Survival Tips For Small Businesses Essays - Entrepreneurship

Survival Tips For Small Businesses You may be in Mail Order, Direct Mail, or you may be a local merchant with 150 employees; whichever, however or whatever... you've got to know how to keep your business alive during economic recessions. Anytime the cash flow in a business, large or small, starts to tighten up, the money management of that business has to be run as a tight ship. Some of the things you can and should do include protecting yourself from expenditures made on sudden impulse. We've all bought merchandise or services we really didn't need simply because we were in the mood, or perhaps in response to the flamboyancy of the advertising or the persuasiveness of the salesperson. Then we sort of wake up a couple of days later and find that we've committed hundreds of dollars of business funds for an item or service that's not essential to the success of our own business, when really pressing items had been waiting for those dollars. If you are incorporated, you can eliminate these impulse purchases by including in your by-laws a clause that states: All purchasing decisions over (a certain amount) are contingent upon approval by the board of directors. This will force you to consider any impulse purchases of considerable cost, and may even be a reminder in the case of smaller purchases. If your business is a partnership, you can state, when faced with a buying decision, that all purchases are contingent upon the approval of a third party. In reality, the third party can be your partner, one of your department heads, or even one of your suppliers. If your business is a sole proprietorship, you don't have much to worry about really, because as an individual you have three days to think about your purchase, and then to nullify that purchase if you think you don't really need it or can't afford it. While you may think you cannot afford it, be sure that you don't short-change yourself on professional services. This would apply especially during a time of emergency. Anytime you commit yourself an d move ahead without completely investigating all the angles, and preparing yourself for all the contingencies that may arise, you're skating on thin ice. Regardless of the costs involved, it always pays off in the long run to seek out the advice of experienced professionals before embarking on a plan that could ruin you. As an example, an experienced business consultant can fill you in on the 1244 stock advantages. Getting eligibility for the 1244 stock category is a very simple process, but one with tremendous benefits to your business. The 1244 status encourages investors to put equity capital into your business because in the event of a loss, amounts up to the entire sum of the investment can be written off in the current year. Without the 1244 classification, any losses would have to be spread over several years, and this, of course, would greatly lessen the attractiveness of your company's stock. Any business owner who has not filed the 1244 corporation has in effect cut himse lf off from 90 percent of his prospective investors. Particularly when sales are down, you must be hard-nosed with people trying to sell you luxuries for your business. When business is booming, you undoubtedly will allow sales people to show you new models of equipment or a new line of supplies; but when your business is down, skip the entertaining frills and concentrate on the basics. Great care must be taken however, to maintain courtesy and allow these sellers to consider you a friend and call back at another time. Your company's books should reflect your way of thinking, and whoever maintains them should generate information according to your policies. Thus, you should hire an outside accountant or accounting firm to figure your return on your investment, as well as the turnover on your accounts receivable and inventory. Such an audit or survey should focus in depth on any or every item within your financial statement that merits special attention. In this way, you'll probably uncover any potential financial problems before they become readily apparent, and certainly before they could get out of hand. Many small

Desert Pavement Theories

Desert Pavement Theories When you decide to visit the desert, you usually have to go off the pavement, onto a dirt road. Sooner or later you arrive in the brightness and space that you came for. And if you turn your eyes from the distant landmarks around you, you may see another kind of pavement at your feet, called desert pavement. A Street of Varnished Stones Its not at all like the drifting sand that people often picture when they think of the desert. Desert pavement is a stony surface without sand or vegetation that covers large parts of the worlds drylands. Its not photogenic, like the twisted shapes of hoodoos or the eerie forms of dunes, but seeing its presence on a wide desert vista, dark with age, gives a hint of the delicate balance of slow, gentle forces that create desert pavement. It is a sign that the land has been undisturbed, perhaps for thousands- hundreds of thousands of years. What makes desert pavement dark is rock varnish, a peculiar coating built up over many decades by windblown clay particles and the tough bacteria that live on them. Varnish has been found on fuel cans left in the Sahara during World War II, so we know that it can form fairly fast, geologically speaking. What Creates Desert Pavement What makes desert pavement stony is not always so clear. There are three traditional explanations for bringing stones to the surface, plus a much newer one claiming that the stones started out at the surface. The first theory is that the pavement is a lag deposit, made of rocks left behind after the wind blew away all the fine-grained material. (Wind-blown erosion is called deflation.) This is clearly so in many places, but in many other places, a thin crust created by minerals or soil organisms binds the surface together. That would prevent deflation. The second explanation relies on moving water, during the occasional rains, to winnow out the fine material. Once the finest material is splashed loose by raindrops, a thin layer of rainwater, or sheet flow, sweeps it away efficiently. Both wind and water could work on the same surface at different times. The third theory is that processes in the soil move stones to the top. Repeated cycles of wetting and drying have been shown to do that. Two other soil processes involve the formation of ice crystals in the soil (frost heave) and salt crystals (salt heave) in places with the right temperature or chemistry. In most deserts, these three mechanisms- deflation, sheet flow, and heave- can work together in various combinations to explain desert pavements. But where there are exceptions, we have a new, fourth mechanism. The Born at the Surface Theory The newest theory of pavement formation comes from careful studies of places like Cima Dome, in the Mojave Desert of California, by Stephen Wells and his coworkers. Cima Dome is a place where lava flows of recent age, geologically speaking, are partly covered by younger soil layers that have desert pavement on top of them, made of rubble from the same lava. The soil has been built up, not blown away, and yet it still has stones on top. In fact, there are no stones in the soil, not even gravel. There are ways to tell how many years stone has been exposed on the ground. Wells used a method based on cosmogenic helium-3, which forms by cosmic ray bombardment at the ground surface. Helium-3 is retained inside grains of olivine and pyroxene in the lava flows, building up with exposure time. The helium-3 dates show that the lava stones in the desert pavement at Cima Dome have all been at the surface the same amount of time as the solid lava flows right next to them. Its inescapable that in some places, as he put it in a July 1995 article in Geology, stone pavements are born at the surface. While the stones remain on the surface due to heave, deposition of windblown dust must build up the soil beneath that pavement. For the geologist, this discovery means that some desert pavements preserve a long history of dust deposition beneath them. The dust is a record of ancient climate, just as it is on the deep sea floor and in the worlds ice caps. To those well-read volumes of Earth history, we may be able to add a new geologic book whose pages are desert dust.

Terra and Its Relations

Terra and Its Relations Terra and Its Relations Terra and Its Relations By Mark Nichol This post lists and defines words derived from the Latin noun terra, meaning â€Å"earth† or â€Å"land.† Terra is used in several contexts in English but never on its own as a common noun. It is the name of an early Roman goddess associated with Ceres, the goddess of agriculture and maternity, and identified with the Greek goddess Gaia. It is also the Latin name for Earth and is widely used as such in science fiction; the adjective in usage associated with the proper noun is Terran. (The notion of populating another planet with Earth’s flora and fauna to facilitate colonization is called terraforming.) In addition, it refers to landmasses on planets and satellites, in combination with other classical names (such as Aphrodite Terra on Venus and Terra Cimmeria on Mars). In this context, the Latin plural terrae is employed to refer to more than one such feature. â€Å"Terra firma† originally referred to outlying areas of the Republic of Venice as opposed to the city itself, which was built on a lagoon; now, it means â€Å"solid ground† and is used figuratively as well as literally to refer to having a steady, substantial footing. Terra-cotta, meanwhile, means â€Å"cooked earth† and is the name of a type of clay used for statuary, vases, and architecture, as well as the word for products made of the clay; it also refers to the brownish orange typical of the finished product. The word is also associated with landmasses on Earth, as in the well-known phrase â€Å"terra incognita† (literally, â€Å"unknown land†), which refers to hypothetical places, and the more obscure â€Å"terra nullius† (essentially equivalent to â€Å"no man’s land†). Because these Latin phrases, at least, have been adopted into English, they need not be italicized. Other words stemming from terra include terrain, which originally described equestrian training grounds but now pertains to a piece of land in general or the physical features of such. (That word is part of the phrase â€Å"all-terrain vehicle,† usually referred to by its initials, ATV.) It can be employed figuratively just as area is- for example, when describing a skill or topic one is unfamiliar with as â€Å"new terrain.† Terrace, which referred in its Old French form to a platform built on a mound of earth, now describes a flat area, used for leisure, next to a building or to an artificially level section of a hillside where crops are grown, as well as a row of houses or a residential street, originally one located on a slope. It may also refer to any flat natural or constructed area. Terrace is also a verb describing formation of either general type of terrace. Terrestrial is an adjective describing something pertaining to Earth or to land as opposed to water, air, or space; it also refers to the dense inner planets of the solar system as distinct from the large, gaseous outer planets. Extraterrestrial, originally an adjective alluding to something originating elsewhere than on Earth, is often employed to denote a being from another planet, especially a sentient one that is part of an alien civilization. Terrene is an obscure alternative to the adjective terrestrial; a related adjective, subterranean (literally, â€Å"underground†), is much more familiar. Territory refers in general to an area of indeterminate size; more specifically, it may pertain to a geopolitical area under government jurisdiction but not classified as a province, state, or other national subdivision. The word may be used figuratively as a synonym for the nonliteral use of terrain. (The idioms â€Å"come(s) with the territory† and â€Å"go(es) with the territory† refer to something being an inevitable aspect of a situation.) The adjectival form is territorial; both the noun and the adjective may refer to animal behavior related to protection of habitat. A terrarium is a small indoor enclosure, usually made of clear glass or plastic, for observing animals and/or plants in a microcosm of their natural environment; the word is constructed on the model of aquarium. On a related note, the obscure adjective terraqueous means â€Å"consisting of both land and water.† Another rare word stemming from terra is parterre, which describes an ornamental garden or the main floor of a theater. Better-known words that may not be easily recognized as being derived from terra include terrier, originally pertaining to a type of dog originally bred to pursue animals into burrows, and tureen, a word for a deep, covered bowl used for baking and/or serving soup or other foods or for a similar laboratory container. Terrible and terror are unrelated words stemming from the Latin verb terrere, meaning â€Å"frighten,† and interrogate is from interrogare, consisting of the prefix inter- attached to the verb rogare, meaning â€Å"ask.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:The Yiddish Handbook: 40 Words You Should KnowHow to Play HQ Words: Cheats, Tips and TricksForming the Comparative of One-syllable Adjectives

Analysis of Argentina Economic Recovery Research Paper

Analysis of Argentina Economic Recovery - Research Paper Example Resent observation made by IMF indicates that Argentina has been able to recovery from financial recession. This essay analyses Argentina’s managed floating exchange rate regime from the recovery of economic crisis to the Present. Economists have mentioned many factors that contributed to Argentina financial turmoil. Some economists have cited Argentina economic policies as a factor that contributed to financial recession (Hornbeck). Analysts have claimed that IMF had questionable policy advice and lending to Argentina because it overlooked risks that Argentina was likely to face (Saxton). It is apparent that numerous lending programs that international community gave to Argentina during the recession aggravated the problem. Economists believe that fiscal policies of Argentina plunged it into the financial crisis. Research indicates that Argentina had been using fiscal largesse to counter economic problems. In this case, Argentina printed currency to cover its monetary shortfa lls or applied other creative methods to expand its money supply. This policy led to indebtedness and high inflation. Argentina adopted convertibility fiscal policy, which controlled exchange rate against the American dollar. Research indicates that the policy worked well until 1995 when Argentina economic policies could not protect the country from economic depression (Akkerman & Teunissen). Analysts have argued that convertibility fiscal policy failed because the plan lacked thresholds required to contain convertibility plan at national and provision levels. Research indicates that Argentina’s debts grew from 30% to 60% (Saxton). The debt figures show records collected from 1995 to 2001. These changes led to overvaluation of Argentina’s currency, which affected Argentina’s competiveness in the world market due to reduction in its ability to export, which further plunged public revenue. With a strengthening dollar fiscal balances of Argentina deteriorated givin g room for regional trading countries a trading opportunity over Argentina. Commodity prices fell accelerating a fall in public revue. It is apparent that a fall in domestic trade triggers an increase in inflation level. Research indicates that Argentine fiscal deficit in 1993-2001 had an average of 1.3 percent of the country’s GDP (Weisbrot, et.al). Increase in fiscal deficit took place in 1998 when Argentina adopted joint action on recession, which focused on higher interest rates and revenues. Recovery plan from the financial turmoil meant that Argentina had to change to fiscal policies in order to meet challenges in the dynamic market. Argentina debt restructuring began in 2002 when Argentina negotiated with investors and IMF to cut down some of their debts (Akkerman & Teunissen). Negotiation did not yield much because IMF did not provide solution, which could leverage on Argentina’s economic turmoil. Argentina refuted its agreement with IMF and entered into one te rm agreement with SEC to settle debts of private creditors. The commitment made by Argentina to recover from debts that it had incurred got a backup from Argentine legislative move, which restricted Argentina from incurring more debts on better terms. Argentine government developed policies, which improved import substitution as a move to improve trade in the country. The central bank moved in to control

Sustaining Organisational Effectiveness Research Paper

Sustaining Organisational Effectiveness - Research Paper Example This article dwells into the details of how leaders can be inspirers at the same time also analyses how lackluster leadership qualities can result in poor performance of the entire organization. The article also substantiates the fact, with the help of a survey conducted by the McKinsey consultancy services highlights the wide gap between the aspirations of executives to innovate and their ability to do so. It also says that tinkering with organizational structures and processes as a way of stimulating creativity and innovation will lead the organization nowhere. The article also lays emphasis on innovation and the need for it to be incorporated as a part of business strategy itself. The article attempts to drive home the point that fostering a culture of creativity and innovation is only possible only when the higher-ups empower their people. Even failure should also be encouraged so as to encourage employees and others to crop up with innovative and creative ideas. Not all organizations give the staffs such a degree of participation, with authoritarianism raising the head (Burnes, 2004). Several multinational companies encourage their employees of all levels to generate bu siness ideas which can result in competitive advantage for them. For example, a Japanese company like Matsushita encourage its entire staff to generate innovative business ideas. They even encourage people who do menial jobs in their organization to convey their ideas to the top management in case if they have any. Another excellent example is Philips; this company encourages not only their employees but also their suppliers and also their customers to come up with new innovative ideas to compete better. Johnson and Scholes (2002) state that an organization might develop in the future based on groupings of key environmental influences. Such ideas are duly appreciated and awarded also promptly by the company.

Competency of student nurses in the operating room Essay Example for Free

Competency of student nurses in the operating room Essay LEGEND: 4-Competent (Student performs consistently in an effective and efficient manner) 3-Progress Acceptable (performance is usually effective and efficient but not always) 2-Needs Improvement (progress in performance is too slow to judge satisfactorily; task performance is not done properly for majority of the time0 1-Progress Unacceptable (no progress in performance has been demonstrated and/ or performance is consistently ineffective and inefficient) CORE COMPETENCY SCORE REMARKS A. safe and quality nursing care 1. utilizes the nursing process in the care of OR client a. Obtains comprehensive client’s information by checking complete accomplishment of the preoperative checklist/ clients chart b. Identifies priority needs of the client at the Operating Room c. Provides needed nursing interventions based on identified needs d. Monitors client’s responses to surgery 2. Promotes safety and comfort of patients inside the OR a. Transports client safely from the unit to OR b. Transfer client safely from the stretcher to OR bed, OR bed to stretcher, stretcher to RR bed (e.g. use of side rails) c. Places properly grounding pad under the patient for electro-surgical equipment d. Monitor vital signs e. Provides physical comfort utilizing comfort devices/ techniques f. Provides needed blankets and sheets to prevent hypothermia and provide privacy g. Assist in proper and safe positioning of clients in preparation for surgery h. Observes the principles of strict surgical aseptic techniques within the work area at all times i. Observes universal precautions in handling body fluids 3. Performs the functions of the scrub nurse a. Drapes the operative field correctly b. Performs surgical scrub correctly c. Dons surgical gowns and gloves correctly d. Serves gowns, gloves and drapes aseptically e. Prepared surgical instruments, sponges, sutures and other supplies in functional agreement f. Hands instruments, sponges, sutures and other materials according to surgeon’s preference g. Performs surgical count accurately h. Performs after care of the surgical instruments 4. Performs the functions of the circulating nurse a. Prepared the surgical table and all needed equipment and supplies for surgery b. Assist the anesthesiologist in the induction of anesthesia c. Performs the surgical skin preparation of the client d. Checks with the scrub nurse the completeness of surgical sponges, needles and instruments e. Anticipates the needs of the surgical team f. Ensures intactness and functionality of all contraptions ( e.g. IVF; BT; IFC; NGT) g. Helps in the after care of all equipment and the OR as a whole h. Hand additional instruments and supplies aseptically as needed i. Check sheet integrity and sterility of OR packs i.1. Sets up the OR Room needed equipment i.2. Receives client for surgery/ endorses client post-operatively i.3. Assists in skin preparation and draping of client 5. Administer medications and other health therapeutics safely 6. Executes legal orders of the surgeon/ anesthesiologist accurately and timely 7. Evaluates patient’s response to interventions 8. Monitors patients progress during surgery and immediate post-op phase B. Management of resources and environment 1. Ensures availability, completeness and functionality of OR equipments 2. Observes protocols in unrestricted, semi-restricted and restricted areas in the OR 3. Performs proper disinfection and sterilization protocols 4. Observes proper disposal of hazardous and non hazardous wastes. Observes proper handling and up keeping of OR resources 5. Observes OR policies, procedures and protocols on infection control 6. Conducts inventory of OR resources 7. Awareness of the institutional evacuation and location plan both for fire, earthquake and other major emergencies. C. Health Education 1. Implements appropriate health education activities to client based on needs assessment of the intra-operative client 2. Reinforces pre-operative health teachings to client D. Legal Responsibility 1. Adheres to legal and institutional protocols regarding informed consent and other legal documents E. Ethico- Moral Responsibility 1. Respects the rights of the OR client 2. Accepts responsibility and accountability for own decision and actions as an OR nurse 3. Maintains privacy and confidentiality of client’s information 4. Adheres to the Code of Ethics for Nurses F. Personal and Professional Development 1. Performs OR functions and according to professional standards 2. Possesses positive attitude towards learning surgical and OR-related knowledge and skills G. Quality Improvement 1. Reports significant actual or potential observations regarding the surgical client 2. Reports positive or negative variances at the OR 3. Identifies and reports variances in sterility and other OR activities H. Research 1. Disseminates results of OR-related research findings to clinical group and other members of the OR team as appropriate I. Records Management 1. Maintain legible, accurate and updated documentation of patient care in the chart/ and OR dorms 2. Submits timely, complete an accurate surgical slips and Or write-ups for cases handled J. Communication 1. Utilizes therapeutic communication skills with patients, significant others and members of the health team 2. Establishes professional relationships with members of the surgical/ health team 3. Utilizes proper channel of communication 4. Observes complete and accurate endorsement procedures 5. Uses appropriate information mechanism to facilitate communication inside the OR and with other departments in the hospital K. Collaboration and Teamwork 1. Collaborates plan of care with other members of the health team

Blessed Luke :: Saint Luke Stiris Essays

Blessed Luke Background of Saint Luke ? Saint Luke was born in 896 A.D. most likely in Delphi or in nearby Kastri in Central Greece.[1]? He is known today as Blessed Luke, Luke the Younger, St. Luke of Stiris, and Luke the Wonderworker (Thaumaturgus in Greek).? ?His parents were farmers in Thessaly.?[2]? Originally from Egina, St. Luke?s parents fled the island when the Saracens attacked it. Saracens was the name that Medieval Europeans used to describe the Arabs and all Muslims in general.? As a youth, St. Luke was prone to give to charity, even though his parents were not very wealthy or happy about their son?s giving.[3]? St. Luke was also noted for his healing/special powers from an early age.? ?One of his legendary wonders was to make his parents? crops yield more than anyone else?s? despite only planting half of the seeds he was supposed to.[4] Life of Saint Luke ?As a teenager, St. Luke ran away from home after his father died.[5] However, another source said that he ran away from home because his parents were mad at him for wanting to enter into a monastery.[6] Unfortunately, soldiers mistook St. Luke for a runaway slave and put him in prison.? After he was freed, his mother finally gave her permission to allow Luke to enter a monastery outside of Athens.[7] He did not stay there long.? At the age of eighteen, St. Luke built a place on Mount Joannitsa near Corinth in Greece.[8] There he became a hermit.? St. Luke was credited with predicting the liberation of Crete, which happened within ten years after he died.[9]? Thus, he could predict the future as well as perform miracles.? It was also said that he settled in the village of Stiri.[10] According to different sources, he died either in the year 946 A.D. or 953 A.D.? His Saint?s Day is on February seventh of the Christian calendar.? The Orthodox Church declared Luke a Hossios and his reli cs were kept in the original church until the crypt was built in the Katholikon. Ossios Loukas ?The name means Blessed Luke and the site contains two monastic churches: Holy Luke and Our Lady.? Alternate spellings of its name include Osios Loukas and Hosios Loukas.? The first church built on the site between 941 to 944 A.D. was built for St. Barbara originally.[11]? Holy Luke is called the Katholikon in Greek and was built over the crypt dedicated to St.

Philosophy Reflection Essay

This was my first major introduction into the study of philosophy, and I can honestly say that it has had a major impact on my belief system. Many of my views have been changed and my overall view on life is much different than it was five months ago. To me, the two most interesting works were the Tao and The Mind’s I. The Tao describes a really interesting way of life. Of all the philosophies we’ve read, it is the simplest and most beautiful. Instead of scanning for hidden meanings and analyzing all parts of life, Laozi just tells us to live life. Do no more than you have to do, but do everything you have to do. He tells us not to worry about death and just live life. I honestly think very simple and peaceful way of living can bring us much more happiness than we have now in our current society. However, the only way it can be implemented is if everyone follows the Tao, and that is nearly impossible in our current society. We should honestly try to live simpler lives a nd see the beauty of everyday things. The other work that really impacted me was The Mind’s I. I’m not sure if it qualifies as a single work, but there were several important themes that really interested me and changed some of my views. The section that really interested me the most was the section describing intelligent machines and animals, and their relationship to humans. I had always considered humans superior to animals due to their intelligence and ability to communicate. I never thought too much about the idea of intelligent animals and even machines and their relationship to humans. An intelligent machine or animal that can communicate definitely would be on the same evolutionary level as humans, and thus there could be no way to justify creating an intelligent robotic servant or helper without harkening back to the ideology that prompted slavery. Also, destruction of this machine or animal would be equivalent to murder. However, I still so no moral objection to creating an intelligent robot, as long as we give it its own freedom, just as we would to one of our children. Its may be considered playing God, but if we are his greatest creations, we should have the right to test our limits. Only through a recreation of consciousness done and understood by us can we begin to understand our own consciousness as well as ourselves. I had never really thought about technology in this way and never seriously questioned the origin of my consciousness, so the Mind’s I really forced me to think about  life in a different way. Throughout the term, I not only changed and reconsidered many of my views; I discovered things that I subconsciously believed without really thinking about it. My beliefs not only changed, I discovered beliefs that I never knew I had. Some of these views surfaced when reading certain works like The Mysterious Stranger and Nietzsche. Although these two works didn’t change my deep-set views that much, it was interesting to see my instinctual beliefs get challenged. I discovered I was a pretty moderate thinker, but these readings caused many of my views on life to change. However, I still disagreed with many of the views expressed in class discussions with certain works, like the Tao. But then I realized that the Tao is designed to have different meanings to everyone who reads it so they could find their own way of life and thus doesn’t lend itself well to class discussions. I saw that the way philosophy has evolved over the years mirrors the way society has changed throughout history. The older philosophies that we’ve read, like the Tao and Plato’ work, seem to try to tell us how to live our lives to get the most happiness and satisfaction out of it, and how to find the way or see the light. The more modern philosophies seem to disregard the idea of a true path and tell us how to live in the best way, but they don’t guarantee happiness from it. The most interesting pieces for me were a mix of the modern and older philosophies, like Nietzsche and Socrates’ Apology (I guess because he lived in a ancient but modern society). Even though they were completely different and I completely disagreed with one of them, they were much more compelling to me. One important thing that I learned is that I hate reading about something that I agree on, I dislike having my views â€Å"proven† by another writer and rather read new ideas a nd opinions. From all the texts read and discussions we’ve had this year, it’s hard to highlight just three things that I learned. One of the most stimulating texts to me was The Circular Ruins. Especially when read right after Is God a Taoist, this simple story made me reconsider all my beliefs on existence and God. Just like the main character was, we are kept in the dark about our condition, where we came from and how we exist. We claim an all-mighty God  as our creator, and call ourselves superior beings in his image. However, whose to say that we are not just insignificant nothings, created by another being of no importance. Would that make us less real and important? From this story I learned to stop attaching importance and purpose to everything I do. Maybe there is a reason we don’t know where we come from; perhaps we don’t want to know. Another important lesson came from Reservation Blues. The main characters all had to deal with finding a cultural identity while trying to escape the trap of the white man. The only ones who made it out were the ones who had a strong cultural identity. They knew themselves and identified with their past before they attempted to escape the reservation. Victor and Junior either tried to ignore their past or couldn’t come to terms with their heritage. They tried to escape before they were ready, and couldn’t cope with the failure. The book’s point, despite the suicide and Victor’s destruction, was amazingly positive, it showed that if you come to terms with your past and yourself you can overcome any obstacle set against you, but you must have this understanding or you will destroy yourself. From The Razor’s Edge I learned a lot about the purpose of life from each of the vastly different characters. At first, it seems like the point of the story is that there is a difference between what we want and what makes us happy and fulfilled. Suzanne, Gray and Elliot all got what they wanted yet all seem to live unhappy, unfulfilled lives. Further inspection showed that they all are living the life that they fully wanted and expected to live, and they are perfectly content. Isabel wanted both Larry and high society type of life, and thus is disappointed with her life because she couldn’t have both. Larry didn’t know what he wanted out of life, so he took basically a timeout from the real world, went into seclusion and discovered what he wanted out of life. Now he, knowing full well what he wants, is the most satisfied of all the characters. The lesson to be learned is that happiness is completely relative, and thus you cannot call anyone a failure unless he c onsiders himself one. Also, it’s all right to take some time out of the real world and relax, take a step back and see what you really want to do next. In the end, this class really has changed my views on the best kind of life. I still believe that you need to live the type of life that will make you the happiest and most satisfied, but I don’t think that most people know what type of life that is. If you don’t have a passion, don’t force yourself into any profession. Explore the world and find something that really interests you otherwise you will get forced into a miserable life that you hate. If you have a passion, you have to follow it. You have to come in terms with who you are; understand and remember your past and childhood. We have to examine our lives to discover what we really want, then try to find it. We must simplify our actions, and we have to stop overanalyzing other’s actions and words. We have to lose our ego and sense of shame, and stop caring what people think of you. This is the simplest way to live and live happily, without having to adjust your actions to fit what other people expect from you. We have to stop fearing death and keep on living life in the happiest possible way. This will be the happiest, simplest and best life for everyone.

Tried as Adults

At the age of 17, Robert Acuna was convicted of killing two elderly neighbors, James Caroll and Joyce Caroll. The young teenager shot them â€Å"execution style† as prosecutors described it (Liptak 1). Should this young man be tried as an adult? Why yes, of course he should be tried as an adult. It is because of devastating events like these why teenagers should be tried as adults when they commit violent crimes such as murders, rape, or robbery. Regardless of their age, a murderer is a murderer, a rapist is a rapist, a thief is a thief, and they should be tried for the violent crimes they commit. To say, â€Å"Hey, they’re only kids. † (Lundstrom 5) doesn’t take away a teenager’s â€Å"brooding and volatile adolescent demeanor† (Liptak 2). If an adolescent criminal weren’t to be tried as an adult, they would later be released back into the society knowing they just got away with murder. Knowing this, it would make them think that if they did it once, they can do it a millions times. According to Adam Liptak, a journalist for The New York Times, â€Å"Crimes committed by teenagers are often particularly brutal, attracting great publicity and fierce prosecutions. † For example, Lionel Tate was twelve when he savagely beat to death a six year old girl but didn’t get tried and convicted as an adult until he was fourteen (Lundstrom 13). Some argue that â€Å"the adolescent brain is not fully developed† to understand or be capable of being tried as an adult (Liptak 6). This is a foolish argument because if Tate, at the age of fourteen, were to be tried as an adolescent and later released, it is very unlikely that his brain would develop for him to become a productive member of society. â€Å"And in examining 1,400 males and females in four jurisdictions, researchers concluded that age and intelligence- not gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic factors or even prior run-ins with the law- were the most significant factors in determining a youth’s ability to understand the judicial process. (Kirkorian 3) From my own personal observation, I’ve spent time with people that have spent almost half of their life incarcerated and have noticed that they aren’t very well developed. Someone would easily be able to notice this by just simply having a conversation with them because their sentences are so elementary-like with such a small vocabulary range. In order for a brain to develop properly, a person needs to go through day to day life like go to school, make friends, work, and experience new things. Doing these things would be a little difficult if the person was locked in a tiny little cell all day, only getting about an hour of direct sunlight, and doing this everyday for years at a time. With this experience, it would only seem reasonable as to why one would not want to let an adolescent murderer or rapist be tried as an adolescent. It would be too much of a risk to take to let a murderer back out into society. It would be too much of a risk to have a criminal of a violent crime be charged as a minor because they could later be released which could result in â€Å"more lives, lost,† (Lundstrom 3). According to Chart 2: Juvenile Arrest Trends on murder, â€Å"The 20% growth in the number of juvenile murder arrests between 2004 and 2005 increased the number to 1,260 arrests†¦Ã¢â‚¬  People do not understand the serious threat that these criminals really are until they have had a bad incident involving these criminals within their own life. For example, if someone were to get raped by one of these criminals the victim would have to live with that for the rest of their life, and therefore would cause them problems of their own. From their perspective, the age of their rapist would not make a difference to the prosecution the criminal deserves. Once they have committed the crime, what’s done is done. They have taken lives away; they have taken moms, dads, brothers, sisters, grandmas, grandpas, aunts, uncles, cousins, and possible relative or friend away from this world. Many see it as â€Å"an eye for an eye† meaning that because they took a life, their life should be taken as well. â€Å"Mr. Acuna’s youth should have been counted in his favor† (Liptak 1). This statement is preposterous. There is no reason to kill innocent people, especially the elderly. Not only did he kill them, he decided to steal their car and think he was actually going to get away with it. That’s insane! Mr. Acuna should deserve to get convicted on multiple charges and a life sentence without parole. The judge who prosecuted Mr. Acuna noted that, â€Å"He was very nonchalant,† and that, â€Å"He laughed at inappropriate things†¦Ã¢â‚¬ , â€Å"He didn’t quite get the magnitude of everything he did. † How could someone who laughs at a murder they committed be even given any signs of sympathy or remorse. There should be no distinction for age, race, religion, sex, social status, occupation, and language, even hair style when being tried for a violent crime such as murder or rape. Marjie Lundstrom, a journalist from The Sacramento Bee, might say that, â€Å"They are not adults,† but state in the same article that â€Å"We’ve created this image that teenagers are something to be feared,† â€Å"And the bigger the crime, the more eager we are to call them adults. †(Lundstrom 5, 15, and 16). Although they are not adults yet, these criminals know right from wrong. According to Teresa Kellerman at FAS/E and Conscience Development, children begin to understand at the school age level how to â€Å"Do the â€Å"right† thing to avoid punishment. and grow the â€Å"desire to be a â€Å"good girl† or â€Å"good boy. † It is almost certain that these criminals thought about what they were about to do before they did it. Some kind of thinking process had to occur before these crimes were committed; therefore these criminals intentionally murdered, raped, or stole knowing it was the wrong thing to do. Whether they thought th ey would receive punishment or get away with it, they knew that it was wrong so should be tried for the magnitude of their crime regardless of their age. When on trial and being convicted, someone would debate that the adolescent criminal â€Å"may be incompetent to stand trial because they are emotionally or intellectually unable to contribute to their own defense†¦Ã¢â‚¬  but do these criminals take into consideration the victim and how they were most likely â€Å"emotionally or intellectually unable to contribute to their own defense,† (Kirkorian 1). It is not reasonable to why a judge or jury would be sympathetic, remorseful, compassionate, or considerate of the murderer’s or rapist’s feelings when they were not sympathetic, remorseful, compassionate, or considerate of the victim’s feelings. Why should people think about this criminal’s feelings and future when they, the criminals themselves, were selfish and merciless when they raped or murdered someone, without thinking about the damage they could cause? When one person carries out a crime for instance a rape, it causes an enormous domino effect, a downward spiral effect that has an effect on more than one person. On almost all occasions like this, they have an affect the victim’s family members and close friends. It could cause depression within members of the family. Being a victim of a rape could lead to later on drug abuse. Becoming a convicted rapist could ruin a marriage, the possibilities are endless. The Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network reports on their website that, 46% of rapists who were released from prison were re-arrested within 3 years of their release for another crime. It’s because of statistics like these why it is dangerous to jeopardize the society by letting the adolescent criminals get tried as minors because they will later be released and risk the possible chance of this statistic going up in the later years to come. Due to the fact that some people who do understand the magnitude of this hazard is why progress has been made. For example, â€Å"†¦nearly every state has moved to make it easier to charge kids as adults†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Lundstrom 18) and â€Å"Government statistics, researchers said, show that 200,000 juveniles each year are tried as adults. † (Kirkorian 11). â€Å"†¦report follows a decade of state efforts to make it easier to try children as adults. Between 1992 and 1999, every state except Nebraska passed laws making it easier to for juveniles to be tried as adults†¦Ã¢â‚¬  and that, â€Å"Twenty-three states have no minimum age†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Kirkorian 12). While many may debate that these crimes committed by adolescents should only be given adolescent punishments and might say â€Å"they’re only kids†, or â€Å"they are not adults,† but these are not excuses to minimize the prosecution of a murderer or rapist. They were heartless and inconsiderate of the damage they were causing to multiple people, so when being tried and thinking about their sentences, the judge should be just as heartless and inconsiderate of the criminal because even though they aren’t adults yet, they know right from wrong.

The comparison of My Last Duchess and The Laboratory Essay Example

The comparison of My Last Duchess and The Laboratory Essay Example The comparison of My Last Duchess and The Laboratory Paper The comparison of My Last Duchess and The Laboratory Paper Arrogance and Betrayal. The ominous and menacing atmosphere of these two poems reveal these abstract nouns in negative lights and sinister situations; hidden amongst these is the powerful sense of control, whether it’s the need to control a situation or person. In ‘My last Duchess’ this sense of control is reflected in the Duke and his obsession in power, although him and the Lady in ‘The Laboratory’ share this desire, the woman in the apothecary seems to have a stronger, more manic need for it than the duke. Throughout both poems it is quite clear that Browning and layered his poems with deep emotions causing the reader to explore different meanings to the story, but the more you layers you uncover the darker the meanings get†¦ While reading these two poems the influence of a male perspective is vividly shown which is to be expected as the author of the monologue is Sir Robert Browning. Two types of women are illustrated in the poems, in Browning’s monologue of ‘My Last Duchess’ it seems that the duke enjoys protecting the girl and wrapping her around cotton wool which may explain his jealously when his bride received other gifts. However In ‘The Laboratory’ the angry wife seems to be deranged as a result of being ignored from her husband. Either way the poems both reflect on the dominance of the male in a relationship, indicating the reason of taking advantage of their partner. This may also be why men think they can cheat on their spouse, which drives them towards the deranged state that is portrayed in The Laboratory. Throughout both poems Browning covers four main emotions; love, paranoia, betrayal and arrogance, which act as base for romance; not the stereo-typical type, in fact this may the kind of romance that maybe experienced in everyday life. Both monologues show the narrator in negative light, that is true, but there are two perspectives here to analyse. Lets take My Last Duchess as an example; the duke may as well be portrayed as a jealous, arrogant, controlling murderer who enjoys to abuse his power. Or you can view him as victim who is trapped in his own authority and his 900 year-old name. Hence forth when he sees his bride happy and smiling all the time while he is miserable, the duke may act out of jealousy or maybe even depression. Now if we take the two outlooks of The Laboratory we will recognize the same situations here. If the woman in the apothecary was a villain then readers would see her as an envious, paranoid, vengeful women with a disintegrating marriage; on the other hand she could also be viewed as a victim. A mentally unstable women deranged by betrayal, public humiliation and lack of attention from her husband. Adding on to the victim hypothesis the women may be controlled by her partner, maybe a threat of divorce? To avoid public humiliation she would do his bid? She could have had enough of the commands and decided to take her own actions? It is likely that the victim theory to be the correct one for just by the womens presence in the apothecary symbolizes her lifestyle. Why? Due to the ban and death sentence that comes with it, an apotheosis sells and makes poison at a extremely high price, implying her wealth ,lifestyle and status. That may be why she is so self-conscious, scared what people may think. Thus the woman at the apothecary and the duke are not at all un-a-like. The sharing of dark qualities is very clear in the two monologues because after you read both the room feels trapped in a eerie atmosphere. This may be due to the cleverly picked choice of words which give the poems both a feeling of passion and mystical madness. In The Laboratory Browning incorporated very delicate and feminine nouns whereas in the other verses he demonstrated the use of masculine sounds. In the fourth verse of the poem the women is simply awed at the products in the shops, â€Å"That in the mortar you call it a gum? Ah, the brave tree whence such gold oozings come! And yonder soft phial, the exquisite blue, Sure to taste sweetly, is that poison too? † The soft, feminine sounds let the poem take a lyrical and enchanting twist but when one focus on the words the whole thing becomes maniacal and macabre. When you listen you can her the adrenaline and crazed tone as she watches with wonder on ponders on the beauty of it all. This is what establishes that sinister ambiance. The verse above has the same principle but the masculine sounds of the words some how blunted and make the women’s intentions more direct, increasing the impact of the shudder-some effect that follows. â€Å"Grind away, moisten and mash up thy paste, Pound at thy powder, I am not in haste! Better sit thus, and observe thy strange things, Than go where men wait me and dance at the Kings. † Again by analysing Browning’s choice of words for his My Last Duchess monologue you can tell that in between the lines is the emotion of envy. The Dukes anger and pain are also made clear of, why is this? It seems that the duke feels trapped in his own wealth, power and status. He can-not be free of societys pressure for if he does 1000 great deeds and one mistake surely that one mistake will never be forgotten. Unless, he demands authority through fear. But how can society fear the duke when it seems that his newest wife never takes her role seriously? How can they fear him when all she, his other half, does is smile at everyone and accept foolish gifts such as mules and cherries? How dare she compare his gift, a 900 year-old name, with a four legged animal? It had to stop or the duke would lose his command and supremacy. He had to make an excuse for her death. And he succeeded. Was his love for her true? No. That is clear in the poem, its as if you can picture his smug grin, his satisfied tone when he says; â€Å"Whene’er I passed her; but who passed without Much the same smile? This grew; I gave commands; Then all smiles stopped together. † Punctuation can tell us much in poem. How the person is feeling, their tone of voice or intensions. In The Laboratory the poet has cleverly used his knowledge to pinpoint all of the above. For example when he has inputed commas and thus adding pauses it builds up tension and suspense encouraging interest and curiosity from the reader. Dashes are also used for pauses but they have a completely different effect, in fact when a dash is used it is either followed with a question mark or a exclamation mark. This indicates that the woman is excited and full of adrenaline but also impatient as she wants the task to be done with. On the other hand with My Last Duchess Browning cleverly used the same punctuations but caused them to produce different effects. By combining dashes and exclamation marks with the text we get a taste of the dukes bitterness and anger which he is trying hard to conceal. Those are when we see the real duke. In the monologue the duke tends to quote people but hinting sarcasm or making them a victim of ridicule. When using the comma the poet makes sure that the duke sounds composed, but also as if he is trying very hard to keep emotion out of his voice. Surprisingly by using the same technique of punctuation Browning has created to entirely different mind-frames for both narrators. In The Laboratory the women doesnt seem to care about expressing her feelings whereas in My Last Duchess the duke can think of nothing else other than concealing his emotions and thoughts. In conclusion My Last Duchess and The Laboratory are very similar. They both cover the four main emotions (love, paranoia, arrogance and betrayal) which results into the common eerie atmosphere. Their structures are the same but the perspectives of the characters are different ever though they may live the same wealthy lifestyle and last but not least both poems are focused on women. Whether its to do with deranged wives or abused ones, the poems reflect on the dominance of men in the world and the little things womenkind do to break loose from that firm hold. It may be poisoning lovers or refusing to be tamed. Whatever it may be this is a mans world but surely it is time for a change?

Book Review Harvest of Empire

Book Review Harvest of Empire Book Review: Harvest of Empire Harvest of Empire by Juan Gonzalez book review essay: From time immemorial, humans always had the ‘urge’ to move into new geographical territories with various motivations. Starting from earlier motivations of discovering new lands, imperialism to current economic motivations, people enter new countries en masse. This movement for economic development is known as immigration in present day context, and there are few economically developed countries, which elicit high number of immigrants. This immigration experience is one of the constant affairs of American life, as people from all over the world, view America as the land of immense opportunities, and enter it both legally and illegally. This view about America was critically analyzed by Juan Gonzales in his book titled, Harvest of Empire, focusing mainly on the immigration of the Latino population and how it impacts America’s foreign policies as well. Gonzales provides the readers a historical overview of how the Latino immigration started centuries ago, and at the same time provides a laser-like analysis of the current events, that are impacting the Latino population and thereby America’s politics and diplomacy. So, this paper will first provide a review of the book and then will analyze how its contents, particularly the portions which focus on the current issues impacting the Latino population, relate to todays politics and diplomacy. Personal Interpretation or opinion Harvest of Empire by Juan Gonzales is a must read book for all those who want to know about the history of Latinos immigrants, who are now considered as the fastest growing ethnic segment in America. Gonzalez starts off by examining the history of Latinos in America, right from the times when Spain and Britain made territorial conquest of America, till the present day. He has divided the book into three sections calling each sections has â€Å"Roots†, â€Å"Branches† and finally â€Å"Harvest†. The first section of â€Å"Roots† only provides the historical background of the Latino immigration by focusing on the earliest relations between the Latin American countries and the United States of America. In this section, Gonzalez was quite critical of America’s foreign policy and diplomacy, particularly its imperialistic tendencies in the early centuries. According to the author, at that time, America tried to impose its will and influence over many coun tries and even over certain cultural or ethnic groups. â€Å"†¦a vicious and relentless drive for territorial expansion, conquest, and subjugation of others- Native Americans, African slaves, and Latin Americans.† (Gonzalez 270). Thus, the author opines that America’s drive to become a sort of ‘Empire’ started in the early centuries itself. He states that America entered into or even extended its influence over many South American countries, thus negatively influencing those countries’ internal affairs, which in a way worked as a catalyst for the Latinos immigration. Negative influence in the sense, America plundered the natural resources of the Latin American countries, and thereby inhibited the growth of indigenous industries and economies. With not enough avenues for livelihood in those countries, sizable number of Latinos started entering America. â€Å"If Latin America had not been raped and pillaged by U.S. capital since its independence , millions of desperate workers would not now be coming here in such numbers to reclaim a share of that wealth.† (Gonzalez 206). Thus, it is clear that Gonzales puts the blame for the Latino immigration into America and the problems associated with it, on the Americans themselves, or in particular, on the Americans’ political and diplomatic policies. His theory is clear that the different Latino groups that exist and function today in the American society are a result of the historical happenings and actions of the American government. The second section of â€Å"Branches† focuses on each one of the six major groups of the Latino population in America. In each chapter, Gonzales separately describes about the culture, living conditions, family, etc., of the Mexicans, Cubans, Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, Columbians and Panamanians, and the Central Americans. That is, although all these groups are joined by a common language of Spanish, and are tagged as Latinos, â€Å"they come from 20-odd countries with distinct histories, customs and blends of European, African and indigenous stock.† (Robinson). He gives equal coverage to all these groups in separate chapters, by writing about certain individuals or about their families, thereby reflecting the general immigration story of all these major Latino groups. After providing an historical overview and background about the Latino immigration and the immigrants, Gonzales focuses on the real issues, which are impacting their lives. He discusses how certain sectio ns of the Latino population have not still integrated and assimilated with the American society, and then lists out certain steps that can be taken for further assimilation and acculturation. The book on the whole has several positive points going for it, as Gonzalez puts forward an interesting and informative historical overview of the Latino immigration and the current political issues impacting the Latino immigrants, backed with extensive research. Relation to todays Political and diplomatic policies One of the key political as well as social realities that can be understood from the book is the clear rise in the Latino population. When one focuses on the population numbers of America and their demographic profile, it is clear that the Latinos are on the verge of becoming the largest minority group in America, even overtaking the African American population. This striking demographic transformation is a key reality, which was forecasted by Gonzales in early 2000’s itself. â€Å"For a country long used to seeing itself as black and white, it will be something of a shock when Hispanics become the nations largest minority group in five years and fully one-quarter of the population by mid-century.† (Robinson). This swelling of the Latin population provides them increased clout in various spheres of American life, particularly politics. With candidates in all types of elections from Presidential to local level elections mainly focusing on vote banks to garner bulk votes, the Latino population are getting good attention, thus showing that ethnicity and social class matters in America, particularly from political angle and during elections. â€Å"Recent elections show that the Latino vote has become key in critical states, and most presidential candidates now on the stump are at least trying to speak a few words of Spanish† (Robinson). As mentioned above, vote bank politics are the order of the day, with the candidates trying their best to appeal to particular communities or people of particular race, religion, ethnicity etc. Candidates do that by doing certain culture specific actions, and thereby try to associate with people of particular ethnicity and social class, and in the process showing him/her as one of them. When they do that, they will be able to garner votes en masse. This focus on individuals’ ethnicity and social class by the election candidates clearly shows that both these factors truly matters in the current multicultur al American society. The other key social-ethnic reality concerning Latino immigration as well as immigration on the whole, is, American government is taking strong steps to curtail immigration, thereby impacting its foreign policies and diplomacy. The government is toughening its regulations regarding entry of skilled professional immigrants as well as ‘plugging’ the entry points of the under-skilled illegal immigrants in its borders. In the book, Gonzalez equates the border control steps taken by the American government to the building of Great Wall in China. The other major issue that is visible when it comes to the anti-immigration stance against the Latino population is the clear exhibition of racism in diplomatic handling of immigration. That is, although immigrants from different ethnic and cultural groups from various parts of the world are illegally entering America, mainly the Latino immigrants are being targeted. They are treated in a strong manner and deported back to their homel ands immediately, while the immigrants of Caucasian ethnicity are treated in a leaner manner, thus validating the statement that ethnicity and status plays a role in American diplomacy as well. â€Å"Again racism defines the xenophobia: in 1996, Gonzalez points out, 2,047 â€Å"illegal† Canadians were deported (out of 120,000) compared to 1.5 million Mexicans (out of 2.7 million).† (Martinez). It is clear that the Latino immigration as discussed by Gonzales in the book, Harvest of Empire has relations to the social-ethnic issue of racism. As racism is also carried out on the basis of an individual’s ethnicity and social class, it is clear that both are relevant in the present day society. That is, as pointed out above, even in the issue of deporting immigration, racism is done, and this shows how racism causing ethnicity and social class to make an impact in the diplomatic matters. From the above analysis, it is clear that Juan Gonzales has focused on a very imp ortant issue of immigration, as it is having effects in various spheres of the American society particularly in its politics and diplomacy. Do you still need book review help on Harvest of Empire topic? is professional book review writing service which will gladly help with your book review or book report essay starting at $12/page!

A research proposal for a small scale qualitative research project on Essay

A research proposal for a small scale qualitative research project on a topic of investigaton of the student own choice - Essay Example as also been observed by scholars that women (mothers) normally would prefer to remarry within 3-5 years after separation and men (fathers) within 1-2 years of separation (Hughes, 2000). When a separation is incurred, children are left with either father or mother as a second child. There are many barriers to stepfamily members that include educational, social, and economic factors (Aronson, 1992). Keeping this in view, the present study aims to assess the perceptions of the members of the stepfamily and examine how these perceptions affect the adjustment to remarriage and stepfamily living. The study also seeks to examine whether there are any associations between the perceptions of child, the biological parent who remarried, and the stepparent. Many studies have been undertaken across the world on stepfamily and related issues. In a significant study undertaken by Wilkes and Fromme (2002) examined whether the themes in the experiences of members in the stepfamily over time is stable or not. Conducted among the adolescents, stepparents, and biological parent from different stepfamilies, the study has observed that areas that remained stable over time and areas of positive change and adjustment. In another study carried out by Cartwright (2003) among stepfamily therapists, the author observes that separated children feel loss of relationship and association with biological parents displaced by the new relationship. This area of knowledge has been empirically researched by many and several theories have been propounded. From the view point of the family systems theory, Berg (2003) addressed a question that whether the relative influence of each parent on adolescents’ self-esteem and adjustment depended primarily on the ir status as custodial, step-, or non-resident parents, and whether these influences differed for adolescents with stepmothers, compared to those with stepfathers. The study concludes that the perceived association of separated children with