The Hidden History of the Korean War( IF Stone ) free essay sample

Critical review of work arguing that war was started continued by U.S. officials seeking confrontation with communist forces. I.F. Stone, author of The Hidden History of the Korean War, became a professional journalist at the age of fourteen, and has worked for a number of prestigious periodicals. He is a man of the independent Left (xiv), and has been often critical of the government, which suggests that his examination of the Korean War will reveal that that war was not grounded in the best of intentions. This is, indeed, what we find. Stone wrote the book to expose what one observer calls the greatest swindle in the whole of military history (xv). Specifically, Stone argues that the Korean War was a cruel fraud from its inception. When peace was at hand, it was sabotaged by forces which wanted the war to continue. Stone himself declares that his book has three basic purposes. We will write a custom essay sample on The Hidden History of the Korean War( IF Stone ) or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page .

History At Its Best essays

History At It's Best essays The French general Montcalm has allied himself with several of the Indian tribes native to America and is moving a large army south in an attempt to take Fort William Henry from the British. Magua, an Indian scout, intercepts the information about the impending attack on the fort and relays it to the British General Webb, to whom he is loyal. Webb decides to send reinforcements to Fort William Henry to help Colonel Munro, who commands the fort. Shortly after the reinforcements leave for Fort William Henry, Webb dispatches the young Major Heyward to accompany Alice and Cora Munro, the colonels daughters, who insist upon visiting their father. The Indian runner, whose name is Magua, agrees to guide Heyward and the young women to Fort William Henry by means of a shortcut known only to the Indians. Soon after they leave Fort Edward, they meet a stranger. Gamut is a psalmodist, a man who worships by singing Old Testament psalms. The mincing and dainty Gamut is out of place in the menacing forest. He left Fort Edward and lost his way. He announces his intention to join the group. Cora is amused by the stranger. Gamut joins their party and sings a religious song native to New England. He behaves seriously and venerably, as though delivering a sermon, and accompanies his psalmody with dramatic hand gestures. Magua eventually interrupts this performance, muttering a few words to Heyward, who translates his words to the others: they must be silent since hostile Indian tribes fill the forest. Major Heyward quickly and confidently scans the forest, pleased that he sees no sign of Indians. His unfamiliarity with the forest makes him unable to see what the trees hide, and he does not notice a wild-eyed Indian peering out at them through the branches. The opening two chapters of The Last of the Mohicans establish war, both historical and imagined, as the novels foundation. Cooper uses historical facts, rooting his narrative in actu...

Public perception or opinion on GREEN IT practices in Organisations Essay

Public perception or opinion on GREEN IT practices in Organisations - Essay Example The adoption of Green IT ensures that IT technologies have minimal impact on the environment. Today’s businesses, organizations, learning and government institutions are dependent on technology. For instance, it is now possible to shop from the comfort of our homes thanks to the ever growing IT technologies. People are nowadays more glued to their Personal Computers, laptops, smart phones and every kind of electronic devices that simplifies communication. With every passing day, newer, better and more advanced communication devices are released to the market. This implies that the older versions quickly become obsolete and outdated and are constantly replaced with the newer ones. This reliance on technology also implies that more ink and paper are used. The introduction of Green IT to organizations, therefore, is a move that aims at reducing the use of environmentally harmful materials, improve energy efficiency during the use of IT materials and market biodegradability and re cyclability of all IT waste materials in various organizations (Wilcox & Charlotte 2009). This ensures that the IT practices of an organization do not have adverse effects to the environment. In order to promote ICT sustainability, it is important to study the concepts involved and the impact that their adoption in various organizations will have on the environment. This study helps us identify the potential practices that once incorporated in the everyday activities within an organization will help minimize the impact of IT use on the environment. The success of the practice of Green IT largely depends on the public’s acceptance of the practice. People have felt the impact of environmental degradation and are now willing to accept green practices. More people are getting involved in environmental conservation practices and therefore the sustainable ICT. Public Perception of Green IT An environmentally green neighborhood directly translates to a better quality of life of a co mmunity. This implies that greener landscape promotes healthy living. Before a given group of people can accept new life practices, there is a need to educate them on the importance of the practice and to impact to their lives. The results are practices and daily activities that minimize waste and thus conserve the environment. The public will always be worried about accompanying results that comes with the adoption of sustainable ICT. These include financial concerns, perceived disconnects and misperception of terms. While most people in organizations had never heard of Green IT, many considered it as a service or infrastructure delivered by the government. Contrary to the reality, a group of the public also considers introduction of Green Computing to organizations as more expensive. Consequently, people are more concerned on the cost of installation of the sustainable IT infrastructure and their respective maintenance costs. Green IT: Green IT Practices in Organizations The opera tion and communication within organizations have gone paperless. The use of printed hardcopy materials is being minimized with the adoption of electronic archiving and documentation. Instead of using hardcopy documentation, organizations are now promoting the adoption of softcopy materials thereby minimizing the use of

The Hope Athena Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Hope Athena - Essay Example Although Athena was a Greek goddess, the Romans adopted her as one of their own, renaming her Minerva and adopting many of the legends regarding her and her abilities. Her importance to her new society can be seen in the intricate detail of the copyist to remain true to the Greek original.  Athena was a very powerful Greek goddess who epitomized everything the Greeks admired, intellect, wisdom, strength, courage, strategy and more. â€Å"With a battle cry that resounded through the kingdom of heaven and earth, she springs from the head of Zeus. She is one of the most powerful forces on Mount Olympus, representing war and the immortal spirit of wisdom. Athena embodies the matriarchal goddess, a complex figure of internal strength and reflection. She is a powerful source of interpretation for the idea of the goddess as a balance between nature and humanity† (Ortengren, 1998). As a goddess of military strength and protection, she is often depicted in battle, such as in the scen es featured on the Parthenon, or ready for battle. The statue the Hope Athena is believed to be modeled after is believed to have once held a spear in her one hand and a Nike, â€Å"a winged personification of victory†, in the other (Lansberry, 2005). Experiencing the statue in person does little to solve the mystery of her handheld iconography. The details of what the Hope Athena might have held can only be conjecture as one of the first things noticed about her is the fact that she is missing her arms. The scars marking where they once were do suggest that one hand was held out in front of her, as if holding something in the palm of her hand, and one arm might have been stretched to the side somewhat, as it would have been if holding a long spear. There is another evident damage to the statue as well.

Discussion 2 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Discussion 2 - Assignment Example rty four presidents who have been elected and only one president has been a minority of mixed race descent .Preliminary reports indicate that a majority of Americans are going to vote for a white president in the next coming elections since they view the incumbent as being ineffective and incapable of handling the requirements of the office (Watkins 57). The entertainment industry is also another sector where racism is still prevalent. A very high percentage of the leading men and women in Hollywood blockbuster films are Caucasian, while the other positions are left to the ever growing population of minorities. In those instances where minorities are starring, the roles are tailored in such a way that they are specifically for minorities and the majority of the cast is comprised of fellow minority actors. It is very rare that a minority is able to acquire a role based on his/her acting prowess regardless of whether they fit the Hollywood stereotype of leading men and women possessing physical attributes that are associated with Caucasians such as, blue eyes, white complexion and free flowing hair which out rightly prevents minority actors from getting such roles. Additionally, black actors for instance, are mostly drafted in roles depicting drug dealers, gang members while actors of Latin descent are drafted to roles depicting them as drug cartel members and drug lords. This points to a deep rooted thinking, where the majority of the Caucasian population perceives the minorities as being the antagonists while they consider themselves as being the protagonists and heroes (Watkins 63). The film ‘Do the Right Thing’ by Spike Lee, released in 1989, aimed to show the deep rooted and unassuming racial undertones that are still prevalent in modern day America. The movie showed how the average African American is subjected to daily racism, which has led to the majority of the young African American male youth towards a life of drugs and gang violence in order to

Measuring and Managing Absenteeism in the Workplace

Measuring and Managing Absenteeism in the Workplace Productivity loss due to absenteeism is a serious growing challenge. We live in an absenteeism culture. Talking a day off and calling in sick is supported and encouraged by the society. Many peoples attitude is The time is coming to us (Robert F.Allen and Michael Higgens- the Absenteeism Culture. Becoming attendance oriented.) Unscheduled absenteeism is on the rise and the rates of absenteeism are at their highest since 1999. The major concern is that almost two out of three employees who do not show up arent physically ill or have challenging issues. Absence measurement and management is an increasingly growing body of knowledge and experience that managers apply to control and reduce absenteeism and its accruing costs. To ensure that the issue of absenteeism is effectively addressed, managers and supervisors-armed with the required guidance and training, need to understand the circumstances and factors surrounding absenteeism in the workplace, and thus actively participate in the companys procedures and policies to effective curb absenteeism in the workplace. Employers attempt to cut down excessive employee absenteeism through tighter controls. They demand doctors report or use some other punitive mechanisms that targets symptoms of absenteeism rather than its causes. The problem will not go away unless the underlying root causes are removed. Building an attendance culture! How should absenteeism effectively be managed? Triggers or incentives? / Carrots or sticks? Introduction: Absenteeism from workplace has been on the increase and may be an indicative of poor morale, lack of motivation, sick building syndrome, poor organizational polities or mere indiscipline from the employees. However, many employers have introduced and implemented absence policies which make no distinction between absence for genuine reasons or illness and absence for inappropriate reasons. One of these policies is the calculation of the Bradford Factor, which only factors total number and frequency of individual absence into account, neglecting the kind of absence. 40 million days are lost each year in the UK, due to workplace absenteeism,93% of employees say cold and flu are the reason for being away from work, but research has shown that in reality, half of absenteeism in the workplace has nothing whatsoever to do with health. Workers decide to stay away from work for a host of other reasons relating to work and personal issues, which range from job de-motivation, low pay, lack of work life balance and occasional hangover. Absenteeism has been viewed traditionally as a breach of an implicit contract between employee and employer, as a management problem and has been framed in economic terms. This report will critically discuss the causes and effects of absenteeism in the workplace with the view to derive effective ways to measure and manage absenteeism. It will seek to understand absenteeism as an indicator of psychological, social adjustment to work. 1. What do we mean by Absenteeism? According to dictionary reference.com, Absenteeism can be defined as habitual failure to appear, especially for work and other regular duty. The rate occurrence of habitual absence from work or duty. Absenteeism can be viewed as re-occurring absence from work, duty and obligation, thought to reflect employee demoralization or dissatisfaction. This can also be viewed as a breach of the implicit contract that exists between the employer and the employed. Simply put, Failure to report to or stay at work when scheduled is tagged absenteeism. 1.1 Absenteeism can be grouped into two categories Involuntary/Innocent absenteeism: This is when absences are unavoidable and understandable. For instance Absences due to death in the family Pregnancy or Maternity issues Absences caused by illness or injury Car/ vehicle issues Other family related or personal issues Accidents and natural disasters Disability-related absenteeism- Human rights obligations Voluntary/Culpable Absenteeism: Voluntary absenteeism is an instance where an employee, out of his own freewill or laziness, chooses to stay off work. Absences in this case are avoidable. Missing work without advance notice, to go the cinema or watch football Making excuses for consistent late coming to work Deceitfully/fraudulently applying for sick leave or calling in sick Failure to report to work as scheduled or showing up late for no good reason 1.2 Causes of Absenteeism in the workplace There are various factors that could influence an employee to be absent at work. These factors are as follows Personal Factors: Personal Attitude: individuals posses different attitudes and bring these attitudes forth to the workplace. Employees with strong workplace ethics will respect their work and appreciate their contribution to the organisation and as such, will not take unscheduled off from the workplace. Conversely, employees with low or without work ethics are in- disciplined and have behavioural issues. Because they feel no obligation to the organisation, absenteeism comes easily to them. Age: The age of an employee often affects their attitude to work. The younger the employees are often restless, they want to have fun and be with friends rather than being tied down with responsibilities. This leads to lack of ownership and usually leads to unscheduled and unauthorised time off. Gender: Women are usually challenged with balancing their time between work and home. Their families are always the utmost priority, thus they would rather be absent from work to sort out family issues Workplace Factors: Organizational Culture: Every organisation is a culture with its own norms. An organisation with an embedded absenteeism culture, screen played by its management and supervisors lack of commitment would encourage further employee absenteeism Lack of Motivation and Rewards: The relationship between the organisation and its employees is influenced by what motives them to work and the rewards and fulfilment they derive from it. Inability of managers or employers to motivate employees and meet their extrinsic and intrinsic needs would lead to lack if motivation and commitment hence, absenteeism in the workplace Absence of learning culture: Learning means change, thus can affect organisations effectiveness. Employees love to work in an organisation where they would improve themselves and their career through organisational learning and knowledge management, which could be inculcated through coaching, mentoring, trainings and other explicit methods. In an organisation where a learning culture is absent, employees feel de-motivated, unsatisfied and feel their career growth is threatened. Hence they excuse themselves from work without authorisation in search for greater challenges and organisations where they would gain improve themselves. Stress at work: According to a report cited in Financial Times: Stress at work is the biggest problem in European companies Voluntary absenteeism takes place because employees are dissatisfied with their job; hence they feel stressed doing the work either because of the work load or unsuitable assigned roles. {Egs} wrongly assigning a customer service manager to manage treasury department, without adequate experience and training. Due to lack of adequate experience in the field and fixed timed deliverables and tasks, he feels stressed and harassed in the role and thus breaks down into stress or depression and seeks sick leave and abandons the job. Voluntary Absenteeism also takes place where the employees feel there is a strain on their psychological contract with the employer, this indirectly erupts lack of organizational commitment. This strain could develop to stress and impact on employee attendance to work. Leadership Style: An organizations, team or unit leadership style could impact on employee commitment, job satisfaction with improved or impaired participation and attendance to work. While Democratic and laissez fair leadership style encourages shared decision making, shared responsibility, creativity and participation and can be highly motivational, which enhances teamwork and interpersonal relations. Autocratic and paternalistic leadership styles could de-motivate and alienate employees. Employees might feel less important in the organisation, hence the need to avoid work. Work Routine and lack of Change: doing the same job or task over a long period of time can get monotonous. The employees get bored and thus might choose to take unauthorised time off to do something he considers interesting than going to work. Job Satisfaction: if employees do not find their work interesting, satisfying and challenging, they feel dissatisfied, which leads to increased absenteeism in the workplace Work life balance: Organisation who not factor employees roles and work life such that a balance is stroked with work and the individuals personal life commitments and family would experience increased employee absenteeism. Conflict in the workplace: ultimately increases chances of employee absenteeism. Lack of team spirit: A team that lacks unity, synergy and good interpersonal relationship amongst its members, will be a weak and unproductive. Such team members will lack team spirit-the spirit that bonds individuals in a team. This lack of team spirit can de-motivate team members, make them work in isolation, they would lack the sense of belonging, love and satisfaction. There would exist, fears of the unknown, lack of trust for team members. These feelings will encourage an employee to stay off work. Social Factors: factors such as difficult community circumstances like High crime and intimidation rates which constitutes fear in employees catalyses absenteeism in the workplace. Other social factors are Lack of transportation/transport facilities Poverty levels Malnutrition HIV/AIDS Labour Strikes 1.3 Effects of Absenteeism in the workplace When a company has an absentee problem, it has a profit problem. Absenteeism can take a deep financial toll on any business, whether a small or multinational company. There are also other significant effects associated with excessive absenteeism: Decreased Productivity: in a team of people doing interrelated tasks, if one persistent remains absent or fails to deliver, it creates a domino effect on productivity. It affects employee/team morale: this is due to the fact that additional stress are places on employees who act as replacements or assume additional tasks for absentees Absenteeism causes disruptions in the workplace and impacts on the SLAs It affects customer service levels, turnaround times, customer loyalty and satisfaction. It affect or disrupts effective team formation and operations It may create a perception of unfairness amongst employees It affects the bottom-line 2.0 Measuring Absenteeism 2.1 Why measure absenteeism? It is pertinent to measure the rate of absenteeism in the workplace. Measuring employees absenteeism is a good way to measure Overall Labour Effectiveness (OLE) in the workplace, which is a key performance indicator (KPI) that measures the utilization, performance and quality of the workforce and its impact on productivity. Monitoring staff absence rates helps to trace the pattern of employee attendance. To monitor and check dead times, in the workplace, to derive and measure resources and costs incurred due to employee absenteeism with the aim of devising effective methods to manage absenteeism in the workplace. In measuring absenteeism in the workplace, we derive the ratio of its administrative, financial and productivity cost to the organisation which will enable development of strategies to curb absenteeism while rechanneling resources more effectively to effect the bottom-line positively. Administrative costs of Absenteeism: Time consumed in controlling absenteeism Time consumed in sourcing replacements and re-assigning duties. Supervisors time Financial Costs: this are the costs accruing form Overtime costs Replacement employee costs Training costs Over staffing costs Productivity Costs: Replaced productivity and loss of output costs the costs of supporting replacement employees Costs accrued in training new or replacement staff/hiring temp staff Substandard production 2.2 Ways of Measuring Absenteeism The Total Tim lost: Number of person-days lost through job absence during period X 100 (Average number of employees) x (Number of Work days) This rate also can be based on number of hours instead of number of days. The individual frequency formula: This is calculated as thus : Individual frequency = (Num of Absent Employees/Average Number of Employees) x100 The Bradford Factor or Bradford Formula: According to the Chartered Institute of Personal and Development, the term was first coined due to its supposed connection with research undertaken by the Bradford University School of Management in the 1980s. It was developed as a way of highlighting the misappropriate level of disruption on an organisations performance that can be caused by short-term employee absence compared to incidences of prolonged absence. In contrast, it is considered short-sighted and unlikely to be successful which could lead to staff dissatisfaction and grievances. The Bradford factor can be calculated as follows: B= S2 x D where: B is the Bradford Factor score S is the total number of spells(instances) of absence of an individual over a set period D is the total number of days of absence of that individual over the same set period The set period is typically set as a rolling 52 week period. For example: 1 instance of absence with a duration of 15 days (1x 1 x 5)= 5 points 4 instances of absence; one of one, one of four and one of six days (4 x 4 x 5) =80 points 6 instances of absences ;each for two days (6 x 6 x 5) = 180 points However, the Bradford factor has been critiqued for its limited and short-sightedness in effectively measuring absenteeism, this is because it only factors total number and frequency of individual absence into account, neglecting the kind of absence. Again, the Bradford factor is a generic process and would be inappropriate to implement on disabled employees this is because certain disabilities require higher days of absence. Employers are bound by law e.g. The British Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and 2005 (DDA) to tailor their actions to the individual circumstances of disabled employees and failure to provide these reasonable adjustments by employers may lead to civil actions or breach of DDA in employment tribunal 3.0 Managing absenteeism: Absenteeism: A cultural problem Every organisation is a culture, with its own norms that constitute the expected, supported and accepted ways of behaving. These norms are most times unwritten and advice people on the code of conduct. The existing culture and norms influences everyones perception of the business, from the CEO to the newly hired employee. Managements behaviour has a special impact on organisational behaviour as relates to absenteeism, this is because of its modelling influence. Investigations have shown that absenteeism was/is directly traceable to the group norms established by leadership, the work environment and group expectations. Each group had similar illness records, it was the norms that dictated, and almost predictably, whether people showed up for work. Absenteeism is often symptoms of larger organisational problems and can be managed as thus: Leadership modelling and commitment: Managerial commitments and participatory culture have an important impact on attendance. E.g. in a retail company, a manager who demonstrated little commitment to attendance practices recorded one of the highest absenteeism rates in his organisation. Work motivation and rewards: Motivation in the work place is the driving force to achieve employee job satisfaction and commitment. This motivation could be Extrinsic or Intrinsic. Extrinsic motivation relates to the tangible rewards e.g. Salary, security, promotion and conditions of work. While, Intrinsic motivation relates to the psychological rewards which includes; a sense of challenge and achievement, participation and appreciation from the employer. According to Maslows hierarchy of needs; the expectancies of an employee from the employer are captured as thus- Motivated employees overcome obstacles to make it to work. The key to reducing employee absenteeism is to create a culture where employees want to come to work. Effective Groups and Team Building: groups and teams are essential features of the work pattern of organisations. These include formal and informal groups, project and virtual teams. Effective group and team building encourages inter personal relationships, fulfils the individuals psychological need of love and belonging, encourages organisational learning and communication while reducing conflicts in the organisation. This ultimately gives employees, sense of belonging and contribution, job satisfaction and an increased love for the job which will be evidenced in attendance rate. Recruitment and selection: Employers should recruit employees with good attendance records. This information should be included in references. Employee orientation and training: Attendance norms should be established the first day on the job. These norms are inculcated at inductions and orientation sessions. Performance Appraisal: this can boost employee attendance rates. Management should attach attendance rates to performance appraisals, if employees are aware that attendance would be a part of their appraisal, they would minimise unnecessary absence from work. Conclusion: Organisational culture is a key factor that affects the norms and modus operandi of an organisation. Thus the leaders and manager have a great job of making effective decisions and inculcation the required culture through policies and examples. Creating an attendance-oriented culture requires a complete corporate commitment to encourage attendance rather than manage absenteeism. This would be a significant shift because an absenteeism culture not only cost millions of pounds, but also impedes the development of human resources, reduces organisations competitive advantage and affects the bottom-line My case study illustrating the causes, effects and how to manage absenteeism is evidenced in my reflective writing. Reflective Writing: I would always wish I would not have to return to work the following day, I would call-in sick at the slightest headache. I disliked the new branch I was posted to be a team leader. Not having prior information or notice of my sudden inter-state transfer until a mail dropped in my mailbox, a Monday morning I just resumed from vacation, gave me the shock. I was to resume in the new branch with immediate effect. There was no communication whatever from my team leader that arrangement has been made for me to move to another state where i would lead the funds transfer team. This is a clear indication of communication gap and ineffective boss and subordinate relationship, where the team leader feels less need to have inter-personal relationship with team members. Her autocratic system of leadership in the workplace does not encourage participation, shared learning, sense of belonging and team spirit, which are among an employees intrinsic expectancies from the organisation/workplace This autocratic, non-participatory system of leadership and lack of effective communication and team spirit became a culture instilled by the branch leader. This holistically affected all team members. Demonization, fear, lack of commitment, ineffective communication that often caused conflicts, and absenteeism creped in. The feeling of betrayal, neglect and less regard filled my heart as i journeyed down the new branch. I lost motivation and commitment in the job. I lost the feeling of being part of the organisation. This was reflected in my re-occurring absenteeism and inability to deliver on deadlines The sudden relocation was pressuring and put me under stress. This further increased my absenteeism rate from work till the point I tendered my resignation. This situation highlights the importance and implication of the supervisory and managers roles in the work place as regards motivation, team building, eradicating conflicts and commitment. However, I feel sober, writing this coursework having realised through my research and the module learning, the cost and other implications of employee absenteeism in organisations. This also reflects why my recommendations for an effective management of employee absenteeism points to organisational culture, effective team and group building which encourages team participation and motivation, and leadership styles and modelling. A motivational team leader or mentor would encourage effective communication, build effective teams, build a culture of attendance and commitment through a democratic or participatory system of leadership where everyone contributes and feels the sense of responsibly and love. As a manager, having participated in this course module, I understand and appreciate my roles more. I have gained more insights on to build effective teams; manage conflicts, leadership by example and ultimately, how to manage individual differences and diversity in the workplace. Getting back into work, I would be a good leader, and inspire brilliance.

Humanity of the Primitive in Heart of Darkness, Dialect of Modernism an

Humanity of the Primitive in Heart of Darkness, Dialect of Modernism and Totem and Taboo   Ã‚  Ã‚   The ways in which a society might define itself are almost always negative ways. "We are not X." A society cannot exist in a vacuum; for it to be distinct it must be able to define itself in terms of the other groups around it. These definitions must necessarily take place at points of cultural contact, the places at which two societies come together and arrive at some stalemate of coexistence. For European culture of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries this place of contact—this new culture by which to define itself—came from Africa, from those "primitive" cultures whose society was being studied and in some ways appreciated for the first time. The African natives became the new Other, the new way to define what Europe was at that time.   Ã‚  Ã‚   The way in which this redefinition took place was through the institution of a fundamentally hierarchical system. "Primitive" versus "sophisticated," "barbarous" versus "cultured." The anthropology of the time—articulated primarily by Frazer—espoused an evolutionary view of humanity. Societies passed through several stages of development on their way to true civilisation, and, while the Europeans had made it all the way, the Africans were lagging just a bit behind. This, however, created a problem for Europe. If Africans were fundamentally the same as Europeans (albeit farther back on the evolutionary ladder), what did that say about the roots of European society? This uncertainty created a very disjunctive view of primitives in the literature of the time. In his book, The Dialect of Modernism, Michael North suggests that, "The colonial subject is either a part of nature, utter... ... intensely inhuman, Freud shows us that these things are all one. This continuum of thought collapses into one inescapable fact: we are the primitive, and he is us.    Works Cited and Consulted Arnold, Matthew. Culture and Anarchy. Indianapolis: Bobs-Merrill, 1971. Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1988. Freud, Sigmund. Totem and Taboo. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1950. Greene, Graham. The Heart of the Matter. New York: Penguin, 1984. Mahood, M. M. The Colonial Encounter: A Reading of Six Novels. Totowa: Rowman, 1977. North, Michael. The Dialect of Modernism. New York: Oxford University Press, 1994. Raskin, Jonah. The Mythology of Imperialism. New York: Random, 1971. Watts, Cedric. Conrad’s Heart of Darkness: A Critical and Contextual Discussion. Milan: Mursia International, 1977.   

SQL Server Magazine

Database professionals are capable of understanding what an application is and how it should go about. Other than that, they also encounter application errors and problems oftentimes. Since they are the only group who are expected to know everything in a database environment, end users often regard them as experts – someone who knows how to solve any problem that a database environment has (Cyr, 2006). But with so many demands, there should be an appropriate scheme for responding to the issues.In year 2006, SQL Server Magazine released the results from the Salary survey which was conducted a few weeks back. The results reveal that the easiest and quickest way to address an issue is not processed through a straight line method. Instead, it may look similar to a spiral stair case wherein the prior step would mean a foundation for the next step. However, there are a few SQL experts out there who do not share the same strategy on responding issues.Moran, a consultant of Solid Qual ity learning added that one can be considered an expert if he or she is able to fix the problem earlier than somebody else does. Miller, on the other hand, is a research analyst of Wichita State University, who is set to be an expert in every practical-related undertaking (Cyr, 2006). He is a self-taught database professional who managed to serve a group of people sharing a database application problem (Cyr, 2006). Miller and Moran are just two of the many experts of SQL server.Regardless of their respective responsibility and background, they share basic means to build a solid foundation on their expertise. The three most important lessons to learn are: to create a strong understanding of the core technology they work with,, the ability to use various information resources, and connections to the IT community through where they can share ideas. References Cyr, D. (2006, December). What makes you an Expert? Retrieved June 23, 2009, from www. sqlmag. com

The lack of truth in the American Media essays

The lack of truth in the American Media essays No one disputes the evidence that on March 19, 2003, President Bush targeted Saddam Husseins bunker in Baghdad and fired the shot heard - - or at least watched - - round the world. Usually topics like this are beyond disputation because the basic contours of the U.S. approach to war already seem clear. Presumably, this clarity and lack of contention is engrafted into the perspectives that we Americans obtain from our mainstream media. Has this coverage of the war in Iraq turned out to be truthful information or has it become a meaningful page-one dissection and exposure of the White Houses claims which can hardly be found in our mainstream media? First is the modern media, with its supposed extensive press coverage of the diplomatic phase, its hundreds of embedded journalists reporting in real time from the battleground, its worldwide network that goes after the story from many aspects, or its multifaceted CNNs on the Internet. Such diverse coverage must bring pride to the media on reporting the information and gathering the evidence that tells the story or proves the facts. Perhaps we are seeing this slant of media pride through a callow and ignorant position. Perhaps we are talking about structural errors or more precisely about intensive political and economic power. A good place to start changing this outlook would be in regard to the corporate media masters who do not see the world or this reality through democratic eyes and never will. The United States mainstream media institutions that filter and otherwise control such an immense share of the domesticated information could simply start by doing one thingby telling t he truth. Imagine, for instance, that President George W. Bushs most optimistic dream comes true. Saddam Husseins authorities are abolished with minimal casualties. We find that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction and in fact, meant t...

Great awakening essays

Great awakening essays American Philosophy in the eighteenth century was divided into two halves. The first heavily influenced by the Calvinism of the Puritans, the second more directly along the lines of the European Enlightenment and associated with the political philosophy of the Founding Fathers (Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, etc...). The age of the Enlightenment began when people started to question authority, religion, and philosophize about life and science. The First Great Awakening was started to bring the fire back into religion. Both the Great Awakening and Enlightenment played a big role in contributing to the growth of colonial America and independent. The powerful Enlightenment ideas of the eighteenth century, concerning reason and natural law, spread widely throughout Europe and its colonies and gave hope to many people for future progress and reform. As England gained control over the colonies in America, many colonists felt victimized by the unfair treatment they were receiving from their country. They used the ideas of Enlightenment thinkers, or Philosophies, in their aim for independence and liberties. The Enlightenment ideas also spurred the discontented French to revolt against their unfair ruling class. Both, the Americans and the French, were enlightened by the new, liberal and logical thoughts, and these encouraged them to demand change in the social order and unjust authorities they were subjected to. The ideas of the Enlightenment were spread through the writings of many Philosophies, through different intellectual gatherings, and through traveling. Enlightenment was used as a weapon against the old French society and encouraged tolerance, reasoning, and improvement of society. Considered as revitalization, an awakening of religious devotion, called the Great Awakening. The fear of the flames of hell swept through the American colonies, mainly in New England, between 1730-1745. The Great Awakening st...

What makes the United States an exceptional nation Essay

What makes the United States an exceptional nation - Essay Example No indication of its success is complete without acknowledging that millions, if not billions, of people yearn to see its shores and become Americans themselves. It is a free country. But how did America become so exceptionally free? The answer must be found in its constitution. Compared to any other countries' constitutions, the American one strikes notes of freedom with every word. In its totalizing sense of humanity's place in a polity and it ingenious design, the American Constitution allowed an amazing country to be born out of the ashes of the Revolutionary War. The Constitution is one of the great documents conceived of by men. It is important to understand how a constitution functions in a state. It is a document that describes how a government will function, and, perhaps more importantly, what individual rights cannot be limited by that government. It limits power and therefore prevents tyranny. Countries such as North Korea and Libya may have constitutions, but they are not followed. There the tyrant rules all and no one has any rights whatsoever. In many ways America is an extraordinary concept—a state where the people are in charge. It is important to remember the reason why the Americans revolted against British rule and built their own country. They felt King George III was a tyrant. He refused to listen to the colonists and refused to grant them any autonomy. The men who wrote the Constitution found this to be unacceptable (Mason, 21). They wanted to try a new form of government: one for the people and by the people. Nothing like this had ever been done before. Some of the constitution's great strengths are revealed when compared to another country's constitution. Canada, for example, has a different history than America, and a different constitution. Canadians did not revolt against the British: they were loyalists. Indeed, Queen Elizabeth II is still their head of state. Their Constitution—the most important part of which is calle d the Charter of Rights and Freedoms—is a nice document but it is much quieter than the American amendments to the Constitution (Tuohy, 39). It is interesting to compare the preamble of both documents. Americans focus on Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. Canadians on Peace, Order, and Good Government. Those two phrases just about say it all. Both documents have many of the same rights—such as the right to free speech—but the Charter has limits. Section 1 of the Charter permits any violation to be excused if it can be justified in a free and democratic society. Section 33 of the Charter permits the government to simply ignore the Charter when it wants to (Greene, 97). Surely, these two excuses are vestiges of Canadians' willingness to listen to authority and accept the word of the King on such matters. The American Constitution has no such limits. One of the greatest things about the American Constitution is the Second Amendment, the right to bear arms. This controversial provision is criticized by some, but ensures that no tyrant can ever impose his power on America (Garvey, 50). Americans have a right to weapons. Weapons are seen as a guarantor of freedom from capricious rule. The Canadian document has no such right. In fact, guns in Canada are severely restricted. Canadians are used to having outsiders, such as the British, dictate what they should do. They meekly accept their orders because that's what their constitution tells them to do. Another interesting difference between the American Constitution and the Charter is section 15 of the latter. This enshrines affirmative action as a protected right. Some people also, appropriately, call affirmative action positive discrimination. In America, people make their way in the world based

Elasticity of Demand Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Elasticity of Demand - Essay Example When one of these two changes, the other also tends to change. This tendency is very well described by what is popularly known as Law of Demand. The law of Demand is a general law which need not be applicable in all situations. In certain situations this law seems to be unrealistic. The Law of Demand states that when the price increases, the quantity demanded decreases and vice versa, other things remaining the same. The phrase 'other things remain the same' is an important one that it portrays the exceptions of Law of Demand. The Law of Demand, therefore postulates the direction of change in one variable (price or quantity) due to the change in other variable. The law is silent about the magnitude of change. That means, it does not talk anything about the degree by which demand changes as a result of a change in price. Here lies the importance of Elasticity of Demand. This concept tells us the extent to which demand increases or decreases owing to a decrease or increase in price. Th erefore, Law of Demand is a qualitative measurement whereas Elasticity of Demand is a quantitative measurement. As stated earlier, elasticity is a measure of responsiveness of quantity demanded for a change in price. ... Mathematically, it may be computed as: (Moffatt Mike: Elasticity of Demand) To calculate percentage change in quantity and percentage change in price, the following formulae can be sued: % change in quantity = Quantity (new) - Quantity (old) / Quantity (old) (Moffatt Mike: Elasticity of Demand) % change in Price = Price (new) - Price (old) / Price (old) (Moffatt Mike: Elasticity of Demand) Price Elasticity of Demand The Price Elasticity of Demand is the measure of responsiveness of quantity demand of a product as a result of change in its own price. This is also known as Own Price Elasticity of Demand. This theory measures the rate of response of quantity demanded due to change in price. Price Elasticity is a common phenomenon because price and demand are the two closely related variables. In other words, price is the most important determinant of demand. Price of a product and its demand are negatively correlated, which means when price increases, demand decreases and vice versa. Mathematically, price elasticity of demand can be expressed as below: Price Elasticity of Demand = (% Change in quantity demanded)/ (% change in price) (Moffatt Mike: Price Elasticity of Demand) % Change in quantity demanded = Quantity (new) - Quantity (old) / Quantity (old) (Moffatt Mike: Price Elasticity of Demand) % change in price = Price (new) - Price (old) / Price (old) (Moffatt Mike: Price Elasticity of Demand) Significance of Price Elasticity The calculation of price elasticity alone is not sufficient to an economist for decision making. It is a means to an end. Thus, interpretation is more important than computation. The purpose of calculating elasticity is for analyzing how sensitive is the demand for the product due to a