A Book Review From the Shadows by Robert M. Gates

As the lone individual to work in the White House staff of four Presidents and goes up from an entry-level analyst to a CIA director, Robert Gates is exceptionally fit to tell the extraordinary story of the Cold War. Basing on his access to top secret information and top-level participation in policy decision, Gates puts down naked the concealed wars and actions.Advertising We will write a custom term paper sample on A Book Review: From the Shadows by Robert M. Gates specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The main thesis of Gates is the fall down of the Soviet Union and the steps that the United States took so as to speed up its termination. Gates (1997) explains that â€Å"modernization of ABM sites would continue to be a high Soviet priority until the end of the Cold War† (P. 37). Gates is hurting in his book when he argues that Gorbachev’s frenzied waving of the olive bough left him cynical and vigilant but not sightles s. He is not the earliest to make this declaration, which has glimmered strong arguments. The cold war has history that can be traced to World War I and finished, as it started, with a transformation of route by the man in command at Moscow. As Gates (1997) expresses, â€Å"the last phase of the cold war was an excellent deal like a prizefight wherein an unexpected outbreak of hooks and jabs in the ninth circle placed the huge guy down on a single knee for the tally† (p.125). However, Gate’s account cannot be released out of hand as war is not too tough a word for a martial struggle which from time to time endangered to end development in a day, and the martial and political difficulties lifted by President Reagan in the 1980s could not simply be argued against by a Soviet Union in ongoing economic challenges. The Soviet Union and the United States was unquestionably toe-to-toe during the cold war decades and the fall down of the Soviet Union looked like a military con quer in each respect. Gates believed in the American foreign and military rules-where we sketched the line, the weaponry we acquired to guard it-accounts for the way things happen, and we cannot rather discard the prizefight comparison except if we have a clearer explanation to give in its place.Advertising Looking for term paper on history? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Gates got to his corner of the combat zone in August 1968, a day prior to the marching of Warsaw Pact military into Czechoslovakia to invalidate a challenge to Communist law, and he stepped into the CIA’s intelligence management in the position of a Soviet analyst. That certain protrusion of naked martial supremacy by the Soviet Union entirely embodied the nature of its rule for two imminent decades, including suppression of censure at home, supreme military hold up for North Vietnam in its triumphant war in opposition to the United States, backing of Cuban defense forces in Africa, employment of a refined new age group of nuclear armaments beset on Western Europe, martial and economic support for a leftist government in Nicaragua which was aggressively trying to challenge its neighbors, a whole attack of Afghanistan, diligent military novelty, the maltreatment of world’s view to recognize and applause the Soviet state as legal. The solemn question in Gate’s book is how these schemes could all fall short, and the nation that backed them fall down and vanish with no strength to endure the heartbreak of a vast war, which normally marks the failure of realms. Commend for the ending, in Gate’s outlook, goes mainly to the United States, for doing three things correctly. First, it defied Soviet military plans wherever they showed up. The moment the Soviets’ escaped strategic weapons plan was acknowledged for its challenge, the United States boarded on innovation efforts of its own. Gates (1997) explains thi s as â€Å"new missiles with more warheads and more accurate delivery systems, new, command and control systems which would allow the United States to fight a nuclear war by stages† (p. 256). These labors were planned to maintain a possible US risk to use nuclear armaments in the occurrence of war. The new costly round of American expenditure on strategic military was accompanied by readiness to confront Soviet friends, partners, and patrons in Africa, Afghanistan and Central America. Gates says little about the brutality of these surrogate wars; what attracts him is that the American back up for the Mujahedeen and Contras augmented the economic and political force on the Soviet Union, already pushed to meet the many defense funds of Presidents Carter and Reagan.Advertising We will write a custom term paper sample on A Book Review: From the Shadows by Robert M. Gates specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More According to Gates (199 7), the second fixate that Americans did correctly was to exchange acknowledgment of Europe frontiers for Soviet accord to what was officially known as â€Å"Basket III of the Helsinki Accords of 1975† (p. 256). This was a human rights movement. President Ford was strongly condemned by conservatives for thus legalizing Soviet rule within Eastern Europe in exchange for bare persiflage on human rights, which was expected to be ignored by the Soviets. President Carter was also much condemned for pressing the foundation of human rights whilst it only aggravated the Soviets, radiated a dark covering over arms-control discussions, and endangered growing business associations. According to Gates, apart from IT being an immaterial disruption, the Western force for human rights motivated rebels throughout the Soviet territory and distressed Soviet leaders that their ruling was being questioned. As Gates (1997) explains, the Helsinki Watch group that coiled up in Eastern Europe and Mos cow gripped merciless interest from the secret police, â€Å"but jail, exile, and brutal maltreatment in psychiatric facilities became the subjects of a robust underground literature† (p. 36). Broadcasting such maltreatment steadily damaged the communist affectations that the party’s rule was founded on anything in addition to the power of the police and army. When Gorbachev, looking for a constituency for transformation, embraced honesty, he summoned to civic life a class previously schooled in non-interventionist debate and disappointed with the heritage of Lenin. Finally, Bush was assaulted by US activists for his August 1991 speech conveyed in Kiev; capital of Ukraine, after the bonds gripping the Soviet Union jointly had clearly unraveled to the point of contravention. Gorbachev’s transformation had run out of haze and reports of a forceful coup were far-reaching Moscow.Advertising Looking for term paper on history? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Gates (1997) says that, â€Å"the thrashing of Ukraine, deafening in its stress for sovereignty would be the last straw for the man Bush saw as his colleague in maintaining peace† (p.518). Any self-effacing tilt of the cap to Ukrainian expectations would have succeeded Bush approval at home. However, Gates (1997) explains that â€Å"he turned down the Ukrainian parliament, in the final weeks of the life of the evil empire† (p. 257). Critical review Regrettably, Robert Gates decided to write down a book seeking broad audience and disregarding source references.. Gate’s book, part of account and part of past review , claims to deal with the whole phase from 1969 to 1991, but it is feeble on the era prior to the 1980’s, except from some fascinating remarks on the Carter administration. It approaches its hold happening on the Reagan and Bush administrators. Also, even though hyped as the story of the first CIA analyst to turn out to be a director of central i ntelligence, Gate’s encounters as a sharp analyst were concise. Moreover, aside from progressively added executive positions and senior staffs in the CIA, almost half of his Washington vocation was used up in three trips to the National Security Council (NSC) STAFF IN THE White House. Gates (1997) puts it in reference to his era in the White House as, â€Å"I spent more years working there than any president but Franklin Roosevelt† (p.574). Gates has several insightful observations to formulate about American procedures. He portrays attention to the fundamental underlying permanence of rules in all cold war presidents, with a changeable mix of disagreement and varying combinations of hawks and doves in every government. Specifically, he puts emphasis on the commonly unrewarding continuity of rules under Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter, together with a common military increase, a strong line pressing civil rights issues, and even concealed operations. In my opinion, he i s right on this. In conclusion, basing on his access to top secret information, Gates tells the inside story of the five presidents and how they won the cold war. The main thesis of his work is the fall down of the Soviet Union the steps that the United States took so as to speed up its termination. However, Gate’s book is much criticized. One of the criticisms is that part of account and part of past review , claims to deal with the whole phase from 1969 to 1991, but it is feeble on the era prior to the 1980’s, except from some fascinating remarks on the Carter administration. Reference Gates, R.M. (1997). From the shadows: the ultimate insider’s story of five presidents and how they won the cold war. New York: Simon Schuster. This term paper on A Book Review: From the Shadows by Robert M. Gates was written and submitted by user Travis Golden to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Thurgood Marshall, First Black Supreme Court Justice

Thurgood Marshall, First Black Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall (July 2, 1908–January 24, 1993), the great-grandson of slaves, was the first African-American justice appointed to the United States Supreme Court, where he served from 1967 to 1991. Earlier in his career, Marshall was a pioneering civil rights attorney who successfully argued the landmark case Brown v. Board of Education, a major step in the fight to desegregate American schools. The 1954 Brown decision is considered one of the most significant civil rights victories of the 20th century. Fast Facts: Thurgood Marshall Known For: First African-American Supreme Court justice, landmark civil rights lawyerAlso Known As: Thoroughgood Marshall, Great DissenterBorn: July 2, 1908 in Baltimore, MarylandParents: William Canfield Marshall, Norma AricaDied: January 24, 1993 in Bethesda, MarylandEducation: Lincoln University, Pennsylvania  (BA), Howard University  (LLB)Published Works: Thurgood Marshall: His Speeches, Writings, Arguments, Opinions, and Reminiscences (The Library of Black America series) (2001)Awards and Honors: The Thurgood Marshall Award, established in 1992 by the American Bar Association, is presented annually to a recipient to recognize long-term contributions by members of the legal profession to the advancement of civil rights, civil liberties, and human rights in the United States, the ABA says. Marshall received the inaugural award in 1992.Spouse(s): Cecilia Suyat Marshall  (m. 1955–1993),  Vivian Burey Marshall (m. 1929–1955)Children: John W. Marshall,  Thurgoo d Marshall, Jr.Notable Quote: It is interesting to me that the very people...that would object to sending their white children to school with Negroes are eating food that has been prepared, served, and almost put in their mouths by the mothers of those children. Childhood Marshall (named Thoroughgood at birth) was born in Baltimore on Jan. 24, 1908, the second son of Norma and William Marshall. Norma was an elementary school teacher and William worked as a railroad porter. When Thurgood was 2 years old, the family moved to Harlem in New York City, where Norma earned an advanced teaching degree at Columbia University. The Marshalls returned to Baltimore in 1913 when Thurgood was 5. Thurgood and his brother Aubrey attended an elementary school for blacks only and their mother taught in one as well. William Marshall, who had never graduated from high school, worked as a waiter in a whites-only country club. By second grade, Marshall, weary of being teased about his unusual name and equally weary of writing it out, shortened it to â€Å"Thurgood.† In high school, Marshall earned decent grades but had a tendency to stir up trouble in the classroom. As punishment for some of his misdeeds, he was ordered to memorize portions of the U.S. Constitution. By the time he left high school, Marshall knew the entire document. Marshall always knew that he wanted to go to college but realized his parents couldnt afford to pay his tuition. Thus, he began saving money while he was in high school, working as a delivery boy and a waiter. In September 1925, Marshall entered Lincoln University, an African-American college in Philadelphia. He intended to study dentistry. College Years Marshall embraced college life. He became the star of the debate club and joined a fraternity; he was also very popular with young women. Yet Marshall found himself ever aware of the need to earn money. He worked two jobs and supplemented that income with his earnings from winning card games on campus. Armed with the defiant attitude that had gotten him into trouble in high school, Marshall was suspended twice for fraternity pranks. But Marshall was also capable of more serious endeavors, as when he helped to integrate a local movie theater. When Marshall and his friends attended a movie in downtown Philadelphia, they were ordered to sit in the balcony (the only place that blacks were allowed). The young men refused and sat in the main seating area. Despite being insulted by white patrons, they remained in their seats and watched the movie. From then on, they sat wherever they liked at the theater. By his second year at Lincoln, Marshall had decided he didnt want to become a dentist, planning instead to use his oratory gifts as a practicing attorney. (Marshall, who was 6-foot-2, later joked that his hands were probably too big for him to have become a dentist.) Marriage and Law School In his junior year, Marshall met Vivian Buster Burey, a student at the University of Pennsylvania. They fell in love and, despite Marshalls mothers objections- she felt they were too young and too poor- married in 1929 at the beginning of Marshalls senior year. After graduating from Lincoln in 1930, Marshall enrolled at Howard University Law School, a historically black college in Washington, D.C., where his brother Aubrey was attending medical school. Marshalls first choice had been the University of Maryland Law School, but he was refused admission because of his race. Norma Marshall pawned her wedding and engagement rings to help her younger son pay his tuition. Marshall and his wife lived with his parents in Baltimore to save money. Marshall commuted by train to Washington every day and worked three part-time jobs to make ends meet. Marshalls hard work paid off. He rose to the top of the class in his first year and won the plum job of an assistant in the law school library. There, he worked closely with the man who became his mentor, law school dean Charles Hamilton Houston. Houston, who resented the discrimination he had suffered as a soldier during World War I, had made it his mission to educate a new generation of African-American lawyers. He envisioned a group of attorneys who would use their law degrees to fight racial discrimination. Houston was convinced that the basis for that fight would be the U.S. Constitution itself. He made a profound impression upon Marshall. While working in the Howard law library, Marshall came into contact with several lawyers and activists from the NAACP. He joined the organization and became an active member. Marshall graduated first in his class in 1933 and passed the bar exam later that year. Working for the NAACP Marshall opened his own law practice in Baltimore in 1933 at the age of 25. He had few clients at first, and most of those cases involved minor charges, such as traffic tickets and petty thefts. It did not help that Marshall opened his practice in the midst of the Great Depression. Marshall became increasingly active in the local NAACP, recruiting new members for its Baltimore branch. Because he was well-educated, light-skinned, and dressed well, however, he sometimes found it difficult to find common ground with some African-Americans. Some felt Marshall had an appearance closer to that of a white man than to one of their own race. But Marshalls down-to-earth personality and easy communication style helped to win over many new members. Soon, Marshall began taking cases for the NAACP and was hired as part-time legal counsel in 1935. As his reputation grew, Marshall became known not only for his skill as a lawyer but also for his bawdy sense of humor and love of storytelling. In the late 1930s, Marshall represented African-American teachers in Maryland who were receiving only half the pay that white teachers earned. Marshall won equal-pay agreements in nine Maryland school boards and in 1939, convincing a federal court to declare unequal salaries for public school teachers unconstitutional. Marshall also had the satisfaction of working on a case, ​Murray v. Pearson, in which he helped a black man gain admission to the University of Maryland Law School in 1935. That same school had rejected Marshall only five years earlier. NAACP Chief Counsel In 1938, Marshall was named chief counsel to the NAACP in New York. Thrilled about having a steady income, he and Buster moved to Harlem, where Marshall had first gone with his parents as a young child. Marshall, whose new job required extensive travel and an immense workload, typically worked on discrimination cases in areas such as housing, labor, and travel accommodations. Marshall, in 1940, won the first of his Supreme Court victories in Chambers v. Florida, in which the Court overturned the convictions of four black men who had been beaten and coerced into confessing to a murder. For another case, Marshall was sent to Dallas to represent a black man who had been summoned for jury duty and who had been dismissed when court officers realized he was not white. Marshall met with Texas governor James Allred, whom he successfully persuaded that African-Americans had a right to serve on a jury. The governor went a step further, promising to provide Texas Rangers to protect those blacks who served on juries. Yet not every situation was so easily managed. Marshall had to take special precautions whenever he traveled, especially when working on controversial cases. He was protected by NAACP bodyguards and had to find safe housing- usually in private homes- wherever he went. Despite these security measures, Marshall often feared for his safety because of numerous threats. He was forced to use evasive tactics, such as wearing disguises and switching to different cars during trips. On one occasion, Marshall was taken into custody by a group of policemen while in a small Tennessee town working on a case. He was forced from his car and driven to an isolated area near a river, where an angry mob of white men awaited. Marshalls companion, another black attorney, followed the police car and refused to leave until Marshall was released. The police, perhaps because the witness was a prominent Nashville attorney, drove Marshall back to town. Separate but Not Equal Marshall continued to make significant gains in the battle for racial equality in the areas of both voting rights and education. He argued a case before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1944 (Smith v. Allwright), claiming that Texas Democratic Party rules unfairly denied blacks the right to vote in primaries. The Court agreed, ruling that all citizens, regardless of race, had the constitutional right to vote in primaries. In 1945, the NAACP made a momentous change in its strategy. Instead of working to enforce the separate but equal provision of the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson decision, the NAACP strove to achieve equality in a different way. Since the notion of separate but equal facilities had never truly been accomplished in the past (public services for blacks were uniformly inferior to those for whites), the only solution would be to make all public facilities and services open to all races. Two important cases tried by Marshall between 1948 and 1950 contributed greatly to the eventual overturning of Plessy v. Ferguson. In each case (Sweatt v. Painter and McLaurin v. Oklahoma State Regents), the universities involved (the University of Texas and University of Oklahoma) failed to provide for black students an education equal to that provided for white students. Marshall successfully argued before the U.S. Supreme Court that the universities did not provide equal facilities for either student. The Court ordered both schools to admit black students into their mainstream programs. Overall, between 1940 and 1961, Marshall won 29 of the 32 cases he argued before the U.S. Supreme Court. Brown v. Board of Education In 1951, a court decision in Topeka, Kansas became the stimulus for Thurgood Marshalls most significant case. Oliver Brown of Topeka had sued that citys Board of Education, claiming that his daughter was forced to travel a long distance from her home just to attend a segregated school. Brown wanted his daughter to attend the school nearest their home- a school designated for whites only. The U.S. District Court of Kansas disagreed, asserting that the African-American school offered an education equal in quality to the white schools of Topeka. Marshall headed the appeal of the Brown case, which he combined with four other similar cases and filed as Brown v. Board of Education. The case came before the U.S. Supreme Court in December 1952. Marshall made it clear in his opening statements to the Supreme Court that what he sought was not merely a resolution for the five individual cases; his goal was to end racial segregation in schools. He argued that segregation caused blacks to feel innately inferior. The opposing lawyer argued that integration would harm white children. The debate went on for three days. The Court adjourned on Dec. 11, 1952, and did not convene on Brown again until June 1953. But the justices did not render a decision; instead, they requested that the attorneys supply more information. Their main question: Did the attorneys believe that the 14th Amendment, which addresses citizenship rights, prohibited segregation in schools? Marshall and his team went to work to prove that it did. After hearing the case again in December 1953, the Court did not come to a decision until May 17, 1954. Chief Justice Earl Warren announced that the Court had come to the unanimous decision that segregation in the public schools violated the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. Marshall was ecstatic; he always believed he would win, but was surprised that there were no dissenting votes. The Brown decision did not result in overnight desegregation of southern schools. While some school boards did begin making plans for desegregating schools, few southern school districts were in a hurry to adopt the new standards. Loss and Remarriage In November 1954, Marshall received devastating news about Buster. His 44-year-old wife had been ill for months but had been misdiagnosed as having the flu or pleurisy. In fact, she had incurable cancer. However, when she found out, she inexplicably kept her diagnosis a secret from her husband. When Marshall learned how ill Buster was, he set all work aside and took care of his wife for nine weeks before she died in February 1955. The couple had been married for 25 years. Because Buster had suffered several miscarriages, they had never had the family they so desired. Marshall mourned but did not remain single for long. In December 1955, Marshall married Cecilia Cissy Suyat, a secretary at the NAACP. He was 47, and his new wife was 19 years his junior. They went on to have two sons, Thurgood, Jr. and John. Work for the Federal Government In September 1961, Marshall was rewarded for his years of legal work when President John F. Kennedy appointed him a judge on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Although he hated to leave the NAACP, Marshall accepted the nomination. It took nearly a year for him to be approved by the Senate, many of whose members still resented his involvement in school desegregation. In 1965, President Lyndon Johnson named Marshall to the post of solicitor general of the United States. In this role, Marshall was responsible for representing the government when it was being sued by a corporation or an individual. In his two years as solicitor general, Marshall won 14 of the 19 cases he argued. Supreme Court Justice On June 13, 1967, President Johnson announced Thurgood Marshall as the nominee for Supreme Court Justice to fill the vacancy created by Justice Tom C. Clarks departure. Some southern senators- notably Strom Thurmond- fought Marshalls confirmation, but Marshall was confirmed and then sworn in on Oct. 2, 1967. At the age of 59, Marshall became the first African-American to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. Marshall took a liberal stance in most of the Courts rulings. He consistently voted against any form of censorship and was strongly opposed to the death penalty. In the 1973 Roe v. Wade case, Marshall voted with the majority to uphold a womans right to choose to have an abortion. Marshall was also in favor of affirmative action. As more conservative justices were appointed to the Court during the Republican administrations of presidents Ronald Reagan, Richard Nixon, and Gerald Ford, Marshall found himself increasingly in the minority, often as the lone voice of dissent. He became known as The Great Dissenter. In 1980, the University of Maryland honored Marshall by naming its new law library after him. Still bitter about how the university had rejected him 50 years earlier, Marshall refused to attend the dedication. Retirement and Death Marshall resisted the idea of retirement, but by the early 1990s, his health was failing and he had problems with both his hearing and vision. On June 27, 1991, Marshall submitted his letter of resignation to President George H. W. Bush. Marshall was replaced by Justice Clarence Thomas. Marshall died of heart failure on Jan. 24, 1993, at age 84; he was buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Marshall was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Bill Clinton in November 1993. Sources Cassie, Ron. â€Å"The Legacy of Thurgood Marshall.†Ã‚  Baltimore Magazine, 25 Jan. 2019.Crowther, Linnea. â€Å"Thurgood Marshall: 20 Facts.†Ã‚  Legacy.com, 31 Jan. 2017.â€Å"Past Recipients Keynote Speakers.†Ã‚  American Bar Association.â€Å"Thurgood Marshalls Unique Supreme Court Legacy.†Ã‚  National Constitution Center – Constitutioncenter.org.

The Charismatic Gifts Debate Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The Charismatic Gifts Debate - Essay Example Some people believe that the sign gifts exist in the present day. They believe miracles and signs that used to happen in the past are still the same miracles that happen in the present day2. The people that hold this view believe that since the miracles also happened after the coming of Jesus they exist to the present day. An example is; the signs God gave to Moses to show the Israelites that God exists, resemble those that happened in the New Testament. The signs the disciples received in the form of gifts that appeared like fire flames were also found in the New Testament. Therefore, people who believe in the existence of the signs believe this because God still showed his power and presence in the New Testament. They believe that the sign gifts were in the world all the time even during the times when the disciples of God preached the word of God throughout the nation. They believe that the people who do not experience these miracles and the sign gifts are people who do not believ e3. 1. Adeyemi Remi, Gifts of the Holy Spirit: Receiving the Content of God's Heart (Atlantic: Airleaf, 2006), 43. 2. Robinson Darrell, Incredibly Gifted: A Fresh, Biblical Look at Spiritual Gifts (Hannibal: Hannibal books, 2003), 12-23. 3. Stamp John, The signs of an apostle, and the evidence for the cessation of miraculous signs (New York: Cengage Publisher. 2006), 78-92. There are also people who believe that the sign gifts are things that God used to reach people in the past, but they do not exist in the present world. They concluded this by studying the nature and purpose of these gifts. They believe that the signs used by God in the past were for people to understand and realize the new things that God was doing. This is because God used the signs to show the people that he was instructing them. Therefore, remove any doubts that they might have that it was not him. Some of the things that God wanted man to do were things that they had not done because it was unlawful. An examp le is like when Jesus allowed the uncircumcised Gentiles to be among the people of God. If God had not used exceptional signs to show that he was the one that had accepted the Gentiles, the people could never believe. They could never allow them to join their religion. Jesus went ahead and swept everyone from the temple as traders used the house of prayer as a place to sell their merchandise. If God had sent a prophet or an ordinary man to come and chase away the traders from the temple, the traders could never have listened. Therefore, in the past, for the people of God to change and do what he required, they had to see a miracle or a sign4. Even the groups that mocked Jesus and never believed, asked Jesus to demonstrate a sign so that they could believe. The biggest sign that God gave to humankind and enabled them believe and spread the good news of God was when Jesus resurrected. When the people who opposed Jesus saw the sign from the resurrection of Jesus, most of them became be lievers. 4. Eddy Paul and Boyd Gregory, Across the Spectrum: Understanding Issues in Evangelical Theology (New York: Baker Academic, 2009), 34-35. They even preached the word of God to other places of the world, as they knew that it was God who had spoken to them. This was the main sign to make all people believers of God and his teachings. God gave the apostles sign gifts to facilitate the spread of the word of God5. There are people who believ

Corporate social responsibility Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 10000 words

Corporate social responsibility - Dissertation Example The internal and external forces that are contributory for quality management for the company to be able to enforce corporate social responsibility (Industryplayer.com, 2013). †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..9 Figure 2. Building a model for ethical corporate social responsibility (publicrelationssolutions.com, 2013). †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..17 Figure 3. Kim, 2006 †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.30 Figure 4. Spatial options for companies on what to choose as environment for its CSR implementation (Panasonic.com.au, 2013) †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢ € ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..31 Chapter 1 Introduction Corporate social responsibility has been seriously considered significant part of business leadership and in meeting the stakeholder’s expectations specially the conscientious consumers or investors who wanted to maintain a Socially Responsible Investment (SRI). Thus, corporate social responsibility entails more qualified employees and sustaining corporate political interests to meet accountability and responsibility. Purpose of the study This paper will provide a meta-analysis of the theory of corporate social responsibility and its application in business management and in envisioning a community where people are enjoying too of the corporate vision for an improved economic well-being of the community. Significance of the Study This study is imperative to contribute scholarly studies on corporate social responsibility and how the companies’ empirical experiences sup port their endeavours to gain corporate credibility and integrity. It will also facilitate in the...1-3). Transparency require that the company must publicized their annual reports to detail their achievements, their credibility and best practices, including those matters where they need improvement and where they could potentially leverage in the next period of business operations (Burja & Mihalache, 2010, pp. 1-3).The inability of the company to perform the desired targets will create internal and ex...

Race and Your Community Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Race and Your Community - Essay Example who has not had much engagement in the arena of race discourse and who have been spared the oppressions wrought upon racial minorities, it is all too easy for me to forget that there are looming issues that need to be resolved and ugly truths that have to be confronted. And while much has changed since the 1800’s, and new developments have been introduced that have sought to alleviate the racial divide not only in this State and in this country but in the world as well, it is incorrect to believe that the problem has been completely solved. We must be grateful that the world we have now is a better, more tolerant and more accepting world, but we must still try to think of steps to further reduce the racial divide. I look around me and I see that members of my community look like me. White Americans easily form 70% of my community, though there are those of African American, Asian and Latin American descent around me. Caucasians look alike for obvious reasons – skin color, eye color and hair color reveal a common racial blueprint. Even the most idle observer would perhaps be able to distinguish among the races because of these distinctions. It is also worthy to note that the racial divide seems to extend to choice in fashion, music, and the like. African-Americans tend to dress alike, for instance, and have the same tastes in music. For example, Tennessee boasts of a long tradition of gospel music, commonly associated with African Americans. Jazz music is also another Tennessee tradition. The Harlem Renaissance of the 1920’s – the period wherein blacks made their mark in the artistic scene – saw black musicals and jazz music emerging in the mainstream scene. Indeed, the differences in the musical tastes run deep and add a colorful flavor to the Tennessee cultural collage. Of course, there are many songs of recent vintage that cut across race, particularly among the younger generation. Our political office is comprised of African-Americans and Caucasians

Literature Review On Crafting Strategy

Literature Review On Crafting Strategy Recent business environments require quicker and more adequate decision-making by firms than ever before. Because the environmental changes are extremely large, the decision makers may confront difficulties in predicting their futures. The concept of a strategy based on a purpose-oriented approach provides original strategic alternatives. Because the concept of strategy is generally abstract, there exist many perspectives with respect to its formation and implementation. In fact, scholars and practitioners comment on the diverse aspects of strategy, such as, there is no single, universally accepted definition of corporate strategy by Pettigrew (1987a). However Mintzbergs has done a serious number of researches backing up his theory on Crafting Strategy as a potential strategy progress with loads of valid conclusions. Introduction: The present Critical Literature Review sets to explore the challenging task of envisaging, conceiving, and realizing crafting strategies by proposing a deep critical evaluation of the subject. Along the way the essay will compare and contrast different authors views on an issue, criticise aspects of methodology, note areas in which authors are in disagreement, highlight exemplary studies, highlight gaps in research, show how Mintzbergs study relates to previous studies, show how his study relates to the literature in general and conclude by summarising what the literature says. History Literature on strategy emergence has a long history (Bower, 1970; Bower and Doz, 1979; Burgelman, 1983; Quinn, 1978, 1980, 1982; Nelson and Winter, 1982; Mintzberg, 1978, 1987; Mintzberg and Waters, 1984, 1985, 1990; Prahalad and Hamel, 1990; Pettigrew, 1985). The process view of strategy has been revived in the Eighties by Mintzberg work on Crafting strategy (1987), and later by the work of Hamel and Prahalad on Strategic Intent (1996). Many of them share a common view on the theory and practice of strategy as they generally agreed, strategy is a plan to be executed in the future to achieve specific objectives. However, this view of strategy is limited and potentially dangerous because it obscures the rich and paradoxical nature of the wider concept of strategy, and it can result in significant opportunities and danger signs being overlooked. (Mintzberg, 1987) Overall strategic observation: Mintzberg, Alilstrand and Lampel (1998, p.9) have even encapsulated the paradox of strategy with the following observation: Most people, managers and as above mentioned academics define strategy as a plan, or something equivalent a direction, a guide or course of action into the future, a path to get from here to there. However as it has been stated above this is potentially dangerous. Strategy, therefore, according to Mintzberg should be viewed as a combination of the actions that are intended to result in anticipated business outcomes; and the actions that emerge as a result of the many complex activities that are undertaken within an organization. Thereby strategy become a process itself, one that involves the co-evolution of discourse nature individual and society. Drawbacks of certain strategic approach uncertain future How to create and develop the perfect strategy has been the question of managers, business owners, military commanders and even individuals for ages. This simple question seems to be fundamental for strategic management, but there are still surprisingly few answers in strategy research. Numerous academics and managers states that the optimal way to approach the perfect strategy is by attempting to predict a foreseeable future, making decisions in advance, and controlling the realization of strategic plans (e.g. Rumelt, Schendel, and Teece, 1991, 1994). However as there are as many potential futures as companies a single formal strategy plan cannot be used especially when it is based on prediction. Although any company that cannot imagine the future is unlikely to be around to enjoy it. Strategic managers living in the here and now, and only concerned about the next quarter, will fail at the task of imagining the future (Hamel and Prahalad, 1996: 242). Diverse benefits In recent years there has been a growing body of opinion amongst scholars in the field of strategic business management that some of the central tenets of classical strategic theory are no longer as appropriate as they might once have been (Thompson, 1967; Westley and Mintzberg, 1989; Whittington, 1993; Mintzberg, 1994; Hamel and Prahalad, 1995; Camillus, 1996; Hamel, 1996; Kouzmin et al., 1997; Mainwaring, 1997; Mintzberg et al., 1998; Kouzmin and Jarman, 1999; Parker, 2002). Several studies have confirmed that managerial choice and design of strategy in terms of planning and analysis activities are beneficial in decision and strategy making (e.g. Dean and Sharfman, 1996; Miller and Cardinal, 1994) and other studies have identified beneficial supplemental strategic planning practices, such as programmed conflict approaches (Schweiger, Sandberg and Rechner, 1989) and implementation tactics (Nutt, 1987). However, there are conflicting evidence regarding the benefits of strategic planning (Boyd, 1987; Mintzberg, 1994; Pearce et al, 1987) and strategy goal and method consensus (Dess, 1987). Moreover, in practice, strategy-making sometimes seems to differ from the normative managerial choice, design and planning ideal. These differences are most evident under more complicated circumstances, in uncertain strategic decisions (Mintzberg et al 1976; Nutt, 1984), in firms with diverse and conflicting goals (Quinn, 1980; Pettigrew, 1973; Eisenhardt and Bourgeois, 19 88b), in unstable (Mintzberg, 1973; Fredrickson and Mitchell, 1984; Fredrickson, 1984) or fast changing environments (Bourgeois and Eisenhardt, 1988a) and in large and complex firms (Bower and Doz, 1979; Burgelman, 1983b). The fundamental divergence in these strategy process perspectives, compared to the traditional design view, is that under these conditions strategy process and action involve organizational learning (Mintzberg, 1990). Strategists learn from, and strategies are informed by implementation and experience, and interactions between various organizational levels (Burgelman, 1983a, b; Mintzberg, 1978; 1987; Mintzberg and McHugh, 1985; Pettigrew and Whipp, 1991; Quinn, 1980). An even more recent research supports Fredrickson and Mitchell above mentioned statement that the business landscape is neither stable nor predictable, making prediction and control very difficult (e.g. Burgelman, 2002; Hamel, 2000; Mà ¼ller-Stewens and Lechner, 2001; Leibold, Probst, and Gibbert, 2002) and by this statement and research they highly disagrees with (e.g. Rumelt, Schendel, and Teece, 1991, 1994) declaration. The actual strategy activities that form these strategic positions essentially remain unclear in strategy content research (Cockburn, Henderson and Stern, 2000). Conversely, strategy process views (e.g. Mintzberg, 1978; Johnson, 1987, 1988; Mintzberg and McHugh, 1985; Mintzberg and Waters, 1985; Pettigrew, 1977; 1985a, 1987a; Quinn, 1980) provide rich and systematic descriptions showing that strategy making involves a variety of factors and contextual influences, besides analytical exercises by managers in the centre as it has been identified in previous paragraph s. Strategy-making activities have also partially been specified, such as routines in decision processes (Mintzberg, Raisinghani, and Thà ©oret, 1976). Example: The business world is changing fast as it has been mentioned above. Lewis E. Piatt, former Hewlett-Packard chief executive officer (CEO), argues, Anyone who tells you they have a 5 or 10 year plan is probably crazy. With rapid change comes uncertainty. And with uncertainty comes risk and great opportunities. If the business bet big today, for example, they may fundamentally reshape an emerging market to their advantage. Or they may suffer losses that throw their company into bankruptcy. If they wait for the uncertainty surrounding a possible opportunity to disappear, on the other hand, they may avoid making some foolhardy mistakes or they may lose their first mover advantages to a more aggressive competitor. In choosing strategies under uncertainty, there are no easy answers. Yet many business strategists make it harder than it has to be, simply by relying on outdated strategic-planning and decision-making approaches states Lewis E. Piatt. These tried and true approaches, designed to optimize strategic decision making in predictable environments, systematically fail in times of high uncertainty, as it can be experienced today. On the other hand Foresight an accurate view of the future is essential in generating the best forecasts and making the right strategy choices like Rumelt, Schendel, and Teece argued. The typical process assumes that the strategists possess the foresight to translate their knowledge of the future into point forecasts of key value drivers. These point forecasts allow for precise estimates of net present value (NPV) and other financial measures, which, in turn, determine which strategy will deliver the highest return. In addition, the typical process assumes that a deep, analytical understanding of todays market environment and todays company capability ties is the key to developing foresight about the future. For example, industry analysis frameworks, like Porters Five Forces, are at the heart of most prototypical processes because it is implicitly assumed that understanding the microeconomic drivers of todays market environment is essential to understanding the strategies that will win in tomorrows ma rket. Welch sad its more important to imaginative than to be predictive. Imagination is one of the biggest corporate challenge of the last century. Its about developing a clear idea of what is going on around the company and taking advantage of that (Welch, personal communication, April 2002). Similarly to Welch, Mintzberg after carrying out over 20 fairly reliable researches clearly states that knowing the organization capabilities well enough to think deeply enough about its strategic directions is highly important, but knowing the strategic direction does not mean having a strategic plan or trying to predict the future and make decisions in advance to get to that goal rather it means that strategic plan will informally shape as a reflection of the environmental effects as they go on like Welch stated strategy is taking advantage of what is going on around the business. Kaplan highly supports Mintzberg theory and after carrying out valid and reliable researches over 30 businesses with Be inhocker he belives that successful companies only generate strategic plans to prepare their management team but real strategic decisions made in real time. When Mintzberg in his article recounts the events of leading players like Volkswagen over a certain period the dangers attaching to the biography apply. There can be little doubt that Mintzberg has accurately recorded events, but the interpretation of these events and the meaning of the actions that the companies took are affected by the authors personal paradigm. The reader is being invited to note the strategic techniques and to apply them to their own situation. Particular care has to be taken with idiosyncratic accounts, such as Townsend (1970) and Roddick (1991), where the distinctive character and personal style of the writer may make it difficult for ordinary mid or small business managers to apply the adduced lessons and techniques, dispassionate, objective assessment can be difficult when confronted with skilfully compiled accounts of past events. Apart from gathering developed and chronological lists and graphs of the most important actions taken by each organization, he us ed interviews and in-depth reports to study what appears to be the key point of change in each organizations strategy. Structured interviews pose specific questions to the interviewee, which suggests that the interviewer has an agenda formed by previous study which could weakened the validity of the source. The unstructured interview, on the other hand, gives freedom to the interviewee to talk about what they thought was important and interesting which could also result one point of view. In practice, interviews tend to be a mixture of both approaches, if only to avoid the risk of the interviewee losing the plot, but the free flow of ideas may reveal more than the subject intended. The more that is known about the period or the company under study, the better able the interviewer is to detect weak signals in what has been said and to follow them up. Although the evidence gained is somewhat weakened, it may be necessary to agree to anonymity, but Bower (1970) is an example of a powerful study conducted on an anonymous company and its managers. Evidence, then although often of questionable veracity, is the very stuff of history and the Mintzberg cannot apply purely scientific methodology to its interpretation. Wider knowledge of the period and the actors within it helps to develop a feel for the likely truth before going on craft and interpret the primary evidence. I have six honest working men Who taught me all I know Their names are: why and what and when And who and where and how (Rudyard Kipling). Kiplings little verse which is quoted above is a valuable guide to interpretation. These questions enable Mintzberg to press more information out of the assembled evidence. Similarly, when making a deduction, or gaining an insight, it is a good discipline to ask, What are my reasons for making this assertion? Analytical interpretation has to be disciplined, and conclusions only drawn when fully supported by evidence. It is at this stage that, the notion of crafting is most evident, as Mintzberg engages with the material in the search for insight and revelation, whilst maintaining impartiality and objectivity. Later on Mintzberg (1995) suggest that Chandler (1962) definition is the first modern definition of business strategy. If this definition were placed in the previous section on planning it would fit perfectly. Andrews (in Learned et al., 1965, p. 15) defines strategy similar to Mintzberg later theories: the pattern of objectives, purposes or goals and the major policies and plans for achieving these goals, stated in such a way to define what business the company is in and the kind of company it is to be. Andrews has defined strategy as a plan, one of the objectives of which should be specifically to define what business the company is in and the kind of company it is to be. This caveat, that at least one task must be achieved, is perhaps the first generic strategy! A strategy is the pattern or plan that integrates an organisations major goals, policies, and action sequences into a cohesive whole. A well formulated strategy helps to marshal and allocate an organisations resources into a unique and viable posture based on its relative internal competencies and shortcomings, anticipated changes in the environment, and contingent moves by intelligent opponents (Mintzberg et al., 1995, p. 7). This definition describes strategy as a plan or alternatively as a pattern. The concept of strategy as pattern is an idea that Mintzberg uses often (Mintzberg and Waters, 1985; Mintzberg et al., 1998). Mintzberg et al. (1998, p. 9) develop the concept of strategy as pattern with further concepts that they describe as the Five Ps for Strategy; Plan, Pattern, Position, Perspective and Ploy. Here, it is suggested that strategy is often described as a plan but when managers are asked what they actually did, they describe strategy as a pattern, or repetition of actions taken in previous years, that is subsequently adjusted to meet current criteria. Hence, strategy as a plan is looking forward and strategy as a pattern is looking backward; that is, relating to past behaviour. Both ideas have relevance, because planning would be impossible without looking forward and backward. In addition, Mintzberg et al. (1998, p. 13) suggest that it is also important to look inward and outward and up and down, which they describe, respectively, as strategy as a position and as a perspective, namely an organisations fundamental way of doing things. Their fifth concept, strategy as a ploy, treats it as a specific action designed to outwit an opponent or competitor. However, it is possible that this concept is more closely related to tactics than to strategy. The five Ps of Mintzberg et al. (1998) provide additional viewpoints for looking at strategy. However, their views add very little to the mainstream ideas of other scholars who believe that, in some significant fashion, strategy is intimately related to planning. Apart from Mintzberg 1987 article there are other similar approaches both in strategy content and process views (e.g. managers as architects, Andrews, 1980; formulating strategy as a creative act, Christensen et al., 1982; managers as craftsmen, Mintzberg, 1975; or strategy creation as craft thought and action, Mintzberg, 1989) Although there are several authors with a different point of view on Craftmen strategy like Rumelt, Schendel, and Teece as they do not consider managers are craftsmen.

Anglian and Anglo-Scandinavian Settlement at Cottam :: Medieval Archaeology Essays

Anglian and Anglo-Scandinavian Settlement at Cottam Excavation of the Anglian and Anglo-Scandinavian settlement at Cottam B (NGR 49754667) continued in July 1995, directed by Dr J.D. Richards for the Department of Archaeology, University of York. Work focused on a possible 10th-century settlement focus, c.200m NE of the 8th/9th-century site investigated in 1993. Two Norse bells, a 10th-century spearhead and a Jellinge-style brooch had been recovered from this area by metal-detector users, and field-walking had yielded Torksey-type ware sherds. Aerial photographs showed very few crop-marks in this area, although a magnetometer survey was conducted in Spring 1995 and revealed several ditched enclosures either side of droveways. The purpose of the 1995 excavation was to: - evaluate the survival of evidence in this area and investigate the reasons for the lack of crop-marks; - test the theory that this site represented a localised settlement shift from the SW; - characterise the nature of settlement in this area. A trench 20 x 100m was cut across the entrance, a central trackway, and parts of at least two enclosures. This revealed a massive ditched entranceway with an internal rampart and substantial wooden gate structure. At this point the ditch was at least 1.5m deep by 2.5m wide with a rampart behind it, although elsewhere the trackways and enclosures were defined by shallow ditches, less than 0.5m in depth. It appears that the main purpose of the entrance was for display rather than defensive purposes. Traces of several post-built structures were discovered within the enclosures, although truncation by ploughing had removed all occupation deposits and continues to make it difficult to define coherent building plans. The lack of crop-marks was demonstrated to be the result of the shallow nature of most of the features, many less than 0.1m deep, making them visible to magnetometry but not affecting crop growth. Several structural features were identified however, including a possible quarry pit and several industrial features which yielded large quantities of fuel ash slag. The finds recovered included two late strap-ends, one conveniently from a post-hole, as well as a number of dress pins, and a finger ring decorated with ring and dot ornament. The pottery, including York-, Torksey- and Maxey-type wares, attests to a range of trading contacts, both N and S of the Humber. This is in stark contrast to the 8th and early 9th century focus, which was apparently aceramic.

Cultural Relevance of Artwork Essay

The very spirit of an artwork remains in the time it was created. There is no better way to appreciate art than to understand its situational context, that is, the space and time of its creation. Works of art are like photographs taken in a particular time and place. In this paper we explore the situational context of three works of art: (1) Produced in the late seventeenth century, Wedding of Mary and Joseph is Peruvian painting; (2) Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s Acrobats At The Cirque Fernando (1879) shows two young Parisian girls; and (3) Figure of a Mother Holding a Child, created in the nineteenth century by an unknown Lulua artist (See Appendix). All three pieces of art tell interesting, unique tales about their makers and the conditions of their times. What’s more, layers upon layers of human thought through different times and places of human history may be unearthed through this process of art appreciation. Our present understanding of historical societies and cultures must also influence the process of interpreting a work of art. After all, one scholar may consider a painting with the eyes of a sociologist in our time, while another may be a trained psychologist. Such designations did not exist before now. Regardless of how an artwork is interpreted and with what lens and in which frame it is looked through; works of art stay alive as we glean historical information through them. As the following section on Wedding of Mary and Joseph shows, it is possible to develop various interpretations about the time and place of an artist even if researched historical information is there to assist us in our interpretation. Wedding of Mary and Joseph Produced by an unknown artist, Wedding of Mary and Joseph is an oil painting on canvas, depicting the couple getting married before the high priest who is clothed in a â€Å"richly flower-patterned hooded mantle (â€Å"Wedding of Mary and Joseph†). † There are clergymen assisting the high priest. Joseph is carrying his staff which has flowers at the top. Moreover, both the bride and bridegroom have golden halos. Ann, the mother of Mary stands right behind the bride. By Ann’s side is a suitor of Mary who has been rejected by God’s command. The suitor is shown breaking his staff, which has not flowered like the staff of Joseph (â€Å"Wedding of Mary and Joseph†). The painting is enriched by â€Å"gold stamping,† which â€Å"unifies the composition (â€Å"Wedding of Mary and Joseph†). † There are Peruvian flowers scattered on the ground where Mary and Joseph stand. This transfers the scene of the Bible from the Holy Land to Peru (â€Å"Wedding of Mary and Joseph†). Furthermore, it describes an important movement in Peruvian art history by the name of Cusco School (Bennett). Indeed, this painting accompanies a very important period in Peruvian history. Spanish colonization had not only managed to transfer the Spanish Inquisition to the Spanish territories around the globe, but also brought European art into Peru (Bennett). The Spanish Inquisition had claimed many lives in Europe. In Peru, the Inquisition had centered on the discovery of people who were Jews by birth, but had claimed to have converted to Christianity. These people were suspected to have gone back from Catholicism to Judaism. Thus, the Peruvian Inquisition was about punishing the Jews or converted Catholics for apostasy (Lea). The Peruvian Inquisition had taken place in the seventeenth century. Seeing that the sociopolitical environment of Peru revolved around religious affairs at the time, it is not surprising that the Christian, Peruvian artists started a new art movement – the Cusco School – to create religious art in particular (Bennett). As a matter of fact, the Wedding of Mary and Joseph is a perfect example of Cusco art. The Cusco School happens to be the largest movement of art in the Peruvian art history. The movement was represented by â€Å"mestizo painters and sculptors who produced countless depictions of religious figures adorned in gold (Bennett). † The Spanish colonizers had used religious art to teach Christianity to the New World. Subsequently, the native artists of Peru had begun to meld European art with their local style and tradition (Bennett). So, while the figures of Mary and Joseph in the Peruvian painting reveal European, Christian influence on the Peruvian artist; the flowers and long tailed birds of Peru scattered on the ground show that the artist continues to love his land despite colonization. The golden halos of the bride and the bridegroom are, of course, the signature of the Cusco School. Hence, the painting, Wedding of Mary and Joseph, reveals itself as an excellent tool to understand the culture of Peru with respect to Spanish colonization. By discovering more about the conditions of the artist’s time, history of the Americas may also be studied in great depth. Moreover, this painting helps viewers to appreciate how artists are influenced by their environments and the times. Acrobats At The Cirque Fernando Produced in another place and time altogether, renowned Parisian painter, Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s Acrobats At The Cirque Fernando (1879) shows two real girls, most probably between twelve and fifteen years of age, taking turns to perform their act at the circus (Mancoff). The facial and bodily expressions of the girls and their onlookers are open to any number of interpretations. One of the young girls is carrying balls around her chest while the other is communicating with the audience as part of her act. The girl who is communicating with the audience has a questioning, innocent expression on her face. The one who is carrying balls is possibly waiting for her turn to perform. She, too, is innocent and fresh in appearance as the other. However, she seems to be dwelling on her new experiences of semi-adulthood. Perhaps she is musing on the boys in her life – the young men who admire her very much. The audience depicted in the painting, behind the bodies of the two young girls, appears to consist of men alone after all. The men appear like judges, in their black coats, giving them the semblance of uniformed officers. Only one of the men has his face visible through the painting, and the face is hard enough for the girls to display their innocence in all its glory with the assumption that the counterpart of a harsh and doubtful attitude must be softness. Although the girl carrying the balls has her back turned toward the hard faced man, she knows that she too would have to perform. The expressions of the male and the females in Renoir’s Acrobats At The Cirque Fernando are rather similar to the expressions of the two sexes depicted in many of the artist’s works of the time. The woman is seen as the adored and innocent object that performs, even though the man is hard faced, perhaps weary of the work that he performs to fend for his family day after day. The woman is the amuser, the muse, and the object of entertainment to fend for. After all, she is beautiful (Norfleet). The only beautiful facet of the man is that he is strong – in Renoir’s paintings, at least. What is more, the man is always staring at the woman in Renoir’s works. He fondles her whenever he has the chance. The woman remains faithful to him – this is depicted through the innocence on her face. If she becomes unfaithful she knows that the hard faced man would discontinue supporting her. The French word for ‘thank you’ is merci, which, if used in English, perfectly describes the attitude of the woman in late nineteenth century Paris. Although Paris was one of the first places in the west where women were generally believed to have been liberated, Renoir’s painting reveals that the women were definitely not liberated through promiscuity or debauchery. Rather, the urban Parisian women in the late nineteenth century seem to have been given permission by their men to be out and about, entertaining them, while remaining faithful to their innocence as well as their marital vows (Norfleet). As the facial expression of the young girl carrying the balls in Renoir’s Acrobats At The Cirque Fernando reveals – women understood their position in Parisian society even as they were aware that men and women are equally dependent on each other. Then again, the painting remains open to numberless sociological interpretations. Figure of a Mother Holding a Child As our analysis of Renoir’s painting shows, it is possible to understand the situational context of a painting in any number of ways. Sociologists and historians may be more interested in discovering the history of society in a block of time. If psychoanalysts were to join in, there would be various intricacies of the human mind revealed through artworks. On that note, Figure of a Mother Holding a Child is a very interesting sculpture because there are multiple ways of understanding its import. On one hand, the sculpture is a perfect depiction of the pain of starvation that the African people have been experiencing for a long time, and that nobody outside of Africa has done anything consequential about – despite the fact that the entire world discusses it. On the other hand, it represents a ritual that the Lulua tribe of the Democratic Republic of Congo had practiced for its own survival (â€Å"Figure of a Mother Holding a Child†). The sculpture is that of a skinny, African female with an infant in her arms. The woman’s head is larger than her body. The bone lines on her neck are particularly telling. Even so, the bone lines on her neck and the wrinkles on her face had actually been created by the artist to show that the Lulua peoples had used scarification to adorn their bodies (â€Å"Lulua Tribe: Democratic Republic of Congo;† â€Å"Figure of a Mother Holding a Child†). Indeed, it is scarification that adorns the woman carrying the infant. Just the same the viewer is made to feel sorry for the woman and her child because they appear extremely poor. Made with wood and copper alloy, the woman in the sculpture has bulging eyes and a â€Å"pointed base (â€Å"Figure of a Mother Holding a Child†). † According to the Brooklyn Museum, the base was most probably â€Å"thrust into a pot containing earth and various bishimba, or materials of mineral, plant, animal, or human origin endowed with protective powers (â€Å"Figure of a Mother Holding a Child†). † In actuality, the sculpture had been created for a Lulua woman who had experienced difficulties in childbirth. The Lulua people believed that it was the evil spirit which interrupted the process of childbirth for women. So that the woman would attract the ancestral spirit of the Lulua tribe and get rid of the evil spirit, the artist gave her the sculpture to care for until delivery. The bulging eyes of the sculpture reveal that the woman is aware of the influence of the evil spirit that is stopping her from becoming a mother (â€Å"Lulua Tribe†). The Lulua peoples had migrated from western Africa to the Democratic Republic of Congo during the eighteenth century. These people lived in â€Å"small regional chiefdoms,† and therefore formed closely knit communities (â€Å"Lulua Tribe†). Because they were immigrants, they were rather concerned about their continuity. Moreover, the Lulua people believed that their sculptures had to be created for religious reasons (â€Å"Lulua Tribe†). The Lulua artists who created sculptures such as the Figure of a Mother Holding a Child must have had faith that they were carrying out their moral duty toward their own people. Indeed, the religious values of the Lulua people were guarded by their art. Sculptures of females were quite popular among them, as these figures exemplified â€Å"the union of physical and moral beautify (â€Å"Figurative Sculpture†). † The Lulua people believed in equating proper behavior with physical beauty (â€Å"Figurative Sculpture†). It can be inferred that the Figure of a Mother Holding a Child and all other sculptures created for the same reason were reminders for the Lulua people that the human body cannot be separated from morality. This principle is clearly exemplified by the bond between mother and child. Conclusion We focused on the political conditions surrounding the artist of Wedding of Mary and Joseph. Societal context of Renoir’s painting, Acrobats At The Cirque Fernando, was explored with a brief overview of gender relations in 19th century Paris. This study may have been conducted with historical information gleaned through novels, too. Finally, the cultural context of Figure of a Mother Holding a Child was explored. Although this discussion was centered on political, societal and cultural contexts of three works of art, it was clarified as part of the discussion that an artwork may be appreciated in any number of ways. There are countless theories and innumerable stories about the history of mankind. What is more, every piece of artwork tells a tale about the space and time of its artist alone. The work lives on as students of art and historians delve into paintings over and again. Any number of assumptions could be made about the situational context of an artwork thus. Perhaps, therefore, it is reasonable to state that a work of art has as many minds as interpreters as the number of people that consider the artwork through the passage of time. Moreover, only assumptions can be made about the situational context of an artwork. History is best left to those that lived it. After all, we only make educated guesses about what people of the past lived through to gather useful information for our lives in the present. Works Cited Bennett, Caroline. â€Å"Art and Architecture. † Viva Travel Guides. 11 Nov 2008. . â€Å"Figurative Sculpture. † Central African Art. 11 Nov 2008. . â€Å"Figure of a Mother Holding a Child. † Brooklyn Museum Collections: African Art. 11 Nov 2008. . Lea, Henry C. â€Å"Inquisition in 17th Century Peru: Cases of Portuguese Judaizers. † Modern History Sourcebook. 11 Nov 2008. . â€Å"Lulua Tribe: Democratic Republic of Congo. † For African Art. 2006. 11 Nov 2008. . Mancoff, Debra N. â€Å"Paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir. † How Stuff Works. 2008. 11 Nov 2008. .

Describe What Your Role, Responsibilities and Boundaries Would Be as a Teacher or Trainer in Terms of the Teaching and Learning Cycle. How Might “Equality”, “Diversity” and “Inclusion” Impact on a Learner’s Experience?

PTLLS Assessment Describe what your role, responsibilities and boundaries would be as a teacher or trainer in terms of the teaching and learning cycle. How might â€Å"equality†, â€Å"diversity† and â€Å"inclusion† impact on a learner’s experience? Give examples from your own experience and research to support your assertions. â€Å"This submission is entirely my own work unless I have used quotation marks to indicate my reference to the work of others† As a teacher or trainer, there are a variety of roles and responsibilities that are important to consider. The main role of a teacher is to create a relaxed, comfortable learning environment for students to meet their learning needs. In many cases, the teacher’s role also involves delivery of specific content as defined by a curriculum, in order to prepare students for passing examination. As such one of the main responsibilities of the teacher is to be aware of any curriculum and examination requirements of a course. Another role of the teacher is to ensure that the lesson is inclusive of all learners and they are therefore responsible for recognising diversity within the group. This may include disabilities; language barriers and cultural differences. These roles and responsibilities would fall under the ‘identification of learners needs’ aspect of the teaching and learning cycle. This is a continual process and would necessarily be affected by other aspects of the cycle, particularly assessment and evaluation of the learning and teaching. This evaluation will constantly inform the teacher and will include such varied mediums as end of course evaluation sheets as well as simple observation of candidates demonstrating their knowledge and/or skills. It may be appropriate for candidates to meet certain assessment criteria or competencies throughout a course as part of this evaluation process. In my experience of teaching manual handling, I would expect leaners to be able to demonstrate specific manual handling, lifting, pushing and pulling skills during the course. Evaluation of previous courses and of the evolving requirements of students also helps to inform the planning and designing of lessons. In addition, the teacher is responsible for researching the subject area to ensure a wide, current knowledge base that will help when establishing credibility and professionalism, and then to develop a variety of interesting ways to deliver the content whilst ensuring a safe working environment for students. The teacher’s role is then to deliver the lesson content in a manner consistent with the learning styles and requirements of the delegates. These might include lecturing, large group discussion or case studies. In the past I have taught legislative considerations in regard to health and safety aspects of manual handling and use of display screen equipment and have used role play; small group work and case studies to try to accommodate different learning styles. Within all this, it is essential that the teacher establishes and maintains professional boundaries. These can be varied and quite different, depending on the context, the environment and the group or individual being taught, for example, a teacher teaching young children would have a different set of boundaries than a football coach coaching an adult football team. However, the teacher should always consider relevant legislation. This includes health and safety legislation such as the Health and Safety at Work Act, 1974; the Equality Act, 2010 and most relevant to the above example, child protection guidelines. On a more general level, establishing ground rules such as timekeeping and use of mobile phones is important in minimising disruption and allowing optimal delivery of course content. Promoting equality, embracing diversity and ensuring inclusion are essential components of an effective teaching strategy, if the goal of that strategy is to provide a positive, rewarding learning experience for all learners. â€Å"Equality is about the rights of learners to attend and participate, regardless of their gender, race, ethnic origin, religion, disability, sexual orientation and age†1. If a teacher fails to actively promote equality, they run the risk of excluding individuals from the learning process. For example a failure to acknowledge that English may not be the first language of some or all of the delegates and to adapt the teaching session accordingly would be detrimental. Once, when teaching a manual handling training session to porters and housekeepers working in a hospital, the majority of the candidates spoke Portuguese as their first language. I acknowledged this prior to starting the course and altered the course structure to enhance the learning process. One of the strategies I used was to include more small group work, ensuring a mix of people with difficulty understanding English, and those who were bilingual. â€Å"Diversity is about valuing the differences in people, whether that relates to gender, race, age, disability or any other individual characteristics they may have† 1. Just like promotion of equality, the importance of embracing diversity lies in recognising differences within any given group and using this to enhance, rather than detract from the learning experience. Diversity within a group will allow a variety of different perspectives on any given topic, thereby promoting wider understanding in the group as a whole. Johnson and Romanello2 examined teaching and learning considerations when teaching generationally diverse nurses. They opined that when presenting health problems to nurses from different generations it â€Å"leads student to share insights that can be applied to patient care with multiple groups of patients across generations†. 2 â€Å"Inclusivity is about involving all learners in relevant activities rather than excluding them for any reason† 1. In many ways, failure to acknowledge diversity and/or promote equality will inevitably lead to exclusion. In order to effectively ensure inclusion, planning of the teaching process, utilising a variety of teaching methods is essential. Moreover, the ability to adapt course content and delivery methods following recognition of diversity within a group is paramount to ensuring equality and inclusion. Even something as basic as starting and finishing a lesson on time will help with inclusion as a failure to do this might exclude learners who have commitments outside of the lesson times such as childcare. With regards to the learning cycle, the assessing and planning stages: assessing the requirements of the group and planning the format of the lessons accordingly are essential to ensuring inclusion. References 1 GRAVELLS, A, Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector, Bell and Bain Ltd, Glasgow, 2008, p. 18. 2 JOHNSON, S and ROMANELLO, A. Generational Diversity. Teaching and Learning Approaches, Nurse Educator, 30(5): Sept-Oct. 2005: 212-216.

Euthanasia; the right way out essays

Euthanasia; the right way out essays When Michael was thirteen, his grandmother was diagnosed with a disease called Alzheimers. This disease made her mind unable to function normally, which caused her to lose her ability to think clearly and remember things. Soon after she was diagnosed, she moved into a nursing home. Every Sunday after church, Michael and his family would go to the nursing home to visit her. Week by week, his grandmother seemed less aware of what was going on. It seemed as though she did not even notice that they were there to visit her. Michael soon became discouraged. Why do we have to visit her every week? By the next day she will probably have forgotten that we were even there. Michael began to think more and more about his grandmother. If she doesnt know what is going on anyway, wouldnt she just be happier in heaven? Isnt there some sort of way to get her to heaven sooner? Michaels mother explained to him that sending grandma to heaven now may be the easiest thing to do, but as Christi ans, it is wrong. Euthanasia is one of the most controversial and emotions issues of today. It triggers extreme emotion because it involves ending human life (Bloyd 15). Some people believe that the most suitable way to make the painful sight of the elderly in misery disappear is to end life. Although elderly people can go through tremendous suffering as a result of a diseases, euthanasia is never an acceptable option. Euthanasia is what some people call mercy killing. It is defined as, the deliberate, painless killing of persons who suffer from a painful and incurable disease or condition, or who are aged and helpless (Cayne 327). Its purpose is to prevent or to end the suffering that takes place. The word euthanasia is an English-language version of a Greek phrase eu thonatos (Gay 17). Eu actually means good or happy, while thontos means &qu...

Sociology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Sociology - Essay Example HIV positive females are generally regarded as irresponsible. Such a belief cannot be projected onto an HIV positive woman who has always shown responsibility in her workspace. Statements of common sense are assumed to be true however sociological research proves those statements as true or false. Sociological ideas are valid since they are backed by reliable information sources like interviews, text books and experiments. Sociological research goes beyond the obvious state and produce counterintuitive results. For this reason, sociological knowledge is considered superior to common sense when both have opposing ideas about a similar phenomenon (Giddens 7). For instance, the common sense suggested that couples who cohabitate prior to getting married have reduced chances of getting divorced. But the sociological research dispelled this view point and rather dug out circumstances and situations that are responsible for divorce. Describe how the Internet can be used to conduct social re search. Is the Internet a good or bad place to conduct social research? Explain. Internet has played a vital role in connecting the different parts of the world. In order to make the social research successful, it is important to reach the sample population effectively. A geographical and prejudicial hindrance has been significantly eliminated by the Internet and has proved to be prolific for the purpose of conducting research. Internet can be used to conduct time efficient and quality effective social research. It provides incredible data sources that can be studied to arrive at certain conclusions. There are online journal databases that can be accessed to obtain information needed for sociological research. Typing in the keywords that suit your query directs the researcher to relevant databases and full length articles (Coomber, 2). Internet also allows the sociology researchers to conduct wide scale surveys. Response rate of Internet surveys is quite high especially in Europe. E -Mail surveys are considered a good option since they maintain anonymity between the experimenter and the subject which is effective for obtaining unbiased responses (Coomber 2). Identify the various types of social norms and give an example of each. Describe the various sanctions associated with violations of the various social norm types. Social norms make up an important element of living in a society. They usually direct us towards adopting acceptable behaviors. The social norms are generally divided into three categories. The first type of the social norms is termed as Folkways (Coomber). These norms are referred to as customs and relatively weaker norms that undergo mild enforcement in the society. Examples of Folkways norms could be wearing appropriate dress that must be modest enough. Another example is correct manners like saying please when you are requesting for something and giving paper money to the shop keeper is also considered a good manner. Appropriate eating habits also fall under folkways, for instance, you must chew food without making unpleasant sounds. Violation of folkways does not bring up any legal or moral consequences (Coomber 3). The second and stricter type of social norms is called Mores. It is considered immoral not to follow mores. Usually their violation evokes punishment. Some of the examples of these strong social norms include bigamy,

Does Induce Therapeutic Hypothermia Impact Neurologic Function And Research Paper

Does Induce Therapeutic Hypothermia Impact Neurologic Function And Improve Patients Out - Research Paper Example The results can be used to guide and advice nurses to consider hypothermia to patients unable to follow verbal commands following spontaneous circulation. The study recommends that patients suffering from cardiac-arrest should be transported suing facilities that can offer therapeutic hypothermia together with advanced neurologic monitoring, coronary reperfusion and standardized care. Why is this topic important in the field of nursing Nurses have been identified as to play a significant role in detecting, preventing and treating adverse complications and effects of therapeutic hypothermia. With the information provided in this paper, the nurses will be better placed to deal with most of the adverse effects in intensive-care settings. In normal settings, care for patients under therapeutic hypothermia may require intensive massive following its complexity thus the information provided by this paper may be relevant in guiding nurses as they provide such services. The reduction in morb idity and mortality and the improvement of neurologic outcomes is mostly caused by Therapeutic hypothermia. More so the condition has also several effects on the outcome of a cardiac arrest survivor. New mechanism to analyze the impact of therapeutic hypothermia when it is used to treat patients with neurologic prognosis is reviewed in this paper. In the standard therapeutic hypothermia protocol the patients are subjected to cooling for about 24 hrs to a specific temperature of 33 and it ranges from 32-34 while applying the catheter-based cooling or the surface -based method. In the cooling process the patients are treated with agents like benzodiazepines, opioids ,propofol or even a combination of the... This study adds up to the many other studies that have been conducted on the role played by hypothermia in dealing with neurologic conditions and has been used in updating cardiopulmonary resuscitation guidelines and its findings used as recommendations for hypothermia in neurologic conditions especially patients suffering from cardiac arrest and don’t regain consciousness. The findings can also be used in the implementation of therapeutic hypothermia in patients suffering from pulseless electrical activity, asystole and in house cardiac arrest cases. The results can be used to guide and advice nurses to consider hypothermia to patients unable to follow verbal commands following spontaneous circulation. The study recommends that patients suffering from cardiac-arrest should be transported suing facilities that can offer therapeutic hypothermia together with advanced neurologic monitoring, coronary reperfusion and standardized care. This paper have demonstrated that therapeutic hypothermia mitigates brain damage following cardiac arrest. The exact mechanism to go about it is not yet clear but different approaches have been used like cerebral oxygen consumption reduction as well as multifactorial physical and chemical mechanisms, destructive enzymatic retardation, free-radical reactions suppression, intracellular acidosis reduction and biosynthesis inhibition. This study has proved that patients treated with therapeutic hypothermia following neurologic conditions have improved neurologic outcome without any side effects in comparison with the results of historical controls.