Bankruptcy in the United States Essay

The paradox set up between the words â€Å"pleasure† and â€Å"burn† shows something unusual about the characterization of the speaker—that maybe he is a paradox himself and is at odds with what is thought of as normal. Who the speaker is has not been revealed yet, so the reader is allowed to form opinions about his character before meeting the fireman. Further into the book, Montag no longer finds a pleasure, and he runs from his job as a fireman. Finally, the feeling of fire as a pleasure returns when he realizes fire can be used for warmth and comfort rather than for destruction. Diction used (burn, eaten, blackened, changed) creates a fearful mood and an ominous tone from the beginning. Chapter 1 Mood â€Å"His lips quivered and the spectacles were dimmed with mist—â€Å"’we may stay here till we die†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ with that word the heat seemed to increase till it became a threatening weight and the lagoon attacked them with a blinding effulgence â€Å" This mood conducts an emotion time to where the boys just came to their senses that they might not make it out of there. Nobody knows they are there so they realized that they have to fight to make their way out. Later on they realized that the have to find or at least try to find others that may still be on the island. A foreshadow of this might be â€Å"we may stay here till we die† because since they are all children from 6-12 they may not make it out of the island Imagery â€Å"The silence was so complete that they could hear the unevenness of piggy’s breathing. The sun slanted in and lay golden over half the platform. The breeze that on the lagoon had chased their tails like kittens wee finding their way across the platform and into the forest. —â€Å"‘So we may be here a long time†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ This quote shows that after finding more people they all came to realization that would be there a long time because nobody knows where they are. The boys went silent as they realized what was actually happening. This quote emphasized the awkward silence as they all processed through their heads that they all may not either make it or go home. This symbolized imagery because I could really picture the surroundings and feel how quiet it must have been. Theme â€Å"I agree with ralph. We’ve got to have rules and obey them. After all we’re not savages. We’re English and English are the best at everything. So we’ve got to do the right things† This is in first person This part of the chapter identifies that start of them striving to do the right things. They weren’t working together so now they are forming themselves into groups, etc. to hold themselves together. The mood of this is determination because to me it seems that these boys are finally finding out to feel what its like to be on your own so they have to stick together in order to live. Civilization vs Savagery Chapter 3 Tone â€Å"Everyone’s keeps running off. You remember the meeting? How everyone was going to work hard until the shelters were finished? † This passage is showing how they went to fun to serious. Because there are a lot of younger kids in the group it is harder for everyone to concentrate for long amount of times. Causing things to fall apart and now people are getting mad and stressed. This creates a tone of seriousness even though the boys/chiefs are only 12 Chapter 3 Mood â€Å"They looked at each other, baffled, in love and hate. All the warm slat water of the bathing pool and the shouting and splashing and laughing were only just sufficient to bring them together again† This passage shows that all it takes is a little fun to realize that everything is okay. The pass few pages were full of everyone just stressing out and fighting and once they began to let loose and have fun ralph and jack realized that it was okay it brought them together again. The mood is relieved and a feeling of happiness â€Å"There was a ship. Out there, You said you’d keep the fire going and you let it out! † The boys are eager to go home but with the choir out hunting the fire had gone out and the ship had passed them because their signal (fire) burned out. Ralph then became violent and angry and yelled at jack creating a mood of intimidation and anger. HE then released all the stress that had been built up and took it out on the gang.

Remember the Titans Essay

A scene in the film of which I thought it was strong was when the new coach takes the players into the woods for a run and they arrive at a sort of cemetery. He tells them about a lesson from the death; they have to come together, otherwise they will be destroyed. He tells them whether they like each other or not, they should respect each other. I really like this scene of the movie, first, because I think it takes place in a special surrounding. All the players are exhausted from the running and kind of impressed by the place. Second, I like this part because I like the message and the way the coach tries to create one team out of two groups. The third message I got from the video is the fact that sports brings people together. No matter what race, as friends in a team you can make it work. In the video the white boys and the African-American boys have each their own team with their own rituals. Along the road, their passion for football and their desire to win brings them together. They combine their habits and the difference in their cultural backgrounds gives them a special feeling of a united group and makes them stronger. Also in other situations can sports play an important factor, you can see it in the world with for example the Olympic Games, but also other major sports events. I think sports can unite individuals from different cultural backgrounds because the rules are the same in every culture and as people are playing, they do not necessarily have to speak the same language. So, if you put the messages all together, I would say that in my opinion the movie is a really good one. After watching it I realized even more that it is about personalities and characters instead of the way people look or the cultural background they are from. Although it can be hard for some individuals to act this way, for example because of pressure from their peers or because the way they are raised. I hope that for the future that every day more people will realize that it is not about the differences, but about the similarities.

Gender discrimination in society and the workplace Essay

In recent years women have been making gains toward equality in the workplace, but still there is a pay gap that separates men and women. It is interesting to note that women are consistently compensated less than men who fill similar positions. Discrimination is blamed for the salary disparities. My guess is as long as there are differences between people, there will be discrimination in one form or another. That may be only a general thought about discrimination, but men and women are always going to be different. How are we affected by such forms of gender discrimination? Well obviously those who are directly impacted negatively can feel the effects, but undoubtedly society and the economy are impacted as well. It may be difficult to determine in what ways they may be affected however. It seems that through the years, there has never been a time where women have been as well compensated as men. Just because its something we may be used to, does that mean it’s right? Some people would argue that women shouldn’t even be working as it is. Many people think that a woman’s place is in the home. Perhaps that is the ideal in many societies. It would seem beneficial to have at least one parent in the home caring for children rather than placing them into a daycare facility. Traditionally the husband has been the breadwinner of the household, but with inflation rates skyrocketing, it is increasingly necessary to send the wife off to work as well. Of course women should be treated as equals and be paid the same that a man would be if he were filling the position. One way or another this problem should take care of itself or it could be speculated that there will be an increasing amount of animosity among members of society. Long-term effects of gender discrimination are not clear, but why should we continue to place barriers between different people? The government has seemed to be cracking down on equal opportunity and anti-discrimination laws, as they should be. The United States is a place of equality and equal opportunity, and while we may be huge steps ahead of other countries, gender discrimination is still a factor that must be dealt with.

Dreams Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Dreams - Essay Example Scientific theories have ranged from speculation that we dream as a means of learning more about ourselves through the revelation of repressed desires to the concept that dreams are a means of the subconscious providing the conscious mind with seemingly prophetic warnings developed through thousands of unconscious signals received during the waking hours. Other theories have suggested that we dream as a means of further developing our mental abilities and spiritual concepts, slowly assimilating what we’ve learned into our established worldview while still others have indicated that we dream as a means of dealing with our daily experiences by either getting rid of the memories or storing them away in our mental memory banks. What the various scientists have revealed in their dream studies is that there are a wide variety of ways in which dreams might have meaning to an individual, whether they realize it or not. However, it seems plausible that dreams will have more meaning to an individual who has a particular belief regarding what they might mean than an individual who reports they don’t dream at all or who believes that dreams have no meaning and doesn’t bother to remember them. Sigmund Freud is perhaps the most recognized individual in the field of dream theory. In developing his model of the mind, Freud determined that the dream functions as a sleeper’s defense against the disturbing thoughts and emotions of the subconscious mind (the id) by acting as a censor (Wilson, 2005). Unlike Freud, who felt that dreams were less frightening manifestations of subconscious horrors, Jung felt that they were revelations that uncovered not only our own emotional issues and fears of the perso nal subconscious, but also link us to the collective unconscious, â€Å"the reservoir of our experiences as a species, a kind of knowledge we are all born with. And yet we can

Organizational Communication Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Organizational Communication - Assignment Example In addition, he used a leadership style that was transactional as its entailed management through enhancing compliance via punishment and rewards. The committee had been given powers to make decisions, but Gassner had the final say in every decision they made. Gassner made sure that each execute committee member headed different regions of that company (Hill, 1995). Gassner had a strategic vision which he ensured was met. He made sure BMG international became successful. He ensured that he was involved in every decision (Hill, 1995). Gassner was tough on ensuring his decisions are followed to the later. In systems theory, there is the issue of interdependence in any organization. Rudi acknowledged this fact and hence created an executive team that was in charge of various regions. He acknowledged interdependence since the regions which they operated differed on the basis of external environment that dealt with customers, competitors, suppliers, financial markets and world economy. In addition, they also differed in complex issues related to external relations, internal operations, strategic decision making plus institutional leadership (Hill, 1995). Gassner’s management style was transactional. He ensured that he established compliance of the workers through coming up with reward and punishment systems. Gassner had been hand-picked by the given CEO, Dornermann. Gassner was an expertise from Polygram and had a good track record on the basis of management. He had his own style of management and involved ‘push’ and ‘pull’ strategies. That ensured high level of awareness existed and resulted in accurate perception of his role and vision (Hill,

Physiology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Physiology - Essay Example The reason is that at higher altitudes, there is lesser amount of oxygen for the body and muscles. Therefore, the excess oxygen will help avoid the early production of lactic acid and keep heart rate lower even when the athlete is working harder at sea level. (Smith, 2005) The trick to high altitude training is a process known as acclimatization. This means that athletes must give time to their bodies to get used to the increase in altitude, and decrease in oxygen levels in the atmosphere. For instance, when an athlete reaches, say 5000 feet, he must spend some days there so that the body acclimatizes to the conditions present there before moving on to higher altitudes. After acclimatization to higher altitudes, when the athlete returns back to sea level, his endurance level and performance is better. As the oxygen levels at higher altitudes decrease, there are a number of changes that the body undergoes in the process of acclimatization. Firstly, the depth of respiration increases. The pulmonary arteries go through an increase in pressure, forcing blood into those parts of the lung which are not utilized under normal circumstances. (Curtis, 1999) Along with increasing the production of red blood cells to carry oxygen, the body also steps up the production of a specific enzyme that eases the discharge of oxygen from hemoglobin to the body tissue. (Curtis, 1999) As we know, the air in the atmosphere consists of 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen and 1% water vapor, carbon dioxide and other gases. This is the proportion of gases you inhale during normal breathing. However, 6% of oxygen is breathed out together with carbon dioxide and other waste products. (Science Fair 2003: Does Exercise Affect the Amount of Carbon Dioxide Exhaled, 2003) During exercise, the body needs more energy which is provided to it through the chemical reaction of oxygen and glucose. This, in turn, means that during exercise, the body needs more

Cultural Diversity in the Media Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Cultural Diversity in the Media - Essay Example This paper will take on two parts. The first part will reflect on the portrayal of Jews themselves in media representations of them in relation to the Holocaust, focusing on the wounds wracked by that painful chapter in world history and their responses towards it. It will essentially use history to understand emotion and identity. The second part will take on a more contemporary approach and will look at how Israel is being portrayed in the media today, under the current context of the Middle East Conflict between Israel and Palestine. It will essentially argue that not only is history per se important, but it is also important what kind of history, and there is a need to be critical of how history is framed and deployed. History as tool to understand emotion and identity in media Media representations of Jews particularly during the holocaust have always shown the Jews as filled with so much pain and tragedy. And indeed, it is difficult to understand this if one is not imbued with a historical context. To give an example, we turn to the movie â€Å"Forgiving Doctor Mengele†, which was released in 2006. ... There are four main narratives, which are also the crucial and more dramatic points of the piece: Miriam’s death and the start of Eva’s journey; the interview with Dr. Hans Munch, a former Nazi doctor; a meeting in the West Bank with Palestinian teachers; and the destruction of the museum she built in memory of her sister by neo-Nazi hate-criminals. The documentary gives us situated knowledge, a personal experience of the Holocaust and forgiveness, although its links to larger historical and social facts are diffused and fragmented. It can be said, however, that ‘Forgiving Dr. Mengele’ is a classic Holocaust documentary film, in the sense that is meant to instruct through evidence; it poses truth[s] as a moral imperative1. But what is the media representations embedded in the film? And how does history help us understand these? A core idea being forwarded – by way of providing an example of embedded representations -- is the notion of ‘forgiven ess’, its complexity and multiple dimensions. Indeed, it is noticeable how difficult is to portray what exactly is forgiveness in general, and what is the exact meaning of forgiveness for Eva, as in the debate at the Jewish center in Chicago, where she is "grilled" on the meaning of forgiveness and her right to do so, in the wake of those that continue suffering through the trauma of the acts. There is no way that we can understand the poignant meanings of this scene without having an idea of this painful history that the Jews had suffered. Representing history through film or any other media is always fraught with issues. First of all, it is the question of the limits of the language what Hanna Arendt2 calls the

Import Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Import Project - Essay Example 1. SWOT Analysis Firstly, with regards to why this product has been chosen, it has come to the attention of the stakeholders for this group that there exists a very large submarket for goods within the wine community. As a function of the fact that this community consumes goods based upon utility, function, and the level to which glasses and other tools of the trade can increase the overall experience as well as the taste of the wine. Accordingly, the product is relevant due to the fact that it fills a particular need for resilient wine glasses that are neither exorbitantly expensive no so cheap that they can be considered as little more than a novelty item to be disposed of or shelved away. Naturally, with regards to how the product itself is differentiating, this is of course denoted by the product name and description. Whereas there exist many fine examples of extremely expensive wine glasses on the market, there exist relatively few offerings that both serve to integrate consumer needs with the utility of a wine glass that is not highly fragile. In the past, cheap wine glasses had sacrificed form and function for their resilience; utilizing thick glass or crystal in order to prevent breakage; however, due to the new magnesium fusion process whereby the glass is blown, much thinner crystal is able to be used. In such a way, the glasses have the feel of the much more expensive crystal wine glasses, are able to exhibit the same benefits and/or weight, and are several times more resistant to breakage. Naturally, with regards to the simplicity of the product, it is difficult to get much simpler than a glass that displays a high resistance to breakage. Although it may be seen as something of a luxury good, due to the price range, the product itself is basic and simple as a function of what it is intended to do and the overall demand that exists within the market for a product that can integrate with such a need. In such a way, the glasses themselves fall adequate ly between the more expensive examples of fine wine glass crystal that sells for many times more than the going price for these break-resistant offerings. Furthermore, it is the understanding of the analysis that has been performed that the consumer rational to spend a bit more money on the break-resistant wine glasses will be affected by the added value that will be integrated due to the fact that having break-resistant wine glasses will necessarily reduce the overall amount of money spent over time due to the fact that such a high percentage of wine glasses of lower and higher prices tend to break. Furthermore, yet another added value that will help to integrate the product with the consumer is the fact that these glasses are also dishwasher safe. One of the greatest annoyances for individuals that drink a lot of wine is the fact that the best crystal wine glasses are never intended to go in the dish washer and take the high heat and temperatures therein. Naturally, a SWOT analysi s would begin by stating that the strength of the product is the fact that it fills a particular need within the customer base that is currently under-represented. This is accomplished due to the fact that these wine glasses are substantially more resilient than those other products that have been billed as break-resistant in the past. Similarly, the greatest weakness that is exhibited is the fact that very little is known or understood with relation to this product by the

Week 2 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Week 2 - Assignment Example Yes, Offensive Cyber-Warfare is Already Here and Thinking Again: Cyber War†. These articles have information about cybercrime and its related offences and outcomes. The essay as a whole provides an in depth look into the issue of cybercrime. Through a company case study, the essay affirms the need for a proper and functional intrusion system to be used to mitigate cybercrimes. Regions which require high security are those with valuable items, potentially dangerous materials, and information. The ease of intrusion depends on the security system used. It is essential that the system implemented meets the intended function. The system’s function should be carefully monitored to understand its weakness and strengths. The understudy company uses the security guards at the entrance, but once someone is within the building, he or she is free to roam around. Although there are cameras and motion sensors, they are deactivated during the day and are less in numbers. During installation of these security items, distribution was not taken into consideration. The weakness therefore is the deactivation and distribution. Furthermore, the company lacks an offsite monitoring; this offers an opportunity to an intruder to access a restricted area and escape before being noticed. Craighead suggests that â€Å"in the case of offsite monitoring, once notified of an int rusion alarm, the central station staff will either notify security staff at the building† (2009, p. 310). Insecurity over the secured places is often critical. Aside from the presence of security personnel, the most appropriate additional system is the use of technology. An intrusion system is quite an effective security solution. Intrusion systems offer security alerts to security guards and other responsible individuals. The intrusion alert systems incorporate infrastructure that provides adequate security requirements. According to Barnard, â€Å"a physical security system consists

History and function of legal services of america Research Paper

History and function of legal services of america - Research Paper Example This paper is in the view that inequities in the delivery of U.S. legal assistance ought to be dealt with. It is therefore recommended that a young generation of advocates for legal assistance be promoted plus the establishment of a mission of incorporating legal assistance into the promotion of human rights campaign. History and Function of Legal Services of America Legal service refers to the help or free service in the law field. In its different decisions, the Supreme Court has declared flatly that legal aid is a responsibility of a welfare state and should not at any time be viewed as a charity. From as early as the late 1800s and all through the early 20th century years, the American legal profession conveyed its dedication to the idea of free legal aid for the poor. This would be in form of bar association, legal aid committees and legal aid societies. Since 1964, the government of the United States has backed its dedication to equal justice under the law through offering fede ral financing for civil legal assistance to individuals with low-income (Auerbach, 1977). ... This was the first agency that offered legal aid to people no matter their sex, race or nationality (Auerbach, 1977). Other municipalities also followed in this direction and most major cities had new legal aid offices in the first decades of the twentieth century. Legal Services Corporation (LSC) A corporation controlled by a nonpartisan, independent Board was created by the LSC Act. It was appointed by the President and affirmed by the Senate. Of the eleven members, there were no more than six members belonging to the same political party. Attorneys had to make a majority of the board and it was to be inclusive of persons who would actually be qualified for legal services. Additionally, the board was to in general represent the organized bar, lawyers offering legal aid to the poor and the public at large. The corporation was entitled to obtain federal financing and make grants to local legal services programs that were independent (Subrin & Woo, 2008). President Gerald Ford appoint ed the first LSC Board which was confirmed in mid-1975. The decisions made by the board on the major policy issues expressed a desire to make sure that the individuals who were poor had legal representation that was effective and an appreciation of the merits that the existing delivery system had. Most of the effort by the corporation initially went into acquiring more financing from Congress in order to expand the reach of the legal services program. In 1977, without substantial argument, the Corporation was reauthorized for three more years. There was clarification as well as lifting of some restrictions. LSC started focusing on making the local programs more effective through the improvement of the evaluation and monitoring systems. By 1981, the LSC was

Jews and Christians Essay Example for Free

Jews and Christians Essay Islam is a monotheistic religion based upon the teachings of Muhammad, a 7th century Arab religious and political figure. It is the second-largest religion in the world today, with an estimated 1. 4 billion adherents, known as Muslims. Islam is considered one of the second largest religions in Europe today especially in France and the United Kingdom. In regions like the Middle East, North Africa, south and central Asia, Islam is the dominant religion. The core belief of Muslims is that God revealed himself to all mankind through his Prophet Muhammad, and he gave his holy book, the Qur’an which embodies the message, teachings and traditions of the Sunnah which is considered as the basic sources of Islam. The Prophet Muhammad is regarded by Muslims as the true and final prophet of God. Islam, like Judaism and Christianity is also an Abrahamic religion. Muslims belief that God revealed his final message to Muhammad through the angel Gabriel, and that message is the truth of salvation and shall hold true until the day a of resurrection, that the holy Qur’an is the infallible word of God and has the seal of the prophets. Muslims belief that the core message of Islam, which is the worship of one God, is the same message preached by the all messengers that God has sent before Muhammad. Muslims also belief that the coming of Muhammad was the cache in God’s revelation of himself to mankind, the end of all the messages of one God which has been preached since the time of Adam. Muslims see their religion as the original and the final message of God to mankind, and see Christianity and Judaism as a distortion of the original revelation of God to Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad. There are several similarities that run through these three religions. Geographically, they all seem to have their origins in the Middle East. They all lay claim to the most prominent religious figures the world has ever known i. e. .Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, as their forebears. The Qur’an even acknowledges Jesus Christ as a major prophet who walked the face of this earth and had a distinct knowledge of God. Islam acknowledges the practitioners of Christianity and Judaism as the people of the letter, which is to say that they are people who have received divine scriptures. All these not withstanding, Muslims believe that the final and truthful revelation of God and the right way of worship came through the holy prophet Muhammad. Muslims believe that Islam is the right way of worship, of seeking God and of attaining salvation and therefore they must seek to win more peoples unto the Allah. Like the Jews, who saw a non Israelite as a gentile, any one other non-Muslim is an infidel. They also belief that Allah appreciates it very much when you die a violent death defending the faith of Islam and that automatically grants you grace favor and salvation before the lord, Infact, you go straight to heaven which is the ultimate reward of serving God here on earth just as Christians believe. In conclusion, Islam sees itself as superior to Christianity and Judaism because they believe it’s the total revelation of God of himself unto mankind.

Becoming an Early Childhood Educator Essay Example for Free

Becoming an Early Childhood Educator Essay U. S. President Barack Obama emphasized on the importance of education in a country for not only one time. He believe that education provide the opportunities to every single citizen to work on their strengths and ability to fulfill their responsibilities to the country by contribution on specific career in order to build up a strong country. I strongly agree with his point of view as education is not an individual responsibility but to all. Education is the basis of a country in order to strengthen the economic status and development. Thus, it’s our responsible toward the society and nation to educate our next generation by provide a positive social and physical environment to instill wholesome character building in young children. Society now day faces variety of problem especially family issue that commonly happens include child abuse, divorce cases, youngster tend to run away from home, abandoned baby and etc. One of the factors that caused these issues is lack of realization on importance of education. There is a quote stated: If we would amend the world, we should mend our selves; and teach our children to be, not what we are, but what they should be. Quote by: WILLIAM PENN, Some Fruits of Solitude) Most of the parent didn’t realize their responsibility to their child as a role model in the growth of their children during childhood period. They might lack of exposure on the importance of early childhood education, or they unconsciously neglected their children’s need due to financial pressure in order to provide and maintaining the living standard of family. Thus, it’s our responsible as an educator to assist the parent on educating our next generation. It is my pleasure to meet a truly dedicated teacher in my life, although she was only teaching me as my class teacher for 1 year but her contribution and the bonding between me and she has brought the greater impact to my life. Compare to the teachers of old time with today, sadly to say, there are not much improvement among the quality of educator. Most of the educator are work for survive, they are lack of the passion and realization on their role and responsibilities, perhaps they do not know how to apply their knowledge on teaching method skillfully. In fact, it is the greater satisfaction as an educator to witness the growth of a child from innocence young age to a mature child. This is a most important period to instill a positive personality in a child as the behavior he practicing now will bring toward to adulthood and became his characteristic. The greater success of an educator is not the quantity of reward, but the recognition of the effort by the parent, student and society. The most precious and valuable achievement is to witness the success of wholesome character building on a child when they turned to an adult and continue influence the people around them with positive attitude. It is hard to achieve the objective of education with single contribution. Therefore it is important to bring together all the educators who having same ideology to work together as a role model to influence people around include the parent, children and colleagues to understand the importance of education. The main responsible of an early childhood educator is to instill the positive character to a child to develop wholesome character include sense of belonging, sense of responsibility, positive moral value, lifelong interest on learning, curiosity to the world and mentally and physically healthy and wealthy. Teacher as the second person after the parent as the role model to a child should practicing good behavior and attitude. Besides, a good teacher knows how to apply the knowledge skillfully to help children adapt to the knowledge on their level of understanding without killing their curiosity to the world. On the other hand, educator also played an important role to the parent because society in Malaysia now day is improving along with the realization on the importance of education. However, although the parent understands the importance of education, they are still lack of information in term of knowledge and skill to apply on their children. They are keen to seek for professional advancer and services as the agent of education to their children. In fact, this is a big step for the society; educator should always work closely and collaboratively with parent to encourage them involve in their child’s learning process to create love and caring environment for the children. The philosophy of a preschool setting that believed and practiced by the entire organization included administrator and teachers determine the process of achieving the goal of an organization. Same goes to personal philosophy held by a teacher, it is important to work collaboratively on behalf of children’s interest regardless personal identity and background. Teachers should be always ready to lend their hand to each other and strive for improvement together by sharing information and joining workshop, seminar or training together. Whenever there is dilemma, teacher should ask for the comment and suggestion without hesitate from senior colleague who willing to share their experiences and solve the problem together. Beside, teacher also played a role on providing a safe, healthy, loving and caring environment to young learner to develop sense of belonging and bonding among the children by always staying alert on potential danger and awareness on child’s behavior, health, physical and mental needs. Teacher should be always practicing 3R which is responsive, respect and reciprocal. Consistently interaction with the children is needed to understand child’s unique character and develop trust and respect relationship among children. However, teacher should allow necessary independent learning and respect child’s right in order to foster the development of children to prepare the children to be ready for the future challenges in their life. Knowledge on young children development is very important for educator. Therefore educator should be always seeking for improvement to provide highest quality service to the children. A knowledgeable teacher is always stay well informed on the latest update on government decision on education such as changing school syllabus and assessment for the student. Beside, by participate in variety of workshop, seminar and training; teacher will learn different teaching method to adapt children’s development milestone. Same goes to courses that offer in colleges and local university; it will improve the qualification and knowledge of teacher. By joining professional association, teacher will be always staying informed on the latest teaching approach and able to seek for professional comment from others. On the other hand, teaching should be stay adventurous when applying new skill to the children, learn from trial and error by observation and self reflection consistently. Teacher should be sensitive on child’s development to evaluate and improving the teaching method creatively in practical way. By understanding different learning pattern of the children, teacher should apply knowledge and skills in plenty ways for children to adapt to the knowledge. In conclusion, a professional early childhood educator should be having mental and physical readily with positive and optimistic attitude, be ready to takes up responsible and handle every dilemma and always strive for improvement. It is very important for an educator understand his/her role on the position held and to be flexible to adapt every changes and different situation. Lastly, enjoyment for the satisfaction of teaching will lead the educator to longer journey as time goes by because You never know how much it’s worth until its gone.

Effect of Positive Emotions Induced by Music

Effect of Positive Emotions Induced by Music Do positive emotions induced by music broaden thought-action repertoires? Music has the potential to communicate emotions, and this presence can be considered to be part of our everyday experience. Music psychologist believes that it has the capability to invoke specific emotions when listeners tune in to a specific type of music. For example, a faster toned and pitch music will indicate a lighter and happier mood, whereas a slow tone and pitch will indicate a sad emotion. On the scale of mood, Fredrickson’s broaden-and-build theory suggests that positive emotions builds up our thought-action repertoire, explains that we should harness positive emotions into our daily lives in effort to enhance our coping skills. The fusion of music with the broaden-and-build theory is an attempt to prove that positive emotions do indeed broaden our momentary thought-action repertoire as proven in Fredrickson’s theory, but on a different scale. Such fusion can be proven to be worth of research as music exists in our everyday lives and if we incorporate and fo ster positive emotions into individual’s daily lives, most, if not everyone, would have increased thought-action repertoire, which would then lead to better coping skills in situations. The broaden-and-build theory suggests the function of a subset of positive emotions such as joy, love and contentment. Fredrickson (2004) proposed that positive emotions produce optimal functioning over time, which includes psychological well-being, as well as physical well-being. These positive emotions, where individuals experience joy, which in turn creates the urge to play, or interactions with a stranger which will in turn create a supportive relationship, will broaden an individual’s thought-action repertoire. This broaden mindset is in contrast with negative emotions, where it prompts immediate and narrow action tendencies such as fight or flight. Fredrickson also proposed that with broadening of an individual’s thought-action repertoire, it would in turn create and build into the individual’s personal resources, and these personal resources are thought to be long term which can help individuals cope with situations in future. For the support of her theori es, Fredrickson reviewed some of other researchers who worked on the effects of positive affect and cognition and pointed out that Kahn and Isen (1993) found that individuals experiencing positive affect report having increased preference for variety and accept a broader array of behavioural options. Subsequently, Ashby, Isen, and Turken (1999) found that positive affect produces effects linked to increases in brain dopamine levels, particularly in the prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate, which are thought to underlie better cognitive performance. However, Isen’s work did not target specific positive emotions or thought-action repertoires per se, but it provides the strongest evidence that positive affect broadens cognition. As Fredrickson builds up on her theory which eventually became the broaden-and-build theory, Fredrickson and Joiner (2002) propose that positive emotions will elicit an upward spiral in the direction of enhanced emotional well-being. They assessed their prediction by testing whether positive affect and broad-minded coping reciprocally and prospectively predict one another. They made a conclusion that positive affect from a particular time will lead to enhancement of broad-minded coping at a later stipulated timing, and vice versa. It was also mentioned that positive affect at one particular time is able to predict the positive affect at a later time when changes in the broad-minded coping were controlled, and vice versa. Hence, it can be said that from this particular review, it has been found that positive affect and broad-minded coping are correlated and they mutually build on one another. However, later studies done by researchers such as Nickerson (2007) suggested that Fredrickso n and Joiner (2002)’s analysis tested within-occasion, across persons hypotheses, which are incoherent with Fredrickson’s broaden-and-build theory of emotions that is within person, across occasions. Nickerson changed their hypotheses so that the edited hypotheses would align with the broaden-and-build theory, in which Fredrickson subsequently tested the momentary broaden hypothesis, in which the efficacy was proven. Fredrickson (2005) made use of a Twenty Statement Test as a measure of thought-action repertoire when her participants were randomly assigned and exposed to videos which will induce a specific emotion. For example, participant A would be exposed to a video of some penguins, which would supposedly elicit the amusement emotion. The participant would then be required to fill in the Twenty Statement Test in which a higher number of statements filled in would indicate a larger thought-action repertoire, and this finding was consistent with their hypotheses. On another scale, Fredrickson conducted a qualitative analysis using the same data collected, and classified the responses collected from the participants into some categories. They found similar findings, for example, participants who viewed the amusement video are reported to have more frequent urges to play, have positive feelings or thoughts, and fewer urges to sleep or rest. Thus, the data presented by Fredrickson support 2 central aspects of the broaden hypothesis positive emotion broadens thought-action repertoires, as well as broadening effects emerge for 2 distinct types of positive emotion, namely amusement and contentment. Music can be thought to be a powerful tool in inducing specific mood states (Marin and Bhattacharya, 2010), and these moods refer to the states which feature a lower intensity than emotions, and this state tend to last much longer than emotions; these emotions denote the affective response that generally encompass some subcomponents – action tendency, as well as regulation. Although it is believed that there could be some correspondence between music induced emotion and mood, the two distinctions can be said as: music induced emotions are short lived, whereas music induced mood generally last longer. Various psychophysiological and psychological experiments such as emotion perception to emotion experiences have been proven by Thomas Baumgartner, Michaela Esslen, Lutz Ja ¨ncke (2006), where it was elucidated by their psychometric results that emotions can be evoked by pictures and classical music. There are a large number of empirical studies that reveal systematic relationsh ips between musical structures and emotional responses (Gabrielsson Lindstro ¨m, 2010). Lundqvist, Carlsson, Hilmersson and Juslin (2009) concluded in their study that self-composed music is effective in inducing specific emotions. For example, they explained that for a happy emotion to be induced, the happy music needs to feature fast tempo, high sound level, and major mode, while the sad music featuring slow tempo, low sound level, and minor mode. This was also proven in their research, as well as previous works, which gives the conclusion that music is able to produce specific emotions without contamination. Hence, it is of interest to study the interaction between how music is capable of inducing the emotions as required, and how the induced emotion can help in enhancing an individual’s coping skills, as well as building up their personal resources. The nature of the study is discovering whether positive emotions induced by music will broaden thought-action repertoire in a sample of Singaporean participants. The rationale of the hypothesis is to find out if the differences of cultures may pose a significant contributor to the difference in thought-action repertoire. Secondly, inspection can be done to see if cross-cultural differences may produce different results as compared to what Fredrickson originally done in her study, and lastly, findings may have possible implications of music to enhance psychological and physical well-being. Thus, the first hypothesis is that positive emotions will broaden momentary thought-action repertoire. Secondly, the emotion experienced in amusement will broaden momentary thought-action repertoire to a greater extent when compared to contentment. The third hypothesis is that negative emotions will narrow thought-action repertoire, and the last hypothesis is that object-focused negative emotions (e .g. anger) will narrow momentary thought-action repertoire to a greater extent when compared to object-less negative emotions (e.g. anxiety). This study is considered to be an advance over previous works; in the original broaden-and-build theory, Fredrickson made use of videos to induce emotions, and for modifications, the new experiment will use audio materials, which consists of self-composed audio clips; the rationale here is to identify if the usage of video and music clips will yield the same kind of findings. Additionally, two additional steps will be administered; before starting the experiment (measuring skin conductance level), and at the end of the experiment (performing relaxation techniques on participants). The first step ensures that each participant is at neutral emotional state (baseline) before we induce a particular emotion with the music clip. The second step ensures the momentary emotional well-being of participants as they do not leave the experiment with induce d emotions, but with neutral emotions (baseline). Method Participants 100 university students enrolled in an introductory psychology course received course credit for their participation. Only students who spoke English as their first language were eligible to participate. Some ethical issues to be considered are the initial screening before participation. It is required that the participants are mentally healthy, and it is essential to exclude those with history of mental and physical illnesses because of the emotional manipulation involved in the experiment; the confidentiality of the information provided by the participants will be ensured. Another ethical issue is that of informed consent: Participants will be informed of experimental procedure, the materials that will be used, and the rights to withdraw before the start of experiment; they also have the option of counselling services and exit interview at point of withdrawal. Questions from participants will be answered at all times of experiment. Finally, participants can be sure that their answe rs remain anonymous as the forms and tests that they filled in during the experiment do not require them to fill in their names, as well as undergoing a debrief of the original intent of the research. Design The nature of this research is considered to be a quasi-experiment, where the independent variable (IV) is emotions, which are induced by the respective music clips (Amusement, contentment, anger, anxiety, neutral), and the dependent variable (DV) is the thought-action repertoire, in which will be measured via two methods: quantitative and qualitative. Materials Participants will be selected at random to be exposed to audio clips which are intended to induce emotions. The audio clips that are exposed to the participants are: Amusement, contentment, anger, anxiety, as well as neutral. Skin conductance level (SCL). To ensure that the participants will not contaminate the data being collected, the SCL will be used to ensure that the participants will start off the experiment in a neutral state. This is done by attaching a node onto the participants’ hands, followed by measuring the skin resistance, which will be varied with the state of the sweat glands on the skin of their hands. Emotion Report Form. Ekman, Friesen, and Ancoli (1980) made use of the emotion report form to identify and test if the emotions induced by the experimenter are successfully manipulated by music clips. This is done by participants giving a rating of emotions felt on a Likert scale. Participants who rated the greatest amount felt of the emotions above on a 9-point Likert scale (0 = none, 8 = a great deal). Twenty Statements Test. Kuhn and McPartland (1954) constructed the Twenty Statements Test to measure the thought-action repertoire of individuals after they are exposed to audio clips. They are required to fill in 20 blank lines which began with â€Å"I would like to†¦Ã¢â‚¬  to their greatest extent possible after listening to the audio clip. A higher score is thought to indicate a larger thought-action repertoire. Procedure Before the participants begin the official experiment, they would be required to be put under the SCL test, which is to ensure that they start off the experiment on a neutral state. Participants would then be randomly exposed to one particular audio clip which elicits a single emotion, i.e. a faster tone and pitch audio clip would indicate the participants listening to a happy music. The next step would require the participants to describe the strongest emotion that they felt in a few words, and subsequently asked to complete the Twenty Statements Test. Before the participants finish the experiment, they would be required to complete the Emotion Report Form so that there is consistency in their emotions felt and the emotions written down onto the Twenty Statements Test. Lastly, participants would be given a mandatory relaxation session so that they can fall back to their baseline (neutral state). Results Statistical analysis can be done on various scales, which includes quantitative level, as well as qualitative level. For the quantitative level, analysis can be done for the self-reported emotions from the Emotion Report Form, where a 1-way ANOVA and Tukey pairwise comparisons to test if music clips altered emotional experiences as intended. Positive emotion music groups/Negative emotion music groups will be compared with neutral emotion music group to produce a less ambiguous result. Secondly, a 1-way ANOVA and Tukey pairwise comparisons can be conducted for the number of responses from Twenty Statements Test, and for the group differences in repertoire size, a 5 x 2 ANOVA, where the 5 groups are the audio clips exposed, and the two groups are the culture, which in this case is the Singaporean Culture compared with Foreign culture. On the qualitative level, analysis can be done via coding, where participants who responded in a certain manner will be classified into a category, and f or each participant, proportion scores for each activity was determined by dividing the tally for that activity by the total number of statements the participant generated. Discussion The expected results are that all hypotheses proposed are significant, that is to say that positive emotion will broaden momentary thought-action repertoire, and the amusement emotion will broaden momentary thought action repertoire to a greater degree when compared to contentment. Some of the limitations include the possibility of the individual’s desire to be socially desirable may cause contamination of the data as participants may not write their intended behaviours or thoughts as per the emotions they experience in the music clips. For instance, an individual may not write that he or she will hit someone even though he or she wants to. Future researchers can look into exploring the usage of recording the participants’ response instead of doing the Twenty Statements Test, as there is a possibility of identifying the emotions of the participants through the way they speak.

Biography of Adam Smith Essay -- Adam Smith Moral Philosopher Philosop

Biography of Adam Smith Smith was one of those 18th century Scottish moral philosophers whose impulses led to our modern day theories; his work marks the breakthrough of an evolutionary approach which has progressively displaced the stationary Aristotelian view Invisible Hand:- Â § "Every individual necessarily labors to render the annual revenue of the society as great as he can. He generally indeed neither intends to promote the public interest, nor knows how much he is promoting it. He intends only his own gain, and he is in this, as in many other cases, led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of his intention. By pursuing his own interest he frequently promotes that of the society more effectually than when he really intends to promote it. I have never known much good done by those who affected to trade for the public good."(The Wealth of Nations). Government:- Â § "All systems either of preference or of restraint, therefore, being thus completely taken away, the obvious and simple system of natural liberty establishes itself of its own accord. Every man, as long as he does not violate the laws of justice, is left perfectly free to pursue his own interest his own way, and to bring both his industry and capital into competition with those of any other man or order of men. The sovereign [politician] is completely discharged from a duty, in the attempting to perform which he must always be exposed to innumerable delusions, and for the proper performance of which no human wisdom or knowledge could ever be sufficient: the duty of superintending the industry of private people." (The Wealth of Nations, vol. II, bk. IV, ch. 9.) Monopoly:- Â § "A monopoly granted either to an individual or to a trading company has the same effect as a secret in trade or manufactures. The monopolists, by keeping the market constantly understocked, by never fully supplying the effectual demand, sell their commodities much above the natural price, and raise their emoluments, whether they consist in wages or profit, greatly above their natural rate." (vol. I, bk. I, ch. 7.) Â § "People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices. It is impossible indeed to prevent such meetings by any law which either could be executed, or would be ... ...ts governor. He set forth the great lesson that all economists come to sooner or later. I quote Professor Heilbroner: "First, he [Adam Smith] has explained how prices are kept from ranging arbitrarily away from the actual cost of producing a good. Second, he has explained how society can induce its producers of commodities to provide it with what it wants. Third, he has pointed out why high prices are a self-curing disease, for they cause production in those lines to increase. And finally, he has accounted for a basic similarity of incomes at each level of the great producing strata of the nation. In a word, he has found in the mechanism of the market a self-regulating system which provides for society's orderly provision." (p. 49.) The difficulty I have with Robert Heilbroner, a most interesting man to read, is his assertion that the law of the market, is a man-made institution.18 The market is not something that we can choose to have or not to have, it exists and will exist no matter the political regime, and no matter the number of coercive laws we would like to pass. One cannot help coming to this conclusion as one expands the thoughts expressed in The Wealth of Nations.

Being Assertive Essays -- Assertiveness Personality Essays

Being Assertive Assertiveness is an ability to take action in a positive, sincere, respectful, and confident way. It is also an ability to communicate directly using language that is to the point, taking initiative, focusing on solutions, addressing problems, taking ownership of problems, and bringing the problems to a close. Assertiveness can also mean being firm, patient, persistent, pushing someone into action, encouraging, and not compromising on the solution to the problem. Assertiveness requires flexibility tailored to the individual and the situation they are placed in. People usually have three obstacles that keep them from being assertive. They are: poor communication skills, low self-esteem, and a fear of conflict. An assertive response would be: â€Å"I have some concerns about whether the idea will work. My concerns include†¦.Please help me to clear up my misunderstandings.† The assertive person does not focus on winning as such, but rather on negotiating changes to benefit himself or herself and the other parties involved. They are very clear on what they want to accomplish. The communication needs to be planned out in order to sell the idea and not seem as if the assertive person is nagging or dictating. Assertive speaking is an important communication method that is usually paired with active listening. When someone speaks assertively they are expressing themselves in a confident, direct way both verbally and nonverbally. They are speaking up to make a point but allowing for other’s ideas to be shared as well. Being assertive does not necessarily mean being aggressive. These two behaviors are quite different in their manners. Someone who is assertive allows the problem to be discussed whereas someone who is aggressive usually participates in a one-sided conversation with little listening to the other side. Someone who is aggressive usually â€Å"shoots first† before addressing the problem. An assertive person looks at a problem with solutions in mind. An aggressive person is blunt and feels that their solution is the only solution. An assertive person takes charge yet invites other ideas for solutions. An example of an aggressive response might be: â€Å"There’s no way that will work. I don’t like that idea and I don’t know what you were thinking about when you thought of it.† Aggressiveness normally is associated with anger. Anger is a natural emot... ...rectly interpret a situation. If this happens it is important to be willing to admit being wrong. Also, do not stop being assertive in the future with that person. Finally, assertiveness should not be used for intimidation or manipulation. It means standing up for beliefs, expressing anger in a tactful eloquent way, reaching out to others, building self-esteem, and learning to be more direct. It is a method to reach goals, feel good about oneself, and to demonstrate respect for others. Most importantly, do not try to be something out of the ordinary and always take other’s needs and respect into account. References Alberti, Ph.D, R., & Emmons, Ph.D, M. (1986). Your Perfect Right. 5th ed. San Luis Obispo, CA: Impact Publishers. Axelrod, A. (2000). Elizabeth I CEO. Paramus, NJ: Prentice Hall Press. Bower, S. (1991). Asserting Yourself. Updated ed. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company. Brounstein, M. (2000). Coaching & Mentoring for Dummies. Foster City, CA: IDG Books Worldwide. Fensterheim, Ph.D, H., & Baer, J. (1975). Don't Say Yes When You Want to Say No. New York: Dell Publishing. Smith, Ph.D, M. (1975). When I Say No, I Feel Guilty. New York: Dial Press.

Human Nature Explored in Robert Louis Stevensons Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hy

Human Nature Explored in Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Stevenson gives the impression that human nature is a constant battle between good and evil. His upbringing as a Calvinist has had a big impact on how he sees human nature and how it is portrayed in the book .It is a very complex view of human nature, as Stevenson doesn’t see anybody as particularly evil or good, more which impulses of human nature are overwhelming the body. Human nature in the book has many contradictory points in the novel. For instance, Dr.Jekyll is the most contradictory character in the novel, because of Mr.Hyde being in the equation. Dr.Jekyll is the kind and good side of the two. Mr.Hyde is the nasty and evil side of the two. He shows contradictions in other characters too, like Mr.Enfield ...

Natural Calamity in Uttrakhand

As a child I was amused at the premonition of the Soothsayer when he predicted the Death of Julius Caesar, who out of sheer vanity not only discarded his advice, but also admonished him for the same. A similar analogy can be drawn to the travesty that now surrounds Uttarakhand, the sole exception being, the vanity and obliviousness of the Government has gravely pulverized the State Exchequer and costed the lives of its own denizens, as against the death of one ruler. The blame game, which is a necessary by product of every mishappening in our country, has already begun, where both the Central Government as well as the State Government are rebuking each other and their predecessors in chair for faulty policy making, ineffective implementation, absence of rescue and relief strategy, steaming constitutional debates on whether the present system should be governed under Entry 56 of the Union List or under Entry 17 of the Sate List, and the classic press release phrase â€Å"mis-governance†. What lies on the other hand of this scale is innumerable unreported deaths, devastation of public property, and over sixty thousand stranded people, who are yet to be afforded anything as remotely close to the term â€Å"relief†. Genesis of the Problem and Observations made by the CAG Report India boasts of being ranked sixth in terms of largest hydel power generation capacity countries. Domestically, hydel power accounts for 1/4th of India’s dependence on energy. The Hydel Power Report of Uttarakhand published in the year 2008, categorically acclaims that the State has the potential to harness almost 20,000 MW of electricity through hydel power. Blinded with such ambitious target, the State Government failed to notice, either deliberately or otherwise, the very first objective on the same page, which has been reproduced as: â€Å"To harness the environment friendly Renewable Energy resources and enhance their contribution to the socioeconomic development of the State. Another important objective which the State while implementing the said project, was oblivious to, is â€Å"To enhance the use of energy sources that assist in mitigating environmental pollution. † The current policies, as the CAG Report categorically points out, are aimed at aggravating and not mitigating environmental pollution, and have been a cause of the floods in and around the region. Periphrastically speaking, the ngoing havoc that was witnessed in Uttarakhand was preordained in the report published by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India as late as in 2009, reproaching the Central Government and the Government of Uttarakhand for its dual role of faulty hydro power policy making as well as ineffective policy implementation. Some of the main concerns highlighted in the CAG Report are: 1. Due to the over ambitious policy of the State Government to create multiple river channels, and multiple power projects on the same tributary, a serious endangerment of environment is certainty. With over 42 Projects currently functioning, and 203 projects in construction and clearance stage, at every 6 – 7 kms stretch, there will be a dam to obstruct the flow of the river. 2. All the projects are based on high seismic areas in and around districts chamoli, rudra prayag, pithoragarh, Almora and despite severe earth quakes in 1720, 1803, 1991, and 1999 the multiplicity of hydro power projects, without adequate counter seismic measures continue to run rogue thereby causing serious risk to the lives of the people. 3. There is a clear enumeration of Flash Floods which would result in severe destruction to life and property in and around the low lying areas of the hills. Table Appended to the Report has further highlighted various instances wherein such flash floods have occurred previously in the same areas. 4. No evidence to suggest that for failure to comply with the conditions of Environmental Impact Assessment, a penalty was imposed on the builders. 5. Failure of the nodal agency to ensure submission of quarterly and half yearly compliance reports by the management. . Flagrant Negligence towards Environmental and Security Concerns. 7. The adverse impact on the ecology was further underscored by the fact that almost 4 out of 5 Power Projects have shown the complete drying up of river beds to a trickle resulting into severe impairment and devastation of the ecology, and imbalance in the water table resulting into drying up of natural aquifers in the nearby areas. 8. According to International Standards, the minimum discharge of river downstream should be maintained at 75 % so that the aquatic life remains intact. However, the present projects are discharging downstream river by 90 % and above which results into complete devastation of the aquatic life. 9. Faulty Pre-Feasibility Survey Reports, which gives inaccurate data for evaluation of the hydro power station, which means serious short comings in ascertaining whether the location to construct is feasible or not, questions on plant efficiency and what would be the impact of soil erosion, etc. remain in a state of serious jeopardy. 10. As much as 38 % of the total projects which have been granted an Environmental Clearance have failed to carry out mandatory plantation. By – Passing The Law As per the Gazette notification issued by the Central Government under Sections 2 and 3 of the Environment Protection Act, 1986, the area surrounding the river Bhagirathi from Gaumukh to Uttarkashi, which is 135 kms stretch, was declared to be â€Å"eco sensitive area†. A total area of about 4179. 59 sq km came under the eco-sensitive zone. This will impose restrictions on quarrying, commissioning hydropower projects on Bhagirathi, and construction of roads in the prohibited area. Besides, it will impose a ban on felling of trees and setting up of factories to manufacture furniture and other wooden items. For the purposes of effective implementation, the State Government, with the help of the local NGO’s and people was mandated to formulate a Zonal Master Plan surrounding the area, whereby every hydel power which is below 20 MW of Power Generation Capacity had to take a clearance from the State Ministry. However, the State Government opposed the said notification in May as they were not â€Å"consulted† before this policy was formulated; among concerns voiced by the citizens that an embargo on development would send them back to the Stone Age, which in reality was not what the notification envisaged. This mutual blame game and inter-ministerial trifles have led to such travesty. Today the very area surrounding Bhagirathi and parts of Uttarkashi are the worst hit areas of the State. Travesty of Environmental Clearance. Another notification issued by the Central Government warrants deliberation. It was mandated that before sanctioning the projects, or before expanding or modernizing hitherto existing projects, it was obligatory to procure an Environmental Impact Assessment Clearance from the Central Government and the State Government. Every Hydel Power project was subjected to the same strictures as have been mandated under Section 3(1) and Section 3(2) (v) of the Environment Protection Act, 1986. Such an EIA has to be in conformity with the Standards laid down by the National Environment Policy, and the guidelines that have been made under Rule 5 of the Environment Protection Rules. There are four stages before procuring an Environmental Clearance: 1. Screening wherein the projects are divided into two categories, those to be assessed by the Central Government (Category A Projects which are over and above 25 MW capacity power projects), and those to be assessed by the State Government (Under 25 MW Capacity Power Projects). 2. Scoping by which the Expert Committee determines on detailed concerns (current and probable) regarding Environmental Depletion or damage, at which stage the Committee is empowered to allow or reject the application seeking commencement of the project. 3. Public Consultation which provides for a public consultation held in the auspices of the site, obtain responses of all stake holders, villagers, etc. in writing and to be supervised by the State Pollution Control Board, but which specifically excludes â€Å"modernization of irrigation projects† out of its domain. . Appraisal which means the detailed scrutiny by the Expert Appraisal Committee or State Level Expert Appraisal Committee of the application and other documents like the Final EIA report, outcome of the public consultations including public hearing proceedings, submitted by the applicant to the regulatory authority concerned for grant of environmental clearance. In addition to the aforementioned checks and balances, there is a periodic Post Environment Clearance monitoring which are to be submitted on a half yearly basis by the management. This provides a very rosy picture of the law that governs such clearances; however the reality is far from such notion. For instance, according to the Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, as much as 38 % of the total industries and projects functioning in the area, and which have received a green signal to operate, have not complied with the mandatory plantation of trees in and around the site. This has resulted into serious deforestation in the hilly areas, which results into soil erosion. Himalayas being young fold mountains, have a very unstable soil compaction, as compared to other mountain ranges, because of which soil erosion can assume cataclysmic proportions, it is also the reason why rivers are changing their natural course and cutting deep crevices in the hills, wreaking havoc amongst those who stand in its way. Are we to blame? This is one perpetual question, which warrants a sordid introspection. Reports have also suggested that illegal construction of motels, rest houses, guest houses, hotels and restaurants have been made in the river bed, whereas a notification issued by the State Government clearly prohibits any illegal construction in or around 100 metres from the river bed. This is supplementary to the damage that has already been carried out by the Government. Media reports further stipulate that there was no effective functioning authority in the name of â€Å"State Disaster Management Authority†. The moot question that now faces us is whether this calamity was â€Å"natural† at all, or was it brought about by our own fallacies, inactions, deliberate obliviousness, and negligence. History is replete with instances of civilizations crashing under the might of Natural Forces, and with the present rate of depletion, the future of the Upper Gangetic Basin and the Himalayas hangs in a very delicate balance.

Managing Organizational Change (MOC) Essay

What have you learned about Managing Organizational Change (MOC) and how are you going to apply MOC concepts to benefit your career? 1.0. Executive Summary Based on my time in class these last 7 weeks, I have learned a process that I never knew really existed. I have worked for several companies, large and small, in my lifetime and I have never really experienced an Organizational Change process like what has been introduced in this class. I felt that the information provided could be very useful in anyone’s career because it is a more structured way of executing change in an organization with minimal problems during the transition. I am sure that the large companies that I have worked for had some sort of formal change process or model in place when I worked for them. I believe that the communication of the changes could have been done better now that I am aware of what to look for in such a practice. What it boils down to is that now that I am aware that there is a formal process for each of the three areas concerning organizational change according to the Lewin’s model that I used in my MOC project, I will be able to use these processes to assist upper management in any organization that I am a part of in order to make the change as easy as possible. In my current situation, I will recommend to my organization various processes and/or models that are not currently being used for all the changes that we are currently experiencing. For example, when I discussed the MOC project with my CEO and what it was going to be about, he was very interested in the outcome because he was not aware of any type of formal change model to begin with. Many of the decisions that he has made involving the change Rickey and I discussed in our MOC project seem to coincide with a formal process of some sort, however it was not formally identified and specifically followed as we discussed in class during our MOC presentation. The plan is to continue to make recommendations to my employer as changes continue based on the material received and the research completed during the MOC project development. 2.0. Body of Deliverables 2.1. Managing Organizational Change (MOC) Concepts. During the MOC project there were several MOC concepts that I was interested in and had struggles understanding along the way. How it was explained to me was that some of the concepts can be used in more than one stage of the  organizational change with some modification of course. 2.1.1. Change Model Concept I had a lot of struggles trying to decide on a change model with my partner Rickey during the development of our MOC project. Most of which is because I was not able to determine the difference between the Change Model and the Change Management Model. Once I was able to distinguish the two concepts, it made it easier to decide on which one to use. We decided to use the Lewin Change Model for our project. There are three stages to Lewin’s Change model; unfreeze, change, and refreeze. The unfreeze stage of this change model involves preparing the organization to accept the change and that it is necessary for future growth in the organization. You have to be prepared to provide examples of why the change is necessary such as the benefits of the change and that you as management have done your due diligence to research why this would be the best way to make the change. Unfortunately, some changes are not decided by choice. For example, in mine and Rickey’s MOC project, we illustrate that AC4S had to make a change in their Accounting System because it would not be supported in the year 2011. This first stage is usually the most challenging and can be where you experience the most resistance if you have not prepared your organization successfully or received total buy in of those affected by the change. The next stage of Lewin’s Change Model is the actual change itself. This can be the area where individuals begin to resolve the uncertainty that a change has developed. It is also part of the change process where employees start to embrace the change and support the new direction that the organization is going. Experts say that this is not an overnight process. However, in the change that AC4S is experienced in changing their Accounting System, it was continually explained that the new system had a reporting system that would make managing projects much easier because the financial documents can be generated in real-time. This was just one of the many benefits that were provided to employees during the change process. Time and communication are the two keys to success for the changes to occur. People need time to understand the changes and they also need to feel highly connected to the organization throughout the transition period. When you are managing change, this can require a great deal of time and effort and hands-on management is  usually the best approach. (LEWIN’S CHANGE MANAGEMENT MODEL: UNDERSTANDING THE THREE STAGES OF CHANGE, http://www.consultpivotal.com/lewin’s.htm) The final stage of Lewin’s Change Model is the refreeze stage. This is the stage when the people of the organization have incorporated the changes into everyday business and are used all the time. However, sometimes at this stage you may need to adjust some changes for them to be more effective or more beneficial to the organization. At this point, the organization needs to refreeze. This stage is very important to complete. The employees have to have closure in the process in order to want to be involved in futures changes in the organization. In the example of AC4S’ Accounting System change, the President and CEO did not want call the change as being complete until the organization did not have to use the previous system at all. His refreeze stage was considered completed when he shut the old system down completely. 2.1.2. Forces for Change Concept Today, organizations have to continually monitor its external environment in order to maintain a competitive edge. This competitive edge consists of making internal adjustments in order to meet the customer’s needs whether it is a product or service. Here are some examples that illustrate what Kotter identifies as four global environmental forces for change: * Technological, which requires more globally, connected people and faster communication and transportation. * Greater economic integration of currencies and international capital flows. * Maturation and slowdown of domestic markets, leading to greater emphasis on exports and deregulation. * Fall of socialist countries and their reorientation toward capitalist economies. While the latter has led to new opportunities such as larger markets and fewer barriers to entry, it also has been associated with more competition and a demand for increased speed. (Palmer, Ian. Managing Organizational Change, 2nd Edition. McGraw-Hill Lea rning Solutions, 2008. p. 56). In the case of AC4S, they were forced to make their Accounting System change due to technology. They were informed by the supporters of the accounting system software that it will not be supported in the year 2011 back in 2009. I believe that this change was going to be necessary eventually whether it was going to be supported or not, based on the growth of the organization and in order to be able to compete with the much larger  organizations that AC4S competes with and teams with for business. The benefits that were generated by the executive team for this accounting system upgrade illustrated massive improvements in many processes completed internally consisting of the way financial reports are generated, a procurement capability that was not available previously, and a Human Resource module that provides statistical information and is HIPPA compliant. 2.1.3. Images of Change Concept Every change manager has a different image of what managing change means and these images are often based on how the manager of the change can achieve the change and how the change should be approached. At least six images of change management can be identified: directing, navigating, caretaking, coaching, interpreting and nurturing. These images are also considered to be roles that are played during the course of the change. The following identifies all six images (6 Images of Change, http://www.12manage.com/forum.asp?TB=change_management_iceberg&S=48): 1. Director: this role will be played out different for situations like that of communicating change, sustaining change. 2. Navigator: similar to the director role but this one is only given so much power. 3. Caretaker: takes care of issues within change, again through various things like evaluating change. 4. Coach: will coach the people within an organization to carry out change or will sort out relevant issues. 5. Interpreter: will interpret the change that is to be carried to staff, has strong link with moment. 6. Nurturer: facilitates change, makes sure that everyone understands it. I believe that during the change process that several people play several of these roles at the same time. In the example change that I have been referring to at AC4S, the CEO main role during this change was the Director of the change, however there were moments that he was required to play the role of the navigator, the caretaker, the coach, the interpreter and nurturer not only to the VP of Finance but towards the organization as a whole from time to time. I also believe that the VP of Finance played the other five roles or images at one point or another depending on where and what was being done du ring the change. 2.1.4. Change Management Model to Manage the Change Concept Change management models are methods by which the processes of change management are implemented. (Change management models, http://changemanagementmodels.net/change-management-models/) Based on what I have introduced earlier in this essay is that the Change Management Model is used during the actual change that is occurring or taking place. For example, the second stage of the Lewin Change Model discussed earlier in the text as the change stage. Change has to be continuous in an organization in order to keep a competitive edge in your market segment, as well as improve customer satisfaction through various improvements of internal processes. If the change is not managed correctly, it can make or break an organization. This is something that we have discussed several times about in class about different organizations such as Kodak. Kodak decided to hang on to traditions such as you will be a Kodak employee for life that really hurt them in the end when it came necessary to make major changes in the structure of the organization. During the research for my MOC project, Rickey and I found the Kirkpatrick Change model almost matched up to the steps that AC4S performed during the change management. As we stated in our presentation to the AC4S Executive Committee last week, the steps that AC4S followed during the change management portion of changing our accounting system followed very close to the Kirkpatrick steps but was not formally recognized by the organization. We provided them the steps and described how they matched up so that during future changes in the organization so that there will be a more structured method of change management. Below are the steps to the Kirkpatrick Change Management Model: 1. Determine the need or desire for change. – AC4S was informed that they were going to have to change accounting systems due to nonsupport by the software developer. This change was also necessary to meet the needs of the organization when it comes to future growth support. 2. Prepare tentative plans – AC4S hired a consultant to prepare a tentative plan for the change. 3. Analyze probable reaction – The consultant provided several solutions that included the accounting system software and the organizations that will support them. 4. Make a final decision – The AC4S Executive Team made a decision on the software and support package based on the presentation provided by the consultant that was an expert in this field. 5. Establish a timetable – The consultant provided the Executive Staff a timetable of approximately how  long that it would take the necessary changes to bring the new system online and fully functional. 6. Communicate the change – The CEO began communication with all employees within the organization in order to initiate the change via a KickOff Meeting. The VP of Finance managed several other face-to-face meetings with the change and technical teams in order to determine the progress of the change establish timetables and additional directions during the change. 7. Implement the change – AC4S actually implementing the change selected by the executive staff. 2.2. Terminal Course Objectives (TCOs) 2.2.1. TCO A Depending on the organization, change can be generated by many different forces. As I have said previously, in order for an organization to stay competitive in any field of service, change has to be mastered and incorporated in everyday activity. A way for organizations to stay competitive is to continue to improve internal processes and procedures that will in turn improve customer satisfaction because you are providing more efficient customer service. Some organizations like AC4S that are IT service providers have to continually change due to the driving forces of technology. In my MOC project, technology was the driving force for the change in the accounting system which is an internal process. With the IT services that AC4S provides to customers, technology is also an external driving force that the organization has to keep up with in regards to new technology in order to assist the end user of our services and/or products in making their work more efficient. If AC4S did not continue to address change in the organization such as technology, then the organization would eventually fail to meet the guidelines of the Department of Defense which is their major client. AC4S will not be able to compete with other organizations if change is not continuously addressed, because other organizations may be able to provide the same level of customer service at a cheaper price due to upgrades in technology as one example. 2.2.2. TCO B Based on conversations that I have had with my CEO in developing the material for my MOC project, I discovered that the organization that I work for does not have a Change Model that it follows or any other model that maybe used  during the change process. However, AC4S did use a consultant that participated in the change process in the form of a change agent. The Change Agent and/or consultant helped guide us through the change. However, I believe that if the organization uses the suggestions for the different models that AC4S should use for future changes that they will be more structured and completed sooner than expected. I say this because even though AC4S did not have any type of models in regards to organizational change that the change went fairly smooth. During our research for the MOC project, Rickey and I evaluated many different models that are involved in the change process and selected the models that fit the organization based on the fact that AC4S is an IT services provider. 2.2.3. TCO E Resistance to change is not uncommon in most organizations. I believe that one of the key reasons for the resistance to change is the fear of the unknown or the outcome of the change. An employee may be more or less resistant to change depending on whether the employee feels that the change is good or bad and how that change may impact them. (Managing Change: Managing People’s Fear, http://management.about.com/cs/people/a/MngChng092302.htm). There are many reasons for resistance to change besides fear such as comfort, not perceiving a need for the change, no faith in the process, lack of trust and lack of knowledge. When dealing with resistance to change, it is important to identify who is resisting and how they are resisting to change as soon as possible because if not it can significantly slow down the change process or completely interrupt the change. As a manager, you can use the Kurt Lewin’s Force Field Analysis technique to combat resistance to change. This technique is used to identify the driving forces for change and reasons for resisting the change or restraining forces. According to Kurt Lewin, â€Å"An issue is held in balance by the interaction of two opposing sets of forces – those seeking to promote change (driving forces) and those attempting to maintain the status quo (restraining forces)†. Based on Lewin’s theory, change can only happen if the equilibrium of the two forces that have been changed either by adding conditions that will cause an individual to be more favorable to the change or reducing the resisting forces to the change. In order for the change to be successful, the manager in charge of the change  has to either strengthen the driving forces of the change or weaken the restraining forces of the change. During the course of our MOC project, we completed a change readiness exercise on AC4S. Based on the results of the exercise, AC4S’ change in regards to their accounting system w ill most likely succeed. The responses that we provided were based merely on my impression on the organization as a whole and are subject to change. The responses that were provided were based on observations during my employment with AC4S for the last three years. 2.2.4. TCO G The process of creating a vision for an organization starts in the mind of the leader, usually a dream for the future of the organization. The leader of the organization should not only develop the vision of the organization but develop a strategic plan on communicating that vision in order to be sold and shaped to the organization. Refer to the following key questions that the vision should answer in order for individuals to want to share in the same vision: Where were we? Where are we? Where are we going? Most importantly, how will we get there? It is critical to communicate these items to an organization in order to get the support needed for any change that may need to take place in order to meet the vision of the organization. Without knowing the vision, organization may struggle with change and labor/management problems may incur. Below are five elements used in developing the organization’s vision. (Scott, et al., 1993) 1. Values are the principles, the standards, the actions that people in an organization represent, which they consider inherently worthwhile and of the utmost importance. They include: how people treat each other, how people, groups and organizations conduct their businesses and about what is most important to the organization. 2. Scanning the current situation involves looking beyond the organization to its customers and suppliers and industry trends for information on what is important to them. Involving the internal customers – the employees – is also an important part of the process. 3. Mission is the core purpose for which a person, team or organization is created. It is summarized in a clear, short, inspiring statement that focuses attention in one clear direction by stating the purpose of the individual’s business or group’s uniqueness. 4. Visioning is picturing  excellence – what the person, team or organization wants to create in its best possible future. It is an evocative description of what is possible. A vision is not â€Å"something out there† that is impractical, but a way of setting a compelling scenario. Creating this image of the future requires the ability to expand one’s sense of possibilities and then focus on what new initiatives can lead to success. 5. Implementation includes the strategy, plans, procedures and key actions that will put all of the above into action. In regards to the change that AC4S experienced in the change from one accounting system to another, the CEO illustrated during the kickoff meeting that with the rapid growth that our organization is experiencing that the organization would have to change accounting systems in order to keep up with our growth. Also, that this particular accounting system was selected because other known large organizations that support the Department of Defense which include our competitors and teaming partners that have the same system that has been approved and certified by the government. Finally, this accounting system will provide capabilities that will improve internal processes that again will improve customer satisfaction. 3.0. Closing Statement During this course I have learned many organizational change concepts that I feel can be applied towards the organization with which I am currently employed, AC4S. I have identified several concepts and objectives that will be very beneficial to future changes at AC4S that will occur due to the exponential growth that is currently being experienced. These changes will be more structured and organized now that a formal Change Model and Change Management Model have been identified and that other MOCK concepts have been introduced. I appreciate the fact that the knowledge I have gained from this course will not only serve me well through my experiences with my employer, but will also further strengthen my management abilities.

Burma’s Peaceful Transition to a Democratic Future Essay

Burma is an Asian country that attained its independence on 4th January 1948 and is bordered by China on the North and Thailand on the East. it was referred to as the union of Burma in 1948. On January 4th 1974 it changed its name to the union of Burma and then on 23rd September, 1888 it reverted to the union of Burma. In 1989, then it changed the name again to the union of Myanmar and this was through the efforts by the state law and order restoration council (SLORC). It is a country whose population has had a lot of significance in Burma’s politics. The Burmese government is known as Myanmar and assumed an authoritarian feature that is dominated by a military leader. There have been substantial efforts to switch to a more democratic moves but these efforts have be hampered by the military which is against this move for example in 1990, a parliamentary government was elected but the Burma’s military could not let it to convene. Burma has a population of about 50 million people and has 500,000 troops who have been helping the government to create a regime of fear by denying the citizens most of their basic rights. Some democratic leaders have come up and visualized a viable idea of freeing the people from the torture they get from the government. In 1992 with his party the National League for Democracy, managed to scoop 82 % of all country’s parliamentary seats but the military regime which used dictatorship principles declined to transfer power to the leaders that were democratically elected. For more than ten years later, Aung San Suu kyi was put on house arrest and was released only in 2002. Her release was viewed by many as the only hope to the establishment of Burmese democratic government that would be sensitive to the people’s needs unfortunately in 2003 herself and many of her supporters were killed by a rowdy mob that was sponsored by the government. This conflict between the majority and the minority became evident after Burma achieved independence in 1948. It was at this time that Aung San Suu was given the mandate to control all those areas that traditionally were not controlled by only single community. After 1948 when the Burmese constitution was signed, constitution right have not been exercised on the minorities, they also do not have pieces of land and especially those that formerly belonged to their people. Since the war period, the Burman minorities have been sidelined by the majority who are the Burmese Burma was a British colony from the 1920s and this continued up to 1948. Though the Burma’s heartland was ruled directly by the colonial powers, the surrounding regions were allowed to rule themselves and this led the loyalty to split along the ethnic lines. The dominant ethnic group is the Burmese that comprise of 68 percent of the whole population and minority accounts for the remaining 32 percent. Religion in Burma has played a key role in causing further divisions. There are many religious in Burma for example there are Muslims, Buddhists and Hindus. These religious divisions have been aggravating the situations for example in 1991; more than a quarter million Muslims were evicted from their homes. This was exacerbated by the fact that there were many alliances formed. They were forced to cross the border to Bangladesh where they were accepted as refugees by the Bangladesh government but were helped by the international community with the basic needs. Today, the Burmese government is led a prime minister whose regime is greatly accused of displacing thousands of Burmese communities both internally and externally, some community such as Karen, Mon and Kareni were forced to seek refuge in Thailand. Those that are internationally displaced receive a better treatment than those that are internally displaced as the later are mistreated by the military. It is estimated that about 600,000 citizens have been internally displaced and are constantly looking for ways they could avoid slavery. They are used as slaves by this government as many of them are conscripted in the army by force or are left with no other choice except from joining the drug network that is sponsored by the state. There are various movements that have been trying to free the population of Burma from military. Some of these are; the Junta, the Karen National Union and the Moi Tai army though their efforts did not materialize because most of the current military officials are from the community with the majority that oppresses the minorities. So, it is really hard to make any advance but there is one very vibrant group that has mobilized the minorities to participate in a non-violent peaceful demonstration. Led by Buddhist monks, these people protested against the abuse of human rights and matched in groups of more than hundred thousand protestors in the streets. The Head of the State, General Shwe who is also the chairman of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) is greatly criticized by the United States and the European governments which have imposed various sanctions that are enforced thorough consumer boycotts. The United States of America and the European governments using their influence led other Western nations to stop cooperating with Burma. Though these governments have been relentless in enforcing bans against Burma, some western companies are still cooperating due to some loopholes in sanction application. Most of these are the oil companies. Such as the American oil company and the French oil company. Also Cherron and the Yadana natural gas pipeline that runs from Burma all the way to Thailand is so much in use. There are still Asian businesses that operate in Burma for example the Daewoo Company that invests in extracting resources. The United States government in collaboration with the European governments also imposed sanctions on Burma’s clothing as well western nations to stop sourcing from Burma and more particularly those shops that were either partially or wholly supported by the government. After those peaceful protests, a good number of people stopped getting their products from Burma and these were led by an individual like Levi Strauss who was very vibrant in keeping up with the fight against the government products for example from 1992,many American cloth and shoes companies stopped acquiring their properties from Burma. In 2003, the united government banned Burma’s imports as in accordance with the Burmese freedom and democracy Act that was amended in the year 2003 however, some people have attacked this United States strategy of forcing this government to step down as has led many people to suffer greatly. Despite these critics, the move was supported by the Burmese democratic movement and has supposed by the Burmese democratic movement and has vowed to keep encouraging the western world to impose harder and stricter sanctions against the military government (Smith M. 1991) Burma insurgency and the politics of ethnicity London and New Jersey. Zed books. The human watches in Burma have highlighted all the crimes against humanity but there is no judiciary to address the problem any such move faces strong opposition from the military government. There is no free communication that is allowed by the Burmese military government in fact no one is allowed to access the internet and the search engines such as Google, G mail, hotmail and yahoo so the Burmese citizens are less informed. What the government has done is that it does not allow these companies to operate in its territory and as such they are blocked. If people have to access materials from the internet, they must first of all be filtered and censored by the military government. They use US filtering soft wares such as the Fortinet to censor emails, web pages and pro-democratic pages. In Burma, child soldiers are forcefully conscripted. They are also forced to punish their fellow military friends by being giving death threats incase they do not as they bare told. Children are conscripted in army by force. These children are promised to be jailed if they do not accept to join the army. Since the military regime usurped power in 1962, after overthrowing sthe democratically elected government, this regime has been one of the worst violators of human rights in the whole universe. The climax reached after the (SLORC) State Law and Order Restoration Council was changed To State Peace And Development Council sometimes back in 1997, November. This party in 1988 seized the states powers established itself and forcefully removed the little pretence that was there that they were upholding the dignity of the citizens and took part in massacring the demonstrates who were demonstrating against the creation of this undemocratic regime. They were marching in the streets of Rangoon and Burmese towns and cities when the military forces descended on them killing thousands. According to the comment that was made by the amnesty international human rights violation and torture were like a Burmese institution and they even listed various forms of abuses that were perpetrated by this corrupt regime. This report was further affirmed by the United Nations and other human rights watchdog. These abuses that they listed were for example torture, murder, litany abuses, forced displacements of citizens, holding or arresting individuals and keeping them in detention houses without trials and various litany abuses. These were the activities that were characteristic of this military regime and citizens have suffered enormously under it. Children were also abused by the military that forcefully conscript them in the army and also the villagers were forced to work for the military. Children are reportedly said to have been raped and defiled by the troops. The military operations that are from time to time conducted in various villages and these led to deterioration of living standards for example this was witnessed in Karen state and Shan state in 2001. This has forced many to be to run away to the neighboring states such as Thailand while those who are unable to move out of the country were internally displaced. The internally displaced and lived in the camps for internally displaced received very harsh treatment by the ruling military regime than those who manage to seek refuge in the neighboring states. The military regime do not in any way follow the internationally agreed freedoms for example the civil and political rights though Burma is a signatory to various international peace accords. Everything that happens in this country must be censored including the exhibitions. There is completely no freedom of expression. Even publications are not spared as they are censored by the government infact it is only sports and romance magazines are not censored. The broadcasting media houses are state owned and the government has the monopoly over them. They only air information that is favorable to them for example you it is common to see junta’s generals making speeches and from these stations and instead they go for less biased information. The SLOPCS has been very determined in curtailing the freedom of speech. Though they try to censor the information given by the public media, there are international ones that give more accurate information and these are what people rely on. These are stations such as the British broadcasting corporation (BBC), the democratic voice of Burma, radio Free Asia and the Voice of America (VOA). Apart from these international radio stations, any other person who goes against this decree risked twenty years imprisonment as per the 1996 decree. These are some of the laws that are enforced by this government without any regard to the international law standards. Burma is a resource-rich country that suffers from government controls and abject rural poverty. The military regime took steps in the early 1990s to liberalize the economy after decades of failure under the â€Å"Burmese Socialism†, but those efforts have since stalled. Burma has been unable to achieve monetary or fiscal stability, resulting in an economy that suffers from serious macroeconomic imbalances including a steep inflation rate and an official exchange rate that overvalues the Burmese kyat by more than 100 times the market rate. Burma is a nation that is rich in various natural resources for example the country has precious such as pearls and rubies. The country is also rich in natural gases. In 1962 its economy was performing well when compared to other economies of the developing nations but the socialist party which assumed power later changed the economic status of Burma for example it replaced the capitalism mode of economy with socialism that advocated for central planning as opposed to central planning. Due to this economic change it became one of the poorest developed nations of world. In addition, most overseas development assistance was cut after the junta suppressed the democracy movement in 1988 and subsequently ignored the results of the 1990 election. A crisis in the private banking sector in early 2003 followed by economic moves against Burma by the United States, the European Union, and Japan – including a US ban on imports from Burma and a Japanese freeze on new bilateral economic aid further weakened the Burmese economy. Burma is data poor, and official statistics are often dated and inaccurate. Published estimates of Burma’s foreign trade are greatly understated because of the size of the black market and border trade – often estimated to be one to two times the official economy. Better relations with foreign countries and relaxed controls at home are needed to promote foreign investment, exports, and tourism. In February 2003, a major banking crisis hit the country’s 20 private banks, shutting them down and disrupting the economy. In July and August 2003, the United States imposed a ban on all Burmese imports and a ban on provision of financial services, hampering Burma’s ability to obtain foreign exchange. As of January 2004, the largest private banks remained moribund, leaving the private sector with little formal access to credit outside of government contracts. In Burma the rate of unemployment is very high and the prices of commodities are very high and life standards are very high. According to one businessman said that the situation in Burma was moving from bad to worse and that there was looming danger of social unrest, lectures, professors and pipeline construction workers are poorly paid. Due the constant mass uprising by the democratic movement against this regime, it was rendered bankrupt in 1988 in the onset of the 21st century, it was on the lowest income generating countries in the world but it has greatly reversed this situation because it dropped its economic isolationism. It has also welcomed the foreign investors in its economy so that it would strengthen its military bases. In response to its call, UNOCAL and TOTAL oil companies came to its rescue. In Burma, there are military controlled economic sectors such as Myanmar economic holdings limited and the Myanmar economic corporation that is, UMEH and MEC respectively. These two industries which are controlled by the Burmese military are the ones that dominate the economic sector of Burma. UMEH is geared towards military strengthening while MEC is geared towards shifting the defense cost from the public sector to the private ones but both corporations have a part to play in strengthening the military base of Burma. Though European Union has been imposing economic sanctions to Burma its sanctions are not as stricter as those of the United States. It has invested a lot in Burma and it doesn’t want to lose the much that it has invested. United States has been very keen in reinforcing the bans or sanctions that have been imposed on Burma. The US government particularly has imposed a ban on its investments in this country and has also placed a ban against Burmese exports. Since the bans were proposed, US is the only nation that has implemented them. In the past, the European Union has not been imposing strict sanctions but starting from last year it has increased economic sanctions on precious metals and on imports such as gemstone and timber but they still demand for fresh elections to be held and human rights to be respected. It is only thorough these ways that the country can witness a transition from military rule to a democratic one. It had eased its sanctions basing its reasoning on its above conditions. Japan has been very friendly to Burma. It has never failed to support this military regime though on a small scale. Infact it is one of the major donor in Burma but it is reconsidering its foreign policy on Burma especially after a Japanese journalist was killed. It said that it would cut the aid that Burma gets from it. The other reason for it to withhold its financial aid was in 2003 when San Suu Kyi was kept in detention by the Junta. They believed that was the only best move that would pressurize the military regime to address the democratic principles that have never been allowed to take root in this regime. In 2002,Japan supported Burma’s government with 17 million US dollars on top of that it gave Burma the technical support it needed Japan which was all this time shying away from enforcing sanctions on Burma as the US and UK were doing, it changed its policy after this saga. The British government pressurized the European Union to increase sanctions until san Suu Kyi was realized but it was assured that these sanctions would be eased if Suu Kyi was released. That nation that seems to support Burma or appears or appears or appears to be annually to Burma face violation by the US and UK government and this has occurred to china and North Korea. This is based on misconception that these close friends would be providing economic support to this government that has little regards for its citizens. The United States for example was very bitter because Burmese government suppressed democracy and imposed its will on people and that is why it has imposed sanctions. The heroic stature of Aung San Suu Kyi has greatly helped in making Myanmar to be recognized world wide. China has been blamed for helping this region for its support. The western world cannot sway the Juntas government for this to be effective, then the regional ASEAN countries such as India, Thailand and especially china must first be willing to transform this government. China has been asking Myanmar to quell violence and control protesters but it seems this is falling on deaf ears. China has been helping Burma in international affairs management for example it has been very vibrant in keeping the issue of Burma out of the United Nation’s agenda but the United States and the British governments have been on the other side. Due to many economic sanctions that have been imposed on this regime, it finds it even hard to provide aid to its people who living in poverty. The aid that Burmese gets is below par and is the lowest in the region especially when it compared with that of the local countries for example, an individual’s aid is counted as 2. 5 dollars per head while that of Laos’s stands at 63 US dollars. China has been accused of providing Junta with military aid thus limiting the chances of democracy being realized. It has continued to conduct business relations with. Burma but it is because of some factors that are understandable and some of these are that Burma is rich in useful natural gases that china is interested in again Burma provides China with an overland route to the Indian ocean so Chinese government would not do anything to destroy its relations with Burma. Though there have been calls for better treatment of protestors, they fall on deaf ears. The amnesty international has been pressurizing the United Nations to impose embargos and sanctions on China so that peace in Burma would be realized. This is based on understanding that the Burmese military government relies on china for most of its assistance so, if china was to cut its military aid then, the Burmese government would be unable to control the nation there by creating a platform of peace transition. If the new government would come in place, it would not find it hard to sustain itself even without getting any financial aid from other countries. There are a lot of minerals that aid from other countries. There are a lot of minerals that would help the government to finance its entire government projects. The new government should create confidence among its citizens so that they would participate in the economy thereby making the economy of this nation even stronger. This government should also extend its business relations with other nations as many of them do not have those minerals and definitely they would be so much interested in them. Work cited. Altsean-Burma: Alternative Asean Network on Burma campaigns, advocacy and capacity-building for human rights. 2008. Accessed on Wednesday, March, 2008 at http://www. altsean. org/ Andrew S. Burma’s Armed Forces: Power without Glory. Norwalk: East Bridge. 2002; 45-56 Burma net News. Accessed on Wednesday, April 30, 2008 at www. burmanet. org BBC News. Analysis: Burma’s economic Crisis. 15th March, 2002, 13:47 GMT Accessed at http://news. bbc. co. uk/1/hi/business/1871326. stm Brookings. Quality, independence and impact. Retrieved on April 30, 2008 at www. brookings. edu Donald M. S. Burma-China Relations: Playing with Fire. Asian Survey, Vol. 37, No. 6, 1997; 533 International Crisis Group. Working To Reduce Crisis World Wide. Retrieved on April 30, 2008 at http://www. crisisgroup. org/home/index. cfm Myanmar. com. New Light of Myanmar. April 30, 2008 Accessed on April 30, 2008. At http://www. myanmar. com Philip S. Robertson: Sanctions Are Working in Burma. 2003. Online commentary at www. irrawaddy. org/com/2003/com31. html Accessed on August 2003. Smith M. Burma insurgency and the politics of ethnicity. London and New Jersey. 1991; 78