Everything Your American History Book Got Wrong

James Loewen’s book entitled ‘Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Book Got Wrong’ speaks of criticism against twelve American history textbooks that mislead readers by representing facts and viewpoints that are actually far from truth. There is often a hitch of bias in the way history is being presented nowadays, what Loewen (2008) defined as heroification or â€Å"a degenerative process that makes people over into heroes†¦ turn flesh-and-blood individuals into pious, perfect creatures without conflicts, pain, credibility, or human interest† (p.19). From the Pilgrims up the occurrence of the Vietnam War, this Eurocentric method of formulating the teaching of history bears thoughts and issues, which appear to be very irrelevant to the views of everyday lives. Main Body Loewen (2008) has inserted in his book the words of W.E.B. Du Bois when he said: â€Å"One is astonished in the study of history at the recurrence of the idea that evil must be forgotten, distorted, skimmed over†¦ The difficulty, of course, with this philosophy is that history†¦ paints perfect men and noble nations, but it does not tell the truth† (p.18).   In Loewen’s book, it is emphasized how history textbooks, which are used today in education, proclaim misleading evidences and details that abuse ‘heroification’ and put the angle away from truth. It emphasizes too much on positive qualities that give an overly-emphasized meaning that reflect significant lessons, while distorting the negative characteristics of history and its heroes.   By this, students usually find significant lessons in them, such as, for example, Woodrow Wilson and Helen Keller.   As Loewen (2008) stated, Wilson was usually pictured as an important president, while Keller was an inspiration to the blind and deaf students of this century (pp.19-20). However, as Loewen (2008) stated, â€Å"Heroification so distorts the lives of Keller and Wilson (and many others) that we cannot think straight about them† (p.20).   It takes away the truth behind real people and events by presenting them in a way that leads to a specific objective and design.   It fabricates people’s minds after a certain framework that would theoretically lead to a basic viewpoint, picture, or assumption. Questions that are raised in Loewen’s book consist of the following: (1) How true and accurate are the details that are being presented in educational textbooks in the field of history?   (2) How much morality do the authors, publishers, adoption committees, and teachers nowadays possess in presenting facts and issues that should reflect fair, non-bias, and factual details of history?   (3) What are the exact causes why most elementary and secondary students find the lectures of history bland, boring, and almost senseless?   (4) How can the process of heroification lead to more positive, truthful, fair, yet fruitful results?   Lastly, (5) what can authors, publishers, and teachers do to highlight the truth behind Loewen’s statement that history is an ongoing process that is influenced by specific events, environments, and characteristics of the past.   My general perception after reading the author’s viewpoints or perspectives is that, Loewen (2008) has failed to analyze the other end of the pole, which reflects that, prior to a youth’s desire to be one of the great men of his time, there first has to be the episode of mental and psychological stimulation and inspiration, before one can project positive results and actions that make history a lot more worthwhile. Conclusion I feel that this book of Loewen (2008) is the very thing needed to emphasize the truth behind the statement that history is an ongoing process that is being lived by on the account of one’s everyday life.   The reading has helped me to formulate my own ideas regarding education, as it reflected the issues of accuracy, morality, and the different tactics used in trying to come up with a structure that makes heroes appear like what the readers would expect them to appear: all faultless, perfect, and absolute.   It is, however, far from the truth. Reference Loewen, J.W. (2008). Lies my teacher told me: everything your American history textbook got wrong. New York, NY: New Press.   

Consider Atwood’s portrayal of religion in Gilead Essay

All around us we see evidence of the way in which belief is institutionalised and abused. Consider Atwood’s portrayal of religion in Gilead Many modern day beliefs have been used as excuses for war, or as a way of suppressing groups of people. In ‘The Handmaid’s tale’ Atwood has taken abuse of belief and religion to the extreme, using it to create a worrying futuristic dystopia where all laws are based on extracts from the bible and the texts have been twisted to suit the more powerful members of society. It is impossible for handmaids, or many other members of Gilead to check the authenticity of the extracts that rule their life as they are forbidden from reading and the bible is kept locked up. In ‘The Handmaid’s tale’ free will is nothing more than a memory, different Christian branches are at war with each other. The bible is used to justify the regimes and practises of Gilead and sexuality has been suppressed into something shameful and dangerous. Chapter two offers the reader their first decent example of how religion is used within the society of Gilead. It is in the simple use of a name that Atwood is able to immediately establish a link between her dystopia and the bible. ‘Her usual Martha’s dress’. In the bible Martha is the sister of Mary who would devote herself to the housework while Mary went to hear Jesus speak. Marthas in ‘The Handmaids Tale’ are unmarried, infertile women who are expected to perform household duties for the high-ranking members of Gilead. This is the first time the reader is given an example of rank based on religion with Gilead, the reader is made aware of Handmaids and of the Commander earlier in the book but this is the first obvious biblical reference. Martha is not important in the bible, but the powers of Gilead has taken her role and expanded it so that they can justify having slaves within their society. This early example gives the reader an impression of what sort of society Gilead is and what they can expect further into the book as far as rank and religion are concerned. In Chapter eleven Offred is offered the opportunity to get pregnant by the doctor. Offred is worried about being caught having sex with someone who wasn’t the commander. Offred considers the doctors offer, she knows it is a risk ‘but they have to catch you in the act, with two witnesses. ‘ This method of convicting people is taken from Deuteronomy 17:6 ‘At the mouth of two witnesses†¦ shall he that is to die be put to death. ‘ The bible reference is saying that nobody can be convicted when it is just their word against someone else’s, this must be the same way people in Gilead practise law. Unfortunately it would be very easy for two people to get together and agree on the same story if they wanted to frame someone. It also further removes individuality and freethinking, people are already expected to travel in groups of at least two and the suggestion is that one person’s opinion is useless unless supported by someone else. It also makes things very difficult for handmaid’s who are often required to be on their own with the commander’s wife and if there aren’t any witnesses present then there is no crime and the handmaids are left in a very vulnerable position. Television in Gilead is censored, like everything else. It is clear that this society functions by keeping people ve for as long as possible, if they can’t read and their only visual entertainment in censored to suit the ideals of Gilead then they cannot really form their own opinions and would be entirely dependant on what others told them. However the information that comes from the television tells the reader about battles Gilead is involved in. The odd thing about the battles is that they are taking place with different branches of the same religion. ‘Angels of the Apocalypse†¦ are smoking out a pocket of Baptist guerrillas’. ‘Five members of the heretical sect of Quakers have been arrested’. It is possible to read more into the news reports than meets the eye. The Baptists are relying on guerrilla warfare that is commonly the form of warfare used by under-developed countries that aren’t looking for war. There is also a fair amount of irony in the sense that the report claims that the Quakers are heretical or sacrilegious when the reader knows that the society of Gilead is based on sacrilege. This may suggest that Gilead is fighting these other branches of Christianity to stop them from demonstrating to the world, and more importantly to the people of Gilead that their society is based on twisted truths.

Children Need to Play, Not Compete

Everyone wants to win. But should that be a child’s top priority? Children’s sports should be more focused on cooperation and pure fun. The physical and psychological negatives are not worth the feeling of winning a game or making a team. Competitive sports have too many negatives that outweigh the positives and should be either removed or restructured. After children are fully prepared and mentally and psychologically developed, by age twelve or so, children can move on to playing to win. â€Å"Children Need to Play, Not Compete† by Jessica Statsky is an explanation as to why children sports need to be less competitive.The stress of winning seems to be getting worse and worse as time goes on. Children are losing the love for sports because the fun is slowly but surely being taken away. Statsky states that, â€Å"even when children are not injured, fear of being hurt detracts from their enjoyment of the sport. † There are also psychological issues, which s houldn’t be a problem children have to deal with. Sports should be somewhat of an outlet, an escape for children to enjoy themselves apart from their everyday life, not an added stress.As Statsky ads, â€Å"Winning and losing may be an inevitable part of adult life, but they should not be a part of childhood. † Childhood is a time for making memories, participating in things that make children happy, and enjoying their time. Instead of stressing about winning, practicing, losing, making the team, and getting hurt, children should purely be having fun playing the sports that they love. Jessica Statsky presents a very reasonable and logical argument. It is hard to disagree with her viewpoint after reading the article.All of her examples were relevant and accurate. Statsky ties together her opinion along with facts and statistics. She makes several references to various books and authors and even sources such as the Los Angeles Times. Jessica Statsky has information from a New York Little League official, which shows that from California to New York, this is an issue that is being dealt with all over the country. Statsky also has information from a professor of kinesiology, Dr. Glyn C. Roberts, at the institute of Child Behavior and Development at the University of Illinois.Her arguments are very persuasive and well worded. Over all, Statsky has put together a very well-constructed article. â€Å"Children Need to Play, Not Compete† appeals to readers emotions. Children are a part of just about everyone’s lives. Everyone was a child once, and either has or knows someone who has children. No one wants to think about a child being hurt physically or emotionally. Although parents often get involved in the desire to win, it is more important that children have positive experiences and wait until they are mature enough to have winning become a priority.Statsky refers to Martin Rablovsky, a former sports editor for the New York Times who said after the coaches whistle blows, â€Å"The spirit of play suddenly disappears, and sport become job like. † Parents don’t want to see their children lose interest in a sport they love because of all the pressure. It is a fairly reasonable assumption to say that parents would rather their children have fun without the addition of winning, then to be stressed or harmed just to have that â€Å"win†.Parents could still praise their children for performing well and see how much better they will develop and be prepared for competition later in life. There are many points in â€Å"Children Need to Play, Not Compete† that are easily agreeable. It is true that between the ages of six and twelve, children shouldn’t be involved in competitive sports. Statsky states, â€Å"One readily understandable danger of overly competitive sports is that truly entice children into physical actions that are bad for growing bodies. Children do so much growing in this time period. They don’t need negative physical and psychological impacts from sports at such an important stage in life. Children should be taught cooperation, sportsmanship, and individual performance to prepare them for competition when they are developed enough to handle it. Everyone wants to be able to look back on childhood and have good memories. Sports programs should reconsider and reconstruct to cater to children’s needs and abilities. No one wants to see the love of sports slowly disappear over time.Children have their whole lives to compete. Childhood should be about pure innocent fun and making positive memories. Sports don’t need to completely change. It would help if the level of competition progressed as the children’s age and abilities progressed. That way they could be gradually becoming prepared for high school, college, or even professional sports in their future. If taking steps toward reconstructing children’s competitive sports is going to benefit children, then that is what needs to be done.

Biology Question Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Biology Question - Essay Example The neurons transmit information to each other through the dendrites. Action potentials are however comparably large in size. They signal strength of stimulus by frequency and not by amplitude. Graded potentials on the other hand are generated in dendrites and sensory receptors. Graded potentials sometimes generate action potentials and thus referred to as generator potentials. In case of an incoming signal, a pre synaptic excitatory neuron fires releasing neurotransmitters to the synaptic cleft. Consequently, if the transmitter binds to the post synaptic dendritic membrane, it elicits a transient depolarization called Excitatory Post Synaptic Potential (EPSPs) (Akers and Denbow 214). Inhibitory neurons on the other hand, elicit partial hyper-polarizations known as Inhibitory Post Synaptic Potentials (IPSPs) (Akers and Denbow 214). Summarily, EPSPs and IPSPs are both graded potentials. Finally, a number of pre synaptic neurons maybe firing simultaneously, hence impacting on the level of activity of post synaptic neurons. Hence, the total potential in the post synaptic neuron; that is, Grand Post Synaptic Potential (GPSP) is a summation of all EPSPs and IPSPs occurring approximately simultaneously (Dowling 242). 2) What is the functional significance of spatial and temporal summation being performed by axon hillocks of neurons? Axon hillock is the most excitable portion of a neuron. It is the region at the beginning of an axon. Action potentials are generated in this region. The occurrence of an action potential at the axon hillock is by either temporal summation or spatial summation. Action potentials usually occur in three stages, namely Resting, Depolarization and Repolarization phases. (Brown, Miller and Eason 223).Temporal summation simply refers to addition of a number of EPSPs that manifest close together in time, as a result of a subsequent firing of a single presynaptic neuron. Conversely, spatial summation refers to addition of EPSPs originating at the same time from several pre-synaptic neurons (Sherwood 107). This implies that the position of a synapse on the neuron is significant in determining the generation of an action potential. Summarily, synapses closer to the axon hillock have higher level of activity than those further away. Furthermore, the central integrative state of a neuron is also determined by temporal and spatial summation (Beck 135). 3) How are action potentials generated at axon hillocks and propagated along unmyelinated axons? Action potential is propagated along unmyelinated axon by a mechanism known as continuous propagation. The membrane is considered as a sequence of adjacent segments. The action potential starts at the initial segment. In the first step, the transmembrane potential becomes briefly positive, rather than negative. In the second step, a local current develops due to the influx of sodium ions into the cytosol and extracellular fluid, and in step three and four, the local current spreads in all directions hence depolarizing adjacent segments of the membrane. Usually, the axon hillock like the rest of the cell body, cannot respond with action potential because it lacks gated ion channels. However, when the initial portion of the axon is depolarized to threshold, an action potential develops there. The process thus proceeds in a chain reaction until distant portions of cell are afflicted. Every time a local current occurs, action potential moves forward, and not backward, since

What Is Meant By Smart Power And How Does Its Application By The Obama Essay

What Is Meant By Smart Power And How Does Its Application By The Obama Administration Differ From The Use Of Hard Power By The Bush Administration - Essay Example These terms are descriptions of the way that American governments deal with other states, especially those states which do not agree with American views. Hard power is the use of forceful tactics such as military actions or economic sanctions. It shows how strong America is, and imposes American views on other people. If the other countries involved are weak, then this can be very effective and President Bush used this kind of approach at the beginning of his first term of office. The invasion of Iraq is a classic example of hard power at work. This tough line was also an important part of President Bush’s election campaign in 2004: â€Å"the Bush administration achieved a greater advantage over Democrats in general and Senator John Kerry in particular on this issue than on any other in the 2004 presidential race.† (Campbell and O’Hanlon: 2006, p. 119) After the 9/11 attack on New York, it was possible to present hard power as a defence tool, not necessarily an a ct of aggression. This made it more acceptable to the American public. Sometimes, however, the opposite of hard power, i.e. soft power is a better approach. People know that America is strong, but they might be more impressed by gentle approaches like aid and support, with diplomatic summits and exchanges of views. America’s culture and image are also aspects of soft power.

Philosophy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 12

Philosophy - Assignment Example Indeed, since God is a superior being and invisible, it has been tough for any religion to prove his existence. This essay will take a look at how St. Anselm uses logic and reasons to argue out his points about the existence of God. To start off his argument, Anselm starts by giving his view on how God can be defined. He defines God as â€Å"something than which nothing greater can be thought. In addition, he claims that every human being, whether he or she believes in God or not will automatically agree with his definition. He uses the example of the fool in Psalms does not believe in God, and claims that even him will agree with his definition. Anselm then agrees to the fact that there is a difference between understanding God as a concept and understanding him to exist (Solomon, Higgins & Martin 53). To explain his point further, Anselm uses the painter’s analogy. He then claims that before any talented painter comes up with his or her own masterpiece, he or she can see it clearly in his head even though he knows that it does not exist. The painter only understands the masterpiece as a concept. However, once the painter has finished his work and it can be seen as reality, he can now understand the concept of the painting and also understand that it exists. The latter stage of the painting is the same position that a firm believer of God and agrees with Anselm’s logic would be at. If God’s definition which Anselm strongly believes that it is the best ever, then God is a superior being; superior to any other thing that exists in the world. It is from Anselm’s strongly stressed definition that he places his argument. He argues that an existent God is greater than a non-existent one. Therefore, since God is perfect from the definition, must be in existence. If God does not exist, he would not be the most superior beings to ever exist. Therefore, if anything existed and was superior to God, it would not be God. In other words, Anselm believes

Reflection Paper Assignment ( The Wise Leader )

Reflection Paper ( The Wise Leader ) - Assignment Example With integrity taking the centre stage of the leader’s operations, a sense of accomplishment will be felt by the entire organization, as the leader is able to boost team work among the employees, despite the challenging times in the organization (Fairholm, 2003). Through integrity, leaders create shared contexts in which dialogue and learning takes place in the organization. In such an environment, the leaders are not biased and give all employees an upper hand in learning and accessing promotions. In the long run, the members of the organization build relationships and rapport among themselves. Close interaction between the concerned members of the organization enables them appreciate the values of all persons and their opinions regarding specific issues in the organization. Additionally, proper leadership must go hand in hand with freedom (Fairholm, 2003). Freedom in this case allows the employees feel free and confident to make any form of consultations, both from their seniors to their juniors (Fairholm, 2003). With a sense of independence and autonomy inculcated in the organization, it is obvious that the employees will have a sense of belonging to the organization; they will also act as their true selves and be innovative enough to boost the performance of the organization at hand (Fairholm, 2003). Freedom goes hand in hand with effectual communication, as communication is the pillar of any organization. In an event where information is passed to the subjects in a pleasant manner, chances are that leaders will manage to touch the hearts and minds of the subjects in the organization. Additionally, freedom as a critical insight to leadership creates a situation whereby the varying viewpoints of the organization are represented and values set by the leaders. Leaders who are able to allow freedom and autonomy rein in the organization may be referred to as social entrepreneurs who are able to work, as persons with a

Emphasis Fiction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Emphasis Fiction - Essay Example Narrative voice used in the selection is a clear demonstration of the qualities passed by the main character who is the narrator (Gilbert 1158). Through the tone and diction contained within this narrative voice, it is obvious in this story that Sammy is in his teens and his having a mature observation of women. It is significant to know that the A&P story is written in the first person and the narrator is an objective; this simply shows that the narrator relies on personal observation and does not know what actually goes on in the mind of the others. Sammy is also seen as a participant narrator since he is also in the story that he is telling. Since Sammy is restrained in this particular manner, he can easily be believed, and the readers can also relate with him without any hindrance (Gilbert 1158). Moreover, since he is present in person, he is a dependable source of information for the readers. The simple manner in which Sammy is portrayed in the story coupled with his plain existence proposes the idea that every man has some complexity that lies in the mind. The story was published in 1953, following the permanent move of Flannery OConnor to Andalusia who the diary firm of her mother. The story makes an illustration of the various themes and techniques that characterized the distinctive OConnor story. There is characterization in this story. The tools of characterization include actions, clothing, family life, speech and dialogue as well as thoughts and opinions (Flannery 4). In the context of actions, it is the way sense is made for the minor characters and they say a lot in the story. The kids in the story say nasty things to the strangers and grandmother and consequently through a fantastic tantrum to ensure that their Bailey takes them to the particular plantation house. Baileys appears to loose his temper and fond of clenching the jaw and also saying shut up. However, the wife of Bailey says and does nothing apart from attending to the baby.

Business Ethics Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Business Ethics - Research Paper Example But the problem apparently is far from resolved taking into consideration the actual degradation of the environment and changing weather patterns. This paper is a personal view on the above mentioned balance, ‘the spectrum of ethical responsibly towards the environment’. The stand taken is that environmental ethics is a necessity both on paper and in practice for business organizations. But the responsibility should not be solely on the major contributor namely the big polluters. An ideal or at the least a sustainable climate is vital to the survival of all living organisms including humans (Pittock, 1). The matter is of utmost concern is the reality of climate change. It is a well established fact that pollution of air, land and water have contributed to this alarming situation. As mentioned in the introduction, economic (immediate) needs often take precedence of long-term requirements regarding the survival of the human race in particular and the environment in general. It is to be seen as to who contributes negatively and positively towards global warming and its long-term effects and causes. According to Ray Anderson, one of the most respected industrialists committed towards environmental ethics, it is business and industry that are the main culprits in this whole chain of events. Being so, this group can in turn become the major contributors in correcting this alarming situation. He goes on to add that there should be an individual or organization that leads the way and took up the responsibility (successfully) of showcasing his own carpet company Interface as a global example of how business can on their own be path breakers in this regard. What is most admirable is the fact that Interface is a company that uses fossil fuels as a raw material for its products. No one in their right mind would publicly state that they have no responsibility towards the environment. But it is

Cruise Inc., Big Money on The High Seas Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Cruise Inc., Big Money on The High Seas - Essay Example These portions mainly includes, casino, bar, shopping mall, art auction and the speciality restaurants. After the sales of bookings, these parts of the cruise help NCL to generate the desired amount of revenue. However, the initial revenue generator is the most important part to increase productivity for NCL because if the cruise has on-board passengers then it will acquire the opportunity to sell its services on better prices. NCL does stresses its focus upon the profitability and losses in terms of finance but the productivity of NCL cannot entirely be measured on the basis of its financial profits and losses. The biggest reason for this is risks which are involved in the cruising business in which a single normal challenge like rain or liquor shortage can cost significant losses to NCL. In these regards the productivity which is significantly important for NCL is not entirely measured in terms of total profits made. It incorporates the season, profits and losses, customer response s to service and most importantly the overall sales from each section of the journey. Question 2 The major target population for NCL is the middle economic class. The biggest reason for this is the severe economic crisis which every individual and state is going through. In fulfilling its aim to seek the attention of middle economic class, range of bookings and services packages varies from significantly reasonable and affordable prices to immensely elevated and high prices. Despite of prices, the service package which is provided by NCL to its customers is highly sufficient and captivating for consumers. The service package mainly includes resort, shopping mall, a total of eleven restaurants which varies in several distinct food styles, live entertainment shows of professional standards, along with a casino and a bar. These services are offered to customers while travelling in the cruise. However, the service package of NCL also includes its stop at a town where numerous entertainm ent activities delight all of consumers with specialty food. Lastly, NCL is the only cruise liner which owns a private island for the betterment of its service and for successfully thrives in the industry against its giant competitors. The service package provided by NCL to customers also includes a day at this privately owned island which is entirely designed to elevate the cruising experience of its customers in terms of quality. Question 3 In the steadily growing cruising industry, there are three major competitors which strive to thrive more efficiently into the business of cruising. Among the three well known corporations, fifty percent of the market in the cruising industry is captured under the giant cruising corporation called Carnival Corporation. It is followed by another cruising giant, Royal Caribbean Cruises which is dominating on the rest of thirty percent of cruising market. The remaining twenty percent of industry’s market is owned by NCL that signifies the im portance of competition for NCL to survive in the industry. For NCL, the competitive priorities are entirely based on the expansion of its cruising business by acquiring more customers to consume the services provided by this corporation. To attract consumers is the one of the most important segment because these consumers are the main source of profit for any cruising company. If more consumers will be acquired

The relationship between the socio-economic characteristics Essay Example for Free

The relationship between the socio-economic characteristics Essay The aim of the fieldwork is to analyse the relationship between the socio-economic characteristics of the resident population and the quality of the residential environment within different parts of Durham City. The quality of the residential environment will be closely related to socio-economic factors and that the higher status areas will lie towards the edge of the urban area, meaning that the further out from the CBD I go the quality of the residential areas will improve. Looking at the layout of the areas I believe that I could base the area Robsons model. Robson based his model on Sunderland so the River Wear had to be taken into account, this river also runs through Durham but his model showed that as you went further from the centre that the class of living increased. Robson found that a mixture of concentric circles and sectors that identified the urban zones formed the framework to Sunderland. One thing to note is that a great dominance of areas of low and medium class housing were found more centrally than that of the higher class of living found on the outskirts. In each ward each group will survey a single street, they will walk the length of each street and record the quality of the residential environment by scoring each street according to the penalty points system.

Mesopotamia and Egypt Essay Example for Free

Mesopotamia and Egypt Essay The early civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt were very similar, but they were also different in some ways. Both Mesopotamia and Egypt developed their civilizations centered on rivers, but these rivers were polar opposites. Mesopotamia was between two rivers called the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Egypt’s civilization developed around the Nile River. The Tigris and Euphrates rivers differed from the Nile River. The Nile River was calm, and the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers were wild and very unpredictable. Since these rivers had opposite behaviors, Mesopotamia’s specialty was in irrigation, while Egypt was a more agricultural society. Mesopotamia and Egypt were very similar in their roots, but they also had distinctive forms of social organization and religious observance that developed because of the rivers that surrounded them. Mesopotamia’s social organization was a way to differentiate between rulers and those who were commoners. Each city-state in Mesopotamia had elders and young men that made decisions for the community. Rulers protected their access to both political and economic resources by creating systems of bureaucracies, priesthoods, and laws. Priests and bureaucrats served their leaders well, defending and advocating rules and norms that validated the political leadership. Lists of professions were passed around so each person could know his or her place in the social order. The king and priest were at the top of the social structure followed by bureaucrats who were scribes, supervisors, and craft workers. The craft workers were jewelers, gardeners, potters, metal smiths, and traders; this was the largest group of the social structure. The craft workers were not slaves but they depended on their employer’s households. People rarely moved from one social level to another. Not only was there organization between society in general, but there was also specific organization between families. In families, the senior male became the patriarch. A family was made up of a husband and a wife who was bound by a contract that stated that the wife would provide children, preferably male, and the husband would provide support an d protection. If there was no male child, a second wife or slave could bear children to serve as the couple’s offspring. In families, sons would inherit the family’s property and the daughters would receive dowries. Priests were at the top of the social organization with the king because they lived in temples, which represented  the cities’ power. Bureaucrats were at the top of the social structure underneath the main people of power because they were scribes. Mesopotamia was the world’s first city to keep records and read, developing a writing system. Writing became important to the development of cities and enabled people to share information across greater distances and over longer periods of time. Scribes played a significant role in developing a writing system that people anywhere and in the future could decipherer. The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers served as major communication and transportation routes for Mesopotamia. The need for a system of record keeping developed because farmers and officials needed a way to keep track of the distribution of goods and services. It was important to keep track of goods and services because long-distance trade was very important to Mesopot amia since it lacked many raw materials that were crucial to developing the city. On the other hand, in Egypt, the social organization was similar to Mesopotamia, but differed just slightly. At the top was a Pharaoh or also called a king was the center of Egyptian life followed by priests, scribes, craftsmen, and lastly farmers and slaves. The Pharaoh was at the center of life and had the responsibility to ensure that flooding of the Nile River continued without interruption and had the responsibility to develop a vibrant economy. Egyptians believed that the Pharaoh was a descendant from the gods. Egypt had one advantage that Mesopotamia did not have, the Nile River. The Nile River was navigable and provided annual floods. These annual floods allowed for regular moisture. Even though the Nile River did not fertilize the fields as wells as the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in Mesopotamia, the yearly floods meant that the topsoil was renewed every year, making the soil easy to plant in. Egypt also had the sun that allowed a bountiful agriculture. Egypt, similarly to Mesopotamia, was a scribe nation. Since little people were literate in both Mesopotamia and Egypt, a scribesâ €™ social status was increased automatically. However, even though both Mesopotamia and Egypt were scribal cultures, Egypt appeared to be more literate. This could be because Egypt developed later than Mesopotamia, and they may have used it more since Egypt had the Nile River. The Nile provided for good harvest allowing Egypt’s economy to flourish. Since Egypt had good harvest, they may have needed to keep better track of goods and services because they had more goods to keep track of since they had better harvest than  Mesopotamia. Social structure in Egypt and Mesopotamia was not the only thing that was affected by the rivers. Another aspect of early civilization that was affected by the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in Mesopotamia was religion. Mesopotamians had beliefs in gods that molded their political organizations and controlled everything. They believed the gods controlled weather, fertility, harvests, and the underworld. They had to respect their gods, but they also feared them because they were powerful. A major way for Mesopotamians to worship their gods was through the temples. Temples were gods’ homes and were the cities’ identity. To demonstrate cities’ power, rulers would elaborately decorate temples. The priests and other officials lived in the temples and worked to serve gods, the most pow erful immortal beings to the Mesopotamians. Temples ran productive and commercial activities and those that were close to the river would hire workers to hunt, fish, and collect. The temples were a way for people to worship their gods and show their faithfulness to them. Therefore, since the Mesopotamians believed that the gods controlled everything including weather and harvest, two important aspects in Mesopotamia civilization, it was important that they stay faithful to their gods since they did not have the best rivers. The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers would flood if there was heavy rainfall during the height of the agricultural season. Thus, if they worshiped their gods frequently, the Mesopotamians may believe that the gods will bestow good weather eliminating floods more often, creating a better year of harvest. Like Mesopotamia, each region in Egypt had its own god. In addition, Egypt also had temples to worship their gods. In Egypt, gods were inactive and the kings, or pharaohs, were active. The pharaoh had responsibility to uphold cults while the priests were to uphold regular rituals. The pharaoh acted as a mediator between the gods and the people o f the city. He supported the gods through rituals held in temples, which the Egyptians contributed many resources to. Since trade from the Nile River allowed the city of Egypt to prosper economically, they had more resources to build more elaborate temples and later on pyramids. Pyramids were unique to Egyptian culture. The pyramids became a place for state rituals and were very important to Egyptian culture. Since Egypt prospered because of its location next to the Nile, they had an abundance of resources that was necessary to build the intricate temples. Both Mesopotamia and Egypt were  riverine cultures. Each city had its own unique social organization and religious beliefs, but they had similar roots. Both civilizations were scribal cultures, but since Egypt had the Nile River, the two civilizations differed. Since both civilizations were scribal, scribes attained great social status under the king and priests. Egypt prospered greatly from the resources that the predictable Nile River offered. Mesopotamia had the Tigris and Euphrates rivers that were unpredictable, but still provided for irrigation and allowed the city to advance in irrigation technology and opened the city up to the surrounding cities. Mesopotamia and Egypt both had polytheism and worshiped their gods in temples. Instead of referring to the king like in Mesopotamia, Egypt refers to the pharaoh. Egypt believed that the pharaoh communicated with the gods. The rivers in both Mesopotamia and Egypt opened these areas up to the rest of the world and allowed for great economic growth.

A Review On Enterprise Resource Planning Systems Information Technology Essay

A Review On Enterprise Resource Planning Systems Information Technology Essay INTRODUCTION An enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems is that they integrate across functions to create a single, unified system rather than a group of separate, insular applications. As ERP system is providing optimal solutions and strong control over the company operations, every business is looking forward for this adoption. Since currently available ERP softwares are charging at higher level of licencing and supporting costs, businesses are in the necessity of finding an open source alternative. This document provides the feasible open source alternative option to the current market leader in the proprietary ERP SAP ECC. Open Source ERP Systems: The following are the popular open source ERP systems available in the latest market. Though there are many number of open sources are available like Opentaps, Ofbiz, ERP5, and so on here only considered few which are moderately fulfil business requirements in compare with SAP solutions. Adempiere This is one of the major ERP leaders in the open source technologies and has been resulted most successful in small and medium industry users mainly in Retail, Trading, Manufacturing and service sectors. [Adempiere Release Manual]. This is highly motivated and active community based software and is in the top 5 positions according to sourceforge.net. Compiere In the current era, Compiere is the most popular open source ERP+CRM application. It is a comprehensive solution for SMEs. This provides solutions in Distribution, Retail, Manufacturing and Service industries with highly adaptable and easy to use enterprise class applications. In ERP, first time Compiere started revolutionary design through which applications are enabled with easy customization and extension without any programing. Openbravo This is more commercial oriented open source ERP. ERP solution provides a robust application which integrates distribution, inventory, E-commerce, accounting and point of sale workflows. This has been received continuously best open source awards in 2009 and 2010 from Infoworld and many more recognitions from various Organizations. It is developed in java and oracle, postgres SQL databases can be used. OpenERP(Farmer TinyERP) This is comprehensive suite for all operations of an Enterprise. It follows the modular approach which helps customer to initiate one application and then add others as they go. This is designed through a famous 3 tier MVC architecture. Written in Python and Database is PostgreSQL. Clients are required to install flash components in their web browser to access. OpenPro OpenPro is a leader in licensed Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software using open source technology and also this is the first web based ERP software started on demand in the market since 1988. This software designed as a platform independent and is written in open source php. Over the years, Software has shown continuous improvements by providing advanced features along with application stabilization. This is recognized as best suited for the larger businesses. Open Source ERP Pros and Cons The following are the advantages and disadvantages of above open source alternatives. ADempiere Advantages: Architecture Model driven Architecture Active data dictionary reducing 80% coding work in customization Browser/Server + Client/Server Database independent : PostgresSQL/Oracle/ (MySQL) Function Structure Provides ERP, CRM, POS. Manufacture module Multi Organization, Multi currency, Multi accounting, Internationalization Market Top 5 in SourceForge.net. Existing customer / user base. Rich practice in real business environment, rather than a guinea pig in the library. Community Highly motivated and active. Global support. Disadvantages: Community No formal political structure to make decisions. No specified road map. Lack of sufficient funding, cant afford core developers. Market Not very well-known to the general public. Customer / user base is small compared to SAP. Implementation Not simple enough for quick implementation which is important for small-sized enterprise. Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) is shifted from licensing costs to lack of expertise local support in some countries. Compiere Advantages Multi company and complex corporate hierarchy support Multi currency and multi language support Delivers fully integrated ERP product with complex warehouse management processing and etc. Rich internet applications by using ajax integration and this delivers functionality, usability, responsiveness and personalization through a Web browser The system uses a centralized and active application dictionary to store meta-data and rules to managing custom solutions Easy upgrades without programming which sustains the customer customization through upgrade tool Provides complete application level security Vendor independent Stable and well tested No information hiding , full transparency of coding by open source Extraordinary wide reach, no starting costs Model driven architecture, Application directory is available Any sql database is supported Disadvantages Not currently complete opensource, since the choice of Oracle database. Based on thick client Java Swing GNU licence needs derivative work to be returned. OpenBravo Advantages Easy integration with other applications since it supports REST and SOAP services. Provides training, support, consulting, outsourcing options to partners and clients at lower costs means lower total cost of Ownership. Web based ERP Revolutionary architecture Unique combination of MVC and MDD, innovative approach to build and maintain software coding. Scalability Openbravo can scale irrespective of the size and sector of the company Easy installation and No vendor/supplier lock in Modularity without any maintenance issues application can be easily extended. Disadvantages Even an ordinary person can write a PHT client class for REST service. This leads to security issues and shows the doubt on code reliability Currently at lower Support and maintenance cost, future is not guaranteed since OpenBravo is commercial focused. Loose coupling between database integration in coding perspective. OpenERP (Farmer TinyERP) Advantages It has majority of all other application advantages. Modular structure helps to easy adoption of new applications Certain customization can be done through web browser in online SAAS services are available Very small footprint, windows installer of just 85MB, installation will done in minutes time. Ease of use Advanced technology usage Very Innovating software double entry management in inventory control Internationalization 72% scored from Independent experts group evaluation in Open source erp softwares. Disadvantages OpenPro Advantages Applicable for all sizes of businesses Written on open source PHP First web based software, mature , reliable and faster Since web based, clients or users or sales representatives can access system from anywhere remotely through a web. No maintenance cost Shorter implementation time Disadvantages No frequent updates for open source whereas available for OpenPro commercial products. No support at free of cost. Need to pay More commercial oriented rather than open source. Evaluation of Open Source ERP System Functional Fit Flexibility Support Continuity Maturity Customization Flexibile upgrades Internationalization User Friendliness Architecture Scalability Security Interfaces Operating System Independence Database Independence Programming language Support infrastructure Training Documentation Project structure Community activity Transperancy Update frequency Other lock in effects Development status Reference sites In order to select the best open source alternative hierarchically structured criteria has been chosen. All open source alternatives information has been categorized into 5 groups and compared with each of other along with the need of company requirements. The following comparison table gives the clear picture of selected ERP system. ERP System Implementation Strategy Implementation is the key process for which company needs to identify a strategic approach. As per Guido Capaldo Study, proved that a planned oriented approach is required for estimating the capabilities that firms should have in order to select the more appropriate implementation strategy. Implementation process divided into 5 phases for smooth execution. Each phase has its own deadline to successful completion. Phase 1: Strategic Planning Project Team: Forming a project team with first line employees from each department and senior management. SMART objectives will be prepared for entire team and team members will be assigned with specific task. Activity tracker will be designed to track each activity such as timelines, training plan formulation, objective finalising. Examine current business processes: Team should examine their individual department business processes whether they are ready to automate or to identify any gaps which need to be fulfilled. Set Objectives: Clearly defined objectives needs to be set. Since implementation is a major task, setting S.M.A.R.T objectives are more crucial. In order to define an objective, team should be able to understand the scope of the business. Develop a project plan: Team should develop a project plan with the clearly defined objectives, timelines, and training procedures with each team member individual responsibilities stated. Result of this, all team members todo list will be clearly defined. Phase 2: Procedure review Review Software Capabilities Train on each and every aspect of OpenERP software. Project team dedicatedly review the software capabilities. Ensure that there are no any technical gaps. Identify manual processes Project team should identify the manual processes for automation and also documented well for the rollout steps. Develop standard operating procedures This is one of the critical success factors for smooth implementation of an ERP. Every aspect of the business needs to be well documented as per SOPs. Ensure that properly updated when SOP changes. Phase 3: Data Collection and Clean up Convert Data Identify the data which needs to be converted Collect new Data Review all data input Cleanup data Phase 4: Training and Testing Pre-test the database Verify Testing Train the trainer Perform final testing Phase 5: Go live and Evaluation Develop final go live checklist Evaluate the solution

The Future Of The Internet :: essays research papers

It's on television, in magazines, newspapers, and in our schools. Everywhere you go you hear about the Internet. Dubbed "The Information Superhighway," one might think that this network of millions of computers around the globe is as fast and as captivating as television, but with more and more users logging on everyday and staying on longer and longer, this "Information Superhighway" could be perhaps more correctly referred to as a clogged Los-Angeles expressway at lunch hour.Users are often frustrated at busy signals and slow speeds. The corporate giant, America Online, Inc, has recently been the target of several lawsuits over this because when it changed it's pricing plan, so many new users came on, and so many people started staying on longer, that it's system couldn't handle the strain and would run very slow and give busy signals to almost everyone that tried to log on. As a result people started staying online because they were afraid that if they logged off, they would never get back on. This forced America Online to upgrade enormous amounts of equipment, lease new telephone lines, and issue commercials apologizing for the whole predicament. They even started giving refunds to users who were never able to get on during the troubled ordeal.Some people are predicting, because of the length of Internet calls and the amount of bandwidth the calls take, that one day in the not so distant future, the entire telephone network, or at least a great portion of it, will cease to function, and all telephone calls will fail to connect. This idea is referred to by some as the "Gridlock Theory." Others advise that steps can be taken to avoid such a disaster, such as upgrading phone lines and limiting Internet usage.Following the gridlock idea is Ethernet creator Bob Metcalfe, who believes that the slowdowns will only get worse. "We recently had an outage... (that) denied 400,00 people access to the Internet, in its entirety, for thirteen hours. I expect even worse ca ses to develop this year." (Hunter, the Internet.)It is estimated that twenty-five to thirty million users currently are on the Internet. According to a recent study by Pacific Bell, and average Internet call lasts five times as longer as the average regular telephone call. 10 percent of the Internet calls last 6 hours or longer. This can cause switches to overload and, in turn, cause telephone calls to fail.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), also known as Corporate Responsibility, and Corporate Citizenship :: Corporate Responsibility

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), also known as Corporate Responsibility, and Corporate Citizenship Because society is fundamentally based upon performance and profit, it is necessary to impart a sense of corporate social responsibility with regard to modern commerce. The ethical approaches of purpose, principle and consequence are integral components of business social performance; itemizing these contributions involves incorporating the interests of ethics and morality within the corporate structure. These are essential concepts that are often absent from a managerial standpoint. Corporate social responsibility should exist within every company's infrastructure; however, social integrity is not something that is often at the forefront of modern day business dealings. Ethics, business and society must work in tandem or there is no purpose for any of its existence. Unethical practices are what create a climate of contempt and distrust, leading to consumers harboring ill will. This is no way to run a business Ethics are a necessary and critical ingredient in any successful enterprise1. Establishing such ethical fortitude is not difficult if a moral and conscientious outlook is maintaned . Ethical concerns run rampant among various entities, posing questions along the way as to whether a particular practice is deemed morally acceptable. Ethics sometimes get in the way of resolving questions like: What is the ethical concern? Am I being true to myself? Why is this bothering me? Is it my problem? What do others think? Who else matters? 2 Establishing reasonable ethical guidelines, and therefore appropriate corporate social responsibility, must come from a management perspective. This the primary location where policy is derived. Utilizing the insightful perspectives of Beauchamp et al (1996), which include purpose, principle and consequence, there exist myriad ethical considerations in the daily world of business, with each one presenting yet another moral dilemma: Should the decision be made for company or personal gain? How many will reap the benefit of individualized attention at the expense of all others? Is there a time when an individual's interests supercede those of the masses? These are ethical questions posed each and everyday throughout the global business and social worlds; whether or not the right answers are acted upon is another matter entirely. "Ethical problems of personal and public decision making are not new. The need to undertake ethical reflection is part--indeed a central part--of what it means to be human" (Mitcham, 1996, p. 314). Ethical decision-making goes hand in hand with sound business judgment, yet this is not a concept always followed. The very purpose behind ethical behavior has some people stumped as to its true intention; while some believe it instills the foundation of good business, others contend that it brings out nothing

The Drinking Age Must not Be Lowered Essay -- Argumentative, Persuasiv

Lawmakers should not consider lowering the drinking age from twenty-one to eighteen. Despite the deep value this country places on freedom, personal liberties, and personal responsibilities, the data shows that public safety is greatly at risk if the drinking age were to be lowered to twenty-one. A variety of groups believe that the drinking age should be lowered to eighteen deeming that the twenty-one law is unconstitutional. On the opposing side, people agree that the law helps to protect our young people and the communities where they live. Before World War II, the age of majority in America was twenty-one. At this age, men entered into their full rights and obligations, such as the expectation to fight for their country, the freedom to vote, and the right to consume alcohol (Poe, 2). There was no confusion pertaining to what a man was allowed to do. Everything was consistent. When the draft age was lowered to eighteen during the Second World War, the nation went into frenzy. The American people did not think it was fair that at eighteen young men could be forced to go out and fight for their country, but were not permitted vote (Poe, 2). In their minds the only compromise that seemed fair was to give the men the ballot in return for their service to our country (Poe, 2). However, no one argued that men be given the right to drink, because of their service to our country. In fact, Senator Joshua Lee believed that soldiers under twenty-one years of age needed to be protected from drinking by their older fellow se rvice men (Poe, 2). Congress concluded that only the states could change their voting and drinking ages, but surprisingly, the states did not rush to do so (Poe,2). Eventually, the soldiers were demobilized,... ...y safety, and a deterrent for future goals. The only way to insure health and safety for all is to insist that lawmakers not lower the drinking age to eighteen and keep it at twenty-one. Works Cited Dean-Mooney, Laura. "A Lower Age Would Be Unsafe." U.S. News & World Report 15 Sept. 2008: 10. EBSCOhost. Web. 2 Oct. 2011. Engs, Ruth C.. " Why drinking age should be lowered: Dr. Ruth Engs ." Indiana University. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Oct. 2011. . Hanson, David J., and Ph.D.. "The National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984." WWW2 Webserver. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Oct. 2011. . Poe, Marshall. "The Drinking Game | Hoover Institution." Hoover Institution. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2011. .

Integration of psychology & theology Essay

The worldview of Christian counseling is that activity which delves into helping people grow constructively in all aspects of their lives through a caring relationship and it is done by counselor with Christian assumptions and values. Alister E. McGrath, in his book Christian Spirituality (1999) states that spirituality comes from Hebrew â€Å"ruach† which has a set of meanings from spirit, breath to wind. In counseling however it refers to the pursuit for an authentic and fulfilled life, that comprises; taking values of Christianity its beliefs and making them part of our life so that they provide the â€Å"spirit† , â€Å"breath† and â€Å"fire† for our lives . Epistemology refers to the study of source or origin of knowledge. In counseling this helps in knowing the nature of persons, their problems and realizing the appropriate ways of counseling them. Imago Dei simply means the image of God. This helps counseling to direct us toward the relationship us and God. We have the image of God and that is why we value others. Holistic counseling has something to do with mind body and spirit. In essence these are the salient components of a whole human being. Holistic counseling involves the trinity of health by providing individualized services and monitoring all areas of wellness and how they impact the others. Types of confrontation in counseling involve: 1) the personal belief system; personal attitudes, unique experiences, personal and cultural beliefs. This is how a person evaluates life, people and events. 2) Organizational belief system; this is personal beliefs of employees in different roles within the organization. 3) Objective standards; rules and workplace standards that make up objective baseline. 4) Factual reference base; factual knowledge, punitive measures, and realistic understanding of consequences. Therapeutic relationship interacts with particular strategies to hinder or attain a client’s objectives. The relationship is significant to effective therapy. The personality, character, church background professionalism and setting for counseling are very crucial ethical standards for practicing as a Christian counselor. Spiritual formation is a continuous process in Christianity. Hebrews 12:1 describes it as â€Å"running the race with perseverance. † This in essence is God’s endless grace in reality to mankind. The role of spiritual formation is to attract, care and build the clients in life groups Healthy sense of self has a lot to do with self esteem. Sense of self helps us communicate with other about our feelings. References -Alister E. McGrath. (1999) Christian Spirituality. New York: Mc Graw -McMinn, Mark R. (1996). Psychology, Theology, and Spirituality in Christianity Counseling. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers. 6

Monroe Doctrine Essay

Ever since its inception as a nation, the United States of America followed a foreign policy of isolationism right up to president Jefferson. This was become the European nations, which were at the helm of American affairs, were involved in several conflicts and turmoil, and American presidents realized the folly of involving such a young nation in war. Thus in 1793, when France declared war on Britain, Americans had divided opinions on the course of action. The federalists wanted to support Britain, and Hamilton, the secretary of treasury, rallied their cause. Secretary of state, who like many other Americans wanted to support France against Britain. However George Washington stuck by his policy of isolationism and avoided conflict. John Adams, and his successor Thomas Jefferson also adapted this policy. When this conflict between Britain and France increased, Jefferson placed an embargo on trade with both nations. While this action highlighted American neutrality, it was also harmful for the American economy, which led to the removal of the embargo. This step highlighted the folly of the policy of isolationism; making it obvious that United States had to make a stand, while continuing its policy of neutrality, not simply isolate itself from world affairs. Hence was a predecessor to the Monroe Doctrine. The Monroe Doctrine was the fruition of early American foreign policy. It was delivered by president James Monroe, in his seventh annual address to the Congress on the 2nd of December 1823. It stated that United states would not tolerate any attempt by the European powers to colonize or interfere in the functioning of the western hemisphere, whilst the western hemisphere would in no way interfere in the European sphere of influence. It was meant to protect the newly independent Latin American states from European control. It was a defining moment in the separation of the old and new world, and became a long-standing American policy with minor variations, to be invoked by several American presidents. The Monroe doctrine, was delivered, and not read out in the congress unlike the other addresses. In this address Monroe gave the background for such a policy and the existing state of foreign relations, in which he mentioned negotiations with France, and dialogue with Russia on their commercial interests in the United States. He also talked about the Treaty of Ghent and the difference between US and Britain on the boundaries between the US and Canada. The president also announced to Congress a new round of negotiations with the British toward establishing a treaty that would define the exclusive and shared commercial interests of the United States and Great Britain as regarded states and territories bordering on lakes and rivers emptying into the St. Lawrence River. Thus he justified the need for such a policy and in his address included military strategies and provisions to safeguard it, like authorizing additional naval force for safeguarding their commercial interests in the Mediterranean Sea, Pacific Ocean, and the Atlantic coast. The key paragraph of the address, which summed up the foreign policy stated â€Å"We owe it, therefore, to candor and to the amicable relations existing between the United States and those powers to declare that we should consider any attempt on their part to extend their system to any portion of this hemisphere as dangerous to our peace and safety. With the existing colonies or dependencies of any European power we have not interfered and shall not interfere, but with the Governments who have declared their independence and maintained it, and whose independence we have, on great consideration and on just principles, acknowledged, we could not view any inter- position for the purpose of oppressing them, or controlling in any other manner their destiny, by any European power in any other light than as the manifestation of an unfriendly disposition toward the United States†. The Monroe doctrine had its backgrounds in the foreign policy of earlier four presidents, as well as in the experiences of Monroe and Adams as diplomats. James Madison, during his presidency, continued to follow Jeffersonian foreign policy of prohibition of trade with both nations. In 1810, however, the Congress reversed itself, realizing its ill effects on the country’s economy authorizing the president to pursue trade with both countries, provided each accepted America’s policy of neutrality, or trade with only one, if that one accepted America’s view of neutral rights. Of the two, only France complied, hence Madison declared a state of â€Å"non-intercourse† with Great Britain. This led to the war of 1812 between America and Great Britain. The war, which initially proved to be disastrous for America, ended with the treaty of Ghent in 1814, and thus paved way for Monroe’s foreign policy to avoid future war, while protecting American rights. Monroe, who was inspired by Jefferson, and loyal to Jeffersonian policy, saw the need to avoid war, at the same time asserting America’s independence. John Quincy Adams, unlike his father deflected from the Federalist Party, and supported Jefferson in his placement of the embargo on trade with both nations. Thus both Adams and Monroe were inspired by Jeffersonian ideas, and saw the crucial need of making a stand as a newly independent nation, while avoiding the calamity of war. Monroe and Adams were faced with several problems regarding foreign policy, the foremost of which included renegotiating terms with Great Britain, on the treaty of Ghent and establishing new boundaries, reasserting rights that had been previously challenged. Later there arose a problem of Spanish claim over Florida, and Britain, it was suspected, was providing them help. This led to serious and long negotiations between America and Spain for the purchase of Florida, which ultimately led to the Adams- Onis treaty, Onis being the Spanish minister to America. This was considered one of Adams greatest successes as secretary of state, until he drafted the Monroe Doctrine, which influenced American foreign policy for generations to come. The doctrine grew out of several diplomatic problems. The first was the minor clash with Russia concerning the northwest coast of North America. In this quarrel, Secretary of State John Quincy Adams expressed the principle that the American continents were no longer to be considered as a field for colonization by European powers. That principle was incorporated verbatim in the presidential message. The other and more important part of the doctrine grew out of the fear that the group of European governments commonly called the Holy Alliance would seek to reduce the Latin American states that had recently gained independence from Spain to a colonial status once again. When France crossed the Pyrenees to help put down a rebellion against the Spanish monarch, Britain worried that this might lead to a joint French-Spanish expedition to retake the Latin American colonies for Spain, which would harm British economic interests in the area. The British foreign minister George Canning communicated with the American minister in London, Richard Rush, and suggested that a joint declaration opposing such a development would serve both their interests. Thus in 1823, the British foreign secretary, George Canning, through Richard Rush, proposed to Monroe that America should join powers with Britain for the joint protection of South American colonies from the Holy Alliance. There was once again a division of views on this matter. Adams believed that Britain had great self-interest behind such an offer. When Monroe consulted with Jefferson and Madison on this issue, Jefferson asked him to accept the proposal, however Madison, like Adams cautioned Monroe to be wary as it most definitely has British self-interest involved. According to Harry Ammon, Quincy Adams was convinced that Britain had ulterior motives in this offer. He believed that using this joint action as bait, Britain was hoping to discourage American intention of taking over Cuba, which Adams believed, was inevitable. After much debate in the cabinet, the decision was reached to reject this proposal, for it seemed that America had nothing to gain through this alliance, and President Monroe was anyway reluctant to do anything that might make the US appear subservient to Britain. However America still needed to protect the southern states from being restored to Spain via the holy alliance. Also if such an attack occurred, and Britain interceded and emerged victorious, Americans would be left at the mercy of the British once again, and the Southern territories would fall under British control. It was then decided that the southern countries needed to be protected not only from Spain, the Holy alliance, or Britain, but also from all non-American powers, and this is how the genius idea behind the foreign policy, to be called Monroe Doctrine emerged. This doctrine, though presented as the annual presidential address, was the brainchild of John Quincy Adams, the secretary of state, whose main motive behind this policy, according to Edward Renehan Jr. , was to deter colonialism. Even though the doctrine shaped future American foreign policy, the immediate impact of the Monroe Doctrine was mixed. It was successful to the extent that the continental powers did not attempt to revive the Spanish empire, but this was on account of the strength of the British Navy, not American, which was relatively limited. According to Alejandro Alvarez, the doctrine was simply a policy for the United States’ self defense, not for its aggression or for its isolationism. The Monroe doctrine also had not stated any disapproval towards Pan-Americanism or even cooperation with other European nations. The Monroe Doctrine was especially influential in the history of Latin American countries. Around the early 1800’s many Latin American areas, under the leadership of Simon Bolivar, had declared their independence from the controlling powers in Europe. These new countries lacked the military strength and experience to fight with foreign powers, however, when the Monroe doctrine was put into effect, they were safeguarded from these wars, and thus welcomed this policy. Over the years, the doctrine became the defining foreign policy of the United States, with continuous changes and variations, however, its two main ideas held true through the years. First, that the United States would not tolerate European powers further colonizing the American continents or interfering in its affairs. And second, that the United States would not interfere in existing European colonies or in Europe itself. According to Edward Renehan Jr. , the Monroe Doctrine had a significant impact, not only in the development of Foreign policy, but also on American history, which would have been significantly different, if not for this doctrine. In essence, ‘Without its existence Latin America would have been severely regionalized by European powers to serve their colonial interests, and a range of European powers, not just Spain but also Holland, Germany, France, and Great Britain—would have gained a major foothold, introducing not only new lines to the map, but also new languages and cultures’. The coinage of the term ‘Monroe doctrine’ first came from President James K. Polk in 1845, when he successfully invoked this doctrine to thwart of French and British efforts against annexation of Texas, as also British threats in Oregon and California. He also expanded the doctrine to include his belief of ‘manifest destiny’. A concept, which along with the Monroe Doctrine came to be referred as Polk Doctrine. Monroe Doctrine greatly changed the American foreign policy, by shifting the emphasis from neutrality, to respect towards America, as a newly independent nation. With the ending of the war between European nations, and the restoration of peace, the American foreign policy was liberated from its earlier inhibitions, which had existed ever since Washington’s presidency. Monroe seized the opportunity to let matters of neutral rights of America dissolve in the background, while bringing to the forefront the concept of the United States as the most powerful in the Americas, and a country which was a serious and powerful republic, which no longer needed the aid or patronage of foreign nations to achieve its diplomatic aims. The Monroe Doctrine was significant in defining and paving the way for American foreign policy for centuries. It was initially drafted simply as a means of asserting America as a power as well as for American self defense, and highlighting it as an independent nation. Its true brilliance was realized only decades later when it was recalled time and again by several Presidents of the United States. It was the first act that grew to see America as a superpower in the world. This simple assertion of non-interference separated the old world from the new world, thus making the United States the biggest power in the Western Hemisphere. It was the first decisive step in the foreign policy of America after Jefferson’s embargo on trade, and it greatly changed as well as shaped foreign policy as the United States for the first time asserted itself as a power without the support or patronage of another nation.

My Own Interpretation of Mandela’s 8 Lessons in Leaders

That is why I also wanted to share to you Mandela’s 8 lessons of Leadership: 1. Courage is not the absence of fear — it’s inspiring others to move beyond it In tackling life’s challenges, you must face fear head-on and find the guts that you may not falter when life is giving you a hard time. There are people who wanted to see you fall and you must find courage to stand up to them. Having courage does not mean being reckless or stupid but rather it means to hold your head up, look them in the eye. Do the right thing even when you stand alone and it eventually will pay off in the end 2. Lead from the front — but don’t leave your base behind Hey, it’s great to be a leader, right? There are privileges like less work for you and more work for your subordinates and get the credit from the efforts of your colleagues-NO, this is a very wrong notion. They will never respect you as a leader if you lead them an iron fist. What’s the point of being a leader if no one will follow you? Move with the principle that others matter as well and do what’s best for your group, not just you. Be honest and fair. Work hard. Play hard. Do your homework. Know what you are talking about and they will follow. Don’t ever mistake arrogance and intelligence for the same thing for they are quite different. Life will eventually teach you humility if your ego will swell up. 3. Lead from the back — and let others believe they are in front Sometimes, it’s kind of nice to take a few steps back and let others lead as well while you still lead them. Why not? Give others opportunity to prove themselves that they are capable to lead and let them discover their potentials too. Maybe you could even learn a thing or two from them. Not all great ideas come from one brain but rather a group of brains. When they eventually get off-track, you’re still there to guide them back like a shepherd guiding a lost sheep. 4. Know your enemy — and learn about his favorite sport Truth is you cannot please everybody and there are some people would not favor you leading them. That irritates you, doesn’t it? Often, the people who anger us most in life are more like us than we’d like to admit. Don’t ignore them. Get to know them. Find out what makes them tick. Maybe they just want your attention. Maybe they just want a duty. Give them something to do for change. See how they fare. Now, at some point, you may need to cut your losses and move on down the road. However, you may inadvertently find out your enemy is all of a sudden your good friend. 5. Keep your friends close — and your rivals even closer You’re not alone and there leaders like you as well but with different personalities, capabilities, and leaderships styles. Some of these leaders may agree to you and favor your leadership skills but there are other does not. Still, it is not wrong to have a little healthy competition and learn to appreciate what life gives you because not all life is easy. Again, you have to be strong and be firm for the people who follow you. When things go out of hand, always use diplomacy. 6. Appearances matter — and remember to smile Love yourself first before others. How can you serve other people when you could not serve yourself right? Appearances really do matter especially if you’re a student nurse rendering service to your patient. If your patient sees that you could not take care of yourself, he/she will have second thoughts or doubts in cooperating with you. Being neat and clean will give you an edge. Remember to smile because this stuff is contagious. When you clumsily tripped yourself, you should make a fast recovery with grace and smile because they want strong leaders who could recover fast from a tragic fall and continue the service. SMILE! 7. Nothing is black or white Life could be a burden sometimes when you have to make a decision, either it is small or big because not all of your decisions would favor the entire public and there always consequences. When that happens, first of all pray, it helps to meditate and ask for guidance from above and then think for a solution, it always works. Listen to all sides of the story before making rash decisions. All decisions especially a leader’s decision should be think through. Sleep on it if you must. Don’t let emotions cloud your judgment. This is a very common to student nurses during RLE: when in doubt, don’t or ask your clinical instructor about it, it always works, try it they won’t bite†¦sometimes. 8. Quitting is leading too I flinched when I heard this one but I tend to like it. It is cliche to say: â€Å"do not ever give up, try and try until you succeed, and quitting is for losers† but what if you run out of ideas, too tired to hold on, groping for answers in the dark and hopelessly praying for â€Å"give me more TIME†. Why not tomorrow? Hey, there are always tomorrow right? Don’t tire yourself you’re only human. If you sense that you’re losing a battle, sound a retreat, let your army rest and fight for another day, maybe your enemy needs a rest too you know. Sometimes in life doesn’t work out. Just step back and take a deep breath. Move on and do something else or the alternative. Don’t squander your life in the boulevard of broken dreams, just move on the other side of the road to start anew. A life of good leaders revolves around success and failure all the time. But just learn to accept what God has given you and learn to appreciate it. Do not dwell on failures but move on. Leaders experience too many sufferings and trials in order to strive for excellent service his/her fellows but it will be compensated with the achievements and recognitions he/she earned. The pieces of paper and awards on the wall are important. But they are not nearly as important as the journey you make and the people you meet along the way. CARPE DIEM!

General Psychology and the Study of Human Behavior Essay

Psychology is the study of the human behavior especially how the mind of the human beings works. For many years, the behavior of human beings has been studied by very many scholars and they have come up with very many reasons as to why people behave in such a manner. However, as a student my main ambition is to become a drug and alcohol counselor. Therefore, this class of general psychology has helped me in building my career very much due to the course content value. Variation is one of the most obvious characteristics of human behavior. An individual’s every day life is marked by an expansive fluctuation in almost every aspect of behavior such as the intelligence he exudes, the speed with which he moves, his expression of emotions, goals he pursues, humor, energy, anxiety, shyness, among others. Even the most intelligent of human individuals have ordinary thoughts most of the time as they too are confronted with the normal activities like choosing the right mode of dressing, brushing in the morning and carrying out normal transactions. There is sufficient evidence towards the fact that one of the most striking features of a child’s behavior is its dynamic aspect of the stream of behavior recorded continuously (Barker, 1968). Any individual with no knowledge of psychology comprehend this dimension of human variation from their observation and experience. However, this is not prominent in scientific psychology. The concern of scientific psychology is another dimension of behavior variability with emphasis on individual differences. This is a major step in psychology that despite the variations that occur within every individual’s behavior, the methods for measuring and identifying individual behavior constants have been devised. Scientific psychology’s concern is with the varied number of constants measured and how they relate with each other. There is however a difficulty in achieving a stable behavior measurement. For the stability of behavior measurement to be achieved, their must be an imposition of stable measurement upon the individual, land the same conditions must be reintroduced every time the measurement is being repeated. The employment of this method offers measures of individual constancies under certain conditions but terminates individual variations under varied conditions thereby destroying the such contexts of behavior that occur naturally. This problem is not however unique to psychology. A beam’s strength can be measured under given specific conditions and under this very condition each time the measurement is being carried out. However, depending on the structural context, a beam possesses many strengths. This is also true for the meaning of words since words too have a range of meaning, the actual one being determined by the context in which it has been used. With this regard, an individual is like a beam or a word, possessing many strengths, intelligences, moralities, speeds and social maturities. However, it is clear where this intra-individual behavior variation comes from. An individual’s behavior is both internally and externally connected, though in a very complicated way. The internal parts of an individual such as the neurons, hormones or muscles and the external context such as the class, field or the game he is playing has a complex connection. The psychological individual who reads a book, plays some game and walks on some road poses as an identifiable entity between the interior parts and the exterior contexts that are unstable, being linked to both the entities, yet profoundly separated from them. This separation emerges from the fact that the internal parts and the external contexts of an individual involves an entity that functions according to laws that are not the same as those that govern his behavior (Cromwell-Davis, 2008). Such things like the actions of the brain, contraction of muscles and the concentration of hormones are not psychological phenomena. With the current state of understanding, the operation of such phenomena involve laws that are not compatible with that of psychology. The same applies to the environment with which an individual operates. The school or class where an individual is a student, the library he studies and the road he walks operates according to laws that are foreign with regard to that govern his behavior as an individual. The external context involves what has been referred to as the molar ecological environment which includes those phenomena that occurs naturally outside an individuals skin with which his molar actions are incorporated but operate according to laws that are incompatible with those laws that dictates his molar behavior (Baker, 1965). There is a difference between the psychological and ecological environment. One of the interesting aspects of human behavior is the course it takes when different variables are introduced within the environment. In the study below, behavior of individual was observed with regard to the distance between them and other human subjects. Theory Statement An individual’s mode of behavior is dictated by the distance between him and other subjects. According to Adam Kendon, every human behavior is located (Kendon 1990, p. 210). Human behavior takes place within a given space which has objects and people upon which the behavior is directed. The space and what it contains on the other hand influences the behavior of an individual. The space occupied and maintained by an individual’s behavior can in this respect be termed as the transactional space. The transactional space between two individuals influences their behavior. Experiment In the following experiment, a study was conducted to investigate the extent to which transactional space influences the behavior of individuals in college. The investigator walked through the college in different areas where different activities were being carried out. The exercise took three hours and findings were recorded. The experiment was conducted in the campus park because of the diversity of activity and human interactions that takes place in it. Methodology Since the study involved the study of behavior in face to face interaction, a major problem encountered was how to define the structural units in which the subjects were organized. In particular, it became difficult to delineate the distinct units of interaction with regard to the organization of observable behavior into their components for analysis. However, the observations were made randomly with neither of the subjects aware of the experiments. As such, the experimenter walked from one point to another, looking at the group formation and identifying individuals who did not have any company. The behavior which was recorded included eye focus, body movement and the degree of engagement in a particular action. In particular, the reaction of the subjects were observed whenever the experimenter approached an individual or a group of individuals. In all the instances, the experimenter did not engage the subjects in any form of conversation. Observations and results Behavior of individuals was varied depending on the activity and whether one was alone or in groups. Among the individuals who were alone, there seemed to be an absorption with either something that was going on around them or an absorption with an activity that they were involved with. They also seemed to react whenever an individual came within three meters of their transactional space. Of the notable behaviors, five out of six subjects looked directly at the individual who came within three meters of their transactional space. Among groups of individuals, there was a variation in behavior with regard to the number. In a group of two, the subjects engaged in conversation with momentous eye contact. Whenever one passed within a distance of three meters, they all turned and depending on the behavior or gender of the individual, some responded with either greeting the individual or looked briefly and continued with their conversation. The latter instance was rare with groups of three or more. Discussion A behavior setting is composed of one or more standing patterns of behavior. There are numerous patterns of behavior that have been recognized such as a molar unit or group activity. This is a bounded pattern in holistic human behavior. It is thus a discrete behavioral unit with coordinates which are univocal within space and time. As such, a standing pattern of behavior cannot be said to be a character of the subjects involved but rather, it is a phenomenon outside the individual with unique characteristics which remain whenever there is an alteration of the participants. One apparent thing among the subjects observed is that their behavior with regard to reacting to an individual coming within their transactional space is dependent among various factors which may not be open to the experimenter as human behavior is derived from both external and internal conditions. As such, every observable behavior exhibited by an individual has various roots even though behavior can be predicted to some extent. The first thing that the course has helped to understand in relation to drug and alcohol is the different terms that are used when counseling a person. This are the general terms that are used when counseling a patient. For example, it is not good to use terms like â€Å"you are wrong,† â€Å"you do not know† or â€Å"you are foolish.† The course has helped to learn the new terms that I will be using like, â€Å"instead of saying you are wrong,† you can say, â€Å"that is another good reason.† Additionally, it has helped us to learn the tone of language that is to be used. When counseling a patient, one should always be calm and always be positive about what the patient is feeling and thinking. It is also in this unit of general psychology that we have learnt how very different people behave in the different ways. This is where the course has taught me why different people behave as they do and why they end up drinking. Stress is one factor that makes people to end up becoming alcoholic or turning into drugs. Additionally, drug abuse and alcoholism has also been known to be hereditary from the resent research studies that have been done by the different scholars. It is through this course that we have learnt the very many reasons as to why people behave in different ways and why they take drugs or alcohol. I have learnt the different forms of therapy that are used in counseling in this course. This is where the introduction to therapy is done. One way of helping a drug or an alcohol addict to stop the addiction is through therapy. Therapy is the solving of personal problems of a person that occurs daily. In therapy, talking with a trained professional is the method that is usually used to solve the different problems. Therefore, this unit of general psychology is helping me gain that knowledge and become a professional therapist in treating the different problems that different drug and alcohol addicts have. It is also in this lesson of general psychology that I have learned the intelligence of the human thinking. In the growth graph, since the time somebody is born, the brain usually undergoes several stages intelligence. For example, when somebody is at the age of the teenage the brain starts to develop the ability to solve problems in reality. This means that the thinking capacity has grown and the person is able to think critically as compared to the person was young. Therefore, this lesson has helped me understand the different stages of intelligence in the human beings, making it easy for me when it comes to counseling the different people. Motivation is another very important factor in counseling especially in the counseling of drug abusers and alcoholics. It is in this class where the subject of motivation is introduced and taught in detail to prepare the students as they go ahead with the studies of psychology. I have learnt the different methods that are used in motivating the different drug and alcohol addicts. This is very important because when counseling people who are drug or alcohol addicts, the people need to be motivated so that they can be able to quit easily without the need of turning back. Therefore, this lesson of general psychology has taught me a greater lesson in motivation and how it should be applied in the field of practice. This class of general psychology has taught me a great number of different personalities that different people tend have. It is important to note that there is no way that two people can have the same personality. According to this chapter, it is because of how the different kinds of people have very different thoughts from one another. For this reason, the study of this lesson has been a very influential topic in my career as a counselor of drug addicts and alcoholics In addition, this class has opened up my mind on the different perceptions that I always had about drunkards. When I had started this class, I had the wrong impression/perception of how the drug addicts and alcoholics behave. I thought that this people, are people who are just lazy in life and they only abuse drugs as an excuse to their many problems. However, this class of general psychology has changed my perception about the different drug addicts and alcoholics and it has given me an open mind, which is required by counselors when it comes to helping others during therapy. Lastly, this lesson has been able to introduce some of the topics that are very useful in the study of counseling, and they are going to be learnt deeply in other classes especially at the level of specialization. Additionally, it is this unit, which has helped me realize that people are not always drug addicts or alcoholics because they want to be, but it is because of the different behaviors that they exhibit, which are affected by external factors like stress. These external factors can drive somebody crazy leading to drug abuse or alcohol abuse. Therefore, this subject has introduced me into the topic of human behavior in relation to drug abuse, alcoholism and how the following problems can be solved by the use of counseling.

Asthma Outline Essay

A respiratory viral infection plays a major role in important aspects of asthma and its exacerbation; which is nearly associated for about 80% of overall respiratory condition. Viral pathogen associated with wheezing includes Human Rhinovirus (HRV), Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), Parainfluenza, and coronavirus (Busse & Lemanske. 2010). Rhinovirus is associated with common colds that may cause sore throat, sinus infection, ear infection and to some degree of bronchiolitis and pneumonia (American†¦ Asthma Asthma is one of the most prevalent chronic diseases worldwide characterized by the inflammation of the bronchial smooth muscles. In the past 20 years, the incidence of asthma, especially in children, has increased (Wong et al., 2009). Inflammatory and structural changes of asthma in the airways lead to narrowing of the airway, edema as increased mucus production and bronchoconstriction. While bronchoconstriction plays a key role in asthma, more emphasis has recently been placed on the inflammatory†¦ Asthma is oftentimes overlooked or brushed to the side when talking about disabilities, especially when it comes to discussing disabilities among school children. Due to modern medicine and an increased knowledge about the disease, those affected by it are often able to live normal healthy lives. Despite being treatable, asthma is not a disease that should be taken lightly. Boushey & Fahy state that asthma wasn’t considered a severe disease until the 1960’s when several asthmatic deaths took place†¦ pathophysiology of asthma. Asthma occurs when a patient’s airway becomes narrow, swells and produces excess mucus. The patients’ breathing becomes labored and causes shortness of breath, wheezing, and coughing. Asthma may be minor for some patients, but for others it may cause severe complications. Asthma may also interfere with activities of daily living and in some instances can be life threatening. Asthma is not curable, but the symptoms can be managed with medications. Overtime, asthma may change and†¦ million individuals worldwide suffering from asthma (WHO 2006). It is expected by the year 2025 there will an additional 100 million persons diagnosed with asthma. As the prevalence of this non-communicable disease continues to rise there must me methods implemented to control and monitor. It is with this foundation that a needs assessment was conducted in the emergency department (ED) of the Princess Margaret Hospital in Nassau, Bahamas. Uncontrolled asthma places an enormous strain on individuals’†¦ Asthma is such a common disease. For instance, a negative response to an emotional stress can cause an asthma attack (Mark 1007). Have you actually seen someone have an asthma attack? It is the scariest thing because you cannot do anything about it. They say that there are no cures for asthma, and they also claim that there is some natural therapies that may help to manage symptoms of asthma. Weather your asthma is completely manageable and only shows up from time to time, or if you only have to†¦ Asthma Introduction In today's society children are faced with many problems in their day to day life. However, there is one disorder that affects many children and can be potentially fatal if not caught and treated correctly. This disorder is call asthma. The National Center for Biotechnology Information defines asthma as, "Asthma is a disorder that causes the airways of the lungs to swell and narrow, leading to wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightening, and coughing." Asthma mostly effects†¦ Asthma is characterized by the pathological changes in the submucosal glands, the increase of smooth muscle composition and hardening of the lamina reticularis; due to the recurrent inflammation and overproduction of mucus in the airways (Holgate & Sly, 2014). The inflammatory response is highly associated with the clinical symptoms of wheezing, coughing, short of breath and chest tightness (Cosio, Rosado & Rossi, 2012). The objectives of this essay is to discuss the pathophysiology of asthma, outline†¦ Asthma for Life The person I interviewed was my 16 year grandson D. Bass. Mr. Bass lives in a small rural community about twenty minutes away from me. He has had asthma his entire life. This interview took place at my house, he drove over on a Sunday afternoon to visit and I conducted the interview. I spent about an hour asking him questions, then did a brief physical assessment on him. He is a typical adolescent teenager and had to hurry out had somewhere to go. Questionnaire I first completed†¦ indigenous boy, who has asthma since he was two. He shows up in the hospital and complains about shortness of breath. Steven stays with his mother and 6 siblings in a remote town in rural Australia. Based on Steven’s situation, this essay will discuss about the pathophysiology about asthma, and then evaluate the nurse’s role of providing the nursing care for both Steven and his family. Harver and Kotses (2010) define asthma as the chronic inflammatory disorder of the airway. Asthma is a respiratory condition†¦