Kashmir: Blessed yet Deprived

The beauty of this land truly cannot be captured by photography nor expressed by poetry. One must visit Kashmir to feel the essence of the mesmerizing topography of this blessed region. The land of saffron fields, cherry blossoms, Maple Trees, peaceful lakes, Crystal clear streams flowing and stunning gardens. No praise seems enough to glorify the beauty of this splendid, natural and superb asset to mother earth. The region today bears the weight of a terribly chaotic past and the most uncertain future. Nobody really knows or can predict the future of the state that can be the most resourceful and progressive independent state. People live by the day, taking what comes by. The political system here lies in a total shameful condition with the assembly being run by aimless and pointless bunch of goons whose only perspective to amass as much wealth as they can while they remain in power. It really doesn’t matter to them the pathetic life conditions that the common man here lives by. Access to basic amenities such as quality healthcare, healthy education system, robust transport facilities and so on, are far below standards worthy of a mention. Life conditions in this land are so poor that it pains me to say that human life here has no value at all. The state administration being aware of such inert life conditions doesn’t seem to be willing to take notice and act aptly to bring in a general standard above the current. My article here is inspired by my visit to one of the prominent government hospitals of the region known as GB Pant Cantonment General Hospital located at Sonawar, Srinagar. Please do take time to browse through the pictures that I managed to click of the neonatal intensive care unit that had about 35 + babies kept under incubation for various medical conditions and believe me some really critical. I saw the entire ward being managed by just one duty doctor who from his look seemed most inexperienced and unskilled to dispense the right medical course to these ailing babies. I happened to ask him if there was a senior doctor available and was snubbed and told that its was none of my business. I went on to click some more pictures of the ward and was threatened with dire consequences if I didn’t stop and get out. Anyways as I walked out into the parking lot I met a few anxious fathers of babies that were new born and ailing and was shocked to know their state. I was told that being a government hospital doctors would charge money from them and stop all treatment if they were denied of the money quoted and if one didn’t have money they would even go onto stop attending to the patients. Furthermore what was shocking is that this hospital was in the news about 3 months ago for 500 deaths of newborn babies and children below 5 years of age. I happened to witness the death of a child right at the time when I was leaving the hospital after having dropped off a neighbor whose child was admitted just then. There needs to be some sort of a reprimand to sanitize the hospital administration to create a healthy, modern and apt facility. The irony here is that the cabinet health minister: Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad hails from this region and yet his backyard suffers at the misery of such pitiable healthcare facilities. Strangely the hospital is the only one of its kind for children with no other option for one to choose from. Kindly take note of the pictures attached to see for yourself the heart wrecking state of the prime most amenity for any society. Kudos to Mr. Omar Abdullah way to go. At this state only the Abdullah’s, Geelani’s, Mirwaiz and Mufti’s will be able to produce and grow healthy kids as they can afford world class treatment outside the valley.

Organisation Learning Essay

Where Argyris and Schon were the first to propose models that facilitate organizational learning, the following literatures have followed in the tradition of their work: Argyris and Schon (1978) distinguish between single-loop and double-loop learning, related to Gregory Bateson’s concepts of first and second order learning. In single-loop learning, individuals, groups, or organizations modify their actions according to the difference between expected and obtained outcomes. In double-loop learning, the entities (individuals, groups or organization) question the values, assumptions and policies that led to the actions in the first place; if they are able to view and modify those, then second-order or double-loop learning has taken place. Double loop learning is the learning about single-loop learning. ?March and Olsen (1975) attempt to link up individual and organizational learning. In their model, individual beliefs lead to individual action, which in turn may lead to an organizational action and a response from the environment which may induce improved individual beliefs and the cycle then repeats over and over. Learning occurs as better beliefs produce better actions. ?Kim (1993), as well, in an article titled â€Å"The link between individual and organizational learning†, integrates Argyris, March and Olsen and another model by Kofman into a single comprehensive model; further, he analyzes all the possible breakdowns in the information flows in the model, leading to failures in organizational learning; for instance, what happens if an individual action is rejected by the organization for political or other reasons and therefore no organizational action takes place? ?Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995) developed a four stage spiral model of organizational learning. They started by differentiating Polanyi’s concept of â€Å"tacit knowledge† from â€Å"explicit knowledge† and describe a process of alternating between the two. Tacit knowledge is personal, context specific, subjective knowledge, whereas explicit knowledge is codified, systematic, formal, and easy to communicate. The tacit knowledge of key personnel within the organization can be made explicit, codified in manuals, and incorporated into new products and processes. This process they called â€Å"externalization†. The reverse process (from explicit to implicit) they call â€Å"internalization† because it involves employees internalizing an organization’s formal rules, procedures, and other forms of explicit knowledge. They also use the term â€Å"socialization† to denote the sharing of tacit knowledge, and the term â€Å"combination† to denote the dissemination of codified knowledge. According to this model, knowledge creation and organizational learning take a path of socialization, externalization, combination, internalization, socialization, externalization, combination . . . etc. in an infinite spiral. ?Nick Bontis et al. (2002) empirically tested a model of organizational learning that encompassed both stocks and flows of knowledge across three levels of analysis: individual, team and organization. Results showed a negative and statistically significant relationship between the misalignment of stocks and flows and organizational performance. ?Flood (1999) discusses the concept of organizational learning from Peter Senge and the origins of the theory from Argyris and Schon. The author aims to â€Å"re-think† Senge’s The Fifth Discipline through systems theory. The author develops the concepts by integrating them with key theorists such as Bertalanffy, Churchman, Beer, Checkland and Ackoff. Conceptualizing organizational learning in terms of structure, process, meaning, ideology and knowledge, the author provides insights into Senge within the context of the philosophy of science and the way in which systems theorists were influenced by twentieth-century advances from the classical assumptions of science. ?Imants (2003) provides theory development for organizational learning in schools within the context of teachers’ professional communities as learning communities, which is compared and contrasted to teaching communities of practice. Detailed with an analysis of the paradoxes for organizational learning in schools, two mechanisms for professional development and organizational learning, (1) steering information about teaching and learning and (2) encouraging interaction among teachers and workers, are defined as critical for effective organizational learning. ?Common (2004) discusses the concept of organisational learning in a political environment to improve public policy-making. The author details the initial uncontroversial reception of organisational learning in the public sector and the development of the concept with the learning organization. Definitional problems in applying the concept to public policy are addressed, noting research in UK local government that concludes on the obstacles for organizational learning in the public sector: (1) overemphasis of the individual, (2) resistance to change and politics, (3) social learning is self-limiting, i.e. individualism, and (4) political â€Å"blame culture. † The concepts of policy learning and policy transfer are then defined with detail on the conditions for realizing organizational learning in the public sector. Organizational knowledge What is the nature of knowledge created, traded and used in organizations? Some of this knowledge can be termed technical ? knowing the meaning of technical words and phrases, being able to read and make sense of economic data and being able to act on the basis of law-like generalizations. Scientific knowledge is ?propositional’; it takes the form of causal generalizations ? whenever A, then B. For example, whenever water reaches the temperature of 100 degrees, it boils; whenever it boils, it turns into steam; steam generates pressure when in an enclosed space; pressure drives engines. And so forth. A large part of the knowledge used by managers, however, does not assume this form. The complexities of a manager’s task are such that applying A may result in B, C, or Z. A recipe or an idea that solved very well a particular problem, may, in slightly different circumstances backfire and lead to ever more problems. More important than knowing a whole lot of theories, recipes and solutions for a manager is to know which theory, recipe or solution to apply in a specific situation. Sometimes a manager may combine two different recipes or adapt an existing recipe with some important modification to meet a situation at hand. Managers often use knowledge in the way that a handyman will use his or her skills, the materials and tools that are at hand to meet the demands of a particular situation. Unlike an engineer who will plan carefully and scientifically his or her every action to deliver the desired outcome, such as a steam engine, a handyman is flexible and opportunistic, often using materials in unorthodox or unusual ways, and relies a lot on trial and error. This is what the French call ? bricolage’, the resourceful and creative deployment skills and materials to meet each challenge in an original way. Rule of thumb, far from being the enemy of management, is what managers throughout the world have relied upon to inform their action. In contrast to the scientific knowledge that guides the engineer, the physician or the chemist, managers are often informed by a different type of know-how. This is sometimes referred to a ? narrative knowledge’ or ? experiential knowledge’, the kind of knowledge that comes from experience and resides in stories and narratives of how real people in the real world dealt with real life problems, successfully or unsuccessfully. Narrative knowledge is what we use in everyday life to deal with awkward situations, as parents, as consumers, as patients and so forth. We seek the stories of people in the same situation as ourselves and try to learn from them. As the Chinese proverb says â€Å"A wise man learns from experience; a wiser man learns from the experience of others. † Narrative knowledge usually takes the form of organization stories (see organization story and organizational storytelling). These stories enable participants to make sense of the difficulties and challenges they face; by listening to stories, members of organizations learn from each other’s experiences, adapt the recipes used by others to address their own difficulties and problems. Narrative knowledge is not only the preserve of managers. Most professionals (including doctors, accountants, lawyers, business consultants and academics) rely on narrative knowledge, in addition to their specialist technical knowledge, when dealing with concrete situations as part of their work. More generally, narrative knowledge represents an endlessly mutating reservoir of ideas, recipes and stories that are traded mostly by word or mouth on the internet. They are often apocryphal and may be inaccurate or untrue – yet, they have the power to influence people’s sense making and actions. Individual versus organizational learning Learning by individuals in an organizational context is a well understood process. This is the traditional domain of human resources, including activities such as: training, increasing skills, work experience, and formal education. Given that the success of any organization is founded on the knowledge of the people who work for it, these activities will and, indeed, must continue. However, individual learning is only a prerequisite to organizational learning. Others take it farther with continuous learning. The world is orders of magnitude more dynamic than that of our parents, or even when we were young. Waves of change are crashing on us virtually one on top of another. Change has become the norm rather than the exception. Continuous learning throughout one’s career has become essential to remain relevant in the workplace. Again, necessary but not sufficient to describe organizational learning. What does it mean to say that an organization learns? Simply summing individual learning is inadequate to model organizational learning. The following definition outlines the essential difference between the two: A learning organization actively creates, captures, transfers, and mobilizes knowledge to enable it to adapt to a changing environment. Thus, the key aspect of organizational learning is the interaction that takes place among individuals. A learning organization does not rely on passive or ad hoc process in the hope that organizational learning will take place through serendipity or as a by-product of normal work. A learning organization actively promotes, facilitates, and rewards collective learning. Creating (or acquiring) knowledge can be an individual or group activity. However, this is normally a small-scale, isolated activity steeped in the jargon and methods of knowledge workers. As first stated by Lucilius in the 1st century BC, â€Å"Knowledge is not knowledge until someone else knows that one knows. † Capturing individual learning is the first step to making it useful to an organization. There are many methods for capturing knowledge and experience, such as publications, activity reports, lessons learned, interviews, and presentations. Capturing includes organizing knowledge in ways that people can find it; multiple structures facilitate searches regardless of the user’s perspective (e. g. , who, what, when, where, why,and how). Capturing also includes storage in repositories, databases, or libraries to insure that the knowledge will be available when and as needed. Transferring knowledge requires that it be accessible to everyone when and where they need it. In a digital world, this involves browser-activated search engines to find what one is looking for. A way to retrieve content is also needed, which requires a communication and network infrastructure. Tacit knowledge may be shared through communities of practice or consulting experts. It is also important that knowledge is presented in a way that users can understand it. It must suit the needs of the user to be accepted and internalized. Mobilizing knowledge involves integrating and using relevant knowledge from many, often diverse, sources to solve a problem or address an issue. Integration requires interoperability standards among various repositories. Using knowledge may be through simple reuse of existing solutions that have worked previously. It may also come through adapting old solutions to new problems. Conversely, a learning organization learns from mistakes or recognizes when old solutions no longer apply. Use may also be through synthesis; that is creating a broader meaning or a deeper level of understanding. Clearly, the more rapidly knowledge can be mobilized and used, the more competitive an organization. An organization must learn so that it can adapt to a changing environment. Historically, the life-cycle of organizations typically spanned stable environments between major socioeconomic changes. Blacksmiths who didn’t become mechanics simply fell by the wayside. More recently, many fortune 500 companies of two decades ago no longer exist. Given the ever-accelerating rate of global-scale change, the more critical learning and adaptation become to organization relevance, success, and ultimate survival. Organizational learning is a social process, involving interactions among many individuals leading to well-informed decision making. Thus, a culture that learns and adapts as part of everyday working practices is essential. Reuse must equal or exceed reinvent as a desirable behavior. Adapting an idea must be rewarded along with its initial creation. Sharing to empower the organization must supersede controlling to empower an individual. Clearly, shifting from individual to organizational learning involves a non-linear transformation. Once someone learns something, it is available for their immediate use. In contrast, organizations need to create, capture, transfer, and mobilize knowledge before it can be used. Although technology supports the latter, these are primarily social processes within a cultural environment, and cultural change, however necessary, is a particularly challenging undertaking. Learning organization The work in Organizational Learning can be distinguished from the work on a related concept, the learning organization. This later body of work, in general, uses the theoretical findings of organizational learning (and other research in organizational development, system theory, and cognitive science) in order to prescribe specific recommendations about how to create organizations that continuously and effectively learn. This practical approach was championed by Peter Senge in his book The Fifth Discipline. Diffusion of innovations Diffusion of innovations theory explores how and why people adopt new ideas, practices and products. It may be seen as a subset of the anthropological concept of diffusion and can help to explain how ideas are spread by individuals, social networks and organizations.

Greek mythological poem Essay

Subject: the poem is a Greek mythological poem about King Midas of Phrygia who had his wish granted everything he touches turns into gold. The poem is about the consequences of choosing money and greed which is presented to the readers through the wife’s perspective. Duffy presents a wide range of emotions through Mrs. Midas’s persona. Mrs. Midas complains about his husband’s selfishness and greed. Duffy gives a voice to women unheard in history. Duffy takes a historical character and translates them into present day. â€Å"Mrs. Midas† turns the noble king Phrygia into a pathetic greed middle-aged man.  The mood changes as the poem proceeds, reaching its peak of fear in the fifth to eleventh stanza then calmly comes down as Midas draws close to death. The language the character uses informs the reader about the mood of the poem. In the second and third of the first stanza Midas uses personified the kitchen as â€Å"its steamy breath gently blanching the windows†. This sets the calm relaxing atmosphere of the poem before the crisis. The poem is calm because Mrs. Midas uses smoothly and well-skilled sentences. The intonation changes suddenly, the sentences become short and factual lexis is used. For example in the fifth stanza Mr. Midas said â€Å"I moved the phone†. Mrs. Midas does this to make the situation seem more urgent chaotic and panicky. Short sentences are used in this poem to speed p the narration as the chaos happens in the poem. After the crisis is over, she reverts to her earlier relaxing mood. For example she said in last stanza Mrs. Midas said â€Å"I miss most, even now, his warm hands on my skin, his touch†. The language of the poem used by Mrs. Midas is elevated register. She uses descriptive lexis in the poem. This will be described further in the analysis.  The poem is a universal, therefore everyone can read it. The poem is moral lesson. For example in the sixth stanza Mrs. Midas said â€Å"it feeds no one† talking about gold. The moral lesson Duffy tries to teach us is money is a means to an end not an end, meaning money can be used to pay food to feed a person but it can’t physically feed a person. Money is not a solution to everything as she addresses the middle class who adore money. The class backgrounds of the characters are middle-classes as they drink Italian â€Å"wine†. Wealth is trivial if not used to solve problems like in this poem. Mrs. Midas uses adverbs such â€Å"gently† to emphasis how calm and relaxed she was before the crisis.  In the first stanza Mrs. Midas uses personification, for instance she said â€Å"the ground seems to drink the light of the sky†. The dynamic verb â€Å"drink† personifies the ground as a human. The quote means the day changes to night. Mrs. Midas uses symbolism in the poem; â€Å"rich† symbolizes gold referring to Midas having to spit out the golden corn out of his mouth. Another symbolism used in the poem is â€Å"work of art† which symbolizes a statue which her husband would turn her into like he touches her. What is Liberal Democracy? Liberal Democracy is an indirect and representative form of democracy whereby the right to rule is gained through success in competitive elections on the basis of political equality. In a liberal Democratic state the people are protected by individual rights such as the civil rights in America and a constitutional government which based on rules set out in a codified constitution like in the US constitution.  Mrs. Midas uses metaphors through out the poem. For example, Mrs. Midas said â€Å"turning the spare room into the tomb of Tutankhamun†. Her husband is turning his room into gold, mythological compared to the Egyptian pharaohs’ tombs which were dressed with gold. What is Democracy?  Democracy is rule by the people. This is reflected in the idea of government by the people therefore key political decisions are made by the people. Democracy reflects the idea of equal citizenship whereby each citizen has the right to influence political decisions. For example, in February 2003 one and a half million citizens took to the streets of London. They are protesting against UK’s involvement in the Iraq war. This reflects ‘people power’ to influence political decisions. England is an example of a democratic state while North Korea is an example of an undemocratic state. Duffy uses a simile to make an internal rhyme â€Å"its amber eyes /holding their pupils like flies†. This intensifies the interior personal life of the woman. Another internal rhyme â€Å"dream/streaming† is used to suggest that she will have a solitary life.  Duffy uses repetition in the poem. For example in the sixth stanza Mrs. Midas said â€Å"have wishes; granted. But who has wished granted? Duffy uses clever wordplay the first phrase is used as to notice that Midas has his wish â€Å"granted† and the second is turned into a question by using the past verb â€Å"granted†. Duffy does this to achieve a verbal humour. Define Representative democracy  Representative democracy is a limited and indirect form of democracy whereby the representatives act and speak on behalf of the people. The representatives can be chosen and removed by the public through elections. In a representative democratic state popular participation in government is limited and indirect to the act of voting very few years for a representative to represent them. There are uses of rhetoric in the poem. For example in the last stanza Mrs. Midas uses a repair â€Å"his hands, his warm hands†. Duffy uses repair to make Mrs. Midas’ character seem more realistic.  The poem is made up of eleven sestet stanzas. Most of the stanza are arranged perfectly to form a stanza. However in the in the fifth stanza the lines are merely joined together to make a stanza they are separated.

Book exploration of Thomas Conlan, State of War Essay

Book exploration of Thomas Conlan, State of War - Essay Example Perhaps a 14th century Japanese warrior would not be pleased regarding the revived concept of the Unknown Soldier. Just the state of being a warrior was a source of fame, recognition, and glory for the warrior symbolizing a high position within the society. If one’s efforts in war were to be left unnoticed, it would be similar to being unappreciated by others for his â€Å"brave† acts on the battlefield. In his book State of War, the author Thomas Conlan recreates the concept of soldiery in the traditional 14th century setting of Japanese history. It explains the aspect of a Japanese warrior as a soldier far from his ideals. The book presents a very contrasting perspective of what is generally accepted and assumed about Japanese warriors. While doing so, he demonstrated the reality of how states and societies actually functioned in the presence of a warrior system. Thus, the book presents an analysis of 14th century soldiery by analyzing the casualty records of the cent ury. War had been for ages masked its brutalities in order to hide its real essence. War became a source of unnecessary attention meant to earn recognition and fame by employing methods to be noticed among the huge army. Several accounts give a description of warriors coming on dyed horses of vibrant colors intentionally done so to be noticed from far behind (Conlan, 18). This form of a showy self-promotion was merely meant to get oneself recognized among his enemies for an image of high status. Conlan (13) presents the real experiences of wars in his book which reflect the true nature of wars and the motives of warrior to use the war as a platform to rise in the minds of people. A historical account of a war provides details which affirm the flamboyant nature of warriors who were rewarded with great extravagances for displaying their supposedly courageous actions on the battlefields. All efforts made after the war glorified the soldiers who took part

Parenting and emerging adulthood Research Paper

Parenting and emerging adulthood - Research Paper Example The classification of data obtained was done in the basis of the parents’ readiness to let go. Those parents who showed the readiness of letting go were classified as â€Å"letting go†, while those who were reluctant to let go were classified into â€Å"reluctant to let go† category. There are those however, who were â€Å"not ready to let go† of their children altogether (Kloep and Hendry 826). Results from the study revealed that although most parents were happy watching their children grow up, they were not very happy watching them leave them. Others were happy and relieved to watch their children grow into maturity and become independent. Different characteristics of these parents showed their readiness to let go of their children. Some had in depth attachment with the children, such that they found it hard to watch them leave. From the results, it was evident that the level of parents’ love and openness with their children affected their willingness of letting go. According to Kloep and Hendry (829), parents who were happy to let go of their children were either working or living away from their children, or their children were university students and thus spent little time toge. Parents who were reluctant to let go were found to have spent a lot of time with their children and thus felt the impact them of the separation. Those who held on to their children loved them so much that they felt lonely by letting them go. Power fights between the parents and the children was a result of the parents who felt that their children were not mature enough to live on their own or make concrete decisions (Kloep and Hendry 830). A number of conclusions were drawn from the study. The researchers found out that the parents had some difficulty in letting their children go regardless of the relationship they had. Parents have an

Inflation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Inflation - Essay Example The concept if inflation is indeed an important component considering how it influences many aspects of life. The paper seeks to delve into the causes of inflation in order to illuminate the factors which lead to the persistent increase in the prices. In the same way, it will provide an analysis into some of the effects of inflation while focusing on the different types of inflation arising from different economic situations. Introduction Inflation is described to be a rate in which the overall price of goods and services is increasing while the purchasing power decreases in an economy (Nicholson 57). Inflation usually causes money to lose its value. This comes about in that as inflation increases, currency only buys a small percentage of goods compared to what it used to when there was no inflation. This happens due to the increase in the money supply which is measured by the producer price index and the consumer price index over time. When inflation rises in an economy in higher ra tes, it leads to adverse effects in the economy. However, mild inflation in the economy can lead to positive effects such as creation of employment. To keep the rates of inflation low, monetary authorities usually central banks are given the responsibility of controlling prices. This paper will discuss various causes of inflation, types and the effects that it has in the economy. Causes of inflation One of the causes of inflation is cost-pushing. This is a case where companies incur a lot of costs in running their operations. Hall states that these higher costs are usually brought about by workers or trade unions pushing for their wage increase (163). When they receive the increase, the impact is felt by the consumer in that it transfers the cost to the consumer by increasing the costs of goods and services. This tendency is characterized by an increase in wages irrespective of the productivity. Productivity normally remains the same which leads to the increase in the prices of good s and services in order to counter the effect. When a lot of firms increase wages in the same manner and pass the effect to the consumer in terms of high prices, this the leads to inflation. Another cause of inflation is demand-pull. This is a case where the overall demand exceeds supply and is normally brought about when an economy experiences full employment. The demand can be in terms of goods and services or it can as well be the demand for labor. When the demand exceeds supply in the market, the suppliers have a tendency of increasing the prices of commodities. This is because of the surety that their goods will sell at whichever cost due to scarcity. If the supply of the goods remains low over a period of time, this leads to inflation because the prices will keep on getting higher and higher. This can also portray itself where employers demand more workers than what they can get. In turn, they increase their salary in order to attract more labor which leads to inflation in the long run. Exchange rate is another cause of inflation. This comes about when a nation has increased exposure to the foreign market. It is one of the critical factors that determine the rate of inflation. If the rate of exchange suffers, the local currency loses value to the foreign currency. This leads to the foreign goods becoming expensive to the local consumers which simultaneously lead to the local goods becoming cheap to the consumers in the overseas markets. In simple terms, the import price gets higher than the export price which leads to inflation. National debt is another cause of inflation. If a country has a higher debt, then this can accelerate the levels of inflation to higher rates. This leads to inflation because, if the debt increases, the government of the country is left with two options; to either print more money to pay off the debts or to increase the taxes which will lead to higher revenue hence provide means of settling the debt. Increase in tax is passed dow n to businesses that in turn increase

Investment in human assets and the effect of the human behavior to the Essay

Investment in human assets and the effect of the human behavior to the auditing process - Essay Example Human capital is the stock of skills and knowledge possessed by individuals that eventually helps to perform labor, generating economic value ("Human Capital," par.1). Labor not only refers to the physical work done in the production phase (which is replaceable), but also encompasses all work done by an employee in course of his job for the entity. Ultimately, it is the ingenuity and hard work of the people that profits the business. Rating people as real investment is a very viable argument since they are using their skills to work for prosperity of the entity. It makes sense to invest more in training and development of the human assets in an organization, to conduct workshops and to offer them motivational incentives as in the long run, the money spent on them is expected to give a return easily in access of the incurred expense. However, putting a financial value to human assets is just not that easy. Financial managers can recognize handy investments; decisions to switch to new procedures, acquiring new equipment or strategic mergers can be evaluated using financial and non-financial models. Human resource investments, one of the most vital assets of a company are difficult to value though. This is because unlike machines and projects, one can't reliably predict the future events and behavior of a person and neither can it reliably calculate the benefit that a person could bring to the company. Moreover, it is also difficult to attribute an accurate proportion of revenue to a particular employee to measure how a company's investment on that employee is paying off. As a result, training and development allocations are often neglected in the budgeting process and are likely to be the first costs that are to be cut when faced with a budget crunch (Clarke, par.2). Many officers and managers see costs incurred on humans in the form of payroll, added benefits, training and development simply as an unavoidable expense that must be controlled. This approach is contrary to the idea that people are the actual perpetrators of a company's growth and profitability. They miss the link between their employee's deeds and the customer's perception of the entity. Even while this happens, organizations have realized the need for employee training and the need for continuing professional development. Investing in people also has other factors, some of them which do not relate to budgeting. In the recent years, there have been many scandals of fraud and negligence from service providers, especially when you talk about Medical Care and the issue of compliance with laws and regulations. In these areas, it is absolutely necessary to make sure the employees understand their responsibilities and know to whom they, and the organization as a whole is accountable. Thi s is more important for organizations involved in HealthCare to view their staff as investments because heavy expenditure must be incurred to make sure the staff is compliant with standards and hygiene and competency standards as their actions would directly affect people that place reliance on the organization. Investment in this regard could save organizations millions of

Public Policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Public Policy - Essay Example It also helps in evaluating financial as well as non-financial data which helps to improve and enhance domestic performance of a country. They help a government to make critical decisions which may include processes efficiency, investing in new administrative functions, improvement of infrastructure etc. It is mostly intended towards public policies and it also utilizes the information which can help governmental organizations in making decisions which help them to achieve their goals and objectives. Only limitations which can be placed when emphasis is placed on public management is diversion from administrative functions. According to Lonsdale (1999), the role of Public management has been highly important in the growth and development of the public sector of the UK since the last few decades. It has helped to develop a very important way of re-arranging and re-organizing public and government sector bodies within the UK for and has integrated various important disciplines such as management, financial reporting, auditing etc. In a broader context, the concept of public managementfocuses on failures and incompetency of public sector management and evaluates the nature and process of public sector activity along with public administration. Several important public sector issues as Utilization of resources, waste management, accountability etc are related with public management. Public management in UK has certainly explored some extremely important and very influential expressions for the economic policies of the country and also the business related as well as public sector reforms of the UK governme nt which has occurred since 1979 (Pollitt, 1993).The impact of the Public management policy in the UK has been highly influential and this has resulted in some very important changes which the many political parties within the UK have left untouched. The government of UK implemented certain very

Business Diversity Case study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Business Diversity - Case Study Example While cultivating to make improvements in business marginal returns, Fresh food has faced several challenges including ethnicity. This has been illustrated by Vivian’s sentiments accepting that she is likely to face ethnic challenges while settling in Phoenix. The business also faces communication barrier because Vivian is considering-employing translators to help aid the purchases at Phoenix, which is perceived to be dominated by different racial communities. Despite the fact that fresh food faces numerous problems as stated above, the business has done its best to stock variety of food thus represent a divergent culture. Moreover, the business principal mandate is based on good communication as a way of ensuring customers sustainability. The organizational arrangements to deliver freely to disabled members of the society is a clear illustration how it respects the dignity of members of the society (Hellriegel &Slocum, 2007). Fresh food having embraced diversity as one of its strengths gets the potential to capture broader market margin. This clearly indicates that the business is targeting a bigger population hence capable of getting higher returns. In addition, the issue of diversity is also an indication of societal representation. This put the business at the highest end of achieving its competitive edge. However, diversity calls for additional costs in terms of hiring professionals. For instance, for Vivian to translators at Arizona she would need an additional overhead cost (Golembiewski, 1995). To get a noble workforce, Vivian’s recruitment procedure entail understanding the environment as this would help her to relate well with the society. Secondly, she should consider candidates for interviews mainly from Arizona. After getting adequate number, she can proceed and put them on probation, as this would help her in identifying the right personnel who can deliver as per

The Glass Menagerie' by Tennessee Williams Essay

The Glass Menagerie' by Tennessee Williams - Essay Example Jim O'Connor, the gentleman caller, bears the same name as the young man who called on Rose Williams, before her descent into insanity. The action takes place in a small apartment in a poor district of the city, crowded outside and in, surrounded by many dark alleys and fire escapes, exploring the illusory lives of the three main characters as they attempt to achieve their dreams, only for it all to end in failure and disappointment. It has been interpreted variously as a psychological drama portraying a dysfunctional family, the tragedy of a fragile psyche (Laura) edging into madness, and a socio-political statement, "his personal testament to the Great Depression" (p.20, Hale, 1998). It is all of these as becomes apparent as the action moves from the past to the present as Tom's recollection are recalled and Character Analysis - Tom Wingfield: Tom is a poet, working in a boring low paid job in a shoe factory, the main economic support for his mother and sister. Despite his position as the main provider, an adult male, he is denied that status, simply by how his mother perceives things should be, rather than what they are, and by her demands on him to be that provider until another appears (a husband for Laura). He is complex, shy and intelligent, his creativity dismissed and ridiculed by his mother. He seeks escape through the illusions of the movies, but recognizes the reality of the times in which he seeks his dreams: Tom: "Hollywood characters are supposed to have all the adventures for everybody in America, while everybody in America sits in a darkened room and watches them have them! Yes, until there's a war. That's when adventure becomes available to the masses!....Then the people in the dark room come out of the dark room to have some adventure themselves-...." (Williams, 1936, Scene Six, p. 282) Some connection to socialist values appear when Tom paid his dues to the Union of Merchant Seamen, rather than the electric bill - thus highlighting a belief in the unions and socialism, as opposed to capitalism. His relationship with his mother is volatile, as she is the nagging presence preventing his escape and fulfillment. He loves his shy, fragile sister and the most telling example Williams's lyrical language and symbolism which elicit poignant imagery and the emotion of guilt can be found as he reflects on his escape. Tom: " I didn't go to the moon, I went much further - for time is the longest distance between two places...Perhaps I am walking along a street at night, in some strange

The Lancre Festival Essay Example for Free

The Lancre Festival Essay I think my homepage is good because the colours go together. However, the colours I chose are not contrasting colours. I think it wouldve been better if I made the background or text a different colour so it would stand out more. I feel that the layout of this page is good because it is clear and everything isnt too close together. There is sufficient space between the text boxes and pictures. The hyperlinks are clear and stand out. I used one of the pictures given to me, and another from clip art. Features my page should have from my analysis: 1) Hyperlinks to the other pages 2) Large heading: The Lancre Festival 2007 3) Dates 4) Text about Lancre 5) Photographs I have achieved all these requirements on my page. Page 2: Where to Stay I think this page isnt good because it looks plain and there is only a small picture. There is only one, small one because I didnt have enough space. I also think there is too much information on the page. The hyperlink back to the homepage is clear. The office phone number is also clear. I think the heading is big and bold. Features my page should have from my analysis: 1) Hyperlink back to the homepage 2) List of the different types of accommodation with descriptions 3) Have subheadings that stand out 4) Have at least one picture 5) Must have the office phone number I have achieved all these requirements on my page. Page 3: Festival Events I think this page is good because there is some text and a map. I used the same background as the other pages. The office address is clear and bold. The hyperlink is clear and on the same place as the other pages. The free events are in bold writing to make it stand out more. Features my page should have from my analysis: 1) Have the program of events 2) Make it clear which events are free (Put the word Free in a large font) 3) Have a map showing where the events are taking place 4) Have date and time of concert 5) Have a hyperlink back to the homepage 6) Have the office address 7) Instructions for ordering tickets I have achieved all these requirements on my page. Page 4: See The Purple Spiders Live at Lancre Festival I think this page is good because it is clear. There are pictures of the band and the information is easy to understand. The link back to the homepage is in the same place like the other pages. However, I think there is not enough text on this page and the heading is too long. I didnt have a choice with the heading so I couldnt do anything about that. Features my page should have from my analysis: 1) Have a hyperlink back to the homepage 2) Have 2 pictures of the Purple Spiders 3) Cost of tickets 4) Have date and time of concert 5) Information about tickets I have achieved all these requirements on my page. Also, there is a consistent design with all the pages.

Reasons to Study Overseas Essay Example for Free

Reasons to Study Overseas Essay Reasons to study overseas There are many reasons to study abroad. Impressiveness in teachers is the first of my motivations. Secondly, study abroad would enhance my learning in higher education in terms of their cutting edge technology and learning environment. The last reason is to gain life experiences by living in different city, different speaking language and different people. First of my motivations for PhD study abroad is from my teachers. I took their classes when I studied undergraduate school in Khon Kaen University. They look so smart and confident. They shared me their PhD study experience and told me how good it gives after graduated PhD. Although they studied hard, it is worth doing. Also, my advisor in graduated school taught me not only new exited field of study, but also forwarded his research experiences to me. These inspire me to further my study in foreign country to improve my research experiences and pass on to my students. Secondly, studying abroad would enhance my learning opportunities. Developed countries preserve more knowledge and technology, and contribute more applications, and problem solutions than underdeveloped and developing countries. For my field (application problem in industry) study in a developed country could provide me chances to solve world class problems in my interested study field Lastly, gaining life experiences is also another important issue to go study aboard. Living in different country, different language speaking and foreigner people around will challenge me to improve myself. I have got a lot of experiences in US when I were there doing a part time job for three months. I have learned to work with foreign people, learned their culture, learned how to make foreigner friends under different culture and learned how to live without family. Using English in daily life was also the greatest experience that I could not get in Thailand. In summary, studying overseas will provide me chances to gain experiences in terms of academic and life. Once I graduate, I will have required ability to support my work in engineering programme at Nakhon Phanom University, and pass on my knowledge to my students. These are main reasons why I would like to study abroad in PhD study.

Theories and Stages of Memory

Theories and Stages of Memory BATHSHEBA SHEMA BAGGAI 1.0  Introduction Our memory is part of being human. It is also an indicator that we experienced and lived to this day. Theoretically, according to Mastin (n.d.), memory is our ability to encode, store, retain and consequently recall information and past experiences in the human brain. In other words, past experiences influenced our present and future behavior. When the outcome is negative we tend not to repeat what caused it, but if the outcome is positive we do the opposite. For example, as you go to work, you use a certain road every time. However, that route is always experiencing traffic jams that cause you to be late for work. By chance, one day you used another smaller road and you found that it is less congested and thus you arrive earlier to work than usual. From that day onwards since the smaller road benefits you more you will use it more frequently. This means, you used your previous experience and act accordingly the next time you go through the same situation again. In this paper, we will discuss and delve into more about memory as a whole. We will first discuss on the stages of the Multi-store model of memory which was founded by two researchers, Richard Atkinson and Richard Shriffin. The next section consists of what Short Term Memory and Long Term Memory are and their differences. This second section is a direct continuity of Memory Stage which is in the first section. The last section of the contents is in a different direction altogether. It consists of my own conceptualization the functions of memory system in human interaction model The references for this paper are mainly research journals and also website articles. Since there are a number of them, they are put in the References section. 2.0  Stages of Multi-Store Model and Memory One of the most used memory models by psychologists and non-psychologists alike is the Multi-Store model by Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968). They describe memory in terms of information flowing through a system. There are three stages of learning and memory of the Multi-Store model. The three stages which are processes are called Encoding, Storage and Recall or Retrieval (McLeod, 2007). The first stage, which is also the most important stage in creating new memory is called Encoding. It is the process which allows the information collected to be transformed or converted into a form that can be stored within our brains to be recalled later on. The process of Encoding is done in four different ways which are: Acoustic, Visual, Semantic and Tactile Encoding (Mastin, n.d.). Acoustic Encoding is the encoding (remembering and understanding) of the sounds that you hear: especially the sounds of words. When you repeat information rhythmically it is considered as Acoustic Encoding. For instance, learning the â€Å"ABC†. The alphabets of the â€Å"ABC† are put into a song similar to the nursery rhyme song â€Å"Baa Baa Black Sheep†. Other than making the learning of ‘ABC’ more enjoyable, children will remember them faster. It is the same case for the learning of the multiplication timetable. When reciting multiplication timetable, many can recite â€Å"six times six equals to thirty-six† rhythmically. This is due to the fact that the sound of the number â€Å"six† was highlighted three times. When Acoustic Encoding is the encoding of sound, Visual Encoding is the encoding of image. Visual Encoding relates to visual sensory information which is stored within the iconic memory (temporarily) first and later transferred into the long-term storage (permanent). One of the vital elements in visual encoding is the amygdala, which is a complex structure of neurons. Visual input as well as other systems’ input are accepted in the amygdala where the conditioned stimuli are then encoded into positive or negative values. As an example, if you are shown a list of words for one second. You would find that you will be able to remember if there was a word which is written in different color, or if there was a word written in bold or underlined. Visually encoded information is very fleeting and we forget them easily. We remember better when the information is encoded acoustically. The next type of Encoding is Semantic Encoding. Semantic Encoding is the processing of meaning, especially of words, though not exclusively. Most of the time it works hand in hand with Visual Encoding. For instance, when someone says â€Å"animal, grey and large† you will build a mental image on what he/she are referring to which is most probably an elephant. The last of the them is Tactile Encoding. It is based on the encoding of feeling especially touch. In a nutshell, each of the types of Encoding(s) starts with stimulus which gives out impulses/signals (nerve) which later will be processed and encoded. Paying attention is important when our memory is to be properly encoded. Thus, not all stimuli will pass through our conscious awareness, instead some will be filtered out. After the Encoding Stage comes the Memory Stage. According to Atkinson and Shriffin’s (1968) â€Å"Memory Stage Model†, there are three distinct stages in the Memory Stage itself. They are Sensory Memory/Store, Short Term Memory and Long Term Memory. All three differ in terms of capacity, function and duration. Sensory Memory which is at times called Iconic Memory holds information only for a few seconds (brief storage information). For instance, while flipping through a magazine we see eye-catching wordings of an advertisement, but after flipping to next the page we cannot remember what was actually written. This stage implies that something perceptual takes place. A stimulus might already be gone but we may still perceive it after even for just a brief moment. The next two stages of the Memory Stage will be discussed it Section 2.0. .The information people received which is stored in sensory memory is just long enough to be transferred to short-term memory The last stage of the stages of learning and memory of the multi-store model is the Retrieval Stage/Memory Retrieval. It is a process of getting or recalling information from your Storage Memory. For instance, if you can remember what you bought yesterday, information is successfully recalled from your memory into your conscious mind. The process of Retrieval is stimulated by the Retrieval Cues that includes mood and associations. If one cannot retrieve an information the cause may simply be because they did not pay attention enough, thus only some were encoded in the memory or it might be something as serious as having an amnesia. Ultimately, the role of short-term memory is to file information for temporary usage. If it is not consolidated, it is discarded. This process of discarding is important to make room for learning and new memories. But once a memory is stored in the long-term memory bank, it is stored there forever. It may not feel like it is stored there forever. Sometimes, you may not be able to recall something that is stored in the long-term memory bank—nevertheless, it is there. Because once memory is stored, it is permanent. 3.0  Short Term Memory Versus Long Term Memory In Section 2.0, we have discussed about the Memory Stage with one of its memory store which is Sensory Motor. In this section, we will further delve into the Memory Stage by dicussing about the other two stores which are Short Term and Long term Memory and its differences in terms of their storage capacities and forgetting mechanisms. Short Term Memory (STM) has a limited storage capacity. Only about seven (plus or minus two) unrelated chunks of items can be held with a time duration of 20-30 seconds at once (Mohs, 2007). For example, remembering a phone number until it is keyed into a mobile phone. After a few seconds you might not remember the set of phone numbers anymore if no effort is made to retain them. However, by using memory strategies, we can somewhat increase our memory capacity. Take for instance a ten-digit number such as 9006783456 may be too long for the use of Short Term Memory. For the set of number to stay in your STM and long enough for you to key in your mobile phone is to break it into chunks like 900-678-3456. On the other hand, Long Term Memory (LTM) has an unlimited storage capacity for information. In Short Term Memory, information remains as long as we think about it and will be discarded once we stop. In LTM, information is permanently stored in human memory. To retain information in LTM, a relation should be made between the new information to the ones we already know. This process is known as coding as information. Short Term Memory lacks this coding process, thus information is fleeting. If an information is important enough in the STM, it will be transferred to LTM. If there is an effort in retaining information like repetitively going through the information again and again (reviewing) we can remember it permanently. The more repetition and reviewing of information is made, the brain makes more neuronal connections (stronger neural pathways). At the same time, between the two neurons, the synapses become stronger because of more frequent signals passed between them. It is also im portant to realize that for memory to be consolidated there should be no interference present. In addition, when it comes to consolidation of memory and learning, sleeping plays an important role for both of them. This is proven by the founding that during sleep, the genes of rats are more expressive. In the hippocampus, the displayed activities during spatial learning is replayed. The next aspect that would be highlighted is their forgetting mechanism. In both STM and LTM a loss of information can be experienced. However, their forgetting mechanism differs from one another (Walton, 2010). In STM, loss of information can happen when there is interference. Interference happens when old information interferes with the learning of the new information. This thus makes the stored information irretrievable. Besides the Intereference Theory, there is also the Decay Theory. Decay happens when information is gradually forgotten as time goes by. It is important to note that it is not because of the effects of replacement as the Interference Theory. In contrast, Long Term Memory, loss of information is due to retrieval failure and not loss of the information. When information is not encoded correctly, our Long Term Memory will discard it out of the system. However, our memory can retrieve information if the cue matches the cue present during encoding time on the condition that loss of information is not because of brain trauma from accidents or neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. 4.0  Concept Model of the Functions of Memory System in Human Interactions Diagram 1 Concept Model of the Functions of Memory System in Human Interactions There are many ways to conceptualize the functions of memory system in terms of human interactions. However, in the following is my own conceptualization of the mentioned topic. In my concept, the functions of memory (in human interactions) is divided into two: Social Function and also Experiential Learning (which are shown in Diagram 1). The first one that will discussed is Social Function. Good social environment is vital for strong social bonds which is necessary for our well-being; mentally as well as physically. According to Perry et al (2011), our memories are projected onto other people understand them better and to empathize their experiences. Our memory is constructive in nature where past experiences emerge together. In a certain way, this lets us to be in other people’s shoes; imagining what their experiences are like (Hassabis et al., 2013). Furthermore, this too promotes understanding and being more social. When we are experiencing the social world we must often recall, maintain, exploit and lastly update on the knowledge we have about others. People tend to react to certain social situations based on their prior experiences. According to Ciaramelli et al. (2013), we humans tend to empathize on people who are in the a similar situation that experienced in the past. However, these are in exception of amnesiacs. They do not maintain social bonds like other normal people. They too tend to have a smaller social circle. According to Beadle et al. (2013), Adult-onset hippocampal patients who suffers from amnesia are reported to have lower levels of understanding and no increase in prosocial behaviours. Besides Social Function, there is Experiential Learning. Both of these do overlap with each other, but they differ in settings. Experiential learning is more to workplace human interaction while Social is more to less professional relationships. Experiential Learning, in general is the process of learning through experience that we store in our memory. Since the dawn of time, humankind has gone through various trials and tribulations. We are what we are today because from our ancestors up to us in the present time learn to not repeat our mistakes, but vice versa when it comes to something positive. However, how can Experiential Learning relate to human interactions? Learning through experience is often used in workplaces. Let us take soccer players as an example. During practice sessions the team members will learn and practice the strategies of blocking, getting, passing the ball and catching it. However, the most important aspect they will practice on is teamwork because soccer is not a one man show. Coaches will see their individual talents and blend all them together to create a powerful team. One player’s talent may complement another player’s so they need to function together collectively. These practice sessions act as a simulator of the real game. By the time the players are joining in a real game, they would already have enough experience to ‘read’ their teammates present and next move which is crucial to score a point. This is similar in the corporate world. Members of a team need to develop a composite image of itself through discussions that develops the capacity to reflect their experiences. These discussions will pin-point the differences of experiences in team members that will then be blended together (Adams Kayes, 2010). According to Baker, Jensen Kolb (2002), â€Å"Members need to respect and be receptive to differing points of view; to take time to reflect on consequences of action and the big picture; and to desire growth and development.†As time goes on, even negative factors associated with teamwork can be overcome when teams become able to learn from experience. 5.0  Conclusion In summary, we have gone through the three stages of learning and memory of the multi-store model. These processes are called Encoding, Storage and Recall or Retrieval. Encoding which is an information procession into our memory is further broken down to different types of ways to encode which are Acoustic, Visual, Semantic and Tactile Encoding. In addition to those, Storage stage is where we store information in our memory and Retrieval is process of recalling them back to conscious mind. Besides Sensory Memory in our Storage, the other two which are Short Term Memory and Long Term Memory is explained in the next section. We have discussed how different they are in terms of storage capacities and forgetting mechanisms Short Term Memory has limited amount of storage capacity as compared to Long Term Learning which is unlimited. Their forgetting mechanisms, in other words loss of information also differ with STM due to loss of information and LTM due to retrieval failure. My conceptualization model of functions of memory system in terms of human interactions is divided into two which are Social Function and also Experiential Learning. They differ only in social settings and they overlap greatly with one another. In conclusion, in my opinion, we barely scratched the surface of our knowledge on human memory. I believe there is more to learn and discover than Atkinson’s and Shriffin’s Multi-Store model. With that being said, I hope researchers continue the journey in knowing how our memory truly works. Knowing how memory works is one step closer to knowing how the human mind works and consequently how humans work are as a whole. REFERENCES Adams, A., Kayes, D. (2010). Experiential Learning In Teams. Simulation Gaming, 330-354. Retrieved from http://learningfromexperience.com/media/2010/08/experiential-learning-in-teams.pdf Atkinson, R.C.; Shiffrin, R.M. (1968). Chapter: Human memory: A proposed system and its control processes. In Spence, K.W.; Spence, J.T. The psychology of learning and motivation (Volume 2). New York: Academic Press. pp. 89–195 Beadle J. N., Tranel D., Cohen N. J., Duff M. C. (2013). Empathy in hippocampal amnesia. Front. Psychol. 4:69 10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00069 Ciaramelli E., Bernardi F., Moscovitch M. (2013). Individualized Theory of Mind (iToM): when memory modulates empathy. Front. Psychol. 4:4 10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00004 Hassabis D., Spreng R. N., Rusu A. A., Robbins C. A., Mar R. A., Schacter D. L. (2013). Imagine all the people: how the brain creates and uses personality models to predict behavior. Cereb. Cortex. [Epub ahead of print]. 10.1093/cercor/bht042 Mastin, L. (n.d.). What Is Memory? The Human Memory. Retrieved from http://www.human-memory.net/intro_what.html McLeod, S. A. (2007). Multi Store Model of Memory Atkinson and Shiffrin, 1968. Retrieved from http://www.simplypsychology.org/multi-store.html McLeod, S. A. (2007). Stages of Memory Encoding Storage and Retrieval. Retrieved from http://www.simplypsychology.org/memory.html Mohs, R. (2007, May 8). How Human Memory Works. Retrieved from http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/inside-the-mind/human-brain/human-memory.htm Perry D., Hendler T., Shamay-Tsoory S. G. (2011). Projecting memories: the role of the hippocampus in emotional mentalizing. Neuroimage 54, 1669–1676 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2010.08.057 Walton, J. E. (2010, June 15). Long-term vs. Short-term Memory How to Maximize Both. Retrieved from http://thelatherapist.blogspot.com/2010/06/long-term-vs-short-term-memory-how-to.html

Grapes of Wrath Essay -- essays research papers

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck is a novel depicting the struggle and distraught brought towards migrant workers during the Great Depression. The Grapes of Wrath follows one Oklahoma family, the Joads, as they journey down Route 66 towards the earthly paradise of California. While on route to California, the Joads interact with fellow besieged families, non-hospitable farmers, and common struggles due to the Depression. Steinbeck uses these events to show strong brotherhood through biblical allusion, character development, and inter chapters.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Biblical allusion is found extremely often in the pages of The Grapes of Wrath. Through biblical allusion, Steinbeck portrays the brotherhood of the migrant workers. For example, in the Bible, Moses’ mother puts baby Moses in a basket, which takes him down a river. Later, Moses tells his slaves that he will lead them to freedom. In The Grapes of Wrath Rose of Sharon, the Joad’s eldest daughter gives birth to a dead baby because of the starvation and poor conditions of the migrant farmers. The Joad’s do not have enough money to give the baby a proper burial so Ma, the backbone of the Joad family, instructs Uncle John to bury the baby himself. Instead of following Ma’s orders, Uncle John sends the deceased infant down a river in an apple box. He said fiercely, â€Å"Go down an’ tell ‘em. Go down in the street an’ rot an’ tell ‘em that way. That’s the way you can talk. Don’ even know if you was a boy or a gi...

Hitler Took Advantage of Peoples Low Self Esteem :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

Hitler Took Advantage of People's Low Self Esteem After World War I Germany fell to an all time low, economically and politically. The German people were unemployed, the government was broke and there was a feeling of helplessness all around. Hitler took advantage of the German people's low self esteem and saw it as a way he could use this feeling of hopelessness to better himself. Inflation played a huge role in Germany's problems. Germany had incurred an enormous debt from World War I. The government was under a great deal of pressure to repay the debt and thought they could solve their dilemma by printing more money. Too much of the international economy rested on the unproductive passing of paper from the United States to Germany as loans, from Germany to the Allies as reparations, and from the Allies to the United States as payment of war debts; and the United States raised tariffs in 1922 and again in 1930 to levels that made it nearly impossible for Europeans to earn dollars by selling to Americans. People from all classes were hungry, homeless and unemployed. Germany's welfare system could not handle all of the people needing help. The few soup kitchens available had long lines with no hope of feeding everyone in need. People were sleeping on sidewalks, in alleys or anywhere were they could find warmth. A German writer who experienced these conditions himself describes a day in 1932 after he was allowed a nights stay at the Berlin municipal lodging house...Now the men are standing in a long row, dressed in their plain nightshirts that reach to the ground, and the noise of their shuffling feet is like the noise of big wild animals walking up and down the stone floor of their cages before feeding time. The men lean far over the kettle so that the warm steam from the food envelops them and they hold out their bowls as if begging and whisper to the attendant, "Give me a real helping. Give me a little more." Hitler saw a way to take advantage of the countries depression and the people's feeling of hopelessness. He knew that the people of Germany were looking for any change to escape from their current way of life.

The Island by Gary Paulsen :: Paulsen Island Essays

The Island by Gary Paulsen   Ã‚  Ã‚   The book I read was The Island by Gary Paulsen. It is about a 15 year old boy named Wil Neuton who moves with his family to northern Wisconsin. There he finds an island on Sucker Lake where he stays to learn about himself.   Ã‚  Ã‚   Wil likes riding his bike early in the morning. He also likes watching nature. He is very tall for his age-6 feet 2-but well-built and strong. He is honest,cares about others and prefers to talk things   through than resort to violence.   Ã‚  Ã‚   The title is good because the book is very much about the island and about Wil finding himself on this island. The island also becomes a very prominent point in Wil's life. By comparison and observation, he learns that all things are connected.   Ã‚  Ã‚   An interesting minor character is Emil Aucht. On the morning of his first day in Pinewood Wil wakes up to find Emil staring at him through the window. Emil is an old man with one tooth, no hair and ears that stick out. He chews tobacco and spits brown gunk all over the place. He first appears in the story to request that Wil help him get his car out of the mud. Then Emil reappears to fix the plumbing,wrecking Wil's parents' nerves in the process.   Ã‚  Ã‚   The atmosphere in the story is that of a small hick town in northern Wisconsin:open,friendly,relaxed and very laid-back. It strikes me as being very much like "cottage country" in northern Ontario:lakes,forest,fishing,small town life. The time is the late 1980's.   Ã‚  Ã‚   The novel ends with Wil seeing that his father is watching him from shore. Wil rows over and finds that his father is tired and sad,his eyes rimmed with red from crying. Wil invites his father over to the island and realizes that this saga will only end when Wil finds an island big enough for his whole family so they can learn what he has learned.

Importance of Planning

Any successful Project Manager will tell you that the success of a project is determined by the initial plan. This plan, although changes may arise, provides a blueprint that allows managers to measure deliverables that determine the project’s success or failure. In the beginning phase of planning, the specifications are outlined which results in an agreement by each member of the team to handle specific responsibilities. This allows each member to gain clarity and understand how he or she fits into the overall plan. Then the plan is looked at in a manner, which points out easily identifiable obstacles that can cause the project to fail. This is important because it allows the Project Manager to determine an initial outline that should be followed. As Blair states, â€Å"From a purely defensive point of view, the agreed specification also affords you protection against the numbties who have second thoughts, or new ideas, half way through the project†. During the specification stage, errors and challenges are identified through rigorous brainstorming and outlining the procedures that are to follow. This is important because it eliminates ambiguity and puts everyone on the same page. It also ensures that team members aren’t duplicating efforts or straying away from the initial plan. It is often easy for someone to find an easier or more efficient way to do something but if it deviates from the overall goal, it’s not worth it to implement the change. Once the beginning phase is over, there are numerous events, resources, and people that must be allocated to the project. This is extremely important as well. The Project Manager must ensure that resources, time, and personnel are orchestrated correctly so that the ball is never dropped and the plan continues to move as scheduled. Without an initial plan, it would be impossible to measure the failure or success rate and projects would never be on schedule and there would be chaos.

Religion and Animal Rights Essay

Speciesism – Discrimination in favour of one species, usually the human species, over another, especially in the exploitation or mistreatment of animals by humans. Sentient – Able to feel pain; conscious through the senses. Shallow ecology – preserving the environment to the extent that it benefits human beings. (This is an anthropocentric view of ecology – human centred). Deep ecology – Giving all life respect and value – caring for all of nature, not just the aspects of nature which benefit human beings. Dominionism – Judeo-Christian idea that human beings have a special place in the natural world; they are given the power to rule over it (as overseers) in behalf of its creator, God. Stewardship – Judeo-Christian idea that human beings have a special responsibility for the natural world (and indeed all other areas of responsibility such as other people, their money and possessions) acting as caretakers on God’s behalf. Autonomy – Free will, able to self-govern. Deontological – Duty led approach. Emphasis on the act itself in determining moral righteousness. Inaugurated eschatology – The kingdom of God was started/established in the agapeistic life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and continues in the life of the church, but will be fulfilled after bodily death in heaven. Realised eschatology – The kingdom of God is here and now on earth, through agape and the life of the church. Futuristic Eschatology: The Kingdom of God will come in the future – after bodily death, resurrection (bodily or spiritual) in heaven. Vivisection – Experimenting on animals. Instrumentalist approach – A pragmatic (practical) approach that says an action should be taken in order to achieve an active solution to a problem. Mutate – Change, transform (e.g. as part of the process of evolution). Immutability – Unable to change (e.g. from species to species). Commodification – To turn into and treat as a commodity – an article suitable for trading/buying and selling. Scholars Aristotle – Identified the hierarchy of being placing human beings above animals. Augustine – Human beings are superior to animals as human beings are rational, being made in the image and likeness of God, Genesis 1:26. Aquinas – Influenced by Aritotle – â€Å"animals†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦by divine providence are intended for man’s use in the natural order.†. Charles Darwin – Theory of evolution – ‘Origin of Species’, 1859. The process of natural selection, challenged the Bible, and in particular the Genesis creation story which claims that human beings are created in the image of God, Genesis 1:26. Albert Schweitzer – A pioneer of animal rights with his ‘reverence for life’ ethic. For Schweitzer ‘all life is sacred’, sentient or non-sentient, animal or vegetable. A deep ecologist. St Francis of Assisi – Often referred to as, ‘The Patron Saint of animals’. God has created the world and so the created order reflects God’s goodness and purpose of design and order, animals are a particularly important aspect of that created order. Peter Singer – If a being has interests then they are morally important and should have rights; sentient, self-conscious beings have interests. What matters is not what species a being belongs to, but to what extent a being is a person – fulfils Personhood criteria. Jeremy Bentham – Believed that unnecessary suffering was morally wrong, irrespective of the species. KEY TEACHINGS FROM CHRISTIANITY AND AWARENESS OF HOW RELIGIOUS LEADERS AND OTHER FAITH MEMBERS HAVE INTERPRETED THESE TEACHINGS AND APPLIED THEM TO LIFE IN SOCIETY TODAY. Religious beliefs about the status of animals. SCHOLARS * Aristotle (4 BC – a foundation and influence for later Christian thought) – -everything had a telos, an end purpose. The end purpose of nature (and animals) according to Aristotle, is human fulfilment – Hierarchy of Being, Anthropocentric (human centred), Speciesist approach. * Augustine (4th to 5th century AD). Human beings are superior to animals as human beings are rational, being made in the image and likeness of God, Genesis 1:26. , â€Å"To refrain from the killing of animals and the destroying of plants is the height of superstition.† (Augustine). Hierarchy of Being. Speciesism. * Thomas Aquinas (13th century AD). Influenced by Aristotle’s ideas – there is no sin in using a thing for the purpose, telos, which it is intended. There is no possibility of sinning against non-human animals or against the natural world which exist for the use and good of humanity. Hierarchy of Being. Anthropocentric. Speciesist. * St Francis of Assisi (12th to 13th century). Francis of Assisi thought that the natural world, and in particular animal life, was an expression of the creative will of God and was worthy of respect. Patron Saint of animals, emphasised the importance of sentient beings as part of God’s creation. Humanity should behave as responsible stewards to care and look after all of God’s created creatures. Shallow ecology – preserving the natural world, including animals to the extent that human beings benefit. (This is an anthropocentric view of ecology – human centred) where human beings have a caretaker role over nature. * Albert Schwietzer (20th century). Albert Schweitzer was a Christian who pioneered animal rights with his ‘reverence for life’ ethic. He was astonished at the indifference that human beings show to fellow creatures on the planet. Schweitzer was a ‘deep ecologist’ who believed that all life was sacred – sentient o r non-sentient; human, animal, plant. BIBLICAL TEACHINGS * Human Beings created perfect, imago dei (St. Augustine). Genesis 1:27. * Genesis 1:28 – Dominionism (to rule over, use, control) – â€Å"Then God said†¦Have dominion over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.† This was the traditional position of the church towards animals as identified by Peter Singer. * Genesis 2:15 – Stewardship (to look after and care for on God’s behalf) – â€Å"The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.† More recently this is the role taken by the church, replacing dominionism with responsible stewardship. * Genesis 2 – creation story has focus on creation of man and woman (Adam and Eve). Human beings have a soul (animals do not) â€Å"The Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed (ruach) into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living being† (Genesis 2:7) * Human beings, but not animals have free will, autonomous, with the opportunity of choosing a love relationship with God. â€Å"Love God, love your neighbour.† (Jesus, Mark 12:30/31). With autonomy comes responsibility, stewardship (see church teachings below). * â€Å"A righteous man cares for the needs of his animals, but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel.† Proverbs 12:10. * â€Å"The wolf will live with the lamb† Isaiah. An O.T. eschatological vision of harmony between all sentient life. * â€Å"Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God.† Luke 12:6. CHURCH TEACHINGS Roman Catholic Catechism (1994) †¢ God willed creation as a gift addressed to humankind. †¢ Animals, like plants and inanimate beings, are by nature destined for the common good of past, present and future humanity. Anthropocentric, arises out of the shallow ecology approach to the natural world that is the usual the way for Christianity to deal with this area of ethics/moral issues. †¢ Animals do not have rights but humans do have duties towards animals. Roman Catholic Papal Encyclicals – Centesimus Annus and Solicitudo Rei Socialis (Pope John Paul II) †¢ Human beings are stewards of God’s creation, not masters of it. †¢ Animals are part of God’s creation and must not be abused. †¢ The Church opposes cruelty / exploitation of animals. †¢The earth and all life on it is a gift from God given to us to share and develop, not to dominate and exploit. Church of England documents: Our Responsibility for the Living Environment (GS 718) and Animal Welfare (GS 341) †¢ Animals have been created by God and deserve respect. †¢ The value of animal life is secondary to human beings. †¢ Humans have a common heritage with, and have an obligation to animals. †¢ Humans are the most efficient predators and therefore must exercise responsible stewardship. †¢ Medical / scientific testing within reasonable limits is acceptable as it promotes the common good of humanity. Quaker Peace Testimony * show a loving consideration of all the creatures, maintain the beauty and variety of the world and show reverence for life. * Quakers have long supported vegetarianism. * Quakers oppose animal experimentation for weapons. * They also oppose the use of animals for the testing of cosmetics. * Most Quakers oppose the fur trade. * Quakers do support the use of animal testing for medical research. The extent to which animals are different from humans and their relative value. Humans are animals. * Charles Darwin 1859 â€Å"Origin of the Species† * Evolution, Natural Selection, Survival of the Fittest. Humans have evolved to become the dominant/controlling species. * â€Å"With all these exalted powers humanity still bears in its bodily frame the indelible stamp of his lowly origin.† (Charles Darwin) * Darwin challenged the idea of a designer God, and the anthropocentric view of the world. â€Å"Humanity in their arrogance think themselves a great work, worthy the (inter)position of a God. More humble, and I believe true, to consider them created from animals.† (Charles Darwin). * Many religious believers accept evolutionary theory as a way of explaining the origins of life on this planet, but still see that God’s power was behind the very start-theistic evolution (God the Uncaused Cause brought everything else into existence – based on Thomas Aquinas’s cosmological argument). How can an anthropocentric approach be upheld if humans ar e descended from animals – all are of equal worth and value – deep ecology. Hierarchy of species. * See above. God created animals for a purpose to be of value and support to human beings. Human intelligence versus animal instinct. * Rationality, intelligence and autonomy set humans apart from animals. * Capacity for sophisticated methods of communication is a human skill. * Creativity (music, literature, art) and complex/sophisticated (developing/utilising science and technology) societies for a good and worthwhile quality of life rather than for instinctive survival are hallmarks of human existence. * Most humans protect the weak and vulnerable arguably for altruistic motivations rather than for survival of the species. * Humans can choose to behave morally. * Humans are spiritual beings. However, just because the status of animals is lower than humans many argue for care and respect. * Stewardship. Deep ecology. Animal Rights.   * â€Å"The question is not can they reason, can they talk, but can they suffer.† Jeremy Bentham (19th century). * Peter Singer thinks that if a being has interests then these things should be satisfied, other things being equal. What matters is not what species a being belongs, but to what extent a being fulfils the criteria of personhood:- rational, sentient (experience pleasure / pain), self-conscious, can establish relationships and can communicate. Religious views on animal rights and the means of protecting those rights. See scholars, biblical and church teachings above. * Rev Humphrey Primatt (19th century) argued all life was made by God and any sentient creature has the right not to have pain inflicted upon it including animal suffering. â€Å"Pain is pain whether inflicted on man or beast† (Primatt). The work of Humphrey Primatt led to the foundation of the RSPCA in 1824. * Organisations such as WWF and RSPCA campaign for animal rights so that they may live according to their own nature and not be harmed, exploited or abused, maintaining a dignified existence. * Such pressure groups oppose factory farming (a method of raising animals intensively for maximum economic gain and to produce food at a lower cost for consumers, resulting in the commodification of animals), animal experimentation (vivisection) and using animals for entertainment;, although opinions vary on all these issues. * Controversy exists about vivisection and the extent of justifiable protest on animals’ behalf – SPEAK campaign sought to end the building of ne w animal labs for scientific experimentation on animals at Oxford University, often using intimidation and direct action which was judged by the law courts to be illegal. â€Å"If possessing a higher intelligence does not entitle one human to use another for his own ends how can it entitle humans to exploit non-humans for the same purpose?† Professor Peter Singer VERSUS â€Å"You can’t go to a doctor without having treatment that has been tested on animals – you can’t pick and choose.† Professor Colin Blakemore, Oxford University. * International Animal Rights Day = December 10th annually. * British law protects animals form cruelty and neglect which are criminal offences. * Revd Professor Andrew Linzey – Department of Theology at Oxford university = world’s first academic post in Ethics, Theology and Animal Welfare. Rejects an instrumentalist view of animals as ‘speciesist’; privileging one species, human beings, giving them a unique moral status. For Linzey, animals are part of God’s creation, and have God-given rights, or ‘theos-rights’, and thus have moral status. Religious responses to the preservation of species from extinction. * Genesis 1:12 – Species were created immutable (fixed and unchanging). Dominionism means human beings have used species and their environment for the good of humanity which has inevitably led to extinction of some. However, stewardship imposes a duty of care implying preservation and conservation of God’s sacred, creation for future generations upholding biodiversity. * Evolution teaches that species naturally change, mutate, and die out as part of the process of survival of the fittest and natural selection. Some religious people accept evolutionary theory – theistic evolution (God the Uncaused Cause brought everything else into existence – based on Thomas Aquinas’s cosmological argument). * Breeding programmes in zoos have helped to save species from extinction. * Ohito Declaration 1995 – sustaining environmental life is a religious responsibility.

Nursing Care

Nursing Diagnoses: (include 1 psychosocial)1. Impaired Gas Exchange related to thoracotomy as evidenced by O2 via NC, L side chest tube, Hx of asthma, Obesity, chest x-ray showing congestion and atelectasis in the left lower lobe, and SOB on exertion.2. Acute Pain related to surgical incision as evidenced by patients verbal report of pain (rated at a 10 on a scale from 1-10), positioning to avoid pain, elevated systolic blood pressure, facial grimace, decreased ambulation and movement to avoid pain.3. Impaired Skin Integrity related to a thoracotomy procedure as evidenced by a L lateral incision post Thoracotomy for resection of mediastinal cyst and report of pain in the affected area.4. Infection related to thoracotomy as evidenced by elevated WBC’s (17.8) and traumatized tissue from surgery.5. Knowledge deficient related to lack of exposure of surgical procedure recovery as evidenced by patient’s statement, â€Å"I did know I would be in the hospital this long† .Nursing Diagnosis # 1: Impaired Gas Exchange related to thoracotomy as evidenced by O2 via NC, L side chest tube, Hx of asthma, Obesity, chest x-ray showing congestion and atelectasis in the left lower lobe, and SOB on exertion.Goal: Pt. will have adequate oxygenation and absence of shortness of breath within 2 days.Interventions:1. Auscultate breath sounds every 4 hours and note adventitious sounds, note respiratory rate, depth, and use of accessary muscled. Encourage the use of the incentive spirometer and deep breathing exercises every hour, stressing the important role it plays in her progress.2. Review and compare chest x-rays once a day, review notes written in final report.3. Monitor Intake and Output every 2-4 hours4. Elevate the head of the bead every day to maintain open airway.5. Encourage deep breathing, coughing exercises, and the use of incentive spirometer every hour.Nursing Diagnosis # 2: Acute Pain related to surgical incision as evidenced by patients verbal report of pain (rated at a 10 on a scale from 1-10), positioning to avoid pain, elevated systolic blood pressure, facial grimace, decreased ambulation and movement to avoid pain.Goal: Pt. will verbalize pain is relieved within 30 minutes to an hour after analgesic administration.Interventions:1. Determine the severity, location, description, and possible pathophysiological causes of the pain every time you interact with the patient. (Use pain scale)2. Provide comfort measures every 2 hours to prevent aggravation of the pain; explore touch, repositioning, imagery, distraction, presence, or heat packs.3. Medicate as ordered with analgesics at scheduled times to maintain patient’s pain goal. Use timely interventions every time you interact with the patient and asses pain to be successful in alleviating pain. Notify physician if regimen is inadequate to meet patients control goal.4. Evaluate the client’s response to analgesia an hour after administration.Nursing Diagnosis # 3: I mpaired Skin Integrity related to a thoracotomy procedure as evidenced by a L lateral incision post Thoracotomy for resection of mediastinal cystGoal: Pt. will display timely healing of surgical wound by discharge.Interventions:1. Note the incision for color and texture including observations of any bleeding or discharge every 4 hours.2. Inspect the surrounding skin for erythema, induration, and maceration every 4 hours.3. Use appropriate barrier dressings every day as ordered.4. Keep incision clean and dry and prevent infection by hand washing and standard precaution every time you come in contact with the wound.

Knowledge and Understanding of the Confessions of Jeremiah Essay

Outline your knowledge and understanding of the Confessions of Jeremiah Jeremiah was the son of Hilkiah, and a member of a priestly family. He was a native of Judah and came from Anathoth, a small village in the north east of Jerusalem. His prophetic ministry lasted from approximately 626 to 580BC, and is one of the longest of all the writing prophets. The prophet Jeremiah began his long prophetic career in 626BC; â€Å"in the thirteenth year of Josiah’s reign† He was still a very young man at this time. The narrative of his call is in a dialogue between Jeremiah and Yahweh. From this we can see straight away that Jeremiah had a very intimate relationship with God from the outset. Unlike other prophets, Jeremiah seems to have been chosen to be a prophet before he was even born. â€Å"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you. Before you were born I consecrated you, I appointed you a prophet to the nations.† It seemed it was the destiny of Jeremiah to be a prophet. According to Kidner, Jeremiah was â€Å"handmade for the task.† Similarly to Moses and Amos, at first Jeremiah was reluctant to consent to his mission, saying â€Å"Ah Lord God behold I do not know how to speak for I am only a youth†, but his faith in Yahweh gave him faith in himself, and he accepted the role God asked of him. Perhaps this teaches us the meaning of rising to face personal challenges. Yahweh said to Jeremiah â€Å"Be not afraid of them for I am with you to deliver you.† This is very much the faith of believers today, that in times of trouble, God is constant in our lives. In Jeremiahs call, Yahweh outlines the purpose of his ministry. He says â€Å"I have set you this day over nations and kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.† This summarizes the two main aspects of Jeremiahs mission. It was to be a twofold mission, having both a positive and negative mission, and promising reconstruction after destruction. Yahweh intended to punish the people for their sins and injustice, yet it would be this destruction that would create a new and holy people. In this aspect, we can see a similarity between Hosea and Jeremiah, in that Hosea also believed in Redemptive Judgement. Following the dialogue of Jeremiah’s call, there were two visions. The first of these visions is the vision of the almond rod, and the second vision is one of the boiling pot facing away from the north. These visions both contained a message of judgement. The mouth of the put is facing towards the south, away from the north, which implies that the danger that Judah will face will come from the north, and that these forces will destroy Judah. Yahweh says here â€Å"And I will utter my judgements against them, for all their wickedness in forsaking me; they have made their offerings to other gods, and worshipped the works of their own hands.† In his visions, God speaks very frankly of judgement, expressing that it is going to happen soon, and that the destruction is going to come from the North. After this, Yahweh encourages Jeremiah again with the divine power of his task. He is made aware that being young and experienced, he would be resisted and persecuted by many, but that he would be upheld and strengthened by God. Jeremiah understood â€Å"sin† in terms of the betrayal of love, and accused the people of being guilty of embracing pagan gods, and flirting with heathen empires. They succumbed to the corrupting influences of the nature cults. Jeremiah found their behaviour incredible, and failed to understand why after Yahweh had been so good to the people during the time of exodus, they would desert him. He accused the people of forsaking Yahweh saying â€Å"They have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and dug out cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns that can hold no water.† In other words, they had deserted Yahweh for gods which were useless to them. Jeremiah also outlined the futility of foreign alliances, and said that in times of political emergency, he left their true protector. They lost faith in Yahweh, and this led to Assyria losing their religion independence. Jeremiah felt this was stupidity on their part, and appealed to the people to return to the covenant, but they paid him no heed. The call from Jeremiah is a call for repentance. Kidner said â€Å"Judah had seen it all and followed suit, sinning with her eyes open. To make it worse she had put on a sanctimonious show of repentance and reform.† Jeremiah says that the Jews were guilty of syncretism and apostasy, but that they were so religiously complacent that they were ignorant of their own sin. There was evidence of paganism and the people of Judah were confused. The nation had sunk to a dangerously low level of religious impurity. They had become hardened, and unfeeling in relation to their conscience. Jeremiahs confessions are autobiographical. The book of Jeremiah is split into six different passages The passages in jeremiahs confessions have three things in common, they are in first person, they are directly addressed to God and not to the people or its rulers, and they express the deep suffering felt by the prophet in exercising his mission. These passages are what made Jeremiah unique amongst the Hebrew prophets. He is the only prophet to reveal the personal impact his role had on him. In the confessional passages we see a real, human being, whose frailty we can identify with and whose trauma we can understand. Rarely did other prophets give us a glimpse into their lives, but in the passages Jeremiah wrote, he revealed his soul. Throughout his ministry, Jeremiah was often in conflict with his own contemporaries. This conflict was not his choosing. We are reminded of Hosea, in the sense that Jeremiah was a man of intense sympathy and tenderness of the heart, and all he wanted was to feel the love and companionship of others. He despised the conflict that deprived him of warmth and conflict that he craved, and so he became a depressed and hostile man. Yahweh said to Jeremiah â€Å"You shall not take a wife, nor shall you have sons and daughters in this place.† This was due to the impending crisis. In the ancient near east, sterility was considered to be a terrible curse, so we know from this that Jeremiahs celibacy would not have been down to personal choice. This shows how Jeremiah endured personal suffering, as a result of the nation’s wickedness. The first two passages in Jeremiahs confessions reveal a plot against his life, instigated by immediate family and acquaintances. The people saw Jeremiah, son of a priest, as a traitor. He reacted fiercely to this plot, and asked for the death of these men. The incident caused Jeremiah to reflect on his mission, and on the very meaning of human existence. As Jeremiah asked for no more than justice, God upheld his fierce reaction saying â€Å"I am going to punish them†¦For I will bring disaster upon the people of Anathoth.† This punishment however is not for vengeance, it is for reform. It is here that Jeremiah shows us a different side of him. He exaggerates the gloom, and welcomes the thought of retribution. Yahweh tells him that he has to keep his faith and courage during his sufferings, because they are little compared to what is to come. God knows only too well the pain of ingratitude; desertion from a spouse; defiance of a son, a daughter. A parallel is evident between the family’s rejection of Jeremiah, and the nation’s rejection of Yahweh. In the third passage, we see a new outburst and pleading by Jeremiah as he describes the â€Å"inner crisis† he is facing. He believed that everything he did seemed to bring him into conflict with his fellow men. It is here that Jeremiah laments on his mother, saying â€Å"woe is me, my mother that you ever bore me, a man of strife and contention to the whole land.† As Jeremiah’s call predates his birth, to curse the day of his birth would mean a rejection of his mission. His persecution arises from the message he has to deliver. Jeremiah was depressed by his work and often wondered about its purpose. In his eyes, all it caused was contention with his fellow Jews, and made him considered a troublemaker. The reaction the people of Judah gave him meant he became bitter, and saw himself condemned to a life of loneliness. The people reacted in such a hostile way to Jeremiah because he told them what they didn’t want to hear. He foretold disaster and the people remained sceptical of what he was saying, which only caused Jeremiah to fall even further into depression. As a result of the personal persecution and enforced loneliness, Jeremiah became vindictive and actually prayed for vengeance on those who treated him so poorly. This desire for vengeance only further reveals the humanity of Jeremiah. The third confession also indicates that Jeremiah faced an inward struggle with Yahweh, as well as an outward struggle with men. He was torn between obligation and inclination. He felt obliged to work as a prophet, and continue to live the sort of life that would lead to conflict with others, but due to the stress his prophetic work caused him, he felt inclined to avoid it. In the beginning, the words of Yahweh brought Jeremiah joy. â€Å"Your words were found, and I ate them and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart†, but this has all changed now. Jeremiah has been left an object of ridicule, and God’s words no longer gave him joy. He felt God used him as instrument to announce pain and destruction on people he felt love for, and at times he was almost blasphemous, accusing Yahweh of overpowering and misleading him. â€Å"Oh Lord though hast deceived me, and I was deceived, thou art stronger than I and thou hast prevailed. Yahweh’s reply renews and confirms he prophet’s mission, using the very words from his call. â€Å"And I will make you to this people a fortified wall of bronze.† It is made clear h owever, that this will only happen when Jeremiah has converted, and regained confidence within his mission. In the last of the confessional passages, Jeremiah tells us of his most dramatic inner crisis, firmly believing that Yahweh has tricked him. â€Å"Oh Lord you have enticed me and I was enticed; you have over powered me and you have prevailed.† He fears being classed as a false prophet, which would have been devastating because he is one of the biggest critics of them. These false prophets were Jeremiahs greatest competition, and promised a shortcut to divine restoration. They spoke of peace, and attempted to â€Å"heal the wound of the people lightly†, but their remedies failed to touch even the root of the problem. Jeremiah says the complete opposite to these false prophets. Jeremiah believed that Yahweh would intervene in human history to punish, where as the false prophets proclaimed that God was uninterested in human affairs, and therefore that he wouldn’t intervene in them. Jeremiah believes that they feed the Jews with false hope, whenever doom is inevitable, and without the destruction they cannot be rebuilt. According to Bright, these prophets are â€Å"nothing but wind.† The role of a true prophet was often to act as a contestant to the status quo. The people of Judah did not like the challenge that Jeremiah was presenting them with. Jeremiah remained insistent however, that in light of Judah’s perversity, she would be punished. Although here he is clearly presented as a Prophet of Doom, this is only one aspect to his mission, and like other prophets, he does have a message of hope. Similarly to Amos, Jeremiah is warning the people what is to come if they do not repent, he is giving them warning so change is a possibility. It is for this reason he is also known as the â€Å"Prophet of Repentance.† He feels doubtful in relation to his message, and feels he is crying wolf in regard to his mission, by proclaiming a message of judgement which has not yet come to pass. Once again we are reminded of the conflict with Jeremiah in relation to obligation and inclination. Here Jeremiah describes his obligation to speak in a prophetic voice as a fire burning within him, forcing him to go on with his prophetic work despite the feeling that his inclination was to stop. Jeremiah speaks of his struggle saying â€Å"If I saw I will not mention him, or speak anymore in his name, the n within me there is something like a burning fire shut up in my bones. I am weary with holding it in and I cannot.† When Jeremiah says â€Å"But the Lord is with me like a dread warrior; therefore my persecutors will stumble†, he seems to have come to realise that within him there was the potential to move forwards and cope with what he thought was impossible. He finally realised that he was not alone, and that God would always be with him. Although Jeremiah at times curses the day he was born, the one thing that lifted him out of his depression was the deep conviction that Yahweh would always be there for him. Kidner says on Jeremiah â€Å"He goes on to his worst ordeals with never a hesitation or a word of doubt.† In conclusions, the outpourings from Jeremiahs heart that we witness in his confessions could be said to reveal imperfections about his human character, such as vindictiveness towards his fellow men and irrelevance towards God. However as Jeremiah was aware of his own perfections, by repenting Yahweh would help him overcome all of his human imperfections. If only the Jews had have realised the need to repent, then Yahweh could have help them overcome their imperfections through prayer and dialogue.