Cry the Beloved Country dialectical journal Essay

â€Å"Kumalo climbed into the carriage for non-Europeans, already full of the humbler people of his race†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (43) How there’s a carriage exclusively for non-Europeans is understandable at the time period that this novel is set in, but people who read this in the 21st century might think that this is odd how Europeans couldn’t stand to ride in the same carriage as non-Europeans. â€Å"Black and white it says, black and white, though it is red and green. It is too much to understand.† (47) The order it goes, black and white then red and green. It shows you that the whites are more superior because they are the sign to go, and the blacks have to stop and wait. The whites always get first word on things and blacks have to settle with that the whites left them. â€Å"They talked of young criminal children and older and more dangerous criminals, of how white Johannesburg was afraid of black crime.† (52) How it says â€Å"black crime† is just wrong. There is such thing as white crime too, but apparently the white people don’t think that white crime is just as dangerous as black crime. It shows how scared they were of people of different races and think that just because of your color you are prone to do more dangerous things. â€Å"That is a pity, says Msimsngu. I am not a man for segregation, but it is a pity that we are not apart. They run trams from the centre of the city, and part is for Europeans and part for us. But we are often thrown off the trams by young hooligans. And our hooligans are ready for trouble too.† (58) It’s sort of sad how this is a person who doesn’t believe in segregation, but feels the need to be apart from the other race. When someone is being hostile towards you it’s not a good feeling, so of course you wouldn’t want to be near that individual. I think in this setting and time it’s understandable that someone would feel this way about being separated. Kumalo’s face wore the smile, the strange smile not known in other countries, of a black man when he sees one of his people helped in public by a white man, for such a thing is not lightly done. (81) It bothers me that this smile is for a deed that should be done anyway. I mean, I know it’s set in a time where there’s segregation between  the different races, but seeing how I was born and raised in an era where it isn’t customary to ignore someone solely because of their race. Cry, the Beloved Country Dialectical Journals Theme: Fear Quote Response The small child opened the door, carefully like one who was afraid to open carelessly, the door of so important a house, and stepped timidly in.† (35) Just how the girl’s movement is describes makes me feel scared. The words â€Å"timidly† and â€Å"carelessly† really add on to how you could picture her moving. Being a small child and going into a house that is owned by such an important person would be terrifying because if you were to accidentally break something or slip up then it’d be very bad. â€Å"They go to Johannesburg, and there they are lost, an no one hears of them at all.† (39) It sounds like Johannesburg is sucking them up and not letting them free. People might never hear from people that have gone to Johannesburg because their life was getting worse by living in Johannesburg. I would be kind of scared to go to Johannesburg because no one hears from you again. â€Å"He goes carefully that he may not bump anybody, holding tightly on to his bag.†(47) He’s afraid that someone might try to snatch his bag. Being in an unknown place is hard for a lot of people. They hear rumors and then they get scared. It’s not bad to always be careful, but it wasn’t just careful he was being. The young man took the pound and walked a short distance to the corner. As the turned it. Kumalo was afraid. The line moved forward and he with it, clutching his bag. And again forward, and again forward, and soon he must enter a bus, but still he had no ticket. As through the has suddenly thought of something he left he line, and walked the corner, but there was no sign of the young man.(48-49) Trusting strangers with your money isn’t an easy thing to do. And being in a foreign place makes it even more confusing on if you should trust anyone or not. When you’re poor like Kumalo was, money was very precious to you. He was taking m oney that was going to be used for clothes. Seeing someone run off with your money is something that makes you lose faith in the human race. Cry, the Beloved Country Dialectical Journals Theme: Economic Prosperity v. Loss of Values Quote Response â€Å"She came here to look for her husband who was recruited for the mines†¦ She lives in Claremont, not far from here. It is one of the worst places in Johannesburg†¦ †¦ that is her work, she makes and sells it†¦ These women sleep with any man for their price†¦ She has been in prison, more than once.† (53) Kumalo’s sister went to the big city to find her husband and it turns out that she never did. At least that’s what it seems like it’s trying to hint at. It seems like as soon as she entered a place to be rumored as a better economic area, she lost all morals and values. This is sad really, for both Kumalo and his sister. (55) Cry, the Beloved Country Dialectical Journals Theme: Poverty Quote Response â€Å"How can I use it? he said. This money was to send Absalom to St. Chad’s†¦ This money we have saved for that purpose will never be used for it.† (38-39) Stephen feels if he were to use the money they saved for his son it wouldn’t be right. He also knows that if he doesn’t use it, it might never be used for anything at all. He doesn’t know where his son is because he hasn’t tried to contact ever since he left. â€Å"Take it all, Stephen. There may be doctors, hospital, other troubles. Take it all. And take the Post Office Book––there is ten pounds in it––you must take that also. – I have been saving that for your stove, He said – That cannot be helped, she said. And that other money, though we saved it for St. Chad’s, I had meant it for your new black clothes, and a new black hat, and new white collars† (40) I think how Stephen’s wife tells him to take all the money is something that shows how much she cares about his well  being. How they were saving it for a stove for his wife and new clothes for Stephen but his wife wanted him to take the money for their needs before their wants. Stephen needs to have enough money for anything and everything that might be thrown in his path in this journey he is about to embark on. â€Å"This is a long way to go, and a lot of money to pay. And if he has to bring her back, what will that cost too?† (42) He’s going to this unknown city where they don’t know how much things are. And if his sister is gravely ill, then what? He’s not going to leave her there, she’s family and family always comes first. â€Å"Is it wrong to ask more money? John Kumalo asks. We get little enough. It is only our share that we ask, enough to our wives and families from starvation. For we do not get enough. The Lansdown Commission said that we do not get enough. The Smit Commission said that we do not get enough.† (218) Everyone is saying that John Kumalo is poor because he isn’t getting enough money. He’s wondering if asking for money is something that is socially acceptable, even if you need it to not starve. I think that this is sort of sad because when you think about it there are people in this time of day that would ask the same question to themselves but never ask. Cry, the Beloved Country Dialectical Journals Theme: Religion Quote Response (37) I lied. This doesn’t work. (43) Ha. This one doesn’t work either >.< (51) Oh and this? FAIL. â€Å"They went into a room where a table was laid, and there he met many priests, both white and black, and they sat down after grace and ate together.† (51) At a time of social and political unrest, the two different races could sit together without being appalled by each other’s races. I think that speaks for itself in the fact that religion is uniting the (187) Ha not this one. this one is evil. jk Cry, the Beloved Country Dialectical Journals Theme: Forgiveness Quote Response â€Å"They knelt down, and he prayed, quietly so that the neighbors might not hear, and she punctuated his petitions with Amens. And when he had finished, she burst into a torrent of prayer, of self-denunciation, and urgent petition. And thus reconciled, they sat hand in hand.† (61) â€Å"†¦ And he said to her, will you now take a fourth husband? And desperately she said, no, no, I want no husband anymore.† (146) â€Å" And so he laughed again, and let go her hands, and took up his hat. I shall come for you when everything is ready for the marriage. Have you clothes?† (148) â€Å"-I have heard you, he said. I understand what I did not understand. There is no anger in me.† (214)

Classification essay: Hobbies Essay

We all have hobbies that deal with our specific interests. A hobby is what a person enjoys doing at their own leisure. Many people have hobbies because doing what they love can bring happiness and joy towards their lives. Hobbies lets a person know what they will do next time to occupy themselves when they have a free afternoon or a day to themselves. This could include an interest such as: painting a drawing, reading a novel by their favorite author, playing their favorite sport, learning how to play an instrument and many more. Some say that a hobby is a time for relaxation and pleasure as they pursue an activity during their spare time. However, a hobby is more than means of relaxation and has more aspects and other benefits to it such as: self-improvement, a richer social life, and extra income in time. To start with, a hobby is a means for self-improvement. Hobbies can help a person discover their skills and how to improve them further. The longer a person pursues their favorite activity helps motivate them to work harder. It is a perfect way of learning because they aren’t doing it to please anyone else but themselves which makes the learning more effective. Another learning opportunity with a hobby is time-management skills. A person with a hobby must have  a schedule that helps them get their priorities done but also have time set aside to do what they love. A hobby helps to improve ourselves and the skills we have. Second, a hobby gives a person a better and richer social life. Sharing the same interest with other people can boost up your social life as it would bring a solid context on conversations and socializing. For example, if a  person enjoys dancing then he would probably join a dance group or club and make friends who share the same passion as he does. Having the same hobby as someone can result in a great deal of wonderful conversations. Your hobby can bring you a stimulating social life as you will be able to interact with many people. Finally, a hobby can become a means for extra income in time. There are many people who achieve jobs by doing what they love to do. As their hobby starts to improve and reaches a stage of professionalism, then they will be able to make money out of it. For example, painters enjoy making drawings but to reach the point where they could sell it for income they must’ve practiced their hobby for years. Nevertheless, they love what they do and they are getting rewarded for their hard work in the end. Such people are very blessed to be earning their living by doing what they are passionate about, as that will guarantee happiness and success. In summation, having a hobby helps to improve ourselves, enriches our social network, and may produce future income. If you want to fit more into your life and achieve happiness, joy and success; try to discover what you are attracted to. Find a hobby and stay with it. It will be  worth all the time, effort and money you put into it. You never know, you may become a different person.

Israel and Judah’s Sins and Destruction

Israel and Judah sinned against God which provoked Him to uproot them from their land. According to 2 Kings 17, Israel and Judah failed to follow God’s covenant by worshipping â€Å"other gods† (v. 8), following â€Å"the practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before them, as well as the practices that the kings of Israel had introduced† (v. 8), building â€Å"high places in all their towns† (v. 9), setting up â€Å"sacred stones and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every spreading tree† (v. 10), and burning â€Å"incense† in every high place† (v.  11).Way back to the time God saved them out of Egypt, God commanded them as part of his covenant not to â€Å"worship any other gods or bow down to them, serve them or sacrifice to them† (v. 35). But, when they came to the Promised Land, they forgot God’s commandments and His covenant. They, instead, worshipped idols and other gods which made God angry. The se idols include one that is shaped like a cow, and the other one â€Å"an Asherah pole† (v. 16). They also worshipped the stars in the heavens and Baal.Worse, they sacrificed their children â€Å"in the fire† and â€Å"practiced divination and sorcery† (v. 17). God sent them warnings through His prophets. In 2 Kings 17: 13, God says, â€Å"Turn from your evil ways. Observe my commands and decrees, in accordance with the entire Law that I commanded your fathers to obey and that I delivered to you through my servants the prophets. † And in 2 Kings 21:12-15, God revealed what he intends to do with them. Yet, despite the warnings God sent, they continued with what they are doing and they have become stubborn and incorrigible.They would not repent from their wickedness. Consequently, God â€Å"removed them from his presence† (2 Kings 17:18) by sending invaders such as the King of Assyria to Israel, and the King of Babylon to the tribe of Judah. These i nvaders plundered their land and they were brought to another land. So the Israelites were exiled in Assyria as what can be read from 2 Kings 17 and the tribe of Judah was brought to Babylon according to 2 Kings 25. In 2 Kings, there is a cycle of sin, judgment, and restoration of the Israelites and the tribe of Judah.Moreover, there are also prophetic messages through the Minor Prophets Joel and Micah. However, this cycle of sin, judgment and restoration did not only happen to the Israelites and to the tribe of Judah but this is also taking place in our world today. The Prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 66, warns of people who â€Å"did evil in my [God’s] sight and chose what displeases me [God]† (v. 4). They will be judged according to their deeds but if they â€Å"consecrate and purify themselves† (v.17), God â€Å"will bring all your brothers, from all the nations, to my holy mountain in Jerusalem as an offering to the LORD† (v. 20). Joel, in chapters 1 and 2 of Joel, prophesies of a day when locusts will come to the land and he calls out to the people of Israel to repent from their wicked ways. Along with a call to repentance is the assurance of restoration from God. Likewise, Micah points out the sins of Israel and Judah and prophesies that their â€Å"idols will be broken to pieces; all her temple gifts will be burned with fire† (Micah 1: 7). But God promises deliverance in Micah 2: 12-13.This cycle of sin, judgment, and restoration can be seen in the individuals and in groups of people nowadays. Like for example, an individual person commits a sin of lying and cheating which are minor sins and suffers the consequences for those sins, yet when he/ she repents, God makes a way for that person to be restored and to have a new life. In our times when natural and man-made disasters are happening, most of these are results of man’s neglect and carelessness. However, despite the sins of man, God comes to rescue them and he res tores peace to the land.References 2 Kings 17-25. BibleGateway. Com. Retrieved April 21, 2009, from http://www. biblegateway. com/passage/? book_id=12&chapter=24&version=31 Isaiah 66. BibleGateway. Com. Retrieved April 21, 2009, from http://www. biblegateway. com/passage/? search=Isaiah%2066;&version=31; Joel 1 & 2. BibleGateway. Com. Retrieved April 21, 2009, from http://www. biblegateway. com/passage/? search=Joel%201;2;&version=31; Micah 1 & 2. BibleGateway. Com. Retrieved April 21, 2009, from http://www. biblegateway. com/passage/? search=Micah%201;2;&version=31;

E-Business and e-commerce marketplace analysis Essay

E-Business and e-commerce marketplace analysis - Essay Example My organisation can also benefit from the large customer base available over the internet which will lead to wide market being reached via advertising thus translating into increased sales revenue. 2.The following are some of the benefits that exist for both B2B and B2C organisations; there is cost reduction on purchasing since waste is reduced, lowered transaction costs due to standardisation and automation of agreement,inquiring,ordering,paying and receiving processes. The other benefits are finding and conducting new business, thus it is easy for companies to find business partners that previously were unknown to them; and lastly businesses will increase their efficiency on supply chain due to automated procurement processes. The last benefit is monitoring of corporate spending which enables buyers to acquire information on the patterns of buying, consequently letting firms to allocate, reduce and control spending. The barriers include strategic change; thus a change in a business system of a firm can be revolutionary (strategic) or evolutionary (operational) process. This means there could be resistance to change which could be due to cultural or psychological reasons. The other barrier is costs and financing of putting e-commerce in place; the costs of implementing e-commerce can be such a terrible barrier especially for SMEs and they include costs associated with procuring hardware and software, planning, telecommunications and maintenance

Todays Intricacy and Complexities Research Paper

Todays Intricacy and Complexities - Research Paper Example The process is however complicated as it requires utilization of personal skills and individual values to facilitate the creation of an effective frame of reference essential in productive action. The essay below therefore seeks to use multiple step method developed by Keeley and Browne to examine the argument suggested by the director of operations in Cliffside Holdings Company of Massapequa. What Are The Issue And The Conclusion? In the case of Cliffside Holding Company of Massapequa, the focus is on establishment and funding leadership programs for junior executive staff in the company. The need to prepare junior financial executives for future development of the company was proposed during the senior executive staff meeting, which took place on August 1, 2012. It was suggested by the director of operation. The suggestion targeted 20 employees, who were to attend a three-week seminar per year offered by Aspen Leadership Institute of Colorado. While concluding, Mr. Anil Ravaswami a sserted that it is not feasible for CHCM to sponsor its junior financial executives to the annual leadership training. ...future of CHCM at heart but only wants to disgrace him and advocate for adoption of theories of Aspen Institute, which he thinks are not appropriate for the culture of CHCM. What Are The Reasons? From the presentation of the subject and conclusions, the reason why the vice president of Human resources of CHCM, Mr. Anil Ravaswami declined to adopt the proposal of Ms. Forsythe on leadership training is their competition for corporate post. Mr. Anil Ravaswami argues that their twelve senior executive have never attended any leadership programs, but they have been delivering their duties as expected (Browne & Keeley, 2007). He believes that leadership is not learned but an innate trait by quoting people like Winston Churchill, Mother Theresa and Martin Luther King, Jr. Therefore, Mr. Anil Ravaswami reiterates that leadership development trainings are of less signific ance in Cliffside Holding Company of Massapequa. Which Words Or Phrases Are Ambiguous? Mr. Anil Ravaswami, in the Memo alluded to the sayings of some experts to rationalize his allegation that leadership is an inborn trait that cannot be copied or learned through trainings. He quotes one economist Dr. Irwin Corey, who said â€Å"born into this world accompanied by a rich, psychical disposition, which furnishes him ready-made all his motivations of conduct†¦He can show a demand for nothing that is not prompted by this galaxy of instincts.† The economist quote is related to Mr. Anil Ravaswami’s thought.  

Muscular Distrophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Muscular Distrophy - Essay Example The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) has defined muscular dystrophies (MD) as â€Å"a group of more than 30 genetic diseases characterized by progressive weakness and degeneration of the skeletal muscles that control movement. Some forms of MD are seen in infancy or childhood, while others may not appear until middle age or later. The disorders differ in terms of the distribution and extent of muscle weakness (some forms of MD also affect cardiac muscle), age of onset, rate of progression, and pattern of inheritance† (NINDS, 2010, par. 3). There are various types with corresponding clinical manifestations and therapy for MDs. In this regard, the essay aims to compare and contrast, one particular type, the Duchenne MD with another type, the Facioscapulohumeral MD. The causes, pathology and treatment would be discussed and evaluated in light of the two identified MDs. The Duchenne MD is considered the most common form of MD afflicting children, identified to occur in 1 out of 3,500 live male births (London, et.al. 2007, 1791). This type of MD, likewise known as pseudohyperthophy â€Å"refers to enlargement of muscles as a result of their infiltration with fatty tissue† (London, et.al. 2007, 1791). The disorder usually appears within the first three to four years of the child’s development. In a research conducted by Bogdanovich, et.al. (2005), the authors averred that â€Å"DMD is characterized by progressive and severe muscle loss that leads to loss of ambulation, with those affected often becoming wheelchair dependent toward the end of the first decade of life. The disease is caused by mutations in the DMD gene resulting in quantitative and/or qualitative disturbances in expression of the gene product, dystrophin† (par. 1). The symptoms for Duchenne MD include any or a combination of the following: â€Å"fatigue, mental retardation (possible, but does not worsen over time), muscle weakness, and

Research psychology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Research psychology - Essay Example The feared situations can vary from interpersonal social interactions in small groups to talking to strangers. Performance fears, such as speaking in public, also are common. People with social anxiety disorder either avoid feared situations or experience them with extreme anxiety. Most individuals with the disorder have the more severe, "generalized" type, in which the person has other social fears in addition to the common fear of public speaking. Many researchers have conducted research in the area with varying recommendations. Much has been researched on social anxiety and how it affects peoples’ lives. Usually many researches have looked at the causes of social anxiety and how it could be treated. SARA W.holds that one–fifth of patients with social anxiety disorder also suffers from an alcohol use disorder (AUDs). They have argued that one of the theories that can be attributed to this is the tension reduction theory, which proposes that people with social anxiety use alcohol to alleviate their fears. This expectation that alcohol reduces anxiety may motivate alcohol consumption even if pharmacological studies do not support that assumption. She holds that social anxiety disorder is treatable with both pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy. Some researchers have also attributed social anxiety disorders to environmental risk factors such as parenting (Ollendick & Hirshfeld-Becker, 2002). Although the role of parenting has emerged as a small but significant risk factor, less research has focused on parent psychopathology. This lack of attention may be due, in part, to the difficulty in separating out genetic contributions from environmental impact. Despite this, there is some evidence that parents with specific disorders contribute significantly to an increased rate of many childhood and adolescence disorders, potentially even within a particular developmental pathway (Stranger 1999; Burstein

The Common Agricultural Policy of the European Union Assignment

The Common Agricultural Policy of the European Union - Assignment Example In the EU farmers are guaranteed a certain price by their government. This is achieved mainly through the use of buffer stocks. These refer to the previous season’s stocks that were not absorbed by the market hence stored by the governments for future eventualities in the market prices. The government buys excess stock in the market to maintain a certain price if there is over supply and releases extra produce to the market to keep the prices at the agreed rate in case of shortage pushing the prices up (Swinbank, & Tranter, 2004). Whenever there is an overwhelming supply of farm products on the market, the excess supply tends to push down the average prices of the produce leading to reduced profits for the farmers or even end up making losses. The E.U sets quotas for such products so as to protect farmers from these problems. The dairy sector is one such agricultural sector that has set quotas imposed on it by the E.U. A quota is represented on the graph by a vertical supply curve at the time the quota is binding. The response of the producers to changes in prices is asymmetrical. Supply will reduce in response to fall in prices and this is represented by the left side of the quota. On the other side ,the right side, when the price rises the farmers are prevented from raising production making the supply curve to become inelastic in nature. (www.economicsonline.co.uk) The elasticity of the demand curve will determine if the farmers will benefit from the production quota. The farmers will be at a benefitting position after the quota if the curve is inelastic around the initial set price. When a market economy is restricted, the quota that is set on production always leads to quota rents. This can be depicted as the a+b in the graphic representation. They are referred to as rents because the farmers get an extra return of Pd. If the farmers manage to sell or lease their quota rights, it gives a capital value to the quota which is equal to the discounted

Why Is It important for Managers to Understand the External Forces Essay

Why Is It important for Managers to Understand the External Forces Acting on Them and Their Organisations - Essay Example The every day role of a manager involves a range of activities all directed towards the achieving a high level of performance for the organization. In other words, being a good manager involves succeeding in achieving a high level of performance for the organization (Daft & Marcic, 2009). Thus, a key determinant in the success of manager hinges on achieving high levels of performance, which is influenced by the external forces acting on an organization as per the definition of external forces. Hence, it becomes impossible to deny that the common denomination of performance of the organization highlights the importance and interaction of the external forces acting on an organization and the role of managers in the organization. It is quite obvious that an understanding of the external forces acting on the organization makes it possible for managers to make use of the resources and create an environment that negate any impact of external forces that enhance stress in the organization a nd through that reduce job tension and enhance job satisfaction and job commitment that go towards improving the performance of the organization (Pool, 2000). Any organization exists in an external environment and necessarily has to interact with this environment and transact business within this environment. Such a relation between an organization and its environment is clear indication of the direct relationship between the external forces and organization. In which case, it goes without saying that effective interaction between the organization and the external forces is a key determinant for the success of the organization. What is the nature of the interaction between the external forces and the organization? External forces can impose a number of constraints on an organization that have a strong influence on the scope and direction of the activities in an organization and through that the performance of the organization, while the organization has limited control over these ex ternal forces. The key aspect of handling the constraints imposed by external forces is in the managers of the organization identifying and understanding the external forces and the constraints brought on by them and developing policies and actions within it’s the environment of the organization to take advantage of the situation that is impacting on all organizations operating in that sector of industrial activity. In fact, it is the understanding of the external forces coupled with an understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the internal environment of the organization by managers that allows that to seek out the opportunities in the external environment to exploit them and develop measures to mitigate any threats imposed by the external forces (Shaikh, 2010). According to Robbins and Coulter 2007, external forces acting on an organization can be classified into two elements of the external forces of the specific environment and the external forces of the general en vironment. Such a distinction of the external forces is useful in evaluating the influence of external influence on the performance of an organization and its implications for managers (Robbins & Coulter, 2007) The specific environment consists of those external forces that have a direct bearing on managerial decisions and activities, because they have a direct relevance to the performance of an organization and the attainment of the objectives of the organization. This may imply that the specific environment for all organizations is static and the same. This is not true for the specific environment is unique to every organization and changes with changes in the condition. For example, let us look at two organizations of Timex and Rolex conducting business operations in the same market of

Future challenges Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Future challenges - Essay Example Information is quite crucial to an exporter or an importer. Information gives the status of shipments, the problems that may cause the shipment to delay etc. New competition looks at the consumer’s lead time, making the execution of orders to be within the required time. The new competition will improve the various management processes involving the customer. This is the relationship between a company and its consumers with information on products’ availability. A successful organization has to lay focus on building customer relationships for example positive treatments towards the customer, determining customer satisfaction in order to achieve company goals. Consumer demand will increase and be different in future after them gaining confidence in the company. Creation of a good relationship with the customers will be the determining factor for growth and expansion of the company. Competition has built a fragile environment for businesses operation. Therefore, need to maintain customers will be of importance to supply chain management. Due to intense competition, there will be requests by the customers to have a wide range of goods for example fresh products of good quality. Competition will impact the suppliers on cost consideration to the consumer. Due to the new competition, companies will provide good services, short lead time and good order execution. A good management of the all the function in the organization from engineering, manufacturing, procurement, marketing, and finance will ensure the reinventing of the supply chain. The authority of all the functions in the company to coordinate the activities well with autonomy will act as a way to reinvent the system (Harland 1996). The overall performance of the companies will emerge from the good coordination from all the functions to produce quality services. New competition will bring about reduced prices to favour the consumers. This will come up from the attempts by competing companies

Gun Laws Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Gun Laws - Essay Example Gun laws critically account for individual and social security concerns. This role, however, is not without its negative aspect. This is in line with the fact that not every individual or potential gun owner qualifies to own a gun. Gun ownership requirements are strictly adhered to in order to minimize saturation of guns in among individuals (Lott, 2010). Amid this, guns provide a sense of security to the owners and people among them. Therefore, gun laws are essential in that regard. Regulation of gun ownership also ensures that only the most deserving people are approved, thereby reducing the possibility of misuse of guns. Antisocial behaviors constitute another aspect that guns critically account for. Laws are put in place to minimize or alleviate altogether illegal possession of guns. Individuals found owning guns against the law are prosecuted. In this regard, gun laws contribute towards mainstreaming social welfare and social coherence among people by regulating or controlling their conduct in this line (Lott, 2010). A challenge in this pursuit is the ability of people to acquire guns to serve other purposes other than their safety and security. Crime perpetrators use guns to threaten others in times of crime. In the light of regulation of guns through relevant laws, this is used to counter attack gun laws efforts. Failure to account for the majority populations in the licensing of guns is a bone of contention in relation to gun laws. Gun possession favors the minority rich and the so called VIPs like prominent businessmen, political leaders, and celebrities among others (Lott, 2010). However, security concerns that lead to the formulation and implementation of gun laws are experienced across the populations, and every single individual is equally vulnerable. Although there places where gun laws seek to integrate all persons subject to approval,

Trurl’s Machine Essay Example for Free

Trurl’s Machine Essay As a boy Stanislaw Lem showed an early interest in science as well as in the imaginary worlds of fantasy and science fiction. The young Lem’s interest in tinkering mechanical devices of all sorts was put to use by secretly damaging the German vehicles during the Nazi occupation. Later on, he became a full time writer establishing himself as leading science fiction writer in Eastern Europe. This writer from Lvov Poland (now Ukraine) worked on serious themes as the purpose of life and relationship between human beings and technology. Once upon a time Trurl, a constructor built an eight-story thinking machine. As always, he asks it a ritual question of how much is two plus two. Every time he asks this question the machine always says seven that make him so disappointed. He collapsed in despair at the foot of the machine, and sat there until Klapaucius found him. Klapaucius asked what was wrong, for Trurl looked as if he had just returned from a funeral. Trurl explained what happened and Klapaucius said that there still a good side to everything. Trul keeps on kicking the machine until he is warned by it; they notice that aside from being stupid it is also sensitive. Instead of stopping what he is doing, Trul keeps what he is doing, that’s why the machine shuttered, shook and without any word lift itself from its foundations. The machine was swaying like a high tower, advancing slowly; at every step sinking to is second floor, but stubbornly doggedly pulling itself out of the sand and heading straight for them. This left broken concretes behind. They ran straight and soon saw houses before them. The streets were practically deserted at this time and the construction had gone a good distance without meeting living soul, when suddenly an awful crash, like an avalanche at the edge of the town, indicated that the machine was coming after them. The machine is tearing down all the houses! It is plowing all the building. There are dreadful screams, confusions in the streets. The mayor pleased the machine to stop what it is doing and the machine said that it will only stop if they give up Trurl. The mayor pleases the machine to have mercy on them. The mayor said that the damage made by Trurl’s machine will be answered by Trurl. Trurl and Klapaucius went to the machine and escaped by going in the cave but the machine has closed the cave with the rock. They are trapped. They talk to the machine and say that all of its answer is correct that two plus two is seven. They ask if they can go now but the machine said that it will think about it, but first they need to answer what is two times two. Trul fell into a rage, and he said that two and two is four, from the beginning till the end it is four. The machine had begun to ram its eight-story hulk again and again into the wall of stone, hurling itself against the mountain side until huge boulders broke away and went tumbling down into the valley. Thunder and sulfurous fumes filled the cave and sparks flew from the blows of steel on rock, yet through all this pandemonium one could still make out, now and then, the ragged voice of Trurl. They heard an explosion and saw the machine, lay smashed and flattened, nearly broken in half by an enormous boulder that had landed in the middle of its eight floors. With the greatest care they picked their way down through the smoking rubble. In order to reach the riverbed, it was necessary to pass the remains of the machine. Without a word, the two stopped together in the shadow of its twisted hull. The machine still quivered slightly, and one could turning, creaking feebly, within. Yes this is bad enough you’ve come to, and two and two is—as it always was—â€Å" began Trul, but you just then the machine faint, barely audible croaking noise and said for the last time, â€Å"seven. † Then something snapped inside, a few stones dribbled down from overhead, now before them lay nothing but lifeless mass of scrap. The two constructors exchanged a look and silently, without any further comment or conversation, walked back the way they came.

Corporate Social Responsibility In The Banking Sector Finance Essay

Corporate Social Responsibility In The Banking Sector Finance Essay Since ancient times banking practices have always played a significant role in the development and progress within an economy. Banks facilitate financial transactions by collecting deposits from savers and lending loans to those in need of credit. Thus, it enables those that have surplus funds to meet with those who need further funds for expansion and investment purposes. However, it is often the case that mismatches occur between the period at which a depositor wants to save his money and the period at which a borrower would be able to pay up the amount owed by him. Therefore, as an intermediary a bank has to find ways with which to manage the mismatch between short term liabilities of the bank (such as deposits) and long term assets (such as loans). First and foremost a bank needs to be perceived as being trustworthy and thus needs to gain the publics confidence in order to attract financing. It is needless to say that if a particular bank were to go bankrupt, apart from its shareholders, the general public would also suffer considerably. The collapse of a bank might result in the loss of lifetime savings of individuals and families which were held at the particular bank. This would consequently undermine peoples confidence in the financial sector and drive other people to withdraw their money from their own banks which may in turn result in having other sound banks facing serious difficulties to cater for high volumes of withdrawals since a bank in its own nature of doing business holds only a percentage of the funds acquired by depositors and invests the rest in less liquid assets with longer maturities (such as mortgage loans). It is therefore of prominent importance that for an economy to prosper and grow, and thus for the general wellbeing of the whole community, there needs to be at its core a sound and efficient financial system and that the general public also perceives the system to be sound and trustworthy. In trying to address this issue policy makers have sought to achieve healthy financial systems and to promote public confidence through numerous legislations and regulations. In fact, the financial market is one of the most regulated markets in any economy, particularly the banking sector so as to minimise the risks that a bank is exposed to. For decades banks were severely restricted with respect to the services offered to clients, as well as methods allowed for financing and investments. This hindered the ability of banks to be competitive with other financial institutions that were not classified as banks and that had more lax regulations which enabled them to offer a wider range of services and take up more risks to finance their operations. Because the highly regulated financial environment was stifling competition between banks and non-banks, regulators loosened up their regulatory requirements so as to create a level playing field for all the financial institutions. With more lax regulations banks are able to take up more risks and offer a wider range of services to clients meaning also that banks have higher risks to fail or that the publics confidence will be more prone to be undermined because of riskier activities performed by banks. Higher risks and loss of confidence would lead to financial instability and, in some cases, to financial crises where the whole financial market is depressed. This in turn slows down the whole economy since the financial sector is the backbone of an economys financing. It is thought that one of the factors that in fact contributed to the 2008-09 financial crisis was a highly deregulated environment (Shah Gilani, 2005-2011). It is also typical that after financial crises regulators start reviewing their supervisory and regulatory standards and reregulate the industry once again. After the financial crisis of 2008-09 regulators are now imposing new regulations in order to ensure that another world financial crisis is avoided. The new amendments require banks to hold even more capital as a buffer for a given amount of risk it is exposed to than it was already required by law. This process of regulation, deregulation and reregulation is a continuous process that changes as the market itself develops and creates new services and thus is exposed to new risks. Deposit Insurance Agencies are set up for public safety against bank failures. However, in essence it is ultimately the tax-payers themselves that pay the price as the government intervenes to bail-out problematic banks. Because managers running banks are aware of the fact that if the bank fails the government will intervene, it is more likely that they engage in more risky activities and do not exert appropriate due diligence in the running of the business. This problem is known as moral hazard. Thus banks are more likely to engage in hazardous behaviour since if they fail the government will intervene and will not allow the bank to go bankrupt in order to safeguard the public interest. Also, banks are more difficult to have their performance evaluated than other businesses because of the complexity of the business itself. Thus this creates the problem of asymmetric information or, stated in other words, the problem that not everyone has the same opportunities to access the same information. Managers and interns within the banking institution have better information on the performance of the bank than outsiders have access to. This is diminished partially through required disclosure and other regulations that deal with insider dealing in order to promote transparency in the financial markets which again will enhance public confidence. However, it is not the first time that we hear about insider dealings or that disclosure of misleading information was presented to the public. It is therefore clear that although regulation plays an important role in ensuring market stability, efficiency and fairness it is not enough. As John R. Boatright (1999:7) brilliantly describes in his book Ethics in Finance the law is not the only guide within the financial sector. What is legal is not necessarily moral. He then goes on to define the law by saying that it is simply a crude instrument and cannot be used to regulate all financial activities because of their complex nature. Excessive regulation stifles competition, hinders innovation and it is difficult to regulate certain issues that arise within the financial industry such as the issue of conflicts of interests. Therefore self-regulation is nonetheless important in this highly regulated market and the implementation of CSR within the banking industry has yet a unique and special role as much as the role of a bank itself is unique within a community. History: BAnking Practices and Society Banking practices in the past were mainly carried out through the acceptance of gold and deposits to then issue loans with those deposits. Bankers profits consisted mainly in hefty interests received from loans. Bank customers consisted mainly of kings and the papacy during the 1500s up to 1600s and large loans were lent to finance wars and elections. Few can be said with regards to CSR before the 1900s in the implementation of banking practices as is the case with other businesses of the time. However, one may mention the Fugger Family which was one of the greatest banking dynasties after the Medici in the late 16th century. Namely Jacob Fugger established a community for the poor, known as the Fuggerei, which was built in Augsburg in 1519 and is still in use today (Bamber, 2001). This shows evidence of the paternalistic ideology that strongly characterised the economic sphere and business tendencies till the late 1800s. One may also note the great influential power that the banking sector exerted as early as the 16th century as the Fugger family financed Maximilians grandson Charles to bribe his electors; while in the 19th century the Rothschild family financed all of Napoleons enemies. The decisions undertaken by the bankers obviously had an impact on the outcome of events (Bamber, 2001) which shows that from the early stages of the industry banking practices had a strong influence on political, economic and social outcomes. As banking and lending practices were developed, these were not always considered as fair and just as we may know them today. Banks and other financial institutions tended to arbitrarily choose to whom financial services are given, often denying these services to people of colour or the poor. This could be freely done by banks after the process of deregulation giving them more leeway in their practices then before. This discriminatory practice is known as redlining because some bank managers used to arbitrarily mark residential areas occupied by coloured or poor people in red on geographic maps during the 1930s. Areas marked in red were denied financial services and this had a serious impact on urban development since these lacked the funds necessary for investment and developments leading to further urban decay (Boatright, 1999:101). It was not until 1968 that banks were prohibited by law to discriminate on housing lending through the enactment of the Fair Housing Act followed by a series of other regulations thereafter (Hunt, 2005). CSR initiatives developing in the 1950s in the business industry had a ripple affect also on the banking sector were through sanctions and regulations concerning environmental issues on polluting companies banks were also forced indirectly to take action and exercise more attention in the selection of corporate clients in order to safeguard their reputation. The 1980 Superfund in the U.S. and the Directive on Civil Liability for Damage Caused by Waste adopted by the European Commission in 1989 are namely two regulations relating to environmental concern emanating from business operations (IISD, 2010). The Fleet Factors Case of 1990 was one of the first proceedings in the U.S. that directly attributed responsibility for environmental damages caused by their corporate clients as the courts decided that lenders held the capacity to influence the borrowers waste management decisions even if it actually did not do so (IISD, 2010). The UNEP Financial Institutions Initiatives; (UNEP FI) was launched in 1992 with the collaboration of Deutsche Bank, HSBC Holdings, Natwest, Royal Bank of Canada and Westpac in an attempt to garner financial institutions to promote awareness on the pivotal role that the financial sector has in sustainable development and environment protection and to unravel further on the relationship between economic development, environmental protection and sustainable developments (UNEP FI, 2011). During the same year the UNEP Statement by Financial Institutions on the Environment Sustainable development was drafted articulating further the role and responsibility taken over by financial institutions in contributing towards sustainable development in businesses and safeguarding the environment (UNEP FI, 2011). Another Green Paper set out by the European Commission in 1993 required that liability was assumed by the polluter and in case where the responsible party is not identified or unable to pay joint compensation funds financed by the industry should meet such costs on their behalf. The commission addressed also the problems of causation and insurability where more responsibility was exerted upon the shoulders of financial institutions (IISD, 2010). The UNEP was a main contributor to spread awareness and foster a socially responsible attitude in the way business was conducted within financial institutions through international round table meetings and global surveys on the environmental practices of the financial services sector (IISD, 2010). Thus, banks started experiencing more pressure to avoid the so called sin stocks and pay attention to the social performance of corporate clients and not only to financial performance. Many other international guidelines have been developed recently and it is important not to forget to mention the contribution of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) which is a member of the World Bank Group towards sustainable development and in promoting fair, open and competitive markets in order to fight poverty (IFC, 2010). Their common shared values found on the IFC website are depicted as follows: To fight poverty with passion and professionalism for lasting results. To help people help themselves and their environment by providing resources, sharing knowledge, building capacity, and forging partnerships in the public and private sectors. In 2003 the IFC drafted the Equator Principles, a set of guidelines that may be voluntarily adopted by banks aimed to facilitate and aid these institutions wishing to carry out operations in a socially responsible manner. Essentially, the Equator Principles are nothing more than a financial industry benchmark for determining, assessing and managing social environmental risk in project financing (The Equator Principles, 2006). The Principles are targeted towards the financing of corporate clients whose investment projects are environmentally and socially responsible and include also advisory services offered by financial institutions with regards to project financing.  [1]   Who Cares Wins was an initiative undertaken by the financial industry, the UN Global Compact, IFC and the Swiss Government during 2004 (UN Global Compact, IFC, Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, 2009, 2010:3). According to this report, the main aim of this initiative is to support the financial industrys efforts to integrate environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues into mainstream investment decision-making and ownership practices through a series of high-level meetings with investment professionals. Again, here the goal is that of promoting socially responsible project financing through SRI. The United Nations-backed Principles for Responsible Investment Initiative (PRI) are a set of six principles set up in 2005 in collaboration with some of the worlds largest institutional investors (UNPRI, 2011). This initiative was set up in partnership with the UNEP FI and the UN Global Compact. These principles posit the idea that since environmental, social and corporate governance issues may affect the performance of investment portfolios, thus it is important that an investor takes these issues into consideration when making investment decisions and therefore contribute also to the general wellbeing of society (UNPRI, 2011). One may mention numerable banks that are truly committed towards the maxim of doing well by doing the right thing and that actively participate with International NGOs to contribute towards the general wellbeing of communities. Deutsche Bank, HSBC Holdings, and UBS are amongst the most known environmentally and socially driven banks in Europe. For the purpose of this thesis I will now proceed on to scrutinising and analysing the CSR policies of the banks mentioned to then compare them with those policies of three leading Maltese banks namely APS Bank, Bank of Valletta (BOV), and HSBC Malta in a later chapter. All information related to the CSR initiatives undertaken by the foreign and Maltese banks selected was extracted from their respective websites and CSR Reports. The main aim is to evaluate the transparency adopted by the Maltese banks and thus the extent to which they inform the general public in the way they go about their commitments towards society relative to well-establish ed and successful foreign banks. CSR Policies of Foreign Banks This section will give an insight on how some foreign banks known as being committed towards sustainable development, environmental and socially responsible project financing are currently engaging in CSR policies in order to achieve their goals and manage to be profitable and attract business by undertaking such activities given the existing highly competitive environment from other financial and non-financial institutions. For the purpose of this dissertation, the three foreign banks chosen are headquartered within the European Union territory since the Maltese way of doing business is very similar to the way it is conducted in Europe even CSR-wise and therefore it will facilitate comparison between foreign and Maltese banks. Furthermore, HSBC Holdings was selected specifically since it is the parent company of HSBC Malta which will be discussed in detail in the next chapter. Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank is a leading German and European financial institution successfully expanding its business globally with a work force of over 100,000 employees in 74 countries and offering a vast selection of financial services worldwide (Deutsche Bank AG, 2011). Deutsche Bank mission statement can be found on its official website as follows: We compete to be the leading global provider of financial solutions, creating lasting value for our clients, our shareholders, our people and the communities in which we operate. From the mission statement itself we may denote that the bank is committing itself not only towards its shareholders, clients and employees but their mindset is also headed for the benefit of the communities and their social needs. The banking institution has also formulated a set of values which drive its business orientation. One of these values set out on the banks website is trust where the bank claims confidently its trustworthiness, reliability and honesty. Other values mentioned are performance, teamwork, innovation, and client focus. Finally, the bank also promises stakeholders that the corporation will be operating with responsibility, keeping in mind not only current factors and issues in their decision making but also future consequences and factors that may arise due to todays decisions (Deutsche Bank AG, 2010). We may note by glancing briefly at the way the bank presents itself that it already carefully depicts itself as being socially and environmentally responsible in all aspects of its structural organisation. This however, is nothing new as all businesses especially banking institutions wish to be alleged as being ethical, trustworthy, honest and socially responsible so as to foster public confidence in their business. The bank has also received numerous awards or been ranked first for several social, environmental and corporate governance categories during 2010 some of which include Environmental Rankings, Art and Work Awards, and Top Companies that Care among others. In 2011 the bank has already been awarded the Charity Organisation of the Year 2010 and the European Employee Volunteering Awards 2011 (Deutsche Bank AG, 2011). Deutsche bank is renowned for its CSR initiatives internationally nurturing social and environmental awareness while working to alleviate such issues in communities where it operates. According to the banks official website (Deutsche Bank AG, 2011), Deutsche Bank focuses its CSR strategy in the areas of corporate volunteering, social investments, art music and education. The Communications CSR function is responsible of the banks global CSR initiatives followed by the approval of such initiatives by the Chairman of the Management Board (Deutsche Bank AG, 2011). Coordination of CSR operations is prepared at headquarters and then delegated to and implemented locally by the institutions regional teams (Deutsche Bank AG, 2011). This ensures effectiveness and efficiency through its initiatives and as perceived by the bank itself, it makes sure that it is acting as a responsible corporate citizen showing quite clearly that the bank favours and adopts the Corporate Citizenship Theory expl ained in the first chapter of this thesis. Deutsche Bank has set up ten CSR units in total till now dispersed globally which are namely the Deutsche Bank Foundation, Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation, Corporate Citizenship UK, Deutsche Bank Africa Foundation, Deutsche Bank Asia Foundation, Deutsche Bank Mena Foundation, Alfred Herrhausen Society, Historical Association of Deutsche Bank, Transatlantic Outreach Program (TOP), and finally Deutsche Bank Donation Fund (Deutsche Bank AG, 2010). Through these organisations the bank manages its CSR operations worldwide and creates what the bank calls social capital through sustainability, corporate volunteering, social investments, art music, and education (Deutsche Bank AG, 2011); thus, the bank is CSR oriented at all levels of its operational, and organisational structure. Figure 2.1  [2]  : CSR at Deutsche BankFounded: 1992 Budget 2009: à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 3.2 m. The non-profit Alfred Herrhausen Society is the international forum of Deutsche Bank. Its work focuses on new forms of governance as a response to the challenges of the 21st century. The Alfred Herrhausen Society seeks traces of the future in the present, and conceptualizes relevant themes for analysis and debate. It works with international partners across a range of fields including politics, academia, and business to organize forums for discussion worldwide. www.alfred-herrhausen-society.org/en The banks total investments for the year end 2009 amounted to à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬81.1 million of which 39% were invested in social investments, 29% were attributed to education and 27% were allocated to art and music (see figure 2.2 below). Deutsche banks investments were mainly targeted towards Germany, with total investments amounting to 45% at the end of 2009, followed by the Americas at 23%, and 12% of these funds were allocated to Asia Pacific and the UK. Deutsche Banks investments in Europe/Middle East and Africa amounted to only 8% of the funds (see figure 2.3 below). Figure 2.2  [3]  Figure 2.3  [4]   Regional split of total CSR investments Share of total investments per area of activity Kate Cavelle, Director of Corporate Citizenship at Deutsche Bank in the UK, stated that the four main reasons why investment banks care about CSR are social responsibility, staff motivation, client and public perception during an interview conducted by The Gateway in 2010. She also argued that at Deutsche Bank it is recognised that the bank should be highly committed towards CSR. In the UK, Deutsche Bank engages in initiatives such as promoting education so that young people may reach their full potential (The Gateway, 2010). Social Investments undertaken by the bank also include work with the homeless and unemployed persons and works closely with several other UK organisations such as the Globe Theatre and Design Museum. The bank also supports young artists through the sale of art acquired by the bank while keeping employee morale high by changing its art collections through time (The Gateway, 2010). Deutsche Bank is also involved in a microfinance programme where loans are granted with lower interest rates to persons who otherwise would not be able to be granted any credit. According to Kate this is also a good and safe investment undertaken by the bank and thus microfinance is beneficial for the business as well. The bank also encourages employees to get involved in voluntary work and helps out in finding activities that employees may engage in (The Gateway, 2010). On another note, according to an article written in the Financial Times of 23rd March, 2011, Deutsche Bank was sued for breaching its duties when the bank sold a complex interest rate product to a corporate client. The bank was fined à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬541,000 to compensate for the damages inflicted on the client as judge Ulrich Wiechers claimed that the bank should have been clearer when advising the client about the risks involved. Apparently the bank is involved in other eight similar cases at the federal court level involving complex financial instruments known as swaps while it has 17 cases at lower courts (The Financial Times, 2011). This may indicate that although the bank is highly committed and publicly declares its commitments towards sustainable business in its operations, there is still some work to be done in implementing such goals in the day to day transactions and operations undertaken by the bank. HSBC Holdings HSBC is one of the largest financial institutions in the world and is headquartered in London. It operates in 87 countries across the globe. According to the banks official website the bank was established in 1865 to cater for the increasing trade between China and Europe and was named after its founder which is The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited. The bank offers a wide range of financial services to cater for different customer needs including Personal Financial Services, Commercial Banking, Global Banking and Markets, and Private Banking (HSBC Holdings plc, 2011). The banks values can be summarised into four concise points found on its official website. HSBC is open to different ideas and cultures; connected with its customers, community and each other; and finally dependable and doing the right thing (HSBC Holdings, 2011). The bank is thus promoting itself as embracing an inclusive environment between employees, and has effective and efficient communication throughout all levels of the organisation including communication with its stakeholders while undertaking sustainable and responsible business practices. By managing risks the bank aims at addressing business opportunities in a sustainable manner and by taking into consideration present and future impacts upon the environment and communities, in particular poorer areas (HSBC Holdings plc, 2011). The bank is also enlisted and involved in a number of external organisations among which are the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, UNEP FI, UN Global Compact, Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Global Sullivan Principles, OECD Principles for Multinational Enterprises and the Equator Principles (HSBC Holdings plc, 2011). HSBC believes that through robust business and sustainable revenues it is also primarily contributing towards the economy, the environment and to the communities and hence, maximising also stakeholder needs (HSBC Holdings, 2011). This statement, in my opinion, is almost synonymous with the arguments put forward in the SVT Theory and Adam Smiths invisible hand that by maximising shareholder wealth, one is also contributing to the benefit of the other stakeholders automatically. The bank is also involved with NGOs so that it may identify how to manage better sustainable risk, while it also works with NGOs to raise financial awareness and help customers on how to manage their finances, thus reducing risks of loan defaulting and keep their home ownership, while of course reducing further the banks risks related to these loans (HSBC Holdings, 2011). According to the banks website, it also engages in SRI investments and responds to several surveys and indices from various organisations. HSBC considers managing the environmental and social impacts of providing finance to our customers as part of business as usual. (HSBC Holdings, 2011). Thus, HSBC describes its commitment towards CSR through the assessment of their corporate clients as being ingrained in the nature of their business, and it seems that the bank acknowledges that this is the right way of doing business. Apart from abiding by the Equator Principles, HSBC has also set up a set of risk policies for sensitive areas such as chemicals, defence, energy etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (HSBC Holdings, 2011). Through its financial services operations the bank is committed to reducing carbon emissions and because climate change impacts directly the banks customers and its own operations, according to the official website, the bank perceives that it is of utmost importance that these issues are included in its strategies. The bank also engages with microfinance institutions (MFIs) which provide loans and other services to cust omers. According to the HSBC official website, in India the bank is working with 11 MFIs to provide for financial services to people in rural and urban areas (HSBC Holdings, 2011). The bank also provides for financial services in rural areas situated in China making it easier for farmers and people living in these areas to access such services. The bank also provides for funds in constructing better water infrastructures (HSBC Holdings, 2011). The bank feels that it is contributing towards the communities it operates in by providing services to clients, employment, meeting its regulatory obligations and other obligations to suppliers, investments in local business and through financial donations or voluntary work and in this way it also secures its success as a bank (HSBC Holdings, 2011). Following to the information found on its website the bank allocated the sum of $100 million to community investments as at the year ending 2009. The bank entered into a partnership with SOS Childrens Villages in 2006 and established Future First to aid less fortunate children around the world with their educational needs. This initiative has expanded significantly throughout the years and over 500,000 children benefit from this programme around the globe (HSBC Holdings, 2011). JA More Than Money is an initiative monitored in promoting financial awareness among the youth and is run by HSBC volunteers. Children attending this educational p rogramme range from seven to eleven years old. The bank has also set up other programmes namely the HSBC Climate Partnership which is a five year programme targeted to reduce climate change and its impacts on society and the environment and HSBC Eco-Schools Climate Initiative to raise awareness in school on climate change and what action can be taken to reduce its impacts (HSBC Holdings, 2011). In the section dedicated to sustainability reporting on the official website of HSBC one may find a number of sustainability reports. The following table was extracted from the HSBC Holdings plc Sustainability Report for 2009 illustrating the implementation of the Equator Principles in the granting of loans. Table 2.1  [5]  : Adoption of Equator Principles in the Granting of Loans The bank granted only 5 loans which fall under Category A, meaning that these loans may have adverse social or environmental impacts that are diverse, irreversible or unprecedented. Although small in number, the bank still granted such loans to its clients, with a total value of 1,296 almost 7 times larger than the value granted in 2008 of 178. In 2009 the Category B and Category C amounted for the most part of loans granted by the bank. Figure 2.4  [6]  : Division of Clients Compliance with HSBC Environmental Policies Most of the clients comply with HSBCs policy totalling 75% and amounting to 82% in loan value while there are still some clients that do not comply at all with this policy even though these are very small in number and even smaller in value. The banks community investments where mainly allocated towards education, which amounted to 45% while 29% where allocated to environmental investments as illustrated in figure 2.5. The bank also encourages employees to engage in voluntary work, and it works towards reducing carbon emissions on its premisses (HSBC, 2009:16). Figure 2.5  

Compulsory and Voluntary Voting Policies in Democracy

Compulsory and Voluntary Voting Policies in Democracy The right to a free and fair vote is a staple in the democratic process. However, there is debate over whether or not this process is best implemented when the population has the choice to engage in the political system or whether or not it should be mandated.[1] Many people claim that the best system to follow is the one that they are a part of, however in countries where different voting policies are implemented; there is empirical data that can be used to determine whether compulsory voting or voluntary voting produces better results and whether it tends to enhance the quality of democracy. Yet many people will still argue that just analyzing empirical data is not enough to determine whether or not compulsory voting more democratic due to intrinsic reasons. Both of these approaches make it difficult to discern whether or not compulsory voting is more democratically favourable however upon analysis of the two different voting systems, I have found that the arguments that oppose com pulsory voting are not substantive enough to discredit the evidence as to why it does improve upon the essence of democracy. That is why in this essay I argue that compulsory voting does enhance the quality of democracy. What does it mean to enhance the quality of democracy and what is the importance of determining how to advance it? Democracy, at its most basic definition, means the rule by the people. When analyzing the quality of democracy of a state, what is being analyzed is how well the citizens of that state (the people) are represented in the policies that are passed. If the democratic representatives of the government pass laws that a majority of the people in the state do not want, then the quality of democracy is poor. It is not the people that are ruling in this case, but rather the elite few. The issue of compulsory versus voluntary voting is a very relevant issue in todays day and age because a lot of people are disenfranchised by politics. People lose faith in their political system because they feel like they are not being represented. This in turn leads to a less politically active society which is not concerned by the issues that affect them and then often times their lives are made worse due to their lack of input in the policies that are passed. This circular downwards spiral further alienates people and future voters, demonstrating the need for maximizing representation in democratic political systems. The quality of the system cannot be improved until the people are represented to the nations fullest potential. When analyzing which voting system would be the best to implement in order to enhance democracy, it is important to evaluate societies where these different voting styles are implemented. The American voting system is an ideal case study when considering the effects of voluntary voting. The United States and its citizens pride themselves on being a shining example of freedom and democracy. To many people across the world, it has become synonymous with the idea of a perfect democratic system which all other nations strive to achieve. However statistically, the vast majority of citizens in the United States are very poorly represented by their democratic government[2]. For example, a study done by Princeton and Northwestern Universities found that on economic policies, the policy preferences of the average citizen only get implemented less than 20% of the time while the policies preferred by business interests and economic elites are implemented the vast majority of the time, demonstra ting how the median citizen or median voter at the heart of theories of Majoritarian Electoral Democracy does not do well when put up against economic elites and organized interest groups[3]. This in turn leads to the main flaw with the voluntary voting system. People refuse to be involved in the democratic process because they lose faith in their representatives. This in turn leads to worse social and economic situations for the majority of citizens in the state. The United States is a prime example of this. The United States has a relatively low election turnout rate, ranking 22nd in the modern world.[4] The United States is also has the highest total global personal wealth yet 80.56% of that wealth resides among the top few.[5] In fact, more than three quarters of all Americans are living paycheck-to-paycheck.[6] With a voluntary voting system, the American government tends to leave the people behind in favour big money interests. A defining argument in favour of compulsory votin g is that compulsory voting will alleviate the socio-economic inequalities in a society because if everyone voices which policies they want to see implemented into their law, then the politicians will be severely pressured into pushing for those policies if they wish to stay elected, and hence policies that benefit the majority of the people will be implemented.[7] Americans and others who believe in that voluntary voting is more beneficial than compulsory voting will refute this claim by stating that if you force non-politically active citizens to vote, you cannot infer that they will vote in their own interests because they would not have a good understanding on who to vote for to implement their ideas.[8] They claim that people who would stay home and not vote in a voluntary system would just vote arbitrarily in a compulsory system. The flaw with this objection is that it assumes that everyone who doesnt vote does so because they have absolutely zero interest in voting. There are many reasons that people do not vote in a voluntary system other than being apolitical. For example, voting could be a large enough inconvenience for so poorer people so they decide to stay home.[9] People also choose not to vote even though they have policy opinions because they believe their vote is just one in a million so it doesnt make a difference and furthermore could just lack the motivation to express vote.[10] If all these people were pressured to vote, the elected representatives would better represent the views of the overall population and democracy would be enhanced. Australias voting system is the antithesis of Americas. If you are over 18, it is your legal duty to register to vote and to go the polls. Failure to do this will result in a fine and a potential day in court.[11] This form of pressure is meant to increase the participation levels in elections and better represent the will of the public. Multiple studies have been done checking if this theory translates to real world policy and they all come to the same conclusion: [Compulsory voting] can increase the salience of elections and make voting more rational and meaningful and it can enhance and protect such values as representativeness, legitimacy and political equality. It also has the potential to break the counterproductive cycle of low efficacy, alienation, non-participation and state neglect that has led to an increasingly moribund political culture.[12] The studies found that compulsory voting remedied one of the biggest problems with voluntary voting which is the Socio-economic status voting gap.[13] When observing the history of Australias voting population before the compulsory voting law was passed, it was revealed that turnout disproportionally represented those in higher socio-economic status while many people who were in a lower economic status abstained from voting for a various amount of reasons.[14] Many people who argue in favour of voluntary voting disagree with the idea that the socio-economic status voting gap should be addressed by compulsory voting because they claim that if peoples lives were already very burdensome so much so that they didnt vote when they had the opportunity because it was so inconvenient, then there shouldnt be a law that inconveniences them further by forcing them to vote.[15] The problem with this argument is that it misses the fact that peoples lives became less burdensome because of them bein g represented in their system[16], and so compulsory voting was for their own good, and hence the quality of democracy improved. When evaluating whether or not compulsory voting enhances democracy, people who  support voluntary voting say that simply analyzing statistics is not enough. They claim that a reflection must be done on whether compulsory voting is right by the fundamental nature of democracy. One of the aspects in measuring the legitimacy of democracy is checking if there is A free and independent citizenry[17]. This means that the public has absolute freedom of speech and a right to protest, demonstrate, and preach with dissent from the government. The argument then comes up that abstention from voting is a form of expression, and therefore any attempt to remove this democratic right would be dictatorial and would actually be diminishing democracy, not enhancing it.[18] However, this claim is refuted by the idea of the social contract. The social contract is the pillar upon which authority is given legitimacy in a democratic state. By choosing to live in a democratic system, the collective is obl igated to contribute to certain areas of society. As with paying taxes and jury duty, compulsory voting is just another duty that the citizens of a state are obligated to comply with under the social contract. Since the social contract is the strongest case made for accepting authority in a democracy, then having compulsory voting as a citizen duty would not tarnish the quality of a democracy because it would seen as legitimate. In countries like Australia where compulsory voting has become the status-quo, it is not thought of as dictatorial or tyrannical in anyway.[19] It has become a culturally accepted norm. However, countries where this idea is viewed as taboo would view this as an attack on freedom. A case study by Lisa Hill on Americas low voter turnout found that the idea of being compelled to vote is anathema to many Americans and it would undoubtedly meet with vigorous resistance on a number of fronts.[20] Unless there is a cultural shift that would allow the assimilation o f these kinds of new ideas, compelling people to vote could possibly weaken the quality of democracy in countries like America because their citizenry would have a difficult time integrating it into their established system. However, there are ways to remedy these rejections of policy. Hill explains that methods that have been approached to improve public acceptance of compulsory voting were to clarify existing requirements, give the people optional preferential voting, and to expand the voters option for political expressions. The objections to implementing compulsory voting are rooted in status-quo biases and are under the assumption that it is not possible to change the cultural views of citizens on policies which have not been adapted yet. These objections falls flat due to these policies being implemented into other countries successfully through smart execution plans and therefore it has increased the quality of democracy, not decreased it. Compulsory voting enhances the quality of democracy because it provides a better representation the needs of all the people in society. When analyzing a country without compulsory voting such as America, it is found that the views of the people are not what is represented by the policies that end up being passed because a large majority of the people who tend to be lower class do not engage in their political system. However, in a country that does have compulsory voting such as Australia, the socio-economic status voting gap is greatly diminished and the policies that end up being passed are more representative of what the people want. Many common objections to compulsory voting are that it is burdensome and it decreases freedom. These objections do not hold up because in countries where it is implemented, the system ends up benefitting more people and becomes culturally accepted to the point where it does not become an issue. Therefore, compulsory voting does end up producing bette r results and improves the quality of democracy. Bibliography Beck, Katie. Australia election: Why is voting compulsory? BBC News, August 27, 2013. DeSilver, Drew. U.S. voter turnout trails most developed countries. Pew Research Center, August 02, 2016. Gilens, Martin, and Benjamin I. Page. Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens. Perspectives on Politics 12, no. 3 (2014): 564-581. Heywood, Andrew. Politics. Palgrave Macmillan, 2014. Sathel, Trevor. Pros and Cons: A Debaters Handbook. London: Routledge. 1999. Hill, Lisa. Compulsory Voting in Australia: A Basis for a Best Practice Regime. Federal Law Review 32 (2004): 479-497, http://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?handle=hein.journals/fedlr32div=30g_sent=1collection=journals Hill, Lisa. Low Voter Turnout in the United States Journal of Theoretical Politics 18(2): 207-232, http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0951629806061868 Hill, Lisa. Public Acceptance of Compulsory Voting: Explaining the Australian Case. Representation 46:4 (2010): 425-438http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/00344893.2010.518089 Johnson, Angela . 76% of Americans are living paycheck-to-paycheck. CNNMoney, June 24, 2013. Martin Gilens, and Benjamin I. Page. Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens. Perspectives on Politics 12, no. 3 (2014), 564-581. Sherman, Erik. America is the richest, and most unequal, nation. Fortune, September 30, 2015. [1] Trevor Sathel, Pros and Cons: A Debaters Handbook (London: Routledge, 1999), 75. [2] Martin Gilens, and Benjamin I. Page. Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens. Perspectives on Politics 12, no. 3 (2014), 570-577. [3] Gilens and Page, Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens.572-573. [4] Drew DeSilver, U.S. voter turnout trails most developed countries. Pew Research Center, August 02, 2016. [5] Erik Sherman, America is the richest, and most unequal, nation. Fortune, September 30, 2015. [6] Angela Johnson, 76% of Americans are living paycheck-to-paycheck. CNNMoney, June 24, 2013. [7] Gilens and Page, Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens.565. [8] Gilens and Page, Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens.566. [9] Gilens and Page, Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens.565. [10] Gilens and Page, Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens.565. [11] Katie Beck, Australia election: Why is voting compulsory? BBC News, August 27, 2013. [12] Lisa Hill, Low Voter Turnout in the United States Journal of Theoretical Politics 18(2): 228. http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0951629806061868 [13] Lisa Hill, Compulsory Voting in Australia: A Basis for a Best Practice Regime. Federal Law Review 32 (2004): 480, http://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?handle=hein.journals/fedlr32div=30g_sent=1collection=journals [14] Hill, Compulsory Voting in Australia: A Basis for a Best Practice Regime. 480. [15] Sathel, Pros and Cons: A Debaters Handbook, 75. [16] Hill, Compulsory Voting in Australia: A Basis for a Best Practice Regime. 497. [17] Andrew Heywood, Politics (Palgrave Macmillan, 2014), 86. [18] Sathel, Pros and Cons: A Debaters Handbook, 75. [19] Lisa Hill, Public Acceptance of Compulsory Voting: Explaining the Australian Case. Representation 46:4 (2010), 429, http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/00344893.2010.518089 [20] Lisa Hill, Low Voter Turnout in the United States, 228.

Whats Love Got To Do With It? :: Biology Essays Research Papers

What's Love Got To Do With It? "What's love got to do with it? What's love, but a second hand emotion?" -Tina Turner Tina Turner, along many artists before and after her, has written songs about love, but what is love? Why do people say they see fireworks when they fall in love? Why do your knees go weak, your palms sweat, your stomach does flip-flops and you begin to stammer when you fall in love? What is it about emotions, including love that seems to effect your entire body, both mentally and physically? Everyday, people talk about feeling happy, feeling sad, feeling anxious...and so on, but what causes emotions, in particular, what causes someone to say they are in love? Yes, even a simple sentence such as "I love you" has to be encoded in a specific neurochemical process to exert its effect on the person who gets to hear it. Much of the control mechanism for our emotions rests with neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters are chemicals that act at the points where nerve cells connect with each other. The prevalence, or the presence or absence of specific amounts of neurotransmitters, as well as the density of receptor sites for specific neurotransmitters at nerve endings, will control to a wide extend the emotions to which we are subject (6). Pheromones are natural scents, which play an important role in sexual communication. Animals and humans release masses of biological chemicals in tears, saliva and perspiration. These aromas convey signals relating to mood, status, drive and health to the subconscious awareness of the female. The dominant male will exude more of these biological attractants than his submissive counterpart, consequently he inevitably attracts more females and enjoys more conquests. This philosophy holds well in the animal world, pheromones are consciously detected over considerable distances and serve at times in place of spoken communication. They help animals mark territory, recognize mates, and signal sexual interest. For example, female dogs in heat leave their pheromone and can attract male dogs over a mile away (5). Also, involved in chemistry are dopamine and norepinephrine, chemical cousins of amphetamines. Dopamine, a neurochemical released by PEA, makes us feel good.(1) A recent study done at Emory University shows that female voles (small rodents) choose their mates in response to dopamine being released in their brains. When injected with dopamine in a male vole's presence, the female will pick him out of a crowd later.

How did Brecht make use of character and audience in order to successfu

Bertolt Brecht was a renowned German theatre practitioner and dramatist whose works are credited as having been at the leading edge of 20th century theatre. Being a socialist-Marxist, Brecht he was deeply concerned with the society in which he lived, and so desired to change the way people both thought and acted towards their fellow man. His concept of the Epic Theatre sought to dramatically change the way in which theatre is to be performed, opposing many of the 19th century dramatic conventions outlined for the ‘well-made play’. Dramatic Theatre is generally thought to be constructed of a number of things; including the use of detailed characters, containing a robust plot, having evolutionary determinism, and progressing with linear development. On the other hand, Brecht’s Epic Theatre focuses on narrative, episodic scenes, curved storylines, and creates a broader picture of the world for the spectator. The primary intention of a ‘well-made play’ is to simply entertain, and as Brecht stated, ‘from the first it has been the theatre’s business to entertain people’ (Brecht, 1964, pg. 180). However, Brecht personally believed that theatre should primarily be a place for learning and social correction – using the stage as a political platform to both inform and inspire its audience members. Although this is not to say that Brecht completely dismissed the notion of having theatrical entertainment, since his plays were also filled with music, comedy and lighting. Thus, theatre should not merely try to represent society – it should attempt to shape it too. The main area that I wish to address is how Brecht made use of both character and audience in an attempt to push forward his own political and moral interests. To do this, I will be l... ...23-31, JSTOR [Online]. Available at: http://www.jstor.org/stable/392365 (Accessed 19/04/2012). Ernst, R. (2005) The Spectator and Not the Actor is the central focus of Brecht’s Stagecraft. Munich: GRIN Publishing GmbH. Kolbe, J. (1954) Portrà ¤t Bertolt Brecht. [electronic print] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bertolt-Brecht.jpg (Accessed 22/04/2012). Morley, M. (1977) Brecht: A Study. New Jersey: Rowman and Littlefield. Needle, J. (1981) Brecht / Jan Needle and Peter Thomson. Oxford: Blackwell. Styan, J. L. (1981) Modern Drama in Theory and Practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Tatlow, A. and Wong, T. (1982) Brecht and East Asian Theatre: The Proceedings of a Conference on Brecht in East Asian Theatre. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press. Willett, J. (1959) The Theatre of Bertolt Brecht, A Study from Eight Aspects. London: Methuen. How did Brecht make use of character and audience in order to successfu Bertolt Brecht was a renowned German theatre practitioner and dramatist whose works are credited as having been at the leading edge of 20th century theatre. Being a socialist-Marxist, Brecht he was deeply concerned with the society in which he lived, and so desired to change the way people both thought and acted towards their fellow man. His concept of the Epic Theatre sought to dramatically change the way in which theatre is to be performed, opposing many of the 19th century dramatic conventions outlined for the ‘well-made play’. Dramatic Theatre is generally thought to be constructed of a number of things; including the use of detailed characters, containing a robust plot, having evolutionary determinism, and progressing with linear development. On the other hand, Brecht’s Epic Theatre focuses on narrative, episodic scenes, curved storylines, and creates a broader picture of the world for the spectator. The primary intention of a ‘well-made play’ is to simply entertain, and as Brecht stated, ‘from the first it has been the theatre’s business to entertain people’ (Brecht, 1964, pg. 180). However, Brecht personally believed that theatre should primarily be a place for learning and social correction – using the stage as a political platform to both inform and inspire its audience members. Although this is not to say that Brecht completely dismissed the notion of having theatrical entertainment, since his plays were also filled with music, comedy and lighting. Thus, theatre should not merely try to represent society – it should attempt to shape it too. The main area that I wish to address is how Brecht made use of both character and audience in an attempt to push forward his own political and moral interests. To do this, I will be l... ...23-31, JSTOR [Online]. Available at: http://www.jstor.org/stable/392365 (Accessed 19/04/2012). Ernst, R. (2005) The Spectator and Not the Actor is the central focus of Brecht’s Stagecraft. Munich: GRIN Publishing GmbH. Kolbe, J. (1954) Portrà ¤t Bertolt Brecht. [electronic print] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bertolt-Brecht.jpg (Accessed 22/04/2012). Morley, M. (1977) Brecht: A Study. New Jersey: Rowman and Littlefield. Needle, J. (1981) Brecht / Jan Needle and Peter Thomson. Oxford: Blackwell. Styan, J. L. (1981) Modern Drama in Theory and Practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Tatlow, A. and Wong, T. (1982) Brecht and East Asian Theatre: The Proceedings of a Conference on Brecht in East Asian Theatre. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press. Willett, J. (1959) The Theatre of Bertolt Brecht, A Study from Eight Aspects. London: Methuen.

The Mother and the Father Figures in Frank McCourt’s Angela’s Ashes

Angela’s Ashes is the bleak, humorous and very compelling memoir of the author’s childhood in Limerick, Ireland, during the Great Depression. The book is, at the same time, a historical account, a work of fiction and an autobiography. First and foremost however, Angela’s Ashes is a personal narrative that evokes the struggles of an individual growing up in adverse and dire conditions. The narrative focuses directly on the author’s childhood and adolescence, a time when the individual is much more prone to vulnerability and powerlessness. The story is so appealing to the reader precisely because it is filtered through the eyes of a child who is directly exposed to the abuse of social, economical and political forces that surpass his comprehension. Thus, the narrative functions as a deconstruction of the innocent and paradisiacal childhood. The child experiences the most abject forms of physical misery, hunger and illness as well as the permanent feeling of guilt and depression of being a burden to his own mother. The mother-son relationship described in the book is one of the most effective threads of the narrative, as it represents the way in which â€Å"amor matris† can be modified and received differently under the strain of very hard social circumstances. The most obvious form of abuse for the helpless child hero is the social and political context he is entrapped in. In 1935, Frank’s family flees Brooklyn because of the general poverty and deterioration that had spread in the United States during the Great Depression. After this inverse emigration to their homeland however, the family discovers an even grimmer and more disheartening poverty. In this context, the figure of a careless and drunken father and that of a defeated and abject mother are very potent realities for the child. Both of the parents are extremely powerful influences for the child and both of them function as ambivalent figures. Malachy, the father, who is supposed to offer support and stability to the poverty stricken family, is unreliable because of his inability to hold any job and because of his alcohol addiction. The fact that he completely deserts the family after leaving for England to find work is an addition to the negative influence he exerts. Frank and his brothers have to suffer because the father fails to offer them even minimal protection from the dire social realities of the day. At the same time however, he is also the one who tells his children the first folktales of Irish heroes, procuring them a slight comfort amidst the dire conditions of life and feeding their imagination and their hopes. The mother figure is also ambivalent. Frank both loves her and loathes her at the same time. He is moved by her devotion to her children and by her motherly love but he is also repulsed at times when he sees the contemptible and humiliating condition she brings herself to in order to save her family from starvation. Frank encounters his mother accidentally when she is begging in the streets to get the remains of the priests’ dinner and is shocked by her condition. Later on, when the family has to find shelter with a cousin named Laman Griffin, the child is again appalled when he discovers the sexual nature of the relationship that his mother has with Laman. These absurd and horrendous compromises that the mother has to make in order to be able to sustain her family inspire Frank with a permanent feeling of guilt at being he himself one of the objects of her sacrifice. The mother-son relationship is therefore marked by this need of an exaggerated proof of devotion and motherly love on the part of the mother. Angela is therefore a perfect instance of a mother’s powerful love for her children, and Frank McCourt points this out in his narrative in various ways. Given the circumstances of the family however, their relationship is more complex than that. The child is discomfited by the guilt of feeling as a burden to his mother, instead of being comforted by the warmth of a mother’s protective care. In the context of his tragic childhood, Frank feels even more poignantly the influence of his parents’ failures and qualities, at the same time.

Meal time behavioral cultural differences Essay

Burping and slurping at the dinner party party get across, how disgusting? In our shade such behaviors arent refreshing along with find with our hold or even ingest fodder off the infrastructure after we withstand dropped it. Much to my surprise, after doing well-nigh research, all of those un wel condescend behaviors that we flummox gravid up to debar at the dinner set back are accepted by early(a) cultures close to the world. E realone is antithetical, especially our cultures. I mainly discovered that what we determine acceptable in our culture as high-priced repast clip behaviors is dis remarkful in disparate(a) cultures. excessively, what we find rude other cultures find acceptable at the dining table. In Muslim cultures, instead of using mechanisms they social occasion their mightily hand to bunk sustenance. The reasoning empennage them using their right hand is that they slackly engross their left hand for hygiene purposes. Muslims understan d their left hand bedraggled when it comes to eating. In America, we begin educateing our baby birdren how to use utensils as early as 12 months old. Yes, we do contrive nutriments in American that are made to be eaten with our hands, and for those foods that arent finger foods, we are to use trusty tact and use our utensils.Also in Muslim cultures, if mortal drops kail on the floor all they have to do is pick it up, kiss the bread, and encourage it to his or her forehead before move the bread back on their plate. Muslims consider this action a indicate of respect for their food and the hard work that went into make it. Dropping food on the floor is an automatic trip to the trashcan with the food that fell. We, Americans, hold out the dirt and germs that cover floors, so when food touches the ground we do non regulate it back on our plates, notwithstanding evidently make a trip to the trashcan.In Asian countries, eating all the food on your plate is a sign of ind ifference entertain. The troops thinks that they didnt hunt down you passable. Napier-Fitzpatrick scans, Theyll keep refilling it, and if they run out, theyll be upset that they didnt have comely food for you. In order to avoid acquainting disrespect to your legion, Asians usually present a small portion of food on his or her plate to show that he or she is full and that they snap account the hosts generosity.In American, a lot of parents try to encourage their babyren to eat everything on their plate, although it is okay if a child doesnt. As adults in America, when we eat everything on our plate, it is a sign of respect to the host, grammatical construction that we enjoyed the food given to us. Also, you may not refill your own glass. If you are thirsty and regard to drink, you must refill some other persons glass at the table and how they show the generosity to you. talk of seconds, in Chile taking a second helping is offensive to the host and you must wait to be offered more food. Refills and second helpings in America is alone just a sign of a person still be empty-bellied or thirsty.There is no disrespect in Americans wanting seconds or whatsoever type of process in receiving seconds. Ethiopians have a tradition promiseed gursha, hand-feeding each other. They say this tradition shows hospitality to build assert and social bonds between one another(prenominal) between those who are sharing their food. not only do Americans make accredited we use our utensils while eating, but if we were to feed another person at our table, we would be received to use a utensil to do so. Our thoughts on feeding ourselves or even one another with our hands is simple, its unsanitary.In Japan and China, slurping your noodles shows the host your appreciation for the meal they have served you. The host takes slurping as a compliment. Also in China and Taiwan, a small extravasate at the end of a meal shows the host that you have eaten well and they tak e that as a compliment. In America, if someone made noises at the table with their food, they would be bespeaked to stop because it shows bad address at the table. Burping at the table is besides found to be disrespectful because once again it shows bad manners. Meal quantify in America is as well as very different to other countries.Midday is when other countries have their main meal for the day. Americans have their main meal after their workday. We call our evening meal dinner, this word signifies a midday meal in other countries. Our main meal is usually served most 6pm, while in other countries such as Spain they eat their supper around 10pm. Also, Americans have a meal that we call brunch, a meal between breakfast and lunch, a foreign visitor would think of this meal timing baffling.There are some(prenominal) differences between our culture and other cultures around the world on what we consider good and bad table manners. Seems as though what we find as good manners ar ent good in other countries and vice versa with bad manners. Although we may not find certain behaviors good manners, doesnt mean we cant develop and teach these behaviors to our classrooms. It is very valuable for teachers to teach these different cultural meal prison term behaviors because its very important for children to have it off just about other cultures other than their own, and as well because we dont want children to be considered disrespectful if they ever encounter such cultures.The crush way for children to learn these different cultures is to talk about them and even form them. I would make a lesson visualize all about good table manners and bad table manners. instruct our children about other cultures is very important, but we also need to be convinced(predicate) they know our good and bad table manners first. There are some(prenominal) ways to approach on how to consist other cultures. During my circle time, I would stand out by doing only one culture per day.The things to discuss during our circle time would be to state the culture we are discussing, ask the children what they know about that culture, ask the children what they want to know about that culture (for save discussions on other days), and then re ensure the children about the culture, while giving them time to respond on what their thoughts were. Just give tongue to children about culture isnt enough they need to experience it themselves. During meal times, breakfast, snack, and lunch, I would allow my classroom to partake in the new cultural behaviors that they learned about.It is also important to let the children reflect on what they have learned about earreach about the culture and physically being able to experience the culture. It is very important for children to experience the different cultures of children that are in the same classroom as them. The best way to do that is to allow the child of a different culture to tell his friends about himself and cu lture. This way the children get a firsthand experience. Including the childs parents and allowing them to come into the classroom and interact with the children while pedagogics about their culture is a great(p) way to include families into the classroom.When teaching children about different cultures, teachers need to be sure that we include all children of all different cultures, along with their families, and to make sure we do it in a respectable manner. kit and caboodle Cited Dining Customs of Different Cultures. Familyeducation. com. 5 Oct. 2014 http//life. familyeducation. com/cross-cultural-relations/behavior/48976. html Dining dexterity Around the World. Parents. com. 5 Oct. 2014 http//www. parents. com/kids/responsibility/manners/dining-manners-around-the-wor ld.