Social Factors and Eating Behavior Essay - 1004 Words

In recent years a large proportion of the research on the eating behaviour has been focused on the effect which social factors have on the individual. The scenario of Esma has been use to investigate the way which social factors affect the eating habit. Esma is a normal body weight female who is in a restaurant having a dinner party with twelve people and many different meals are served across the evening, there are two things which we are trying to predict out of this scenario. Firstly how much will Esma eat compare to other people and will it be different than when eating alone, secondly if Esma has very low levels of trait empathy, will she eat differently than the first predictions. This essay attempt to investigate and predict the†¦show more content†¦Meals which are spend with other people are significantly larger than the meals which are eaten alone, it is very common for those people who is having a meal alone, they will have nothing better to do than eating so they will just focus on trying to finish the meal rather than anything else. Whereas the course of the meal which is being spend with the presence of other could be distracted by social interaction (Clendenen, Herman, Polivy, 1994) and the duration of the meal will increase which is likely to result in the increase of food consume. In social context, individuals have the tendency to match their food intake to their eating companions regardless of the amount the other person is taking (Robinson, Tobias, Shaw, Freeman, Higgs, 2011). In another word, by increasing the number of people at the dinner party, Esma will be eating more than what she would usually do and it would be about the same as her eating companions. Extending on the factors of increasing variety of food and the number of people present, the relationship between people is also a factor which can alter the eating behaviour. The degree of effect stranger have on eating habit is not very clear at this stage as strangers normally will concern about their first impressions especially in front of opposite genderShow MoreRelatedFood Choices Of College Life And Time Affect Eating Habits1188 Words   |  5 Pageslife and time affect eating habits. Students often must balance busy lives and have limited income, so money and time often are critical when deciding what to eat. The main concepts of my research question have to do with what causes people to eat healthily or unhealthily. The point is to try to understand what influences people’s eating habits, primarily how social class and time influence eating habits. Healthy food is often much more expensive than unhealthy alternatives. Social inequality affectsRead MoreSociocultural Factors that Lead to Eating Disorders in Young Women1604 Words   |  7 PagesSociocultural Factors that Lead to Eating Disorders in Young Women According to the DSM-5, anorexia nervosa is characterized by â€Å"distorted body image and excessive dieting that leads to severe weight loss with a pathological fear of becoming fat† while bulimia nervosa is characterized by â€Å"frequent episodes of binge eating followed by inappropriate behaviors such as self-induced vomiting to avoid weight gain† (DSM-5, American Psychiatric Association, 2013). These two disorders most often affectRead MoreThe Media s Influence On Eating Habits876 Words   |  4 PagesThesis: It seems that the media as well as society, social identity, psychographic characteristics and mental illness all contribute to the development of disturbed eating habits from suppressing food to binge eating, especially in college-aged young adults. We seem to point our fingers at the media and society for a lot of the social issues in the world today. But is the media really to blame for disturbed eating behaviors that lead to eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosaRead MoreEating Disorders And Their Effects On Victims Of Them1281 Words   |  6 Pagesthe thoughts someone suffering an eating disorder hear every second of a day. In this essay, I will explain eating disorders and their effects on victims of them. Eating disorders are major health risks, and can be life-threatening. Eating disorders are defined as abnormal eating habits and extreme worry about one’s body image. They are mental illnesses that exist in both males and females, but are most commonly seen in females between the ages of 12-25. Eating disorders are not only about losingRead MoreGeneral Education Requirement For Psch 2701410 Words   |  6 Pagesthat definition well. Choose a different disorder for each definition. (6 pts) a. Social deviance: When there is a behavior seems contrary to the dominant norms of a certain society, this can be regarded as a socially deviant behavior. Clinical psychologists must consider cultural and social components of a behavior for a diagnosis of behavioral abnormality. Disorder: Social Anxiety Disorder Because: Some behaviors that are allowed in Western culture might be inappropriate in Eastern culture. ThereforeRead MoreDisordered Eating and the Media Essay1344 Words   |  6 Pageslinked to disordered eating and body dissatisfaction, predominantly among girls but can also be seen in boys. Throughout the years the ideal body shape has progressed from voluptuous and curvaceous an image Marilyn Monroe emulated to a slimmer and leaner frame in congruence with high fashion models such as Kate Moss (Katzmarzk Davis, 2001). Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia nervosa affect between 1% and 4% of young adult females (American Psychiatric Association, 1994). Eating disorders have been linkedRead MoreParenting Techniques and Their Influences on Their Child‚Äà ´s Behavior and Habits.1227 Words   |  5 PagesParenting Techniques and Their Influences on Their Child’s Behavior and Habits. McNeese State University Abstract Parenting techniques and beliefs are essential to the growth of any child. Parents instill habits, behaviors, and moral sense in to their children at an early age. Children benefit when parents engage themselves in to their child’s life. In saying that, parents also have to learn to adapt to what their child needs and teach them to assert themselves andRead MoreTaking a Look at Eating Disorders1708 Words   |  7 Pages EATING DISORDERS Introduction: Eating disorders are conditions characterized by abnormal eating habits that include excessive or insufficient food eating habits that hampers a person’s mental as well as physical health. Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are the most common types. Others are binge eating disorder and eating disorder not otherwise specified. Classification: †¢ Anorexia nervosa (AN), †¢ Bulimia nervosa (BN), †¢ Eating disorders not otherwise specified †¢ Binge eating disorderRead MoreEating Disorders are a Mental Illness1431 Words   |  6 Pages  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Eating disorders are mental illnesses that involve an obsession with food, extremely unhealthy eating behaviors and a distorted body image. They are complicated, serious disorders. The group that eating disorders affects the most are typically girls through the ages of sixteen and twenty years old. Although teenage eating disorders are typically believed to be caused by depression or genetic factors, social media has worsened the problem by the huge increase in peer pressure girls endureRead MoreEating Disorders And The Body Image1573 Words   |  7 Pagesdevelop abnormal eating patterns in a contempt to conform and seek society s approval of their body image. An eating disorder is an ailment that causes severe imbalances to your diet habits that you use everyday, such as gluttonously overeating or not taking in a healthy amount of food. At first, a person with an eating disorder would eat a smaller or larger portion of food, but at some point, the drive to eat less or more becomes out of control. Researchers are finding that eating disorders are caused

Essay What are Tumors and How Can They Affect the Brain

I would like to start this essay by saying, I have an interest in covering this topic because I know of a couple people that are very close to me that have been affected by this condition. A doctor found a benign, tumor within my friend’s brain at the age of thirteen, but he is now twenty-four years old and as healthy as ever. My father is the other person I know who had a tumor. A team of doctors found his tumor when he was thirty-nine years old; I was only four years old at the time. His was also benign but it was within a different spot of his brain, unfortunately he passed away twelve years after he found out he had it. What are brain tumors? Brain tumors are masses of cells that grow abnormally and uncontrollably within the brain.†¦show more content†¦Radiation therapy is another treatment that can be done. This is where doctors deliver doses of radiation to the tumor. If the treatments above do not work, chemotherapy, the use of chemicals or drugs, would be the next approach for trying to get rid of the tumor. Even after all that, the patient still has to go back to their doctors for more tests. I cannot remember everything when I was younger but I do remember visiting my farther in hospitals all the time. I think I spent more time with him in the hospital than any other time in my life. I look back now with regret that I did not spend as much time with him when he was home, I wish I would have! Sense the tendency for brain tumors to recur was great and the possible side effects of the treatments, follow-up examinations are a given. As I mentioned before, after the surgery is done an MRI scan must be taken. If radiation therapy or chemotherapy was performed, the MRI scan must be taken on an ongoing basis. I always knew if my father was not at home or at his second home (the hospital), he would be at the doctor’s office getting tests done. There was a wide variety of rehabilitation techniques my farther, with the assistants of my mother and doctors had tried. All of them as a team had to work on his ADLs (activities of daily living) after his second surgery was performed. I remember after he had his firstShow MoreRelatedThe Effects of Tobacco on the Human Body788 Words   |  3 Pages Tobacco use can be linked to many cancers such as lung, throat, mouth, nasal cavity, stomach, pancreatic, kidney, and bladder. Other problems that can be linked to are strokes, heart disease, and bronchitis. In addition, one of the problems after smoking is the inability to become pregnant. Tobacco use kills victims. (Health Effects) Tobacco is addictive and it is hard to quit. Tobacco has more than 4,000 chemicals in it. Fifty of these cause many types of cancers. Using Tobacco and being pregnantRead MoreEssay On Intratumoral Heterogeneity In Primary Glioblastoma805 Words   |  4 Pagesdetermine the composition of a glioblastoma tumor to better understand how the heterogeneity in the regulatory programs of the cell are important to prognosis and therapy. The authors took 5 glioblastomas and used SMART-Seq to profile them. They isolated the individual cells from the 5 glioblastomas and created single-cell full-length transcriptomes to then determine the intratuormal heterogeneity. From this, the authors were able to find that the tumors were variable in their expression when itRead MoreHow Does Homeostasis Affect Homeostasis1413 Words   |  6 Pages Affects on Homeostasis When biological systems tend to maintain stability while adjusting to conditions that are optimal for survival is Homeostasis. Homeostasis is kept in order by dynamic equilibrium, in which changes occur, but resists outside forces of change. However when a system is disturbed, feedback mechanisms control take action to reestablish a new balance. Homeostasis is important because by maintaining homeostasis, organisms remain healthy, strong and stable, with protection fromRead MoreCell Phones And Our Health1542 Words   |  7 Pagesvibrate. People should ask themselves if they can leave their phones for one week. I think they may feel lost. Cell phones are changing the way that human interact with each other and changing their expectations for social communication. People who are using their cell phones more than is necessary, it will harm their health. Cell phones make people more vulnerable of getting sick. For example, people who are addicted to their cell phones, which will affect their health, and that by touching their phoneRead More The Effects of a Tumor on the Family Members Essay1261 Words   |  6 PagesEffects of a Tumor on the Family Members A tumor that is specifically in the frontal cortex can cause many changes physically and emotionally which can affect the way you interact with your family. Some of the functions of the frontal lobe are attention, abstract thought, problem solving, intelligence, creative thought, initiative inhibition, judgment, mood, major body movements, bowel and bladder control, memory and reasoning (retrieved from www.ect.org. What this meansRead MoreWhat Are Oncolytic Viruses?1225 Words   |  5 PagesWhat are Oncolytic Viruses? Oncolytic viruses are viruses that are either genetically manufactured or naturally made, that can kill cancer cells without affecting normal cells. The virus rapidly multiplies until the cancerous cell explodes. This releases the virus, tumor specific agents, and GM-CSF. This causes the immune system to recognize cancerous cells and fight them with the help of the virus. Who/When Was it Developed? The uses of viruses to treat cancer have been talked about since theRead MoreSymptoms And Treatment Of Epilepsy1275 Words   |  6 PagesSeizures There are many chronic conditions that can affect people today with one such condition being epilepsy. This disease does not only affect a person physiologically but also affects how they interact with others, perform activities of daily living and the basic needs of a person, such as, driving or maintaining a job. The overall affects of this tragic and chronic disease is it can negatively affect a person’s confidence and therefore affect their basic life choices. Within this paper thereRead MoreCell Phones1218 Words   |  5 Pagescell phones dangerous? Cell phones are a wonderful thing. You can talk. Take pictures. Listen to music. Converse over email or text messaging, and browse the Internet among a handful of other things. I love to use my cell phone and actually use it more then any other phone at the office or at home. However, I use it with immense concern. I have concern about the use of the phone causing health issues, like cancer and brain tumors over time. Are these concerns warranted? I have studied technologyRead MoreSymptoms And Treatment Of Cancer1528 Words   |  7 PagesINRODUCTION Oncology, a branch of science that deals with tumors and cancer, has always looked at cancer and its treatment through a biological lens. Cancer is a disease that develops when cells abnormally divide and multiply without control (Depression and Cancer). The treatment of cancer includes, but is not limited to, chemotherapy. This treatment aims to shrink tumors that result from unnecessary cells that keep dividing and multiplying. As chemotherapy only focuses on the biological treatmentRead MoreMemories Are Valuable Precious Artifacts Of The Mind Essay1332 Words   |  6 Pagesthe way we remember things and if we remember things. Perhaps a traumatic brain injury, an untreated infection that has spread to the brain, or a brain tumor, even though these rarely take the blame this is still a possibility. Treatments for incurable diseases may cause memory problems with memory due to the adverse effects they have on the body and mind. Remembering what we are, what kind of person we used t o be, and how we lived is vital to our identity. Alzheimer’s and Amnesia are equally similar

Tesco For my assignment I have chosen Tesco’s Free Essays

string(22) " safety in the store\." Tesco For my assignment I have chosen Tesco’s. In order for this business to operate it needs four factors of production; the capital, the labourer, the entrepreneur and the land. In this essay I will include information on Tesco’s Physical, technological, human and financial resources. We will write a custom essay sample on Tesco For my assignment I have chosen Tesco’s or any similar topic only for you Order Now Tesco’s physical resources include their premises, plant, machinery, equipment, materials and stock. Tesco’s technological recourses include; intellectual property, experience and skill, software licensing, patients and copyrights. Human Resources are known as Personnel. Personnel teams work to ensure managers across the business have world-class skills and tools to meet the needs of the customers. Tesco’s financial resources include; is Tesco’s a successful company? Tesco’s is a worldwide well-known grocery shop. It’s a public limited company founded by Jack Cohen in 1919 and the Tesco’s name was first used in 1924 and the first store opened in 1929 in Middlesex. Tesco’s is a British store and it’s the third-largest retailer in the world. The net income reaches ? 3. 761 billion in 2012. Some of Tesco’s advantages include books, clothing, electronics, furniture, petrol and software. Every little helps’ the Tesco slogan is now well known by all of the customers. How do Physical and Technological Resources contribute to the success of Tesco? Their technology helps them be ahead because They can identify what’s selling well and the system will automatically re-order They don’t hold stock in warehouses that they don’t need They can target offers to specific customer groups. Physical Resources. Physical Resources for an organisation are machines. Without physical resources it won’t be able to run probably. Buildings, Technology and machines are examples of Physical Resources. Physical resources like this help staff with daily activities. Tesco is a huge supermarket. In Tesco’s there is Storage to store their food, fridges, and freezers and also drink machines to pour cold drinks and also hot ones. There are also machines to help the staff cook cafe food quickly. There are Self-scanning machines to stop long queues also; there is also instant photo machine for the customers to print photos in seconds. Intellectual Property e. g. designs, music, text, video. The content of the Tesco. om Site is protected by copyright, trademarks, database and other intellectual property rights. You can display the content of the Tesco. com Site on a computer screen but you must not print copies for personal use. â€Å"You may not otherwise reproduce, modify, copy or distribute or use for commercial purposes any of the materials or content on the Tesco. com Site without written permission from Tes co. com. † –Quoted from the website below. For more information go to: http://www. tesco. com/termsandconditions/termsconditionsGeneral. htm#Intellectual Premises. Tesco’s is a Global organisation. This means that they have a lot of different premises around the world which make them more successful today. These premises allow Tesco’s to sell products. Tesco has many different premises around the world including Tesco Metro, Tesco Extra, Tesco express and Tesco home plus. Machinery and Plants. Tesco have a lot of machinery. Machinery in Tesco includes their self-scanning machines, Petrol stations, refrigerators, tills etc. For organizations like Tesco plant and machinery may compromise refrigerators in their food store. Building and facilities. Tesco stores are located all around the UK. There are roughly 6,351 stores (April 2012). There are many different types of stores which you learn in this essay, sub heading Premises. Recently a new store has been made in Linwood (27th June 2011) there’s a schedule the store won’t be ready to use until 2013. Tesco also has Recycling facilities which you can have a browse of on this website http://www. tesco. com/greenerliving/greener_tesco/what_tesco_is_doing/reduse_reuse_recycle. page. Stores. Tesco’s has opened over 200 stores in 2010/2011. This allows Tesco’s to cover a bigger area and makes the stores more local which means that they will get ore customers which impacts on the amount of products they sell. Tesco’s one stop shops are just a smaller version of the Tesco supermarket and they are also local but not in the same towns or city’s as the supermarket because then this gets them more customers. Materials and Waste. Tesco recycle the waste they produce. ‘We have done this by focusing on reducing, reusing, recycling and recovering the energy from waste that would have been originally sent to landfill sites. ’ (Quote from website http://www. tesco. com/greenerliving/greener_tesco/what_tesco_is_doing/reduse_reuse_recycle. age). They move a bulk of recyclable materials from the waste stream and then put them in the recycling. Tesco are the largest recycler of cardboard in the UK – processing 300,000 tones’ per year. For unrecyclable products Tesco no longer use a landfill, they use other resources for different waste around the U. K this allows their waste to be classed as a valuable resource, generating renewable energy, alternative fuels to fossil fuels and fertilizers. Equipment including ICT. Tesco have self-service checkouts now. This also reminds customers for proof of age. Electronic tags to prevent stealing Tesco’s products. Recording incoming goods, subtracting sales, automatic stock ordering. They use it to use the internet so they can see how other similar businesses are so successful and use their ideas. Tesco’s online website for online shopping and home delivery. And they use it for other things such as receipts, temperature alarms for fridges, to check if there are enough staff on the tills etc. email to get products from other stores for emergencies. Planned maintenance and refurbishment. Tesco make a lot of changes to the store to satisfy the customers. Tesco have a refurbishment license and change their stores around very often so that customers can see some of the stock they probably haven’t seen before and they will possibly buy it if they can. Tesco sometimes close stores while they are refurbished so they can refurbish them with new technology which gets more customers and makes Tesco more successful as a business. They refurbish stores to increase customers and to prevent stores looking dated. Also, to improve safety in the store. You read "Tesco For my assignment I have chosen Tesco’s" in category "Essay examples" Insurance and security. From Tesco you can get insurance on things such as your home and you’re your car. For these you must have a Tesco clubcard. SECURITY: When you register to use the Tesco. com Site you will be asked to create a password. This must be kept confidential. Tesco has security officers at the door to prevent stealing. Staff also have a lot of training before they can work in Tesco stores. Tesco has CCTV to protect the store from shoplifters etc. and this also helps with proof. If Tesco. com has reason to believe that there is likely to be a breach of security or misuse of the Tesco. com Site, they may require you to change your password or deactivate your account. Tesco also has security on other things such a tags in and electronic devices which goes off if they are taken out of the shop without them being removed. And proof of age being asked on age restricted items. INSURANCE: all business’ need insurance so if anything happens they are insured to claim from it. Tesco has car insurance, home insurance, pet insurance and life insurance products. Tesco also have delivery vans which have to have insurance. The workers have to have insurance in case of an accident at work with machinery etc. to learn more about Tesco’s insurance click this link: http://www. escobank. com/personal/finance/insurance/travelins/index. html. Tesco even have their own self storage insurance. They also need insurance because if customers try to make a claim over slipping over things etc. Technological Resources. Technological Resources are things such as software, designs, music or text. They are known as intellectual property. The laws of intellectual p roperty let people own ideas and have rights over them. Technological resources include accumulated experience and skill, software licencing protection (patents and copyrights). Accumulated Experience and skill. This means that all the staff has the experience and skills to work there. There are many workers at different levels of working, the top being more skilled for example, the workers at the till get to interact with their customers so they would be at the top, In order to do this they must be good at maths to do the counting. tesco have over 520,000 Employees and all of them must have accumulated experience and skills for their job. Tesco need to import things customers like for example, customers like certain wine so Tesco need to employ people to go to other countries and find certain wine to sell in the store. Also, Tesco need to have experienced drivers when the customers have home delivery, the drivers need to have good people skills and need to have knowledge of the area. Software licensing. Software licensing in Tesco means that you can only use the programme on a single computer; they can move the programme from one computer to another, if the owner owns it and they are for personal use only. They can also transfer the software onto another notebook that they own. This means they are only licensed with a single use licence. Tesco Internet Security is value for money, it’s fast and easy to use, updates itself and protects. Also, again it was trouble logging onto Tesco bank so people were not able to get their money. Protection: Patents. Patents are things that make a business unique. Tesco has designed many things that are unique, like Tesco priced products, online photo center (unique Personalised Photo gifts), online banking and many other things. These products help Tesco become successful because people will want these products and are only able to get them from Tesco. Copyrights. Tesco have copyrighted products. These products have this symbol on it â€Å" ©Ã¢â‚¬ . This means you can’t copy or experience and skill to work in Tesco’s. Tesco also have a software licence but they reproduce any part or all of the Program or its documentation. The staffs can only use the program on one computer but the program can be transferred to other computers. Also, there’s a 90 day warranty where you can take things back to the shop that are not working or if they are the wrong item. They have protection over their clothes with their personal brand FF (Florence Fred). Copyrights are used so that Tesco could have unique products that attract customers to Tesco stores. This then helps Tesco get more income from the customers. There’s recently been an issue with a 22 year old fashion student whose face has been printed on a child’s Tesco jumper without her permission, she sued Tesco because they didn’t ask for permission and the yellow jumpers were being sold in hundreds of stores within the U. K the picture was taken of the student, Miss Nicola Kirkbride’s blog, which clearly states that all artwork on the site belongs to her. How is Tesco so successful? Tesco became so successful when they analysed what people were buying and made their own products and lowered the prices. Also, because Tesco try to make their products cheaper than other stores like Asda and Sainsbury’s etc. The Tesco website also makes them successful. Its separate to the stores but it allows customers to buy Tesco products online and have them delivered to their house. This gets them more customers because people who cannot go to the stores are still buying their products online. A lot of people have an internet connection so it’s an easy way for Tesco to sell their products. Tesco also have an iPhone app which is also successful and giving Tesco a bigger market. Tesco also have their own Facebook page where they update their cheaper products. Another reason that they are so successful is because of their club cards. This allows them to see what customers purchase from the store. If they are missing some products then Tesco’s knows that they are getting that product elsewhere so Tesco try and lower that product for the next time. On a club card for every one pound you spend you get a point, the points are exchanged for Tesco products or to use in the petrol station. How to cite Tesco For my assignment I have chosen Tesco’s, Essay examples

Managing Consumer Market

Question: Discuss about the Managing Consumer Market. Answer: Introduction: The consumer market is influenced by the service products and market features. Maintaining of the tangible and intangible attributes is necessary to make the consumers interested towards the offered products or services. Judgment of the intangible attributes is necessary before consuming any service product. Vege Rama Shop is a renowned restaurant located in Brisbane Australia. The customers who often visit the restaurant prefer the food quality and ambience. However, in order to analyse the intangible factors of service products, I visited the restaurant as a mystery shopper. The experience with the customers, foods, ambience, and hospitality services will be associated further: The major motto of visiting the shop is to identify the behaviour of the staffs, ambience, and the quality parameter of other hospitality services. These attributes are usually intangible, which are not visible before the consumptions of the service product. This vegetarian shop offers the perfect ambience for the spending the quality time while having food. The quality of the vegetarian food is commendable. However, during the visit to the restaurant, I came across one critical event. Even though the hospitality management of the restaurant is remarkable, some of the waitresses were not so much attentive towards the customer needs. They are mainly involved with their personal chats with other fellow workers. One thing I noticed that, the waitress involved during the shift timing of 11.30pm onwards, do not pay attention towards the customers orders consciously. I saw that few customers faced the problem on the same day. They ordered for a food, but the waitress provided the different dishes. The incident happened due to the lack of concentration. The posted reviews from the consumers were quite impressive. The food quality was equally commendable. However, in spite of the better food quality and effective ambience, I found that the hospitality was not up to the mark. The waitresses were needed to be more attentive towards the customers orders. During the morning time, the numbers of visited customers are less. Hence, the waitresses get enough time to sit back and relax. However, during such time, they are needed to be much attentive towards the customers demands. In considering the remarkable review of the ambience and the food quality, I can state the fact that the rating of customer satisfaction is higher. On the contrary, it can also be interpreted that maintaining of the good hospitality is also necessary while customers are visiting the restaurant. In reviewing my personal experience, I found that food quality and ambience were impressive enough for the customers. However, during the morning, the hospitality was not so much commendable. The customers usually face trouble due to the poor hospitality services. The waitresses usually misinterpret their orders and bring the different dishes. In paying attention to such issues, the waitresses are needed to be trained enough in dealing with the customers. However, the other intangible factors were quiet impressive and therefore, the experience was neither satisfied nor dissatisfied. The restaurant can be rated 3 out of 6.

I spent at least fifty minutes visiting the exhibi Essays

I spent at least fifty minutes visiting the exhibit, The Heavens Are Open,' at the Church History Museum in Salt Lake City. Additionally, I watched the movie, The First Vision,' in the exhibit. On 25th of November, I had the privilege to visit the "Heavens are Open" exhibit. It was a great place to see the history of the Church, specifically the Restoration and how Joseph Smith became a prophet of God. There was many displays of the early history of the Book of Mormon and process of translating the plates. It showed a great deal of the early pioneers of the LDS Church as well. I felt that I was in the early years of the Church and going through the Restoration, helped me better understand the process how Joseph Smith was able to restore the Gospel and the Church. As I saw the first vision movie on screen, it gave me a different perspective on how Joseph Smith had the First Vision. When previously reading the doctrinal essay by President Eyring, I learned that Joseph Smith was hoping to receive forgiveness for his sins while praying to Heavenly Father for revelation. I felt amazed and spiritually uplifted after that movie and it made me wanting more of that first vision and to study more about the first vision accounts that Joseph Smith had. Through the exhibit, I was amazed by the different displays it had that I hadn't seen in my life. The artifacts found in Peter Whitmer's home was pretty amazing and to see Liberty Jail where Hyrum and Joseph were both held, was emotional for me. They were stuck in that place for a while and I imagined myself in that place if I was with Joseph and Hyrum and it gave a me a chilling feeling that was uncomfortable. I am grateful for the sacrifice that they both had in the Church and that I myself don't have to go through what they went through. It was also great to see a view of a Relief Society's meeting with Emma Smith, Mercy Thompson, and Lucy Mack Smith. There are depictions of Nauvoo, pieces of the temple, and also a sun stone. I saw an art depicting Joseph and Hyrum being martyred in Carthage Jail. It was cool to recognize the early history of the Church and at the end of the exhibit I was invited to look at the kiosks for family history and indexing. I have more a desire now to do family history because I want to know my early pioneers and also to study some of the early Mormon saints' journals of the Restoration. I love history and learning it about the Church gets me to increase my knowledge of how the Church was restored and the Gospel. I would go to the exhibit again because it reminds how great Joseph Smith was a prophet and how the early saints were brave and courageous to hold firm their testimony of the early revelations that were revealed unto them.

The Competitive Advantage of Nations. †Book Review

The Competitive Advantage of Nations. – Book Review Free Online Research Papers The Competitive Advantage of Nations. Book Review THE HARDBACK edition of The Competitive Advantage of Nations, Michael Porters sprawling analysis of the contemporary economic world order, weighs in at slightly over three poundsabout the size of a nice bass. And cooked whole, with its formidable charts, appendices, footnotes, and bibliography intact, the book should glut all but the most data-starved readers. I wish I believed it would satisfy less quantitative needs. No one will accuse Mr. Porter, a professor of business at Harvard, the author of three previous books on industrial competitivesness, and an advisor to the Reagan Administration, of aiming low. As its title suggests, the book is meant to be a contemporary equivalent of The Wealth of Nations, and the Free Press is marketing the volume as the new-forged version of Adam Smiths world-transforming thunderbolt. Like Smith, Mr. Porter has tried to synthesize the cold variables of material existence into a coherent system: he undertakes to envision the international economy as a dynamic whole, in which the fashionable notion of competitiveness becomes a core idelolgy. In Porters conception, the seemingly idiosyncratic behavior of global industries can be understood as progressive efforts which keep those industries home nations developing economically and socially. Its a pity that Mr. Porter didnt take the time, as Voltaire would have advised, to write a shorter book. In the process of editing he might have honed and resolved the ideas gleaned from the massive research project on which he based this volume. While working on the Reagan Administrations Commission on Industrial competitiveness, Mr. Porter came to the conclusion that international competitiveness was too poorly defined and undestood to be profitably debated. The central task he then set himself, he tells us, was to explain why firms based in a nation are able to compete successfully against foreign rivals in particular segments and industries. But this is to ask no more than how individual industries should be managed, and Mr. Porter became interested in a larger thesisthat national characteristics play a large role in determining the success of the industries based in any given country. He concluded that while globalization of competition might appear to make the nation less impor tant, instead it seems to make it more so. To help verify his ideas, Mr. Porter organized a multinational team of researchers who studied the industrial climate in ten different countries; he also assigned assistants to lay out detailed histories of four globally successful industries located in different parts of the developed world. What he discovered was that competitive companies, rather than sticking to previously successful management plans, or requiring advantageous production factors, constantly adapt themselves to their economic context. Manufacturers in Germany, for instance, have made the most of high-labor costs by automating as rapidly as possible; Japanese producers of consumer goods have pursued miniaturization in response to Japans severe space shortages. Not only do industries thrive in an atmosphere of selective disadvantage, they also seem to form in clustersthat is, more than one company in the same industry with the same home base will succeed internationally, and those companies will usually have globall y competitive suppliers and consumers up and down their production chains. Industries, Mr. Porter determined, from their own ecologies. As everyone knows, however, certain countries at certain times do a better job of fostering global competitors than others. Mr. Porter noted that such home countries enhanced their economic position by fostering an inherently competitive spirit within their industrial clusters. They do this, not through subsidies or protection but by providing their industries with the freest possible markets, discouraging mergers and monopolies, and regulating products sensibly, with an eye toward enhanced quality. These are pragmatic how-to-succeed-globally observations that hardly overstep the bounds of common senseor Mr. Porters own research. But how answers beg why questions: why are certain nations (most recently Japan) consistently willing to take the steps necessary to produce global competitors? To explain this Porter offers a theory of development that is surprisingly deterministics, and reminiscent of the spenglerian pessimism recently resurrected in Paul Kennedys The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers. Early in their industrial history countries exploit their factor advantageslow labor costs, abundant natural resources, or what have you. Success in basic manufacturing leads to investment and innovation, more sophisticated consumer demand, and a growing service sector. This progression ultimately results in a wealth-based economy in which complacency and financial manipulations replace productive enterprise. All Porter can say about the sequel to a wealth-driven economy is that the res ulting decline can be very protracted until something jars the economy out of it. Capitalism is a grand unity which somehow manges to assemble itself out of vital particulars. Though The Competitive Advantage of Nations gestures occasionally toward the greater political truths that have made market capitalismthe one enduring social order of this convulsive centurythe book more often sinks into microtheory and conventional political prescriptions. Its a commonplace that the United States needs more education and investment, as Mr. Porter is ready to suggest, and he is hardly the first to make a cogent argument for free trade. What is not at all clear is why as a society we seem unable to take the steps necessary to revive both our industrial and cultural positions in the world. I was disappointed by more than Mr. Porters philosophical murkiness. Even by the appalling standards of academic literature, the book is dismally written. His language has the dry, stuffed, repellent feel of taxidermy. Theorists and scholars cant always be superior stylists, but we are still searching for a rhetoric of capitalism that is as appealing to intellectuals as the incantations of socialism. As we were recently reminded, political reality is not simply about competence; its about ideology. Even Mr. Porter, in his chipper way, understands that Americas competitive decline has ideological causes that lie beyond the reach of academic economics. No doubt enough people will skim The Competitive Advantage of Nations to allow the book some influence within the business community. And, as Mr. Porters admirable research suggests, business will have to be in the vanguard of any conceivable revival of American political culture. But he scarcely suggests how business leaders will inspire their managers or colleagues (not to mention their congressmen and Presidents) to abandon the cult of wealth for the culture of productivity. For that we will need a new economics, with the clarity of common sense and rhetorical authority of moral truth. Research Papers on The Competitive Advantage of Nations. - Book ReviewDefinition of Export QuotasAssess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 EuropePETSTEL analysis of IndiaAppeasement Policy Towards the Outbreak of World War 2Analysis of Ebay Expanding into AsiaBook Review on The Autobiography of Malcolm XBionic Assembly System: A New Concept of SelfThe Project Managment Office SystemIncorporating Risk and Uncertainty Factor in CapitalOpen Architechture a white paper

STATUS OF WOMEN IN ISLAM Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

STATUS OF WOMEN IN ISLAM - Essay Example Some primitive traditional practices that we see in Islamic societies today is more a cultural norm than a religious one. A few extreme examples are female genital mutilation and forced marriages. More mundane practices include the prohibition of women from driving cars, etc. These rules cannot be traced to Islamic literature. The edicts in Koran are equally applicable to both men and women. According to Islam, on the moral scale, both men and women are deemed equal. Islam does not discriminate between the status of men or women. The dynamic of a marital relationship requires that man has authority in certain matters. It is incorrect to assume that this implies a lower status for women. It says, â€Å"Man and Woman were created of a single soul and are moral equals in the sight of God. The rights and responsibilities of a woman are equal to those of a man but they are not necessarily identical with them. Equality and sameness are two quite different things. This difference is understandable because man and woman are not identical but they are created equals. This is especially true as it is almost impossible to find even two identical men or women.† (Jafar) According to the Koran, men and women are units of a pair. When both are taken independent of each other, there are certain obvious vacuums in the emotional, physical and psychological personalities of each. The Koran further goes on to say that God has created the two in such a way that they are complementary to each other in different ways, so that these vacuums are generally removed to a great extent. For this very purpose, God gave different mental, physical and emotional qualities to the male and the female of the species. These different mental, physical and psychological qualities, on the one hand complement man and woman, and on the other establishes for them different facets of activity in their

Alcoholism Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Alcoholism - Assignment Example o a physiological need and that is where human physiology outraces human psychology or will power since even if the patient is aware of the habit or outcomes of the habit, the physiologic consequences of limiting alcohol consumption becomes almost unbearable without support hence the aim of a nurse is to intervene and support the patient. Being a RN responsible for care of such patients it is an obligation on my part to understand the needs of the patient without making any kind of assumption and keeping the dignity of the patient (NMC,2008). A RN needs to understand the want for mental, emotional and physiological support during withdrawal period and provide care accordingly. The aim is to support them in since the phase of withdrawal is extremely tough and in many cases converts into aggressive behavior. Care and safety of the patient also comes under the duty of a RN besides confidentiality. Psychological support must also be rendered to not only ensure that the patient gains enough mental strength to stop the intake of alcohol but also motivate the patient through the entire intervention

Internet Connectivity Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Internet Connectivity - Research Paper Example Protocol and computer languages are being implemented to ensure that communication through the internet is done from anywhere in the world and in a fast way One importance of having high speed internet connections around the world is the fact that it will save on both time and money. For instance, board meetings can be held over video link rather than incurring the huge travelling costs and allowances. According to a research done, a slow internet connection is considered the one of the most annoying things by most people. Another importance of high speed internet connection is that it will allow for more international business since information is sent and received on real time. A good example of an industry that depends on high speed internet connections is the stock market. This paper will critically discuss the various internet and networking technologies specifically DSL, cable, satellite, and wireless cellular connection technologies establishing the need of using more than one internet connection technology. DSL is a cluster of technologies that facilitate internet access through transmitting data which is digital over a telephone network that is wired and local. The origins of the technology can be traced back in a book written in 1948 by Claude Shannon titled â€Å"A Mathematical Theory of Communication.† ( Habraken 2003). However it was first implemented in 1979 where a remote computer was connected to a telephone wire that was existing where data and telephone terminals were connected. Basically a local loop is used to perform telephone exchange where telephones are connected which is usually a pair of physical wires. Before, the loops were only meant for the transmission of audio frequencies between 300 and 3400 hertz. Gradually trucks were converted to digital over long distances providing the interface of transmitting data via these loops thus the birth of

The simplest form of bridge the beam bridges

The simplest form of bridge the beam bridges Beam Bridges The beam type of bridge is by far the simplest and the beam type of bridge is also the most common. You probably see beam bridges often. A beam bridge is just a beam supported by pillars or columns. Materials and Construction Beam bridges are commonly built from concrete. Beam bridges are also made of steel, or a mixture of steel and concrete. They often are made in sections, or boxes, where they are attached at the site of the bridge. The boxes are made out of steel and concrete or just concrete. Arch Bridge: In this type of bridge, the weight is carried outward along two curving paths. The points where the arch reaches the ground keep the bridge up by resisting the outward thrust. The roadway is located on top of the arch. Suspension Bridges: Suspension bridges bridge the unbridgeable. In a suspension bridge, cables which are suspended via towers which support them hold up the road deck. The weight is transferred by the cables to the towers, which then in turn transfer the weight to the ground. Materials and Construction The amount of towers on suspension bridges can vary, but a suspension bridge MUST have at least two towers. When possible, these towers are built on ground. However, there are methods for making floating towers that are secured. Towers are usually built with hollow steel boxes, but some are built with concrete. Cantilever Bridge: Cantilever bridges depend on counterbalances. Counterbalances are weights used to balance another weight. They consist of two or more (which many cantilever bridges have at least four) arms that equally balance each other, almost like a perfectly balanced see-saw. Often, the part of the bridge that leads to the first cantilever is just a beam bridge. Materials and Construction Some use one arch to connect (and essentially act as) the arm. Others just have arms and a roadway, or arms, a roadway, and cables that work like a cable-stayed bridge. Cantilever bridges are built in a way similar to beam and arch bridges, depending on how the bridge is designed. Truss Bridge: A truss bridge is a bridge composed of connected elements (typically straight) which may be stressed from tension, compression, or sometimes both in response to dynamic loads. Truss bridges are one of the oldest types of modern bridges. The basic types of truss bridges shown in this article have simple designs which could be easily analysed by nineteenth and early twentieth century engineers. A truss bridge is economical to construct owing to its efficient use of materials. Our bridge design: Our bridge design is modelled after the Warren truss bridge design. The project has a light weight design; this is to ensure not to go over the weight requirement. This structure is easy to construct and, shown by the force analysis, can distribute loads efficiently.

Poem Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night :: Dyland Thomas

In the poem "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night," written by Dylan Thomas, emphasizes resistance towards death as he repeats this exhortation in the last line in every stanza. Imagery is used by Thomas to create the theme of his poem and what it means. Although readers are unaware of the details behind the on coming death of Thomas father, the motives of the author for writing this poem are very obvious. Thomas intends to pursuit his father to resist against death and for him to fight for life. Through "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night," Thomas conveys resistance towards death with images of fury and fighting to symbolize the great anger and rage Thomas feels towards the thought of loosing his dying father, though upon first reading then seem banal. Initially, Thomas uses images of fury and fighting in the lines "do not go gentle", "good night" and "dying of the light" to emphasize the resistance towards death. With these images, Thomas conveys death as the end and where darkness prevails. He takes his stand within concrete, particular existence. He places birth and death at the poles of his vision. Excessive images of anger and rage towards death exemplify the passion Thomas feels for life. Secondly, Thomas brings into action images of "burn" and "rave at close of day" to show and emphasize the resistance towards death. Contrasting images of light and darkness in the poem create warmth of living and the coldness of death, so as to discourage people from choosing the dreary, bitter frigidity of death. In addition, Thomas uses images of " wise men" and " grave men [who] have not used their blinding sight" to tell his dying father that all men smart or ignorant, need to resistance towards death.

Analyzing a Written Essay Essay

The two essays that I read were â€Å"A Soul as Free as the Air: About Lucy Stone† and, â€Å"How to succeed as an Online Student†. The four types of essay organization discussed in the course readings were; 1. Topic: This development organizes information about the topic in the most logical way. 2. Time order: It is using sequential order to write an essay. It organizes the information from one time period to another. 3. Space order: This deals with location of people, places or things. 4. Informative process: This is written in a step-by-step arrangement in their natural occurring order. The characteristics that make these essays expository, is that it has facts to inform about the topic. It is used in facts form and not biased.  What distinguishes space organization from time organization or informative-process organization in an essay is that Space order deals with location, Time organization refers to placing information in chronological order by date or a specific time, and Informative essay would be one that takes on a step-by-step process. The organization of each essay help the reader understand the subject matter of that essay in the essay â€Å"How to Succeed as Online Student†, it list steps to teach online students what it takes to be successful in an online atmosphere. The reader understands you must follow these steps to succeed. On the essay, â€Å"A Soul as Free as the Air: About Lucy Stone† it helped to learn about Lucy Stone, it showed the order of her achievements. On the essays that I read, the one that has the most effective organi zation was â€Å"A Souls as Free as the Air: About Lucy Stone†. I chose this essay, because it was organized from the beginning to the end, it was in the order of each of her achievements. A different type of organizational style for â€Å"How to Succeed as Online Student† if you change it to a time order or space order, then it would confuse some of the online students. The main part would be lost in the reading. It would definitely have students wanting to go to class instead of online, so the teacher could clarify things. The type of essay organization that is more suitable for my essay topic on â€Å"Warming Global; Drought,† would be Time Order, due to the heat and water levels at the time.

History Intercession Example

History Intercession Example History Intercession – Coursework Example History Intercession He is certainly one of the greatest American presidents that ever lived, Theodore Roosevelt; the twenty-sixth president of the United States of America recorded several landmarks during his reign as the president and wrote his name in gold on the annals of the American history.Roosevelt made ground-breaking policies locally and internationally. In carrying out his domestic policies, President Roosevelt reassured the average citizen of USA that they would get a just treatment in his government and his foreign policies were targeted at promoting the integrity of America and improving the lives of the citizens of other countries. He was known for using this statement ‘Speak softly and carry a big stick’, which could be simply explained as little and meaningful actions, would definitely yield good results and this happened as Roosevelt recorded tremendous success during his eight year reign as the president (Roosevelt).Locally, he promoted the health of American citizens by signing The Pure Food and Drug Act and The Meat Inspection Act of 1906 into law. These laws helped ban the sales and manufacture of Food, Drug and Meat products that had deceptive labels and poisonous preservatives. One of Roosevelt’s foreign policies led to the construction of the Panama Canal as he negotiated with the United States Congress over the decision to build the canal in Panama instead of Nicaragua. Roosevelt issued an addendum to the Monroe Doctrine; a policy that made the US to come to the aid of smaller countries in solving their financial problems. He also helped to bring an end to the Russo-Japanese war and won a Nobel Laureate for Peace for his efforts (Roosevelt).After losing a reelection campaign in 1912, Roosevelt traveled to South America and was infected with malaria on the trip and he died as a result of the disease in 1919 at the of 60.Imperial states in Europe tried to expand their frontiers as they sought to be in command of the trade of their colonies. In the late 19th century, Europe increased their imperialism by annexing overseas territories and this extended into Asia, Africa and the Pacific (Hobson).The European powers started this wave of expansion mainly for economic gains in order to export the excess capital of the capitalist economies of these countries. The rise of Imperialism also was also driven by political and ideological motives. The main reason the United States of America was also involved in imperialism during the late 19th century was also due to the fact that they wanted to have an economic and political influence on the world. The US joined the imperialism frenzy in reaction to the impact the European imperialism already had on the world. They wanted to ensure that their futures were secured politically and economically, hence their decision to join the league of imperialists.Hobson, John A. Imperialism. Michigan: University of Michigan Press, 1965. Roosevelt, Theodore. Theodore Roose velt, An Autobiography. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1913.

3 Steps to Acing Your Truck Driving Job Interview

3 Steps to Acing Your Truck Driving Job Interview Is one of your New Year’s resolutions to get a trucking job? Whether you’re a rookie driver or a seasoned veteran, the rules are the rules- you’re going to need to interview in order to get hired. Follow these three steps, and you’ll be well on your way. Have a quality resume on-handNo matter how much- or how little- trucking experience you have, you still need a professional resume. Not just some scribbles on a sheet of notepaper, or a hastily-crafted bullet list. You need a properly formatted, proofread, thorough resume on high quality paper. You can get special resume paper at any office supply store. Make sure to have at least 20 copies on hand. If you’re not good with computers, consider asking a friend to help. If you throw them a few bucks, you’ll probably get a great resume out of it.Create an info packetA resume isn’t all you need. Make yourself a folder with the following, and make sure to take it with you on every interview. This kit will include all you’ll need for the interview, as well as the on-boarding process with HR. That way you won’t have to delay starting- or getting paid.A copy of your CDLAn official copy of your birth certificateA copy of your social security cardAn official copy of your truck driving school certificate, if you have onePre-hire letters from other companies considering hiring youYour CSA and DAC reports (if you have worked previously as a truck driver)A copy of your motor vehicle record (MVR)A copy of an updated DOT physical (which is required to get your CDL)Having all of this put together shows hiring manager, the HR rep, and your new boss that you are organized, professional, and respectful of your colleague’s time.Do your pre-interview  homeworkWe all know that an interviewer asks most of the questions. But there is always a point in every interview when the hiring manager will ask what questions you might have. It’s best to be prepared. If you’ve gone to so many interviews that you can’t keep them all straight, make yourself a list to study before each interview. Make sure to note the name and location of the company, whether they have multiple offices throughout the country, who you’d be working for, the name of the HR manager, the name of your interviewer, and any other information you might be able to gather about the company from a Google search or two, as well as your sense of the types of jobs and hauls the company offers.Following these steps will ensure that you remain in control during the interview process. You’ll be ready for anything, so you’ll be at your best and most confident to go in there and land the job.

W4-A Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

W4-A - Essay Example departments or units such as HR department, Finance department, Supply chain management etc to coordinate activities by sharing information through this platform. ERP systems help in faster completion of daily routine tasks and with more accuracy. It reduces the overhead costs and enables better strategic planning since the needs can be assessed in a better manner. The team at ERP.com (2009) stated in one of their articles that the term ERP has originated from MRP (Material Requirement Planning) that later became Manufacturing Resource Planning and it also came from CIM (Computer Integrated Manufacturing). This term was originally used to refer to the extent the organization had planned to use their organization wide resources. Earlier, ERP systems were mainly used in large organization, industrial types of companies. In the late 70’s, the main idea behind MRP originated; it was meant for the management of the raw materials needed to fulfill the order from large companies and enterprises. After some time, the companies moved to a different approach â€Å"just in time† inventory planning. This step proved to cut warehousing and inventory costs because of better production planning. In these times, sales forecast started gaining a prominent name in business and hence began generating at weekly basis instead of monthly. This need evolved into a desire for a new dynamic enterprise system that could be used to manage company wide resources and data. A decade later, the need for a system that would enable the managers to streamline the processes and existing data throughout the organization evolved into Enterprise Resource Planning. ERP are now used in almost every organization, whether large or small. ERP are used to address a diverse range of areas in an organization; manufacturing, supply chain management, finances, project management (PM), customer relationship management (CRM). There are many service providers who offer reliable and efficient ERP systems, some

After reading chapter 6 and 7 of the textbook, Philosophy the Power of Assignment

After reading chapter 6 and 7 of the textbook, Philosophy the Power of Ideas, answer the following questions - Assignment Example ne Descartes, however, realized that although he could doubt everything else, he could not doubt his very own existence because existence is a sine qua non for doubting. His doubting self/existence therefore became the starting point of his theory of knowledge. Having proved his existence, Rene Descartes went on to prove the existence of God. Descartes argued that since doubting is less perfect than to know/knowledge, he was an imperfect being; Descartes realized that there must be a perfect being that does not doubt, a being that knows everything. Descartes concluded that the perfect being is God. Descartes, therefore, argued that God is the truth and all other things share in the truth of God. God therefore became the metaphysical basis of Descartes’ Epistemology. Descartes concluded that everything that we can conceive clearly and distinctly is true because it is a participation God, the truth itself. An evaluation of Descartes theory of knowledge shows that the theory was a phenomenal milestone in Philosophy, the theory challenged Philosophers to base their arguments only on logical truths, rather than, on believes and doctrines that have no logical basis. Question 2. Thomas Hobbes was a thorough going materialist. Hobbes argued that all reality is material, including thoughts, feelings and ideas. Hobbes argued that all reality in the universe can be explained in material form, i.e. in terms of the motions and the interactions of material bodies. For this reason, Hobbes denied existence of any immaterial reality. For this reason, Hobbes saw human beings as machines, operating solely according to the physical laws; For Hobbes therefore all human actions can be explained in terms of cause and effect. An evaluation of this theory reveals one glaring shortcoming: Hobbes did not give a sufficient and convincing account of how human thoughts and ideas are material in nature; Hobbes did not give a convincing argument on how the motions and interactions of

Argument sketching Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Argument sketching - Essay Example r; the ontological argument argues for the existence of a perfect being; an argument that is for a creator with a keen interest in humanity is the argument from design; lastly the moral argument refers to an argument that is pro moral authority (Harris 56). This argument aims at proving God’s existence mainly through the laws of logic. This can be traced back to St Anselm who was a philosopher-theologian as well as the archbishop of Canterbury in the eleventh century (Harris 62). This argues that we will be able to see God’s non-existence as being impossible once we mentally accept and internalize the concept of God. It aims at demonstrating the existence of a perfect supreme being. This can be viewed as the second proof of God’s existence. It also referred to as the cosmological argument. This looks to prove God’s existence from the fact that there is the existence of the universe. It states that the universe as it is came into existence at a certain point in the distant past (Harris 59). It also argues that nothing can logically come into existence without something or someone else brings it into existence. This is derived from the philosophical theory that nothing comes from nothing. This means that there must be another being or force outside of the universe that brought it into existence. This therefore alludes to the fact that there must be a creator of the universe who can only be God. This is also referred to as the teleological argument. This argument also has the universe at the centre of all this. It aims at proving God’s existence from the fact that our universe is well ordered. This is because that it could have been quite different from the state in which it is now in very many different ways. The laws of physics could have been very different with a completely different arrangement of stars and planets (Harris 74). This points at the existence of God since all these other versions of the universe would not have possibly allowed for

Development of the United Kingdom Essay Example for Free

Development of the United Kingdom Essay Officially known as the Republic of Ghana, it was Europe’s first trading partner in sub-Saharan Africa – initially trading in gold and then later as a primary supplier of slaves. Although it was subsequently colonized by the British, it later became the first country in Africa to obtain independence from its colonizer (BBC News). Ghana came into existence in 1957 when what was then known as the Gold Coast acquired its independence from the British. Situated along the Gulf of Guinea in West Africa (see U. S. State Department map reproduced below), the country occupies an area of about 238,538 sq. km. composed of plains, rainforest, and some scrubland (U. S. State Department). Its capital city is Accra (population: 3 million) and the other principal cities are Kumasi, with an estimated population of 1 million, Tema (500,000), and Sekondi-Takoradi (population: 370,000). English has been designated official language of the Ghanaians but several dialects are spoken like Akan, which is spoken by about 49% of the population, Mole-Dagbani (16%), Ewe (13%), Ga-Adangbe (8%), and Guan, the dialect of 4% of the population. Sixty-nine percent of its estimated population of 23 million are Christians while 15. 6% are Muslims. Indigenous religious beliefs are being practiced by 8. 5% of Ghanaians. Although it existed as a democratic republic since its independence in 1957, the constitution of Ghana took effect only on January 7, 1993 (U. S. State Department). The cultural practices of Ghanaians which are mainly related to â€Å"conception, childbirth, and childrearing† consist of some harmful customs and traditions. One of these is â€Å"female genital mutilation (FGM). † This is a procedure which is conducted to partially or totally remove the external genitalia of a girl to turn her into a real woman. Another is a belief in dietary taboos which often leads to anemia or nutritional deficiency on the part of pregnant women. In Ghana, when a marriage does not produce an offspring after two years, it is considered defective. After a woman gives birth, the Ghanaians believe that burying the placenta near the house of the family would prevent the child from growing up into an errant or rebellious individual. In addition, they would wait for eight days after birth before naming the child and treating the umbilical cord with herbal preparations (Nyinah). Ghana is rich in natural resources with gold and cocoa being two of its major dollar earners. Its other export products are timber, diamonds, aluminum, tuna, manganese ore, and bauxite. In spite of this, the country still relies heavily on the assistance of international financial and technical institutions to remain viable. Thirty-five percent of its gross domestic product comes from the agricultural sector which also accounts for 55% of total employment in the country, mostly in the form of small landowners. Aside from seeking debt relief in 2002 under the Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) program, Ghana was also one of the beneficiaries of the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative which came into force in 2006 (CIA World Factbook). As of 2006, total exports reached an estimated $3. 9 billion while imports totaled $6. 8 billion. Identified trade partners were the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Germany, France, Spain, Nigeria, the Netherlands, and Togo (U. S. State Department). Statistics gleaned by Global Health Reporting. org from the CIA World Factbook and a report published by UNAIDS in May 2006 about the global epidemic on AIDS showed that as at end of 2005, an estimated 29,000 had already died from AIDS in Ghana, leaving behind them about 170,000 children below 17 years old who had lost one or both parents to the disease. The same sources also revealed that by the end of 2005, there were 320,000 Ghanaians who were living with HIV/AIDS, 25,000 of whom were children below 14 years old. Aside from AIDS, another major health concern of the country is malaria. With about three million new cases being reported every year, malaria accounts for approximately 61% of total hospital admissions in the country among children below five years old (Global Health Reporting. org). In its fight against AIDS, malaria, and other diseases which have been plaguing Ghanaians, the country has received varying degrees of support from international organizations such as the World Health Organization, Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the World Bank, the Department for International Development of the United Kingdom, and the United Nations Children’s Fund (Accra Daily Mail, 3/17 as cited in Global Health Reporting. org). On March 17, 2008, a campaign named â€Å"Voices for Malaria-Free Future† was launched in the country to educate the people about the techniques and the key concepts and practices used in fighting malaria. Rosemary Ardayfio, who represented the media in the launching ceremony, announced the formation of the Media Malaria Network composed of journalists from the print and online organizations. Ardayfio explained that aside from recognizing the role of the different media organizations in malaria advocacy, the network specifically aims â€Å"to disseminate information about the use of insecticide-treated nets and appropriate medication† (Global Health Reporting. org). Ghana was among the 177 countries that ratified the Kyoto Protocol which aims to require industrialized countries to reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases to prevent global warming (UNFCCC). In addition, Ghana was also a party to other international agreements governing hazardous wastes, biodiversity, endangered species, law of the sea, ship pollution, environmental modification, ozone layer protection, wetlands, and tropical timber (CIA World Factbook). The Republic of Ghana faces a bright future. It is endowed with plenty of natural resources. Its leadership has commitment itself to free and compulsory basic education. In fact, its â€Å"free, compulsory, universal basic education (FCUBE)† which was launched in 1996 has been labeled the â€Å"most ambitious pre-tertiary education programs in West Africa† (U. S. State Department). It has also been described as a â€Å"well-administered country by regional standards† and considered a model for economic and political reforms in the region. And, most of all, a major oil reserve was discovered in 2007 (BBC News). For these reasons alone, the country and its people have no reason to remain impoverished. Works Cited BBC News. â€Å"Country profile: Ghana. † International version. 6 February 2008. 22 March 2008. http://news. bbc. co. uk/1/hi/world/africa/country_profiles/1023355. stm CIA World Factbook. â€Å"Ghana. † 6 March 2008. 22 March 2008. https://www. cia. gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/gh. html Global Health Reporting. org. â€Å"Ghana. † 22 March 2008. http://globalhealthreporting. org/countries/ghana. asp? collID=11id=144malID=187 tbID=188hivIC=189malIC=190tbIC=191map=192con=Ghanap=1 Nyinah, S. â€Å"Cultural practices in Ghana. † World Health. March-April 1997. 22 March 2008. http://www. popline. org/docs/1204/126178. html UNFCCC. â€Å"Kyoto Protocol. † 22 March 2008. http://unfccc. int/kyoto_protocol/items/2830. php U. S. State Department. â€Å"Background note: Ghana. † January 2008. 22 March 2008. http://www. state. gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2860. htm

The different challenges university students face

The different challenges university students face Students entering university level studies face many challenges. Not only are the students presented with obvious challenges such as learning and interpreting subject specific information to obtain their degree, or the social aspects of entering a new environment, they must also learn the appropriate methods of discourse within the university knowledge community. Students enter university from a vast array of personal contexts. Such experiences influence an individuals understanding and communication skills, therefore the university must make allowances for such varied experiences in the teaching of its programs. By offering varied and alternative methods of learning, it is believed that a greater number of students will have greater interest and knowledge retention, leading to successful knowledge transmission. This essay will review some methods that can be utilised for academic success. One aspect of knowledge transmission in university learning is to understand academic discourse. Ballard Clanchy (1988, p.8) assert that Becoming literate in the university involves learning to read the culture, learning to come to terms with its distinctive rituals, values, styles of language and behaviour. This encompasses the student understanding the use of the spoken, written and visual language in the academic community. With the knowledge of academic discourse, the student can interpret and create understanding of their own, known as deep learning (Marton et.al.,1997 as cited in Northedge, 2003, p 26). Similarly, not having a thorough understanding of the academic discourse may result in mis-interpreting the linguistic style used in academic settings, and results in poor understanding and presentation of knowledge from the student. Andresen (1994) speaks of 5 fallacies regarding university level studies, and specifically discusses knowledge transmission. Knowledge is ones internal interpretation of external information stimuli is applied, processed in the short term memory and may or may not be transferred to long term memory for later retrieval (Trigwell Prosser, 1997). But how is knowledge transferred? One learns by constructing their own understanding of the information being fed to them and this is influenced by the medium from which they are learning from. As mentioned, students different personal contexts will influence how they approach and interpret the information fed to them and the resulting knowledge they acquire. Biggs (1993 as cited in Trigwell Prosser, 1997) proposed the 3P model of learning as pictured below: This model depicts the various ways in which students approach learning what they do to learn, their attitudes and beliefs about learning, perception of the content and its delivery, learning outcomes and course design resulting in the knowledge transmitted. Many varied mediums exist to transmit information from the spoken lecture, to visual aids, e-learning modules and textbooks. Incorporating different learning styles including auditory, visual, kinestethetic and tactile (Dunn, 1995 as cited Ukpokodu, 2010, p 30) accommodates the diverse array of students learning methods. Andresen (1994) suggests methods to incorporate to course content design to allow for various learning approaches to increase knowledge transmission. Apart from hard work and study on the part of the student in order to gain knowledge, Andresen suggests the creation of collaborative work groups (p 5) where students assist each other by sharing their knowledge and understanding within a small team of fellow students. This may be in the function of a group essay, shared assignments, collective problem solving and class discussions (p 5). The opportunity to discuss and teach one another is highly important for effective knowledge transmission, to give the opportunity for peer and self assessment. Communicaiton of this manner reinforces ones understanding and creates confidence in the knowledge they have gained. Further to developing confidence in ones understanding, an important skill for retaining knowledge is critical thinking. Attributes of critical thinking, as discussed by Warren (1995) are checking for factual claims, assumptions, observations, compare and contrast of works, looking for clarification or challenging arguments, as well as maintaining an open mind, sensitivity, decisiveness and willingness to investigate the claims made. Warren describes critical thinking as an aspect of reflective thinking- the three components are critical and creative thinking and content knowledge. By analysing and evaluating articles for oneself, the knowledge is set deeper into cognitive perception and fosters deep learning. There is no simple, straight forward method to successfully transmit knowledge between individuals. Universities accommodate a large array of individuals: there are different cultures, back grounds, family units, social experiences and prior knowledge which all influence how the individual may learn or instruct. As there is such a great diversity in the types of people within the university, there needs to be great diversity in the teaching methods for successful academic results. Providing students and teachers with a common language in academic discourse fosters effective communication. The use of various modes of content delivery accommodates for various types of learners. Acquiring further skills such as critical thinking enhances the students learning experience by fostering deeper thought and investigation into the information provided to them. By delving further into information, greater understanding is harnessed. By sharing this understanding with others, in tutorials, group discussions, team efforts and the like, this understanding is set into ones mind. Knowledge is transmitted by various means and received by various means, and it is up to the individual to apply themselves as best they can to create the best understanding they can for academic success.

Drug and Alcohol Essay -- Drugs, North West of England

The purpose of this essay will be to discuss and focus on the relationship between drug, alcohol and health issues and reference made to the North West of England. Liverpool and the Wirral peninsular will be looked at with regard to the health and social repercussions and the implications drug and alcohol use has on the local communities. A broader look at the United Kingdom and the United States of America along with other parts of the world will also be used to provide a comparison. This essay will start by looking, briefly, at the history of drug and alcohol use and then move on to the problems caused by their use. The essay will then show how the environment and culture play a big part in the rise of illegal drug and alcohol use to date along with the connection with crime rates. The essay will move on to show how the region has come to address these issues and how collaboration between members of the community and public servants, police and local authorities, and National Healt h Services work together to provide positive outcomes. The essay will also show how members of the public form powerful groups that lobby governments and influence legislation. Due to recent legislation and proposed social care reforms, it will be necessary to look at how these could affect the current resources and how they could affect future needs. Where appropriate the essay will use interviews with members of the public, N.H.S staff and service users to provide depth and insight into aspects of the discussion. The assignment will end with a summing up and conclusion to the essay. The history of drug and alcohol use can be traced back many years, Hanson (1995) Informs us that the discovery of Stone Age beer jugs established that alcohol use e... ...ime rates and criminal activity does rise in these areas but there are lots of variables contributing to these factors. The essay looked at particular parts of the North West of the UK and it was seen that as a direct result of rising unemployment and local poverty the increase in drug and alcohol use escalated to epidemic proportions with social exclusion following. At that particular time drugs were readily available and authorities appeared powerless to stop it. The essay moved on to different accounts from other authors, some for the legalization of drugs others proposing more legislation. Generally speaking both sides gave valid arguments to the discussion. In answering the essay question it was felt by the student that drug and alcohol issues are capable of change, however, there are many contributing factors that need to be in place before this happens.

Recovering Addicts in the Field of Substance Abuse Counseling

RECOVERING ADDICTS IN THE FIELD OF SUBTANCE ABUSE COUSELING Is Substance Abuse Counseling a good career for a convicted felon and recovering drug addict? A person’s past mistakes in life can sometimes prevent that person from getting certain jobs later in life. With a prior criminal record some employers may not consider that individual as a good candidate for the job. Substance abuse counselors can be needed in hospitals, institutions, rehab centers, schools, and other government ran facilities.With a felony conviction against your criminal back ground check, government ran facilities normally will not hire convicted felons due to higher risk of a liability. Personal background checks are sometimes required as well and if that individual has a past known drug addiction, employers may seem skeptical of hiring. It has however been acknowledged that a recovering drug addict will make a better candidate than someone with no past drug addiction. A recovering drug addict has experi enced personally the addiction, struggles, and with drawls that are present when trying to become sober.Close to 100,000 people in the US work in recovery related jobs earning their living as drug counselors,†techs†,or social workers at the hospital treatment programs and thousands of rehabs across the country. Most people who enter the field of substance abuse counseling have some kind of personal connection with the problem. More than 50% are recovering drug addicts themselves or have family members or close friends that are addicts. A strange twist on the famous Hunter S. Thompson’s quote â€Å"When the going get weird, the weird turn pro. With a personal connection to a past life of drug/alcohol use it usually tends to mean substance abuse counselors are incredibly passionate and dedicated. There is however a downside. Many addicts even significant amount of sober time, are at risk of a relapse. When substance abuse counselors stumbles, the consequences are o ften more crucial than that of someone who is not in that type of career. Cynthia Moreno Tuchy, the EXECTUCTIVE DIRECTOR of THE NATIONAL ASSIOCATION OF ALOCHOLISM AND DRUG ABUSE COUNSELORS (NAADAC) puts a rather fine point on it. We (chemical dependency professionals) do very well treating clients in general; we don’t do so for the professionals in recovery. We tend to blame the victim –we say you have a disease, but we are not recognizing relapse is part of that disease cycle. Why would we not do for addiction counselors as we would for everyone else? † She says. Most graduate programs in chemical dependency require applicants to have significant time free-typical a year or two-from chemical use and in most states licensing boards require similar amounts of clean times.When a substance abuse counselor relapses, they violate that condition and normally lose their jobs. The climb back tends to be quite steep. While relapse of a counselor poses danger to patients, the biggest threat is actually to the person who relapses. â€Å"Anecdotally the recovery rate for persons who work in the field that relapse is abysmal. † Says Chuck Rice. Counselors who do relapse, may continue to escalate with their relapse for fear of losing their job and can go untreated and hit rock bottom once again, which could have been a simple slip up if treatment was assemble as sought.Many people, who make a living in the recovery field, complain over time, it can become easy for professionals to blur the line between demands of personal recovery and the demand of their job. Giving the low success rate at many rehabs, burn out is a major issue. â€Å"When you work in the field,† says John Leonard, â€Å"The last thing you want to do when you get off work is to go to a meeting. † Furthermore, recovering substance abuse counselors get used to being the one with the answers, the experiences, and creditability. It’s easy to confuse work with thei r own personal recovery programs.The irony is that support and safety nets that exist for other professionals who fall victim to addiction does not exist for people who work in this field. â€Å"Sobriety rates of monitored professionals exceed 90%† Says Chuck Rice, â€Å"A rate far above the average general population. † Touhy estimates that 85,000 people in the addiction work force an as many 30,000 are recovering addicts. Without a national monitoring system and strong areas of informal support, these professional who work every day helping others to a clean life will go without the support they need and deserve.As the recovery field grows, so will the need for the professional working to help make the system work. If a system such as this is established I believe it is possible and a good choice career for a recovering addict to pursue a career as a substance abuse counselor despite the risk and triggers that can lead to relapse many counselors and people working in the addiction field can relate to current addicts lifestyles and be grateful they are not on that path themselves. Having desired to help others recover from addiction because they themselves re in recovery there is hope in knowing that recovery is possible because they have achieved it. There was an incident that happened in 2009 that captured the national news. Adam â€Å"DJ AM† Goldstein, host of MTV GONE TO FAR intervention reality series, was found dead at his New York City apartment from a drug overdose. DJ AM had just finished filming the MTV intervention reality series when he himself relapsed and died from a drug overdose. He had been sober for eleven years and had hoped to help others beat drug addiction.Goldstein admitted before his death that watching the videos filmed by Gone to Far’s addicts and loved ones was a â€Å"terrifying† experience. Goldstein stated,† I am a recovering drug addict. When I see and I am in their room and the paraphern alia and the whole lifestyle and everything, I still, eleven years later, have little thing in my head that starts thinking, Oh, Where’s that? , I wonder what that is? And I look at it in this way, And I have to constantly remind myself why I’m here and remember what it was like. â€Å"There’s no better way to remember what it was like at my bottom than to see someone at their bottom, and to help them and lift them up. † Nick Zybko wrote that nearly 40% of substance abuse counselors relapse over the course of their career. The need for substance abuse counselors is growing in today society. With economic failures and job layoffs, more people today are at a greater risk in turning to drugs or alcohol to escape and run from their problems. Counselors and other professional workers in the addiction fields are continuing to search for roles to help society deal with substance abuse.Counselors are aware of the destruction it causes to individuals, families, bu sinesses, and other organizations caused by dependency on alcohol or other drugs. One factor in important quality needed in a successful intervention and recovery with counselor and patient is empathy, genuineness’s, warmth, immediacy. Paired along with effective helping skills, such as questioning, comforting, self-disclosing, clarifying, and other skills common to the counseling process.Most substance abuse counselors who are recovering addicts can relate to the patients on a more personal level and a patient-counselor trusting relationship can be better formed. Each organization and treatment facilities differs from state to state as to what credentials you need to pursue a career as a substance abuse counselor. All facilities I have researched are accepting to recovering addicts as long as there is a sobriety of one to two years. Most recovering addicts have a criminal background record as well due to the â€Å"addiction disease†.There are some rehabs a treatment f acilities that only hire certified substance abuse counselors who are in fact recovering addicts even with a criminal record. As long as the substance abuse counselor is not on probation or parole this type of career is perfect for a recovering addict with a criminal past who has the desire to help others recover from addictions. As with any career and everyday life, a recovering addict is always at risk of relapse because of the disease. Perusing a career as substance abuse counselor has it downfalls as well as its advantages.Living a drug free life and remaining in recovery is important no matter the choice of career. I have pondered throughout most of my life as to what type of career I want in life and now that I am at a point in my life to making positive changes, I feel substance abuse counseling is an excellent choice for myself and perhaps others who have lead a similar life to myself and have the want and desire and even personal experience and knowledge to help others reco ver from their addictions to live a healthy happy life without drugs or alcohol. Sally Hughes [email  protected] phoenix. edu

Probability of Going to Jail in Monopoly

Probability of Going to Jail in Monopoly In the game Monopoly there are a lot of features that involve some aspect of probability. Of course, since the method of moving around the board involves rolling two dice, it is clear that there is some element of chance in the game. One of the places where this is evident is the portion of the game known as Jail. We will calculate two probabilities regarding Jail in the game of Monopoly. Description of Jail Jail in Monopoly is a space in which players can â€Å"Just Visit† on their way around the board, or where they must go if a few conditions are met. While in Jail, a player can still collect rents and develop properties, but is not able to move around the board. This is a significant disadvantage early in the game when properties are not owned, as the game progresses there are times where it is more advantageous to stay in Jail, as it reduces the risk of landing on your opponents’ developed properties. There are three ways that a player can end up in Jail. One can simply land on the â€Å"Go to Jail† space of the board.One can draw a Chance or Community Chest card marked â€Å"Go to Jail.†One can roll doubles (both numbers on the dice are the same) three times in a row. There are also three ways that a player can get out of Jail Use a â€Å"Get out of Jail Free† cardPay $50Roll doubles on any of the three turns after a player goes to Jail. We will examine the probabilities of the third item on each of the above lists. Probability of Going to Jail We will first look at the probability of going to Jail by rolling three doubles in a row. There are six different rolls that are doubles (double 1, double 2, double 3, double 4, double 5, and double 6) out of a total of 36 possible outcomes when rolling two dice. So on any turn, the probability of rolling a double is 6/36 1/6. Now each roll of the dice is independent. So the probability that any given turn will result in the rolling of doubles three times in a row is (1/6) x (1/6) x (1/6) 1/216. This is approximately 0.46%. While this may seem like a small percentage, given the length of most Monopoly games, it is likely that this will happen at some point to someone during the game. Probability of Leaving Jail We now turn to the probability of leaving Jail by rolling doubles. This probability is slightly more difficult to calculate because there are different cases to consider: The probability that we roll doubles on the first roll is 1/6.The probability that we roll doubles on the second turn but not the first is (5/6) x (1/6) 5/36.The probability that we roll doubles on the third turn but not the first or second is (5/6) x (5/6) x (1/6) 25/216. So the probability of rolling doubles to get out of Jail is 1/6 5/36 25/216 91/216, or about 42%. We could calculate this probability in a different way. The complement of the event â€Å"roll doubles at least once over the next three turns† is â€Å"We don’t roll doubles at all over the next three turns.† Thus the probability of not rolling any doubles is (5/6) x (5/6) x (5/6) 125/216. Since we have calculated the probability of the complement of the event that we want to find, we subtract this probability from 100%. We get the same probability of 1 - 125/216 91/216 that we obtained from the other method. Probabilities of the Other Methods Probabilities for the other methods are difficult to calculate. They all involve the probability of landing on a particular space (or landing on a particular space and drawing a particular card). Finding the probability of landing on a certain space in Monopoly is actually quite difficult. This sort of problem can be dealt with by the use of Monte Carlo simulation methods.

Russian Soviet Politics †Foriegn Government Research Paper (300 Level Course)

Russian Soviet Politics – Foriegn Government Research Paper (300 Level Course) Free Online Research Papers Russian Soviet Politics Foriegn Government Research Paper (300 Level Course) Russian politics is dominated by a structure of political elites who are remnants or byproducts of the Soviet Era. Coupled with the oligarchs and the organized crime syndicates, political elites make it extremely difficult for Russians who live in rural areas to effectively participate in Russia’s relatively new experiment with democracy. Rural Russians have very little recourse in influencing the current state of Russian Politics. This paper will focus on the perceptions and opinions rural Russians have about their prospects for meaningful engagement in Russian politics. Included in the discussion about politics will be the level of involvement these people have with the state economy and the extent to which the state plays a beneficial role in their lives. Also examined will be the nationalistic feelings still held by many of these people with respect to how government should function and what their ideal view of governmental affairs should be. Lastly, focus will be shifted to rural issues and in what fashion they figure into political debate. A first important point about political engagement in rural Russia is the attitude towards the government that many people hold. Russian nationalism, the attitude of Russia being a major power in the world, and of a state able to provide everything for the people still holds a powerful allure for the citizen who has been the beneficiary of the planned economy and who took pride in knowing or believing they were a cog in the works of the great Russian empire. In making the transition to embracing the democratic system, it is more difficult for Russians to accept change. Piirainen writes, â€Å"The Russians lost an empire, the other nations became independent from an empire and this makes a big difference for the formation of national consciousness and for the popular attitude towards the institutions of the new national state (Piirainen: 1997, 244).† The rural Russian psyche is reflective. The citizenry is not actively engaged in working for a better future, rather their consciousness is centered on the failing of socialism and the loss associated with being part of a world superpower. This nationalistic view of Russia does not bode well for progress. The market economy is centered on individualism and entrepreneurship. The majority of rural Russians have earned their living directly or indirectly through the collectivization programs of the planned economy. These people are used to being given the commodities necessary for making a living: livestock, tractors, seed, and tools. The transition to democracy and the market economy has left a staggering portion of the population without the education, job skills or capital required to compete in a market economy. Democracy requires a transition from the private sphere to the public sphere, the citizenry must be actively interested, informed, and opinionated on public matters. The Soviet society promoted a system where the individual was a subordinate of the state. In the United States, everyone feels that the government is held accountable to the people by the power of the vote. Unfavorable actions by government officials result in the incumbent exiting office. The Soviet model of government was one where the people were subordinate to the state as opposed to citizens of the state. The argument is made that the people were deeply concerned with matters in the private sphere and that as a result, things of a public character were disregarded (Piirainen: 1997). An understanding of political engagement and participation in Russia must first be prefaced with an examination of Russian political culture. Russians have a tradition of authoritarian government that stretches back for centuries. Historically, Russians have been concerned with the state providing order and stability. This is so due to geographic concerns related to security and also because Russia has been a step removed from the more liberal political developments of Western Europe (McCormick). Attesting to this favoritism for strong leadership is the fact that many older Russians view the atrocities of Stalin as necessary and as acts that were required at the time. Also, Yeltsin’s forays with and around the Russian legislature and his military actions were met with a rise in his approval rating. (Brown and McCormick). Another struggle Russians face in adapting to democracy is their history of closed politics. Closed politics were described as â€Å"the basic identifying characteristic† of the Soviet political system in the 1970’s. This tradition of strong leadership, the one party system, and the risk of reprisal under authoritarian regimes remains a serious impediment to political engagement. Compounding the problems associated with closed politics is the individualism inherent in a democratic society and lacking in Russian society. Russian society has been and remains largely group oriented; a collective society has existed for decades in Rus sia. Russian political tradition is the equivalent of intense political repression in western liberal democracies. The transition from serfdom, to the Soviet era, to the contemporary managed democracy, where the president exercises enormous powers makes any embrace of tangible democratic participation by the average citizen difficult. In order not to be unfair, the changes in the Russian political system are extremely recent in the context of Russia’s long history of authoritarian rule. There is not the inborn grasp of how democratic institutions function and with which methods these institutions may be influenced that is natural and identifiable in societies accustomed to democracy. However, this transition will only come with time. It must also be considered that the historically conservative Russian citizens are less inclined to challenge or meddle with the political system. Chaos has been an ever- present danger to Russia with the World Wars and the fall of the Soviet Union, the succession of satellite states, the kidnapping of political adversaries. Political parties emerge and fade in Russia leaving the same ideology in power. The grooming of successors in Russia has left the ruling ideology in power (stable opposition parties have yet to surface). The citizenry (in particular the older people and the rural population) are adverse to democracy because its forms and ramifications distance Russia from its past. This proves interesting due to what western world as atrocities under Stalin and political oppression. However, ideas such as free speech and even questioning the government are foreign to Russians and the collective society mold that has permeated their society for so long. Having said this, change is occurring in the Russian political culture, but the vast majority of this change is occurring in urban areas where younger Russians have greater entrepreneurial opportunities and less attachment to Russia’s past. Many individuals without traditional ties to a village or a closed social network find the transition to representative government easier to accept because rural Russians don’t have the exposure to political developments that urban Russians do. A crucial component of Russian political participation is the legitimacy and establishment of law. Russia’s current constitution did not provide for the power of the court until 1993 and the court structure wasn’t clearly outlined until1994 (McCormick). Russia must establish a viable legal system to reign in not only organized crime, but also the government itself. It is imperative that the court serves as a check on the executive. The supranational facets of the Russian executive must be reigned in by the constitutional court, which can gradually align the cogs of the relatively infant constitution and democracy into a political system that can be meaningfully influenced by the average Russian. Legitimate political participation in the form of strong political parties, unbiased media exposure, and political mobilization at a grassroots level are dependent upon the legal system being both responsible, prudent, and legitimate. Appointees to the Congressional Court are appointed for twelve-year terms, perhaps an advantage in effecting change more rapidly as lifetime appointments would probably cause the Court to be excessively conservative for years to come. An examination of the relationship between the public and private is instructive when examining the new relationships Russians have with the State. Under Soviet rule, the standard of living was predictable and stable. Democracy is a complete reversal of the Soviet social program. Capitalism and the entrepreneur are the forces that drive democracy. The freedom and opportunity for upward mobility in an established democracy are lost on a Russian populous who had the security of a job and health care the basic elements of life. Under Soviet rule after the Stalin era these things were ensured. Job security existed at a level that is impossible in a market economy. This stability is a product of a bygone regime and the change associated with this loss is a central lament of the adjustment to democracy. Political recourse seems unthinkable to most rural Russians. Some statistical bearing: â€Å"According to the official statistical information of the Russian Federation, 46.5 mi llion Russians, i.e. almost one=third of the population, had in June 1995 an income that was lower than the minimum subsistence level† (Piirainen, 55). The argument can be made that these figures are inflated due to the magnitude of the informal economy. Yet, â€Å"The life expectancy of Russians dropped from 70 years in 1987 to the astonishingly low level of 64 years in 1995† (Piirainen, 189). This stark statistic makes the relative success of nationalistic and communist parties more understandable. The bad government that ruled the Soviet Union was better able to provide for Russian citizens than the infant stages of democracy have been able to. The underdevelopment of civil society is a root cause for many of the problems that plague contemporary Russians. Everything revolved around the state in the Soviet era. There was no public sphere, there existed the state, which controlled everything and then there was the private the network of family and community, which provided indirectly in the areas where the state did not. Democratic development in Russia is closely linked to the role political elites play. Patrimonialism – patron/client relationships – have been a central fixture of Soviet and Russian politics. Governors no longer enjoy the immunity and the opportunity for participation associated with their former status as Duma representatives. Putin has steadily siphoned more and more tax money under the arm of the Federal Government so that he may exercise greater discretion in allocation of these funds. In 1998 47 percent of tax revenue was transferred to the federal government, in 2002 that figure had jumped to 63 percent (Steen, 104). Governors are more liable to appease the president as he begins to exercise considerably more influence in the distribution of funds. The separation between regional government, local government, and federal government is a large problem because authority is being exercised from the top down in a disproportionate manner. With the weakening gov ernors who have been hampered by both the legislature and the election of Putin (Yeltsin was much more liberal) the governors have seen their political clout significantly decrease. Russia has for all intents and purposes a one-party system. Any action deemed adverse to the presidential agenda makes it highly unlikely any regional official will advance to the upper levels of the federal political hierarchy. Russian politics is dominated at the federal level. Distinctions between how to levy taxes and whom is responsible for collection and which branch of government disburses the funds; all these issues are so new and vague that participation at the root level seems futile. The government must be able to collect enough tax revenue to guarantee public services to the common citizen. The welfare system, pensions, infrastructure, education, providing for the military; all these areas must be properly funded. If they are not the populous will simply turn to the informal economy, w hich has been both easiest viable source of survival/prosperity for decades. This is the central issue in addressing the meaningful political engagement of the rural population. Until these basis needs are addressed, the informal economy, which robs the state of both legitimacy and effectiveness, and also robs the citizen from a shot at real upward mobility political participation will, democracy will remain a synonym for traitor in rural Russia. In urban areas democracy is being accepted and adapted too at an accelerated rate in comparison with rural areas. Urban Russians are apt to be younger, have less traditional views on politics and change, and also have more opportunity. The rural populations have continued to live in the collective way of life by working and joining large farm cooperatives, by continuing a subsistence way of life through barter and by holding on to the past. Rural Russians have the perception that the state is not in their sphere of influence (and it probably is not for the time being); they view the state of Russia affairs as being a fluctuation of the state. The state is separate, they don’t identify with the fact that they are the state. They are the public, they are the government, but they don’t realize the importance of suffrage. One party rule during the Soviet era was so absolute that the ramifications of the vote are lost upon those who view the new experiment with democra cy as merely a downturn in national fortune. Now, after considering a the social and historical factors that make democracy a challenge to the Russian, focus will be shifted to what is actually occurring at the lowest strata of Russia society. How do persons ill equipped to adjust to this new system feed their children, pay their bills, feel about politics? The press often latches on to the oligarchs and their exploitation of national resources when privatization occurred, this exploitation occurs at other levels of Soviet society as well. A farm chairman responded to a journalist’s questions in 1990, â€Å"we’ve got democracy now so I don’t have to ask anyone’s permission. The district Party committee used to order me to respond to criticism so I responded, but now I don’t owe anybody anything† (O’Brien, 329). The problem with rural Russia is how to move forward in a climate which doesn’t allow for long harvest seasons, four to five months at max (which naturally encourages collective farming). Of rural areas O’Brien writes, â€Å"They still lag behind metropolitan areas with respect to economic and social development.† Totalitarian societies view competing loyalties and associations as a threat, suppression of competing social organizations occurs. Competing social organizations are what brings progress and improvement; the government views social organization as a threat as well. The de facto one party system in Russia continues to discourage this type of association even though the government has proved itself incapable of providing basis social services for the rural population. Rural populations do not have access to the normal governmental channels to improve their situation, due to this fact they seek redress â€Å"outside of the tax code† (O’B rien). Individuals rely on their interpersonal channels for success not only due to traditional conservatism, but also because they do not have faith in the government or new economic actors introduced by democracy. This recalcitrance to barge into a formal market economy is based upon good business sense as much as a resistance to change. The same theme keeps running through the problem of Russian political engagement and meaningful involvement and faith in the government. The government has not done a good enough job of providing in rural areas so the government is rejected. Why pay taxes to a government via the formal economy when an interpersonal network of contacts can provide a more stable and higher standard of living. Why embrace a government and pay taxes when conscripts into the Russian Army are dying because they cannot be fed and clothed by that same government. Why sell commodities for rubles when the exchange rate is not consistent enough to ensure that food will be on the table tomorrow. Why vote? Why vote when political actors are simply men in suits on television? Rural persons have good thoughts and intentions, but hold their self-interest above all else. This is not a unique situation. Rural persons operate on a micro-economic scale, until the government figures out and shows a legitimate ma cro-economic strategy, very little will change. The government has used a conservative strategy or reform strategy – promoting collective farms and a reform strategy alternately – private farming. A consensus among the rural population is that the government has done little to attempt to understand the intricacies of rural social and economic networks. This lack of understanding and consistent inability of the government to provide basic social services renders the legitimacy of the government shaky. It also leaves the power of the vote negligible. Why vote? Research Papers on Russian 19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraTwilight of the UAWComparison: Letter from Birmingham and CritoMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever Product