My Vision for Social Change Essay

My Vision for Social Change My goal in life is to grow and develop an understanding of the mysteries of human behavior, with the vision of learning new and more effective ways to assist others experience their full potentials. With this in mind, and further influenced by my career choices as a war veteran, a preacher, and a mental health counselor, I have come to the understanding that life is never in what you take. Rather, life is in what you give to effect a positive social change in your environment and /or the people around you. Using the definition provided by the Walden University, positive social change is â€Å"a deliberate process of creating and applying ideas, strategies, and actions to promote the worth, dignity, and development of individuals, communities, organizations, institutions, cultures, and societies.† (Walden University, n.d.). Embedded in this definition is the fact that positive social change is mostly made possible through deliberate and concerted efforts channel toward a specific goal. Therefore, having a vision is one thing, and realizing the vision is another. Yes, I want to help others experience their full potentials; but how will this be possible? Knowing full well that you cannot give what you do not have. This is where my choice of coming to pursue a MS in Mental Health Counseling at Walden University becomes so important. Walden University presented a vision statement of providing a â€Å"learning community where knowledge is judged rightly, to the degree that it can be applied by its graduates to the immediate solution of critical societal challenges, thereby advancing the greater global good.†(Walden University, n.d.) The practicality of this vision statement has been demonstrated. It is the truth that Walden University and I shared same vision statement. Better still, Walden University knows the how of realizing the vision, which I need to learn. Going forward, therefore, I must act on the advice provided by Matthew Buckley, â€Å"trust that the vision that you have for yourself will be realized.† (Laureate Education, Inc. 2012). He went further to say that the University professionals â€Å"are standing ready to work with you, and keep you, and support you.† (Laureate Education, Inc. 2012) References Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer), (2012). Walden MHC: Matt Buckley. Baltimore, MD. Author. Walden University. (n.d.). Scholars of change. (Video). Retrieved from http://www.waldenu.edu/About-Us/39004.htm Walden University. (n.d.). Vision and mission statements. Retrieved from http://www.waldenu.edu/About-Us/33598.htm

Historic Perspective of Organizational Theory Essay

Theories pertaining to concepts of management were developed by Max Weber, Henri Fayol, and Elton Mayo. Management is the central component to an organized view on what each theory encompasses, the contributions and how the theories differ and even complementary factors. Individual contributions to management theories impact organizational power as well as the society and state which the ideas are focused. The legacy of theses theories will continue to shape business in the present and future. Organizational theory is designed to understand the nature of the organization. By which organizations can evaluate its overall business by putting the right structure and operate in different ways. Organizational theory also helps us understand how processes such as change and decision making can be managed. It deals with different structures and cultures such as large organizations have different structures and cultures than small ones, and the manufacturing organizations operate in a differe nt way than those in the service sector. (Burton & Obel, 1984) Frederick Taylor composed the principles of scientific management in the early nineteenth century, which marked the beginning of modern management theory (Robbins, 2000). The theory influenced management and has the greatest impact because of the insistence on application of scientific method. Furthermore, managers relied upon instinct and intuition as the source of constructive ides and information but the scientific method provided a formulation for conscious analysis. Max Weber contributed to management theory that within a bureaucratic system the organization was continuous bond of rules and the hierarchical arrangement is where one level was subject to control by the  level above. Bureaucracy lends to the notion of society becoming more integrated and more complex. Organizations have become more dependent on specialists and experts for advice and for influence. In the managerial perspective, democracy is seen as a consequence of elite competition (Alford and Friedland1985,). Henri Fayol, an industrialist divided the management structure into six basic groups, technical, commercial, financial, security, accounting and managerial activities. The six categories or groups are not absolute but can be manipulated according to purpose and need. Fourteen general principles of management were developed such as organize, delegate, staff, control, co- ordinate, lead and budget, your organization will prosper with efficiency and effectiveness therefore br inging great productivity. An administrative principle is a major contribution because this creates a narrower process of developing and maintaining procedures. The principle gives clear structure and rules and takes into consideration the changing environment and it applies to the organization, powers, duties and information that sets each organization apart and the basis for which all employees can be trained. A rigid form of rules and power being still govern any organizations so that uniformity can be established. Bureaucratic organizations have become more of a necessary function to the advancement of the economy and society at large because some cities and towns are dependant upon the economic benefits. The advance of large scale corporations with more coordination within markets forces our government to become more bureaucratic because businesses have become informal controllers and dictators. The inevitability of bureaucracies handle increased industrialization reflects the functional emphasis within the concept of management. Frederick Taylor and Henri Fayol are both considered classical contributors to management theory. Developers of an expressionist viewpoint during a period when the aim was elevating the standards of management within the industry that was veiled but instead created a balance and established equity (Brodie, 1967). The two theorists provided the few publications and theories on management. Both theories were developed under the same influencing factors such as war, social struggles and industrial revolution (Urwick. 1951, p7), however each developed different management theories and instructions and vantage points. Scientific management and he developed scientific principles of management, focusing on the individual,  rather than the team and aimed to improve efficiency through production-line time studies, breaking each job down into its components and designing the quickest and best methods of performing each component. Fayol provided insight on the human reaction and identified needs of the individually and that work can be tailored based on intelligence, background and abilities. Taylor focused on the total organization rather than the individual worker, outlining the management functions of planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating and controlling. The theories proposed by Fayol and Mayo differ greatly in all areas. Fayol concentrated on management functions and attempted to generate a boarder perspective and on principles that would serve as guidelines for the rationalization of organizational activities and looked at an organization as a whole (Scott, 1992). Mayo focused on motivation techniques and individual satisfaction. Fayol directed attention on areas such as the production process and adjusted humans to this process, versus Mayo’s human relations approach emphasized the coordination of human and social elements in an organization by following concept such as * Consultation, * Participation * Communication and leadership. The employee of an organization is seen as a machine in Fayol’s theory rather than an important part of the organization. Employee’s needs according to Mayo are based on the idea that workers are happy they will be more productive. Theories proposed by Fayol and Mayo differ greatly in all areas. Fayol emphasized management functions and attempted to generate broad administrative principles that would serve as guidelines for the rationalization of organizational activities (Scott, 1992) and looked at an organization as a whole. Mayo focused on motivation techniques and individual satisfaction. Fayol emphasized the production process and adjusted humans to this process that included relational approach emphasized the coordination of human and social element. Characteristics of bureaucracy Weber believed that all large organizations would over time assume more bureaucratic characteristics. These characteristics were one a high degree of division of labor, two a hierarchy of authority, three the  use of formal written documents and files, 4 the expert training of organizational members, five decisions guided by written rules and procedures, and 6 an impersonality in human relationships. Division of Labor: The organization, according to Weber, was broken down into separate units with their areas of responsibility officially established by organizational policy. Similar to Administrative Management’s concept of departmentalization, Weber proposed that such specialization by organizational units led to greater efficiency. The people involved would only need to be trained in a limited area of knowledge. They could learn their jobs faster and thus perform more efficiently. 2. Hierarchy of Authority. Like Fayol, Weber noted that when the organization was divided into separate units, their activities needed to be coordinated by a hierarchy of graded levels of authorit y. This authority, according to Weber, was rational-legal, resting on a belief by the members of the organization that those people occupying higher positions had a right to issue commands to those occupying lower levels. The authority resided in the legally established and impersonal â€Å"offices† (job positions), not in the people themselves. Weber contrasted this rational form of authority with the non-bureaucratic traditional authority based upon loyalty to the person of the chief or monarch. In order for an organization to continue operating for many years, it must become somewhat independent not only of the people who founded it, but also of the people who managed its activities. The extensive use of formal, written documents in everyday activity and a sophisticated filing system was the characteristic giving the bureaucratic organization certain immortality. People could come and go in specific jobs over time but the bureaucratic organization continued to function efficiently with minimal problems. The knowledge of past events, along with the power that it conveyed, belonged to the specific position (in the filing cabinet) and was only temporarily used by the person holding the position . Anyone new to a particular position could learn what actions had been taken and decisions made by the previous person in the job by going to the relevant files. Expert Training: Weber envisioned that the specialization of positions would enable people to be trained more thoroughly in a narrow range of activities. Employees would be hired and promoted based upon merit and expertise. Decisions and Operations Guided By  Written Rules and Procedures. A key characteristic of bureaucracy was the idea that an organization’s employees followed written rules, which were assumed to be generally stable. The use of rules and procedures made the organization more efficient because they made people’s behavior more predictable and reliable. Rules served not only to make the organization independent of any one individual over time, but also to ensure that actions and decisions made in different parts of the organization were consistent at any given time. Human variability was reduced. In any given set of circumstances, anywhere or anytime in the organization, the same decision would be made and the same actions taken as long as the rules wer e followed. Impersonality from Weber’s point of view, the very impersonality of bureaucracy was a significant improvement over earlier forms of organization. By applying rules and controls impersonally, involvement with personalities and personal preferences was avoided. Employees and customers of a bureaucracy were not considered as individuals but as members of categories. This helped to ensure fair and unbiased treatment according to law — the policies and standard procedures of the organization. Managers were constrained by the same impersonal network of rules as were their subordinates. Actions and decisions could no longer be justified on the basis of personal opinion or on tradition. Bureaucratic Management based on Weber’s description of bureaucracy has been criticized by a number of scholars in the area; there is agreement that he made a significant impact on the field of management and the study of organizations. Unlike Fayol, however, Weber did not recommend a new system of management for others to follow and imitate. Merely described what he saw as the inevitable movement by organizations to become increasingly bureaucratic over time. An over developed bureaucratic mechanism in comparison with other organizations conflicts with the non-mechanical modes of production and allows dominance and could cause a monopoly. Legacy of Traditional Management Traditional Management, as it is now known, was formed out of Scientific Management, Administrative Management, and Bureaucratic Management. By the mid-twentieth century, the use of Scientific Management techniques and Administrative Management principles within a rationally structured bureaucratic organization became the accepted way of managing large organizations. Based upon some key assumptions from classical economics regarding economic man, division of labor, and profit maximization, the concepts, techniques, and prescriptions of Traditional Management succeeded in producing a large number of standardized products and serving a large number of customers with similar needs. Traditional Management seemed incapable of dealing effectively with changing conditions. The best of traditional management found themselves, in the second half of the twentieth century, floundering in the face of more flexible competition with different ideas of managing. The use of traditional management’s prescriptions and techniques resulted in dysfunctional as well as functional consequences for organizational performance. The functional consequences outweighed the dysfunctional consequences; organizations following the traditional approach were very successful. In the early 1900s in North America and Europe, for example, business corporations operated very efficiently and made huge profits selling valued products and services. The dysfunctional consequences present at that time were too few in number and too small in size to overwhelm the vast amount of functional consequences. For example, the epitome of Scientific Management, Henry Ford’s moving assembly line, created jobs in the 1920s for thousands of unskilled workers at double ($5/day) the current wage for similar work. It produced the first automobile affordable by the average person. The jobs may have been monotonous, but worker boredom did not keep the Model T and the Ford Motor Company from becoming a great success story. As time passed, however, and Traditional Management became more institutionalized in large organizations, the dysfu nctional consequences began to increase in number and in size. Organizational performance and productivity increased at a fast rate from 1900 to 1950. After 1950, however, the rate of performance improvement began to slow. An increasing use of Scientific Management assembly lines and bureaucratic procedures appeared to result in less and less of a performance increase. Like heroin, increasing the use of Traditional Management practices seemed to result in a smaller amount of desirable outcomes. It is suggested here that the continued and even increasing use of Traditional Management practices without significant modification in the face of a fast-changing world contributed to the decline in organizational performance. The  dysfunctional consequences of Traditional Management began to accumulate to such an extent that they finally outweighed the functional consequences. Organizational effectiveness and efficiency stopped improving and profits began to decline in the face of aggressive Japanese competition The concept that has the greatest utility by Traditional Management on standardization of the production process as well as the product meant that there could be no room for human variability. The emphasis on rules, principles, and the â€Å"one best way† meant that the behavior of employees must be uniform and predictable if maximum efficiency was to be attained. The basic assumption underlying Traditional Management about the motivation of people stemmed from the concept of economic man. People were expected to behave rationally. Rational people were supposedly motivated by their own economic self-interest. Weber and Fayol did not directly emphasize economic incentives, traditional management generally assumed that employees wanted to earn the most money for the least work. Traditional Management expected employees to be motivated to do very specialized standardized jobs simply because of the workers’ strong need for money. Bibliography Brodie, M. (1967) Fayol on Administration. Mowbray & Co, Oxford. Burton, R. M. & Obel, B. (1984) Designing Efficient Organizations: Modeling and Experimentation, North Holland, Amsterdam Robbins, S.P., Bergman. Stagg, I & Coulter, M. (2000), Management, (2nd Edn) Prentice Hall Scott, W. R. (1992). Organizations: Rational, Natural, and Open Systems. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs. Australia Pry Ltd Taylor, F. (1947) scientific management: comprising Shop management. The principles of scientific management and Testimony before the special House committee. Harper, New York. Urwick, L., Brech, E. (1951) The Making of Scientific Management. Pitman & Sons, London.

Credit Risk Management in Canara Bank Essay

In the past few years, there have been several developments in the field of modeling the credit risk in banks’ commercial loan portfolios. Credit risk is essentially the possibility that a bank’s loan portfolio will lose value if its borrowers become unable to pay back their debts. Arguably, credit risk is the largest risk faced by commercial banks, since loans and other debt instruments constitute the bulk of their assets. In the U. S. , loans made up over 60% of total banking assets at year-end 2000, and fixed-income securities made up an additional 14%. These credit risk models are becoming widely accepted by banks for various purposes; in fact, bank supervisors, including the Federal Reserve, have recently proposed new risk-based capital requirements based partly on such models. This Economic Letter provides a brief survey of how these models are constructed and used for credit risk measurement and management. General modeling procedure Commercial banks have been using credit risk models for their mortgage and consumer lending for decades. These credit risk models, typically known as credit scoring models, were first developed for consumer lending because of the large number of borrowers and their detailed credit histories. In contrast, there are many fewer commercial borrowers, and it is only within the last few years that credit risk models for commercial loans have been successfully created, marketed, and integrated into banks’ risk management procedures. Although a reasonable variety of such models exists, all of them are constructed generally on three standard procedural steps. The first step is to choose the type of credit risk to be modeled. â€Å"Default† models simply estimate the probability that a borrower will default; that is, the borrower will not make any more payments under the original lending agreement. In contrast, â€Å"multi-state† (or â€Å"mark-to-market†) models estimate the probability that the borrower’s credit quality will change, including a change to default status. For example, a multi-state model forecasts the probabilities of whether a B-rated borrower will remain B-rated, will become n A-rated or a C-rated borrower, or will default. Obviously, default models are a special case of multi-state models and are being used less frequently by banks. An important element of this choice is the horizon over which credit losses are measured. For example, a borrower’s credit quality may change several times before a default, and a default model would not be able to capture these changes. Many options are av ailable to the user, but common practice has settled on a one-year horizon, which is shorter than the maturity of many commercial loans. This relatively short horizon is due partly to modeling convenience and partly to the increasing liquidity of the secondary loan market and the credit derivatives market. Both of these markets permit banks to hedge (i. e. , decrease) their credit exposure to a particular borrower or class of borrowers. The second step is to determine the probability of each credit state occurring and the value of a given loan in each of them. In default models, there are two credit states: the credit is simply paid off completely, or it is worth a recovery value in case of default. In multi-state models, the loan’s value in each possible credit state is frequently assessed by referencing credit spreads derived from the corporate bond market. The state probabilities can be calculated in several ways, such as from simple historical experience in the corporate bond market or from models using data from the public debt and equity markets. The combination of the estimated values of a loan in the different states and the estimated probabilities of the states determine the credit loss distribution for that loan. A key element of these loss calculations is the credit rating initially assigned to a loan and its corresponding borrower. Corporate credit ratings for large borrowers that issue publicly traded debt are available from financial information vendors, such as Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s. For other borrowers, which, in fact, typically make up the bulk of banks’ commercial loan portfolios, banks must rely on their own internal ratings systems, based on both public information and their own credit experience; see Treacy and Carey (1998) for a survey of banks’ internal ratings systems. The third step combines the credit loss distribution for each loan into an aggregate portfolio loss distribution. This aggregation depends directly on the default correlations between individual credits, that is, the degree to which potential changes in credit status and losses are interrelated. There are generally two ways to model these correlations. In reduced form (or â€Å"top down†) models, correlations are essentially a by-product of the model’s portfolio loss distribution. In structural (or â€Å"bottom up†) models, the default correlations are modeled as functions of several variables, such as a borrower’s industrial categorization and country of origin. In addition, macroeconomic factors can be incorporated into these correlations. Once specified, the correlations are used to combine individual credit losses in different states into a loss distribution for the entire portfolio based on the credit risk model’s underlying assumptions. Credit risk models as a risk management tool A portfolio’s credit loss distribution is a key analytical tool for credit risk management. Once determined, this loss distribution gives a banker a complete forecast of possible portfolio credit losses over the coming year. For example, the mean of the distribution is the expected value of potential credit losses and could be used directly to determine the level of loan loss provisions that should be held for the loan portfolio. Furthermore, the higher percentiles of the portfolio loss distribution can be used to determine the economic capital necessary for the portfolio. Economic capital is the buffer of reserves banks hold to guard against unexpected loan losses. Economic capital is typically set high enough that unexpected credit losses are very unlikely to exhaust it. For example, a banker could determine the amount of capital necessary to insure the solvency of the portfolio with a 99. 97% probability, which roughly corresponds to the annual 0. 03% default probability of AA-rated corporate bonds. Furthermore, the loss distribution provides the banker with a diagnostic tool for examining the impact of changes in credit concentrations on the entire portfolio’s potential losses. This approach to credit risk management has now been explicitly incorporated into the risk-based capital requirements developed by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (2001), an international forum for commercial bank regulation. Under the Committee’s recently proposed revisions to the 1988 Basel Capital Accord, national bank supervisors would permit banks that have met certain supervisory criteria to use their own internal models to determine certain inputs to their regulatory capital requirements. However, the new guidelines will not permit banks to set their capital requirements solely on the basis of their own credit risk models. Looking ahead The field of credit risk modeling for commercial loans is still developing, but its core principles have been readily accepted by banks and their supervisors. The next few years of industry practice will be crucial in developing key aspects of the estimation and calibration of the model parameters. (For a thorough survey of the issues, see Hirtle, et al. (2001). ) Resolution of these issues is needed before supervisors and model users can be completely confident with the models’ outcomes. However, as banks gain additional modeling experience and more observations on changes in corporate credit quality, credit risk models should become an integral element of all banks’ risk measurement and management systems. Credit risk refers to the risk that a borrower will default on any type of debt by failing to make payments which it is obligated to do. [1] The risk is primarily that of the lender and include lost principal and interest, disruption to cash flows, and increased collection costs. The loss may be complete or partial and can arise in a number of circumstances. 2] For example: * A consumer may fail to make a payment due on a mortgage loan, credit card, line of credit, or other loan * A company is unable to repay amounts secured by a fixed or floating charge over the assets of the company * A business or consumer does not pay a trade invoice when due * A business does not pay an employee’s earned wages when due * A business or government bond issuer does not make a payment on a coupon or principal payment when due * An insolvent insurance company does not pay a policy obligation * An insolvent bank won’t return funds to a depositor A government grants bankruptcy protection to an insolvent consumer or business To reduce the lender’s credit risk, the lender may perform a credit check on the prospective borrower, may require the borrower to take out appropriate insurance, such as mortgage insurance or seek security or guarantees of third parties, besides other possible strategies. In general, the higher the risk, the higher wi ll be the interest rate that the debtor will be asked to pay onTypes of credit risk Credit risk can be classified in the following way:[3] Credit default risk – The risk of loss arising from a debtor being unlikely to pay its loan obligations in full or the debtor is more than 90 days past due on any material credit obligation; default risk may impact all credit-sensitive transactions, including loans, securities and derivatives. * Concentration risk – The risk associated with any single exposure or group of exposures with the potential to produce large enough losses to threaten a bank’s core operations. It may arise in the form of single name concentration or industry concentration. Country risk – The risk of loss arising from a sovereign state freezing foreign currency payments (transfer/conversion risk) or when it defaults on its obligations (sovereign risk). Assessing credit risk Main articles: Credit analysis and Consumer credit risk Significant resources and sophisticated programs are used to analyze and manage risk. [4] Some companies run a credit risk department whose job is to assess the financial health of their customers, and extend credit (or not) accordingly. They may use in house programs to advise on avoiding, reducing and transferring risk. They also use third party provided intelligence. Companies like Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s, Fitch Ratings, and Dun and Bradstreet provide such information for a fee. Most lenders employ their own models (credit scorecards) to rank potential and existing customers according to risk, and then apply appropriate strategies. [5] With products such as unsecured personal loans or mortgages, lenders charge a higher price for higher risk customers and vice versa. [6][7] With revolving products such as credit cards and overdrafts, risk is controlled through the setting of credit limits. Some products also require security, most commonly in the form of property. Credit scoring models also form part of the framework used by banks or lending institutions grant credit to clients. For corporate and commercial borrowers, these models generally have qualitative and quantitative sections outlining various aspects of the risk including, but not limited to, operating experience, management expertise, asset quality, and leverage and liquidity ratios, respectively. Once this information has been fully reviewed by credit officers and credit committees, the lender provides the funds subject to the terms and conditions presented within the contract (as outlined above).

Tillie Olsen's I stand here Ironing By susan Cahill's Essay

Tillie Olsen's I stand here Ironing By susan Cahill's - Essay Example She seems to be worn down by life and does not care about much anymore. I was touched by how the mother in the story is so neglectful of her children. It seems her oldest daughter taught her much about herself, life, and parenting. However, with her knowledge, the mother still does very little to change her life. She thinks that her oldest daughter is basically a lost cause because she is older and tainted by the world. The girl is talented and has much potential but the mother simply looks at her and thinks that it is a shame that her girl will never fully blossom. This is a defeatist attitude and a sad one because the mother is simply too tired to care. The mother seems content with the fact that there is nothing she can do about her situation. It is also sad that the mother finds ways to blame her children when she can. She claims that Emily did not want to be touched and that she was "too much to herself, her life was such that she kept too much in herself" (Olsen 590). In additi on, she sates, "My wisdom came too late . . . she is a child of her age, of depression, of war, of fear" (Olsen 590). Here I see the mother simply giving up because she is tired and all she wants to do is take a nap. This mother has more control and influence that she wants to believe. To turn things around, it might take some hard work.

ABSTRACT ASSIGNMENT Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

ABSTRACT - Assignment Example 557). They want to know what mediation mode is used in LD relationships as intimacy is a complex idea as conceptualized in many ways. METHOD: Research asked 67 heterosexual dating couples to fill-up a one-week on-line survey independently of each other. This method relies on self-disclosure but is thought to be more detailed and accurate in natural context. Participants were made to answer a forced-choice query. SUMMARY: The study concluded the interpersonal process model of intimacy (IPMI) has some validity. Intimacy in LD relationships is enhanced depending on how partners used concurrent and cognitive processes imaginatively independently of different interpersonal media available. EVALUATION: The study found how close relationships can still develop in LD relationships based on just a few factors which are more adaptive self-disclosures and idealized perceptions of their relationships. Behavioral adaptation is a key on how it affects the two factors mentioned but this is dependent on cue multiplicity, synchronicity, and mobility of communication medium used by LD couples. An insight is people in LD relationships tend to strive more than others. PURPOSE: The aim of the article is to allow students to engage in practical use of knowledge in advertising by deconstructing an advertising campaign of a big multinational corporation so the lessons they learn such as use of persuasion in advertising today will be longer-lasting. METHOD: The method as stated in the article is a short term paper of 10-12 pages in which students are to analyze the elements utilized in a corporate advertising campaign. These elements are those by Aristotle (logos, ethos, and pathos) and also by Cicero (the canons used in rhetoric, namely invention, arrangement, style, memory, and delivery). The idea is an applied or practical nature of the assignment will help to synthesize and

PHL Response Paper #2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

PHL Response Paper #2 - Essay Example Perhaps the three factors that must be understood by businesses when it comes to proper corporate governance are the importance of authenticity or sincerity, the need for transparency or accountability and the essential quality of the golden rule. A corporation must develop a sense of authenticity if it expects a consumer base to believe its claims. However, authenticity, by its very nature, is not something that can actually be bought or conducted on a superficial level. As Matt Endriss, the CEO of Birkenstock says, â€Å"When you are honest only because honesty pays †¦ you risk forgetting the meaning of honesty. When you are socially responsible only because social responsibility pays, you lose any real sense of what responsibility means† (212). By bringing in the question of good behavior for monetary reward, corporations and their leaders reinforce the selfish and self-centered, what’s-in-it-for-me attitude that typically leads to corruption and abuse of the system found in the business world today. This principle can be seen in almost every office complex when employees and employers are constantly engaged in a tug of war of favors, extra effort for extra pay and so forth. At the same time, the consume r is able to see through the false ‘humanitarian aid’ provided by a company used primarily as a means of boosting profit. Yet they recognize the true humanitarian aid provided by a company that acts simply in genuine interest in improving conditions for others. This is the focus of John Maxwell’s work regarding ‘true trust’. As Maxwell points out, â€Å"proper governance built on the element of trust should develop connections with others based on action† (lecture, page 6) and this action should be sincere action if it is to have any meaning. Companies that work to develop transparency are more trustworthy than those who struggle to keep their activities hidden. This both assures the consumer as well as ensures

Race and education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Race and education - Essay Example er hand, there are a number of things for identification in the discovery of some of the impacts of British imperialism on the educational systems of the region, as well as the impact of the education systems on its colonies and dominions. A puzzling discovery of the education system in Britain is the fact that there is a considerable absence of a broad historiography on the school curriculum in Britain during the late imperial period. This possibility considers the concerns of the British experiences prior to the year 1945, given that there is a strong emphasis on the presence of cultural assimilation as well as migration into the country. This emphasis is evident in some of the writings on the history of Europe from the early imperial period to the mid-twentieth century. However, a historical consideration of childhood education is achievable through looking into the education systems in the colonial settings, which provides some assistance in the questioning of the pedagogy as well as issues concerning imperialism. On the other hand, there are considerations that the British public schools were responsible for training some of the future imperialists during this period since a number of the students in the Victoria n public schools later served as official in the government and in the British Empire. When looking at the education systems present during the imperial period, questions do not only arise on issues concerning power or imperialism, but there are questions that arise on the influence the schools curricula had on the negative influence of race. The main characteristic of the schools in Britain, whether it was amongst the poor population or the heathen in some of its colonies was the creation of an ordered environment (Barber, 1994 138). The perception at the time was that schools were avenues for creating an orderly and educable child, despite the fact that they might have been experiencing some form of disorder in their homes. The quest that the

Industrial Relation in Australia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Industrial Relation in Australia - Essay Example To understand the transformation, it is useful to briefly dismiss two common explanations for union decline. The first is that unions declined because workers' became more skeptical about them. In fact, attitudes tend to be a mirror image of union strength. When union membership swelled during the 1970s, Australians became more likely to tell pollsters that they thought unions had "too much power", and less likely to agree that unions had been "a good thing for Australia". Correspondingly, as unions waned during the 1990s, the fraction of people who thought that unions had "too much power" or that "Australian would be better off without unions" steadily decreased. Another argument that is sometimes made is that deunionisation was a result of the decline in real wages that took place under the Accord. Yet as David Peetz points out in his book Unions in a Contrary World, this explanation implies that unionization should have declined more during the 1980s (when real wages fell) than th e 1990s (when real wages rose). In fact, the reverse is true - the biggest fall in unionization occurred during the 1990s. The most significant factor in Australian deunionisation has been changes to the legal regime governing unions. Peetz points out that between 1990 and 1995, conservative governments in five out of six states introduced legislation aimed at prohibiting compulsory unionization (banning "closed shops"), encouraging individual bargaining, and making the transition to non-award coverage easier. In the late-1980s, more than half of all union members were required to be a union member as a condition of their employment. In the 1990s, freed from the requirement to belong, large numbers chose to opt out. Unsurprisingly, the unions hit hardest were the ones that were most reliant on compulsory unionism laws. The new regime was locked in place in 1996, when the newly-elected Howard Government virtually abolished compulsory unionism nationwide, and made it more difficult for unions to recruit and strike. The next most important driver of deunionisation has been raising competition. Spurred by microeconomic reforms, tariff cuts, and a revitalized Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, the markets for buying most products and services are now substantially more competitive than they were in the 1970s. When firms enjoy a monopoly or oligopoly position, it is easier for them to pay higher wages to their employees. Prices are higher in non-competitive markets, and in the jargon of economics, this generates "rents". These rents are then shared between employers (who enjoy higher profits than they would in a competitive market) and workers (who earn more than in a competitive market). When monopolies are broken down, and markets become more competitive, management has to start cutting costs. This places pressure on management to adopt stronger anti-union tactics in order to reduce the wage bill. The third explanation for falling union density is the growth in

Climate refuges Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Climate refuges - Essay Example After all, when people lose their homes and source of livelihood, they are left with no other choice but to move to other places in order to seek a solution to their problems. However, climate refugees are making the problem worse by taxing the resources of other nations. Therefore, climate change is no longer a scientific problem but a social and political one. The movie has shown me that climate change poses multiple problems for all of us, regardless of whether we are climate refugees or not. The reality of the situation is that we are all affected by what happens in other countries and the solution to the problem does not lie in the handouts that international organizations give. Rather, the solution can be found by working together towards a common goal, that of eradicating climate change. Although science will be at the forefront of the issue, the solution to the problem has to come from various sectors of society. Unless those solutions come, and come fast enough, the next Hollywood disaster film will be all about climate refugees from around the

How Ethnic Groups Can Be Unified Essay Example for Free

How Ethnic Groups Can Be Unified Essay I would like to believe that I grew up very diversely. I attend an all foreign language program that was housed in my elementary / middle school and my mom allowed me to attend the Japanese classes up until the three grade when the program received funding for their own school. However, while I was in the program I was able to interact with a many different ethnic groups and because of my age and the fact that my mother raised me to be open-minded and well rounded I didn’t see a difference between myself and the other children in the class, in fact at the time I remember having a Mexican boyfriend and an Asian best friend. Because of my past I believe all ethnic groups can be unified if everyone can accept the fact that everyone is different and embrace everyone for their difference. The act of not liking someone because they are different is a learned behavior and children typical are learning this behavior from the adults around them and society views on that group of people. A simple and easy to understand example of how people are taught now to like each other is showed in most movies that make any reference to slavery. There is always a part of the movie where two little children, one being white and the other black, start out great friends but as time goes on they learn that they can’t be friends or date because one person is black and the other is white. I’d be naà ¯ve to think that in my generation ethnic group unity will happen. 9-11 the US unified as a nation but we still had a negative view on one ethnic group for the actions of a individuals of that group. To this day I still know people who don’t care for Muslims as a whole because of 9-11. I do believe that things have gotten better over the year but only in some regions of the world. All I can do is raise my children the way that I was raised and hope that they treat everyone with respect no matter their ethnic background.

The Increase Of Private Labels Of Grocery Products

The Increase Of Private Labels Of Grocery Products How customers make product selection is a vital concern in marketing theory. A vast briefing and a growing stream of models have been developed seeking to throw light on this issue. Implicit in mainly of this work is that consumers are choosing among rival company brands. In todays FMCG markets private brand increasingly competes with manufacturer brands noticeable at very unusual price levels. The increase of private labels of grocery products is a sign of a major change in the product mix offered by seller. Store brand offer consumers with a competitive substitute to national brands. Private brands offer low prices due to their low manufacturing costs, low-cost packaging, nominal advertising and lower overhead costs. For retailers, store brand offer a chance to increase store traffic and build store loyalty. Though private brands are generally priced lower than manufacturer brands, the higher margin earned on these products allow retailers to increase into lower volume categories for which success depends on greater per unit contribution margins. More prominently, the accessibility of proprietary brands not sold elsewhere may support store loyalty and boost store traffic. Once inside the store, the consumer also become a prospect to which to sell the whole grocery basket due to cost of time involved in multi store shopping. Consumers frequently make judgments of product quality on the basis of substitute or indirect indicators. Surrogate measures are product connected sign that consumers think are linked with real objective measures of product quality. Surrogate sign are used in quality assessment because they can be interpreted, assess and review easily when considering a variety of brand alternatives. Therefore, it would seem helpful for store brand managers to understand which substitute variables are in use by households when inform store brand quality and how different groups of consumers diverge in their consumption of such indicators in brand choices. Retailer who sell both private brand and manufacturing brands, which is often accurate for frequently acquire consumer products, is confront with describe his private brand market. It is vital for him to know whether the sales of his private brands are reason for the impulse buying of consumers who switch to his store at the time of purchase or whether his brands customer are loyal to his brand and comprise a particular market segment. In fast moving consumer goods normally get pleasure from very slim profit margins in their product categories. It is therefore very important that the retailer be aware of the impact of the introduction of a store brand on customer demand for both the store brand and manufacturing brands. Retailer have turn out to be more powerful and global, they have gradually more focused on their own brands at the cost of manufacturer brands. Rather than just selling on price, retailers have changed private label into brands. Consequently, such a Johnson Johnson, Nestle, Procter Gamble and Unilever and all other locally and multinational manufacture now compete with their largest retail and wholeseller customers like Metro, Makro, Aghas and Naheed. The development in private labels has huge inference for executive on both sides. So far, brand manufacturers still stick to their outdated assumptions about private labels. Most vital, the lay out actionable approach for opposing against or work together with private label supplier. Private labels enable managers to steer beneficially in this radically altered landscape. Private label market share usually goes up when the economy is distress and downward in stronger economic periods. Manufactures of brand name products can have major influence on the importance of the challenge create by private label goods. It is not easy for managers to look at a competitive risk objectively and in long term situation when day to day performance is suffering. Lot of private label commodities are more complicated than their rivals similar products. Once chosen for less prosperous buyers, private labels have enjoyed growing attractiveness among all consumers. Private brands are, in reality, altering the branding, product development marketplace, and retailing which was already changing in reply to globalization, more rapidly development, and superior consumerism. Private Brands are growing into full fledged alternative, capable of competing productively with these national brands on quality as well as on price (Harding Quelch, 1996) and contributing significantly to profitability, Store discrimination and store loyalty (Lal Corstjens 2000). Sales Volume and market shares of store brands, as well as their appeal to consumers have gradually increasing. A lot of retailers come into view themselves increasingly as active marketers of their own store brands, rather than as iactive distributors ofnational brands. Private brands can help retailers to attract consumers traffic and build loyalty to the store by offering exclusive product lines and quality products. In addition, store brands can help project a lower price reflection for retailers, increase their bargaining influence over manufacturers and producers of major national brands and point to increased control over shelf space. Carrying store brands comes with sevral advantages, one of whic h is the comparatively high gross margin, which can be more than a manufacturers brands. The high margin results from the more proficient marketing effort, lessening of middleman, and economies of scale get hold of distribution. Furthermore, they present worth to customers by offering a mishmash of good quality and superior products and strenghten the retailers name both on the shelves and in customers homes (et al Richardson, 1996 and Fitzell 1992;). The idea of store brands is often used interchangeably with terms such as private label brands or own brands. (cf. DelVecchio, 2001; Dick et al., 1996;Hoch and Banerji, 1993; Raju et al., 2001; Sethuraman and Cole, 1999). The positioning of the brand is a gathering of many different variables, such as the image of the store, quality of the products, price of the products, variety of the products and drive of the retailer to invest in its promotion (Kapferer, 1994 and Davies, 1998;). In most of the cases the private brand is closely linked with the store itself, for example in the case of Makro, Metro, Naheed, Aghas and D-Mart where own brands are sold exclusively. In other cases, the store brand is one of lots of brands available in the store. This situation is distinctive for most retail stores. 2.1. Development of Intention How do retailer attributes influence consumer valuation of store brands? Even though retail stores are facing difficulties in discriminating themselves due to the lack of a apparent core product/service and the need to address the broadest possible range of consumers and purchase situation, (al et Dick 1995). For Suppose that the store image acts as an important sign of store brand quality. Store image is reflected in the stores physical environment (al et Richardson 1996b), Observation related to its commodities, and perceived service quality (Golden Zimmer 1988, Baker et al., 1994).Custmers use these indication to form an overall assessment that will influence their attitude toward the store as a whole, and potentially towards its store brands. This can give explanation why store brands do better than manufacturer branded products in some cases. Consumers buying decisions will thus be subjective by their experiences with the retail environment, the merchandise and the level of ser vice: (al et Semeijn J. / Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 11 (2004)) A well-recognized and established brand image is one of the most important assets a firm possesses. Brand managers and manufacturers are worried with managing brand equity and capitalizing on the value of a brand image (Aaker, 1991). A product or retail establishment has many relations which combine to form its total intuition. Only some would disagree that consumers form impressions of brands, and that these impressions afterward put forth a major influence on store choice decisions and shopping behaviors. Favorable images of brands surely influence patronage decisions and purchase behaviors, while unfavorable images unfavorably influence such decisions and behaviors. In other words, the images linked with the brands a store carries influence a stores image, which in turn, influences consumers decision-making process and behaviors. As a result, brand image and Store image are inextricably connected to one another. 2.2 Store image The concept of store image first came of interest when Martineau Pierre (1958) explain the qualities of the retail store. Since that declaration, it has usually been recognized that, over time, consumers form opinion and feelings associated with stores, and that these overall imitation strongly influence their shopping and patronage behaviors. Retail store image is an overall intuition of a store as perceived by consumers (Keaveney and Hunt, 1992). One of the normally conventional formal definitions of retail store image is an individuals cognitions and feeling that are contingent from perceptions or memory inputs that are emotionally involved to a particular store and which represent what that store mean to an individual (Jacoby and Mazursky, 1986 Baker et al., 1994; ). In addition to developing explanation of retail store image, researchers have also recognized multiple extent of the concept. Retail image is normally explain as a combination of a stores well-designed qualities and the psychological characteristic consumers link to these. Where as the exact dimensions have varied over the years, the well-known classification of image characteristic have consisted of some combination of functional and psychological characteristic. For example, some of the more common proportions identified by researchers have been linked with: trend, choice, and excellence of merchandise; customer services and sales personnel; and the physical conditions and ambiance of the store (Golden and Zimmer, 1988, Lindquist, 1974-1975; Martineau, 1958;). A strong brand image offers an organization quite a few important strategic advantages. A brand differentiate the goods and services of one seller from those of rival. A powerful brand identity creates a major competitive advantage; a well known brand encourage repeat purchases. Thus, a brand acts as a indicator to consumers concerning the source of the product and defend customers and manufacturers from me-too products that may come out identical. Brand image consists of consumer knowledge and thinking, stored in memory as associations, about brand attributes and the consequences of brand use (Olson and Peter, 1994). These relations are usually organized in some meaningful manner (Aaker, 1991). Brand images are important because they form worth for manufacturers in at least five means (Aaker, 1991). 1st, brand images help consumers retrieve and process information. 2nd, brand images give a basis for discrimination and positioning of a product. 3rd, brand images involve product attributes and customer benefits that give consumers a basis to purchase and use the brand. 4th, brand images create relations that make positive attitudes and approach that are transferred to the brands. 5th, brand images provide the source for product extensions, by creating a sense of fit among the brand and the new product or by giving consumers a basis to buy the new product. The value brand images create for manufacturers are also expected on to the image of retail stores that hold the brands. One way consumers explain retail stores is in terms of their assessments of the brands accepted. (JOURNAL OF PRODUCT BRAND MANAGEMENT, VOL. 6 NO. 6 1997) Store brands are usually owned, controlled, and sold exclusively by particular retailers. The products sold under these brand names are generally developed and packed by retailers rather than manufacturers and are marketed solely through their own stores. The entry of a store brand can aid retailers in a number of ways: First, store-brand entry can strengthen the bargaining position of retailers v/s national brand manufacturers. The retailers channel power is supposed to increase as a result of store-brand entry, which changes the nature of the manufacturer-retailer dealings. Store brands may permit the retailer to negotiate lower wholesale prices on national brands. In addition, retailers can strategically position store brands in the product space to strengthen their bargaining position when negotiating supply terms conditions with manufacturers of national brands. Store-brand entry may increase the importance of the entire category and increase category sales. In fact, store-brand entry may shake up a dormant category. The store brand itself may make profits because of its high unit margin and potentially high volume. Store brands make shopping easier for consumers, and they enhance the stores image and store loyalty by improving store differentiation v/s other retailers. The retailers marketing tactic for store brands should think about manufacturers interest in developing store brands and consumer interest in store brands. Regardless of the potential power of a store-branding marketing strategy, and although its great attractiveness in a variety of sectors, applying a store-brand strategy does not necessarily promise instantaneous success. To a certain extent than viewing development of a store brand as a dependable recipe for success, retailers need to study the brands positioning and financial characteristics in depth to choose how and whether to apply a store-brand strategy. Several characteristic should be measured: The strength of competitiveness in the division. Retailers that work in less competitive markets essentially hold large market shares. Because these retailers get pleasure from regular traffic by consumers, they can offer wide range in leading and non-leading national brands as well as store brands. As a result, it is more likely tha t consumers will believe the private brand to be a good buy. These brands thus help strengthen tie between consumers and the retail chain and increase loyalty to the chain. Economies of scale. Because large retailers can exploit their strength to reduce distribution costs, they can easily ask manufacturers to manufacture a store brand for them at lower cost. The savings achieved permit large retail chains to present quality brands at reasonable prices. The depth of the retailers product mix. Customers at retail chains with low positioning look forward to find a more limited range of brands, ranging from store brands to leading manufacturers brands. Because the majority of consumers in these chains tend to buy non-leading national brands, it is more expected that the store brands will sell and become a regular attribute in the shopping baskets of the chains customers in time. The retailers experience in diverse product categories. Consumers in specialty stores develop only a weak reliance on national brands because they seek exclusive brands rather than the standard brands offrerd in most stores. Against this conditions, the prospects grow for the specialty shop to build up a line of store brands. Price difference. Research demonstrate that when there is a large difference between product prices (national and private) in certain categories, the rivate brand has better prospects for success. As the gap grows smaller, the prospects of store brands similarly reduce . Promotion. Promotion activities by national brand manufacturers, such as concession on their own brands, direct to a loss of status and influence for store brands, mainly among price-sensitive consumers. When distributors strive to fight national brands through alike promotion activities, they may end up deteriorating the private brand and enhancing sales of national brands, as promotions can make consumers recognize the store brand as lower in quality than the national brand. (Ram Herstein and Eugene D. Jaffe are based at the Ruppin Academic Center, Emek Hefer, Israel.). 2.2.1 Price of Store Brand Price and extraordinary promotions have been used to attract customers to a retail store and create an increased level of store traffic (Berden and Lichtenstein, 1989 Krishnan, Monroe and Grewal, 1998). According to the trade publications, retailers use of price promotions to draw attention of customers and the want to maintain margins have always been at odds with each other. The disagreement has become more acute as price promotions have failed to build sales (Grocer Progressive, 1992). In addition, although price discounting can generate traffic in a retail store, such discounting can have negative effects on the brands quality and internal reference prices. Price discounting may even spoil a stores overall image. 2.2.2 Quality There was a distinctive gap in the level of quality between private label and national brand products. Now that gap has narrowed; private-label quality levels are much higher than ever before, and they are more consistent. The distributors that bond for private label manufacture have improved their procurement processes and are more cautious about monitoring quality. For a long time, the critical assumption that a product will best satisfy the customer as long as it has desired benefits was, unexpectedly, completely foreign to store-brand marketers in emerging developed markets. Consumers were hesitant to accept store brands because they did not offer functionality benefits that indicated quality, freshness, high performance, resilience and etc. Only recently have some managers in the best-performing store brand markets learned what the store brand actually means to the customer, and they have consequently improved its functionality and quality. (Launching store brands in emerging markets: resistance crumbles by: Jaffe D. Eugene and Herstein Ram) 2.2.6 Ambiance Is it not enough to offer a well familiar product range at a best price in the right place? A good layout is a matter of customer satisfaction. Of course, there are also viable factors that argue in favor of the significance of a good layout. A good layout provides you with the opportunity of influencing store turnover. The proper shelf layout, the display of the product range or a well-thought out spot for special offers all have a direct outcome on turnover. So a good layout may very well create a boom in a stores turnover. Each store has its own best explanation for logistics problems. This applies mainly to stores with a quick turnover of goods, stores that sell products that are not easy to market or products that take up a large amount of space. One of the major purposes of the layout is certainly to create smooth customer flow all the way through the store. To accomplish this, it is important to create the right balance between fast and smooth (consumer) flow on the one hand a nd provision of space on the other. Creating smooth (consumer) flow is essential in stores that have a high frequency of customer visits. Of course, a good layout has other purposes as well. In accordance with the belief that first impressions count, the layout can either catch the attention of customers or put them off. A layout can provide solutions or it can cause difficulties.

One Country Two Systems Problems

One Country Two Systems Problems Bingyan Xu â€Å"One Country, Two Systems†: Promises and Problems Ever since September 26, 1984, when Communist China and Britain reached an agreement to allow mainland China to resume sovereignty over Hong Kong in 1997, one country, two systems has been promoted by Deng Xiaoping as a solution to the reunification problem. He suggested that within the unified Peoples Republic of China, the mainland practices socialism, while the current capitalist system of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau will remain unchanged. Through an in-depth analysis of the one country, two systems, I am going to explore these questions in this paper: what is the origin and procedure of the policy of? What are the essential features that the policy has promised? In practice, what problems have surfaced so far? How did the policy impact and change Hong Kong society? Origin: Formulation of the Policy Historically, China’s major concern regarding national reunification had not been Hong Kong but Taiwan. In fact, since Hong Kong provided an opportunity for unofficial contacts with the government of the Republic of China (ROC), the People’s Republic of China (PRC)’s policy had been to keep Hong Kong as it was until the Taiwan issue was resolved. The concept of one country, two systems emerged in the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committees on December 15, 1978. While speaking about the work related to Taiwan, Deng Xiaoping proposed a third round of Kuomintang-CPC cooperation to bring about reunification of the country (Qing). According to him, Taiwans socio-economic system, lifestyle and foreign investment will remain unchanged and its army will become local armed forces. After that, in an interview with a Xinhua correspondent on September 30, 1981, Ye Jianying, the chairman of National Peoples Congress, elaborated on the policy more specifically. He proposed nine guarantees, including the idea that Taiwan could be a special administrative zone after reunification, maintaining its own army and enjoying a high degree of autonomy, with three no-changes guaranteed for Taiwan (Wei). Pressed by Britain to make a decision on Hong Kong, China reversed its priorities. The PRC government decided to reunite with Hong Kong first and used it as an experiment for the policy; if it was successful, Taiwan would be attracted. In a meeting with British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in September 1982, Deng publicly presented the one country, two systems concept and considered it to be applicable to Hong Kong (Ching 7). As such, the full elaboration of the concept took place during the Sino-British negotiations on the constitutional status of the British colony of Hong Kong after 1997. 2. Procedure: Promises of the Communist Party of China (CPC) The Sino-British Joint Declaration was signed by the PRC and the United Kingdom on December 19, 1984 in Beijing. In the Joint Declaration, the Chinese government stated that it had decided to resume the exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong with effect from 1 July 1997 and the United Kingdom government declared that it would restore Hong Kong to the PRC with effect from 1 July 1997 (Wei). A new special administrative region (SAR) government based on the Basic Law is established, and the scheme of â€Å"one country, two systems† became a reality. When the sovereignty over Hong Kong is formally is transferred to China, the CPC has made several promises to Hong Kong people in the Joint Declaration and the Basic Law. First and foremost, the CPC has promised a highly autonomous SAR in which Hong Kong people will rule over Hong Kong. Secondly, a universal suffrage with democratic procedures is promised in the Basic Law. The implication of the one country, two systems is that the PRC will run its affair without Hong Kong’s interference, and that Hong Kong will not run its affairs without Beijing’s interference. Due to the three promises above, Hong Kong people thought that they could have a democratic system of government independent from that of PRC. 3. Outcome: Problems of the Policy Understandably, to the extent that their envisioned futures differ, the CPC’s leaders’ view may not be shared by the people of Hong Kong: what the CPC wants is a stable and prosperous Hong Kong under its rule, but the people of Hong Kong require to rule over Hong Kong on their own. The CPC emphasizes one country, while the Hong Kong people stress two systems. Therefore, the main problem surfaces: â€Å"one country† increasingly overweighs â€Å"two systems†. By looking at the three branches of the government of Hong Kong, we can see that the CPC has successfully contained Hong Kong. In the executive branch, the Chief Executive and principal officials of HKSAR government are indirectly appointed by CPC, though nominally the chief executive is elected by a selection committee of 1200 people. In the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, only a half seats were popularly elected, with the other half directly appointed by CPC. In the judicial branch, CPC has tamed the Court of Final Appeal with the reinterpretation of the National People’s Congress (NPC). According to Yuen’s discussion of NPC’s interpretative power over the Basic Law, there is no residual power on the part of Hong Kong to define or interpret any points not clearly stipulated by the Basic Law. The reason why these problems surfaced when the policy was put into use is the controversial and uneven nature of the â€Å"one country, two systems†. First, it proposes to have a capitalist local system operating under the administration of a communist central government. According to Chien-Min Chao, â€Å"Peking has stated that the dialectical principle of the unity of contradictions is the basic and most important objective theoretical source of ‘one country, two systems’† (110); however, the CPC neglected, or chose to neglect the predictable outcome of the policy at this point. Second, the policy is uneven because the two systems are unequal in size and status. Thus, it is predestined for Hong Kong to be overwhelmed by China in the normal course of development. 4. Impact: Hong Kongs Identity Now after seventeen years, people may ask whether the implementation of one country, two systems has been successful. Proved by the outcomes, the â€Å"one country, two systems† has certainly brought a number of changes to Hong Kong society, which might seem prosperous to the CPC but disastrous to Hong Kong people. Applying the â€Å"three-layer model† to analyze the social changes, we can clearly see another inefficient part of the policy. It is suggested by the model that the society can be divided into three layers from outside to inside: instrument, institution and cultural core. In the case of the one country, two systems, the policy apparently brought instrumental and institutional changes to Hong Kong society but the core value has never been changed. Afraid of being assimilated, Hong Kong society felt a need to maintain its distinctiveness from the rest of China. For example, when the HKSAR government decided to change the teaching language of all public seconda ry schools from English to Chinese after two months of reunification, Hong Kong society reacted strongly against the this decision. Chan illustrates their reason as the English language is a habitus of Hong Kong people, and distinguishes them from their mainland counterparts. To maintain this distinction, Hongkongers fought to retain their right to learn in English (282). Furthermore, Hong Kong people’s strong self-identity is reflected from the survey data and their attitude to mainland Chinese. Figure 1 shows that more than 50% people identified themselves as â€Å"only Hong Konger† from 1990 to 2012. Notably, the lines of â€Å"only Chinese† and â€Å"only Hong Konger† are getting closer to each other. It is not sufficient to prove the growing identity of â€Å"only Chinese† in Hong Kong society, but it shows the immigration wave from mainland to Hong Kong due to the relaxed policy. Hong Kong people always show an angry regionalism toward this kind of issue. When they see any unciviled behavior of Chinese, they will insult them with remarks as â€Å"Chinese dog go back to your kennel†. Sadly, because Hong Kong is now legally an undeniable part of China, no matter how strong their self identity is, Hong Kong people are unable to speak out their own voice on the world stage. Fig. 1, â€Å"à ©Ã‚ ¦Ã¢â€ž ¢Ãƒ ¦Ã‚ ¸Ã‚ ¯Ãƒ ¤Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ºÃƒ ¥Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ã…’à ¤Ã‚ ¸Ã‚ ­Ãƒ ¥Ã…“†¹Ãƒ ¤Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ºÃƒ §Ã… ¡Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ãƒ ¤Ã‚ ¸Ã‚ »Ãƒ ¨Ã‚ §Ã¢â€š ¬Ãƒ ¨Ã‚ ºÃ‚ «Ãƒ ¤Ã‚ »Ã‚ ½Ãƒ ¨Ã‚ ªÃ‚ Ãƒ ¥Ã‚ Ã…’à ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã…’1990-2012 (%),† Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies of Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2013 5. Conclusion In short, the policy of â€Å"one country, two systems† has been adopted by the CPC to resolve the reunification problem of Hong Kong. The policy has worked for the purpose of recovering Hong Kong from the British. Yet, since the CPC fails to realize most of their promises, a number of practical problems originated from the policy are still needed to be solved. As a city that prides itself on freedom, the rule of law and low corruption, Hong Kong now faces a difficult road ahead. The feeble state of democracy in Hong Kong is only one part of a grim picture. As Hong Kong increasingly begins to resemble just another mainland city, it seems a destiny for Hong Kong to become a global backwater. Works Cited Chan, Elaine. Beyond Pedagogy: Language and Identity in Post-colonial Hong Kong. British Journal of Sociology of Education 23.2 (2002): 271-85. Print. Chao, Chien-Min. One Country, Two Systems: A Theoretical Analysis. Asian Affairs 14.2 (1987): 107-24. Web. Ching, Frank. Hong Kong and China: ‘One Country, Two Systems? New York: Foreign Policy Association, 1996. Print. Qing, Wen. One Country, Two Systems: The Best Way to Peaceful Reunification. Beijing Review 1990: n. pag. Print. Wei, Da-yeh. The Formulation and Development of ‘One Country, Two Systems’. Wen Wei Po [Hong Kong] 20 Dec. 1984: n. pag. Print. Yuen, Samson, and Kitty Ho. Hong Kong: Two Systems, One Country? The Diplomat. N.p., 08 Mar. 2014. Web.

The Cask Of The Amontillado - Revenge :: essays research papers

A Tale of Revenge in The Cask of the Amontillado "The Cask of Amontillado" is a powerful tale of revenge. Montresor, the sinister narrator of this tale, pledges revenge upon Fortunato for an insult. Montresor intends to seek vengeance in support of his family motto: "Nemo me impune lacessit."("No one assails me with impunity.") On the coat of arms, which bears this motto, appears " [a] huge human foot d'or, in a field of azure; the foot crushes a serpent rampant whose fangs are embedded in the heel." It is important for Montresor to have his victim know what is happening to him. Montresor will derive pleasure from the fact that "...as Fortunato slowly dies, the thought of his rejected opportunities of escape will sting him with unbearable regret, and as he sobers with terror, the final blow will come from the equalization that his craving for the wine has led him to his doom. "The Cask of Amontillado" is about one man's family revenge on another family. In structure, there can be no doubt, that both Montresor's plan of revenge and Poe's story are carefully crafted to create the desired effect. Poe writes this story from the perspective of Montresor who vows revenge against Fortunato in an effort to support his time-honored family motto: "Nemo me impune lacessit" or "No one assails me with impunity." (No one can attack me without being punished.) Poe does not intend for the reader to sympathize with Montresor because Fortunato has wronged him, but rather to judge him. Telling the story from Montresor's point of view, intensifies the effect of moral shock and horror. Once again, the reader is invited to delve into the inner workings of a sinister mind. This part of the story is very disturbing and emotionally unstable. Fortunato undergoes a change from laughter and thinking a practical joke is being played on him to a groaning realization that he is a dead man. This is the place where we chose to make our project. Although several characters are mentioned in this story, the true focus lies upon Montresor, the diabolical narrator of this tale of horror, who pledges revenge upon Fortunato for an insult.

Foxwoods: Pleasure in the Absence of Sin? Essay -- Descriptive Essay, D

Fifty two miles from Providence, on Route 2 off Interstate 95 you will find a purple and turquoise glow in the middle of the Connecticut woods. On the Mashantucket Pequot reservation, the largest gambling casino in the world —Foxwoods, sits nestled among massive, old growth trees and modest hills. Route 2 cuts a straight shot through the woods. An endless row of headlights returning from the casino illuminates both sides of the rural, two-lane road, and a string of brake lights guide the way towards a land run by rules of luck, addiction, and money. A tour bus returning to New York lights up a hand-laid, New England stone wall. In its disrepair, the wall no longer marks the boundaries of a proud property, tilled and worked with Protestant resolve. The decrepit mass of stones stands as a sadly antiqued relic on either side of a yellow brick road towards a fantasy world of elusive profits and dreams backed only by chance. The pastoral vision of a Puritan New England, with stone walls and white clapboard houses, frames an approach to the self-contained complex of mammoth buildings. They rise above the tree line and cast an umbrella of neon over an otherwise undeveloped and rural part of Connecticut. Residents of the three closest towns have complained that they can no longer see the stars due to the lights cast off from Foxwood’s enormous towers. Last year, tour buses coming from New York, Hartford, Providence, and other points discharged 1.1 million gamers. The buses shuttle constantly along this paved artery between Foxwoods and Interstate 95, so you are never alone, and there is never darkness. I asked a Yale student, 21-year-old Cory Anthony Lee whether he sees himself as a winner. "A winner. There really are no wi... ...as they fall into cupped palms, quarters sloshing like soup in super sized plastic cups. It’s a circular sound that induces you to keep going. Cresting, high-pitched waves of noise always ends on the up, and vibrate through your body to make mush of the brain. You are filled with a sense of propulsion, repetition, a feeling of the inevitable. It’s maddening, deafening, like that ringing in the ear when you’re sick or have damaged your eardrum —both a persistent ring and buzz, but one which isolates you from any realm of normalcy. The noise distracts you from the impulse to stop at your limit. Cresting waves of winning, surrounded by the circular rhythms of machines on the edge of paying big, fill you with a sense of anticipation. Foxwoods studiously prods, cajoles, and seduces you into believing that you are always on the cusp of making it all back or winning more.

Newell Convers Wyeth Essay

Newell Convers Wyeth was one of the famous men in America during his time. This is because he was considered as one of the greatest American illustrators. He was the first to set the pace amongst the three generations of Wyeth artists. However, he was not only an illustrator but a painter as well. The work he did has become historical and is celebrated in many galleries, museums and publications as well as in other artist venues across the globe (Howell, par 1). Throughout his life, he was doing very well as an illustrator thus becoming very famous. N. C died in Chadds Ford in 1945 through an accident (Brandy Wine Conservancy 3). Wyeth gained national recognition as a result of his Scribner’s Classic Children’s Books like The Yearling, Robinson Crusoe, The Last of the Mohicans, Kidnapped, and Treasure Island among others. Wyeth believed that the deepest happiness a person can experience comes from living a simple life, and also treasuring the beauty and bounty of land and sea. Quite a number of Wyeth’s paintings were based on his feelings and own experiences. This was usually as a result of the memories of his parent’s farm where he grew up (Highlights for Children, par 1-8). N. C Wyeth started drawing when he was a child. He was being encouraged by the mother who helped him nature his gift. He began working for a magazine called the Saturday Evening Post when he was only 20years. Soon after this, his fame began to spread and his work published in other leading magazines like Harper’s weekly, Century, and Scribner’s among others (Nila McCann Spring). Despite the fact that Wyeth was an illustrator, he yearned to be known as a painter as well. The difference between the two was that illustration carried a pejorative connotation that Wyeth felt keenly all his life. In addition, regardless of the fact that commissioned work earned him income to support his family, he tried to run away from the confines of textual limitations, taking up personal paintings like landscapes, still lives and portraits. He moved from lyrical landscapes, which had an impressive style, to powerful portraits of fishermen that evoke the work of the American Regionalist artists. Nonetheless, he never attained personal satisfaction or the recognition that he wanted (Brandy Wine Conservancy 2). Wyeth was able to make three trips, between 1904 and 1906, to West America. This was after Wyeth recognized the value of Pyle’s instructions in his career. Pyle was one of the most renowned illustrators from Howard Pyle School of Art where Wyeth had joined then. During the period of the trip, he spent much of his time taking up the experience that enabled him to paint images. The painted images would allow him to come up very well and be among the top greatest illustrators during his error. Wyeth had managed to herald in Outing Magazines by 1907. He was one of the greatest painters of American outdoor life (Brandywines Conservancy 1). Early Life Nowell Convers was born on 22nd October, 1882 in a place called Needham, Massachusetts. His mother was the daughter of Swiss immigrants while his father was a descendant of the first Wyeth to arrive in the New World in the mid-17th century. His growing up in a farm made him develop a deep love for nature. He began his artistic inclinations at a very young age and the mother encouraged it. However, his father opposed this since he wanted him to use his talent more practically. He attended Mechanic Arts High School in Boston up to May 1899, where he concentrated on drafting. Through the support of his mother, he was able to transfer to Massachusetts Normal Art School and through the help and guidance of his instructor Richard Andrew; he took the line of illustration (Brandywine Conservancy 1). Wyeth married Carolyn Bockus in 1906. They met after he completed his learning under Pyle. They gave birth to five children whose names are Nat, Carolyn, Ann and Andrew. Some of these children resembled his father in his work of illustration and painting. They picked up talents for one art form or another, ranging from composing music to teaching art lessons and also to inventing (Howell, par. 3-4). N. C Wyeth trained his son Andrew through home schooling in 1932. This was after he realized that his health was failing. There were several challenges that came with school administration and also the expense of teaching his son from home. However, Wyeth managed to complete his son’s education as his teacher. After that, Andrew Wyeth continued to work under his father’s artistic guidance in their home in Maine which was named after the famous Winslow Home painting (Howell, par. 6). N. C Wyeth’s Work Wyeth is the perhaps the best and is remembered for his illustrations of other children classics done for Scribner’s. He gained national recognition with his illustrations for the book Treasured Island by Robert Louis Stevenson in 1911. He composed American stories and themes from carpetbaggers to Indians. He used color and romantic imagery brilliantly and this combined with his close attention to historical detail, enables his artwork gain a lasting place in the lexicon of American illustration. The love he had for America in-terms of its individuality and landscapes is evident in his works; that is, from the Old West to the Brandywine Hill. This was a country of Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. It is said that his boldness and sometimes massive artwork expressed his ‘largeness of spirit’. He is also said to have painted murals on a heroic scale by one of the biographers (New World Encyclopedia, par 2-4). He managed to complete over three thousand works during his career. Being an illustrator, some of his famous works included publications like Kidnapped, Tom Sawyer, Treasure Island and Robin Hood. Between 1925 and 1935, he completed some of his most exhilarating pieces of work, among which were several experimental pieces that were seen as heroic compared to his commissioned work (Howell, par 2). The success of Treasured Island insured Wyeth along his career. Scribner’s illustrated many classic stories in his succeeding years. The most famous titles are; â€Å"kidnapped (1913), The Black Arrow (1916), The Boy’s King Arthur (1917), The Mysterious Island (1918), The Last of the Mohicans (1919), The Deer slayer (1925) and The Yearling (1939). † In addition, he created illustrations for other publishers. Examples of such books are Robin Hood by David McKay(1917), Robinson Crusoe by Cosmopolitan (1920), Rip VanWinkle by David McKay (1921), Men of Concord by Houghton-Mifflin (1936) and Trending Into Maine by Little Brown (1938) (Howell, par. 2). Books like Treasured Island and Robinson Crusoe by N. C Wyeth are the most historical and famous. They also have a maritime adventure and an Island as a center element of their schemes. In addition, the historical language used in every one of them is similar as well as one of the same nautical terminology like stern, bow and aft among others. This is utilized because of the aforementioned similarities (Enotes, par1-3). Checking closely, the characters in these two books are alike only in the most basic ways. In Robinson Crusoe, for example, Crusoe is a male just as are Long John Silver and Hawkins. In addition, both central character are seamen and in the case of Hawkins, they were trying to become such. On the desolate island, young Jim Hawkins is trying to survive as a lone boy in the world of men just as Crusoe tries. On the other hand, both books are written by male authors and that the masculinity tone is seen in both books. In this case, as one reads these books, each story helps them to gain a perspective into the oceangoing world of the past. May be a better comparison could be drawn between Stevenson’s in Kidnapped and Defoe’s in Robinson Crusoe because there are better similarities existing in these books (Enotes, par. 2-3). His work also contains religious paintings. For example in 1923, he is said to have been commissioned by the Unitarian Layman’s League to do a series of paintings which included ‘The Parables of Jesus’. His most superb religious work that consisted of three hinged panels painted for the Chapel of the Holy Spirit at the Nations Cathedral in Washington D. C seems to be welcoming believers. It consisted of Jesus surrounded by a host of heavenly angels. The wordings are, â€Å"Come unto Me, All Ye that Labor and Are Heavy Laden, and I Will Give You Rest† (New World Encyclopedia, par. 13). His other works included; Mowing (1907), Long John Silver and Hawkins (1911), The Fence Builders (1915), September Afternoon (1918), Dying Winter (1934), The Alchemist (1938), Deep Cover Lobsterman (1939), The war Letter (1944) and the Nightfall (1945) (New World Encyclopedia, par. 23). Assessment of N. C Wyeth’s Work It was appropriate for Wyeth to start his work at his young age. One of the reasons is because he was able to leave an impact after he died in that his work is still remembered to date. He also was able to raise his son Andrew as his successor and the son become famous too because he was doing very well. It was also of importance to begin his work at an early age since he was able to publish so many books like Treasured Island and Robinson Crusoe (Amazon Par. 1-3). In addition, this golden age work of Wyeth played an important role in uplifting and pursuing work in illustration. The period of golden age work was also recognized for unparalleled brilliance in publication of journal art which had not been seen before. Also N. C Wyeth plus other students were able to carry on Howard Pyle’s work and this also brings out the importance of his beginning work at a young age (Jo Ang, par 4-5). N. C Wyeth was also able to perfect his work over time by starting his career at a young age and this enabled him to gain fame in America and other nations too. The fame is evident in his created images for magazine advertisements and calendars, painting for big companies like Wheat Company, Coca-Cola, Blue Buckle Overalls, Steinway &Sons, New York Life Insurance among other (Brandy wine Conservancy 3). Conclusion Wyeth is remembered since he was one of the greatest illustrators in America and who created nearly 4,000 works during his golden age from 1903 to 1945 when he died. However he never achieved the personal satisfaction or public recognition that he wanted. N. C Wyeth gained national recognition as a result of his Scribner’s Classic Children’s Books like The Yearling, Robinson Crusoe, The Last of the Mohicans, Kidnapped, and Treasure Island among others. All these books are read even to date. Work cited Amazon. com. 1996-2010. The Amazon. com Review, 2010. Web. 15 May 2010 . Brandy wine Conservancy. N. C. Wyeth Biography. Brandywine River Museum, 2009. Web. 14 March, 2010, . Enotes. com, Inc. Treasure Island and Robinson Crusoe, 2010. Web. 15 May, 2010,

L.A. Candy Summarization

L. A. Candy is one of a trilogy series written by Lauren Conrad. The author was inspired to write this book due to the fact that she participated in two reality television series, Laguna Beach and The Hills. The genre of this novel is young-adult literature. Jane Roberts and Scarlett Harp just graduated from high school and move to L. A. to begin an active new life style. Jane works for an event planner, Fiona Chen while Scarlett studies at the University of Southern California. A producer of an upcoming reality series came across the girls at Les Deux Nightclub and presented the idea of being apart of his new series know as L.A. Candy. The girls were thrilled with the idea but little did they know the malicious plots the Hollywood lifestyle had to offer. The series created a somewhat artificial friendship with Madison Parker, a charming but vicious celebutante and Gaby Garcia, a typical â€Å"dumb blonde. † Jane meets Jesse Edwards, a notorious playboy and falls madly in love , but when Jesse flirts with two blonde bimbos at his twenty first birthday, Jane is hurt beyond repair. Madison, craving attention, makes a malevolent deal with the Gossip magazine publisher, Veronica Bliss.This deal entitled Madison leaking pictures of Jane hooking up with Jesse's best friend Braden after his twenty first birthday when she was feeling desperate and vulnerable. Madison knew this would destroy Jane's career but she yearend for a cover in the magazine and this was the only way she could accomplish her goal. In the end, the news got around Hollywood faster than the bubonic plague and Jane was devastated. I recommend this novel to anyone who watched Lauren Conrad's reality television series The Hills and enjoyed the non-stop gossiping and ludicrous fights.The novel gives a superb insight into the behind-the-scenes look of a reality television show such as, the scripted scenes and the constant annoyance of cameras and paparazzi. Any teenage girl who is interested in the Hollywood scene would be infatuated with this novel as it has an unexpected story line and dramatic events. The characters are relatable and it is extremely simple to immerse yourself into the world in which the girls live in. Lastly, this book was number one in the New York Times Bestseller and I would highly encourage anyone who appreciated this novel to read the whole series.

Know Rhymesâ€Know Reasons

My parents are nerds.   I don’t mean they were nerds as kids and grew out of it; I mean my parents were nerds from the moment each was born, though their adolescence, and right into adulthood.   Today, my parents remain true to their heritage: they are full-fledged, adult nerds. As most people are aware, nerd hood requires a few supplies and traits: along with the requisite pocket protectors, the over-exuberance for all things academic, and thick glasses, both of my parents are bookworms.   Luckily, certain genetic traits skip a generation, and I can honestly say that I am not a nerd; however, I am a bookworm, and I am not ashamed to admit it because much of my life has been influenced by the things I have read. I grew up with Dr. Seuss.   My father used to spend time every week reading the latest Dr. Seuss book with me.   He’d tuck me into bed, and then I read to him aloud as the story unfolded one rhyme and one intriguing illustration at a time.   My goal was not so much to get to the end, but to learn new words, and each new word I learned was marked by my father with a bright, yellow highlighter. In this way, the progress I made became more tangible, and for all I know, that habit of my father’s allowed me the freedom to read all of my books with a dictionary and a highlighter by my side and never to feel as if doing so was a waste of time or a burden: new word were an adventure, and I loved learning them.   I don’t recall developing a particular favorite Dr. Seuss book as a child, but as I got older, I began to get the urge to unpack the box of my highlighted books and relive a little of my youth. The box of Dr. Seuss books had been stored in the family shed, and the years had taken their toll.   The change in temperature had caused the books to warp and mold, but they had not gone completely to waste: at least one family of rodents had nested in the box, shredding the pages of my early education for their own progeny’s needs.   One lone book remained untouched: Horton Hears a Who, and as I opened this last book of my childhood and began to read, I was struck by the power of the story.   Hidden in the text was one of the most important lessons I’ve ever learned: a single voice of the tiniest girl was strong enough to make a difference.   As hokey as it may sound, I leaned the degree to which an individual can impact the world that day as I read that book.   Perhaps I am a nerd. I won’t waste time by detailing the degree to which I read during grade school, junior high school, and high school; I will only clarify that while I admit to being bookish, I was also an athlete, participated in student body, and had a social life.   I was, however, not done with Dr. Seuss. I hit a wall with Shakespeare, and I felt the burden of reading for the first time in my life.   While many students had grown accustomed to that wall, I had never dealt with it, so by the time it happened to me, the stakes were high: I was in college, and I wasn’t getting it.   I had never skipped a reading—never worried about my English or literature courses. Suddenly, I was ready for a slug of the stuff Romeo had taken.   I did the only thing I could think of: looking for commiseration, I complained to my parents about how stupid Shakespeare was, pointed out that no one could really be sure he’d written his plays, and wondered out loud why anyone needed to read stuff that’s written like that anyway. My father would have none of it, but he suggested to me that anyone who had grown up on Dr. Seuss and Shel Silverstein had no business complaining about or being confused by Shakespeare.   Like many messages delivered when one isn’t ready to receive them, the point my father had tried to make was lost on me for awhile—buried by the frustration of not having been appeased.   Several days later, I tried to give in to the notion that there might be something familiar in the rhythm and rhyme of Shakespeare if only I’d do what my father had suggested: read it out loud and listen—really listen. I struggled at first trying to work through the colloquial terms.   I fought to remember that the ends of a line of text didn’t necessarily equal the end of a sentence.   I battled with Shakespeare’s sentence structure trying to remember that it was rarely subject-verb-object.   It was like running through sand that was waist deep.   Until it wasn’t.   Suddenly, everything fell into place: it was like I had learned a foreign language.   The words made sense; the story began to unfold around me; I got it; I liked it.   The only thing I can compare it to is sitting in a theater watching a sub-titled movie: there is a point at which the reading becomes so automatic that it is no longer a conscious effort but automatic.   It was just like that. Later, I met the wall that was Henry James.   I was reading Portrait of a Lady, and I had spent far too much time trying to decipher the first scene of the text.   When I realized that James had spent over a page beating around the bush to say that three men were at tea, I wanted to scream.   I wanted to ask the guy why he’d wasted so much ink and so many words simply to point out to the audience that it was tea time, but instead of there being women there, there were men—but I had a book to wade through, and Mr. James was long dead, so I moved on. Having figured out the context of the opening if the book, I went back and started anew, and I realized that I wanted to sit and talk to the man who had chosen such wonderfully descriptive words—a man who had taken such great care to spend the time to so completely describe the fact that three men were at tea.   I remember thinking to myself that if he were a painter, and he painted the way he wrote, that I would love his work like I loved Claude Monet’s Impression Sunrise.   Years later, when I began to read everything I could by and about Henry James, I had a private laugh over his affinity for painters—Monet in particular. Having cracked Shakespeare and James, I was never again afraid of a book’s language or  length.   I picked up Middlemarch and Tom Jones and Vanity Fair and loved each of them for  different reasons, but one day, I picked up Sherwood Anderson’s Winesburg, Ohio, and like  Horton Hears a Who, I found a story that changed the way I viewed the world.   â€Å"The Book of the  Grotesque† made me think about truth, and the way in which each individual forms his or her  own truth and twists it to suite personal needs.   It made me consider that each person’s  quest for and claiming of truth can send ripples into the world, and these ideas changed me. Recently, I have discovered Flannery O’Connor, and while I struggle with the racial issues that threaten to ruin her works for me, I feel the now-familiar tingle beginning that I have grown to recognize as the discovery and excitement that only a well-written book can bring me.   I may have to break down and buy a pocket protector just to use as a book mark. What about writing?   Well, if one day all of the things I have jotted down in hopes of emulating the people previously mentioned ever manages to make its way to a publisher, I will blame that on the books I have read and the people who wrote them.   I will speak of the fact that when I walk into a bookstore, I marvel at all of the people who have managed to get published and allow myself an instant to believe it might someday happen for me as well. As I pick my words and paint my own pictures, I wonder if I have it in me to write the thing that for the right person will make a difference—the thing that might one day be highlighted in bright yellow—the page marked with a sticky note.   Maybe this year I’ll try my hand at NaNoWriMo.