An Experience That Taught a Lesson Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

An Experience That Taught a Lesson - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that there are many occurrences and happenings in an individual’s life. Some of these experiences are very important and tend to leave a mark on a person’s life. These experiences tend to teach a person a lifelong lesson and have a strong impact on a person’s future decisions. The author also encountered one such experience in his school life that he will never forget. This event taught him an important lesson and molded his character and laid a strong influence on his future choices and ways. This important event took place when the narrator was in sixth grade in high school and opted for cheating to complete his work. His act was caught and the researcher learned an important lesson for his entire life. When he was in sixth grade, things were not very easy and it was difficult for him to cope up with his studies. The author was not scoring very well on his class assignments. He had decided that he would work harder fo r his next assignment to improve the overall grade. But to make things worst the researcher fell sick for one week and could not attend school. This made him lag behind in his class homework and he could not complete his homework assignment. This homework assignment was very important for the author owing to the fact that it would have laid an impact on his final result. The narrator attended school on the day when the assignment was to be submitted and he asked his best friend for help.

Case Study Of Child Abuse And Neglect Social Work Essay

Case Study Of Child Abuse And Neglect Social Work Essay The following describes a case study scenario in which I am an experienced, protective services worker about to do the first home visit with a new family. It goes on to speculate what might happen, the families reactions, cultural variations and engagement tools and recommendations. While many service bureaucracies focus on a single family member as the client or patient, my site visits suggested that the needs of children in particular (and probably other family members as well) may be impossible to solve, and perhaps even to diagnose, if a programs focus is on the individual child rather than the family. In fact, programs may need to learn a great deal about the family as a whole if they are to diagnose and solve the problems of children. At the simplest level, an example is a problem for a baby that is caused by interaction between a teen mother and her own mother, the babys grandmother: [One caseworker:] Most of the grandparents will tell them, Dont hold the baby, youre going to spoil it. . . . I spend a lot of time trying to talk to grandparents. [Another caseworker:] [You] have to go back to the grandparents. These kids [the teens] all they hear is Youre stupid. I didnt do it that way. So after a while they figure, If I touch this baby, its wrong. So, Her e, momma, take it (Jones, 2004). Two examples are shown below, to illustrate more fully the way in which childrens needs are nested in a family context and intimately connected with the parents and other family members own personal well-being. The first example comes from Oklahomas Integrated Family Services (IFS) System, which serves multiproblem families: A seven-year-old boy came to the attention of a school principal because of both physical and emotional health problems. The boy had long been prone to seizures and self-destructive behavior and was just starting to threaten other children. When the principal called IFS, he found that IFS was already working with the family because the mother was on AFDC and herself had multiple problems. The IFS worker called a meeting of all of the agencies who had contact with the family to talk about the childs needs. As a result, the boy was admitted and sent to a diagnostic center for several months of testing and treatment; the mother received needed services such as mental health treatment and literacy training; and the Child Protective Services worker changed her mind about the possible outcomes for the case and concluded that the mother had the potential to be an adequate parent (Huston, 2003). In this example, the needs of the child turned out to be related to the needs of the mother and, perhaps more important for the service delivery system, part of the solution to the childs needs lay in providing services to the mother so that she could help him. According to an IFS case worker, What the child really [may] need is a mother who can cope (Herr, et al 1999). In the second example, in which meeting a childs needs again depends on an adults well-being, serving the child depends critically on the service deliverers relationship with the adult. The illustration comes from a site visitor who accompanied a case manager on a home visit: The case manager made a home visit to a young (18-year-old) mother who had suffered physical and sexual abuse as a child. During the visit, the case manager picked up and played with the young womans 8-month-old child and observed how the child responded. Then she asked the mother a specific question about her experience with the child: Did she ever feel as though she were climbing the walls and just had to get out of the house when the baby was crying? The young woman said yes, and the case manager asked what she did at such times: Was there anyone she could leave the child with so that she could go on a walk? The teen responded that either she left the baby with her friend downstairs and went for a walk, or she put the child in the crib, closed the door partway, and went into another room. The case manager seemed satisfied with these responses, and she later told the interviewer that, while she has no reason to suspect any abuse or neglect in this case, she realizes that the teen i s somewhat unstable and under great stress, so she likes to keep close watch on what is going on (Pelton, 2008). In this example, the case managers key contribution to the childs wellbeing comes through her attention to and friendship with the mother. Only the case managers strong personal relationship with the teen enabled her to keep a constant eye on the case while not being perceived by the teenager as intrusive, only the strong relationship permitted her diagnosis that the child was doing fine, and only the relationship permitted her to provide preventive services in the form of low-key advice. These links between a childs needs and the well-being of the family as a whole reinforce the conclusion that effective family service deliverers need a trusting relationship with the family and an ability to reach out across systems (Crosson, 2010; pg 12). In particular, the links between child and family well-being suggest that serving children in multiproblem families requires that the service deliverer know both child and family well and be able to reach out across the service system to help all family members. 2.) We shall now discuss the three types of preventions with examples. Many of the preventive services offered by the sites (Wolock, 1984) parenting education and support for parents ability to nurture their children-occur not through formal services but through the relationship between the family and the case manager. However, several of the sites also provide more formal services, such as support groups, classes, or workshops. For example, all three of the teen parent programs provide teen support groups that touch on parenting issues as well as other topics such as self-esteem, health and nutrition, and family planning. In addition to knowledge about parenting, these programs generally emphasize providing mothers with the warmth and support that they are seen to need in order to be warm and supportive, in turn, to their children. Some of the programs also emphasize the actual practice of new attitudes and skills in interacting with children (Herr, et al 1999). For example, in the TASA Next Step program, teen parent support groups are paired with on-s ite child care, and the sessions are planned so that mothers meet without their children for the first portion of the visit and with the children for the second. What exactly does it mean to serve children through this case management relationship? What does the relationship offer besides referral to specific, functional services like those already discussed? More generally, the family-oriented case managers in the site programs serve children by: 1 Keeping an eye on children themselves and helping families gauge how their children are doing; 2 Providing parents with support and friendship, assistance in improving important family relationships and in dealing differently with their children, and information about parenting or children; 3 Providing friendship, support, and role models for a child directly; and encouraging other service deliverers to respond more effectively to a childs needs. In several programs, case managers struggle to bring together their role in relation to a single client, such as a teen mother or a school age child, with their role in relation to the family as a whole. In these successful examples, case managers reported integrating those roles to see the child in a family context rather than advocating for one family member against another, but not all experiences were as successful. In addition, case managers operated with quite different levels of training in child development and family functioning; again, the examples illustrated in this paper show what is possible with training and, in several cases, expert backup support. 3. The following discusses the societal changes that should be made to protect children in the twenty-first century. Children who are growing up in poverty or other kinds of need are likely to come into contact with other large public agencies besides the welfare system: the public schools, community health clinics or city hospitals, and, perhaps, sadly, the states child protective services agency. What are the implications of the findings presented here for the other large public agencies that see poor children and families? To put the question slightly differently, what principles would we apply to each system if we wanted to create a coherent network of services to children? While this study was not designed to investigate other service systems in any detail, the research sites do suggest several intriguing speculations (Crosson, 2010). First, other agencies besides the welfare department can and should consider what it means to be two-generational. As the research sites and the evidence of other researchers suggest, family needs are often intertwined, whereas the services offered by many of the large systems are limited to a single family member (Jones, 2004). A number of program examples from the site visits and other sources illustrate what it means for service providers other than the welfare department to be two-generational in their focus: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The PACE program in Kentucky, with its combination of adult literacy and preschool education operates within the public schools. In addition to offering two-generational services to families that are directly enrolled in PACE, the program director sees PACE as a vehicle for changing the thinking of the public schools toward a greater inclusion of parents and other family members. Child protective services workers in several of the research sites found that working with intensive case managers helped them appreciate the demands on parents that made it difficult for the latter, in turn, to respond to the needs of the child. This insight lies behind a variety of family support and family preservation programs now being deployed as part of the child welfare services continuum in a number of states. The aim of these programs is to offer services to both parent and child to improve family functioning and enable the child to stay in the home (Wolock, 1984). Visiting nurse programs enable health care providers to see parents and children together and serve the whole family. Maternal and child health clinics with other collocated services also offer the opportunity to meet the needs of several family members. In several locations in New England, Head Start programs are planning or already operating programs jointly with education and training programs for mothers on welfare. These programs include cooperative projects with vocational high schools and with a community training agency. The ways in which welfare agencies have overcome these barriers may well offer insights to other agencies (Jones, 2004). For example, welfare agencies at the successful sites have overcome the limitations of their initial mandate by developing a clear and sustainable mission that makes dear why services to children and families are part of the welfare agencys job. In order to expand services, schools, health clinics, and child protective services agencies may similarly need to articulate connections between an initial, narrower mission and the broader, family-centered mission that they would like to achieve (Crosson, 2010). Thus, schools may conclude that they cannot teach children without a collaborative rel ationship with parents, that they cannot teach children without addressing the problems that keep them from being ready to learn, or that they cannot teach teen mothers effectively without addressing their roles as parents as well as students. Child protective services agencies may conclude that functions such as enhancing family stability and averting foster care are more effective over the long run than providing after-the-fact treatment. 4.) Discuss the key similarities and the differences between the residual effects of neglect, physical abuse, and sexual abuse. What implications does this knowledge have for future prevention, intervention and treatment efforts? While both formal and informal services at the sites are geared to preventing child abuse and neglect, program case managers sometimes find that they need to take stronger, more drastic measures to ensure a childs safety and well-being. Case managers in a number of the programs call on child protective services workers for informal consultation and help when they are worried about a family, and several said that they had made child protective referrals (hotlined a family) at least once (Pelton, 2008). The informal consultation appears to go both ways: Child protective services workers in several locations reportedly ask the site case managers to keep an eye on families which they worry about but cannot serve themselves, given their caseload of even more urgent crises. The worker must be able to cross professional boundaries to meet a wide variety of family needs. In order to serve the child, he or she must also develop a relationship with the whole family, since the childs well-being is often intimately bound up with the well-being of other family members. No agency attempting to move in a two-generational direction should expect the change to be easy (Wolock, 1984). Many of the obstacles experienced by welfare agencies apply just as forcefully to the other large service systems for poor children and families. For example, difficulties of mission plague both schools and child welfare agencies that consider reaching out to parents, just as they hamper welfare agencies that consider reaching out to children. In the school setting, teachers, administrators, and elected overseers may worry that a mission of academic excellence will be compromised by too much attention to the multiple needs that children and their families bring into the classroom. For child welfare agencies, the conflict is even more stark: In an agency whose mission is to protect children, many of whom are in urgent danger, how can it be legitimate to pay comparable attention to their parents? Similarly, each system suffers isolation from other service deliverers and lack of expertise in the multiple problems of families. Each experiences its own set of demands on workers and on the organization as a whole, demands that must be balanced against the needs of families in any successful solution.

Whether a Cut in Corp Tax Rate be Beneficial Essays -- Corporate Taxes

Whether a Cut in Corp Tax Rate be Beneficial Doesn’t everyone want to keep what he/she has earned? It has always been somewhat tradition for Americans to work hard for their money, only to see some of it squandered away come tax time. Wouldn’t a tax cut, for some, be like a divine, heavenly grace? As the year 2001 unfolds and George W. Bush begins his presidency, income tax rates have, in fact, become a concern. President Bush is pushing for an income tax bill that will reduce the tax brackets from 15%, 28%, 31%, 36%, and 39.6% to a new bracket in 2006 of 10%, 15%, 25%, and 33%. A cut in individual income taxes would benefit most Americans and is well deserved. However, there is no plan to cut the corporate tax rates yet. A hypothetical decline to the corporate tax rates could spawn a number of possibilities for firms and/or even influence the market. However, will a decline in the corporate tax rate positively influence market volume and different firms’ financial activities (i.e. investing, repurchasing , options)? A question of this nature can be answered through analysis of the benefits or detriments obtained by two companies due to the reduction. There is a basic relationship between the market volume and corporate tax rates. A decrease in the corporate rates would allow companies to pay less on their earnings, leaving them with more Net Income (NI). With this increase in net income, a company can afford to invest in other areas or it allows them to repurchase their stock. By repurchasing stock, the market volume drops by the amount of stock that has been bought back. In addition, buying back shares can affect the overall outcome of the market that day depending on the company engaging in the repurchase. A company with a large stake in the market who buys back a considerable amount of stock will cause a greater fluctuation in the volume. In buying shares, the overall value of the market will rise due to the price increases that occur. If the opposite occurs, the tax rate is increased; some firms may have different decisions to make. Because an increase in the tax rate affects a company’s net income in a negative manne r, funds for operations and other activities will become diminished. With the net income being less significant, a firm may need to participate in a form of either debt or equity financing to obtain funds needed to operate. Upon re... ...is beneficial depends on the company in which the tax cut will be implemented on. For Ford Motor Company, a tax cut might work to their favor. By decreasing the rate, Ford’s return on equity will increase. However, Merck & Co. may hope for a veto of that tax cut. With a cut they would be increasing their cost of debt, in which they have excess financing ($161 billion). They would also lose out on their tax shield from the interest on their debt. Overall, the economy, the market, and the individual sectors seem to be doing well. To tamper with things now would almost certainly throw a wrench into what the Fed has already done to try and stimulate the economy. To follow in the old proverb, â€Å"If it isn’t broke then don’t try to fix it.† Benefits and detriments are, in this scenario, purely reliant on the company and its type of business. Bibliography: Kim, Yun-Hee. â€Å"IntelliCorp Raises $5M In Equity Financing.† Wall Street Journal Interactive.(March 12, 2001). Lazo, Shirley A. â€Å"Bush’s Tax Plan: Dividend Booster.† Wall Street Journal Interactive.(March 12, 2001). Needles, Anderson, and Caldwell. Principles of Accounting. Princeton, NJ: Houghton Mifflin, 1996 (p.1162).

Connecting Sociological Theory and Social Issues

Running Head: Connecting Sociological Theory and Social Issues Connecting Sociological Theory and Social Issues The topic of choice is the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the United States and around the world. HIV/AIDS has been a main concern for the world since its emergence in the 1980’s. â€Å"The prevalence of HIV/AIDS in the United States through 2009 was about 1 million cases. Worldwide, the prevalence of HIV/AIDS varies from less than 0. 1 percent to 15–28 percent of a country’s population†. (Schaefer 394)This essay will explore the three major socialization perspectives on this issue; the interactionist perspective, the conflict perspective, and the functionalist perspective. Each perspective will give a greater insight on how society reasons. The functionalist perspective is described as â€Å"a sociological approach that emphasizes the way in which the parts of a society are structured to maintain its stability†. (Schaefer 440) On the topic of HIV/A IDS, a functionalist will most likely focus on how this issue has affected health care for those infected with the disease.Without proper healthcare, there will be a sociological imbalance. So in order to bring back balance and stability, other alternatives have to be established. A functionalist will emphasize that â€Å"if established social institutions cannot meet a crucial need, new social networks are likely to emerge to perform that function. In the case of AIDS, self-help groups have organized, especially in the gay communities of major cities, to care for the sick, educate the healthy, and lobby for more responsive public policies†. Schaefer 395) On the other hand, the conflict perspective is focused on the tension that comes about with the HIV/AIDS epidemic. For a long time AIDS was seen as a homosexual, drug user, African American disease. From the conflict viewpoint this could be a reason why the government did not respond as quickly as they should have. â€Å"St udies show that African Americans and Latinos are diagnosed later and are slower to receive treatment than other racial and ethnic roups. † (Schaefer 395) However, to correct the injustice there has been new programs to reach out to minorities and those less fortunate to receive treatments. An interactionist perspective looks at an issue on a smaller scale (micro) than the conflict and functionalist perspective. The interactionist is defined as â€Å"a sociological approach that generalizes about everyday forms of social interaction in order to explain society as a whole†. Schaefer 441) The HIV/AIDS epidemic on a micro level was predicted that the outbreak â€Å"would lead to a more conservative sexual climate among both homosexuals and heterosexuals, in which people would be much more cautious about becoming involved with new partners. † (Schaefer 395) However, statistics have shown quite the opposite. â€Å"People in the United States have not heeded precautio ns about â€Å"safe sex. † Data from studies conducted in the early 1990s indicated a growing complacency about AIDS, even among those who were most vulnerable. † (Schaefer 395)To conclude, no sociological perspective or approach is the precise method of viewing society as a whole. It is best to take a little bit of each perspective. Although, each perspective is different, they all depict that HIV/AIDS is a huge concern for society. If we do not continue to make progress and become lax in spreading the education on HIV/AIDS, history will have a way of repeating itself. Reference Schaefer, Richard T.. Sociology: A Brief Introduction, 9th Edition. McGraw-Hill Learning Solutions, 2011. .

Health Complications Caused by Chlamydia in Males

The topic I have chosen to link it with is Chlamydia n individuals aged 16-25. I am going to see whether the health promotion is used as a system of empowerment or a system of control. Main body Chlamydia can cause many complications in males and females, a few examples of these are; abdominal pain, pelvic pain, inability to get pregnant, potentially deadly octopi pregnancy, swelling in one/both testicles, fever and preventing a man from being able to father children states Brown, N (2013).The government are setting up ways to prevent this by setting up free Chlamydia screening to Individuals aged 0-25, this Is empowerment. By the government doing this It Is making Individuals take precautions and have regular checks. It also makes individuals respect themselves as when they know what Chlamydia can do to them they may also start using condoms to reduce the statistics of people contracting Chlamydia.It can also be seen as trying to control individuals as they are pushing/persuading th em to use contraception and keep getting themselves checked out after a new sexual partner, this Is because If individuals start becoming aware and checking themselves, and also using protection It will reduce the amount of money the INS are spending on treatment, (1 tablet or a weeks worth of antibiotics). The individuals that don't use protection or get checked out regularly could be having sexual relationships with others in the community and passing on the infection.This is why when individuals find out they have the infection they are advised to tell their past and current partners to get checked out as well. The antibiotics that are prescribed are the medical approach as It alms to prevent disease. This topic also links to behavior hang as it encourages individuals to adapt healthy behaviors, it is also a form of health education as the individuals are learning about Chlamydia also it is unlikely to be successful unless the individual is ready to take action.For example if an individual is not willing to use protection and/or get regular tests then there is not a lot that can be done, unless they decide to change their ways and try help themselves. The education approach also links to this as It alms to provide knowledge influence relating to Chlamydia as it aims to help individuals acquire the skills and inference to take greater control over their own health. For example if you are afraid of what your partner may say when you mention ‘protection' you are less likely to mention it, also if you are afraid of the result you may get from the screening tests you may decide not to take one.Social change also has a link to Chlamydia as it aims to make the healthy choice the easy choice, some individuals may be too scared to get help, take tests or mention anything. This is where individuals need to start making the right choice. The media is an influence on Chlamydia as it encourages individuals viewing it to stay safe, look after yourselves and others so you don't pass the infection around the community. The government are also an influence on Chlamydia as it is thanks to them that 16-25 year olds can gain free Chlamydia screening in clinics INS choices (2011).The critical understanding for health promotion is as follows, health promotion is the process of enabling people to increase control over, and to improve; health of people, communities and populations says Reuters, T (2013). It moves beyond a focus on individual behavior towards a wide range of social and environmental interventions. Interventions to help change behaviors and environments in ways that are conductive to health. The main goals of health promotion are to reduce health risks and optimize health and productively while lowering total health-related costs.At its best, worksheet health promotion creates a culture that fosters vitality, motivation and overall effectiveness of human capital says (Erickson,2006). The role and relevance of health promotion is in tackl ing the determinants of health, elate promotion will include combinations of the strategies namely developing personal skills, strengthening community action, and creating supportive environments for health, backed by healthy public policy.Health promotion is a powerfully relevant strategy for social development, in particular as an important set of strategies to address the factors influencing inequalities in health. Health promotion also brings together all the principles that underlie a series of strategies that seek to support conditions that allow populations to be healthy and to make lately choices. The range of strategies draws upon behavioral sciences, public health, education and communication, to name a few, and their respective methodologies says health promotion agency (2009).Empowerment or control Within this essay I have stated both ways in which it is empowerment and control. However both have equal entitlement; I am swayed to say I personally think that the health pr omotion is more a system of empowerment. This is because the government are setting up schemes that are free for individuals aged 16-25 to access. This shows he empowerment that is given to individuals to look after themselves without a cost. Also condoms are given for free at the clinic where the Chlamydia screening is taken states (Scholar, Abraham, Kook and Gilmore, 2004).This is empowering people to take precautions so that they don't contract the infection. Another point is the media what can happen if they have the infection and don't get checked out. Conclusion Throughout this essay I have shown how health promotion can be used as a system of empowerment and a system of control. I have linked it together with my chosen epic; I have also linked health promotion within my topic to the different approaches that I have learnt about within my lectures.

Free Essays on King Edward VI

King Edward VI of England Edward VI was the legitimate son of Henry VIII. Born on October 12, 1537 at Hampton Court, he was the fulfillment of his father’s tangled marital life (englishhistory.net). All Henry VIII ever wanted was a son to carry on the Tudor Dynasty, and though his first two wives could not provide that to him his third wife Jane Seymour did. Jane Seymour, who was the one wife he loved very deeply, died shortly after the birth of Edward VI from puerperal sepsis (the infections one is subject to when the proper sterilization is used during pregnancy) on October 24, 1537. The infant prince was the only male Tudor heir of his generation, but he was very sickly (englishhistory.net). During King Edward VI’s reign there were good things and bad, but he did not have any say so in any of them. Henry VIII did all that he could to protect his son’s health. He had the castle sanitized and kept Edward VI in close seclusion. This ended when Henry VIII married his last wife, Katharine Parr, who became a beloved mother to Edward and he adopted the Protestantism which she championed (englishhistory.net). He grew very close to his half-sister Elizabeth, and even shared a house with her for many years. His other half-sister Mary was a very zealous Catholic. The difference in age between them disabled from being very close. Edward succeeded his father to the throne at the age of nine (infoplease.com). He was just a figure though; still too young to make the big decisions that fall upon a King. At first uncle Edward Seymour was given Protectorship, but about ten years later John Dudley, duke of Nothumberland, took over the job. When Edward came to rule Henry’s absolutism was relaxed by a liberalization of treason and heresy (infoplease.com). These things befell his reign because he was so young and due to this the nobles used the Regency to strengthen their own positions (royal.gov.uk). One of the bigg... Free Essays on King Edward VI Free Essays on King Edward VI King Edward VI of England Edward VI was the legitimate son of Henry VIII. Born on October 12, 1537 at Hampton Court, he was the fulfillment of his father’s tangled marital life (englishhistory.net). All Henry VIII ever wanted was a son to carry on the Tudor Dynasty, and though his first two wives could not provide that to him his third wife Jane Seymour did. Jane Seymour, who was the one wife he loved very deeply, died shortly after the birth of Edward VI from puerperal sepsis (the infections one is subject to when the proper sterilization is used during pregnancy) on October 24, 1537. The infant prince was the only male Tudor heir of his generation, but he was very sickly (englishhistory.net). During King Edward VI’s reign there were good things and bad, but he did not have any say so in any of them. Henry VIII did all that he could to protect his son’s health. He had the castle sanitized and kept Edward VI in close seclusion. This ended when Henry VIII married his last wife, Katharine Parr, who became a beloved mother to Edward and he adopted the Protestantism which she championed (englishhistory.net). He grew very close to his half-sister Elizabeth, and even shared a house with her for many years. His other half-sister Mary was a very zealous Catholic. The difference in age between them disabled from being very close. Edward succeeded his father to the throne at the age of nine (infoplease.com). He was just a figure though; still too young to make the big decisions that fall upon a King. At first uncle Edward Seymour was given Protectorship, but about ten years later John Dudley, duke of Nothumberland, took over the job. When Edward came to rule Henry’s absolutism was relaxed by a liberalization of treason and heresy (infoplease.com). These things befell his reign because he was so young and due to this the nobles used the Regency to strengthen their own positions (royal.gov.uk). One of the bigg...

Autism and the link to Mercury-containing vaccines

Autism and the link to Mercury-containing vaccines Free Online Research Papers Autism, can it be caused by a mercury-containing vaccine? This is a question that hasn’t been answered very clearly. Therefore, causing parents, of children with autism, to poor their time and money into unproductive pursuits; other parents become afraid to vaccinate their children. So what are the real causes of autism? First, how does mercury affect the human body? To start off, there are three forms of mercury: methyl mercury, elemental mercury, and other mercury compounds. Methyl mercury is normally absorbed into the body by eating fish and shellfish that contain methyl mercury. The effect of methyl mercury in infants, children and even unborn babies is impaired neurological development. Elemental mercury is only toxic when it’s in vapor form and absorbed through the lungs. The effects of elemental mercury, depends on the amount of exposure. For small amounts, the symptoms are tremors, emotional changes, insomnia, neuromuscular changes, headaches, disturbances in sensations, changes in nerve responses, and performance deficits on tests of cognitive function. At higher exposures symptoms are kidney effects, respiratory failure and death. Other mercury compounds, inorganic and organic, are both absorbed through the gastrointestinal tract. High exposure can affect the gastrointestinal tract , the nervous system, and the kidneys. Second, what is autism? Autism is a lifelong developmental disorder, characterized by impaired social interaction, social communication and social imagination. (Fernandes, 2010) It is also know as a group of illnesses that involve delays in the development of many basic skills, most notably the ability to socialize or form relationships with others as well as the ability to communicate and to use imagination (including fantasy play). (Hirsch, Autism) There are many forms of autism: Autistic disorder; a disorder that normally affects children 3 years or younger, it effects their social interactions, communication, and imaginative play. This is the form most people think about when thinking about autism. Asperger’s syndrome; this form of autism is lesser form then that of autistic disorder. It doesn’t affect the child’s language skills, but still affects their social skills and limits their imaginative skills. Pervasive developmental disorder (PDD), also known as atypical autism; this is a kind of catchall category for children who have some autistic problems but who dont fit into other categories. (Hirsch, Understanding) Rett syndrome; children with retts, mostly turn out to be girls, tend to start out normally then start to decline. Most begin to decline at an age ranging between 1 and 4. They start to loss their communication and social skills, repetitive hand movements replace purposeful use of the hands. Childhood disintegrative disorder; these children develop normally for at least two years, and then lose some or most of their communication and social skills. (Hirsch, Understanding) Currently, the cause of autism isn’t clear. Some studies have shown that autism could be caused by genes; others show that autism could be caused by certain drugs or chemicals that the mother comes in contact with during pregnancy. Still other studies are looking at whether autism can be caused by other medical problems or by something in your child’s surroundings. Some parents have suggested that there is a link between childhood vaccines that contain mercury, and autism. This is because parents first noted the signs of autism soon after the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine, a mercury derivative. Most cases of autism are noted during the ages of 1 and 2 years, the MMR vaccine is first given to children at 12 to 15 months of age; therefore could be just an unrelated chance occurrence. (Hirsch, Autism) So does mercury containing vaccines cause autism? According to Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) officials have been aware of a link between thimerosal, another mercury derivative, and autism since 2000. In June of 2000, CDC and FDA had a study done by Tom Verstraeten. They wanted proof that a link between thimerosal and neurological disorders was not real. Unfortunately for them, the opposite was true. Verstraeten had looked over the medical records of 100,000 children in the CDC database and discovered that there was a link between thimerosal and neurological disorders. Many cases showed children with symptoms of neurological disorders, such as speech delays, attention-deficit disorder, hyperactivity, and autism, after receiving a thimerosal vaccine. (Klotter, 2006) Research on this particular subject has lead us to the CDC and the FDA’s study. It looks like the CDC and the FDA found a link between mercury-containing vaccines and autism. The question now is: have they done anything about it? References: Fernandes, T. Autism. Nursing Standard 0029-6570 (2010): 24. CINAHL Plus with Full Text. Web. 6 July 2010. . Hirsch, David. Autism Symptoms, Causes, Treatment, and More. parenting. WebMD.com, 3 Sept. 2009. Web. 6 July 2010. . Hirsch, David. Understanding Autism the Basics. Brain. WebMD.com, 20 Nov. 2009. Web. 6 July 2010. . Klotter, Jule. Thimerosal, vaccines, and autism.(vaccine preservatives thimersoal link with autism )(Report). Townsend Letter: The Examiner of Alternative Medicine 273 (2006): 28+. Academic OneFile. Web. 6 July 2010. Research Papers on Autism and the link to Mercury-containing vaccinesEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenPersonal Experience with Teen PregnancyRelationship between Media Coverage and Social andStandardized TestingThree Concepts of PsychodynamicAnalysis Of A Cosmetics AdvertisementInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesGenetic EngineeringThe Relationship Between Delinquency and Drug UseMoral and Ethical Issues in Hiring New Employees

How to use your time effectively when youre in between jobs

How to use your time effectively when youre in between jobs For most of us, our career paths are not a simple straight line. Instead, there are multiple twists and turns- some planned and others unexpected- along with diversions, reroutes and new and unexpected directions that appear as time goes by. In fact, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average time people spend at their jobs is now only about 4.2 years. Our paths also include times in which we’re gainfully employed and times at which we find ourselves in between jobs, either by choice or circumstance. For most people, filling the time in between jobs can be a real challenge. We want to make sure that we’re using this time to our advantage, but figuring out how to do so effectively- especially if it’s a longer time period than we’d like it to be- can be difficult. With all of this weighing on your shoulders, it’s really in your best interest to try to structure and use your time effectively when you’re in between jobs- both for yo ur long-term health and happiness as well as to help set you up for your next job.Build and maintain your networkIn today’s job market, cold calling and responding to general job ads is way less effective than it used to be. These days, a significant percentage of new jobs are obtained by leveraging your network, which includes your personal and professional contacts. That said, are you taking full advantage of your network? While you’re in between jobs, building and maintaining your contacts is an invaluable use of your time, and who knows- it may not be long before one of your connections comes up with a job opening that perfectly fits what you need and can offer.Look for contract/freelance workJust because you’re between full-time jobs doesn’t mean your time has to be completely work free. In today’s job market, many companies utilize contract and freelance staff for a wide range of projects. Consider seeking out opportunities in your field or i n an area that fits your background and skill set; not only will it provide you with some income, it will also help fill in any lengthy time gaps on your resume- and who knows, if you do a particularly good job on a project you might be considered for a longer-term position when one becomes available.Take a classKeep your mind and skills sharp while in between jobs by taking a class. You can pursue a subject in your professional field- which may help you during your job hunt- or you can take a class in a completely unrelated subject that interests you. Either way, your time will be structured, educational, and well spent.VolunteerAnother good use of your time and energy in between jobs is to volunteer- not only will you be helping to support a worthy cause, you’ll also be keeping active and may possibly even acquire some new skills. Also, you may discover some completely new interests, which may help reshape your career aspirations.Create a backup planIf things just donâ€⠄¢t seem to be going your way and the amount of time that you’re unemployed is becoming a real issue, then it may be a valuable use of your time to come up with a backup plan. Take some time to research alternate fields of interest, industries where your existing background and skills may be easily transferable, and jobs that seem hot right now and have an abundance of openings. It may turn out that your backup plan pans out and makes you happier and more fulfilled than you previously were.Just because you’re in between jobs doesn’t mean that your time can’t be well spent. Use the strategies and advice presented here to make sure you’re using your time effectively.

Discussion board Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Discussion board - Assignment Example The Hounds of Baskerville do not conform to Dine’s rules concerning this rule. This is because the audience was not given the chance to solve the mysterious death of Sir Charles. In addition, Dine proposes that the writer must not play tricks on the readers. Criminals, however, can trick detectives. With respect to this rule, Doyle conforms as he got Jack tricking Holmes until the last minutes. Dine also purports that detective stories should not have romance. Doyle breaks this rule by introducing Beryl to Sir Henry’s life. Their affairs occur despite Beryl being Jack’s wife. Failure to conform to this rule strengthens the story since Beryl later on warns Henry of Jacks intentions. The criminal in Hounds of Baskerville was discovered by logic deduction as opposed to accidental or coincidental circumstances. Doyle also conformed to other Dine rules including lack of supernatural solutions, presence of only one detective who must solve the crime. In addition, the c rime must be murder, and the murderer must be familiar to readers. Doyle’s concentration on plot and development of only Sherlock and Watsons’s characters is a strategy that complies with Dine’s twenty detective story rules. This bias functions to eliminate deviations from the story. Doyle provides character description that is efficient for readers’

Use of Financial Statements in Food and Beverage Operation Assignment

Use of Financial Statements in Food and Beverage Operation - Assignment Example Tax authorities need to evaluate the financial statements to determine the level of taxation to be applied to the business. The balance sheet is an important financial statement that indicates the position of a food and beverage enterprise’s assets and liabilities as well as the shareholders’ equity. In a balance sheet, the difference between assets and liabilities equals equity (Reid & Botanic, 2006). Income statements contain operating costs that are categorised as direct and indirect costs. Direct costs are those incurred in running specific functions such as casual labour and raw material supplies while indirect costs are non-specific expenses that support the entire business such as depreciation, cleaning and general office supplies. These expenses are considered in determining the shareholder incomes per share. The revenue earned in a particular period of time is also contained in the income statements. They help the owner of the food and beverage operation to know if the business made a profit as well as whether the profits attained conformed to the targets set for the business. Income statements also help the owner to determine whether the profits decreased or increased compared to earlier periods. If the owner is not the manager, he/she can use the income statements to appraise the restaurant manager’s performance. Cash-flow financial statements are important in tra cking the movement of monies in and out of the business. They can be used to identify irregular payments and also to track the business’s capacity to settle outstanding bills. The owner of the food and beverage operations can evaluate the net cash increase or decrease to determine if the business is achieving the growth strategy (Bowie & Buttle, 2004). It is important to recognize and appraise the need for a product in the company. The product may be necessitated by finished stock, innovations or demand from customers. Specifications should be done to ensure that all the necessary details are taken care of to offer customers the best value.  Ã‚  

Financial Ratios. Jardine Cycle and Carriage Research Paper

Financial Ratios. Jardine Cycle and Carriage - Research Paper Example SWOT Analysis from Financial Perspective 13 5. Conclusion and Recommendation 14 6. References 16 16 7. Appendices 21 7.1 Appendix 1: Profit and Loss Account of Jardine Cycle & Carriage Ltd. (2010, 2009, 2008, 2007) 21 7.2 Appendix 2: Balance Sheet of Jardine Cycle & Carriage Ltd. (2010, 2009, 2008, 2007) 24 7.3 Summary/Workings for Financial Ratios 27 1. Introduction 1.1 Financial Health of the Company Jardine Cycle and Carriage Limited is an investment bearing company. The company is engaged in the processes of manufacturing, assembling, distributing and selling through retail chains various motorcycles and motor parts. The company operates in various parts of the world: Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia (Bloomberg Business Week, 2011). The paper has been designed with the aim of assessing the financial position of the company. Although Jardine Cycle and Carriage is a company dealing with diversifying businesses, the focus of the company is upon the market of Southeast Asia . In the list of Singapore’s top companies, Jardine Cycle and Carriage is raked within the top 20 positions. The company is holding a stake of 50.1% in Astra and has strong strategic interest upon it. However, the company undertakes its business within the automotive segment of the market. In the recent times, the financial health of the company is much influenced by its record performance due to its stake in Astra. Though the conditions of trading in Singapore and Vietnam stock markets are challenging, the company has depicted satisfactory performance for its stakeholders. The satisfaction was provided through announcement of proposed 69% enhancement in the full year dividend of the company. The financial health of the company can be summarised through the fact that the chief businesses of the company had achieved a tremendous growth during the year 2010. The financial health even strengthened through the firmness of Rupiah in Indonesia (Jardine Cycle & Carriage, 2010). 1.2 Investment (Investors’) Objective of the Company The investment objective of Jardine Cycle and Carriage from the perspective of enhancing investors’ stake in the company is to attain a wider foundation of earning for the investors. The company aims at continuously striving for investment opportunities with sustenance of its investment position in its various business segments, i.e., financial services, automotive, agribusiness, infrastructure and logistics, heavy equipment and mining and information technology (Jardine Cycle & Carriage Ltd., 2011). The group Managing Director (MD) is confident about the future outlook of the company in the coming days and hopes that the company would definitely succeed in sustaining its strong position within the region’s automotive market. The investment decision that the company wants to sustain for maintaining its strong position within the market is with regards to extension of its assortment of dealerships all around the wo rld (Jardine Cycle & Carriage Ltd., 2011). 2. Company Financial Background The financial background of the company is much dependent upon the business activities that it performs. The following figure depicts the groups of business activities performed by Jardine Cycle and Carriage: Source: ((Jardine Cycle & Carriage, 2010). Astra, where the company holds its major stake, had depicted great performance during the year 2010 with record profit earnings. Astra performed excellently in each segments of its businesses apart from contract mining. The functions of Astra with respect to its consumer finance segment were able to generate enormous profits with the improvement in the debt position, constant margin of interest rates and proficient liquidity

Organisational Culture of Google and How It Impacts Its Operations Essay

Organisational Culture of Google and How It Impacts Its Operations - Essay Example The researcher states that employee performance is enhanced by the existence of an effective work environment as illustrated by the case of Google. Google is an American based company that specializes in offering communication technology such as internet services. Since its inception, the company has been guided in its operations by valuing the needs and interests of the employees. The major strength of the organization, which can be attributed to its culture, lies in its ability to motivate the employees, which has contributed to its productivity. Employees are encouraged to be innovative, and they are rewarded for their ideas. An analysis of the case study, as well as the video footage, shows that Google is regarded as the best place to work in America as the employees are motivated and their needs and interests are satisfied. Motivation is seen as the key aspect of the effectiveness of the organization in its performance since the employees share the same goals with the organizati on. For instance, mistakes made by the employees do not warrantee a punishment, but they are treated as an effective tool for learning. According to Stahl & Mendenhall, culture is believed to shape the operations of the organization in various ways. It contributes to innovation and success, which allows the managers to be able to cope with problems related to adoption as well as integration. Organisational culture at Google is considered to be very effective given that it has recently been named the best company for employees by Fortune Magazine. The core values of the organization’s culture are intensely held and shared.

Evidence in the case of Donald who May have Hit Doris Essay

Evidence in the case of Donald who May have Hit Doris - Essay Example Doris provides what is called the ‘master narrative’ as well which is defined as a story that has cultural context through which the specific story is given a deeper meaning.3 The ‘master narrative’ that Doris has created is that of the abused female by a male aggressor. Through this narrative, the context of the rest of the evidence is presented. Ann Ann overheard a statement by Doris at the party. That statement was â€Å"Stop hitting me Donald† and that it was made in a state of duress. Except for the accused, the spouse of an accused, or the children of an accused, there is an assumption made in English law that all witnesses that are brought forth with be competent and compellable.4 The narrative is how the story of the events is constructed, starting with the story of the victim, but then moving to the corroboration of witnesses. Ann’s function is to corroborate the story that Doris has related that led to charges against Donald. Ann†™s testimony is hearsay. Hearsay is defined as a statement that is made outside of the court which is given to prove the matter that is in process.5 Using the example of R v Xhabri, hearsay in the form of overhearing statements made by a victims were admissible through s114(1)(d) even when it was dismissible under s120.6 The reason for this admissibility is that the interests of justice overrode any benefit of dismissing the testimony.7 Ann’s testimony becomes complicated, however, by her former conviction. Under the Criminal Justice Act of 2003, provision 100, the bad character of an individual as it may pertain to guilt in relationship to their participation may be admissible.8 Under this provision, the witness’ character can be at issue when they may have criminally contributed or actually been the perpetrator of the crime. It has been used further to assess the credibility of a witness.9 In this case, Ann has been previously convicted of perverting the course of justice, which means she was part of a conspiracy to pervert the course of justice which is criminal and is a holdover of English Common Law.10 This means that at some point she participated in trying to falsely inform the court as to the truth of an action. It is likely that the evidence she presents will be thrown out or at the least minimized by introduction of her former conviction. Dr. Foot Dr. Foot, which for the purposes of this paper is assumed to be an expert in forensic investigation, has evidence of hair from Donald on the victim, Doris. Evidence must be relevant which was established in the Indian Evidence Act of 1872 which is still in effect and provides that there is a difference between logical evidence and legal evidence, supporting the concept of the best evidence theory. Best evidence theory has been overruled by the relevance of evidence on most trials, however, and in this one while the hair is best evidence, it does nothing more than establish Donald’s pr esence at the party which is not in dispute.11 The use of the Civil Evidence Act of 1972 provides for evidence created outside

If you could make one scientific discovery in your lifetime, what Essay

If you could make one scientific discovery in your lifetime, what would it be and why - Essay Example Let me explain why: I might offer a rather unsupported claim stating that many individuals devote a significant portion of their early adult life to medicine and health care for the monetary benefits that this industry can potentially provide. This assertion might sound a tad bit presumptuous, however it does not diminish the capabilities and ultimate competencies of these ambitious individuals. However, there are those people, such as myself, who view the efforts of contemporary medical communities to be an attempt at sustaining the health and well-being of generations to come. I think this might be an argument which can be supported by the successes of other pioneering professionals in the medical field, such as the reduction of various, ancient plagues and diseases which once wreaked havoc on society, but are no longer threatening to contemporary communities. Though these researchers primarily contributed to disease warfare appropriate for their individual time in history, their long-term legacies t o social and physical health improvement are most notable and remarkably sustainable. Having offered this, the elimination of the genetic factors controlling the aging process would become a significant project with everlasting, positive consequences for the way that we, as humans, would live our lives. I believe that with this discovery, the future global community would no longer experience diminished human morale and would virtually eliminate problems with suicide. Why, you ask? With the prospect of eternal life would come greater opportunities for cognitive growth and emotional maturity, helping individuals to mold their ambitions toward self-discovery and methods by which to make contributions to society. Where todays society is plagued by the realization that the accomplishment of lifelong goals is limited by progressive aging, tomorrows culture would likely learn crucial elements such

Evidence in the case of Donald who May have Hit Doris Essay

Evidence in the case of Donald who May have Hit Doris - Essay Example Doris provides what is called the ‘master narrative’ as well which is defined as a story that has cultural context through which the specific story is given a deeper meaning.3 The ‘master narrative’ that Doris has created is that of the abused female by a male aggressor. Through this narrative, the context of the rest of the evidence is presented. Ann Ann overheard a statement by Doris at the party. That statement was â€Å"Stop hitting me Donald† and that it was made in a state of duress. Except for the accused, the spouse of an accused, or the children of an accused, there is an assumption made in English law that all witnesses that are brought forth with be competent and compellable.4 The narrative is how the story of the events is constructed, starting with the story of the victim, but then moving to the corroboration of witnesses. Ann’s function is to corroborate the story that Doris has related that led to charges against Donald. Ann†™s testimony is hearsay. Hearsay is defined as a statement that is made outside of the court which is given to prove the matter that is in process.5 Using the example of R v Xhabri, hearsay in the form of overhearing statements made by a victims were admissible through s114(1)(d) even when it was dismissible under s120.6 The reason for this admissibility is that the interests of justice overrode any benefit of dismissing the testimony.7 Ann’s testimony becomes complicated, however, by her former conviction. Under the Criminal Justice Act of 2003, provision 100, the bad character of an individual as it may pertain to guilt in relationship to their participation may be admissible.8 Under this provision, the witness’ character can be at issue when they may have criminally contributed or actually been the perpetrator of the crime. It has been used further to assess the credibility of a witness.9 In this case, Ann has been previously convicted of perverting the course of justice, which means she was part of a conspiracy to pervert the course of justice which is criminal and is a holdover of English Common Law.10 This means that at some point she participated in trying to falsely inform the court as to the truth of an action. It is likely that the evidence she presents will be thrown out or at the least minimized by introduction of her former conviction. Dr. Foot Dr. Foot, which for the purposes of this paper is assumed to be an expert in forensic investigation, has evidence of hair from Donald on the victim, Doris. Evidence must be relevant which was established in the Indian Evidence Act of 1872 which is still in effect and provides that there is a difference between logical evidence and legal evidence, supporting the concept of the best evidence theory. Best evidence theory has been overruled by the relevance of evidence on most trials, however, and in this one while the hair is best evidence, it does nothing more than establish Donald’s pr esence at the party which is not in dispute.11 The use of the Civil Evidence Act of 1972 provides for evidence created outside

Distinguished eighteenth century empiricist philosophers Essay

Distinguished eighteenth century empiricist philosophers - Essay Example The author has rightly presented that one of the most imperative of his doctrines includes the refutation of the (mis)conception that occurrence of two events or incidents contains some cause, which results into the happening of these incidents, as the effect of some cause that gives way to that the happening of the events. Hume, on the other hand, argues that since the magnitude as well as association between the cause and effect cannot be measured or estimated altogether, it would also be impossible to assert that happening of two events is the outcome of some cause. Thus, he does not perceive any cause in the occurrence of different events. Being a skeptic, Hume refuses to submit to the traditional notion about causation theory altogether subsequently. Nevertheless, it does not mean that Hume does not maintain any belief in causation; on the contrary, causation certainly exists, though it is unknowable; consequently, forming of complex ideas and different kinds of knowledge look f or either previous experience or analysis of the knowledge gathered or ascribed through any way. Here, the skeptic philosopher alludes to priori and posteriori knowledge, where the former is attained through experience, while the latter is abstract or intellectual one i.e. related to various disciplines like astronomy, science, mathematics and others. The philosopher cites examples of substances and abstract ideas in order to explain their development procedure and relationship with one another. Since Hume belongs to empiricist school of philosophical thought, he does not find the existence of any innate knowledge in humans. Contrarily, he divides the attainment of the same either through experience or through the application of senses while entering into interaction with the natural or social phenomena. Consequently, the individuals perceive the things in the light of either senses or experiences (539). Like Locke and Berkeley, Hume also declares application of senses as an unrelia ble source of perceiving the objects and phenomena, he views knowledge gained through the senses as inferior to the one that has been obtained out of experiences. However, both these ways may create errors and problems in respect of communicating the flow of information, and thus providing humans with appropriate knowledge as well. As a result, Hume suggests two different ways for getting knowledge and development of ideas in an apposite manner. Hume calls the ideas as spontaneous ones, which are permuted through imagination in order to change them into more complex form. Since the individuals do not have any experience about these complex ideas, which are actually the product of imagination, these developed ideas are unable to provide a clear concept of the objects related to the ideas (544). As a result, human creative power witnesses bar in respect of its extension, and hence turn out to be limited and narrower in the real sense. Complex ideas, in his eyes, are actually the produ ct of simple ideas, which could be stated as the dismal reflection of the simple impressions from which they are ultimately derived, to which they correspond and exactly resemble. In order to develop complex ideas on the basis of accuracy and true knowledge, by going through the process of composing simple ideas to change them into the complex ones, there must be the inclusion of experience, so that a mature and perfect picture of the situation could be drawn out of these simple and complex ideas. Since ideas are far less forceful than impressions,

The similarities of leadership styles

The similarities of leadership styles Purpose of this study is to examine the similarities of Servant leadership, transformational and transactional theories and also examine the Contribution those theories make to the understanding of leadership. Introduction: Leadership has a major role in 21st century in all sectors. Here I am going to discuss about understanding of what leadership is, is there any similarities among three theorists on what fine or valuable leadership ought to be. Expectation, in the 21st Century leader should be moral, social and ethical responsible. What is leadership? Leadership is a process of influencing the people to obtain the desired goal. There are many authors giving different definition. Goleman (2000): A leaders singular job is to get results. House et al (2004): Leadership is the ability to motivate, influence and enable individuals To contribute to the objectives of organizations of which they are members. Stogdill (1974): Leadership is an influencing process aimed at goal achievement. Johns T (2008) says: A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they dont necessarily want to be, but ought to be.There are a number of types of leaders who adopt different leadership styles According to Richard Bolden (2004), Different leadership theories were revealed and classified.   And also only few leadership theories reached to people. They are: Great Man Trait Contingency Situational Behavioral Participative Management ( transactional leadership theory ) Relationship (transformation , servant and team leadership) Now I am going to discuss about transformational, transactional and servant leadership. Transformational leadership: James Macgregor Burns was the first person who forward concept of transforming Leadership. Burns (1978) states, Transforming leadership as a process where leaders and followers raise one another to higher levels of morality and motivation(p.20). Transforming leadership can answer in a relationship of mutual Stimulation and elevation that converts followers into leaders and may convert Leaders into moral agents(p. 4) and then bass b.m was developed the transformation leadership. Bass (1996), Transformational headship happens when a Leader encourage followers to share a vision, allowing them to achieve the vision, and providing the opportunity to develop their individual potential. covey (1992) says, The goal of transformational leadership is to transform people and organizations in a literal sense, to change them in mind and heart; enlarge vision, insight and understanding; clarify purposes; Make behavior congruent with beliefs, principles, or values; and bring about changes that are permanent, self-perpetuating, and momentum building(p.287).Transformational lea ders serve as role models, and also (Kelly, 2003) mentioning about how transformational leadership motivates its followers by following Maslows hierarchy. Transformational leader raise people from low levels of need (food, water, etc) to higher levels (self actualization). Components of transformational leadership: Four common Is are, 1. Idealized influence: Transformational leaders behave in ways that result in their being role models for their followers. The leaders are admired, respected, and trusted. 2.  Inspirational motivation. Transformational leaders act in ways that inspire and encourage those around them by providing sense able and challenge to their followers, work. Team spirit is aroused. The leader creates clearly communicated expectations that followers want to meet and also demonstrates commitment to goals and the shared vision. 3. Intellectual stimulation. Transformational leaders encourage their followers hard work to be inventive and new, modern by questing assumptions, reframing the troubles, and approaching mature situations in new or different ways. Creativity is encouraged. Followers are encouraged to try new approach and are not criticized because they differ from leaders idea. 4. Individualized consideration. Transformational leaders pay special focus to each individuals needs and to help them achieve their higher level needs. Trace over individual talents. Being a coacher and mentor to his followers and colleagues are developed to consecutively higher levels of potential. Source: (Kelly, 2003) Characteristics of transformational leader: According to (Tichy and Devanna, 1986), they have seven characteristics to inspire their followers to achieve beyond the expectation. 1. They visibly see themselves as change agents 2. They are brave 3. They believe in people 4. They are driven by a strong set of values 5 .They are life-long learners 6. They can cope with complexity, uncertainty and ambiguity 7. They are visionaries Example of successful transformation leadership: There are many leaders succeed in the way transformational leadership qualities. Mahatma Gandhi is Transformational leader representing charismatic qualities. Lou Gerstner is a transformational leader retired Chairman and CEO of IBM (1993 to 2002). He entered in IBM when it was in $8.1 billion loss in 1993 after recognizing the companys problem are wrong validation, only looking for results and values. IBM had become small-minded and nonflexible (Sheppard, 2002). Lou Gerstner entirely transformed organizational culture. For example, shut down infamous IBMs dress code to reproduce better the clothing of their customers (Sheppard, 2002). Another example for transformational leader is Lee Iacocca, who is accredited with saving the Chrysler Corporation (1980-1992). Chrysler Corporation when it was on the edge of bankruptcy. He taken responsibility and he set about transforming the principles to his contiguous subordinates. He began to restructure the corporations culture. Because a trans formational leader gives confidence to others to become transformational leaders, soon the whole organization was packed with successful leaders (Kelly, 2003). Transactional leadership: Transactional leadership emphasizes Social transaction or exchange between followers and a leader that involves involves a number of transactions based on reward. The transactional leader makes clear what he want, Performance expectations, goals, link between goals and rewards. The leader also watches followers performance And if any mistakes occurring towards the goal, the leader appear to correct (Burns 1978). In practice, these leaders use more closed and leading questions (Randell, 1997). Components of transactional leadership: (Bass Avolio, 1994) Contingent rewards: It refers to a prearranged agreement: If you do as we agreed then it specifies expectation and sets goals. Active management-by-exception : It refers to behavior where the leader is actively monitoring a follower: I am seeing to it that you (do not) the leader is strongly supervising and has specified corrective actions for mistakes. Passive management-by-exception: It occurs when the leader is passively monitoring a follower: If I happen to notice that you (did not) ; the leader takes corrective action in the case of mistakes if these are found out. All these behaviors work on the principles of expectancy of reward and fear of punishment, related to needs that are lower on Maslows hierarchy Characteristics of transactional leadership: according to Marcbowles (2003), They setting a clear goal. They create targets for each individual and the team They spot performance gaps. They wont trust their followers, they monitor their performance. They take corrective actions when necessary. They gaining promise to performance and tasks through pay, reward, appreciation and honor. Example of successful transactional leadership: Transactional leadership is mostly follow by managers and CEO in many organizations in 21st century. Ezine (2010) mentioning about Steve Jobs chairman and CEO Apple inc.he got award best CEO OF 2009 by TIMES. He is the famous transactional leader. Steve Jobs was famous for his down to world and job oriented nature of his leadership in apple computer. http://ezinearticles.com/?Leadership-StylesTransactional-Leadershipid=4262945 Servant leadership: Servant leadership sights a leader as a servant. Servant leadership was developed by green leaf in 1970, he said that The servant-leader is servant first. It begins with the natural emotion or feelings that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then mindful choice brings one to aspire to lead. Such a person is sharply different from one who is Leader first, perhaps because of the need to assuage an unusual power drive or to acquire material possessions. (Greenleaf et al, 1998). Katzenbach and Smith (1993) highlights The importance of leaders knowing when to follow The importance of the leader acting as supportive person to their followers to achieve task rather than just directing. They propose that the leader should ask questions rather than giving answers; provide opportunities for others to lead them; Components of servant leadership: According to (Laub, 1999) cited in (Smith et al, 2004), Servant leadership has six distinct components: Respecting people Rising people Building society Displaying legitimacy offering leadership shared leadership Characteristics of servant leadership: They Serve others needs before their needs They believe in people They are very simple and caring personalities They Provide opportunities to learn and grow They create Strong interpersonal relationships divide power and release control divide status and promote others Example of Successful servant leadership: Maxwell j (2007) add the new law in The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership Leaders Add Value by Serving Others, he described about serving others ,can make huge values(profit) in the organization. Adding Profits by Adding Value Costcos CEO, Jim Sinegal, believes the success of Costco comes from treating his employees well. Transactional versus Transformational leadership: According to Bass (1985) transactional leader motivates subordinates by exchanging rewards for services provided. Transactional Leader mainly focused on goal. Leader has been gaining promise to performance and goals through pay, reward, recognition and praise. Transformational leaders, on the other hand, motivate subordinates to perform beyond expectations.. Bass argued that such performance cannot be achieved through transactional leadership alone. A Comparison of Transactional and Transformational Leadership: Leithwood and Jantzi (2000) end that transactional leader more generally apply teleological principles (teleology is the study of goals, ends and purposes.) Where as transformational leaders deploy deontological ethics. Servant Leadership versus Transactional Leadership: Servant leadership and transactional leadership are evident in a number of ways. Servant leaders emphasize activities that fans of well-being, while transactional leaders focus on the activities of routine maintenance and resource allocation followers of monitoring and management to achieve organizational goals. Contrary to the chief servants who influence followers through personal development and empowerment, the transactional leader influences followers through the use of rewards, sanctions, and formal authority and position to induce behavior consistent. According to Blanchard and Johnson (1985), transactional leaders create strong expectations about the behavior of employees, as well as clear guidance on employees receive rewards for meeting the expectations of transactional leader.Li Thus, leaders use transactional contingent reward behavior to implement transactions with followers to achieve work goals (Bass, 1985). Servant Leadership versus Transactional Leadership: According to the stone and his colleague point of view servant leadership and transformational leadership, both models incorporate characteristics such as value, vision, power, molding, belief, honesty, and designation (Stone et al., 2003).Transformational leadership and servant leadership have similar qualities such as individualized appreciation and consideration of followers. A Comparative Model: Servant and Transformational Leadership The Servant Leader model, the leaders motivation to lead occurs from a fundamental attitude of social equality. The servant leaders system believes that He or she is no better than those headed. The All associates of the organization have equal privileges to vision, value, and information. The leaders role is to make easy the appearance of a community within the organization. According to (Laub, 1999), the key inventiveness for Servant leadership is importance of people, rising people, structuring community, displaying legitimacy and sharing management. Possible impacts of these drivers could be: higher capable people, more moral people, better negotiator, well-built interpersonal relationships, establishment of shared visions, and clear tasks. It is discussed here that these results in combination with the leader initiatives that produce them to form a spiritual generative culture. Transformational leader model, the key initiatives for the transformational leader is II or charisma behavior, IM, IS and IC. These Components lead to: role modeling, high moral standards, caring about others needs requirements, communication of hope, shared visions, innovations, risk taking, and quizzical of practices and systems. Servant leadership tends to develop a more fixed method to the exterior environment than transformational leadership. The transformational leaders motivation is aimed at for more toward achieving targets for the organization, which will reveal on his/her capabilities, and the success of these leaders is calculated by the level to which they acquire organizational rewards. The Servant leaders motivation is mainly focus on its follower the personal growth, thus the servant leaders achievement is calculated by the level to which the follower moves on the way to self actualization. Source: smith .B et al( 2004) CONCLUSION: leadership is attitude not a role. Leadership in Leadership, It seems, is increasingly becoming the universal remedy of the 21st Century and its emphasis is turning towards the moral, social and ethical responsibilities of leaders. Transformational leadership is suitable for dynamic organization and servant leadership suitable for static organization such as church, non-profit organization, non-government organization. Most of leader using transactional leadership theory while they using transformational leadership. There is nothing as practical as a good theory (Lewin, 1935). So Todays leaders need to be skilled in change management to adopt in any situation CHRISTINA OSBORNE (2008).

Global Warming: An Inconvenient Truth :: Global Warming Catastrophe

In 2006, former senator Al Gore created an academy award winning documentary on global warming entitled â€Å"An Inconvenient Truth† . The movie earned several awards including an academy award for best documentary and gore later received a noble peace prize. The movie discussed several different topics of great concern to global warming; such as permafrost, climbs in temperature, extinction of species, drought, and fatigue to name a few. Four writers in five different articles discussed the three topics of greenhouse gases, climate change, and causes of global warming. These writers are writer and scholar Bill McKibben in â€Å"Think Again: Climate Change† and â€Å"How Close to catastrophe†; William J. Broad, writer for the New York Times in â€Å"From a Rapt audience, a call to cool the hype†; writer for the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Kevin O’Brien, in â€Å"Global Warming? I won’t be losing any sleep over it†; and Alan Zarembo, sta ff writer for the the Los Angeles Times, in â€Å"Game over on global warming?† All though the articles explain some different topics from one another, only one of them disagree with gore on the causes for global warming being humans, they all agree that there will be impacts to the environment, and all of them believe that greenhouse gases are one of the primary causes for global warming. First, all the articles discussed about who was to blame for the raising temperatures of the planet. The issue may be serious but O’Brien states that is just the media using another topic of interest and throwing it out of proportion. He claims that there is global warming, but the statistics being given are always changing, so the blame game can’t always point a finger at humans. Zarambo explained that humans are the cause of global warming but cannot but no matter what we were to do, even revert to the Stone Age, that global warming will still rise because the waste we have build up can dissolve slowly. On the opposite side, McKibben in â€Å"Think Again: Climate Change† he explains that humans are to blaim because the planet is already struggling to keep itself alive and all the excess heat we generate from CO2 and other waste, we are dooming ourselves to an early grave. In â€Å"How Close to catastrophe† where he explains his own thoughts he explains t hat its not just humans to blame but the citizens of the US.

Medical Marijuana and the future of legalization in Massachusetts :: Drugs Medicine Essays

Medical Marijuana and the future of legalization in Massachusetts Fran Cuhtahlatah, a 55-year-old woman from Washington state, smokes marijuana to help alleviate intense pain in her feet, legs and mid-spine due to arthritis. According to Cuhtahlatah, the pain in her spine feels like being beaten across her back with a baseball bat. Cuhtahlatah said her arthritis was caused from strenuous work environments including a job at a frozen food plant. â€Å"My doctor said that she has seen a lot of people with the similar kind of spinal arthritis of people who worked in a frozen food plant,† said Cuhtahlatah. â€Å"I couldn’t look for work. I couldn’t work. I had to almost re-accommodate myself to my own home. Everything I do now takes longer. Things I could do in three or four hours now takes eight,† said Cuhtahlatah. Cuhtahlatah lives on very limited supply of funds. The social security office, where she gets her food and medical stamps, are cutting her monthly allotment. Within a month, Cuhtahlatah must live on less than $600 a month. She has $78 taken away from her income because of Medicare premiums. In addition, she only receives $76 for food. She is also limited on the places where she can receive medical care. Doctors who accept medical stamps from the government are the only doctors that can help her. Sometimes she must wait several months in order to obtain an appointment. â€Å"I did a lot of social service activities on the food stamp rules and regulations. I started a couple of statewide food stamp networks. Educating legislatures of the effects of what this is,† said Cuhtahlatah. Cuhtahlatah does not drive a car. In order to get anywhere she needs to find a ride or walk. When she walks, the closest town is a mile or two away and she says she must rest for a day and a half after because of the immense pain. â€Å"I’ve tried numerous arthritis medications,† said Cuhtahlatah. â€Å"I am always afraid when I purchase [marijuana] that I could lose my home. I am afraid to even almost grow my own because I was arrested a long time ago.† Cuhtahlatah says that it is a good she owns her own home because otherwise she would be out on the street with nowhere to live. â€Å"I feel that state’s rights are being trampled on by the federal government, and that the federal government should butt out,† said Cuhtahlatah. Cuhtahlatah would like to see marijuana confiscated by drug dealers be brought to the health department so that ill patients can benefit from the medication.

HRM practice in small-medium enterprises (SMEs) Essay

Introduction The article analyzes the way of HRM practice in small-medium enterprises(SMEs) and the reason why it is important element for SMEs. Over the past years, small-medium enterprises play an increasingly significant role in European economy. It is mainly because European countries including UK have large amount of SMEs but with small scale of big enterprises. However, HRM, as an important part of a company, is utilized in tremendous different ways between large and SMEs firms. SMEs are reluctant to use HRM when considering high cost and time. This situation brings a lot of issues. Unfortunately, very few of the research for HRM in SMEs have been published till now(Domingo Ribeiro Soriano,et all,2011) .For example, according to the US academic journals from 1988 to 1998, more than 207 papers had been written about HR recruiting ,etc. However, just 7 of the articles mentioned about SMEs in Journal of Applied Psychology, Academic of Management Review and Personnel Psychology;. For these reas ons,it is important to investigate the study of HRM in SMEs. Negative and positive arguments about HRM practice in SMEs Large amount of Debates about the efficiency of HRM in SMEs are illustrated in the earlier studies. Small business see few advantages of HRM when comparing to the large firms(Akroyd1995,adapted by Cassell.C et all,2002 ).Especially in the training ,Storey and Westhead described that the employees in the SMEs have few chances to get involved in structured training. (1997,adapted by Cassell.C et all, 2002) .After conducting several cases, Holiday also mentioned that training is not utilized well in SMEs(1995,adapted by Cassell.C et all, 2002). Cassell.C, et all(2002)did both interviews and telephone survey to a number of SMEs, and conclude that HRM practices especially selection and training process are transferring to other department in informal ways. They also found that 53% of SMEs that they investigated in recruited their employees via relatives or friend’s recommendation. It means HRM is not very formal in SMEs. In another word, HRM in SMEs are full of different issues. Bu t according to the following  study HRM indeed bring some benefit to companies. In1995 Leicestershire, and Storey (adapted by Cassell.C et all, 2002)did a study which comparing the difference between traditional HRM and new practices among the large and small companies. The result of 15 cases implied that although the initiative of every employee in large companies has more opportunities to be enabled, it is more sustainable process in small-medium firms. In my opinion, SMEs might be developing better when they employ formal HRM practices. For example, during the study of HRM of SMEs,Williamson, Cable, &Aldrich, (2002,adapted by Patel, C. P, et all, 2010) found that that SMEs can be more competitive and legitimated with formal HRM activities since it helps firms attract more high quality employees. HRM can also create harmonious group culture, highlighting the relationship between employers and companies. (Cameron & Quinn, 1999,adapted by PATEL, C.2010). Data analyze In order to explore whether it is beneficial for companies when they use formal HRM practices, I conclude the research which was done by PATEL, C. P et all(2010).They did a research to discover the relationship between HRM and company productivity. In this study, high group culture means that a strong team works and effective working environment, which is usually created by strong HRM.) That it surveyed 145 firms and 6 industries including different size of firms. The correlation can be described by the following charts.Chart1 suggests: under high group culture, companies increase the use of HRM when market competition increase; Product market competition (chart 1,adapted by PATEL,C.P,andS. CARDON,S.M ) HRM intensity (chart 2, adapted by PATEL, C. P,and S. CARDON,S.M ) Under high group culture, Chart2 indicated that HRM intensity can enhance the labor productivity To sum up, when the market is in the growing competition, HRM can boost the labor productivity. It also implied that the firms should keep the high group culture environment in order to keep the effectiveness of HRM. High group culture is from strong HRM practices. In my opinion from the data analyze, when HRM is utilized in SMEs in formal ways ,it might bring significant benefit to company. As Walsh and  Whites (1981) point out same idea as well. They suggest that same regulation of HRM should be utilized among those companies but small scale in SMEs. Author opinion As far as my consideration, HRM is a very important part for SMEs. The reason can be explained by following aspects. Firstly, Many SMEs firms in UK have informal HRM activities rather than totally absence (Culley et all, 1998, adapted by Cassell.C, et all, 2002).However, the way SMEs conduct these kind of practice reduce its’ actual benefit. For example, if recruiting and training procedure are not completed by the HR, other department need to expense time and cost to implement those processes. Consequently, it divides the cost of HR department into other team. In fact, it increases the cost of companies in long term prospective. Therefore, SMEs may increase benefit if they employ formal HRM practices from long prospective. Secondly,According to the charts (1&2), HRM has vital influence on labor productivity when fierce competition appears. On one hand, HRM is important element when company goes through high level of competitive market. SMEs must employ HRM if they want to survive in long term .On the other hand, strong group culture which is built by HR department can reinforce HRM to effect labor productivity (PATEL, C. P,and S. CARDON,S.M,2010).As a consequence , HRM should be develop in correct way so that the company can built adequate group culture, thereby enhance the labor productivity especially in competitive market. Thirdly, it is important to look at the economy situation in UK. UK holds a large amount of SMEs with small scale of large company. It suggests that economic contribution of SMEs play important role in the country. From general perspective, when well-establishing and formal HRM is employed by SMEs, it will have big effect on the GDP of UK. As Cassell.C, Nadin.S, Gray.M, Clegg.C concluded in their research in 2002, HRM indeed exist in small business and small multiples. Although the structure of both firms is informal, human resource management brought obvious effective effort to the firm. From this study, we can imply that SMEs will grow stronger if they utilize more formal HRM in long term. Consequently, high level of HRM practice improves the effectiveness of companies. Conclusion My study suggest that HRM practices play very important roles in SMEs not only because it can create group culture and enhance the effectiveness of the group development, but also can protect firms from fierce competition. Moreover, HRM can increase the benefit of companies in long terms. But there is also some problem of HRM practices. Due to a lack of experience and information, majority of SMEs have no energy to take formal HRM. Whether this situation can be solved still need further study in UK. It depends on the companies themselves. Although I argued that SMEs should emphasize HRM practices in long term development, a lot of SMEs pursue short-time benefit and they may not consider HRM benefit. The research about how do the companies increase the use of formal HRM but not reduce the short-term benefit is needed to be discovering in the future. Hence, the different situations decide whether small-medium companies employ formal HRM. Reference Cassell.C, Nadin.S, Gray.M,Clegg.C,(2002):Exploring human resource management practices in small and medium sized enterprises, Personnel Review,Vol.31 No.6,pp:671-692 Domingo Ribeiro Soriano*and Ma. à ngeles Montoro†Sà ¡nchez,(2011)â€Å"Introduction: Contributions of Human Resource Management to the Challenges faced by Small† and Medium†Sized Enterprises in the Global Environment†, Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences, Vol.28: P119–121 PATEL, C. P,and S. CARDON,S.M,2010, â€Å"Adopting HRM Practices And Their Effectiveness In Small Firms Facing Product Market Competition†, Human Resource Management, March–April 2010, Vol. 49, No. 2, Pp. 265– 290

Philosophy Final Essay

Throughout the semester, our class has read a great variety of pieces of literature. With each reading, came a flurry of thoughts and discussions. These questions are what help us to become better philosophers. Someone who is on a quest to become a good philosopher must always think critically about all arguments and follow a logical conclusion to wherever it may lead. With Oedipus and â€Å"Forgiven†, I was able to dig deep into the meanings of the readings and come up with philosophical ideas for both. Another quality a philosopher must possess is the ability to compare and contrast different works of art. Using more class readings such as Socrates’ Apology, I found similarities and differences that explained my thoughts. In Oedipus the King, Oedipus kills his father and marries his mother. He also must determine who the murderer of King Laius is. Ultimately, his decisions in the play cause him to find out that it was him who killed Laius. Oedipus clearly believed that was he was doing at the time, was good. Although in the end, he most likely regrets his decisions. From his point of view, Oedipus would most likely think that his move from Corinth to Thebes was a bad decision. When he heard the news that he was going to kill his father and marry his mother, Oedipus moved far away from his home, Corinth. This is something that he probably regrets because remaining in Corinth would have prevented him from meeting King Laius in the road and killing him. Another bad decision from Oedipus’ point of view would be that he didn’t listen to anyone close to him. Oedipus demonstrates three tragic flaws, intolerance, stubbornness, and a short temper, each of which lead into his downfall. For instance, Oedipus’ stubbornness’ is unmistakably shown when he demands on finding the murderer of Laius and proving that the prophecy hasn’t come true. However, Jocasta, Oedipus’ queen and mother already is aware of the fact that all of this chaos is true and chooses to hide the truth. â€Å"That man, why ask? Old shepherds, talk, empty nonsense, don’t give it another thought; don’t even think† Oedipus replies with, â€Å"What- give up now, with a clue like this? Fail to solve the mystery of my birth? Not for all the world! †(Oedipus). Oedipus made these decisions because he thought he was saving his parents by moving away. He obviously did not want to marry his mother and kill his father, so he figured by leaving Corinth he would avoid the prophecy becoming true. Oedipus is a very stubborn man and he won’t stop until he gets the answers. In this case, he wants to figure out who murdered Laius. The reasoning behind Oedipus’ bad decision to not listen to anyone was mainly due to his stubbornness. I think that if he had not been so dead set on finding out who killed Laius; asking questions and trying to figure it all out, he would not have realized it was himself who was the murdered. Oedipus certainly was not the only character we read about that made some un-smart decisions. In the article â€Å"Forgiven†, the Grosmaires’ daughter Ann is killed by her boyfriend Conor. They end up choosing to forgive Conor, even though he took their daughter’s life. From the Grosmaires’ point of view, a bad decision would have been to not forgive Conor because then, their daughter would have been just another victim in a murder case. Also, in their point of view, not considering what Ann would have wanted if she had still been alive would’ve been a bad decision. If they had not kept their daughter in mind while choosing to forgive Conor, the Grosmaires would definitely have been dissatisfied. Ann’s mother, Kate announced, â€Å"I knew that if I defined Conor by that one moment-as a murderer-I was defining my daughter as a murder victim and I couldn’t allow that to happen† (2 Tullis). The Grosmaires’ believed that if they did not forgive Conor, then all of the attention would have been on him rather than Ann. Another major factor that came in to play when they decided to forgive Conor was their religious background. They tried very hard to base their lives on the lives of Jesus and St. Augustine. In fact, the father said, â€Å"I realized it was not just Ann asking me to forgive Conor, it was Jesus Christ† (2 Tullis). To the Grosmaires, Conor was a part of the family because he had been dating their daughter for years. He even stayed in their home for a period of time. They knew that Ann would have wanted them to forgive Conor because she loved him. By respecting their daughter and what she would have wanted, the Grosmaires felt as if they were doing the right thing. There are a few other options that they could have chosen instead of forgiving Conor. For instance, they shouldn’t have changed their minds about Conor’s jail time. They did not stick to their word and it seemed as if they almost forgot about the whole concept of forgiveness. After hearing Conor describe how he killed their daughter, they let their emotions take a toll and they changed their minds. Not forgiving Conor at all could have been another alternative choice for the Grosmaires. If this were the case, Conor would have gotten the proper justice that all other criminals get. If they did not forgive Conor, there is the possibility he would have either gotten the death penalty or lifetime in prison. Either way, it’s a far more severe punishment than what he ends up getting. Conor would be forced to suffer in prison for the rest of his life, knowing how much pain he caused the Grosmaires family. Usually, this is the case for most murder trials in the United States. It is very out of the norm for a murderer to be forgiven in today’s society. In the state of Florida where the death penalty is still used, it is especially strange for the act of killing to be forgiven. If you dig deep into Socrates’ The Apology and â€Å"Forgiven†, the two can easily be seen as comparable. First, the Grosmaires’ made the decision to forgive Conor in order to satisfy them. Despite the slack they received for forgiving a clearly guilty man, they still chose to remain close with Conor and keep him in their lives. The family was extremely religious and they felt as if it was unjust to not forgive him. Like the Grosmaires, Socrates did not allow other people to affect his decision-making. He continually chose the path less taken as was seen in The Apology. While he is being tried by the city of Athens, Socrates confidently accepts the fact that most of the city’s citizens are against him and continues teaching his ideas to others because it was simply the right thing to do. In an instance where Socrates stands up for himself, he says,â€Å" I realized, to my sorrow and alarm that I was getting unpopular, but I thought that I must attach the greatest importance to god’s oracle†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (loc 616 Apology). He truly believes in doing what morally feels acceptable, not what is socially acceptable and that is a great characteristic about him. Socrates lived his life with the philosophy of â€Å"How can you live a good life if you don’t truly understand what it is? † The Grosmaires’ followed this philosophy also because they did not fully know what the outcome of their decision was going to be, but all they knew was that it made them feel at peace and that is what mattered. Likewise, in The Apology, Socrates says that â€Å"he who is able to recognize his limitations is wisest. † It is nearly impossible for one single person to contain all knowledge of the world. Socrates knew what he did not know which is called Socratic ignorance. He claimed to be the wisest person because he welcomed the fact that he did not know everything in the world. In connecting Socrates to the Grosmaires, they were able to recognize that things could not be simply handled by sending Conor to prison for life. Sure, it would get him out of their sight, but never out of their minds. They could admit to their weaknesses and power through them with Conor and his family. If the Grosmaires ended up not forgiving him, then they would have actually been ignorant about the entire situation because they knew Conor and they knew that he truly did not mean to hurt their family. He was a good kid who had a mental breakdown that resulted in a murder. It was impossible for the Grosmaires to stop thinking of Conor as a son and to stop loving him. In addition, Socrates makes it known in The Apology that he is not afraid of death. Death was talked about a lot in this reading because it was the punishment Socrates was to face if he was found guilty. He says, â€Å" To fear death, gentlemen, is no other than to think oneself wise when one is not, to think one knows what one does not know. No one knows whether death may be the greatest of all blessings for a man, yet men fear it as if they knew that it is the greatest of evils† (loc 748 Apology). This was one of my favorite quotes from The Apology simply because it is so true. The Grosmaires clearly did not fear death either. For if they were afraid, they would not have accepted Ann’s death the way they did. Instead, they tried to turn Ann’s story into something heroic rather than tragic. Never once did they allow the death of their daughter to overcome them. Ann was a great person in their hearts and they believed that she was in a better place. There is no way the Grossmaires are ever going to achieve the life they had before their daughter passed away because it’s impossible to bring her back. But, by forgiving Conor they are trying to make peace with the idea of their Ann being gone. They are trying to make everything as normal as possible again, keeping Conor and his family in their lives. This is helping them to achieve the good life because they were happiest with their daughter and they don’t want to lose both their daughter and Conor at the same time. He was practically another son. Since the Grossmaires are also very religious people, I think they chose to forgive Conor so they could still consider themselves good Christians. To them, these aspects contribute to the â€Å"good life†. These are similar qualities that I consider to be the good life. In the beginning of the semester, I said that the good life is as stress free as possible. I want to avoid conflict as much as I can because conflict with family members and friends would only bring stress into my life. I think the Grossmaires family wanted to bring peace into their hearts and their lives, and forgiving Conor was the first step in achieving that goal. If I am able to look back and be proud of my choices, that is the â€Å"good life†. The Grossmaires probably had the same mentality when they were figuring out how to treat the Conor situation. They concluded that by forgiving him, they would be able to continue on with their lives and try to make the most of it. Reading â€Å"Forgiven† did not seem to change my views on what the good life was. I think from now until forever, my views on that topic will remain the same. The three readings that were discussed, Oedipus, The Apology, and â€Å"Forgiven† required much philosophical thinking on my part. With comparing and contrasting, I was able to dig deep into the meanings of each reading and come up with ideas for both.