One event it had improve my english language Essay

One event it had improve my english language - Essay Example We were a bit relieved to realize that the agents in the airline were from Bahrain and they told me to leave my luggage as I was taking my board to Minneapolis via Chicago which connected to London from Bahrain. This was quite a harrowing experience for a person like my Shalan and I who had limited knowledge of English language and we had great challenge when it came to understanding announcements on shifting from one gate to another as we exchanged flights across the different cities. A few hours after arrival in the airport I heard the departure announcement for my flight in Arabic and hurried to the checkpoint for security check procedure. It here that I realized very few passengers about three or two were speaking Arabic language as the majority was internationals. My worry increased especially when I reached London and realized that only one person with a dark hair, little dark skin in his late of twenties I overheard speaking on the phone was Arabic speaker. I planned to speak to him and seek his help in getting my way out of the Heathrow Airport as we were going to connect to the next stopover. This was after I realized that the person seated next to me was an American after I saw him reading some book written in English. I had earlier in Manama tried to put everything in order and ensure all my documents were intact but I realized that one of my travel documents from London to Chicago was missing. I felt worried and could not settle but didn’t have a way of expressing myself to the English speaking American and so I simply stood and begun to behave in a manner suggesting I had a problem. Even the flight attendant did not understand me until some old man entered the plane with a son and helped in translating my problem from Arabica to the attendant and the American. It is after this that I got a surprising tap on my

Apple and samsung Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Apple and samsung - Essay Example Apple and Samsung companies are doing very well and they have several things in common. The objective of this writing is to compare and evaluate the two major competitor corporations, Apple and Samsung. According to Wagstaff & Kim (2012), it is undeniable that both companies are similar in terms of size though were founded in different periods. Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak founded Apple in 1976 while Samsung was founded in 1938 by a Korean businessperson, Byung-Chull Lee. Even though Samsung started as a vegetable and fruit company, it later started back in 1969 as an electronic company. Apple’s personal computers were amongst the best but later experienced a decrease in sales after the high competition in electronics began. The company then started to produce new product iPod that largely enhanced her revenues. On the other hand, Samsung was developing slowly through introduction of various products in the market prompting it to change her mission statement to keep pace with its growing global operations, changes in the world economy as well as escalation from well-established companies. Moreover, Apple prides herself on innovation and is known for taking 8 years to develop a single product before releasing it to market. Worstall (2013) explains that Apple’s culture is to release products that are not perfect and once released, they make major updates hardly, confident that their original work is the best. This technique ensures a fascinated tech press and awed public, which compels a certain level of security as well as secrecy that segregates the company from attaining valuable market feedback prior to launch. This further raise the stakes of every product launch to the market changing and checking on any of their recent launches such as iPhone 5 and iOS7, it is nearly impossible for Apple live up to the demand for their products. Samsung however, releases a less than perfect product and iterate their way to success, which conforms, to their hi story of releasing new products that are far from perfect. The company does not make massive splash, instead the first generation product is meant to gauge interest and test capabilities since they are content to iterate their way to successful products. It is worth noting that Samsung uses less resources in product launch compared Apple although they are both at the top of the global smartphone market (Worstall, 2013). Although Samsung is a vast industrial conglomerate that manufacturers several things such as refrigerators and semiconductors, most people identifies it with smartphones, which is actually powering her growth. The company’s stunning fourth quarter results saw her profits rising to 87%. It is apparent that the phone division contributed to half of the profit and it does not break out smartphone revenues (Gupta, Kim and Levine, 2013). In 2011, Samsung sold almost 63.5 million in the quarter of which 40 million came from Samsung Galaxy S3 although the market seem to reach saturation in developed countries and the competition is high in developing countries. In the last quarter of 2011, Apple saw a remarkable profit of $13bn, which included 48 million of iPhones outpacing the Samsung Galaxy S3. Apple is even more dependent for profits for profits on smartphones compared to Samsung and Apple still takes a vast share of the mobile phone

Globalization in the middle east Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Globalization in the middle east - Essay Example In recent times, participation in globalization has been a great contributing factor in obtaining stable economic growth in the Middle East. Globalization and its importance in economic development have had a great effect both on the stability of the region and the global financial system. The Middle East region should find a way to use globalization to their benefit. In order for the region to gain integration into the global economy, it is imperative to understand globalization and its impact on Middle East (Schaeffer 67). Thus, it is important to determine the impact of globalization and the perception from the Middle East region. Globalization refers to the spread of customs, attitudes, ideas that started off in a definite part of the world. The issue of globalization is seen to have originated from the Western countries. The Middle East has sound reasons as to why they did not embrace globalization. It is easy to equate globalization with westernization. Regions such as Africa, Europe and South America were to a lesser extent more open to westernization and globalization. They had the notion that they were already western components. The Middle East countries did not want any association to the West so this led to a delay in them embracing globalization. Globalization was related to what was previously termed as modernization. This was a set of beliefs that challenged the traditional norms. Therefore, globalization was perceived as a major threat to tradition and this was valued most by the Middle East region. Globalization is regarded as an inevitable force that changes the face of the world. The world is seen to be a small village where everybody learns to live and interact with each other. Since the conception of globalization, distance and time concepts have changed. Globalization is a trend; this can be perceived as an opportunity and also a threat. Most regimes in Middle East region did not welcome globalization very well. A major contributor was the lack of fundamental change and stability in the region (Schaeffer 109). There has been a long list of problems that been encountered by the Middle East religion, they face political, economical, social and military problems. Almost all the states in the Middle East started to rebuild in the last century. The region has been faced with years of disputes as nobody seems to accept their boundaries. There is a low intensity conflict that seems to be constant in this region. The state system in the Middle East region was based on the ground of the low intensity conflict so they had no hegemonic power. This led to an intervention of outside powers to come and resolve this conflict In order to safeguard the region’s stability. With reference to globalization, the United States in the leading in globalization whereas the Middle East is regarded one of the least globalized regions. The challenge to facilitate globalization is evident at the state level in the Middle East. This seems to be a critical issue with regard to the rest of the world. Probably there is no area in the world that has embraced globalization less than the Middle East. This is due to the fact that the opposition movements, majority of regimes and the intellectuals in the region have all been anti –globalization. It is a well known fact that the Middle East have always resorted to violence in their anti–globalization struggle. Most countries in this region have readily accepted the principle of

Sap America Case Study Essay Example for Free

Sap America Case Study Essay The case is about a company named SAP America, which is the abbreviation for Systems, Applications and Programs in Data Processing, which in three short years had gone from a smaller company to the heavy hitter within the corporate computing world. Within this case there were many details brought to light on the ambition of the founding members, and the eventual additions to the SAP team. The case details how this firm took their R/3 product, which was a real-time, integrated applications software, and changed the game of product market infiltration. In 1972 SAP was founded by four young software engineers who had come up with a concept for an integrated software package, and their current employer turned it down. This initial idea sparked their first major enterprise information systems product. This took their company public, and after five years SAP’s market capitalization was $15 billion. The expansion that occurred began in Walldorf, Germany where SAP was founding and spread to the America Group. This began in the late 1980’s and was crucial to the SAP’s growth. Once their overseas group took off, there were many elements of their business that needed to be altered and improved to account for their growth. Although they began as a product based company it was very clear to everyone involved that taking care of the client, through implementation and support was crucial to differentiating themselves from competitors within the market, and a key to their survival. The development of an industry strategy wa s another crucial action that paralleled the growth and support of SAP. This vertical industry strategy was to be delivered through industry centers of expertise (ICOEs), which to serve as a bridge between R/3 customers and the product development organization. This partnering was the key to SAP’s consistent growth, by using the manpower of outside and inside consultants. At the beginning of its cross seas venture, there was infrastructure and administrative problems. To solve these, more planning, budgeting, and Human resource involvement would be implemented. The organization of infrastructure was a crucial step taken by SAP, providing its salesman, consultants, and support with more clear guidelines on how to better operate and fulfill customer expectations. The new and improved structure that emerged from the alterations and evolutions of the processes began in a meeting in 1996. The two objectives were for SAP America to act more as one company, and to better leverage its size and skills. At that point in the market, SAP was the breadwinner, they had the product, knowledge, and fulfillment that trumped its competition. SAP was out performing its competition by 300%-800%, with results like that, they only had one piece of the puzzle remaining, granted it was a pretty large piece, but working as a single entity was the issue being dealt with. The new organization of lines of business became the big three; sales, consulting, and training. This was put in place to ensure the quality of its vertical organizational roles. Sales was subdivided by size of account, and by emerging markets. Changes with the ICOEs were a little more complicated, and were altered by bringing consistency and standardization to ICOE practices, and developing an integrated approach to marketing within the company by the distribution of knowledge. With the move to America SAP faced many challenges, they stepped back, looked at what needed to be changed, and took s teps to correct them. SAP AG was founded in 1972 by four software engineers. The key points within the case are, In just three years, SAP America went from a small firm to being the phenomenon of the corporate computing world. SAP AG, which is the parent company of SAP America, was the world’s fifth largest software firm and the leading producer of real-time, integrated applications software for client-server computing. SAP’s pinnacle product R/3 helped them dominate the enterprise information systems segment of the client-server market. All of this was under the Company and Industry background section. The case then shifted to Strategic Focus, and discussed SAP’s move to their America Group. Which also contained Canada, Mexico, Latin America, and Australia. Once the focus was set they needed to chart a course of action involving commissioning a sales force to sell their product, and target customers. The key point of regional organization discussed these challe nges. The next key point discussed was Resourcing Explosive growth. Once the product hit the market, it was a wild fire. With such high quality of implementation, fulfillment and results, companies were chomping at the bit to integrate the software. A vertical industry strategy was devised to penetrate markets and build the installed base, rethink and vastly expand their partnership strategy, and dramatically ramp up their service and support capabilities. Managing relationships and gaining cooperation was a crucial element within this point. Professional Services was the next key point in this case study. These were those activities provided to customers for a fee; support activities on the other hand had no fee. Consultation was the core of professional services, along with training. Within consulting SAP worked to provide its customers with the best service as possible when utilizing their product. Training was absolutely essential for all consultants or professional partners of SAP. The next key point within the case study was Support and Infrastructure. During this time of growth there was very little attention given to the licensing and contracts. Through administrative and human resource initiatives both elements were given their proper attention and improved. Also during this time the issues of organizational, systems, and infrastructure were addressed, and through several initiatives were corrected. The next key point within the case study was the Sales and Implementation Process. This point involved the discussion of Presales and Sales, and how in the beginning there was little cohesiveness throughout the company, yet that changed through time. This point also discussed implementation, in which mostly outside partners like Andersen and Price Waterhouse usually took the lead role in R/3 project management and implementation. The next key point was organizational challenges in a shifting market. This point showed challenges with internal and strategic shifts and opportunities. And the final key point was Reorganization, which involved the new structure. This also discussed the key point of challenges in professional services, both within professionalism, and with customer alternatives and involvement. Through this report on SAP America, I was able to learn more in depth about topics we have discussed in class. One thing we have talked about in Chapter 7 is the Benefits of Standards, which weren’t difficult to understand, but the report on SAP helped put it into perspective by applying it to a real life situation. Reducing consumer confusion is considered one of the benefits of Standards. SAP relates to these because part of their strategy to sell and build relationships was to offer demonstrations, test, and help out with setting up after selling to help the customer understand the product better. We’ve talked about making strategic alliances work during class, and SAP definitely puts in a lot of effort to make their partner relationships work. Through the report on SAP America, I definitely learned the importance of strong alliances and making it a goal to keep a good structure and relationship with any partner. I learned how important globalization for a company can be. Not only does a company have the opportunity to become more successful by branching out and starting up in new locations, but they can gain global alliance partners. The decision to spread SAP to America in the 1980’s was crucial to their growth. It helped SAP realize their business strategies need to be altered in order to improve their growth. From the case study, I learned a lot about changing strategy to fix current problem s within the company that may be happening from many different reasons. It seemed that SAP was constantly changing their strategy to better their growth and to fix problems inside and out. They had to do a lot of reorganizing and figure out where it was most important to focus on. I learned that even though a strategy may be working well, it is still okay to change your direction to help maximize growth and fix problems that may exist within a different part of the company. I found this study on SAP to be very understandable and easy to follow. It definitely helped out understanding some topics we have been going over in class and put them into a real world situation.

Rock Bands Essay -- essays research papers

There have been all kinds of different types of rock bands throughout the years. Most of the bands have had a different type of style. All of these different types of style are what has shaped today’s music. Some of the bands from the earlier times were: The Beatles, AC/DC, Guns and Roses and the Bee Gees. The Beatles were the greatest and most powerful act of the rock era. They introduced more innovations into popular music than any other rock band of the 20th century. The Beatles grabbed a hold of the attention in 1964 and never let go for the next six years. The Beatles were the first British rock group to achieve worldwide prominence. The Beatles knew each other and had already been playing together in Liverpool for about five years before they had begun having hit records. As composers, their craft and melodic inventive were the best. As singers, both John Lennon and Paul McCartney were among the best and most expressive vocalists in rock and as performers they were exciting and photogenic. Guitarist and teenage rebel John Lennon got hooked on rock and roll in the mid fifties and formed a band called the Quarrymen at his high school. Around 1957, the Quarrymen were joined by another guitarist, Paul McCartney. Soon another guitarist, George Harrison, joined them. The quarrymen chan ged people throughout the 50’s eventually reducing to the three core guitarist who had proven themselves. The Quarrymen changed their name to the â€Å"Silver Beatles† but soon dropped the â€Å"Silver† to become just â€Å"The Beatles†. Lennon’s art college friend, Stuart Sutcliffe, joined the band on bass. Finding a permanent drummer was hard until in the summer of 1960, Pete Best joined.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The group was forced to expand its repertoire, tighten up its chops, and invest its show with enough manic energy to keep its rowdy crowds satisfied. Sutcliffe soon quit and McCartney took over on the bass. Harrison settled in as lead guitarist and Lennon had rhythm guitar. In the middle of the 1961 the Beatles made their first recordings in Germany. The Hamburg Stint was notable for gaining the Beatles sophisticated, artistic fans. In 1961, the Beatles exploding popularity caught the attention of a local record store owner Brian Epstein, who soon became the bands manager. In 1962, Sutcliffe tragically died from a brain hemorrhage. The Beatles were signed by Martin in the m... ...comber Nightclub. They eventually got their own local television show in Brisbane. Some time after that they took on the name the Bee Gees. In 1962, they landed their first recording contract with the Festival Records label in Australia, debuting with the single Three Kisses of Love. Their first English recording New York Mining Disaster 1941 was released in mid-1967, it made the top 20. The Bee Gees single Massachusetts was a chart topper in England and launched the group on their first wave of stardom. In 1981, the groups new LP, Living Eyes, was recorded but didn’t even make the Top 40. The Bee Gees remained active until the death of Maurice in January of 2003. He died from cardiac arrest at age 53. Soon, Robin and Barry decided to quit performing as the Bee Gees. Some of the bands from the earlier times were: The Beatles, AC/DC, Guns and Roses and The Bee Gees. All of these bands had a certain style which helped shape today’s music. Some of the bands used their bad reputation to help sell their music, when some used the cooler, preppy boy kind of style. However, it seems that all of the bands no matter what the reputation were, good or bad, it grabbed all types of audiences.

B.F. Skinner’s Contribution to Psychology

B. F. Skinner’s Contribution to Modern Psychology Ian K. Connelly Oklahoma State University B. F. Skinner’s Contribution to Modern Psychology As I began to study the history and beginning of psychology there was one man who stood out to me clearly as a powerful force of influence and contributor to the direction psychology has taken in its still very young life. What does it mean to be a major influential contributor to the science of psychology? This man shows us with his groundbreaking theories, inventions and experiments as well as his over 200 books and articles on the field of psychology.He is Burrhus Frederic Skinner and he is one of the reasons psychology is the profound and crucial science that it is today. (New World Encyclopedia contributors, 2008) B. F. Skinner was born in 1904 in Susquehanna, Pennsylvania. His early life consisted of his efforts to become a fictional writer. He attended Hamilton College where he received a B. A. in English literature in 1926 . Afterward he spent some time living with his parents attempting to write fictional books. Cherry, 2013) It was during this time that he began to wonder about how an author was supposed to understand the behaviors of the characters he portrayed without knowing what psychological processes and thoughts lie beneath. His research led him to discover the work of John Broadus Watson who proposed behaviorism for the first time. (Shacter, Gilbert & Wegner, 2011) This seemed to interest him much more than fictional writing did so he applied for the psychology graduate program at Harvard University where he received a doctorate in experimental psychology in 1931.In 1936 he began his teaching career at Michigan University and was married in the same year. He finished his first book, â€Å"Behavior of Organisms† two years later. (Browse Biography, 2011) Throughout the rest of his life Skinner made breakthrough after breakthrough in the field of psychology and behaviorism. In 1945 he be came the Psychology Department Chair at the University of Indiana and in 1948 joined the psychology department at Harvard where he remained for the rest of his life. (Cherry, 2013) Throughout his impressive career he received many more outstanding honors and awards such as theNational Medal of Science, the Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Foundation Award and the Albert Einstein School of Medicine award for excellence in psychiatry as well as many more books and a few inventions. He eventually passed away in 1990 after contributing countless knowledge to the science of psychology. B. F. Skinner is perhaps best recognized for his study and contribution to a particular type of psychology called behaviorism. Behaviorism was first proposed by John Watson who believed that studying the private experience a person has in their mind was too hard of a thing to observe and speculate.He believed psychology had to be studied more as something an organism does that is physically observable by anyone watc hing. Watson, as well as Skinner, was influenced greatly by the experiments done by Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov. Pavlov observed that the dogs he had were becoming accustomed to salivating at the sound of a bell he rang each time he fed them. Eventually he didn’t even have to have food to observe the dogs salivating every time he rang the bell because they had learned to respond a certain way to stimulus.The studies done by Pavlov as well as the work of Watson built the foundation upon which Skinner based the rest of his career in the field of psychology. Skinner observed that in the wild, animals have learned ways to find shelter, food and mates all because they have been conditioned by stimuli to do so. He famously tested this theory by inventing something called an â€Å"operant conditioning chamber†. In this chamber he placed a rat and fixed a lever so that when the rat pressed on the lever it received a pellet of food.He found that after a short time in the c hamber, the rat learned that he was given food each time he pressed the lever so he began pressing it over and over until he was no longer hungry. This experiment furthered his approach towards behaviorism and also added to what Watson had proposed. (Shacter, Gilbert & Wegner, 2011) Also slightly contrary to what Watson and Pavlov believed, he proposed that the behavior of an organism did not depend upon the preceding stimulus but on the reward that occurred after the behavior took place. Cherry, 2013) This led Skinner to state in his book, â€Å"The Behavior of Organisms†, what he called the principle of reinforcement. Reinforcement basically stated that when an organism does something that causes it to benefit in some way, it is likely to repeat the action in order to receive the benefit again. This allows organisms to adapt to their environments and the conditions they live in, in order to survive. (Shacter, Gilbert & Wegner, 2011) Skinner went on to use his ability to inv ent and his interest in behaviorism to try and benefit society in many different ways.He invented such things as the â€Å"Air crib† which was an enclosed chamber to put a baby inside that would allow you to closely monitor and modify the temperature and humidity of the environment. Unfortunately this didn’t quite catch on after people started to compare it to his earlier invention, the operant conditioning chamber, and wonder whether or not it was too cruel for a child. Another quite interesting invention that he proposed was a pigeon guided missile. During world war two, before the U. S. Navy had a practical way to guide a missile, Skinner found an interesting, almost unbelievable method to guide the missiles.He proposed they incased pigeons within parts of the missile. The pigeons would have a screen in front of them showing the view in front of the missile and they would be able to peck towards the target, therefore guiding the missile in that direction. Amazingly this idea proved to be successful in testing, however, the military found it too eccentric and impractical to be used and never took the idea seriously. (New World Encyclopedia contributors, 2008) Not only was Skinner known for his strange, ingenious inventions but he was also known for proposing an idea which gained him much criticism.In his books â€Å"Beyond Freedom and Dignity† and â€Å"Walden II† Skinner talked about a society completely controlled via behaviorism principles such as reinforcement. Theoretically this society would be made perfect using scientific planning to reinforce all the individuals do behave in the correct ways. In these books he claimed that free will is subjective and only an illusion because we are all accustomed to behaving in the ways we do because we have been reinforced by society over the years to behave that way.This was not a popular statement among critics who said he was giving away humanities free will and thought his goal was t o use his science to manipulate people. These claims seemed to be taken to the extreme however; Skinner merely meant to emphasize the importance reinforcement could have on society. (Shacter, Gilbert & Wegner, 2011) Although behaviorism is no longer looked at as the most important way to view psychology, Skinner had a great impact on society and what we know as psychology today.His work with the conditioning chamber is still considered vital information to psychology today. Professionals in the field of mental health still use his operant techniques today on their clients. (Cherry, 2013) The information in his book â€Å"Verbal Behavior† is still a topic of interest in experimental and applied settings currently. (New World Encyclopedia contributors, 2008) Even teachers and animal trainers use his concept of reinforcement and punishment every day to shape the way kids in their classroom or the animals they train behave. (Cherry, 2013)In a 2002 survey, Skinner was voted to be the number one most influential psychologist of the 20th century by psychologists. His honors, awards, positions, titles and honorary degrees are almost too numerous to even count. I think the evidence as well as the opinions of other psychologists show just how much of an impact this man made on the psychological science. There is no doubt psychology is the science that intro to psych students such as myself are learning about today because of the numerous contributions and influence of B. F. Skinner. (Shacter, Gilbert & Wegner, 2011)References Browse Biography. (2011, January 25). B. f. skinner biography. Retrieved from http://www. browsebiography. com/bio-b_f_skinner. html Cherry, K. (2013). B. f. skinner biography (1904-1990) . Retrieved from http://psychology. about. com/od/profilesofmajorthinkers/p/bio_skinner. htm New World Encyclopedia contributors. (2008, April 4). B. f. skinner. Retrieved from http://www. newworldencyclopedia. org/p/index. php? title=B. _F. _Skinner&oldid= 687766 Shacter, D. , Gilbert, D. , & Wegner, D. (2011). Psychology. (2nd ed. , pp. 16-18). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.

12 Angry Men: Leadership Essay

In the movie 12 Angry Men there were two primary examples of leadership. The first was in the beginning of the movie, when the foreman gets everyone together in the room and has them sit down, assigning them each a number. He then proceeds to go over the process and rules they will proceed with, and sets up the initial voting. After the initial voting, he has them go around in a circle one by one to discuss the reasons why they voted the way they did. As the film progresses, the leadership shifts towards man number 8, the one who initially voted not guilty. He demonstrates behavioral leadership as he begins to give information and supporting arguments of why there could be reasonable doubt to accuse the boy of murder, while staying calm and collected and involving the team members input in the discussion. He begins standing up and persuasively presenting his arguments, winning the team over one by one. Roles: The two men demonstrating leadership within the group were the two who most demonstrated task roles. The foreman performed task roles when he set up the initial voting and numbering process, and how they would each present one at a time around the circle. Man number 8 played the role of information seeker as he dug deeper into the alleged witness information, questioning the testimony and setting up scenarios to demonstrate that the testimony could have been misleading. He proved over and over again that there was reasonable doubt to the testimony given, as demonstrated when he set up the model of the hallway and walked it like the old man. He also proved reasonable doubt when he brought up the fact that the woman who had allegedly seen the murder through the el-train had worn glasses, and that she most likely was not wearing glasses in bed when she allegedly looked up and saw the murder occur through the window. There were many social roles performed within the group as well. The foreman acted in the role of keeping everyone in line and in turn when things got a little out of hand. Men 3 and 10 were both opinion givers, stating strong preferences against the boy, saying things about how boys who grow up in slums are born criminals. Man number 7 was a compromiser when he opted to change his vote to not guilty because he thought it would get them out of the room quicker, as his only concern was getting to his baseball game. Man number 8 played the role of convincer, as he went through each piece of evidence one by one and breaking down the evidence to prove that there could have been reasonable doubt to whether the boy was the murderer or not. He did this in several ways, such as the presentation of the hallway model and glasses theory discussed in the leadership section, as well as the testimony about the knife that was found, by pulling an identical one out of his pocket and saying he purchased it cheaply two blocks from where the murder took place at a pawn shop. As far as boundary spanning roles, the only boundary spanning that occurred within this group was when man number 8 asked the man outside the room for the evidence of the knife that was used and the model of the apartment that the old man lived in. There were many participation problems within this group as well. There was constant interruption of one another by just about every man in the room. This interrupted the rules that had been set of each man taking a turn in circle presenting their opinions and the support for their opinions. The group did not foster a safe environment for each member to discuss their opinion either. Whenever one man would raise a question about the possibility of reasonable doubt or change their vote to not guilty there would be an uproar, mostly from men numbers 3 and 10. Perhaps another reason the group performed so poorly was because there was no relational development within the group. They were there strictly to perform a task, leading to poor team cohesion and lack of trust among one another. Men number 3 and 10 among others also demonstrated aggression, which led to much of the unhealthy conflict put forth within the group. By choosing aggression over cooperation, they put themselves at an automatic disadvantage within the group, as aggression led to a lack of credibility among those who demonstrated it. The group did not share a common goal, which also led to poor performance. Some team members had alternative motives, such as man number 3 who was showing aggression towards teen boys because of the poor experience he had with his own teenager and man number 7 who wanted to get in and out of the discussion as quickly as possible because he had baseball tickets for that night. The bigotry and grudge against teenage boys prevented men numbers 3 and 10 from being constructive team members and probably should have disqualified them from serving on that jury in the first place. This team dealt with participation problems within the group in a number of ways. One way was that they began sticking up for each other when one man would become aggressive towards another. The group moved away from man number 10 when he went on his rampage about young boys and how they are all criminals, prompting man number 4 to tell him to shut his mouth and not speak again. Decision Making: The 12 angry men were forced into making a consensus decision because that was the only way they could present a verdict to the judge. They used nominal group technique because their decision making was solely task related and required no social relational development. They used a democratic voting system and kept re-voting until the vote was unanimous. They mostly used open voting where each member raised their hand but in one instance did use secret voting where they submitted their decisions via ballot. The consensus approach was not very effective for this group at first given how far apart some group members were on their stances, but given the severity of their decision it was definitely the appropriate approach to use. Power & Influence: Man number 8 demonstrated the most different types of power throughout the debate. He demonstrated informational power at first by providing information about discrepancies in some of the evidence and witness testimony in the case, such as when he brought out the knife he had purchased at a pawn shop near the crime scene for very cheap, demonstrating that it was possible that the knife found at the crime scene was not the one that had belonged to the boy accused of murder. He began to develop referent power as the movie progressed, as one by one he won over the group members until they were all backing him and supporting his case. The foreman began with legitimate power as he was the head of the group and assigned the men their numbers and set the rules for how the discussion would progress, but quickly lost that power as other men began to break the set rules and become unruly. Man number 5 demonstrated expert power when he showed the men how to properly use a switch blade knife, proving that the shorter boy would not have been able to stab downward into his taller father if he was holding the knife properly. Man number 6 demonstrated information power about how loud the passing el-trains were because he worked by one for a couple weeks. Therefore his information was able to discredit the old man’s testimony about having heard the boy scream â€Å"I’m gonna kill you† from the apartment. Man number 9 demonstrated information power about the woman who had supposedly seen the murder occur when he remembered she had been rubbing marks by her nose, meaning that she wore glasses. Man number 4 gave credibility to this theory and said that he did not wear glasses to bed and that nobody would, discrediting the women’s claims to have looked up from bed and seen the murder occur through the windows of the passing el-train. Man number 6 demonstrated coercive power towards man number 3 when man number 3 threatened man number 9, telling man number 3 that if he threatened 9 again he would lay him out. Information power proved to be the most effective in this case because the information presented was really the only factor in changing the men’s votes from guilty to not guilty. Conflict: Task conflict occurred during the decision making process on whether the jury should continue debating the murder or deliver a hung jury verdict. Process conflict occurred when the foreman told man number 10 he could be the leader if he wanted when man number 10 questioned the leadership style of the foreman, to which man number 10 quickly backed down. Another example of process conflict was when man number 8 takes away the tic tac toe game from men numbers 12 and 3, scolding them for playing a game during a serious trial when they should not be taking things lightly. Relational conflict occurred most often during this movie, such as the conflict between men numbers 10 and 5 when man number 10 made a remark about slums and how he didn’t want any part of those people. Man number 5, who had grown up in a slum, became offended and said â€Å"maybe you can still smell the garbage on me. † Relational conflict also occurred when the men dealt with the bigotry of man number 10 by turning their backs on him, and when man number 4 told him to shut his mouth and not speak again. The conflict styles of the jurors differed greatly also. Man number 12 displayed avoidance, particularly when he kept talking about his marketing firm and playing tic tac toe with man number 3. Men numbers 2 and 9 displayed accommodation at the beginning, when they were hesitant to raise their hands for the guilty verdict but seemed to do so because everyone else was. Man number 7 also displayed accommodation when he changed his vote to not guilty later in the movie because he thought it would help get the group out of there faster so he could make his aseball game on time. Men numbers 3 and 10 displayed mostly confrontational conflict style because in order to get their points across they would stand up from the table, yell and scream about their points, and get in the faces and disrespect others who disagreed with them. Man number 8 was the primary one to display collaboration, because he worked well with the other men and the evidence to come to conclusions about the various evidence and testimony presented in the case. Most of the conflicts in this case were not successfully resolved because of the yelling and bigotry that took place between many of the men. At times even the rather calm men who displayed collaboration such as men 2 and 9 began yelling at the others who had started the unhealthy conflict. The more information that was provided and the more conclusions that the men came to about the evidence, the more healthy the conflict styles became save for those of men 3 and 10, who displayed unhealthy conflict styles until the very end of the movie.

Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)

Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) was an organization established during the Civil Rights Movement. Established in April 1960 at Shaw University, SNCC organizers worked throughout the South planning sit-ins, voter registration drives and protests. The organization was no longer in operation by the 1970s as the Black Power Movement became popular. As a former SNCC member argues: In a time when the civil rights struggle is presented as a bedtime story with a beginning, middle, and end, it is important to revisit the work of SNCC and their call for transforming American democracy. Establishment of SNCC In 1960, Ella Baker, an established civil rights activist and an official with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), organized African American college students who had been involved in the 1960 sit-ins to a meeting at Shaw University. In opposition to Martin Luther King Jr., who wanted the students to work with the SCLC, Baker encouraged the attendees to create an independent organization. James Lawson, a theology student at Vanderbilt University, wrote a mission statement we affirm the philosophical or religious ideals of nonviolence as the foundation of our purpose, the presupposition of our faith, and the manner of our action. Nonviolence, growing from Judaic-Christian traditions, seeks a social order of justice permeated by love. That same year, Marion Barry was elected as SNCCs first chairman. Freedom Rides By 1961, SNCC was gaining prominence as a civil rights organization. That year, the group galvanized students and civil rights activists to participate in the Freedom Rides to investigate how effectively the Interstate Commerce Commission was enforcing the Supreme Court ruling of equal treatment in interstate travel. By November of 1961, SNCC was organizing voter registration drives in Mississippi. SNCC also organized desegregation campaigns in Albany, Ga. known as the Albany Movement. March on Washington In August of 1963, SNCC was one of the chief organizers of the March on Washington along with Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), the SCLC and the NAACP. John Lewis, chairman of SNCC was scheduled to speak but his criticism of the proposed civil rights bill caused other organizers to pressure Lewis to change the tone of his speech. Lewis and SNCC led listeners in a chant, to We want our freedom, and we want it now. Freedom Summer The following summer, SNCC worked with CORE as well as other civil rights organizations to register Mississippi voters. That same year, SNCC members helped establish the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party to create diversity in the states Democratic Party. The work of SNCC and the MFDP caused the National Democratic Party to mandate that all states have equality in its delegation by the 1968 election. Local Organizations From initiatives such as Freedom Summer, voter registration, and other initiatives, local African American communities began creating organizations to meet the needs of their community. For instance, in Selma, African Americans state the Lowndes County Freedom Organization. Later Years and Legacy By the late 1960s, SNCC changed its name to the Student National Coordinating Committee to reflect its changing philosophy. Several members, particularly James Forman believed that nonviolence might not be the only strategy to overcoming racism. Forman once admitted that he did not know how much longer we can stay nonviolent. Under the leadership of Stokely Carmicheal, SNCC began protesting against the Vietnam War and became aligned with the  Black Power Movement. By the 1970s, SNCC was no longer an active organization   Former SNCC member Julian Bond has said, a  final SNCC legacy is the destruction of the psychological shackles which had kept black southerners in physical and mental peonage; SNCC helped break those chains forever. It demonstrated that ordinary women and men, young and old, could perform extraordinary tasks.

Direct Speech Definition and Examples

Direct Speech Definition and Examples Direct speech is a report of the exact words used by a speaker or writer. Contrast with indirect speech. Also called direct discourse. Direct speech is usually placed inside quotation marks and accompanied by a reporting verb, signal phrase, or quotative frame. Examples and Observations A South Carolina parrot was the sole witness to the death by neglect of a 98-year-old woman. Help me, Help me, said the parrot. Ha ha ha!(reported in Harpers Magazine, February 2011)I went in search of the good beer. Along the way, I caught an intriguing snippet of conversation in the sunroom:â€Å"So if I win at that table, I’ll go on to the World Series,† said the mom I know as some kind of government contractor.â€Å"World Series?† you ask.â€Å"Of Poker,† she replied. â€Å"I went last year.†Whoa.(Petula Dvorak, White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner Has Nothing on Suburban Fete. The Washington Post, May 3, 2012)How old are you? the man asked.The little boy, at the eternal question, looked at the man suspiciously for a minute and then said, Twenty-six. Eight hunnerd and forty eighty.His mother lifted her head from the book. Four, she said, smiling fondly at the little boy.Is that so? the man said politely to the little boy. Twenty -six. He nodded his head at the mother across the aisle. Is that your mother?The little boy leaned forward to look and then said, Yes, thats her.Whats your name? the man asked.The little boy looked suspicious again. Mr. Jesus, he said.(Shirley Jackson, The Witch. The Lottery and Other Stories. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1949) Direct Speech and Indirect Speech While direct speech purports to give a verbatim rendition of the words that were spoken, indirect speech is more variable in claiming to represent a faithful report of the content or content and form of the words that were spoken. It is important to note, however, that the question of whether and how faithful a given speech report actually is, is of a quite different order. Both direct and indirect speech are stylistic devices for conveying messages. The former is used as if the words being used were those of another, which are therefore pivoted to a deictic center different from the speech situation of the report. Indirect speech, in contrast, has its deictic center in the report situation and is variable with respect to the extent that faithfulness to the linguistic form of what was said is being claimed. (Florian Coulmas, Reported Speech: Some General Issues. Direct and Indirect Speech, ed. by F. Coulmas. Walter de Gruyter, 1986) Direct Speech as Drama When a speaking event is reported via direct speech forms, it is possible to include many features that dramatize the way in which an utterance was produced. The quotative frame can also include verbs which indicate the speakers manner of expression (e.g. cry, exclaim, gasp), voice quality (e.g. mutter, scream, whisper), and type of emotion (e.g. giggle, laugh, sob). It can also include adverbs (e.g. angrily, brightly, cautiously, hoarsely, quickly, slowly) and descriptions of the reported speakers style and tone of voice, as illustrated in [5]. [5a] I have some good news, she whispered in a mischievous way.[5b] What is it? he snapped immediately.[5c] Cant you guess? she giggled.[5d] Oh, no! Dont tell me youre pregnant he wailed, with a whining nasal sound in his voice. The literary style of the examples in [5] is associated with an older tradition. In contemporary novels, there is often no indication, other than separate lines, of which character is speaking, as the direct speech forms are presented like a dramatic script, one after the other. (George Yule, Explaining English Grammar. Oxford University Press, 1998) Like: Signaling Direct Speech in Conversation An interesting new way of signaling direct speech has recently developed among younger English speakers and is spreading from the United States to Britain. This occurs entirely in spoken conversation, rather than in writing, . . . but here are some examples anyway. (It may help to imagine an American teenager speaking these examples.) - . . . Though the construction is new [in 1994] and not yet standard, its meaning is very clear. It seems to be used more often to report thoughts rather than actual speech. (James R. Hurford, Grammar: A Students Guide. Cambridge University Press, 1994) Differences in Reported Speech Even in the days of audio and video recording, there can be surprising differences in direct quotations attributed to the same source. A simple comparison of the same speech event covered in different newspapers can illustrate the problem. When his country was not invited to a meeting of the Commonwealth of Nations in 2003, the president of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, said the following in a televised speech, according to The New York Times: If our sovereignty is what we have to lose to be re-admitted into the Commonwealth, Mr. Mugabe was quoted as saying on Friday, we will say goodbye to the Commonwealth. And perhaps the time has now come to say so. (Wines 2003) And the following according to an Associated Press story in the Philadelphia Inquirer. If our sovereignty is to be real, then we will say goodbye to the Commonwealth, [sic; second quotation mark missing] Mugabe said in remarks broadcast on state television. Perhaps the time has come to say so. (Shaw 2003) Did Mugabe produce both versions of these comments? If he gave only one, which published version is accurate? Do the versions have different sources? Are the differences in the exact wording significant or not?(Jeanne Fahnestock, Rhetorical Style: The Uses of Language in Persuasion. Oxford University Press, 2011)

Everyday French Phrases

Everyday French Phrases There are some French phrases that you will hear literally every day or even multiple times a day and even use yourself. If you are studying French, or plan to visit France, its important that you learn and practice five often-used French phrases. Ah Bon Ah Bon  literally means oh good, though  it  commonly translates into English as: Oh yes?Really?Is that so?I see. Ah bon  is used primarily as a soft interjection, even when its a question  where a  speaker is indicating interest and maybe a little surprise. The examples list the French sentence on the left with the English translation on the right.      Speaker 1:  Jai vu un film intà ©ressant hier.  I saw an interesting movie yesterday.  Ã‚   Speaker 2: Ah  bon?     Oh, yes? Or in this example: Speaker 1: Je pars aux États-Unis la semaine prochaine.   Im going to the United States next week.  Speaker 2: Ah bon? Really? Ça va Ça  va  literally means it goes. Used in casual conversation,  it can be both a question and a reply, but its an informal expression. You probably wouldnt want to ask your boss or a stranger this question unless the setting was casual. One of the most common uses of  Ãƒ §a  va  is  as a greeting  or to ask how someone is doing, as in: Salut, Guy, à §a va?   Hi, Guy, hows it going?Comment à §a va?   Hows it going? The expression  can also be an exclamation: Oh! Ça va!   Hey, thats enough! Cestdire Use cestdire when you want to say I mean or that is. Its a way to clarify what youre trying to explain, as in: Il faut à ©crire ton nom l, cestdire, ici.   You need to write your name there, I mean, here. Il faut que tu commences y mettre du tien ici.   You need to start pulling your weight around here. Il Faut In French, its often necessary to say its necessary. For that purpose, use il faut, which is the conjugated form of  falloir,  an  irregular French verb.  Falloir  means to be necessary or to need. It is  impersonal, meaning that it has only one grammatical person: the third person singular. It may be followed by the subjunctive, an infinitive, or a noun. You can use  il faut  as follows:   Ã‚  Il faut partir.  Ã‚  Its necessary to leave.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Il faut que nous partions.   We have to leave.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Il faut de largent pour faire à §a.   You need money to do that. Note that this last example literally translates to, Its necessary to have money. But, the sentence translates into normal English as You need money to do that, or You have to have money for that. Il Y A Whenever youd say there is or there are in English, you would use  il y a in French.  It is most commonly followed by an  indefinite article   noun, a  number   noun, or an  indefinite pronoun, as in: Il y a des enfants l-bas.   There are some kids over there.Jai vu le film il y a trois semaines.   I saw the movie three weeks ago.Il y a 2 ans que nous sommes partis.   We left two years ago.

What constitutes a well-written paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

What constitutes a well-written paper - Essay Example Another is working with people who are not team players. As they say, there is always at least one in a group who does less than the others. Also, very essential to a good paper is impeccable grammar and diction, for these contribute to the intelligibility of a written work. Style is also a big consideration. A good paper must not just be informative-being enjoyable earns points too. A very important challenge one must take on when writing papers is taking care to cite properly. Whatever the stylebook followed, whether APA or MLA for instance, ideas and quotations must be properly attributed and sources properly cited. This includes accuracy in the authors' names, the publishing information, and in some cases, the page number of the book. This is important so as to ensure that no cases of plagiarism are incurred. I have discovered that I, like most people, have problems with grammar accuracy. While this is excusable for no one is perfect, I strive to write papers with good grammar by constantly revising and editing my papers. Each time I read something I have written, I find things that could be improved on; thus, a second, third and fourth look never hurts. Also, the University of Phoenix has resources that have helped me with writing papers. The different eBooks, the online library, various tutorials for writing excellent papers, and the plagiarism checker helps me with making sure that I come close to producing a well-written paper.... As they say, there is always at least one in a group who does less than the others. But being part of a team isn't all that bad. For one thing, the workload gets lighter, and in times of trouble, there are people you can count on to help. You also learn how to deal with people better, and how to manage and keep a business-like attitude when needed. Also, it's a good chance to meet people and make connections. In the professional world, knowing people and more importantly, having friends can go a long way. Therefore, developing a team charter is important. Q3 After reading the three chapters on decision making and reading the White Paper on the Problem-Solving Approach, what do you find they have in commonWhere are the differencesIs using a problem-solving approach an Eastern or a Western strategy Why The reading for chapter 6 talks about the difference between the Eastern, and the Western Strategy. Basically, using a problem-solving strategy is an Eastern strategy while creating a new product before your competitors do is the Western strategy. The problem with the latter strategy is that there is very little time given for testing the research and ensuring that all potential problems are addressed-this strategy gambles. An example of this is New Coke. Coca-Cola produced New Coke to compete with Pepsi. The problem with this is that Coca-Cola did minimal research to get their product out so that they could compete. New Coke ended up having a negative effect, and customers stopped buying it because of the unpleasant taste. Coca-Cola took a big financial hit by releasing New Coke. They quickly brought the original Coca-Cola back, but just added the name Classic to reiterate to the customers that it is back to the original product. The Eastern

Relationship with Boss Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Relationship with Boss - Essay Example The traditional concept was top-down approach and there was no question of managing the relationship with the boss. However, in the modern context, the concept has changed and the both-way approach has begun to prevail within the various organizations. In present times, the subordinates are required to develop certain traits through which their relationship with the boss can be managed effectively. According to Geisler (2011), knowledge about the working habits of the boss is essential for the subordinates in order to manage the relationship. It has also been observed that the subordinates should communicate with the boss in the way which is liked by the latter. The values of the boss are required to be recognized by the subordinate and he or she should try to align the boss’s values with his or her own. The structure of this paper will be focused upon the various approaches mentioned by the writers of the two articles. In this section of the research paper, the understanding of the subordinate or the manager of the retail chain (about herself) will be discussed. The manager should be specific about the fact that in her relationship with the boss, she is holding one part, the other part being the boss. Hence, for making the relationship effective, the manager should understand her own necessities along with strengths and weaknesses and personal style. Although it is not possible to change the nature of any person and so do the boss and the subordinate, the manager should strive for recognizing her personal traits that are hindering the growth of an effective relationship with the boss. The manager should then try out ways through which her discrepancies can be eradicated and the relationship can be made worthy.

The challengs facing kindergarten teachers for deal with children whom Essay

The challengs facing kindergarten teachers for deal with children whom English is an additional language - Essay Example There was the definition of the research question and the explanation of the significance of the paper. The second chapter looked into the literature of challenges faced by kindergarten teachers when dealing with children whom English is an additional language. The chapter critically evaluated the consideration of the essence of bilingual education in the kindergarten. This chapter mostly focused on various policy issues in the UK related to kindergarten classrooms that teach English as a second language. The third chapter concentrated on the research methodology and design. This was a qualitative research because the results are expected to describe challenges facing ESL kindergarten teachers, rather than predicting the challenges. The fourth chapter dealt with the outcome of the study. The discussion of these findings is in chapter five. The section dealt with the interpretation of results of the study into the challenges faced by teachers of kindergarten pupils with EAL. The last chapter focused on the conclusion and recommendation of the study. Here, the paper identified implication for the change and summarized the key findings. According to Clarke (2009), most parents who English are not their families’ first language, worry how their children will cope in an English-speaking kindergarten. Kindergarten teachers are used to helping children whose English is an additional language. Statistics indicate that, one in nine kindergarten pupils learns English as an additional language in the UK (Colombo, 2014). A language mismatch between teachers and the children they teach in Kindergarten, as noted in a study by Bialystok (1991), can result in uncomfortable classroom experiences for some children and teachers. The children that join Kindergarten and find familiar environments and teachers who speak English, feel they are moving ‘around the same

Sex Education Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Sex Education Paper - Essay Example I have personally felt the need to re-evaluate our cultural and traditional understandings of these issues and how they affect our understanding as we continue to grow up. I got a lot of information about sex and sexuality from very different sources. My family, both my parents and aunts, were at hand to provide me with a wide range of information about myself and my body and how to act and keep myself amidst all the changes that were taking place in my body during my teenage years. The media were also very instrumental in giving me information through various TV shows, music and movies. I also got to read magazines and journals about sexual health, some of which were very erotic. School was also a very important environment for me to learn more about sex, both informally through my friends and formally through the school curriculum. In the later stages of my teenage years, I mostly relied on my peers and the internet for information since we had a common consensus that our parents d id not provide us with helpful information and that they did not want us to participate in sexual activities for unknown or unqualified reasons at the time. A recent study about reproductive health among youths and adolescents conducted by Stanford University, however, points out that the sources that I relied upon such as the internet are to a large extent erratic. The study found out that some of the information contained on various websites across the internet contain outdated advice, omissions and are riddled with errors, therefore, making them possible channels of misinformation and myths associated with sex and sexuality (Knox and Schacht 58). Given this wide range of informational sources regarding this subject, I must admit that my sexual life as a teenager was based on a lot of misinformation and myths which at the time, I believed to be the absolute truth. Some of them, especially the ones I got from school my parents, were in fact true although I did not regard them as su ch during the that time. My parents and close family relatives told me a lot of lies about sex in a bid to protect me from knowing the truth at such a tender age for fear that I would be interested in trying out. They, therefore, sought to present sex as a negative and an unpleasant thing, most especially if done outside marriage. One of the biggest myths that I gathered at from this is that marital sex is the only safe, desired and enjoyable sexual activity. Over the year, however, as I have grown up and gathered more information, both from experience and from reliable research studies, I have come to the conclusion that it is not true. Marital sex, despite being legitimate, is coupled up with so many issues involving consensus. I was stunned to discover that rape can also occur in a marriage set up in cases where one of the partners does not consent to the sexual activity (Knox and Schacht 67). This proved to me that marital sex is not that much enjoyable as it was portrayed to me by my family. It was only a myth to help me avoid being involved in sexual activities at a young age and before marriage. Among my peers, we believed that having multiple sexual partners before would help one to be more experienced

Linguistics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Linguistics - Essay Example How do word-deaf patients cope and how they understand and comprehend important ideas and concepts. â€Å"Pure word deafness (PWD) is a rare auditory disorder that is characterized by a selective deficit in comprehending spoken words, while the identification of nonverbal sounds remains intact.† (Zhu, et al., 2010, p. 843). This is a form of brain damage that makes it challenging for a person to comprehend words that are spoken to him or her. Pure word deafness is characterised by a selective problem of accessing language sound patterns and word forms (Rickheit & Strohne, 2012). This means that the sound patterns and variety of words presented to a person suffering from this condition are not understood by such an individual. This is distinguished from cortical auditory deficit by the fact that pure word deaf persons can hear and comprehend music and environmental sounds (Kaga, 2013). Thus, by implication, pure word deaf patients can hear and understand music as well as environmental sounds around them. However, they cannot hear words spoken to them by a third party. Pure deafness is scientifically known as Auditory Agnosia for speech and verbal communication (Feinberg & Farah, 2012). This expresses the difference and inconsistency in comprehension of verbal discourse and the lack thereof of verbal auditory recognition. â€Å"The underlying problem of a person with word-sound deafness is at the stage of extracting the phonetic features from the speech input such that the patient has problems discriminating between widely variant words (the severe form) or between similar sounding words† (Ingram, 2014, p. 166). This means that the person with word deafness has some challenges in decoding the phonetic and sound elements of speech and cannot sort it out for onward interpretation and understanding. Pure Word Deafness is caused by a brainstem lesion which is a complication that often comes with

Sex Education Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Sex Education Paper - Essay Example I have personally felt the need to re-evaluate our cultural and traditional understandings of these issues and how they affect our understanding as we continue to grow up. I got a lot of information about sex and sexuality from very different sources. My family, both my parents and aunts, were at hand to provide me with a wide range of information about myself and my body and how to act and keep myself amidst all the changes that were taking place in my body during my teenage years. The media were also very instrumental in giving me information through various TV shows, music and movies. I also got to read magazines and journals about sexual health, some of which were very erotic. School was also a very important environment for me to learn more about sex, both informally through my friends and formally through the school curriculum. In the later stages of my teenage years, I mostly relied on my peers and the internet for information since we had a common consensus that our parents d id not provide us with helpful information and that they did not want us to participate in sexual activities for unknown or unqualified reasons at the time. A recent study about reproductive health among youths and adolescents conducted by Stanford University, however, points out that the sources that I relied upon such as the internet are to a large extent erratic. The study found out that some of the information contained on various websites across the internet contain outdated advice, omissions and are riddled with errors, therefore, making them possible channels of misinformation and myths associated with sex and sexuality (Knox and Schacht 58). Given this wide range of informational sources regarding this subject, I must admit that my sexual life as a teenager was based on a lot of misinformation and myths which at the time, I believed to be the absolute truth. Some of them, especially the ones I got from school my parents, were in fact true although I did not regard them as su ch during the that time. My parents and close family relatives told me a lot of lies about sex in a bid to protect me from knowing the truth at such a tender age for fear that I would be interested in trying out. They, therefore, sought to present sex as a negative and an unpleasant thing, most especially if done outside marriage. One of the biggest myths that I gathered at from this is that marital sex is the only safe, desired and enjoyable sexual activity. Over the year, however, as I have grown up and gathered more information, both from experience and from reliable research studies, I have come to the conclusion that it is not true. Marital sex, despite being legitimate, is coupled up with so many issues involving consensus. I was stunned to discover that rape can also occur in a marriage set up in cases where one of the partners does not consent to the sexual activity (Knox and Schacht 67). This proved to me that marital sex is not that much enjoyable as it was portrayed to me by my family. It was only a myth to help me avoid being involved in sexual activities at a young age and before marriage. Among my peers, we believed that having multiple sexual partners before would help one to be more experienced

Orwell Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Orwell - Essay Example ger of a lumber company in Burma, is stationed along with a dozen or so British citizens in Kyauktada, a small village which one of the British refers to as â€Å"a filthy hole.†(184) The social center for these minor government officials and company managers stationed in the â€Å"bloody, bloody hole† (18) is the Club whose policy is Whites Only, for it is whites who administer government in this outpost of imperialistic British rule of the subcontinent. The amount of liquor consumed in the Club by its male members, most of them infantile and cynical, is staggering. When the British Commissioner suggests the Club elect one non-white to membership, most of the Englishmen are enraged. But the news has filtered into the native community where two men, U Po Kyin and Dr. Veraswami, wish to be honored by joining. U Po Kyin is a Subdivisional Magistrate of Kyauktada who prospers by graft and plotting, while the doctor respects everything British; his ardor for Englishmen impels him to call them â€Å"torchbearers upon the path of progress.†(42) But the grossly obese U Po Kyin sees the doctor as an enemy and methodically destroys his reputation. Flory is the doctor’s friend and is criticized for being so by racist members of the Club. He is also, consequently, a ‘mark’ for U Po Kyin and, like the doctor, is ultimately so disgraced (as well as disconsolate over Elizabeth Lackertseen’s rejection) that he commits suicide. â€Å"Absolute power corrupts, but absolute powerlessness corrupts absolutely.† This observation, made by once Presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson, encapsulates what most often occurs when Third World countries are conquered and then ruled by more ‘advanced’ countries. Ugandan President and criminal, Idi Amin, for example, has been thought by many to be merely aping, though perhaps without their subtlety, what he’d learned from the British during their occupation of his country. This is apparent in Orwell’s depiction of the British in

Creationism vs Evolutionism Essay Example for Free

Creationism vs Evolutionism Essay From the beginning of time there has been a controversy about how the world was created. At this time we can agree that there can only be one of two ways that the world could have been created, and that is scientifically or non scientifically. While in the world today mostly everything is being created from science although that might not have been the case back in the days. In this research paper I will try to show the difference between the two and how they are still one in the same. While this research paper is not designed to persuade you in your beliefs, it is a bucket of knowledge that will better educate you on the two. The Creationism vs. Evolutionism controversy represents a clash between two ways of relating to the world (scientific/non-scientific). The central idea of biological evolution (scientific) is that all life on Earth shares a common ancestor, just as you and your cousins share a common grandmother. Creationism (non-scientific) is someone who believes in a god who is absolute creator of heaven and earth, out of nothing, by an act of free will. Creationists do not believe that all of today’s living things evolved from simple organisms changing slowly over time. Creationism opposes the idea of human evolution. (Ruse, Michael, fall 2008) Since the creation of the universe is typically explained by two popular beliefs. One being the scientific explanation and the other being biblical explanation. These are two very different explanations, and while I believe ones religious beliefs can have a role in which explanation one chooses to follow, one is free to choose how they believe the world was created. The scientific explanation is explained by the Big Bang Theory. A basic definition of the Big Bang Theory is that the universe began at a specific time and has been cooling and expanding ever since. According to this explanation, a hot ball of energy expanded outward in all directions and in time radiation and matter began to rise. Gravity now comes in to play and draws the matter into dense regions. After billions of years this formed all things that exist now, stars, planets and galaxies. In our text the biblical explanation for the creation of the universe is explained to us through the Judeo-Christian Biblical account of the creation of earth. The Judeo-Christian account is believed that God made its first inhabitants, fashioning them out of clay, and breathing life into them. With this theory it is obvious to see the two explanations; scientific and biblical are very different. Scientific belief is the universe was created through hot energy expanding and eventually creating our galaxies. The biblical explanation is the belief of the Holy Spirit (God) created all things. With these two very different explanations I dont see how they can become reconciled. Being of Pentecostal faith, I was taught, and brought up to believe in the biblical explanation. However, one cannot ignore the scientific explanation. With the research given today it’s hard to deny the scientific facts available. For some it can be difficult picking one explanation if they don’t believe in religion, for me, I can believe is that the world was created by (god) and the continued creation that came there after over time is created through science. Creationism vs. volutionism has often been incorrectly drawn out as a debate between science and religion, very little can be gained by debating evolution vs. creationism. Two of the biggest obstacles to effective debate on the topic are: †¢The lack of conclusive scientific evidence to forever resolve the issue †¢And the lack of open mindedness on the part of both camps. The geneticist Theodosius Dobzhansky stated that, nothing in biology makes sense except in terms of evolution. The theory of evolution merely explains a process by which species undergoes change over an extended period of time. It is believed that different species evolved from a common ancestor. In order to understand the concept of evolution we must think of time in large units like millions of years. Blocks of time like months and years are of little significance. Evolution refers to entire populations and not individuals. The changes must be passed on to the next generation. Though not the first person to present the idea of evolution; Charles Darwin has been dubbed the father of evolution. He is the most noted and supported, for his theory of natural selection. Darwin’s theory of natural selection simply states that nature favors the survival of organisms that have traits that are best suited for their environment. In other words, only the strong survive. (Max O. Hallman third edition pp 159- 166) Since Darwin’s proposal, scientists such as geologist, biologists, biochemists and others have conducted studies, gathered evidence and developed theories to explain the probable mechanisms of evolution. Modifications are constantly being made to findings and theories as new evidence is accepted. These scientists have conducted studies to compare organisms. Their research includes the study of fossil records, cell structure and function, DNA and the process of heredity (ancestral background). Their theory of evolution suggests that species that currently exist on earth, developed from ancestral species that have adapted to changing conditions. Scientist evidence suggests that life on earth probably began billions of years ago with a unicellular organism. This information has been obtained through Radio-carbon dating which is a method of obtaining age estimates on organic materials. It has been used to date samples as old as 50,000 years. The method was developed immediately following World War II by Willard F. Libby and coworkers, and has provided age determinations in archaeology, geology, geophysics and other branches of science. Radiocarbon determinations can be obtained on wood; charcoal; marine and fresh-water shell; bone and antler; peat and organic-bearing sediments, carbonate deposits such as tufa, caliche, and marl; and dissolved carbon dioxide and carbonates in ocean, lake and ground-water sources. Darwin hypothesized that changes in species is due to the concept of natural selection (only the strong survive). Organisms with favorable traits to those environments are more likely to survive, reproducing and passing on the better traits to the next generation. The new off spring world have an increased chance of survival. Over time, the fittest of the species will survive with different characteristics from those of the original species. This will now be recognized as a new species. (William P. marryA. cunningham chapter 4. Pp 75-90) While absolute proof of the existence of God cannot be realized by any human being, the great weight of evidence, when rationally evaluated, clearly balances the scales heavily in favor of God. We can demonstrate beyond a reasonable doubt that He is, and that He is a rewarded of them that diligently seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6) Creationism is the religious belief that all life on earth is the creation of a supernatural being- god. This relates to the history of religion as described in religious text and the bible. As described in genesis, humans, the world, the universe and all that exists was created by god: Creatio ex nihilo- Latin for creation from nothing.

Impact of Pro-Eating Disorder Websites

Impact of Pro-Eating Disorder Websites Kosalina Vignarajah Harithra Chandrasehar Abstract This paper examines the impact of pro-eating disorder websites as determined by the researches done on the area. During the course of this paper, we have critically analyzed the findings, methodologies and conclusions given in eight research papers while providing suggestions for our opinions on them. After the analysis, we have come to a conclusion that pro-eating disorder websites are harmful to both novice viewers and regular viewers as these websites negatively affect the self-esteem, perceptions of beauty and the patterns of thinking. However, these websites are also a forum through which people with eating disorders communicate, which acts a supportive network, and is therefore positive as well. Key words: Pro-eating disorder websites, thinspiration, Pro-ana/pro-mia. Kosalina Vignarajah Introduction Nothing tastes as good as thin feels is a quote which is often seen in pro-eating disorder websites (Bardone-Cone Cass, 2006). Pro-eating disorder movements or websites focus mainly on influencing individuals to practice disordered behaviors of eating (by sometimes undermining the harm it can do) and increasing the eating disorder behaviors overtime without seeking treatments from professionals. These websites claim that they are pro-ana and/or pro-mia (for anorexia and bulimia respectively) and that they represent a lifestyle choice rather than eating disorders (Csipke and Horne, 2007). The objective of this paper is to understand the impact of pro-eating disorder websites on people. This paper will mainly focus on why pro-eating disorder movements negatively impacts people already diagnosed with eating disorders. Additionally, this paper will have an in-depth explanation of pro-eating disorder websites, what these websites contain that benefits and negatively impacts the users, find appropriate approaches to reduce the consequences of these sites, the precautious steps that clinical professionals/therapists could take to help the victims, and the limitations and possible future studies will also be explored. Pro-Eating Disorder websites Pro-eating disorder websites are where individuals with anorexia or bulimia join together to feel like a community, share values and beliefs (Csipke and Horne, 2007). These movements are especially spread through websites have main three goals: the sites prevent from seeking professional help; increase the behavior of eating disorder, and using the guise of support to harm the users (Yom-Tov, Fernandez-Luque, Weber, Crain, 2012). Csipke and Horne (2007) have characterized websites regarding eating disorders into four main types: (1) eating disorder websites run by professionals concerned with health; (2) recovery sites run by people with eating disorders; (3) moderate pro-ED sites that consists of beliefs and quotes regarding being thin, and (4) severe pro-ED sites that consists of ANA creed or commandments which is similar to a movement and contains inspirational facts and information about maintaining a low body weight and looking thin. Most of these sites contain images and messages that motivate disordered behaviors; drugs that help induce vomit; chatrooms that include individuals that support each other; a disclaimer to warn people who accidently come across the site and sometimes information about the organizer of this site is given (Overbeke, 2008). Also most of the sites have calorie charts and BMI calculator to advice the users of the exercises to undertake, to reduce weight and to help hide the disorders from others (Csipke and Horne, 2007). Addition to sharing thinspiration pictures of thin supermodels, the users who have eating disorders find themselves more deep into these websites because of the identity that these sites provide. And in this way, they are taught self control on food consumption and encourage to diet or fast with other fellow chatters, this is one of the main defense statement of pro-eating websites (Csipke and Horne, 2007). The contents of these sites could be harmful and is a health concern, as explained below. Impact of Pro-Eating disorder websites Csipke and Horne (2007) concluded that there was a positive impact (without counting the motivation to diet together) on frequent users of the pro-eating website , who were supported emotionally found themselves connecting with other users who had the same view and thought than the silent users who were physically supported to maintain restricted eating behaviors. It is important to remember that a frequent user of the sites is not safe from disordered eating behavior, and also it is difficult for the users to come out of this behavior to recover because these sites gives them an identity. Despite giving sense of belongingness, clear identity, and practical information in regards to anorexia, the sites have negative impacts such as lowered self esteem, and self-efficacy of being perceived as overweight which leads to eating disorders (Overbeke, 2008). For example, Bardone-Cone and Cass (2006) stated that women who viewed pro-anorexia website showed an increase on their perceived weight and a decrease in how attractive they looked to opposite sex compared with women who viewed neutral sites, thus both the mood and the cognition of women are affected by viewing pro-eating disorder movement websites. Also users of pro-ana sites had a longer duration of illnesses and higher number of absenteeism of school due to health concerns (Overbeke, 2008). The impact of pro-eating disorder on eating disorder is a topic that requires more attention in the future, especially the role the sites play in helping to maintain and increase eating disorder behaviors, an explanation of these popularities despite the negative impact and the reasons for why the individuals continue access these sites (Overbeke, 2008). Approaches to Reduce the Impact of Pro-Eating Disorders Websites A better approach can be taken to prevent these sites causing more harmful effects such as a censorship to shut down these sites from stopping the frequent users and also the users yet to connect with the site members (Csipke and Horne, 2007). Parents should also educate themselves and their children with media literacy that gives a critical evaluation of the media and its messages and it is wiser to use block technology at home computers if the children were alone with a technical device or else place the computers in public area of the house (Bardone-Cone and Cass, 2006). It is the duty of the parents to be aware of their childrens health to not only check for eating disorders but to also prevent from other diseases. Yom-Tov et al. (2012) illustrated that some of the countries like Israel has taken the precaution of these harmful sites and have banned advertisements containing severely underweight models. On the other hand, the online servers (e.g Yahoo, MSN) have taken it upon themselves to create awareness for the harmful drugs used for eating disorder. Overbeke (2008) suggested that by understanding the factors that influences the popularity of these sites, professionals can take relevant steps to prevent popularity of these sites. Clinical scientists should defend against statements such as these where pro-Ana movements is compared with homosexuality, that given time pro-Ana movements will be considered as a chosen lifestyle as homosexuality is considered today (Overbeke, 2008). Treatments could include acknowledgement of these sites and how to address these issues with clients to prevent relapse and help acquire a healthy eating behaviors by letting the clients know about the influence these sites have on their health (Csipke and Horne, 2007). In addition to above mentioned precautions that parents and therapist could take, there are some areas of studies that require the attention of researchers to study on. For example, The ambiguity of pro-Ana makes it difficult for the researchers to study on it because different meaning is given to pro-eating disordered movements by many and most of the studies are pilot or descriptive studies that are not evidence enough to make conclusion from to check the real impacts (Overbeke, 2008). Therefore, Yom-Tov et al. (2012) emphasized that future studies can focus on interventions where warnings about the content of the sites should be clear, understandable to any user, and importance should be given to adhere to these warnings to avoid being caught up in problems that may lead to eating disordered behavior. As mentioned above, the use of blocking from the internet servers for these sites is necessary because a caregiver cannot monitor the users all the time, and parental control software should be present for the users especially to avoid the first time users attention towards these sites. Harithra Chandrasehar â€Å"E-Ana and e-Mia: A Content Analysis of Pro–Eating Disorder Web Sites† is an article by Borzekowski et al. analyzes the content shown in a one hundred and eighty pro-eating disorder websites. According to the article, pro-eating disorder websites are often defined by their urging of viewers to use unconventional and dangerous methods to lose weight such as using laxatives. The article also mentioned that 79% of the websites were interactive thus giving viewers a forum, and that they contain â€Å"thinspiration†, tips and techniques to lose weight, and â€Å"reverse triggers† – pictures of morbidly obese people (Borzekowski et al. 2010). What was most fascinating was the details accumulated regarding the sites such as them being very easy to understand as they were compiled in eighth grade English which aids its ability to cater to its audience, and more importantly, that most of the sites had themes – including bringing control to life t hrough eating-disorders, isolation from those who they think are fat and impure, and as artistic transformation (Borzekowski et al., 2010). A drawback of this study is the unavailability of information regarding the â€Å"underground† websites which are pro-eating disorder, as they may contain the most damaging information, as opposed to what is found in the public domain. The article titled â€Å"Potential risks of Pro-eating disorder websites† claims that despite the negative out-cry against them, that there are currently around five hundred websites which are pro-eating disorders currently on the internet, and that around 200-400 users will be accessing those sites at any given time, while also mentioning that those who view these websites can be girls of twelve years or younger. This article also shed light to three important factors which seem to carry the most risk to those viewing a pro-eating disorder website. They are; â€Å"Operation under the guise of support†, â€Å"reinforcement of disordered eating, and â€Å"prevention of help-seeking and recovery† Interestingly it also mentions that not all pro-eating disorder websites are anti-recovery as some websites encourage the users to seek help when their eating disorder progresses (Rouleau, von Ranson 2010). This does confirm the fact that eating-disorder websites are a fo rum which provide support and comfort too. However, it is also possible that the triggers in the website may discourage people from seeking help, despite the disclaimer in the beginning of the page. A suggestion to counter these pro-eating disorder websites would be to have a website which appears along with the pro-eating disorder websites, which is run by completely recovered individuals who once lived with eating disorders, who can understand and even guide a person to seek help. The site can even be monitored by clinicians. The research titled â€Å"What does viewing a pro-Anorexia website do? An experimental examination of website exposure and moderating effects† seems to be a remarkably well-thought out study. It is also a study that has been cited by many research articles discussing this topic. Technically, the article seems to be quite flawless as it covers every aspect necessary, including a pilot study, the randomization of participants, explanation of methods of testing used, and the explanation of results. the results of this study determined that viewing a pro-anorexia website made a significant impact on the participants compared to those who viewed the control websites in terms of a negative mood, low social self-esteem, low appearance self-esteem, higher likelihood to exercise and think about weight in the forthcoming days. This study was a critical point in the research of pro-eating disorder websites as it showed the immediate after effects of viewing one. Unfortunately, it has not followed the participants out of the lab and analyzed how these websites affect their life after the initial viewing – despite the debriefing they received and the availability to psychological help. (Bardone-Cone, Cass 2007). It would be interesting to know whether any of these participants returned to viewing these websites, and to understand what drew them to it as they are considered first-time viewers, (and should technically have no reason to search for companionship in an eating-disorder website which is the reason given by many people living with eating disorders when asked why they access these sites), and whether viewing these articles and images are as damaging as they were the first time, or if the effect of it reduces each time through desensitization as the Bardone-Cone and Cass study suggests. It would also be interesting to know what changes will occur in the results if the subjects were male, or if they were from a culture that appreciates body fat, or even if it were someone who is obese and having a good self esteem. The variations of the sample are quite necessary as these sites are quite freely available on the internet, and therefore it is important to find out how different people react to these websites, as opposed to only considering the stereotypical relationship between women and anorexia. However, it would be quite dangerous to expose people to sites like these without having a good understanding of their psychological state, as eating disorders can be hidden for so long, and disguised as many other less harmful things that it may be difficult for the researchers to notice changes in a participant unless it is a long term study. The final article â€Å"disordered eating in a digital age† is a questionnaire/survey which was linked to pro-eating disorder websites, which was answered by those accessing the site. The results were then analyzed to determine the harm caused, and although it has been impossible to determine the causality of many of these negative symptoms including low BMI, low quality of life, co-morbidity of illnesses along with psychological diagnosis, and an alarming twenty one sick days in a month of thirty days, but its strongly linked to eating disorders and these websites (Peebles et al. 2012). However, this research had a response rate of less than 40% which is not an adequate sample, while only English websites were accessed. However this study was one of the best online studies conducted in this area, was well analyzed, and the article contained the survey for references which can be helpful to the reader. Conclusion The articles above show comprehensive details about pro-eating disorder websites. Upon careful reviewing of both articles and some of these mentioned websites, it is easy to understand that there is a completely different mind-set attached to those who have purposely disordered eating habits. It seems to be like they think that they have a higher purpose, a better understanding and purer image of the human body. Their mentality seems like that of a cult, a united front with adherence to a strict regime, but it’s members breaking down within it unable to cope up with the stress and the difficulty, but struggling each day, because if they don’t, their entire belief system and the purpose they have assigned to themselves may fall apart. Perhaps one of the most ethical ways to help these people who may not acknowledge that they require it is by doing more research about pro-eating disorder websites which helps develop their dangerous bonds and by matching each of it with a less harmful blog/website run by clinicians but is suitable and accessible to the general public. Another such proactive action would be having a minimum standard guideline that these pro-eating disorder websites need to adhere to, required by law, where the harm is detailed and the ways to get help are found, like the warning that is mandated on packs of cigarettes. It is best if these websites can be closed down by all internet servers as a matter of public safety, and encourages instead a forum or web pages which speak creatively about the struggles of beating eating disorders and victory. In the case of research, it would be best to do more studies with diverse samples, and to do studies which assess the long term effects of these websites. It would be also interesting to have a research perspective about why these websites should exist, and it would be ideal if this research could be conducted by those who believe in the pro-eating disorder movement as it would be a good way to understand each other, with the basis of science. References Bardone-Cone, A. M., Cass, K. M. (2006) Investigating the Impact of Pro-Anorexia Websites: A Pilot Study. European Eating Disorders Review 14, 256-262. Bardone-Cone A M. and Cass K M. (2007) What Does Viewing a Pro-Anorexia Website Do? An Experimental Examination of Website Exposure and Moderating Effects, International Journal of Eating Disorders 40:6 537–548 DOI 10.1002/eat Borzekowski D LG, Schenk S, Wilson J L, Peebles R (2010) e-Ana and e-Mia: A Content Analysis of Pro–Eating Disorder Web Sites. American Journal of Public Health, Volume 100, No 8. Csipke, E., Horne, O. (2007) Pro-Eating Disorder websites: users opinions. European Eating Disorders Review,Volume 15, Issue 3, pages 196-206. Overbeke, G. (2008) Pro-Anorexia Websites: Content, Impact, and Explanations of Popularity. Mind Matters: The Wesleyan Jounral of Psychology, 49-62, Vol. 3. Peebles R, Wilson J,Litt I F,Hardy K K;Lock D (2012) Disordered Eating in a Digital Age:Eating Behaviors, Health, and Quality of Life in Users of Websites With Pro-Eating Disorder Content. Journal of Medical Internet Research 14.5 Rouleau C R, von Ranson K M (2010) Potential risks of pro-eating disorder websites, Clinical psychology review 31- Elsevier. doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2010.12.005 Yom-Tov, E., Fernandez-Luque, L., Weber, I., Crain, S. P. (2012) Pro-Anorexia and Pro-Recovery Photo Sharing: A tale of Two Warring Tribes. Journal of Medical Internet Research.

Amr Moussa :: Essays Papers

Amr Moussa I am Amr Moussa. I currently represent the country of Egypt as Secretary General of the Arab League, but that’s getting ahead of myself. Allow me to take you back to my beginning. I was born on October 3rd 1936 (Medea’s Information files, 2002 pg 1). While I was growing up I studied law in Cairo, Egypt before I started my successful career as a civil servant. My duties as a civil servant began once I started in the office of Egyptian Foreign Affairs Ministry in 1958(Medea’s Information files 2002 pg 1). This was my first big break and I was going to take full advantage of it. In 1967, some 9 years later, I became the Egyptian Ambassador to India(The African Center, London 2002 pg 1). To me this was the break I had been looking for in my career. This was an opportunity I knew I had to capitalize on, and I did. I was also rewarded with permanent Representation to the United Nations in 1990(Medea’s Information files/Medea 2002 pg 1). Acting as the middleman between Israelis and Palestinians in 1992, when secret talks were going on, I gave my full support to the Declaration of Principles in September of 1993 to guarantee the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) of Egypt’s support. I was a supporter of the Israeli integration in the Middle East. I was very critical of the Israeli government for not having full support over the commitment to the peace process. I was also outraged at the lack of full support for not signing the new Non-Nuclear proliferation Treaty in 1995(Medea’s Information files 2002 pg 1). I have worked extremely hard my whole life to bring my country (Egypt) closer to neighboring countries such as Syria, Jordan, and Iran. Since I started on this journey, I have gained extensive ground to make such progress that is seen today. However there is still no guarantee that the relationships we have made will stand in future times of despair. I have been the Minister for Foreign Affairs in the Government of Egypt since 1991(The African Center, London pg 1). In 2001 I was relieved of my duties at Minister for Foreign Affairs. I was recently appointed to be Secretary General of the Arab League of States in May of this past year of 2001(The African Center, London 2002 pg 1).