Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Strategic fit analysis of Gilbert sports Equipment Company Essay

Strategic fit analysis of Gilbert sports Equipment Company - Essay Example Strategic fit analysis of Gilbert sports Equipment Company However, when the rules of Rugby and thereby rules regarding ball shapes and sizes got formalized in the early part of the 20th century and with availability of Rubber bladders, Gilbert Sports Company started making the modern Rugby balls. Although, the company changed hands quite a few times, the company continued to modernise and update the quality of the balls through the second part of the 20th century particularly during the 1980’s and 90’s. It was during the same period, they developed the first range of balls for Netball. However, it fell into the debt trap in 2002, and so it was acquired by another sports equipment maker, Grays of Cambridge in the same year. It continues to function with a lot of autonomy and even diversified into other product segments, with Grays of Cambridge ‘stewarding’ it. Thus, after rising from the internal crisis in 2002, Gilbert under Grays ownership has been able to consolidate its position. However, there are certain fact ors in its macro and micro environment, which could impact as well as influence its functioning. Market Environment Analysis Certain factors in the external environment as well as in the ‘immediate’ external environment will always influence the functioning and the strategies formulation of any organizations in the sport equipment manufacturing sector. Gilbert is no exception to it, as it can be controlled by the factors in the macro-environment, and also by factors in the micro-environment. Both these macro and micro factors can be collected and assessed in a detailed manner through certain analytical tools. The macro environment of Gilbert can be assessed through PEST analysis, while its micro-environment can be analyzed through Porters’ Five Forces. PEST Analysis Political When one focuses on the political factors in Gilbert’s external environment, the UK government can play both a regulatory and constructive role. Regulatory role in the sense, governme nt with its regulations on quality, advertising, pricing, etc., influences the production processes of sports equipment companies including Gilbert. Constructive role in the sense, the UK government through programs like Schools Sports Partnership provide funds to schools to buy sports equipments and construct other infrastructures, so the children can have an active lifestyle with good fitness levels. Although, the UK government had â€Å"plans to end funding for the Schools Sports Partnership program, it was forced to back down as a result of pressure from top athletes, educators and school children themselves.† (caloo.co.uk 2011). Economic The economic aspect of the UK Sports Equipment manufacturing and retail market shows a positive picture, because it â€Å"is valued at US$4.1 billion and grew at a CAGR of 4.19% for the period 2004-2008.† (Reportlinker 2009). However, with the British economy showing little signs of full recovery from the 2008 economic recession, and threatening to go into recession again, the prospects of these sport equipment manufacturing organisations could also suffer. â€Å"Bank of England policymakers agree that Britain's stalled economy will fail to pick up in the current fourth quarter, according to minutes of their last meeting published on Wednesday.† (AFP 2011). If this situation continues, there could be lack of readily available finance options because of credit crunch, and this will make the consumers cut back on their non-essential

Monday, October 28, 2019

Reading Skills Essay Example for Free

Reading Skills Essay Reading daily, Reading deeply, Reading widely are the few important skills of reading from which we can enhance our understanding of passage, ameliorate our vocabulary, correct our grammatical mistakes, increase our thinking capacity and helps in improving or learning any part of a language. The more you read the one thing you realize the key to doing well in the examination, and the key to perform or present any task in a well equipped way. There are many techniques used in reading to get and understand whole idea or summary of the passage to improve reading. But few important skills of reading are given below to improve reading. 1. Styles of reading 2. Active reading 3. A tip for speeding up your active reading 4. Spotting authors navigation aids 5. Words and vocabulary [pic]1. Styles of reading There are three styles of reading which we use in different situations: Scanning: Scanning is what you do to find an answer to a specific question. You may run your eyes quickly down the page in a zigzag or winding S pattern. If you are looking for a name, you note capital letters. For a date, you look for numbers. Vocabulary words may be boldfaced or italicized. When you scan for information, you read only what is needed. Its useful to scan parts of texts to see if theyre going to be useful to you: †¢ the introduction or preface of a book †¢ the first or last paragraphs of chapters †¢ the concluding chapter of a book. Skimming: for getting the gist of something Skimming is covering the chapter to get some of the main ideas and a general overview of the material. It is what you do first when reading a chapter assignment. You don’t read for details at this point. Here is how you skim a chapter: . To preview a passage before you read it in detail  · Read the first paragraph of the chapter line by line.  · Next, read all the bold print headings starting at the beginning.  · Read the first sentence of every paragraph.  · Study any pictures, graphs, charts, and maps.  · Finally, read the last paragraph of the chapter. As you skim, you could write down the main ideas and develop a chapter outline. Detailed reading: for extracting information accurately Where you read every word, and work to learn from the text. In this careful reading, you may find it helpful to skim first, to get a general idea, but then go back to read in detail. Use a dictionary to make sure you understand all the words used. [pic]2. Active reading When youre reading for your course, you need to make sure youre actively involved with the text. Its a waste of your time to just passively read, the way youd read a thriller on holiday. Always make notes to keep up your concentration and understanding. Here are four tips for active reading. Underlining and highlighting Pick out what you think are the most important parts of what you are reading. Do this with your own copy of texts or on photocopies, not with borrowed books. If you are a visual learner, youll find it helpful to use different colours to highlight different aspects of what youre reading. Note key words Record the main headings as you read. Use one or two keywords for each point. When you dont want to mark the text, keep a folder of notes you make while reading. Questions Before you start reading something like an article, a chapter or a whole book, prepare for your reading by noting down questions you want the material to answer. While youre reading, note down questions which the author raises. Summaries Pause after youve read a section of text. Then: 1. put what youve read into your own words; 2. skim through the text and check how accurate your summary is and 3.fill in any gaps. [pic]3. A tip for speeding up your active reading You should learn a huge amount from your reading. If you read passively, without learning, youre wasting your time. So train your mind to learn. Try the SQ3R technique. First developed by researchers at Ohio State University, SQ3R is a useful technique for absorbing written information. It helps you to create a good mental framework of a subject, into which you can fit the right facts. It helps you to set study goals and prompts you to use the review techniques that will help you to remember. The acronym SQ3R stands for the five sequential techniques you should use to read a book: Survey, Question, Read, Recite and Review. Survey Gather the information you need to focus on the work and set goals: †¢ Read the title to help prepare for the subject †¢ Read the introduction or summary to see what the author thinks are the key points †¢ Notice the boldface headings to see what the structure is †¢ Notice any maps, graphs or charts. They are there for a purpose †¢ Notice the reading aids, italics, bold face, questions at the end of the chapter. They are all there to help you understand and remember. Question  Help your mind to engage and concentrate. Your mind is engaged in learning when it is actively looking for answers to questions. Make questions that can be answered during the reading of the material. This will give a purpose to your reading. Take a heading and turn it into a question. For example, if a heading in a chapter about Cell Division is in your biology text, make a question by turning the title around: â€Å"How does cell division occur? † or â€Å"How many steps are involved in cell division? † Read Read the first section with your questions in mind. Now you read the material trying to find answers to your questions. This is a careful reading, line by line. You may want to take notes or make flashcards. Recall As you read, look away from your book and notes and try to answer your questions. This checks your learning and helps put that information in your memory. After each section, stop and think back to your questions. See if you can answer them from memory. If not, take a look back at the text. Do this as often as you need to.. Review To check your memory, scan portions of the material or your notes to verify your answers. Review the material and note the main points under each heading. This review step helps you retain the material. The SQ3R method is just one technique that can be used to retain information you collect while reading. Students learn in different ways. Therefore they should be aware of their learning styles. Knowing whether you are an Auditory (learn by hearing), Visual (learn by seeing) or Kinesthetic (hands-on) learner helps you to understand your best learning environment. The SQ3R technique of reading can help to enhance your reading skills no matter what your style is. [pic]4. Spotting authors navigation aids Learn to recognize sequence signals, for example: Three advantages of or A number of methods are available leads you to expect several points to follow. The first sentence of a paragraph will often indicate a sequence:† One important cause of followed by Another important factor and so on, until The final cause of General points are often illustrated by particular examples, for example: General: Birds beaks are appropriately shaped for feeding. Particular: Sparrows and other seed-eating birds have short, stubby beaks; wrens and other insect eaters have thin pointed beaks; herons and other fish hunters have long, sharp beaks for spearing their prey. Whatever you are reading, be aware of the authors background. It is important to recognize the bias given to writing by a writers political, religious, social background. Learn which newspapers and journals represent a particular standpoint [pic]5. Words and vocabulary When youre a graduate people expect you to use a vocabulary which is wider than a school-leavers. To expand your vocabulary: Choose a large dictionary rather than one which is ‘compact or ‘concise. You want one which is big enough to define words clearly and helpfully (around 1,500 pages is a good size). Avoid dictionaries which send you round in circles by just giving synonyms. A pocket dictionary might suggest: ‘impetuous = rash. A more comprehensive dictionary will tell you that impetuous means ‘rushing with force and violence, while another gives ‘liable to act without consideration, and add to your understanding by giving the derivation ‘14th century, from late Latin impetuous = violent. It will tell you that rash means ‘acting without due consideration or thought, and is derived from Old High German rasc = hurried. So underlying these two similar words is the difference between violence and hurrying. There are over 600,000 words in the Oxford English Dictionary; most of them have different meanings, (only a small proportion is synonyms). Avoid dictionaries which send you round in circles by using very complicated language to define the term youre looking up, leaving you struggling to understand half a dozen new words. Keep your dictionary at hand when youre studying. Look up unfamiliar words and work to understand what they mean. Improve your vocabulary by reading widely. Reading skills in a precis form Comprehensions Reading comprehension is a basic skill that each college student must possess. Believe it or not, reading is a complex, accrued skill—not acquired overnight learning to read and comprehend takes practice. Comprehension involves obtaining information from written text. A reader who comprehends a text accurately understands what the writer intended to communicate. She understands the purpose and the main idea. Comprehension cannot be observed directly, but a reader who is able to retell, paraphrase or summarize a text demonstrates comprehension. Interpretation †¢ When a reader interprets a text, he is employing a critical thinking strategy. He uses evidence and clues from the text to draw conclusions and looks for larger or more universal principals in what he has read. Interpretation requires going beyond the initial impression of what he has read to develop a more complex and complete understanding. Analysis †¢ When a reader analyzes the text, she identifies the assumptions of the writer and examines the structure of the argument. She asks questions such as, Does the evidence support the argument? and Does it support the conclusions the writer draws? She is looking for evidence of a logical and/or consistent argument. Synthesis †¢ With synthesis, the skilled reader is able to show how a text develops or builds meaning. He sorts out and reconstructs ideas in a text to point out how they are interrelated. He compares and extends meaning from multiple sources. Evaluation †¢ Evaluation, determining the quality and effectiveness of a text, is the highest level of critical thinking associated with reading, according to Lesley Thompson, Senior Assessment and Accountability Program Associate at the Northwest Regional Education Laboratory. An effective reader evaluates the merit of the text by drawing on her own experience and knowledge and considering whether other sources provide evidence that agrees with or contradicts the writers argument.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

American Legion Scholarship Association :: College Education Essays

American Legion Scholarship Association I have been a student here at Ohio University for the past three and a half years. Since the beginning of my education I have learned a lot from my experiences here at Ohio University. I have grown and matured a great deal and my career goals and aspirations have changed enormously throughout my time here. I began my time here as a psychology major and quickly decided that I did not want to be in school more then four years and since you usually must get your masters and doctorate to become a psychologist I changed my mind and decided that this field was not for me. I then switched my major to early childhood education. I love kids and I really thought that I would love to be a teacher but after shadowing teachers and being in classrooms, this was not the career for me. For the amount or time and effort teachers put into their jobs the pay is not worth it. So at the beginning of my senior year in college I decided that I wanted to become a lawyer. It seemed crazy to me becaus e the reason I switched my major to begin with was due to the fact that I didn’t want to be in school any longer then four years and now I am going to be an undergraduate for five years and then have three to four years of law school after that. However, I am very excited about law school because although I know it is going to be a challenge, it is also going to be a great experience and when I complete it I will be so proud of my accomplishments. Upon graduation from law school I would like to begin work in criminal law. I would like to be a prosecutor eventually but this takes both time and experience. I know that I definitely don’t want to be a defense attorney because I don’t think I would be able to represent people that I knew were guilty or that had committed some horrific crime. I want to be the one locking the criminals up not letting them back out onto the streets. For me being a lawyer is not about the money it is about helping put criminals behind bars and making the streets a safer place to be.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Organizational Culture of Cisco Systems Inc. Essay

Cisco Systems, Inc. is a global company that embodies the many characteristics of a company that values its employees as much as its clients. Cisco listens to their employees and responds to their needs. Cisco Systems has long been recognized as being one of the top 25 best places to work in America because of how its high regard for its employees. Cisco’s Organizational AppealThe appeal of Cisco’s organizational culture is that it appreciates its employees. It offers flexibility that few other companies do. This is particularly appealing to me in that I have observed over the years that many companies forget that if an employee feels like a stakeholder in the business, then he or she will be far more willing to take the extra steps to walk the extra mile to perform to the highest of standards. An unhappy, disgruntled employee, on the other hand, will merely show up, do just enough to keep the boss off his or her back and call it a day. Cisco Systems offers a myriad of perks to its employees including but not limited to:1.Access to on-site childcare. 2.E-learning courses. 3.Formal and in-formal flexibility of work hours that allows for the integration of home and professional life in a comfortable, manageable way. 4.On-site Weight Watchers Programs. 5.Elder Care Assistance. These are but a few of the benefits that Cisco offers. When an employee feels like the company believes in and cares for them as a person, then they believe in that company too. I share the core value of employees coming first with Cisco. I believe that without employees to tote the barge and life the bale, the work will not be done. All too many companies forget that business is like an upside-down pyramid and that the employees are at the top of the pyramid no matter how management may try to think otherwise. The seven characteristics that Cisco Systems employees include stability where growth comes in a balanced manner, outcome orientation, innovation, team orientation, people orientation, organizational easygoingness and detail orientation. Each and every one of these characteristics must be present. They must be present in a manner that is balanced. Should any one of them characteristics become imbalanced, an organization will find itself in deep trouble. Cisco Systems has managed to find and maintain the delicate balance of all of these and their success is reflected in their continued growth and prosperity. However, if I had to narrow the field to just one, I would have to saw their orientation to the team concept, team organization, if you will, is their primary embodiment. Virtually all of their professional activities are organized around partners and teams. Cisco Systems possesses a very strong cultural appeal. This is evidenced by the undeniable fact that they are a leader in cultural diversity and technological advancement. They have earned the respect of their employees and their partners because of this organizational culture. This culture is ethical in nature because to treat employees fairly and as human beings, not just bodies that fill the seats in the cubicles is a matter of morality on the part of the employer. High business morals are consistent with high business ethics. It cannot be denied that Cisco Systems is a model for other organizations to emulate when the layers are peeled away. References: Gildorf, Jeanette W. â€Å"Organizational Vulture.† Business Guidelines. 2006. 18 Mar. 2008 . Stock, G. N. (2007). Organizational Culture. Internal Journal of Production Economics, 106(2), 368-392.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Victorian Era Consciousness

How would you describe the consciousness of the Victorian Age? Think about their perception of their place in the world. The consciousness of society in the Victorian age is an interesting factor that greatly changed and evolved during the time period. The era’s beginning and end is marked by the birth and death of the reigning monarch of the time, Queen Victoria, spanning from 1837 to the early 1900s. With the effects of the Industrial Revolution distinctly felt by all classes within society, it was a time of significant social reformation and drastic change in all aspects of life, and in short was a diverse and complex though tremendously exciting period for those who were living in it. As a result of such rapid growth, expansion and change, it is only natural that there was widespread excitement and perhaps apprehension at the same time. A new world was being created away from the manual driven labour of the old, and one of steam power and coal was emerging, of urbanisation and industrialisation. This constantly transforming and thriving world to the people at the time must’ve been overwhelming and thrilling, as they gained a realisation that all aspects of their lives were becoming influenced in some way or other by the increasingly advanced technologies and innovation. As a result, there was a great influx of population from the countryside to the city, with the realisation that there was a quickly approaching transition away from an agricultural-based economy towards machine-based manufacturing. However there must’ve been a great deal of anxiety and people may well have been wary towards the great changes that were happening around them. There would’ve been a growing new consciousness as society had to perceive the world in a different way than they previously had in order to ‘keep up with the times. As one tiny pebble when thrown into a pond causes consequent ripples to spread throughout the surface, the Victorian Age was like a pond where a great many pebbles were being thrown into. As a result, their way of thinking and apprehending the constantly developing world around them had to be open-minded in the sense that they had to be prepared for more surprises. They had to become receptive to things previously thought impossibl e or perhaps not even imagined at all which came to life- it was supposed to be a new Golden Age and indeed it was. However, the Victorian Age also had its dark side- the side of child labour, devastating unemployment, opium and prostitution. Nothing was certain anymore and with the modernism movement arising towards the end of the 19th century, people began to question many values and concepts that had before been unarguably taken for granted and accepted within society. With the rejection of established patterns of thought, a new consciousness arose where old traditions and customs were critically examined and people realised they had more freedom of thought than ever.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Early Racism in Disney Movies Essay Essay Example

Early Racism in Disney Movies Essay Essay Example Early Racism in Disney Movies Essay Paper Early Racism in Disney Movies Essay Paper Disney’s early work has ever had a intimation of racism in them. I late watched Disney’s Fantasia released in 1942 was edited and refashion because of a really racist scene. I watched a scene where there are many colourful centaurs. male and female ; they are larking through like a wood. When the lady centaurs notice the males there are small baby Cupids that come down and are acquiring them all dolled up for the male centaurs. Every male is matched up with their matching colour centaurs the scene ends with every centaur and their mate flirtation and holding a ball. The portion that was cut out was one small black centaur a miss with barrettes in her hair. She was pass overing the hooves of the other centaurs and brushing their hair while the small babe Cupids. she had no mate she was merely a small retainer. ( Cite here ) We all know the narrative of Pocahontas ; a batch of people merely know the Disney version. The film does hold some truth to it but is decidedly racist. John Smith a settler coming to happen the new universe. a really arresting. sort immature adult male. ( Cite # 4 ) going with his work forces and of class Governor Radcliff. with his ugly small pug and really opinionative. a adult male who is non afraid to portion his ethical motives to the universe. He was likely the most racist character mentioning to Native American Americans as barbarians and barbarian. and the lone ground he is coming to the new universe is because he wants gold and to go affluent. ( cite # 4 ) now this portion of history is dead on. the colonists did non desire to do friends and get down a new life in a new topographic point. they wanted gold and land. and they didn’t attention for native Americans to much. ( Cite here ) There is even a vocal called â€Å"Savages† a really really racialist vocal a bout indigens. Like it wasn’t adequate to name them barbarians they go on to state things like â€Å"They’re non like you and me. Which means they must be evil We must sound the membranophones of war! † because indigens did non talk or dress like the colonists ; but that’s non all they call them â€Å"Redskin Devils† and state â€Å"they’re hardly even human† with Radcliff stating things like â€Å"What can you anticipate. From foul small pagans? Here’s what you get when races are diverse ( That’s right ) . Their skin’s a beastly ruddy. They’re merely good when dead. They’re varmint. as I said. † ( Cite # 4 ) this vocal is a vocal I sang as child neer cognizing what I was singing. like it was so incorrect for a civilization to be different. is this what Disney is learning our kids? That anything that is different can non be trusted or even given a opportunity. Disney films have ever had racism in their films but the one film that had the most obvious racism would hold to be Disney’s Song of the South. The Song of the South. one of Disney’s most controversial films of all time made. racism. stereotyping. and ignorance galore. The Song of the South was aired at the Fox Theater in Atlanta. Georgia in 1946. over 64 old ages ago. ( Cite # 1 ) Walt Disney’s life imperium wasn’t making so good finically and decided he wanted to a film based on a childhood book he read as a child. ( Cite # 2 ) a narrative about an old Negro. who tells narratives to a immature white boy the narratives of uncle Remus ( Cite # 2 ) . The life was based on narratives told by an old African American adult male. Uncle Remus about a Mr. Rabbit and Mr. Fox. the same secret plan. as the book with really similar characters. and the same message. The message that a batch of people got was that bondage was being glorified. The angriest was the NAACP ( National Association for the Advancement of Colored People ) they were the most pained. They had many concerns with the full movie ; they didnâ€⠄¢t want people believing that this how bondage was. ( Cite # 3 ) In this film Uncle Remus. played by James Baskett ( cite # 1 ) was an old Black who lives in Georgia on a plantation. He is non like normal slaves. he comes and goes as he pleases. and he loves his life on the plantation. He sings vocals like Let the Rain Pour Down with wordss like â€Å"Let the rain pour down. allow the cold air current blow Gon na remain right here in the place I know ( Trouble wing off wing off ) . When you’re achin’ with the mis’ry. and you’re old and grey. ( headin’ . headin’ ) Then you’d better be grateful that He allow you remain ; † which means that even though they made us come here and make this difficult work we still should be grateful for what they do really allow us hold. like a topographic point to remain. ( Cite # 1 ) to add even more fuel to the fire Disney thought it would be a good thought to premier this film in Atlanta. a really unintegrated metropolis at the clip. the stars of the film James Brackett. uncle Remus and Hattie McDaniel his married woman Aunty Tempy would non even be allowed to sit in the same seats as the white very important persons. Their ain Governor made statements like â€Å"I was raised among niggas and I understand them. I want to see them treated reasonably and I want them to hold justness in the tribunals. But I want to cover with the nigga this manner: he must come to my back door. take off his chapeau and state. ‘Yes. sir† ( Bernstein 233 ) . ( Cite # 2 ) even still Disney claims they were non in a racialist province of head. ( Cite # 2 ) this film will travel down in history as likely the most blantaly racialist film Disney has of all time made. Disney does non hold anything to state about theses lifes. they have become one of those things people merely don’t talk about anymore. Even though a batch of these racialist films are still popular today. and are being remade and rereleased. Disney is still really successful concern even with these really unsmooth spots in the beginning and bulk of kids and parents in the universe truly do bask Disney. but does that intend we should merely ignore their errors and stereotyped films. should we merely pretend that these films have offended and will go on to piquing races without any concern for people they offend?

Monday, October 21, 2019

Free Essays on Prayer In Public Schools

Prayer in Public Schools In today’s world, the public school system has an enormous influence on a child’s perception of what is wrong and what is right. Simple religious symbols appear in seemingly all things American, such as the Star-Spangled Banner, the Pledge of Allegiance, and even United States currency. However, the concept of government funded public school buildings being used for the dissemination of religious doctrines and viewpoints has caused controversy for hundreds of years. Due to the many complications of prayer and religious conduct in public schools, it is imperative that we discuss and dissemble the problems associated with this paradox. Forty-four percent of Americans attend church once a week, not counting funerals, christenings and baptisms, compared with twenty-seven percent of people in Great Britain, twenty-one percent of the French, four percent of Swedes and three percent of Japanese. These statistics show how heavily the current United States population relies on their religions. Some say that for a country based to such an extent on religion, prayer rightly has a place in our public school systems. â€Å"Prayer is as natural an expression of faith as breathing is of life.†(Jonathan Edwards) Of the 275,562,673 people in our country, fifty-six percent of the population is Protestant, twenty-eight percent Catholic, and two percent Jewish. Four percent of men and women in the United States follow a different religion and ten percent of all Americans practice none at all. (Current as of 1989, Johnson 7-8) To elucidate the above-mentioned results, eighty-six percent of the entire American inhabitance is of one or another organization that accepts as true the existence of a god. This is an even more overwhelming reason why arguments are upheld in some courts for the issue of prayer being allowed in public schools. In the 1947 case of Everson vs. Board of Education, the Supreme Court ruled that ... Free Essays on Prayer In Public Schools Free Essays on Prayer In Public Schools Prayer in Public Schools In today’s world, the public school system has an enormous influence on a child’s perception of what is wrong and what is right. Simple religious symbols appear in seemingly all things American, such as the Star-Spangled Banner, the Pledge of Allegiance, and even United States currency. However, the concept of government funded public school buildings being used for the dissemination of religious doctrines and viewpoints has caused controversy for hundreds of years. Due to the many complications of prayer and religious conduct in public schools, it is imperative that we discuss and dissemble the problems associated with this paradox. Forty-four percent of Americans attend church once a week, not counting funerals, christenings and baptisms, compared with twenty-seven percent of people in Great Britain, twenty-one percent of the French, four percent of Swedes and three percent of Japanese. These statistics show how heavily the current United States population relies on their religions. Some say that for a country based to such an extent on religion, prayer rightly has a place in our public school systems. â€Å"Prayer is as natural an expression of faith as breathing is of life.†(Jonathan Edwards) Of the 275,562,673 people in our country, fifty-six percent of the population is Protestant, twenty-eight percent Catholic, and two percent Jewish. Four percent of men and women in the United States follow a different religion and ten percent of all Americans practice none at all. (Current as of 1989, Johnson 7-8) To elucidate the above-mentioned results, eighty-six percent of the entire American inhabitance is of one or another organization that accepts as true the existence of a god. This is an even more overwhelming reason why arguments are upheld in some courts for the issue of prayer being allowed in public schools. In the 1947 case of Everson vs. Board of Education, the Supreme Court ruled that ...

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Free Online Public Schools for Louisiana Students

Free Online Public Schools for Louisiana Students Louisiana offers resident students the opportunity to take online public school courses for free. Below is a list of no-cost online schools currently serving elementary and high school students in Louisiana. In order to qualify for the list, schools must meet the following qualifications: classes must be available completely online, they must offer services to state residents, and they must be funded by the government. Virtual schools listed may be charter schools, state-wide public programs, or private programs that receive government funding. List of Louisiana Online Charter Schools and Online Public Schools Louisiana Virtual School (off-site link) About Online Charter Schools and Online Public Schools Many states now offer tuition-free online schools for resident students under a certain age (often 21). Most virtual schools are charter schools; they receive government funding and are run by a private organization. Online charter schools are subject to fewer restrictions than traditional schools. However, they are reviewed regularly and must continue to meet state standards. Some states also offer their own online public schools. These virtual programs generally operate from a state office or a school district. State-wide public school programs vary. Some online public schools offer a limited number of remedial or advanced courses not available in brick-and-mortar public school campuses. Others offer full online diploma programs. A few states choose to fund â€Å"seats† for students in private online schools. The number of available seats may be limited and students are usually asked to apply through their public school guidance counselor. (See also: 4 Types of Online High Schools). Choosing a Louisiana Online Public School When choosing an online public school, look for an established program that is regionally accredited and has a track record of success. Be wary of new schools that are disorganized, are unaccredited, or have been the subject of public scrutiny. For more suggestions on evaluating virtual schools, look at how to choose an online high school.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

KNOWLEDGE-BASED ASSET MANAGEMENT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

KNOWLEDGE-BASED ASSET MANAGEMENT - Essay Example The company should be able to build on its capital and asset base within the first year to actually realize its full potential of meeting its goals. It should be able to formulate a policy to accomplish this objective The second year will in essence revolve around setting up a growth strategy and formula to promote company growth in all the necessary sectors. This approach would ensure that the enterprise strengthens its asset base and share value within that set time frame of a year. In the third year the company’s mandate would be to open up and expand all its communication channels within the third year. This move would guarantee that the enterprise strengthens its client base by upgrading all its communications systems thus improving its communications network. During the forth year its focus will be strengthening its administrative base and leadership to streamline service delivery. By overhauling the entire organizational setting, the company is injecting new life into its core to ensure efficient service delivery. The fifth year would encompass rebranding and formalizing new business practices within the enterprise. This strategy would ensure that the enterprise can present itself as an entirely different and fresh entity with a new identity and a new objective. To espouse the out and out implementation of the tenets ascribed to each year of the knowledge-based asset management process, certain essential modus operandi would enable Waveriders’s journey to excellence. Highlighted herein guidelines for consideration in the Excellence Model: It is important that the organization set up a planning committee with immediate effect. This committee would help in organizing affairs as well as creatively bringing up suggestions and ideas of benefit. The committee would also change the order of the planning stage. This would enable the board to return and address the problem at a later stage when it is of more benefit. Furthermore, the committee would also

The decline of tradition of holistic approach to culture in Coursework

The decline of tradition of holistic approach to culture in anthropology - Coursework Example social as well as the political processes to anthropology has had adopted a more scientific approach in their analysis leading to the decline of traditional holistic approaches. The emergence of a different view of culture and culture politics has resulted into a different view of how anthropologists regard holistic culture in their interpretation of key concepts and dimensions. The quest to verify all cultural attributes has led to anthropologist consideration of only specific trends in culture instead of adopting the entire culture of the people being studied. Cultural politics considers political ramifications of all cultures across a number of artistic and academic disciplines such as anthropology. Politics has all along relied heavily on culture to offer explanations for some of the actions of key politicians and general political conduct in the society. However the emergence of academic disciplines such as political science has led to the decline of tradition holistic approach to

Friday, October 18, 2019

Public Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Public Economics - Essay Example (a) According to Segura and Braun (2004, p.34), â€Å"a club good is a particular case of public good, which has the characteristics of excludability and non-rivalry (or partial non-rivalry, depending on the congestion).† It could never be a pure public good nor pure private good because it has the characteristic of least partly ‘rivalrousness’ and ‘excludability.’ Therefore, the usage of this good is exclusive for the club members (voluntary) and not for the good of the public, because if a good is already consumed by one of the members, the others will lose the opportunity, and the benefits are kept away from non-members (Murshed, 2010, p.153). The non-members are not allowed to assess, join and cooperate in the group because club members’ priority is to gain maximum utility over the certain goods. In other words, club goods are not public goods but they are a ‘quasi-public’ or partial public goods, for they are only made availab le to two or more individuals, and restricted or protected from the outsiders consumption or non-members that did not contribute to the club’s creation (Brummer, 2008). ... See for instance, a single individual will not have the capacity and the resources to build a club on its own, because it will shoulder the cost of the construction as well as the maintenance. Also, even if he did, the enjoyment will be more appreciated if it is shared to two or more people as long as the number of members did not detract the enjoyment of the other group members. A theory of club goods is â€Å"intrinsically bound up with issues of inclusion and exclusion, and hence, how members are selected and non-members excluded. This implies some notion of discrimination† (Crawford, 2006, p.121). â€Å"The important point here is that many government services are closer to the characteristics of club goods (or at least they are impure public goods) compared to pure public goods, particularly at the local level† (Murshed & Tadjoeddin, 2008, p.7). One of these services is higher education or universities which can be seen as a club good particularly the rising of the student tuition fees (Sandler & Tschirhart, 1997, p.336). Education itself is a club good because whose benefits are non-rival and non-excludable, thus it can be shared without detracting the availability of opportunity to other individuals. However, because of the rising student tuition fees poorer students would not be able to obtain the offered benefits of higher education, although it gives access to disadvantage students (Kershaw, 2010). This education that based on financial and not on academic ability is some kind of a restriction in the entry of poor bright students in an elite institutions or this can be considered discrimination. Withdrawal of the public funding would only make

Mergers and acquisition Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Mergers and acquisition - Essay Example Firms in different industrial sectors tend to respond differently when entering a M&A process. Current study focuses on the effects of M&A process on the increase of shareholders value and the creation of shareholders wealth. Reference is made on a specific industrial sector: the financial services industry. The case of a recent merger of two financial institutions - banks in Britain, Lloyds and HBOS, is used in order to show all the potential aspects of the issue under examination. Employees from both these institutions have accepted to participate in the study. The results - along with the material published in the literature - indicate that M&A can be a valuable strategic tool for the increase of a firm's profitability; however, its effects on the creation of shareholder wealth are not quite clear. The study focuses on the examination of the following issues: a) how can mergers and acquisition benefit a firm's shareholders, b) which are the effects of mergers and acquisition on a firm's equity' c) are there specific measures taken for the increase of shareholders' wealth in the case of a merger or acquisition, d) which is the role of state in the development of the relevant procedure - control by antitrust authorities, e) does the leadership style affects the development of mergers and acquisition' And f) does the n... 2. Literature Review The development of M&A through the decades has been continuous; the specific strategic tool has been used by managers in order to support the improvement of their firms' performance - even if the results have been found to the different in each particular firm. M&A have been used since the 1940s but their use was then limited; through the years M&A have been significantly developed reaching in 1980s an important level. However, it was necessary that changes are made on the existing M&A practices in order to meet the demands of the market but also the firms' potential to respond to the requirements of the particular processes. Regarding this issue it is noted that 'the market for acquisitions changed dramatically in the 1980s as government policies facilitated 'mergers for efficiency' rather than 'merger for diversity'' (Lubatkin et al., 1997, 59). On the other hand, it is proved that the effects of M&A on a firm's performance can be differentiated - the financial strength of the acqu irer may not directly supported or increased - long term benefits are rather to be expected in case of development of the relevant process. The above issue is highlighted in the study of Flanagan (1996) where it is noted that 'purely related acquirers benefit more than purely unrelated acquirers; acquiring firm stockholder returns were also higher if the acquisition was friendly or a tender offer' (Flanagan, 1996, 823). At a next level, it is noted that 'acting in a socially responsible and lawful manner is a necessary, though not sufficient, condition for increasing shareholder wealth' (Frooman, 1997, 221).Of course, it is possible that the effects of M&A do not appear within a short period after the completion of the process. The reasons

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Ethics and Local Governance Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ethics and Local Governance - Case Study Example The council officers might be tempted to use this information in a manner that would not be proper or acceptable. It is indeed true that the employees of the council might be bound by rules and regulations which govern their conduct and ensures the confidentiality with respect to the information from the citizens. Nevertheless, despite such ethical requirements, some of the information might be used wrongly in a manner that can affect the citizens. Many of the council employees are constantly working to update the information or to get as much information as possible from the citizens. In such a case, they are bound by the rules to ensure that such information is only used for the intended purposed and should not even be accessed by unauthorized persons. It is therefore important for the workers to strictly adhere to all these rules and regulations in the most effective way and ensure that confidentiality is adhered to. In the same way, they should only obtain the relevant information and avoid getting anything that is not required by the council (Singer, 2004). This aspect therefore raises a very important ethical consideration which must be realized. The accuracy of the information that is kept in the index largely depends upon the sincerity of the citizens who avail the information. In some instances, some citizens might chose to provide inaccurate information which will eventually affect the overall information kept in the database. Common ethics require that the citizens comply with the requirements and provide as accurate information as possible. However, some people might choose to lie or give inaccurate information for their personal good. In this case, the council would be working on inaccurate information in the provision of its services in the area. It is very important that every citizen clearly understands why this

REFLECTIVE LEARNING JOURNAL Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

REFLECTIVE LEARNING JOURNAL - Essay Example However, I was surprised to realize that it is not the faculty decision to change the evaluation methods. The decision is up to the dean of The Applied Medical Science who is not even a nurse. I think having such a bureaucratic system decreases innovation and creativity in a nursing college. It was great to know that yyyy University has modified its curriculum. More Nursing courses have been added to the program and include Nursing Informatics, Care of Older Adults, Principles of Education for Nurses, Counseling, Epidemiology, Nursing Theory, and Genetics for Nurses. I think adding these courses is a great move forward because it happens after hiring new faculties who get their PhDs in education from developed countries. This change makes me feel better about the future of nursing in Saudi Arabia because there is apt of improvement that just needs passionate personnel. The faculties were very welcoming and they accepted my ideas and me. Additionally, they were very encouraging especi ally because some of them had been my instructors when I was undergraduate student. They were also very proud of my accomplishments. That made me happy and more excited to go back to Saudi and contribute to the improvement of nursing education and ultimately nursing care in my country. I also feel grateful because I contributed to changes at Yanbu College in Yanbu city in Saudi Arabia. My brother is an associate professor at Yanbu Collage and teaches chemical engineering. I discussed with him the teaching pedagogies, the assessment, and evaluation methods I learned at xxxxx. At that time, I realized that having a PhD in a field does not mean that you can teach well. This is because my brother has a PhD in Chemical Engineering but he did not know how to be an effective educator. I was very excited telling him everything I could possibly remember from NUR 504, NUR 528, and NUR 600 courses. He liked the flipped classroom strategy

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Ethics and Local Governance Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ethics and Local Governance - Case Study Example The council officers might be tempted to use this information in a manner that would not be proper or acceptable. It is indeed true that the employees of the council might be bound by rules and regulations which govern their conduct and ensures the confidentiality with respect to the information from the citizens. Nevertheless, despite such ethical requirements, some of the information might be used wrongly in a manner that can affect the citizens. Many of the council employees are constantly working to update the information or to get as much information as possible from the citizens. In such a case, they are bound by the rules to ensure that such information is only used for the intended purposed and should not even be accessed by unauthorized persons. It is therefore important for the workers to strictly adhere to all these rules and regulations in the most effective way and ensure that confidentiality is adhered to. In the same way, they should only obtain the relevant information and avoid getting anything that is not required by the council (Singer, 2004). This aspect therefore raises a very important ethical consideration which must be realized. The accuracy of the information that is kept in the index largely depends upon the sincerity of the citizens who avail the information. In some instances, some citizens might chose to provide inaccurate information which will eventually affect the overall information kept in the database. Common ethics require that the citizens comply with the requirements and provide as accurate information as possible. However, some people might choose to lie or give inaccurate information for their personal good. In this case, the council would be working on inaccurate information in the provision of its services in the area. It is very important that every citizen clearly understands why this

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Why are Underdeveloped Countries Underdeveloped Essay

Why are Underdeveloped Countries Underdeveloped - Essay Example Yet development lags and some are arguing that the traditional means of attempting to spur development in these places simply does not work. The wisdom of direct relief payments and loans is being questioned. There appears to be a â€Å"giving† fatigue that is setting in amongst the wealthiest individuals, governments and organizations. The feeling that no amount of money can really spur true development in the poorest nations is disheartening, but real. Some scholars are suggesting that the root causes of the lack of development must first be addressed before real development can take place. The economic geographer Paul Collier suggests that there are four traps that developing nations fall into that keeps them in a perpetual state of underdevelopment and poverty (2007). The problem of eliminating poverty on the national and personal level then, is much more complicated as a result of these traps when considered individually or collectively. Nations that continue to struggle to meet the most basic demands of their citizens despite ample aid are hampered by conflicts and civil wars; corrupt governments, a dependence on natural resources for revenue and unfortunate geographical positioning. Conflict is the first and most prevalent trap that developing nations find themselves facing. Civil wars are common among the poorest nations for several reasons. One stems from the fact that in the poorest nations, there is always a political elite that concentrates wealth in the hands of the very few. This disparity, coupled with high unemployment rates among young men creates a situation where individuals view armed conflict as a legitimate means of accomplishing social justice (Hookway, 2000). Rebels in the Philippines were emboldened after European nations paid large sums of money to free hostages they had taken. Soon, many were scrambling to join the rebels, not because they were ideologically opposed to the current regime in Manila, but because they wanted to ca sh in on kidnapping tourists. As will be discussed later, the wealth of natural resources is also something that spurs conflict. Precious metals and minerals are often the target of rebel forces in developing nations. The real purpose of many civil wars in developing nations is for control of oil wells or diamond mines. The unequal opportunities for obtaining wealth in the developing world makes armed conflict very attractive to unemployed young men. The costs of warfare are felt for many years after the war is over. Some estimates state that on average, an economy shrinks at about 2.3% each year during a civil war (Collier and Hoeffler, 2005). If the conflict continues for a decade, the country will be 23% poorer than when the strife continued. With economies that grow slowly as a result of underdevelopment, the poorest nations may be looking at a decade of growth being consumed by the conflict. The propensity of fall back into armed conflict only heightens the effects of conflict on developing nations. A second trap that keeps the poorest nations poor is depending on resource extraction and exports for a large portion of national income. The more diverse the national economy, the more able the economy is to resist recession (Kirk, 1997). Diverse economies have been linked to greater political and economic stability. Depending on one commodity, such as oil or gold, is risky because it exposes the nation to boom and bust cycles. A good example of this was experienced in Nigeria. The discovery of oil in the Niger Delta was thought to be a great boon to Nigeria. Development activities began in earnest in the 1970’

Monday, October 14, 2019

Poetry Explication Essay Example for Free

Poetry Explication Essay Sir Walter Raleigh (1552-1618) was called a â€Å"silver poet of his time because of the way he did not conform to the poet writing style of the Renaissance era. He became fairly popular with Queen Elizabeth I and was knighted in 1585. But he fell out of her good graces when he secretly married ladies without her permission. The queen locked him in the Tower of London for some time, and while he was locked up he was writing poetry. He was ultimately arrested and executed in 1618 to appease the Spanish government for some ransacking that his men did on one of their voyages through America. His works are everything from plain to somber and that is one of the main things that made him a great poet. The Nymph’s Reply  Ã¢â‚¬Å"The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd† by Sir Walter Raleigh has many themes and interpretations. The poem describes love and time, but the most important thing that I think it describes is â€Å"Carpe Diem† or seizing the day. The poem is a response to Christopher Marlowe’s â€Å"The Passionate Shepherd to His Love†. Marlowe’s poem describes a shepherd trying to win over the one he loves by promising her all of these earthly things, but Raleigh’s poem is the woman seemingly denying the shepherd’s advances and saying that all of the earthly things that he promised will all eventually pass away and be forgotten. The Nymph says that the only way we can be together is if youth lasted forever and their passionate love knew no time. I believe that the theme of this poem is carpe diem and the poetic elements that support that are alliteration, visual imagery, and situational irony. The first element that helps describes Carpe Diem is in the poem is alliteration. Raleigh’s use of alliteration really helps get his points across to the reader and helps the transactions be smoother. Like in the line, â€Å"These pretty pleasures might me move† (1224), Raleigh uses alliteration to almost mock the shepherd’s advances on the nymph. And also in the line, â€Å"Time drives the flocks from field to fold† (1224), Raleigh  uses alliteration to help to say that time changes everything. That is the reason why alliteration supports the theme of Carpe Diem. The only way the Nymph will accept the shepherd’s love is if they forever live in the present where they are young and passionate. The nymph does not want earthly things that will wither or sour throughout time, but rather she wants things to be eternal and stay fresh. These examples are a perfect form of Carpe Diem, and that is why alliteration helps get the main point across to the reader. The next poetic element that helps represent Carpe Diem in the poem is the imagery, more specifically the visual imagery. Raleigh uses imagery to help support Carpe Diem by showing the disadvantages of time. He shows the readers how moods change with the seasons, flowers will wither, and things grow old all through imagery. Like in the lines, â€Å"Thy cap, thy kirtle, and thy posies Soon break, soon wither, soon forgotten† (1224-1225), Raleigh helps the reader see the flowers withering through time. He even does so well as to put images in the reader’s mind of things fading away and being forgotten. When Raleigh uses imagery to diminish time he is also using it to uplift Carpe Diem at the same time. And that is how imagery helps support the theme of Carpe Diem. The final poetic element that helps support the theme of Carpe Diem is irony. And the specific irony used in the poem is situational irony. The sense of helplessness by the shepherd is apparent throughout the poem. The shepherd has to listen to the nymph deny all the things he promised her, and tell him that the only way that they can be together forever is if they can stay young forever. This is why it is situational irony because there is nothing the shepherd can do so that he and the nymph can live young forever. The best he can give her is Carpe Diem and try to live in the now while the passion is still fresh, but ultimately they could never be together forever. This sense of situational irony is why it is a perfect example of Carpe Diem. In conclusion the poem itself really displayed strong cultural values of its time period. It showed that during the time of romanticism Carpe Diem was a big thing back then. It was a great poem with many key points and I enjoyed  reading it.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Graduation Speech -- Graduation Speech, Commencement Address

High school. I never realized it would bring so many changes. As I walked on to campus my freshman year, my mindset was the same as it was in eighth grade; the young are invincible. And although I was excited to come to high school I had many fears. Would the classes be too hard, would I make new friends, what could I become involved in, and most of all -- what if I get lost? All of these fears eventually subsided and I, along with all of you, found the right classes and the right teachers. We all made new friends. We all got involved in something. During my freshman year, innocence surrounded me and although eventually my shell would crack, not until this year have I broken through. This year I decided that it is time to soar on my own. Graduation is the beginning of a new flight for all of us, the class of 1997. Confucius once said, "Our greatest glory is not in never failing but in rising every time we fall." As a class, we have done our best not to fail. Pep assemblies, dances, food drives, games, and conquering the senior lot are just some of the things we accomplished. We pu... Graduation Speech -- Graduation Speech, Commencement Address High school. I never realized it would bring so many changes. As I walked on to campus my freshman year, my mindset was the same as it was in eighth grade; the young are invincible. And although I was excited to come to high school I had many fears. Would the classes be too hard, would I make new friends, what could I become involved in, and most of all -- what if I get lost? All of these fears eventually subsided and I, along with all of you, found the right classes and the right teachers. We all made new friends. We all got involved in something. During my freshman year, innocence surrounded me and although eventually my shell would crack, not until this year have I broken through. This year I decided that it is time to soar on my own. Graduation is the beginning of a new flight for all of us, the class of 1997. Confucius once said, "Our greatest glory is not in never failing but in rising every time we fall." As a class, we have done our best not to fail. Pep assemblies, dances, food drives, games, and conquering the senior lot are just some of the things we accomplished. We pu...

Saturday, October 12, 2019

Benefits of the world Trade Organization Essay -- essays research pape

Benefits of the World Trade Organization   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One of the biggest firms associated with globalization is the World Trade Organization. The World Trade Organization is the only international body that deals with the rules of trading between nations. It has evolved over the past half century into an entity that contract with the trade of services, intellectual property as well as its original intent of the trade of goods. The WTO controls most trade in the world today through over 100 countries, and even more on the way. The World Trade Organization is beneficial economically and we should support its principles.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The original and main goal of the WTO is to remove trade barriers between countries, which is a major idea behind globalization. Anyone who knows the slightest bit of economics knows that trade is beneficial to a country as a whole. When free trade is allowed it opens up foreign markets for domestic producers. It also opens up the possibility of foreign competition in domestic markets. This fact will lead to the reduction in price of many products, which will benefit the consumer. Trade restrictions hurt the consumer, and this is a problem that the WTO is charged with addressing.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the 1980’s when Japanese cars were quickly gaining a foothold in the American market the US limited the number of imports from Japan, in theory to protect the American worker. In response to this, car prices rose extremely. If the imports were to be allowed into the United States it would no doubt have a short-term negative effect on the economy. This would all change however when a shift in the economy occurred or the American producers were forced to make better products which in the end will benefit the costumer. The long-term benefits, although hard to see by many politicians, would benefit our country in the long run.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The WTO also makes life much simpler for companies wishing to import raw materials from outside of the United States in order to make finished goods through Non-discrimination. If the WTO did not exist then the United States in all likelihood would have different import duties applying to different nations. Therefore if a company from the US wanted to import a raw material it would not be a simple case of... ... the numerous obstacles that only the larger firms were equipped to maneuver around in China. Thus all businesses working from within the United States will have the fair opportunity to extend their reach into China. China will also receive the same benefits once it enters the WTO and will be able to sell its products much easier to member countries. This fact will help the Chinese worker because member countries will tend not to buy Chinese goods if they know they were made in sweat shops or other places hurtful to the workers. The WTO will recognize this fact too and force China to provide better working conditions for its workers. The World Trade Organization’s principles should be supported and embraced. The WTO is a large step in the right direction to globalization. The long term benefits of free trade far outweigh only argument critics can come up with, which are short-term economic losses. The WTO is structured in a way that every member country is treated fairly and if not they can safely argue and settle disputes. The potential for new markets for all business world-wide are also great, and this in itself should be enough for any person to agree with its necessity.

Friday, October 11, 2019

Money as a Motivator Essay

Money as a Motivator: The reasoning behind it. Organizational Behavior March 26, 2013 Table of Contents Executive Summary†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.3 What is money†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.4 How important money is†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.4-6 Why companies move to poor countries†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..6 Money motivation theories†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.7-8 Keeping employee’s satisfied†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚ ¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦8-10 Embezzlement scandals†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.10-12 Summary†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 11-13 Executive Summary The dynamic force that ultimately guides work-related behavior is money, money and only money. In defining the word money on the other hand, we look beyond of what is generally accepted money only being paper, notes and coins, seeing that we believe money in the circumstances of the workplace can exist in various forms. In this case, it is obvious to see that what motivates a company to move towards globalization, according to the facts that it is money and only money. This is one of the reasons we disagree with theorists like Fredrick Herzberg that came up with reasoning or the idea that money does not motivate, â€Å"†¦So for Herzberg money was not a motivator† (Chapman, 2001). Money motivates me to do lots of things, as it does you, and a lot of money would motivate me to do things that I wouldn’t do for less. Famous sayings like â€Å"money makes the world go around†, â€Å"money makes the mare go† and â€Å"show me the money† successfully serve as testaments to our argument but reflecting on the previous examples, money as we have defined it, is clearly the sole motivator in work and many other environments. In the unfortunate cases, money as the sole motivator in the workplace ranges from exploitation of people for cheap labor in some countries, to more publicly-known crimes such as murder and embezzlement. What is actually is money? This is a very commonly asked question, especially  in today’s society. Money is nothing but what you see- printed coins and paper, yet looking at society today it is plain to see money plays a critical part. (Elliott, 2007) There is absolutely no question that we live in a very materialistic world today that we are selves have actually created. In this kind of society, it is strongly believed that the only true motivation is that of â€Å"making the most money.† We, the approving team believe this to be true, especially in the workplace where it seems play the biggest part. The dynamic force that ultimately guides work-related behavior is money, money and only money. That is â€Å"only money motivates people, to get the job done.† According to the Oxford Dictionary the term motivate is defined as â€Å"to give incentive to†, or â€Å"the reason why a person(s) is behaving or acting in a certain way.† It is regarded as the â€Å"internal drive† that can enforce an individual to portray distinct behavior (Kreitner, 1995). In defining the word money on the other hand, we look beyond of what is generally accepted money only being paper, notes and coins, seeing that we believe money in the circumstances of the workplace can exist in various forms. Examples of which include; the sharing of profits, commissions, and tips, share issues as well as objects that can be or are of high monetary value. The following paragraphs will explain to the readers that prove the statement â€Å"only money motivates† by clarifying various examples that have perceived to confirm this statement as indefinitely true. You only have to take one look at society today to really acknowledge that only money motivates. The lottery as an example, there are no other logical reason behind a person’s motive in buying a lottery ticket, or any other form of a gambling ticket other than that person being motivated by the idea they could win a very large lump-sum of money. Things like reality television and radio today will entice people with an amount of money to exploit themselves in every way possible or thinkable way. Let’s can this statement for example, would you hunt down the one person that holds hundreds and hundreds of dollars for the fun of it? Would you eat a year old rotting cow’s intestine out of your own free will? There are also many significant past events have also given people that drive to be, motivated  by money. In the years between1896-1900 the event known infamously as the Klondike Gold Rush created absolute chaos in the Yukon, Canada. The Yukon’s population exploded in the next 3 years as people rushed from everywhere in the world to try their luck in increasing their wealth and fortune, this is a prime example motivated purely by their hopes and in some cases dreams of discovering of gold, in â€Å"the great north of Canada.† (Yukon, 2013) In the workplace today, we are also finding a very similar trend occurring. Money is the reason behind the choice made by numerous men and women today to bid farewell their love ones, friends and colleagues to seek better paid job opportunities overseas, or here in Canada across the country. Engineers, electricians, mechanics, and countless other people are being lured overseas or cross country by wages that allow those people to enjoy the greater comforts in life, and jobs that provide them enough opportunities to grow or move up the ‘totem pole’ in their fields. This opportunity is so great that it also allows for a possible job change. A great man once said â€Å"Money has never made man happy, nor will it, there is nothing in its nature that to produce happiness. The more of it one has the more one wants.† That was said by Benjamin Franklin, former president of the United States of America. (Franklin, 2013) There is no doubt that this case is just one of many. An article with the heading ‘Growing crisis for our hospitals as 5,500 a year join the brain drain in search of better pay’ (Browne, 2001) says it all. Not only are engineers making the move overseas, but they are shifting their focus beyond their national home borders to seek better wages. These individuals are motivated purely by the concept and desire of higher salaries, and a seemingly better life. The motivating powers of money are also drawing the attentions of many star athletes. Soccer and Hockey are a good example, where they take every possible opportunity to play for the ‘highest bidder’, or make the most amount of money, which unfortunately sees a lot of great talent leaving the country. Have they forgone the opportunity to pride fully play for their own country just for the sake of a higher salary? It does appear so. In addition, it has also been noted that professional tennis players have refused to play at some of the greatest tennis courts in the world, because  the monetary awards were not to the player’s satisfaction. Workers and professional athletes are not the only ones packing up to seek better financial opportunities and rewards. Companies have also started to focus their efforts in a more globalized-context by becoming promising multinational companies. There is only one motive behind big multinational companies; they make billions upon billions of dollars. What motivates a multinational company to hire labors from poor countries? They have the ability to make greater profits, because of the lower pay-out. Seeing as people in poorer countries will work for less, multinational companies have realized the way to save big on wages and further increase their profits is to utilize this ‘cheap labor’. In this case, it is obvious to see that what motivates a company to move towards globalization, according to the facts that it is money and only money. This might not always be a bad thing, because these companies do bring work to these countries that might not otherwise have any work. (Dollar, 2012) There are a numerous jobs in society there today, some which most people are less than willing to perform. Yet there are so many people who are willing to perform these jobs every single day. A garbage collector who collects foul smelling trash daily stands by their work because they know they are getting paid enough for their efforts. This is the only reason why they choose to do what they do. You could say, to them â€Å"only money motivates† in this instance. These jobs have nothing to offer in terms of working conditions and other job benefits, all they have to offer is money. These people do not care about the conditions, because the money alone is enough to satisfy. This is one of the reasons we disagree with theorists like Fredrick Herzberg that came up with reasoning or the idea that money does not motivate, â€Å"†¦So for Herzberg money was not a motivator† (Chapman A. , 2001). Thomas A Stewart a writer for Business 2.0 magazines claims â€Å"Money is not a motivator, and that statement is complete nonsense. Money motivates me to do lots of things, as it does you, and a lot of money would motivate me to do things that I wouldn’t do for less. Money motivates.† (Chapman T. ) The reoccurring incidences of wages disputes and industrial strikes that have  loomed society also offer a proving point as to why only money motivates. Qantas baggage handlers and freight workers were recently involved in a protracted dispute with the company about wages. (News, 2011) More significant recently were the strikes of nearly 4000 Sydney bus drivers, which affected most of us in some way. This big fuss was caused all by one major issue- pay. Bus drivers of Sydney had called for a 27% increase in their base wage over three years. Claiming that, their pay had fallen far behind other public sector jobs in recent years. Everywhere in the media we hear about unhappy workers calling for pay rises. Yet you never do you hear workers striking over other workplace related issues. It almost sounds unbelievable for a group of staff if they were receiving high pay packages, to strike over their belief that they feel unappreciated or undervalued in the workplace and because they feel their achievement have gone unnoticed by managers at work. This subject matter then makes want to ask where non-monetary gestures fit in all this? Our belief is that non-monetary factors such as working conditions, interpersonal relationships and organizational policies and procedures are not motivators but merely hygiene factors that only serve to keep people from being dissatisfied, so here we indeed agree with Herzberg’s theory of motivation. We believe the factors that provide job satisfaction only cause and strengthen organizational commitment, but not motivation or work performance. Many people these days would rather work overtime, weekends and nights than call it a day if they knew they were in return receiving a bonus from their supervisor. As mentioned before monetary rewards such as share and stocks can also be regarded as money. Many companies offer these options to their employees to motivate them towards achieving the organizational goals of higher work productivity and performance. Last year, Vodafone granted share options to more than 42000 employees around the world. Each employee receiving an option to buy Vodafone shares with a face value equal to 50% of their annual salary (Vodafone, 2001). Proposed plans like these have been a success as a survey conducted in 1997 discovered that broad-based stock option companies  had 31% more productivity than all public companies (NCEO). Share schemes are improving productivity because employees are realizing that the more profit the business makes the greater the dividend they receive. This will thereby securely aligning the employee’s individual goals of making money with the organization’s overall objective of profitability and success. Money is also the only reason behind employees staying with a company. Offering bonuses and having an above-average salary. Entrepreneurship maintains if you want to keep and retain employees you must: 1. Pay employees higher than market rates; ‘employees stay happier and work harder if they are paid higher than the normal market rates.’ 2. Establish a signing or continuation bonus. One local entrepreneur offered a key receptionist a $5,000 bonus if she stayed three more years. If she left before the three years, then she was legally responsible for the prorated share of the bonus not earned. We believe that bonuses that tie employees to the company over a three to four year time period are excellent investments. 3. Have an incentive system in place. It is plain to see that more money will motivate an employee to stay with their firm and therefore insure the long-term viability of the business. Would having flexible hours and challenging work entice an employee to stay, if they are not receiving an appealing pay package? It is highly unlikely. 4. Create a culture of education, for employees; the single most important motivational factor was the ability to learn. To keep employees motivated, agencies need to build a culture of learning, where employees leave more enriched at the end of each day. 5. Provide regular, consistent feedback. Employee feedback is a critical part of the education process, and shouldn’t just be relegated to the annual review. To be effective, feedback needs to be specific and actionable. But that’s not always how it works. In a study by Leadership IQ, 53 percent of employees said that when their boss praises excellent performance, the feedback does not provide enough useful information to help them repeat it. And 65 percent responded that when their boss criticizes poor performance, it doesn’t provide enough useful information to help them correct the issue. (Daniel Debow, 2011) On a different note yet still on the context of the workplace, money has also motivated a minority group of individuals to the extreme point of corruption. Sneza Suteski, an accounts clerk, was found guilty of murder for arranging the death of her boss. What was her motive? Money, Suteski devised an â€Å"elaborate and complex† scheme by changing bank numbers in the automatic payments system for invoices she got approval for that would have seen $500,000 flow into the bank accounts of herself, her brother and her ex-boyfriend (Crichton, 2002). This case serves to prove the extreme motivational power of money in the workplace, even if it involved carrying out something horrendous like murder. Emphasizing the point once again, that people are purely driven by money. Embezzlement is another workplace related crime purely motivated by money. It involves the act of an employee stealing company funds from their employers. This month, there are many â€Å"famous† embezzlement cases throughout the world, this case is just one of many. In 1997, Yasuyoshi Kato embezzled $90 million from Day-Lee Food’s Inc. (Marguet, 2011). This case is seen as the worst embezzlement case in the history of the United States. This is just one of many cases of embezzlement that is going on in workplaces today. Employees that carry out these unethical and dishonest acts are driven by the thought of getting their hands on one thing only- money. Famous sayings like â€Å"money makes the world go around†, â€Å"money makes the mare go† and â€Å"show me the money† successfully serve as testaments to our argument but reflecting on the previous examples, money as we have defined it, is clearly the sole motivator in work and many other environments. In fact, it is such a powerful motivator that it enables people to consistently work under conditions that the majority wouldn’t wish to encounter for a day. On the other hand, if people don’t have enough, workers and unions are happy to disrupt the lives of the public to get more money and where this is not possible, many sporting and other individuals are happy to leave the country in search of it. In the unfortunate cases, money as the sole motivator in the workplace ranges from exploitation of people for cheap labor in some countries, to more publicly-known crimes such as murder and embezzlement.  Ultimately, there is no doubt in our minds and everyone else’s heads that ‘only money motivates’. Summary Money is nothing but what you see- printed coins and paper, yet looking at society today it is plain to see money plays a critical part. The dynamic force that ultimately guides work-related behavior is money, money and only money. That is â€Å"only money motivates people, to get the job done.† In defining the word money on the other hand, we look beyond of what is generally accepted money only being paper, notes and coins, seeing that we believe money in the circumstances of the workplace can exist in various forms. You only have to take one look at society today to really acknowledge that only money motivates. The lottery as an example, there are no other logical reason behind a person’s motive in buying a lottery ticket, or any other form of a gambling ticket other than that person being motivated by the idea they could win a very large lump-sum of money. There are also many significant past events have also given people that drive to be, motivated by money. Money is the reason behind the choice made by numerous men and women today to bid farewell their love ones, friends and colleagues to seek better paid job opportunities overseas, or here in Canada across the country. In this case, it is obvious to see that what motivates a company to move towards globalization, according to the facts that it is money and only money. This is one of the reasons we disagree with theorists like Fredrick Herzberg that came up with reasoning or the idea that money does not motivate, â€Å"†¦So for Herzberg money was not a motivator† (Chapman, 2001). Money motivates me to do lots of things, as it does you, and a lot of money would motivate me to do things that I wouldn’t do for less. The reoccurring incidences of wages disputes and industrial strikes that have loomed society also offer a proving point as to why only money motivates. Our belief is that non-monetary factors such as working conditions, interpersonal relationships and organizational policies and procedures are not motivators but merely hygiene factors that only serve to keep people from being dissatisfied, so here we indeed agree with Herzberg’s theory of motivation. Many companies offer these options to their employees to motivate them towards achieving the organizational goals of higher work productivity and performance. It is plain to see that more money will motivate an employee to stay with their firm and therefore insure the long-term viability of the business. On a different note yet still on the context of the workplace; money has also motivated a minority group of individuals to the extreme point of corruption. This case serves to prove the extreme motivational power of money in the workplace, even if it involved carrying out something horrendous like murder. Embezzlement is another workplace related crime purely motivated by money. Famous sayings like â€Å"money makes the world go around†, â€Å"money makes the mare go† and â€Å"show me the money† successfully serve as testaments to our argument but reflecting on the previous examples, money as we have defined it, is clearly the sole motivator in work and many other environments. In the unfortunate cases, money as the sole motivator in the workplace ranges from exploitation of people for cheap labor in some countries, t o more publicly-known crimes such as murder and embezzlement. Bibliography Chapman, A. (2001). Frederick Herzberg motivational theory. Retrieved March 9, 2013, from http://businessball.com: http://www.businessballs.com/herzberg.htm Chapman, T. (n.d.). Business 2.0. Crichton, S. (2002, May 29). Cold hang behind her boss’s murder gets 24 years’ jail. Retrieved March 13, 2013, from http://www.smh.com/au: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/05/28/1022569772348.html Daniel Debow, R. (2011). 5 ways to keep your rockstar employee’s happy. Dollar, D. (2012). Making Globalization Work for the Poor. Retrieved from http://worldbank.org: http://live.worldbank.org/making-globalization-work-poor Elliott, M. F. (2007). Greenwood Guides to Business and Ecomomics: Money. Westport, Conneticut : Greenwood Press. Franklin, B. (2013, Feburary 24). www.brainyquotes.com. Retrieved from Brainy Quotes. Marguet, C. T. (2011, April 22). The top 10 embezzlement cases in modern US history. Retrieved March 16, 2013, from marquetinternational: http://www.marquetinternational.com/pdf/top_10_embezzlement_cases_in_us_history.pdf NCEO. (n.d.). Broadly Granted Stock Options Improve Corporate Performance. Retrieved March 16, 2013, from www.nceo.org:

Thursday, October 10, 2019

Kamikaze, Japan’s Suicide Gods Essay

Kamikaze is a Japanese word meaning â€Å"divine wind†. ‘Kami’ means ‘divine’ and ‘kaze’ ‘wind’. Kamikaze owes its origins to the 1274 and 1281 typhoons which wrought havoc on invasion forces from Mongolia. A Japanese World War II pilot specially trained to destroy an enemy ship by crashing on it was referred to as kamikaze. The plane to be used for such an attack, usually laden with explosives also bore the same name. Special air suicide attack units were given this name in World War II in 1944-45. The kamikaze concept originated from lower ranks officers in the field when they reported that pilots and crew were experiencing accidental crashes. Captain Motoharu first brought up the subject and led to the launch of initial investigations on the feasibility and modes of executing deliberate assaults. The Thunder Gods project was initiated soon afterwards in 1944 (Axell, 2002, p. 13) The first formal mention of kamikaze missions was in august 1944 when the Domei News Agency reported that Takeo Tagata, A flight instructor, was training pilots for suicide attacks in Taiwan. It is also claimed that the first kamikaze mission was carried out on September 13th 1944 after which the 31st Fighter Squadron of the army based on Negros Island imitated the following day. Takeshi Kosai, First Lieutenant and a sergeant, destined to crash into carriers, took off in separate fighter planes each loaded with 100 kilogram bombs. Other sources assert that the US cruiser, USS Reno CL96 was suicide bombed on October 14th 1944. It is also claimed that the commander of the 26th Air Flotilla, Captain Masafumi Arima, developed the kamikaze concept. He led 100 Yokosuka D4Y dive bombers to attack Franklin, an aircraft carrier on October 15th 1944. Arima got killed in the assault and was rewarded with the post of Admiral posthumously. Top ranking Japanese military officials embraced Arima’s example as a source of military propaganda. The attack of Suluan Island by Allied forces set off the battle of Leyte Gulf. The responsibility of destroying the Allied forces in Leyte Gulf lay with the 1st Air Fleet of the Japanese Navy. The 1st Air Fleet had the limitation of having only 40 planes: 3 Nakajima B6N Tenzan Torpedo bombers, 34 Mitsubishi zero fighters, 1 Mitsubishi G4M and 2 Yokosuka P1Y Ginga land bombers. This made the task ahead appear impossible and prompted Vice Admiral Takijiro Onishi, the 1st Air Fleet commandant to constitute the Special Attack Unit. Onishi told the 201st flying group pilots of the plan on October 19th at a meeting at Mabalacat airfield near Manila. The assault would involve crashing a zero bomber with 250 kilogram bomb and ramming it into a US carrier with a view of grounding all American carriers. The initial plan was to only involve volunteers in such attacks. Onishi lied to the pilots that their commander, Captain Sakai Yamamoto, already knew of the plan when the pilots requested for an approval from their own boss. Yamamoto was, however, in hospital after a motor vehicle accident and thus he was not privy to Onishi’s plans. The 23 pilots in attendance volunteered and hence the first anti-Allied forces suicide strikes at Leyte were executed in a few days time (Astor, 1999, 32). The impact of the kamikaze strikes was momentous, damage greater than any preceding one was inflicted on the allied forces ships. The Japanese military top officials decided to have humans man rocket-propelled bombs, an operation they called Thunder Gods. The task of designing the flying bomb was signed to the Japan Aeronautical Research Laboratory. This was to counter the problems experienced in the remote guidance of German rockets and the threat of the advancing Allied forces. The Thunder Gods project initially had 100 volunteers whose training was parallel to the construction of the pioneer 150 Ohka rocket bombs. Japan’s strategy was the stationing of Thunder Gods in Formosa and the Philippines. American submarines and carrier ships didn’t allow maneuvering south from Japan. The November 27th 1944 sinking of Shinano, Japan’s carrier ship, by Archerfish, the American submarine, proved that America had firmly held its base in the region. Shinano held the first batch of 50 Ohkas. Unryu, a Japanese carrier loaded with the next 30 Ohkas was also sunk a few weeks later while traveling to the Philippines. It then became clear that Thunder Gods project would be fail. Students were mandated to recite the oath of the Imperial Rescript on Education as a ritual after the decree was passed in 1890. The oath stated that individuals would offer themselves, including sacrificing their lives, to the state as well as protect the Imperial family. Under the oath, dying for the emperor or for Japan was honorable. The Meiji restoration saw the establishment of Shinto as a state religion. Shinto doctrines were rampant in Japan in 1944 to 1945 and they were instrumental in the promotion of nationalism. Many Japanese were of the view that to be honored at the Yasukumi shrine, which the Emperor visited twice yearly, was a great honor. Many sailors, pilots and soldiers were thus mentally prepared to die and become eirei, ‘guardian spirits’ of the country (Axel, Kase, 2002, p. 35). Books and newspapers published stories, articles and advertisements about the suicide bombers after the kamikaze strategy was adopted. A case in point is the Nippon Times October 1944 issue which ran an article with the view of aiding the recruitment of the special attack corps. The propaganda that kamikaze were enshrined at Yasukumi from publishers and exaggerated stories of the kamikaze added to the Japanese ideology that kamikaze were divine people. Peer pressure also had a hand in popularizing the kamikaze. The Japanese government also had its share in the fanning of the kamikaze spirit by falsely declaring victories (Axell, Kase, 2002, p. 38). Ancient folklore also helped in the recruitment of volunteers into the suicide missions. For instance, it was widely believed that the bonds connecting an individual to his family were similar to the ones that joined him to his nation. The Japanese so valued their close relationship with both the emperor and the nation that they were convinced that it would be useless to be Japanese if one didn’t have this links. Spiritistic ceremonies were held to bid kamikaze farewell before they departed to their assignments. The Japanese flag or the Japanese naval flag with spiritually inspirational words written on it were given to the kamikaze. The soldiers also drank sake; a-rice based alcoholic drink, before leaving. A headband with the rising sun and sennibari, a belt with a thousand stitches each made by a single woman were also among the kamikaze insignia. The kamikaze were also supposed to compose a death poem and read it. This feat borrows heavily from the samurai, a pre-industrial Japan military nobility. Samurai also composed and read a death poem before undertaking seppuku, a Japanese disembowelment ritual. It is alleged that the kamikaze pilots flew southwest over mount Kaimon. The pilots then looked back to face the mountain, said farewell to Japan and saluted the mountain. This is an indication that some spiritism was associated with the kamikaze missions (Astor, 1998, p. 47). The 1281 AD invasion of Japan by Mongols prompted the emperor to pray for divine salvation. A huge typhoon came up and drowned the enemy by sinking their ships. The typhoon was called kamikaze or the ‘divine wind’. This episode was one inspiration of the kamikaze suicide missions in World War II. The pilots had the divine mission of destroying their enemy. Suicide pilot manuals instructed pilots to obtain a high level of spiritual training, be always pure-hearted and cheerful and to maintain perfect health conditions. This instructions were found in a book ‘Transcend life and death’ which were given to each pilot. Pilots were supposed to loudly yell ‘Hissatsu’ translated ‘sink without fail’ moments before crashing into a target. Many kamikaze had the conviction that by crashing into a target, they would pay the debts they owed their friends’ families and the Emperor. The heavy sanctions imposed on Japan by the United States and Washington’s order for Japan to vacate China precipitated the Pacific war in which kamikaze were utilized (Astor, 1998, p. 54). References Astor, G. (1999). The greatest war: Americans in combat, 1944-1945. California, United States. Presidio Press, pp. 32, 47, 54 Axell, A. & Kase, H. (2002). Kamikaze: Japan’s suicide gods. London, United Kingdom. Longman Publishers, Pp. 13, 35, 38

Junk foods Essay

Research has revealed that the increase in the junk foods industry is interrelated with the rapid increase in the obesity pandemic. Junk foods contain high calories and fats and are therefore the sole ingredient in the spread of overweight and obesity. The cause for alarm is that the targeted lots are the pre-school, school going children and adolescents. Over the years, the number of school going children becoming overweight and obese has increased two fold because they easily access the fast foods and junk foods outlets. Overweight is a condition responsible for so many other diseases: these are like: heart diseases, type 2 diabetes, high pertension, the gallbladder disease, infertility and weakened immune system, just to mention but a few. The illnesses aside, obese people face social stigma: the society discriminates the victims because people normally believe that they are to blame for their conditions. As such, they do not freely intermingle with the rest for fear of such stigmatization (Cassell, D. 000). Junk foods should therefore not be encouraged in schools because of the health effects that follow and because basically ‘prevention is better than cure’. The junk food culture today has become a social custom and so many school going children therefore just take these foodstuffs to conform to what other people-especially their peers- are doing to identify with them. Such environments that are conducive to weight gain make school going children more vulnerable to obesity. In most cases, non-healthy foods are more affordable than the healthy alternatives: junk food manufactures make the foods more attractive because of the labeling that is more appealing. When children grow up not knowing how to prepare healthy foods, they resort to cheaper and less time consuming –in preparation-foods which are obviously more energy giving and have high percentages of calories. Apart from school going children, even adults are not spared in then spread of the obesity pandemic, and this is a cause for alarm in the society (Jefferies, R.  B 2005). To perfectly understand the correlation between increased consumption of junk foods and the increase in prevalence of obesity, the role of junk foods in nutrition related disorders should be analyzed. Junk foods and fast foods consumption coupled with little or no healthy exercise is the sole reason for the abrupt increase in overweight and obesity especially in urbanized regions. In such regions, the quality of the diets is questionable; this has led to the increase in obesity which in severe cases leads to death. The probability of overweight children becoming overweight way into adulthood is very high, and chances of such a person dying prematurely are high too. Obesity caused by excess consumption of junk foods has dire economic effects: since obesity leads to other diseases like high blood pressure, the costs of treating these ailments are far above the ground. A country’s healthcare system is hard-pressed: this is a financial weigh down since the biggest percentage of the healthcare costs are taken care of by the tax payers. The costs divided into direct and indirect costs: direct costs are those that are injected into the direct treatment of the disease, prevention and diagnosis and research. Expenditure that is not direct are those of the employment asset value of employees lost due to the people who are sick and the employment benefits lost due to passing away of the employees. Hospital bills are very costly since these funds run into billions that could be injected into other projects, this means that overall, the economy of a country strains due to this pandemic (Hernell,O 2005). The psychological effects are among other things, negative body image or low self esteem, unease, dejection and more often than not, obese individuals carry out themselves in a way that is not socially healthy. Social stigmatization can be eliminated by increase in education about obesity matters. The position that the sale of junk food promotes school activities-as held by many- holds no water; this is because the students’ health and the society’s’ health in general is more important than that financial aspect of it. To say that the society is going to make money at the expense of children’s health is unreasonable; this explains why junk food sales should not be encouraged in schools at any cost. Thanks to excessive consumption of junk foods, tooth decay and disorders have increased to epidemic levels and dental care is needed, this is very costly given that the economy is not forthcoming. Osteoporosis is an even major fear and the overall treatment of these diseases is very costly, all said and done, prevention of these diseases by discouraging the consumption of junk foods is less costly (Cataldo, R. 000). Another reason why junk foods should be discouraged in schools is because these foodstuffs create a ‘bliss point’: this is a point where a person eating them feels hungrier and wants more and more. The ingredients used to make junk foods like sugar and fats are addictive; the worst party of it is that the foods are always available and therefore the temptation of taking more and more is hard to resist. These modern foods are hyper appetizing and the end results of most of such foods is to create and or arouse a mind-set of pleasure. Research has proven that half the populations of people who are obese and overweight are more likely to be restless or, better said, over-active than their normal counterparts. Once these people are electrified, the neurons in the brain trigger more action making their systems to demand more food to eat-more often than not, this means yearning for more junk foods. The bliss point is the peak of wanting more salt, sugar and fats: these are the ingredients for desserts and other junk foods and at the best possible level, ones appetite is excited to want more of such foods (Hollander, T 2004). The evil of junk foods is that they make us to desire less of healthy foods and therefore discourage healthy eating: this fact explains why junk foods should no be encouraged in schools. Healthy eating is one thing that constitutes discipline; when people do not eat healthy, they are considered not to be morally well-mannered and this is one of the contributory factors to social stigma experienced by people who are overweight. Healthy eating ensures fine health and therefore one is not at risk of getting diseases. When young adults eat healthy, this is a way of ensuring that they are responsible and that they need not wait for adults to instill good manners. Junk foods make students inactive (that is once they become overweight), this means a people of lazy character who can not get involved in much activity. Inactivity is disastrous in the work place and even in schools: this means that even the performance of students in class reduces abruptly and this is not impressive for the schools image. Should these people grow into adults and get to the employment fields, they become sluggish at work and this in turn leads to poor performance. Overweight people are more often than not discriminated at work and in extreme cases, they even could be paid at lower rates than their counterparts and this is not just. Inactivity or a country of inactive people is costly to the overall economic growth because this causes it to be low (Corrine B 1999). Junk foods by reducing activity lead to health issues that in the long run lead to disabilities, diabetes and arthritis are just some of the effects of eating these foods in excessive amounts and soon, people are eating themselves to premature death. Levels of cholesterol rise due to the same and insulin resistance thrives. Thanks to fast foods and unhealthy eating, breathing problems in men increase and in women, fertility rates decrease. The ingredients used to make junk foods are of very poor quality and are less rich in nutrients. The question is not the quantity of the food, rather, it is the quality, and this explains why the body does not get the right nutrients in the right proportions when someone eats junk food. On this note therefore, the individual eats more and more but does not get enough of the food, or rather, gets hungry too fast. Indeed, eating junk foods in excess is an act that triggers a health time bomb (Dare, C. 1999). These foodstuffs reduce the desire to want very much of foods rich in calcium: calcium is very important in bone structure construction and once we do not have enough of it, the effects are out of the ordinary. Young adults therefore suffer from poor bone structure at very tender ages hence reducing their life spans. Highly processes foods (as junk foods are) contain a lot of chemicals in their additives; we may not get obese but we could get other sicknesses. One may not even suffer when they are young but the side effects catch up with us as we age, so the solution is to stop eating these foods in the first place. It is not a small truth therefore to say that by eating these highly artificial foods, our systems get intoxicated with poisons. Some of the old age effects of these foods are early menopause: in spite of having poor fertility, menopause also catches up with us and this means women are at a greater risk (Escott, S. 1996) Since overweight and obesity are major concerns in the world at large and are caused by excessive consumption of junk foods, it is important to devise ways of preventing the disease in view of the fact, it is a health time bomb in waiting. Obesity slows down the metabolic rates (hence slowing down the process of breaking down of food) of the victims hence leading to inactivity and putting one at a risk of adding more weight. To curb this problem therefore, the solution is to eat healthy coupled with taking exercises. The rationale behind this argument is straight forward, when one exercises, the metabolic process or better said, the process of breaking down of fats is increased and therefore, the fats are emulsified or broken down into a more normal digestive process. One may either employ the services of a qualified nutritionist or adopt a healthier eating pattern: just enough body giving foods and more of the other essential nutrients in the right proportions. Eating healthy will have to be coupled with having the right attitude and great discipline. Again, one need to go on an exercising program, long brisk walks although not strenuous, jogging and probably going to the gym, reduction of average screen time and instead focusing on body fitness would just make a huge difference in health (Franseen, L. 1999). Another way out is to change ones lifestyle in a positive way: more often than not, the biggest barrier to change at times is the mind set. Often, one believes that they can not take up a challenge and change; this is normally when one believes that they can not achieve a certain goal. People are often caught up in busy schedules and do not have time to get involved in exercising programs. Another barrier to change is normally the environment in which one lives; people tend to conform to the lifestyles that other people lead in their surrounding. In this case the pointers to these lifestyles are trends in food and status. One needs to beat the barriers by evaluating the current lifestyle, identifying the flaws in the said lifestyle and making out the areas that need amendments. Information acquisition is important in this process and helps one learn healthy ways to lose weight (Garfinkel, P. E 1997). Support system helps one to lose a large mass of weight and doing it single-handedly. Friends can act like a source of enthusiasm in spite of the fact that they may not want to achieve the same objectives as you, they provide support just in case you may want to draw back. In a weight loss program, setting practical goals is one of the ways of achieving the goals of weight loss and management. Objectives that are short term and that are practical help one to gain the driving force towards their realization. In the same breath, an individual does an assessment to see where they have reached against how far they want to go and what they have so far achieved. In the instance that short term objectives are set, they prove helpful in achieving and the realization of the final objective (Rosenbloom, C. 999). As a point of concern, learning institutions should be made healthy places to learn: the quality of food served should therefore be of great importance both to the administration and to the society in general in order to guarantee security to our children. For students to learn at their full potentials, the feeding programs should ensure that the foods served are of high nutritional value and that they are fresh and attractive to the scholars and that the food service supports the learning institutions educational mission. School meals should meet the health standards of the regulatory authorities and these should also be met by the learning institutions’ feeding programs: these standards if imposed, the students will not be left at risk of feeding on junk and fast foods throughout the day. The regulatory authorities together with the learning institutions administration should ensure that the meals served in school grounds should offer a wide assortment of cultural cuisines to offer students with a variety to choose from (Woolsey, M. 2002). There should not be an incongruity between what the children are taught in learning institutions on nourishment and good eating habits and the reality on the ground, whether students are eating unhealthy foodstuffs or what is easily available is junk food. Against this background therefore, food and nutrition should be incorporated into the schools learning syllabus and the students should also learn about food preparation. At the grass roots levels, there should be established an advice-giving board that should comprise of the educators, parents and the community at large to come up with courses of action that govern school feeding programs. The advice-giving board should instill disciplinary action against the learning institutions that do not follow the resolutions passed, time and again; the board members should make impromptu visits and inspect the food service amenities and the set of choices of foodstuffs available for students. Such an arrangement would ensure good discipline on standards of hygiene and food quality especially if there is a feedback mechanism provided to monitor the implementation (Smith, A. F 2006). Medics say that eating of beans help in burning up calories: beans are low in fats and calories content and when one takes beans; they feel satisfied for as long as four hours. Often, one does not feel like eating when they are fully satisfied and as such, there is no temptation to eat junk foods. Exercises should also be done after meals so that the process of emulsification of fats is complete, aerobic classes are ideal in this case because as a matter of fact, stored fats are naturally turned into fats and stored in this form. Breakfast should be the largest meal in the entire and normal day; it should also be the meal that contains the largest amount of calories. Since there is a lot of activities during the mid-morning and the entire day, calories are burnt down easily and more rapidly. Biologically, eating food with very little calorie content is no the solution to weight loss, this is because when the body is at very low metabolism, it is considered famished. When the body lacks adequate nutrients, it becomes difficult to achieve loss of weight. Lifting weights is also Okayed as a way of loosing weight, this is because lifting weight increases muscles and this in turn increases the rate of burning down calories and fats. Drinking a lot of water is very healthy a method of reducing weight: the higher the amount one takes the higher the likelihood of loosing weight, when one feels hungry, it helps one to eat less. When one drinks water before eating, they do not eat much (Carolyn, C. 2004).