Monday, September 30, 2019

Analysis of ‘Ceremony’ By Leslie Marmon Silko Essay

If Native American community adopts the ethics of white traditions that regards them as less than human being, they begin to look down on themselves. In ‘Ceremony’ Leslie Marmon Silko visibly represents this dual bind sociology called internalized domination. ‘Ceremony’ is one of the most reflective and touching works of Native American literature, a story that is itself a ceremony of curative. Tayo, a World War II experienced person of combined lineage, comes back to the Laguna Pueblo stipulation. He is intensely frightened by his experience as a hostage of the Japanese and later offended by the negative response he came across from his community. Only by throwing himself in the Indian past can he can set in motion to get back the harmony that was taken away from him. Masterfully written, full of sober magnificence of Pueblo saga, ‘Ceremony’ is a use of lasting power. ‘Ceremony’ deals with the gender roles of three women are significant to the development of a character named Tayo who is half-white and half-Indian. These three women are Tayo’s birth mother, Auntie, and Old Grandma. His mother left him when he was four years old and that began his sense of emptiness and abandonment. She could not bear to raise a child that brought the reservation shame by her mistake. Auntie raised Tayo and was the mother figure he lacked. She had no problem accepting to take him, but only to conceal the shame of her younger sister. Auntie was always hesitant toward Tayo as he was not her real son and was also a half-breed. For Tayo, this only added to his feeling of displacement and emptiness. She would give her affection and attention to her real son Rocky, but would let Tayo just sit there alone. After the war Auntie nursed him because he was all she had left after Rocky got killed. He would wake up crying after dreaming about how much Josiah had loved him and always hugged him when he was a little child. Now he realized that there was no place left for him and he would never find peace. Auntie may have been a mother figure to him, but to Tayo she was just someone who looked after him. Old Grandma, unlike Auntie, does accept Tayo and wants what is best for him. When Auntie rejected the idea of a medicine doctor because he’s not full blood, Old Grandma got angry and said that he was her grandson and why should she care what they say anyway. She has been around for many years and doesn’t worry about what other people will say about Tayo or about their family. The significance of Montano to the novel, Ceremony is very powerful and vital to the recovery of Tayo. She lives up in the rim rock and is in touch with the earth and her surroundings in every way. Being torn between the white world and the Indian world is what leaves Tayo feeling invisible and hollow inside. Montano helps him to become more in touch with his Indian side and to feel the strength and power from the earth. She teaches him the importance of certain plants, flowers, and ceremonies and how they are significant to Indian culture and survival. Tayo falls in love with her, and through his love, he begins to feel alive again. He realizes that he does have a place and that he is not invisible to everyone and to his surroundings. When he is not with her, instead of the nightmares, she fills his dreams. He woke up one night and thought about the overpowering love he felt for her. He shed tears filled his eyes and the ache in his throat ran deep into his chest. Tayo no longer feels like a walking shadow, but finally a real person with feelings and emotions. It is through Montano that he discovers himself and ultimately is able to deal with being a half-breed in a changing world. When she finally leaves him, he is able to go on living and remembering all that she taught him. Conclusion: I really enjoyed this story. It was a great portrayal of how family might mistreat you just because you are a little different than them. Sometimes people can’t deal with the fact that a family member is only half of the race that they are. I would definitely recommend this book to others, especially to anyone who feels that they are secluded and have no friends just because they are bi-racial.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In ‘Ceremony’, the main character, ‘Tayo’ have to come to terms with himself and his near environment upon his come back from World War II. He is distressed from a sort of post disturbing anxiety disorder which has affected him bodily as well as psychologically due to the fact that he has lived as a prisoner of war in Japan. As a result, he must deal with all of the terrible memories when he comes back to stay with his family on the Laguna Pueblo reservation in New Mexico. To complex his problems, Tayo is half Native American and half Caucasian, so he should also deal with the extra pressures of the double culture. He is torn between the Native American world and the white world, and is unable to feel a secure refuge or belonging. Tayo’s friends and family think that they know the personality of and cure for Tayo’s sickness and depression; though it is only the Native American formal procedures which will really help him. He needs to observe the junction of life and actually realize the cyclical nature of his feelings and measures that he has faced. With the help and good judgment of Old Betonie, Tayo ultimately finds harmony in the Native American ceremonial even surrounded by all of the contradictions currently in America. In Ceremony, Leslie Marmon Silko exposes the many contradictions present in America today. Be it the government’s policies concerning Native Americans, the American model of courage, or the history which the children study in their classrooms, America is full of sarcasm and paradoxes. These inconsistencies do not in any way cut down the magnificence of America as a country, but to a certain extent serve to remind its people that we do not at all times keep in mind those who helped us turn out to be what we are at present. Silko’s novel is a legendary reminder for Americans to recognize our first true nationalized custom and keep in mind that the Native American tradition is still alive and well today. Silko has demonstrated that America has made blunders in the history, but undoubtedly has the power to put right those mistakes today. References Silko M, Leslie â€Å"Ceremony† Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics); Rep edition (March 4, 1986). ISBN-13: 978-0140086836

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Foundations of Information Systems chapter 1 notes Essay

Case Study #1 – Information Technology Helps LCBO Transform Itself Information Technology has helped improve LCBO to become a sophisticated Canadian retailer by helping the organization become more organized (if a bottle is sold, it is deducted from the inventory), it has helped them attract the interest of more customers by introducing Vintages.com where customers could choose from a variety of unique wines and have it delivered to their nearby LCBO store. LCBO.com helped make the company more interactive with their customers by giving them cocktail recipes etc†¦ LCBO’s app allows customers to be able to search inventory and closest store on the go. Information Systems (IS) – Computer based tools that people use to work with information and that support the information and information-processing needs of an organization. Information systems have helped benefit customer service, finance, sales and marketing, etc†¦ A type of information systems is: Transaction Processing Systems (TPS) which is a system that performs or records daily routine transactions such as sales order entry, payroll, employee record keeping, and shipping. Information Technology (IT) – is the acquisition, processing, storage, and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual, and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications. Management Information Systems – it is a business function just like marketing and finance. This function plans for, develops, implements, and maintains IT hardware, software, and applications that people use to support the goals of an organization. It monitors and controls the business and predicts future performance. Information and business success depend on three things: people, processes, information systems. If one fails, they all fail. Information Cultures Found In Organizations Information-Functional Culture: Employees use information as a means of exercising influence/power over others. For example, a sales manager refuses to share information with marketing which means marketing would need the sales manager’s input every time a new sales strategy is developed. Information-Sharing Culture: Employees across departments trust each other to use information, especially about problems, to improve performance. Information-Inquiring Culture: Employees across departments search for information to better understand the future and align themselves with current trends and new directions. Information-Discovery Culture: Employees across departments are open to new insights about crisis and radical changes and seek ways to create competitive advantages. Roles And Responsibilities In Information Systems Chief Information Officer (CIO) – an executive-level position that involves high-lever strategic planning and management of information systems pertaining to the creation, storage, and us of information by a business. Chief Technology Officer (CTO) – responsible for ensuring the throughput, speed, accuracy, availability, and reliability of an organization’s information technology. Chief Security Officer (CSO) – responsible for ensuring the security of information systems, and developing strategies and technical safeguards against attacks from hackers and viruses. Chief Privacy Officer (CPO) – responsible for ensuring the ethical and legal use of information within an organization. Chief Knowledge Officer (CKO) – responsible for collecting, maintaining, and distributing an organization’s knowledge. The CKO designs processes and information systems that make it easy for people to reuse knowledge. These systems create repositories of organizational documents, methodologies, tools, and practices, and they establish methods for filtering information. Competitive Advantage: a product or service that an organization’s customers place a greater value on than similar offerings from a competitor. First-mover advantage: when an organization can significantly impact its market share by being first to market with a competitive advantage. Ex. FedEx was the first to create a self-service software, then other companies started doing so after. Now, customer self-service through the internet is standard in the parcel delivery business. Environmental Scanning: the acquisition and analysis of events and trends in the environment external to an organization. Ex. Frito-Lay sends its representatives to grocery stores to record information about competing products to help them gain knowledge on how to increase the sale of their products. How To Develop A Competitive Advantage: MICHAEL PORTER’S FIVE FORCES MODEL Buyer Power: it is high when buyers have many choices of whom to buy from and low when their choices are few. Organizations prefer to reduce the buyer power of customers by making it more attractive for customers to buy from them over the competitor. An IS-based example is loyalty programs where customers are rewarded with the amount of business they do with a particular organization. Supplier Power: is high when buyers have few choices to buy from and low when they have many choices. When it comes to customers, organizations act as suppliers and want supplier power to be high. When it comes to relationships with suppliers, organizations act as buyers and want the supplier power to be low. When organizations act as buyers, an IS-enabled business-to-business (online marketplace) is used where buyers take place in a private exchange and they post their needs. Suppliers then offer their services in a reverse auction where their bids go lower so that the buyer is more interested in their goods. Threat of Substitute Products or Services: it is high when there are many alternatives to a product or service and low when there are few alternatives from which to choose. Organizations prefer to be in markets with fewer substitutions so that customers would go for their product. When there is competition, organizations create a competitive advantage through switching costs which makes it harder for a customer to switch to a competing organization. An example is offering better prices or creating a cost that’ll ensure customers won’t leave the organization. For example cell phone company contracts – if you leave before the contract is over, you pay a â€Å"cost†. Threat of New Entrants: is high when it is easy for new competitors to enter a market and low when there are significant entry barriers to entering a market. An entry barrier is a product or service feature that customers have come to expect from organizations in a particular industry that must be introduced by competing organizations in order to survive. Ex – new banks must offer a variety of IS related services such as online banking. Rivalry Among Existing Competitors: is high when competitions is fierce in a market and low when there is less competition in a market. The Three Generic Strategies – Creating a business focus 1) Broad cost leadership 2) Broad differentiation 3) Focused strategy http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newSTR_82.htm (explains the three generic strategies) The value chain – views an organization as a series of processes, each of which adds value to the product or service for each customer. CHAPTER 2 Common Company Structure Operational – employees develop, control, and maintain core business activities required to run day-today operations. Operational decisions are structured decisions which arise in situations where established processes offer potential solutions. These decisions are made frequently and affect short-term business strategies. Ex. Recording and creating employee staffing and weekly production schedules. Structured decisions are situations where established processes offer potential solutions. Managerial – Employees evaluate company operations Strategic – managers develop overall strategies, goals, and objectives. Metrics – Measurements that evaluate result to determine whether a project is meeting its goals  Common types – KPIs (Key performance Indicators), Efficiency and Effectiveness Benchmark – Baseline values the system seeks to attain  Benchmarking – A process of continuously measuring system results, comparing those results to optimal system performance (benchmark values), and identifying steps and procedures to improve system performance.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Foundations Of Alternative Media Development Case Study

Foundations Of Alternative Media Development - Case Study Example Alternative media can take one of many forms – radical media, ethnic or racial media, student media, subcultural media, and indigenous media among other forms. Viewed from either perspective, the underpinnings of alternative media are significantly influenced by the Frankfurt School’s critical social theory. In terms of organization of the paper, the author first provides background information on the Frankfurt School and their critical social theory. In the second section, alternative media as a form of anti-capitalism is discussed. Next is an examination of alternative media as a representation of subcultures. Finally, the author concludes the paper by recapitulating the main ideas in the paper. â€Å"The Frankfurt School† of Critical Social Theory started out in Germany at the Frankfurt Institute of Social Research in 1923. The Institute was founded and initially funded by Felix Weil, a young wealthy Marxist thinker. The goal of the Institute was to consolidate different orientations of Marxist thinking into one research center. The Institute's philosophy was guided by three major historical events: (1) the failed take off of a revolution by Europes working class as predicted by Marx, (2) the emergence and rise of Nazism and (3) the emergence of mass production and consumption, often referred to as "Fordism", after Henry Ford’s mass production of automobiles at his factory(Geuss, 1981). Marx had not anticipated these or similar events. Thus, Frankfurt School thinkers found it necessary to redevelop Marxist thinking in a bid to make sense of the new social conditions. Max Horkheimer first outlined the critical social theory, or simply the critical theory, in his 1937 book Traditional and Critical Theory.

Friday, September 27, 2019

Educational Psychology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Educational Psychology - Essay Example However, many critics have proved Piaget to be inaccurate about the time in which the student is developmentally ready to conserve and because children develop individually and not just static some students are able to operate at a higher level than others. Further, some students may need concrete materials to manipulate whereas others may be able to solve the problem abstractly.The author of this paper â€Å"Educational Psychology† believes that selecting the appropriate lesson is important to the success of all students but it is critical to the success of students with disabilities. For example, the teacher with students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (adhd) may adopt a task analysis approach to the teaching of numbers. In this approach the teacher must during preparation time, systematically and sequentially go through the steps involved in the understanding of the value of eleven. The teacher must itemize each step as this procedure would become a recipe fo r understanding the value of eleven. The teacher would begin the lesson by reviewing previously taught lessons to ensure that students remember the previous concepts and are ready to move forward. Also it would focus their minds to the lesson. Once the teacher is satisfied that students have the required previous knowledge and skill, then the teacher may proceed to distribute concrete examples of the numeral ten. The teacher may then allow students to count the objects up to 10. The next step would be to add one more object and elicit from students.  

Thursday, September 26, 2019

When do democratic mechanisms increase political risks to waging war Essay

When do democratic mechanisms increase political risks to waging war - Essay Example In the current times, the inter-dependency of resources becomes one of the most critical issues for peaceful negotiations of crisis across borders. It can also be argued that technology has redefined communication and has helped transform international political economy that relies on global consensus and global views. â€Å"The relation between military organization and the civilian environment can be shaped in different ways: in some countries, the civilians are executing firm oversight over the armed forces, whereas in some other countries the military can perform its duties regarding national security in its own, autonomous way, if not even in the way where the military imposes its principles of governance over the citizens. In the contemporary society, the last, i.e. military-dominated political systems are rare†(Jelusic,2007). But at the same time, Shultz (1999) points out that within democratic mechanisms, the political leaders tend to face higher political cost to wagi ng war and therefore the threat to war is often resisted by the target nation. Indeed, the wider ramifications of threats by democratic state are less likely to be taken seriously by rogue nations than by threats from non-democratic states. However, history is witness to the fact that this is not always true. Moreover, according to Jelusic the idea more common are civilian-dominated political systems, in which civilian political leaders control the military in very authoritative way, or where the whole civilian environment through the channels of the democratic control over the military imposes the tasks, the execution of tasks and respect for democracy in the inner-military organizational structures. America’s war against Iraq was fought not for political leverage but for personal gain vis-a-vis access to the vast resources of oil and gas (Habermas, 2006). The democratic constraints and reasons for waging war have therefore become increasingly contentious issues that need to be looked from the wider perspectives of emerging new equations of political economy that has redistributed wealth and created new power structure. Globalization has brought huge changes not only in the economic circles, but also in the political circles. For example, America and China were not in good terms before the introduction of globalization. However, both the countries realized the importance of meaningful cooperation for mutual benefits. At present, China is one of the major trade partners of America. Moreover, plenty of American companies are operating in China and America is one of the major markets for Chinese products. In short, the magnitude of interdependencies between China and America is huge at present and hence these two countries are not at all clashing each other aggressively when political differences widen in between these two countries. It should be noted that China is supporting Palestinians whereas America is supporting Israel in the Middle East conflict. At the time of writing this paper, intense fight is going on in Gaza between Israelis and Palestinians. However, neither China nor America seems to be interested in interfering in this issue even though both these countries have contrasting views regarding this war. The silence of these two superpowers clearly suggests that they do not want to spoil their economic relationships for political gains. The case is not much different as far as the problems in Syria are concerned. Yet despite the grisly murders by the Syrian regime, the Arab League remains silent. The Arab regimes remain silent. In the meantime, Walid al-Muallem, the Syria Foreign Minister, had the chutzpah to chide the Arab ambassadors in Damascus for not condemning the

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Hybrid cars effect Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Hybrid cars effect - Essay Example Due to this consistent use of the fuel not only in cars but in factories and other production processes, the overall damaging effect of fuel was gradually increasing. (Calef and Goble) The invention of hybrid cars- cars which can run on two different sources of energy- provided one of the valid alternatives to overcome the issue of environmental damage and thus allow the society to move in a cleaner and healthier environment. The effect of hybrid cars therefore can be enormous on the environment as well as on the fuel efficiency of the cars. This will therefore invariably also allow developing sustainable businesses. It is also important to note that the hybrid cars are based on the complex technology and the overall energy resources required to manufacture such cars are relatively higher as compared to the manufacturing of traditional cars. This causal analysis paper will attempt to discuss the hybrid cars effect and how it may positively or negatively contribute towards the environ ment. Hybrid cars effect Fossil fuel includes the energy sources such as oil, coal as well as natural gas and much of dependence of America is on these traditional sources of fuel. The obvious costs of using this fuel in cars and other uses include the costs such as labor and extraction and other related costs which can be quantified. However, few of the costs are not really quantified and neither is paid by the firms or the consumers. Much of the costs are related with the environmental damage and its resulting impacts on the eco-system of the world, health of the individuals as well as the local environment which can be seriously damaged with the increasing use of the fossil fuel in different technologies such as cars.1 The use of traditional fuel by the regular cars is considered as damaging to the environment and therefore its consistent use can actually create significant costs for the society to clean the environment. (Carlsson and Johansson-Stenman). It has been suggested tha t world can save billions of dollars if it can help reduce the deaths caused due to the pollution. It has been estimated that the air pollution can shorten the life of an individual by approximately 9 months. 2This result therefore suggests that the use of traditional cars can create significant air pollution and resultantly contribute towards the health related problems. Hybrid cars can have relatively different effect on the environment and can actually reduce the damaging impact of the fuel on environment. The use of hybrid cars can also result into better fuel mileage as well as the better utilization of the alternative sources of energy which can be more efficient and effectives. Besides, hybrid cars can also affect the way cars are run because of the better environmental impact of their use. The use of hybrid cars can also result into the reduction in the use of gas during the drive especially for slow drivers. Since hybrid cars use an electric motor to support the traditional fuel supply as an alternative source of energy therefore slow drivers can actually shift to the use of electric motor during the drive and can therefore save significantly in terms of fuel and gasoline. (Demirdoven and Deutch). It is also important to understand the use of hybrid cars also provide an alternative for those consumers who are relatively more concerned about the environment. Increasingly, customers are becoming more and more concerned ab

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

CMG490 MOD SLP Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

CMG490 MOD SLP - Essay Example al criteria as the system alerted when a contract was close to expire, had mistake proof that informed managers on contract dates, and observed regal standards in meeting all regulatory criteria before a contract is executed. Saxena (74) regulatory compliance has to be addressed in details to avoid costly penalties, and even cancellation of contracts by a government. The company has detailed system that ensures all regulatory mechanism in contracts are met; contracts have to go through the required regulatory approval before commencement. In contractual criteria, Apics (6) argues that a company has to develop and put in place measures and strategies that offer an integrated action plan in achieving the desired level of performance, as well as process maturity, which addresses all components of contract management, capability, and cover the contract period. For example, the company in question can adequately compare and analyze data from several contracts, they can report and analyze a contract by a particular vendor, and conform to the required contractual terms. On the other hand, the company meets some procedural criteria in that standards are used in gauging and analyzing each contract, there is strict adherence to legal and regulatory requirements, and each contract is considered and analyzed before it is commences to ensure it meets all the laid down criteria. Despite the above strengths, the company has glaring faults in its contractual system that makes it prone to major risks and even may edge closer to closure. For example, the company does not coordinate contracts across departments and cannot locate any contract in a short time with ease or any reliability. This indicates that in procedural approach, the company cannot manage its contracts effectively; they cannot link different departments to analyze all the details and have a holistic contract management system. The system cannot facilitate maintenance of a contract portfolio, implying the company

Monday, September 23, 2019

Final Project Report Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 10000 words

Final Project Report - Dissertation Example The rFinder is a mapping application, which after judicious analysis has been designed and developed to solve the same problem in the most stimulating fashion and customized for Reading and its environs. Given that the designed solution was built using one of the most powerful API that is Matthias Tretters (MTDirectionsKit) and powerful programming language, Objective C, the system offers a potential to scale appropriately with the increasing number of users the system’s performance. The application was developed for Apple iOS, which means that the software application will run on any Apple operating system such as on iPhones, iPads, MacBooks, and all other apple products. The software was integrated with other technologies to enhance usability and facilitate access to other APIs. These technologies were; MapQuest Maps, Google Maps and Bing Maps which provided more efficient navigation APIs for the application. This application offers a variety of direction solutions to the us ers. They assist the users find alternative directions to their intended destinations, find intermediate locations and find popular destinations. Other features includes the tracking feature and the interactive feature or module. In general the system provides solutions to the issues regarding navigation specifically in Reading, and also has unique features that were designed with the interest of the users. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I would like to acknowledge my sincere thanks and gratitude to the almighty God for taking care of me and granting me good health in the course of undertaking this project. I sincerely thank my supervisors, Professor Shirley Williams and Matthias Tretter, without whose help and support, this project would not have been a success. I am also grateful to [xxx, xxx, xxx] and all those who have directly or indirectly helped me in completion of the project. I would also like to acknowledge my sincere thanks towards our department, and its faculty for their valuable guid ance and suggestions that have resulted in the successful completion of the project. Their inspiration during the difficult times during the development of this project is invaluable and inestimable to me. DECLARATION I hereby declare that the project work entitled â€Å"rFinder: FINDING MY WAY ROUND READING† submitted to University of Reading, is a record of an original work done by me under the guidance and mentorship of my project supervisors, Professor Shirley Williams and Matthias Tretter, and submitted in the partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the degree of Bachelor of Science in Computer Science. The results embodied in this report have not been submitted to any other University or Institute for the award of any degree or diploma. STUDENT: [name] Signature †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Date †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ SUPERVISOR: Prof. Shirley Williams Signature †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Date †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION 1 ABSTRACT 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 3 DECLARATION 4 LIST OF TABLES 8 LIST OF

Sunday, September 22, 2019

SOC 111 LS1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

SOC 111 LS1 - Essay Example   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There was an individual who was a very close business associate with my father who I will identify as Mr. X. For reasons unbeknownst to me, Mr. X was as excellent sales associate and had a very successful professional career; however it is the case that this individual had a very task oriented/problem solving orientation when it came to personal matters. I knew Mr. X personally and (Successful as he may be) had a lot of difficulties in his social life and in general terms he was not a pleasant person to be around in social circumstances. Despite these problems Mr. X had been happily married until his wife suffered a brain aneurysm and passed away quite suddenly. Newly widowed, Mr. X had a great deal of difficulty in dealing with his grief and began to see much of his personal life spiraling out of control. As it is the case that most issues in Mr. X’s professional life were viewed as being a task oriented it could be the case that h e looked at his grief as a problem that he was trying to solve. It comes as no surprise that there was no solution to Mr. X’s Grief, and it was the case that he started to see his professional life start to decline as well, and around this time Mr. X was began battling with problematic drinking. On the advice of his work colleagues (Including my father), Mr. X started seeing a therapist. As I highlighted earlier, Mr. X always had a task oriented personality and by being active in his routines (Typically work routines) Mr. X on a personal level was in general terms happier. Mr.X was simply unable to handle the problem of his grief, and by failing in this aspect of his life it started to negatively affect other parts of his life and he was on track to seeing his life spiral out of control. The advice of the therapist was to simply not view his grief as some sort of failure on his behalf and from a stregnths based perspective his

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Europeanization Case Essay Example for Free

Europeanization Case Essay INTRODUCTION A number of related phenomena and changing patterns have been referred as Europeanization by many experts and professionals in their different studies and researches in this field. Outside of the social sciences, when a European continental identity grows, it is commonly referred as the definition of the Europeanization.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In this case, national identities, countries, and polities in the European continent are regarded as growing under the banner of Europeanization. When the organizational logic of national politics allows the political and economic dynamics of the European Union to become its part, it might also refer as the process of Europeanization. Policy-making in this governmental judgment has also been included in the definition of the Europeanization.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Within a European context, national, regional, and other identities are re-defined by the leading of European governance at its various levels by the institutional interaction of policy actors, as posits by a more nuanced analysis. In this regard, opposition is not usually seen among the multiple levels of governance in the continent of Europe.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In this way, a stronger, strengthened, and the United States is found to be gathering collectively under the name of Europeanization. In the result, identification of these European states is being done collectively, rather than identifying them as German, French, etc, as it was done in the past by different European states in the continent   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Institutions of Europe consist of an obvious area of change in them particularly. In addition, the growth of the European Union has also been changed during the process of Europeanization. In this case, the European Central Bank has been provided with the monetary policy of various nations that have been using the euro as their national currency.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In this regard, Spain is one of the European countries that have gone through the process of Europeanization since many years, and a full European government has been eventually lead by the continuing process of Europeanization in the country. In this study, we will try to understand the process of Europeanization from the case study of Spain. Government, politics, and culture of the Spain will be focused, in order to understand the significance of Europeanization, as well as, the European Union in the continent of Europe.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   An example of pacific democratization has been underlined by the establishment of democratic model, as well as, after the Franco’s death during the transition of the Spain. A unique example has been highlighted by the abovementioned in this regard. The devolution of competencies concerning the different regions has been achieved by the first steps of autonomous communities’ concept and system in the Spain.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the last years, appearance of regional statutes has been done in different reforms due to high extent of strong questioning than ever before. In one’s perception, more competencies and decentralization have being claimed by the regional powers. Almost independent projects have been covered by these reforms. The Spanish parliament rejected Ibarretxe’s Plan on February 2005.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Some of the main points of the new statutes are the equality between autonomous communities and countries, empowering the self-government, and nationality in the region. As the central-state in shape of unique actor in international matters has been recognized by the Spanish constitution only, one of the most problematic aspects has been the direct international representation of the Spain in the world.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In this sense, some of the aspects that conflict between the regional forces and central state are the implementation and decision-making processes of the European Union. The autonomous communities have been influenced by one of the most influential factors with the help of the regional policy of the European level, even after twenty years of association with the European Union by the Spain. EUROPEAN INTEGRATION   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The barriers of national state of Spain have been over gone by the integration process of Europeanization in the continent. In 1988, the structural funds were reformed during the process. In this process, the commission, the concerned member states, and the recognized and designated competent authorities have consulted closely, in order to define the term partnership. In this case, the problems and priorities of targeted regions were familiarizing with the local, as well as, the regional actors, in order to create the efficiency of the regional policy through the abovementioned local and regional involvement by an attempt of the partnership principle. In this case, the regions were given the chance and opportunities for the first time to create their own regional policy, rather than following one in the region. From the beginning of the text, this point was reinforced by the Treaty of Maastricht. According to this treaty, the citizens of the continent were encouraged to become closer, in order to make effective decisions in the region, and to recognize the objective based on united Europe, rather than for individual states. Therefore, the structures would not be left equally in the European Union by the expansion of actors in it. In this case, private spheres were also included along with the regional actors during the expansion. In the result, the complex system of transnational decision-making has been integrated in the continent of the Europe. In this regard, the wider framework of European policy system has been provided to these regional and national states, in order to defend and represent their interest in the continent. The process of the combination of different European states with the Spain has been referred as the sandwich model by some authors. However, the Spain has faced the lost of territorial sovereignty, but in the European level, its regional position has been strengthened and revaluated during the process of Europeanization. In the European level, the empowerment of regional actors has not only been faced by the Spanish national state, however, it has also been faced within its own barriers. In other words, the territorial space and the functional space have been facing a friction in the Spanish state. Newly functional bonds have been replaced by the long existing territorial lies in the region. In the Spain, the concept of government has been widened with that of the governance due to this continuous process of Europeanization in the region. At the same time, the role of national governments, and particularly Spain, has been strengthened by the regional policy of the European Union in the region. In this regard, the policy-making and decision-making opportunities have been given to the Spanish national state by the European Union. PARTICIPATION OF AUTONOMOUS COMMUNITIES IN EUROPEANIZATION The process of Europeanization has been made difficult by the weak territorial framework, as well as, the institutions. In the last twenty years, an initial competitive adaptive strategy has been replaced by the autonomous communities, in which, each competencies against the central state has been preserved by each region. Some of the examples of this moving from an initial strategy are the new framework of 2004, which were created in the CARCE, as well as, the Inter-ministerial Conference on the European Affairs, which was held in the year 1988. The transfer of both national and regional competencies has been allowed by the Spanish constitution, as well as, its legal framework to the European level. In this regard, the consent of the autonomous communities has not been required during the transformation. In this case, the regional powers and central state have gone through a feeling of friction between them. At the beginning of the Europeanization process, the losing of competencies was not concerned by the autonomous competencies in their important fields of agriculture, fishery, industry, etc. Even they felt that competencies were regained by the central state by the utilization of transfer power, and by implementing community law to the autonomous communities. The central administration and regional governments came under the competitive situation due to the abovementioned reason, which occurred during the 80s, as well as, in the beginning of 90s in region. Therefore, the abovementioned are some of the factors that changed the situation of Spain during the process of Europeanization in the region, and which changed the perception of local, as well as, the regional states in the continent.    AGREEMENT OF 1985   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In 1985, the Spain accessed to the European Council, before which, European policy-making was analyzed, in order to find the coordination and cooperation inter-governmentally in the central regions. In the implementation of European legal acts, the Spanish regions were tried to participate by the regulation of proposal of the central administration.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In relation with the Spanish stage, the distribution of responsibilities was proposed by the Spanish government, where the European policies were transposed by the central state, while the practice was put on by the autonomous communities. The project of agreement of 1985 was not found to be so specific during the decision-making process in the European level. However, this agreement is considered as one of the important aspects during the transformation of Spanish government into a unified European state. SPANISH GOVERNMENT’S SECOND PROPOSAL   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   After the rejection of the first proposal in 1985, second proposal was given by the Spanish legal framework in the year 1986. In this proposal, some considerations of the first proposal that was failed were taken by the Spanish central-administration. Domestic policy-making was proposed by the Spain, in order to distribute the responsibilities effectively in the region.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   On the decision making stage, the regional governments were provided with all European governments as per the proposal of Spanish government. The competencies, their interests, and their related information were also provided in this second proposal of the Spain. Interestingly, the idea of an inter-autonomous coordination body was the most interesting and fascinating point of the second proposal of the Spain, which was affected the proud culture of the Spain, which was usually depended on its domestic policies, rather than depending on the responsibilities and actions of the regional states in the region. SPANISH GOVERNMENT’S THIRD PROPOSAL   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The conditions of the 1986 project were kept similar in the third draft of the Spanish government regarding the European policies in the Spain, as well as, in the other regional states. However, the participation of autonomous communities changed in the level of decision-making. In this proposal, the idea of an inter-autonomous coordinating body was dropped by the Spain, and a possible forum was seen as the Sectarian Conferences. However, new inter-governmental coordination mechanism was allowed for the discussion in this third proposal of the Spain. INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENTS   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   After the rejection of all the three proposals of the Spanish government regarding the participation of autonomous communities in the implementation of the European policies, an institutionalized dialogue was created by partial agreements, known as the intergovernmental agreements. Therefore, the Inter-ministerial Conference on the European Affairs was created on December 1988. The three basic principles were formulated in the second session of this conference in the year 1989.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   According to these principles, the central state belong the exclusive competence regarding its foreign relations with the regional bodies of the region. Secondly, the internal distribution of the competencies must not be affected by the accession of Spanish government in the European Union. Thirdly, the second session formulated that the legal framework of the Spanish Constitution should be followed by the central state during the exercise of their competencies. PROCEDURAL FRAMEWORK IN 1994 Finally, intrastate participation of autonomous communities was provided by a comprehensive agreement of the Spanish government, the European Union policies were implemented in the decision making level as per the agreement. The principle of unity in external representation was respected by the new agreement. In this way, the autonomous participation was allowed in their different fields of agriculture, environment, employment, fishery, health, social policies, education, etc. In addition, youth and culture were also given a significance importance, in order to keep their significant magnitude in the region. CONCLUSION In the Spanish recent history, the relation and act of the two processes that are, Europeanization, and decentralization have been observed parallel with each other. In the result, the problems of intrusion and conflict have been caused most of the time between the regional and central-state governments. In the last years, one of the most important questions have been faced by the European Union regarding its integration process, which is the question of democracy, as the reflection of France and Netherlands have been observed in the shape of their constitutional referendums. Conclusively, the process of Europeanization can be understood interestingly by the example of the Spanish reality in asymmetrical states. The governance in European Union level and its work can be extrapolated in this sense. Lastly, we have tried our best to define, understand, and discuss the meaning of Europeanization with the case study of Spain and its central state, as well as, their different proposals regarding the Europeanization in the region.                         Works Cited Robert Harmsen. Europeanization. Rodopi, 2000. Paul Christopher Manuel. Spain and Portugal in the European Union. Routledge, 2004. Harold C. Raley. The Spirit of Spain. Halcyon Press Limited, 2001. Elena de La Souchere. An Explanation of Spain. Random House, 1964. Borzel. States and Regions in the European Union. Cambridge University Press, 2002. Rosamond. Theories of European Integration. St. Marin’s Press, New York, 2000. Aalberts. The Future of Sovereignty in Multilevel Governance Europe. JCMS, 2004. Luis Moreno. The Federalization of Spain. Routledge, 2001.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Orphaned Children In Iran Young People Essay

Orphaned Children In Iran Young People Essay As in any society, in Iran, children are the most vulnerable members of society. It is the duty of a civil society to protect and nurture young life. Most societies do this through enforceable laws that are meant to set societal standards for the treatment of children, as well as provide enforcement measures when those societal standards are breached. These standards are usually conceived as rights. When a childs rights are abrogated, they are considered vulnerable to additional poor outcomes and social predations. (Hekmat, Community of supporting the orphaned children, 2007) Contrary to the common definition of the word orphan, Iranian orphans and street children are often not without living parents. The parents of many street children are drug addicts. Others are jobless immigrants or refugees, and still others give birth to numerous children simply to exploit them for work. (Reza Shajiee, Factors of Cognitive levels of career success among Orphaned Students in Mashhad, 2009) Definition of Orphan should be changed from not having parents or any guardian. We live in a world that children might be better off in the worst orphan housing than living at home. Parents working two shifts and even 3 shifts to survive are their children experiencing any care?! Talking about Iran not just those kids left without guardian and parents end up in the streets and being called orphans, but those who have proper parents they are asked to get out and leave school to help house expenses. (Reza Shajiee, Factors of Cognitive levels of career success among Orphaned Students in Mashhad, 2009) Just recently a mother interviewed from the city of Irak (very industrial and well being city close to Tehran). She said they both (father and her) were working and good job as highly technical work in factory but they had to send their 12 years boy to Tehran to work. Other report from the chief police authority in Tehran said that any kid not just girls but boys as well after they end up to streets after 48 hours become sexually abused. The mother knew all about the situation and sound very educated women and the father had very highly technical job in one of famous factory in Iran. As I said Orphan definition has changed from Charles Dickens time. We are facing completely with different situation and needs different solution. (Dr.Abdollah Shafi Abadi, Career Guiding and Counseling, 2009) The Situation of Orphaned Children in Iran and Their Career: Street children live in abandoned buildings, containers, automobiles, parks, or on the street itself. The children who sleep on cardboard on the sidewalks, in parks, or in vacant and dilapidated buildings are often considered luckier than those who remain at home with exploitative parents. (http://www.iranpa.org/Seminar_Articles_Title.aspx?SeminarID) Determining the numbers of street children and orphans in Iran is a virtual impossibility. Suffice it to say that they number in the thousands. In a 2005 report by the U.S. State Department, by the Iranian governments own admission, 60,000 street children were accounted for in Iran. Numerous child rights organizations suspect that the number is substantially higher, citing figures of 200,000 or more. Of this number, about 55 percent are the children of Afghan refugees. A majority of the remaining street children are the offspring of mixed-nationality families, single parents or gypsies. While statistics report between 25,000 and 30,000 children who are forced to live and work in the streets and sweatshops of the city, Tehran is not the only place where children suffer the indignities of homelessness. ( Abolghasem Akbari, Academic and Career Adjustment, 2007), (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children%27s_Day#Iran), (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Street_children) Though a half a century has passed since Declaration of the Rights of the Child, the situation for the children of Iran has reached an unprecedented low. (Reza Nasseri, Farzaneh Taheri ,Theories of counseling and psychotherapy in Iran, 2008) Though Iran is sitting on the worlds second largest oil reserves, due to a fundamentally corrupt political and socio-economic system of government, it fails to provide the most essentials needs of children. Today, the term orphanage has negative connotations. Other alternative names are group home, childrens home, rehabilitation center and youth treatment center. (Dr.Rahmatollah Nouripoor, Students with Emotional and Behavioral Problems, 2007) Serving Charity is an international interfaith non-profit organization based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its mission is to serve the poor through charity and selfless service. Mother Teresa of Calcutta is expressed to be the sole inspiration for the organization and all of its initiatives. Serving Charity was founded in 2003 by Abbas Jahangiri. He is also the current owner of the historical music venue el Mocambo and other companies. Serving Charity is entirely run by volunteers. It resides and is primarily supported by the revenue from the el Mocambo. The organization has charity projects in seven countries; Canada, India, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Germany, Iran, and Vietnam. (Dr.Shideh Abedi, Informed choice of job, 2008) In fact, in Iran there is not enough support for orphaned children. They dont have many facilities in their rooms. They may suffer from different diseases. Of course, it is the responsibility of the government to care about them; however, sometimes it becomes less serious than anything else. (http://www.behzisti.ir/news/Show.aspx?id=9226) Abol-Hassan Faqih, head of the State Welfare Organization, stating that the bill would be reviewed adoption, he said: 20 thousands of orphaned children are now living in the country and about five thousands children who are qualified for giving to families are applying for. Faqih added: Seven thousand families are in turn for taking the children but due to legal problems annually to 800 children are given to these families. Welfare Organization Leader stating that the best place to serve the needy in society, said: Considering employment and housing comrade under the cover of the priorities of this organization. (http://www.cnwn.net/dastavard.htm), (http://www.resalat-news.com/Fa/?code=32915) He added: If the land is supplied in the provinces and cities, there is no limit to the housing credit allocation comrade there. Welfare chief added: This year 12 thousand residential units with 500 billion rials for the disabled credit are made.He credits that the value of housing compared with last year is 10 times moreFaqih added: After this legislation in the past two years, 435 disabled with college education were employed in government departments countries. He expressed that in the first phase of justice; 963 thousand of stock Welfare families received justice, and said: In the second stage 400 to 500 thousand shares will receive justice. Leader pointed out that last years health insurance coverage was 100 percent comrade in the country, and said: This year complementary treatment for disabled insurance runs. Welfare chief declared: to prevent disability in the community, families with a disabled child are free to experiment for not witnessed the birth of another handicapped c hild. Community Leader announced of buying 160 babies hearing polls machines in the country, and said: Two years ago, only 16 machines in the country had eudiometry. Welfare chief added: 450 thousand disabled people in the country are waiting to receive services in turn in the organization. Scholar stating that a million and 50 thousand cases have been disabled in the country, he said: 600 thousand of them are covered by Social Welfare. (Reza Nasseri, Farzaneh Taheri ,Theories of counseling and psychotherapy in Iran, 2008) The Role of Government and Other Organizations in Giving Orphaned Children Job Opportunities: The government is trying to provide more opportunities for orphaned children to have jobs or work in different institutes. In fact, they start to have an experience of working in their home centre. Boys and girls are given choices according to their interests. Their field of teaching is not the same, and they are separate from each other. Boys can learn some careers such as Typesetting, carpenter, repairing vehicles, and so on. However, girls can work in another fields including:tailoring, cook, secretary, and so on. (Reza Shajiee, Factors of Cognitive levels of career success among Orphaned Students in Mashhad, 2009) In Iran, Childrens day is celebrated on October 8. In this celebration, children are allowed to display all the things that they have made themselves. By this way, they are encouraged to work harder and show their abilities to people. In this day, most of the people from different places come to visit orphaned children. Sometimes they spend more money for them to buy a souvenir from them. So this can be a way to earn money. (Dr.Rahmatollah Nouripoor, Students with Emotional and Behavioral Problems, 2007), (Dr.Rahmatolah Nouripoor, What Job is related to our Personalities? ,2008) Empowerment is not a program that happens in a moment and a specific time but is a process that happens during the time and continued to occur. Former Head of Office family issues says: to achieve empowerment we must move step by step to reach the desired result. (Reza Shajiee, Factors of Cognitive levels of career success among Orphaned Students in Mashhad, 2009) Hamid Reza Alvand emphasized that positive movements have done in the past years in enabling the children under the supervision of organization, he continues: In this regard, the Office Organization have emphasized on improving educational status of children, and was compiled in discussions based on the Quran and Islamic teachings, religious culture, and life skills education issues seriously. (Dr.Rahmatollah Nouripoor, Students with Emotional and Behavioral Problems, 2007), (Dr.Rahmatolah Nouripoor, What Job is related to our Personalities? ,2008) He refers to cooperative groups of children living in homes of children and adolescents and says: formation of cooperative groups and access to relatively stable employment of children, is the concerns and goals of organization offices in the provinces of the country and diligently follow the plan but the plan in this year is continued to implement by changing the look and format of the defined programs. ( Dr.Rahmatollah Nouripoor, Students with Emotional and Behavioral Problems, 2007), (Dr.Rahmatolah Nouripoor, What Job is related to our Personalities? ,2008) He also mentions this period, which children live under the supervision of organization, a Gold Period, because its a gold time that children can learn life skills for the continuing life. He emphasizes that it lasts very quickly, and children should spend their time on educational factories and some workshops. Alvand announced that learning one professional skill is one of the base programs of Empowerment Project under the supervision of childrens organizations, and says: This year, all children who are age 15 and older must have a form of professional skills and children who live at home and with Families also must be familiar with computer skill. (Dr.Rahmatollah Nouripoor, Students with Emotional and Behavioral Problems, 2007), (Dr.Rahmatolah Nouripoor, What Job is related to our Personalities? ,2008) He points out on other skills in childrens empowerment project, and says: All children residing in homes and centers for children and adolescents must exercise one of the basic disciplines (athletics, swimming and gymnastics) to learn. Alvand emphasizes that basic sports are very effective in developing the physical and mental health. He continues that by improving the level of physical and mental health can help children in entering to the community and cause empowerment of their social and individual interactions. It also can increase their self-confidence and safety against dangers or social damages. (Dr.Rahmatollah Nouripoor, Students with Emotional and Behavioral Problems, 2007), (Dr.Rahmatolah Nouripoor, What Job is related to our Personalities? ,2008) The third skill in empowerment of children in the organization is learning the second language. Alvand says: all the children here have to learn one of the international languages and it is going to be compulsory in the organization. The next thing is a powerful observation on childrens education. The aim is to increase their scientific and educational level of them and implement high academic qualifications. Of course all these skills can be gained through group working and the main goal of the organization is to make these children independent in the society. (Dr.Rahmatollah Nouripoor, Students with Emotional and Behavioral Problems, 2007), (Dr.Rahmatolah Nouripoor, What Job is related to our Personalities? ,2008) The former head of organization mentions that development in child care programs, decreasing the family centers, strengthening the Special Forces deployed in children and youth homes, consultations for adopting children and preparation of houses andwere the Programs in the current years agenda that will be the Office programs in the coming year too. (Dr.Rahmatollah Nouripoor, Students with Emotional and Behavioral Problems, 2007), (Dr.Rahmatolah Nouripoor, What Job is related to our Personalities? ,2008) Currently 477 centers have circadian activity in the country. Alvand says: Of these, 350 centers are non-governmental and 127 are governmental Centre to be run. When we look carefully at this case we will only result in a conclusion that working in this place is by love and social welfare service to the community, especially orphaned children is the main target. In fact it shows the responsibilities and concerns of managers and employees in the organization. (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,107108,00.html), (Abolghasem Akbari, Academic and Career Adjustment, 2007) Children Welfare Organization is responsible for the later stages of children for material and spiritual support. For this purpose these are the supports from the organization: 1- Pay for professional training 2 Payment of capital and employment of children working 3 Payment of medical expenses 4 Providing living essentials 5 Providing housing allowance 6 Providing facilities for married girls 7 Support other unforeseen

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Antigone: Hero Or Fool? Essay -- Greek tragic hero

In Greek literature, a tragic hero is based upon an individual having several of the following qualities: having a high social position in society; not being overly good or bad; being persistant or stubborn in their actions; having a single flaw that brings about their own death and the death of others; and obtaining pity from the audience. Antigone was a prime example of a Greek tragic hero. Antigone, being the daughter of Oedipus, obtained a high social standing in Thebes. Prior to his self-exile from Thebes, Oedipus was the city's king. Because of her high standing in society, Antigone was capable of great suffering, in that she had a reputation and a vast amount of respect to lose. Antigone's good side is demonstrated by her insistance on respecting her brother Polyneices' right to be buried in the religious tradition of Greece. The Greeks believed that it was of most importance to bury a person who died in battle so that their soul may continue on in the after life. Antigone is willing to risk her own life so that Polyneices can have to proper burial that she so strongly feels he deserved; "but I will bury him: and if I must die, I say that this crime is holy: I shall lie down with him in death, and I shall be dear to him as he to me." (Prologue, line 57-59) Having a fatal flaw is one of the characteristics of a Greek tragic hero. Antigon...

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Connecting Magical Realism and Psychology :: Magical Realism Psychology

Connecting Magical Realism and Psychology At first, German art critic Franz Roh used the term "Magical Realism" to describe a style of painting (Roh 15). Eventually, Arturo Uslar Pietri adapted the term in order to describe a type of literature (Leal 120). While the exact definition of Magical Realism is open to interpretation, it is certain that Magical Realism gives a deeper meaning to ordinary life by unearthing mysteries that hide behind the world (Roh 16-17). In order to uncover these mysteries, Magical Realism combines fantasy with reality (Flores 110-111). Although Magical Realism is now well-known as a genre of literature, Magical Realism extends into "real life" through a treatment in psychology known as Traumatic Incident Reduction. In order to see how Magical Realism is found in this treatment, one must first consider at least one of the identifying marks of Magical Realism. Among the characteristics that identify Magical Realism is the feeling of transcendence that the reader has while reading a Magical Realist text (Simpkins 150). During transcendence, a reader senses something that is beyond the real world. At the same time, however, the reader still feels as if he or she were rooted in the world (Sandner 52). After the reader undergoes transcendence, then he or she should have a different outlook on life. Secondly, one must consider what the process of Traumatic Incident Reduction involves in order to see how Magical Realism relates. In this treatment, the patient who has experienced some type of traumatic incident will replay the incident in his or mind. Then, he or she will describe the event to his or her therapist. After the patient views the event several more times in his or her mind, he or she will usually go into more extensive detail about the incident. Eventually, the patient is supposed to reach a point at which he or she replaces negative emotions regarding the event with positive emotions. Additionally, the patient usually gains new insights concerning life. Most importantly, the Traumatic Incident Reduction offers the patient an opportunity to "confront the trauma at the time it occurred," enabling the patient to move on with life (Schiraldi 209-210). While feeling rooted in the world, the patient must go beyond the physical world in order to overcome his or her post-trauma stress. Even though the patient does not literally go back in time, the results of replaying a traumatic incident and confronting it in his or her mind have real effects in the patient's life.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Strengths And Weaknesses Of Lo Essay -- essays research papers

Louis XIV and Peter the Great   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Both Louis XIV and Peter the Great were famous rulers of the late 17th- early 18th Centuries. Both took the throne at a young age and both had many strengths and weaknesses. Louis XIV had many strengths during his reign as ruler of France. Appointing Jean Baptiste Colbert as his minister of finance made some of his greatest strengths and accomplishments. One strength was that of mercantilism, which is an economic theory under which a country increases its wealth by exporting more goods than it imports. By accomplishing this, Louis XIV made himself and France very wealthy. More wealth was made when a balance of trade brought more gold and silver into France. A high tax was placed on imports and that also earned money. Soon, Fran...

Monday, September 16, 2019

Case 1.1 – Enron Corporation

Case 1. 1 – Enron Corporation ————————————————- Discussion 1 The parties we believe to be most at fault for the crisis in this case are a) the Audit Firm engaged in the Enron audit (Arthur Andersen); b) Enron Management (Kenneth Lay, Jeffrey Skilling, Andrew Fastow; and c) the SEC. The Public Accounting Firm: Arthur Andersen The auditor has the responsibility to evaluate the risk of material fraud, including: * Incentives and motives for fraud : Enron was a fast growing company with many start-ups projects, such as the Energy Wholesale Services (a B2B electronic marketplace for the energy industries) or the Enron Broadband Services (an operating unit serving as intermediary between users and suppliers of broadband services,) that constantly needed huge amount of money to succeed. * The opportunity to commit fraud: Enron internal controls were weak and the management was promoting a culture that encouraged fraud rather than honesty. Rationalizations that might allow someone to commit fraud: the management at Enron believed that they were only trying to grow the company and increase their stock price by misrepresenting their financial statements. Once their new ventures would succeed, they would be able to cover the losses previously incurred. All the ingredients were present for Anderson to uncover the fr aud. Moreover, the auditors have a responsibility to disclose material fraud and illegal client acts to the audit committee and the Board of Directors. If the financial statements are not restated, the auditor should issue a qualified, an adverse opinion or consider withdrawing from the engagement. The team auditing Enron should have followed the guidance when the management acted with scienter. As mentioned in the case, Arthur Andersen was being paid exorbitant amounts of money to audit Enron and attest to the validity of its financial statements. The firm failed on every front to catch any of the fraudulent accounting transpiring and many critics questioned whether Anderson was involved with â€Å"cooking the books†. Given the scale of the compensation and how entrenched the firm was in Enron’s financial operations, it is hard to believe that the Andersen auditors, CPAs, failed to notice such obviously illegal accounting treatments of transactions. As so well said by the auditor of Accounting Today, â€Å"if a firm accepts and collects the audit fee, then it should be prepared to accept the blame, otherwise it is not part of the solution, but part of the problem†. The fault not only goes to the auditors, but to the company’s management as well. Enron’s management Kenneth Lay turned a blind eye to anything that could obstruct Enron’s growth. He said that his ultimate goal was to make Enron â€Å"the world’s greatest company. † This is a great goal for any CEO to have; however, in his attempts to reach this goal, he developed a case of tunnel vision that led to unexpected consequences. When Sherron Watkins wrote him a letter questioning the treatment of certain accounting transactions and puzzled disclosures, he ignored her and stated that â€Å"he’d rather not see it†. Kenneth Lay even failed to acknowledge or address the issues after most of the Enron scandal had fully unraveled by refusing to testify before Congress in 2002. Jeffrey Skilling basically followed in the footsteps of Kenneth Lay and brought with him a similar approach to running a business. Skilling shared the same tunnel vision approach as Lay as evidenced by their â€Å"laser-focus on earnings per share†. They both were willing to ignore any wrongdoing in the company as long as earnings per share continued to increase. Skilling also developed a certain level of arrogance after being singled out as the number one CEO in the country. He would make â€Å"brassy and tacky† comments regarding Enron’s competitors and critics. This arrogance likely aided in his ability to shield out the negative aspects of Enron’s operations and to only see the positives. He was the â€Å"best CEO in America†, so Enron couldn’t possibly do anything terribly wrong under his watch. When being questioned by Congressional investigators regarding the scandal, he simply passed the blame by stating that â€Å"he is not an accountant. Andrew Fastow was the CFO and created the financial infrastructure for Enron. He, like Skilling, was hailed as one of the top executives in the country as evidenced by his Excellence in Capital Structure Management award presented to him by CFO Magazine. As the CFO of Enron, Fastow should have known better than to do what he did with the creation and operation of the SPEs. His brass was at such a high level that he even named several of them after his children. He, like Kenneth Lay, refused to take any accountability by refusing to testify before Congress in 2002. SEC and FASB The SEC and FASB also share the responsibility for the fraud scandal that took place. The organisms should have passed stronger accounting standards to regulate auditing. Both organizations were in favor of the 3% rule for SPEs. This rule stated that a SPE needed only a 3% investment from an outside investor to be considered independent. This rule allowed Enron to discharge all its unprofitable businesses in SPEs to avoid consolidating losses. That is, the SEC and FASB endorsed a law that allowed companies to dump considerable losses in off-balance entities. A case of fraud was bound to happen. The Auditors, the SEC, and the FASB made it easy for Enron’s management to commit one of the biggest frauds in the history of accounting. ————————————————- Discussion 3 Andersen’s involvement in Enron’s accounting and financial reporting decisions violated the following professional auditing standards: AU 220, Independence, SAS 1) – this standard requires the auditor to be independent. Auditors issue an audit opinion that will serve as a reliable source of information on the company to external parties (investors). Thus, it is necessary for the auditor to be unbiased when reporting his findings to the public. The lack of independence of the team auditing Enron can be derived from the fact that Andersen was providing consulting services as well as auditing services to Enron, with consulting work accounting for more than 50% of the total yearly revenue received from Enron. This situation led Andersen to be at the same time external auditor and internal auditor to Enron. AU 316, Consideration of Fraud in a Financial Statement Audit (SAS 99) – this standard concerns â€Å"fraudulent acts that cause a material misstatement of the financial statements. † Andersen helped Enron misrepresent significant information in the financial statements. The team auditing Enron intentional misapplied accounting principles relating to the classification, the manner of presentation, and the disclosure of the financial statements. To clarify, Enron would use the mark-to-market ccounting method on long-term accounting contract, which immediately recognizes earnings when contracts are secured rather than when services are rendered. That accounting method results in financial statements being materially misstated and at the same time, it considerably increased the compensation of Executives at Enron that was based on earnings. AU 317. 05, Illegal Acts by Clients (SAS 54) – this standard indicates that the auditor’s responsibility for misstatements resulting from â€Å"illegal acts having a direct and material effect on the determination of financial statement amounts† is the same as that for errors or fraud. Enron would issue stocks to different SPEs in exchange for notes receivable; however, US GAAP does not allow for the recording of receivables in exchange of stocks issued. These misstatements led to a reduction of $1. 2 billion in Owners’ Equity after the reversal of previously recorded transactions as assets. In addition, Enron had investments in companies (not SPEs) that it consolidated, but when the investments began to show losses, they were transferred to SPEs so that it would not have to reflect these losses on the financial statements. AU 334, Related Party Transactions, SAS 45 – this standard requires auditors to follow GAAS established procedures when auditing financial statements in order â€Å"to identify related party relationships and transactions† and to estimate whether or not the required financial statement accounting and disclosure had been followed. This standard was also violated as Executives of Enron were managing some SPEs (p. 13. ) Andrew Fastow, Enron’s CFO, earned a profit amounting to $30 million on one of his investment in an SPE that he was managing. Furthermore, â€Å"Fastow’s friends realized a profit $1 million on investment of $5,800 in 60 days in the same SPE. † AU 319, Consideration of Internal Controls in a Financial Statement audits – The auditor’s report on internal control over financial reporting that goes to the public must report material weaknesses in internal control. Andersen audit team in charge of Enron auditing failed to provide an unbiased opinion on the effectiveness of the system of internal control over financial reporting. ————————————————- Discussion 6 After Enron and other fraud scandals, we see a shift from the self-oversight of public accounting firms to an independent oversight of accounting firms auditing public companies by government bodies such as the PCAOB. Congress passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) in 2002 which goal was to strengthen the financial reporting rules for public companies. It also forced public companies to prepare reports on the quality of their internal controls as well as limit the types of consulting services that an accounting firm is allowed to provide to its clients in concurrence with audit services provided. Fraud scandals also led to the establishment of the regulation requiring management of public companies to provide a letter asserting that the financial statements are fairly stated. Most recently, the SEC voted to adopt whistleblower rules mandated by Section 922 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the Dodd-Frank Act). â€Å"The rules implement the Act’s requirement that the Commission pay an award to whistleblowers who voluntarily provide original information to the SEC that leads to a successful enforcement action with sanctions of over $1 million. Professionalism in public accounting has changed over the past decades for a variety of reasons from the advances in technology to the globalization of the economy. One of the ways professionalism has changed is that independence has become a major component for public accountants. Independence confirmations before the audit and during the audit are major parts of being professional in today’ s definition. Ethics are another major part of professionalism. Being ethical in your decisions is stressed more now than ever before. Being courteous of others cultures, beliefs, and religions are a new addition to being professional. With everything becoming global and information quickly being spread by technology, being conscientious of what is said and done is very important for accountants for one bad thing can have severe implications. Being professional is more than just how you act in the business place for since you represent the company, your actions are watched on and off the job. With the increasing numbers of investors in the market it becomes more pressing to have reforms to regulate the circulation of information and assure investors that they are using the highest quality of financial statements. ———————————————— Discussion 7 The SEC has required public companies to have their quarterly financial statements audited before filing of theirs quarterly report on Form 10-Q. Therefore, audit firms will need to follow all the audit standards set out, from establishing an understanding with the c lient to performing analytical procedures, inquiries and other review procedures to prepare an audit report on the review of interim financial information. It is our opinion that quarterly financial statements should be audited because they will be more reliable and credible to the investors. Auditing quarterly financial statements will also shade lights on questionable management’s earnings. At the same time, a continuous (quarterly) audit will allow for less restatement at the end of the year; that is less surprise for investors. The auditor will be required to follow the clients’ financial situation more closely and address any material issues sooner. Quarterly audited financial statements will give investors confidence in relying on the company’s financial information.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Lord of the Flies: The Beastie Essay

From the start of the novel, we are made to believe that there is a beast on the island that the boys are situated on. The boys gradually become more and more afraid of the â€Å"Beastie† as the novel unravels however there is no physical evidence to prove that a beast does in fact exist. But however, there are events which lead up throughout the novel, which would lead you on to believe that there is a beast from the boy’s point of view, but we as the readers are told things that the boys are not, and therefore we know that there is no beast, only a beast that exists in themselves, which becomes more sinister and evil as we progress. In chapter one, we discover that the boys are stranded on an island by themselves with no adults. Although this seems good at the very start, as there is no authority, so they can do what they want, it later becomes a reason to fear as with no adults, there’s no protection – they are vulnerable to the outside world. There is no one to keep them safe at night, no one to fend for them or provide food, and to make matters worse, they can’t be rescued if no one knows they’re there, which is soon realised – â€Å"No body don’t know we’re here†. So with no protection and no means of rescue, fear slowly starts to develop and spread among the boys – â€Å"We may stay here until we die.† They soon realise that a structured society is needed for them to survive. A reason to be scared provides more reason to fear things, as we find out in chapter two. A rumour of a beast, which is described as a snake, is started by one of the little uns – the one with the birthmark. One of the older boys states what the boy with the birthmark describes as he lacks confidence in front of other people – â€Å"A snake thing – ever so big, he saw it†. This rumour strikes fear into the boys, and spreads like a rumour to. An idea surfaces from one of the wiser and older boys. â€Å"He must have had a nightmare, stumbling among all those creepers.† This shows that creepers here are something to scare people – a symbol of fear. This is because to the younger ones, creepers look similar to snakes (or â€Å"beasties†), and although to the older boys they might not look like something to fear, they are still a little afraid as the fear spreads around the little uns and up towards the big uns. As the fear of the beast begins to take hold of the boys, they feel a need for shelters to protect them. However the older boys believe that the shelters will make the little uns feel safer, but really they are just creating a self illusion, as they need the shelter as much as the little uns, but are scared to admit it. A shelter in their eyes is a home, and a home symbolises security, protection a place to feel safe, so without a shelter, or a home, the boys are exposed to the elements and the beast. With the shelters built, the boys feel a little bit more secure, and Jack, in his own way, reassures the group with his speech about how stupid everyone is by being afraid of something that doesn’t exist. However he says that if a beast did exist, he would have hunted it down and killed it by now, which sounds like Jack is not afraid to the others, but he must have some kind of doubt in his mind if he’s thinking about it being there. The boys don’t see through Jacks illusion and take the reassurance. However just when the boys are feeling better about the beast, the little un called Percival speaks up about his experience. He says that the beast doesn’t live on the island, it lives in the sea – which quickly squashes any assurance they just gained. The idea of a beast that could be anywhere around them, as after all they are trapped on an island, gives more fear – not knowing where it is, when it could strike. They are the prey, open and vulnerable, and the beastie is the predator, hidden and invisible. At least before, they had a rough idea where it was, but now they will have to watch their back more than ever – if the rumour is correct. The fear spreads even more and a sense of paranoia grips the boys. However Simon, who is viewed by us, the reader, to be the â€Å"helper† or â€Å"Christ-like† character, expresses a very deep point of view. He talks about how there is no beast, not physically any way. The beast is a figment of the boys imagination – as after all that’s what they are boys, who typically have vibrant imaginations. He believes that because there is no adults, no authority who usually do the protecting, and that their all alone, they have come up with this paranoid delusion which we know to be the beast. Simon, being one of the most mature on the island, in my opinion seems to be the closest to really understanding what the beast actually is. In chapter six, we the reader, are told about a parachutist who was shot down we presume. We are told that he parachutes down to the island and is dragged around, giving the impression of a puppet to the wind, limp and lifeless – in other words dead. However we know about the parachutist, but the boys on the other hand don’t. So when Sam ‘n Eric are looking after the fire and the spot the parachute flopping up and down – as if it was a living being, the two boys instantly believe it’s the beast. The boys didn’t have a reason to fear the beast, until they thought they saw something which they believed to be the beast. They jumped to a conclusion straight away, because of the rumours of the beast. And when the boys got back, they told the other boys, and once again the fear spreads around. However the â€Å"beast† was sighted near the fire, which means that the boys have no means of rescue without fire, unless they confront their fears. The boys, under the leadership of Jack, go up to the fire to confront the beast with weapons. They begin to fight fire with fire, and themselves gradually become a beast on their own. If another person, unknown to they boys was to accidentally stumble into their camp, the boys would surely mistake him/her for the beast and kill them. The boys have become ruthless in order to survive, and have become savages. Ironically Jack himself said â€Å"We don’t want to become savages†, yet he is a key reason as to why the boys have become the evil savages that they are now. In chapter eight, Jacks hunters leave a gift for the beast, in hope that it will acknowledge them and leave them alone. However they are contradicting themselves, as they said that they did not believe in the beast. This shows that they have become more afraid of the beast as time has passed. Yet as the hunters become more aware and afraid of the beast, Simon on the other hand becomes less afraid. He already believed that there was no beast, but his â€Å"fit† showed him more clearly that there was nothing to be afraid of. He realises that a â€Å"pig’s head on a stick† is nothing to be frightened of. Jacks group eventually split from Ralph and the others, and ultimately split from civilisation to. The conch represented civilisation, and without it, the boys become savages. The beast that they once feared has grown inside of them, and now they are the beast of the island. The novel refers to them as â€Å"savages†, indicating that they themselves have become what they feared the most – monsters. Living in fear of the beast has made them more ferocious and brutal towards unknown beings. They become more like a tribe and start chanting – â€Å"Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!† they have become evil.

Do the Benefits of Globalization Outweighs Its Disadvantages Essay

ORGANIC FARMING (Farming without the addition of artificial chemicals.) Organic farming can be defined by the proactive, ecological management strategies that maintain and enhance soil fertility, prevent soil erosion, promote and enhance biological diversity, and minimize risk to human and animal health and natural resources. It can also be defined as Vegetable and livestock production using natural sources of nutrients (such as compost, crop residues, and manure) and natural methods of crop and weed control, instead of using synthetic or inorganic agrochemicals. It is also called low input farming. Many kinds of farm products are produced organically including vegetables, fruit, herbs, grains, meat, dairy, eggs, fibers, and flowers. In the past organic farm production was often considered as being only for radicals or hippies. Now it is seen as a viable economic move – with benefits to the farm soil, to the environment, and to the purchasers of the products. An organic approach can contribute towards making a farm more financially viable in several ways. * First, it is a low input way of farming. You do not need to invest so much money in expensive chemicals and fertilizers. However, any declines in initial production are balanced against these reduced costs. * Second, it is less likely to result in land degradation than many other production methods; hence the long-term cost of sustaining production is less. * Thirdly, public demand for organic produce has markedly increased over recent years. The key characteristics of organic farming include; 1| Protecting the long term fertility of soils by maintaining organic matter levels, encouraging soil biological activity, and careful mechanical intervention.| 2| Providing crop nutrients indirectly using relatively insoluble nutrient sources which are made available to the plant by the action of soil micro-organisms.| 3| Nitrogen self-sufficiency through the use of legumes and biological nitrogen fixation, as well as effective recycling of organic materials including crop residues and livestock manures.| 4| Weed, disease and pest control relying primarily on crop rotations, natural predators, diversity, organic manuring, resistant varieties and limited (preferably minimal) thermal, biological and chemical intervention.| 5| The extensive management of livestock, paying full regard to their evolutionary adaptations, behavioral needs and animal welfare issues with respect to nutrition, housing, health, breeding and rearing.| 6| Careful attention to the impact of the farming system on the wider environment and the conservation of wildlife and natural habitats. TYPES OF ORGANIC FARMING Organic farming works with nature, rather than against it. It recognises the fact that nature has many complex processes which interact to control pests, diseases and weeds, and to regulate the growth of plants. There is a variety of ways of growing plants that work with nature rather than against it. Some techniques have been used for centuries. Some of the most effective and widely used methods are:Poly-culture Theoretically, it is better for the long-term welfare of the land to avoid a monoculture approach to farming. Monocultures tend to utilize the same nutrients from the soil and deposit the same â€Å"pollutants† into the soil; causing nutrient deficiencies and pollutant toxicities. When several different plants, and/or animals are growing together, the waste products of one will often be used by another; and the nutrients used by one, may be replenished by the activity of another.Biodynamic farmingIt views the farm or garden as a â€Å"total† organism and attemp ts to develop a sustainable system, where all of the components of the living system have a respected and proper place.| Permaculture Systems Permaculture is a system of agriculture based on perennial, or self perpetuating, plant and animal species which are useful to man. It is a philosophy which encompasses the establishment of environments which are highly productive and stable, and which provide food, shelter, energy etc., as well as supportive social and economic infrastructures. Crop rotations Crop rotation consists of growing different crops in succession in the same field, as opposed to continually growing the same crop. Growing the same crop year after year guarantees pests of a food supply – and so pest populations increase. It can also lead to depletion of certain soil nutrients. Growing different crops interrupts pest life cycles and keeps their populations in check. Crop rotation principles can be applied to both broad acre and row crops alike. The principles may even be applied to pastures. In crop rotation cycles, farmers can also sow crops that like legumes that actually enrich the soil with nutrients, thereby reducing the need for chemical fertilisers. For example, many corn farmers alternate growing corn with soybeans, because soybeans fix nitrogen into the soil. Thus, subsequent corn crops require less nitrogen fertiliser to be added. MERITS OF ORGANIC FARMING Sustainability over the long term: Many changes observed in the environment are long term, occurring slowly over time. Organic agriculture considers the medium- and long-term effect of agricultural interventions on the agro-ecosystem. It aims to produce food while establishing an ecological balance to prevent soil infertility or pest problems. Organic agriculture takes a proactive approach as opposed to treating problems after they emerge. Soil. Soil building practices such as crop rotations, inter-cropping, symbiotic associations, cover crops, organic fertilizers and minimum tillage are central to organic practices. These encourage soil fauna and flora, improving soil formation and structure and creating more stable systems. In turn, nutrient and energy cycling is increased and the retentive abilities of the soil for nutrients and water are enhanced, compensating for the non-use of mineral fertilizers. Such management techniques also play an important role in soil erosion control. The length of time that the soil is exposed to erosive forces is decreased, soil biodiversity is increased, and nutrient losses are reduced, helping to maintain and enhance soil productivity. Crop export of nutrients is usually compensated by farm-derived renewable resources but it is sometimes necessary to supplement organic soils with potassium, phosphate, calcium, magnesium and trace elements from external sources. Water. In many agriculture areas, pollution of groundwater courses with synthetic fertilizers and pesticides is a major problem. As the use of these is prohibited in organic agriculture, they are replaced by organic fertilizers (e.g. compost, animal manure, green manure) and through the use of greater biodiversity (in terms of species cultivated and permanent vegetation), enhancing soil structure and water infiltration. Well managed organic systems with better nutrient retentive abilities, greatly reduce the risk of groundwater pollution. In some areas where pollution is a real problem, conversion to organic agriculture is highly encouraged as a restorative measure (e.g. by the Governments of France and Germany). Air and climate change. Organic agriculture reduces non-renewable energy use by decreasing agrochemical needs (these require high quantities of fossil fuel to be produced). Organic agriculture contributes to mitigating the greenhouse effect and global warming through its ability to sequester carbon in the soil. Many management practices used by organic agriculture (e.g. minimum tillage, returning crop residues to the soil, the use of cover crops and rotations, and the greater integration of nitrogen-fixing legumes), increase the return of carbon to the soil, raising productivity and favouring carbon storage. A number of studies revealed that soil organic carbon contents under organic farming are considerably higher. The more organic carbon is retained in the soil, the more the mitigation potential of agriculture against climate change is higher. However, there is much research needed in this field, yet. There is a lack of data on soil organic carbon for developing countries, with no farm system comparison data from Africa and Latin America, and only limited data on soil organic carbon stocks, which is crucial for determining carbon sequestration rates for farming practices. Biodiversity. Organic farmers are both custodians and users of biodiversity at all levels. At the gene level, traditional and adapted seeds and breeds are preferred for their greater resistance to diseases and their resilience to climatic stress. At the species level, diverse combinations of plants and animals optimize nutrient and energy cycling for agricultural production. At the ecosystem level, the maintenance of natural areas within and around organic fields and absence of chemical inputs create suitable habitats for wildlife. The frequent use of under-utilized species (often as rotation crops to build soil fertility) reduces erosion of agro-biodiversity, creating a healthier gene pool – the basis for future adaptation. The provision of structures providing food and shelter, and the lack of pesticide use, attract new or re-colonizing species to the organic area (both permanent and migratory), including wild flora and fauna (e.g. birds) and organisms beneficial to the orga nic system such as pollinators and pest predators. The number of studies on organic farming and biodiversity increased significantly within the last years. A recent study reporting on a meta-analysis of 766 scientific papers concluded that organic farming produces more biodiversity than other farming systems. Genetically modified organisms. The use of GMOs within organic systems is not permitted during any stage of organic food production, processing or handling. As the potential impact of GMOs to both the environment and health is not entirely understood, organic agriculture is taking the precautionary approach and choosing to encourage natural biodiversity. The organic label therefore provides an assurance that GMOs have not been used intentionally in the production and processing of the organic products. This is something which cannot be guaranteed in conventional products as labelling the presence of GMOs in food products has not yet come into force in most countries. However, with increasing GMO use in conventional agriculture and due to the method of transmission of GMOs in the environment (e.g. through pollen), organic agriculture will not be able to ensure that organic products are completely GMO free in the future. A detailed discussion on GMOs can be found in the FAO publication â€Å"Genetically Modified Organisms, Consumers, Food Safety and the Environment†. Ecological services. The impact of organic agriculture on natural resources favours interactions within the agro-ecosystem that are vital for both agricultural production and nature conservation. Ecological services derived include soil forming and conditioning, soil stabilization, waste recycling, carbon sequestration, nutrients cycling, predation, pollination and habitats. By opting for organic products, the consumer through his/her purchasing power promotes a less polluting agricultural system. The hidden costs of agriculture to the environment in terms of natural resource de gradation are reduced. Organic farming proves to be more profitable than the age-old traditional farming methods. It has been found that organic farming reduces the production cost by about 25 – 30%, as it does not involve the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, which thus makes organic farming very cost-effective. This type of farming leads to a less toxic environment as far as the air, water and soil is concerned. Soil is the most important component in farming, and organic farming preserves the soil by reducing soil erosion up to a large extent. Organic farming also enables the farmers to use the soil for a longer period of time to grow crops, as soil fertility is maintained for a long time in such a case. Organic farming has a positive effect on the ecosystem, as it proves vital in supporting the survival of wildlife in the lowlands. It even provides safe pasture lands for grazing. This kind of farming is not only beneficial to the farmers, but it also has proved useful for the dairy industry. Cattle grazing on organic farmlands have been found to be less prone to diseases, and they also yield more milk. These are definitely good signs for a consumer of these dairy products from a health perspective, and for a dairy organization from the profit perspective. Organic farming eliminates the chances that are there of the fast production of food through artificial means. Products or foodstuffs produced from organic farming neither contain any sort of artificial flavors or preservatives, nor do they contain any harmful chemicals. The original nutritional content of food is preserved due to the absence of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. Organic products moreover are tastier than the products yielded from traditional farming. Consumption of products obtained from organic farming minimizes the risks of physical ailments such as heart attacks, cancer, and ever strokes. Scientific studies have proven that organic foods are healthier than the inorganic ones Organic farming automatically promotes diverse habitats. At such places, one will find a place full of life with animals, birds and insects. Read more at Buzzle: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/benefits-of-organic-farming.html