Helping the Environment Essay

Trees are very important to humans. As part of the environment, we must. More and more trees are being cut to sustain the needs for products such as paper. Making small ways to help the environment is important to make a difference. As a hypothesis, I presume that preventing the use of paper towels and napkins that are made from trees can help the environment. The use of cloth as napkins paper instead of those made of paper at homes, restaurants and other places have significant contributions to the demand of paper products. Paper towels and napkins are disposable products made of paper. It serves the same general purposes as conventional towels, such as drying hands, wiping windows and dusting. However, cloth and rugs and ordinary towels can serve the same purpose. It is also more durable. It will wiser to use cloth instead of paper napkins since it is cheaper to use because cloth can be washed and used again. . If you replace the majority of paper towels and napkins with cloth rags or cloth napkins, the savings to the environment are tangible. The average cost of paper towels is about anywhere from 1. 00 to 2. 25 per roll depending on the brand. The demand for paper products such as napkins has a huge impact on the amount of trees being cut. According to the Law of Supply and Demand, as the demand increases the corresponding supply must be produced. It implies that, as the demand for paper towels and napkins increases, more trees are more likely to be cut down in order to address. I would say I use at least 4 roles of paper towels a week with approx. 100 sheets a roll and its 2 ply sheets which is just a stronger type of paper towel. In order to contribute something to the environment, one should avoid using paper products like paper towels and napkins. Instead of disposable napkins, use a handkerchief. A campaign for not using such products can also have significant effects on the number of trees to be cut. In conclusion, even in small things we can contribute big changes to help the problems in the environment. We should all be aware of the consequences of our daily consumption. REFERENCES: Tsien, Tsuen-Hsuin, ‘†Paper and Printing,† vol. 5 part 1 of Needham, Joseph Science and Civilization in China:. Cambridge University Press, 1986.

Collins and Yeskel

Rising personal debt is one of the consequences of growing inequality. Over 60 percent of americans carry a personal debt every month and the average family is said to cary a nine thousand dollar debt. The reading talked about how people are now using credit cards to pay for things like groceries and gas, something we would of paid for in cash on the regular in the past. I find this very dangerous. The main reason i find this dangerous is because having to buy groceries and gas on credit probably means you don't feel you have the money at the given time to actually pay for it.This means a person is living pay check to pay check and has little to no money to put in savings which could hurt in the future. I feel this is primarily dangerous for middle to low income households. If one of these households are buying food and gas on credit and cant afford to put money in savings and they happen to fall on a hard time they will put themselves into further debt and cause family issues.Suburb anization of america was driven by the government and contributed disparities of wealth between whites and blacks by creating areas between the 1930’s-1960’s that were categorized by zones where certain people could live. On maps areas were broken down by color to determine the most desirable places to live. Green was a desirable area where it was predominately white and red was an undesirable place to live where it was mostly black, mixed race, or other races.The FHA would give loans based off of this data based off of who applied for them and also loans interest rates would be adjusted accordingly in the same fashion. Today we see that older generations properties in these suburban areas are starting to mix racially since this older style of suburbanization has been outlawed. Over time the larger interest rates and zoning has created problems between different ethnic groups and not areas are becoming more diverse.

Determinants of Germany’s Economic Robustness

DETERMINANTS OF GERMANY’S ECONOMIC ROBUSTNESS: UNDERSTANDING THE SECRET BEHIND THE GERMAN ECONOMIC SUCCESS – A DESCRIPTIVE STUDY Germany is the largest national economy in Europe, the fourth-largest by nominal GDP in the world, and fifth by GDP (PPP) (2008). Since the age of industrialisation, the country has been a driver, innovator, and beneficiary of an ever more globalised economy. Germany is the world's third largest exporter with $1. 408 trillion exported in 2011 (Eurozone countries are included).Exports account for more than one-third of national output and the Germany’s strong export performance in goods or merchandise is also denoted by the term Exportweltmeister (world champion exporter). However, analysis of German’s economic history demonstrates that the country did not face constant growth throughout the years. It also had to face moments of recession just like other countries and its own past (reunification) appeared to have been a cause of G erman’s slow growth at times. Following are figures of German’s GDP throughout the last 3 decades which will help us to emphasise our statement.While the decrease in the year 1990s can be associated with the unification and the costs involved, that of 2010-2011, can be associated to the global recession that the world experienced then. Yet, even in the recession marred years, the German economy managed to stay stable as the world sixth largest country in terms of GDP (2009. ) Now, against the background of fragile global recovery and the intensification of the eurozone crisis, Germany has recorded strong GDP growth and a declining trend in unemployment. What's the secret of such a robust economy?Referring to Germany, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher said in December 1989 at a Strasbourg summit â€Å"We defeated the Germans twice! And now they're back†. Although this statement was related to politics, it appears to be relevant in the economic context as w ell. As such, our study will consist of analysing more in details the secret behind this particular success or consistency and will also involve comparison of countries which also have more or less the same pattern of Germany but still cannot reach their level of development to underline what are those parameters which make Germany so unique. Current SituationGermany's economy is holding up better than expected amid the Eurozone's debt crisis, as robust demand from outside of Europe has helped offset weak activity on the continent. Several other factors contribute to Germany's solid macroeconomic position. Germany is the only major advanced economy which had lower unemployment rate in 2012 than it had in 2007. The level of German GDP has increased by a cumulative 5. 8% since the beginning of 2010, compared to 2. 3% for the eurozone. The monetary conditions set for the entire eurozone by the ECB are accommodative for Germany given the strong cyclical position of its economy.As a cons equence of safe-haven capital inflows, yields are also at extremely low levels. Furthermore, Germany has a strong net external creditor position and a large, albeit gradually declining, current account surplus. The German financial sector has stabilised since 2009 and liquidity is abundant in the current environment. However, meeting Basel III requirements will remain a challenge for German banks in light of modest profitability and still a high leverage. Since mid-2008, German banks have cut their total eurozone exposure by â‚ ¬332bn, a 30% fall, of which â‚ ¬187bn was withdrawn from Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal, a fall of 44%.Despite this fast pace of deleveraging, the quality of the remaining assets may well deteriorate further as the recession deepens in the periphery. In its semi-annual economic outlook, the German central bank raised its forecast for domestic GDP growth this year to 1. 0% from 0. 6% in the December outlook due to better-than-expected first quarter g rowth that was largely the result of strong exports to emerging markets. The upward revision brings economic activity near its potential growth rate of 1. 25. Growth in 2013 is seen at 1. 6%, down 0. point from December's forecast due to a statistical correction resulting from the revisions for this year. The Eurozone crisis â€Å"may have left its mark, but the good structural condition of Germany's economy and the robust global economy have maintained the upper hand,† Still, the outlook remains â€Å"highly uncertain,† with risks stemming â€Å"overwhelmingly† from external factors. While weak Eurozone growth in the debt crisis has already been factored in to the forecasts, Germany's export-driven economy would be vulnerable to a â€Å"noticeable weakening† of conditions outside of Europe. Germany remains exposed to the systemic component of the crisis.A significantly deeper recession of its large eurozone trading partners could also push Germany into r ecession with negative repercussions for the fiscal stance as well. Furthermore, additional sizeable contribution to eurozone bail-out funds, on top of the EFSF guarantees, could push German debt level above 90% of GDP, close to the upper limit Fitch generally considers consistent with a ‘AAA' rating. Materialisation of these risks would put downward pressure on the rating. Germany has all the ingredients of a declining public debt path. The economy is growing, budget deficit is moderate and nominal interest rates reached record low levels.Nevertheless the longer track record serves as a warning sign. Despite the fiscal rules of the eurozone, the debt/GDP ratio had increased to 83% by 2010 from 55% in 1995. During the 13 years of monetary union, the German debt ratio declined in only five years and has been above the 60% reference value since 2003. PROBLEM STATEMENT The problem that leads us to undertake this research is simple. Observing the amazing performance of Germany in the international market even in the period of recession, one wonder how this can be achieved by them while the others are still struggling.It becomes apparent that there must be some particular reasons behind this success. Research Question/Hypothesis H1: There is something unique that make Germany successful in the international market. H2: There is a relationship between the implementation of new economic policies with the economic performance of Germany H0: There is nothing unique about Germany’s success. They work on the same policies as other countries. OBJECTIVES AND AIMS OVERALL OBJECTIVE By this study, we hope to underline the policies that led Germany to success and from this knowledge, have a better understanding of the strengths and weakness of a business environment.Overall, we aim to have clear knowledge about impact of business environment on performance of business undertakings. In the long term, we can use the technique used in this research to analyse any bu siness environment before setting up of any business firm. Also, we can advice other developing countries about implementing those policies which could benefit them considering their own business environment and also be on their path of development just like Germany. This research can be considered as a tool to determine business opportunities as well. SPECIFIC AIMS Understand the parameters that made the economy very strong in the market How is that amidst the gloom Germany continues to be the engine that drives the Eurozone economies, and also helping to bail out a few? How does the robust, high-tech manufacturing sector continue to be the export champion? What role do the academic system and â€Å"Deutsche Tugenden† play in the success? What is the special Trade School training system that creates highly skilled technical workforce? Take into considerations other macroeconomic indicators particular to Germany Understand how one can take advantage of the strengths and weakn ess prevailing in its environment * Have valuable and actual knowledge of economic concepts BACKGROUND AND SIGNIFICANCE 1. (Raymond J. Ahearn and Paul Belkin; the German Economy and U. S. -German Economic Relations 2010) By most standards, post-war West Germany registered impressive economic performance in the first decades of its existence. But beginning in the mid-1990s, the German economy has been on a much lower growth path, averaging about 1. 5% of GDP per year. Unemployment has also risen steadily.These trends, which have been exacerbated by a steep 5% decline in German GDP growth in 2009, raise questions about the long-term vitality and strength of the German economy. A number of factors help explain Germany’s declining growth rate. One factor has been the high cost associated with integrating the formerly communist East German economy into the Federal Republic since reunification in 1990. A second has been the growing cost of Germany’s generous social security and welfare programs and associated regulations which some believe may undercut incentives for work and entrepreneurship.A third is an economy that is more geared towards exporting than domestic investment and consumption. With declining economic growth and rising expenditures on social protections, Germany faces significant budgetary and resource constraints. A prosperous German state remains critical to both the U. S. and European economies. Difficulties Germany may have in regaining a stronger economic position are important concerns, affecting the U. S. -German partnership’s ability to mutually address and manage a range of bilateral, regional, and global challenges.The report therefore elaborates on these themes in three parts: the first section examines Germany’s economic performance in historical perspective and assesses some of the domestic factors that may be contributing to Germany’s less than optimal performance; the second discusses the reform challe nges facing Germany’s political leaders; and the third section evaluates a few salient U. S. -German economic policy differences and strains that seem to be influenced by Germany’s weakened economic situation. 2.Financial System Stability Assessment, report prepared by the Monetary and Capital Markets and European Departments and approved by Jose Vinals and Antonio Borges, June 20, 2011; results in the following main findings: The main findings of the FSAP are: * The German financial system is recovering from the global crisis, yet low profitability hampers many banks’ ability to build stronger buffers against the shocks that could hit the global economy and especially Europe; * Structural reforms are overdue.The Landesbanken require thorough restructuring and probably downsizing, but the imperative to loosen constraints and strengthen banks’ commercial orientation is more general; * The standard of financial sector regulation and supervision is high. The crisis showed that more timely information, additional on-site supervision, and follow up through forward-looking supervisory action are needed; and * The framework to manage financial crises has been enhanced significantly, particularly with the introduction of a new bank resolution regime.Deposit protection schemes need to be rationalized, and Germany should actively help efforts to develop mechanisms to deal with cross-border crises. Very interesting report, but emphasises on the financial sector of the country and its current scenario only. 3. Talking about articles with reference to the German’s secret for economic robustness, there are various available were the authors aim to point out these parameters which made Germany so powerful in today’s market. As such, an article from www. guardian. co. k goes on saying: â€Å"Germany invested heavily in its Bavarian science and technology base, identifying future growth sectors and building clusters of excellence to a ttract investment†¦ it's still â€Å"making stuff†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ While the British focused on becoming lawyers and money men, Germany continued to respect engineering and making things (not just money)†. Mr James Dyson, Author of Ingenious Britain, did not agree that this parameter was the cause behind the German success and responded to this statement by saying â€Å"In your coverage of the German success story, not a word has been printed on the German â€Å"housing market†.It is as if this were detached from the overall economic and cultural formula. Is it not a fact that Germany has a large, affordable rented sector with secure tenancies that deters a quick- housing-buck mentality? Does this housing culture not sustain investment in proper wealth creation (ie manufacturing) and thereby reduce the cycles of property boom and bust? † Well, Mr Olaf Plotner the dean of executive education at the European School of Management and Technology (ESMT) in Berlin a nd author of Counter Strategies in Global Markets in his post in Forbes magazine also shares his views about the reasons to justify the German’s success.He goes on saying: â€Å"cooperation between unions and employers plays a major role in the success of German industry. But that’s just one part of a much bigger picture†¦ German businesses have been able to avoid the focus on the short-term shareholder that dogs so many large companies elsewhere because of an ownership structure that seems unique to Germany†¦ the companies give importance to uniting ownership and management. † As of now, we have already different views from different people as they all try to explain the German success. Well, these views are not the only one.According to Mr Richard Anderson Business reporter for BBC News, â€Å"Germany is a country whose inhabitants work fewer hours than almost any others, whose workforce is not particularly productive and whose children spend less t ime at school than most of its neighbours. But still, the German economy is so powerful†¦why? † Mr Anderson structured is study under three main headings. Euro bliss †¦. Germany has benefited greatly from the euro; Germany adopted a much weaker currency than would otherwise have been the case†¦ This has provided a terrific boost to German exports, which are cheaper to overseas consumers as a result†¦.Just as important are the relatively low levels of private debt†¦ German companies and individuals refused to spend beyond their means†¦ Germans are uncomfortable with the concept of borrowing money and prefer to live within their own means. â€Å"In German, borrowing is ‘schulden', [the same word for guilt. ] There is an attitude that if you have to borrow, there is something wrong with you,† Labour reforms †¦the Social Democratic government was able to use its close ties with labour unions to push for moderation in wage inflation.T he reforms laid the foundation for a stable and flexible labour market. While unemployment across Europe and the US soared during the global downturn, remarkably the jobless number in Germany barely flickered. German workers were simply willing to work fewer hours, knowing that they would keep their jobs because of it. Job skills And in Germany, there is fewer stigmas attached to vocational training and technical colleges than in many countries. Research Gap The read reports do not seem to treat with the actual factors behind the success, hence we believe into scope for our research.Since in these articles, the German economic history I study but then related to other topics just like in the case of US-German relationship or the study of the German financial markets. True that these reports will help us in our study and can be used as a basis, they surely permit us to look at the German’s economy from a different point of view. Most of reports seem to elaborate a lot on the n egative features of the economy, not that we intend to ignore the negative features but what we are trying to do here is to explain how despite these features, Germany is able to hold such a position in the global market.Specifically we want to pinpoint the special policies which allow this achievement and propose economic models to other developing countries in order to permit them to also achieve such a miracle. Thus, reading the articles, we can see there are already numerous parameters that each of authors believed to be the one behind the success of Germany. Our study will therefore constitute in analysing these factors and comparing the performance of Germany with that of other countries which also have this factor.We will also try to analyse the impact that the implementation the each factor had on the economy of the country. To emphasize on the relevance of this research, we can another article by in the New York Times which states: â€Å"Germany had the formula right all a long. † Hence, our study will be directed towards analysing all the various aspects that made the formula right and try to make it right in our business environment as well! RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Overview The research is a diagnosis research.In fact, a diagnosis research is one which is directed towards discovering what is happening, why it is happening and what can and is to be done about it. It aims at identifying the causes and helping to arrive at possible solutions. Diagnostic research probes into the reasons `why? and goes beyond the problems. Our research is directed towards giving us in-depth knowledge about the reasons which made Germany successful today and we are interested in knowing which of these can be used by other nations as well. Our study will be divided into the following chapters:Chapter 1: here we will deal with the introduction to the study and the aim and purpose of the same. The subject background will also be studied in this step. We intend to t race the economic history of Germany in this section from World War II till today; macro and micro economic variables will be explained and we can propose an elaboration on the economy theory that is followed by the country. Chapter 2: will be dealing with review of books, articles, research papers and journals published with respect to the topic and identification of the research gap.Chapter 3: will elaborate on the research design. Here the parameters that we aim to use in our research will also be defined. As such, the parameters that we wish to study are as follows: 1. GDP, 2. Debt to GDP ratio, 3. Unemployment, 4. Household debt, 5. Inflation, 6. Commodity price swings 7. Foreign trade – imports/exports, net surplus, 8. Social spending, 9. Education, 10. Healthcare, 11. Pension funds, 12. Manufacturing vs. agrosectors, 13. Private & Public undertakings, 14. Patents 15. Innovation, 16. Mittelstand 17. Housing prices, 18. Real estate, 19.New firms reg. 20. Firms winding up , 21. New investments, 22. Banking, 23. M & As abroad, 24. Fuel prices Chapter 4: the data collected will be analysed and interpreted I this chapter Chapter 5: appropriate findings can be drawn from the data processed and conlusion will follow Population and Study Sample Our study will require interaction with economic experts and other industry-related experts who will give us insight and information about the various policies that are prevailing in Germany and their impact on the economy. Sample Size and Selection of SampleHere, we can select purposive sample and we will require snowballing as a technique as well since our study is very particular and one expert might put us into contact with another of his colleagues. Sources of Data The main sources of data will be secondary but experts’ insights in terms of interviews will constitute our primary data also. Collection of Data The secondary data will collected by visiting websites, reading books, analysing research papers, articles and other thesis. The primary data is collected by mean of interview. Data Analysis StrategiesThey will be use of regression analyse the percentage change that the implementation that each parameters did on the economy They will also be use of correlation to analyse the data from other countries which implemented each particular parameter. First, we will have to analyse each of these parameters in the German environment and then compare the German performance with other countries’ which have the same potentiality. STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF THE STUDY STRENGTHS * There is important number of secondary data available for the research making the researcher job simpler. The study of this topic will lead to actual application of various economic concept hence, better understanding of economics as a subject. * Study of business environment being the first step for any project development, this project has important scope for the researcher. WEAKNESSES * The study being s omehow dependent on secondary data, there is chances that these might not be relevant leading to false conclusions. * There might be a possibility that these policies which made Germany so successful cannot be transferred to any other country. In which case, our

Leadership examination Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Leadership examination - Essay Example This paper critically evaluates and reflects on my strengths and weaknesses both in leadership and followership based on self analysis, perspectives from third parties and online tests, and from the key strengths and weaknesses determine how I would develop my leadership and followership both in the short run and in the long run My current strengths and weaknesses in leadership and followership The current strengths that I possess in leadership and followership are that I have excellent communication and interpersonal skills and I’m an effective listener. I also have the ability to multitask, cope with previous failure and learning from them and also assuming responsibilities that may not have a person taking of them. My current weaknesses are being disorganized without a planned schedule and analyzing an issue to the smallest details which at times take quite some time. I though sought to identify gaps I was not aware through questioning a number of friends, colleagues, paren ts and supervisor at work. From their perspectives and opinions, they found some of my strengths being that I’m a determined and does not seem to be put down easily, self motivated, a good team player, confident, and creative in finding ways to get something or solving an issue. Key weaknesses that were notable were that I tend to be a chronic debater which can be annoying, I tend to procrastinate issues, I often go out of way in doing things which may antagonize others, and I lose patience easily since often I want things done there and then. I have also been able to learn in class that leadership is not just about possessing higher intelligence quotient, or high academic capabilities, emotional intelligence that are critical in leaders (Jones, 2010:232; Bateman & Snell, 2007:135). In essence therefore, I took two E.I. online tests to get a better grip on my capabilities as a leader. In the first test with Discovery Fit and Health, my Emotional Intelligence results were 73 o ut of 100 an above average result. The interpretation showed that I’m generally able to express my feelings clearly in appropriate situations, I’m positive, optimistic and adapt quite well to altering circumstances. I’m self motivating and can be able to get the strength to complete what I need to do to complete my goals, and I’m resilient ready to bounce back when I encounter drawbacks, survive hardships without bitterness and yet still be able to empathize with others (Discovery Fit and Health, 2012). In the second test result with Institute for Health and Human Potential, the evaluation results were 44, slightly above average. The results show that where as I’m sensitive to the emotional climate around me and is aware of the effect of my behavior on others, I should also be able to honestly communicate my difficult feelings and needs. It also shows that I get engrossed in small details in life that I forget what gives me great joy and meaning. I t shows that I need to work on issues that may be stressing or causing tension in me and should be able to share my feelings and needs freely seeking to take care of myself as I do others (Institute for Health and Human Potential, 2012). I was receptive to the first results and found them to be quite motivating. They were though simple and delivered in a shallow easy to understand manner. In the second test that I took, though I performed above average, the results description went on to critically analyze my weak points in a manner though awakening, I found was also dramatic than was necessary. Combining the two results, I have been able to comprehend my strong and weak points with regard to Emotional Intelli

Real Estate and Property Management Company report. Maxima Real Estate Essay

Real Estate and Property Management Company report. Maxima Real Estate Development Company - Essay Example However, the name was derived from the term maximum meaning that it would be a company with the ability to perform the best in the effort to elevate and facelift the states of any property to be developed. The report is objectively aimed at providing a summary and a guideline on the property expansion project in the Great Manchester Area. The report is composed of a research survey conducted within a period of 3 weeks to identify a potential opportunity that would generate income within the Great Manchester area (Harris, 2005, p. 18). Since UK is best known for sports especially football availability of vast potential in the field of sports. The best option obtained during the research study settled on a conclusive count for building an international sports academy, which would host a considerable number of sporting activities, which are not limited to athletics, triathlon, football, baseball, volleyball, tennis, rugby and hockey (Reuvid, 2009, p. 42). The decision to settle on devel oping a football academy was considered as the best option because, Maxima Real Estate Development Company is a large multinational company, with organized leadership that is capable of constructing any kind of building. Our representatives and technical teams are also richly talented in myriad areas of expertise that would influence and facilitate the construction process with minimum supervision within a given timeline (Victoria, & Louise, 2004, p. 24). Bottom of Form The company is objectively designed to collaborate with both managers and residence in order to develop properties to the satisfaction of both managers and customers. However, to enhance better outcome, the company plans to employ casual workers from the locality. This will help the local residents benefit from the construction sites, it is one of the strategies aimed at creating more jobs opportunities for the benefit of the global community in any country where the real estate development company wins a constructio n tender (Banfield, 2005, p. 33). The property strategy for a corporate organization Maxima Real Estate Development Company augmented essential acquaintance in project and property development in accordance with the corporate social responsibility (CSR). This is aimed at distinctively creating a difference from our estate development company and the other companies that trade in the same area of expertise and professionalism. This enables corporate organizations to consider and award our company construction and estate management tenders due to adequate and convincing research outcomes (Barry, & Nick, 2010, p. 63). Our objective is aimed at determining and building the best action plan that would enable the company to move forward both internally and externally. With vast expertise and professionalism, our constructors and practitioners are capable of building discreet foundations in management, which are not limited to reputation/ image management, issues management, property brand , crisis and equity management (Bradstreet, & Dun, 2011, p.40). Through developing community relational and philanthropic strategies, the company would be able to avoid the stigma in relation to real estate development business to drive profits. The organization is mandated to achieving its mission and vision through value addition to the corporation of estate development within the country franchising its continuation (Reuvid, 2009, p. 49). However, the organizational interest would no longer be at odds with common good and mutual interest as the company is objectively determined to work for government, faith based and nongovernmental organizations. Our

Why you personally want to be a chemical engineer Essay - 1

Why you personally want to be a chemical engineer - Essay Example These are some of the reasons why I want to be associated with this field of engineering because it allows me a great deal of opportunity to learn new and novel aspects, and thus get acquainted with the explosives and chemicals which are included within this field of education. By becoming a chemical engineer, I have a host of options up my sleeves. I can explore the sub-field of biochemical engineering, metallurgy, plastics engineering or even fuel cell. This is an exciting prospect for me and I would always like to be a part of this valuable field which is making waves throughout the world for all the right reasons. Since chemical engineers discern the basis of developing fruitful and economically feasible ways of making use of materials and energy, their work becomes even more satisfying at the end of the day. I would employ chemistry and engineering to foresee a positive change from the raw materials into useable products, which will shape up the world

An Alternate Feministic Ending to Charlotte Perkins Gilman's The Term Paper

An Alternate Feministic Ending to Charlotte Perkins Gilman's The Yellow Wallpaper - Term Paper Example While I was on top of him, John wrestled against me with his hand grabbing my hair but my hands squeezing his face and mouth. We rolled and rolled and rolled until I was under him trying to lock his neck with my strong arms. As he struggled to free himself from my grasp, he bit me in the arm and I screamed as blood spurted out of the cut where his sharp teeth buried. While I screamed, he pushed me with his head towards the wall behind me and when I banged my head on the wall with a loud thud, I growled in pain and consequently I loosened my grasp, and he twisted and turned towards me while grasping and squeezing both my wrists with his tight fists and never letting me go. â€Å"You whore! How dare you do that to me! What makes you think you are stronger than me? And what makes you think you can get away, huh!† John was screaming at me in a rhythm that corresponded to the thudding that my head made on the wooden floor. All the while I was right! Although I thought once that Joh n loved me very dearly, now I realize that it is never true. That is why I knew I was a little afraid of him, and that is why whenever he came, I had to put this away for he hated to have me write a word. I was momentarily dazed at this shocking realization and then I uttered a muffled cry as John finally grabbed hold of my neck with both hands and started choking the life out of me while I felt my weak legs helplessly kicking at him. Then, as I felt tears coming out of my puffy eyes and oxygen leaving my twitching chest through my gaping mouth, my eyes moved to the back of John as I smelled a familiar odor and witnessed a most horrid sight. My initial reaction was fear as I remembered I have always feared John. But when I saw the creeping women come into the room through the window and as many more came out of the yellow wallpaper from behind me, I knew the day of reckoning came. Their dark creeping shadows loomed around me and John, and I could see the expression on his face chang e from rage to horror. The creepers had long disheveled hair that hung around to cover some part of their dark, deathly yellowish pale countenance. The deep set eyes and dark circles were perhaps proof of the sleepless nights that they spent in struggling out of the yellow wallpaper. Their arms and legs were twisted perhaps from the pressure of having to shakes the bars of the patterns of the yellow wallpaper. Yet they smelled the same peculiar yellow odor that matched their yellowish skin and teeth. One of the crawling women twisted her bones and sinews several times in order to assume a standing position in front of him while he was there standing petrified in fear and he could feel his he could not move his sinews even a bit. All he could do was utter a shriek akin to that of a child whose head was banged to the wall just like how hard John banged mine several times just a while ago. I also heard from him the same muffled cry of fear that I let out while he was choking me, and my eyes moved to the wet spot in his pants that gradually grew wide as he kept wetting them in horror. As the terrifying figure loomed in on him, John finally screamed but before his instincts could make him punch the figure’s face, two other creepers from the back grabbed his arms and held them behind him. His fear seemed to have drained all the energy out of his body as he merely grimaced and twitched his neck upwards as if avoiding the face that was getting closer and closer to him.

Write a single page summarizing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Write a single page summarizing - Essay Example The company was happy with the product, which manifested great features as compared to Apple II. However, the happiness was cut short, two months after introduction. The project did not consider the available software, as only three existed. Evidently, no software was expected at the time for a period of six months hence making operations difficult. Apple III software was buggy and crashed even at little functions such as the save command. Certainly, this caused frustration among journalists interested in exploring the new device. The problems did not stop at the software, but the motherboard also got hot hence pushing chips out of their sockets. In response, Apple officials advised customers to drop their systems for reset. Nonetheless, the project came at a halt when IBM launched a more effective computer at lower prices ($1,565) than Apple. In this light, customers crossed over to IBM PC without giving apple even the alternative option hence the

Edgar Allan Poe's The Black Cat Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Edgar Allan Poe's The Black Cat - Essay Example At the same time, he says that he is not mad and not mistaken, which also makes the reader to conclude that he is lying. Hence, the author has dissected different aspects of the story like the events, characters and coincidences in the story, to find out the truth. According to Amper, the narrator challenges the readers (and the police) to find out the truth behind the murder by giving an unclear picture of different incidents in the story. The narrator has told the story as if he is putting a puzzle in front of the readers and asking them to put it together. However, the attempt to suppress his strong guilt makes his subconscious mind to provide different cues to the reader. The cues make the readers doubt what the narrator is saying and helps to find the truth about the story. Amper says that the narrator’s subconscious guilt makes it difficult for his conscious mind to hide the truth completely. Hence, according to Amper, the cats are figments of the imagination which the n arrator has invented to replace his wife. The author says that the black cat ‘Pluto’ and the second cat are the imaginary substitutes for his wife, used to hide the guilt behind the heinous nature of his crime. Hence, according to Amper, the cats are nothing but fiction. ... Moreover, two ‘rigorous’ searches made by police makes the author believe that the narrator is lying, as according to the author, it would take more than three days to make the police suspicious about the narrator’s story and conduct ‘rigorous’ search. Moreover, the condition of wife’s dead body convinces the reader that the narrator is lying as according to the author, a body cannot â€Å"decay greatly and clot with the gore† just in three days. The subconscious â€Å"slips† of a tongue in narrator’s story makes the reader realize that the narrator is actually describing the murder of his wife by replacing wife with the cat. Moreover, Amper agrees with Daniel Hoffman, who was first in describing that the â€Å"narrator has substituted the cat for wife and wife for cat†. Hence, all the different fragments of the story like ‘apparition on the wall’, ‘the second cat’, ‘image of gallowsâ €™ etc., are the hallucinations and psychological elements which haunts the narrator due to the burden of the subconscious guilt of killing his wife. However, according to the author, what really exposes the narrator’s lie is his description of the condition of his wife’s body. The author says that â€Å"the greatly decayed state of the corpse† is the highlight of the story and that’s when the reader realizes that the narrator has killed his wife and not the cat and that too, long time back. The author has concluded the article by appreciating Poe for writing a simple yet brilliant detective story that has a touch of psychological thrill to it. Response The article ‘Untold Story: The Lying Narrator In â€Å"The Black Cat†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢, written by Susan Amper, is a deep look at different

Does mode of communication affect childrens speech perception outcomes Essay

Does mode of communication affect childrens speech perception outcomes after cochlear implantation - Essay Example The communication mode is a frequently examined educational variable with relation to post-implant benefit; there are two communication mode approaches, oral communication (OC) approaches and total communication (TC) (Geers, 2002). There has been a lot of controversy as to which approach is better. Proponents of the OC approach maintain that dependence on speech and audition for communication is not only critical for achieving maximum auditory benefit, but the constant use of auditory input to monitor speech production and to comprehend spoken language gives the required practice for optimum benefit from a cochlear implant (Geers, 2002). Oral communication uses various methods like cued speech approach (use of manual cues to complement lip-reading) or the auditory–verbal approach (lip-reading is discouraged and child learns to make use of whatever auditory information is available through his or her sensory device to understand speech) (Geers, 2002). Proponents of the TC approach believe that for a child with severe-to-profound deafness, a greater benefit will be obtained when some kind of manually coded English accompanies speech, and the use of a sign system facilitates the easy assimilation of language through the unimpaired visual modality (Geers, 2002). Following this, the child can associate what is heard through the implant with signed representations of language in order to support spoken language development (Geers, 2002). Total communication also uses various methods like programs relying heavily on signed input with less emphasis on speech and English syntax or programs that emphasize speech, audition, and lip-reading with careful adherence to English syntax and morphology (Geers, 2002). Osberger et al., 1994, aimed to explore the relationship between communication mode and speech intelligibility in children who

The Work of Representation Essay Example for Free

The Work of Representation Essay 1 Representation, meaning and language At first we have to know thatï ¼Å¡ Representation is an essential part of the process by which meaning is produced and exchanged between members of a culture. It does involve the use of language, of signs and images which stand for or represent things. And surly it is not a simple or straightforward process. How this article exploring the concept of representation connect meaning and language to cultureï ¼Å¸ We will be drawing a distinction between three different account or theoriesï ¼Å¡the reflective, the intentional and the constructionist approaches to representation. Most of this text will be exploring the constructionist approach with two major variants or models of the constructionist approach, the semiotic approach- Ferdinand de Saussure and the discursive approach- Michel Foucault. But we have to answer the question firstï ¼Å¡what does the word representation really meanï ¼Å¸ 1.1 Making meaning, Representing things Representation is the production of the meaning of the concepts in our minds through language. There are two processes, two systems of representation. First, there is the system by which all sort of objects, people and events are correlated with a set of concepts or mental representations which we carry around in our heads.ï ¼Ë†like chair, tableï ¼â€° Second, Language is therefore the second system of representation. (When we say we belong to the same culture, it is because we interpret the world in similar ways. That’s why culture is sometimes defined in terms of shared meaning or shared conceptual maps. However we must also able to represent or exchange meanings and concepts.) The relation between things, concepts and signs lies at the heart of the production of meaning in language. The process which links these three elements together is what we call Representation. 1.2 Language and Representation As people who belong to same culture must share a broadly similar conceptual map, so they must also share the same way of interpreting the signs of a language. In the SHEEP example: In order to interpret them, we must have access to the two systems of representation: to a conceptual map which correlates the sheep in the field with the concept of a sheep: and a language system which is visual language, bear some resemblance to the real thing of looks like it in some way. The relationship in the system of representation between sign, the concept and the object to which they might be used to refer is entirely arbitrary.(Tree will not mind if we used the word Seert to represent the concept of them) 1.3 Sharing the codes The meaning is constructed by the system of representation. It is constructed and fixed by the code, which sets up the correlation between our conceptual system and our language system in such a way that, every time we think of a tree the code tells us to use the English word TREE, or Chinese word æ ¨ ¹. The code tells us that in our culture! One way of thinking about culture is in terms of these shared conceptual maps, shared language systems and the codes which govern the relationships of translation between them. Not because such knowledge is imprinted in their genes, but because they learn its conventions and so gradually become culture persons. They unconsciously internalize the codes which allow them to express certain concepts and ideas through their systems of representation. But of our social, cultural and linguistic conventions, then meaning can never be finally fixed, we can all agree to allow words to carry somewhat different meanings. Social and linguistic conventions do change over time. 1.4 Theories of representation In the reflective approach, meaning is thought to lie in the object, person, idea or event in the real world, and language functions like a mirror, to reflect the true meaning as it already exists in the world. We can also call it as mimetic approach. The second approach to meaning in representation argues the opposite case. It holds that it is the speaker the author, who imposes his or her unique meaning on the world through language. Words mean what the author intends they should mean. This is the intentional approach. The third approach recognizes this public, social character of language. Things don’t mean: we construct meaning, using representational systems. Hence it is called the constructionist approach. 1.5 The language of traffic lights The simplest example of this point, which is critical for an understanding of how languages function as representational systems, is the famous traffic lights example. According to the constructionist approach, colors and the language of traffic lights’ work as a signifying or representational system. In the language of traffic lights, it is the sequence and position of the colors, as well as the colors themselves, which enable them to carry meaning and thus function as signs. It is the code that fixes the meaning, not color itself. This also has wider implications for the theory of representation and meaning in language. It means that signs themselves cannot fix meaning. Instead, meaning depends on the relation between a sign and a concept which is fixed by a code. Meaning the constructionist would say, is relational. 2. Saussure’s legacy In the important move, Saussure analysed the sign into two further elements. There was, he argued, the form, and there was the idea or concept in your head with which the form was associated. Saussure called the first element, the signifier, and the second element the signified. Signifierï ¼Å¡ The word or image of a Walkman, for example Signifiedï ¼Å¡ The concept of a portable cassette-player in your head Saussure also insisted on what we called the arbitrary nature of the sign: There is no natural or inevitable link between the signifier and the signified. Signs do not possess a fixed or essential meaning. What signifies, according to Saussure, is not RED or the essence of red-ness, but the difference between RED and GREEN. Signs are members of a system and are defined in relation it the other members of that system. Furthermore, the relation between the signifier and the signified, which is fixed by our cultural codes, is not permanently fixed. BLACK is dark, evil etc. BLACK is beauty. However, if meaning changes, historically, and is never finally fixed, then it follows that taking the meaning must involve an active process of interpretation. There is a necessary and inevitable imprecision about language. 2.1 The social part of language Saussure divided language into two parts. 1.The first consisted of the general rules and codes of the linguistic system, which all its users must share, if it is to be of use as a mean of communication. Saussure called the structure of language, the langue. 2.the second part consisted of the particular acts of apeaking or writing or drawing, which are produced by an actual speaker or writer. He called this, the parole. For Saussure, the underlying structure of rules and codes was the social part of language, the part which could be studied with the law-like precision of a science because of its closed, limited nature. The second part of language, the individual speech-act or utterance, he regarded as the surface of language. In separating the social part of language from the individual act of communication, Saussure broke with our common-sense notion of how language works†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ The author decides what she wants to say, but she cannot decide whether or not to use the rules of language. Critique of Saussure’s model In his own work, he tended to focus almost exclusively on the two aspects of the sign-signifier and signified. He gave little or no attention to how this relation between signifier/signified could serve the purpose of what we called reference. Another problem is that Saussure tended to focus on the formal aspects of language-how language actually works. However, Saussure’s focus on language may have been too exclusive. The attention to its formal aspects did divert attention away from the more interactive and dialogic features of language. Later cultural theorist learned from Saussure’s structuralism but abandoned its scientific premise. Language remains rule-governed. But it is not a closed system which can be reduced to its formal elements. 3.From language to culture: linguistics to semiotics The general approach to the study of signs in culture, and of culture as a sort of language, which Saussure foreshadowed, is now generally known by the term semiotics. The French critic, Roland Barthes, he brought a semiotic approach to bear on reading popular culture, treating these activities and objects as signs, as a language through which meaning is communicated. In much the same way, the French anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss, not by analyzing how these Amazonian peoples, but in terms of what they were trying to say, what messages about the culture they communicated. In the semiotic approach, not only words and images but objects themselves can function as signifiers in the production of meaning. Clothes, for example. In this example, we have moved from the very narrow linguistic level from which we drew examples to a wider, cultural level†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Barthes called the first, descriptive level, the level of denotation: the second level, that of connotation. 3.1 Myth today In his essay Myth today, in Mythologies, Barthes gives another example which helps us to see exactly how representation is working at this second, broader cultural level. a.A black soldier is giving the French flag a salute. b.The Panzani ad for spaghetti and vegetables in a string bag as a myth about Italian national culture. Think of ads, which work in the same way. 4. Discourse, power and subject Already, in Roland Barthes’s work in the 1960s, as we have seen, Saussure’s linguistic model is developed through its application to a much wider field of signs and representations. Semiotics seemed to confine the process of representation to language, and to treat it as a closed, rather static, system†¦some people had more power to speak about some subject than others. Models of representation, these critics agued, ought to focus on these broader issues of knowledge and power. Foucault used the word representation in a narrower sense than we are using it here, but he is considered to have contributed to a novel and significant general approach to the problem of representation. What concerned him was the production of knowledge through what he called discourse. His work was much more historically grounded, more attentive to historical specificities, than the semiotic approach. As he said ‘relation of power, not relation of meaning’ were his main concern. 4.1 From language to discourse Foucault studied not language, but discourse as a system of representation. By ‘discourse’, Foucault meant ‘a group of statements which provide a language for talking bout a particular topic at a particular historical moment†¦.Discourse is a bout the production of knowledge through language. Discourse, Foucault argued, never consist of one statement, one text, one action or one source. The same discourse, characteristic of the way of thinking or the state of knowledge at one time, will appear across a range of texts, and as forms of conduct, at a number of different institutional sites within society. However, whenever these discursive event refer to the same object,†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦, then they are said by Foucault to belong to the same discursive formation. Nothing has any meaning outside of discourse. 4.2 Historicizing discourse: discursive practices Things meant something and were true, he argued, only within a specific historical context. He thought that, in each period, discourse produced forms of knowledge, objects, subjects and practices of knowledge, which differed radically from period to period, with no necessary continuity between them. The mental illness example The homosexual example The hysterical woman example Knowledge about and practices around all these subjects, Foucault argued, were historically and culturally specific. They did not and could not meaningfully exist outside specific discourse. 4.3 From discourse to power/knowledge In his later work Foucault became even more concerned with how knowledge was put to work through discursive practice in specific institutional settings to regulate the conduct of others. This foregrounding of the relation between discourse, knowledge and power marked a significant development in the constructionist approach to representation which we have been outlineing. Foucault’s main argument against the classical Marxist theory of ideology was that it tended to reduce all the relation between knowledge and power to a question of class power and class interests. Secondly, he argued that Marxism tended to truth. But Foucault did not believe that any form of thought could claim an absolute truth of this kind, outside the play of discourse. The Gramsci’s theory has some similarities to Foucault’s position. Knowledge linked to power, not only assumes the authority of the truth but has the power to make itself true. The Regime of truth! Secondly, Foucault advanced an altogether novel conception of power. We tend to think of power as always radiating in a single direction and come from a specific source. It is deployed and exercised through a net-like organization. This suggests that we are all, to some degree, caught up in its circulation- oppressors and oppressed. 4.5 Charcot and the performance of hysteria The activity 7, look the figure 1.8 and answer the follow questions. (page 54.) 5. Where is the subject The conventional notion thinks of the subject as an individual who is fully endowed with consciousness†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦it suggests that, although other people may misunderstand us, we always understand ourselves. Indeed, this is one of Foucault’s most radical propositions: subject is produced with discourse. Foucault’s subject seems to be produced through discourse in two fidderent senses or places. First, the discourse itself produces subject. But the discourse also produces a place for the subject. Subject-positions 5.1 How to make sense of Velasquez’ Las Meninas 5.2 The subject of/in representation Look the Diego Velasquez’ Las Meninas, and follow the question in activity 9. 6. Conclusion: representation, meaning and language reconsidered Representation is the process by which members of a culture use language to produce meaning. Meaning, consequently, will always change, from on culture or period to another. Because meanings are always changing and slipping, codes operate more like social conventions than like fixed laws or unbreakable rules. In semiotic, we will recall the importance of signifier/signified, langue/parole and myth, and how the marking of difference and binary oppositions are crucial for meaning. In the discursive approach, we will recall discursive formation, power/knowledge, the idea of a regime of truth, the way discourse also produces the subject and defines the subject-positions from which knowledge proceeds and indeed, the return of questions about the subject to the field of representation.

Conceptualization of the study Essay Example for Free

Conceptualization of the study Essay Traditionally since its inception, The Black Church in America has been a symbol of unity in the black community. In times of crisis it has cut across various religious positions and has served as a spiritual base camp for blacks in America for many years. It has also played a role in community participation, social activities and provided care for the sick and a place of refuge for the poor. During the civil rights movement the black community looked to the church leaders as an instrument that could effect change for their social conditions. During that time, black church leaders were influential to many of the social changes that we partake of today. Any important institution of society will have a number of roles and functions, and thus, an impact upon its membership. The Black church is no exception. In his study of the Black church, distinguished social scientist E. Franklin Frazier included a chapter, â€Å"The Black Church: Nation within a Nation,† in which he saw the church as an â€Å"agency of social control,’’ as an â€Å"economic cooperative,’’ as an â€Å"educational institution,’’ as an â€Å"arena of political life,’’ and as a â€Å"refuge in a hostile white world: (Frazier, 1964). These functions—political, economic, social, and security—all attest to the secular scope of the Black church. Some students of the Black church have supported this view of the church’s secular function. An example is Joseph Washington, Jr. (1964), referring to the work of the late Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. as an extension of the religious role of the church into the civil rights area. Although Washington viewed King’s philosophy as a perversion of the uses of Christian theology, and tended to view this activity as negative, his rationale was based on a lack of emphasis on theology in the Black church. Other writers have tended to support the view that, the function of the Black church was not so much to foster the spiritual growth of its members by its adherence to and development of the normal Christian theology of the church, as it was to serve their spiritually-related secular needs. St. Clair Drake and Horace Cayton, for instance, say in their study of the Black church in Chicago in the 1930’s: The Negro Church is ostensibly a â€Å"religious organization,’’ but Bronzeville expects it, too, to â€Å"advance the race. † Negro Baptists think of their congregation as a â€Å"Race Church,† and their leaders concern themselves with such matters as fighting the job ceiling and demanding equal economic opportunity as well as â€Å"serving the Lord. † (Drake and Cayton, 1970 Pg 167). Kelly Miller also says that the Black church â€Å" was not yet able to formulate a theological statement of its doctrine,’’ that it broke from the white church and â€Å"decided to go worship God under its own fig tree,† and in so doing, developed a distinctive orientation (Miller, 1968). Others, however, such as Gayraud S. Wilmore and James Cone, built on the Drake and Cayton notion of the Black church as a â€Å"race church. † They outlined the tendency of the Black church to be responsive to the dominant forces in the Black community by pointing to the compatibility between the â€Å"Blackness† of the church and the dominant ideologies—such as Black power—in the community (Wilmore, 1973; Cone, 1969). Assuming these notions are true, it should be possible to test a theory of the responsiveness of the Black Church. Learning more about the function of the Black church is made urgent by the increased necessity for it to be responsive to the social needs of the Black community. The nature of these social needs is made urgent by the many new problems, of this age. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM AND PURPOSE Today’s Problems which relate to the role of the church in secular activities is in its relationship to black families. The number of black families headed by black females has continued to rise over the years verses other ethnic groups. This dramatic rise may be attributed to an increase in babies born out of wedlock, divorce and separations, all of which have more serious underlying causes, and which also have ramifications on the ability to maintain adequate income for provisional needs. The church formerly was the home for many entire extended families in the Black community; as such, it played a role in establishing standards of conduct; legitimizing births, marriages, and deaths; educating and caring for children; and counseling married individuals. Consequently, the church was a resource center for the Black family, and played a role in its survival. If there are now new pressures on the family which—in addition to employment-related difficulties—threaten the survival of the family, it is also worthwhile to assess the modern role of the church and the extent to which it provides services to meet these new needs. In light of the current problems facing the Black community, it is appropriate and necessary that a new assessment be made of the various institutions within the community which played a role in its progress. PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY The purpose of this study is to ascertain the present-day role of the Black church as a community institution, particularly with respect to the views of the church’s leadership, membership, and individuals in the community. To what extent, if any, does the church leadership believe that the Black church should be involved in the community? How do church members perceive the scope of the church as it relates to non-secular activities? And to what extent do residents, especially non-church members, view the church as a community resource? IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY 1. To gain insight of how church leaders and members, perceive the role of the Black church in the 21st Century. 2. To understand the communities view of what role the church should play in the political, social and economic activities of the community. 3. To define to what extent the black church will sponsor religious and secular programs. ASSUMPTIONS This study was prepared based upon the following assumptions: 1. To assist the church in bridging the gap and being more effective in its mission to serve through its activities. 2. To broaden the awareness of church leaders and members on the needs of the black community it serves. 3. To demonstrate to local leaders the contributions the black church has to offer for the welfare of its citizens. 4. To identify church programs that shows potential for future community growth. LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY The study will be limited in the following way: 1. The primary focus of this study is to identify the impact of the black church in the community in which it exists. DEFINITION OF TERMS The following terms are defined to clarify their meaning in the context of study: Culture: The acquired knowledge, traits and symbols of a society Community: A group of people living in the same locally and under the same government. Secular: Not specifically relating to religion or to a religious body. METHOD OF STUDY This action research study will utilize action research, implementing quantitative research techniques. Quantitative research was selected for this study because it generates the comprehensive data needed for verification of results. ACTION RESEARCH The primary research method selected for this study is action research, because action research is concerned with improving a specific situation. Isaac and Michael validated the appropriateness of action research by confirming that it provides an organized structure to develop new skills or new approaches and so to solve problems with direct application to the classroom or working world setting. They suggested an orderly framework for problem solving and new developments that are superior to the impressionistic, fragmentary approach that typifies developments in education (1974, 13-30). Lewin, however, is credited with developing the term action research in 1944. He described the method as a cyclic operation in which the researcher is a participant in the process rather than a disinterested observer. The following steps are included in an action research study: (1) a planning or conceptualization step; (2) research or a fact-finding step; (3) an evaluation step; and (4) an execution step (1948, 34-36) Fermin and Levin in 1975 further described the research design as a preliminary and flexible strategy of investigation strategy of investigation or plan of action. The research is aimed at discovering â€Å"why,† and as a result, focuses centrally upon explaining social or political phenomena with answers of a theoretical nature. The research operates at a fuller or higher level of description, which includes making rational statements containing reasons or causes for behavior. Borg argued that action research design has as the chief benefit (1) a practical solution to a problem that may lead to a permanent improvement in the research environment; (2) it is the most appropriate method when practical significance is required rather than statistical and (3) the applicability of the finds are immediate and often of permanent improvement (1963, 319-322). QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH Isaac and Michael described quantitative research as allowing the researcher to formulate research questions or hypotheses and then to test each under controlled conditions. They decided its greatest merit is the convincing nature of hard data collected that can speak for itself (1974, 354-355). PROCEDURES To conduct this study, the following actions will be taken regarding each of the objectives: First objective: To identify and report the desired behaviors required for future Christian education leaders. 1. The literature of the field will be reviewed in the following areas: (a) Biblical context, (b) Church History, and (c) contemporary ministry. 2. The findings of the literature will be reported in chapter 2. Second objective: To validate the behaviors identified in the literature review. In order for the inventory of behaviors to be comprehensive, Flanagan stated that it is necessary to obtain a sufficiently representative sample (1949, 343). a) The degree of mutuality existing among the behaviors reported will be identified with respect to the different clusters. b) The number of behaviors will continue to be reduced by combining similar behaviors and writing new descriptions without regard for specific categories. c) The final inventory of administrative behaviors will be produced by the researcher. 2. The findings of the inventory of behaviors will be reported in chapter 3. Third objective: To make appropriate recommendations on the selection and training of future education administrators. 1. The study, including the findings of objectives 1 and 2 will be reviewed and summarized. 2. Appropriate conclusions will be drawn. 3. Specific recommendation which emerge from the study will be made, including suggestions for utilization of the competency areas recommended by the study, and suggestions for further research. 4. The summary, conclusions, and recommendation including check list will be reported in chapter 4. ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY The study will be organized into four chapters in accordance with the Action Research, as table 1 displays. TABLE 1 Organization of the study based on action research Action Research Steps Chapters 1 2 3 4 Planning/Conceptualization X Fact Finding X X X Evaluation X Chapter 1 has stated the problem and purpose, explained the importance of the study, and stated the method. Chapter 2 will survey the literature to identify and report behaviors required to effectively analyze the characteristics of the church leaders, church members and surrounding neighborhood. Chapter 3 will report the validated behaviors for the role of the church. Chapter 4 will review and summarized the study, offer appropriate conclusion and discuss recommendations for change and future study. CHAPTER 2 CHARACTERISTICS We expect every church planter either black or white to be a good leader. Everyone else who knows about leader and his ministry, even including his group people expect it too. This is truly right no matter who a church planter is, may be any man or woman, may be a minister having both in church and outside of the church jobs. He may be a permanent pastor. Every church planter must enquire about his personality by self-questioning in such a personal way so that obtaining answers can help him to be sure about his decision and can help him to find out his true calling these answer can also help planter to know his future as a leader of his group. Our own understanding taught us about good leaders and leadership which we learned by working with different leaders. These leaders are the ones that people have known, read or watched about them. A successful leader has four elements including organization second program third morale and forth leadership. The greatest of four is leadership. Although morale is condition of mind and character that shows the person is brave. It also includes ability to do things with full trust on your self. The organizational element is based on morale followers; program of a church goes where the leadership goes. People have studied different kinds of leaders in secular history and in the Bible. The Lord Jesus Christ is their example as a true leader in Christian service. In the Bible God chose many people as leaders in His work for example Abraham, Noah, Nehemiah, Joseph, Paul and Daniel. Whenever the God leads anyone to think, about going into the Christian ministry he must look for a person who could demonstrate Him, what His person really used to be. A question also rises of what does God require of that person as His leader? And what it takes to be a good leader? The needed qualities of a Christian leader or a church planter should be as the Joseph had he even became a picture or copy of Jesus Christ. Josephs acts and character were good qualities for a church leader any church leader with these characteristics will definitely have success. â€Å"It is vital that counselors who collaborate with African American congregations understand that titles and the values assigned to them can be very important in the Black church and within many African American families. Counselors who do not use the formal titles of ministers, church leaders, older church members, and members who have earned doctoral degrees run the risk of hampered rapport. † (2005, 147) The God selected some of His people to be prophets, apostles, pastors, missionaries, and teachers, so that His people would be taught to serve and would become strong. This will carry on until we are united on accepting the Son of God by our faith. All the church has realized the need for leadership; they spend a big part of their life with the life of the church. People often think about the job of church leaders without attempting to connect their roles to the nature and purpose of the church. It means that church leaders become functionaries rather than ministers and become organization maintainers rather than church mission leader. But true black church leader as a person is that who uses his gifts to facilitate others in ministry, and then making suggestions and observations for implications to church. TESTIMONY OF PERSONAL CONNECTION WITH GOD When we talk about a church leader having a testimony, it proofs that God is with the leader and leader is with God. A church leader seeks a leadership ministry in Gods service and discusses his personal experience in the Christ. Sharing of a Christian testimony with others in public is the result of that personal experience. â€Å"The LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian† (Genesis 39:2) Private and public life of a church leader, as a Christian, supports his testimony and influences others to become Christian. People expect church leader to be person who follows words and prayers of God. A church leader demonstrates people by giving example of personal closeness to God in his private and public. People judge their weaknesses with the help of purposeful Christian testimony of the leader. A church leader witnesses for Christ through his hands, lips, works and entire life. STRONG CERTAINTY AS A CHURCH LEADER Certainty represents freedom and surety of fact from doubt. It means a church leader is ahead of all other people sent by God. A church leader has a sense of call to be Gods leader so it gives him a special desire for leadership ministry. It also gives him a deep faith that God has His hands in his progress. It helps in making him sure that God wants him to be a church leader. â€Å"†¦. God sent me ahead of you†¦.. to preserve for you a remnant on earth †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. it was not you who sent me here, but God† (Gen 45. 5,7,8). His firm belief gives him inner faith and courage and helps him to go through hard times in his work by staying firmly on the job until finish it according to God’s order. He does his job with dignity and proud character and blessings of the God who asked him to lead and serve. â€Å"Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God† (Romans 1). The ministry requires church leaders to be certain of their calling as Gods leaders. INTEGRITY BEING A PART OF PERSONALITY Integrity is being truthful and honest. It also refers moral excellence and living and doing in a right manner. A church leader is true to him-self and keeps him-self pure and honorable. He knows the importance to keep integrity in front of God and people. Integrity as a needed quality for church leaders, and a church leader is free from any blame. He stands for God before his group and the people inside and outside of the church. A church planter makes a new church healthy when he has integrity in his private and public life. He knows how important it is for him to have authority as a leader, not only for just leadership but a church leader shows it in daily life. People need church leaders having integrity in their personality to teach them the difference between the right and wrong and help them choosing the right. DISTINCT CAPABILITIES When we talk about capabilities it represents fitness or ability. Distinct capability of a church leader enables him to do his job in a good manner wherever he serves people. Church leaders are good mentors they are wise and trusted persons who give advices. A church leader keeps on improving his talent by using his mentor and measuring obtaining results. People think that the greatest ability of a church leader is that, he depends only on God to avoid making mistakes in delivering his services to both God and people. Ability for church leading or planting is one of the parts of learnt talents of a church leader. USE OF AUTHORITY A church leader should use his authority properly which is given by the God and community. A church leader is not a good leader if no one is following him. People obey him because of his owning authority and their trust on his authority. Church leaders know above all else, that their power as a leader came from God. They receive authority and become God’s witnesses when the Holy Spirit appears on them. A church leader understands that his leadership power comes from the God and understands that those, whom he serves, give him authority as a leader. â€Å"A Christian does not forget that his leadership depends on responsibility that goes with authority† (2-corinthians-5:9) A church leader uses these blessings for establishing of the groups or churches, his position as a leader is to achieve success in carrying out Gods purpose. If a church leader uses his authority in a wrong or bad use then he will definitely suffer for his doings. The church leaders should not forget that their leaderships depend on responsibility and their authority goes with equal responsibility. It means they should be able to believe and precede these authorities in a reasonable manner. ACCOUNTABLE A church leader is responsible for using church assets and other resources in an appropriate manner – he should be accountable for himself. So Pharaoh said to Joseph, Im putting you in charge of the whole land of Egypt’ (Genesis 41:41). They trusted Joseph because of his self accountability. People who follow and support a church leader do not question about his plans for them. He opens his books for others to see and believes that honesty is a good policy. Church leaders spend their life on good and respected principles, the God and people expect that every church leader must have all of the qualities of Abraham, Noah, etc. A Church leader in leadership position is believed accountable and honest Christian leader. He needs to love the God’s messenger’s reports or reviews and do what they do. The reports or reviews help him to improve from good to a better leader. A church leader makes decisions according to religious possibilities; he accepts responsibility for the obtaining result of his decisions. People usually do not consider religious aspects in their routine they read religious books like open letters. A church leader knows how to make good decisions, he then lives with the decisions that he has made and accepts responsibility for his works. PLANS AND DIRECT ACTIONS A church leader knows how to plan and direct actions to avoid any mistakes being made. He formulates and deploys plans to achieve objectives – he directs the work accordingly until it finishes. He creates different questions in his mind; for example, what to do, why to do it, when to do it, how to do it, who to do, and how to finish it. A church leader’s plans are simple, people who work as group members and other people who follow him understand his plans clearly. He forms teams and give them duties so that they can work with authority and responsibility. He makes rules that people accept to follow. The God wants a church leader to share His vision with his team members and people. A good church leader knows how to put the God given plan into practice. A church leader is the person who influences his team members and leads team members to carry out the agreed objectives, by following the example of the Christ. People under him follow his way of life; a church leader gets people to act on church and mission goals, and he also ministers the need of people. A Church leader humbly realizes that he needs Gods help and needs it in developing good plans that will work for others. These working plans then successfully meet the desired goals. A church leader does not build plans for other people to merely honor them, but he does it for the good of his people with everlasting results. UNCHANGED LOYALTY A church leader demonstrates loyalty that never changes. A church leader is faithful to his promises and duties. He never finds fault in his job; people respect him as a man of God living among them. A church leader gives his life to Gods mission and purpose and spends his entire life doing it. Loyalty being a leadership quality, a church leader is always loyal to God and his people. A church leader needs loyalty to start and grow a church or group. A loyal church leader is the base of a healthy church to grow and a key element for a church to produce other churches. A church leader influences others in his ministry through his loyalty to Jesus Christ as the Savior and Lord. A loyal church leader produces loyal members he starts and finishes his job with his team very well. A successful Christian leader is always keen and willing to work with a community or groups. He has a strong desire to develop community services together. USE OF GOD’S GIFTS God has gifted all people with different abilities and characteristics. Nowadays, this divine gift directs people to serve churches, as ushers, church school teachers, financial officers, directors of food pantries, youth leaders, and in so many other roles. It all starts with gifts, which can be utilized in a variety of ways. Gifts are given by the God to everyone. The God doesn’t limit the gifts to his people, so we shouldn’t limit leadership to others. The potential to lead by using gifts for enabling others in ministry does not requires intelligence, education, economic status, age, gender, or any other human distinction. â€Å"Children and youth, as well as adults, all are gifted. Women and men, boys and girls have all been gifted which they can use in leadership of a church. It does not mean, however, that everyone should be an administrator of a church†. Gifts are several and of different nature, the variety of these gifts is much greater than churches usually realize. There are many gifts beyond the gifts that are usually used in preaching, teaching, and committee work. If one is to use all God given gifts for his leadership within a church, he/she must discover that wide range of gifts, and welcome the spirit to employ them. It is not always an easy task for a human to identify gifts since gifts have strange way of hiding themselves, particularly from those people who hold them. God’s given gifts are so much a part of our personality that people not likely to think of them as gifts. For example, if a person is a good organizer, he must recognize this specialty and take it as a gift given by God. As God’s gifts are discovered by interacting with others. However, discovering gifts is not enough because many people use there gifts haphazardly, with no attention to their development. God’s given gift’s effectiveness can be significantly enhanced through intentional development of them. For example, if a person with natural painting ability can choose not to practice or take lessons and keep his ability as hobby and keeps his gift undefined from being fully utilized for service. The church leaders provide opportunities to people for training and development of Gods given gifts. They are intentional about using these gifts of children and youth in future leadership. The church leaders encourage their members to affirm and identify one another’s gifts. People discover and experiments their gifts in an atmosphere of acceptance provided by the church leader. A church leader expands his understanding in order to be comprehensive and not neglect people’s gifts. CHURCH LEADER ENABLES OTHERS A church leader uses his gifts to enable others to discover, develops, and use their God’s given gifts. A church leader truly enables other people helping them to become God‘s intended persons. This is not a true leadership to just manipulate others to act in a certain manner. A church leader puts aside his or own ego needs and coach others in such a way that help them blossom. The key function of a church leader is to facilitate others by helping them in discovering, developing, and effectively utilizing their God given gifts. Church leaders have five essential components to enable people. These are helping them to gain knowledge, encourage personal growth, assist them in working with others, aid in skill development, and provide appropriate settings. Here the term â€Å"Knowledge† is about information of the Christian traditions, quality Bible study, the nature and mission of the church, and the expert knowledge related to particular areas of services. The personal growth includes people growth as they develop awareness of giftedness, self knowledge, and understanding of purpose, which is firmly stable in a relationship with Jesus Christ. A church leader is able to work well with others; it is an essential element of the leadership. Skills development includes effective communication, managing small group, organization, and having healthy relationships with others that is beneficial for his ministry. A church leader gives importance to people using their gifts in such circumstance that improve potential of their success. The role of a church leader is not always immediate or direct. If a person who provides nurture to young children is providing early enabling for the leadership of others. Therefore, a church leader needs to be seen in his every task in terms of how it enables people for ministry. The Church leadership as a service may be a new perception for some people, so the church needs to have deep study that explores up Jesus’ own servant leadership model. A church leader must provide opportunities and safe places for members to develop and use their God given gifts. Discovering and developing God’s gifts for people is not an end in itself. The ministry for which people are gifted is on a large scale, taking its place within and outside a church, even extends throughout the God’s world. The black church is the one place in our community where people come together and pool their resources to better minister to the church and the community (1993, 54). There are mutual ministries among church members as accepting, loving, available, supportive, and accountable community of faith. Out of the church’s boundaries, church leaders respond to human need by teaching love and hope, empowering the powerless, uplifting the poor, restoring creation, confronting all that harms persons and creation, and reconciling persons to God and one another. People note different implications for churches because the growth of effective leaders is grounded in a churchs vision of its ministry, a declaration of that vision needs not only to be created, but also acted on. Churchs involvements within and outside of the church provides a map of leadership opportunities by providing a starting point for selecting and developing leaders. COMMUNITY BEHAVIOR African American spirituality has woven collectively the best of African Anglo cultures to creatively shape their own African American identity. While black peoples have not been socially, politically or economically free in the history, the practice of spirituality has facilitated the development of different forms of cultural and spiritual freedom by interpreting, transcending and embracing, the constraints of an oppressive culture. Furthermore, the development of their own beliefs, norms, forms, practices, and structures has given rise to a culture and life that is a distinctive form of human survival, existence, and, freedom most importantly. The black churches as the centers of freedom influenced the praxis of African-American spirituality. They have become safe places where blacks gathered to embrace their combined concerns as a community of faith. They have been the only institutions in the African American experience that has continued relative independence from the domesticating influence of white pressure and overlords. Some black churches consider may be the last place to see integration due to the need to maintain a power base not available to black people elsewhere. After reviewing some aspects of worship as the context for cultural and spiritual freedom, black preaching in and out sides of the black churches are one of the most powerful expressions of freedom for black people in America. The ability to produce a soul language that defines truth into systems of meaning gives power and purpose to black people. Subsequently, Black community successfully adopts and adapts the structures of the much larger culture for their own purpose this practice comes from a double consciousness or translating. African Americans translated the experience of one kind to that of another which leading them to freedom. Therefore, black people spirituality gave freedom to the spirit and mind that the external condition could not take away. The religious approach is due to a deep faith in the sacredness of life that reaffirmed a personal dignity in blacks which resulted in the practice of nonviolence and mercy. Black community determines themselves how they responded to oppression. Various forms expressing improvisation and innovation from black soul forces constituted black culture. These forms under the subtitles black music, literature, humor, folk tales, sports, art and dance; and their worship forms under the headings of prayer, shouting, healing, dancing, singing praising and instrumental music transformation, teaching and preaching. These forms express that what is true and valuable will be determined by black community itself and will subvert and defy attempts of the larger culture to discern.

Comparison Italian And German Fascism

Comparison Italian And German Fascism In the 20th century there were a lot of rises and falls of many types of government. In some cases, two world wars influenced these events and multiple changes arose in power. The First World War gave way to such styles of rule as Fascism and Nazism. Very often these two ideologies are conflated as the same thing. However, while there are similarities between these concepts, a lot of differences also exist, that need to be mentioned. In order to understand these two movements, one should get to know the meaning of these terms. Such political ideology as Fascism is used in reference to the style of ruling that arose in Italy after The First World War and was represented by Benito Mussolini. And Nazism is embodied by the man who might be a true Nazist itself, Adam Hitler. Fascism could be considered as militant political movement that emphasized loyalty to the state and obedience to the leader. It based on the principles of Authoritarianism: government tried to organize and control with strong discipline as much as possible in peoples lives. The first obvious difference between these two political systems is about the intention: Hitlers Nazi wanted to avenge what the world done to them after the World War I, he wished Germany to gain the hegemony all over Europe. While Mussolinis fascism just wanted to reconstruct Roman Empire, build up the southern part from agriculture to industrial as the northern part of Italy. Other areas of differences between Germany and Italy involve their people. Hitler had peoples support till the end, while Mussolini gradually lost peoples faith. After the World War I, Germany and Italy were in the same period of difficulty. Germany was considered to be the nation that made the war breaks out. Because of this reason, they had to pay massive reparations to some countries. It harmed their economy so much, and embarrassed the German people. This pushed up Hitler to start his ideas of new political policies called Nazism. Main points of this policy was to demanded more land, expand anti-semitism, and to make Germany become a super nation. Hitler used political propaganda to fuel their cause against the enemy. One of propagandas methods was the radio. That is kind of demagogism, the people knew nothing about the truth, but lies. Hitlers Nazi were also against the Jews, use them as scapegoat. Jews were cheated extremely rude. About economic, Hitlers Nazi could help their people out of the crisis, all economic activities devoted to the nation and the enlargement of the army. Role of women was not be respected, under Nazism, women ha ve only role to take care of children and support their husband to serve the state. No place for women in any important field like political or economic. About Italy, Mussolinis fascism was the only policy which have freedom, all others were extinguished. All people who against the new policy was killed or exiled. Though parliament still met, all the important decisions were done by Fascism party, all followed what the dictator Mussolini told. Local power replaced by the mandarins appointed from Rome. Local fascists always had the same power as the government officials. No freedom of press in Italy that time, all the press, radio, movies, theatre were censorship strictly. All anti-fascism editors were replaced by fascist supporters. Schooling was tightly supervised, all books were rewritten to praise the fascist system. Teachers must wear uniform, students had the right to point out any teachers who did not have the fervency to the fascism. All the economic activities also under controlled by corporate state, they tried to harmonize the employers from all class. Lockouts and strikes were not allowed. About religion, especially here is Catholic, was forced. No other religions could exist. In spite of these differences, these two fascism states share many important experiences. Since Mussolini and Hitler are allies, the way they used fascism is very similar, they have almost the same political point of view. Both of them were dictator fascists, looked for the new form of government: totalitarianism. They love to use violent, followed the doctrine of anti-democratic and anti-socialist, despised to civil rights and individual liberties. Their political ideologies formed just after the World War I. Violent propaganda was the key tool in both nations to increase social conflict everywhere in their nations, enabled the fascism government to dominate the points of view of the public to what they want to. The education systems in Germany and Italy were also very similar. The main purpose in education was to create as much well-trained and loyal soldiers as possible, because of the physical training was a major part of education. The womens role in both states was not respecte d. France is considered as the common enemy for both Germany and Italy, because France invaded territories of both two countries. All characters above may be not enough, but they are somehow representative for the similarities between Italian Fascism and Nazis Germany. Although political systems of Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany differ from each other in many areas, but they still share some common experiences. As James Brown quotes: Fascism and Nazism, although poles apart in their intellectual content, are similar in this, that both have emotional appeal to the type of personality that takes pleasure in being submerged in a mass movement and submitting to superior authority.

Characters and Staging of A Streetcar Named Desire Essay -- Tennessee

     Ã‚   In Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire, the characters are extremely well defined.   In fact, they are so well defined obtuse critics have characterized them as two-dimensional, but Williams drew them that way intentionally so as to underscore the flaws that make their characters so memorable.    Blanche is an aging single Southern woman whose best days are in the past.   Blanche has not been able to make the adjustment from when she was the belle of the county at Belle Reeve, her family's southern home, to the harsh realities of her present situation, one in which she has always "depended on the kindness of strangers" (142).   All of her attempts at living in reality involve her trying to keep up appearances to match the fantasy "self" she sees in her mind.   Stella adjusted to the loss of Belle Reeve better than Blanche, but she cannot resist being submissive to her brutish husband, her way of maintaining an identity.   Stanley is all animal passion and male hormones.   He works, eats, drinks, plays poker with the guys and has sex.   If he has to slap his wife around once in a while to maintain order that's alright by him.   Mitch is the perfect mama's boy and he cannot help being at the mercy of his illusions regarding women.   He is used to being mothered and he is a middle-aged bachelor who carries around a cigarette case given to him by a formed love interest who died.   He is no more in reality where his idealization of women is concerned than Blanch is regarding her feminine appeal to men.   Everyone but Stanley is filled with illusions and needs, but Stanley is all passion and animal hunger, hunger he satiates in whatever way pleases him.   The characters are reinforced by the dialogue as we see Blanche beg St... ...d we could hear it rumbling on the tracks as Stanley erupts in one of his angry outbursts).  Ã‚   Music of black performers should also be heard occasionally.   Music could also accentuate the date between Blanche and Mitch and it could be used effectively to help set the time and tone and flavor of the south during Blanches recollections of Belle Reeve.   The character I relate to most is Stanley because it would be fun to play a sensitive brute who only was a slave to his animal passions regardless of anyone else.   While it would be hard to surpass the film casting of Vivien Leigh, Marlon Brando, Kim Hunter and Karl Malden in the lead roles, modern actors might include Kathleen Turner (Blanche), Brad Pitt (Stanley), Drew Barrymore (Kim Hunter) and Dabney Coleman (Mitch).      WORKS   CITED    Williams, T.   A Streetcar Named Desire.   Signet Books, NY:   1947.