A Christian Perspective on Nudity in Art Essay

The Association of Classical & Christian Schools John is a Christian who enjoys the arts and finds them edifying. He is particularly fond of the art of painting. Desiring to expand his art history knowledge, he visits the best, closest art museum he can find. Going from gallery to gallery, John begins to become discouraged and more than a little embarrassed because of all the nudity shown in the paintings. He finds himself wondering if he should leave the museum in a state of disillusioned protest. As a Christian, John understands the need to shun pornography; but what he is seeing is not Hollywood at its X-rated worst, it is Western Civilization. These are the paintings that make up the canon of art. What is he . what are Christians . to do with nudity as it is often shown in art? To answer the overriding question, one must first understand the difference between nudity and pornography. Nudity is nothing more than a human figure without clothing. There is no overt intention of sexual arousal. When nudity is used in art, it is often (but not always) with the goal of eliciting an admiration on the part of the viewer for the handy-work of his Creator. The Greeks believed that man was the measure of all things; as such they sought to find the perfect human form and show it in their art. The resulting nudes are not pornographic; rather, they are the outworking of the Greek ideal. As Christians, we rightly reject their philosophy, but we should not make the mistake of mislabeling their art. There has been much written on the beauty of the human body and it does not need be rehearsed here. It is clear that we are, indeed, fearfully and wonderfully made. When an artist shows nudity with this in mind, he is showing it to the praise and glory of the Creator. Pornography, on the other hand, has sexual arousal as its sole intention. It seeks to debase and lower both its subject, the person being looked at, and its object, the person doing the looking, to the level of mere animals. It is meant to feed our lusts, with the full understanding that they can never be sated. Sexual lust . like all other lusts . perates according to the Law of Diminishing Returns; the more a person feeds his lust, the harder it is to get even temporary satisfaction. This forces him to go back for increasingly more and more stimulation until it is almost impossible to derive any pleasure from his vice, no matter how much he indulges. It would be irresponsible to say that no part of Western Art leans to the pornographic side of things; for some of it does (much of Klimt, Schiele, some Courbet, etc. ); however, the difference is usually reasonably obvious with sober thought (if it. s not, then the artist has not done his job! ). There is also art that is quite charged with erotic content that doesn. t show so much as an exposed ankle. These paintings rely on context and subtlety to convey the true meaning of the work. For example, Gustave Courbet. s painting, Demoiselles on the Banks of the Seine of 1856, is widely understood to be a depiction of two lesbians in post-coital sleep . an obviously unacceptable situation for the Christian. There is no crass sexual imagery to suggest this relationship; however, when viewed in light of some of his other paintings, and when the painting is looked at carefully the relationship between the two women becomes clear. This is far from the only example of subtle erotic imagery, but it is illustrative of the issue. Like so many situations in life, context is the key to making a decision about whether or not to show or look at imagery like this. Song of Solomon (among other passages in scripture) is very explicit in its description of a sexual relationship between a man and a woman. It speaks quite openly of physical desire. We know from the context of the whole book that this is not a sinful desire and that it is proper for us to read about it and learn from it. So it is with art; when we properly understand the context of a picture we can make decisions on whether it is sinful to look at or not. We have to decide what our aim is in looking at it: are we indulging in an unlawful desire, or are we confronting an opposing worldview? If it is the former, then by no means should the image be viewed; however, if our education is to have any value we must confront opposing worldviews. To what are we objecting in pictures like this? It is obviously not the depiction of an unclothed human body. It is the representation and the implicit approval of promiscuity. This is what breaks the Law of God in Scripture . the sin does not necessarily occur when we look at such material, it happens when we approve of it. Things are rarely one dimensional; there are many reasons for showing nudity in art. We do a disservice to our students (and ourselves) when we teach them to be reactionary instead of thoughtful and discerning. There is a long tradition of depicting the nude human form in Western Art. I mentioned above that appreciation of the human form is one reason for showing nudity in art. However, it is not the only reason. Realism is another; nudity in varying degrees is a part of life, even public life at many times in the past and in different parts of the world. Many times artists were showing only what they saw as a part of everyday life. In the past there were public baths and public toilets that did not afford the same privacy that we, as 21st century Americans, have come to take for granted. There were even times when public nudity was accepted (for example, Peter worked in the nude while he fished (John 21:7). As such, people would have come to understand the concept of modesty as opposed to prudishness. Modesty reserves the exposure of the body to appropriate times and places, whereas prudishness sees the body as sinful in and of itself. As Christians, we must reject prudishness in light of the fact that God has given us many good gifts that are to be enjoyed in their proper context, our bodies being one of them. Since the Fall, nakedness in many situations has become shameful to us. Artists throughout history have recognized this fact and have used it in their art. For example, there are many depictions of the Last Judgment in art history (Rogier Van der Weyden, Hieronymous Bosch, Petrus Christus, the van Eycks, etc. ), many of which show those to be judged completely naked; the blessed are usually given a robe while the damned are sent into hell naked. This is done to emphasize their state before God; they have no covering, either physical or metaphorical to shield them from their Creator. The image of nakedness is used in the Scriptures to highlight our condition before God (Hebrews 4:13). God describes Israel as having been naked before He found her (Ezekiel 16, Hosea 2:1-5). He also uses literal nakedness when he commands Isaiah to go without clothing for three years as a sign of impending judgment (Isaiah 20:1-6). Whether in Scripture or elsewhere, a literary image of nudity is not really that much different from a literal image; both give the mind pictures of naked bodies to think about. It is the intended goal of depicting nudity (whether in words or pictures) that carries the weight of moral responsibility. If e take into account the Scriptures. use of nudity, it seems that it is proper . even edifying . at times to show nudity in art if it is done for the same reasons as the Scriptures. Many times in art the baby Jesus is shown quite openly nude. This is done for a very serious reason. His genitals were shown so that the artist might emphasize the very real human nature of the Christ. The artists wished to refute various Christological heresies (Nestorianism, Mo nophysitism, various forms of Gnosticism, etc. ) by showing that Jesus was both God and man. The attributes of Divinity are obvious and well known (the halo, lamb, and cross) but the tradition of depicting Jesus. humanity through showing His genitals is often misunderstood. At the other end of the spectrum of representing Jesus during His life on Earth is the cross. He would have been completely naked on the cross. The loincloth that we commonly see in paintings is a piece of pure fiction. Would it have been sinful for Him to be naked in public? Of course not, this was not a sexual context, nor was it meant to be. Was it sinful for Jesus. emale followers to be there and see Him in such a state? No. Again, context is the key. A common example of public exposure (albeit mild exposure) that many of us will encounter is breastfeeding. This is a context in which a woman’s breasts are not meant to be seen as sexual, but as motherly. If a man is aroused by the sight of this, does that not point to the sin in him and not in the act of breastfeeding? God ordained this method o f nourishment for children and alludes to it many times in Scripture as a good and proper thing. Again, context is the key to discerning the nature of this situation. Likewise, it is exceedingly rare for a medical doctor to be accused of being a pornography addict for giving physical exams to members of the opposite sex. The context of the examination room is not a sexual one. However, if a doctor mistreats his position and does look at a woman in a lecherous manner, does that mean that all physicals are pornographic and we should stop having them? There are other examples where images of nudity do not and should not elicit sexual arousal: childbirth, war pictures, anatomical charts and books, images from other (often indigenous) cultures, etc. The age at which it is acceptable for children to begin seeing paintings with nudity in them is a matter of debate. It seems that children should be exposed to nudity in art from an early age with the understanding that it is proper in some contexts and improper in others (many of which have been discussed above). If this is done, many aspects of the question of pornography will have been answered at an early age. Furthermore, if this approach is taken, children will gain an understanding of modesty and prudishness and know the difference between the two before it becomes an issue of practice for them (e. . skirt length, bathing suits, movies, etc. ). Of course there are many things that are perfectly good and right in and of themselves that are inappropriate for children. It is the responsibility of the parents to know their children and use their discernment in this question. The above arguments show that things are rarely as simple as nude = bad, clothed = good. This is not an exh austive treatment of the issue by any means; however, it should shed light on different perspectives on how a Christian is supposed to view nudity in art.

My Family’s Immigration

Mountain was the name given to the united States by the people of China looking for new opportunities. The immigration story on my mother's side of the family begins with my great-grandfather's Journey to the United States in search for a better life for himself, his wife, and his four children. At this time, the majority of the population in China was living in poverty. Being able to come to America was the dream of many in the hopes they would be able to become wealthy.However, it was a rough start for my great-grandfather. The language barrier was a major obstacle and job options for foreigners were very limited; the only Job available to him was working at a Laundromat. 10 years later, my great-grandmother Joined him in the United States. Due to the difficulty of getting permission to come to the United States, and the fear of not being able to support them In the US, she was forced to leave her children behind in China: three daughters and one son.My great- grandmother was a ver y intelligent woman, and when she was finally able to contact her husband she settled in San Francisco, she was disappointed to discover him irking such a low paying Job. At her insistence, together, they decided to open a restaurant, and slowly their dreams of a new future began to emerge. My great- grandparent's worked tirelessly to keep their business running. Long hours were necessary to support not only themselves but also their children In China, who received the money they earned shipped overseas.Not wanting their kids to repeat to hard life they had, they were determined to give their children education. In this way, my grandmother was able to get college educated, which was very rare for women. In 1906, a major earthquake struck San Francisco. It sparked a series of fires that raged throughout the city for three days which left over half of San Franciscans population homeless but also destroyed office buildings that held the records and birth certificates of many Immigrants . With the loss of these records, officials asked immigrants to report their family's information.Like many other Chinese, my grandparent's slightly altered their family history. Instead to reporting they had three daughters and one son, they reported they had four sons. In the China, it was usually the men who came to the United States to work for a better living. By having extra birth certificates, my grandparent's were able to sell them to other Immigrants allowing them to come to America, which was very common at the time. Meanwhile, my grandparent's became married in China and using her college education, my grandmother became a professor.Then came the Cultural Revolution. This was an era in Chinese history where intellectuals were looked down upon and even persecuted. Since both my grandparent's were educated, when they gave birth to my mother and uncle they did want them to grow up being unfairly treated because of their Intellectual background. My grandparent's had hopes of moving to the United S Unnaturally, my great-grandparent's and already sold all to the birth certificates to other Chinese immigrants because they never intended to have their children come to America.In fact, they never planned to stay in America in the first place because they intended to move back to China after they saved up enough money. Unfortunately, my great-grandparent's never expected China to become communist country and by moving back they would be stripped of their freedom. At one point, my great-grandparent's missed their children so much that they wanted to see them, but because they were American citizens they could not set foot in China. Instead, my grandmother and my great-grandparent's decided to meet in Hong Kong.It was a huge risk for my grandmother to take because she was leaving China. During the Cultural Revolution, this was viewed as being unfaithful to Chinese government and the person could be subject to public humiliation. Red Guards Nevertheless, they we re reunited for a period of time. Knowing that there was the possibility that they would never see their daughter again after she returned to China, my great-grandparent's pleaded my grandmother to stay in Hong Kong. However, my grandmother knew by doing so she would be regarded as an anti- evolutionist, and her husband would be persecuted for her actions.Once again she was separated from her parent's. Years later, my mother knowing how much her mother wanted to be reunited with her parent's, studied hard to give her mother the chance to come to America. By succeeding academically, she was able to travel to the United States as a foreign college student at the age of 18. After graduating, she became a US citizen and filed the appropriate papers that allowed my grandmother to immigrate to the United States. At the age of 65, my grandmother's family was complete again.

Mixed Economy

This paper is to be submitted to Mr. Booker as an assignment. It essentially focuses on two questions: a) How does the free market deal with the fundamental question of micro-economics? b) What problems are posed by merit, demerit and public goods? Fundamental question of micro-economics So, first, what is economics? According to Paul A. Samuelson, economics is â€Å"the study of how societies use scarce resources to produce valuable commodities and distribute them among different people. † Very briefly, we may summarise that economics is the study of how people choose to use resources. The economic problem is said to arise when we have scare resources to satisfy our unlimited wants. As a result of this problem, which is sometimes called the problem of scarcity, choices have to be made over the following points: 1. What to produce? A classic question here that we often heard of is â€Å"Butter or cannon? † Should an economy produce more consumer goods, e. g. TVs, which can immediately raise people’s living standards, or put more resources into produce more machinery that would enhance the economy’s production capability in the long run? How to strike a balance over the quantities of diffident goods are going to be produced is well worth considering for the decision-makers. 2. How to produce? Generally, what we expect the market going to do is to obtain maximum use out of resources available. This is obvious, but some other issues besides purely economic concerns also should be considered. For example, even though we could produce more goods by forcing labours to accept longer working-hours; this is not something we should do, since there exists moral objections. So, the decision to maximise output and satisfy more wants would need to consider the full impact on the environment and any potential long-term health risks. 3. For whom to produce Though, on the surface, almost all the countries agree that the wealth allocating system in an economy should be â€Å"fair† for both the poor and the better off; in fact, there are some attempts to create a more egalitarian society through policies that re-distribute wealth and income society from the rich to the poor in some capitalism countries, but they are merely self-deceiving, from my point of view. The reason is quite straightforward: the powerful capitalists are the very people who actually operate the political machine in capitalism countries; never would they enact laws which may deprive them of their wealth, would they? (Pardon me for holding such an â€Å"extreme† opinion, Mr. Booker, but I have to be honest! ) Factors of production Now, in the next two pages, let’s sort out four types of resources involved in a production process, known as factors of production: i) Land. In economics, land refers to all natural resources, which can either be renewable and non-renewable. Renewable resources are replaced automatically by nature and so can be used on a continual basis, e. g. rivers; non-renewable resources, in contrast, are not automatically replaced, e. g. fossil fuels. Land is probably the most occupationally mobile of economic resources. However, land is absolutely geographically mobile- we can never move land from Suzhou to Suzhou! ii) Labour Labours are th e people who actually working in a production process. Labours are often not occupationally and geographically mobile due to a series of reasons, e. g. lack of skills or reluctance to accept a higher house price in another place. iii) Enterprise or entrepreneurship An entrepreneur is someone who put the other three resources together into production. Two functions that this factor carries out: a) To organise the other economic resources. b) To take risks involved in the production. Some risks, including fire, theft and flood, can be insured against but others, like costs of production rising, tastes changing, cannot. The entrepreneur is considered as the most mobile of economic resources. They are usually versatile. For example, an entrepreneur who is organising the production of a shoes manufacturing factory is very like to have the ability to run a clothes-making firm; they are also often willing to move from one area to another, since they are always seeking the place where they can make the most profit! iv) Capital goods Capital goods which may be also called producer goods are any man-made aids to production, e. g. ffices, warehouses or a printer. Most machines, equipment and processed raw materials are geographically mobile, even there may involve extra transportation cost, but goods such as factories, offices are not. Many specialised machines e. g. sausage machines are occupationally immobile; while others which are of general use, like a printer, can be occupationally mobile. Economic systems There mainly exist three kinds of economies, the command economy, the free market economy and th e mixed economy. 1. The free market economy In a free market economy decisions on how resources are to be allocated are taken by households and firms. The key point is that they interact as buyers and sellers in the market for goods and services. Prices act to indicate the likely market value of particular resources. Figure 1: A Circular Flow Diagram of a Free Market Economy Many economists believe that in a free market economy, the price system is an â€Å"invisible hand†, which brings together private and social interests in a harmonious way and the government is of no need to intervene the conomic activities; this is the fundamental philosophy underpinning the workings of the market economy. However, in my opinion, even though the markets can play a very important role to a great extent, the government need to intervene in order to obtain a sustainable, continuous economic growth. A best example could be U. S. , which was proud of having the most characters of the free market economy, is now in a great hurry to natio nalise AIG and many other banks in the economic crisis.

Decentralization. What Level of decentralization within Government Research Paper

Decentralization. What Level of decentralization within Government Institutions Is Needed for a State to Become Democratic - Research Paper Example Private investors and the sector in general may still access some of these services, but non-profit earning and collective goods require funding and delivery by sub-national government units if any of these are to be available. Secondly, research indicates that top down and highly centralized service delivery is cumbersome, expensive, slow, and inflexible to new information, as well as prone to political bias. Third, consistent incapacity and collapse of governments, patterns that are common in education, marketing, and sanitation, highlight the untapped local capacity in taking collective actions and making collective choices. Lastly, past research and studies indicate that for democracy to thrive, it must have foundation in preparatory and local self-governing institutions. Decentralization of power, with emphasis on government institutions, improves the democracy of those institutions. Therefore, the main problem that democracy and decentralization seek address is central state pl anning and centrally administered bureaucracies. According to critiques of central state planning, administrations that adopt this form of administration suffer from potentially destructive and inefficient methods of allocating resourcesii. There are three assertions used to justify these claims. The first argument is that centrally administered bureaucracies lack place and time knowledge in designing and implementing programs and policies that truly reflect the real preferences and needs of the people. Secondly, based on principles of control and command, states differ qualitatively from markets (based on exchange and competition) and voluntary organizations (based on altruistic motivation measures). From these perspectives, states do not have the reach and flexibility to provide some particular services and goods, especially those that require large information. The last argument suggests that inadequate incentives and unchecked authority (highlighted in promotion rules, salaries, hiring, and so forth may encourage rent-seeking behaviors by officials from the governmentiii. The main case for advocating for democratic decentralization is the assertion that a highly decentralized state apparatus will have more exposure, and thus more responsive and sensitive to local aspirations and needs. Proponents argue that decentralization will create a system of governance that will be more accountable and effective to the local population. Decentralization essentially means more than the downward delegation of authority. Essentially, it implies a system of governance where the local citizens have the right to hold local public officials accountable through collective actions, elections, and other democratic means. Different scholars have researched on the topic of decentralization in the past, including Johnson Craig from the Rural Policy and Environment Group Overseas Development Institute, Sheila Rai, an assistant professor at the at University of Rajasthan in India. Others are Camille Cates Barnett from the Research Triangle Institute, Robert Pringle from The Wilson Quarterly, Jonathan Rodden from Comparative Politics, Maria Escobar-Lemmon from Publius, and R. A. Ayee from African Studies Review, among others. The main area of focus for these scholars has been the positive and negative effects of decentralization, especially democratic decentralizationiv. Jonathan Rodden in â€Å"Comparative Federalism and Decentralization: On Meaning and Measurement" and "Fiscal Decentralization and Federalism in Latin America" by Maria Escobar-Lem

Sustainability of the Clients Investments Assignment

Sustainability of the Clients Investments - Assignment Example The company's broad product line is comprised of wall and floor tiles, natural stone, and laminate and solid wood flooring. Toops Tiles also offers underfloor heating, tools, adhesives, grouts, accessories, and cleaning products to complement the major product lines. These additional offerings enable each customer to finish any job involving tile installation. Through this memo, the medium and long term sustainability of Toops Tiles PLC will be assessed through an analysis of its financial statements. I will also provide a SWOT analysis to get a deeper insight on the company's internal performance and external environment. Table 1 shows a two-year comparative report on the Toops Tiles PLC's major accounts. During the fiscal year 2005, the company recorded total sales of 175.64 million compared to the previous years' 159.43 million. It can be noted that the company's revenue ballooned by 10% despite the weak consumer environment in the United Kingdom. Profit before taxes also leaped by 16% to 39, 232 and net income totaled 30, 189. Toops Tiles' resources also expanded by almost 3% which is due to the growth in tangible fixed asset, and short term receivables. The company was able to pay off a huge portion of its debts as evidenced by the 6.15% drop in total liabilities. Toops Tiles' preference for low risk financing is also indicated by the growth in equity by 17.10% (Annual Report 2005). As a minority shareho... As we know, an investor gains in stock investments through capital gains and dividends. Table 2 shows the company's dividend for its common stockholders is escalating throughout the five-year-period of 2001-2005. Dividends increased almost tenfold from 1.00p to 9.50p. This growth in dividend per share indicates company's profitability as it is capable of paying its stockholders from the company's net income and still sustains its operation through its retained earnings. The company's stock price is volatile indicated by periods of ups and downs which indicate the investor's perception of the company's profitability. Toops Tiles PLC has experienced an annual 3.85% slump in stock prices during 2005. However, the five-year-period covered in the analysis indicates a generally positive perception of the company's stocks as price rose by 160%. SWOT Analysis Strengths: Toops Tiles capitalizes on its strong brand equity as it is the largest tile and wood flooring specialist group. The company's operation is also supported by its wide distribution channel which provides accessibility to their customers. This also enables Toops Tiles to cover a larger geographical area. Offering products which complements to their major product line is also a plus as it provides more value to the customers. Weaknesses: The major weakness of the company is its inability to create a better image to its investors like its stockholders. This is mirrored by the drop of the Toops Tiles' stock price amidst its good financial position. The company should consider launching a marketing program which will highlight the company's accomplishments. Another weakness lies in the company's supply chain. Toops Tiles' delivers inventory to its distribution facilities twice in a week.

Question 31 & 32 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Question 31 & 32 - Essay Example This means that criminal activities take places because criminals have low control over themselves. Individuals have low control over themselves because they have been brought up in a poor manner and their attachment with their parents is even quite weak which elevates the chances of them getting into a criminal act. Hirshi and Gottfredson even state that individuals who have low control over themselves even indulge in actions that may not be considered criminal but are quite harmful, these actions include: alcohol and drug abuse, road accidents and pregnancies that are not wanted. The base of the general theory of crime is the elements of love, affection, involvement and belief. Individuals having low self control are those who are not committed to the norms and cultural values of their societies and they end up committing criminal act as they give preference to satisfaction over the norms and cultural values of their society. 2. The theory of Left Realism came into existence during 1970s and was created in response to the importance given to deviant behaviors conducted by those who are considered as elite of the society (Adler, 2010, p.205). Left Realism states that the people within the lower class experience day to day criminal activities conducted against them and they mainly experience street related crimes (Vito, 2006, p.232). According to Left realists, street crimes are caused because individuals are committers of these crimes are deprived from social and political participation. Another emerging perspective of criminology is peacemaking criminology; this ideology of criminology promotes fairness, nonviolent living and impartiality between the components of the society (Adler, 2010, p.206). According to peacemaking criminology, the current state of fighting crime and actions used to counter criminal activities can only lead to more

Compression Test on a Piper Aircraft Lycoming Engine Research Paper

Compression Test on a Piper Aircraft Lycoming Engine - Research Paper Example When doing this correction, the propeller should be rotated to make sure that the piston does not lie at the Top Dead Centre (TDC) so that the valve does not strike the top of the piston in the engine.The engine should be rotated to ensure reseat of valves in a correct manner before a compression recheck is done.   The top spark plug from each cylinder is removed before the compression check is performed. This is done by connecting the pressure regulator and the adapter to cylinder number two and the propeller is turned on to ensure that the piston was at TDC on the compression stroke of the engine. The pressure gauge was set at 20 psi following AC 43.13 recommendations to make sure that we achieve the TDC.The gauge was turned to 80 psi following the manufacturers and the AC 43.13 recommendations.The first gauge reading was 80 psi and the air gauge reading was 76 psi. The prop was moved back and forth to ensure proper placement during double checking on the readings obtained.Howeve r, leakages occurring after recheck compel for correction of pressure readings obtained. This correction can be done by placing a fiber drift on the engine rocker arm located directly over the valve stem and the drift is tapped several times using a hammer in orde to remove any foreign materials between seat and valve face. Pressure losses exceeding 25% of the applied pressure is an indication of cylinder defection, but this is subject to operating the engine for a time period of at least three munities to enable.

Patient safety in hospitals Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Patient safety in hospitals - Research Paper Example Abbas, A. E. A., PhDN is an Assistant Professor in the Nursing Administration and Education Department, King Saud University, Saudi Arabia. Bassiuni, N. A., PhDN, MSN, BScN is also an Assistant Professor in the Nursing Administration Department, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt. Baddar, F. M., PhDN, MSN, BScN is an Assistant Professor in the Nursing Administration and Education Department, King Saud University, Saudi Arabia. The review of literature (ROL) conducted by the study shows that in the healthcare field there is growing realization that under the influence of several factors the culture in healthcare organizations is not conducive to patient safety. The factors involved are productivity, efficiency, and cost controls. Though a universal agreement on what constitutes a safety culture for health organizations is yet to emerge, there are clear indications of what these dimensions should be. The safety culture of an organization involves individual and group values, attitudes, perceptions, and behavioural patterns of commitment towards safety management in the organization. Most of the efforts in providing an understanding safety culture have been focused on healthcare systems and patient engagement within these systems, with particular emphasis on such understanding in the Middle-East. There has been limited research into the handling of patient safety issues in terms of the perceptions of the fro nt-line healthcare providers, leaving a gap in the body of knowledge on the subject. The authors justify this study on the basis of attempting to reduce this gap in the body of knowledge. The difference in perceptions on patient safety of frontline healthcare providers in a clinical and the whether there was any association between these perceptions and the variables of job category, years of experience, and work setting were the research questions. The hypothesis was that there would be a difference in perception on patient safety between

Environmental Planning Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Environmental Planning - Coursework Example Difficulties in the enforcement of planning conditions due to lack of resourceful expertise. The federal government sets policies for environmental planning that help to improve climate adaptation and ecological development strategies within policies set by the government. The local government works hand in hand with the people regarding social issues affecting them as to enable them develop strategies for planning (Rydin & Pennington, 2000). The U.S government has ensured that the necessary tools for planning are available to enhance the smooth flow of this process, such tools include centralized databases and providing an excellent coverage of environmental knowledge. The government has set up policies that favor the environmental planning process; such as discouraging industrial pollution. Politics does not closely handle environmental problems on long term basis as they look at only the short term effects associated with social and economic influence as per their election term. Should an environmental problem arise such as floods that need immediate attention, the government policies to handle it are difficult to come by hence delaying the strategic decision process (Meadowcroft, 2002). The environment is a source of income and ecological factors affecting it affect incomes of the people and the fiscal plan of the government. Environmental planning has an effect on economic activity through things such as infrastructure that play a major role in production (Muthoo,

Find appropriate title Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Find appropriate title - Essay Example related to the way work was distributed, planning and organising work, types of skills possessed by employees, measuring and rewarding performance, standardization of best suitable methods of working and defining the role of each employee, group, function and/or unit. Subsequently, the Managerial Grid was proposed by Blake and Mouton (1964/1971) in which the interplay of three organisational universals, i.e. people, production and hierarchy, is studied through a grid depicting different ways how managers are concerned about production and people and their impact on each other. A transition of management perception towards human relations begun with Hawthorne studies conducted by Elton Mayo, which proved that variations in external environment impacted performance of the workers; variations in pay in the form of performance incentives motivated workers to perform better; increased social interactions that occurred between work motivated workers in turn leading to higher productivity (Dixon, 2003). These theories and others explain how different perspectives, i.e. planning and organising work, organisational structure and systems, and human relations, have an impact on effective management, contrary to my approach which has more often been authorit ative and less inclined towards human relations. The most essential requirement for effective management is ‘leadership.’ For a manager to be successful he/she should exemplify qualities of a leader; however, a person may not be in a managerial position to emerge as a leader. Hence, leadership qualities such as the ability to influence, create a vision, and ability for doing the right things help a manager to become more effective. For instance, Tripathi (2008) sums up leadership as characterized by existence of followers; involving a community of interests between leader and the followers; unequal distribution of authority; and guiding followers towards the right direction. However, management focuses on

Federalism Essay Example for Free

Federalism Essay Due to the immense power of our federal government, people often argue that it is too powerful and should be lessened. Since the 1990’s there has been an effort to shift power from the federal government to the states. States’ rights have been an issue since our country was first founded, and even now we can’t seem to please everyone’s requests at equal power. This country was founded with the attempt to separate the federal government and the state government, known as federalism. The goal of federalism is to divide the power of state and federal governments, protect the rights of the state (through the 10th amendment), prevent tyranny of the majority, and have a government that is close to its people. An example of federalism would be the freeways. They are owned and operated by the states, but the federal government sets down some basic guidelines that all states must follow and also provides funding. Federalism has certain advantages to it such as, state governments have the freedom to adopt policies which may not be followed nationally or by any other state. For example, same-sex marriages are not recognized by the federal government but they are given legal status within the states of Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, etc. This is an advantage because this gives the state some freedom from the national government. If the federal government controlled every little thing that the state governments do then the states would riot out on certain polices that they do not believe in. Another advantage is division of work between the central and the regional government’s leads to optimum utilization of resources. The central government can concentrate more on international affairs and defense of the country while the provincial government can cater to the local needs. If the national government was trying to handle everything states would get pushed to the side as less important. State governments know what the state needs more than the federal government. Also, people that are elected into the state government are able to get to know the people on a more personal level that in the federal government. However, there are also disadvantages to federalism as well. An example would be that federalism does not eliminate poverty. Even in New York, there are poor neighborhoods like Harlem with a majority of black population. The reason for this may be that during policy framing, it is the intellectuals and not the masses who are invited by the local government. These intellectuals may not understand the local needs properly and thus, policies might not yield good results. Sometimes there can be overlapping of work and subsequent confusion regarding who is responsible for what. For example, when hurricane Katrina hit Greater New Orleans, in 2005, there was delay in the rescue work as there was confusion between the state governments and the federal government on who is responsible for which disaster management work. This resulted in the loss of many lives. â€Å"I do believe people should have to work or get an education while receiving benefits. Nobody should get to get a free ride through life! Nobody pays my way through life. I have to work for what I get. That quote is the word of a twenty-two year-old female who holds down a full-time job, pays rent, and taxes. Some, like her, may feel contempt toward welfare recipients who do not work for their benefits. The welfare system is a program for citizens who need assistance, but it should be considered a privilege, not a free ride. Everyone wants-or possesses to want-to end welfare as we know it, even though the welfare system is still thriving. The new program on the market, Workfare, is a reform tactic that will get recipients into the work force and eventually off benefits. Workfare is the obligation to do unpaid work in return for welfare. This obligation is in addition to the general obligation when on welfare to seek paid employment. If a person on social assistance is considered employable then participation is required. If not placed in one of the other programs such as employment support and employment placement, the person will be required to look for work and do community service. Along with what the government is already trying to do there should also be a program that teaches people responsibility. Since the welfare system is so often abused people using the system so know how to manage money, look for employment, etc. How do we expect to get people to stop abusing the system if we don’t make them have to follow the rules? It should be if they don’t go to monthly meetings and participate then they can be kicked off. However, if it is the elderly, or mentally ill (mentally ill as in can’t function alone) then these terms shouldn’t apply. There are always certain terms to which every policy should go by, but if the welfare system continues this way then it is going to kill the country. There is not enough money going into it as there is being taken out of it. Federalism is a major part of our nation. It plays a role in everything we do, and there are certain areas in the system that needs to be addressed such as welfare, abortion, gun control, etc. If these issues are not handled they could get very out of hand. Federalism is a separation of powers which is a good and sometimes bad thing. If federal and state governments could work together life for everyone would just be so much easier.

Summary and Response Essay Example for Free

Summary and Response Essay Summary: In â€Å"You Have the Right to Remain a Target of Racial Profiling,† syndicated columnist Eugene Robinson tries to impress upon his readers that racial profiling is still utilized by today’s police force. Mr. Robinson utilizes statistics from the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, to make his point. These statistics are taken from the Federal criminal justice system. Based on these statistics, he states that minorities (primarily blacks) are at least twice as likely to have their vehicle searched on a routine traffic stop. Mr. Robinson further points out the fact that minorities are statistically more likely to receive a citation, where whites are more likely to receive a verbal warning. Finally, Mr. Robinson makes the statement that if all individuals pulled over were searched equally that police would uncover evidence of tens of thousands more crimes annually. This statement is not supported by Bureau of Justice Statistics, as is the rest of the article, but is strictly conjecture. Response: Your article titled, â€Å"You Have the Right to Remain a Target of Racial Profiling,† is a compelling argument that racial profiling still exists and is being used in our â€Å"Federal† police force. I emphasize â€Å"Federal† since the statistics you use are only gathered from Federal cases. You infer, through omission, that these statistics support all traffic violations. I must confess that I agree that it exists on some level everywhere, but not that it’s as ubiquitous as you claim. Profiling is nothing more than a compilation of words like determine, assess, judge, weigh, evaluate, etc. All are used to statistically determine a predictable manner. You erroneously use the term Racial Profiling when the statistics more accurately suggest the use of the approved profiling method called Offender Profiling. We, as a societ y, empower our police with the authority to do offender profiling in service to the public. I certainly don’t want to impede on an officers judgment, to conduct a search, based on your claims that it’s not done uniformly. Do you want to be solely responsible for coming up with a list of traffic stop DO’s and DON’Ts for officers? Remember, you would be held accountable for any adverse situations that come as a result. I can’t help but detect some underlying accusations of racism in your column. In your claims you simplify things down to the numbers, in an effort to appear objective, but your math seems to be in error. The Federal Bureau of Statistics doesn’t account for the extenuating circumstances associated with the traffic stops you cite. Each traffic stop is an individual case that must be handled accordingly. It can’t be boiled down to simple math. Both parties are equally responsible for their conduct during a traffic stop. You fairly admit that blacks are less willing to concede they have been caught dead to rights in a traffic stop, but seem to exonerate their admitted cynical behavior. You want to hold the officer responsible for not only himself, but the actions of the offender as well. Fair is fair, you can’t responsibly make accusations based on half facts and obviously biased conjecture. That type of rhetoric is designed to inflame racial prejudices rather than express umbrage about an unfair process. I wonder what you were really trying to say, and what ulterior motives you have.

Persuasive Power of Neuroimages

Persuasive Power of Neuroimages Neuroimage effect and repeated exposure:  The contextual origin of neuroimage’s persuasive power Bethany Waites Erica Chastain If you were to open up a newspaper, or visit an online news source, there is good chance that you will come across a media coverage story of a scientific research study, and that article will probably contain an image to help facilitate complicated scientific information to the reader (McCabe and Castel, 2008). Many of the popular media articles describing the latest scientific research simplify the findings for the general public, accompany these findings with neuroimages, and more often than not, these findings are oversimplified or misrepresented (Morling, 2012, p.18). In 2008, it was suggested that judgments on the credibility of scientific reasoning behind research conclusions can be positively influenced (or persuaded) by the supplementary presence of neuroimages depicting cognitive processes described in the scientific research presented by media research articles (McCabe and Castel, 2008) – a finding which many have focused on replicating and discovering the for this p ower (Schweitzer et al., 2013; Weisberg et al., 2008; Schweitzer et al., 2013). If the contextual origins of the documented significant power that neuroimages exert on the credibility judgments of the scientific reasoning (henceforth called the Neuroimage Effect or NIE) can be discovered, there would be implications not only in the fields of psychology but across the scientific field in general. The scientific community is dependent on the popular media to correctly facilitate scientific information and findings to the general public, and if there are in fact contexts out of which NIE can arise, it would be imperative for the scientific community to discover and prevent them from occurring in popular media so that scientific information has a better opportunity of being correctly conveyed to the general public. In 2008, McCabe and Castel’s groundbreaking study introduced the idea of NIE after explicitly examining the persuasive power neuroimages had on the perceived credibility of cognitive neuroscience data and argued that the tendency for images to be intuitively interpreted as scientifically credible representations of various cognitive activities may be due to the reductionist nature of humanity. In their tri-experimental study, they: (1) examined whether the presence of the neuroimages led to higher ratings of flawed scientific reasoning in cognitive neuroscience research compared not only to their absence, but also to the presence of another widely-used visual representations of data such as bar graphs and a text-only control group; (2) examined whether brain images affected credibility judgments because they were more visually complex than bar graphs and whether it was this complexity that influenced judgments, and (3) attempted to generalize the findings of the first two expe riments by using a real news article with scientifically sound reasoning to depict material encountered in the real world (McCabe and Castel, 2008). They concluded that the presence of neuroimages had a statistically significant positive influence on judgment ratings of the credibility of scientific reasoning (NIE) than with the presence of bar graphs and text-only groups, and that they may be more persuasive not because of their visual complexity but because they provide tangible physical explanations of cognitive processes appealing to the reductionist nature of humanity. Following the publication of McCabe and Castel’s study, several research studies have attempted to replicate these findings, some with over-exaggerated success (Michael et al., 2013), while others failed to do so overall (Michael et al., 2013; Schweitzer et al., 2013). While a general failure to replicate the original findings of McCabe and Castel’s original study is prominent, these failures were not complete and have produced interesting and surprising results that have prompted the exploration into finding the origin of the marginal persuasive influence of the presence of a neuro-image on the judgments of scientific reasoning (Schweitzer et al., 2013). There are a handful of speculated contextual sources of the persuasive power of neuro-images including: the methodological design of repeated measures (Schweitzer et al., 2013; Weisberg et al., 2008), the quality of the article’s scientific reasoning (Schweitzer et al., 2013; Weisberg et al., 2008), and the pres ence of criticism, which calls into question the validity of the article’s conclusions (McCabe and Castel, 2008; Michael et al., 2013). The first two speculated sources of NIE previously mentioned were examined in the fifth experiment of the Schweitzer et al. (2013) study. The repeated measures effect (RME) is the suggested underlying contextual variable which produces NIE by introducing a comparative opportunity for participants in which they base their judgments of scientific reasoning in subsequent articles on the quality of scientific logic presented in the initial article (Schweitzer et al., 2013, Weisberg et al., 2008). The second mentioned underlying source, the quality of the article’s scientific reasoning, has been argued by Weisberg et al.(2008) to play a role in the influential power of neuroscience information and that the optimal condition for NIE was the use of non-scientific language, a weak argument, and high-impact images (Schweitzer et al., 2013) Schweitzer et al. (2013) designed the fifth experiment to satisfy the optimal conditions presented by Weisberg et al. and others as well as to test RME, and argued its presence would be found in the 2nd block of the experiment, as participants would have been previously exposed to scientific reasoning of the 1st block. They concluded that the study demonstrated a significant NIE in the presence of weak scientific reasoning, but only in the 2nd block after participants were presented with a comparison on which to base their judgments of scientific reasoning credibility, indicating RME as a critical contextual origin. Because there was not a significant NIE in the first block, the authors concluded that faulty arguments were not a critical contextual source. However, it is noteworthy to again mention the fact that McCabe and Castel (2008) used faulty scientific reasoning as a control within their first two experiments which did produce a significant NIE, and coupled with the arguments of Weisberg et al. (2008), it would be unwise to not deem it a potential source of NIE. The final potential source of NIE within the scope of this study is effect that the presence of criticism has on NIE which was introduced by McCabe and Castel (2008) but was iterated upon by Michael et al. in 2013. The original study’s design allowed the researchers to control the participant’s level of reasonable doubt about the credibility of scientific reasoning behind research conclusions by the presence of obviously flawed scientific reasoning within the first 2 articles, and by the presence of criticisms in the last experiment which called into question the validity of the article’s conclusions and counteracted NIE (McCabe and Castel, 2008; Michael et al., 2013). McCabe and Castel (2008) reported that the presence of criticism did not influence the participant’s ratings on the credibility of the article’s conclusions, but upon further investigation of the original data, Michael et al. (2013) discovered that the brain images were more influenti al when critiques were present to question the validity of conclusions – a notable find which counteracted the claims made by the original investigators (Michael et al., 2013). While Michael et al. discovered the discrepancy regarding the role criticism played in NIE and conducted five experiments that included a criticism manipulation, they did not elaborate on the effects of criticisms as they performed a meta-analysis of the original 2008 data and the data from their 10 experiments, to more precisely estimate NIE (Michael et al., 2013). Because this interesting discrepancy was not explicitly investigated, it does pose an intriguing possibility that neuroimages are more influential as they provide evidence against a criticism contradicting the article’s conclusions. The present study attempts to not only examine the persuasive power that neuroimages exert on the perceived credibility of the conclusion’s scientific reasoning (or the Neuroimage Effect; NIE) but also the relationship between NIE and the three potentially critical contextual origins. It is our goal to demonstrate that neuroimages exert a statistically significant positive influence on participant’s ratings of scientific reasoning, and based on prior research, expect to find a significant NIE in each of the three contextual variables. It is also our goal to discover which of those variables produces the most significant NIE, and purpose that NIE is the most influential when participants are presented with a comparative opportunity in which they are able to base their ratings on the credibility of scientific reasoning in subsequent articles on the quality of the reasoning presented in the initial article. References McCabe, D. P., Castel, A. D. (2008). Seeing Is Believing: The Effect of Brain Images on  Judgments of Scientific Reasoning. Cognition, 107(1), 343-352. Michael, R. B., Newman, E. J., Vuorre, M., Cumming, G., Garry, M. (2013). On the  (non)persuasive power of a brain image. Psychonomic Bulletin Review, 20(4), 720-725. doi:10.3758/s13423-013-0391-6 Morling, Beth. Research methods in psychology: evaluating a world of information. New York,  NY: Norton, 2012. Print. Schweitzer, N. J., Baker, D. A., Risko, E. F. (2013). Fooled by the brain: Re-examining the  influence of neuroimages. Cognition, 129(3), 501-511. doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2013.08.009 Weisberg, D., Keil, F. C., Goodstein, J., Rawson, E., Gray, J. R. (2008). The Seductive Allure  of Neuroscience Explanations. Journal Of Cognitive Neuroscience, 20(3), 470-477.

The Bean Trees :: essays research papers

Taylor's fears 		In the Story, The Bean Trees, by Barbara Kingslover we see a character named Taylor overcome several fears that she has. Taylor Greer, a woman who once saw a man being thrown several feet up into the air shortly after his tractor tire blew up, never did really like tires. She always seemed to think that the same thing might happen to her if she ever did something like, overfilling it too much with air. Her mom, who was fairly normal, decided to test Taylor's tire-changing-skills shortly after she bought her ‘55 Volkswagen. She knew what to do in a case of emergency but she was afraid to do it. 		Mattie, the sole owner of a shop named "Jesus is Lord Used Tires", was accustomed to changing and rotating tires everyday. One day she received a customer who had driven over some cracked glass pieces on the side of the road. Mattie took standard procedures by lifting the car, taking out the tire, and finally dipping it to see if air bubbles would come up. "I'm sorry to tell you, hon, these are bad. I can tell you right now these aren't going to hold a patch. They're shot through." (page 40). Mattie was exceptionally nice to Taylor and told her to come inside and have some coffee. After drinking a cup of coffee and giving Turtle some juice Mattie came up with the idea that Taylor could work for her. Taylor being the one who doesn't like tires in the first place accepted the generous offer, but went almost nuts with the huge tire wall that surrounded her. Taylor was a good worker and didn't have any real complaints about her position, but she still had a fear of exploding tires. This fear was noticeable to Mattie. Mattie being the rough-tough but nice person, asked Taylor nicely to follow her, when suddenly Mattie threw a 5-gallon Jerry can at her. "Knocked the wind out of you, but it didn't kill you, right?" "That's twenty-eight pounds of water. Twenty-eight pounds of air is about what you put into a tire. When it hits you, that's what it feels like." (page 81). 		When I was about 10 years old, my mom took me to a roller coaster theme park in Massachusetts. I was terribly afraid of the huge roller coaster that appeared in front of me, and while I waited in line, the anxiety of waiting to die in a roller coaster made my heart beat through my chest.

The Connection of Mortality with One’s Love of Life in T.S. Eliots The Wasteland and Yulisa Amadu Maddys No Past No Present No Future :: Eliot Wasteland Maddy No Past Present Essays

The Connection of Mortality with One’s Love of Life in T.S. Eliot's The Wasteland and Yulisa Amadu Maddy's No Past No Present No Future Through many writers’ works the correlation of mortality and love of life is strongly enforced. This connection is one that is easy to illustrate and easy to grasp because it is experienced by humans daily. For instance, when a loved one passes away, even though there is time for mourning, there is also an immediate appreciation for one’s life merely because they are living. In turn, the correspondence of mortality and a stronger love for life is also evident in every day life when things get hard and then one is confronted by some one else whom has an even bigger problem, then making the original problem seem minute. This is seen as making the bad look worse so then the bad looks good and the good looks even better. The connection of mortality and one’s love for life is seen in both T.S. Eliot’s The Wasteland and Yulisa Amadu Maddy’s No Past No Present No Future. Eliot’s words "I will show you fear in a handful of dust" imitate much of his attitude during the poem The Waste Land. This quote can be interpreted in different ways. One way is that the dust Eliot mentions is a symbol for humans starting as dust and returning to dust in death. Therefore, the quote would be expressing the feeling of fearing death. By exemplifying this fear, Eliot then enables his audience to take it further to appreciating life because the only other choice is death. In Eliot’s The Wasteland, It seems as if the more his world is falling apart, the more he wants to break it down and find what really matters or what he really needs to continue living and to truly appreciate life. As he examines his surroundings, he realizes so much of it is in ruins, and that alone makes him feel as though his own life is slipping away, as if he does not even control his own fate. Eliot also realizes how upside down and backward his world is now functioning. Everything that was once right is now wrong, and everything that once seemed moral is not moral any more. Once this is brought to his attention, Eliot decides the only way to overcome this is to do away with the bad and keep only the good, then reforming the old into a new overall positive and secure place of true life.

Man Hath Known No Fury Like A Woman Scorned :: essays research papers

Man Hath Known No Fury Like a Woman Scorned   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Women are often referred to as the weaker sex. Don't say this to one of the women you’re about to read about. There are over 3000 people on death row in the United States. 42 are women. Is it that women are morally better or is it that they are better at getting away with it? The stories you are about to read deal with women who, if you saw them on the street, you would think they were perfect citizens, but they are cold hearted murderers. Thanks to Forensic Techniques we are taking these kinds of people off the street.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Three women, three murders. The first woman called the cops one night saying that there had been a horrible accident and she had shot her husband in the head. She told the story of the horrible accident to the police. They believed her. She said that when she was sleeping in her bed she heard a sound so she reached for the gun that her husband kept under the pillow for protection. When she was pulling it out she hit the trigger firing a bullet into the back of her husband’s head. She said it was a horrible accident and she couldn't believe it had happened.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The second woman was a woman in her 60s who was married to a well-known Reverend. One day she called in saying her husband was in bad shape and he was very sick. The ambulance came and got him and brought him to the hospital. He almost died but the doctors were able to keep him alive. His wife would bring cookies and other food to her husband.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The third case was a very strange case. Troopers found the body of an insurance salesman that had been missing for some time. The strange part was that the man was shot twice but there was no evidence left at all. There was no bullet casings or any fingerprints. The only thing they had was that they could tell the bullet holes were made by a shotgun and the tire tracks of a car. They questioned the man’s wife but still no clues were found. Then a few days later the police got an anonymous call giving a description of the man who had been talking about killing this man and where he worked. The men who killed the man were brought in and they confessed to the murder.

What’s the Advantage and Disadvantage About Single Regulator

After the minibond debacle, it might be a favorable time to look at an new arrangement that whether single regulator could be a right way in the long term if financial institutions were providing unified multiple financial services. However, we have to study what’s the advantage and what’s the disadvantage. According to the UK’s financial services authority single regulator model, The advantage of single regulator is that Single regulator is efficient. It will be more efficient in allocating resources. A single regulator's position allows it to look across the entire financial industry and devote regulatory resources (both human as well as financial resources) to where they are most needed. Secondly, the United Kingdom’s FSA covers and unify a broad set of regulatory activities and the scope of its regulatory functions spread beyond main-stream financial services providers that reduce the overlap authority of different regulatory regimes Besides, we should also consider the disadvantage of using single regulator model, First, lack of adequate legal and regulatory foundations. When we need to use a unified single regulator to replace an existing regime of multiple regulators, we should ensure that a good legislative foundation include proper appeal processes and procedures. We believe that it would be a expensive process requiring different participants and creates large operating costs. Second, single regulator may cause merger-related difficulties. A major problem is merging the organisational culture of different regulatory bodies, each with different behavior and a particular method of working. If the merge is not well managed, it may cause the potential for internal conflicts leading and confuse between the regulators and the regulated institutions Third, it may reduce regulatory capacity. There is the possibility that having a single financial sector regulator could reduce the scope for innovation among providers of financial services. It may be difficult for such a regulator to remain capacity enough to keep up with the pace of change in the markets without the creativity and legitimate progress of participants and regulated entities.

High School Reunions Essay

An observation of a high school re-union was followed by an interview with two of the people attending for this ethnography. The two attendees used for the interview were one male and one female. After identifying some of the possible rationales regarding the culture of the reunion in the observation, the interview was conducted on the basis of the rationales. This was then analysed and compared to some of the findings from cultural research and theory before a conclusion of sorts was made. Observation The group environment and context for the observation was that of the Aliso Niguel High School Class Reunion, Class of 1999. The High School is located in Aliso Niguel CA. The reunion being observed took place in Irvine, CA. There were approximately 300 people present. The general patterns of behaviours amongst the people consisted of lots of mingling and idle chat. Some of the people were notably more reserved than others. It seemed as though the single people were working harder to start conversation and were far more approachable. In contrast, couples didn’t seem to portray the same type of inviting body language when on their own, but became more confident when with a spouse or friend. Approximately, 80% of the attendees held drinks in their hand as a norm and there were also presents and cards being exchanged from the outset. From overhearing the participant’s conversation it seemed as though many of them still lived in the Southern California area and this became a main source of conversation throughout. The interaction was generally based upon excitement, smiling and heightened voices at notably louder than normal volume. With regards to dress codes, there didn’t seem to be much evidence of diversity. This was particularly notable in the case of the females. The majority of them had light hair past their shoulders and the clothing style that was adopted by the attendees was strikingly similar. There were very few obese or overweight people that attended. These people perhaps did not attend as failed invites were not taken. There were clear indications of sub-groups at the gathering, although they seemed to carry conversation with the rest of the attendees in accordance with the larger group. Amongst the males there were indications of many stereotypes such as â€Å"meat head† or â€Å"gym jocks†, as I overheard one female state. Although as many of these people are now approx. 27-30 years old, it was harder to categorize them in such terms. There did seem to be a stronger merge between coupled groups and singled groups rather than any cross over. There appeared to be a symbol of people trying to meet a certain criteria throughout. For instance, there was a group of approximately 15 females. I overheard that all of them got married within the last 2 years and many of them either attended and/or where present at each other’s wedding. This could be indicative of a desire to follow patterns and trends in behaviour as though as everyone else is getting married then so must they, so that they aren’t left behind. Contrastingly, the males seemed to compare status in relation to possessions, such as career, cars, and houses paying particular attention to the location of the houses. There appeared to be a great deal of stereotypical role playing. This was perhaps due to the situation and the fact that earlier identities were known by other attendees. Expectation of success may have accentuated the desire for the attendees to exaggerate their status so as to appear successful. I felt that many of the attendees really liked re-living the past. They may have either really enjoyed their high school years, or were very curious as to what their classmates were doing now. However, this could also be a test of identity or serve as a self measuring experience on the basis of their peer’s behaviours and successes. Interviews The questions that I asked were qualitative, semi structured and thematic in nature focusing mainly upon stereotypes and reasoning. This was to see if the thoughts of the interviewees compared with what seemed apparent about the culture of the re-union gathered from the observation. That is to say, was this something of a self regulation exercise for the attendees or was it an exercise in cultural normality? On being asked for their reasoning in relation to the re-union, the male interviewee stated that: ‘No one takes it seriously. Certainly not me. ’ The second female interviewee stated in relation to the same question that: ‘You kinda get to know everyone personally again‘. These responses suggested two different rationales. In the case of the male, it appeared as though the reunion was something of a casual affair that could turn out to be fun as long as it wasn’t taken seriously or that anything was invested in the occasion. Whereas the female’s response indicated that there was a personal form of intimate gratification involved in seeing other people again. The latter response would suggest that there is some form of self regulation going on in relation to peers (Devine, 1989). Whether this was merely for the purposes of satisfying interest or to measure oneself against the progress of other peers was less clear (Tajfel, 1982). On being given and questioned about some of the stereotypes of others observed at the re-union, the male interviewee stated that: ‘The stereotypes you have mentioned are generally applied to people you haven’t interacted with. They’re based upon ignorance. They go away once you get talking’ This indicates a difference between known and unknown people, which is common in western individualistic society (Hofstede, 2001). It appeared that the male attendee was not willing to accept or perhaps did not realise the significance of stereotypical role playing and instead took everyone at face value once a conversation took place with another. This rejection of stereotypes was also found in the response of the female attendee who stated that: ‘I don‘t really know, I always talk to people at parties and they always seem friendly, bar one or two. Is that a stereotype? †¦ha ha! ’ This raised some interesting points. For instance, although the attendee may well have pre-conceived notions about certain stereotypes, the individuals may have felt that they were the only people that perceived them in that way (Devine, 1989). Due to the experience of the situation that reinforced certain social norms, this stereotype may diminish or grow regardless of the former social group. This was put forward by Gudykunst, who suggested that, â€Å"Some of our stereotypes are unique and based on our individual experiences, but some are shared with other members of our in-groups. The stereotypes we share with others are our social stereotypes. We may know what the social stereotype of a group is, but still hold a different view of the group. † (Gudykunst, 1997, p127) On asking about what they felt they had gained from the experience of the re-union and what others may have also gained, the male attendee stated that: ‘I found out all the different directions that people have taken. It’s not just about getting married, buying a house and having kids. Most people have branched right out since then’ The second female attendee stated in relation to the same question that: ‘I feel good that everyone seems to be doing so well. Everyone’s the same, but do their thing differently, if you know what I mean’ The notion of difference was clear in the responses of the interviewees. It would appear that although the roles and social norms were fairly similar and the content of the conversations were uniformly based upon success, the overview was based upon everyone’s success and happiness maintained through a degree of different life styles. This was again perhaps unsurprising given the individuality that is so common to western cultures (Hofstede, 2001). The emphasis on success and progression was also unsurprising for similar reasons. However, the amount of actual difference that was displayed at the re-union in terms of dress code and normative behaviour could be seen in contradiction of this difference (Tajfel, 1982). It would appear that such difference was only referred to in conversation rather than in actual behaviour. It would appear that sub-cultures were compromised at the re-union and stereotypes were overlooked as long as the attendees followed the correct social norms whilst at the re-union. Bibliography Devine, P, G. , (1989) Stereotypes and Prejudice: Their Automatic and Controlled Components. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56, 5-18. Gudykunst, W. , & Bond, M, H. , (1997) Inter-group Relations Across Cultures. In J. W. Berry, M. H. Segall, & C. Kagitcibasi (Eds. ) Handbook of cross-cultural Psychology: Social Behaviour and Applications, 3, 119-161. Hofstede, G. (2001) Culture’s Consequences, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Tajfel, H. , (Ed. ) (1982) Social Identity and Inter-group Relations London: Cambridge University Press.

Compare and Contrast: Highschool vs. College Essay

My memory of the first day of high school brings me back to the feeling of being overwhelmed. There were students allocated everywhere in one building. It seemed like every one was confused on where to go and how to behave. It seems like a long time ago to me, but my first day at college brought back those feelings. Even though there weren’t as many people scurrying around, I still felt this overwhelming sense of confusion. Now I find myself as a freshman in college, somewhat similar to that freshman in high school with just a little more independence than what I had four years ago. Most students after grammar school are mandated to attend high school. On the other hand, college is a choice. Although high school teaches us many lesson on the path of maturity, college puts that lesson to a test. Even though there are many similarities between high school and college there are just as many differences. As a freshman in high school, you find yourself developing at an accelerated rate. You have a little more freedom than middle school, a very structured class schedule and most of all the same classmates stick with you throughout all four years. High school is a very structured environment. You become dependent on your teachers and other classmates to guide you through all four years. In college, you are self-reliant and manage your own time and schedule. Depending on others will not help enhance your grades. A high school student needs to structure his or her time and find tune in his or her study habits to ensure better results. To manage your time is a learned experience in high school and carried on through college. Learning how to manage your time in high school all comes together in college. Your time management skills are put to the test in college. Even though the environment in college is to be independent, you depend on the skills learned from high school to help achieve tha t independence. Classes in high school are very structured and defined by the mandatory credits for graduation. These classes are general and are distributed on an annual basis. All students share the same classes that are based on the grade level they are attending. In high school, you depend on your teachers  for that constant reminder of the completion of assignments. On the other hand, in college your professors simply lecture. It is up to the student to understand the material from the lecture. Courses are selected by the student based on their choice of major. Even though the courses are mandated, the selection of courses are defined by the student. For both, high school and college, grades are dependent on the achievement or failure of courses. Homework and assignments are given in high school as an extra credit mechanism to help raise grades. There is more leniency to help achieve a passing grade. In high school, by applying yourself to the classes you are assigned, your grade will reflect on the amount of participation during class. In college, homework is truly based on the amount of effort you place in studying. The professors in college don’t give that leniency. The expectation of a responsible student is to understand and know the material for future use. Tests are given based on the material to further ones knowledge of the course. These tests are based on your grade. Achieving this is based on the effort put into studying, similar to the effort that is placed in high school. In conclusion, some may think high school and college are different when in fact they have similarities. Grammar school prepares us for high school. High school prepares us for college. College prepares us for the future. These experience s define us as individuals. Each environment presents us with learning experiences that we depend on to enhance our abilities to become adults. These experiences are based on appropriate decisions and choices. In order to find the similarities and differences, a student must experience the learning environment for themselves.

Bartleby the Scrivener

Bartleby is employed in the narrative not merely or not really as a character but more of a representation or symbol. Bartleby’s character can be compared with another character made by Melville, Moby Dick. The reason for such comparison and at some point similarities between them is that both characters are interpreted by the readers and some literary critics in many different ways. In effect, these characters cannot be construed in a single way. In the story Bartleby the Scrivener, Melville discovers comparable philosophical concerns in a special sort of setting. In an impressive comparison with Ahab (in Moby Dick), Bartleby is also fascinated by walls – a persistent emblem in the story. Bartleby’s character can be seen as a sort of wall in a sense that no one really knows what he thinks, what he likes, what interests him, and whatsoever. Almost all things about him and about his actions are unknown and hard to explain. This description is unveiled by the character played by the lawyer, who eventually becomes Bartleby’s boss. The lawyer all throughout the story attempts to discover the absurdity of Bartleby’s character which is depicted in several scenes of the story. All throughout the story, Bartleby constantly refuses to follow what his boss asks of him. Consistently, he also refuses to state why he refuses to do so. Such attitude becomes the fundamental frustration of the lawyer in the story. He does not know how he could make Bartleby follow his orders as how his other employees do. The first impression that would justify why the lawyer does not fire Bartleby is the idea that he is probably so surprised of Bartleby’s attitude of being nonconformist such that it becomes a big challenge for him to be able to make Bartleby follow him. He does everything to do this but he always fails. To his surprise, he could not find in his heart the motivation to dismiss his eccentric employee. Lots of scenes suggest how the lawyer pays so much sympathy for Bartleby though the latter never gives him the chance of knowing the reasons why he keeps on refusing to obey his orders and why he keeps on refusing telling him the reasons. The first scene where the lawyer shows care and concern for Bartleby is when the former finds out that the latter is staying at the office even after office hours. When he learns that Bartleby does not have a home to go after work, he just lets him stay in the office. The next scene is when the lawyer refuses to agree to get Bartleby out of the office by a stranger. Probably, the lawyer feels that the stranger would not do good for Bartleby that is why he does not agree to the stranger’s proposal. Another scene is when the lawyer finally decided to relocate his office to another place and find out Bartleby standing in an empty room. He is touched by the scene and in the end gives Bartleby money but leaves him as well. The last scene is when the lawyer pays sympathy for Bartleby when he learns that he is sent to prison and he is dying because of his refusal to eat. He visits him and even pays the warden to make sure that Bartleby would eat his meals. Until the end of the story, Bartleby does not reveal his reason for behaving like what he does. No one succeeds to unveil this information not even the lawyer who becomes so frustrated of making Bartleby disclose his feelings about what is happening in his life. Towards the end of the story, the scenes between the lawyer and Bartleby suggest the tolerance and at the same time the aggravation that the lawyer feels towards Bartleby. Some critics say that it could be the case that the lawyer somehow understands Bartleby’s behavior for the reason that he too also wants to go against what the trend during that time asks them to do. But just like Bartleby, the lawyer could not find the exact words to explain the feeling that he has in his heart and the thoughts that envelops his mind.   So he tolerates what Bartleby is doing. To give a conclusion, Bartleby serves as the direct representation of the wall which is the main theme of the story. He never reveals anything just like the wall – as how the wall does not make any response whatever one does against it. Bartleby refuses to reason out for he believes that no one would understand him as he himself could not his own way of thinking. When he dies, he gives the lawyer, his boss, the lesson not to become a puppet of anyone else. Bartleby is able to show how nonconformist he is to the point of embracing death for the sake of upholding what he believes in. It is implicit in the story that somehow the lawyer is starting to realize how disgusting the trend that he is currently following (the trend of Capitalism). But he refuses to express it for the reason that he knows that when he do such, his life would be in peril. But as he sees the dying Bartleby, he understands that it is much better to die keeping one’s own principles than continue living trying to fit in with somebody else’s standards. Reference: Melville, H. (2006). Bartleby, the Scrivener, a Story of a Wall-street. Lightning Source Inc.      

Best Practices In Food And Beverage Marketing Essay

Best Practices In Food And Beverage Marketing Essay The Food Beverage department at hotels has evolved significantly over the past decades. Various studies and marketing techniques were employed to the department in order to improve the operations such as developing menu items or creating unique offers (Miller). A PKF consulting analysis of 214 hotels during the time-frame of 1994 to 2004, displayed an percentage growth in F Kippenberger). Following their example, the co-branding of TGI Fridays within Holiday Inn hotels turned out to be a financial success. After the conversion of the Pennsylvania Holiday Inn restaurant to TGI Friday’s, the increase from $450,000 to $4 million within the first year only marked a rapid improvement in revenue which persisted for consecutive years (Hahm and Khan). After reviewing the benefits, the company expanded its co operations with other franchise such as Red Lobster, Pizzeria Uno, Good Eats Grill and many more (Boone). Other examples include the co-branding of Sheraton hotels with Starbucks coffee and Vie de France baked goods, Hilton with Benihana, Calrson Country Inn with Pizza Hut, The Garden Place and Nestle Toll House Cafà © among others.

Journal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 85

Journal - Essay Example I had a difficult time getting clothes for her because she was a size 15 and we did not carry that size in our stocks. She also wanted to wear new looking clothes which made my job more difficult. Even with help from another person at the agency, this client still refused the clothes we presented. We were getting fed up with her lack of confidence in wearing clothes as she kept coming up with excuses like she looked funny wearing it, and similar statements. After 3 hours and 3 personal shoppers, my supervisor finally came to my aid. With her help, we found some clothes that the client finally liked and felt confident enough to wear. She finally left with a smile on her face and confidence to wear the clothes. Needless to say, I was unable to work with my other client, which made me feel even more like a failure. I knew that I did my best to help her but without her self-confidence, nothing I did would have made the meeting a success. I had a heavy heart as she left because I knew that I was not able to truly help her as it was my supervisor who finally got through to her. I went home exhausted and feeling low, but still looking forward to my next client, whom I could do a better job of helping if given a

Healthcare Milestones and Benchmarks Research Paper

Healthcare Milestones and Benchmarks - Research Paper Example tient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) has been the one of the most valuable dimensions in the past decades, which has been introduced by the President of the US Barrack Obama in the year 2010. Even before that, US social legislation had passed Oregon Death with Dignity Act (ODDA) in the year 1994. Apart from these, in the year 1973, United States had developed the Health Maintenance Organisation Act (HMO), which has been implemented widely in healthcare industry till the present scenario. Besides, the United States government had passed the Social Security Act in the year 1935, which has established the principle of federal aid for the people of America. Moreover, during the World War-I in the year 1919, the American Medical Association (AMA) House of Delegates officially convicted compulsory health insurance for the public of the United States. Besides, AMA had also restricted the involvement of third parties in between the patient and medical aspects (Sultz & Young, 2010 ). With regard to the impact of the identified milestones and benchmark events on the healthcare system, it can be apparently asserted that the benchmarking events or milestones have contributed to the development of the American healthcare industry significantly. During the year 1940, 9% of the U.S. population had health insurance, which had exceeded the figure of around 74% by the year 1986 (Sultz & Young, 2010). On the other hand, through Social Security Act, the American government has been able to address several diseases and has been capable of improving the quality of food, drugs and cosmetics for consumer protection. Furthermore, through the help of Health Maintenance Organisations the American government has been capable of promoting health and preventing illnesses. Consequently, Oregon Death with Dignity Act has allowed adult incurably ill residents of Oregon to select the path of self-administration of lethal drugs to end their own lives. Simultaneously, PPACA has

International business memo Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

International business memo - Essay Example Presented below is an outline of actions that need to be undertaken to successfully enter the Peruvian market. Firstly, it describes the current internal operations of ICC. Secondly, it illustrates relevant actions involving business strategy, form of international business, organisational structure, marketing strategy, IT and supply chain, which are essential for a successful expansion in Peru. This will significantly help in evaluating on whether or not expanding to Peru is an effective strategy for ICC. Objectives: Strategy: Global Orientation provide effective solution to the various chemical needs of clients across different industries effectively and efficiently distribute commodity chemical products to a broad range of industries in larger geographic areas Value Chain Configuration Take advantage of the strategic location of chemical suppliers in America Key Advantages consistently deliver industrial firms with cost efficient and high value chemical products expand distributio n of chemical products from Peru to potential markets in South America efficiently Take advantage of the strength of Industrial Chemicals Corporation maximise the benefit from the relationships with suppliers to deliver high value chemical solutions Key Disadvantage need to invest heavily in ways to increase cooperation and efficiency in the flow of chemical products from US headquarters to Peru Form of International Business Equity Alliance Enter into a strategic partnership with an existing industrial chemical distributor in Peru by gaining a minority ownership of the Peru based chemical distributor avoid exposure to high strategic, operational, and legal business risks Out of 185 countries, Peru got the 43rd spot for the best places for doing business in 2013 (World Bank) Peru ranked 44th based on the 2013 economic freedom indicator, and has the 29th freest economy among the 29 countries in Central and South America (â€Å"Peru†) Potential Problems Weak Ranking in the free dom from corruption Ratings from the freedom from corruption index is very much below the world average ((â€Å"Peru†)) Business Practices of Informal Sector About 70% of firms directly compete with unregistered businesses which is higher than the regional average of 62% (World Bank) Business Culture Differences Time Orientation Time is regarded with flexibility so it is usual to start a meeting late As an investor, it is still important to arrive on time during a business meeting (â€Å"Business Culture,† par. 1) High Power- Distance (â€Å"National Culture Dimensions,† par. 1) Hierarchical form of organisations tend to dominate; decision making is concentrated on the top (â€Å"Business Culture,† par.10) It is essential to conduct business meeting with top executives since they make the key decisions (â€Å"Business Culture,† par.10) Low Individualism (â€Å"National Culture Dimensions,† par. 4) Business relationship reflects their strong preference for collectivism; a reflection of their closely knit family relationships (â€Å"Business Culture,† par. 2) Inquiries on family matters are common during initial stage of business meeting (â€Å"Business Culture,† par. 3) Searching for the best complementary strategic partner: Conduct an analysis on the performance and culture of every potential alliance partner which operates in Peru Key characteristics of an effective strategic partner: Committed and trustworthy potential partner (Mohr & Spekman, 135) Potential

Personal Statement Adjust(including) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Personal Statement Adjust(including) - Essay Example For this reason, students who graduated from educational institutions can earn incomes in order to maintain a high standard of living in the country while also giving back to the society that is responsible for their upbringing and supported them when they were dependants. For me, I have gained the interest and understanding of sociology and economic disciplines due to the experiences I have gained while living in the State of California. Nothing has been fulfilling than travelling across the United States. In this regard, I have acquired unforgettable and important experiences than I had ever obtained in any of my previous travels. In effect, the travels have enabled me to bring alive the information that I had only read in books and always wanted to experience in my life. In line with this, my travels have led me to California, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Nevada where I have had a chance to vacation. I have come to learn about the operations in each state that I have vacatio ned with each state and city visited having different elements that made it distinctive in its own way, which explains the differences in society and economies different states experienced. For example, New York City has the high transit utility in the United States and a successful financial market in the Wall Street. On the other hand, San Jose has a large freeway system to support the third densely populated city in California and the famous high technology companies located in the Silicon Valley region. My volunteering roles with the Salvation Army and the Second Harvest Bank had a huge impact on my life. It was during this time that I realized and identified the difference between the society and the economy. In the course of my work with these two organizations, I collected, packed, and distributed materials on my way to becoming a professional volunteer. My experience regarding two locals arguing  about the quantity of meals they received remains forever etched in my mind. After they had their meals, the two locals left without even mentioning a word after the leader had calmed them and asked them to argue about their issue after the meal. Thereafter, the leader told me that they experienced challenges when distributing the food. Nonetheless, I found this approach a way that the society assists the low social hierarchy in order to maintain a steady ambience in the country’s economic growth although it lacks an ideology in terms of a social balance. Participating in the flea market was an essential way of practicing my knowledge about the real world. First, we carried out a research with my team about the religion, race, and economic class of the population in Cupertino. Based on information regarding population background, we were able to make better plans to achieve our goals and estimate the risks involved in the business that we planned to undertake. Therefore, we carried out an estimate of the demand for products, selling price, and expense s that we would incur in order to establish the profits we would make. We established the strategy of promoting the products by the nature of taking

Construction Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Construction Business - Essay Example The construction business has some significant legal concerns as well, such as liquidated damages issue that should be taken into account. The business then requires finance for its operations and means of obtaining these finances are to be evaluated. It is important for the owners to study these matters to understand whether this business is well suited to them and to understand what kind of management skills, legal and financial expertise they should have in the enterprise for it to successfully turn it into a successful, profitable venture. When considering the legal form of business formation, the choices available to a business include sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, and the newest form of business formation, the limited liability company (LLC). These forms of business may be compared in terms of ownership, liability of owners, continuity of business, and transferability of interest, among others. Since construction is a business with a potential for personal injury where employees and customers can experience a fall or some other injury at the construction site, it is best to select the form of business entity that provides liability protection for the business owners. Liability protection is also an important consideration because in times of financial adversity, it allows the owners to be accountable only to the extent of their share in the business and no charge is placed on their personal assets. The two options that provide protection of personal liability are corporation and LLC. Corporations ar e further classified into C Corporations and S Corporations. Typically the term 'Corporation' refers to a C Corporation, whereas the S Corporation is a special type of corporation that combines tax advantages of the partnership and the corporation. The LLC is a new alternative brought about by the new regulation and has gained much popularity because of its acceptance in all states and amendments in several states making it more attractive. (Hisrich, Peters, Shepherd, 2004) The LLC is considered a partnership-corporation hybrid because of its characteristics. Like partnerships have partners and corporations have shareholders, the LLC has members. These members do not own shares but rather an interest in the business. As mentioned earlier, the LLC allows owners to have limited liability protection, which would benefit the owners of a construction business by offering them protection from. The taxation for an LLC does not take place on the business level, instead the income, profit or loss is passed on to the owners and is treated as their personal income and reported in the owner's personal tax return. Liquidated Damages The construction industry is one in which legal issues arise very often. Breaches of contracts and failures to perform have to be dealt with by the employer as well as the contractor. Because this paper discusses considerations for owners of a construction business, we will look at the legal matters that can arise, from the viewpoint of the employer who assigns the task of constructing a particular project to the contractor. The relationship of an employer and contractor is such that According to the American Law Encyclopedia

Human Sleep-Wake Cycle Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Human Sleep-Wake Cycle - Essay Example In the decrement of circadian processes, sleep homeostasis takes charge, allowing for sleep opportunities to dominate (Martinez-Rodriguez & Santamaria, 2005). As part of biological rhythm, patterns in sleep-wake cycle may vary, depending on developmental age, but some of its mechanisms remain the same. Anatomical Description Neurological in origin, sleep-wake cycle is governed by brain structures, which in turn regulates neurochemical mechanisms. On structural construct, hypothalamus in midbrain is home to suprachiasmatic nucleus, which primarily controls circadian patterns of being awake and asleep (Conn, 2006). Progressively, arousal states in consciously-aware individuals are governed by several neurological parts: â€Å"brainstem...thalamus, and basal forebrain.† These anatomic landmarks are sources for several neurotransmitters, which chemically influence the sleep-wake cycle--promoting active or passive stimulation. Specifically, wakefulness is generated by chemical reac tions with â€Å"hyprocretin and locus coeruleus in hypothalamus and dopamine in thalamus,† while sleepiness is induced by â€Å"serotonin in brainstem and prostaglandin in forebrain† (Stiller, & Postolache, 2005, p. 2008). Each is either inhibited or exploited in order to maintain balance between wakefulness and sleepiness. If a part malfunctions, other neurochemicals compensate, before disruptions in sleep-wake cycle manifest. ... In stage 1, there is initial drowsiness and progression towards light sleep. On the next stage, light sleep deepens into true sleep--consistently repeated at midnight. In the last two stages, 3 and 4, biologic functions are slower, and slow-wave category of sleep takes place. This frequently occurs early in sleeping episodes and account for less than a quarter of overall sleeping time. As NREM has been through, more active brain activity signals entry into REM. Brain stimulation is intensive compared to previous levels in NREM, with distinctive â€Å"rapid eye movement...muscle paralysis, and dreaming† (Davis & Parker, 2004). As NREM occupies earlier periods of sleeping time, REM is exhibited during early mornings. In cyclical manner, sleep levels must pass from phases in NREM to REM, and constantly repeated as the chain is through--to achieve restful sleep. Sleep-wake Changes in Age Development Between the lengths of staying awake and falling asleep, there is a supposed diffe rence in this aspect for young and older groups. Length of continuous sleep is shortest in newborns, with less than 4 hours, and increases by 2 hours as they get older--totaling to 14-16 hours per day. In adolescence stage, 10 to 12 hours of sleep is common (Davis & Parker, 2004). Nonetheless, shortened sleep in young children lengthens with age augmentation, and declines as old age approaches. Significantly, circadian wake indicator is an hour or two earlier in older ones; hence, the range between staying awake and falling asleep is no longer proportional to that of younger samples (Billiard & Kent, 2003). The source for such alteration is traced back to circadian rhythm, where diminished natural processes change the older generations’ ability to stay asleep. As circadian