Consuming and Fashion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Consuming and Fashion - Essay Example The essay "Consuming and Fashion" discusses the fashion and consuming. The ever increasing tastes and preferences alongside the increased product differentiation and the global practice of trade have meant that the role of marketing within any business entity is very integral; certainly the most crucial. Marketing encompasses the processes of analysis of the target population (market segmentation) to identify trends in consumer needs and wants; new product research and development; product distribution and promotion effort; and the feedback mechanism. The changes in consumers’ tastes and preferences mean that there is a trend in which products and services are in demand at a given time and which are not. This has a direct relation to the sales volume and profitability of an organization. Therefore, fashion in this regard, refers to the popularity in demand for a given product or service at a given point in time i.e. trends in consumption behavior. Fashion styles differ between individuals, and can be reflected in a large group at any given point in time as a measure of both social identification, and distinction (Illomen, 2011). However, this definition has devolved into a limited sense to mean exclusively trendy clothing and other body accessories such as jewelry. Perhaps this is attributable to the huge marketing efforts that are visibly expended into this particular segment of the economy. The mechanics of such a transfer of meaning is a subject not addressed by this report.

Career as a Fire Fighter or EMT Essay Example for Free

Career as a Fire Fighter or EMT Essay Saving ives and helping people in trouble is very rewarding career. A fire fighter is a first responder to natural disasters, fires, and vehicle wrecks. A firefighter fights fires to prevent loss of life, and/or destruction of property and the environment. Firefighting is a highly technical skill that requires professionals who have had extinctive training in both general firefighting techniques and specialized areas of expertise. Fires can rapidly spread and endanger many lives; however, with modern firefighting techniques, catastrophe is usually, but not always, avoided. Fire ighters goals are to save lives, property and the environment. The rewarding Job of saving a life ofa civilian is an important part of this career. Not one individual can fully extend their thanks to an individual that saves them at least another day alive. Work involves responsibility for the protection of life and property through firefighting and rescue operations, usually under close supervision. In large cities, firefighters may work on special squads that require advanced training. Firefighting and emergency rescue work, including the administration of first aid and emergency medical treatment. Employees are also required to learn and participate in the operation of firefighting equipment and apparatus. A major portion of time is spent on pre-flre surveys; training, studying methods, techniques and organization of firefighting and on routine duties in the care and maintenance of Fire ; Rescue Department property and equipment. Shifts involve an element of personal danger and require working on extended shifts. Highly organized and extinctive training makes the proses of this Job preform smoothly. Employment of firefighters is expected to grow by nine percent, slower than the ostsecondary firefighter education and paramedic training should have the best prospects. Emergency rescue teams will undoubtable be necessary in the future for any growing town or city. The need for fire rescue will always increase on account of natural disasters and disasters caused by men. Prospective firefighters must be at least eighteen years old and high school graduates to take the fire exam. In recent years, most applicants have had a few years of college or completed two- or four-year programs in fire science at community colleges or universities. Experienced firefighters sometimes take these courses to prepare for promotion. These courses are also useful for those preparing for Jobs as fire-science specialists. The firefighter exam includes a written section; tests of strength, physical stamina, and agility; and a medical examination, including a drug screening. Applicants with the highest scores undergo several weeks of formal training at an academy. Some fire departments offer apprenticeship programs that last three or four years. Experienced firefighters go on practice drills to maintain their skills. I plan on attending the University of South Alabama to receive my four- year degree and EMT training. The University of South Alabamas Center for Emergency

Great Barrier Reef :: essays research papers

One topic that came to mind while researching this paper was the Great Barrier Reef, which I had wanted to research for my presentation, but information was more abundant for the topic I did choose. The size of the reef and its tourist potential are great in their respective ways.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The reef is the largest of its kind extending 2300 km along the North East Coast of Australia from Cape York to the northern part of South Queensland. Most may believe that the reef alone is one large organism, but is amazingly a network of roughly 2900 individual reefs to form one large reef that is roughly the size of the U.K.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The remains of what are called polyps form the reef. New polyps grow everyday, which means that the reef is growing still today. The dead polyps form the white structures of the reef while the live polyps give it its color. For the reef to survive, the waters around it must be greater than 18 degrees Centigrade, the sunlight must be able to penetrate the water, and the water must be clean and salty.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As I stated previously, this is the most extensive reef system anywhere in the world. It is also the largest structure that is made completely of living organisms. It is the breeding area of a number of marine life and endangered species. The humpback whale travels here from the Antarctic to give birth to their young. Also, six of the seven species of sea turtle travel here to breed on the reef.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The entire ref is a marine park with zones that have different uses of water activities with the exception of fishing or collecting. These activities extend to the actual life in the reef. The corals are an animal in the jellyfish family, but they contain a solid limestone skeleton. During the day, the coral put themselves into the form of the skeleton to camouflage as a rock to hide from their predators.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The plants of the reef are not very visible, but are important food to the life that lives on and around the reef. They produce sugars through photosynthesis, which the coral absorb for up to 90% of their food. The corals provide shelter for the plants and are a good source of carbon dioxide.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are also over 1500 different kinds of fish that call the reef home, and each had their own job to keep the reef healthy.

Drag in aircrafts

There are four forces that act on an aircraft in flight: lift, weight, thrust, and drag. Aircraft’s motion in air is dependent on the relative magnitude and direction of these forces. Fig -1 below shows the direction of these forces. Fig 1 (Benson, 2006) The weight of an airplane is always directed towards the center of the earth. The thrust is normally directed forward along the center-line of the aircraft. Lift and drag are aerodynamic forces on the airplane.Drag acts in a direction opposite to the motion of the aircraft and hence is sometimes referred to as the aerodynamic friction, while lift force acts perpendicular to the motion. An aircraft is in a state of equilibrium when the thrust and drag are equal and opposite. It will continue to move forward at the same uniform speed. If thrust or drag becomes greater than the opposite force, the aircraft loses its state of equilibrium. If thrust is greater than drag, the aircraft will accelerate. If drag is greater than thrust, the aircraft will lose speed and eventually descend.When lift and weight are equal and opposite, the airplane is in a state of equilibrium. If lift is greater than weight, the aircraft will climb. If weight is greater than lift, the airplane will descend. Drag is the aerodynamic force encountered as an airplane pushes through the air, which tends to slow the airplane down. Drag is generated by the contact of a solid body with a fluid, in this case due to the interaction between the plane body and air. Drag force, which is a mechanical force, is generated by every part of the airplane including the engines.It is a vector quantity i. e. has both magnitude and direction. Drag must be overcome by thrust in order to achieve forward motion. Drag is generated by nine conditions associated with the motion of air particles over the aircraft. Although prediction of drag and wind tunnel drag measurements of models yield good results, final drag evaluation must be obtained by flight tests. Sou rces of Drag in aircrafts Drag can be thought of as aerodynamic friction, and one of the sources of drag is the skin friction between the molecules of the air and the solid surface of the aircraft.Drag can also be thought of as aerodynamic resistance to the motion of the object through the fluid. This source of drag depends on the shape of the aircraft and is called form drag. As air flows around a body, the local velocity and pressure are changed. Since pressure is a measure of the momentum of the gas molecules and a change in momentum produces a force, a varying pressure distribution will produce a force on the body. This causes pressure drag. As an aircraft approaches the speed of sound, shock waves are generated along the surface.There is a drag penalty, known as wave drag that is associated with the formation of the shock waves. The magnitude of the wave drag depends on the Mach number of the flow. Ram drag is associated with slowing down the free stream air as air is brought i nside the aircraft. Jet engines and cooling inlets on the aircraft are sources of ram drag. (Benson, 2006) There is an additional drag component caused by the generation of lift, known as induced drag, is the drag due to lift. It is also called â€Å"drag due to lift† because it only occurs on finite, lifting wings.This drag occurs because the flow near the wing tips is distorted span wise as a result of the pressure difference from the top to the bottom of the wing. Swirling vortices are formed at the wing tips, which produce a downwash of air behind the wing which is very strong near the wing tips and decreases toward the wing root. The local angle of attack of the wing is increased by the induced flow of the down wash, giving this, downstream-facing, component to the aerodynamic force acting over the entire wing. Types of Drag in aircrafts There are several types of drag: form, pressure, skin friction, parasite, induced, wave and ram.However, form, pressure, skin friction, wave and ram drags are collectively known as parasite drag. Hence, there are only two types of drag: parasite and induced Parasite drag – Profile or parasite drag is caused by the airplane pushing the air out of the way as it moves forward. The parasite drag of a typical airplane consists primarily of the skin friction, roughness, and pressure drag of the major components. Some additional parasite drag is also due to things like fuselage upsweep, control surface gaps, base areas, and other extraneous items.The basic parasite drag area for airfoil and body shapes can be computed from the following expression: f = k cf Swet, where the skin friction coefficient, cf , which is based on the exposed wetted area includes the effects of roughness, and the form factor, k, accounts for the effects of both super-velocities and pressure drag. Swet is the total wetted area of the body or surface. Computation of the overall parasite drag requires that we compute the drag area of each of t he major components (fuselage, wing, nacelles and pylons, and tail surfaces) and then evaluate the additional parasite drag components described above.Hence it is written as: CDp = S ki cfi Sweti / Sref + CDupsweep + CDgap+ CDnac_base + CDmisc, where the first term includes skin friction, and pressure drag at zero lift of the major components. cfi is the average skin friction coefficient for a rough plate with transition at flight Reynolds number. Equivalent roughness is determined from flight test data. (http://adg. stanford. edu/aa241/drag/parasitedrag. html) Induced drag – Induced drag is the part of the force produced by the wing that is parallel to the relative wind, i. e. the lift.As it is a consequence of the vortices it is sometimes called vortex drag. Induced drag is least at minimum AOA and is greatest at the maximum AOA i. e. angle of attack. Induced drag = (k ? CL? / A) ? Q ? S where A is the wing aspect ratio. (Preston, R) The magnitude of induced drag depends on the amount of lift being generated by the wing and on the wing geometry Long, thin (chord wise) wings have low induced drag; short wings with a large chord have high induced drag. An airplane must fight its way through both kinds of drag in order to maintain steady flight.. Total drag is a sum of Parasite and Induced drag. Total Drag = Parasite drag + Induced drag However, the total drag of an aircraft is not simply the sum of the drag of its components. When the components are combined into a complete aircraft, one component can affect the air flowing around and over the airplane, and hence, the drag of one component can affect the drag associated with another component. These effects are called interference effects, and the change in the sum of the component drags is called interference drag. Thus, (Drag)1+2 = (Drag)1 + (Drag)2 + (Drag)interference (Johnston, D)Generally, interference drag will add to the component drags but in a few cases, for example, adding tip tanks to a wing , total drag will be less than the sum of the two component drags because of the reduction of induced drag. Total drag and its variation with altitude The equation for total drag is: D = CD x S x ? rV2 (Preston, R) where, CD is the coefficient of drag. It must be subdivided into two parts, the Cdi (Coefficient of induced drag) and CDp (Coefficient of parasite drag. ). Therefore it can be written as: D = (Cdi + Cdp) x S x ? rV2 (Preston, R)The airplane's total drag determines the amount of thrust required at a given airspeed. Thrust must equal drag in steady flight. Lift and drag vary directly with the density of the air. As air density increases, lift and drag increase and as air density decreases, lift and drag decrease. Thus, both lift and drag will decrease at higher altitudes. Fig 1 shows the total drag curve which represents drag against velocity of the object. The fuel-flow versus velocity graph for an air graph is derived from this graph, and generally looks as shown in Fig 2 Fig – 1 (Preston, R) Fig – 2 (Preston, R) From the above drag it is seen that the total drag is minimum at a certain velocity. This occurs when the parasitic drag is equal to the induced drag. Below this speed induced drag dominates, and above this speed parasite drag dominates. Design engineers are interested in minimizing the total drag. Unfortunately many factors may conflict. For example, longer wing span reduces induced drag, but the larger frontal area usually means a higher coefficient of parasite drag. Conversely, a high wing loading (i. e.a small wing) with a small aspect ratio produces the lowest possible parasite drag but unfortunately is the produces for a lot of induced drag. In recent time it is seen that jet airliners have longer wings, to reduce induced drag, and then fly at higher altitudes to reduce the parasite drag. This causes no improvement in aerodynamic efficiency, but the higher altitudes do result in more efficient engine operation. (Preston, R) Angle of Attack (AOA), is the angle between the wing and the relative wind. Everything else being costant, an increase in AOA results in an increase in lift.This increase continues until the stall AOA is reached then the trend reverses itself and an increase in AOA results in decreased lift. The pilot uses the elevators to change the angle of attack until the wings produce the lift necessary for the desired maneuver. Besides AOA other factors also contribute to the production of lift, like relative wind velocity and air density i. e. temperature and altitude. Changing the size or shape of the wing (lowering the flaps) will also change the production of lift. Airspeed is absolutely necessary to produce lift.If there is no airflow past the wing, no air can be diverted downward. At low airspeed, the wing must fly at a high AOA to divert enough air downward to produce adequate lift. As airspeed increases, the wing can fly at lower AOAs to produce the needed lift. This is why airplane s flying relatively slow must be nose high (like an airliner just before landing or just as it takes off) but at high airspeeds fly with the fuselage fairly level. The key is that the wings don't have to divert fast moving air down nearly as much as they do to slow moving air.Air density also contributes to the wing's ability to produce lift. This is manifested primarily in an increase in altitude, which decreases air density. As the density decreases, the wing must push a greater volume of air downward by flying faster or push it down harder by increasing the angle of attack. This is why aircraft that fly very high must either go very fast e. g. Mach 3, or must have a very large wing for its weight. This is why the large passenger airplanes cruise at higher altitude to reduce drag, and hence save on the furl costs.(â€Å"Aircraft for Amateurs†, 1999) Small sized aircrafts have lower than normal Reynolds number. The drag coefficient attributable to skin friction is hence high er for the small aircraft. For this reason, the maximum lift-drag ratios characteristic of business jet aircraft tend to be lower than those of the large transports. Hence, the smaller flights can fly at relatively lower altitudes. References Books John A. Roberson & Clayton T. Crowe, 1997, Engineering fluid Mechanics, 6th ed. , John Weily & Sons Inc. , ISBN 0-471-14735-4.Clement Klienstreuer, 1997, Engineering Fluid Dynamics, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-49670-5 Websites â€Å"Aircraft for Amateurs†, 11th Jan. 1999 http://www. fas. org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/intro. htm Benson, T. , â€Å"The Beginner’s guide to Aeronautics†. , 14th March 2006 http://www. grc. nasa. gov/WWW/K-12/////airplane/ Johnston, D. , â€Å"Drag†, http://www. centennialofflight. gov/essay/Theories_of_Flight/drag/TH4. htm â€Å"Parasitic Drag†, http://adg. stanford. edu/aa241/drag/parasitedrag. html Preston, R. , â€Å"Total Drag† and â€Å"Flight Controls† , http://selair. selkirk. bc. ca/aerodynamics1/

Calveta Dining Services Essay

Calveta Dining Services, Inc.: Case Analysis Abstract Calveta Dining Services, Inc. was a $2 billion, privately held firm that managed food service operations for nearly 1,000 senior living facilities (SLFs) in the United States. It was built on Antonio Calveta’s passion for food and traditional family values. It made better food that was more nutritious for the residents of the SLFs whose current food budgets did not exceed. It also provided with not only higher-quality food but also more personalized service. Presently, Calveta Dining Services ran food services for 976 SLFs and employed 15,000 people. When Antonio retired from his 35 years of leadership, he named his eldest son, Frank, as the new CEO and was asked to double the company’s revenues within five years, of which 2 years have passed without any credible strategy adopted yet. He did not want to disturb the special company culture or risk their reputation for quality food services on the race to double the re venue. Now he finds it difficult to carry out his father’s directives. The humanistic and emphatically pro-employee company culture should not be disturbed while the growth strategy takes place. Currently, he is in a dilemma whether to expand beyond the SLF market and he is worried if he could continue to maintain the quality level, for which Calveta is renowned, in this process. Analysis In order to increase the revenue as promised to his father, Frank has to consider growth strategies for his organization. He has around three strategies in his mind and has to work on them to see which one brings the maximum benefit and fulfils his needs aptly. The strategies that he has in mind are either to continue in the existing situation itself or introduce it to the hospital segment. He also has thought of taking up Great Southwest Dining Service

The Tesco store Essay Example

The Tesco store Essay Example The Tesco store Essay The Tesco store Essay As we have chosen to report on Tesco Plc as our main company to research and advise after comparison with competition. We will compare Tesco with one of its closest market rivals; Sainsburys, to provide a analysis of what they are doing better and can learn from in order to compete as well as learn from the others mistakes, and also to consider the direction the company is heading as well as highlight the characteristics Tesco has as a company which makes it the UKs number one retailer. Tesco is a very large company in a very competitive sector. The aim of this report is to advise a shareholder on the performance of the chosen company; Tesco Plc, in order to inform them of the health of the company and advise what action they should take in relation to the companys shares. Many issues will be considered that are internal issues of the company such as its own activities as well as external issues such as competition (Sainsburys) in the market as this will obviously affect share value. We will provide in our report a portfolio of various relevant financial ratios that will help us to analyse the profit and loss accounts, and balance sheets of both companies to understand better which companies shares would be a better investment. We will use the current annual reports of both companies to make comparisons of the performance of both companies, given that the latest annual reports are already out of date by the time they are printed we will also look at other up to date sources of information on the performance of both companies such as news reports, press releases and expert analysis already in existence in order to explain our view of the present position of the company and future trading environment it will operate in. In this report we are aiming to explain why there is such a major difference between these two companies even though they operate in the same industry; using this information in the report we will present our findings and recommendations. We will also include in the appendices of the report additional information such as minutes of our team meetings and financial data. We will also provide with the report the latest annual reports of both companies as they will help the reader to further understand our findings that we base our advise upon. Tesco was founded in 1924 by Sir Jack Cohen. Using his gratuity from his Army service in the Great War he started selling groceries in the markets of Londons East End markets in 1919. The brand name of Tesco made its first appearance on tea packets in the 1920s. The name was based on the initials of T. E. Stockwell who was a partner in the firm of tea suppliers, and the first two letters of Cohen. They opened the first Tesco store in 1929 in Burnt Oak, Edgware. Tesco Stores (Holdings) Ltd was floated on the Stock Exchange in 1947, with a share price of 25p. The price at the beginning of February 2002 was around 2. 42p. modify! By the early 1960s, Tesco had become a household name. Along with groceries they also sold fresh food, household goods and clothing in their stores. Tesco stores were located in the high streets of towns and cities up and down the country. In 1961 Tesco opened the largest store in Europe at the time at 16,500 square feet of shop floor. Given the size of Tesco during the 1960s they should have been able to use their economies of scale such as bulk buying power to reduce costs in order to be able to sell goods at lower prices in order to be more competitive than their competition (especially independent stores) as they do now, but they were restricted up until 1964 when laws that allowed suppliers to insist stores sell their goods at a price set by them (Resale price maintenance) were removed. These laws made it difficult for Tesco to reduce price as the whole purpose of these laws were to protect small stores from being heavily undercut by large chains such as Tesco. A earlier version of the current reward card systems in place at all major chains of supermarkets were trading stamps introduced by Tesco to build a reward system for customers in order to build customer loyalty and entice customers through the ability to make savings. Customers received stamps when they made purchases. Once they had collected enough stamps to complete a book, they had the choice to exchange the book for cash or other gifts. The reward system was later taken up by other companies and still exists now in a more sophisticated form. As well as expanding its chain by opening new stores; Tesco also bought existing chains of stores. In 1960 it bought out a chain of 212 stores in the north of England, then another 144 stores in 1964 and 1965. In 1968 it took over the Victor Value chain of stores. Tesco was first to introduce the concept of a superstore in 1967 by opening a 90,000 square feet store in Westbury, Wiltshire. In retailing the superstore was a new concept; a very large unit on the outskirts of a town, which is designed to provide easy access to customers coming by car or public transport. The term superstore was first used in relation to the Tesco store opened in Crawley, West Sussex, in 1968. Tesco has grown at great speed in size, value and profit since its formation. In 1979, its annual turnover reached i 1. It went on to in 1987 to announce a i 500 million program to build another 29 stores. By 1991, the popularity of Tesco petrol stations at its superstores had made Tesco Britains largest independent petrol retailer. In September of 2002 Tesco launched its own exclusive clothing brand Cherokee in many of its UK stores. The Cherokee brand, along with Florence Fred and Tesco own brand clothing went on to see sales increase by 6 times the market rate. The stores have a diverse range of goods beyond just food and household goods such as clothing, electronics, financial services and petrol to name a few. It has tried to target important niche markets such as organic food that are growing in size.

Fun Family History Activities for Family Reunions

Fun Family History Activities for Family Reunions Like many families, you and your relatives may have made plans to get together this summer. What a great opportunity for sharing stories and family history.  Give one of these 10 fun family history activities a try at your next family reunion to get people talking, sharing and having fun. Memory T-Shirts If you have more than one branch of an extended family attending your reunion, consider identifying each branch with a different colored shirt. To further incorporate the family history theme, scan in a photo of the branchs progenitor and print it out on an iron-on transfer with identifiers such as Joes Kid or Joes Grandkid. These color-coded photo t-shirts make it easy to tell at a glance who is related to who. Color-coded family tree name tags offer a more inexpensive variation. Photo Swap Invite attendees to bring their old, historic family photos to the reunion, including pictures of people (great, great-grandpa), places (churches, cemetery, the old homestead) and even previous reunions. Encourage everyone to label their photos with the names of the people in the photograph, the date of the photo, and their own name and an ID number (a different number to identify each photo). If you can get a volunteer to bring a scanner and laptop computer with a CD burner, then set up a scanning table and create a CD of everyones photos. You can even encourage people to bring more photos by offering a free CD for every 10 photos contributed. The rest of the CDs you can sell to interested family members to help defray costs of the scanning and CD burning. If your family isnt very tech-savvy, then set up a table with the photos and include signup sheets where people can order copies of their favorites (by name and ID number). Family Scavenger Hunt Fun for all ages, but an especially good way to get the kids involved, a family scavenger hunt ensures plenty of interaction between different generations. Create a form or booklet with family-related questions such as: What was great-grandfather Powell’s first name? Which Aunt had twins? Where and when were Grandma and Grandpa Bishop married? Is there someone born in the same state as you? Set a deadline, and then gather the family together to judge the results. If you wish, you can award prizes to the people who get the most answers correct, and the booklets themselves make nice reunion souvenirs. Family Tree Wall Chart Create a large family tree chart to display on a wall, including as many generations of the family as possible. Family members can use it to fill in the blanks and correct any inaccurate information. Wall charts are popular with reunion attendees as they help people visualize their place within the family. The finished product also provides a great source of genealogical information. Heritage Cookbook Invite attendees to submit favorite family recipes- from their own family or one passed down from a distant ancestor. Ask them to include details on, memories of and a photo (when available) of the family member best known for the dish. The collected recipes can then be turned into a wonderful family cookbook. This also makes a great fundraising project for the following years reunion. Memory Lane Storytime A rare opportunity to hear interesting and funny stories about your family, a storytelling hour can really encourage family memories. If everyone agrees, have someone audiotape or videotape this session. Tour of the Past If your family reunion is held near where the family originated, then schedule a trip to the old family homestead, church or cemetery. You can use this as an opportunity to share family memories, or go a step further and recruit the clan to clean up the ancestral cemetery plots or research the family in old church records (be sure to schedule with the pastor in advance). This is a particularly special activity when many members are attending from out-of-town. Family History Skits and Reenactments Using stories from your own family history, have groups of attendees develop skits or plays that will retell the tales at your family reunion. You can even stage these reenactments at places that are of importance to your family such as homes, schools, churches, and parks (see Tour into the Past above). Non-actors can get into the fun by modeling vintage clothing or ancestral outfits. Oral History Odyssey Find someone with a video camera who is willing to interview members of the family. If the reunion is in honor of a special event (such as Grandma and Grandpas 50th Anniversary), ask people to talk about the guest(s) of honor. Or, ask questions on other select memories, such as growing up on the old homestead. Youll be surprised how differently people remember the same place or event. Memorabilia Table Set up a table for attendees to bring and display treasured family memorabilia- historic photos, military medals, old jewelry, family bibles, etc. Be sure all items are carefully labeled and the table is always hosted.

Incorporate These 15 Practices into Your Life to Find Success

Incorporate These 15 Practices into Your Life to Find Success We all have a tendency to stay close within our comfort zones. But what if the biggest growth potential and rewards are just beyond that zone? Or even way beyond it? Here are 15 ways to question your idea of what is normal, and how to expand both that concept and your comfort zone, and make a major difference in the course of your life.1. Question everythingTake nothing for granted. Be like the toddler always asking why. Keep searching for answers and examine norms from every angle. You never know what you might find.2. Be painfully honestBeing the most honest you have ever been is incredibly uncomfortable. It feels alien to tell 100% of the truth. If you’re burning to say something (good or bad) to someone in your life, you’ll never know the value that could be reached by saying it until you try. Start with a letter if the idea of a conversation freaks you out.3. MeditateEspecially when you’re busy, carving out time to sit and do nothing except breathing can mak e you feel insane. But the benefits far outweigh the perceived (negligible) costs. Sometimes, by stopping, you’ll greatly enhance your ability to keep going.4. Learn to be an early riserIt might sound awful, or you might not be a â€Å"morning person,† but imagine what you could get done if you got up extremely early, say 5am, when everyone else is asleep and you have the world to yourself. Begin your day in productive silence.5. Create thingsEveryone fancies themselves a creative person, but it’s so easy to choose Netflix and wine instead of a creative project when we come home from a long day. Persist and find yourself a creative outlet, then nurture it with diligence!6. Save your moneyStart keeping track of every penny you spend. Do this for a few months. Try paying for everything in cash, which will really drive home how much you’re spending. Once you cut the excess, you’ll be shocked at what you can save.7.  Give back to those in needVolunte ering can make you feel less self-centered, less hopeless, and like you’re part of something bigger. Don’t underestimate the value of community outreach.8. Maintain your fitnessKeep track of what you eat and what exercise you do. It may seem annoying and time-consuming, but it’s a great way to see the good vs. harm you’re doing to your body so you can make changes accordingly.9. Eat wellNutritious food helps you perform better. Limit your diet to food that has actual nutrition: lots of organic vegetables, lean proteins, healthy fats, etc. It’s better to be a weirdo about your food and to outshine the competition than to blend in at parties and be sluggish or unhealthy all your life.10.  Work on your speaking skillsPublic speaking is a daunting thing, but learning to do it adds an invaluable skill to your toolbox. Everyone is scared of it at first. Take small opportunities to cut your teeth and when you really need to stand up in front of a crowd, you’ll be ready.11. Talk to people who interest youIntrigued by someone? Strike up a conversation. What do you have to lose? Worst case scenario: rejection. Best case: a new friend! And rejection is a normal part of life, so there is nothing for you to fear.12. Put away your phoneTake a digital detox every now and then, let your mind wander and mull over projects and problems. Also, put it away in social settings. Constantly checking or looking things up is just plain rude.13. Focus your efforts on one thing at a timeDon’t try all the things at once. Pick one at a time and commit to mastering that thing. Once you’re there, feel free to pick another. The road to mastery is accomplished one task at a time. Intention and attention are important.14. Set scary goalsStretch your limits by setting goals you’re not sure you can reach. Pick something harder and scarier and more uncomfortable than you’ve ever done and give yourself a year to do it. This mig ht be as simple as attempting to run 7 miles when you’ve hardly ever run 1. But the experience of channeling your physical and mental reserves to get it done is almost always worth it.15. Get help if you need itTherapy might be the number one most uncomfortable thing to do. It’s an exhausting chore to examine your own biases, defenses, motivations, and those of the people in your life. But it always gets you closer to the truth. And can lead to all sorts of breakthroughs in the short and long term.

Support for Soldiers who return from combat affilicited with PTSD Assignment

Support for Soldiers who return from combat affilicited with PTSD - Assignment Example This paper also hypothesizes the effectiveness of trauma management therapy as a behavioral treatment (Frueh, Turner, Beidel, Mirabella, & Jones, 1996). This therapy would make the soldiers learn how to manage their anger and how to function normally. Thence, this paper would like to validate the effectiveness of sand play therapy and trauma management in treating soldiers who suffer from the impediments of PTSD. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) has been considered as one of the major problems of the U. S Army organization because it triggered the thoughts of soldiers to remember death scenes. PTSD generates a system of how a psychological function of an individual is meddled by the occurrences of the traumatic events. Thus, PTSD controls the functional ability of the soldiers not to let bygones be bygones. This paper explores how Posttraumatic Stress Disorder greatly affects the organizational mandatory of the army and how the organization made ways to intervene the needs of the armies with PTSD. The main purpose of this paper is to delved in other psychological treatments such as sand play therapy and trauma management treatment that serve as mechanisms and moderators of the soldiers’ terrors toward death and threat. Posttraumatic Stress is a psychological disorder that makes an individual experiences nightmares and repetitive flashback of painful thoughts that hinder the focus of one’s mind. Moreover, one tends to avoid things that could make him remind of the traumatic event with the feeling of isolation and anxiety (Sherman, 2012). The U.S Army Organization is affected with the psychological effects of wars to the mass number of armies who get affected from depression, isolation and trauma in the battlefields (Little, 2012). The organization is also affected with the soldiers’ great possibility to retire at a young age, which may result to high unemployment rates of the military service (Mcfarlane & Bryant, 2007). A US soldier

Budget Law Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Budget Law - Assignment Example The purpose of regular appropriations is to provide the funds that are required by governmental organizations that are large and small in size and the amount appropriated is quite specific and for specific purposes. The second major appropriation is supplemental which is there to finance projects that are not completed and require extra financial assistance as the previous appropriations did not satisfy the need of finance for these projects. The third major appropriation is continuing which are used to finance those projects whose funding was not approved by the Congress. The most common constraint includes the time periods for which the appropriated funds are to be used. In most cases the time period within which appropriated funds are to be used is one year. Furthermore, another constraint is the purpose for which the funds were appropriated. This means that the agency can only use the funds to satisfy the purpose that the Congress had agreed upon while appropriating the funds. La stly, the amount is even a major constraint and as per this constraint the agency is not allowed to spend money until the amount has been appropriated to them and they can only spend the amount that have been appropriated to them.The Statute of Fraud is a requirement in contract law and as per this requirement certain forms of contracts are only considered as enforceable in the court of law if the contract is in written or text form rather than oral or verbal form.

Death of a Salesman Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Death of a Salesman - Essay Example His son is yet to make something constructive about his life. Willy is scolded by Linda because he is being critical and head to the kitchen to get a snack. Whilst in the kitchen, Biff and Happy, his younger brother who was also visiting recalls about their adolescent lives and also debate their fathers behaviors which includes his criticism of Biff not living up to their fathers expectations and his mental degeneration. As their father Willy enters the room angry with them because of not achieving anything in life, Happy and Biff confides in Willy that Biff intends to establish a business preposition the following day in order to appease him (Miller, 2007). The following day, Willy asks his boss for a job transfer whilst his son Biff goes ahead to make his business proposition. Neither of them is successful in their missions. Willy gets devastated and eventually gets fired when the boss orders him that he needs a rest and he is no longer competent to stand for the company. On the ot her hand, his son Biff waits for centuries to have a word with his former employee who turns him down because he cannot remember him. Being frustrated, Biff goes to Charley’s office his neighbor and bumps into Bernard Charley’s son who is a prominent lawyer. Willy, Biff and Happy meet in a restaurant for dinner. Willy does not want to hear any bad reports from Biff. Happy persuades Biff to lie but he goes ahead and explains to his father what actually happened which makes their father very angry. Biff gets frustrates and leaves the restaurant. He gets escorted by his younger brother Happy and some two girls picked up by Happy. Willy is left in the restaurant upset and confused. On their arrival at home, they are confronted angrily by their mother for abandoning Willy, their father. Outside, Willy keeps talking to himself. Biff gets touched and goes outside in order to reconcile with his father Willy. In their discussion, there occurred some arguments making Bill to tel l his father that he is not worth for anything great. In addition to that, he insists that he and his father are simply ordinary. The argument ends when Biff and Willy hugs while shedding tears and telling his father to let go the dreams that are unrealistic and instead accept him the way he is. He declares to his father that he really loves him so much. Instead of listening to what Biff utters to him, Willy acknowledges that his Son Biff has reconciled with him and now satisfied that Biff will pursue businessman as his lifetime career. Intentionally, Willy murders himself by crashing his car. The main reason for the murder is for Billy to utilize the life insurance cash to open up his business. On the contrary, Bill at his father’s funeral claims that he can never become a businessman. His young brother, Happy on the other hand, decides to follow the footsteps of his father. The most significant themes in the play are such as abandonment, the pursuit of an elusive American D ream and betrayal. From the American Dream theme, Willy whole heartedly believes in the American Dream promise. For example, he believes that a personally attractive and well liked man in any business automatically acquires the modern American lifestyle material comfort it offers. Unfortunately, Willy interpretation of the American dream is extremely superficial. This is because; he dislikes Bernard childishly as he perceives him as a nerd. As such, his blinded interpretation of the American Dream makes his psychological mind to rapidly decline when he is

Business studies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Business studies - Essay Example Diversity was not encouraged neither welcome. However, organizations view diversity at workplace as a positive sign and they even try to position themselves as the champions of diversity. Minority groups are no longer forced to fit-in, in fact, organizations make an effort to understand their culture and background to deal with them in harmony (Ham, Shams & Madden, pp. 60-64, 2004). This paper is an attempt to look at how an American businessperson can reach the same wavelength as his Saudi Arabian counterpart while dealing with him regarding business issues. This paper will take use of the classic research of Hofstede and Trompenaars in order to explore lesson for the American businessperson as in to understand the Saudi Arabian culture. Discussion Despite the fact that the entire world is quickly moving away from traditional concepts in all occupations, Saudi Arabia is still one of those countries, which have remained as theoretic Islamic monarchy. This means that the concept of re ligious freedom does not exist even in its theoretical form. The constitution of Saudi Arabia assumes that all the citizens are Muslims, however, it does not prohibit from being a non-Muslim. However, important here to note is that any expression of any religion, other than Islam, in public is taken as misappropriate behavior in public (Shoult, pp. 89-96, 2006). Furthermore, even if someone is found to be following any other religion even in their private lives inside their homes, police has all the right to break in, arrest, and punish those individuals. In fact, there is an entire committee of officers with the name of Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, which takes the responsibility of application of Shariah Laws on every individual (Morrison & Conaway, pp. 69-74, 2006). Therefore, this means many different things. Nothing can take place, which is not in line with Islam. There are many examples. For example, no liquor would be tolerated even for cel ebration of a business deal or successful completion of a project. Women cannot wear revealing or tight dresses, in fact, it necessary for women to cover their bodies. Furthermore, a considerable distance is important to keep between men and women during their work and conservations. While meetings, it is advisable not to make any comment on the women, which are more than 12 years of age, of the family of the Saudi counterpart. Conversations should start with Islamic greeting line, which is â€Å"As-salam alaikum†, and the reply shall be â€Å"Waf alaikum as-salam† (Ham, Shams & Madden, pp. 60-64, 2004). One of the biggest problems that western businesspersons face while dealing with Saudi people is regarding the conception of time. There is a huge difference between the value, perception, importance, and concept of time in both of these cultures. In western cultures, time is equivalent to money, a very crucial resource, important to use it fully and do not waste any o f it. Business meetings have fixed timings and participants try their level best to ensure that meetings must start at the specific time. Anyone who is late is considered as lazy, lethargic, rude, arrogant, careless, irresponsible and offensive (Shoult, pp. 89-96, 2006). People do not prefer to wait for each since waiting for someone has the meaning, which any

Leaders in Today's Organizations Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Leaders in Today's Organizations - Research Paper Example A research study shows that there are different factors which are necessary for being an emotionally intelligent person. The leaders who are self-aware of their personalities and can understand their strengths and weaknesses can be emotionally intelligent because they can also deal with the emotions of other people (Downy, 2011). Another important characteristic is self-regulation which is required for developing emotional intelligence. A self-regulation means the maturity level of the person. A person should be mature enough to handle the criticism and all other matters, only then he can be termed as an emotionally stable and intelligent person. An emotionally intelligent leader should have excellent communication skills so that he can control and manage people and their emotions (Downy, 2011). Conflict resolution and social awareness are two different factors, which make for being an emotionally stable and intelligent leader. Currently, there are many multinational firms, which are focusing on the emotional intelligence of their managers so that they can prove themselves as effective leaders. The concept of accountability is an important factor from the leadership point of view. If a leader feels he owns accountability towards his responsibilities then it means that he is taking care of his own duties and rights. On the other hand, if a leader develops a sense of accountability for his followers then it means that he is creating an environment where everyone is responsible and answerable for his duties and actions (Gentry, 2007). In both situations, the ultimate benefit will go for the leader and the organization because if the followers feel the responsibility then it means that they will accurately follow the instructions of the leader.

Business studies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Business studies - Essay Example Diversity was not encouraged neither welcome. However, organizations view diversity at workplace as a positive sign and they even try to position themselves as the champions of diversity. Minority groups are no longer forced to fit-in, in fact, organizations make an effort to understand their culture and background to deal with them in harmony (Ham, Shams & Madden, pp. 60-64, 2004). This paper is an attempt to look at how an American businessperson can reach the same wavelength as his Saudi Arabian counterpart while dealing with him regarding business issues. This paper will take use of the classic research of Hofstede and Trompenaars in order to explore lesson for the American businessperson as in to understand the Saudi Arabian culture. Discussion Despite the fact that the entire world is quickly moving away from traditional concepts in all occupations, Saudi Arabia is still one of those countries, which have remained as theoretic Islamic monarchy. This means that the concept of re ligious freedom does not exist even in its theoretical form. The constitution of Saudi Arabia assumes that all the citizens are Muslims, however, it does not prohibit from being a non-Muslim. However, important here to note is that any expression of any religion, other than Islam, in public is taken as misappropriate behavior in public (Shoult, pp. 89-96, 2006). Furthermore, even if someone is found to be following any other religion even in their private lives inside their homes, police has all the right to break in, arrest, and punish those individuals. In fact, there is an entire committee of officers with the name of Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, which takes the responsibility of application of Shariah Laws on every individual (Morrison & Conaway, pp. 69-74, 2006). Therefore, this means many different things. Nothing can take place, which is not in line with Islam. There are many examples. For example, no liquor would be tolerated even for cel ebration of a business deal or successful completion of a project. Women cannot wear revealing or tight dresses, in fact, it necessary for women to cover their bodies. Furthermore, a considerable distance is important to keep between men and women during their work and conservations. While meetings, it is advisable not to make any comment on the women, which are more than 12 years of age, of the family of the Saudi counterpart. Conversations should start with Islamic greeting line, which is â€Å"As-salam alaikum†, and the reply shall be â€Å"Waf alaikum as-salam† (Ham, Shams & Madden, pp. 60-64, 2004). One of the biggest problems that western businesspersons face while dealing with Saudi people is regarding the conception of time. There is a huge difference between the value, perception, importance, and concept of time in both of these cultures. In western cultures, time is equivalent to money, a very crucial resource, important to use it fully and do not waste any o f it. Business meetings have fixed timings and participants try their level best to ensure that meetings must start at the specific time. Anyone who is late is considered as lazy, lethargic, rude, arrogant, careless, irresponsible and offensive (Shoult, pp. 89-96, 2006). People do not prefer to wait for each since waiting for someone has the meaning, which any

Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster - Essay Example The disastrous meltdown of the Fukushima nuclear power plant after the massive earthquake and tsunami in March 2011 frightened numerous people, not only in Japan, but also around the world. The roughly four-decade-old reactors needed electric pumps for reserve energy to expel water to activate the fuel rods in an emergency. Unfortunately, these mechanisms failed during the massive earthquake and tsunami (Cahill 48). The technologically advanced nuclear plants hoard water in the reactor containment basin, in an emergency that water would pour without outside power onto the worked up mechanism to cool it up for several days. They can also spontaneously expel water with heated air. Fukushima nuclear power plant was plagued with operator, mechanical, and construction errors. Several months prior to the earthquake, personnel on one of the six reactors erroneously performed procedures for the wrong reactor. A line regulating the cooling mechanism was taken out mistakenly, an error that was only found out weeks after (Noggerath, Geller, & Gusiakov 39). The tsunami aggravated the situation when electric power stopped working at four reactors. Heat accumulated in the reactors and in basins designed to prevent the overheating of worked up fuel rods. A few weeks after, power had not been brought back to the cooling mechanisms and to the hubs of the two reactors. The plant operators at last revealed in May that there had been a reactor breakdown (Noggerath et al. 39). The Fukushima Dai-ichi was made up of six units, with each of them having its own nuclear reactor. These units were built from 1967 to 1979 and were administered by the Tokyo Power and Electric Company (TEPCO). During the earthquake the three units were running and the remaining three were not functioning and under regular maintenance (Samuels 13). After the earthquake struck the three running units were stopped, in accordance to mandated protocols. Emergency generators were turned on to get rid of the spent heat from the reactors. But the 14-meter tsunami worsened the situation because the power plants were built to resist or hold out only a 6.5-meter tsunami (Perrow 2011, 46). The tsunami brought about extensive flooding in the whole expanse of Fukushima and also impaired the generators that run the emergency cooling mechanisms of the nuclear power plants. The available emergency cooling system was run by batteries, which expired after several hours. Lacking sufficient cooling, the water trapped inside the reactors created more heat, which consequently caused the reactors to overheat. This prompted the opening of the relief valves which then released the radioactive steam. A basic rule of nuclear power plant construction is ‘defense in depth’ (Cooper 10). This rule pushes engineers to build a plant that can survive extreme calamities, even as some mechanisms stopped working. A massive tsunami that incapacitates the diesel generators simultaneously is an example, but the 2 011 tsunami was too severe, even unimaginable. To endure such a catastrophe, engineers constructed a backup resistance by placing the entire system into a containment unit that is constructed to protect the system. As soon as the diesel generators stopped working after the tsunami, the operators shifted to emergency battery power. But the batteries only lasted for roughly eight hours (Cooper 10-11). The plant operat

Executive Summaries Essay Example for Free

Executive Summaries Essay The executive summary is usually no longer than 10% of the original document. It can be anywhere from 1-10 pages long, depending on the reports length. Executive summaries are written literally for an executive who most likely DOES NOT have the time to read the original. †¢Executive summaries make a recommendation †¢Accuracy is essential because decisions will be made based on your summary by people who have not read the original †¢Executive summaries frequently summarize more than one document Types of Summaries Summaries written in order to recommend a specific course of action are executive summaries. Summaries that highlight the major points of a long piece are called abstracts. The purpose of an abstract is to allow readers to decide whether or not they want to read the longer text. View our Writing Guide about Abstracts Standard summary only refers to a summary of someone elses published work and is written for a variety of purposes. View our Writing Guide about Standard Summaries Processes for Writing an Executive Summary Executive summaries are typically written for longer reports. They should not be written until after your report is finished. Before writing your summary, try: †¢Summarizing the major sections of your report. You might even copy text from your report into the summary and then edit it down. †¢Talking aloud or even tape recording yourself summarizing sections of your report. Questions to Ask Yourself as You Write †¢What is your report about? †¢Why is it important? †¢What is included in the report? †¢What is included in each section? Concise Statement As a cover sheet to your document, an executive summary need not go into ANY mention of how you conducted your analysis and/or what youre basing your conclusion on. Instead, begin with a concise statement of the conclusion you reached after conducting your analysis and/or research is the paper that will be attached. For example, after a comparison of what other schools like CSU do about personal calls for faculty, you conclude that the CSU is charging for calls most other institutions do not. How you word the conclusion will differ depending on your audience and what they care most about. The following examples illustrate how the wording must change given an audiences needs. Example One Colorado State should discontinue the practice of charging faculty for personal calls. This is a good example if the people you work for are only interested in this issue. It begins with a summary of conclusions regarding only the CSU population. Example Two Because I have found that over 75% of comparable institutions do not charge for personal calls, I have concluded that our faculty is justified in objecting to this practice which should be seen as a perk for our faculty. This sentence provides unnecessary information about other institutions and/or why the faculty think they deserve to have these calls paid for. Your readers can get that information from the report. Further, the use of I is unnecessary since your readers already know who wrote the report. Writing Recommendations After beginning with a summary statement of your findings, the executive summary should go on to provide a specific recommendation for action geared toward your audience. For example, the report on charging for personal calls was requested by the presidents office, not the individual departments and colleges who actually determine policy. As a result, the recommendation for action is geared toward what the presidents office should do, not the other departments involved. To learn more about writing recommendations: After summarizing the entire article and/or research report(s), an executive  summary ends with a one or two line recommendation for action. Simple Formula Executive summaries frequently make use of transitional phrases to encapsulate the preceding information in the same sentence as the recommendation. The format can almost be envisioned as a formula: [transitional word] + [concise statement of information provided in summary], I recommend that [corporation, office, person in question] do [recommendations]. More Complex Recommendations In other cases, the recommendation might be complicated enough to justify a summary of causes for the recommendation. In this case, the recommendation paragraph usually begins with a summary of how the writer reached the recommendation. Example Susies Cookies began as a small business in Cleveland, Ohio which has expanded to include 45 stores throughout the Midwest. Plans have already been instituted to expand sales nationwide, using the same mall-concept marketing strategy which has proven successful in the Midwest. Despite these plans, Susies Cookies may be in danger of bankruptcy. Susies quadrupled its sales in the last two quarters, realizing a profit of $750,000 in the current year, an increase of $250,000 over the previous year, due to its increase in advertising. To realize equivalent sale figures nationwide, however, it is projected that advertising costs will increase by 200% for the first two years of the national expansions. Further, construction costs for the new stores are estimated to be 20 million dollars. The result of increased advertising and construction costs will put a substantial debt burden on Susies cookies, an estimated $750,00 to 1 million a year. Given that sales did not reach current levels in the Midwest until the 45 stores had been operating for five years, projected sales nationally will not cover expansion costs. As a result, Susies Cookies is likely to show a loss of almost $2 million for at least the next five years. Due to the high advertisement and development costs of national expansion. Susies Cookies may not be able to continue doing business in the future. Therefore, I recommend that Mrs. Fields does not participate in the hostile takeover  under consideration because the threat of competition will not be realized. Justification Finally, an executive summary provides an analysis and/or justification for the proposed action in terms the audience will consider important. In many cases, this might involve a monetary analysis as in the example to the right, but actions can be justified many ways, depending on the concerns of the audience and the topic of the report (e.g. for CSU these might include increase in student learning, better relationship with the community, etc.). justification for the recommendation by referring to information summarized. A recommendationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s justification is usually based on a reference to material already provided in the summary. In other cases, the justification for the recommendation might be complicated enough to justify a summary of causes for the justification. In this case, the recommendation paragraph usually begins with a summary of how the writer reached the conclusion that leads to the justification. Example Justification Based on the current number and length of long-distance personal calls by faculty, such a proposal would cost the university $150,000 annually. In comparison to the overall budget, this is a small amount, but one which might pay for itself in terms of faculty satisfaction and possible recruitment benefits. Example Susies Cookies began as a small business in Cleveland, Ohio which has expanded to include 45 stores throughout the Midwest. Plans have already been instituted to expand sales nationwide, using the same mall-concept marketing strategy which has proven successful in the Midwest. Despite these plans, Susies Cookies may be in danger of bankruptcy. Susies quadrupled its sales in the last two quarters, realizing a profit of $750,000 in the current year, an increase of $250,000 over the previous year, due to its increase in advertising. To realize equivalent sale figures nationwide, however, it is projected that advertising costs will increase by 200% for the first two years of the national expansions. Further, construction costs for the new stores are estimated to be 20 million dollars. The result of increased advertising and construction costs will put a substantial debt  burden on Susies cookies, an estimated $750,00 to 1 million a year. Given that sales did not reach current levels in the Midwest until the 45 stores had been operating for five years, projected sales nationally will not cover expansion costs. As a result, Susies Cookies is likely to show a loss of almost $2 million for at least the next five years. Due to the high advertisement and development costs of national expansion. Susies Cookies may not be able to continue doing business in the future. Therefore, I recommend that Mrs. Fields does not participate in the hostile takeover under consideration because the threat of competition will not be realized. Example Executive Summary The Mountain Resort charges below average rental rates. (concise statement of findings) The attached report recommends a 20% increase in price for the following equipment: 1. downhill skis, 2. telemark skis, 3. boots/shoes for downhill, telemark, and cross-country skis. (specific recommendation for action) Based on average rental business for 1992-1995, these increases would generate an annual rental profit for Mountainview of $750,000. This figure represents an overall gain of $150,000 over current rental profits.(justification for proposed action) Additional Resources Other Writing Guides are available to help you write executive summaries. Choose any of the following for more information: †¢Purpose †¢Audience †¢Organization

Human trafficking and child sex trafficking

Human trafficking and child sex trafficking In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in the research of human trafficking, both in general and in child sex trafficking as a specific and crucial phenomenon. According to the U.S. Department of State (2007) trafficking is one of the fastest growing criminal enterprises with an approximate number of 800.000 victims each year trafficked over international borders. Anti-trafficking campaigns and NGOs have mushroomed and anti-trafficking policies have become important features of both international development agencies and governmental agendas (Piper 2005:203). Largely, scholars have concentrated their research on South East Asia; a region which is often described as the hub of trafficking in persons, particularly for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Since the UN Transitional Authority period child sex trafficking and child sex tourism have been identified as a specific problems and Cambodia has become the focus of many UN activities. Child sex trafficking is describ ed as relatively new phenomenon in Cambodia which did not exist before 1970 (Archivantitkul: 1998). The political and economic landscape of Cambodia as well as moral and social values have changed considerably in the last three decades since the Khmer Rouge regime. This fact makes Cambodia particularly vulnerable for people who seek to make a profit from the poverty of people who may be overwhelmed by the ongoing fast changing impacts which come to their country. South-East Asia has a large scale of undocumented labour migration. Those migrations flows are greatly facilitated by recruiters in destination and origin countries which can cause an exploitative situation. There is a fine line between the issues of migrant smuggling and trafficking and their distinctions are often blurred. Therefore, trafficking has to be seen as a part of migration flows (Piper 2005: 207). Most of human trafficking activities in South East Asia, particularly in the Mekong sub-region, take place domestically and so one can refer more to a regional or national problem than to an international one (ibid.:204). This part of the issue should be considered carefully as different patterns such as globalisation and the socio-economic conditions play an important role and could make trafficking in Cambodia again an international problem considering the causes ( ibid.:205). The definition of trafficking has changed considerably in the last number of decades and yet there is still no consensus about a universally valid definition (Laczko 2005: 10). The lack of a common definition together with the refusal of some states to recognise the existence of trafficking within their country makes it hard to combat this issue effectively on a global scale (Savona and Stefanizzi 2007: 2). In 2000, the UN General Assembly adopted the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons  [1]  , also known as the Palermo Protocol. The protocol offers for the first time a legally binding international definition of trafficking as the control of one person over another for the purpose of exploitation: Trafficking in persons shall mean the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs. Human trafficking and in particular child sex trafficking is considered by different scholars and studies (e.g. Williams and Masika 2002; Jana 2002; Asia Regional Cooperation to Prevent People Trafficking 2003) as a highly gendered topic. Despite the lack of research and accurate data on trafficking patterns, and it is clear that the majority of trafficking victims are women and girls (UNODC, 2006). Hence, one can say that trafficking is so often seen to be caused and facilitated by unequal gender relations and patriarchal values and systems (Williams and Masika 2002: 6). Undeniably, this creates of vulnerabilities and therefore human rights violations on women and children. Understanding the gender dimensions of this phenomenon is crucial to obtain a clear picture of the recruitment of trafficking victims up to the development of policy strategies and campaigns to combat these human rights violations. 1.1. The construction of the victim of child sex trafficking Existing research as well as political and criminal justice activity has the tendency to focus on the offender and their identification and punishment, rather than considering the victims of sex trafficking as equal players. This reflects a traditional criminology research approach which is often criticised by victimology discourse (Goody 2005: 239). Despite the large amount of literature and research which addresses child sex trafficking in Cambodia, there remains a gap about the conceptualisation of the victim of child sex trafficking. From a western perspective, victim conceptions are diverse which can be seen for instance in the ideal victim (Christie 1986) and in social constructivism views (e.g. Schà ¼tz 1962). Therefore it is also vital to consider the gender perspective of trafficking and the social role and construction of women and girls in the Cambodian society today in contrast to the past. For a better understanding of the origin of the construction perceptions it is interesting to take a closer look at constructivism theory. The concept of the victim underlies a construction of a certain reality within a culture, a society and in particular an institution. Those constructions of realities can be seen in the light of constructivism which means the construction of social realities. The theory of social constructivism has been contributed to by Schà ¼tz (1962), Berger and Luckmann (1966) and Gergen (1985, 1999). Regarding the construction of knowledge Schà ¼tz (1962: 5) argues that (a)ll our knowledge of the world, in common sense as well as in scientific thinking, involves constructs, i.e. a set of abstractions, generalizations, formalizations, idealizations, specific to the relevant level of thought organization. In terms of constructing the picture of a victim one can assume that the content of a perception is constructed in an active- constructive process of production rather than a passive- receptive process of representation (Flick 2004: 89). We find access to our world of experience which includes natural and social environment as well as certain conceptions by the construction of concepts and knowledge which are used to interpret experiences, understanding and attribution of meaning (ibid.: 90). It is crucial to regard the construction of knowledge and concepts in the context of social research and figure out the relevance for the present dissertation. Schà ¼tz (1962: 208ff) describes that social research uses pre-existing everyday constructs out of everyday knowledge and constructs with this another more formalised and generalised version of the world (Flick 2004: 91). Due to the lack of research about the conception of a victim in Cambodian society, my dissertation will focus on the social construct of a child sex trafficking victim and how it differs depending on the social environment or society the child is living in. This research seeks to identify the concept of a child sex trafficking victim which NGOs, International Organisation and the Cambodian government develop campaigns and policies to combat trafficking on. To get a clearer picture of the causes of child victim Piper (2005) claims that there is more research required into pre-trafficking situations (evidence of child abuse, family situation, and socio-economic pressure on family) and the challenges faced by trafficked victims who return to their countries and/ or regions of origin. Also the question arises of whether the victim can attain victim status after being returned to the family or whether stigmatisation causes him/her to be seen as an outcast. I would like to consider these issues for my qualitative interviews with NGOs and governmental representatives in Cambodia. 1.2. Additional literature review Apart from the literature referred to in the text above, essential texts for researching human trafficking and child sex trafficking in particular are e.g. Micollier (eds) (2004) who edited different essays which examine the social construction of sexuality, gender roles in the family, and gendered power relations in society in East Asia. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) also published various studies and books concerning human trafficking. The most contributive one for my research (IOM 2005), gathers a collection of essays that describe data collection and research of human trafficking from different countries. Relevant for the Mekong sub-region, Nicola Piper (2005) gives a review in this book about undertaken research on trafficking in South East Asia and Oceania. She highlights the gaps of knowledge in literature and research of trafficking issues. Savona and Stefanizzi (eds) (2007) and their contributors have a similar focus but offer a deeper analysis of migrat ion flows and trafficking and improving monitoring mechanisms for these complex criminal activities. An important study about human trafficking in Cambodia was undertaken by the Asia Regional Cooperation to Prevent People Trafficking (2003): Gender, Human Trafficking and the Criminal Justice System in Cambodia. Their research focus was on the gender perspective of trafficking and the underlying causes and contributing factors. Another study by the Asian Foundation (2006): A Review of a Decade of Research On Trafficking in Persons, Cambodia, aimed to provide a systematically review on trafficking related research about the consequences, scopes and patterns of trafficking. They review more trafficking in general and in its various patterns. Child sex trafficking is considered in a small but well researched paragraph. Summing up, these key readings and studies all critically asses human trafficking and offer a variety of valid perspectives on the phenomenon. 2. Research question and aim Research question As introduced to in the paragraph above, my research question arises out of a literature gap.: What type of conceptualisation of a victim do victim support centres, NGOs and the government in Cambodia have and how do those concepts influence their work, campaigns and policy strategies? Research aim The research aim is to identify the different existing constructions of a child sex trafficking victims in Cambodia provided and to explore if the social and cultural construction of a trafficked child differs depending on society and social environment like shelters or vocational training programme the child lives in or is involved in. Possible sub-questions that contribute to the research question are: How do children become victims of trafficking? What is the social construction of women and girls in Cambodia? Explore the historical development of the term child and juvenile in Cambodia in legal and cultural ways. Is there a changing meaning of those terms? How important is virginity for Cambodian men? 3. Research Method/ Design According to Flick (2006), the foundation of qualitative research is the reconstruction of social realities. Through the exploration of subjective perceptions, patterns of interpretation, structural characteristics and the latent meaning of action, a deeper understanding of a study field can be achieved. Thereby, no proband taming takes place by presetting of answering categories, but it creates a space for individual perspectives of the study field (Muckel 1996: 66). The general claim of qualitative research is to describe life worlds from the inside out, from the point of view of the people who participate (Flick et al: 3), to contribute to a better understanding of social realities. In comparison to quantitative social research where one examine already formulated hypothesis, the aim of qualitative research is to discover new ideas and to develop empirically justified theories (Flick 2006: 15). Though, the communication of the researches of the particular field, i.e. the subjectiv ity of the researcher and the researched, becomes an essential component of the research process and the finding (Flick 2006). Contrary to quantitative research controlling or excluding influence from the researched as interfering variables, in qualitative research the reflection of the researchers actions, his perceptions and observations as well as impressions and irritations are involved in the data evaluation process (ibid.: 16). The openness to the primary world of the researched and their different constructions of reality as well as according to the applied research methods are a basic characteristic of qualitative research (ibid.). My research interest focuses on the subjective views and conception of the victim of child sex trafficking in Cambodia. Therefore it is essential to apply qualitative research methods. In the following I will describe the chosen methods of collecting and evaluating data. 3.1. Method of data collection The dissertation seeks to asses NGOs, crisis centres and governmental agencies conceptions and views of the victim of child sex trafficking in Cambodia. The aim is to examine how their construction of a child victim influences their project, campaigns and policies. This interrelation is possible to depict verbally but not easily to detect throughout observation processes due to ethical considerations. The observation of the work with victims is ethically not justifiable in such a short research time frame as the identity with victims is strictly confidential and observation is not approved by the organisations or shelters if the researcher is not able to stay at least 2 month. Therefore the qualitative interview with the organisations and shelters was chosen as a research method. The main interest is to find out about particular perceptions and more complex argumentations. Therefore the questioning should be more active and probing (Hopf 2004: 204). Semi-structured Interview The semi-structured interview is an appropriate approach to explore the subjective perception and theories that stands behind my questionnaire. Scheele and Groeben (1988) introduced this approach to explore the construction and subjective theories behind everyday knowledge and the field of study (Flick 2006: 155). Their assumption was that interviewees are encouraged to express their perceptions and their reasoning behind certain topics in a natural manner if the interviewer provides a semi-structured question setting. Therefore one can reconstruct the subjective theories and views of the interviewee for the purpose of the study. The main elements of the semi-structured interview are open and confrontational questions. (see box 1) They offer the interviewee space to express their perception and knowledge. The confrontational question has a responsive function to the subjective theories offered by the interviewee and is asking a competing alternative to re-examine the opinions (ibid.: 156). An example for my research would be: (Text box 1) Another set of questions would be hypothesis-directed questions (see text box 2) which test scientific literature written about the research topic (ibid.). They give the interviewee the chance to become more explicit and help the interviewer to get the required information for the researched topic: (Text box 2) In specific: the Expert Interview The expert interview is a subcategory of the semi-structured interview. The approach of the dissertation questionnaire is to interview on the one hand service providers like victim support centre, crisis centres and NGOs that support the victim needs and rights. On the other hand it is an aim to speak to the Cambodian government which means in particular MP Mu Sochua of the Ministry of Womens and Veterans Affairs (MWVA). Here the interest is not so much the biographic background of the actual person but more the perception of the actual institution or the Cambodian Parliament about the research topic. The interviewees are seen as representatives for a certain group not as individuals (Flick 2006: 165). There are several research practical amenities for the expert interview. In an early exploration phase of a theoretical, less prestructured and informational less cross-linked research, the expert interview offers unrivalled dense data acquisition. This stands in contrast to the elaborate, cost and time-intensive accomplishment of participant observation, field study and systematic quantitative research (Bogner and Menz 2005: 7). It is recommended to choose expert interviews if a study field is hard or impossible to access especially when it comes to delicate issues like child sex trafficking and child prostitution. Beside the economic advantages and the chance to get information even about an awkward issue, another advantage is the facilitation of further field access when the expert refers to other colleagues and dialogue partners. It should also be noted out of a methodological view that a further benefit is that it is much easier to interview an expert as they usually have a higher linguistic competence which contributes directly to the analysis of the narrative. Hence, in an idealised conception, two academic socialised dialogue partners meet in this interview setting (ibid.: 8). To ensure validity of my research and to ascertain patterns of the construction of the victim of child sex trafficking, I intend to carry out 15-20 interviews with victim support centres, Human Rights NGOs who are concerned about child sex trafficking and government representatives (all in Phnom Penh). All institutions are contacted via email and telephone to arrange an appointment during my field trip in Cambodia and to offer them an outline of the research project which gives them the opportunity to prepare for the questions. I will use open-ended questions that give the interviewee space to present their perceptions and views. It also allows for the emergence of new topics that were not originally thought to be part of the interview. I will prepare 8 broad topics for the interviews that are formulated as broad questions and introduce them one after the other  [2]  . Depending on the interview course, I will specify the topics and ask in more detail to clarify vague formulations. 3.2. Limitations Whilst there are many advantages to this research design, there are also several limitations to the expert interview. Meuser and Nagel (2002:87) identify the expert might not always react as desired where their expertise may emerge as being limited and impede the interview process. Further, they identify the eventuality that the interviewee may not t participate in the question-answering game (Flick 2006:165) giving instead a speech to promote their knowledge and/or agenda. Whilst this can sometimes contribute to the research topic, it can also digress from the point and make it difficult to return to the original question. Another potential weakness of expert interviews is that the interviewee can change roles from being an expert to being a private person. Whereby, the interview looses objectiveness and private/ personal perceptions and bias may interfere with the representation of the institution or expert knowledge (ibid.). To ensure reliability for this method it is crucial that the interviewee, here the expert, understands the research context and the questions fully. Bulmer and Warwick (1983) identify the difficulties of conducting social research in developing countries which gives this research proposal an interesting angle. It is widely recognised that the availability of social data in developing countries is limited. Existing data is often of poor quality and therefore of little use due to limited administrative capacity, lack of manpower and infrastructure (ibid.: 4-5). The validity might be restricted and misleading if one relies only on administrative sources. The Cambodian law enforcement agencies and administration are perceived as the most corrupt sector. The Global Corruption Barometer also shows that 70% of the citizens are likely to pay bribes to the police (Anti- Corruption Resource Centre 2009) which proves the normality and explicitness of corruption within the population. When it comes to delicate issues such as human trafficking high ranking Cambodian law enforcement official are believed to accept bribes to facilitate human trafficking and child prostitution (US Department of State Human Rights Report 2006). A revealing example for corruption compliance within sex trafficking is the former Deputy Director of the Police Anti-Human Trafficking and Juvenile Department and two officials under his supervision were convicted and imprisoned for facilitating human trafficking (Anti- Corruption Resource Centre 2009). Due to the ubiquity of corr uption, corruption this must be recognised within my research and considered when seeking out NGOs, who can offer a different picture of the reality throughout their mandate, their reports and research. With this considering and an awareness of these potential difficulties and obstacles within the interview process, a valid data collection can be better guaranteed. If one does so, the expert interview can be a very useful and powerful source to generate valid data. After weighing up the variety of pro and cons, the expert interview is an appropriate interview method for this research to provide an interpretative account of the concept a child sex trafficking victim. 3.3. Alternative Method: Problem-centered Interview (PCI) Initially the problem-centered interview (Witzel 1982; 1985) was considered as an appropriate interview method for my research question about construction of a victim. The principles of the problem-centred interview are to gather objective evidence on human behaviour as well as on subjective perceptions and ways of processing social reality (Witzel 2000:1). In this sense, the basic concern is the exploration of subjective cognition, approaches, motivation for actions and situation al interpretations. In contrast, the narrative interview (Hopf 2004: 206) is considered in this context to be inadequate because it produces a lot of material which leads to a huge data amount. Further, there should be no intervention in the process where the role of the interviewer is an attentive listener. This would be inappropriate considering the specific research questionnaire in mind and the given time frame. The problem-centered interview to large extent draws upon Glasers and Strausss (1967) theory generating method of the Grounded Theory. The primary reason for excluding this research method is the fact that it is a biographic focused interview where the biography and personal experiences of the interviewee are integral to the data generated. The expert knowledge of a certain field or of a particular organisation and expertise which mirrors the ideology of that institution is of more use than the biography of the expert and their personal motivations and views. Nevertheless, the research interest is to ascertain and interpret why the concept of the victim is constructed as described by the organisation experts and why it might differ from Western views of the child as a victim of sex trafficking. Therefore cultural and social constructions of realities have to be included. 3.4. Data analysis The reliability of this study will be maximised by transcribing all interviews conducted and building categories based on an initial reading of the transcripts. This process is described as coding (e.g. Flick 2006: 295 and Seale 2004: 306ff) which is based in based in grounded theory as discussed earlier  [3]  . Seale identifies that the purpose of coding qualitative data is to reduce large amounts of data and to develop and test out theories (2004: 313). The main challenging task for the researcher is to filter out comparisons and identify similarities and differences in the interview material. For my research I will use open coding which means the process of breaking down, examining, comparing, conceptualising and categorizing data (Strauss and Corbin 1990: 61). The coding strategy enables me to analyse the concepts of the victim of child sex trafficking, group them into categories and subsequently discuss them in depth. The last step of coding is a list of terms together with an explanatory text (Bà ¶hm 2004: 271). 3.5. Ethics in qualitative research Multiple ethical considerations arise throughout the research process for this dissertation. Starting from the research design and the appropriateness of certain methods to collecting data and further on to the point of analysing the gathered data. More recently there has been a paradigm shift from the ethical concerns in social research concerned with the ways in which participants are affected by the research to a more post-structuralist approach which includes the social world and the knowable and objective truth is uncovered by researchers (Ali and Kelly 2004: 116). A crucial influence in social research ethics comes from feminist researchers who emphasise [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] the role of power relations at all levels of knowledge production, from epistemology, through research relationships, to the dissemination of findings (ibid.). Research regarding child sex trafficking can be seen from the perspective of feminist research as it is a highly gendered topic. It is therefore crucia l to consider feminist research practices and its related ethical elements. A primary aim of feminist research is to contest and dispute the marginalised status of woman, and in this particular case vulnerable child, by representing their needs, perspectives and perceptions (Gillies and Alldred 2005: 39). There have been many controversies surrounding the role of the researcher in the production of knowledge about women and representing the Other (Wilkonson and Kitzinger 1996, in: Gillies and Alldred 2005: 39). The ethical concerns posed when carrying out research on trafficked children as such a vulnerable group are profound. I therefore consider it ethically unjustifiable to interview children about their experience with sexual exploitation within this short research period. Such an approach could potentially cause further distress to an already vulnerable and exploited subject group. As such, I have therefore decided against interviewing victims of trafficking and will conduct interviews exclusively with experts. Respect will be given to existing ethical precautions and regulations for social research whilst also acknowledging that an ethical practice will often comes down to the professional integrity of the individual researcher (Ali and Kelly 2004: 118). Translator difficulties A further challenge to potentially interviewing victims would be the requirement of a translator which can creates a multitude of problems: The dynamic can create a tense and unbalanced atmosphere for the victims to talk comfortably. There is a risk that the translator may not translate the verbatim accurately. Finally, interpretation of the language particulars of the victim is crucial to the data and therefore not understanding Khmer creates a large obstacle when reviewing the interview translations. This may be hard to overcome even with a translator. In consideration of this I decided to interview English speaking NGOs and government representatives. How generalisable will our results be to the sectors as a whole? 5. Timescale from 15th April to 2nd September Date 2010 Literature Review Contacts Questionnaire Design Fieldwork Cambodia Data Processing Data Analysis Write Report Submit Report April 15 * April 22 * April29 * * April 6 * * * May13 * * * May20 * * * May 27 * June 3 * * June 10 * June 17 * * June 24 * * July 1 * * July 8 * * July 15 * * July 22 * * July 29 * Aug 5 * * Aug 12 * * Aug 19 * Aug 26 * Sep 2 * Sep 9 * Sep 15 * (Bloch, A. (2010) Timescales for Research Project: The Professional Capacity of Nationals from the Somali Regions in the UK, Moodle City University, slides of lecture 6) 6. Bibliography Books and journal articles: Ali, S. and Kelly, M. (2004) Ethics and social research, in Seale, C. Researching Society and Culture. London [et al.]: Sage Publications. Archivantitkul, K. (1998) Trafficking in children for forced labour exploitation including child prostitution in the Mekong sub-region. Bangkok: ILO-IPEC. Asia Regional Cooperation to Prevent People Trafficking (2003) Gender, Human Trafficking and the Criminal Justice System in Cambodia http://wwww.humantrafficking.org/uploads/updates/gender_report_cambodia.pdf [accessed 7th April 2010]. Berger, P.L. and Luckmann, T. (1966) The Social Construction of Reality. Garden City, NY: Doubleday. Bloch, A. (2010) Timescales for Research Project: The Professional Capacity of Nationals from the Somali Regions in the UK, Moodle City University, slides of lecture 6. Bogner, A., Menz, W. (2005) Expertenwissen und Forschungspraxis: die modernisierungstheoretische und die methodische Debatte um die Experten., in Das Experteninterview: Theorie, Methode, Anwendung. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag FuÃÅ'ˆr Sozialwissenschaften. Bà ¶hm, A. (2004) Theoretical Coding: Text Analysis in Grounded Theory, in Flick et al A Companion to Qualitative Research. London[et al.]: Sage Publications. Bulmer, M., Warwick, D. (1983) Social Research in developing countries. Surveys and Censuses in the Third World. Chichester [West Sussex]: Wiley. Christie, N. (1986) The Ideal Victim, in Fattah, E.A. From Crime Policy to Victim Policy. Reorienting the justice system. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Macmillan. Flick, U., von Kardorff, E. and Steinke, I. (2004) A Companion to Qualitative Research. London [et al.]: Sage Publications. Flick, U. (2004) Constructivism, in Flick,U., von Kardorff, E. and Steinke, I. A Companion to Qualitative

Concept of Anxiety by Soren Kierkegaard Essay -- Philosophy Soren Kier

The Moment and Inwardness I. Introduction In The Concept of Anxiety, Sï ¿ ½ren Kierkegaard deals with human anxiety about the possibility posed by freedom as it relates to sinfulness and spiritual progress. This paper will show that Kierkegaard?s concept of the moment and his prescription for inwardness, both in the context of spirituality, are connected. Importantly, inwardness depends on the moment and the possibility of transition that does not take place in time, transition that seems sudden if spotted from a temporal perspective. First, this paper will make sense of Kierkegaard?s concepts of time, eternity, and the moment, which will be an interpretation taken from his discussion at the first part of chapter three. Second, it will explain what his concept of inwardness is and what it means for human life, which will be based on text from chapter four, section two, subsection two (?Freedom Lost Pneumatically?). Finally, it will use those points to explain the connection between the moment and inwardness and then point o ut the importance of that connection. II. Time, Eternity, and the Moment Time and eternity are important concepts that correspond to the finite and infinite aspects of human life. Time is the realm occupied by the human body, the human psyche, and all worldly affairs. In everyday thought people spatialize the events in this finite realm in terms of the past, present, and future. Eternity is the realm of the spirit that synthesizes the body and psyche, and spirit is the aspect of human life that belongs to the infinite. Kierkegaard thinks of eternity strictly in an infinite sense and wants to avoid regarding as eternity the indefinite passing of time. The inspiring concept that begins in the analysis of ... ...s nature. One angle on this is that abstracting the moment from spirituality, namely, to focus on the temporal moment involving worldly affairs, is to prevent spiritual inwardness to be reached. Another angle is to understand that with spirit it is possible to understand the future with an immediate sense of its possibility to go about life as an earnest task, which means that one does not need to be anxious about the future and idly waiting for it to come in order to understand human possibility. Finally, it should be added that since spirituality is best regarded from the immediacy of the moment, understanding the moment helps one understand Kierkegaard?s goal in this work of preparing his readers for understanding the leap of faith. Bibliography Kierkegaard, Sï ¿ ½ren. The Concept of Anxiety. Trans. Reidar Thomte. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1980.

21st Century Hero vs Beowulf Essay

Beowulf was an Anglo-Saxon hero who fought many battles and proved his physical strength. Today, in the 21st century, a hero can be described as someone who is strong willed or strong minded. In our comic books that are now becoming movies our heroes are strong and very brave. Heroes in the 21st century don’t necessarily have to be physically strong but they do have to be strong minded and strong willed. The heroes in our comics are extremely strong. Take Superman for example, his only weakness is kryptonite. He is big and strong and he always saves the world. He may have a lot of enemies but all super  heroes do. Then again he has super powers that make him strong. He survived an attack on his home Planet Krypton and because he gained his super strength. Because of his alien like super strength people didn’t know how to react to him until they found out that he was a good man. Now he is America’s favorite superhero. The same goes for other comic superheroes such as Batman, Spiderman and Ironman. They all have a super power. Spiderman is most like Superman because he had something ‘terrible’ happen to him and gained his super powers. Spiderman was bit by a radioactive spider and acquired spider like senses. He can ‘feel’ when something is wrong with the city and can shoot webs. Batman is most like a normal human being. He is just a rich man powered by the fear of a previous experience with bats. He disguises himself as a human-bat combination and he uses his father’s tools and resources to create everything he uses to save the world. Ironman is similar to Batman in that they both don’t have super powers and they’re both rich. Ironman made a suit of iron with many different ‘superpowers. ’ He can fly and shoot energy from his suit. Our real life 21st century heroes are those that don’t have a superpower that children dream of. Their superpower is that they have faith and they are strong willed or strong minded. The people you automatically think of are those who are battling a terrible life threatening disease but still stay happy and do all that they can at all times. People who have cancer are often the first of our thoughts when thinking of this type of heroes. On CMT’s Worlds Strictest Parents two high strung kids go and live with the Sheffield family. They help a close family friend, Brocker, who is battling cancer. The man has a 14year old daughter and lives on a huge farm. The kids were originally angry that they had to help him until they heard his story. The fact that he had such an illness and still works as much as he can on his farm and takes care of his daughter inspired the two kids. He said people were helping him and when he said they didn’t need to they would say â€Å"remember when you helped me with†¦this is for that. † The people who stay positive while in the worst possible condition are the real heroes. When everything is going wrong and they still keep their head up and smile and try to get through it, they show real and true inner strength and they are heroes. Beowulf is an Anglo-Saxon hero. He is strong according to the scops. They are the story tellers and poets. All of the scops use hyperboles and litotes to show exaggeration and understatement. A hyperbole is an exaggeration. An example of his strength in a hyperbole is on page 22 line 156 when â€Å"For hours he sank through the ways. † This describes the strength of his lungs while fighting Grendels mother. A litote is an understatement. An example of this is on page 293 line 202 saying â€Å"He was weary. † This understates how tired he must be after fighting a huge sea serpent like monster. Both of these statements describe how overall strong Beowulf is. Strong could have different meanings depending on what you mean and how you use it. Beowulf is physically strong in the Anglo-Saxon time period but the type of hero he is, is a fake one. He is just a man in a story saving the town. Beowulf is like the modern day heroes in our comic books. Not real and full of surprises. The real modern day heroes are those fighting for their life. Everything could be going wrong and they still are happy and stay strong and smiling. 21st century heroes don’t necessarily have to be physically strong but they do have to have a strong mind and heart.