Project Cycle Essay

In this essay, I will outline the TRADITIONAL PROJRCT CYCLE, Macarthur’s PROJECT SEQUENCE MODEL and the PARTICIPATORY PROJECT MANAGEMENT CYCLE by giving their main features and general principles. There after I will discuss which one of them is the best suited to ensure learning takes place and those projects planning are improved. First we need to understand what project cycle is. The planning and managing of the project indicate the cyclic process of the project (Conyers and Hills 1985: 73-61) which opposes Katz’s (1975) ideology of a spiral process. Here in the project cycle, the planning consists of a number of linking phases which exist depending on one another. The project cycle has different phases during its cycle process, namely being phase1: Decision to engage in planning and the creation of an organization  framework. Phase2: The identification of planning objectives and targets. Phase3: Data collection and processing. Phase4: Identifying alternatives courses of action. Phase5: Appraisal plans and projects Phase6: Implementation and lastly Phase7: Monitoring and evaluation. Though the initial decision to engage in Planning and creation of an organizational framework is stated as phase 1, according to Conyers and Hills, phase 1 is placed at the outer edge of the cycle planning process because this decision is only made once in each country and does not form part of a regular cycle. This step is there to ensure the availability of the necessary human and financial resources to carry out the planning and implementation effectively. The identification of planning objectives and targets which is phase2. This phase is often regarded as political therefore the decision is taken by government leaders. It is stated by (Conyers and Hills: 1984) that during this phase, general rules are laid down to show the course of the country’s development and the set of principles or ideas used as a basis for one’s decisions within which development planners can formulate more specific objectives. These general rules are usually sketched in a broad description and indicate medium-term and long-term priorities. Another phase included in the traditional project cycle is Phase3: Data collection and processing. This phase is regarded as the important phase in the development planning of any country. The availability of information is absolutely essential for determining the nature and scope of development problems and resulting in designing alternative course of action to relieve or solving problems. Stated by (Conyers a nd Hills: 1984) The following phase is Phase4: Identifying alternative courses of action. Here is where time is given to identify and specifying alternative courses of action which may be adopted to solve development problems and achieve objectives. These identified courses of action may take form of either a written planning document or a series of projects. Said by (Conyers and Hills: 1984) Phase5: Appraising plans and projects is the phase during which stated by Conyers and Hills that different proposed alternatives are  weighted one another and appraised or assessed the value or quality of their nature. The advantages and disadvantages of alternative courses of action are decided firmly and submitted to those who will ultimately choose between the alternatives. Implementation is Phase 6, though the implementation of plans and projects is part of the project cycle, it is not considered to be part of the planning process mainly because the professional planners are not directly involved the implementation of plans, stated by (Conyers and Hills: 1984). This part is left to the technicians and administrative staff. This does not mean that the planners are free to ignore the implementation process. The implementation phase can not proceed without the other phase of planning or the other cycle and during this period it is actually the development planner’s job to consider how the plans is to be operationalised. The last phase of the traditional project cycle stated by (Conyers and Hills: 1984) is Phase7: Monitoring and evaluation. What is monitored ad evaluated here is the implementation of the planning. The monitoring and evaluation are undertaken on a continuous basis and not only once, making it part of the implementation process. This phase is intended to establish what takes place during the implementation phase, to determine to what extent objective has been realized, and lastly to formulate the lessons learnt from the experience of the implementation and to solve problems as they arise. This step is said to be the last step of the process, but the actual fact is that the process starts all over again. There is another form of project planning called the Macarthur’ project sequence. This project is a somewhat an opposite of the traditional project cycle. The difference between the project plans will be visible during my description of Macarthur’ project sequence. The Macarthur’ project sequence demonstrates how much more it is complex to plan a project than Conyers and Hills portray it to be. Even though that’s the case, their cycle is said it does give good idea of the main phases or stages of project planning (Macarthur 1994a: 137) Here in Macarthur’s project sequence diagram, he demonstrates how his model  is an improvement and more realistic reflection of reality than the simplified academic model. The Macarthur’s project sequence model has three phases which also within it consists of stages or events in the life of the project (Macarthur 1994a: 137) The first phase is the Pre-Investment, where the project is still a set of ideas and proposals. The second phase is the investment Phase, here is where the financial commitment has been made and the fixed productive assets are obtained (Macarthur 1994a:137). He proceed by saying the third phase is the Operation Phase, where the created investments are used to generate the output whose availability in the economy is the main justification of the project (Macarthur 1994a:137) Macarthur does not allow to be the fourth phase in the diagram (even though he admits it would make sense to do so) consisting of box 18-21, but he thinks this will make the diagram too complex. He also did not include the eight possible sources of project ideas (which are listed above box 1) as part of the project sequence because he feels that they form part of outside project activities such as broader policy formulation and the government activities and planning (Macarthur 1994a:137) (Macarthur 1994a:137) also stated that his diagram differs from the Conyers and Hills cycle because it has ‘’exit’’ routes where are alluded as ‘’abandonment’’. This allows a project to continue from one step to the next when it fails. He also says that this allows projects to enter at places other that the identification stage. Allowance of more entrances enables projects to be pat of larger programs rather than being just a mere stand-alone project. It allows the proposals to be ‘’sent back’’ for reconsideration or refinement of the first phase which is the Pre-Investment Phase didn’t go well. Macarthur lastly explains the last Phase 3 which is the Operations Phase. He states that this is where the improvements on the other project cycle diagram are presented since they make no mansion of this phase in their diagram. Box16 of Macarthur’s diagram (which is the transmission to normal  administration) reflects the importance of this phase. He says this part indicates the point at which a new project stops to have a special identity as a unique or different set of activities and becomes part of the responsibility of a section in the organization that is responsible for the operation of productive facilities (Macarthur 1994a: 137) In Macarthur (1994a:137) sequence diagram, evaluation immediately takes place after implementation of the project in order to reflect on the experiences during implementation and to take note of any lessons learnt in order to feed these back into similar project that may be undertaken later (Box 18) The aim of the evaluation that takes place after years of the operation has been done is to make more proper assessment of the rates of return received on the money initially invested in the project (Macarthur 1994a: 147-148) Both Macarthur (1994) sequence planning and Conyers and Hills cyclic planning show a blueprint approach are inflexible and difficult to change. The projects are systematically and carefully planned in advance and implemented strictly according to the formulated plan. Their design is to the provision of a large physical infrastructure like industrial projects. The infrastructure that regard is easy to obtain in which to the base the project. The Macarthur (1994a: 137) sequence and Conyers and Hills cycle project plans got criticized by Rondinelli (1983) in the late 1970s and the early 1980s. Rondinelli (1983: viii) says that the problems that come with a strict blueprint approach can be minimized by using â€Å"Adaptive approach that relies on adjustive and strategic planning, on administrative procedures that facilitate innovation, responsiveness and experimentation on decision making processes that join learning with action†. An adaptive approach is also known as the learning process planning mode. It provides for successive stages of EXPERIMENTATION, PILOT, and DEMONTRATION AND REPLICATION OR PRODUCTION. The important statement in this approach is that there is little certainty about which technique will work in the long  term for a particular country (Rondinelli 1983: viii). Selected techniques are applied and exposed to regular field tests, after which activities are designed in accordance with what was learnt in the field. The outcome is that project planning is made more flexible by modifying and adapting project as more knowledge is obtained about environment. One of the statements about learning process approach is that there should be continual communication between project planners, implementers and the inhabitants of the area affected by the project (Korten 1980: 480-511), (Sweets and Weisel 1979: 127-130). Long (2001: 64-79) also supported this by explaining why participation is so important on development effort. He stated that poor people know their economic and social problems best and have insights and ideas about what could be done to solve them. Lane (2005) also supported Rondinelli (1983) criticism by making a critique of his own of various planning Models among which is the blueprint approach like those discussed previously. Lane (2005) stated that there are more flexible approaches like SYNOPTIC APPROACH which he feels allows for what he calls â€Å"tokenistic† participation. He also mentioned other flexible planning approaches such as â€Å"mixed planning†, â€Å"incrementalism† as well as approaches like â€Å"transitive† planning and communication theories. Lane (2007: 296) argues that â€Å"whereas participation was previously viewed as a decision making adjust, all schools of contemporary era view participation as a basic and important element of planning and decision making. Even though the traditional project cycle of Conyers and Hills was criticized by other models. It has an advantage of providing for a number of phases designed in such a way as to link the formulation of basic policy guidelines to specific projects and programs; this ensures that the lessons learnt from the implementation of each phase will be in corporate into the next cycle. Because in this cyclic project planning the process usually starts all over again after the last phase which is phase 7, it gives the planners an opportunity to learn from the lessons of the past. The Macarthur (1994a:  137) project planning sequence has its advantage of having the allowance of â€Å"exit† route, which is referred to as â€Å"Abandonment†. When a project fails to continue from one stage to the next. Another advantage of Macarthur’s sequence is that it allows for â€Å"projects to enter at places other than the identification stage (1994a: 138). He also adds that by allow ing for more entrance, enables Macarthur to make provision of other projects that may be part of a larger programs, rather than mere stand alone projects. Thirdly project proposals can be â€Å"sent back† for reconsideration or refinement. The participatory project management cycle’s adoptive approach has its own advantage of consisting of continuous cycle of action, reflection and adaptation, which Den Heyer (2002: 525) refers as â€Å"learning loops†. Even though all three of the project planning models has advantages, there are some disadvantages that come with them that make them to be not applicable for use in some project planning. The disadvantage of traditional cyclic model as pointed by Macarthur (1994a: 135) is that Conyers and Hills traditional cyclic model omits certain key moments in the life of a project, which means that we do not really get an adequate description of all the actual phases or stages through which large projects in particular, move. Macarthur’s (1994) project sequence also has its disadvantage. It is criticized by Rondinelli (1983: viii) and Lane (2005) that the sequence is a blueprint approach, and blueprint approaches are too strict and inflexible. Which they feel blueprint approaches don’t allow for participation. Long  (2001: 74) also agrees with this critique that blueprint approaches do not allow participation and flexibility needed to carry out the project.  As much as participation approach has a lot to criticize on other approaches, it also has its disadvantage, which is by the point of view of (Lane 2007: 296) is that participation is a remedy for the inadequacies or weakness of the more rigid blueprint approaches. In my opinion, I think the participatory approach is the best approach that ensures that learning during implementation takes place because it is flexible and includes the techniques use in both the cyclic and the sequential approaches. It does not  only accommodate infr astructural projects but also the people centered projects that will benefit the people. Just like the Tanzania Participatory Poverty Assessment project. Where PPA was designed to complete a natural Human Resource Development (HRD) survey on 1993 by focusing on gathering information on poverty as defined by local people in their own terms (Moriiti and Crawford 2009: 296). BIBLIOGRAPHY. Biggs & Smith; Hart, Burgess, Beukes & Hart; Lane.2009. Only study guide for DVA2602.Pretoria: University of South Africa PROJECTS AND PROGRAMMES AS INSTITUTIONS OF DEVELOPMENT: a reader, 2009: contributed by Muriithi and Crawford. Pretoria: University of South Africa.

Apollo Group Essay

The Apollo Group was founded by John Sterling, a professor at San Jose State University, in 1976. They are a for-profit educational provider that specializes in educating working adults. The Apollo Group has many subsidiaries both domestic and abroad. The University of Phoenix- the largest private university in the United States Institute for Professional Development- a consultant service that provides private colleges and universities in the US with adult education program development, administration and management support The College for Financial Planning Institutes- a national leader in providing financial services education the and certification to people and companies in the financial services industry Meritus University- an online university with degree programs in Canada Apollo Global Inc- a partnership with The Carlyle Group that invest in international education services in various countries The University of Phoenix is their main subsidiary and has an enrollment of over 550,000 students. They provide undergraduate, masters and doctorial programs both online and at on-campus locations in 40 states. Since the University of Phoenix is a for-profit educator, they recognize their students as customers and have tailored their business to fit the educational needs of their customers. Their programs are geared toward working adults; they are able to educate their customers at a rapid pace with low overhead. They have simple online platforms that are easy to use and their on-campus locations consist of basic classrooms. Since their primary customers are working adults and commuting students, they do not invest in building dorms, student unions or recreational facilities at these on-campus locations. Current Issues While this business model has been profitable for Apollo Group, there are some concerns that will force them to adjust their plan. Because of the perception that online classes are ineffective, and proprietary colleges and universities are degree factories that are not providing a quality education, prestigious universities are sticking with traditional programs. This perception is shared by potential students and their employers. Apollo needs to improve the reputation of their brand. The federal government has put some regulations in place to ensure that proprietary educators are educating students and not pushing them through their programs and granting degrees to create a revenue stream from federal financial aid and student loans. The Gainful Employment Rule- If programs fail the three test of gainful employment three times in a four year span they will not be eligible to receive federal financial aid dollars. The 90/10 Rule- If the institution get more than 90% of its cash revenue from student loans, the institution cannot participate in student federal loan programs. Student Loan Defaults- The federal government sets a three year default limit on cohorts of students. If the students’ loan default rate of the cohort drops below the limit, the institution cannot participate in student federal loan programs. In addition to the negitive reputation and government regulations, the Apollo Group is facing competition from both traditional and proprietary educators. As the technology increases, more schools are investing in their distance learning programs. Apollo will need to find a way to differentiate themselves from these institutions. Recommendations I think the Apollo Group should leverage the relationships that their other subsidiaries have built with their clients, as well as the ones their professors have with their employers, to get input on redesigning their degree programs. If done properly these programs will set industry standards and change the reputation of the University of Phoenix. These redesigned programs should create more employment opportunities for their graduates and help them pass gainful employment test. Working with major corporations to create these programs and gaining their public endorsement will give them an advantage over their competitors. While their business model does not include the extra amenities of a traditional university, the University of Phoenix needs to invest in career counseling and job placement services to help their students find good jobs, this will increase the likelihood of being in compliance with federal regulations. They should also develop a business case showing how the 90/10 rule will cause them to deny enrollment to low income students and petition elected officials who serve low income areas to modify some of the federal regulations that they are governed by. Wall Street Metrics As of this writing, The Apollo Group, with a ticker symbol of APOL is trading at $20.83 per share. Its 52-week high was $29.47 and its low was $15.98. It has a P.E. ratio of 8.54% compared to 24.38% of the S&P 500 and 36.39% for the sector. Its dividend yield is 0 compared to 1.85 of the S&P 500 and 2.14 of the sector. It has a Beta measurement of 0.70. Based upon my analysis, I would not currently purchase this stock. Post Script The University of Phoenix recently had some trouble retaining their accreditation. A peer group with The Higher Learning Commission, a member of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, recommended that they be put on probation. â€Å"Specifically, the review team concluded that the University of Phoenix has insufficient autonomy relative to its parent corporation and sole shareholder, Apollo Group, Inc., to assure that its board of directors can manage the institution, assure the university’s integrity, exercise the board’s fiduciary responsibilities and make decisions necessary to achieve the institution’s mission and successful operation.† 1 The Apollo Group was able to work with the HLC’s Institutional Actions Council First Committee to retain its regional accreditation, but that the university will be placed on â€Å"notice† for two years. In efforts to retain students by reducing the cost of tuition, the university has created a scholarship reward program that gives eligible undergraduate degree students up to $10,000 in tuition reductions. They also instituted a tuition freeze so students will not have tuition increases as long as they are consistently enrolled in classes.

5715067945 Essays - Economy, Finance, Financial Services

5715067945Chapter OneIntroduction 0Chapter OneIntroduction 1.1 Introduction:Bangladesh is one of the largest Muslim countries in the world. The people of this country are deeply committed to Islamic way of life as enshrined in the Holy Qur'an and the Sunnah. Naturally, it remains a deep city in their heart to fashion and design their economic lives in accordance with the precepts of Islam. The establishment ofIslamibank Bangladesh limited on March 13, 1983, is the true reflection of this inner urge of its people, which started functioning with effect from march 30, 1983.This bank is the first of its kind in southeast Asia. It is committed to conduct all banking and investment activities on the basis of interest free profit- loss sharing system. In doing so, it has unveiled a new horizon and ushered in a new silver lining of hope towards materializing a long cherished dream of people of Bangladesh for doing their banking transactions in line with what is prescribed by Islam. With the active co-operation and participation of Islamic developmen t bank (IDB) and some other Islamic banks, financial institutions, government bodies and eminent personalities of Middle East and the gulf counties, Islamic bank Bangladesh limited has by now earned the unique position of a leading private commercial bank in Bangladesh.As the competition of the business world become more and more severe, businessman had no alternative banking premises and many of them were getting involved in the traditional banking. But the tradition banking is based on interest, which is fully prohibited in Islam. To overcome this problem, Muslim scholars, philosophers, economistsetc, were thinking to establish a newinterest free banking structure right from the 1940s. At last they succeeded to formulate an appropriate Islamic Banking structure. Islamic bank does not give more importance only on earning profit but also try to ensure social welfare in term of its activities.This report has shown that theIslamiBank Bangladesh Limited is pioneer in introducingshari'a hbased interest free banking in Bangladesh with a mission to establish welfare oriented banking system and to ensure equity and justice in the field of all economic activities. This report mostly focuses on foreign exchange activities of IBBL. 1.2 Background of Study:After the completion of theoretical courses of Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA), each student is required to do internship in different organizations to have some practical knowledge and experience of the job exposure and to be familiar with the official environment thereof.Thereport wasprepared based on an internship program. This is a requirement of the internship programarranged by Department of Finance, Faculty of Business,Northern University Bangladesh. Each intern must carry out a specific report, which was assigned by the supervisor approved by the department of finance, faculty of Business Studies,Northern University Bangladesh.As I hadbeen selected for theIslamiBank Bangladesh Limited by the Bank Ista rted my realistic orientation program in New Market branch of IBBL. 1.3 Objective of the Study:The internship onIslamiBank Bangladesh Limited. Study on New Market Branch has prepared to fulfill the particular requirement of the internship program as 3 credit of the BBA program of the university and to explore Islamicshariahaspects and financing modes regarding Foreign exchange activities. The Main Objectives:The first objective of thereportfulfilling the partial requirements of the BBA program. Theprimary objective of this reportisto measure the Foreign Exchange activities of IBBL in New Market Branch.The specific objectives can be stated as under:To know LC.To understanding the procedure of opening LC.To know the Foreign Exchange Activities.To know the exchange rate.How to fix the exchange rate?To know different currency.To know the procedure of Import and Export.To know the importance of LC.To know the exchange rate risk.To know the overall activities of Foreign Exchange Division of IBBL. 1.4 Significance of the Study:The programhelpedme to understand the organization norms, corporate culture, investment decision and customer satisfaction of an organization. The topicwasveryquietinteresting this will encourage me to put my effort to analyze

Social Work with Children and Families Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Social Work with Children and Families - Essay Example Any arrangements contemplated in advance of the hearings will be guided by the welfare principle (Sendall, 238). The welfare principle is established by Section 1 of the Children Act 1989 and imposes a duty on local authorities and the courts to place the welfare of the child first and foremost in any proceedings involving a child’s â€Å"upbringing† or involving child maintenance of property matters (Children Act 1989, Section 1(1)). The pre-proceedings within the framework of the public law outline (PLO) was introduced by the Children Act 1989 Guidance and Regulations Volume 1. The Guidance establishes the steps to be taken when applying for either a care or supervision order. The pre-proceedings is essentially a â€Å"checklist† (Laming, 79). Thus, social workers must be able to provide the evidence upon which their decision for applying for a care or supervision order is based. The court will want to be informed of the work that has been conducted with the family. The evidence presented should also demonstrate that the parents have an understanding of the issues, the aims of intervention and the action taken and should also be informed of what the actions are up for review (Laming, 79). In other words, any arrangements made at this point must be clear and supported by logical evidence and must be demonstratively for the child’s welfare. In general, the PLO as described by the Children Act 1989 Guidance and Regulations Vol. 1 is enabled by Section 7 of the Local Authority Social Services Act 1970. By virtue of Section 7 of the 1970 Act, social workers and all local authorities are required to perform their social work duties with guidance from the Secretary of State for Education. Thus in issuing the Guidance, it is intended that case management is monitored so that each stage of the proceedings all issues are identified and progress made is officially recorded (Spray and Jowett, 167).   The pre-proceedings are aimed at the â€Å"earlier identification of the key issues through assessment† (Spray and Jowett, 167).  

ACCOUNTING FOR STRATEGIC & MANAGEMENT CONTROL Essay

ACCOUNTING FOR STRATEGIC & MANAGEMENT CONTROL - Essay Example There are numerous problems that face the BH Ltd in the control systems. To begin with the audits are not done effectively. There is need for the independent auditors to work on the BH Ltd accounts. The accounts are oftenly collected and sent to the Ave Co Plc.The company also experiences problems with the capital budgeting and the performance appraised on budgeting. (anonymous, 2008).The finance functions have also contributed to the disappointing results. The finance department has little interaction with either the individual or the regional managers. There is also a problem in the performance measurement systems. The key performance indicators are not effectively applied. According to Grahamme Steven, vital data from the organization must be obtained to produce the good results. There are however limitations of the data access due to the confidentiality by the managers who have chosen not to work with the headquarters. As we all understand our company acquired BH Ltd 4 years ago. It has been performing well and it has been a place where many people desired to go. However after the restructuring there has been a series of problems and disappointing performance. Shareholders and the customers have been on the watch over the performance of the company.Ordinarily, shareholders must have confidence in the published accounts so as to make the reliable investment decisions. The reduced ROI has been their point of concern as most of them threaten to quite the organization. The hotel occupancy rate has been rising at a slow rate. However there has been a question why the company is not performing well. I. Control systems. The control systems are generally weak giving a leeway to disappointing results. The company has been producing monthly management accounts to the headquarters. The accounts have revealed a reduced ROI yet there have been increased profits recorded. The accounts were made in dependency and secrets. There was therefore no transparency while

Forensics Report #1 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Forensics Report #1 - Coursework Example This computer was Dean’s workstation. It had been taken to the IT service center within the same week. It was missing, but only because it have been taken to IT service center. It would be brought back to the station on the following Friday. Mr. Dean used the USB Drive to store his work related files as the Assistant Chief Security Officer. After its analysis, it was found that nothing that could incriminate Mr. Dean since the files in the USB drive reflected his urge to work in parallel with the company’s interest. After carrying out substantial research and reviewing all the evidence present, it is imperative to note that there was some inconsistency regarding the manner in which the particular employee resigned. The fact that the laptop case was found below the table adds to the suspicions because if the person resigned honorably, he would have at least left the laptop case on top of the table. The factors stated are some of those that led to the forensic examiners becoming involved with the case. The USB disc found ought to receive special examination to determine the information stored in it. The fact that the Chief Executive asked that the workstation computer be transferred back to the work office is an imperative step to take for it saw to it that information was not deleted from the computer at which the particular employee was working. The manner in which the employee terminated his employee is somehow suspicious and this is because for an organization such as the one given in the study, it is a requirement to tender a formal resignation by writing a letter and submitting to the relevant authorities in the organization. Going through the evidence may bring out information tying the particular worker to some illegal activities (Kiely, 2011). Either that or the employee was blackmailed out of his work. The room should also be wiped for fingerprints and this might assist in identifying the

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

Fallingwater - Essay Example In order to prove this thesis I visited Fallingwater and now I want to share my experience and substantiate my point of view. Fallingwater, also known as the Edgar Kaufmann house, is a building on the Bear Run at the address P.O. Box R, Mill Run, Pennsylvania 15464, in southwestern Pennsylvania in the Appalachians. Edgar Kaufmann Sr. was a successful Pittsburgh businessman and an owner of some property in the countryside with a waterfall and some cabins. When the small houses at their camp had been destroyed to the point that something had to be rebuilt, Edgar Jr. persuaded his father to hire the architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Fallingwater is famous; from all over the world lots of visitors come each year to its faraway site. Fallingwater has taken pleasure to many people over the years; as an energizing weekend retreat for the Kaufmann himself and his relatives, as a source of pride to Wright and his assistants, and now--cared for by the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy--as an remarkable experience for visitors from near and far.... When Wright came to the site he enjoyed the powerful sound of the falls, the vital verdure of the young forest, the dramatic rock ledges and boulders; these were elements to be reconstituted with the tenderly soaring spaces of his structure. But Wright's insight cameto the depths. He realized that people were creatures of nature, thus an architecture which suited nature would conform to what was basic in people. Forinstance, though all of Fallingwater is opened by wide bands of windows, people inside are 'safe' as in a deep cave, secure in the sense of hill behind them.The attention is paid to the outside by constructing low ceilings; no luxury in the hall but, instead, the light textures of the woodland, enframed in a great harmony. The colour of the building reminds the colorings of trees and rocks.'Occasional accents are provided by bright furnishings, like wildflowers or birds outside. The paths within the house, stairs and passages, meander without formality or urgency, and the house hardly has a main entrance; there are many ways in and out'(Fallingwater,2004 The official site of Fallingwater). Communication and privacy are both possible, as are the properties of home and the adventures of the seasons. So the trip was refreshing and I felt relaxed and calm. The active watercourse, immediate surroundings and cantilevered design of the house are considered to be in harmony, in line with Wright's interest in making buildings that were more "natural" and which therefore seemed to be more connected with their surroundings. It is important and significant as it has a large historical and aesthetic value and is an example of Modernist trends in architecture. The house represents the culture of American Modernism, and it was very interesting to dive into the epoch of the first half of 20th century. The building is connected with nature, which surrounds it and its significance is determined by symbolic meaning of eternal connection between human and nature. People who lived there or spent there weekends felt really refreshed, and as, for me, I really felt that spirit of

ARE PEOPLE BORN INTO POVERTY MORE LIKELY TO REMAIN IN POVERTY Research Proposal

ARE PEOPLE BORN INTO POVERTY MORE LIKELY TO REMAIN IN POVERTY - Research Proposal Example Despite significant progress being realized in these practices, it is observed that people born poor are more likely to remain in poverty. Thesis: people born in poor families are more likely to remain in poverty Research Questions a) What causes poverty? b) What is the government doing in eradicating poverty? c) Why are poor people more likely to remain poor? Literature review Overpopulation has been considered as one of the main causes of poverty among various individuals across the globe. This is argued from the fact that natural resources, which are the basic factors of production do not expand , while the population grows at an alarming rate. This makes it impossible for the resources to effectively meet the needs for the population; thus, some are deprived access, which make them poor. Poor people usually lack sufficient information on reproduction and family planning. This makes them reproduce at higher rate that the wealthy. This puts strain on the resources at their disposal , making it hard for them to improve their lives. In this regard, governments have implemented various strategies such as providing family planning medication and education to the poor in a bid to counter overpopulation. In some countries such as china, there are regulations on the number of children one can bear, and failure to adhere to the law leads to prosecution. The distribution of resources affects the poverty levels of various persons across the globe; in developed countries, resource distribution among the citizens is fair, while in developing and underdeveloped countries, resource distribution is skewed towards the rich (Cullen, 2010). Though much has been done, in developing countries, to improve the distribution of resources, success levels have been low due to lack of sufficient knowledge. In developing countries, factors such as poor governance manifested through corruption makes the resources available to the wealthy and powerful. This therefore deprives the poor a ch ance to improve their lives and thus there is a high possibility of them living poor for their entire lives. In a bid to ensure that the lives of the poor are enhanced, various strategies to fight corruption have been made by various governments across the globe. Education is an important tool in the realization of the anticipated person or institutional goals. Proper education ensures that individuals are able to interact well with other persons irrespective of the cultural or religious backgrounds. Interaction with various persons may open avenues to better future to an individual (Phan, Hayden & Harman, 2010). Though education, one may get a better job, which will help a great deal in improving his/her life as well as that of those around him. To get better education, one has to study at best institution. This is only available to the rich as they are able to cater for the fees as well as other costs associated with studying. The poor have less capacity to attend such institution s and thus study in low –standard institutions. In extreme cases, they do not study, as they have to look for money to meet their basic needs. In such cases, they are not informed of developments made by the country and usually make bad decision, and this makes them unable to get out of poverty. In a bid to ensure that a higher percentage of the population is educated, some government governments have implemented free education and loans to finance studying

PhD research proposal (Risk of investment of sovereign wealth and

PhD (Risk of investment of sovereign wealth and strategies that can be used mitigate against the risks - Research Proposal Example Reports published by OECD reveal that government-driven mergers and acquisitions reached the peak (almost 20 percent of the total international value) level immediately before the financial crisis struck the Euro zone in 2009. In the subsequent year, this value declined sharply to half. The bulk of this international investment originated in few countries, China, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and few other Asian economies. Recently, SWFs have gained serious attention from the governments of countries around the world on the issue of risk associated with the holding of such wealth and its investment. In this paper, the impact of such risk on the economy is studied and the ways to mitigate risks have been discussed. Background Sovereign wealth funds are funds that are controlled by the government of a country. The government of a nation used this fund to make investments in other economies. Governments make investments in other countries by acquiring the assets located in those countries (Keefe, Fournier and Torys, 2003). The developing nations have also been affected hard by the crisis. However, research shows that due to the fact that these countries are developing, growth rate of these countries are higher than the growth rate of the developed nations (Manganelli and Engle, 2001; Mehta et al., 2012). A gradual but steady shift in power is visible from the West to the Eastern countries. The West is traditionally the centre of economic and financial power and the developed countries of the United States of America and European countries, until now enjoy the maximum economic power and therefore hold the highest political position in the global economy. The ongoing shift in traditional position and power from the western developed countries to the emerging economies in the east, such as China, is associated with higher levels of investment of SWF (Waki, 2010; Saunders and Cornett, 2011). These investments are mostly made in the emerging market eco nomies. Different levels of risks are associated with the SWFs depending on the pattern of investment made with these funds. Economists and policymakers have made different recommendations and suggested divert ways to mitigate such risks (Seagal, 2013). After the Euro zone crisis took place in late 2009, the issue of risks associated with sovereign wealth has been receiving greater importance (Jost, 2009; Saunders, 2013). Through further research it has been identified that the emerging economies are at lower levels of growth but showing higher growth potential than the developed countries (Smith, 2003). Hence investment of SWF is migrating fast towards the emerging economies. Research objective The objective of this research paper is to analyse the risk of investment of sovereign wealth and strategies that can be used mitigate these risks. The researcher aims to check whether risks of investing sovereign wealth adversely affect the economic variables in a country,

Is global warming causing severe weather Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Is global warming causing severe weather - Essay Example Economic science helps to understand economic benefits and material losses caused by severe weather conditions taking into account results obtained by Climate science and Geology. Economic science investigates and develops measures to reduce negative impact of economic activity on climate and global warming. Taking into account the information mentioned above, it si evident that an interdisciplinary research is crucial, because one science is unable to solve the problem of global warming without collaboration with other disciplines. Recent years, hurricanes have become a great problem for many coastal villages and towns around the world. Scientists explain that hurricanes are caused by heated water and variations of sea level. For instance, according to Avery: " The computerized global climate models predict we'll get more and bigger storms as the planet warms", which results in severe weather conditions. Avery explains that "heat in the atmosphere is the fuel that leads to stormy weather," and "weather disasters are occurring with ever-greater intensity and frequency around the world." (Avery, n.d.). So, it is evident that this "fuel" in the atmosphere is the result of human activities (gas emissions and other pollutant) which lead to the heated atmosphere and hurricanes. Nevertheless, there is an opposite view supposing that "the present hurricane surge is part of a 60 to 70-year cycle linked to natural effects" (Briggs, 2005), and has nothing to do with heated weather conditions. Unfortunately, nobody can reject the fact that thousands of tons of mercury, lead, and other heavy metals are put into the water and air each year in the form of liquids and gases, which cause the sea temperature increase. Heavy metals, like pesticides, are long lasting and can spread over large areas. Algae and fish are disappeared and natural processes of adsorption stops. These changes in biosphere resulted in global warming.b) Tornados is another problem caused by heated water. This phenomenon was proved by Carter who stated that tornados are caused by temperature increase and storm chasing. He illustrates this fact stating that 'the escalation in extreme weather conditions over the past two decades has led to an increase in the frequency and intensity of storm conditio ns" (Carter, 2005). Some scientists try to explain tornados and storms as a result of changing weather conditions neglecting the influence of global warming on this process. They say: "When we look at the Mozambique floods, at the storms that hit France, at the absence of winters in Britain over the past few years, at the avalanches in the Alps, we are witnessing events that are now clearly tainted by human actions" (Carter, 2005). The question is "Why changing weather conditions occur" Following Carter, it is possible to say that these changes occur because of global warming. To conclude, it is possible to say that the majority of scientists agree that global warming and "green house effect" are the main reasons why we suffer from

Rashomon Essay Example for Free

Rashomon Essay The book is laid out in sequence. It opened up with the testimony of the woodcutter who was being interviewed by a high police commissioner. The woodcutter proceeded to tell the commissioner that he had just stumbled on a crime scene – a man wearing a bluish silk kimono with his face on the ground with fatal wound on his chest. This set up the tempo for the book. After each interview, the story jumps into another character’s testimony. It tells the story through the perspectives of the characters where they are all witness of a crime where a samurai had been murdered. There were a few witnesses to the crime: woodcutter, traveling Buddhist priest, policeman, bandit, old woman, his wife, and the man himself through a medium. Each one of the testimonies given by the witnesses differs from one another. The only thing they all had in common was that a samurai was killed. The book and the movie sets it up where we the reader are the jury of the crime. They all started telling what they have seen, what had happen, what were they doing, and how did they stumbled upon the murder scene. It’s almost like an exercise of finding out the truth based on the testimony given by each witness. Where we (readers and viewers) come to a consensus of determining who is the one telling the truth among them. Which is hard because they were all subjective interpretations of all witnesses. There isn’t anything that would point out who the real culprit is. After doing some research of the time frame when this book was written, I found out that the scenes that the author was trying to portray was pretty much identical to the time period that the book was trying to portray. It was written during the 20th century, a time where social disintegration and population distress prevalent. Most of the population practiced Buddhism, Shinto, and Taoism, which reflected in the movie when the husband was giving his testimony through a medium. The medium was his wife, which also seems like one of the short story that we read, Sotoba Komachi. Which have the same situation where the woman have done something terrible to a man therefore she is punished by having her body possessed by the man that she had wronged. During this time period, Buddhism was on the rise along with Shinto. It was apparent on the film when the opening scene showed Rashomon (Rajomon gate), which was the main gate for Kyoto. The gate looked devastated and torn down because during that time there was plenty of natural disasters and buildings being set on fire and also gangs and vigilantes were prevalent during this time that tried to rebel against the corrupt governors. The book and the movie showed the correlation with the time period by showing us how bad the living conditions are, or any of the characters situations are for that matter. In particular was the former samurai servant. Where he had taken refuge from the rain under the bridge but have no idea what to do after the rain stops because he was just discharged by his master. He was troubled about what the future holds for him. He didn’t have a job and also depressed because of it. Since he thought his situation was desperate, he started to debate whether he should look for a job and spend his life working as an honest man or become a thief. Regardless, the outcome wasn’t in his favor. After some time spending in the gate, the samurai servant cross path with a woman. Their situation was further magnified when the author described the environment of the place that they were taking refuge in – it was so bad that they didn’t care that the place was littered with copses. So many corpses that he had to watch where he step so that he wouldn’t trip over them and he couldn’t count how many there were around him. Also the stench of the corpses didn’t bother them. The servant started to investigate the noise that he heard from upstairs. There he encountered an old woman who he thought was a wretched hag. The old woman was there because she was plucking hairs from the corpses for her to use as a wig. This was the time where the samurai servant decided that he would go down the path of living as a thief by robbing her of her kimono. After reading and watching the movie, I think the movie stayed true to the book. The film uses flashbacks during the testimonies of the witnesses, which I thought was great because it cleared things up a little bit more. The scenes put you in the situation that they were in and try to relay the experience to you from their viewpoint. It showed the story being influenced by the characters emotions and the accuracy changes from person to person which is probably the intended objective of the director. The sequence of the witnesses was different in the movie than the book. In the movie, they used one of the guys in the Rashomon taking refuge as a witness where in the book to me, it seems like the movie used none of the witness that was in Rashomon. I could be mistaken because in the movie, the opening scene was under the Rashomon and three guys were talking about what happened. They seemed in disarray at first and then it jumped to a scene where one of the guys was walking in the woods and discovered the carcass, from there the scene transitioned to the characters taking turns giving their testimony. In the book, there were two people in Rashomon taking refuge from the rain; it was a samurai servant and an old woman. Although the movie did a great job on using flashbacks to paint a clearer picture on what happened. There was no backstory on the characters. They were all portrayed as country-dwellers and vagabond staying in Rashomon. The only one that was clear to me was the wife, samurai, and the bandit. In the movie, they showed the woman was kissed and the scene cut out after that, allowing the audience to guess what happened. I would imagine that the scene was shocking since it was they very first kiss that was captured on film. Also, during the kiss, I thought that the woman was fighting it at first but then seemed to relax and go with it as the camera faded. For those who haven’t read the book, it might seem like that’s the only thing they did but he did much more things to her than just kiss the woman was raped. It’s hard to guess that if you haven’t read the book. The only thing that I can think of that can possibly give away that the woman was raped was the reaction of the husband. His emotion changed from struggling to escape and angrily, to staring off in the distance and at peace with himself. This reaction was probably based on the Japanese culture where the woman is now given a choice between her rapist and her husband. I like how the author showcased the culture during that period, the reaction of the husband towards the wife whenever she succumbs to the bandit and how it portrayed the samurai. To the samurai, she had committed an act against him that did not warrant him to show any emotions. He understood that it was a loss cost fighting for her whenever she made the decision to let the bandit do whatever he wants with her. After reading and watching Rashomon, it’s easier to understand how Japan has been struggling with their identity. I lived in Japan for a couple years, which gave me a brief idea how the Japanese culture is. Their culture is very hospitable and very welcoming. During my stay there, not once did I feel threatened or feel like I was in some kind of danger. I never knew that Japan was just literally coming out of the medieval period transitioning to the industrial period. The only way I can explain that is, a baby that just learned how to turn on its belly then all of a sudden started trying to sprint. Which would also explain how hard they are trying to hold on to their tradition but slowly losing it, because the young generations are trying to embrace the western culture. The book and the movie did a fantastic job in showing the living condition during the time period. It’s hard to believe that just a couple of decades from that period, Japan was still struggling and fighting to have a democracy. In the span of a couple decades – Japan would have built an army that rivals the military power of the western world. Not only build, but also, declare a war with the western powers.

Learning process in behaviour Essay Example for Free

Learning process in behaviour Essay Learning is a permanent change in behaviour caused by experience. The learner does not need to have the experience directly; we can also learn by observing others . It is an ongoing process. Our knowledge of the world is continually being revised as we are exposed to new stimuli and receiving ongoing feedback that allows us to modify our behaviour when we find ourselves in a similar position again Psychologists who have studied learning have developed advanced therories on the process of learning. Here we will discuss the two major approaches to learning; instrumental and classical conditioning. Classical Conditioning It occurs when a stimulus that elicits a response is paired with another stimulus that initially does not elicit a response on its own. A Russian physiologist , Pavlov introduced classically conditioned learning by pairing a neutral stimulus ( a bell ) with a stimulus known to cause a salivation to dogs ( he squirted dry meat powder). The powder was an unconditioned stimulus because it was capable of causing the response. Over time, the dog has learned to associate the bell with its meat powder and begin to salivate at the sound of the bell only. The drooling of these canine consumers because of a sound now has a linked to feeding time, was a conditioned response ( CR ). This basic of classical conditioning applies to responses controlled by the autonomic and nervous systems. When these cues are consistently paired with a conditioned stimuli such as brand names, we as consumers may feel hungry, thirsty or aroused when later exposed to brand cues. Conditioning effects are more likely to occur after the (CS) conditioned and  unconditioned ( UCS ) stimuli have been paired a number of times. Repeated exposures increases the strength of stimulus-response associations and prevent the decay of these associations in memory. Many marketing strategies focus on the establishment of associations between stimuli and responses. Behavioural learning principal applies to many consumer phenomena, ranging from the creation of a distinctive brand image to the perceived linkage between a product and an underlying need. The transfer of meaning from an unconditioned stiulus to a conditioned stimulus explains why made-up brands like Marlboro, Coca-Cola or IBM can exert such powerful effects on consumers. Operant conditioning Over the years behaviourist have carried out operant principals out of the narrow world of the skinner box and into the wider room of society. The use of the operant techniques to help people change unwanted, dangerous, or self-defeating habits in real world settings is called behaviour modification ( applied behaviour analysis ) Behaviour modification has had enormous success, behaviorist have taught parents to toilet train their children in only a few sessions etc. as you can see from everyday world behaviour modificaton is not a science but an art. Operant Conditioning : process of applying the law of effect to control behaviour by manipulating its consequences. Law of effect: behaviour followed by pleasant consequences is likely to be repeated; behaviour followed by unpleasant consequences is not 4 basic reinforcement strategies is use in operant conditioning; positive reinforcement -negative reinforcement -punishment -extinction Positive reinforcement : the process by which people learn to perform acts leading to such desirable outcomes. Whatever behaviour led to the positive outcome is likely to occur again, thereby strengthening that behaviour by making a pleasant consequences contingent onto its occurrence. Negative reinforcement: Negative reinforcement is the process by which people learn to perform acts that lead to removal of undesired events or unpleasant consequence contingent onto its occurrence. Punishment: administrating of negative consequences or withdrawal of positive consequences that tend to reduce the likelihood of repeating the behaviour in similar settings Extinction: ceasation of previously established reinforcer that is maintaining a behaviour by removal of a pleasant consequence of its occurrence. Positive reinforcement can take many forms. One of the strongest is praise and recognition for the good work. It is good rewards management. It shifts the emphasis and energy of the manger towards a larger number of employees, rather than focus all the attention and time on poorer employees. If done correctly it can make all but the worst employees feel that the organization recognizes and appreciates their effort and contributions. If the desired behaviour is specific in nature and is difficult to achieve , a pattern if positive reinforcement called shaping can be used. Shaping is the creation of a new behaviour by the positive reinforcement of successive approximations leading to the desired behaviour. Negative reinforcement governs a good deal of our behaviour. Some people do  think that it is a reasonable way to manage people at work that is, employees who engage in undesirable behaviour should expect something to happen to them. But there are some difficulties with this approach. First it creates a tens environment ( difficult to work everyday where the main motivation is to prevent unpleasant outcomes ) secondly, relationships often deteriorates when superiors represent a constant threat to be avoided. There can be adverse side effects in using punishment. An action intended to punish may instead be reinforcing because it brings attention -the recepient of punishment often responds with anxiety ,fear or rage -the effectiveness of punishment is often temporay, depending heavily on the presense of the punishing person or circumstances -most misbehaviours is hard to punish immediately thus resutingin the reinforcement of the undesired behaviour -punishment conveys little info Extinction is important and quite commonly used. This strategy decreases the frequency of or weakens the behaviour . The behaviour is not unlearned; it simply is not exhibited. Since the behaviour is no longer reinforced, it will reappear when it is reinforced again. Whereas positive reinforcement seeks to establish and maintain desirable work behaviour, extinction on the other hand is intended to weaken and eliminate the undesirable behaviour Law of contingent reinforcement states for reward to have the maximum reinforcing value ; it must be delivered only if the desired behaviour is exhibited . Secondly, the law of immediate reinforcement states , the more immediate the delivery of a reward after the occurence of a desirable behaviour, the greater the reinforcing value of the reward. Timing of postiove reinforcement; a) the continuous reiforcemnt schedule administers a reqrd each tie a desired behaviour occurs b) b) an intermittent or patila reinforcement schedule rewars a behaviour only periodically. 4 varieties of partial reinforcement schedule a) Fixed interval schedules b)Variable interval schedules c)Fixed ratio schedules c) Variable ratio schedules In general , a mange can expect that the continuous reinforcement will draw a desired behaviour more quickly than will intermittent reinforcement Steps in positive reinforcement program; @identify specific behaviour that are to be changed; must be accurate and reliably observed and then recorded. Behaviour should be measurable and observable. @ determine the links between the target behaviour, its consequences and stimulus condition leading to the beaviour) @develop and set specific behaviour goals for each person and target behaviours @recording process toward the goal @apply appropriate consequences; rewards, punsihmnets,extinction

John Lockes Theory of Property

John Lockes Theory of Property John Locke was born at the time when England was rising against monarchism and the rights of the ordinary people were being revised to envisage the possibilities of sharing power with the ruler. His father was a republican and his views were indifferently influenced by his father to be concerned about the rights of the working people. This was very much reflected in his political theory which cannot be snapped of all ties with this economic and in particular his views regarding property ownership. With his liberal thinking John Locke viewed the ordinary views of rights to property, especially in relation to land as the primary entitlement beyond the prevalent system. His influence in the growth of property laws and later land laws is immense. Property rights and other philosophies in that area have been widely grown and developed much from John Lockes theory in relation to property. This right to property is not to be confused with personal rights as the rights to a property by an in dividual is to be celebrated at rem or against all third parties which John Locke divided into: Common Private Properties John Lockes theory in relation to property can be outlined into: Divinely ordained nature of property and the labourer; Self-ownership emanating from such rights to property by application of labour; Limits on the property and related statues; Need to protect property and the ultimate necessity of governance. The above theory is based on his major political essay, the Second Treatise of Government. This essay will endeavour to critically examine the practicality of his views and whether the theory ultimately delivers any clear message to the development of the property rights. This critical analysis will reflect on the theorists and scholars who wish to remain supportive of Lockes views and also to set a contrast by discussing the views of those scholars who oppose him. Chapter V of his Treatise would be receiving especial attention in this essay as that is where Locke discussed individuals rights  [1]  to property. Section 25, 26, 27, 28 and 31  [2]  will be the pivotal discussions to reflect on the central views of his theory. The essay has based on the criticisms of all theories from the points of modern day scholars, lawyers and judicial decisions by the courts in England and Wales primarily. An endeavour will be made at the end to circumnavigate the relevance of his theory in modern times. Examination of The Theory John Lockes writing were in refute of Robert Filmer. Robert Filmer was a defender of the divine right of Kings and he also said it was wrong to kill yourself because the king owned your life. But Locke argued that God had given the world to man in common. John Locke did not give any emphasis on the natural value of the property rather emphasized on the labour of people to add value to the property. He wrote in his Second Treatise on the issue of property and the value of labour with a economical and philosophical acumen. The main features of Lockes theory on property are as follows: Properties do not have much value as of a divine ordainment rather he is of the view that labour adds the deserving value to the property which is regarded as the principle of first appropriation; The ownership to a property is created by the related labour That Government proceeds property as Government also protects individual ownerships or rights to the property; The Government cannot act arbitrarily to remove individuals from estates and this confirms rights of people to the property and it also establishes that the Government must value individual rights and labours; Properties can be private and common properties; Property has narrow and wider definitions. In the broad sense in includes rights and interests to the property whereas the narrow sense includes the material goods only; Property and rights thereof are natural by application of labour as with labour goods and benefits thereof are created gving entitlement to the producer;  [3]   Human beings have to take from nature to eat and drink and to produce to live as a natural right to preserve themselves and with this they have an obligation to God. Human beings produce and have rights to his produce as a means to preserve themselves as he opines in section 25; God has given this world in common along with the abilities to use this resources therein to live as explained in section 26; there are things which people own in nature including their person and labour; Labour is the means which confirms which is privately owned and commonly owned as discussed in section 28; When a person works his labour enters object and that object becomes property and a right is created in that property in the process. Man should be taking only what he can use or utilise before it spoils as discussed in section 31 creating a limitation to the property rights; Locke says, As much as any one can make use of to any advantage of life before it spoils.  [4]  The right to a property is only clear and exclusive as long as it doesnt jeopardize anyone elses ability to create equivalent types of property for himself and the purpose and justification for this limit is that Nothing was made by God for Man to spoil or destroy.  [5]   Someone is entitled to take up to the point where there is some left and he is also of the opinion that there should be enough land for everyone as mentioned in section 33; Where there is not enough land left then non-owners should labour on owned lands to sustain or preserve themselves as discussed in section 34; What property ownership brings happiness and in his capitalist view where everything is owned then that brings greater joy which he discusses in section 37 and he goes to compare unhappiness of unowned lands and people therein in America to happier people in Britain where everything is owned; Labour enhances the quality of a land and makes it more productive than it was ever before as a natural waste land; That private property attainable by money as he mentions in section 46 and as an exception to his spoilage principle above he explains that money helps people produce more than he can use before getting spoilt as he can sell that property as well and money is not perishable; That money is the means to barter and exchange possession of the properties as mentioned in section 50; That money allows more industrious and rational  [6]  to accumulate wealth and the increased accumulation would jeopardise the possibilities of all to own without the spoilage limitation which also concern personal safety for which civic society is needed to have enforcement authority and men would find it advantageous to form the civic government.  [7]   Government ensures safety to life, liberty and estate.  [8]  Therefore, ownership of private properties is one of the main reasons for the existence of a state. But for tension amongst people, Locke is of the view that not only scarcity of property by ownerships but also by dint of increasing population. Critical Thinking From the chronological discussion of the main issues of Lockes theory on property it appears that his provisos to his own theory as for example, the spoilage theory or natural rights theory to leave for all to have are defeated with the money clause as a means to barter. The theory seems to fail in the claim for Gods nature to be preserved for all. He is of the view that in order to preserve such rights to property humans forms civic societies and governments are established to secure rights to such properties in a guaranteeing manner with authority to enforce the rights to the property. His theory seems to be based on selfishness which also seems to be unfair. Lockes theory seems to be puzzling, contradictory and without any precise solution. Lockes theory leaves generations of owners which seem to be unfair as only people who can work are allowed to own property. This defeats the democratic norm. During Lockes time only property owners could vote then the question arises about the justifications of those without owning property willing to be part of the society where they have nothing to protect as personal property. Locke does refer to divinely ordained natural rights to property but his theory goes against the very basic ethos of Christianity. He himself mentioned commonly owned property rights to have come before capitalism, and the selfish ownership of property by a group at the cost of poverty of the other group seems to be against the very basics of Christian beliefs. It does not seem to shake hands with Gods love for all. Locke gives priority to common good over common ownership but common good seems to be elusive in practical world with ownership of properties being controlled by a certain group of the mass. In L ockes theory, a certain number of people are born to be owners and certain others are born not to have at inception which creates a class structural problem which unjustifiably plunges a group of people in endless toiling whereas the other group does not work or hardly works. This seems to be unnatural at the core when nature did not create such inequalities. Scholastic Appraisal Leading scholars have viewed Lockes theory variably. Some are supportive and many are critical of his theory. Those that are critical have mention inconsistencies and contradictions. I will attempt to highlight some of these points Hume confronts Locke and acts opposite about property being natural rights. According to Hume private property is constructed by man, not of nature but of convention. Therefore there is no inherent relationship between a thing a being. Our property is nothing but those goods, whose constant possession is establishd by the laws of society; that is, by the laws of justice.  [9]   This means that if there is nothing natural then property rights are always open to disruption. Ramon comments on the second limit placed by John Locke of accumulating property in relation to money. Lockes assertion that one can accumulate any amount of money is suggested to be incompatible with the first limit as to how much property one can own. The fact natural products differs from money by that natural products will rot and money will not. They are both useful and therefore essentially the same. Ramon also considers three objections to Lockes theory i) it does not explicitly account for the development of an employer-employee relationship ii) his theory fails to provide a means of determining what share of the product which is produced rightly belongs to the employer and what share rightly belongs to employees. iii) theory fails to provide a means of determining what share of the product produced as a result of a division of labour rightly belongs to each person involved in its production. Leo Strauss was of the opinion that Locke in fact believed there is no genuine natural law rather only conventional law.  [10]   Richard Cox in his Locke on War and Peace argues that Lockes Two Treatises are of two levels with opposing views. The first one uses classical orthodox view of God and men and divine relationship and feeling for fellow men whereas the second one views men as Hobbesian creature ruled by passions. But his view seems to be an exaggeration. Mac Person believes that Locke rather had a hidden assumption of possessive individualism and according to Locke society and individual interactions were nothing more than relationship of exchange of properties.  [11]  This seems to make Lockes theory to be harsh and selfish. MacPherson explains that though Locke is of the opinion that through private ownership entire wealth of the community to increase, yet, there was no guarantee that the wealth would be equally distributed. He is also of the opinion that Locke contradicts himself when he assumes that overall life of all will be bettered regardless of who owns the property,  [12]  yet, he expects people who dont own property to work for those who own for the sake of subsistence which in fact helps the owners accumulate wealth through unfair advantage. But the above scholars have also been subjected to serious criticisms as well in their assessment of Lockes theory. For example, Peter Laslett brands MacPhersons criticism as thoroughly unrealistic and occasionally unhistoric.  [13]   One of the supporters of Lockes theory, Martin Seliger in his The Liberal Politics of John Locke believes that most of the apparent confusions raised about Lockes theory of property emanate from misinterpreting Lockes approach about equality. He is of the view that though Locke posited political equality in nature, yet he never opined that there would be equality of possessions.  [14]   Karl Marx in his Communist Manifesto  [15]  believed the abolition of private property as he was of the opinion that the bourgeoisie has always oppressed the working class with private ownership by means of labour where the working class would work and the owners would not work and exploit that working class. He was also of the opinion that the state formulated laws to rule for oppression in support of the ruling or owner class. This seems to be radically different from the views of John Locke. But Marxism has been criticised as intolerant and unable to survive. Marxism wishes to abolish something when no one is in charge to abolish it or enforce the abolition. This seems to be an absurdity. Influence John Locke influenced many epoch making future philosophers with his liberalism. It has been widely argued that though the definition of freedom as per Locke and Marx are very different, yet, even Marx was influenced by Lockes liberalism. Hence, it seems that with his theory Locke had been able to bring the relationship between men and property to an intellectual level of research. Conclusion John Lockes theory seems to be still influencing the capitalist societies around the world in seeking justifications by the name of freedom to trade and own. His theory also supported in celebrating rights to property and protection of those rights being recognized as part of human rights. But this view has also turned societies selfish to a certain extent by formulating means and trading systems whereby consumerism has grown by manifold. Karl Marxs view seems to be more scientific in endeavouring to eradicate social class structural problems. But Marxs theory also seem to go against individuals rights to celebrate creativity by celebrating its produces. John Lockes theory has its practical appeal as it is the concept behind which the people work the hardest through competitions. Locke predicted such situations where a group of people with poverty would come to exist but he failed in offering a solution for the problem as well. Nevertheless, there is no doubt that with its faults Lockes theory on property and ownerships thereof is still influencing justifications in conjunction with many other fundamental rights. The global leading capitalist nations seem to be practical proponents of this theory in practice. This concept is also connected with our democratic values which have become inalienable. The scholars are divided in their opinions about Lockes theory but it is also true that beyond the contradictions within the theory, the theory exposes the truth by which the modern world is functioning as whole where we work every day to own property either tangible or intangible.

Essay --

Meningitis is defined as inflammation of the meninges, which are the thin membranous covering of the brain and spinal cord. There are different variations of the disease which include bacterial, viral, fungal, parasitic, and non-infectious. Bacterial meningitis is severe in most cases. Many people fully recover but for those who are less fortunate it may cause brain damage leading to learning disabilities and hearing loss. There are many different pathogens that cause bacterial meningitis. The most common here in the United States are Haemophilus influenzae, Streptococcus pneumoniae, group B Streptococcus, Listeria monocytogenes, and Neisseria meningitidis. These bacteria can be transmitted through direct contact with the nose and throat secretions of an infected person. The main reservoirs for these bacteria are humans but can also be the environment, mainly from the soil. In order to determine if a person has bacterial meningitis blood and cerebrospinal fluid are collected and analyzed by a laboratory. Once it is confirmed that bacteria are present they are then cultured to determine what type of bacteria are present. This lets doctors know how to treat the disease. The discovery of meningitis dates back to the 1800’s. The first evidence that linked bacterial infection as a cause of meningitis was written by Austrian pathologist Anton Weichselbaum. He was the one to isolate the causative agent of cerebrospinal meningitis. He named this bacterium Diplococcus intracellularis meningitidis. The symptoms of bacterial meningitis can appear rapidly over several days. Normally they develop within 3-7 days after exposure to the bacteria. Signs and symptoms of bacterial meningitis can occur suddenly and they include: headac... ...ents. This puts you more at risk for expose to bacteria to the filth of others around you. Pregnancy can also be titled as a risk factor. You're at increased risk of contracting listeriosis which is an infection caused by listeria bacteria. This bacterium may also cause meningitis. If you have listeriosis, your unborn baby is also at high risk of catching meningitis. The last risk factor that I’m going to discuss is weakened immune systems. Some factors that may cause a weakened immune system are: AIDS, alcoholism, diabetes, and certain drugs. When these factors weaken the immune system your body cannot prevent infection. In fact it is very easy to contract meningitis with the above health issues. In conclusion meningitis is not something to take lightly. Stay vaccinated and take preventative actions because this disease is wide spread and can be fatal.

Egyptian Art Essay -- essays research papers

Egyptian Art was once considered to be unchanged, when viewing this art as a whole. Egyptian Art seems to be repetitive pattern of images and ideas. Yet all of these images are uniquely different. Ranging from 3000b.c to 50b.c. Taking the same principles through out the entire period. Which consists of Old, Middle and New Kingdoms. Each dynasty had a different addition to the basic concepts that were established in the beginning, ideas of the artist grew faster and better. Many cultures shared from the influence of Egyptian Art. Even if it was not copied, their artwork was either compared or contrasted with that of the Greeks, Romans, Summerians, Assyrians and Persians. All in one way or another form have come in contact with Egyptian Art.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Art is different variations of expression, either self-expression or cultural. From painting, sculpture, architecture, to funeral preparations to pottery. Art is also a form of communication. Communicating ideas theories or even history. Expressing ideas that cannot be done with words. To take something that is thought to be intangible and shape and mold it into something that can be seen or touched. One culture takes another culture’s work and either copies or changes it, to fit into their views and principles. Sometimes the artwork can be viewed differently between two cultures. Yet they can have the same purpose. For example Mycenaean tomb was compared to the tombs of the New and Middle Kingdom. The tombs w...

Causes of the American Revolution :: Essays on American Revolution

The American Revolution was a momentous event that changed the face of the whole world. Though the Revolutionary War lasted only a few short years, the American Revolution was a process that started long before the first shots of war were fired. The rebellion was permeated with the legacy of colonial political ideals, aggravated by parliamentary taxation, escalated by the restriction of American civil liberties and ignited by British military measures. England had a hard time controlling its American colonies from the very beginning, leaving them to develop relatively on their own for several generations. The North American continent is close to 3,000 miles away from England and the trip from England to American by boat in the 1600s took six to eight weeks if not longer. The trip was not easy and many died along the way, but when immigrants did reach the New World they arrived a bit changed by their harrowing journey. These new immigrants were met with a clean, new, virgin land, virtually unchanged for thousands of years. It was as if they had landed on a whole separate planet. These immigrants, then, established new societies based on whatever personal religious or political values they had, far from the shadow of England. Over 150 years later these values still lived strongly in the descendants of these original settlers. The rights of the individual were dominant in every aspect of American life in 1763. From the relative religi ous freedom, to the independence of the press, to the coveted public town meeting, Americans, unlike many Europeans at the time, enjoyed the right to choose how they lived their lives. Theoretically, under the concept of mercantilism, which affirmed that the sole purpose of a colony was to provide for its mother country, Americans were restricted economically. But, until 1763, with England's practice of salutary neglect, Americans enjoyed economic freedom and were able to trade covertly with whomever they wished. In 1763, England won the French/Indian War at a heavy financial. The high cost of the war forced England to take a firmer hold on its North American colonies. Since the French/Indian war was fought on American soil for the protection of the American people, the English government thought it elementary that the colonists should help pay off some of the debt incurred by the war. But the Americans were outraged. When the Stamp Act of 1765 was passed colonists reacted with widespread anger and violence.

Life: A User’s Manual by Georges Perec Essay

Life: A User’s Manual by Georges Perec was originally written in French in 1978 and was translated in English by David Bellos in 1988. The original work is quite complex and a rich work of art and because of this, its title page describes it as novels i. e. , in plural. The matter becomes clear as we go on reading the book. Perec has imagined the whole story when he was working with a jigsaw puzzle and it is considered as one of his most remembered work. Perec’s books are all examples of his playfulness and all his works are typical in some way or other. Life: A User’s Manual is a combination of short tories and it seems Perec wants to tell the readers that life is like a jigsaw puzzle and we have to arrange the jigsaws to get a coherent picture. Perec tells, It’s not the subject of the picture, or the painter’s technique, which makes a puzzle more or less difficult, but the greater or lesser subtletly of the way it has been cut; an arbitrary cutting pattern will necessarily produce an arbitrary degree of difficulty. . . The art of jigsaw puzzling begins with wooden puzzles cut by hand, whose maker undertakes to ask himself all the questions the player will have to solve, and, instead of llowing chance to cover his tracks, aims to replace it with cunning, trickery and subterfuge. In the story there is an extremely rich Englishman, Bartlebooth who has some plans that will occupy his rest of life and spend his fortune at the same time. He spent his first ten years learning to paint with watercolors and then twenty years went for a trip round the world with his faithful servant Smautf. During this trip his servant makes paintings of different ports in watercolor and Bartlebooth sends each of the paintings to France. Here he painting is glued to a support board and a selected craftsman cuts it cautiously into a jigsaw puzzle. When Bartlebooth returns he spends his time solving these jigsaw puzzles. As the puzzles get solved, the paper is rebound with the help of a special solution and the wooden support is removed. Then it is sent to the port where it was painted and is immersed in the water till the colors get dissolved leaving just the faint marks of a painting on the paper and the marks of rejoining of the paper too. This paper is once again returned to Bartlebooth. In the end there was nothing to show what he had done in the last 50 years f his life. This was an ongoing process and eventually as the puzzles became difficult Bartlebooth turned blind and while he was working on his 439th puzzle he died and he was sixteen months behind his project. This is the story so carefully written that the reader finds it interesting as well as occupied completely with the story. The narrator wants to tell his readers through his character, Bratlebooth that life can be seen in the same way, i. e. , like the paintings that are turned into jigsaw puzzles and when the puzzle is solved it is turned into a blank paper once again. This shows that the events in our life are like the paintings that need to be arranged into coherent pictures and then it should be forgotten completely. Take a new jigsaw puzzle or any problem in life and solve it. One should not get too much attached to anything in life even if you have given it your beautiful and youthful years. Things, people and events are meant to come and go and there is no need to get too much involved with any of them. The story is told in six parts and occupies ninety-nine chapters. The story in fact begins ith a jigsaw puzzle and the reader finds that the whole story is in itself a jigsaw puzzle but so interestingly and uniquely written that the reader feels completely involved in the story. Perec’s puzzle can be related to a number of events and characters of the story and as you read on you will find that you are actually solving a puzzle like situation. There are different types of descriptions in this book and the book seems to gather so many stories but very neatly bound between two shiny covers. The character of this book resembles the actual world and life where we find that everything is like a puzzle and we eed to solve each one and then it vanishes from our hands after sometime. There are depths upon depths in this book, which is felt when the reader inspects it closely. The book is written like the chess game and the narrator always jumps two spaces like a knight and has arranged the apartment building like chessboard. The narrator wants to tell you that life is like the puzzle pieces and when you try and arrange them to complete a logical picture, it tricks you. But you should go on solving new and different problems or situations in life even if you find yourself tricked by some of them.

Hippocrates and the Four Humors

Balancing the quaternity humors The Greeks and Romans viewed madness and distemper as an affliction from the gods. Greek physicians, nearly notably Hippocrates, believed these afflictions we from an im remnant of what he called the four humors. These included blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile. In many cases many treatments prescribed to eternal sleep the humors could be considered precursors to psychotherapy. Hippocrates had his patients discuss their dreams to gain sagacity into their ailments.From these discussions, he would then prescribe such things as rest and relaxation as well as a shift of climate, scenery, or diet. Hippocrates believed that removing a kindly ailing patient from a tumultuous family bread and butter could restore the patients mental health. . Most of these theories can be seen by and by on as suggestive cures for Freuds patients even though Freud viewed the causes much antitheticly. corporal ailments were treated with a much different app roach when compared to mental health problems.To balance the humors, physicians chose a variety of procedures many of which would be considered questionable by todays standards. If a patient was thought to induct an excess amount of blood, the physician would unravel the patient to remove the excess amount. When a patient was thought to work withal much phlegm and was lethargic, physicians would prescribe a diet high on citrus fruits. Even today elderly patients who have chronic fatigue are abandoned shots of vitamin B-12 which can be put in in citrus fruits and chronically ill batch are suggested to increase their vitamin C dream which also can be found in citrus fruits.