made it further extreme to a notch unconceivable under Lenin, and even though it is true that the foundations were there to be exploited, Stalin was not a Leninist but a Stalinist who was knowledgeable about Leninism, the events that followed would most probably not been approved by Lenin. According to the totalitarians, politically both of them were considered as dictatorships; each was a single party system, each had secret police apparatus; both inculcating ideas within their citizens; each had control over the economy and the political organizations of the country; both used terror as a practice; To be clear: Lenin bequeathed to his successors a fully functioning police state (Amis 32). Even though each had a one party state, Trotskyite Deutscher implied that Stalin was The rule of a single fraction [which] was indeed an abuse as well as a conseq uence of the rule of the single party (The Prophet Unarmed Trotsky 1921 1929). This was fully argued by Khrushchev who, claimed that in respect to political ideology, and procedures towards the party, Lenin was a true Marxist. In a discrete speech he justified this by stating that Lenin had upheld democracy and collegiality in the Communist Party or which he named The Leninist method of convincing and educating (Crankshaw). He concurs with Figes perspective who stated that, despite the ban on factions, the party still made room for comradely debate (Figes). The political behavior inside the part faced a direct split for Stalins heir. In practice Stalin ignored the norms of Party Life and trampled on the Leninist principal of collective Party Leadership. This was despotism for Khrushchev and Co. The totalitarians portrayed Stalin as someone who ruled with an iron fist from inside the party, but he ran the country much more brutally than the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. This particular kind of Soviet judgment in the mix of the huge amount of writings by the Liberals is quite a minority. Liberals completely deny the split between the two political ideologies. On the other hand western historian had no reason to justify their beliefs like the Soviets, so stuck to agreeing with Pipes in his statement Stalins megalomaniac and other odious qualities should not obscure the fact that his ideology and modus operandi was Lenins. A man of meager education, he had no other source of ideas (A Concise History of the Russian Revolution). Historians that are persuaded by the American values of democracy consist of the same modus operandi as Lenin. His theoretical and practical solutions fueled the party which gave birth to the totalitarian Stalinist. Pipes does not indicate coming a cross any such signs that hint whether Lenin ever considered Stalin a traitor to his definition of Communism. According to Pipes the reason for this was the dictatorship of the proletariat which gave a rise to the dictatorship by the vanguard, and in both cases terror was struck by death. The odd fact was that these views were similar to those of the pre-revolutionary, utopian idealist Lenin, who was not affected by the hardships of the Civil War Government So long as the state exists there is no freedom. Pipes in particular did not have any freedom during the regimes of Lenin and Stalin. Another revisionist named Service, maybe not as intense as Pipes; but in accordance to recent archival research, shows that he sides with the totalitarians, and also indicates to the violent Bolshevik political ambitions. He explains the one party state as arbitrary rule, administrative ultra-centralism, and philosophical amoralism. Lenin was not graspable as it was first thought, and the specula tion that if Lenin had survived, a humanitarian order would have been established is hard to square with this garment of agreed principals of Bolshevism (Service). Volkogonov was a reformed communist who held similar totalitarian beliefs of the red tape, sabotage, and bureaucracy that was commonly railed against by Lenin was infused through the system that he had created. Peoples freedom, power, human rights were concepts deemed unnecessary (Volkogonov and Shukman 77-78). By Lenin, the party had become a state within a state, its dictatorship a fact Party absolutism replaced tsarist autocracy. Democracy and civil rights became bourgeois manifestationsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ [and]à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ human life a soulless statistical unit. (Full Text of Facts on Communism). This continued till Stalins death. On top of that revisionism proved that a instead of a continuation the finalized Stalinist product was poles apart of the primary Leninist system. Reevaluating the Soviet experience Cohen concluded that the party had a considerable amount of change from 1917 to 1921 alone, in terms of composition, organizational structure, internal political life and outlook. Stalins party was thoroughly different from that of Lenin. For, if ideology could influence events, then it was also shaped and changed by it, (Cohen). If Lenin was impacted by the Civil War, then Stalinist had gone through different stages of evolution as well. Stalinist ideology changed in essence and it did not represent the same movement as that which took place in 1917 (Full Text of Facts on Communism). Nationalism, conservatism, reactionism, and dogmatism was revived where as there was a switch in the prominence of proletariat to the leaders as creators of life. Cohen concluded that, disc ontinuities were secondary to continuities. (Full Text of Facts on Communism). Although in terms of political continuation the difference between both the terms is quantitative, not qualitative (Full Text of Facts on Communism), and, as Cohen states excess was Stalinism (Cohen), is what differentiates between the two. The extent to which they differed not the manner in which they differ. Essentially, the basic elements of the Stalinist regime were all in place by 1924, Stalin simply prolonged it to feed his own personal satisfaction (Full Text of Facts on Communism). Continuous and discontinuous can be found both economically and politically but it is risky to jump to a conclusion like the Soviets stating that no link was there between Stalin and Lenin or enforcing the fact that no difference is there between the two. It is vital for one to see and understand the link between the two regimes. Had precedents of economical and political nature not existed terrors such as those witness ed during Stalins time would not have existed. Conquest derives that Stalinism did not emerge from nothingness, like any other historical phenomenon, it had roots in the past, but it would be deluding to state like Solzhenitsyn who claimed that a direct chain of events led to Stalin (The Great Terror: A Reassessment). The terror of Stalinist made an impact on history and led to plain simple human barbarity which inhabits mankind. The Mongols, Ivan the Terrible, and many other dictators used Lenins Logic of the axe (Volkogonov). Although there is a similarity between the Cheka of 1918 and the NKVD of the 1930s, the core difference between Lenin and Stalin was the extent of how far either would go. As evidence has it, majority agrees to the fact that Stalin took things further, both hold records showing that they had killed but Lenin did not kill fellow Communists, and Stalin did so on a massive scale; Lenin spoke of collectivization whereas Stalin implemented it, Lenin commented over the bureaucratic red tape, whereas Stalin wrapped the USSR in it. (Pipes a Concise History of the Russian Revolution)

Meaning of Edgar Allan Poes The Raven Essay -- Edgar Allan Poe Raven

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" employs a raven itself as a symbol of the torture, mainly the self-inflicted torture, of the narrator over his lost love, Lenore.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The raven, it can be argued, is possibly a figment of the imagination of the narrator, obviously distraught over the death of Lenore. The narrator claims in the first stanza that he is weak and weary (731). He is almost napping as he hears the rapping at the door, which could quite possibly make the sound something he heard in a near dream-like state, not an actual sound. He is terrified of being alone in the chamber he is in when the poem takes place. The "sad, uncertain rustling of each purple curtain thrilled me-filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before" (731). When the poem opens, he is reading over books of "forgotten lore" (731). His imagination is probably already running wild. His surroundings are conducive to the situation he finds himself in. The word "chamber" itself implies a cold, rigid feel, like the narrator has shut himself away from everything in order to be alone to brood and torture himself. The words "ghost" and "dying ember" give the reader a feeling of discomfort, like something is not quite right with the situation. The narrator opens the chamber door into darkness, deep darkness, and silence. He stands there, fearing what is before him, "dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before" (732). December is also the time of year when most plants are dead, to which extent the narrator remarks that it is a "bleak December", making for a dismal scene both outside and inside the chamber. There is also a "tempest", a storm, brewing outside, not good for calming the spirits of the narrator. Thoughts are running through his head and it is safe to say that he is frightening himself more than the situation merits at this point. He says he has to still the beating of his heart by repeating outside the door, "'Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door" (731). He is literally trying to talk himself down from the frightened state he is in. The mind is the most powerful tool of one's imagination, and the narrator's is definitely working in overdrive. Given the language used by the narrator and the surroundings he has placed himself in, one could think that the whole story was a figment of the narrator's imagination. Just like when watching... ...ven sitting on the chair. As the poem comes to a close, we see that the narrator will forever be reminded of death and the fact that he, as a part of his nature, cannot understand it. And he will be forever reminded of Lenore and his loss, as the raven is sitting there above the door-"and the raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting on the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door?" (734). The raven plays an important part in the poem, hence the title, "The Raven." The raven has so many meanings: death, sorrow, fear, frustration, and the self-inflicted torture of the narrator. All these things can attest to the mental state of the narrator due to the loss of Lenore. "Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door," he pleads. But the raven will not go. The raven will sit above the narrator's door every day for eternity to remind the narrator that he cannot understand death. And left under the shadow the raven casts on the floor is the soul of the narrator that shall be lifted-nevermore! Works Cited McMichael, George, et al. Anthology of American Literature, 7th ed., vol. 1. Upper Saddle River: Prentice-Hall, 2000.

Tiger Woods :: essays research papers

Tiger Woods Tiger's Real Name: Eldrick Woods. The nick-name "Tiger" was given to him by his father. It's the same nick-name of a South Vietnamese combat buddy, Nguyen Phong, who saved Tiger's father's life a few times in the Vietnam War. Rumor had it that Tiger was planning to official change his name to Tiger Woods when he turned 21 this past December but sources say he didn't do it for some reason. Tiger's Dad: Green Beret Lieutenant Colonel Earl Woods served 2 Tours of Duty in the Vietnam War. Tiger's Mother: Kultida (Tida) Woods. Her maiden name is Kultida Punsawad. Tiger's parents met in Bangkok, Thailand. They got married in 1969. Tiger Born: December 30, 1975 Long Beach, California. Tiger now lives in a new home in Isleworth, Florida. Near the west side of Orlando. Tiger moved to Florida because of the great golf weather and because he is always flying and time zone changes tired him out as he alway lost time when having to fly back to California. Tiger's Ethnicity: African, Thai, Chinese, American Indian, and European. Tiger's Religion: Tiger believes in Buddism. Not every aspect, but most of it. Tiger was 11-months old when he first started swinging a sawed off golf club in his garage. Some sources say he was actually 10-months old. Tiger's Education: In the 7th grade Tiger had a GPA of 3.86! (Now there's the real important stuff.) Tiger spent 2 years at Stanford University in California majoring in Business. Tiger has 2 half brothers and 1 half sister from his fathers first marriage. Tiger loves McDonalds (CheeseBurgers) and Taco Bell. Tiger's Caddy (Guy who carries Tiger's clubs for him): Mike "Fluff" Cowan, used to caddy for another pro, Peter Jacobsen. Tiger's Driver (Big Golf Club) is only 43-inches long, an inch shorter than most clubs used by other professionals. Tiger's Driver Club head is moving at an average speed of 122 mph at impact with the ball. Tiger uses a soft-covered three piece golf ball. My source says he uses the Titleist Pro 100. Others say he also uses the Titleist Pro 90. Tiger has a 35-inch sleeve length. (I know everything!) Tiger has a 28-inch waist size. (He's much stronger than he looks!) Tiger's Golf Coach: Butch Harmon Tiger's Agent: Hughes Norton of International Management Group Most Recent Award: ESPY (ESPN) Award "Breakthrough Athlete of the Year" Tiger is working on 2 golf books with Warner-Books he's getting paid $2.2 Million for them. Tiger's first professional win was the 1996 Las Vegas Invitational. He won $297,000. Tiger's Girlfriend: NONE. Actually, rumor has it that Tyra Banks (The SuperModel) is interested in him. Tiger Woods :: essays research papers Tiger Woods Tiger's Real Name: Eldrick Woods. The nick-name "Tiger" was given to him by his father. It's the same nick-name of a South Vietnamese combat buddy, Nguyen Phong, who saved Tiger's father's life a few times in the Vietnam War. Rumor had it that Tiger was planning to official change his name to Tiger Woods when he turned 21 this past December but sources say he didn't do it for some reason. Tiger's Dad: Green Beret Lieutenant Colonel Earl Woods served 2 Tours of Duty in the Vietnam War. Tiger's Mother: Kultida (Tida) Woods. Her maiden name is Kultida Punsawad. Tiger's parents met in Bangkok, Thailand. They got married in 1969. Tiger Born: December 30, 1975 Long Beach, California. Tiger now lives in a new home in Isleworth, Florida. Near the west side of Orlando. Tiger moved to Florida because of the great golf weather and because he is always flying and time zone changes tired him out as he alway lost time when having to fly back to California. Tiger's Ethnicity: African, Thai, Chinese, American Indian, and European. Tiger's Religion: Tiger believes in Buddism. Not every aspect, but most of it. Tiger was 11-months old when he first started swinging a sawed off golf club in his garage. Some sources say he was actually 10-months old. Tiger's Education: In the 7th grade Tiger had a GPA of 3.86! (Now there's the real important stuff.) Tiger spent 2 years at Stanford University in California majoring in Business. Tiger has 2 half brothers and 1 half sister from his fathers first marriage. Tiger loves McDonalds (CheeseBurgers) and Taco Bell. Tiger's Caddy (Guy who carries Tiger's clubs for him): Mike "Fluff" Cowan, used to caddy for another pro, Peter Jacobsen. Tiger's Driver (Big Golf Club) is only 43-inches long, an inch shorter than most clubs used by other professionals. Tiger's Driver Club head is moving at an average speed of 122 mph at impact with the ball. Tiger uses a soft-covered three piece golf ball. My source says he uses the Titleist Pro 100. Others say he also uses the Titleist Pro 90. Tiger has a 35-inch sleeve length. (I know everything!) Tiger has a 28-inch waist size. (He's much stronger than he looks!) Tiger's Golf Coach: Butch Harmon Tiger's Agent: Hughes Norton of International Management Group Most Recent Award: ESPY (ESPN) Award "Breakthrough Athlete of the Year" Tiger is working on 2 golf books with Warner-Books he's getting paid $2.2 Million for them. Tiger's first professional win was the 1996 Las Vegas Invitational. He won $297,000. Tiger's Girlfriend: NONE. Actually, rumor has it that Tyra Banks (The SuperModel) is interested in him.

The Lutheran Hymnal Essay -- Observation Essays, Descriptive Essays

There it is the blue book. It used to be red, but in 1982 a new book was made. The blue book has a cross with a circle behind it on its spine. Also on the spine are the words Lutheran Worship. At the bottom of the spine is the logo for the Concordia Publishing House. On the front cover is another cross with a circle behind it and the printed name David Edward Mahen. This is the modern Lutheran Hymnal used by the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod. This Lutheran Hymnal is not just a symbol of Lutheranism but the moderate views of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod. In the Lutheran Hymnal, are principles of Lutheran Theology according to the Missouri Synod. There are ceremonies for Baptism, Confirmation as well as Divine services. The Divine Service is from Lutheran tradition and is the same service that Lutherans practice today. There are also prayers, chants, psalms with music, and Luther's Small Catechism. There are hymns which span the entire year including: Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Passion Week, Easter, Ascension, and Pentecost. There are also hymns for other times of service and year: Trinity, Morning, Evening, Beginning of Service, Close of Service, Holy Baptism, and The Lord's Supper. This was all based on the practices that Martin Luther created during the Reformation. Martin Luther, was â€Å"temperamental, peevish, egomaniacal, and argumentative† (Hooker, www.wsu.edu), but played a pivotal role in history. During Luther's time as a monk, the Catholic Church was selling indulgences. Luther took notice to the corruption and began to reason that men can only get their salvation through Jesus Christ, not the Pope or indulgences, let alone the Church itself. Luther began ... ...e symbol of the male tradition as pastors and the symbol of women giving the Eucharist. It is the symbol of Lutheranism in the middle of a conservative and liberal world. Bibliography Hooker, Richard. Martin Luther 1996. September 25, 2004. http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/REFORM/LUTHER.HTM> Bainton, Roland H. Here I Stand: A life of Martin Luther. New York. Abington Printing Press. 1950 Harm F. R. Sola Fide, Solafidianism. September 27, 2004 < http://mb-soft.com/believe/txc/solafide.htm > Christian Classics Ethereal Library. Luther's Catechisms. A.D. 1529 01/04/2003 September 27, 2004 < http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/creeds1.viii.iv.html > Multiple Authors. Definition of Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. November 1, 2004

Divorce and American Culture

Culture surrounds us everywhere we go. It reflects the people of the times and when it changes, so do the very people it reflects. A general definition would say that culture, related to society, is a set of norms that govern behavior. Within this set of norms the people of a society do certain rituals and behaviors to fit in with the world around them. Different trends rule the times. Whether it be anti-war protests, to civil rights movements, to legalization of same sex civil unions and even divorce-the people of the times roll with many different ideas and tendencies. The idea of marriage is an old and sacred one. In the Bible, a marriage is seen a holy sacrament between a man and woman that leads to the raising of a family. There is one man and one-woman involved- then with the addition of the holy spirit, the union is supposed to be ever lasting. â€Å"Christian marriage is a sacrament (sacred act approved by God). As a result marriage was very difficult to end, and before the nineteenth century usually ended with death,† (Chan and Haplin, 2001). In the world today, marriage is interpreted in many different ways. Very rarely is it seen as an everlasting contract that can withstand all tests. The revolutions of the 60s, 70s, up through today have severely changed the way people think of marriage. The drug culture has helped redefine the meaning of peace and love and of course, holy unions. People today do not get married out of the idea of love. If they do, it is most often between two young and naive children or young adults that believe that love can conquer all. â€Å"People expect too much from specialized love marriages, and when the love goes so might the marriage. Other cultures unite families through arranged marriages, and these social functions may make them more stable,† (Chan and Haplin, 2001). People have begun to take advantage of the system and get married because of benefits they can receive. For the military couple, extra cash is a big incentive as well as extra leave time. A lot of times the benefits outweigh the costs and people today go into marriages knowing that it will be just as easy to exit the marriage. For a marriage to end, there needs to be either a death or a cause for divorce. Grounds for divorce include; a cheating spouse, an abusive partner, and mishandling of funds. Every so often though, there is no direct cause, but instead the couples just are not compatible. The constant fighting and disagreements make it difficult to raise a family and have a stable home. As society grows and culture changes, divorce still remains. In the early parts of the 20th century, divorce was a taboo idea that meant that you ultimately failed as a wife or husband. People viewed it as the easy way out and very rarely did they agree with it. In the 1950s, divorce was only 5 per 1000 women, as opposed to the rate of 20 per every 1000 women in the early 21st century (Relationships, 2008). The times influenced peoples decisions and instead of doing what might have been best for all the parties involved, couples stayed together so that they would not be viewed as such a failure to their friends, family and children. Culture put the message out to society that a divorce is an end all be all decision that means that you have failed. Of course, logically that is not true. Occasionally things do not go according to plan and you have to change your idea of the future accordingly. The idea of being a failure comes from the society that surrounds the couple. As the times began to change, so did the overall idea of separation and divorce. The more married couples got divorced, the more casual the idea has become. When a couple divorces and they have children, the children see the process and although it might hurt them tremendously, it also makes them learn and see things. As they see the process, the idea becomes to seem â€Å"normal† to them. According to a recent journal article, â€Å"growing-up in a divorced family can instill offspring with less unfavorable attitudes towards divorce (Greenberg and Nay 1982, Amato 1988, Trent and South 1989, Axinn and Thornton 1996, Kapinus 2004 as cited by Hiller and Recoules 2011). Sometimes the children involved begin to think that this is a normal thing that happens and makes it easier to do themselves. This could explain the rising divorce rates today. On the other hand, often times when a child witnesses the struggles of divorce, they are sometimes more reluctant to get a divorce themselves (Hiller and Recoules, 2011). The inevitable hurt and suffering from witnessing countless hours of parental figures fighting, getting sometimes physical, and the mental and emotional strains that the fighting causes sends some children into a downwards spiral. Their whole attitude on love in general is questioned. And from first hand experience, the sanctity of marriage itself is questioned. An idea that some children used to find so uplifting and amazing, now seems bleak and not worth it. If the two people I love the most in the whole world cannot seem to get along, and cannot make it work, then what are the chances that my marriage will fail? What is the point in even trying? Is love just another silly Disney ideation that really cannot exist in our world today? â€Å"American society may have erased the stigma that once accompanied divorce, but it can no longer ignore divorce's massive effects† (Fagan and Rector, 2000). Married couples do not always understand that their fighting and arguments are a lot bigger than just the two of them. It reaches out and branches down to all the people they know. Subsequent relationships between children and their partners become affected. Sometimes girls go crazy and give up on the concept of love and become promiscuous at a young age. They eventually fall into a routine and thanks to the invention of birth control, have no qualms and avoid the pregnancy scare that might have once deterred them otherwise. Boys may become rude and hostile towards their partners and begin to treat their ladies badly in response to how they see their fathers treat their mothers. Coworkers, neighbors, children, friends, everyone is affected. Some articles claim that the divorce rates among young adults today are lower than that of the past. This might be true, but this does not take into account the idea of young relationships failing. Couples that never got married, but might have had children at a young age with no intention of getting married and consequently leading to a single parent and broken home anyways. There was no sacrament done, but the damage still is the same. Repeatedly it is seen that parents will reluctantly â€Å"stay together† for the kids. This is a great idea on paper. It would seem that if the parents were to stay together, that the children would not suffer from the emotional and psychological damage done to a child because of a divorce. What is often overlooked is the fact that if parents stay together, and clearly are not compatible and cannot communicate like adults and actually raise the children, then the child will most likely suffer just as much or even more so than the child with divorced parents. Often times negative traits are learned from the parents during times of arguments that will debilitate the growth of the child. Negative traits would include, harsh tempers, awful communication skill development, and negative views of either parent based on the idea that parents will most likely isolate the children and try to get each on â€Å"their side. The strain of choosing between the two parents puts many over the edge. Children will sometimes develop different drinking or substance abuse problems in order to deal with the problems that they are facing at home leading to failing or dropping out of school, unwanted pregnancies, and even dangerous automobile accidents. â€Å"†Don't stay together just f or the sake of the children. † â€Å"If divorce is better for you, it will be better for your kids. † (Spohn, n. d. ) As the times are continually changing, so do the basic ideas that fuel society as a whole. Divorce rates will rise and fall with the times depending on society and culture. It is a trend that cannot be predicted and cannot be ignored. The overall effect of divorce is an everlasting one and before any decision is made about either marriage or divorce, all the options and pros and cons should always be weighed. Reference: Hughes, R. (2008, August 20). What is the current divorce rate in the United States? Has the divorce rate changed much over the past 5 to 10 years?. MissouriFamilies. org Home. Retrieved July 20, 2011, from http://missourifamilies. org/quick/divorceqa/divorceqa3. tm Fagan, P. , ; Rector, R. (n. d. ). World and I Magazine – The Effects of Divorce in America. Online Magazine: The World ; I Online Magazine. Retrieved July 20, 2011, from http://www. worldandi. com/specialreport/divorce/divorce. html Sociology of Divorce (GCSE). (n. d. ). The Adrian Worsfold Website. Retrieved July 20, 2011, from http://www. change. freeuk. com/learning/socthink/divorcesi mpler. html Spohn, W. C. (n. d. ). The American Myth of Divorce. Santa Clara University – Welcome. Retrieved July 16, 2011, from http://www. scu. edu/ethics/publications/iie/v9n2/divorce. html