Price of Ignorance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Price of Ignorance - Essay Example From this paper it is clear that a tendency of killing a person or a group of people for the sake of certain ideology and the united cruelty against common enemy in order to protect the current world. The scariest thing in this movie is not the actions of the radical party itself – but the multiple examples of similar behavior through the world as a part of everyday life of our peaceful and stable society.As the essay highlights the face of a conflict itself can be seen perfectly. There is a description of power as something unsuitable to provide neither legal protection of the country, nor freedom and luxury for common citizens. There are people that work outside the system; for they see that system itself is an illusion. Anwar Congo laughs at the Geneva Convention, as he understands it’s temporal and imposed value. He is right, for nearly each conflict can boast with its violation – and latter covering of the consequences. And, when everything is over, it turns out that ones who kill millions of people are not monsters – there were just two groups of ideologically different people and only one has survived in order to prevent the destruction of its world.  It would be adequate to compare  «The Act of Killing » with any Hollywood film that is shot from the antagonist’s point of view. The scariest thing is that such history, being well produced and not documental would probably have been popular.

Big Five Personality Traits Essay Example for Free

Big Five Personality Traits Essay The Big Five personality traits are extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability (or neuroticism), and openness to experience (Scholte, Van Lieshout, DeWit, Aken, 2005). The factors that are considered most important or least important would depend on who was making the evaluation and the priorities of the individual. For example, a person who valued learning or someone who needed an employee who could adapt to new circumstances quickly might say that openness to new experience was the most important factor. Another person who placed a greater emphasis on relationships, for example, might believe that emotional stability is more important. While everyone likes an agreeable person, people who are too agreeable can create problems if they simply go along with anything and do not at least occasionally think for themselves and challenge something. Trying to select the most important of these traits is like trying to choose the most important among equals. It is also interesting that Scholte, Van Lieshout, DeWit, and Aken (2005) found that the Big Five traits and their effects on adolescents are consistent across cultures. The trait that is the most applicable to me is openness to new experience. I enjoy trying new things and meeting new people. I do not enjoy doing the same thing all the time. I believe that the openness trait is closely related to the trait of extraversion. Extraverted people tend to be focused on external things, while introverts have a more internal focus. Since new things are almost always found in other people and places, then it seems that the extravert would be more likely to pursue and be open to new experiences, while the introverted person would be less likely to seek out new things in the outside world but more likely to look for new revelations within or about himself or herself. I consider myself an extraverted person who is open to new experiences. I am usually agreeable, relatively conscientiousness, and fairly stable emotionally. References Scholte, R. , Van Lieshout, C. DeWit, C. and Aken, M. (2005). Adolescent personality types and subtypes and their psychosocial adjustment. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 51 (3), p. .258-286. Retrieved April 4, 2008, from www. Questia. com database. http://www. questia. com/read/5011758638

Reflex by Dick Francis :: Reflex, Dick Francis

Reflex is a classic book written by Dick Francis. This is the twenty-second book he has written. I have thoroughly enjoyed all of the novels he has written. This book is based on the life of a Photographer. The photographer’s name is Philip Nore, the book deals with the trauma a jockey has and how hectic his life is. In the first 50 pages of the book it deals with Philip being approached by his grandmother; (who he hates) and being asked by her to find her granddaughter. It also reveals that George Millace, a recently passed away photographer, has a secret black-mailing mystery and it is Philip’s job to uncover the Mystery. As you continue to read my reading logs I hope you will become interested in them and want to read the book for yourself. Pages 50 to 100 deal with Philip investigating the mystery and finding the granddaughter. In my opinion I think that these pages were the most boring and monotonous I have read in the whole book. However it has some high points in it. For example when Philip uncovers the first clue which is a picture of two people talking, in a cafà ©. This is quite exciting for Philip until he discovers who are the two men in the picture and what are they talking about. This comes as quite a surprise to everybody even myself the reader and Philip has a hard time deciding whether or not to tell his George Millace’s wife. This is a hard decision for Philip because he knows that Mrs. Millace has been recently devastated by her husband’s death. I find this to be particularly interesting, and it is parts like these that make me want to read on. My reflections on this section are all positive. This was by far the most interesting section and difficult. Philip the main character is faced with more difficult decisions and I find these decisions to greatly affect the outcome of the book.

Cash Management and Short Term Financing

Running head: CASH MANAGEMENT AND SHORT-TERM FINANCING Cash Management and Short-term Financing University of Phoenix Cash Management and Short-term Financing Structured cash management and efficient short-term financing are both beneficial and important for a company to remain competitive in the market; this will help increase potential profit and shareholder value with the rising stock. Cash management is a tool for the company can use to manage idle funds (cash balances) that are not generating revenue giving the company the ability to use the freed cash to build sources for short-term financing through interest building securities. Cash management techniques include marketable securities, international cash management, collection/disbursement float, and Electronic Funds Transfer. Short-term financing give the company the ability to secure cash needed for production enabling the company to maximize profitability. Short-term financing methods include inventory financing, commercial paper, trade credit, bank loans, receivables financing, foreign borrowing. Cash management Techniques Float is the difference between the recorded available cash and the amount that has been credited by the bank, this results in a time delay when dealing with banking system and the mail service and clearing checks. A company will use the float to minimize collection times and increase disbursement dates to give them more time with the cash on hand to use in interest building securities. Electronic Funds Transfer is quickly replacing the out-dated check system, with the EFT system the ease of electronically deposited funds; this reduces the lag or down time traditionally associated with the manual check. This system increases the efficiency of the banking system and decreases float times for the company. International cash management allows the company to deposit money in countries with a high interest rate returns. This allows the company to invest in high return loans in a source of generating additional revenue. Marketable securities turn non-generating cash into interest generating revenue through CD’S, treasury notes, treasury bills, savings deposits, Eurodollar deposits and commercial paper. The techniques used in cash management are used to reduce or eliminate unwanted cash balances that do not generate revenue and turn them into interest earning securities. Collections control and management is vital in eliminating unwanted cash balances, the entire purpose is for the company to retain the highest rate of cash solvency to maximize profitability. Companies have reduced the use of â€Å"float† methods with the increase of EFT’s, time is not an issue with the EFT, and this transition takes place immediately. However, both float and Electronic Funds Transfer can be used in collections to maximize return. International cash management allows the company to reach for the highest interest rate of return not found in the United States, the use of this technique is more challenging; the ability to manage funds through different geographical locations and time zones can be extensive. The International cash is always susceptible to currency fluctuations, interest rate changes that could end in a lesser value than originally deposited. The International cash management runs at a high risk for the company but also has the potential for the largest gain. Marketable securities are a good technique for cash management but run the risk of company loss with increasing interest rates. Trade credit occurs when a seller or manufacturer of goods extends credit to the company in the form of accounts payable. Bank loans can be used to provide the necessary cash to implement expansion or new product development. Commercial paper is a certificate issued to the investor, by the company; this constitutes a debt that will be repaid. Foreign borrowing lets a company seek outside the normal parameter to obtain loans at a lower rate. Inventory and receivables financing let the company try to get based on their current asset value. Between all the financing options Trade credit constitutes approximately 40% of all short term credit to companies with trade credit a company can take advantage of discounts when the payments are made in a timely fashion, this give the company flexibility in deciding on how long to carry their credit debt. Both bank loans and trade credit are short-term provide immediate funds of financing. However, bank loans are at risk of requiring a higher compensating balance, which lowers the amount of actual money lent to the company. Commercial paper methods of financing have the advantage of being issued below the prime interest rate that banks charge. Commercial paper does not have the challenge of compensating balance requirements but the paper can be lost, stolen, misplaced, or damaged. The commercial paper process has mostly been replaced by a computerized version. Foreign borrowing, like the other techniques, is also short-term but runs the risk of foreign currency inflation or fluctuations. The use of receivables and inventory as collateral in financing is also short-term. Receivable has the advantage when the asset level inflates, as the value increase the amount of money increase that the company can borrow against. The uses of short-term financing or cash management both maintain the goal of ensure sufficient funds the company will need to maximize profitability. Cash management utilizes control over the receipt and payment of cash as to minimize non-earning cash balances and to capitalize the freed up cash in interest earning modes.

Psychological Therapies For Depression Essay

PIT was first developed by Robert Hobson (1985) as an attempt to move away from the traditional psychoanalytic approach of a one-sided relationship between therapist and client. It was originally called the ‘conversational model’ to emphasise the fact that the mutual task of therapist and client was to engage in a therapeutic ‘conversation’. In this ‘conversation’ problems are not only talked about as past events, but are also actively relived in the present and resolved within the therapeutic relationship. Hobson believed that the symptoms of depression arise from disturbances in the interpersonal relationships. These disturbances can only be explored and modified effectively from within another relationship – the therapeutic one. The quality of the relationship is therefore crucial. Components of PIT- Exploratory rationale- interpersonal difficulties in the individual’s life are identified, and the therapist tries to find a rationale for the individual that links their current symptoms with these difficulties. Shared Understanding- the therapist tries to understand what the individual is really experiencing or feeling. Focus on difficult feelings- the individual may express an emotion (i.e. anger) of which they are unaware, or may not display appropriate emotion. Gaining insight- the therapist points out patterns in different types of relationship Sequencing of Interventions- different aspects of the model must be used in a coherent manner. Change- the therapist acknowledges and encourages changes made during therapy. Effectiveness of PIT Paley et al (2008) have shown that as a treatment for depression, outcomes for PIT are at least equivalent to those achieved with CBT. However, they acknowledge that changes in significant life-events were not monitored during the study, therefore any observable clinical gains (or lack of them) could not be attributed solely to the therapeutic intervention. NHSÂ  psychotherapy patients were randomly allocated to receive 12 weeks PIT or to remain as a waiting list controls for that period. 54 patients entered the study, of which 33 completed. Significant improvement was observed in patients that completed the therapy, suggesting that even a brief treatment by inexperienced therapists can be effective in alleviating the symptoms of depression. The Cognitive Behavioural Therapy CBT emphasises the role of maladaptive thoughts and beliefs in the origins and maintenance of depression. When people think negatively about themselves and their lives, they become depressed. The aim of CBT is to identify and alter these maladaptive cognitions as well as any dysfunctional behaviour that might be contributing to depression. CBT is intended to be relatively brief (16-20 sessions) and is focused on current problems and current dysfunctional thinking Thought Catching- individuals are taught how to see the link between their thoughts and the way they feel. By challenging these dysfunctional thoughts, and replacing them with more constructive ones, clients are trying out new ways of behaving. Behavioural Activation- this is based on the common sense idea that being active leads to rewards that act as an antidote to depression Effectiveness of PIT Robinson et al (1990) meta-analysis found that CBT was superior to no-treatment control groups. However, when these control groups were subdivided into waiting lists and placebo groups, CBT was not significantly more effective than the placebo condition. CBT appears to be less suitable for people who have high levels of dysfunctional beliefs that are both rigid and resistant to change.- (Elkin et al 1985)

Definition and Examples of Audience Analysis

Definition and Examples of Audience Analysis In the preparation of a speech or a composition, audience analysis is the process of determining the values, interests, and attitudes of the intended or projected  listeners or readers. Karl Terryberry notes that successful writers tailor their messages . . . to the needs and values of the audience. . . . Defining the audience helps writers set communication goals (Writing for the Health Professions, 2005). Examples and Observations of Audience Analysis The goals of clarity, propriety, and persuasiveness dictate that we adapt our arguments, as well as the language in which they are cast, to an audience. Even a well-constructed argument may fail to convince if it is not adapted to your actual audience.Adapting arguments to an audience means that we must know something about the audience we are addressing. The process of audience adaptation begins with an effort to construct an accurate profile of the audience members that considers such factors as their age, race, and economic status; their values and beliefs; and their attitudes toward you and your topic. (James A. Herrick, Argumentation: Understanding and Shaping Arguments. Strata, 2007) Audience Analysis in Business Writing Youre in a new job and eager to impress. So dont let your heart sink if your first big task is to write a report. Its likely to be read by a whole raft of people- and that could include the managing director. . . .A great deal of thinking should go into the report before you actually start to write anything, says Park Sims, adviser to Industrial Society Learning and Development and a director of Park Sims Associates. . .You cannot overestimate the importance of audience analysis, says Park. Are they friends or enemies, competitors or customers? All that will influence mightily what level of detail you go into and what language and style of writing you use. What do they know about the subject already? Can you use jargon? (Karen Hainsworth, Wowing Your Executive Audience. The Guardian, May 25, 2002)Audience analysis is  always a central task in document planning. In most cases, you discover that you must address multiple audiences with varied reasons for using your document. Some wil l need help getting started; others will want to use  the product at advanced levels . . ..When you have pictured the users of your document and their motives and goals, you are better able to organize information to be most helpful to your audience. (James G. Paradis and Muriel L. Zimmerman, The MIT Guide to Science and Engineering Communication, 2nd ed. The MIT Press, 2002) Audience Analysis in Composition [A]n audience analysis guide sheet can be an effective intervention tool for student writers. The worksheet that follows can be used for this purpose, even when students are using new media. Who is my audience? Who do I want my audience to be? What knowledge about the subject does my audience already have?What does my audience think, believe, or understand about this topic before he or she reads my essay?What do I want my audience to think, believe, or understand  about this topic after he or she reads my essay?How do I want my audience to think of me? What role do I want to play in addressing my audience? (Irene L. Clark, Concepts in Composition: Theory and Practice in the Teaching of Writing, 2nd ed. Routledge, 2012) Analyzing an Audience in Public Speaking You might think about these questions as the who, what, where, when, and whys of audience interaction: Who is in this audience?What opinions does your audience already have about the topic you are presenting?Where are you addressing the audience? What things about the context or occasion might influence your audience members interest and dispositions?When are you addressing the audience? This is not just a matter of the time of day, but also why your topic is timely for the audience.Why would your audience be interested in your topic? Why should these people make a particular judgment, change their minds, or take a specific action? In other words, how does your goal intersect with their interests, concerns, and aspirations? This analysis will help you figure out how to make effective choices in your speech.(William Keith and Christian O. Lundberg, Public Speaking: Choice and Responsibility, 2nd. ed. Wadsworth, 2016) George Campbell (1719-1796) and Audience Analysis [Campbells] notions on audience analysis and adaptation and on language control and style perhaps have had the longest range influence on rhetorical practice and theory. With considerable foresight, he told prospective speakers what they need to know about audiences in general and audiences in particular. . . .[In The Philosophy of Rhetoric, Campbell] moved to an analysis of the things which a speaker should know about his particular audience. These include such matters as educational level, moral culture, habits, occupation, political leanings, religious affiliations, and locale. (James L. Golden, The Rhetoric of Western Thought, 8th ed. Kendall/Hunt, 2004) Audience Analysis and the New Rhetoric The New Rhetoric recognizes situation (or context) as the basic principle of communication and revives invention as an indispensable component of rhetoric. In so doing, it establishes audience and audience analysis as important to the rhetorical process and vital to invention. [Chaim] Perelmans and [Stephen] Toulmins theories especially establish audience belief as the basis for all rhetorical activity (which covers most written and spoken discourse), and as the starting point for the construction of arguments. Later, theorists applied the insights of New Rhetoric theory specifically to composition theory and instruction. (Theresa Enos, ed., Encyclopedia of Rhetoric and Composition: Communication from Ancient Times to the Information Age. Taylor Francis, 1996) Hazards and Limitations of Audience Analysis [I]f you pay so much attention to the audience that you inhibit your self-expression, audience analysis has gone too far. (Kristin R. Woolever, About Writing: A Rhetoric for Advanced Writers. Wadsworth, 1991)As Lisa Ede and Andrea Lunsford point out, a key element of much audience analysis is the assumption that knowledge of the audiences attitudes, beliefs, and expectations is not only possible (via observation and analysis) but essential (1984, 156). . .Due to the pervasiveness of an audience-oriented inventional strategy in the history of rhetoric, numerous analytic methods have been developed over the years to aid the rhetor in this hermeneutic task. From Aristotles early efforts to categorize audience responses to George Campbells attempts at engaging the findings of faculty psychology to contemporary demographic attempts to apply cognitive psychology, the tradition offers a vast array of tools for audience analysis, each of which relies on some visible criteria in order to dete rmine an audiences beliefs or values.Nevertheless, these efforts to infer attitudes and beliefs from more observable phenomenon present the analyst with a host of difficulties. One of the most sensitive problems is that the results of such analyses frequently end up looking like a politically egregious form of stereotyping (not unlike the practice of racial profiling). (John Muckelbauer, The Future of Invention: Rhetoric, Postmodernism, and the Problem of Change. SUNY Press, 2008)

Admiral John Jellicoe in World War I

Admiral John Jellicoe in World War I John Jellicoe - Early Life Career: Born December 5, 1859, John Jellicoe was the son of Captain John H. Jellicoe of the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company and his wife Lucy H. Jellicoe.   Initially educated at Field House School in Rottingdean, Jellicoe elected to pursue a career in the Royal Navy in 1872.   Appointed a cadet, he reported to the training ship HMS Britannia at Dartmouth.   After two years of naval schooling, in which he finished second in his class, Jellicoe was warranted as a midshipman and assigned to the steam frigate HMS Newcastle.   Spending three years aboard, Jellicoe continued to learn his trade as the frigate operated in the Atlantic, Indian, and western Pacific Oceans.   Ordered to the ironclad HMS Agincourt in July 1877, he saw service in the Mediterranean. The following year, Jellicoe passed his exam for sub-lieutenant placing third out of 103 candidates.   Ordered home, he attended the Royal Naval College and received high marks.   Returning to the Mediterranean, he transferred aboard the Mediterranean Fleets flagship, HMS Alexandra, in 1880 before receiving his promotion to lieutenant on September 23.   Moving back to Agincourt in February 1881, Jellicoe led a rifle company of the Naval Brigade at Ismailia during the 1882 Anglo-Egyptian War.   In mid-1882, he again departed to attend courses at the Royal Naval College.   Earning his qualifications as a gunnery officer, Jellicoe was appointed to the staff of the Gunnery School aboard HMS Excellent in May 1884.   While there, he became a favorite of the schools commander, Captain John Jackie Fisher.       John Jellicoe - A Rising Star: Serving on Fishers staff for a Baltic cruise in 1885, Jellicoe then had brief stints aboard HMS Monarch and HMS Colossus before returning to Excellent the following year to head the experimental department.   In 1889, he became assistant to the Director of Naval Ordnance, a post held at that time by Fisher, and aided in obtaining sufficient guns for the new ships being built for the fleet.   Returning to sea in 1893 with the rank of commander, Jellicoe sailed aboard HMS Sans Pareil in the Mediterranean before transferring to the fleets flagship HMS Victoria.   On June 22, 1893, he survived Victorias sinking after it accidentally collided with HMS Camperdown.   Recovering, Jellicoe served aboard HMS Ramillies before receiving a promotion to captain in 1897.    Appointed a member of the Admiraltys Ordnance Board, Jellicoe also became captain of the battleship HMS Centurion.   Serving in the Far East, he then left the ship to act as chief of staff to Vice Admiral Sir Edward Seymour when the latter led an international force against Beijing during the Boxer Rebellion.   On August 5, Jellicoe was severely wounded in the left lung during the Battle of Beicang.   Surprising his doctors, he survived and received an appointment as a Companion of the Order of the Bath and was awarded the German Order of the Red Eagle, 2nd class, with Crossed Swords for his exploits.   Arriving back in Britain in 1901, Jellicoe became Naval Assistant to the Third Naval Lord and Controller of the Navy before assuming command of HMS Drake on the North American and West Indies Station two years later. In January 1905, Jellicoe came ashore and served on the committee that designed HMS Dreadnought.   With Fisher holding the post of First Sea Lord, Jellicoe was appointed Director of Naval Ordnance.   With the launching of the revolutionary new ship, he was made a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order.   Elevated to rear admiral in February 1907, Jellicoe assumed a position as second-in-command of the Atlantic Fleet.   In this post for eighteen months, he then became Third Sea Lord.   Supporting Fisher, Jellicoe argued strenuously for expanding the Royal Navys fleet of dreadnought battleships as well as advocated for the construction of battlecruisers.   Returning to sea in 1910, he took command of the Atlantic Fleet and was promoted to vice admiral the following year.   In 1912, Jellicoe received an appointment as Second Sea Lord in charge of personnel and training. John Jellicoe - World War I: In this post for two years, Jellicoe then departed in July 1914 to act as second-in-command of the Home Fleet under Admiral Sir George Callaghan.   This assignment was made with the expectation that he would assume command of the fleet late that fall following Callaghans retirement.   With the beginning of World War I in August,  First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill removed the older Callaghan, promoted Jellicoe to admiral and directed him to take command.   Angered by the treatment of Callaghan and concerned that his removal would lead to tension in the fleet, Jellicoe repeatedly attempted to turn down the promotion but to no avail.   Taking command of the newly-renamed Grand Fleet, he hoisted his flag aboard the battleship HMS Iron Duke.   As the battleships of the Grand Fleet were critical for protecting Britain, commanding the seas, and maintaining the blockade of Germany, Churchill commented that Jellicoe was the only man on either side who could lose the wa r in an afternoon. While the bulk of the Grand Fleet made its base at Scapa Flow in the Orkneys, Jellicoe directed Vice Admiral David Beattys 1st Battlecruiser Squadron to remain further south.   In late August, he ordered critical reinforcements to aid in concluding the victory at the Battle of Heligoland Bight and that December directed forces to attempt to trap Rear Admiral Franz von Hippers battlecruisers after they attacked Scarborough, Hartlepool, and Whitby.   Following Beattys victory at Dogger Bank in January 1915, Jellicoe began a waiting game as he sought an engagement with the battleships of  Vice Admiral Reinhard Scheers High Seas Fleet.   This finally occurred in late May 1916 when a clash between Beatty and von Hippers battlecruisers led the fleets to meet at the Battle of Jutland.   The largest and only major clash between dreadnought battleships in history, the battle proved inconclusive.   Though Jellicoe performed solidly and made no major mistakes, the British public was disappointed not to win a victory on the scale of Trafalgar.   Despite this, Jutland proved a strategic victory for the British as the German efforts failed to break the blockade or significantly reduce the Royal Navys numerical advantage in capital ships.   Additionally, the result led to the High Seas Fleet effectively remaining in port for the rest of the war as the Kaiserliche Marine shifted its focus to submarine warfare.   In November, Jellicoe turned the Grand Fleet over to Beatty and traveled south to assume the post of First Sea Lord.   The Royal Navys senior professional officer, this position saw him quickly tasked with combating Germanys return to unrestricted submarine warfare in February 1917. John Jellicoe - Later Career: Assessing the situation, Jellicoe and the Admiralty initially resisted adopting a convoy system for merchant vessels in the Atlantic due to a lack of suitable escort vessels and concerns that merchant mariners would be unable to keep station.   Studies that spring eased these concerns and Jellicoe approved plans for a convoy system on April 27.   As the year progressed, he became increasingly tired and pessimistic and fell afoul of Prime Minister David Lloyd George.   This was worsened by a lack of political skill and savvy.   Though Lloyd George desired to remove Jellicoe that summer, political considerations prevented this and action was further delayed in the fall due to the need to support Italy following the Battle of Caporetto.   Finally, on Christmas Eve, First Lord of the Admiralty Sir Eric Campbell Geddes dismissed Jellicoe.   This action enraged Jellicoes fellow sea lords all of whom threatened to resign.   Talked out this action by Jellicoe, he left his post. On March 7, 1918, Jellicoe was elevated to the peerage as Viscount Jellicoe of Scapa Flow.   Though he was proposed as Allied Supreme Naval Commander in the Mediterranean later that spring, nothing came it as the post was not created.   With the end of the war, Jellicoe received a promotion to admiral of the fleet on April 3, 1919.   Traveling extensively, he aided Canada, Australia, and New Zealand in developing their navies and correctly identified Japan as a future threat.   Appointed Governor-General of New Zealand in September 1920, Jellicoe held the post for four years.   Returning to Britain, he was further created  Earl Jellicoe and Viscount Brocas of Southampton in 1925.   Serving as president of the Royal British Legion from 1928 to 1932, Jellicoe died of pneumonia on November 20, 1935.   His remains were interred at St. Pauls Cathedral in London not far from those of Vice Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson. Selected Sources: BBC: John JellicoeFirst World War: John JellicoeHistory of War: John Jellicoe

How to Write and Structure a Persuasive Speech

How to Write and Structure a Persuasive Speech The purpose of a persuasive speech is to convince your audience to agree with an idea or opinion that you present. First, youll need to choose a side on a controversial topic, then you will write a speech to explain your position, and convince the audience to agree with you. You can produce an effective persuasive speech if you structure your argument as a solution to a problem. Your first job as a speaker is to convince your audience that a particular problem is important to them, and then you must convince them that you have the solution to make things better. Note: You dont have to address a real problem. Any need can work as the problem. For example, you could consider the lack of a pet, the need to wash ones hands, or the need to pick a particular sport to play as the problem. As an example, lets imagine that you have chosen Getting Up Early as your persuasion topic. Your goal will be to persuade classmates to get themselves out of bed an hour earlier every morning. In this instance, the problem could be summed up as morning chaos. A standard speech format has an introduction with a great hook statement, three main points, and a summary. Your persuasive speech will be a tailored version of this format. Before you write the text of your speech, you should sketch an outline that includes your hook statement and three main points. Writing the Text The introduction of your speech must be compelling because your audience will make up their minds within a few minutes whether or not they are interested in your topic. Before you write the full body you should come up with a greeting. Your greeting can be as simple as Good morning everyone. My name is Frank. After your greeting, you will offer a hook to capture attention. A hook sentence for the morning chaos speech could be a question: How many times have you been late for school?Does your day begin with shouts and arguments?Have you ever missed the bus? Or your hook could be a statistic or surprising statement: More than 50 percent of high school students skip breakfast because they just dont have time to eat.Tardy kids drop out of school more often than punctual kids. Once you have the attention of your audience, follow through to define the topic/problem and introduce your solution. Heres an example of what you might have so far: Good afternoon, class. Some of you know me, but some of you may not. My name is Frank Godfrey, and I have a question for you. Does your day begin with shouts and arguments? Do you go to school in a bad mood because youve been yelled at, or because you argued with your parent? The chaos you experience in the morning can bring you down and affect your performance at school. Add the solution: You can improve your mood and your school performance by adding more time to your morning schedule. You can accomplish this by setting your alarm clock to go off one hour earlier. Your next task will be to write the body, which will contain the three main points youve come up with to argue your position. Each point will be followed by supporting evidence or anecdotes, and each body paragraph will need to end with a transition statement that leads to the next segment. Here is a sample of three main statements: Bad moods caused by morning chaos will affect your workday performance.If you skip breakfast to buy time, youre making a harmful health decision.(Ending on a cheerful note) Youll enjoy a boost to your self-esteem when you reduce the morning chaos. After you write three body paragraphs with strong transition statements that make your speech flow, you are ready to work on your summary. Your summary will re-emphasize your argument and restate your points in slightly different language. This can be a little tricky. You dont want to sound repetitive but will need to repeat what you have said. Find a way to reword the same main points. Finally, you must make sure to write a clear final sentence or passage to keep yourself from stammering at the end or fading off in an awkward moment. A few examples of graceful exits: We all like to sleep. Its hard to get up some mornings, but rest assured that the reward is well worth the effort.If you follow these guidelines and make the effort to get up a little bit earlier every day, youll reap rewards in your home life and on your report card. Tips for Writing Your Speech Dont be confrontational in your argument. You dont need to put down the other side; just convince your audience that your position is correct by using positive assertions.Use simple statistics. Dont overwhelm your audience with confusing numbers.Dont complicate your speech by going outside the standard three points format. While it might seem simplistic, it is a tried and true method for presenting to an audience who is listening as opposed to reading.

Food intake for 3 full days Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Food intake for 3 full days - Essay Example I was also taking evening snacks everyday that provided me lots of carbs. Also, my butter intake (fat) has been increasing since some days. I must cut down on eggs, potatoes and butter to keep the macronutrients in balance. c. Excess of lipids causes heart diseases, stroke, high cholesterol and blood pressure. Too few lipids result in cancer, diabetes, deficiency of fat soluble vitamin, fatty liver and many growth problems (Hesson, 2009, p.45). c. Bread and rice provided me the most fiber while fruits (apple) provided me the least fiber. My food choice trend tells me that I have more liking for bread and rice, and least liking for fruits and vegetables. a. I should cut down my bread and rice intake and should adjust vegetables, cooked or boiled, in lunch or dinner. I should also focus on adding more fruits in my diet like strawberries and bananas, which are very good sources of fiber. I like apples but I must take them along with their skin to increase the amount of fiber. d. For effects of excessive or insufficient protein, carbs and fats, refer to part (2). Excessive fiber causes diarrhea, cramping in abdomen, and other gastrointestinal diseases (Johnson, 2011). Deficiency of fiber causes constipation, obesity, type-2 diabetes and

Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 21

Marketing - Essay Example Even though the corporation sounds quite young, most of its brand names are over 100 years old. The company was first established in 1965 through the merger of Pepsi-Cola and Frito-Lay. The company offers superior products that are of high quality. High standards of performance, competitive strategies and high integrity of people have fostered the success of the company (Stoddard, 2008). It is the largest manufacturer and distributor of beverages and other syrups and it is the largest corporation in the U.S.A. Coca-Cola was invented by John Stith Pemberton. The product WAS later bought by Asa Candler who incorporated the company in 1892. The company offers more than 400 brands in more than 200 countries. The product has over 1.5 billion customers every day. According to annual reports, the company sells over 400 brands which include diet coke, diet coke caffeine free, diet cherry coke, coke with lemon, diet coke with lemon, diet vanilla coke, Aquarius Mineral Water, diet coke with lime, coca-cola C2, diet coke plus among others. The company offers wide range of products such as AMP Energy, diet mountain screw, mug root beer, propel, sierra mist, sobe, no fear, pepsi max, sobe life water, starbucks coffee drinks and tava among others. The company adopted one quality standard in all branches around the globe. It is very committed to satisfy and protect the interest of the consumers since they are the bedrock for the success of the company. The products carry a quality assurance seal which enable the consumers to know the global quality of items. On the other hand, Coca-Cola Company offers a wide range of products including beverage concentrates and syrups. The company uses marketing strategies and product differentiation to achieve it’s of objectives of customer satisfaction. It has good reputation all over the worlds due to quality products that the company offers. It extended the products of coke and developed new products such as

Online grocery shopping Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Online grocery shopping - Essay Example With the age of growing technology and internet popularity, marketing has become easier because customers have an opportunity to post reviews about products and have others access it before making decisions. Companies can use the reviews to improve their products and develop others that match customer’s needs. As a marketing manager of Miou Company Ltd, I will examine literature review to understand traits of internet shoppers, their general shopping orientation, their web-usage-related lifestyle, and their psychographic characteristics. In addition, I will evaluate their motivations for shopping groceries online, their perceptions of the advantages and disadvantages of shopping online for groceries and situational factors that may elicit online purchase of groceries. Miou Company that has a chain of national supermarkets in Australia intends to open an online grocery-shopping website to counter the challenge posed by fast growing online shopping. One of the first things to co nsider in the research is seeking to understand the traits of internet shoppers. Internet shoppers tend to rely on feedback reviews about products and services done by those who have already been served by the company. According to Zhu and Zhang, a recent survey reveals that 24% of internet users’ access online reviews before paying for a service delivered offline. Such reviews have become an important marketing tool because companies post information about their products, engineer online forums and chats about the products where they proactively advice their consumers to spread the gospel of their products. Through use of internet, companies have managed to manipulate customer’s reviews and influence their decisions (Zhu and Zhang, 2010). Chevalier and Mayzlin agree to the character of online customers that depend on reviews. They argue that customer ratings significantly influence product sales especially in the book industry where customers read review texts in addi tion to review statistics (Chevalier & Mayzlin, 2006) Secondly, a market researcher must seek to understand customer’s general shopping orientation. The advancement of World Wide Web has enabled many companies to transact online and customers to do web shopping. Electronic shopping is growing by day and thus has become an important trend that influences the markets. Therefore, to identify the opportunity a researcher needs to identify the determinants of a customer’s online purchase intention. Since managers need to make a decision, the opportunity becomes the problem. A small sample will help in understanding the impacts of shopping orientations. According to Ling, a research run to determine shopping orientations, online trust, and prior online purchase experience to the customer purchase intention reveals that impulse purchase intention brand orientation, quality orientation, and prior online experience have a positive impact to the customer online purchase intentio n (Ling, 2010). Online shopping experience is different from the traditional consumer behaviour, which calls for marketers to explore the determinants of customer online intention among web shoppers. Forsythe and Shi concurs with this argument and states that online shopping poses special risks on the side of the customer, which makes trust an important aspect for a transaction to take place (Forsythe, Shi,

Women Are Confident In Their Decision To Be Single Research Paper

Women Are Confident In Their Decision To Be Single - Research Paper Example By 2009, women were â€Å"on the verge of outnumbering men in the workforce for the first time, a historic reversal caused by long term changes of women’s roles and massive job losses for men during this recession...At the current pace, women will become the majority of workers during October or November† (Cauchon, 2009). Labour economist Heidi Hartman, President for Women’s Institute of Policy Research, says, â€Å"It was a long historical slog to get to this point† (ibid.). Consequently, it has become evident that not only are women now able to support themselves but in quite a few families they have become either the main—or the sole—breadwinner. The majority of them are certainly not going to come home and give their husbands their earnings, nor are they going to keep on accepting the husband’s adultery because they have no choice. Women with a half decent education and a good steady job had slowly begun to realize since the mid-19 90s that they did, in fact, have choices. According to Petula Dvorak (2010), â€Å"It continues to be a man’s world, only a little more comfy these days... women in America are just about to make up the majority of the workforce, are dominating universities and, in ever-increasing numbers are the better-educated and handsomely paid half in American marriages† (ibid.). Women now know without a doubt that they do not need husbands to support them. They can, obviously, make financial decisions and they do expect, much to the chagrin of many men, their significant other to do more work around the house.

Summary and critical analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Summary and critical analysis - Essay Example Experience significantly shapes expert progress. It adds to professional and educational qualifications to improve the abilities of the designer with time. Experience is attained through practical performance such as during internships. Internships offer chances for designers to carry out project work. If a student shows excellent ability during internships, employment can be secured from it. Education qualifications are tested through actual work and familiarity. Once education and experience required are obtained, a designer becomes eligible to sit examinations to certify that the minimum competencies to be a member of the profession have been met. Such exams are administered by selected bodies such as the NCDI. Passing the examination entitles one to be licensed to practice and issued with a practicing certificate. From then, an individual can continue professional advancement by joining relevant professional bodies such as the American Association of Interior Designers and the International Interior Design Association. Members enjoy benefits such as sharing of knowledge, prestige, and advocating for rights of designers. Finally, a designer can engage in social responsibility to give back to the profession and the society in contribution to professional development. It can be done in various ways such as training interns and participating in design competitions among other voluntary

Linguistics essay 2 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Linguistics 2 - Essay Example he basis for such concepts as ‘melting pot’ and ‘ethnocentricity’, where it was considered possible that all newcomers would blend into the existing society. Bennett (1993) believes that this does not work and that applying one’s own perspective is the source of ongoing conflict everywhere. Empathy, however, approaches communication from a point of ‘difference’ (Bennett 1998, p. 203), acknowledging that everyone is different from the other, from a multitude of angles and that only by acknowledging and valuing this difference, real communication can be achieved. In other words, empathy assumes the perspective of the other. Bennett (1998 p. 209) proposes 6 steps to achieving empathy, including acknowledging that there is difference, based on self-understanding, on temporarily suspending this self and allowing empathy with the other to take place. This can be achieved through what Bennett calls guided imagination an emphatic experience, re-establishing self once the period of empathy has finished. As you have made us aware, you are planning a strike in the near future, with the aim of obtaining an increase in wages. From our initial discussions, we now both are aware that we are different in our approaches to this problem. As you are now aware that the Chinese workers are not favour of this move and we are entering into this correspondence with the aim of arriving at a compromise acceptable to both parties. This may perhaps be more successful, if we understand the reasons for each other’s position. Therefore, we would first like to explain the motivation behind our move to forego higher wages. To begin with, we would like you to understand that, like you, most of the Chinese men working here have left everything behind to follow their dream of a better life for their families in California. While the railroads were being built, employment was good and we did well, but once they were finished, there was little chance that there would be further

Summary and critical analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Summary and critical analysis - Essay Example Experience significantly shapes expert progress. It adds to professional and educational qualifications to improve the abilities of the designer with time. Experience is attained through practical performance such as during internships. Internships offer chances for designers to carry out project work. If a student shows excellent ability during internships, employment can be secured from it. Education qualifications are tested through actual work and familiarity. Once education and experience required are obtained, a designer becomes eligible to sit examinations to certify that the minimum competencies to be a member of the profession have been met. Such exams are administered by selected bodies such as the NCDI. Passing the examination entitles one to be licensed to practice and issued with a practicing certificate. From then, an individual can continue professional advancement by joining relevant professional bodies such as the American Association of Interior Designers and the International Interior Design Association. Members enjoy benefits such as sharing of knowledge, prestige, and advocating for rights of designers. Finally, a designer can engage in social responsibility to give back to the profession and the society in contribution to professional development. It can be done in various ways such as training interns and participating in design competitions among other voluntary

Animation Critique Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Animation Critique - Essay Example The most important technique in animation film is the Squash and Stretch, which is used to create an exaggeration of an animated movement. In addition, Winsor McCay propelled the American animation industry with the release of ‘Gertie the Dinosaur’. Blackton was widely esteemed for his stop-motion technique while McCay is renowned for employing much more modern techniques referred to as key-framing and the in-between techniques (Lewis 221). ‘Felix the Cat’ is one of the characters that were created by Pat Sullivan in the era of the silent films. ‘Felix the cat’ is one of the most recognizable characters because of its huge wide eyes and grin, black body and squat. ‘Felix the Cat’ is a good animation considered an iconic character in the historical making of the animation film production. The artistic expertise employed in Felix the Cat made it an outstanding piece of work in that era. For example, the use of a text box or bubbles to denote communication between characters. In addition, the use of question marks to express emotions and dotted lines denote the direction he is facing presents a complete communication. The possession of such qualities rendered the audience the ability to grasp the flow of the silent films. I personally liked the character of Felix the Cat because he was a fast decision maker. Felix the cat does not use the simple camera work, it is played with the asp ect of a film. The level of technology then was poor and the quality of production was unsatisfying (Pike 43). In addition, the emergence of modern studios, for example the Disney suppressed Felix’s native studio. Fantasmagorie was the first fully animated film that was made by Emile Cohl. This animation was made up of drawings flowing in a fluent manner into one another. In this film, the audience is only able to see the smooth blending of the illustrations and drawings. Moreover, I find this film a complex piece as well as an impressive narrative. The

Basic Teleological Assumptions of Classical Design Theory Essay Example for Free

Basic Teleological Assumptions of Classical Design Theory Essay The Old School of Intelligence Design presupposes the existence of an intellectual being behind the creation of the universe. Through inference, it often acts as a proof in support of a theistic God. The Design theory is usually supported on two major points – the complexity of the universe and the teleological nature of all natural organisms that constitute the universe. Traditionally, the old design theory resorts to an analogy of the machine, which is complex with an absolutely immaculate correspondence between the parts and the whole and has a ‘purpose’ or ‘telos’, thus teleological. Using Paley’s now legendary example of a mechanical watch that begins its ‘Natural Theology’, one can say that a watch in good condition comprises a number of devices that are intricately connected to each other in such a way, that if one part moves, it in turn set the other parts into movement, thus making the clock work. The watch is thus a ‘complex’ machine. At a second or higher level, there is a ‘purpose’ behind this entire operation, i. e. the ‘purpose’ of the watch – to tell what time of the day it is to its user. Thus, all parts contribute to the whole leading to a well defined ‘purpose’, thereby making the device ‘teleological’. Paley’s inference, which he extends to include all kinds of being and is developed into the central argument of the Old Design theory, is that ‘there must have existed, at some time, and at some place or other, an artificer or artificers who formed it for the purpose which we find it actually to answer; who comprehended its construction, and designed its use’. (Paley) Old Design theory, following Paley’s formulation, goes on to extend the analogy to include all natural beings to argue that the universe, being so well organized and infinitely more complex, thus presupposes the existence of a much higher intelligence, or a being with a much higher intelligence, who must have created this teleological universe. The general logic that establishes the thesis is: 1. Machines are produced by intelligent design 2. The universe resembles a machine Therefore, 1. Probably the universe was produced by intelligent design. (Rowe, p. 59) As a proof of this line of logical conclusion, we can look at anything of the natural world around us, both animate and inanimate, although the animate makes us understand the logic better. A tree, for example, is sustained by the nourishment that is produced by the leaf. The leaf works like a machine, with its every constituent carefully designed, arranged and contrived in such a manner so as to serve its exact purpose – carrying out photosynthesis and providing the tree, of which it is a part, with the necessary succor. It is thus a teleological unit within a bigger ‘machine’ – the tree. The tree, in its part, has all its constituent parts built and organized in such a way so as to make it serve its purpose – to exist and reproduce by creating more of its like. In order to understand this analogy, we can derive on the example of a car. A car, in itself, is a teleological unit serving the purpose of commuting people from one place to another. However, it is a combination of many smaller teleological units – the carburetor, for example, with parts to suit its express purpose – of providing the necessary combustion for the car to move. (Rowe, p. 57) Thus, a purposeful machine can be a combination of many constituent purposeful machines, which add up to carrying out the purpose of the whole. Any part of the human anatomy (like Paley’s example of the eye), and its relation to the human body in general can be counted as an example of teleological design in the natural world. Furthermore, Sartres existentialism can be taken as a normative school of thought elaborating on teleological renditions. As an existentialist belonging to atheistic principles, Sartre viewed subjectivity as the underlying source of inspiration behind creation. In other words, it is only the subjective understanding of things that he thought to be the fundamental purpose of beginning. The example of a paper-cutter can be aptly suited here to the context of explicating Sartre’s philosophical doctrine. The postulate that Existence precedes essence, as he came upon, can be justified by reasoning with the purpose behind the making of a paper-cutter. As is obvious, there are two sides to it. Firstly, the person who makes a paper-cutter knows what he is doing and what a paper-cutter is. So it directly involves the utility of a thing being made or created. Secondly, the process of making is also known to the maker. Hence, a logical inference can be drawn from these two interconnected preconditions that help assigning a teleological meaning to the whole. Needless to mention, it is unlikely that the person making the paper-cutter should be ignorant of its end-use (Sartre, p. 2) Arguments Old and New Till the end of the nineteenth century, the Design Theory, with certain qualifications, was thought to be adequate as an explanation behind creation and its unsurpassed complexity, through the presence of a super-intelligent being. However, right from the beginning of its existence and even before, serious questions and fallacies have been raised in the logical reasoning that draw correspondence between the mechanical and the natural world, leading to Intelligent Design theory. These criticisms are in fact older than even when the Old design was laid down as a philosophical foundation. Hume was one of the earliest critics, and Darwinism was one of the last and most potent criticisms of intelligent design – almost forcing the point of view to refashion and re-present itself into the New Design theory. The foremost accusation against the Design theory is that it is ultimately an analogy. Although Rowe proves in his article that analogy is necessary to reach the truth, yet he proves the significance of analogy only through another analogy, and thus laying the base of his logical inference weak. However, even if we take, for the sake of argument, Rowe’s formulation to be true and believe in analogy to be a way to reach the truth, there can be serious complaints raised against the way the analogy works itself out. One of the first problems to be thrown up by the machine analogy is that the creator of the watch is himself created by something external to his own self, and therefore the creator, an intelligent agency capable of action, needs to be created. Design theory often quite consciously avoids delving into the nature of the creator, just as it does about the ‘purpose’ behind the universal design. ‘Does intelligent-design theory provide explanatory power? ’ asks Young and Edis, ‘If so, it must provide information about the details of the design and, to this end, about the nature of the designer. ID theory, however, deliberately avoids the answers to this question’. (Young and Edis, p. 193) Even if we take into account the theological connotations of the theory that establishes the creator as a self-created, self-creating being, there are other problems that are foregrounded by Rowe. First, does a universe comprising teleological components itself become teleological? To prove that all natural objects that comprise the universe have a ‘purpose’ does not necessarily prove that the universe itself has a ‘purpose’. All that remains is transference that if the constituent objects have a purpose, then the world itself must have a ‘purpose’ where being constructed by a being that transcends ordinary intelligence, it is impossible to grasp that overarching ‘purpose’ behind creation. Such an argument runs into a danger of fallacy, because if ‘Design Theory’ is propounded to prove the presence of a God (or an intelligent being) behind creation, then we cannot take the presence of the being as a presumption. In that case we take to be proven what we are out to prove. Secondly, we can take into account Hume’s classical criticism of the Old Design theory, which says that it is presumptuous to take the teleology and the machine-like orderliness as the very pattern of the whole universe. Here we run into the danger of taking our argumentative basis as only that small section of the universe that is apparent to our sensory perception as the general model of the universe itself, something that we would never know. There may be, and probably are, other parts of the universe located outside the ken of our knowledge where chaos reigns. The greatest criticism of the Old Design theory comes in the form of Darwinian Theory of ‘Natural Selection’. Darwin started off as a believer in Paley’s theological model of Design theory, but as a result of his experience, defected and put forward his own theory of ‘Natural Selection’. It states that in order to be machine-like in teleology and perfect in construct, nature does not necessarily need a divine and intellectual being. Nature works in spite of such a presence or an absence in order to make its organisms best suited to the environment, whereby only the organisms that manage to suit themselves to the changing environment exist while the other perish. The survivors manage to make anatomical adjustments to survive in the environment, thus combining the part to the whole and carry on the acts of existence and procreation. Darwin’s locating the question of Intelligent Design within the question of the implicit ‘anthropomorphism’ of classical ID, is obvious when he talks about ‘Man’ and ‘Nature’ and their roles as agencies of creation: â€Å"As man can produce and certainly has produced a great result by his methodical and unconscious means of selection what may not Nature effect? Man can act only on external and visible character: Nature cares nothing for appearances, except in so far as they may be useful to any being. She can act on every internal organ, on every shade of constitutional difference, on the whole machinery of life†. (Darwin, p. 53) Till the beginning of the twentieth century, the Darwinian theory of Natural Selection reigned supreme in the field of scientific enquiry, while Design theory was more or less relegated to the recesses of religious and spiritual thought. However, the beginning of the twentieth century saw a resurgence of the Design theory, as Darwinian Evolution was made subject to questions and doubts. One of the most common attacks on Darwinism from the proponents of ID theorists has been from the lines of what is known as the mousetrap theory. The mousetrap is one of the most common and yet one of the most complex devices of our everyday life. However, if any of its component parts: the spring, the hammer or the platform is missing, it would fail to achieve its ‘purpose’, its ‘telos’: that is catching mice. Similarly, the immense complexity of even the most basic molecular organisms is so self sufficient and so ‘teleological’ that it cannot be explained by the theory of natural selection, since they do not appear as the result of any earlier form adapting to suit to the changing environment. It appears created out of an intelligent design. Michael J. Behe criticizes Darwin from precisely this position. New Design Theory: In Search for a Philosophic Co-existence However, Behe’s criticism that Darwinism does not account for the immense complexity of molecular organisms is not the same thing as to say that there is a supremely intelligent, benevolent and perfect being who has designed the universe. In fact, Natural selection can be made to account for the immense complexity of even molecular organisms. Neither does Dempski, who otherwise supports the ID theory, speak about the real nature of the intelligent being in question. Under such a situation where nothing could be proven conclusively, the design theory re-formulated itself in what is now known as the New Design Theory. One of the most significant positions of modern proponents of the intelligent design theorists is to dissociate and distance themselves from the earlier theological imports of the argument. As Manson states ‘the fact that modern ID theory is a minimalist argument for design itself, not an argument for the existence of God, relives it of much of the baggage that weighed down Paley’s argument’. (Manson, p. 277) Thus, much in response to earlier loopholes of ID arguments, a section of modern theorists is looking for a co-existence of Darwinism and ID, stating that they are not necessarily exclusive. The big-bang theory of creation is used very commonly as a point of departure. It states that the conditions conducive to life and existence required too many factors to act in too perfect a combination, and hence they do not look like an accident. Therefore, the presence of an intelligent being is needed in order to present the conditions from where nature could take its own course and get on with its act of existence and procreation. The presence of an intelligent being, whether in the form of a single theistic God or otherwise, is thus established, albeit through a new formulation. Religion, Meaninglessness and the Old Design Theory Questions of decaying morality and faith often encroach upon the spheres of religion. A man’s existence can grossly be measured on two parameters: his belief in the system of religion and other ethical means; and his actual loyalty to what he believes. If a man, out of compulsion or faith, remains loyal to what he regards as the most singular religious creed, he ought to have some degree of propensity to it. So he can be adjudged credible enough to be an individual who does not sway from his internal notions. But in reality, things turn out to be markedly different from the nature of our interaction with the world. Even the sternest believers are compelled to choose a life that hardly conforms to what he believes in and of itself about religion. Religion acts almost as an external element which is unplugged from the course of life and does not have anything to do with controlling man’s destiny (Tolstoy, p. 2). In relation to the Old Design Theory, it can be stated that God’s presence is rather nonessential with regards to the actual ordeal man has to live through in this life. As Rachels (293) argues, the ancient myth of Sisyphus is correspondent to conveying the ultimate meaninglessness of life. Contrary to the seep-seated Christian faiths of Tolstoy, this philosophy is more akin to Sartre’s doctrine of atheistic and nihilistic existence. Even if we go by the conjecture that there is in fact a supremely intelligent being at the heart of every phenomenon in the universe, the scope of redemption in mortal life is nearly impossible and therefore, the influence of a single entity, however powerful it is, is negated. References Manson, Neil A. (2003). God and Design. New York: Routledge. Young M. , and Edis, T. (2006). Why Intelligent Design Fails: A Scientific Critique of the New Creationism. Piscataway: Rutgers University Press. Paley W. (1837). Natural theology: or Evidences of the existence and attributes of the Deity With additions notes. London: W. R. Chambers. Darwin, C. (2007). On the Origin of Species: By Means of Natural Selection Or the Preservation of Favored Races in the Struggle for Life. New York: Cosimo, Inc. Rowe. The Design Argument: Old and New. Sartre, Jean-Paul. Existentialism Is a Humanism. Tolstoy, Leo N. A Confession. Grand Rapids: Christian Classics Ethereal Library. Rachels, J. (2005). The Truth About the World: Basic Readings in Philosophy.

Themes Shown In A Country Doctor English Literature Essay

Themes Shown In A Country Doctor English Literature Essay A Country Doctor is a narration in which the main character, Franz (the country doctor), faces a number challenges and frustrations some of which are beyond his control. In the whole tale, Franzs Kafka is troubled by proceedings that are beyond his control. The surreal unfolding of the story by Kafka gives it a nightmarish eminence that is manifested at the commencement when two horses crawl out of the pigsty (Corder 26). The story A Country Doctor puts across a number of themes. The first defy that the doctor faces is that he has to attend to a patient so as to obtain transport for the reason that his personal horse died the preceding night. As the story unfolds, no one is eager to let him use his horse for such a trip and this makes him think very much. By saying distracted and tormented, I kicked my foot against the cracked door of the pig sty (Corder 29) Franz informs us that the doctor felt frustrated and betrayed by the society he is committed to serve, a society which should be willing to give him a helping hand. The second challenge the doctor is faced with is to surmount the stern weather. The doctor arrives to the patients farm after traveling through a storm of snow to attend him. As a result of the stern winter conditions, the doctors horse dies. As the story nears the conclusion, consequently the doctor doesnt arrive at his destination after having been dragged all the way through the snowy desert. The third challenge the doctor faces is that of urgent journey that he has to make across the country to respond to a call to see a very sick man several miles away. His efforts are frustrated because he has no means of travel. He does not know how to travel although he has a very suitable carriage for the journey, he is dressed up warmly for the weather, and he has his medicine bag. He has no horse to pull his carriage. He has sent his girl savant to try to borrow a horse from the village but she comes back empty handed because no one wants to expose his horse to such bad weather conditions as are prevailing at that time (Corder 22). The grooms issue posses the fourth challenge to the doctor. The doctor finds if difficult to deal with the groom. He is in a dilemma of whether to attend to his ailing patient or protecting Rosa, his house help, from the ill intentioned groom. Throughout the story he is tormented by thoughts of Rosa being exposed to danger after deciding to save his patient. Franzs story is a nightmare because the doctor differs from the other normal doctors in the bona fide world. Against the pragmatic society prospect, the story doesnt present anything of a country doctor. After briefly examining his patient the doctor comes to a conclusion that the patient has feigned illness so as to get communitys attention. A nightmare is an experience or event that is intensely distressing and may cause fear (Mifflin) hence the classification of Franz Kafkas A Country Doctor as one. This is proved when he kicks the pigsty and admits that he doesnt know what to do to get to his patient. The doctor fantasizes horses with long legs crawl out of pigsty. This is a clear diverge from the real world where the same may be vied as abstract. A major theme realized and brought out clearly in the story is placing blame on other people. The doctor place blame on others for his inadequacies. He blames his lack of a horse for inability to get to his patient. After getting to the patients home, he is brazed out by the genuineness of the patients illness but still blames the patient for lack of confidence besides believing that he is feigning illness. The doctors failure to get a horse from the neighbors can be owing to his poor liaison with them, but he insists that they are showing no gratitude and not ready to counter his good deeds to them. He places culpability for his reduced performance in his service to a predecessor who is robbing him off his line of work. The theme of fantasy is also brought out clearly in the story. The unanticipated emergence of the groom manifests this. It is like a leprechaun tale. The sudden grabbing and leaving of teeth marks on Rosas cheek gives rise to the question of whether the groom is a vampire. He also breaks down the entrance of the doctors quarters as the doctor is being carried away by the horses over which he has no command of. The horses too behave as you wouldnt expect, stopping on their own when they get to the house of the ailing man; waits for the doctor and then takes him away again, when he escapes from the bed of the sick man. There is also the size of the worms in the lesion at the side of the ailing man. These are themes that are seen as fantasy. There is also the place where the doctor is stripped naked and thrown into bed with the sick man. This is a flight of the imagination because it cannot come about in the daily practice of a doctors life. Lastly, the theme that is also explored in the story is opportunism. Opportunism is the actions of someone who takes every opportunity to gain an advantage and is willing to behave in unfair way (Mangat 889). The groom in the story appears with two horses at the time when the doctor is in dire need for one to enable him travel to his patients home. He grabs the chance to have Rosa for himself by allowing the doctor to use his horses for the journey. The doctor loves and takes is concerned about Rosa; nevertheless he has no option but to leave her in the hands of the cruel groom in substitute for the two horses. The doctor leaves for the patients farm signifying that the journey is unavoidable. The groom realizes this opportunity when the doctor says or Ill give up the journey, no matter how urgent it is, (Corder 33).

Booker T Washington Essay example -- essays research papers

Booker T Washington was one of the best advocates in his time. Growing up in slavery and out coming the horrifying struggles of the 1870’s was a great effort. Born in the era were black people were like flies he found a determination to succeed and discovered many powers in life. Washington childhood was one of privation, poverty, slavery, and backbreaking work. Born in 1856, he was from birth the property of James Burroughs of Virginia. He didn’t know his father but his mother Jane raised him and put him to work as soon as possible. Washington received no Education because it was illegal for him to receive an education. Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, but it could not be enforced until the end of The Civil War in 1865. Washington’s stepfather was very fortunate because he found work packing salt in Malden. Jane moved to join her husband in Malden. The nine year old spent exhausting days packing salt. Like many blacks being free Washington wanted an education. When he was 16 he decided he wanted to go to Hampton Institute. He didn’t know if he was going to excepted and if he did were he would get the money to pay.. Hungry he arrived at the doorsteps of Hampton. Hampton Institute became a big influence to Washington’s life. Armstrong, the founder of Hampton, believed in work, study, hygiene, morality, self-discipline, and self-reliance. His purpose was to train black teachers, but every student should have a trade was well. Washington’s trade was being a janit... Booker T Washington Essay example -- essays research papers Booker T Washington was one of the best advocates in his time. Growing up in slavery and out coming the horrifying struggles of the 1870’s was a great effort. Born in the era were black people were like flies he found a determination to succeed and discovered many powers in life. Washington childhood was one of privation, poverty, slavery, and backbreaking work. Born in 1856, he was from birth the property of James Burroughs of Virginia. He didn’t know his father but his mother Jane raised him and put him to work as soon as possible. Washington received no Education because it was illegal for him to receive an education. Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, but it could not be enforced until the end of The Civil War in 1865. Washington’s stepfather was very fortunate because he found work packing salt in Malden. Jane moved to join her husband in Malden. The nine year old spent exhausting days packing salt. Like many blacks being free Washington wanted an education. When he was 16 he decided he wanted to go to Hampton Institute. He didn’t know if he was going to excepted and if he did were he would get the money to pay.. Hungry he arrived at the doorsteps of Hampton. Hampton Institute became a big influence to Washington’s life. Armstrong, the founder of Hampton, believed in work, study, hygiene, morality, self-discipline, and self-reliance. His purpose was to train black teachers, but every student should have a trade was well. Washington’s trade was being a janit...

Comparison between the South Asia and East Asia during WW1 Essay

In the twentieth century, WWI was a political tornado of change, sweeping over the entire world, augmenting everything in its path. Although the Allied and Axis powers were affected the most by WWI, East Asia and South Asia were also transformed as well, through considerable social and political reform. In East Asia, China was the country outside of the Allied and Axis powers affected the most in WWI, through the creation of the Chinese Communist Party. After WWI was over, the Treaty of Versailles transferred all German holdings in East Asia, including those in China, to Japan. To China, this was an outrageous offense. Although China certainly didn’t enjoy Germany owning part of their land, to have their worst enemy, Japan, owning it would be positively loathsome. A demonstration broke out in Beijing in protest over Versailles. After being defeated by both Japan and the West, China had enough humiliation and demanded social reform. It was then that Mao Zedong came forth and established the Chinese Communist Party. Although the Nationalists would crush the Communists efforts to overthrow the government, the Communist Party would eventually return and take control, changing China forever, because of the outcomes of WWI. In South Asia, India was affected by WWI through the heightened support of the Indian Nationalist movement. When England forced their colony India to support the war effort, the Indians complied, and the Nationalist movement remained dormant during the war. After WWI was over, most of the world saw Europe as a time bomb of conflict, and this combined with the oppressive efforts to force Indian soldiers into the war cause the Indian Nationalist movement to return full force. Intellectuals like Gandhi appeared with ideas as to what a post colonial India would look like, and almost everyone in India, Muslims and Hindus alike, could agree they wanted England out. Soon, England complied with India’s cries for independence and simply pulled out of South Asia. After discordant internal conflicts, India finally stabilized, with its independence intact, because of the outcomes of WWI. WWI changed the world forever and left many problems unsolved that would return again more forceful than before. In China and India, WWI provoked  social and political reform, but the two outcomes were very different. India gained its independence and set up a Western-style democracy, whereas China would eventually be ravished by the tormenting policies and killing-spree of Mao Zedong. Both India and China were directly affected by the outcomes of WWI.

Divorce & marriage Essay

People from broken families are less likely to have successful marriages. This is because of the psychological implications such families bring into their life. According to available psychological evidence, divorce is a major cause of emotional stress and depression (Clarke-Stewart, & Brentano, 2006). Depression as a psychological impairment has been evidently found to factor much in compromising the social life of the victim. Such individuals are marked with lack of hope for the future, a factor that only serves to negate their chances of engaging in successful marriage. Another commonly cited potential implication of divorce on children is that it can cause negative perception of a particular gender by the child. According to available statistical evidence, it is clear that due to the social and economic hardships experienced by children after the divorce of their parents, most tend to develop hatred against one gender of the community (Clarke-Stewart, & Brentano, 2006). With such a mental setting, an individual finds it a major challenge to accept and appreciate that gender into a binding relationship. This has the direct implication that they are less likely to engage in successful marriages. Still, the sustainable building of character traits in a child is mainly by copying the character traits of the surrounding members of the community (Clarke-Stewart, & Brentano, 2006). This means that their parents are the most influence society members in modeling the character of the child. However, prior to divorce or family breakdown, families are found to have constant conflicts and/or communication failure. Such imply that the character of violence is instilled in the mind of the child. Also, broken families fail to provide the efficient parental love required for modeling reliable social behavior of the child due to the lack of one parent character in the family. All these only negate the children understanding and appreciation of the underlying meaning of marriage. References Clarke-Stewart, A. , & Brentano, C. (2006). Divorce: Causes and Consequences. New Haven: Yale University Press.

Life of Pi write-up Essay

Life of Pi shows that we are entering a virtual age as Pi, a selfish murderer, is portrayed as a hero throughout the movie. In the beginning of the movie, Pi is portrayed as a smart, virtuous man – there is an emphasis on his strong faith in God, his love for his family and his knowledge of animals. However, later in the movie, Pi brutally murders a hyena after his family’s ship sank and manipulates the tiger that he was left with to do whatever he pleases. Although Pi faced anxiety because he was alone on a lifeboat with a tiger and with despair from thinking that he would die, these circumstances are not to blame for Pi’s awful behavior. Pi has the freedom to make his own decisions and is able to express his emotions in whichever way he wants, making him fully responsible for the course of his actions. Once Pi is rescued, the whole world starts to see him as a hero for his survival, however they do not process all of his wrongdoings. To make matters worse, the journalists that Pi spoke with after he was rescued do not even use the first story that he shares with them – the one involving human beings – because they claimed it was too gruesome, bringing Pi to replace human beings with animals in his second story. This also represents a virtual age because it sends the idea that wrongful actions are okay when they are presented using animals rather than human beings – truly showing the selfishness and carelessness of society. In conclusion, Pi’s inhumane actions are not acknowledged by the public, and furthermore Pi is being rewarded for his wrongdoings. In Life of Pi, storyteller Pi Patel explains the firsthand account of his adventures. When his family’s zoo business fails in India, they embark on a sea voyage to begin a new life – however, one night aboard their ship in the middle of the ocean, a deadly storm hits, leaving Pi trapped in a lifeboat with several zoo animals. After several brutal incidents, including Pi murdering a hyena, Pi is then left to fend for himself in the company of a Bengal tiger. At the end of the movie, when Pi is rescued and questioned by journalists, he tells them two different stories about his journey: one involving human beings and one involving animals, leaving the journalists to publish the story involving animals. Kierkegaard’s philosophy relates to this story because even though Pi is very religious, he is aware that he is free to put his wellbeing before God. While being stuck on a lifeboat with vicious animals, Pi does whatever he can in order to survive – even if that involves taking part in murder and manipulation. Pi chooses to murder a hyena because this animal killed his mother and would eventually kill him, as well as Pi chooses to hunt fish in order for the tiger to survive and to save himself from being eaten. Pi also had to state dominance and mark his territory in the lifeboat, in order to prevent the tiger from hurting him. Pi is therefore the perfect example of putting the individual before God in Kierkegaard’s philosophy because he believes in God, yet he continues to live his own life with freedom as he makes rational decisions. Pi is also aware of the aggressiveness in his decisions, and continuously apologizes to God for all that he has done. By doing this, Pi gains strength and heals through God, as this is also a part of Kierkegaard’s philosophy.

Communication research techniques Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6250 words

Communication research techniques - Essay Example The positivist view is sometimes referred to as a scientist ideology, and is often shared by technocrats who believe in the necessity of progress through scientific progress, and by Naturalism, who argue that any method for gaining knowledge should be limited to natural, physical, and material approaches. As an approach to the philosophy of science deriving from Enlightenment thinkers like Pierre-Simon Laplace (and many others), positivism was first systematically theorized by Comte, who saw the scientific method as replacing metaphysics in the history of thought, and who observed the circular dependence of theory and observation in science. Comte was thus one of the leading thinkers of the social evolutionism thought. Comte was heavily influential to Brazilian thinkers. They turned to his ideas about training scientific elite in order to flourish in the industrialization process. Some Brazilians were intrigued by this model that was present in the French revolution and Enlightenment ideas. However, this created issues with the church because these positivist ideas were secular and encouraged the separation of Church and state. Brazil's national motto, Ordem e Progresso ("Order and Progress") was taken from Comte's positivism, also influential in Poland. Positivism is the most evolved stage of society in anthropological evolutionism, the point where science and rational explanation for scientific phenomena develops. In a positivist view of the world, science was seen as the way to get at truth, to understand the world well enough so that we might predict and control it. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positivism) In light of positivism and post-positivism, researchers and scientists should endeavor to always think about the assumptions made about the world during the conducting of research. Post positivism Post-positivism is also called post-empiricism, and is a meta-theoretical stance following positivism. One major advocate of post-positivism was Sir Karl Popper. Others like Nicholas Rescher and John Dewey have also been mentioned in connection with post positivism. Post positivism is a research position or mentality that recognizes most of the criticisms that have been identified against traditional logical positivism, but is also critical about the misconceptions about positivism itself. Thus, post-positivists believe that human knowledge is not based on unchallengeable, rock-solid foundations; it is conjectural. But they think we do have real grounds, or warrants, for asserting these beliefs or conjectures, although these warrants can be modified or withdrawn in the light of further investigation. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postpositivism) One very common form of post-positivism is a philosophy known as critical realism. Critical realism postulates that there is a reality that can be scientifically studied, which is independent of our thoughts. This contrasts with the subjectivist view which holds that there is no external reality, and that we are all making this up. Positivists are also realists. The difference between positivism and po

Psychological theories of crime Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Psychological theories of crime - Research Paper Example Most governments in the contemporary societies are secular in nature; however, they uphold the dictates of religions that also consider such acts unethical thus referring to them as sins. Various psychologies provide varied explanations on criminal behaviors thus their prevalence as explained in the essay below. Governments provide elaborate definitions of crime with the view of upholding the liberties enjoyed by the population. In order to uphold, the liberties, the government spells out the actions that constitute a criminal activity and enforces adherence to such guidelines. Acting in a manner contrary to the existing laws earns an individual a prison term with effective punishment and compensation to the offended arties. However, in doing so the government must uphold ethical standards and maintain a level of credibility. Most governments in democratic societies treat offenders as innocent until proven guilty after which the law provides for appropriate punishments. The existence of such legislations coupled with the effective and efficient enforcement mechanisms thus make the prevalence of violent activities attitudinal. As psychological products, several psychologists analyze the prevalence of crime in an attempt of analyzing the origin of the defiant attitude that compels one to beak all the laws and moral dictates to commit a crime (Grimm, Pianta & Konold, 2009). Key among the theorists is Sigmund Freud. Often considered the father of modern day psychology, Freud has postulated various theories all of which strive to explain the nature and prevalence of crime (Rosenberg & Turner, 1990). The personality psychologist seeks to explain the nature and prevalent of crimes in his psychodynamic perspective which he asserts explains the changes in a people feelings and psychological perspective. In his theory of psychoanalysis, Freud explains that all human behaviors are products of the unconscious mind. This he explains includes aggressive and violent behaviors . Feud explains that several forces in an individual’s unconscious mind the result of which are the varied human behaviors. Additionally, he explains that childhood experiences are also equally important influencers of an individual’s behavior in adulthood. According to Freud’s explanation, development of a multi staged process with each stage having unique requirements. The successful growth of an individual from one stage to another creates a uniform growth pattern and a peaceful succession into adulthood. However, such cases are rare with most people failing to overcome the challenges presented by every stage. This results in the recurrent of the stage challenges in progressive stages thus creating a growth crisis. Freud thus believed that the conflicts that people face in their different psychosexual stages of life influence their behaviors in adulthood. With such elaborate explanations, understanding waves of violence and criminal activities become easier ( Grisso & Steinberg, 2005). Such are products of the forces in the unconscious state of mind. A normal human being with effective understanding to the social and moral standards with a basic knowledge of the operations of the government especially concerning violence and crime should therefore overcome acts of aggression thus containing them within themselves. However, the failure by the unconscious m

Children car seat injury in Abudahbi (program plan) Research Proposal

Children car seat injury in Abudahbi (program plan) - Research Proposal Example When it comes to kids in the car, the motto is ‘No belt - no start’,† (Khan, 2014). The proposed aim of the study is to investigate how children car safety is perceived by residents in Abu Dhabi and whether car seat safety regulations for children are implementable or not in their views. Research works in past have indicated that use of seat belts in car significantly lower mortality rates in traffic accidents. Keeping in view the significance of seat belts, many developed and developing countries have made it mandatory for adults and children to wear seat belts at all times while moving in a car. Researchers like Zhu, et al. (2007), Daly, et al. (2006), Durbin, et al. (2005) have all found seat belts usage to be extremely effective in reducing deaths and injuries resulting from road accidents. In UAE the requirement for drivers and front seat occupant to wear seat belt was implemented in 1998; however, no such regulations exist with specific regard to children sitting on rear seats of a car (Brass, et al., 2008; Abu Dhabi Government, 2014; Time Out Abu Dhabi, 2012; Time Out Abu Dhabi, 2011). As per the statistics provided in different newspapers, road accidents and most of the resulting injuries have been associated with not wearing seat belts by the passengers. In this regard, The National reported in 2013 that â€Å"A study at Al Ain Hospital found the most common cause of head injury was a  road traffic collision  (67.1 per cent) †¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Bell, 2013). Apart from this, Dr. Ashraf Hefny, who is a specialist surgeon in the Al Rahba Hospital (Abu Dhabi), the death rate from traffic accidents in the UAE is 37 to 100,000 of population. This rate is considered a very rate when compared globally with other countries (Bell, 2013). In addition to this, The National reported that a study of car accidents in Al Ain reported that about 98 percent of passengers involved in a car accident did not wear seat

The media and the Democratic Convention in Chicago 1968 Research Paper

The media and the Democratic Convention in Chicago 1968 - Research Paper Example The younger generation was always tuned on to television for updates. On the other hand, the country election were around the corner as the situation on the ground worsened. The elections that followed could see the 36th President in office.2 Consequently, in August 1967, the Democratic Party had a task of selecting a new candidate to replace President Baines Johnson, who had announced in March that he was not going to seek reelection of presidency. Moreover, many contenders vied for the ticket and included Johns vice president, former Senator Hubert Humprey, Robert Kennedy a New York senator but, unfortunately, was shot in Los Angeles hotel. The others were the South Dakota Senator George Mc Govern, who supporters of Kennedy had allegiance in and the Minnesota senator Eugene Mc Carthy who was an antiwar candidate who college students campaigned for from door to door. Rumors also spread that Kennedy’s younger brother was also entering the race even until the date of the convention but he did not.3 In August 1968, Humphrey was the likely winner of the Democratic ticket. Additionally, the convention had two objectives; one was to get the representative of the party in the November elections and the platform which could be used to run. Many questions came up whether the democrats could support the Vietnam War or adopt the plan advocated by McCarthy.4 Despite the different opinions coming from the delegates in relation to antiwar, the vice-president got more than 1000 votes to secure the ticket for the Democratic Party on August28. 5 Nineteen sixty-eight was a year with many problems in the city of Chicago. Chicago was a great and respected American city but in this year, it was far much behind than the rest. Following the assassination of Dr. King, race riots broke out in Chicago, and the police officers responded with a brutal violence. As Major Daley made orders on the â€Å"shoot to kill†, it changed the mythic proportion of

Research paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 28

Research Paper Example Many societies around the world suffer from poverty as a result of poor methods of sustainable development in the past(DeNavas-Walt and Proctor, 11). Poverty in various societies around the world is rooted from cultural and historical events. For instance, Poverty in America is portrayed by economic inflation created in the transition from the period after the American Revolution which was inspired by rebuilding strategies as the nation had undergone through a massive loss of lives and property worth billions of dollars. This document looks at the difference and similarities depicted in the transition with a comparison to Orwell’s concept of poverty as written in â€Å"Down and Out in Paris and London.† Orwell’s â€Å"Down and Out in Paris and London,† is a reflection of the current poverty state in some parts of the United States as it consists of similar events which link the 20th and 21st century. Down and Out in Paris and London,† is George Orwell’s story about the poverty state of immigrants living in Paris and London. In the story, the narrator tells the challenges that befall foreigners when in search for employment in a foreign land. He acquired his first job as a dishwasher in one of the hotels in Paris where employees who were mostly foreigners worked for twelve hours each day of the week with little pay. This made him live in a small and inveterately dirty room as there were no maids to clean the room since they were extremely cheap. The narrator’s place of residence depicted poverty in the immigrant society as most of his neighbours were foreigners from different countries in Europe with few coming from other continents around the world. The narrator describes the condition of the room in which he lived while in Paris saying, â€Å"The walls were as thin as matchwood, and to hide the cracks they had been covered with layer after layer of pink pap er, which had come loose and housed

The Experience of Ethnic Minority Workers Essay Example for Free

The Experience of Ethnic Minority Workers Essay Working conditions in hotels and restaurants †¢ Cash-in-hand, undeclared or under-declared, and illegal working was found among the ethnic minority and migrant restaurant workers interviewed, and affected both employment conditions and rates of pay. This was prevalent in small, ethnic minority-owned restaurants, usually employing members of the same ethnic group. The National Minimum Wage (NMW) was the rate commonly paid to basic grade staff, including bar and restaurant staff, hotel porters and housekeeping staff, particularly outside of London. The research also found a high incidence of flat rate payments per shift or per week, regardless of hours worked, below the NMW, often paid cash-in-hand. Long hours working was a further feature. Full-time workers did a minimum 40-hour week, with 50 to 60 hours a week being common, particularly in restaurants. Late night working, or until the last customer left, was often expected without extra pay. Some felt that they had no life outside work due to the long hours demanded by the job. In some instances, individuals had several jobs to earn money to support family or send back home. There was low awareness of holiday and leave entitlements. Very few workers received more than the statutory entitlement to four weeks’ holiday. Some reported getting no paid holidays or receiving less than the legal minimum, and there was generally low awareness of holiday entitlement. In small restaurants there was sometimes an informal policy of two weeks’ leave. It was common for workers to have received no written statements of particulars or contracts. This was found among both informally and legitimately employed workers, and was a source of anxiety for several. †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ 1 †¢ There were poor perceptions of job security in the sector. Few workers felt secure in their employment, often feeling they could be sacked on the spot, particularly those working informally. Some longer-term workers in regular employment were aware that increasing use of casual and agency staff meant that their jobs were not secure. Training available to migrant workers, particularly in restaurants, was minimal, usually only in basic health and safety, hygiene or fire procedures. In some hotels, however, managers had recognised the neglect of training in the past and were offering staff the chance to pursue National Vocational Qualifications. †¢ Problems at work †¢ There was a high degree of acceptance of the poor working conditions in the sector among interviewees, with issues such as low pay, long hours, unpaid overtime and poor health and safety standards often not perceived as particular â€Å"problems† but rather viewed as the nature of work in the sector. Where problems were identified these related to: pay; long working hours; workload; getting time off; bullying and verbal abuse, including racial harassment; problems getting on with colleagues; English language skills; and theft of property from work. Bullying and verbal abuse was common, particularly in kitchens where chefs were often known as bullies, but this was accepted by some as â€Å"just the mentality of the kitchen†. Sometimes the abuse had a racial element, with â€Å"bloody foreigner† used as a term of abuse. Racist abuse from restaurant customers was also regularly suffered by some waiters. In one hotel, several staff had experienced bullying from a manager, resulting in time off sick with stress. Staff believed there was an ulterior motive of trying to get rid of long-serving employees and replacing them with cheaper casual staff. Opportunities for promotion were felt by several interviewees to be inhibited by discrimination on grounds of race, ethnicity, nationality or age, as well as the limitations imposed by work permit or visa rules. Some long-term workers felt they had been overlooked for promotion, with their age then compounding the problem as employers looked for younger staff to promote and develop. Where employees saw that they had opportunities to progress, this was due to the support of a manager. Opportunities were further limited by employer presumptions about the suitability of staff for â€Å"front-of-house† jobs, such as reception or waiter positions, based on ethnicity, gender and age. Some employers expressed preferences for white staff, or a â€Å"balance† of white and non-white front-of ­ house staff, on the grounds that it was what their customers wanted. The research found that such racial stereotyping was expressed openly in this sector in a way that may not be acceptable in other sectors. †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ 2  . In the main, interviewees did not raise health and safety concerns when discussing problems at work, reflecting an acceptance of the hazards of this type of work. However many issues did arise during the course of interviews, which included: burns and working in hot kitchens; working in a confined space; back and shoulder pains; and tiredness from long working hours and heavy workload. Often, responsibility for health and safety, such as avoiding burns, was seen as primarily belonging to the employee and not the employer. Most workers believed that little could be done to tackle the problems that they were having at work, or felt that the only solution was to leave the job. A handful of workers had taken action to resolve their problems at work, either by raising concerns with their manager, or seeking outside support or advice. †¢ Support, advice and awareness of rights †¢ Workers felt poorly informed about employment rights in the UK, and had little idea of where to get information if they needed it. Many also were unsure about aspects of their own particular terms and conditions of employment, which was related to a lack of written information. As might be expected, those who had been in the UK for a longer time, and the small number who were members of a trade union, felt better informed about their rights at work. Trade unions had been a valuable source of support for a small number of interviewees, but for most workers, unions simply did not feature in their experience of work. But despite the difficulties of organising in the sector, including high staff turnover, no culture of trade unionism and employers that are hostile to trade unions, union membership was growing in one London hotel and catering branch. This was the result of recruitment campaigns that included information in several languages. Some interviewees either had, or would, seek support from community organisations about problems at work. However, there was a variation in the level of community support available in the three regions, with London and the West Midlands having established organisations representing a variety of ethnic groups, but such structures were much less well developed in the South West. Seeking support and advice through community organisations can also be a double-edged sword for those who work for employers within the same ethnic community, with some fearing that if they sought advice, word would get around and they would have problems getting work in future. Of the small number of workers who had sought support for problems at work, Citizen’s Advice, Acas and a specific project for service workers (no longer in existence) had been used. While a small number were aware of Citizen’s Advice, a couple thought that the service excluded them because of its name, which implied to them that it was for British citizens only. †¢ †¢ †¢ 3 Conclusions and recommendations †¢ While many of the working conditions and problems highlighted in this report are common to workers in the sector, the research found several features that serve to differentiate the experience of ethnic minority and migrant workers: immigration status; working in the informal sector; discrimination in the labour market and employment; and low expectations which increase tolerance of poor working conditions. For ethnic minority and migrant workers the difficulties in raising and resolving problems relate both to their own individual vulnerability and characteristics of work in the sector. Recent migrant workers may have limited English language skills and little or no knowledge of UK employment rights and support structures, factors that compound the difficulties of addressing problems in the sector. These include: the perception that there is a ready supply of labour to replace workers who complain; a lack of union organisation; a culture of poor personnel practice, such as minimal training and provision of information; and the informal nature of much employment obtained by ethnic minority and migrant workers in the sector. There appeared also to be a lack of monitoring or enforcement of employers’ compliance with employment legislation in this sector. To understand the different experiences and motivations for ethnic minority and migrant workers working in hotels and restaurants, the research developed a typology of strategies that highlights at one end how some individuals feel they are acting strategically in relation to their work choices, whereas at the other, economic factors and limitations play a greater role in determining their choices. The strategies move from Career progression through Broadening opportunities and Stepping stone to Pragmatic acceptance and No alternative. The research makes a number of recommendations about how the position of this vulnerable group of workers can be improved through better access to employment rights and information, improvements in working conditions and career opportunities, and improved provision of support and advice. †¢ †¢ †¢ 4 1. INTRODUCTION This project, The Experience of Ethnic Minority Workers in the Hotel and Catering Industry: Routes to Support and Advice on Workplace Problems, was funded by the European Social Fund and Acas and carried out by the Working Lives Research Institute, London Metropolitan University between May 2004 and July 2006. The project used qualitative research methods to explore the experiences and problems at work of ethnic minority and migrant workers in hotels and restaurants, with the aim of both identifying the range of experiences and problems encountered, and gaining a greater understanding of access to and use of support and advice to resolve these problems. The research therefore provides evidence of the conditions faced by ethnic minority and migrant workers, which is an area relatively neglected by research so far. Its objective is to inform policy in order to improve good practice in relation to the employment of ethnic minority and migrant workers, to prevent problems from arising, and to improve the support and advice mechanisms available. The key target groups for these research findings and policy objectives are thus employers, statutory bodies, the voluntary sector, trade unions and community groups. 1. 1 Background to the project At the start of the project a working paper (Wright and Pollert, 2005) was prepared to establish the extent of ethnic minority and migrant working in the hotel and restaurant sector, as well as pinpointing the main issues for workers in the sector identified by the existing literature. The working paper is available on the project website1. The paper showed that ethnic minority and migrant workers make up a significant part of the hotel and restaurant workforce – almost threefifths (59%) of workers in the sector in London described themselves as other than. White British in the 2001 census (Wright and Pollert, 2005: 27). Outside of London the picture reflects the differences in the concentration of the ethnic minority population across the UK. In the West Midlands, where 84% of the hotel and restaurant workforce were White British in 2001, the largest other groups were White other (2. 9%), Bangladeshi (2. 3%) and Indian (2. 2%). The sector is a particularly important source of employment for some groups, with 52% of male Bangladeshi workers employed in restaurants, compared to only 1% of white males (Holgate, 2004: 21). In London, migrant workers (those born outside the UK) account for 60% of those employed in the hotel and restaurant sector (GLA, 2005: 68), compared to 31% of all London workers who were born outside the UK. However there have been important changes in the composition of the hotel and restaurant workforce since the 2001 census, with employers filling vacancies in the sector by employing significant numbers of workers from the East European countries that acceded to the EU in 2004 (known as the A8 countries). The government requires nationals of the A8 countries who wish to work in the UK to register with the Worker Registration Scheme (WRS), and Home Office figures show that of the 375,000 workers registered between May 2004 and March 2006, 22% were working in hospitality and catering (80,570 workers) (Home Office, 1 http://www. workinglives. org/HotelCatering. html 5 2006a). There has, however, been a decline in the proportion of WRS applicants in Hospitality and Catering from 31% in the second quarter of 2004, to 18% in the first quarter of 2006, with Administration, Business and Management now employing greater numbers. The highest proportion of all applicants under the scheme were Polish (61%), followed by Lithuanian (12%) and Slovak (10%). The figures also show a movement of registered workers to other parts of the UK than London, with the percentage applying to London falling from 25% in the second quarter of 2004, to 11% in the first quarter of 2006 (Home Office, 2006a). While working conditions in the industry have been well documented as consisting of low pay, low status, exploitation of employees and lack of unionisation (e.g. Gabriel, 1988; Price, 1994; Head and Lucas, 2004; LPC 2005), little has been written in the UK about the actual experiences of ethnic minority and migrant workers, with much of the existing literature focusing on management behaviour and strategy (Wright and Pollert, 2005). Some recent exceptions include a study of low pay in London (Evans et al, 2005), which included the hotel and catering industry. This study of 341 randomly selected low paid workers contained 90% who were migrants. Of their sample of hotel and hospitality workers, the largest group (two-fifths) were non-British whites, mainly from Eastern Europe, followed by Africans (24%). It found the lowest rates of pay to be in the hotel and catering sector, below contract cleaning, home care and the food industry. Other recent research has considered the experience of Central and East European migrants in low paid employment in the UK in the context of the A8 countries joining the EU, and covers hospitality, along with construction, agriculture and au pairs (Anderson et al, 2006). It is some 15 years since the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) undertook a formal investigation into recruitment and selection in hotels (CRE, 1991) in response to concern that the sector was failing to consider equal opportunities in employment practices. It found that ethnic minority staff were disproportionately concentrated in unskilled jobs, and found only one ethnic minority manager out of 117 hotels investigated. It made a number of recommendations about how hotels should improve their practices in relation to recruitment, monitoring, positive action and training taking account of equal opportunities issues. However, we have been unable to find evidence of any monitoring or evaluation of whether these recommendations have been heeded or implemented by hotel employers. While knowledge of employment rights among all workers in the UK is poor, it has been shown that vulnerable groups know even less (Pollert, 2005). A random survey of people’s awareness of employment rights in the West Midlands found that women, ethnic minorities, young people and the low paid were least likely to be aware of their rights (WMLPU, 2001). The research was undertaken in the context of considerable public debate on migration policy, and at a time when the government was intending to phase out low skilled migration schemes, such as the Sectors Based Scheme, which granted work permits to certain numbers of workers in skills shortage sectors such as hospitality, in the light of new labour available from the European Union (Home Office,2005). At the same time there is increasing concern for â€Å"vulnerable† workers, and the government has recently published a policy statement on protecting vulnerable workers, defined as â€Å"someone working in an environment where the risk of being denied employment rights is high and who does not have the capacity or means to protect themselves from that abuse† (DTI, 2006: 25). 6 1. 2 Research aims The research set out to address the following key questions: 1. What are the working conditions of ethnic minority and migrant workers in hotels and restaurants? 2. How are working conditions seen and what are perceived as ‘problems’, and how does this impact on acceptance of poor working conditions? 3. What type of problems do ethnic minority and migrant workers have working in hotels and restaurants? 4. How do these compare to the problems generally affecting workers in the sector and to what extent are they associated with particular labourmarket niches within the sector to which these workers are confined? If this is so, to what extent is the insecurity of migrant status relevant, or is racial discrimination relevant? 5. How much do ethnic minority and migrant workers in this sector know about their rights at work, and to what extent do ethnic minority and migrant workers in this sector attempt to enforce their legal rights at work, or instead try to find ways to achieve a sufficient income and manageable working conditions, even if this means colluding with illegal employment practices? 6. How much do ethnic minority and migrant workers in this sector know about where to get advice and support for problems at work? And who do they turn to for advice and support? To what extent do ethnic minority and migrant workers in this sector use statutory (i.e. Acas, CRE), voluntary (CABx, local advice agencies), trade union, community (groups or informal contacts through ethnic networks) or informal (friends, family) sources of support and advice? 7. What are the experiences of ethnic minority and migrant workers in this sector of using all these sources of support and advice and what barriers do they face in accessing support and advice for workplace problems? 1. 3 Structure of the report The report describes the research methodology and access routes, together with the characteristics of the interviewees in section 2. The working conditions experienced by interviewees are described in section 3, confirming evidence from much of the existing literature on the sector, but also highlighting where the experience of ethnic minority and migrant workers may be particular. Section 4 describes the problems encountered by interviewees in their jobs in hotels and restaurants, but also considers the attitude of these workers to defining â€Å"problems† at work, as well as their approaches to resolving problems and barriers to resolution. The information, support and advice available to and used by the ethnic minority and migrant workers interviewed is explored in section 5, together with their awareness of employment rights in the UK. 7 In section 6 conclusions are drawn about the specific experiences of ethnic minority and migrant workers in the sector, the problems that they face and their need for support and advice, suggesting that changes need to be made to practice within the sector, as well as in improved provision of support to ethnic minority and migrant workers. 8 2. METHODOLOGY The project employed qualitative research methods to gather in-depth accounts of the experiences of 50 ethnic minority and migrant workers. Interviews were carried out between May 2005 and May 2006. In addition, interviews and face-to ­ face and telephone conversations were held with key informants to provide contextual information on features and trends within the sector affecting ethnic minority and migrant workers. The strengths of using qualitative methods are that they can not only identify tangible issues (the problems themselves, for example), but also more elusive, subjective issues, such as motivation, perceptions of opportunities and of rights, sense of inclusion, integration and fairness – or their opposites – sense of frustration, alienation and barriers to obtaining support and fairness at work. 2. 1 Regional scope The research project was confined to England within the terms of reference set by the European Social Fund. Three English regions were selected in order to provide a comparison of experiences of migrant and ethnic minority workers: London, the West Midlands and the South West. London and the West Midlands have considerably larger non-white and migrant populations than other parts of the country, with significant numbers of Bangladeshis and Pakistanis working in the hotel and restaurant sector in the West Midlands (Wright and Pollert, 2005: 27 ­ 28). In contrast, the South West is the English region with the smallest non-white population, but is experiencing a growth in migrant workers. The problems facing ethnic minority and migrant populations here have been less well documented, but where studies have been done, isolation from ethnic minority communities and support structures emerges as an issue (BMG Research, 2003; Gaine and Lamley, 2003; SWTUC, 2004). Tourism also accounts for 10% of total employment in the South West, with the greatest proportion of these (70%) employed in the hospitality sector – accommodation, restaurants, pubs etc. (Tourism Skills Network South West, 2002). In the South West it was decided to focus the research on two towns with a large tourist population and therefore a high demand for a hotel and restaurant workforce: Bournemouth and Plymouth. The Human Resources manager of a Bournemouth hotel group, interviewed for this research, said that only 32% of their workforce was British, indicating a high reliance on foreign-born workers. 2. 2 Definitions of ethnic minority and migrant workers The research includes both â€Å"ethnic minority† and â€Å"migrant† workers, categories which, in real life, are complex, changing and overlapping. Some ethnic minorities (using the Labour Force Survey definitions) will also be migrants. Migrants (defined here as all those who were born outside the UK, Home Office, 2002) may or may not be defined as ethnic minorities, and may or may not be discriminated against. White Australian or Canadian migrant workers, for example, would not be. But Kosovan people may be regarded as ethnic minorities, and suffer racism and discrimination, and Czech or Polish people may or may not be discriminated against, and while they may not be â€Å"visible† in terms of skin colour, in the way black and Asian people are, they are â€Å"visible† in terms of language, cultural characteristics, and discrimination. As many â€Å"white† Eastern Europeans are now 9 working in the hotel and restaurant sector, particularly since the EU enlargement in May 2004, it was felt to be important to include their experiences in the study. 2. 3 Access to research participants In order to include the experience of a broad range of interviewees from different ethnic groups and backgrounds, including both recent and more settled ethnic minorities, it was decided to use multiple routes to access interviewees. Therefore a range of bodies were contacted, many with a twofold purpose of: a) providing contextual information about the sector and/or the experiences of particular ethnic groups; and b) helping gain access to research participants. Organisations contacted included trade unions, community and worker organisations, sector bodies, employers and statutory and advice agencies (see Appendix 2). In the South West, where there are fewer organised community groups than in the two other regions, we spoke to officers at Bournemouth Borough Council, who gave us informal contacts within the main local ethnic minority communities, as well as putting us in contact with several community interpreters who spoke the main languages of the local ethnic minority groups: Portuguese, Korean, Turkish, Bengali and Spanish. These routes proved very useful in helping to access research participants and in providing interpretation for interviews. However, in the end, Turkish and Bangladeshi workers were reluctant to come forward to be interviewed, which the interpreters said was because they were fearful of speaking out about their employers, despite reassurances of confidentiality. In all three areas we used fieldworkers who were able to use their language skills to carry out interviews in workers’ native languages, namely Bengali, Spanish, Polish, Lithuanian and Mandarin. The fieldworkers were also able to provide access to workers who may not have come forward otherwise, being people who were known and trusted among their own ethnic communities, or who were able to provide sufficient reassurance of confidentiality. Training was provided in using the interview guide to all fieldworkers to ensure a common approach was used in interviews and that fieldworkers understood the aims and objectives of the research. While the approach used provided access to workers in a wide range of establishments, from large hotel groups to small independent restaurants, including several working ‘illegally’ or ‘informally’, we acknowledge that using such routes could not access the most hard-to-reach illegal migrant and ethnic minority workers, who may constitute a considerable proportion of workers in the sector. The research may not fully represent the worst conditions found in the ‘underbelly’ of the sector as suffered by many ‘illegal’ or ‘undocumented’ migrants, as portrayed, for example, in Steven Frear’s 2002 film about a London hotel, Dirty Pretty Things. It was decided not only to seek out interviewees who perceived themselves as having had a â€Å"problem† at work, but a range of people in different jobs in the sector, in order to explore their typical work experiences and their attitudes towards â€Å"problems† and conditions in the sector. 10 2. 4 Key informants In addition to the worker interviews, at least 20 key informants (see Appendix 2) provided further context on the hotel and restaurant sector, including regional knowledge. These included employers and employer representative bodies, trade union officials and branch members, community organisations, representatives of sector bodies and statutory and voluntary organisations. In some cases in-depth interviews were carried out, and in others more informal conversations were held either face-to-face or on the telephone. 2. 5 Worker interviews A total of 50 in-depth qualitative interviews were carried out in the three regions, with a greater number in London due to the huge range of ethnic minority and migrant workers in the sector in the capital. The breakdown was as follows: Table 1: Worker interviews by region Region London South West West Midlands Total % 46% 24% 30% 100% No. of worker interviews 23 12 15 50 during the interviews, which and a half. Participants were of both themselves and their participation with a ? 10 shop A semi-structured interview schedule was used generally lasted between 45 minutes to an hour assured of confidentiality, and of the anonymity employer. They were thanked for their time and voucher. At the start of the interview, participants were asked to complete a two-page questionnaire giving basic demographic and employment details, data from which is provided in the following section. 2. 5. 1 Ethnicity Respondents were asked to describe their ethnicity, according to the classification used in the 2001 Census. The results are grouped together in table 2. Table 2: Ethnicity of the sample Ethnicity White Bangladeshi and Pakistani Chinese and Other Asian Black Mixed % 36% 26% 20% 16% 2% No. of interviewees 18 13 10 8 1 11 2. 5. 2 Country of birth Table 3 shows the range of countries from which interviewees came. It was notable that only one participant was born in the UK, despite attempts to find British-born ethnic minority workers in the sector. Both fieldworkers and interviewees themselves commented that many British-born people do not wish to work in a sector that is known for low pay and long hours, including the children of migrants interviewed, as they seek better alternative employment opportunities (some young British-born workers do work in the sector while they are students, but tend to do so for only a short time). Table 3: Country of birth Country of birth Bangladesh China Colombia France Ghana Holland Indonesia Ivory coast Korea Lithuania Philippines Poland Portugal Slovakia Somalia Spain Sudan Turkey UK Ukraine 2. 5. 3 Gender Women are under-represented in the sample (38% of interviewees) compared to their presence in the sector as a whole, but this reflects the fact that the sample includes a substantial number of Bangladeshi workers, who represent a significant group in the sector in the West Midlands, and most of these workers are male (Wright and Pollert, 2005: 27-28). 2. 5. 4 Age Only one interviewee was under 21 years old. Almost two-fifths (38%) were aged 21 to 30 years old, and the same proportion were between 31 and 40 years old. Six interviewees (12%) were aged 41 to 50, and five (10%) were between 51 to 60. None of the interviewees were aged over 60. 2. 5. 5 Education Overall the sample was fairly highly educated, with 36% having a first stage or higher degree. Another 10% had post-secondary non-tertiary level education, and 36% had received education up to secondary level, while 12% had received. % 24% 10% 6% 2% 4% 2% 2% 2% 6% 8% 2% 4% 4% 6% 6% 2% 2% 4% 2% 2% No. of interviewees 12 5 3 1 2 1 1 1 3 4 1 2 2 3 3 1 1 2 1 1 12 primary level education or less. A further 6% had other qualifications or the details of their education were not known. 2. 5. 6 Employment The majority (62%) of the interviewees worked in restaurants, while 30% worked in hotels. The remaining 8% either worked in both hotels and restaurants, as agency workers, or in catering services. More than half of respondents (54%) said there were 10 or fewer employees where they worked. A further 22% said there were between 11 and 25 people where they worked. Only 6% worked for employers with between 26 to 49 people and 10% said there were 50 or more employees where they worked. However these figures should be treated with caution, and may underestimate the number working for larger employers, as respondents may have interpreted the questions as referring to the workplace or department of the hotel where they worked, rather than the employer as a whole. Almost half the interviewees (48%) worked as waiters or waitresses, either in hotels or restaurants. Another 20% were chefs or cooks, and a further 4% worked in kitchens as general assistants. 12% said they were supervisors or managers and 4% described themselves as cashiers. Another 10% worked in other jobs in hotels as receptionist, general assistant or porter/bar worker. The majority of workers were full-time (70%), while 14% said they worked parttime, and 14% were casual workers. Working hours were long. The largest proportion (40%) worked over 40 hours per week – 10% worked between 41 and 48 hours, while almost a third (30%) said they worked over 48 hours a week. Just over a third (36%) worked between 21 and 40 hours a week. Only 6% did less than 20 hours a week. The majority (82%) had only one job at the time of the interview, with 18% having two or more jobs. However, some of those currently working in only one job talked of previous times in the sector when they had more than one job. 2. 5. 7 Union membership Only five were members of a trade union (either the GMB or the TG), or 10% of the interviewees, although this is still a higher proportion than in the sector as a whole, where only 5% of workers are unionised (Wright and Pollert, 2005: 25). 2. 6 Data analysis All worker interviews were tape recorded and transcribed (or detailed notes were made where the quality of the recording did not allow for full transcription) with the participants’ consent, and field-notes were made shortly after the interviews. This data was analysed with the help of QSR N6 data analysis software in order to assist a consistent and rigorous approach to the data being analysed. A thematic index was developed to categorise the transcripts according to major themes and transcripts were coded accordingly using the N6 software.