Credit Cards And Bank Accounts - 1430 Words

Most importantly a company should protect their assets, specifically their credit cards and bank accounts. Credit cards and bank accounts are a common source of fraud and should be recognized as the most important advice to adhere to (Beesley, 2013, para. 5).Professionals recommend â€Å"separating your personal banking and credit cards from your business accounts – this will ensure fraudsters don’t get their hands on all your money. This will also make it easier to track your business expenses and report deductions on your tax return† (Beesley, 2013, para. 5). It is also recommended that credit cards are not shared with employees within the company. There are many advancements in technology that allow for reduced use of having to tote around†¦show more content†¦8). Forbes Magazine offers a recommendation for using a â€Å"dedicated computer for banking† (Beesley, 2013, para. 9). Individual personal uses of the internet are recommended to be abstained from on this computer. Online activity that should be avoided include â€Å"social media, email, and web-surfing which can open up the machine to vulnerabilities† (Beesley, 2013, para. 9). Passwords are recommended to protect unwanted entry into secured systems (Beesley, 2013, para. 10). It is advised that passwords are changed periodically to avoid hackers breaching the system. Every three months is recommended. Also, never use the same password for all your passcode’s, in the event one is solved, all your accounts would be at risk (Beesley, 2013, para. 10). Education is the foundation for success. This is true in every aspect of life, but within a company employees need to be educated in preventative tactics. Education of how to react to security threats are a great asset in the event of a situation where security is at risk (Beesley, 2013, para. 10). Enforcement of new rules and policies on how to handle â€Å"company confidential information, including financial data, personnel and customer information† is needed as well (Beesley, 2013, para. 11). One major resource that companies have at their disposal is administering employee background checks when hiring a new employee. Employees are the motor of a company and are

The Strategy And Priorities Of The Product Service

1. SUMMARY The base line of this case study is to identify a service along with three different providers of that service and compare the different competitive priorities and operating strategies such as cost, quality, time, flexibility, product range†¦ etc. for these three different service providers with the help of â€Å"COMPETITIVE PRIORITIES BY KRAJEWSKI RITZMAN† and â€Å"ORDER WINNING CRITERIA BY T. HILL† . Each and every corporate objectives and marketing strategies are taken into deliberation to comprehend how the services win orders in the market place, by taking source from the particular provider’s promotional information and reviews. Every service developers comes up with disparate new ideas to provide best service quality to the costumers. Some of the provider’s concentrate on wide range of the services and some on low cost and some of them concentrate on quality in the service, because every costumer will have different personalized priorities. In this study we are going to compare operations strategy and priorities of the product service that is being provided to the costumer. The below disquisition depends predominantly on the advancement information of the manufacturer and costumer reviews on the service. 2. SERVICES A service is an activity or series of activities of more or less intangible nature that normally, but not necessarily, take place in interactions between costumer and service providers or physical resources or system of the service providers which areShow MoreRelatedOperation Strategy Within an Organization1287 Words   |  6 PagesOperation Strategy within an Organization Raven Davis MGT 4850 Operation Strategy within an Organization Operation strategy has been defined as â€Å"the development of a long term plan for using the major resources of the firm for a high degree of culpability between these resources and the firm’s long term corporate strategy.† (Davis, 2007) Operation strategy is a very important function for any organization. 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Corporate strategy provides overall direction, which provides theRead MoreLom Assignment850 Words   |  4 Pagessite enjoys millions of â€Å"hits† each day and put s customers in touch with millions of services and products. What are Amazon.com’s competitive priorities and what should its operations strategy focus on? The competitive priorities of Amazon are †¢ Variety ( it offers millions of services and products),. †¢ Low-cost (online sales), †¢ consistent quality †¢ delivery speed In my opinion its operations strategy should focus on Customer relationship-Variety. Amazon.com uses information technologyRead MoreLom5 Chapter 61519 Words   |  7 PagesLOM 5 A Question 2: What are Amazon.com’s competitive priorities and what should its operation strategy focus on? Competitive priorities: - Keep the position of market leader. - Maintain the fast delivery. - Low price focus - User friendly website. 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The highly spiritedRead MoreCompetitive Priorities of Amul1092 Words   |  5 PagesDefinition of Operations Strategy: Operations strategy is the total patterns of decisions and actions which set the role, objectives and activities of the operation so that they contribute to, and support, the organization’s business strategy. Operations strategy addresses very broad questions about how these major resources should be configured to achieve the desired corporate objectives. Some of the major long-term issues addressed in operations strategy include: * How big to make

Three Symbols in the Great Gatsby free essay sample

â€Å"The Great Gatsby† to criticise America from straying from the â€Å"American Dream†. Typically the American society tries to follow the American Dream, which is a dream of a society that allows everyone, no matter what economic class they were born into, to be able to accomplish whatever they want with hard work. With this principle no matter their social class Americans should be able to accomplish anything. Fitzgerald thought that the American society wasn’t following the American dream; he successfully used symbols to criticize different aspects of American society, showing the weakness of each deviation from the American Dream. Many symbols were used, but the three most significant symbols were: the â€Å"green light†, the godliness of the eyes of Dr. T. J. Eckleburg and the sadness of the â€Å"Valley of Ashes†. Each symbol played a key role in Fitzgerald’s criticism. How did these symbols play a key role in Fitzgerald’s criticism of the American society that doesn’t follow the American Dream? The first of the three symbols, the green light, was a powerful tool in which Fitzgerald used to criticise the loss of the American Dream from the American society. The green light was important because it represented the endless â€Å"hope† of which the American Dream promises. The hope for a desire should never be lost if the American Dream is followed correctly; Fitzgerald showed that this isn’t always true in the American society by showing that Gatsby’s hope fades away when he realizes because of class distinction he will never be able to marry Daisy. Fitzgerald emphasizes this though Nick Caraway, his narrator, who observes: -â€Å"Possibly it had occurred to him that the colossal significance of that light had now vanished forever. † (The Great Gatsby, pg. 125) Fitzgerald used Nick to show as Gatsby begins to realize that Daisy will never leave Tom and go with him, that the green light slowly begins to fade and symbolically so does his hope, his hope was what kept him going and now it was gone he had nothing to live for. When Gatsby’s hope dies does his will to live dies also. Gatsby realizes that because he wasn’t born in the upper class he wouldn’t be able to accomplish his dream. A green light means go, but in this case Gatsby has had to stop, thus stoping his hope and his American Dream. Fitzgerald is then able to symbolise how the American Dream has â€Å"stoped† in the American society. How did this play a key role in the criticism of the American society? It allowed the reader to see that even though some Americans work their hardest for something they were still not able to accomplish their dream because of the class they were born into, this completely goes against the American dream thus allowing Fitzgerald to criticise the American society on this aspect of the American society. The eyes of Dr. T. J. Eckleburg symbolizing God’s eyes watching over the people played a key role in the criticism of the American society because the reader was able to view the actions of various characters as being contrary to what God would agree with. Fitzgerald could then use the reader’s dislikes of the behaviour of the characters to inturn dislike the society. The readers disliking the society allowed Fitzgerald to criticise the American society more effectively. In order for a successful criticism the reader needs to agree with the criticism. If a reader sides with the group that is being criticised they probably won’t agree with the criticism, but with Fitzgerald using the eyes of Dr. T. J Eckleburg he was able to make the reader dislike the society, and in turn the reader wouldn’t want to side with them. The symbolism of the eyes of Dr. T. J. Eckleburg was made clearer to the reader when Michales looked to the billboard in the following quote: -â€Å"Standing behind him, Michales saw with a shock that he was looking into the eyes of Dr. T. J. Eckleburg. †( The Great Gatsby, pg. 152 ) Michales realizing the symbolism of the eyes of Dr. T. J. Eckleburg allowed the reader to realize this symbolism too. The reader than could decide that some actions of some characters were immoral. Fitzgerald went on to write that the sign was faded. This symbolized that god was leaving the hearts of the people allowing the reader to find more fault in the American society. Why were the eyes of Dr. T. J Eckleburg one of the most important symbols in the criticism of the American dream? For Fitzgerald to show that the society was doing things against God’s will, depicts that what they are doing is very immoral. A religious reader will probably want to side with what God judges so they would also think that some characters in the American society were immoral. The reader would then be more against the American society allowing Fitzgerald to better criticise it because the reader won’t be trying to defend it if they were against it. The American Dream allows all Americans the same opportunities for self improvement. The Valley of Ashes was a key force in the criticism of the American Dream because it was used in two literary devices of setting and symbolism. Fitzgerald by establishing the setting in the Valley of Ashes allowed the reader to better relate to the working class because they could see a very detailed picture of the daily life of the working class. The Valley of Ashes depicts the working class as not getting the same opportunities as the upper class for self improve. The working class will probably stay in the working class forever and so will their children. Fitzgerald tells this with the use of his narrator Nick Caraway’s description of the Valley of Ashes -â€Å"But above the gray land and the spasms of bleak dust which drift endlessly over it†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (The Great Gatsby pg. 26) The bleak dust that â€Å"endlessly covers† the land symbolizes how the working class lives are static, non-changing. Fitzgerald by showing the poor conditions of the working class makes the reader feel pity for the working class, causing the reader to be against that aspect of American society that puts the lower class into poverty. The idea of someone not being able to accomplish something just because of the circumstances of which they were born shows the corruption of the American society. How was the Valley of Ashes one of the most important symbols for Fitzgerald to use in the criticism of the American society that follows the American dream? The Valley of Ashes showing the poor qualities of the working class makes readers realize that some Americans aren’t able to accomplish their dreams because of circumstances from when they were born goes against the principles of the American Dream. Fitzgerald was better able to criticize the American dream with the use of three symbols. His symbols allowed the reader to, better relate to his writing, use prior knowledge to help in the understanding of his criticism, have a visual picture of the working class, and realize the flaws of some characters in a religious sense. The green light played one of the most important roles because without out it the reader wouldn’t have realized that people in the American society that do try to follow the American dream and work their hardest sometimes aren’t able to accomplish their dream thus showing that America isn’t following the American Dream. The seconded of the most important symbols was the Valley of Ashes, without the valley of ashes the reader wouldn’t have realized that sometime a person isn’t able to accomplish something because of the status of which they were born. The last most important symbol used was the eyes of Dr. T. J. Eckleburg with this symbol Fitzgerald was able to move the reader against the actions of the American society because he showed that god was against the actions, if the reader was against the actions than Fitzgerald could criticise the actions of the American society more effectively because the reader would agree more with what he was saying. Without the above three symbols playing their key role in the criticism of the American society, Fitzgerald’s criticism of the American society not following the American dream wouldn’t have been as greatly done.

People today are looking for much more than a pay check Essay Example

People today are looking for much more than a pay check Essay It is essential to remark that employees are not just human beings; they should be treated as assets also, because they are the economic resource that is valuable for the companys development and well-being. Nowadays, at the core of a commitment to an organization is the quality of the relationships that laborer have with their managers. It is the respect, the trust, and consideration toward the individual that motivates them performing exclusively (Nelson, 1997). In reality, the crucial outcome for the manager would be the fact that the workers are sharing the companys interests because they were challenged, inspired and supported. However, it does not mean that the abovementioned management strategy is the only one or the most appropriate one for every company. One size does not fit all. Traditional accounting systems find themselves challenged in deciding whether people could be valued as assets. There is a moral argument involved whether treating people as intangible assets is e quivalent to dehumanization (Mayo, 2000). Treating employees as if they truly were assets maybe would not only impact how they get accounted for by the company, but how, such treatment would positively affect the organizations long-term performance in financial aspect (Lustgarten, 2003). However, the emphasis should be put on the human factor because that is what energizes employees in reality feeling of belongingness. Utilitarian Instrumentalism v Developmental Humanism In 1960 Douglas McGregor developed two sets of theories in human resource management: Theory X and Theory Y. They are based on radically different assumptions (McGregor, 1960). According to Theory X people are lazy by nature, only pursuing their own interests. Workers have no ambitions and they avoid responsibility. No development is needed, enthusiasm exists rarely. Because of indifference, people cannot be trusted. Therefore they need to be strictly controlled. It does not reflect human nature but the organizations nature just like the scientific management itself (Taylor, 1967) where people were regarded as resources just like machinery was also a resource. Industrialization, scientific management and labor resistance set the scene for the emergence of industrial psychology. Treating workers as hands, or as extensions to the machines, was creating problems of control for employers and the new class of managers (Wendy Hollway, 1991: 34). Unfortunately, there is still a lot of Taylorism in us. A contradicting theory was needed. We will write a custom essay sample on People today are looking for much more than a pay check specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on People today are looking for much more than a pay check specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on People today are looking for much more than a pay check specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Theory Y is the opposite approach, called the Harvard model the emphasis is put on feelings, emotions, and motivations. The workplace is the source of self-actualization. Companies pay more attention to the creativity of their employees. It sounds like the perfect approach. Unfortunately, sometimes it does not work. It is not always possible to integrate the individual objectives with those of the corporation. So what is the perfect HR practice? The truth is that neither of them represents reality completely. It is complicated to understand why people behave in very different ways. That is why sometimes managers use the hard approach, sometimes the Harvard model. If we go deep into the theory we may notice that they can actually both exist at the same time and this is what represents reality. What is suitable for one does not mean it would be right for another. According to Torrington (et al 2002: 26) At root it is about whether or not there is an identifiable best way of carrying our HR activities which is universally applicable. It is best understood as debate between two schools of thought, although in practice it is quite possible to take a central position which sees validity in both the basic positions. McGregor (1960) argued that employees would respond reciprocally to how they were managed. Therefore, if workers were treated on Theory X they would react in Theory X manner, and vice versa. Maslows Theory Z and Ouchis Theory Z While Mcgregors XY approach is generally focused on ambitions and management from the supervisors and corporations perspective, Maslows Theory Z allocates more reliance on the behavior and responsibilities of the employees (1954). He developed what is called the hierarchy of needs up that human beings progress. Once people reach a specific level of the hierarchy, they need to fulfill the next one. There are general needs (physiological, safety, love, and esteem) which have to be reached first, and eventually self-actualization. From Maslows theory, modern executives and managers find what really motivates employees. Maslows Theory Z should not be mistaken with the William Ouchis book called Theory Z. Ouchis approach is often mentioned as the Japanese management style. It is a mixture of Theory Y and modern Japanese management which assumes that employees are loyal and share the organizations interests so it places a huge amount of reliability, respect, team-work and support. Treating Employees as Human Beings A fames quote states that communication is the lifeblood of an organization and it truly is; it keeps the members of the company together. Better communication means employees are well-informed and thus, more productive because they feel involved. According to Jan Carloz (Former President and CEO, Scandinavian Airlines System), an individual without information cannot take responsibility; an individual who is given information cannot help but take responsibility (Nelson, 1997:44). For example, VITAL (Virtual Interactive Teaching at Liverpool) is the University of Liverpools online learning environment. It enables quick and easy access to course materials and provides communication tools such as discussion boards, virtual chat and announcements. It is the best source for the students of University of Liverpool because it provides all the information about their lectures, courseworks and task, and they can keep in touch with their module coordinators. VITAL is an investment that is worth the money spent. The collection of employees suggestions is the most appropriate way to involve all the members of the organization in running the business. It is important for them to know that their managers pay attention to workers ideas because these suggestions can make enormous difference (Nelson, 1997: 48). In one year, employees at Hughes Aircraft in Los Angeles generated more than 23, 000 ideas. The companys management demonstrated its respect for its employees by adopting most of them resulting in savings of $477 million (Nelson, 1997 : 49). According to Bob Nelson (1997), empowerment can energize employees and motivate them perform exclusively. To empower workers means to give them the independence and autonomy in making their own decisions when a specific task needs to be done. This strategy would help them feel that they are significant part of the corporation and are trusted. Moreover, employees are able to make better decisions because no one knows better what their job is all about and what it needs to be improved. Generally, people know what they are looking for from empowerment a flexible, fast-moving organization that is responsive to change (Danby, 1992: 1). Nurses at San Diegos Mercy Hospital have been giving the authority to perform patient-related tasks, such as drawing blood and performing EKGs (Electrocardiography), formerly reserved for specialized technicians. This approach has energized the nurses and improved patient care and has allowed management to cut six or seven layers of supervision down to three or four, and collapse thirty-five separate job descriptions down to only four (Nelson, 1997 : 24). The disadvantage of empowerment is that not every single person can be reliable. Not all the employees will behave in the corporations interests. However, the successful manager will always recognize the employees who can be trusted. Workers should not be scared of punishment because of mistakes. Think about an employees particularly tough day maybe he is getting late to work because of annoying traffic jam; probably as soon as he arrives at the workplace, he realizes he forgot to take his laptop with him (and he was supposed to present a new project to his colleagues and managers the same day); a couple of hours later a customer decided to vent his or her anger at the worker. Just when it seemed that all was lost, his boss dropped by to thank him for doing a terrific job on an assignment that he is particularly proud of, and mentioned that his project can be introduced the next day. Suddenly, the employees troubles with the traffic jam, the laptop, and the customer were forgotten replaced with the personal satisfaction of being recognized for a job well done (Bob Nelson, 1997). The good manager realizes that employees are not robots. To err is human, to forgive is divine. An employee in a constant fear of maki ng mistakes will probably suffer from work stress and exhaustion by his job (Brun and Cooper, 2009). Treating Employees as an Economic Resource Some argue about the idea of employees treated as assets. It can be seen demeaning for humans to be listed as an economic resource. However, others think that treating human beings as assets will help bring to the attention of managers the significance of developing this asset (Atril and McLaney, 2011:482). As Torrington put it: Managing resourceful humans requires a constant balancing between meeting the human aspirations of the people and meeting the strategic and financial needs of the business (Torrington et al, 2005: 4) Treating employees as valuable assets should combine two types of fundamentalism: people and shareholder value. Friedman et al. (1999) argued that people are not our greatest assets as Michael Hammer suggested. For Friedman et al., employees become more valuable when we invest in them, and we can evaluate returns on that investment (p3). If you treat people as assets, they will generate wealth. Unfortunately, few organizations have placed the same amount of attention to understanding and tracking the human resources as they do in the tracking of financial and tangible assets. The problem is that the corporation often invests little time in understanding the nature of their intellectual capital. As Gordon Petrash, Director of Intellectual Capital at Dow Chemical, says if it can be visualised it can be measured and if it can be measured it can be managed (Mayo, 2000). By placing human beings in the asset section, managers can measure the profit, which the business generated, even better How human capital contributes to value? Evaluating human capital is not an easy task. The more we see employees as the key driving force of value, the more crucial is to understand the balance of assets they comprise and how these can be grown. People can be stuck doing the same tasks they did yesterday, with the same level of knowledge. They can add value to the business day by day, but it may be the same value. On the other hand, people can experience different learning each day, as they grow, innovate and contribute more, pursuing the self-achievement level of the Maslows hierarchy of needs.(Mayo, 2000) If companies take care of their employees they will respond by taking care of the customers, that means that customers will come back and, therefore organizations will generate profit. The first step toward achieving the strong and productive departmental structure is to build a solid foundation; one that can support the departmental structure, a supervisor wants to create (Grossman, Jack H.; Parkinson, J Robert; 2001: 25). Managers should not overstate the human factor or understate the asset factor because they are interrelated in every single aspect. The key to the successful management is to find the balance between treating workers as human beings AND as economic resources.

Age of Majority in Canada

Age of Majority in Canada The age of majority in Canada is the age at which a person is considered by law to be an adult. A person younger than the age of majority is considered a minor child. The age of majority in Canada is determined by each province and territory in Canada and varies between the ages of 18 and 19. At the age of majority, the responsibility of parents, guardians, or child protective services generally ends. However, child support is determined by the court or agreement for each case and therefore may continue past the age of majority. Upon reaching the age of majority, the new adult now has the right to vote. Other rights may be achieved at younger ages, while some are reserved for ages past the age of majority. Age of Majority by Province or Territory in Canada The age of majority in the individual provinces and territories of Canada is as follows: Alberta:  18British Columbia:  19Manitoba:  18New Brunswick:  19Newfoundland and Labrador:  19Northwest Territories: 19Nova Scotia:  19Nunavut:  19Ontario: 18Prince Edward Island:  18Quebec:  18Saskatchewan:  18Yukon Territory: 19 Legal Age in Canada The legal age is set for various rights and activities and is also known as the age of license. It may or may not match the age of majority in a province or territory. Even when it does, there may be other conditions such as mental capacity that can restrict some individuals.  Legal ages also often  differ as to whether the individual needs the consent of a parent or guardian or not for an activity. It is important to check the laws and regulations of each jurisdiction to find the applicable legal age for an activity. Because the age of majority varies between 18 and 19, nationwide programs such as sweepstakes often limit entry to age 19 for consistency. Criminal responsibility begins at age 12 in Canada, with individuals protected by the Youth Criminal Justice Act until age 17. By age 14, a youth could be sentenced as an adult. The right to work begins at age 12, with the consent of a parent or guardian. At age 15, the individual can work without the need for consent. However, a person is not entitled to a full minimum wage until age 18. Joining the armed forces is allowed with parental consent at age 17 and without consent at age 19. The legal age is as low as 12 for the right of consent for being adopted, working with the consent of parent or guardian, or name changes with permission of the parent or guardian. Age of Consent for Sexual Activity in Canada The general age of consent in Canada in 16. However, there are exemptions for close-in-age sexual activity, which depend on the age of the younger partner. At age 12 and 13, an individual can consent to activity with a person no more than two years older. At age 14 and 15, a person may consent to activity with another person less than five years older.

Essay Sample on #8220;A Brief History of Zen#8221;

Essay Sample on #8220;A Brief History of Zen#8221; Zen (or â€Å"chan† in China and â€Å"dhyan† in India) is trendy now. It is seen in shops, magazines, songs, literature, meditation centers, and many other places. However, the real Zen, the one of history, has a long tradition. Zen is a type of Buddhism that started in India and traveled to China, across Asia, and ultimately became a global phenomenon. Its secular nature and simplicity has made it more accessible to the masses than many other spiritual practices. In this essay, the eras of Zen will be looked into: Proto-Chan, Early Chan, Middle Chan, Song-Dynasty Chan, Post-Classical Chan, and the Modern Era. Proto-Chan (c. 500-600) The beginning of Zen stems from the teachings of Bodhidharma, who was an Indian Buddhist monk. However, there is not much reliable historical evidence of his life, and mostly legends are relied upon. What is known is that Bodhidharma taught â€Å"dhyan,† or the quieting of the mind to reach a state of thoughtless awareness. Bodhidharma traveled to China on orders from his teacher, and his brand of Buddhism spread throughout northern China. Carrying the torch of Zen in China after Bodhidharma’s passing was Dazu Huike. He is considered the Second Patriarch of Chinese Chan (McRae, John R.). Early Chan (618–750) This period is famous for the founding of the first Chan institution in Chinese history by the fifth patriarch Daman Hongren and his student Yuquan Shenxiu. Also, this era featured a debate between the ideas of sudden or gradual enlightenment. The sixth patriarch, Dajian Huineng, focused on spontaneous nirvana. These differences in approaches formed various sects of Zen (Ray, Gary L.). Middle Chan (c. 750–1000) Many new schools of Zen developed during this period. The Hongzhou school of Mazu Daoyi came about, and concentrated on insight, the lack of positive statements, and on questions and answers between a master and student. Ultimately, this school promoted the idea that there is no real difference between ignorance and enlightenment, or the Buddha and an ordinary person. But later in this period, new traditions cropped up that became known as the Five Houses of Chan: the Codà ²ng school (Soto in Japan), the Là ­njà ¬ school (Rinzai in Japan), the Guiyang school (IgyÃ…  in Japan), the Fayan school, and the Yunmen school. Each school promoted varied teachings based on a certain master. A lot of the hallmarks of Zen were developed during this time, such as dialogues between masters and students, the drawing of circles, shouting, hitting, and other methods to prompt enlightenment (McRae, John R.). In addition, two important occurrences took place in Middle Chan. The Anthology of the Patriarchal Hall was created, and there was The Great Anti-Buddhist Persecution in 845. This had a strong detrimental effect on the propagation of Zen, but the Hongzhou school stayed intact (Takeuchi, Yoshinori, and Jan Van Bragt). Song-Dynasty Chan (c. 950–1300) You can say that Zen, or Chan, flowered in this period. Chan became the most popular Buddhist sect in China and made strong ties with the imperial government. Through the support of the government, the Linji school began to be the most renowned form of Chan. Also, the Linji school absorbed the other schools of Zen, except the Caodong school. These two schools did their best to win the favor of the imperial government (Wang, Youru). Furthermore, Chan started to embrace teachings from Pure Land Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. This integration had effects on the aforementioned religions as well, as Zen started to influence them. Also, classic koan collections were written during the Song Dynasty, and Zen took hold in Japan and Korea (Wang, Youru). Post-Classical Chan (1368–1912) Chan became so widespread that about every monk in China was either from the Linji school or the Caodong school. However, as time went on, the syncretism of Zen and Pure Land Buddhism increased, with most temples practicing both. This prompted some people like Yunqi Zhuhong (1535-1615) and Daguan Zhenke (1543-1603) to carve out the distinction between Zen and other types of Buddhism through the study of scriptures and writing new texts. In addition, transitioning from the Ming Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, monks focused on reviving the practices of shouting and beating to prompt enlightenment and published influential works on the transmission of knowledge across all the schools of Zen (Wang, Youru). Modern Era Though there was a decline in the popularity of Zen in the Qing Dynasty, the 19th and 20th centuries saw a fresh revival of the practice. Chan started to take on social issues like poverty and injustice, and even got involved in politics. Modern scholarship coupled with science was encouraged, and a deep study of the history of Zen began. It was also at this time that Zen reached the West, and despite it being repressed in the 1960s in China, it flourished in America and other major western nations. In the 1970s, China once again embraced Zen, and throughout the decades since, it has only grown in popularity as a practice, media phenomenon, and way of life (Wang, Youru). In summary, Zen began from the teachings of a Buddhist monk from India named Bodhidharma. He spread his teachings around China, and he was succeeded by several capable disciples. Through hundreds of years of tradition, Zen has become a mainstay sect of Buddhism through the nature of its mainly secular teachings, its connection with the Chinese imperial court, and its many revivals through literature and opening of new schools. Once Zen became the main spiritual practice of China during the Ming Dynasty, its influence was strongly felt in other religions and in political power. Chan also proved popular not only in Japan, Korea, and other Asian countries, but also in America and many other western countries. Now Zen is so popular that it is difficult to separate the practice from the cultural phenomenon. McRae, John R. Seeing through Zen: Encounter, Transformation, and Genealogy in Chinese Chan Buddhism. University of California Press, 2005. Ray, Gary L. The Northern Chan School And Sudden Versus Gradual Enlightenment Debates In China And Tibet, Institute Of Buddhist Studies Berkeley. Takeuchi, Yoshinori, and Jan Van Bragt. Buddhist Spirituality: Indian, Southeast Asian, Tibetan, Early Chinese. Crossroad, 1994. Wang, Youru. Historical Dictionary of Chan Buddhism. Rowman Littlefield, 2017.

Principles Of Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Principles Of Management - Essay Example Before delving into the business environment it is imperative to determine why firms engage in international business. The first reason as stipulated by Andexer is to increase market size. Businesses undergo a lifecycle and as they mature, they need to venture into new business or offer different products so as to remain relevant and competitive. Besides, every firm needs to gain a high market share as a growth strategy and also to spread risks of fluctuating economic cycles or currency risks. A business can thus decide to enter international markets depending on the internal and external environment and its resource capabilities.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another reason a firm may wish to enter new markets is a reactionary measure; that is, reacting to information gathered in the market. If a firm gets information of available opportunities in the foreign market that offers future possibilities, internal growth and prospective profitability, it can react by develop ing strategies to enter into that market. Furthermore, firms aim at increasing returns on their investments, and this can be achieved by entering into more profitable segments.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Globalisation and technology advancements have also led firms to venture into new markets. As business environment is very dynamic, organisations need to keep up with the changes so as to satisfy the changing needs of customers. (Cherunilam, 2010). Development of infrastructure and communication has played a great part in enabling firms to expand into other parts of the world. This is enhanced by trade liberalisation which opens borders for doing business and creates a good environment by reducing restrictions that hinder expansion (Lymbersky, 2008). For example, a firm can now produce products where labour is cheap and export to other countries or it can import materials and make finished products in domestic country. This can be done easier by establishing a subsi diary or licensing another firm to do so. After a firm determines the need to enter a new market, that is not the end, but the

Career Assessment for Life Achievement Assignment

Career Assessment for Life Achievement - Assignment Example The most helpful one was the skills profiler. Its results are based on the inputs given by the respondents on the different categories of skills needed in the workplace. It specifically lists the occupation best suited to your personality and interests. Personally, the least helpful assessment was the interest inventory. The test requires you to choose between two occupations without considering one’s capacity to do it – merely based on whether or not the person wants to do the job or not. I assume there are several people who judge their career path based only on their interests but not on skills. They need to consider that many occasions arise in the workplace when skills play the more vital role than interests. A worker may be asked to do a job outside his specified interests but he needs to do it anyway because it’s part of his job. Significant or not, these tools give us quite accurate assessments regarding our personality, interests, skills, and values. The reports are based on our responses, so we can consider these as a hypothesis, not merely guesses. For instance, in my case, the composite score lists cost estimator and credit analyst as one of my top careers. These are interesting jobs for me because I have never tried them yet. Probably, if given the chance, I might also excel in these fields. Other websites allow us to learn more about how these personalities can aid in choosing the right career. By being an introvert, I understand that my stimulation comes from within myself, not from external sources (â€Å"Information about Personality Types†, personalitypage.com).

Theories of Biology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Theories of Biology - Essay Example Washington, by getting a blood sample from a pregnant woman and a saliva specimen from the father, the genome of a fetus can be identified (Pollack, 2012). This new development will be very useful in detecting genetic diseases even before the baby is born. It was further found that gene mutations can be inherited from the parents. Aside from the theory of inheritance, there are other major theories of biology. A famous theory is Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection (Pruitt & Underwood, 2006). This theory explains why there are different species on earth and how these species have evolved. Another theory is the cell theory which â€Å"states that all organisms are composed of cells and that all cells come from preexisting cells† (Pruitt & Underwood, 2006). Biological classification is another theory in biology which classifies living organisms according to their similarities and differences (Pruitt & Underwood, 2006). The fifth major theory is bioenergetics which affirms that the energy that powers life is regulated by the same energy in the inanimate universe (Pruitt & Underwood, 2006). The sixth theory explains that organisms can tolerate varying external conditions by maintaining stable conditions internally, known as homeostasis (Pruitt & Underwood, 2006). The latest theo ry of biology is ecosystems. This theory acknowledges that organisms are part of a population which is part of a larger environment composed of other living and non-living things (Pruitt & Underwood, 2006). Pollack, A. (2012, June 6). DNA blueprint for fetus built using tests of parents. Retrieved July 31, 2012, from The New York Times web site: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/07/health/tests-of-parents-are-used-to-map-genes-of-a-fetus.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all Pruitt, N. L., & Underwood, L. S. (2006). Chapter 1 - Biology: What is the study of life? In N. L. Pruitt, & L. S. Underwood, Bioinquiry: Making Connections in Biology (3rd ed) (pp. 1-18). Hoboken, NJ:

The Semiotic Characteristics Of Religious Symbols

The Semiotic Characteristics Of Religious Symbols Abstract: symbols ,which are meaningful and imaginative, are widely used in western religion. Actually, religious symbols are not only signs, but also a picture which contains thousands of meanings. Semiotics gives us a channel to achieve our aims reading the thought of our ancestors. Key words: semiotics, religion, religious symbols, signs I.Introduction The origin of the religious symbols The brain, which is always interested in the environment, distinguishes us from ordinary animals. Humans always ask some questions about the world: who we are, why we live on this plant, where we go to after we dead, what the meaning of raining, flood, thunder, meteor is. Thousands of years ago, humans can not answer some of these questions scientifically. So it makes us to believe that there is a kind of powerful force controlled these things. Actually, to some extent humans create a belief system which can answer these questions by themselves. Humans derive an integrated symbol and sign system, which is used to represent our thought about the universe, from the belief system. Also the religious symbols belong to it. Actually, the origin religious symbols are totem. Lu Deping has give a very comprehensive definition in his paper Semiotic Interpretation of the Primitive Totems Totem is the marker for the primitive people to identify their social affiliation consciously. It also acts as the means for the primitive groups to define their existence from the empirical continuum or the environment mingled with them.(Lu Deping , 2004) Most of the totems are abstracted from the natural such as animals , plants, mountains and so on. The Chinese dragon, which is associated by more than ten kinds of animals, is a typical totem in Chinese history. Totems rate high in mythical discourses, religious rites, and some primitive paintings . Totems are treated as symbols which can connect humans with the mysterious power which is controlling the world. With the development of human society, thousands of years latter, the threaten and worship for the mysterious power promote us to trust that there are God or Buddha in the world. Then everything that we can not understand looks logical. God or Buddha can save us from disease, disaster and anything bad. Then totems change with the passing time. They become much simple and easy to be drawn or identification such as (Christian Cross), (Star of David), (Lotus Flower), ( Taiji). B. Difference between symbol and sign In our daily life, we always try our best to distinguish symbols and signs apart. However, it is hard to do this sometimes. In linguistics, semiotics and psychology, symbol and sign are equal with each other at most times. Symbol needs sign to allege itself, and also sign means the symbolic sign. In Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary of Current English (Sixth edition), it give us a definition of sign and symbol: sign is a mark which used to represent something, especially in mathematics. Also it means an event, an action, a fact that shows that something exists, is happening or may happen in the future .(A S Hornby. P1626).Symbol is defined as a sign, number, letter, etc. that has a fixed meaning especially in science mathematics and music.( A S Hornby.P1791) As you see in dictionary, symbol and sign almost have the same meaning. They can also mean something that indicates that something exists or may happen, but a sign is usually something that you may find or see, while symbol is usually insinuate. It is much more meaningful. For example, sign always gives us something simple and direct. it means enter forbidden. it means no turning left. On the other side, symbol is image or the underlying meaning behind the sign. For example , fire is the symbol of the sun and the male power, the spring flowers represent a new birth and new life. When we observe the world with symbol, maybe you feel that life become much more colorful and meaningful. In academic field, the argumentations about sign and symbol have never stopped . In all of which Saussure and Pierce are the representative of symbol in semiotics. Saussure position of symbol and sign is not definite. But in his Course in General Linguistics, he think that the word symbol is sometimes used to designate the linguistic sign, or more exactly the part of the linguistic sign which we are calling the signal.(Ferdinand de Saussure, 1986,p.68). But Pierce point out that everything is a sign. It defines three roles encompassing (1) the sign, (2) the signs subject matter, called its object, and (3) the signs meaning or ramification as formed into a kind of effect called its interpreting .(Charles Sanders Peirce by wikipedia). Peirce think that symbol belongs to sign . We can conveniently explain the semiotic phenomenon. For example, the shop signboard is a sign, The words or symbol is sign. The shop which represents is the object. At last ,the information of the words or symb ol is the interpreting. II.The relationship between religion and religion symbols No matter which kind of religion it is, in its early iterations, religion is expression by symbols. Before Gandhara time, there is no Buddhist Statue in Buddhism. People use the symbols such as the big banyan tree, pedestal, dharma-cakra and footmark and so on to represent some meanings. The same with Buddhism, the early Christianity also use a symbolistic way to extend its doctrines. For example, the Christian Cross represent Christ, The palm tree stands for a martyr. Fish is the symbol of Jesus. Peacock means this eternal soul within the body of every living entity is immortal; Interestingly most of the religions choose plants, animals, or abstract symbols to symbolize its doctrines. Religious symbols are also changed with the development of religion. Until now, the cross is often shown in different shapes and sizes, in many different styles. It may be used in personal jewelry, or used on top of church buildings. A. The importance of religion in western peoples eyes As we know, religions have a wide-ranging influence on social life in western country. They are concerns about law, politics, art, economy and science. It is a long time that law and religions have the same element: observances, traditions, authority and generality. Before the Middle Ages, or in the Middle Ages, in Rome the Church almost have control the country. Church has its own canon law. People are not only protected by the Natural Law, but also observe the canon law and be committed to the church, or they would be punished by the canon law. The canon law is formed by Bible, resolution of church meeting, Popes edict and Roman law. In the world of art, the religion have a far-reaching effect. One of the most famous painters, Da Vinci has painted some famous paint such as The Last Supper, The Vitruvian Man, The Baptism of Christ and so on. Even though Da Vinci is regarded as a Christian. The Last Supper the most reproduced religious painting of all time. Perhaps you have known a best seller book named The Da Vinci Code . In the book , the writer has given as a new side to understand The Last Supper . He thinks that there is a big secret hidden in The Last Supper. It is about the Holy Grail which is an argument in Christianity. The writer also says Da Vinci incorporated in many of his Christian paintings hidden symbolism that was anything but Christian-tributes to his own beliefs and a subtle thumbing of his nose at the Church (Dan Brown,2003,p50) Although the viewpoint is not agree with most pursuers ,but I think Da Vince can not draw these works with any effects of religion. If you are a careful person or a politic enthusiastic, you may notice the inaugural speech of the USA. Almost all the presidents of American will say God bless you, God bless the United States of American . at the end of the speech. It is regarded as the most obvious example of the effect religion in politics. The incumbent president, Obama in his inaugural speech says We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus and non-believers. To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. You can find that the disciples of religion are also the important source of votes. And the church also has a lot of social capital. Church can provide a lot of volunteers for community work. The church holds the non-governmental organization such as hospital, orphanage, and a homeless centre together. In fact, most of primary school in American are hold by church. Religion has a far-reaching influence in western peoples life. Ninety-five percent Americans are blamed he believes god. They may go to church every week and tell the god what they have done or what they want to do next week. Even more remarkable, Christian would pray before their meal in order to thank god for his mercy. When they face some problem or difficulties, they may beg god for power. Most Christians believe that they will go into heaven if they do something good., or they help god to punish evils. In western countries, there are also some festivals connected with religion. Christmas, Easter, All Saints Day are known by us. Christmas is the birthday of Jesus. It is the most important festival in western countries. The important use of the religious symbols during religious activities When we talk about religious symbols, we must understand what it is. In the front of my paper, I have given you the definition in the dictionary of symbol. But I think religious symbol have a little different with it. Religious symbols are a mark used as a token of something invisible. Religious symbols have a perpetual connection with the significance. They must respect a concept which is hard to deeply understand and hold in the round. As the understanding of religious symbols, Here, I want to point out three important use of them in religious activities. The first one is conveyance. In religious activities, religious symbols are treated as a paper. On the paper, the wish of us has been written . Colors have considered as a religious symbols. There are two groups of color in Christianity. The first group is red, white, green and blue. They are used to explain the hope of life, pure, peace and beautiful. The black, brown, grey and yellow are stand for danger, death and unclean. So you may find that in western countrys celebration of a marriage, the bridal dress must be white, and the pastor should wear a white or red shawl to bless the new couple. But in the funeral, the pastor may wear a black shawl to make a memorial speech. The religious symbols have been used us a way to send some information to others. Actually, the cathedral is not only a place for prayer, but also a symbol of religion. People prayed to god to keep their family from harm or forgive their crimes. Here god show his mercy to all of us. Then the cathedral has been tr eat as a refuge of our soul. It convey the order of the god to us and point out the way forward. The second is connection. During the religious activities, we often see the Christian to make the sign of the cross over so as to sanctify or devotion. Exactly, they think it is a way to communicate with god. When they make the cross, the soul is connecting with god. They will get the message from the god. On the other side, the cross is considered as the symbol of god. It is the God incarnate. They pray before the cross in order to inspire from the god and clean their soul. The third is decoration. The Christian Cross is often used on the top of the church. Firstly, it symbolize it is a church and its awfulness. But the second is decoration. Actually, religious symbols are widely used in religious building and arts. Cross, Rose and four colors which I have introduce to you in the front of my paper, are three kinds of common elements in Christian building. When you walk into a church, you may observe the window carefully. There are a lot of pictures on the window. Most of these pictures describe a story between pope and his knights. You can easily find that cross is used on the shield of knight and his cloth. Of course, most of pictures can not get through with color. Christianity likes to use white, blue, green and golden to decorate these pictures. There is one important plant in Christianity. The vines is to Christianity what lotus is to Buddhism. In Bible, there are a lot of story mentioned the vines For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard. (Matthew, 20:1) So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first. (Matthew, 20:8) And the vine said unto them, Should I leave my wine, which cheereth God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees?(Judges 9:13) There are some other place mentioned vines such as Isaiah 5: 1-7, Mark 12:1, Luke 20:9 and so on. That is why vines can be use on the wall of churchs building and the martyrs tomb. III.The semiotic characteristics of religious symbols In the front of my paper, we have analysis the religious symbols through the cultural semiotics and general semiotics. Actually, Semiotic has been divide into linguistic semiotics, general semiotics, cultural semiotics. Religious symbols are various in forms and rich content. They are full of or characterized by semiotic meaning. A. The characteristics of semiotics We should analysis the status and influence of contemporary semiotics in two aspects: surface and substance. On the face of it, Semiotics has been not an independent subject. The achievements in scientific research are not noticeable and some of the achievements are lack of quality. Judging by substance, semiotics has been widely used in most of the humanities. More and more celebrated scholars be engaged in semiotics research. The phenomenon reflects the exuberant vitality of semiotics. In Li Youzheng book-Introduction to Theoretical Semiotics, the writer introduce the complex of Semiotics. Mostly ¼Ã…’my opinion is also based on this book.In Introduction to Theoretical Semiotics, the write definite the semiotics like this Semiotics is a subject which analyzes sign, semiosis or the function of sign. (Li Youzheng, 1996.p.2) and symbol is belong to its study. So as far as I am concerned, Semiotics has three marked characteristics. Firstly, Semiotics has a long history. Posner has divided it into six types: Ancient Greece and Rome, Ancient and Middle Age, Middle Age western semiotics history, the modern western, the contemporary western, The concept of non-Western notation history. (Historical and Theory, a Journal Chinese, 1988.P116-117). The history of semiotics is tracked back to 3000 B.C. But until the 60th age, the semiotics is treat as an independent discipline, which emerges in French, American and Soviet. Secondly ¼Ã…’Semiotics is a complicated and broad science. Li Youzheng also divides the semiotics into three parts: linguistic semiotics, general semiotics and cultural semiotics. Linguistic semiotics has used linguistic, phonemics, semantics, stylistics and rhetoric. Linguistic semiotics must use coordination of several subjects to explore the meaning of symbols or signs. Compared with linguistic semiotics, perhaps general semiotics is a little simpler. But it also involves various theories such as Morrices conception of theory of sign system, Ecos typology of signs, Peirces Typology of signs, Non-Strcit code systems. These theories are all important and never be neglected in the semiotic history. Lastly ¼Ã…’the cross-cultural research is extremely difficulty. The most obvious point is the understanding of a symbol à ¥Ã‚ Ã‚  In most influenced by Buddhism, people think that à ¥Ã‚ Ã‚  respects constancy and auspicious indication. But in World War 2. Hitler chooses it to be the sign of Nazi. Hitler consider the Aryans is the best race all around the world. à ¥Ã‚ Ã‚  is the symbol of Aryans. Another is color. In western country, rose is the symbol of love, and red symbolize the passion, but sometimes it refers to scarlet woman. As I know, red always refers to pure love and happy in China and India. Chinese bride always wears a red dress. So we can easily find that different cultural take different understanding of symbols and sign. When we are going to analysis the meaning of a symbol or sign across culture, it may take a big problem to us. The characteristics of religious symbols The same as the semiotics, the religious symbols have a long history. At the beginning of my paper, I have introduced the original religious symbol Totem to you. Religious symbols almost have the same history of humans civilization. With the development of religion and civilization, religious symbols also have different forms. is the symbol of Islam named star and crescent. It standard bright and perfect. is a special symbol. There are many ideas about the symbolic meaning of the Star of David. Some Kabbalists think that the six points represented Gods absolute rule over the universe in all six directions: north, south, east, west, up and down. They also believed that the triangles represented humanitys dual nature good and evil and that the star could be used as protection against evil spirits. The structure of the star, with two overlapping triangles, has also been thought to represent the relationship between God and the Jewish people. The star that points up symbolizes God and the star that points down represents us here on earth. Yet others have noticed that there are twelve sides on the triangle, perhaps representing the Twelve Tribes. Until now, people still have an absolute meaning of the Star of David . A lot of religious symbols have an obscure meaning. You can not only understand it by its structure or shape. For example, lamb in Christianity means the resurrection of Christ from the death. Can you say it means meekness and prettiness? Absolutely not! The connection of semiotics and religious symbols After the analysis of characteristics of semiotics and religious symbols, we can find that religious symbols have a much longer history than semiotics. But symbols as the research subject, we have analysis by the systematization of semiotics. Semiotics can explain the meaning of symbols by different aspects and draw a correct conclusion. Although symbols are a complex and changeable system, semiotics always gives us an rational sublimation. Symbol also accelerates the progress of semiotics. It is hard for me to find a suitable metaphor to describe the relationship between them. But I think if symbols is water, the semiotics must be fish. The fish can not live without water. Without fish the water will never be vibrant. IV.Conclusion Haviland said Religion can be seen as an organized series of supernatural powers belief or ceremonies.(William A. Haviland, 2005,p.392).Religious symbols are a part of our belief. Semiotics is a tool of investigation. It may be not consummate and comprehensive, but it has afforded us a direction to analysis our belief system. Also that is the point we need to work for. Modern semiotics is a new branch of knowledge. It has been neglect for a long time. Its popularity must take a brain-storm in research of symbols.

Successful Military Innovation Essay examples -- Military History

The fall of the Berlin wall in 1989 and subsequently the collapse of the Soviet empire changed the political – military situation within Europe. Nearly five decades of Cold War between the Western Alliance and the Warsaw Pact countries, with relatively large standing armies and prepared mobilization plans, ended. The fight between large mechanized formations on European countryside became more and more improbable, and forced many Western countries to identify a new role for their armed forces as new threats emerged. Yet, those military organizations often struggle with such doctrinal innovations, especially in economic austere conditions combined with rapidly technological improvements. While such strategic situations determine the environment in which the military operates, ultimately people lay the foundations for a new approach. Therefore, successful innovation within a military organization depends on aligning political and military strategy, creating a learning organizati on, and assuring popular support to the military. This essay identifies principles that induce change on organizational level based upon examples from the interwar period, and has not the intention to discuss neither tactical nor technical changes in detail. Such an essay would require more in depth study that draws us away from the initial argument. Without a doubt, during the interwar period almost all military organizations reformed, based on their lessons learned from World War I, and each of them booked significant advances in certain domains. Nonetheless, some organizations as a whole proved to possess more adaptive skills than others. Above all, innovations within military organizations depend on the integration of political and military vision. ... ... The Challenge of Change: Military Institutions and New Realities, 1918-1941†. Edited by Harold R. Winton and David R. Mets (Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 2000), 37-41. Williamson, Murray. â€Å"Armored Warfare: The British, French, and German Experience†, in Military Innovation in the Interwar Period. Edited by Williamson Murray and Allan R. Millet (Cambridge, NY: Cambridge University Press, 1996), 22-24. Eugene, C. Kiesling in The Challenge of Change: Military Institutions and New Realities, 1918-1941†. Edited by Harold R. Winton and David R. Mets (Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 2000), 3 and 10-11. Murray, op. cit., 14-15. Ibid, 9. Ibid, 13. House. Towards Combined Arms Warfare: A Survey of Tactics, Doctrine and Organization in the 20th Century. 66. Murray, op. cit., 17. Ibid, 24-25. Murray, op. cit., 125-127 and 139.

Police Influence on Society

Police Influence on SocietyThere always has been conflict between law enforcement and ethnic and social class groups. Some argue police will arrest an African American, Hispanic, or Asian before they will arrest a Caucasian; there is also a belief police will arrest a person coming from a lesser socioeconomic class before he or she will arrest a person from a more affluent place in society. Unfortunately, though the criminal justice system denies these allegations, history tells a quite different story.History of PolicingPrior to the 1970s, law enforcement officers were mostly Caucasian males, five foot 10 inches or above. Although this requirement no longer exists today, in the 70s it meant Hispanics and Asians could never look forward to a career in law enforcement; and though African Americans could meet height requirements, other discrimination practices kept them from advancing to a higher rank. In 1964, The Civil Rights Act abolished occupation discrimination; (Walker, 2011) ho wever; though minorities could become police officers, other obstacles like harassment, lesser assignments, and the inability to make formal complaints to those higher in the department because these senior administrators made the regulations.This meant that African American, Hispanic, Latino, and Asian officers were given menial tasks like clerical work, jailor duty, dispatch, and the processing during intake of new offenders. Also, minority officers rarely performed patrol duties, which was a requirement for promotion, minorities found it significantly harder to gain the higher ranks their Caucasian male counterparts could (Walker, 2011). Fortunately, things have changed significantly, and the role of police officer for minorities have become a  valid, important aspect of today’s policing. For instance, minority employment as police officers has increased dramatically. African American and Hispanics are now a majority in some police departments.Furthermore, in some cities , African American, and Hispanic officers are the majority of police officers. The positive effect within the community is the diversity in officers, gives different cultures and ethnicities police officers they can relate to more comfortably, which, in turn, strengthens the police/community bond. Some agencies offer incentive pay to bilingual officers if the majority of a certain area where only Spanish is spoken by the majority of the community. Though there are still some agencies believed to continue discrimination against different ethnic groups, but this is not believed to be true for the largest percentage of agencies.Arrest and ImprisonmentAlthough law enforcement itself has evolved, there are those who believe some things do not change; the treatment of individuals from different ethnic groups and social classes comprising this opinion. One category focusing on racial disparity transpires when a substantial variance in the proportion of an ethnic group signified in the over all populace and the proportion of the identical ethnic group highlighted at any other instance is determined in the justice process. For instance, 12% of the U.S. population is African American, and also account for approximately 40% of arrests, â€Å"50% of the prison population, and 50 percent of the inmates on death row† (Racial Disparities, 2012). An additional type of racial disparity is brought to light when a considerably larger proportion of a racial/minority group than Caucasians, are familiar in an area of the criminal justice system.For example, more than nine percent of the total population of adult males either incarcerated, or on probation/parole are African American, as opposed to the two percent of adult Caucasian males (Racial Disparities, 2012). Furthermore, African Americans are arrested four times as often on drug charges than Caucasian, though the ratio for drug use between the two are almost identical.Theory on ExistenceRacial disparities in the crimina l justice are placed in three categories:â€Å"differential involvement, individual racism, and institutional racism† (Racial Disparities, 2012, p. 1) African-Americans and Hispanics are differentially involved in criminality. Their criminal behavior is because these groups are afflicted by a significantly higher rate of poverty and unemployment. Some disparities are because of the prejudice of officers, the prosecution, defense attorneys, judges, probation/parole officers, and parole board members as individuals (Racial Disparities, 2012).Prejudicial beliefs and discriminatory behavior are characteristics of individual racism that leads to criminal justice authorities against minority groups and individuals. Finally, a portion of the disparities can be credited to institutional racism, which occurs because of statutes, classifications, and facility practices contributing to inequality against racial minorities. Social ClassTypically, lower income areas are known for higher c riminal activity and lower police presence; the â€Å"broken window† theory, which suggest disorganization and decomposing neighborhoods are breeding grounds for criminal behavior, are thought to be a lesser concern for police. However, in â€Å"higher class,† more affluent neighborhoods, police officers are thought to show greater presence, have faster response time, and are less likely to arrest or ticket a person from a higher level of socioeconomics. From a political standpoint, though most police officers do not differentiate between social classes; however, police agencies and public officials who oversee policing agencies, do.It is common knowledge that public officials attempt to gain and retain the support of affluent members of the community, some of this is accomplished by protecting the personal property and family of the affluent. Though this propagates positive relationships for police and the affluent, and has throughout history, it does not solidify rel ationships between police and the less fortunate. Police in early America were hand – picked by the affluent, and some are of the opinion this has not changed. Relationships between lower income neighborhoods and police are often strained because citizens in these areas are less likely to speak with a police officer out of fear of becoming identified as a â€Å"snitch,† and most are not willing to risk their safety, or that of their families’ to attempt to report or witness a crime.ConclusionJust as individual relationships are, at best, difficult to manage, the relationship between the criminal justice system and a diverse society is no less difficult. Racial, cultural, gender, religious, and sexual orientation have always been, and most likely always will be a significant area of controversy and intolerance in American society today. Though steps have been taken to reduce prejudice and discrimination against those of difference ethnicities and socioeconomic gr oups, the fact that the system has been forced into making laws to do this, is disturbing at the very least.

Manual Website Constructor Essays

Manual Website Constructor Essays Manual Website Constructor Essay Manual Website Constructor Essay Operation manual for the administration control panel of the constructor website 1. Authorization 2. Change interface language 3. Search box 4. Main menu 4. 1 Web-pages 4. 1. 1 Remove web-page 4. 1. 2 Edit web-page 4. 1. 2. 1 Edit content 4. 1. 2. 2 Edit metatags 4. 2 Add Page 4. 3 Menu 4. 3. 1 Add new element 4. 3. 2 Edit/remove element 4. 4 Manage Templates 4. 4. 1 Add link 4. 4. 2 Delete link 4. 4. 3 Change copyright 4. 5 Design 4. 5. 1 Edit default design 4. 5. 2 Edit default font 5. FAQ 5. 1 How to place an image? 5. 2 How to place a link? 5. 3 How to place an image with a link? . 4 How to place a counter register, flash banner? 5. 5 How to make changes to the main template? 1. Authorization In order to start working in the website administration control panel, please follow the link http://domain_name/site_builder/ and pass the authorization procedure. 2. Change interface language Once the authorization is completed, the administration control panel of the website constructor is launched. Its default language is English, yet it can be changed into Russian by a click on the corresponding option button in the language box.Change interface language 3. Search box The search box allows finding certain web-pages by determining the search domain (search in the language version set or in all the versions). Search box Search parameters 4. Main menu The main menu consists of five points: Web-pages. Use this point for editing and removing the web-pages of the affiliate website. Add Page. In this section you can create a new web-page, fill it with certain content in the easily understandable panel (the panel enables you to add links, handle the text, upload images etc. ).You can also include the following metasymbols for a new web-page: title, keywords, description. Edit Menu. In this section the structure of the website menu can be altered. It serves to add/edit/remove the menu points. Manage Templates. This section allows managing the website templates (the part of the website page comprising side and bottom menu as well as headings). Furthermore, here you can add/remove links to/from the side menu on both sides from the text and also change Copyright. Design. With the help of this section you can choose any scheme elaborated by our team and change the font. . 1 Web-pages For a web-page to be reflected in a certain language, it is necessary to select the language. 4. 1. 1 Remove web-page In order to delete a web-page, please press the button. 4. 1. 2 Edit Page 4. 1. 2. 1 Edit web-page content In order to move to a page editing mode, you need to click the corresponding button. Once you did it, you will see the window of web-page editing. Editing a page is facilitated by the editing tools. Remove the content Save Page layout templates Preview Crop Paste as plain text Copy Paste Paste from Word Print Full text search Undo RedoInsert CheckBox Insert RadioButton Insert text field Insert Select Insert Image Button Insert hidden field Replace text Remove format Mark all Insert form Spell check Insert Text area Insert button Page break Insert symbol Insert smile Bold Italics Underline Crossed font Subscript Superscript Bulleted list Increase space Decrease space Quotation marks Centered Left-justified Justified Insert link Insert image Insert flas h Insert table Insert horizontal line Show blocks Scale editing window up/down Right-justified Remove link Insert anchor Text colour Fill colourNumbered list Text style Text format Div container Font Font size 4. 1. 2. 2 Edit metatags While editing a web-page, metatags (title, keywords, description) can be input. 4. 1. 2. 2 Edit metatags Press the Modify button to save the changes you made. 4. 2 Add Page This window contains the abovementioned panel of editing a page, the field for entering the file name and that for choosing its language version. 4. 3 Edit Menu In this section you need to choose a language version of the menu being edited. 4. 3. 1 Add new element 1) Choose the section of the menu which you mean to add a link to. ) Choose the preferred level of the link. 3) Enter the name of the link (not less than 3 symbols). 4) Enter the link (Latin letters only). 5) Press the Add button to include the new link to the menu. 4. 3. 2 Edit/remove element In order to delete a certain element, you need to press the Remove button. For editing a menu element after all the necessary modifications were made to the corresponding fields of the element (name and link) press the Change button. 4. 4 Manage Templates The menu of the section consists of three points: 4. 4. 1 Add LinkWith the help of this section you can add a link in the left or right menu of the main website template. 4. 4. 2 Delete Link In order to remove a link from the main template you need to choose the template field (left or right menu), templates in which you would like to make removal and then press the Show links button. After you took all the above-mentioned steps there will appear a list of links of the templates chosen. For removing a certain link, please tick the checkbox corresponding to this particular link and press the Delete links from Main Templates button. 4. 4. 3 Change CopyrightChanging Copyright requires choosing template(s) from the list, entering a new one in the corresponding slo t and clicking the Change Copyright button. 4. 5 Design The menu of this section comprises two points: 4. 5. 1 Edit default design In order to change the website design one of the provided templates is to be chosen and appropriate button to be clicked. You can zoom the design patterns to have a more thorough look on them by clicking on the corresponding image. List the zoomed patterns by clicking the arrow appearing at moving the mouse pointer in the lower right/left corner of the screen. . 5. 2 Edit default font In this section you can change default font and its size. To do it, choose the corresponding values and click the Edit default font button. 5. FAQ 5. 1 How to place an image? In order to place an image on a web-page, you need to visit the Web-Pages section, choose a preferred language and start editing the page (see Edit web-page content section). Place the mouse pointer in the area where you would like to insert an image. Find the Insert image option on the toolbar of web- page editing.You can either upload it or enter a link to it. In order to place an image using the link, visit the Image info section. Enter the link to the image In the URL field, you can also input the text which will be displayed in case of the image being unavailable in the Alternative Text slot. The image will be shown in the Preview field. You can also set the following image parameters: Width Height Boder – framing of the image (1,2,3†¦) HSpace – horizontal spacing VSpace – vertical spacing Align Click the Ok button to place an image.In order to upload an image from your computer, please visit the Upload section, press the Browse button, choose the image to be uploaded and press the Send it to the Server button. Once the image is uploaded to the server, the Image Info section will open. Press the Ok button. 5. 2 How to place a link? In order to place a link on a certain website page, please visit the Web-Pages section. Choose the preferred language an d pass over to editing it (see Edit page content). Place the mouse pointer in the area where you would like to place a link. Choose Insert link option on the toolbar.Choose a link type in the Link type field. URL – a link to the Internet source Link to the anchor in the text – a link within the webpage E-Mail – a link to the email Choose a link protocol in the Protocol field, enter the link in the URL slot – press the Ok button to place it. 5. 3 How to place an image with a link? In order to place an image with a link on a certain website page, follow the steps represented in point 5. 1 before pressing the Ok button. Visit the Link section and enter the link to the URL field; you can choose the method of opening the link in the Target field.Press the Ok button for placing a link on the page. 5. 4 How to place a counter register, flash banner? You need to send a request to [emailprotected] instaforex. com, specifying the web-page and the code for its placi ng. 5. 5 How to make changes to the main template? The main template is the website part including heading, side menus and bottom. In order to modify the template, send a request to [emailprotected] instaforex. com specifying the template language and code of counter register/banner/metatag.

American Torture Techniques Against Detainees

American Torture Techniques Against Detainees The U.S. government has been accused of using torture-lite or moderate physical pressure against detainees, persons held in custody for political reasons, typically because they pose a distinct threat to the U.S. or possess information crucial to American security. In practical terms, what does this mean? Palestinian Hanging This form of torture is sometimes  referred to as Palestinian hanging due to its use by the Israeli government against Palestinians. It involves binding the prisoners hands behind his back. After fatigue sets in, the prisoner will inevitably fall forward, putting full body weight on his shoulders and impairing breathing. If the prisoner is not released,  death by crucifixion  may eventually result. Such was the fate of U.S. prisoner  Manadel al-Jamadi  in 2003. Psychological Torture The number one criterion for torture-lite is that it must leave no physical marks. Whether U.S. officials are threatening to execute a prisoners family or falsely claiming that the leader of his terror cell is dead, a steady diet of misinformation and threats can be effective.   Sensory Deprivation Its remarkably easy for prisoners to lose track of time when theyre locked up in cells. Sensory deprivation involves removing all noise and light sources as well. Guantanamo prisoners  were additionally bound, blindfolded and wore earmuffs. Whether prisoners subjected to long-term sensory deprivation can still tell fiction from reality is a matter of some debate.   Starvation and Thirst Maslows hierarchy of needs identifies basic physical needs as the most fundamental, more so than religion, political ideology or community. A prisoner may be given just enough food and water to survive. It may take as long as a week before he appears physically thinner, but his life will come to revolve around a quest for food and he may be more inclined to divulge information in exchange for food and water.   Sleep Deprivation Studies have shown that missing a nights sleep temporarily drains 10 points from a persons IQ. Consistent sleep deprivation  through harassment, exposure to bright lights and exposure to loud, jarring music and recordings can drastically impair judgment and wear down resolve.   Waterboarding Water torture is one of the oldest and most common forms of torture. It arrived in the U.S. with the first colonists and has cropped up many times since then. Waterboarding  is its latest incarnation. It  involves  a prisoner being strapped down to a board then dunked in water. Hes brought back to the surface and the process is then repeated until his interrogator secures the information being sought.   Forced Standing Most common in the 1920s, forced standing involves prisoners standing in place, often overnight. In some cases, the prisoner may face a wall, standing with his arms extended and his  fingertips touching it.   Sweatboxes Sometimes referred to as a hot box or simply as the box, the prisoner is locked up in a small, hot room which, due to lack of ventilation, essentially functions as an oven. The prisoner is released when he cooperates. Long used as a form of torture in the U.S., it is particularly effective in the arid Middle East. Sexual Assault  and Humiliation Various forms of sexual assault and humiliation documented in U.S. prison camps  as forms of torture include forced nudity, forcible smearing of menstrual blood on prisoners faces, forced lap dances, forced transvestitism and forced homosexual acts on other prisoners.

Cholera disease Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Cholera disease - Essay Example Severe dehydration as a result of this disease can lead to loss of life. Most people who suffer from this disease might have ingested the disease-causing organisms via food or water contaminated with V. cholerae. Although its symptoms are mild, healthy individuals develop profuse diarrhea within a day or a week after ingesting the disease-causing bacteria. The symptoms and signs of cholera are depicted by a watery diarrhea that often contains traces of whitish material that are approximately the size of rice grains. As a result of this, the diarrhea is also referred to as â€Å"rice-water stool†. The diarrhea from a person suffering from this disease smells fishy. The volume of diarrhea produced by a victim of this disease can be enormous; the volumes may range from 10 to 18 liters in a span of 24 hours for an adult weighing 70 kg (â€Å"Cholera - Vibrio cholerae infection†, 2013). Apart from watery diarrhea, persons suffering from this disease may also portray the following symptoms and signs: vomiting, rapid heart rate as well as loss of skin elasticity. It may also result to dry mucous membranes, low blood pressure and muscle cramps. The symptoms and signs of the disease may also include thirst feelings in addition to restlessness. Individuals that portray these symptoms are occasionally advised to seek immediate hydr ation in order to prevent the symptoms from advancing because they may result to severe cholera (Adler, 2013). Severe cholera often results to severe dehydration which may lead to acute renal failure, coma, as well as severe electrolyte imbalances. If untreated, severe dehydration results to shock and death. Severe dehydration is often experienced four to eight hours after the patient has passed the first liquid stool. It leads to death in 18 hours or few days if it remains untreated. The outbreak of this disease in underdeveloped countries can result to the mortality rate of about 50 to

Animal modeling in drug discovery and development Essay

Animal modeling in drug discovery and development - Essay Example The target is described as the molecule or certain biological entities upon which the drug shall act and produce biological reactions that can be measured either in vivo or in vitro. It is after the identification of the target that the it has to be validated. It is in the authentication that animal models, described as in vitro tools are integrated into the drug discovery and development process (Hughes, et al., 2011). The animal models are used to check for the efficacy of the identified molecule in the target. Most importantly, Mei and Czarnik (2002) indicate that the whole animal model data has to be obtained in order to ascertain the biological linkage of the target to a disease along with how the target can be utilised in the drug discovery and development process. The activity observed in the animal models does not imply decisiveness for the same in human beings, nevertheless, if there lacks any activity, then reconsideration has to be undertaken on the efficacy of the target (Mei & Czarnik, 2002). The validity of the animal model data is vital in predicting the result for a particular drug during basic research (Denayer, Stohr, & Van Roy, 2014). Furthermore, the validity of the animal model permits for the evaluation of the functional outcomes. It has be recalled that this is in the preclinical trial of the research. The validity of the animal model data is essential for availing vital information regarding the selectivity and potency of the drug for the human target. The two are vital components in determining if the drug works beyond the preclinical stage of the research. It is so for the in vitro data obtained from the animal models used. At the same time, the in vivo data avails a pharmacodynamics and a pharmacokinetic profile of the drug to be. The pharmacokinetic and the pharmacodynamics of the novel drug under research determines the drug affinity to the identified target and the how well it is distributed to the target. The

Policies Related To Child Health Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Policies Related To Child Health - Assignment Example It may seem like most aspects of a child's care is little less of a straightforward informed consent of the parent and the family, but this is not always the case. This calls for the law to take control to ensure that children's health is secure and available in an affordable way. The government policies create avenues that facilitate these goals. According to Patel and Rushefsky (2014, p. 75) over the past few decades, the state has taken the lead role in ensuring that health policy reforms. The government has played a key role in legislation, regulation and also innovative competitive strategies as efforts to cut down the healthcare cost. Five years ago, the US government enacted the Affordable Care Act. The policy is designed to provide affordable health coverage options, stop private insurance companies from discriminating against patients with pre-existing conditions, strengthen consumer’s protection, improve the quality of care and also boost the bargaining power of families as well as small enterprises by allowing health insurance exchange. According to Price and Saltzman (2013, p. 12), the Affordable Care Act will help American save allot of money that is spend majorly on health-related cases. The expansion of Medicaid and creation of a new insurance exchange system will play a major role. The Affordable Care Act also extends its funding to the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) mainly through FY 2015. The program also ensures that children who have been having precious and pre-existing conditions are not secluded from health insurance from the insurance companies. In addition to that, the act also comes with a pediatric benefit for children and this is inclusive of oral and vision coverage. All children are supposed to get the basic pediatric services and this will be achieved by an increase in the workforce.

How To Handle Information Essay Example for Free

How To Handle Information Essay The learner can: 1. Understand requirements for handling information in social care settings 1.1 Identify legislation and codes of practice that relate to handling information in social care settings 1.2 Explain how legal requirements and codes of practice inform practice in handling information 2. Understand good practice in handling information in social care settings 2.1Explain how to maintain records that are up to date, complete, accurate and legible 2.2Describe practices that ensure security when storing and accessing information 2.3Describe features of manual and electronic information storage systems that help ensure security 3. Understand how to support others to handle information  3.1 Explain how to support others to understand the need for secure handling of information 3.2 Explain how to support others to understand and contribute to records Additional information about the unit Unit purpose and aim(s) This unit develops the knowledge and understanding needed to implement and promote good practice in recording, sharing, storing and accessing information in social care settings. This unit is aimed at those who are interested in, or new to working in social care settings. Unit expiry date Details of the relationship between the unit and relevant national occupational standards or other professional standards or curricula (if appropriate) HSC 31 Guidance for developing assessment arrangements for the unit (if appropriate) Others may include: Colleagues External third party such as IT specialist Social worker Occupational Therapist GP Speech and Language Therapist Physiotherapist Pharmacist Nurse Specialist nurse Psychologist Psychiatrist Independent Mental Capacity Advocate Advocate Dementia care advisor Assessment requirements or guidance specified by a sector or regulatory body (if appropriate) This unit needs to be assessed in line with the Skills for Care and Development QCF Assessment Principles. Support for the unit from a SSC or other appropriate body (if required) Skills for Care and Development Location of the unit within the subject/sector classification system 01.3 Health and Social Care Name of the organisation submitting the unit Availability for use Shared Unit available from Unit guided learning hours

Mrs. Mallards Moment of Illumination in Story Of An Hour Essay

MRS. MALLARD’S â€Å"BRIEF MOMENT OF ILLUMINATION† Mrs. Mallard’s "brief moment of illumination" is a very deep and touching story about a lady who is forced to be married to a man she did not really know and did not love deeply with all her heart, as if she is bound with unhappiness for life! Now she has been liberated. The narrator portrays that was feeling a kind of freedom that she could not describe, but does not know how to deal with it. In this essay matters such as this freedom she was feeling, the little love she had for her husband, the "monstrous joy" she was feeling will be discussed. Matters such as women’s issues and their feelings towards life and death are also included in this essay. These matters are all part of Mrs. Mallard’s "brief moment of illumination". "Story of an Hour" was written and published in 1894. This story was written in an era where a lot of questions where risen, about who the dominant sex was and why. This story was written to share with the world how men treated women in that era and how men really felt about women. Women were forced to be with men and were bound to be unhappy. The biggest question was the "Women’s Question". What role the women fulfilled in the society and that the female species were the less dominant species. Men were the overriding species, women were forced to do things they did not want to do and were forced to be with men they did not really love and care for. In the "Story of an Hour" Mrs. Mallard is also force being with a person she did not really know. She never really loved him and cared for him the way she was supposing to. Mrs. Mallard was treated the same as all the women were treated in that era, badly and were abused in many ways if they did not do what th... ...ut it is not. The whole hour is about her inner conflict about her freedom and if she has been â€Å"wildly abandoned† by her husband and the feeling of freedom that she can not handle. This concludes the essay about Mrs. Mallard’s â€Å"brief moment of illumination†. This essay has discussed everything that was mentioned in the introduction paragraph. The paragraph illustrates the narrator’s depiction of Mrs. Mallard’s â€Å"brief moment of illumination† very well. This shows her inner conflict she is fighting inside of her mind and thoughts about the freedom she has received and that she is bound to it and she does not know how to deal with it. Bibliography 1. Starfield, Jane, 2008, Anthology of Poetry & Short Stories (A Reader for 2008) 2. Ferguson, I, 1997, Cross-Currents: An Anthology of Short Stories. Hatfield: Acacia Books 3. www.vcu.edu/engweb/webtexts/hour/

Essential Aspects of Communication Displayed Through Film Essay

Abstract In interpersonal communication, there are several variables that create a dialogue between two or more people. From the film Hitch, directed by Andy Tennant, the four main variables of interpersonal communication used are perception, nonverbal communication, certain aspects of relational development, and culture. All of these variables play a role in the film to create the relationships and communication that occur in the film. Some of the communication portrayed in the film Hitch is nonverbal between the various characters. Two main relationships develop throughout the film; these relationships are between characters, Hitch and Sara, Albert and Allegra. Culture shapes the way people are and how they choose their relationship partners, which is an essential point displayed in Hitch. The study of how perception plays a role in life is shown in this film by how people view others by their appearance, and nonverbal cues. Relational development is also shown throughout the film to displa y how relationships in the film begin to develop into lifelong bonds. Essential Aspects of Communication Displayed Through Film Introduction Life is a melting pot. It is filled with pieces from here and there, but in the end comes together as a whole collaboration. Our way of making life is through communication. Communication is a collaboration of verbal dialogue, as well as nonverbal cues. These items are essential to our communication, but the way in which they are interpreted depends on how one perceives it, which is dependent upon their culture. The 2005 film Hitch, displays prime examples of communication through relationships nudged by Alex Hitchens. Alex is â€Å"Hitch,† a professional matchmaker as one might say, whose job is to make unlikely interactions happen between two unlikely people. Through this tactic, he is able to bring together people who are right for one another, but who would never had met would it not have been for his intervention. Hitch, directed by Andy Tennant, uses nonverbal communication, perception, culture, and aspects of relational development to explore the way in which people dia logue, and the relationships that grow due to this communication. Perception The film Hitch, is filled with many aspects of interpersonal communication, one of them being perception. Perception is how we see others, interpret their dialogue, actions, etc. In this film, Albert is not noticed by his hopeful love interest, Allegra. Hitch believes that in order for Albert to be noticed by this beautiful woman, he must change the way he conducts himself, and the way Allegra perceives him. First, Hitch tries to help Albert gain a sense of self-esteem, in order for Allegra to notice him as a strong, outgoing, and successful man, rather than the shy and timid person he is. What Hitch wants his clients to experience a change in their â€Å"self-concept.† Alder (2012) describes self-concept as, â€Å"The relatively stable set of perceptions each individual holds on herself or himself † (G-11). Also stated in the text, â€Å"Children who have a low opinion of themselves are more likely to see themselves as victims of bullying, both in their classrooms and in cyberspace. The way we think and feel about ourselves strongly influences how we interpret others’ behavior (p. 119)†. Perhaps Albert had such a low sense of self-esteem that he truly believed women did not notice nor have an interest in him, when perhaps this belief could have been created due to his own sense of his self-concept. An early example of perception occurs when, early in the film, Sara is speaking with her friend Casey about the man she recently went on a date with. She says, â€Å"He was affectionate and sweet, and told me all of these affectionate things like how he can’t taste food and he wants three kids†¦ I never seen anyone get dressed so fast!† This is an example of how gender roles play an extremely important role in perception. According to Adler (2012), â€Å"†¦masculine males tend to see their interpersonal relationships as opportunities to win something. Feminine females typically see their interpersonal relationships as opportunities to be nurturing, to express their feelings and emotions† (p. 120). In this instance, Vance, the man involved, wa s not looking to commit to a relationship like Casey. She truly believed that since Vance was so kind and sweet, she would be able to open up to him as well, whereas he was only interested in a one-night stand. This moment is very pivotal,, as Casey and Sara believe because of this interaction, Hitch’s goal is to teach men how to â€Å"bed† women. Further on in the film, Sara uncovers the fact that her new love interest is in fact the infamous Hitch. When reacting to this discovery, Sara makes a snap judgment, which according to Webster Dictionary is â€Å"A judgment formed on the instant without deliberation.† She makes this kind of judgment in how she reacts to the fact that Hitch’s profession is supposedly teaching men how to â€Å"bed† women. Essentially, Sara ends the relationship, as well as contact between she and Hitch, without hearing Hitch’s side of the story. Snap judgments occur almost instantaneously, whether it is a first impression, or judgment relating to a situation where someone has self-disclosed information about themselves or others. Allegra as well tends to make these quick judgments, especially when she learns that Albert had been consulting with Hitch. She immediately assumes everything she fell in love with in him was just a marketing ploy of sorts, sold by a matchmaker. Making snap judgments can often lead to stereotyping the other person involved within the communication. Stereotyping is a subset of snap judgments, and is defined by Adler (2012) as â€Å"†¦exaggerated beliefs associated with a categorization system† (p.125). Sara takes part in stereotyping when she assumes all of Hitch’s clients, and Hitch himself are like Vance, the one-night-stand. Based on the information she has perceived, it would not be a stretch for her to make that particular judgment. If Sara had possessed the chance to meet Albert by this time, she would realize that not all of Hitch’s clients are as egotistical and narcissistic as Vance. At the same time, Albert is defying the stereotype of the normal â€Å"Hitch client† and wins Allegra over with his natural qualities, rather than the ones his matchmaker Hitch instructed him to have. Much of the communication Albert wins Allegra over with is nonverbal, especially due to the fact that he often stumbles over his words. Nonverbal Communication Hitch, begins with the statistic that, â€Å"60% of all human communication is nonverbal, body language, and 30% is your tone. This means that 90% of what you’re saying ain’t coming out of your mouth.† (Tennant, 2005). According to the Twelfth Edition of Interplay: The Process of Interpersonal Communication, nonverbal communication is any message that is expressed through nonlinguistic methods (p. 177). Nonverbal communication shares just as much importance as verbal communication, if not more, in that through these messages people share their true feelings and responses to the world around them. Unlike verbal communication, nonverbal communication is often unconscious and continuous, meaning that it is likely uncontrollable. Before a response is spoken, before the response is even heard, one is already nonverbally communicating. Nonverbal messages arise in numerous forms, from the way one moves his/her body, to the way one dresses and even speaks. Nonverbal messages support many functions. They can be used to repeat the verbal message that was just spoken. Similarly, they can be used to substitute for the verbal messages. For example, instead of saying yes one could nod. These cues and gestures are called emblems, which are nonverbal behaviors, which can be directly translated into words or phrases (A. Cordova, November 14, 2012). Nonverbal communication can either complement or contradict the verbal message. In complementing the message, the nonverbal communication not only adds to the message, but reinforces it. Messages may be contradictory when a person says one thing but really means another nonverbally. Nonverbal behaviors can also accent, emphasize, or draw attention to or away from a verbal message. Lastly, nonverbal communication can be used to control and regulate the flow of conversation, as well as start and end interactions (A. Cordova, November 14, 2012). The opening scene of Hitch, summarizes many of the ways that nonverbal communication plays a major role in everyday lives. This movie combined with Alex â€Å"Hitch† Hitchens, addresses how nonverbal communication is important in communication, especially with women, in the formation and enhancing of relationships. For example, Hitch points out that women often say verbally things that they really don’t mean: â€Å"This is a really bad time for me,† â€Å"I just need some space,† â€Å"I’m really into my career right now,† etc. (Tennant, 2005). Even though women say things like this, they may mean something entirely different. Hitch speaks of how sometimes women don’t know what they want until they see it. This is the part where nonverbal communication comes into play for men. In the very first scene, a woman’s dog rushes out of her hands and out of an elevator, only to be â€Å"saved† by the admiring man who hired Hitch, who in turn orchestrated the whole thing. The woman who lost her dog had presumably never met or spoken to the man who rescued her dog. Even though the woman had never verbally communicated with this man, she was extremely relieved, grateful, and impressed when she saw him defend her dog in the middle of the street. Without saying a single word, the man was able to improve his romantic chances with this woman greatly. The dog-rescue scene exemplifies the power of nonverbal communication. The majority of communication is nonverbal, thus Hitch emphasizes the importance of this aspect of communication. The simple action this man performs of rescuing the dog, communicates a great amount about his personality; he is able to show that he is caring and nurturing. While he doesn’t need to explicitly tell her, â€Å"Hi. I am a kind and thoughtful person. Are you interested?† she is able to infer his personality from his nonverbal way of communicating. Note the man’s tone when he returns the dog: his nurturing tone reassures her that everything is alright, as well as the fact that he brave and kind. One key aspect of nonverbal communication is paralanguage. Paralanguage is how a statement is spoken, which includes tone, pitch, emphasis, pronunciation, and rate. This man’s use of paralanguage allows him to portray his personality without having to explicitly tell the woman about himself and his traits. Further along in the movie, Hitch goes to meet up with a new client who is in need of desperate help from the â€Å"love doctor.† His name is Albert Brennaman and he was hopelessly and irrevocably in love with Allegra Cole. During this scene, Hitch observes Albert from afar to get a sense of what kind of guy he is. Albert is sitting on stairs eating and in a matter of seconds he manages to spill mustard on his slacks. He then goes on to pouring soda on a napkin and trying to remove the stain, only to end up accidentally kicking over his soda and ruining his whole lunch. Hitch is meanwhile still observing Albert. From Albert’s nonverbal communication portrayed in this scene, Hitch assumes that Albert is clumsy and doesn’t really have a clue. Although Albert was not trying to convey a message through his actions, he most certainly did. There are three types of nonverbal communication the Albert portrayed in this scene. Firstly, he was using kinesis. Kinesis is a ty pe of nonverbal communication that involves the body. Body orientation, eye contact, and posture are all examples of kinesis. Secondly, he nonverbally communicates through his physical characteristics: attire, groomed facial hair, glasses, etc. Lastly, he communicates through his personal environment (A. Cardova, November 14, 2012). Albert shows territoriality, because although that area on the stairs is public property he still in a sense claims the space as his own. Looking at how he kept that environment for that particular scene gives insight into how he may keep his home and or office space. His area on the stairs, after a parade of accidents ended up looking butchered and a hot mess (Tennant, 2005). From these cues Hitch can conclude that this man needs his professional help as a love coach, but also maybe as a life coach. Nonverbal communication truly comes alive in the next scene of the movie, where Hitch is at a local bar admiring his future love interest, Sara Melas. In this scene, Hitch speaks to the bartender, who informs him about Sara’s normal bar habits. She drinks a dirty martini, which is odd because she usually gets a beer. Hitch determines that she must have had a tough week and a beer just wasn’t going to do the trick. As the scene plays out, he ends up pretending to be Sara’s significant other in order to get rid of another admiring contender. He then continues to engage in conversation with her and begins listing out all the nonverbal signals she is giving. Hitch says, â€Å"†¦you’re sending all the right signals: no earrings, heels under two inches, your hair is pulled back, you’re wearing reading glasses with no book, and drinking a grey goose martini†¦ and if that wasn’t clear enough there’s always the f–k off that you’ve got stamped on your forehead.† (Tennant, 2005). All of these are examples of communicating nonverbally through kinesis, body language, and physical characteristics. Nonverbal communication exists throughout the entirety of the film, but to catch and understand how it affects the development of the relationships, one must pay close attention. Relationship Development Two main relationships develop throughout the film Hitch. These relationships include characters, Albert and Allegra, and Hitch and Sara. Hitch and Sara’s relationship begins to develop from the first time they speak with one another in a bar. This interaction is part of the â€Å"coming together† part of Mark L. Knapp’s â€Å"Stages of Relationship Development† Model. This part of the model includes the initiating process, experimenting process, intensifying process, integrating process, and the bonding process. Hitch walking over to Sara in the bar and initiating a conversation is an example of the initiation process. This process is shown when one shows that they are interested in another and make them feel valued and worth one’s time. Once an individual initiates conversation in the model, the interaction progresses to the experimenting stage. When people try to find something in common between both, creating small talk and getting to know each other, they are interacting within the experimenting stage. Hitch and Sara converse in this way at the bar, but it occurs again when Hitch reaches Sara at her work through a walkie-talkie to ask her on a date for the upcoming Saturday. This stunt he pulls shows Sara his personality and creativity. The intensifying stage in Sara and Hitch’s relationship occurs on their first date. Hitch believes he is already in love with her, and knows there is something special about their relationship. In the intensifying stage, people who are beginning to be a dating couple often move into the stage by spending more time together, going on more dates, and sometimes even saying â€Å"I love you† to each other. While Hitch and Sara are on their first date, they make plans to go on a second date, which is part of the intensifying stage. They continue going on dates during this section of the film and keep spending more and more time together. They then consider themselves an official couple after this stage, and enter into the integrating stage of Knapp’s model. During this stage, the couple begins to define themselves as one to others, and begin to make future plans involving one another. The bonding stage goes coherently with the integrating stage because the couple uses gestures in public to display that they are in a relationship. These gestures include, holding hands, public display of affection, and walking side-by-side sharing each other’s company. Once Hitch and Sara’s relationship progresses, they display public affection everywhere they go. In the film, Hitch is seen kissing Sara goodbye before she left for work, which is an example of the bonding stage of Mark Knapp’s Relationship Development Model. The final stage of the Relationship Development Model seen the relationship between Hitch and Sara is shown through the words â€Å"I love you† said to each other at the end of the film. This is a smooth continuation of all of the previous stages of the model because in order to get to their current stage of relationship where they feel so deeply about one another, they had to go through all of the previous stages. The relationship between characters Albert and Allegra occurs differently than the relationship between Hitch and Sara. Albert is a financial consultant for Allegra, a famous celebrity. The concept of complementarity plays a big role in their relationship. Complementarity is displayed when the well-known idea that opposites attract, comes true, and two people find what they hope for in a relationship through the other’s differences. By Albert just being a typical financial consultant and Allegra being a famous celebrity, society did not expect that this would ever be a compatible union. Allegra describes Albert as sweet, charming, and not like all other men, while Albert describes Allegra as the girl of his dreams, his angel, and the lady he would die for and cannot live without. By the two having these similar feelings regarding each other, a connection is made in the way they feel about one another. Through this, they are both able to find reward through their growing relationship. Similarity is found within a developing relationship when two people have similar interests and goals. Rewards in a relationship are defined by the exchange theory. According to the Twelfth Edition of Interplay: The Process of Interpersonal Communication, the exchange theory is defined as the way â€Å"we often seek out people who can give us rewards that are greater than or equal to the cost we encounter in dealing with them† (p.283). In this case, Albert finds Allegra’s personality charming, and feels that she would be a good match for him if she would only pay attention to him. Allegra pays attention to Albert because she knows that he is not like the other men she has previously dated. She finds a sense of security from Albert because she can trust him to love her alone, unlike any of the other men she has dated. In the conclusion of the film, Albert and Allegra get married, which is proof for the bonding and integrating stages of Mark Knapp’s relationship development model. The way in which these relationships are developed is unique to them, and is greatly influenced by their cultures. Culture Merriam-Webster defines culture as, †Ã¢â‚¬ ¦the characteristic features of everyday existence (as diversions or a way of life) shared by people in a place or time.† Culture is something that is universal in nature, but is unique to every group of people. It is something that makes us as people of the world similar, and drastically different. Hitch looks at culture from a few different perspectives, one being from a familial stance, and the other relating to culture. Culture from a familial perspective deals with the dynamics of a family and how it is run. We are given small glimpses of families throughout Hitch, and for the most part, the culture seems to lean towards an individualistic culture. An individualistic culture is one that Adler (2012) would describe as a group of people who â€Å"†¦view their primary responsibility as helping themselves† (p. 38). People involved in an individualistic culture are very focused on the individual, and their needs in or der to further themselves in the world. A collectivistic culture is a type of culture that differs from this in that Adler (2012) speaks of as cultures that â€Å"feel loyalties and obligations to an in-group: one’s extended family, community, or even organization one works for† (p. 38). In Hitch, one of the more prominent characters Sara Melas, describes to Alex Hitchens an incident with her sister. By the way Sara speaks of her sister, Alex is able to figure out that she is speaking of her younger sister, due to the tone in her voice, and the phrasing she is using. Sara’s sister was involved in a near-death experience, and she explains how deeply impactful this experience was and how it has shaped how she lives. She cares very deeply for her younger sister and experiences intense pain and protectiveness when something negative happens. In this way, it seems that Sara is part of a larger collectivistic culture, due to the protectiveness and intense care she shows for her family. In the film, her life is mainly individualistic, but does indeed carry strong undertones of a collectivistic culture. Culture greatly deals with family and how one was raised, but it also heavily impacts individual relationships and how people interact within these connections. Cultures go about relationships and dating in drastically different ways. In some countries, couples are part of an arranged marriage, in other countries, the courting process is very formal, while in others, such as the one in Hitch, the relationship process is rather casual. Alex Hitchens works to bring couples together who wouldn’t normally be interested in one another, so perhaps one could label this as pairing a person from an in-group, with a person from an out-group. An in-group is a group where we find ourselves being able to identify with its members, whereas an out-group is a grouping of people with whom we would often label as different than us. In Hitch, the characters all deal with a great amount of power distance, which according to Adler (2012) is â€Å"†¦the degree to which members of a society accept an unequal distribution of power† (p. 39). The odd pairings Hitchens is able to bring together, often possess a higher degree of power distance. For example, Allegra and Albert, two people who no one ever thought could be together due to the extreme differences in their day to day lives and culture, were able to be together because the amount of power distance they saw in their relationships was minimal compared to what the outside world saw. The culture of New York deals with dating in a much more casual and open fashion. The thought that women are always looking for someone to be with, even if they say they’re not looking is extremely stressed. This shows aspects of an individualistic culture, due to the fact that the focus of life is greatly on oneself and the furthering of one’s life. Hitch displays many examples of culture weaved into normal, everyday life, both positive and negative. Conclusion The relationships that come together throughout Hitch, are wholly dependent upon communication. Their union is built upon a foundation of communication, both verbal and nonverbal, which is perceived in certain ways, and influenced by culture. The verbal communication is brought through spoken dialogue between people. Nonverbal communication is shown through body language and nonverbal cues, and as seen previously, makes up 60% of communication. Perception of verbal and nonverbal communication is pivotal, due to the fact that it is dependent upon the individual and how they understand something to be. Lastly, culture ties all of these aspects together, because it is due to the culture in which one is raised and the world in which they live in that they understand and interpret life. Hitch is a prime example of these aspects of communication because it brings together many of the important pieces of communication in a way that is easily relatable and understandable to the common person . References Adler, R. B., Rosenfeld, L. B., & Proctor II, R. R. (2012). Twelfth edition of interplay: the process of interpersonal communication. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, Inc. Cardova A., (November 14, 2012) Nonverbal Communication. Interpersonal Communications. Lecture conducted from Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR. Dictionary and Thesaurus – Merriam-Webster Online. (2012). Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 11/20/2012 from http://www.merriam-webster.com/ Tennant, A. (Director). Lassiter, J., Smith, W., Zee, T. (Producers). (2005). Hitch [Motion Picture] United States: Columbia Pictures