Does the Fairtrade movement offer a viable model for a more ethical Essay

Does the Fairtrade movement offer a viable model for a more ethical trading system Choose one of the following sectors to explo - Essay Example Ethical trading is the umbrella term used to denote and describe all types of business processes or practices, which borders on promoting socially as well as environmentally responsible trade. This was stated by Narasaiah (2006, p.148), â€Å"Ethical trade is one dimension of corporate social responsibility, bringing social issues into the mainstream of commercial supply chain management through the use of codes of conduct.† Although, the term is also used to refer to the trade practices in an organization’s supply chain, instead of ethical trading, the term Fair Trade is being used to denote the ethical trade practices in the supply chain. Although, the words Ethical Trade and Fair Trade are synonymously used or sometimes interchangeably used, there is some clear distinction between the two words. â€Å"Ethical trade focuses on employment conditions of workers within global value chains, as distinct from Fair Trade which focuses primarily on producer prices and tradin g relationships. (Barrientos, Conroy and Jones, 2007, p.60). Thus, Fair Trade is a form of trading, where the well-being of weak actors or producers in the supply chain is taken care, through optimal trading practices. That is, the big players need to carry out ethical practices and indulge in ethical trading, so that the interests of the small players or traders are protected. What is more, the Fair trade movement also focus on reducing the poverty and improving the living standard of primary producers or farmers. Successful organization will try to incorporate a feasible model for a more ethical trading system and this is applicable to organizations in any sector, including the food and drink sector. So, in this article, the argument will be made and the reason will be given on why Fair trade has become a viable model for more ethical trading system. Role of Fair Trade Fair Trade had its origins way back in 19th century in the form of Cooperative movement among the traders. Howeve r, it evolved more in the mid part of the 20th century. That is, it began with the Mennonite Central Committee, U.S. based service entity, deciding to do trade with the poor communities in the South in the 1940s. From that beginning, it further expanded and become a "movement" in the 1960s and 1970s. (Moore 2004). Fair Trade is the term given to the trade that is authorised and overseen by certain unbiased organizational bodies, whose role is to see whether that trade happens fairly giving the due benefits to the producers in the supply chain. The four main organizational bodies which formulated the guidelines that constitute Fair Trade, and gives Fair Trade recognition to specific producers and buyers, thereby overseeing the Fair Trade practices are Fair Trade Labelling Organizations International (FLO), World Fair Trade Organization (or formerly International Fair Trade Association), Network of European Worldshops (NEWS!) and European Fair Trade Association. To further actualize a n omnipresent body, which can coordinate and oversee all the Fair Trade practices, these four bodies created together FINE (starting letters of the four) in 1998, an informal body â€Å"whose goal is to harmonize fair trade standards and guidelines, increase the quality and efficiency of fair trade monitoring systems, and advocate fair trade politically.† (articlesbase.com 2011). This FINE is also responsible for

Scientific method Essay Example for Free

Scientific method Essay Empiricism is the theory that experience is of primary importance in giving us knowledge of the world. Whatever we learn in this world, we learn through perception using our senses, according to empiricists. Knowledge without experience with the possible exception of trivial semantic and logic truths, is impossible (‘theory of knowledge’). It is often opposed to with rationalism which is knowledge is attributed to reason independently from the senses. (Galvin, 2012) The tabula rasa or idea of the mind being a blank tablet as the independent observer is completely passive and should not attempt to influence the delivery of data first came from Aristotle (Galvin, 2012). Empirical methods reports the results of a study that uses data derived from actual observation or experiment used in ‘fields to allow testing’ and can be a substitute of anything that can allow theory to emerge from data (Cahill, 2012). There are two commonly known ways of collecting data which is 1. quantifying which is using numerical data or data that can be converted into numbers 2. qualitatively is exploring issues that raise questions that can be answered by a verbal analysis as they cannot be measured or do not require measurement (‘explorable. com’) The article that will be contextualized in this essay is the Ward et al. (2007) paper which is ‘Living and working in an urban class communities’. The paper interviews 141 carers with at least one dependent child in three contrasting areas in London and Manchester with the main focus on Wythenshawe. There are many authors in the creation of this journal who have their own individual contribution as well as collective input using other references. Kevin Ward is a political economist in Human Geography in Manchester, with interests in urban politics and policy (‘Manchester academic’). Collette Fagan is a research director of Social Science in Manchester University (Manchester academic’). Linda McDowell is a Professor of Human Geography at Oxford. She is of particular interest to this journal as she is an economic geographer interested in the connections between economic restructuring, labour market change and class and gender divisions in Great Britain (‘Oxford geography academic’). Diane Perrons is a Professor of Economic Geography and gender studies (‘London school of economics’) with Kath Ray being involved in Senior Research in a social policy group specialising in qualitative research (‘Policy studies institude’). The status that this journal obtains is that of economic, social and cultural structure in society of how low-income mothers cope, live and labour in a rapidly changing city as they preform paid work at the same time as ensuring social reproductions in the household. It is based on a working-class rank in society with the aims such as to draw attention to the lives of people in working class communities in order to address the imbalance caused by the rash of middle class studies and to emphasise the role played by mothers and their mothers in the everyday reproduction of households and communities (Ward et al. , 2007, pp. 314). It can be argued that the theme of the journal is the traditional economic structure of women shaping decisions around whether to preform paid work or conform themselves to caring duties. Given the authors roles as geographers and researchers, the content of the journal adapts well to the authors taking into account that it covers aspects in which they specialise in. An example of one author, Linda McDowell has been ‘at the forefront in the development of feminist perspectives on contemporary social and economic change’ (‘School of geography and the environment’) but as this journal indicates women in traditional roles and/or deprivation of income, Linda McDowell’s selection of this disadvantaged area allowed her as a feminist geographer to pose theories on the area and question the approach of pre-feminism tradition to be seen. In this paper, there are four selected concepts dealt with individually which are: 1. Getting by in the working class neighbourhoods 2. Intergenerational geographical immobility and a sense of place 3. A constrained juggling act of paid and unpaid work commitments and, 4. Unpaid and informal extended family care. In terms of work, many of the women talked about their time in paid and unpaid employment and the nature of their partners work. Women are dispensed in the 5 C’s and even when in full time employment are receiving 18% less than men. (Ward et al. , 2007, pp.314) Many of the women interviewed were part-time workers with only four out of sixteen women given in table 2 of Ward et al. , 2007, in full time employment. Women are seen to conforming to structural constraints in deciding whether to preform work or not with families needing at one and half or two incomes to be beyond poverty. Many households were questioned about amenities, leisure and extended family and childcare. Many of the women lived close by their families with more than 50% living within a mile of their parents as recorded in table four (Ward et al., 2007, pp. 317). It would advocate that various on the interviewees would not survive financially without being close to parents or other extended family members with the burden of childcare costs diminished slightly due to complementary care. Wythenshawe is a region in South Manchester which is the second most deprived local authority district on the 2004 index with low levels of house ownership and with many people suffering from unemployment in a region called Sharston within Wythenshawe. (ODPM, 2004, pp. 315) It showed a decline in population in Shartson in the years of 1991 and 2009 with a drop of 15% with twice as many lone parents with dependent children living there (Ward et al. , 2007, pp. 315) Many of the women that were in the areas are thought to be in a progression of spatial entrapment which is when companies relocate to areas of residence where women whose domestic responsibilities restrict their employment prospects and job search (Kim, 1993). With that, a selected number of women in this journal are victim to this theory mentioned. The study was theoretically driven as it was intended to reflect an array of household work and family circumstances as an entire area rather than characterise the household structure of a small area. Wythenshawe has many participants who have experienced the theory of the study and based on the philosophy that they were in a working class neighbourhood responding to contemporary challenges and how women in general manage responsibilities. Candidates were gathered from a range of locations such as pre-schools, playgroups, libraries, a number of other pre-school amenities and snowballing and which consisted of at least one pre-school child (Ward et al. , 2007, pp. 316-317). Each of the interviews lasted between one-two hours highlighting a number of themes with close attention paid to eleven women. The analysis was separated under different headings to differentiate the topics discussed. Interviews allow knowledge to be gained from personal experience and gives insight of the social structure and people’s experience of the world. Interviews are tedious but an effective method of documenting information. Surveys were used to gather statistics for a number of different topics in this study such as households, intergenerational mobility, and the type of work and hours performed. Surveys generally are a quick and easy way to collect data especially as this journal covers a larger area. With that, as these statistics are accounted for in a number of areas within Manchester some of the data produced may be misleading as many of the surveys are averages or have some information missing therefore not producing accurate data which may be deceptive. The case study overall is the most effective tool as the candidates chosen were able to relate to the hypothesis of the journal within the areas selected. Under the associated headings mention above, the results were represented under the various sections in regard to each candidate that was spoken to. The main method used was interviews therefore the verbal accounts from each individual are seen in particular areas of interest to the individuals allowing the journal to have a flow from topic to topic. The other results were collected and amounted into tables containing numerical data which the authors conducted themselves. The majority of the journal reflected the theoretical stance of the authors such as Kath Ray as her speciality of qualitative research was an independent tool in the research conducted. Also as many of the authors have specialities in gender roles and policies, much of the theory in the journal is leaned towards theses aspects. Empirical research methods will continue to play a helpful role in the qualitative research in geography. Empirical methods allow qualitative research to have proof to its theory as qualitative research is to describe the certain phenomenon and answering questions (‘QSR international’) Given that it provided information does not mean that the content of the theory in question is true, therefore, empirical research provides the an alternative for a test/experiment to be carried out to verify that research carried out is true and that qualitative research as a duplicate in theory and in practice. An area of the reported research that is not empiricist in approach is of course the bibliography. It contains resources that obtained some prior knowledge about the study before it was carried out. Overall, the journal shows the use of empiricism and empirical methods throughout. The contrasts between the two are highlighted in the analysis and results of the journal which portray their uses in geographical research. Section 2 Bridging the fields of geography and biology, biogeography is the study of the distribution of plants and animals across the earth (Potito, 2012). It requires a primary understanding of ecology and evolutionary factors through space and time concerned with identifying how historical, physical and biological factors have contributed to the past and present distributions of individuals, species, communities, ecosystems and biomes. The aims of the course is to introduce students to various methodologies used in biogeography research and hands-on field, lab and data analysis exercises that will allow students to put learned concepts into practice and give students experience working with the techniques used in biogeography. In sum of the above the learning outcomes is for one to have a comprehension of the basic principles of biogeography as a discipline, a developed capacity to apply the field of methodologies and data analysis techniques used and finally to critically understand the human impact on species distributions and conservation strategies. With regard to the course material covered so far, empiricism has found importance in some aspects covered. Although, there is a need for a more empirical approach as it is hard to distinguish between concepts of process and evidence of pattern and on the greater use of analytical methods (‘sciencedirect’). Much of physical geography modules are viewed purely as empiricism. They could once be viewed in this light but given present day resources they are aspects of both concepts seen in biogeography. The content and reading materials were once unique events experienced by the senses and were accepted as geological truths. This however was granted under no data to prove theories or events. Much of biogeography is about understanding theories about what has happened in the past such as extinction or succession patterns and using the knowledge that already exists to test theories and to try formulating the future. As it is a physical aspect of geography, the course also leans in the side of empirical methods as it involves labs and getting out into the field collecting data using a theory or hypothesis having prior knowledge about the experiment. Empirical methods are seen throughout the course so far as some of the theory thought has shown results of tested theory in numerical forms of data etc†¦ In relation to empiricism and empirical methods in biogeography, it is defined by the courses aims and objectives as much of the course (so far) has been introducing pre-existing information/evidence of various methodologies used in the research of biogeography and collecting data out in the ‘field’ of observation during lab sessions and putting learned concepts into practice which gives the students hands-on experience. The course should consider using more of an empirical method approach for students to gain a wider understanding of world experience in the field as researchers and testing hypothesis. Bibliography Section 1: Cahill, R. , and Galvin, S. , (2012), Theory and Practice 1, Empiricism, [online], (‘https://nuigalway. blackboard. com/webapps/portal/frameset. jsp? tab_tab_group_id=_2_1url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_32490_1%26url%3D’) Accessed 31 October 2012. Explorable. com (2009), Research Designs: Quantitative and Qualitative Research [online], (‘http://explorable. com/quantitative-and-qualitative-research. html’) Accessed 31 October 2012. Fagan, C. , and Ward, K. , (1998/2007), Manchester academic; Staff profiles [online], The University of Manchester, (‘http://www. manchester. ac. uk/research/directory/staffprofiles/’) Accessed on 31 October 2012. Kim, V. L. , (1993), Suburban Pink Collar Ghettos; The Spatial Entrapment of Women, 83 (2), pp. 225-242. McDowell, Linda. , (2012), School of Geography and the Environment; Staff profiles [online], University of Oxford, (http://www.geog. ox. ac. uk/staff/lmcdowell. html ‘’), Accessed on 31 October 2012. ODMP, (2004). The English Indices of Deprivation (revised). London, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister [online], (‘http://www. communities. gov. uk/documents/communities/pdf/131209. pdf’) Accessed on 31 October 2012. Perrons, D. , (2009) Research and Expertise; LSE Experts Directory [online], The London School of Economic and Political Science (‘http://www2. lse. ac. uk/researchAndExpertise/Experts/d. [emailprotected] ac. uk’).

Greek Gods :: essays research papers

The Greek Gods Many people would blatantly state that the importance of the gods in Greek society derives from the fact that Gods in any society are usually used to explain phenomenon that people cannot logically comprehend, but in ancient Greece gods were actually entities that took part in the workings of society itself. Even simple aspects of day-to-day life such as sex and disputes between mortals were supposedly influenced by godly workings. Unlike modern religions such as Catholicism, Buddhism, and Hinduism, where an omnipotent force supposedly controls the workings of the world, a hierarchy of Gods characterized religion in ancient Greece. Working as one big family, which they actually were, each one of the Greek gods governed a certain aspect of the world in a way that usually reflected their own humanlike personalities. These unique personalities also contained many human flaws such as envy and greed, and were where the Greek God’s importance lay. Greek religion was more concentrated on the way an individual dealt with situations that popped up in the world around him than on understanding the world itself. In other words the Greeks were more interested in the workings of the mind than in the workings of the environment around them. This was so because unlike us, the Greeks believed that they already had explanations for trivial questions such as, “Where the world came from?'; “Who are we?'; and “Who controls the world around us?'; To them all these questions could simply be explained by looking at their own mythology. It is hard for us to really understand how deeply these beliefs were rooted into their personalities, to the Greeks if some natural phenomenon occurred it occurred because one of their gods had decided to make it occur, it was just as simple as that. The existence of the God’s to the Greeks was something just as simple as that the fact that the sky is blue is simple to us. The strength of these preconceived ideas can be seen in Strepsiades’s words while he argues with Socrates in Aristophanes’s The Clouds: STREPSIADES: “What on earth - ! You mean you don’t believe in Zeus?'; SOCRATES: “Zeus? Who’s Zeus?'; STREPSIADES: “Zeus who lives on Olympus, of course.';   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  SOCRATES: “Now really, you should know better. There is no Zeus.';   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  STREPSIADES: “What? Well, who sends the rain, then? Answer me that.';   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In General the Greeks respected and feared their gods because they understood that they were superior creatures, but they usually felt differently about different gods depending on that God’s personality and the myths that surrounded his existence.

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner Chapters 10

Before I could process this, Riley roared out an animalistic shriek of rage. He was staring down at the ashy remains on the floor, his eyes bulging in fury. Everyone stood silent, immobile. We'd al seen Riley lose his temper, but this was something different. Riley spun and raked his fingers through a blaring speaker, then ripped it from the wal and hurled it across the room. Jen and Kristie dodged out of the way as it exploded into the far wal, sending up a cloud of pulverized drywal dust. Riley smashed the sound system with his foot, and the thudding bass went silent. Then he leaped to where Raoul stood, and grabbed him by the throat. â€Å"I wasn't even here!† Raoul yel ed, looking afraid – I'd never seen that before. Riley growled hideously and threw Raoul as he'd thrown the speaker. Jen and Kristie jumped out of the way again. Raoul's body crashed right through the wal, leaving an enormous hole. Riley caught Kevin by the shoulder and – with a familiar screech – ripped off his right hand. Kevin cried out in pain and tried to twist out of Riley's grip. Riley kicked him in the side. Another harsh shriek and Riley had the rest of Kevin's arm. He tore the arm in half at the elbow and threw the pieces hard into Kevin's anguished face – smack, smack, smack, like a hammer striking stone. â€Å"What is wrong with you?† Riley screamed at us. â€Å"Why are you al so stupid?† He made a grab for the blond Spider-Man kid, but that kid leaped out of his way. His jump left him too close to Fred, and he stumbled back toward Riley again, gagging. â€Å"Do any of you have a brain?† Riley smacked a kid named Dean into the entertainment center, shattering it, then caught another girl – Sara – and tore her left ear and a handful of hair from her head. She snarled in anguish. It became suddenly obvious that Riley was doing a very dangerous thing. There were a lot of us in here. Already Raoul was back, with Kristie and Jen – usual y his enemies – flanking him defensively. A few others banded together in clusters around the room. I wasn't sure if Riley was aware of the threat or if his rant came to an end natural y. He took a deep breath. He tossed Sara her ear and the hair. She recoiled away from him, licking the torn edge of her ear, coating it with venom so that it would reattach. There was no remedy for the hair, though; Sara was going to have a bald spot. â€Å"Listen to me!† Riley said, quiet but fierce. â€Å"Al our lives depend on you listening to what I'm saying now and thinking! We are al going to die. Every one of us, you and me, too, if you can't act like you have brains for just a few short days!† This was nothing like his usual lectures and pleadings for control. He definitely had everyone's attention. â€Å"It's time for you to grow up and take responsibility for yourselves. Do you think you get to live like this for free? That al the blood in Seattle doesn't have a price?† The little clusters of vampires no longer seemed threatening. Everyone was wide-eyed, some exchanging mystified glances. I saw Fred's head turn toward me in my peripheral vision, but I didn't meet his gaze. My attention was focused on two things: Riley, just in case he started to attack again, and the door. The door that was stil closed. â€Å"Are you listening now? Real y listening?† Riley paused, but no one nodded. The room was very stil . â€Å"Let me explain to you the precarious situation we are al in. I'l try to keep it simple for the slowest ones. Raoul, Kristie, come here.† He motioned to the leaders of the two largest gangs, al ied for this brief moment against him. Neither of them moved toward him. They braced themselves, Kristie baring her teeth. I expected Riley to soften, to apologize. To placate them and then persuade them to do what he wanted. But this was a different Riley. â€Å"Fine,† he snapped. â€Å"We're going to need leaders if we're going to survive, but apparently neither of you is up to the task. I thought you had aptitude. I was wrong. Kevin, Jen, please join me as the heads of this team.† Kevin looked up in surprise. He had just finished putting his arm back together. Though his expression was wary, it was also unmistakably flattered. He slowly got to his feet. Jen looked at Kristie as if waiting for permission. Raoul ground his teeth together. The door at the top of the stairs did not open. â€Å"Are you not able, either?† Riley asked, irritated. Kevin took a step toward Riley, but then Raoul rushed him, leaping across the long room in two low bounds. He shoved Kevin against the wal without a word and then stood by Riley's right shoulder. Riley permitted himself a tiny smile. The manipulation wasn't subtle, but it was effective. â€Å"Kristie or Jen, who wil lead us?† Riley asked with a hint of amusement in his voice. Jen was stil waiting for a sign from Kristie as to what she should do. Kristie glowered at Jen for an instant, then flipped her sandy hair out of her face and darted to stand on Riley's other side. â€Å"That took too long to decide,† Riley said seriously. â€Å"We don't have the luxury of time. We don't get to fool around anymore. I've let you al do pretty much whatever you feel like, but that ends tonight.† He looked around the room, meeting everyone's eyes, making sure we were listening. I held his gaze for only a second when it was my turn, and then my eyes flipped back to the door. I corrected instantly, but his glare had moved on. I wondered if he'd noticed my slip. Or had he seen me at al, here beside Fred? â€Å"We have an enemy,† Riley announced. He let that sink in for a moment. I could tel the idea was shocking to several of the vampires in the basement. The enemy was Raoul – or if you were with Raoul, the enemy was Kristie. The enemy was here, because the whole world was here. The thought that there were other forces out there strong enough to affect us was new for most. Would have been new to me, too, yesterday. â€Å"A few of you might be smart enough to have realized that if we exist, so do other vampires. Other vampires who are older, smarter†¦ more talented. Other vampires who want our blood!† Raoul hissed, and then several of his fol owers echoed him in support. â€Å"That's right,† Riley said, seeming intent on egging them on. â€Å"Seattle was once theirs, but they moved on a long time ago. Now they know about us, and they are jealous of the easy blood they used to have here. They know it belongs to us now, but they want to take it back. They are coming after what they want. One by one, they'l hunt us down! We'l burn while they feast!† â€Å"Never,† Kristie growled. Some of hers and some of Raoul's growled, too. â€Å"We don't have a lot of choices,† Riley told us. â€Å"If we wait for them to show up here, they wil have the advantage. This is their turf, after al . And they don't want to face us head-on, because we outnumber them and we are stronger than they are. They want to catch us separated; they want to take advantage of our biggest weakness. Are any of you smart enough to know what that is?† He pointed at the ashes at his feet – now smeared into the carpet and unrecognizable as a former vampire – and waited. No one moved. Riley made a disgusted sound. â€Å"Unity!† he shouted. â€Å"We don't have it! What kind of a threat can we pose when we won't stop kil ing each other?† He kicked the dust, sending up a smal black cloud. â€Å"Can you imagine them laughing at us? They think taking the city from us wil be easy. That we're weak with stupidity! That we'l just hand them our blood.† Half the vampires in the room snarled in protest now. â€Å"Can you work together, or do we al die?† â€Å"We can take them, boss,† Raoul growled. Riley scowled at him. â€Å"Not if you can't control yourself! Not if you can't cooperate with every single person in this room. Anyone you take out† – his toe nudged the ashes again – â€Å"might be the one who could have kept you alive. Every one of your coven that you kil is like handing our enemies a gift. Here, you're saying, take me down! â€Å" Kristie and Raoul exchanged a glance as if they were seeing each other for the first time. Others did the same. The word coven was not unfamiliar, but none of us had applied it to our group before. We were a coven. â€Å"Let me tel you about our enemies,† Riley said, and al eyes locked on his face. â€Å"They are a much older coven than we are. They've been around for hundreds of years, and they've survived that long for a reason. They are crafty and they are skil ed and they are coming to retake Seattle with confidence – because they've heard the only ones they'l have to fight for it are a bunch of disorganized children who wil do half their work for them!† More growls, but some were less angry than they were wary. A few of the quieter vampires, the ones Riley would have cal ed tamer, looked skittish. Riley noticed that, too. â€Å"This is how they see us, but that's because they can't see us together. Together, we can crush them. If they could see al of us, side by side, fighting together, they would be terrified. And that's how they're going to see us. Because we're not going to wait for them to show up here and start picking us off. We're going to ambush them. In four days.† Four days? I guessed our creator didn't want to cut it too close to the deadline. I looked at the closed door again. Where was Diego? Others reacted to the deadline with surprise, some with fear. â€Å"It's the last thing they'l expect,† Riley assured us. â€Å"Al of us – together – waiting for them. And I've saved the best part for last. There are only seven of them.† There was an instant of incredulous silence. Then Raoul said, â€Å"What?† Kristie stared at Riley with the same disbelieving expression, and I heard muttered whispers around the room. â€Å"Seven?† â€Å"Are you kidding me?† â€Å"Hey,† Riley snapped. â€Å"I wasn't joking when I said this coven is dangerous. They are wise and†¦ devious. Underhanded. We wil have power on our side; they wil have deception. If we play it their way, they will win. But if we take it to them on our terms†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Riley didn't finish, he just smiled. â€Å"Let's go now,† Raoul urged. â€Å"Let's get 'em out of the picture fast.† Kevin growled enthusiastical y. â€Å"Slow down, moron. Rushing into things blind isn't going to help us win,† Riley chided him. â€Å"Tel us everything we need to know about them,† Kristie encouraged, shooting Raoul a superior look. Riley hesitated, as if deciding how to word something. â€Å"Al right, where to begin? I guess the first thing you need to know is†¦ that you don't know everything there is to know about vampires yet. I didn't want to overwhelm you in the beginning.† Another pause while everyone looked confused. â€Å"You have a little bit of experience with what we cal talents.' We have Fred.† Everyone looked at Fred – or rather they tried to. I could tel from Riley's expression that Fred did not like being singled out. It looked like Fred had real y turned up the volume on his â€Å"talent,† as Riley cal ed it. Riley cringed and looked away quickly. I stil didn't feel anything. â€Å"Yes, wel, there are some vampires who have gifts beyond the usual super strength and super senses. You've seen one aspect in†¦ our coven.† He was careful not to say Fred's name again. â€Å"Gifts are rare – one in fifty, maybe – but every one is different. There's a huge range of gifts out there, and some of them are more powerful than others.† I could hear a lot of murmurs now as people wondered if they might be talented. Raoul was preening like he'd already decided he was gifted. As far as I could tel, the only one around here that was in any way special was standing next to me. â€Å"Pay attention!† Riley commanded. â€Å"I'm not tel ing you this for entertainment.† â€Å"This enemy coven,† Kristie interjected. â€Å"They're talented. Right?† Riley gave her an approving nod. â€Å"Exactly. I'm glad someone here can connect the dots.† Raoul's upper lip twitched back over his teeth. â€Å"This coven is dangerously talented,† Riley went on, his voice dropping to a hushed whisper. â€Å"They have a mind reader.† He examined our faces, looking to see if we got the importance of this revelation. He didn't seem satisfied with his assessment. â€Å"Think, guys! He'l know everything in your head. If you attack, he'l know what move you're going to make before you know it. You go left, he'l be waiting.† There was a nervous stil ness as everyone imagined this. â€Å"This is why we've been so careful – me, and the one who created you.† Kristie flinched away from Riley when he mentioned her. Raoul looked angrier. Nerves strained universal y. â€Å"You don't know her name, and you don't know what she looks like. This protects us al . If they'd stumbled across one of you alone, they wouldn't realize that you were connected to her, and they might have let you be. If they knew you were part of her coven, there would be no delay in your execution.†

Learning Team Reflection Essay

Introduction In business, quality refers measures of excellence and remaining free of defects, deficiencies, and significant variations. Quality products or services are brought about by the commitment to abide by certain standards. These standards are put in place to maintain customer or user satisfaction, (Business Dictionary.com, 2014). In this paper, Learning Team A will discuss total quality management, ISO standards, how these standards are used to improve an organization, benefits and challenges of these standards, and the role of the quality control department within an organization in relation to TQM and ISO standards. Total Quality Management and ISO Total quality management may be defined as managing the entire organization so that it excels on all dimensions of products and services that are important to the customer, (Jacobs, H., & Chase, R., 2011).† The two primary goals of total quality management (TQM) are to ensure that the product or service is carefully designed, and secondly, to ensure systems within the organization can consistently produce and design the product or service. TQM resembles Six Sigma to a great degree, but it is a different process. TQM focuses on ensuring standards and guidelines are actually reducing errors while Sigma looks to reduce defects, (Jacobs, H., & Chase, R., 2011).† ISO are a series of standards used to measure quality. These guidelines are international guidelines established by the Internal Organization for Standardization. To gain certification for these standards, the process takes greater than a year. ISO 9000 represents standards for the criteria that need to be met during manufacturing processes. ISO 14000 refers to rules or guidelines set for environmental management of industrial production. This standard simply promotes useful tools for businesses to help manage environmental impact, (Investopedia, 2014). Advantages of TQM and ISO in organizations Customer satisfaction is the main goal for every organization. Customers are satisfied if they get a product or service that meets their expectation and if it is of fair price. Total Quality management helps to provide this quality assurance for the customers. It helps the organization to make the needed corrections and improve production. Apart from satisfied customers, organizations also need to improve their efficiency and effectiveness of doing business. TQM places a focus on internal process that includes process alignment, consistent delivery and process productivity (CEBOS, 2012). With TQM, organizations will have a longer term competitive edge. TQM is a philosophy that empowers all the employees and it promotes continuous and sustained improvement. Its basic principle is that the cost of prevention is less than the cost of correction (Gharakhani, Rahmati, Farrokhi, & Farahmandian, 2013). Like TQM, ISO also provides benefits for a business. According to (ISO, 2014), when a company improves its operations, it saves cost. Having internationalized standards will improve operations and reduces operational expenses. Standards will help to enhance customer satisfaction and access new markets. It also helps companies to increase their productivity and stay in the competitive edge. ISO 9000, certification increases marketability and reduces product liability risks, because the quality of the product is enhanced. With the ISO 14000, organizations reduce their footprint in global environment. ISO14000 helps companies to save in energy consumption, reduce the cost of waste management, and improve corporate image among regulators, customers and the public (ISO, 2014). References Business Dictionary.com (2014). Quality. Retrieved from, Business Dictionary.com Web site: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/quality.html Investopedia (2014). ISO 9000. Retrieved from, Investopedia Web site: http://www.investopedia.com/terms/i/iso-9000.asp Investopedia (2014). ISO 14000. Retrieved from, Investopedia Web site: http://www.investopedia.com/terms/i/iso-14000.asp Jacobs, F., & Chase, R. (2011). Product and Service Design. In (Ed.), Operations and Supply Chain Management (13th ed., pp. 38-67). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill Irwin. CEBOS (2012). How Can TQM Make Your Business More Successful?. Retrieved from, CEBOS Web site: http://www.cebos.com/how-can-tqm-make-your-business-more-successful/ Gharakhani, D., Rahmati, H., Farrokhi, M. R., & Farahmandian, A. (2013). Total Quality Management and Organizational Performance. American Journal of Industrial Engineering, 1(3), pp. 45-50. ISO. (2014). Benefits of International Standards. Retrieved from http://www.iso.org/iso/home/standards/benefitsofstandards.htm ISO. (2014). ISO 14000 – Environmental management. Retrieved from http://www.iso.org/iso/home/standards/benefitsofstandards.htm

Name the year - Emphasis

Name the year Name the year Almost a month into the first year of the new decade and the time may have come to pick a side: is it twenty-ten or two thousand and ten? Most people seem to be automatically going with the latter, but they are wrong to do so, claims one American group. This is NAGG (the National Association of Good Grammar), a small group that may actually just be one bloke, a cat and a kettle (they dont even have their own website). Despite their size, they are reportedly very vocal on this subject. Theyre adamant it should be twenty ten and are, frankly, exceedingly put out that we spent the last ten years saying two thousand. Founder Tom Torriglia points out that we are not following the pattern of the twentieth century. Prince never sang, Tonight were going to party like its one thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine, thats for sure.

WH Auden essays

WH Auden essays Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone This piece of text is a poem revolved around funeral blues, and the grief people feel when a loved one dies. Stop all the clocks was written by W. H. Auden and was first published as Song IX FROM Twelve Songs printed in England, in 1936. It was reprinted under its present title in Tell me the truth about love printed in America 1976. The purpose of the text is, due to its emotive nature, an outlet for Audens grief about the death of one of his close friends. W. H. Auden uses a wide variety of language techniques in his poem to impact on the reading of the text. His use of tone, the use of emotive language and word choice, concepts in the text, and the content of the text very successfully portray change in the text. The tone of the poem is a very negative depressed one. This is due to the fact that the poem is about a funeral, and how some people feel when someone close to them has died. By using this tone, Auden shows the change he has undergone into depression due to the fact that someone close to his has died. For example: The stars are not wanted now: put out every one; Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun; Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood. For nothing now can ever come to any good. The extent of his sadness is also shown through the language he uses in the above stanza. For nothing now can ever come to any good Auden has obviously undergone a change since the death of his friend, and the change must have been a very intense and painful one as the language and tone used is very emotive. The use of imagery in reference to nature (also in the above stanza) adds to what extent Auden is changing. This imagery is in relation to very large ideas (the oceans, moon and sun) and this reflects the extent of Audens grief, which is obviously very large. ...

General James Wolfe in the French and Indian War

General James Wolfe in the French and Indian War Major General James Wolfe was one of Britains most famous commanders during the French and Indian/Seven Years War (1754-1763). Entering the army at a young age, he distinguished himself during the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748) as well as aided in putting down the Jacobite Rising in Scotland. With the beginning of the Seven Years War, Wolfe initially served in Europe before being dispatched to North America in 1758. Serving under Major General Jeffery Amherst, Wolfe played a key role in the capture of the French fortress at Louisbourg and then received command of the army tasked with taking Quebec. Arriving before the city in 1759, Wolfe was killed in the fighting as his men defeated the French and captured the city. Early Life James Peter Wolfe was born January 2, 1727, at Westerham, Kent. The eldest son of Colonel Edward Wolfe and Henriette Thompson, he was raised locally until the family moved to Greenwich in 1738. From a moderately distinguished family, Wolfes uncle Edward held a seat in Parliament while his other uncle, Walter, served as an officer in the British Army. In 1740, at the age of thirteen, Wolfe entered the military and joined his fathers 1st Regiment of Marines as a volunteer. The following year, with Britain fighting Spain in the War of Jenkins Ear, he was prevented from joining his father on Admiral Edward Vernons expedition against Cartagena due to illness. This proved to be a blessing as the attack was a failure with many of the British troops succumbing to disease during the three-month campaign. The conflict with Spain soon became absorbed into the War of the Austrian Succession. War of the Austrian Succession In 1741, Wolfe received a commission as a second lieutenant in his fathers regiment. Early the following year, he transferred to the British Army for service in Flanders. Becoming a lieutenant in the 12th Regiment of Foot, he also served as the units adjutant as it assumed a position near Ghent. Seeing little action, he was joined in 1743 by his brother Edward. Marching east as part of George IIs Pragmatic Army, Wolfe traveled to southern Germany later that year. During the course of the campaign, the army was trapped by the French along the Main River. Engaging the French at the Battle of Dettingen, the British and their allies were able to throw back several enemy assaults and escape the trap. Highly active during the battle, the teenage Wolfe had a horse shot from under him and his actions came to the attention of the Duke of Cumberland. Promoted to captain in 1744, he was shifted to the 45th Regiment of Foot. Seeing little action that year, Wolfes unit served in Field Marshal George Wades failed campaign against Lille.  A year later, he missed the Battle of Fontenoy as his regiment was posted to garrison duty at Ghent. Departing the city shortly before its capture by the French, Wolfe received a promotion to brigade major. A short time later, his regiment was recalled to Britain to aid in defeating the Jacobite Rebellion led by Charles Edward Stuart. The Forty-Five Dubbed The Forty-Five, Jacobite forces defeated Sir John Cope at Prestonpans in September after mounting an effective Highland charge against the government lines. Victorious, the Jacobites marched south and advanced as far as Derby. Dispatched to Newcastle as part of Wades army, Wolfe served under Lieutenant General Henry Hawley during the campaign to crush the rebellion. Moving north, he took part in the defeat at Falkirk on January 17, 1746. Retreating to Edinburgh, Wolfe and the army came under the command of Cumberland later that month. Shifting north in pursuit of Stuarts army, Cumberland wintered in Aberdeen before resuming the campaign in April. Marching with the army, Wolfe took part in the decisive Battle of Culloden on April 16 which saw the Jacobite army crushed. In the wake of the victory at Culloden, he famously refused to shoot a wounded Jacobite soldier despite orders from either the Duke of Cumberland or Hawley. This act of mercy later endeared him to the Scottish troops under his command in North America. The Continent and Peace Returning to the Continent in 1747, Wolfe served under Major General Sir John Mordaunt during the campaign to defend Maastricht. Taking part in the bloody defeat at the Battle of Lauffeld, he again distinguished himself and earned an official commendation. Wounded in the fighting, he remained in the field until the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle ended the conflict in early 1748. Already a veteran at age twenty-one, Wolfe was promoted to major and assigned to command the 20th Regiment of Foot at Stirling. Often battling ill-health, he worked tirelessly to improve his education and in 1750 received a promotion to lieutenant colonel. In 1752, Wolfe received permission to travel and made trips to Ireland and France. During these excursions, he furthered his studies, made several important political contacts, and visited important battlefields such as the Boyne . The Seven Years' War While in France, Wolfe received an audience with Louis XV and worked to enhance his language and fencing skills. Though wishing to remain in Paris in 1754, the declining relationship between Britain and France forced his return to Scotland. With the formal beginning of the Seven Years War in 1756 (fighting began in North America two years earlier), he was promoted to colonel and ordered to Canterbury, Kent to defend against an anticipated French invasion. Shifted to Wiltshire, Wolfe continued to battle health issues leading some to believe that he was suffering from consumption. In 1757, he rejoined Mordaunt for a planned amphibious attack on Rochefort. Serving as quartermaster general for the expedition, Wolfe and the fleet sailed on September 7. Though Mordaunt captured ÃŽle dAix offshore, he proved reluctant to press on to Rochefort despite having caught the French by surprise. Advocating aggressive action, Wolfe scouted the approaches to the city and repeatedly asked for troops to execute an attack. The requests were refused and the expedition ended in failure. Louisbourg Despite the poor results at Rochefort, Wolfes actions brought him to the attention of Prime Minister William Pitt. Seeking to expand the war in the colonies, Pitt promoted several aggressive officers to high ranks with the goal of achieving decisive results. Elevating Wolfe to brigadier general, Pitt sent him to Canada to serve under Major General Jeffery Amherst. Tasked with capturing the fortress of Louisbourg on Cape Breton Island, the two men formed an effective team. In June 1758, the army moved north from Halifax, Nova Scotia with naval support provided by Admiral Edward Boscawen. On June 8, Wolfe was tasked with leading the opening landings in Gabarus Bay. Though supported by the guns of Boscawens fleet, Wolfe and his men were initially prevented from landing by French forces. Pushed east, they located a small landing area protected by large rocks. Going ashore, Wolfes men secured a small beachhead which allowed the remainder of Wolfes men to land. Having gained a foothold ashore, he played a key role in Amhersts capture of the city the following month. With Louisbourg taken, Wolfe was ordered to raid French settlements around the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Though the British had wished to attack Quebec in 1758, defeat at the Battle of Carillon on Lake Champlain and the lateness of the season prevented such a move. Returning to Britain, Wolfe was tasked by Pitt with the capture of Quebec. Given the local rank of major general, Wolfe sailed with a fleet led by Admiral Sir Charles Saunders. To Quebec Arriving off Quebec in early June 1759, Wolfe surprised the French commander, the Marquis de Montcalm, who had expected an attack from the south or west. Establishing his army on the Ile dOrlà ©ans and the south shore of the St. Lawrence at Point Levis, Wolfe began a bombardment of the city and ran ships past its batteries to reconnoiter for landing places upstream. On July 31, Wolfe attacked Montcalm at Beauport but was repulsed with heavy losses (Map). Stymied, Wolfe began to focus on landing to west of the city. While British ships raided upstream and threatened Montcalms supply lines to Montreal, the French leader was forced to disperse his army along the north shore to prevent Wolfe from crossing. Not believing that another assault at Beauport would be successful, Wolfe began planning a landing just beyond Pointe-aux-Trembles. This was canceled due to poor weather and on September 10 he informed his commanders that he intended to cross at Anse-au-Foulon. A small cove southwest of the city, the landing beach at Anse-au-Foulon required British troops to come ashore and ascend a slope and small road to reach the Plains of Abraham above. Moving forward on the night of September 12/13, British forces succeeded in landing and reaching the plains above by morning. Plains of Abraham Forming for battle, Wolfes army was confronted by French troops under Montcalm. Advancing to attack in columns, Montcalms lines were quickly shattered by British musket fire and soon began retreating. Early in the battle, Wolfe was struck in the wrist. Bandaging the injury he continued, but was soon hit in the stomach and chest. Issuing his final orders, he died on the field. As the French retreated, Montcalm was mortally wounded and died the next day. Having won a key victory in North America, Wolfes body was returned to Britain where he was interred in the family vault at St. Alfege Church, Greenwich alongside his father. Death of Wolfe by Benjamin West. Photograph Source: Public Domain

Analysis of Homeland Security Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Analysis of Homeland Security - Assignment Example Although security experts agree that the two are the greatest security threats to the country’s homeland security, opinion is still divided as to which of the two poses the greatest security threat to the United States homeland security. However, after conducting a thorough analysis of the operations of the Americanization of terrorist groups and the home has grown terrorists over the past few years, it goes without doubt that the current greatest threat to the U.S homeland security is the home has grown/lone wolf terrorist groups. Firstly, the events that have happened in the recent past shows that the terrorist has changed their tactics to from plotting a large-scale attack on the homegrown or lone wolf attack. With the growth of the internet, homegrown extremists and sympathizers of the so-called American enemies are increasingly becoming radicalized via the internet (Olsson, 2014; Gartenstein-Ross and Grossman, 2009). Some even travel to different countries where they are trained and come back to carry out attacks on their own without any assistance. For instance, investigations have unearthed that the two brothers who carried the Boston Bomb attacks were radicalized through the internet by the Islamist propaganda. These were American citizens who had no any affiliation with the terror groups such as the Al-Qaeda (Zennie, 2014; Herrmann, 2014). The Boston Marathon attack clearly demonstrates that the biggest threat to the U.S. homeland security is the homegrown/lone wolf terror groups and not the Americanization of terror groups as some experts conjecture. The Boston Marathon resulted in the death of three people and left about 264 others wounded after detonating two grenades.  To make matters worse, ISIS has increased propaganda campaign on the social media, which has seen a huge number of Westerners move to Iraq and Syria to support them in the fight (CNN, 2014).   

Examine the shifting values of civil liberties in the new millennium Research Paper

Examine the shifting values of civil liberties in the new millennium that has seen greater public tolerance of government surveillance and record-keeping - Research Paper Example There have been several events that have triggered the re-evaluation of the way civil privacy protection is balanced with police surveillance. During the period that has passed after the terrorist attack of 9/11, there have been diverse changes being implemented in the technological advances; federal law and the interpretation of privacy safeguards by the courts have created an expansion in the ways through which the police may facilitate surveillance of different civil activities or in the ways through which they can frisk citizens in public places for any particular reason. The rationale of this article is to scrutinize the different factors that may promote the escalation of police surveillance with regards to the type of effects that police surveillance has on civil life and privacy rights while also drawing conclusions on newspaper reports on the situations whereby issues have been raised in regards to stop-and-frisk policy. (http://www.surveillance-and-society.org/articles4 (3) /escalating.pdf‎) The way people view privacy and surveillance have been dramatically altered over the years and the change has been more evident in the balance between individual privacy rights and police surveillance authority. A significant section of the American public attributes the change to the 9/11 event to have catalyzed the search authority that has been related to the police surveillance. Surveillance has been modified and made quite inclusive of elements that were not previously connected to threat warnings, and with the advances made in the technology platform, a thin line has to be drawn as to what is acceptable by law and what should be considered as interference with the rights of an individual. Any form of threat to the safety of the American public has been defined in the constitution with the recommendations on the specific ways through which these issues of threat to national security have to be handled

Managing change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Managing change - Essay Example Clearly, there is a separation of vision within the executive leadership group mandating an immediate necessity to unify this group by way of establishing a singular strategic goal for securing the banks continued growth and obtaining policies which enhance internal productivity. A common purpose derived of senior-level unity of vision is a missing element from the organizational climate and this level of division is having a profound trickle down effect on the banking staff which further creates a disorganized and uncertain culture. Further, the rigid top-down leadership hierarchy of command established within the bank prevents empowering staff to utilize their vast skills through self-managed contributions. The breakdown of communication in the Australian Regional Bank can best be defined in the organizations lack of development regarding customer relationship management and this collapse of communication is impacting productivity on all levels. Despite the banks history of substantial successes, radical change in terms of internal practice is proposed in order to move forward as a cohesive business entity. Developing a common purpose within the executive leadership group should be recognized as a primary objective in order to establish a clear path forward in terms of how the company intends to sustain growth in its industry. While some new executives continue to resist the direction proposed by the Chief General Manager, others are attempting to mimic opposing successes established in the executives previous career position. This division amongst leadership is substantially visible to the bank employees, creating a sense of confusion, doubt, and mistrust in terms of perceived manager/employee relationships. Lack of management visibility and support, especially for companies experiencing a transitional phase, will directly affect employees perceptions about whether or not the company is well-managed (Boles & Sunoo, 1998). Faith in

Current Status of Security Awareness Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Current Status of Security Awareness - Essay Example Therefore, perspectives and items that represent information security awareness should meet basic operational or user-level information security concerns. Organizational size should not differentiate among the information security concerns for desktop computer management, computer virus protection, and local-area-network issues. These types of information security concerns are applicable to basic user-level information security awareness in the business computing-environments. Therefore, in developing an information security awareness construct, two questions must be considered: â€Å"A domain definition of a concept is the specific meaning of interest for a given research context and an adequate domain can be extremely useful in furthering a topic of interest to academic societies† (Templeton, 2000, p. 57). The literature expresses three interrelated perspectives of technology, policy, and threat context for a definitional meaning of information security awareness (ISA). Schou and Trimmer (2004) stated that technology is the most obvious and expensive countermeasure, which summarizes the technology view. The technology perspective views ISA as an assortment of hardware and software capabilities that individual IS users, with sufficient computer literacy, manipulate as tools. However, the costs associated with technology acquisition, implementation, and training can be prohibitive. The information security literature provides a theoretical basis leading to the belief that different technology capabilities and associated computer literacy will affect ISA. Through the technology view, ISA represents an individual IS user applying a specific, appropriate technology for a specific security concern. Schou and Timmer. (2002) illustrated the technology view with the variety of technologies made available to secure Internet computing. A second ISA measure from the technology view is user comprehension, or understanding specific technologies to address

Western Civilization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 5

Western Civilization - Essay Example The Lutherans, according to Alles & Ellwood (pp.270), believe that salvation of the human race comes from the grace of God. The same applies in the case of Calvinism, whose basics are of the belief that God’s grace is the final, and that He chooses who save unconditionally. Catholicism is also of the belief that through God’s grace, human beings are spared from destruction (Kielbasa & Singer-Towns,  pp.7). The three religions also hold the view that there is life after death. More so, the believers of the word are bound to have an eternal life that is rewarding. In this context, therefore, these religions advocate for building a lasting rapport between the followers of the religion and God. On the contrary, Lutheranism does not advocate for total reliance on the church. Though Lutheranism has churches and ministers of the word, this religion is of the opinion that the church need not be there for the individuals to develop a relationship with God. Both Calvinism and Catholicism believe in the church and the need to have total discipline whilst in the house of the Lord. Catholics, for instance require their members to attend mass on the Lord’s Day to celebrate the resurrection of Christ (Kielbasa & Singer-Towns,  pp.8). Lutheranism believes that it is only God who can save. Lutherans have the permit to pray to God directly, without confessions to a person. Catholics believe that the pope has some form of powers on the lives of the individuals. Through these persons- the pope and saints- the followers hold the view that God will pardon their sins. They also believe in confession of sins and praying on behalf of ‘pure’ persons (Kielbasa & Singer-Towns,  pp.8). The same would apply in the case of Calvinism, which believes that specific persons have been called to save the others from sin. From a critical view of the beliefs of the religion, the differences are more than the similarities. The concept of

Current Status of Security Awareness Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Current Status of Security Awareness - Essay Example Therefore, perspectives and items that represent information security awareness should meet basic operational or user-level information security concerns. Organizational size should not differentiate among the information security concerns for desktop computer management, computer virus protection, and local-area-network issues. These types of information security concerns are applicable to basic user-level information security awareness in the business computing-environments. Therefore, in developing an information security awareness construct, two questions must be considered: â€Å"A domain definition of a concept is the specific meaning of interest for a given research context and an adequate domain can be extremely useful in furthering a topic of interest to academic societies† (Templeton, 2000, p. 57). The literature expresses three interrelated perspectives of technology, policy, and threat context for a definitional meaning of information security awareness (ISA). Schou and Trimmer (2004) stated that technology is the most obvious and expensive countermeasure, which summarizes the technology view. The technology perspective views ISA as an assortment of hardware and software capabilities that individual IS users, with sufficient computer literacy, manipulate as tools. However, the costs associated with technology acquisition, implementation, and training can be prohibitive. The information security literature provides a theoretical basis leading to the belief that different technology capabilities and associated computer literacy will affect ISA. Through the technology view, ISA represents an individual IS user applying a specific, appropriate technology for a specific security concern. Schou and Timmer. (2002) illustrated the technology view with the variety of technologies made available to secure Internet computing. A second ISA measure from the technology view is user comprehension, or understanding specific technologies to address

Main Problems Facing Pride Industries Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Main Problems Facing Pride Industries - Essay Example Pride Industries currently boasts of two departments of which one is the IFS, which is, undertakes activities such as clean room, commercial custodial and facilities maintenance, offering services in the military base operations and transportation. In addition, IFS provides specialized services to both private and public customers such as food services, maintenance of grounds, and provision of shipboard and commissary operations. The other division of the Pride Industries is the Manufacturing and Logistics Services (MLS) division. There is service provision such as offering production contracts to original manufactures of electronics, contract packaging, fulfilment services and supply chain solutions. Print services, mail and e-store to Fortune 10+ companies, as well as logistics services are also crucial for the company. HP as its service supplier of the year recognized the business in 2010. Pride Industries has its foundation with the core mission of creating employment opportunities for people with disabilities. There is an implication that, the company can have classification as a social enterprise whose main purpose is to fulfil a specified social need as well as make profits to support its operations. Pride Industries is facing various problems with respect to its operations as well as the company’s core social mission. Since its initiation, the core social mission of the pride companies was to provide employment to the disabled individuals in the society. However, the company is facing problems in integrating the long-term operations strategies into its core social responsibility. The major problem that arises is the adoption of more efficient and modern production line, which has an expectation to cost the company approximately $2.6 million. There is quite a high investment given the fact that most of the returns of the company have the direction towards the fulfilment of its core social mission or responsibility. Majority of the senior workers in the business including it director of finance operations and the vice president of the company’s sales operations are not optimistic about the current project by the company.  

Dante, Plato, Aristotle Essay Example for Free

Dante, Plato, Aristotle Essay The assignment is poetry v. philosophy. Plato speaks of a quarrel b/t poetry and philosophy. He dismisses the arts while Aristotle defends them. DO we see traces of this quarrel in later traditions? If so, where? And how is it played out there? For this essay, in addition to Plato and Aristotle, focus on Dantes Inferno. (Please look to see if my thesis is clear and strong, my evidence is all relevant, and whether this whole essay persuades you) Throughout his life, Plato strongly believed that the arts and philosophy directly opposed each other. On the other hand, Aristotle defended poetry as an aid to philosophy. Dante, a philosophical poet, successfully synthesizes Plato and Aristotles views in the Divine Comedy of the Inferno without compromising either school of thought. He acknowledges the fact that while the arts have its uses within the material world and philosophy its uses in the spiritual, both need the other to be complete. Both Plato and Aristotle agree that poetry brings about great emotion which has a lasting impact on the individual and society. However, they disagree on poetrys emotional effects. In Meno, Plato believes it results in harm while Aristotle argues that it leads to improvement in Poetics. Upon closer inspection, we see that Dantes Inferno contains a philosophical significance underlying its poetic style. Poetry and philosophy work towards the same end, but in different ways. There is no doubt that poetry is an imitation. What Aristotle and Plato dispute over is the source of that imitation. Plato strongly states that the arts are mimetic, twice removed from the truth. They are an imitation of the ideal entities in the realm of the forms, in which all things are perfect. For instance, tragedy presents multiple possibilities and situations rather than a single essence. In Meno, Platos Socrates discusses the difference between doxa and episteme. Poets, politicians and priests utilize doxa, a type of knowledge that is not mediated through any intellectual reasoning. This further demonstrates the composition of the material realm. Right opinion, or doxa, flees from the mind just as the materialistic body quickly perishes. Socrates says opinion is not worth much until it is fastened with reasoning of cause and effect (Plato 65). He is alluding to episteme, true knowledge that remains in the brain. This is accomplished through intellectual inquiry in the ideal realm. Throughout the dialogue, Menon insults Socrates by saying he looks like a stingray, alluding to a type of numbing-drug. However, Menon proves to have false knowledge as Socrates shows how anamnesis occurs via the Socratic Method. Only when he experiences aporia, the state of confusion and realization of ones ignorance, can he reach true knowledge. The reference to the drug, pharmakon, symbolizes how Menon became numb to the false, material world in order to transition to the divine realm where all things originate. While Plato asserts that imitation comes from the true essence of things, Aristotle believes it has its roots in human action. In Poetics, he examines how humans have an instinct for imitation, harmony and rhythm. We often learn our earliest lessons from mimesis. Aristotle asserts that the only way to reach the ideal is through action. He views it as a horizontal developmental rather than a vertical one, as Plato did. By the process of energia, we move from potential to actuality. This is also analogous to the concept of the material to the ideal. We come out of the cave and into the sun through our own activities. As the arts best represent action, tragedy contains knowledge because it presents psychological possibilities and universal truths about ourselves. Each possible reality may be the ideal essence. Tragedy, after all, is an imitation of action and of life, not men. The stage externalizes whats within our souls. The actors play out the meaning of life which the audience can safely inspect without endangering themselves. This perspective is extremely human-centric compared to Platos divine ideal. For instance, tragedy contains plot that is action-centric and based on the structure of incidents. Unlike a story, a plots events can be resequenced in any fashion. This is like an experiment in which the stage is our lab. A plot can furthermore be split in two ways: complex or simple. A complex plot contains peripeteia and anagnorisis. The latter, similar to Platos Meno, shows the progression from ignorance to knowledge. Yet the characters on stage, even after making decisions, are still susceptible to Fortunes will. Thus peripeteia occurs, alluding to God and the divine realm we ultimately reach with the aid of anagnorisis. There are some things people cant control. However, what we do imitate and control are our actions within the material world. For Aristotle, action was the most significant aim to focus on. In Dantes Inferno, the poet Virgil guides Dante into Hell. Poetry begins to act as a gentler remedy compared to philosophy. It is more relatable to the human mind and physical world. Through catharsis, Dante must eliminate all emotional tumult to become enlightened. This process of catharsis is similar to the movement from the material to spiritual realm. Paradiso, the highest realm, is where true intellect exists and where we become one with God. In the second canto, Dante demonstrates the wickedness of emotions and the materialistic realm when Virgil tells him: Your soul has been assailed by cowardice, which often weighs so heavily on a man- distracting him from honorable trails- as phantoms frighten beasts when shadows fall. (lines 45-48) This is an extremely Platonian perspective. Partially right, Plato believed that tragedy produced cowardly leaders as it appealed to passion rather than logic and reason. Through Virgil, Dante demonstrates how the arts, especially poetry, are effective in cleansing the soul of emotion by experiencing or contemplating it. Much like the Socratic Method in Meno, Dante must become numb to false knowledge via catharsis and begin with a clean slate. He accomplishes this by observing the damned in the inferno. When he passes through aporia, only then will he become enlightened and obtain truth. The shadows are a reference to Augustines visio corporals, the cave of pure materiality, in which false knowledge resides. Dante says in canto one that man must come out of the shadowed forest (line 2) where he is so full of sleep (line 11). All this is accomplished through human action, represented through tragedy and poetry. Furthermore, Virgil symbolizes the coming emergence of Christian Rome through Dante. He has already taken Aeneas to the Underworld, setting up the entire story. Parallel to this, poetry lays the necessary foundation for the coming age of philosophy. Dante uses typology of the inferno to paradiso. Like the Hebrew Bible, the inferno remains incomplete and foreshadows whats to come. The New Testament completes the text, in the same way philosophy does to poetry. Each is interdependent on the other. In the Inferno, Dante fails to read the inscription to the Gateway to Hell, demonstrating how the archaic style of backgrounding no longer resounds in the new age of foregrounding. This method brings to light how the mind reads and interprets with reason. Because the material realm is incomplete, Dante cannot move to this abstract, spiritual meaning without first going through the forest. In the third canto, Virgil describes to Dante how those in hell have lost the good of the intellect (line 18). The mind can never be fulfilled as it is a pure sensory experience. This is proven when Virgil is only able to guide Dante so far. He cannot take Dante beyond the material realm because he is not a Christian. He represents the arts, the non-metaphysical. A higher entity, Beatrice, will lead him to paradiso. Virgil declares in canto one: If you would then ascend as high as these / a soul more worthy than I am will guide you (lines 121-122). Likewise, we can think of poetry, represented by Virgil, as a disguise to philosophy, the eventual remedy of Beatrice. While philosophy speaks of a thing itself, poetry uses metaphors as a transition to reach a philosophical conclusion. It is a vehicle for truth in its own peculiar way, addressing our minds through imagination, sensibility and feelings. Dante can synthesize Plato and Aristotles views because they are working toward one common goal: the divine, the cave of pure intellect. The mechanisms of philosophy are simply a more sophisticated turn on poetry. Traces of Plato are still seen in Dante, especially when he states in the fifth canto: Those who undergo this torment are damned because they sinned subjecting reason to the rule of lust (lines 37-39). However, in tragedy, what seems irrational and absurd to the audience becomes permeated with reason as it speaks the universal truth about ourselves. The arts show there is something beyond human thought and action as the audience learn how we cannot control everything. There is something beyond this human, materialistic world that we cannot begin to understand. This is God, which is exactly what philosophy aims at. It speaks the truth, not only of human action, but of the existence of the ultimate good. In this way, poetry consists of rational thought and intellect. Virgil tells Dante in canto eight: Forget your fear, no one can hinder our passage; One so great has granted it (lines 104-105). We are turning inward to our souls to reach the divine. This also speaks of Gods infinite and unexplainable power. God makes the impossible possible. Dante had to go down into the deepest level of hell to see the divine. This irony demonstrates catabasis and anagogy, the one single movement towards God. Furthermore, Cassius and Brutus foreshadow Judas betrayal. These three make up the material inversion of the Holy Trinity. We are able to see God in Lucifer. This demonstrates the typology from the inferno to paradiso as well as the process of recollection in Platos Meno and Aristotles Poetics. Just as Dante had to move through death to experience life, the reader must pass through poetry to obtain philosophy. All thinking about God involves moving from the material to the realm of the forms. The divine uses metaphors, our language, to help us understand. We are able to indirectly talk to God through poetry as He determines our fate. It was his will to send Dante into Hell. Like poetrys catharsis and philosophys pharmakon, Dante engages his mind as he journeys through the inferno. By looking and contemplating the suffering of the damned, he becomes reconciled to aspects of his life which would otherwise be nonsensical. Both the poet and philosopher seek the existence of God and of the metaphysical. Although Dante recognizes that the arts have limited utility, he realizes how poetry helps lay the foundation for philosophy through the Aristotelian and Platonian method. It has a cognitive function by helping to better appreciate and complete philosophy. As Venantius Fortunatus wrote in his hymn Vexilla Regis, by death did life procure. Likewise, by poetry did philosophy come about.

Cultural Diversity in the Workplace Essay

Cultural Diversity in the Workplace Essay Introduction: The worlds increasing globalization requires more interaction among people from diverse cultures, beliefs, and backgrounds than ever before. People no longer live and work in an insular marketplace; they are now part of a worldwide economy with competition coming from nearly every continent. For this reason, profit and non-profit organizations need diversity to become more creative and open to change. Maximizing and capitalizing on workplace diversity has become an important issue for management today. Human Resource management is on managing people within the employer-employee relationship. This involves the productive use of people in achieving the organizations strategic objectives and the satisfaction of individual employee needs. Where its objective is to measure target to be achieved within a certain time frame. Diversity management is management initiated, rather than required by law. This involved in integrating non-traditional employees (such as women and minorities) into the workforce and using their diversity to the organizations competitive advantage, as well as considering other workforce diversity characteristics that need to be addressed to ensure fair and effective utilization of employees. (Raymond J. Stone, 2008)Diversity in management includes: Cultural diversity is the variety of human societies or cultures in a specific region, or in the world as a whole. (The term is also sometimes used to refer to multiculturalism within an organization. Management of cultural diversity has been suggested as the human resource strategy enabling the effective management of the workforce diversity created by demographical changes generally in the late 1980s and the early 1990s. Retrieved from Oya Aytemiz Seymen(2006), according to Fleury (1999) explains cultural diversity management as an organizational answer or reaction to the need for competitiveness and to the increasing variety of the workforce. In the same resource, it has been stated that management of cultural diversity implies a holistic focus in order to create an organizational environment that allows all the employees to reach their full potential in pursuing the organizational goals. Gender diversity means the proportion of males to females in the workplace. It is a more even distribution or is the employee pool composed of mostly males or mostly females. This can have an effect on how people interact and behave with one another in the workplace and would impact culture and social environment. Similarly other demographics such as population, racial characteristics and such all contribute to the work environment. According to Kochan et al., 2003, organizations are finding that racial and gender diversity, if managed well, may even enhance performance(retrieved from Luis L. Martins and Charles K. Parsons,2007). Researchers have proposed that a greater organizational emphasis on gender diversity management programs will have a positive effect on organizational attractiveness among women, as women are the intended beneficiaries of the programs (Luis L. Martins and Charles K. Parsons,2007) Age diversity means the proportion of aged people work in the workplace. Age diversity was also positively correlated with health disordersbut only in groups working on routine decision-making tasks. Gender composition also had a significant effect on group performance, such that groups with a high proportion of female employees performed worse and reported more health disorders than did gender-diverse teams. As expected, effects of gender composition were most pronounced in large groups. Effects of age diversity were found when controlling for gender diversity and vice versa. Thus, age and gender diversity seem to play a unique role in performance and well-being. The moderating role of task complexity for both effects of age diversity and the moderating role of group size for both effects of gender diversity further suggest that the impact of these 2 variables depends on different group processes.( Ju ¨rgen Wegge and Carla Roth, Barbara Neubach and Klaus-Helmut Schmidt Ruth Kanfe r , 2008) Religious diversity is an important component of cultural diversity, which educators are now taking seriously in their pedagogies. However, cultural diversity and religious diversity are often evaluated quite differently. In our society now, there is at least a polite and superficial consensus that cultural diversity is here to stay and may enrich life. Minimally, people realize that cultural, ethnic, and class chauvinism create problems and are inappropriate, though they may be difficult to overcome. Regarding religious diversity, quite a different evaluation is often employed. Many people value the feeling that their religion is indeed superior to others and regard such religious chauvinism as a necessary component of religious commitment, or even a virtue to be cultivated among the faithful. In their official theologies, most religions have dealt with religious diversity only in a cursory or inadequate fashion. Frequently, religions have encouraged mutual hostility by teaching tha t foreign religions are not only different, but also demonic, or at least inferior. (Rita M. Gross(1999) retrieved from http://www.crosscurrents.org/gross.htm) Body: Benefits of Workplace Diversity An organizations success and competitiveness depends upon its ability to embrace diversity and realize the benefits. When organizations actively assess their handling of workplace diversity issues, develop and implement diversity plans, multiple benefits are reported such as: Increased adaptability Organizations employing a diverse workforce can supply a greater variety of solutions to problems in service, sourcing, and allocation of resources. Employees from diverse backgrounds bring individual talents and experiences in suggesting ideas that are flexible in adapting to fluctuating markets and customer demands. Broader service range A diverse collection of skills and experiences (e.g. languages, cultural understanding) allows a company to provide service to customers on a global basis. Variety of viewpoints A diverse workforce that feels comfortable communicating varying points of view provides a larger pool of ideas and experiences. The organization can draw from that pool to meet business strategy needs and the needs of customers more effectively. More effective execution Companies that encourage workplace diversity inspire all of their employees to perform to their highest ability. Company-wide strategies can then be executed; resulting in higher productivity, profit, and return on investment. Challenges of Workplace Diversity Taking full advantage of the benefits of diversity in the workplace is not without its challenges. Some of those challenges are: Communication Perceptual, cultural and language barriers need to be overcome for diversity programs to succeed. Ineffective communication of key objectives results in confusion, lack of teamwork, and low morale. Resistance to change There are always employees who will refuse to accept the fact that the social and cultural makeup of their workplace is changing. The weve always done it this way mentality silences new ideas and inhibits progress. Implementation of diversity in the workplace policies This can be the overriding challenge to all diversity advocates. Armed with the results of employee assessments and research data, they must build and implement a customized strategy to maximize the effects of workplace diversity for their particular organization. Successful Management of Diversity in the Workplace Diversity training alone is not sufficient for your organizations diversity management plan. A strategy must be created and implemented to create a culture of diversity that permeates every department and function of the organization. (Retrieved from http://www.diversityworking.com/employerZone/diversityManagement/?id=9) In preparing an organization to accept diversity, it is more important to change the corporate culture or to change structure of the organization. Organization Culture Basically, organizational culture is the personality of the organization. Culture is comprised of the assumptions, values, norms and tangible signs (artefacts) of organization members and their behaviours. Members of an organization soon come to sense the particular culture of an organization. Culture is one of those terms thats difficult to express distinctly, but everyone knows it when they sense it. For example, the culture of a large, for-profit corporation is quite different than that of a hospital which is quite different that that of a university. You can tell the culture of an organization by looking at the arrangement of furniture, what they brag about, what members wear, etc. similar to what you can use to get a feeling about someones personality. Corporate culture can be looked at as a system. Inputs include feedback from, e.g., society, professions, laws, stories, heroes, values on competition or service, etc. The process is based on our assumptions, values and norms, e.g., our values on money, time, facilities, space and people. Outputs or effects of our culture are, e.g., organizational behaviours, technologies, strategies, image, products, services, appearance, etc. (Retrieved from http://managementhelp.org/org_thry/culture/culture.htm) Identification with an organization is a fixed sense of ones role in relation to the organization. When organizational members identify with their workplace, they define themselves in terms of the organization; they internalize its mission, ideology, and values and they adopt its customary ways of doing things. Eventually the member may see him or herself as an exemplar or microcosm of the organization. Organizational identification, in other words, suggests a feeling of oneness with the organization. Diversity makes open organizational culture more rich, and insights and innovation more applicable to a wide range of contexts. High levels of identification with an organization can limit diversity by reducing communication competencies in the area of social perception skills, including the ability to pick up on the subtleties of social situations and adapt to them. This skill is essential in a cross cultural context. High levels of identification among employees can also produce a la ck of organizational flexibility and creativity, over-conformity to organizational dictates, and tyrannical behaviour on the part of leaders. Highly-identified individuals could experience a lack of risk taking, loss of an independent self, and burnout. Redding indicates that a focus on high-performance goals in a context of trust and openness make it easier for employees to manage the ambiguity of gaining their sense of identity from shared visions rather than from a physical structure. Knowledge of self and openness in relation to shared goals create a safety zone in which people feel free to explore new ideas and new ways of approaching problem solving. (Retrieved from http://workplacewellness.blogspot.com/2005/08/identity-development-and.html) Organizational Structure Diversity is often viewed as a training program, limited to a human resources initiative focused on race and gender and separate from organizational change efforts. However, as the article describes, the definition of diversity is much broader, encompassing primary, secondary, and tertiary dimensions that go beyond race and gender. The aim of diversity is to allow all individuals to contribute fully to the success of the organization. Thus, integrating diversity and organizational change efforts can enhance the success of most types of organizational change. Organization development theory and principles can also add significantly to the outcomes of diversity initiatives through the effective use of contracts, assessments, action research methodology, and other critical components. In the current competitive world, diversity and organization development must be partners in successful organizational change efforts. (Ginger Lapid-Bogda, Ph.D., 1998) The Contribution of diversity to organizational Integrating diversity and organizational change efforts can enhance the success of most types of organizational change. All major organizational change involves a cultural change, and a diversity effort is cultural change at its core. It requires an organization to search its collective soul and focus on essential aspects of its culture: seminal values; organizational demands for conformity in thought, interpersonal style, and action; power structure and power dynamics; employee participation; and inclusion/exclusion issues, to name a few. Cultural Differences In addition, most organizational changes involve diversity components. An organizational redesign, for example, may combine functions that have previously been separate, such as marketing and manufacturing. Certainly, marketing and manufacturing have two distinct cultures and a successful redesign needs to pay attention to those cultural issues involved. Diversity offers both the perspective and the technology to deal with these intercultural issues, whether they are triggered by redesigns, mergers, or global expansions. When an organization is redesigned, some of its subsystems discover they have to transact a new form of business with new, unfamiliar partners. Naturally, they assume that their established styles of doing business, their traditional practices, priorities, values, and methods, will be perfectly acceptable, perfectly functional. Thus, marketing is surprised when this assumption turns out to be invalid for manufacturing. Marketing assumes that its new partner, manufact uring, simply has not appreciated the benefits of changing and adapting to marketings traditional way of doing business. Thus, organizational redesign invariably leads to organizational conflict. A diversity perspective adds insight to the identification of and techniques for the management of such issues. Conflict, by definition, means that differences exist. These differences may be based on style, role, values, priorities, power, mental models and patterns of thinking, or culture. The diversity perspective of valuing and utilizing differences offers a positive framework from which to manage conflict. (Ginger Lapid-Bogda, Ph.D., 1998) Team Effectiveness Team effectiveness has even clearer diversity connections. For a team to develop and be effective, its members must find productive ways to both elicit and manage individual and subgroup differences. In any group development model, there is always some version of a storming stage fairly early in a groups development. The group must navigate this troublesome phase successfully to evolve toward more productive phases of development. Successful navigation cannot occur if differences are submerged or conformity is forced upon diverse members. To be effective means to acknowledge differences and to utilize them creatively to gain the teams objectives. (Ginger Lapid-Bogda, Ph.D., 1998) Organizational Cultural Shift In the case of a complex organization change (for example, going from a production-driven to a marketing-driven focus or moving toward Total Quality), a fundamental shift in organizational culture must occur. A cultural change of this magnitude and complexity poses a major challenge for most organizations because of the ambiguity involved and the enormity of the task. An understanding of diversity enables organizations to find ways not to insist on conformity in a major change process, but to encourage employees to contribute, to take a fresh look, and to continuously evolve. (Ginger Lapid-Bogda, Ph.D., 1998) Diversity oriented HRM policies It is the responsibility of the HR manager to facilitate the organizations ability to use staff efficiency and effectively to achieve strategic business objectives. The HR manager is also responsible for ensuring that all employees are rewarded fairly and equitably for their contributions to the organizations. Fair and equitable rewards not only includes wages and salaries, but also opportunities for training and career development and the provision of a work environment in which all workers are treated with respect. Ensuring that all employees are treated fairly and equitably is not only a matter of legal and ethical responsibility, but also recognises that employees who perceive that they are receiving unfair or inequitable treatment may be less committees to the organization and thus may be less productive. The HR manager can achieve these outcomes by: Identifying the significant difference in their organizations workforce and in the labour market from which they draw employees. Exploring the potential advantages to be gained from hiring persons from particular groups. Identifying relevant diversity factors existing in the present workforce. Developing, implementing, monitoring and evaluating staff management practice that facilitate the ability of each employee to contribute effectively to the organization and to be rewarded appropriately. It is also the professional and business responsibility of the HR manager to establish audit measure that identify and quantify the advantage gained from diversity employment practice and that minimise the costs of diversity employment. (Raymond J. Stone, 2008)Diversity in management includes: Conclusion A diverse workforce is a reflection of a changing world and marketplace. Diverse work teams bring high value to the organizations. Respecting individual differences will benefit the workplace by creating a competitive edge and increasing work productivity. Diversity management benefits associates by creating a fair and safe environment where everyone has access to opportunities and challenges. Management tools in a diverse workforce should be used to educate everyone about diversity and its issues, including laws and regulations. Most workplaces are made up of diverse cultures, so organizations need to learn how to adopt to be successful practices. References: Stone, Raymond J., (2008). Human resource management, 6th edition Seymen, Oya Aytemiz., (2006). The cultural diversity phenomenon in organisations and different approaches for effective cultural diversity management: a literary review Martins, Luis L., Parsons, Charles K., (2007). Effects of Gender Diversity Management on Perceptions of Organizational Attractiveness: The Role of Individual Differences in Attitudes and Beliefs Wegge, Ju ¨rgen., Roth, Carla., Neubach, Barbara., Schmidt, Klaus-Helmut., Kanfer, Ruth., (2008). Age and Gender Diversity as Determinants of Performance and Health in a Public Organization: The Role of Task Complexity and Group Size M. Gross, Rita., (1999). Religious Diversity: Some Implications for Monotheism, retrieved from http://www.crosscurrents.org/gross.htm Lapid-Bogda, Ginger, Ph.D., (1998). Diversity and Organizational Change, retrieved from http://www.bogda.com/articles/DiversityandOrgChange.pdf http://www.diversityworking.com/employerZone/diversityManagement/?id=9 http://managementhelp.org/org_thry/culture/culture.htm http://workplacewellness.blogspot.com/2005/08/identity-development-and.htm

Britain and the Early Colonies :: essays research papers

Britain had a new policy when it came to it's colonies. All they had to do was inforce the laws they already had, not make new ones. George Greenville, Britains Prime Minister from 1763 to 1765, didn't realize this. To raise money for Britain after the expensive French and Indian war, they decided to tighten control on the colonies The Proclamation of 1763 was the first of five laws passed to accomplish this new goal. This "proclamation" reserved lands west of the Appalachian Mtns. for use of the Indians. The frontiersmen were the first to get angry at the new land law because they wanted to settle in the unexplored west. Then in 1764 the British parliament passed the Colonial Currency Act. This act took away the right of any colony to issue its own paper money. This lead to increased poverty and hardship after the French and Indian war. The people opposed it because if more money was in circulation the economy would of been better. The Sugar Act in 1764, put a tax on sugar, molasses, wines, and other foreign products. This upset one Samuel Adams. After having lived in the colonies some years and being a successful merchant, He felt that the law was particularly unfair for merchants, as they were the most taxed. This also increased fear among the colonists that they would lose the right to determine taxes among their own colonies. Later in the next year of 1765, the Stamp Act was decreed. Special stamps were now required on newspapers, playing cards, business papers, and other legal documents. This law hurt the common man, but most the wealthy. John Adams, a well respected Virginian, wrote a partition to the king of Britain to repeal the act. Daniel Dulainy led protest with the people using effigies and all. They were afraid that there would be an increase of external taxes and the colonies would lose the right of thier own taxation. The Quartering Act in 1765, colonists had to give British troops places to live, some supplies, and part of their salaries.

Pre-Transfusion Blood Tests

Pre-transfusion Blood Tests: Title: To perform the following tests: ABO and RH grouping using the Diamed Gel Card system. Rh and Kell phenotyping (antigen typing) using the Diamed Gel Card system. Direct Coombs Test (DCT) using the conventional tube system. Direct Coombs Test (DCT) using the Diamed Gel Card system. Antibody Identifications (IAT) technique using the conventional tube system. Antibody Identifications (ETC) technique using the Diamed Gel Card system. Name: S. Ward Date: 8/11/2012 Introduction: The objective of this practical is to perform some pretransfusion tests, using various methods.Pretransfusion testing is carried out in all hospital blood bank laboratories and is used to minimise the risk of encurring a haemolytic transfusion reaction. Haemolytic transfusion reactions occur when a patient is transfused with red cells which have a foriegn antigen on the cell surface that the patient has an antibody to. While the ABO and Rh blood group systems are the most antigeni c and thus can cause severe haemolytic transfusion reactions. The other blood group systems can also cause a (less severe) haemolytic reaction, these reactions can be fatal and so the procedures to avoid them are of great importance.Materials & Method: Not all tests were performed by all members of the class. ABO and Rh blood grouping using the Diamed Gel Card system; performed. Rh and Kell trying using the Diamed Gel Card system; not performed. Direct Coombs Test (DCT) using the Diamed Gel Card system;not performed. Antibody Identification (ETC) technique using the Diamed Gel Card system; performed but not centrifuged so no results were obtained. Antibody Identifications (IAT) technique using the conventional tube system; performed Direct Coombs Test (DCT) using the conventional tube system; erformed. Cell 1% suspensions were prepared for the bench from a 3% cell suspension provided. Results: As well as some tests not being completed by everyone, some results were not obtained as t here was a queue for the ID centrifuge. Results below are ones obtained by myself; ABO & Rh grouping; Known O+ cells were tested. Expected results would be; However, the gel matrix had dried out so no results were obtained. Antibody Identifications (IAT) technique using the conventional tube system; + + + – – + – – + +When these results are compared with the ID panned profile, its is seen that there is no antigen which matches the antibody in the patient's plasma. Traditional Direct Coombs test results was positive. Discussion: The results from this practical were not as expected. With regard to the ABO Rh typing, the expected result for the O+ blood tested is as shown above. The reason why the results obtained were incorrect were because the gel had dried out. This shows that it is very important to ensure that the reagents used in the transfusion laboratory are of a really high quality to ensure that all results obtained are reliable.With regard to the traditional antibody profile, it is seen that there is no antigen which matches the antibody in the patient's plasma according to the ID panel. It is possible that the patient has an uncommon antigen which isn't on the ID panel. However, it's more likely that there was human error in labelling the reaction tubes 1-10. The direct coombs test checks to see in vivo sensitisation to IgG antibodies. The traditional coombs test results for this practical showed aggultenation when treated with antihuman globulin, which is a positive result.Results for the other laboratory tests using Diamed Gel Card system were unobtained due to there being a queue for the centrifuge. A brief explanation of all these tests is explained below; ABO & Rh D grouping; this can be done by conventional tube technique, as performed previously, or can be done using the Diamed Gel Card system. These gel cards contain known antobodies on a gel matrix. A positive result shows the red cells kept at the top of the gel m atrix, a negative result sees the red cells going down through the matrix to the bottom of the card.This has replaced the traditional method as it allows for automation. Rh & Kell phenotyping; this is done using the Diamed Gel Card sytem and is similiar to the ABO and Rh typing method. This shows which, if any of the main Rh or Kell antigens are on the patients red cells. The results are read in the same manner as the ABO and Rh D as described above. Direct Coombs Test using the conventional tube system; The direct antiglobulin test is used to detect in-vivo sensitisation and detects small IgG antibodies on a patient's red cells.The conventional tube method involves washing the cells three times for one minute, resuspending each time, then finally adding two drops of antihuman globulin and centrifuge once more for 20 seconds and results were recorded. This process is laborious and so can be replaced with the next method. Direct Coombs Test using the Diamed Gel Card system; The gel c ard system involves the addition of 1% cell suspension of test cells to the Anti IgG card, this is centrifuged for 10 minutes and results are recorded. This method also shows in-vivo sensitisation and detects small IgG antibodies on the patient's red cells.Antibody Identifications (IAT) technique using the conventional tube system; Antibody identification is used as a follow-up test to a positive indirect antiglobulin test. The antibody identifcation test is used to determine the red cell antibodies in the patient's plasma. If one or more clinically significant red cell antibodies are identified, then donor blood that lacks the corresponding red cell antigens must be used for tranfusion, this is reffered to as antigen negative blood. The conventional tube system involves reacting the patients plasma with the 10 commercial identification cells.This is incubated for 30 minutes at 37Â °c, each of the reaction tubes are washed 3 times for one minute, resuspended after each time and the n two drops of antihuman globulin are added and the tubes are centrifuged for an additional 20 seconds and results are recorded. This process is laborious, and so can be replaced by the gel card system which can be automated. Antibody Identifications technique using the Diamed Gel Card system; The method is the similiar to the other gel card systems and the principle it the same as the other antibody identification.As mentioned bofore, this process allows for automation and so is favoured in large labs. Questions: Principle of the Direct and Indirect Coombs test: The principle of the Coombs' test is that addition of rabbit anti-human IgG to the patient's blood will result in aggregation of the patient's red cells if the red cells are coated in small IgG antibodies that will not agglutenate normally at room temperature. So, the direct antiglobulin test is used to detect in-vivo sensitisation to IgG antibodies. Applications:The direct coombs test is udes to test for autoimmune haemoly tic anaemia. The indirect coombs test can be used to detect very small amounts of antibodies present in a patients plasma and if used in antenatal care to screen pregnant women for antibodies that may cause haemolytic disease of the newborn. It can also be used for compatability testing, antibody identification, RBC phenotyping and titration studies. Controls: The positive control is sensitised O+ cells and the negative control is O- cells.