A Seperate Piece essays

A Seperate Piece essays A little world; an individual man or a community that is a miniature universe or a world in itself; a microcosm... Phineas and Gene, along with the other boys of Devon School formed a universe of their own during World War II. In A Separate Peace, John Knowles examines the social problems of All-American kids. He questions ideas of jealousy, perfection, forgiveness, love, justice and injustice, all of which show insight into society at large. Genes unknown, not admitted jealousy of Phineas drives the pot of the novel. The dark thoughts and confused feelings Gene experiences because of his friend are strangely familiar to every reader in some degree. Mankinds idea of perfection is interdependent with the feelings of envy for what is flawless. To Gene, Phineas was perfection- all that Gene wanted to be but could not, which further fueled his jealousy. The great tragedy of the novel finds its roots in Genes own insecurity. His fear of admitting his envy of Finny cause his feelings to fester until his involuntary reaction on the fatal tree branch adds guilt to jealousy, creating bitterness. The forgiveness and agape love Finny bestowed on his best friend simply made Gene feel more guilt and more bitter towards himself. He says many times, if only Finny got mad at him, if only he confronted him about it, everything would be all right. However, Phineas could not confront Gene about the accident, he could not even admit it to himself and refused to believe that someone who loved him could do something so monstrous to him. Phineas forgave Gene and loved him unconditionally, as a true friend. Gene loved Finny, but hated himself. Gene could forgive Finny, but he could not forgive himself. Finally, the Pharisaical Student Government took hold of the situation in the name of Truth and Justice. What they could not understand however, was the truth was a ...

How to Land an Executive Position With Expert Wendy Enelow

How to Land an Executive Position With Expert Wendy Enelow Wendy Enelow is an expert on finding, and keeping, a job. Whether shes showing us how to get the perfect resume at Resume Writing Academy or leading thinkers on the cutting edge of recruiting and hiring at Career Thought Leaders, you wont find anyone whos more focused on careers. Wendy talked with us about finding an executive role in the modern day.When someone is looking to step into an executive role, whats the first thing they should do?Determine whether or not they have the requisite skills, qualifications and credentials for the positions they are targeting. If not, they should determine the best place to acquire those skills either through employment or an educational program. No need to apply if youre not yet qualified. Equally important is finding an executive mentor or sponsor who can work with you to promote your candidacy to the company and/or position that youre targeting.How does finding an executive role differ from finding another job?Savvy executives who are seeking new opportunities should engage in high-level job search activities, including online networking, in-person networking, blogging, target company outreach, recruiter outreach and direct mail/email. They might also respond to specific online job postings, although that should not be the crux of their search campaign, as its the least effective way to find a new position. Most other job seekers should engage in as many of these activities as are relevant to their career objectives. Perhaps the most significant difference is that executive job searches generally take longer since there are less positions available, the competition can be fierce and the hiring process itself takes a great deal of time.If an employer needs to fill an executive position, where should they start looking?Some employers will reach out to executive recruiters to handle the task of recruiting new management and leadership. Although the price tag is high, recruiters will find the candidates of choice and presen t them to the company. Alternative strategies, which can be just as effective and much less costly, include using LinkedIn to identify and connect with qualified candidates, searching groups of interest to the companys industry or profession to find group members with the qualifications the hiring company is seeking, creating a Facebook page and Twitter account to attract quality candidates to the company, and networking with company personnel, suppliers, business partners and others who know the people that they may want to hire.How important is the resume to finding an executive position, and why?The resume is any professionals calling card, giving enough important information and sharing the right achievements and success stories to entice the hiring company to invite the candidate for an interview. Just as important in todays world of online job search is the LinkedIn profile. In fact, LinkedIn can be more important when a company is doing their initial sourcing; then, the resum e comes into play after the candidate has been identified on LinkedIn, which is the primary social media platform for executives.What do you wish everyone knew about writing a resume?The most important thing to know about resume writing is that youre writing to the futureto the position and industry that youre targeting. Resumes are NOT autobiographical essays of everything youve done throughout your entire career. Rather, theyre career marketing communications designed to sell your distinctive qualifications, experiences, achievements, educational credentials and more. Resumes are the appetizers; candidates are the main course (once they get an interview)!What trends in executive hiring should we be watching for in the future?Perhaps the greatest trend will be in the specificity of expertise. Companies want to hire executives with very specific expertise in their industry, product or technology executives who can solve problems and overcome challenges, executives who can optimize opportunities and deliver results by leveraging what theyve already accomplished and who they know. And companies want virtually immediate results. They dont want the plan that will turnaround the business in two years; they want the turnaround now.

Problems With Managing Software Development Essay

Problems With Managing Software Development - Essay Example If all the requirements have been gathered and have been put down in an appropriate manner, the designers and developers can better understand the software and hence produce a better and reliable product. On the other hand if the software has not been defined properly, it is likely that it will not be able to meet the customer’s requirements and will contain a lot of bugs. This is another problem the managers need to consider during development. Technology plays an important role in the process of software development. The development work is highly related to the hardware equipment being used. If, during the development process there are hardware deficiencies, it can be a huge nightmare for the developers. It can affect the quality and reliability of the output. Moreover, malfunctioning of hardware can cause delays in development schedule. It is a standard process that the project deadlines are determined considering the development time it should take. However, in order to win over a project, many estimators put up unrealistic deadlines. This becomes a problem for the development team and it becomes extremely difficult to manage development. What ends up happening is that either the team totally ignores the deadlines and carries development on their own routine, or in order to meet the deadlines, they create panic and end up making a poor quality, unreliable product. Composition of a software team is very important and a crucial factor in the success of a project. The project team needs to have individuals who have the right skills required for the project. If a functional team of vendors, experts, and end users doesn’t exist, the project cannot successfully complete. This is another critical problem faced during development when the team does not have the resources to complete the tasks. User is the key person in the software process. He is the ultimate person who will be using the software

Fractionals and Related Shared Ownership Formats Essay

Fractionals and Related Shared Ownership Formats - Essay Example Timeshares first became popular in the 1980s with people searching for very attractive and even unique vacation locations which would still be affordable for their families. The genius of the timeshare is that it allows the purchaser to own his or her vacation residence for only the part of each year during which that vacation may be taken. For To meet the important need for variety of vacation locations, many timeshare providers have exchange arrangements with other timeshares all over North America or even all over the world. Thus, by purchasing a timeshare in a particular resort location, if the unit is available for that additional period. Some offer the opportunity to use other resorts in place of the home facility as an extra-cost option. Various other upgrades and enhancements may also be offered, and sometimes even included in the base price, particularly if the prospective timeshare buyer is hesitating at making a commitment. What is virtually universal with timeshares are additional fees and charges which are required in addition to the basic investment to buy fractional ownership of a part of the facility. Maintenance fees are mandatory for the upkeep of the resort, and can be quite substantial. There may be separate charges for non-routine maintenance such as the easy. replacement of furniture or appliances. Property insurance and similar costs are often borne by the owner of the timeshare, or are pro-rated among the ownership base.. As with other forms of fractional real estate, selling the part ownership is usually not easy. Many timeshares today offer deeded ownership so that the purchaser has legal confirmation of ownership, but having a deed and selling the property are not the same thing at all. Those who buy timeshares are often induced to do so by explicit or implicit promises of likely property appreciation and enhanced worth, so that investment gain is a major motivation for some timeshare purchasers. Usually, however, those owners must sell their fractional share in the real estate market, as resorts are very reluctant to buy back a fractional share they have sold while, at the same time, continuing to sell further shares to the public. This would obviously put them in competition with themselves in trying to re-sell the repurchased timeshare to another potential owner.

Once an Eagle Essay Example for Free

Once an Eagle Essay Leadership is an important characteristic in any field. Early on, it has been recognized that the success of any organization is highly dependent upon the quality of leadership. Even if the organization has a number of talented individuals, without strong leadership, there would be no success. In a similar light, the success of the military depends on strong leadership. It has been said that in the military, leadership is a requisite. As an integral component in warfare, leadership determines the outcome of combat operations, without it, it can be fairly argued that no military operation would be success. As the brain, leaders are expected to have the power of command. The subordinates in the group all rely upon the leader to provide wisdom and guidance, not to mention excellent judgment. It is essential, therefore, that a good leader has the following characteristics such as charisma, confidence, sound judgment, wisdom and intelligence. Military history is filled with individuals who were â€Å"born leaders. † A brief glimpse into the role of monuments and military commanders will reveal a common characteristic, they were all excellent leaders. The civil war gave rise to many superior commanders such as Joshua Chamberlain and John Logan who, despite their lack of military training, were able to lead their troops into combat and inspire many victories. The requisite ability that these fine commanders possessed was the ability to inspire their troops by providing an excellent example. Unlike other leaders, these fine leaders chose to lead through example. They were regarded as the epitomes of self-sacrifice and honor. None of them felt that they were too important to be left out of the battlefield and they were never hesitant to take their place in the frontlines should it be required of them. This aspect is what made them leaders. Another important aspect of leadership that is best exemplified by the actions of General Robert E. Lee who not only won the affection of his troops but also exhibited a talent for disciplined application. While it may not be necessary to have the affection of one’s troops during war, as shown by General Ulysses S. Grant, current military strategies emphasize the importance of a leader who is not only able to provide sound judgment but who is also able to inspire his troops. Charisma combined with the ability to make the best decisions in any given situation would therefore be the essence of excellent leadership. The reason for this is that in achieving one’s goal it is necessary that it be accomplished through motivation, direction and purpose. These essential characteristics have been shown by many of the great Commanders during the Second World War including but not limited to General Douglas McArthur who liberated Australia and the Philippines from Japanese occupation. It is difficult to say which style works the best as it is possible that the combination of charisma and the ability to make the best decisions in any given situation may be exhibit in many different forms of leadership. Leaders may sometimes be directors, participators or even delegators. Yet, it is not so much how the practice their leadership but their ability to get results. The military operations during the first Gulf War gave rise to a new breed of military commanders who were able to obtain results despite the differences in their leadership styles. Commanders such as Norman Schwarzkopf and Collin Powell demonstrated that leadership need not necessarily be overbearing. The important thing is that the commander understands the importance of the situation and is able to use the abilities of the troops, despite the limitations, to achieve the intended results. In any case, it must be remembered that the leadership that these great commanders possessed was not limited to the battlefield. From the very first day that they took command, they showed their leadership and cultivated the necessary traits that they felt was needed in their troops in order to become effective in future tasks.

Whitewashing of African American Culture Exposed in Song of Solomon Ess

Whitewashing of African American Culture Exposed in Song of Solomon      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   White culture would rather keep the African American culture at a distance and shape it into what the white culture believes it should be rather than accept the enrichment offered by the African American culture. This may be because of the white culture's fear of anything and anyone obviously different in appearance. However, it is not enough for the dominant culture to separate itself from the African American culture, it has to shape and mold that culture into the stereotype projected upon the minority culture. African American culture is shaped by the dominant/ white culture, among other things, through the white culture's use of fear within the minority group, the bestowing or withholding of innovations and wealth, and controlling the mobility of the African American.    The white dominant culture uses fear to shape and control people and cultures different from them. In Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon, the fear evoked by the white, dominant culture comes from the thought of being lynched and beaten by any white person who might take offence at the presence or actions of an African American. While this is not an obvious, overlaying theme in the novel, it is present nonetheless in the existence of the Seven Days as the Black answer to the lynchings and murders of African Americans by whites, as Guitar said, "'when a Negro child, Negro woman, or Negro man is killed by whites and nothing is done about it by their law and their courts, this society selects a similar victim at random, and they execute him or her in a similar manner it they can' (154)." This fear of lynching or physical pain kept African Americans in the limited roles and geogra... ...ted: Bjork, Patrick Bryce. The Novels of Toni Morrison: The Search for Self and Place Within the Community. New York: P. Lang, 1996. Bloom, Harold, ed. Modern Critical Views: Toni Morrison. New York: Chelsea House Publishing, 1990. Ellis, Kate. "Text and Undertext: Myth and Politics in Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon." LIT: Literature Interpretation Theory. 6.1-2 (1995): 35-45. Furhman, Jan. Toni Morrison's Fiction. South Carolina: U of South Carolina P, 1996. Middleton, David. Toni Morrison's Fiction: Contemporary Criticism. New York: Garland, 1997. Morrison, Toni. Song of Solomon. New York: The Penguin Group, 1977. Peterson, Nancy J. Toni Morrison: Critical and Theoretical Approaches. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 1997. Rice, Herbert William. Toni Morrison and the American Tradition: A Rhetorical Reading. New York: P. Lang, 1996.

Ethical Computing

Ethical Computing QBA 362 w/ Burke Ltelatk H. Fritz FRITZ, LTELATK Ethical Computing QBA 362-Spring 2010 E T H I C AL C O MP UT I NG 1. Find a code of ethics from a firm of your choosing (other than the CPSR or the ACM). What do you think are the best five guiding principles from all the tips that you found? http://www. buzzle. com/articles/computer-ethics-code-of-ethics-in-computing. html Code of Ethics ? Information stored on the computer should be treated as seriously as written or spoken word. ? Privacy should not be violated. In case of academic use, it is known plagiarism. ? ? ? Information for public viewing should not be modified or deleted or inaccessible since these are considered as destructive acts. Intrusive software such as â€Å"worms† and â€Å"viruses† which are destructive to the computer system is also illegal. Congesting somebody’s system with a lot of unwanted information is also unethical. Sending obscene and crude messages through mail or c hat is also forbidden. ? Sending sexually explicit content, message or pictures is also forbidden †¡ I felt the top five codes under Buzzle ®Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s Code of Ethics were the best. Because in general it covers a broad area of things. Treating information stored on computers as if they were written or spoken words, is like asking users to respect the rights of others, as well as their responsibility towards other people’s work. (Individual Responsibility) Leaving other people’s work in tact as they are—without modification or deletion, is important because it preserves the other person’s integrity. It’s kind of the same as walking into (or breaking into ) someone’s home and rearranging their furniture without their knowledge. Preserving Integrity) †¡ 2 FRITZ, LTELATK Ethical Computing QBA 362-Spring 2010 2. Is forwarding e-mail jokes good or bad? Summarize the opposing arguments you found. †¡ I personally forward e-mail that I think is appropriate for the individual I am sending the message to. However, congesting someone’s space is considered unethical according to the Buzzle ® Code of Ethics. †¡ Another factor I was totally oblivious of was the fact that all these people’s names and address are forwarded with the mail. My current method of forwarding the message is just to cut the message content and then forward it to friends. Sometimes I insert their address in the blind carbon copy (bcc) area to keep their address private. It is all about respecting someone’s privacy and integrity. 3. How does anonymous e-mail work and why would you use it? †¡ There are so many sites where you can set up anonymous e-mails, i. e. http://www. sendanonymousemail. net/ or http://www. hidemyass. com/anonymous-email/. But you can just as well set up a bogus account and use it to send anonymous e-mails. There were so many given reasons to use such websites like, â€Å"catching a spouse/partner cheating,† whistle-blowing, reporting illegal activities to the authorities. But I say, if you can’t say it in person, write it in a letter and sign it with your name. Be account for what you believe. It takes guts, but sometimes we just gotta. †¡ 4. What are five ways e-mail use can be unethical? Which do you think is most common? Why? †¡ †¡ †¡ †¡ †¡ †¡ Using e-mail to steal company information. Using e-mail to scam people out of money. Using e-mail to conduct illegal activities, like money laundering, human trafficking, etc†¦ Using e-mail to ruin someone’s reputation or â€Å"blasting† stuff about a foe. Using e-mail in push/mass marketing. (Free Viagra or stuff like that) The most common I used to get is push/mass marketing. I once got my Inbox filled with 10,000 messages in less than a month. 5. Why is deliberate spreading of viruses unethical? Name five reasons. ? ? Intrusive software such as â€Å"worms† and â€Å"viruses† which are destructive to the computer system is also illegal. (Buzzle  ®) Congesting somebody’s system with a lot of unwanted information is also unethical. Buzzle  ®) ? 1) Thou shalt not use a computer to harm other people: If it is unethical to harm people by making a bomb, for example, it is equally bad to write a program that handles the timing of the bomb. Or, to put it more simply, if it is bad to steal and destroy other people’s books and notebooks, it is equally bad to access and destroy their files. (CEI) 3 FRITZ, LTELATK Ethical Computing QBA 362-Spring 2010 ? 2) Thou shalt not interfere with other people's computer work: Computer viruses are small programs that disrupt other people’s computer work by estroying their files, taking huge amounts of computer time or memory, or by simply displaying annoying messages. Generating and consciously spreading computer viruses is unethical (CEI) ? 7) Thou shalt not use other people's computer resources without authorization: Multiuser systems use user id’s and passwords to enforce their memory and time allocations, and to safeguard information. You should not try to bypass this authorization system. Hacking a system to break and bypass the authorization is unethical 4

World History 2.03 Worksheet

Eric Kennedy A. Complete this chart by filling in the information for each civilization as explained in the assignment. |What|When|Who|Where|Why| Phoenicians|The political system of the Phoenicians allowed each Phoenician city-state to have its own ruler, its own form of government, and its own chosen god to worship. |1200 BCE to 800 BCE|Canaanites|City-states were Tyre and Sidon, present day Lebanon and Syria. |Trade, farming | Hebrews |Each tribe set up separate governments connected by their customs. 2000 BCE|King David|Hebrews migrated to a region known as Canaan, roughly corresponding to present-day Israel, western Jordan, southern Syria, and southern Lebanon. |Free religion| Babylonians |Highly-developed court system. One of its greatest rulers, Hammurabi, developed a code of laws that is now known as Hammurabi's Code. This major collection of laws gives insight into the social structure and economic organization of the civilization. |18th Century BCE until the 6th Century BCE. King Hammurabi|South of modern Baghdad, Iraq, between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. |Slavery | Persians |Common set of weights and measures and a silver and gold coinage system. |560 BCE and lasted until 330 BCE. |The empire was formed from a nomadic people called the Persians and the Medes, both distantly related to the Hittites, Greeks, and Romans. |Asia Minor to India, including present-day Turkey, Egypt, Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. Military force| Assyrians|Created a large empire known for warfare and cruelty; also built large libraries and created important art and architecture; religion adopted from Babylonians|2000-600BCE; Assyrian farmers date back to 7th century BCE|Semitic people (similar to Hebrews); greatest leader was Sargon II (extended empire, deported people of Israel); strongly influenced by Sumeria; merchants traded throughout the Middle East |Found in what is present day Iraq in the Middle East; Empire eventually extended from present day Turkey to the Pe rsian Gulf|During the height of their empire the Assyrian war machine was the most feared in the Middle East. | B. What are three things that these civilizations have in common that allowed them to be successful? 1. Strong military 2. Farming land 3. Religion

International Trade Advantages and Limitations

International Trade Advantages and Limitations Scientific innovation and invention in technology, communication, and transport networks has facilitated integration among countries; one major element of globalisation is international trade. International trade is trade among countries; it operates on two main paradigms, importation and exportation of factors of production and finished commodities. Advertising We will write a custom assessment sample on International Trade Advantages and Limitations specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More International trade prevails because of economic, resource and wealth differences among countries, which results to comparative and absolute advantage; with international trade, countries stand to benefit (Taylor 78). This report discusses the economic concept of free trade; it will use international policies to explain the advantages likely to be derived from free trade. One advantage and one limitation of International Trade Free trade is attained when countries remove trade and nons of countries that have become net consumers include Zimbabwe and Swaziland. Absolute and comparative advantages of international trade Both absolute and comparative advantages concepts explain why international trade prevail; they support free trade among countries;Advertising Looking for assessment on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Absolute advantage Adam smith, an economist in late 18th century and early 19th century, developed this concept of absolute advantage, the concept behind the theory is that countries should produce what they can effectively and cheaply produce and import those commodities that it has limited capacity to produce effectively. The concept is similar to household resource management; whereby households tend to produce what they can produce more cheaply and opt to buy those that they cannot produce effectively. The concept broadly states that it is rational that if a country can import goods and services more cheaply than it can produce, then there is no point of producing such commodities. It goes further and states that a country should only produce what it can make efficiently then export to those countries that cannot have the commodities produced effectively. The proceeds gotten from the export is then used to pay for imports. The net effect of the trading partners is that country A will have products produced form country B at a lower cost and country B will get commodity form country A at lower costs; consumers will benefit reduced prices. If we consider two countries, a country has an absolute advantage if it can produce some products at a low cost than another country. Comparative advantage David Ricardo developed the concept of comparative advantage in 1817; the main argument of the concept is that a country has a comparative advantage if its marginal production cost is lower than marginal production of t he other country. If we have two trading countries, country A and country B, country A has a comparative advantage than country B if it has a marginal superiority in production of certain product. Abundance of factors of production differs among countries; rational countries will generally tend to produce those products that utilize the most abundant (cheap) factor of production. According to this concept, if each country specializes in those products and service that it can produce more efficiently, then production can increase and maximum and efficient resource utilization realized. The concept argues that trade allow each country (trading partner) to specialize in those goods and service that it can have a lower marginal production cost.Advertising We will write a custom assessment sample on International Trade Advantages and Limitations specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More However, the concept assumes that factors of mobility has a re perfectly mobile; this means that a country can exchange a factor of production for another without affecting the level of efficiency of the factor. Secondly, it assumes that input-output ratio is constant. This is not true because of the effects of diminishing return and the effects of specialization (OSullivan and Sheffrin 23-67) How Absolute and Comparative advantage are used Absolute advantage Let take a hypothetical example of two countries, country A and country B, they have different potentials. Country A can produce 300milligrams of wheat by using 300 units of factors of production, and can produce 500 milligrams of maize using 300 units of factors of production. Country B can produce the 300 milligrams wheat using 200 units of factors of production, and 200milligrams of maize using 200 units of factors of production, then country B has an absolute advantage in wheat production than country A and country A has absolute advantage in maize than country B. In such a situati on assuming that there are no barriers to trade, then country A should import wheat from country B and country B import maize from country A, both countries stand to benefit. Comparative advantage Let us consider two countries; county 1 and country 2, trading on only two products; wheat and television sets, using similar factors of production as an example; Pre-specialization (before free trade) Wheat Television sets County 2 300 300 County 1 1200 500 Total 1500 800 Let analyze the opportunity costs of the two countries: where county 2 shifts more resources into making of television set, the opportunity cost of one television is one wheat milligram. If county 1 was to put more resources into manufacture of more television sets, then the opportunity cost of one television is 2.4 wheat milligrams. Therefore county 2 has a lower marginal opportunity cost than county 1 in the production of television sets. On the other hand, for county 1 to produce television it is going to give a higher opportunity cost. Post-specialization (after adopting free trade) wheat Television sets county 2 (300-300)= 0 (300+300)= 600 county 1 (1200+ 200*2.4)= 1680 (500-200)= 300 Total 1680 900 Looking at the above trading after specialization, then we find that if countries specialize in the area that they have a comparative advantage, then world’s production will increase.Advertising Looking for assessment on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More From the analysis above, free trade among countries has an advantage over protectionism policies and lack of international trade; both countries to a trade stand to benefit. As nations, trade among themselves the citizens’ benefit. They enjoy a wide variety of goods and services, increased employment opportunities and improvements in health and standards of living. In a period of about twenty years, a big number of countries have entered into global economies leading to a reduction in the number of people living in poverty. When borders are opened and there are no trade and non-trade barriers, new developed industries will have access to a large market. When the market is large then chances of their success is higher. There will be demand of products and services in other countries that results to investment pull. Investment pull is whereby due to an increased market in a certain region, a country manufacturing the products on demand relocates/ opens a branch in the country of demand (Lipsey 16) Factors affecting foreign exchange rates In international trade, foreign currencies are required to effect a transaction; a country can peg its currency on an internationally known currency like Dollar or pound. After making an exportation, payments in the form of foreign currency forms a credit in foreign exchange and an importation there is a debit in the foreign currency account. Two exchange rates are used in the financial market; the fixed exchange rate and floating exchange rate. The forces of demand and supply in the international market determine a floating exchange rate. Exchange rate is determined by the demand of foreign currency at a certain particular time, if the demand is high, then the currency rate of exchange will be higher, when the rate of demand is low then the rate of exchange is low. Balance of trade exists when a country foreign currency from imports equals the expense of exportation. When a country is a net importer, then it has a ne gative balance of trade and its exchange rate to foreign currency is higher (its currency is said to have devalued), when a country is a net exporter then it has a low exchange rate; it has a strong currency. The international monetary fund (IMF) is an international organization that supervises the international financial market by examining the macroeconomic policies of member countries. The objective of IMF is to stabilize foreign exchange rates and enforce liberalized economic policies in countries for loan purposes (Parkin 23). Lipsey, Richard, and Courant. Paul. Economics: Social and Environmental Regulation.   New York: HarperCollins Publishers Inc, 1996.Print. OSullivan, Arthur, and Sheffrin, Steven. Economics: Principles in Action. Upper Saddle River: New Jersey, 2003.  Print. Parkin, Michael. Economics. Massachusetts: Pearson Addison-Wesley, 2008.Print. Taylor, John. Principles of Microeconomics. New York: Cengage Learning, 2006.Print.

The History of Halloween or Samhain, Day of the Dead

The History of Halloween or Samhain, Day of the Dead Halloween or Samhain had its beginnings in an ancient, pre-Christian Celtic festival of the dead. The Celtic peoples, who were once found all over Europe, divided the year by four major holidays. According to their calendar, the year began on a day corresponding to Nov. 1 on our present calendar. The date marked the beginning of winter. Since they were pastoral people, it was a time when cattle and sheep had to be moved to closer pastures and all livestock had to be secured for the winter months. Crops were harvested and stored. The date marked both an ending and a beginning in an eternal cycle. Samhain The festival observed at this time was called Samhain (pronounced Sah-ween). It was the biggest and most significant holiday of the Celtic year. The Celts believed that at the time of Samhain, more so than any other time of the year, the ghosts of the dead were able to mingle with the living, because at Samhain the souls of those who had died during the year traveled into the otherworld. People gathered to sacrifice animals, fruits, and vegetables. They also lit bonfires in honor of the dead, to aid them on their journey, and to keep them away from the living. On that day all manner of beings were abroad: ghosts, fairies, and demonsall part of the dark and dread. How Samhain Became Halloween Samhain became the Halloween we are familiar with when Christian missionaries attempted to change the religious practices of the Celtic people. In the early centuries of the first millennium A.D., before missionaries such as St. Patrick and St. Columcille converted them to Christianity, the Celts practiced an elaborate religion through their priestly caste, the Druids, who were priests, poets, scientists and scholars all at once. As religious leaders, ritual specialists, and bearers of learning, the Druids were not unlike the very missionaries and monks who were to Christianize their people and brand them evil devil worshippers. Pope Gregory the First As a result of their efforts to wipe out pagan holidays, such as Samhain, the Christians succeeded in effecting major transformations in it. In 601 A.D. Pope Gregory the First issued a now famous edict to his missionaries concerning the native beliefs and customs of the peoples he hoped to convert. Rather than try to obliterate native peoples customs and beliefs, the pope instructed his missionaries to use them: if a group of people worshiped a tree, rather than cut it down, he advised them to consecrate it to Christ and allow its continued worship. In terms of spreading Christianity, this was a brilliant concept and it became a basic approach used in Catholic missionary work. Church holy days were purposely set to coincide with native holy days. Christmas, for instance, was assigned the arbitrary date of December 25th because it corresponded with the mid-winter celebration of many peoples. Likewise, St. Johns Day was set on the summer solstice. Good Vs Evil - Druids, Christians, and Samhain Samhain, with its emphasis on the supernatural, was decidedly pagan. While missionaries identified their holy days with those observed by the Celts, they branded the earlier religions supernatural deities as evil and associated them with the devil. As representatives of the rival religion, Druids were considered evil worshippers of devilish or demonic gods and spirits. The Celtic underworld inevitably became identified with the Christian Hell. The effects of this policy were to diminish but not totally eradicate the beliefs of the traditional gods. Celtic belief in supernatural creatures persisted, while the church made deliberate attempts to define them as being not merely dangerous, but malicious. Followers of the old religion went into hiding and were branded as witches. Feast of All Saints The Christian feast of All Saints was assigned to No. 1. The day honored every Christian saint, especially those that did not otherwise have a special day devoted to them. This feast day was meant to substitute for Samhain, to draw the devotion of the Celtic peoples, and, finally, to replace it forever. That did not happen, but the traditional Celtic deities diminished in status, becoming fairies or leprechauns of more recent traditions. The old beliefs associated with Samhain never died out entirely. The powerful symbolism of the traveling dead was too strong, and perhaps too basic to the human psyche, to be satisfied with the new, more abstract Catholic feast honoring saints. Recognizing that something that would subsume the original energy of Samhain was necessary, the church tried again to supplant it with a Christian feast day in the 9th century. This time it established November 2nd as All Souls Day -a day when the living prayed for the souls of all the dead. But, once again, the practice of retaining traditional customs while attempting to redefine them had a sustaining effect: the traditional beliefs and customs lived on, in new guises. All Saints Day - All Hallows All Saints Day, otherwise known as All Hallows (hallowed means sanctified or holy), continued the ancient Celtic traditions. The evening prior to the day was the time of the most intense activity, both human and supernatural. People continued to celebrate All Hallows Eve as a time of the wandering dead, but the supernatural beings were now thought to be evil. The folk continued to propitiate those spirits (and their masked impersonators) by setting out gifts of food and drink. Subsequently, All Hallows Eve became Hallow Evening, which became Halloweenan ancient Celtic, pre-Christian New Years Day in contemporary dress. Many supernatural creatures became associated with All Hallows. In Ireland, fairies were numbered among the legendary creatures who roamed on Halloween. An old folk ballad called Allison Gross tells the story of how the fairy queen saved a man from a witchs spell on Halloween. Allison Gross O Allison Gross, that lives in yon towerthe ugliest witch int he North Country...Shes turned me into an ugly wormand gard me toddle around a tree...But as it fell out last Hallow evenWhen the seely [fairy] court was riding by,the Queen lighted down on a gowany bankNot far from the tree where I wont to lie...Shes change me again to my own proper shapeAnd I no more toddle about the tree. In old England, cakes were made for the wandering souls, and people went a soulin for these soul cakes. Halloween, a time of magic, also became a day of divination, with a host of magical beliefs: for instance, if persons hold a mirror on Halloween and walk backward down the stairs to the basement, the face that appears in the mirror will be their next lover. Halloween - Celtic Day of the Dead Virtually all present Halloween traditions can be traced to the ancient Celtic day of the dead. Halloween is a holiday of many mysterious customs, but each one has a history, or at least a story behind it. The wearing of costumes, for instance, and roaming from door to door demanding treats can be traced to the Celtic period and the first few centuries of the Christian era, when it was thought that the souls of the dead were out and around, along with fairies, witches, and demons. Offerings of food and drink were left out to placate them. As the centuries wore on, people began dressing like these dreadful creatures, performing antics in exchange for food and drink. This practice is called mumming, from which the practice of trick-or-treating evolved. To this day, witches, ghosts, and skeleton figures of the dead are among the favorite disguises. Halloween also retains some features that harken back to the original harvest holiday of Samhain, such as the customs of bobbing for apples and carving vegetables, as well as the fruits, nuts, and spices cider associated with the day. Modern Halloween Today Halloween is becoming once again and adult holiday or masquerade, like Mardi Gras. Men and women in every disguise imaginable are taking to the streets of big American cities and parading past grinningly carved, candlelit jack olanterns, re-enacting customs with a lengthy pedigree. Their masked antics challenge, mock, tease and appease the dread forces of the night, of the soul, and of the otherworld that becomes our world on this night of reversible possibilities, inverted roles, and transcendency. In so doing, they are reaffirming death and its place as a part of life in an exhilarating celebration of a holy and magic evening.

Jacksonville Shipyards Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Jacksonville Shipyards - Research Paper Example One thinks that this not a problem that workers should handle among themselves. The company should intervene in such problems because it is their responsibility to free their workplace of any form of sexual harassment. The workers alone cannot resolve this issue. Yes, the treatment of Robinson is a form of sex discrimination because it created an environment which is not conducive to women. Indirectly, the treatment given to Robinson implies that women are not welcome in the shipyard. One does not agree that the male co-workers of Robinson did nothing illegal. In a court interpretation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, it stated that â€Å"employees have the right to work in an environment free from discriminatory intimidation, ridicule and insult† (Clark, 1994). Clearly, what the male co-workers did was a violation of Title VII. How was Lois Robinson harmed? No one pressured her for sexual favors, she was not denied any advancement or wage increases because of her treatment, and she did not suffer a mental breakdown. Rather, she was offended. Although Robinson was not pressured into giving sexual favors nor was she denied wage increases, nor did she suffer any mental breakdown, she was harmed. As Judge Melton ruled, there was a â€Å"visual assault on the sensibilities of female workers† in the shipyard (Lewin, 1991). Robinson was harmed because of the disrespect she suffered from her male co-workers. The harm was more of psychological and emotional. She was not treated with respect and dignity. Yes, one thinks that any employee has a right not to be offended. The workplace should be a place which is fair to all its employees regardless of sex, religion or race. The management of a company must ensure that all employees respect each others’