General Safety and Security Essay

* Investment in surveillance camera systems by school districts ensures parents and guardians that the general safety and security of children are being addressed during schools hours and at all after-school extracurricular activities and programs. 2. Crime Deterrent * The presence of highly visible surveillance cameras at strategic locations in buildings and public areas/premises of a school property prevents theft, vandalism and acts as a deterrent to thieves and criminals from indulging in illegal activities. 3. Sexual Predators * One of the biggest threats that school children face is the threat of sexual predators and pedophiles hanging around unobtrusively on school campuses or in parking lots. Camera systems’ footage is very useful in tracking down predators or helping inform police about threatening situations in real time. 4. Prevent Bullying * New-generation surveillance camera systems have audio, voice and sound capturing capabilities. Teenagers bullying or harassing other students can be disciplined based on video and audio footage records. 5. Emergency Evacuation * School security personnel manning surveillance camera systems in real-time can take quick action about evacuating children, faculty and staff in case of emergencies related to fire or other potentially dangerous situations. Prevent Theft and Illegal Activities * The primary purpose of installing surveillance cameras is to act as deterrence to robbers, criminals, petty thieves and unscrupulous elements from indulging in theft, illicit and criminal activities. Security cameras are installed in bungalows, townhouses, apartment buildings, condominiums, schools, university campuses, offices, stores, malls and other public areas. These cameras monitor suspicious activities; stop theft, vandalism and shoplifting; and alert stationed security officers about real-time thefts. Staff monitoring cameras and centrally manned systems in large businesses can also inform county and state law enforcement officials about developing dangerous situations.

Industrial V.S. Pastoral Essay

No other book has ever made me want to be a farmer more (or at all) than The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan. No other book has placed such a dark cloud of doom and gloom over such a seemingly simple topic such as food production. I’m of course not talking about two identical models. One model is of industrial agriculture contrasted by pastoral agriculture. In his research Michael Pollan visited farms of both styles, got to know the onsite operations, followed the food to its ultimate destination, and finally ate a meal created with the very ingredients he spent a week investigating. Michael describes the farm owned by George Naylor, which is of the industrial model, as being fairly easy in terms of manual labor but extremely difficult in the detective work. Detective work usually isn’t something that gets brought up often when talking about farms; here it is referring to the journalistic tracking that Michael Pollan had to do with Mr. Naylor’s staple crop – corn. The difficulty in following a bushel of corn from the Naylor farm is his corn, along with the majority of corn grown in the U. S. will eventually wind up in practically everything we eat and use. He does a fabulous job of painting a picture of this river of corn and how it ebbs and flows throughout our lives eroding any dietary connection we once might have had to nature. Nature is after all a system based on diversity and here we see an entire nation built on and fueled by a single plant. The carbon in our flesh has even been tested and the findings were we are, after water, predom inately corn. I was starting to think that there were too many chapters in this book about corn! It just kept going and going but once I realized how much it is entwined in our lives and how perhaps this is the only account of someone illuminating that truth it started to seem necessary. As those carbon tests showed we are what we eat, Pollan shows in his book we are what we eat eats. Just as diversity is the spice of life in an ecosystem so too is it necessary for the physical health of animals. We humans know that very well and apply it readily to our own diets but what happens when we don’t allow nature to run its course in the meals of our meals? The nutritional content suffers immensely; to the point where our entire notion of healthy foods is skewed. An example used by Pollan is our idea of the nutritional content in red meat and fish. It is considered self-evident that an excess of red meat will cause all sorts of health problems. Likewise it is pretty well known that most fish, especially salmon, is rich in the good omega 3 fats and should be a staple of our diets. Omega 3 fats are produced in the leaves of plants while omega 6 fats are produced in the seeds of plants. If a cow was grass fed he would produce a healthier steak than the fillet of a farm raised salmon. This is because that salmon is most likely raised on corn. One would think that the flip side of this coin would be an organic farm. Well that same person would probably be very shocked to read what Michael Pollan had to say about organic. People might even feel duped by places like Whole Foods. As it is described in the book organic should realistically be read â€Å"industrial organic† for the farms and slaughterhouses are hardly different at all. In fact, instead of steering it onto a whole new track the organic rules and regulations only make it that much harder to run a traditional industrial operation. What the author shows as the antithesis to industrial is pastoral. In this section he visits the polyface farm of Joel Salatin which is reminiscent of a farm you might find in the movie Babe. It is actually a huge relief to read about because up to this point in the book you are starting to question if this kind of farm even exists. In this parallel universe monoculture is a filthy word and the practices found in industrial food production are nothing short of reprehensible. This model mimics nature therefore it is complex and interdependent; each and every plant and animal are so entwined in each other’s existence it really begs the question ‘what came first the chicken or the egg? ’ But that is the whole point of polyface farming. Only through diversity (and remaining in the local market) can sustainable agriculture be achieved. Or put another way, all of our environmental/agricultural problems start from attempting to create a monoculture ecosystem. Ruminants graze the grass chewing about ? of the blade while simultaneously dropping cow pies. The bottom part of the grass that cows do not eat is favored by the chickens that follow in the hoof prints before them. Around this time the cow patties start to grow ripe with larvae which become extra protein for the chickens. While the chickens scratch around the cow dung they consequently spread the manure for the farmer. This is only a small piece of the pie in terms of the interactions between all species that live and work on polyface. This is also one of the cycles of nature that if left to its own devises extinguishes the farmers need for pesticides and other harmful chemicals. Salatin could be seen as the conductor while all the other organisms of the farm are the musicians and the instruments; he sees how nature works and makes sure all the conditions are perfect and helps nature along. With his many inventions and quirky optimistic attitude one can’t help but picture a cartoon character. Several times throughout the reading I was reminded of the industrial revolution; and not just because the industrial food chain was born out of it. I found it interesting how the industrial food chain resembled the industrial revolution in conditions only. It was bleak, mechanical, and the conditions the animals are kept in are just horrible and unsanitary. The mass wave of human innovation and change that came out of the industrial revolution is absent from that food system but are absolutely present at polyface. Obviously this is just one farm so the analogy might be weak but I feel the conditions of this one farm, if recreated and multiplied, could produce some amazing ideas and inspire positive change.

Why South Africa must not bale Zimbabwe and why it would!

As Zimbabwe moves further and deeper into crisis, the world still looks on from a distance and utter mixed statements of condemnation and oddly so, admiration. Strengthened by the lack of consensus on the man-made crisis that Zimbabwe has come, Mugabe's government has continued to deal harshly with opponents in the urban areas by unleashing a so-called slams clearance programme dubbed ‘operation murambatsvina† which has left many homeless. To pacify the critics of this programme, operation garikai† has been muted to restore the vanquished hopes of Mugabe's victims. And for this, someone else other than Mugabe is expected to pay. Requests for an olive branch have been extended to many ‘friendly' or ‘neutral' countries, with south Africa and China topping the list. Observers have suggested that â€Å"Mugabe prefers the loan shark who demands no internal reforms, to the more accountable loan demanding reform. † In a letter to the editor (Business Day 26/07/05) Mark Wade contrasted the lack of facilities and skills to provide south Africans with decent housing, health care, social services, roads, city infrastructure – with the move to â€Å"give a banana republic dictator billions of our hard-earned rands to prop up a regime that has created the very policies that have destroyed his country. However, others view this as an opportunity to get Mugabe towing the ling suggesting that â€Å"now that South Africa seems poised to bale out Zimbabwe †¦ should finally pluck up the courage to extract maximum advantage for the people of that benighted country.† Such sentiments are reminiscent of those expressed when Mugabe won the controversial two-third majority making other observers suggest that, he would become a benevolent dictator and would want to show the world that he meant well also leaving behind a good legacy. More like teaching old dogs new tricks or like expecting sweet lemons? The basis upon which a loan must be extended to Zimbabwe must be based on the effect of the loan for the affected Zimbabweans. Will the loan enhance their lives and improve their access to services and human dignity. The answer to these questions is already obvious given a reading of the manner in which the Zimbabwean government has conducted itself. President Mbeki's argument that the loan would ensure that Zimbabwean problems do not spill into South Africa has surely passed its sell-by date. South African is already home to millions of Zimbabweans displaced by the ever-tumbling economy of that country. Mugabe claimed that he is in weekly contact with Mbeki and suggested that they share ideas. This revelation makes ‘quite diplomacy' a thing of the past and suggest that Mbeki is in complicity with Mugabe in the humanitarian crisis that has visited the people of that country. Anyone who has been following events in rural and urban South Africa would know about the spat of high intensity removals and evictions visited upon the urban and rural poors through South Africa's own version of shacks clearance programme. Poor and landless people have been evicted without notice and alternative land and accommodation. These people face daily evictions from bond housing and private buildings in an espoused â€Å"war on shacks that has seen the poor and landless moved from shack to shack.† Perhaps the most affected are the farm dwellers and farm workers community who face the most humiliating conditions from farm owners sanctioned by the Extension of Security of Tenure Act and the Labour Tenancy Act. Thabo Mbeki has failed to act decisively on these issues and the scourge of poverty has an unshakable impact on the masses of South African people. This makes Mbeki not different from Mugabe, and it would be hypocrisy for Mbeki to lecture on Mugabe on these rights which he has not been able to afford the poor. Bailing Zimbabwe means an endorsement of the irresponsible programmes of government that wrought the economic and social woes bedeviling the poor and masses. This extended from the irresponsible managed land reform, through to the dubious operation restore order. It is expecting too much to think that any amount of money put into a ZANU PF government's coffer would be put to any good use now. History does not judge Mugabe and his government well on this, especially since he embarked on the self-saving and apparently self-destructive route in the name of anti-imperialism and empowerment through land reform. The people of South Africa must look at more constructive, imaginative and creative ways of assisting the suffering masses of Zimbabwe. Bailing the Zimbabwe government is definitely not one of them.

Action learning review - work design Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Action learning review - work design - Essay Example Considering personal objectives, work design should allow employees to find a sense of fulfillment and potential in their job. There should be particular attention given to employee perceptions regarding autonomy and the challenges of such an environmentAs a socio-technical system, work design is critical in the consideration of the human factors in the workplace. The objective is to be able to create an environment were workers can achieve job satisfaction, efficiency, effectivity and be able to have access to channels for the resolution of problems. In a company that operates on flexible hours and remotely, it is important to create work designs that can be accessed 24/7. At the same time, communication and resolution of policies and issues alike must be done in real time and promptly. At the same time, there should be consideration for security, privacy and sensitivity of programs to circumvent ant limitations that may develop from the nature or structure of the organization. It w as only recently, around in the early part of the 20th century that the value of human resources was given its much and due importance in the organization. Research had shown that employee commitment and satisfaction are highly correlated and this coincides with their intrinsic motivation to work and stick with the organization through its up and downs. Employees are willing to go beyond their call of duty if they have a high job commitment (Bartol & Martin, 1998). There is evidence that work designs are up to par: job satisfaction is high, there is low staff turnover and many employees have been with the company for more than two years which suggests employee commitment. In small organizations such as the one I am working in, the individual efforts are even higher in magnitude. The objectives for the design are to be able to endure that every employee will be given the opportunity and the capability to contribute fully to the company. This will be done by ensuring that work scenarios meet both the corporate and personal objectives, contribute to improving services and enhance effectivity and efficiency of processes and resources (Managing People & Organisations [MOP], 2007, p. 5). Corporate and Personal Objectives The company is in an industry that is competitive and technology oriented. Both of these factors emphasize the need to be responsive and sensitive to developments and trends not only in our main medium, online communications, but also to social trends and demographics. Therefore, the company must be able to have employees who will provide these competencies to develop. Considering this corporate objectives, the work design should afford employees the ability to deliver these needs to company (Niebel & Freivalds, 2002). At the same time, the design should be able to help the company ensure that employees reflect these needs in their work through their innovativeness and ability to deliver collaterals that support client requirements. Considering personal objectives, work design should allow employees to find a sense of fulfillment and potential in their job. There should be particular attention given to employee perceptions regarding autonomy and the challenges of such an environment (Mischel, 1968). The degree of autonomy viewed in a small organization like this is more than compared to a traditional and highly hierarchical management. The problem with too much autonomy could lead to the team inability to work cohesively with other members of the organization (Niebel & Freivalds 2002). Products and Services The company should consider the opinion of Rothwell and Sullivan (2005) who assert the value of non-traditional set ups. This can be particularly to our organization where employees work remotely and independently. In turn, there is an expected variance in the product and service development. Consider schedules alone: in a traditional set-up, people work on relatively the same schedules. In the company, since work is relatively more independent, this may not be a given condition. Therefore, there is less communication regarding products and services particularly on the evaluation phases. Clients will consider status, security, comfort and quality to be the essential

Tax system contribution to economic growth Essay

Tax system contribution to economic growth - Essay Example In other words, without investments, innovation, production and risk taking there will be nothing about economic growth. Production is of great significance because it is the only link between all drivers of economy. Most taxes are often concentrated along labor, investments and production (Economic Review Committee (ERC), 2012). For instance, the United Kingdom as well as other countries in developed and developing world charges income tax on returns from labor, capital gain tax on capital, excise and Value Added Tax (VAT) on production and corporate and property tax on investments. This is a clear manifestation that factors that drive economic growth are the major sources of revenue to the government thus the link between economic growth and tax system. Policy makers are often very cautious with taxation policies proposition considering that these can make or break a nation. Slemrod (2003) asserts that a government can lose big on its tax revenue if it is careless with its tax syst ems especially during this tough economic time that the entire world is healing from the impact of global financial crunch. For instance, multinational companies are likely to shift to countries with low corporation tax rates if the parent country is charging high taxes. Countries that want to advance their economies are renowned for luring investors both foreign and local by offering favorable tax laws and reliefs. A number of countries are carrying out several reforms on their tax systems owing to the pressure from pundits and economists who continue to stand by the view that high taxes are not good for economic prospect. This view is enhanced from the existing empirical studies that involve a review of a number... This essay is the best example of thorough analysis of the mechanisms, by which taxes affect economic growth. It is argued in the paper, that the tax system make tangible contribution to economic growth Economists and policymakers have conducted several studies for a number of years with an objective of establishing the link between tax systems and economic growth. Most, though not all of these studies did establish an undesirable effect of taxes on different measures of a country’s economic performance. A number of taxes especially income, property, capital gain and consumption based taxes have always attracted a lot of attention with respect to their impact on economic growth. Economic growth, which refers to an increase in countries total output over a specified period, is driven by three important factors namely capital, labor and technological advancement. Taxes interfere with income from economic activities that is production of goods and services . This means that lowering or increasing taxes will certainly affect income drawn from an economic activity. For instance, increased income tax will translates to wider gap between gross and net earnings and vice versa. Returns from labor is an important motivator for engaging in gainful employment. However, tax systems especially high personal income tax often discourage people from engaging in labor market. Taxation of factor capital is another important area of consideration when trying to bring out the link between tax system and economic growth.

Death Penalty Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Death Penalty - Essay Example The theorization of capital punishment has shown a great favor to its status as a deterrent to crime. Scholars like Emile Durkheim and Foucault have put emphasis on punishment as well as capital punishment as deterrent to crime. Some recent empirical studies also show evidences of the deterrent effects of the capital punishment on the crime rate in a country. But opponents of capital punishment argue that though death-penalty has deterrent effects they are negligible, as it is claimed in a report, â€Å"The death penalty in the U.S. is an enormously expensive and wasteful program with no clear benefits† (Death Penalty Information Center). Meanwhile, opponents of the capital punishment often refer to the high crime rate in the United State as evidences of ineffectiveness of this death-penalty as a deterrent. Indeed this high rate of capital-punishment deserving crimes does not necessarily require that it should be abolished. If it is supposed that it should be abolished because of the high rate, other forms of punishments also should be abolished. Indeed such arguments are some sorts of blubbery. ... Taking an ethical decision becomes more difficult when it is revealed that a number of the death deserving crimes are committed driven by anger, or by other emotional convulsions. The opponents often claim that death penalty is not the least effective, since most of the murderers think that they will be able evade this punishment, as the Police Chief of Los Angels, Willie L. Williams says, â€Å"I am not convinced that capital punishment, in and of itself, is a deterrent to crime because most people do not think about the death penalty before they commit a violent or capital crime† (â€Å"Fact Sheet†). Indeed such claim does not necessarily prove that death penalty is not a deterrent, rather it indicates to the glaring faults of law enforcing agencies that convince a would-be murderer to belief that they are evadable. Indeed the high rate of crimes and murders in the United States has its root not in the ineffectiveness of the capital punishment, rather in its faults of enforcement. A comparative statistics on the executions and the incidences of murders shows that â€Å"only about 110 death-sentences are handed out for the more than 17000 reported murders that occur every year† (Class Text). In fact, such statistic shows that the vast majority of the unpunished murderers will be examples for those who want to commit murder. Even though death penalty has a deterrent effect on the majority of the common people, it is only the face-value of the scheme and policy of keeping people away from committing murder. While materializing death-penalty effectively, any policy against crimes like homicides and murders should include other socio-cultural, religious and even economic deterrents. According to Foucault, social disciplinary institutions can play a significant role lessening

Information for Marketing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Information for Marketing - Assignment Example Their investments are across Middle East and North America (Clare, 2006). This they do by providing hybrid capital investments, finances and equity to a range of clients, whether large or small corporations, entrepreneurial guided or even businesses. By the 31st f December 2011, the bank had financial services, investment management and banking as its major divisions. Activities in the banking sector include finance provision, receiving of deposits, services related with treasury, structured products and securities trading. On the other hand, the segment of investment management involves quoted equities, the real estate and private equity. Finally, the financing services include the corporate finance, business advisory services as well as brokerage services. The bank delivers services and products to the wholesale, high net worth individuals and institutions across asset classes (Esposito, 2004). The bank’s mission is to be commitment to excellence in the delivery of Sharia compliant investment banking products and services. With the international rapid growth of Islamic finance, the EIIB’s categorical business model aims to fill the gap between western financial markets and those belonging to the Islamic world. They are particularly showing their determination in this pursuit because of the confidence they boast due to their unique position to benefit from London as the head financial center globally. In their annual report of 2006, they stated that their capabilities were then in place largely, and that in the subsequent year, they would demonstrate their teams full capabilities in the structuring and distribution of innovative and more developed products. This bank was formed and incorporated in 2005 January 11,th with the key objective of attaining a license as the very first independent FSA authorized Sharia compliant Islamic Investment Bank in the United

Analyzing Direct Costs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Analyzing Direct Costs - Essay Example And lastly, Quality Control and Testing has a labor rate of $10.00. When multiplied by the projected 500 labor hours this give you a total of $5,000. Adding the totals of these five jobs together we have $3,625 + $16,400 + $11,250 + $6,750 + $5,000, which is an estimated total labor cost of 43,025. I then divided this total by the total projected labor hours of 5000 to come up with the weighted average cost of $8.61 (rounded up). The direct manufacturing labor cost objective (Question 2) would be this weighted average time projected hours which is a cost objective of $43,015. To estimate the material cost for the Far-Out Products task (Question 1), I took the proposed labor hours figure of 1800 and multiplied by the $41 simple average, which comes from the total material dollars expended divided by the total labor hours for the last five projects, for a total of $73,800. Using the regression analysis (Question 2), I put the 1800 labor hours into the equation, which was determined as $24,117 + $25.74 multiplied by the labor hours. and the estimate I came up with was $70,449. To answer Question 3, the first estimate appears more accurate in relation to the data from past projects. This could be due to the fact that the r2 of .988 is not necessarily a perfect fit for the regression model, since the r2 does not equal 1, though it is very close to 1. I would use the first estimate because it is based on the average of the last five projects. In the Material Sampling case, since the item is overpriced by $20,000 (Question 1), I reduced the estimate of $620,000 for the 20 high-cost items down to $600,000. And because the sample of the other 480 items is overpriced by 6 percent (Question 2), I took the total of $180,200 and added a 106% increase, giving a total of $191,012. So the estimate for total material cost (Question 3) would be $600,000 plus $191,012; which is a total material cost estimate of $791,012. Even with the 106% increase for the 480 smaller items, this estimate is still less than the original estimate $800,200. This is because the one high-cost item was overpriced by $20,000. For the DeLoan Corporation, the 6-month moving average estimated scrap rate (Question 1) equals scrap for the month divided by material for the month. Dividing these for each month gives you 5.5% for February + 6.09% for March + 6.19% for April + 6.52% for May + 6.02% for June + 5.72% for July. We don’t have to factor in the January scrap rate since that was 7 months ago and we are only concerned with the last six months. So dividing these percentages by 6, we come up with a 6-month moving average scrap rate of 6.0133%. Using this scrap rate to figure out how much total product is needed if the finished product is $90,000 (Question 2), I took 106.0133%, which is 100% plus the rate calculated from question 1, and multiplied it by that $90,000, coming up with a total material estimate of $95,412 (rounded up). To answer Question 3, yes this is a reasonab le estimate since it is based on the average scrap metal rate of the previous six months and one could expect that the actual number will be close to this estimate. FIFO stands for First-In, First-Out, meaning that inventory is calculated as first-come, first-serve. The product that is produced first goes out first using this method. For the Mason Inventory data, the FIFO inventory value charged (Question 1) would be the first value listed, which is $10. I took this rate and multiplied it

Benefits of Online Library Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Benefits of Online Library - Essay Example Statistics are often manipulated to convince people of a certain point of view, or to falsely frighten the public. Statistics might be hardly manipulated by presenting misleading representations, exploiting the tendency to assume that a correlation demonstrates causation, representing irrelevant facts based on what people belief not on what is true, providing anecdotes often emotional in nature and appealing emotion rather than logic. Statistics can mislead if it is not peer-reviewed. It is like a quality control. Without peer review, a report full of erroneous and misleading statistics can be passed off to the public as a scientific report. An example can be the anti-smoking movement these days that try to convince people through the statistics. Although smoking is hazardous to health but proving it by the means of statistics is not always correct. For instance, Japan has the world's highest smoking population having 67% or so of the population being smokers. It is also the world's healthiest nation. China has the second highest smoking rate and it is the second highest healthiest too. Some countries still consider statistics as confidential information that should not be disclosed because their enemies could use it to undermine the security and order in the country. We think that this is legitimate but this should not be used as an excuse to hide the statistics that have nothing to do with national security and we think that this matter should be discussed more thoroughly.

How does the academic study of problem solving and thinking relate to Essay

How does the academic study of problem solving and thinking relate to everyday life - Essay Example Along with maturation, people obtain substantial competence that enables them to solve common problems encountered daily. (Holyoak 1995, p. 267) However, Anderson (1993, p. 39) explains, not everything requiring solution, like routine activities, is indeed problems. For example, summing-up a three-month electric bill, though requires solution is not a problem because one simply has to compute it either manually or electronically, but how to pay the bill with practically nothing left in one’s pocket is surely a problem. The difference here lies on the immediate availability of achieving the task. Computing the bill could be easily achieved with the simple knowledge of addition or much easier the use of calculator, but where to find the money to pay the bill not to be cut off power presents a problem, as there is no immediate solution to it. Hence a problem is determined by the gap between the present state and the target goal wherein the means to solve the gap is not immediatel y evident (Schwarz & Skurnik 2003, p. 267). Problem solving begins with problem identification (Rudd 2005, p. 11). Generally defined as the activity by which the goal of eliminating the gap is undertaken without certainty of success (Tallman, Leik, Gray, & Stafford, 1993, cited in Nelson, Brice & Gunby 2010, p.74), problem solving which could be correct or erroneous differs for every individual, because individual experiences and task demands, which problem solving entails, vary (Martinez 1998, p. 605). Similarly, the difficulty of solving problems differs in degree depending on the nature of the problem. Some could be easy; others could be truly hard or could never be solved at all. (Joswiak 2004, p. 19) ‘The relative ease of solving a problem will depend on how successful the solver has been in representing crucial elements of the task environment in his problem space’ (Simon, 1978, p. 276). The more exposed a person to varied task of compelling nature, the greater is the chance of that person to handle problems of similar/related nature. For example, an ex-marine has the greater chance of surviving a physical assault than a language teacher who has yet to experience physical violence. Moreover, problem solving has two aspects: The answer that which solve the problem, and the solution procedure by which way the answer is known (Robertson 2001, p. 6). With a variety of problems that people come across everyday solutions also vary by which Robertson (2001, pp. 6-11) says problems can also be categorised. One, what knowledge does the problem require – would it be â€Å"knowledge-lean† or â€Å"knowledge-rich† problems (p. 7)? For example, household maintenance though complex requires simple management, whereas ensuring national security is far more complicated that it requires expertise. Steif, Lobue, Kara, & Fay (2010, p. 135) suggest that the ability to determine fitted conceptual knowledge in order to solve a problem is cons idered a metacognitive skill. This according to Greeno (1978, p. 62) is learnable. Although, Gagne (1979) clarifies that what can be learned in problem solving are its specific aspects, cited as: "rules of syntax and mathematics," "knowledge about particular objects and events," "specific cognitive strategies" (cited in Mayer 1987, p. 111). Two, what is the nature of the goal? Is it technical, routine, domestic, political,

Economic Terrorism Essay Example for Free

Economic Terrorism Essay This refers to the act by any group of people or state to destroy a society for military, social, political and religious purposes. This is done for the sole and illegal purpose of creating chaos and collapse of the target (Small Wars journal. July 2005). Economic terrorism based on environmental issue, can be viewed as illegal actions that can be taken against individuals, corporations or states that are accused of undermining proper environment of a given society in conscious pursuit of profit . The main purpose of such actions is directly aimed at the protection and preservation of the environment to prevent further environmental degradation. Environmental degradation has been increasing, resulting to potential crises that need collective action coupled with the motivation for the good of the world community. The challenges that have led to the crises include; global warming, damaged ozone layer, water contamination, nuclear weapon proliferation and increased income inequalities within and among nations. Economic terrorism though illegal can be justified in several ways. There is a classical principle implying that, when markets are functioning properly, there are uncoordinated actions of self-interested groups or agents. This consequently result to an efficient outcome, where those who earn huge profits do so by making others lose severely . In circumstances where huge companies either privately owned or state-owned are involved in polluting the environment (for instance through emissions, chemical released into the water bodies) in the process of optimising their production, the societies that live around the degraded environment are the great losers. Illegal actions against such companies reduce efficient outcome. The companies cannot benefit hugely while the society loses through environmental degradation. Economic terrorism prevents â€Å"unhealthy† development. Many nations make efforts to become more developed, in an effort to improve the living standards of its people or citizens. Unfortunately, this may result to reduced living standards when the environmental consequences of this development outweigh the economic gains. Where legal channels of addressing this problem may fail, illegal actions may be the best option. Terrorism may be considered an effective way of preventing environmental degradation in countries where options are more limited for improving environmental quality. Expanding populations demand economic growth to support them. This may pressure such countries to undertake development activities that severely affect the environment. Limited options to prevent this type of development in such circumstances may result to economic terrorism against the country. Proliferation of nuclear weapons may give particular nations a sense of security and autonomy to pursue their own interests even when these interests affect the world community. This makes the countries so rigid, such that they cannot follow the set global guidelines to curb environment depletion as required. Some may therefore view economic terrorism against such nations as the only solution to stop them from further environmental devastation. In most cases, environmental degradation affects the weak in a society. Those who are not well equipped to take legal actions against the state for causing degradation, are usually convinced that they can still do the same through terrorism For instance, terrorism more often provides an advantage to the weak, especially when they are confronting the state The advantage is as a result of the terrorists’ use of secrecy and minimal resources needed for the attack. The market for the produced commodities is very crucial to the growth of any company. Lack of market for the commodities will mean huge losses for the producer. Where the producer fails to follow an environmental code, as required, legal action should be undertaken against them. Sometimes, this may fail. Environmental activists may have no other option other than sabotaging the market of the goods . For example, an activist minority group resulted to attacking anything and everyone associated with the entire production and distribution of Salmon fish that was found to have potential dangerous levels of cancer causing PCBs in the fish. Consumers were also targeted, which affected the market of the fish adversely (Key. W. 2004). Terrorist actions cause great costs for the industries that cause pollution or environmental degradation, compared to the costs they would incur if legal actions were taken against them. Result of illegal actions on their property will be taken very seriously, hence they will be more obliged to curb pollution to prevent future losses from such actions. Industries, companies or factories work very efficiently to protect against activities that may jeopardise their profits. Damage to property or commodities through terrorism are unacceptable to them. Legal actions that may be undertaken against them may be counteracted very easily. Environmental activists are very aware of this possibility. It will be very easy for them to undertake an action that is difficult for the institution to protect against- and that is economic terrorism. Economic terrorism enjoys more attention as compared to legal channels. â€Å"When a terrorist attack in one country involves victims, targets, institutions, governments, or citizens in another country terrorism assume a transnational character†(Sandler, T. 1997). It means a solution is likely to be sought, which will work towards curbing further environmental depletion. Finally, the fear of the developed countries that environmental degradation in the poorer countries may spill over to them may encourage trade war. This is whereby, these nations may impose ever more restrictive trade practices on the developing countries. This may be looked at as economic terrorism. Developed nations may reject commodities from developing nations that encourage environmental degradation, affecting the economy of that particular nation. References Key. W. (2004). Washington Fish Growers Association. The Farmed Salmon Debate. Accessed on 2008-04-14 from; http://www. growfish. com. au/content. asp? contentid=1263 Sandler, T. 1997. Global Challenges; An Approach to Environmental, and Economic problems. Books. google. com Small Wars journal. July 2005,volume of the SWJ magazine. Accessed on 2008-04-14 from; www. smallwarsjournal. com

11 Facts About Elder Abuse Essay Example for Free

11 Facts About Elder Abuse Essay 1. Elder abuse most often takes place in the home where the senior lives. It can also happen in institutional settings, especially long-term care facilities. 2. Approximately 1.6 to 2 million seniors become victims of abuse or neglect in domestic and institutional settings in the U.S. every year. 3. The four most common forms of elder abuse are physical abuse (including sexual abuse), psychological and emotional abuse, financial/material abuse, and neglect. 4. Most elder abuse victims are dependent on their abuser for basic needs. 5. At least 1 in 9 Americans over the age of 60 has experienced some form of elder abuse. 6. Seniors who have been abused have a 300 percent higher risk of death when compared to those who weren’t. 7. In almost 90 percent of elder abuse and neglect incidents, the perpetrator is a family member. Two-thirds of perpetrators are adult children or spouses. 8. For every reported incident of elder abuse, five others go unreported. 9. Almost 50 percent of seniors with dementia (a decline in mental ability. Alzheimer’s is the most common type of dementia) experience some form of abuse. 10. While 91 percent of federal abuse prevention dollars are spent on child abuse, 7 percent is spent on domestic abuse, and only 2 percent goes towards protecting the elderly. 11. Legislatures in all 50 states have passed some type of elder abuse law. Types Although there are common themes of elder abuse across nations, there are also unique manifestations based upon history, culture, economic strength, and societal perceptions of older people within nations themselves. The fundamental common denominator is the use of power and control by one individual to affect the well-being and status of another, older, individual. There are several types of abuse of older people that are generally recognized as being elder abuse, including: Physical: e.g. hitting, punching, slapping, burning, pushing, kicking, restraining, false  imprisonment/confinement, or giving excessive or improper medication Psychological/Emotional: e.g. humiliating a person. A common theme is a perpetrator who identifies something that matters to an older person and then uses it to coerce an older person into a particular action. It may take verbal forms such as name-calling, ridiculing, constantly criticizing, accusations, blaming, or non verbal forms such as ignoring, si lence or shunning. Financial abuse: also known as financial exploitation. e.g. illegal or unauthorized use of a person’s property, money, pension book or other valuables (including changing the persons will to name the abuser as heir). It may be obtained by deception, coercion, misrepresentation, undue influence, or theft. This includes fraudulently obtaining or use of a power of attorney. Other forms include deprivation of money or other property, or by eviction from own home Scam by strangers: e.g. worthless sweepstakes that elderly persons must pay in order to collect winnings, fraudulent investment schemes, predatory lending, and lottery scams. Sexual: e.g. forcing a person to take part in any sexual activity without his or her consent, including forcing them to participate in conversations of a sexual nature against their will; may also include situations where person is no longer able to give consent (dementia) Neglect: e.g. depriving a person of food, heat, clothing or comfort or essential medication and depriving a person of needed services to force certain kinds of actions, financial and otherwise. The deprivation may be intentional (active neglect) or happen out of lack of knowledge or resources (passive neglect). Hybrid financial exploitation (HFE): e.g. financial exploitation that co-occurs with physical abuse and/or neglect. HFE victims are more likely to be co-habiting with abusive individual, to have fair/poor health, to fear the abusive individual, to perceive abusive individual as caretaker, and to have a longer duration abuse. In addition, some U.S. state laws also recognize the following as elder abuse: Abandonment: deserting a dependent person with the intent to abandon them or leave them unattended at a place for such a time period as may be likely to endanger their health or welfare. Rights abuse: denying the civil and constitutional rights of a person who is old, but not declared by court to be mentally incapacitated. This is an aspect of elder abuse that is increasingly being recognized and adopted by nations Self-neglect: elderly persons neglecting themselves by not caring about  their own health or safety. Self-neglect (harm by self) is treated as conceptually different as abuse (harm by others). Institutional abuse refers to physical or psychological harms, as well as rights violations in settings where care and assistance is provided to dependant older adults or others. What causes physical abuse of an elder? The exact cause of physical abuse is not known. Poor or crowded living conditions may be one of the reasons it occurs. The following may increase your risk of physical abuse: You have learning or memory problems. You have a long-term condition, such as dementia, diabetes, paralysis, or stroke. You have no relatives or friends who can take care of you. You have difficulty getting along with others. The carer depends heavily on you for things such as money or housing. The carer drinks alcohol or uses illegal drugs. The carer has a personality disorder, depression, or another mental illness. The carer has a history of family violence, such as physical or sexual abuse. The carer has stress due to work, taking care of you, or financial problems. What are the signs and symptoms of physical abuse of an elder? Repeated falls or injuries, or old injuries that were not treated when they happened Scratches, bite marks, or marks from objects used for restraining, such as belts, ropes, or electrical cords Broken or dislocated bones Cuts or bruises, especially on both upper arms (grab marks) Scars or burns from cigarettes, irons, or hot water Blood or discharge coming from your nose, mouth, or genitals

Organisation Management and Change Management in Virgin Trains

Organisation Management and Change Management in Virgin Trains Background of Virgin Train Virgin was enjoying a bureaucratic structure of management in the early days of its inception being a part of the public sector It has completely revolutionised the way railway system operates Back in the old days the trains system in Britain was controlled by British Railways and whatever the top management decided in those days was the order of the subordinate and they would have to follow it without any objection.. Today it only takes a couple of hours from London to Manchester which was unimaginable some 10-15 years ago. Currently there is no centralised reporting of the regional performance of British Rail. This step was taken particularly to meet the demands and needs of travellers and tourists in different regions of Britain. Each region has its own plan of development and upgrades which allows them to gain competitive advantage over other rail systems. The strategies made to maximise the profit and reducing costs of each regional office is the goal of the British Rail. (A)Relationship between Virgin Trains vision and culture of the company Vision is a long term strategy of a company. A vision does not define the goals that an organisation will be looking to achieve in the near future but there is a mission that is expected to be achieved at some point of time. Vision is usually held by the top management of the company as they are the acting stewards of the company. Vision allows the company to create a business plan which will include formation of small goals and formulating strategies to achieve those goals. It keeps on reminding the company about the direction in which it has to move and allow it to motivate itself. Mission statement is also part of the Companys Vision. A vision goes further. It paints a picture in clear language of where the organisation is going, linked to the behaviours it expects of everyone in the organisation. Vision is a broad perspective of what company wants and their approach to achieving their needs. Culture is defined by the way things are done in an organisation. The guru of a culture in an organisation is the top management they are the ones who govern the culture of an organisation. It is the behaviour and rules set by them which serve as a role model for their subordinates. The culture as explained in the case study of virgin train is Collaborate (Clan) Culture. This culture pertains to the thinking of the management acting as parents to the employees. All the employees irrespective of the level of hierarchy they belong to Has a say in the management decisions and work as a team. The development and training of the staff are also given importance and care of their needs is taken of so that the outcome is always a win-win situation. The CEO says that in order to follow the organisational vision the strategy is to breakdown the company vision into small achievable and measurable targets, so to comply with the performance management aspect of the company. The CEO of virgin train has clearly pointed out to its workers that he wants them to own the virgin railways. He wants employees to account for their own action, asses how effective they are in achieving organisational goals and bring about improvements in their work so to achieve the organisational goal. In practise vision is a way broad term than a mission. The three main elements of the Virgin Trains Visions is their strive to provide safe and reliable travel, to become and maintain a profitable business and last but not the least instigating an environment which allows its employees to share their opinions about the progress of the organisation and that their views are given weightage in the decision making process. [Hofstede, Geert (1977] (B)Influence of culture on the change management of the Virgin Trains What is Change Management? There are three important steps of change management namely planning, implementation and control. These steps are in relation to all those people who are affected by a change in the organisation. Change should always be brought after consultation with the all the major stakeholders as they are the medium through which the change will be brought and their non-involvement can lead to a resistance in change. There are some serious time and money invested in order to bring a change so it is expected that the change can be measurable, achievable and reliable. Infrastructural change does not require as much time and effort as to bringing a change in the mind-set of the people. For people to accept the change they need to be told why the change is brought and what is in benefit for change how it will be implemented and how it is sustainable. Change be implemented and is it sustainable for future developments and research. One of the healthiest exercises for change is to have one on one meeting with the key staff of the organisation who serve as the ingredient of the change and allow them equal participation in the change process so that the task of implementing the change becomes easy. It is interesting to know that different people have different acceptability levels to change for some it is just a matter of time and understanding the new ways of doing things but for some people that change is completely incompatible. Usually all the lower level staffs is communicated indirectly about change with memos and brochures. But there are people in this level of hierarchy as well who thinks that it is a call for them to leave the organisation. For people with such mind-sets there should be workshops and other training sessions being held so that they get the bigger picture behind the change brought. But if still there is resistance to change the organisation will have to consider firing that employee but inly as the last resource, following the philosophy that what does not align with the organisational goals is into an asset of a company but act as a liability. All in all change management is a process in which individual or organisation at large are invited to bring a transition from their current position to a desired position in the future. Example of change management includes change in mission, strategy, technology, operations and in the behaviour and attitude of the personnel. [Robert A. Sevier, July, 2003], [Jayme Alexandre, Jan 2009] Virgin trains have always kept an optimistic and forward looking approach. They make plans as to what they can do in their foreseeable future and try to implement the learning from their past to their future. It is a view prevailing in the business world that there is a strong link between the vision and the culture of an organisation. There is no doubt in the notion that the behaviour of the managers of an organisation set the tone for the subordinate and the approach in which the organisation wants their employees to go about things. Virgin trains value their employee and thinks that customer service is a CSF (Critical success factor).a as responding to the ever changing environment and changing customer needs with it. To bring a change in an organisation a clear vision is required for the change to take place smoothly. The managers of virgin train believe that the way for their organisational success is to listen to their customer feedback and then try to implement what is lacking in the current management structure. They believe that I is the lower level staff i.e. the technical support and logistics which comes in to interactions with the customers and in order to bring change these people those be given the task of implementing the change. It is the culture of virgin train is to delegate authorities to its staff so to allow them the bring change. They believe their lower level staffs are technically and commercially most skilled and competent to bring the change. Managers believe that employee would actively take part in the running of the company. They think that employees should be asking question, bring new ideas, and be ready to disagree and give better options on how to operate the Company and bring change. For Example: The employees of virgin train as their care for the environment and sustainable development urged the management to encourage recycling in offices and trains and Virgin train complied with it. The Change in Virgin train is aided with the help of strategies to support and bring the change. The primary motto of virgin train is to remain a profitable organisation. The key to this I customer retention which can only be done by providing the customers with a top notch and cost effective service. Virgin train realises that to achieve its objective they would have to cater to the needs of their customers. There usually two bands of customers one who value cost for which the cost leadership model is followed and the other ones who value quality of service being provided and there they belong to the niche market and want specialised and unique customer service which is in fact the reason they are paying the premium for. The management has the aim to train their front line employees as individual and independent leaders. They are given the opportunity to learn from their job i.e. given on the job training and development. The new strategy of Virgin Train is to put Customer First. The front line employees are expected to enhance customer experience by responding and catering to their needs and from their interaction with the customers try to devise and recommend new methods of operation to top management so that the customer experience can be further improved. The role of the managers in this scenario is to boost the morale and confidence of tits employee, motivate them with incentives and try to get the best out of them and whatever feedback and new ideas they get from their employees they should try to implement that. [Joanne Martin, 2001] (C)Contribution of the Virgin Trains Organisation Structure in the Change Management The organisational structure of a company plays a vital role in the change management process. Virgin Train has to adopt different strategies that could adapt to their organisational structure which allows flexibility, empowerment, independence, delegation of authorities and participation in decision making to its employees. The hierarchy of management in such organisation is although quite extensive but is immiscible so that the work of a higher level could in some circumstances be done by a lower level depending on the authorities and responsibilities of the person at lower level. Some of the Examples of the way Virgin Trains Operates will be discussed from here on. To discuss the current and future strategy thee are regular meetings held between the employees and the management. In these meetings the priorities for the business is rethought if, important matters needing management attention are discussed and the implementation of any new best practise in to the business model. In the meeting every region brings something new and important to share which allows the management to take decision based on past data for the future so that Virgin Group can gain an advantage over their peers. Each region May have people with different cultures and values so it is important that Virgin train responds to the needs of each region separately and bring such business strategies into play which benefit both the customers and serve the organisational purpose as well. Feedback from customers and mangers in different regions of operation of virgin train are always welcomed by managers as it allows them to know what elements of their service needs improvement and which of their current service is highly rated by its customers so that management know what areas need more time to be spent to improve their overall performance. For Example Feedback from customers on matter such as, what should be the menus of the flight and how much is the current ticket packages are suitable for them. Other than this what new destination should virgin start flights for and how often these flights should take place, this and many other related information helps management to take things head on which is always a factor for a customer when making travelling decisions. All these Ideas are taken in by the manger sand the ones which seems to be the most important and brought to the table with other top management and lowers staff as well to decide which ones will filter through the consensus in the decision making process and then how these can be implemented. This activity instigate a feeling of intrinsic reward in the employees who brought forwards the idea sand the feedback in the first place and it encourages them to do their work efficiently and discuss with the management as they believe their say hold an importance to the company. Besides welcoming change and giving feedback, the management of virgin also encourage constructive criticism i.e. challenging the ideas of other in an appropriate way. Employees are given 3 days workshops to train them how to receive and deliver constructive feedback. They are also taught about the vision of the Virgin Trains and how the leadership style currently undertook by the management of the Virgin Train affects them at workplace. Other than this some of the important outcomes of the workshops are mentioned below. It provides the employees an environment to share their opinions and thoughts about the organisation. Employees at different levels of the hierarchy come across each other, get to know each other and create a social environment which allows them the time to share things since they have been employed, so erasing personal differences if any. Employees get an idea of why the change is brought, how it will affect them and provides an opportunity to share individual concerns about the change if any. The HR Department go Virgin Train actively take part in the development and training of their employees. They consider themselves as the drivers of the change and have always followed the organisational strategy will focus on people. They tend to reward employees where they have performed well and such employees are then presented at various levels as a token of their achievement and an appreciation of the work they have done for Virgin Trains. Various award ceremonies are also held to reward individual and teams where they had performed well. Virgin Train also plays their CSR role (Corporate Social Responsibility) as they believe dignifies behaviour towards their environments and also in a way towards their employees. This approach shows their customers and staff that they care about their environment and does not always act in their personal profits. But in Essence what Virgin Trains is doing here is to earn the respect of the people and therefore it allows them to retain customers. An example of the charitable work done is to make donations to the CLIC Sargent which collects money to be spent on child cancer patients. It is therefore not wrong to say that Virgin Trains flow its organisational with Bottom to top Approach and their workshops helps in in this process. [Cameron, Kim S. Quinn, Robert E. 1999] (D) Strategies Implemented For Change Management Process in the Organisation and its Effectiveness: There few strategies which the management has adopted in order to manage the change process in Virgin Trains. Again any strategy made will be in alignment of the vision. At the recruitment process it is important to take note of that people who share the same vision and promote he same behaviour as encourages at virgin Trains should be selected. The appraisal process is another crucial stage ways of realising the work that an employee has done in a fixed period of time. Usually a 360 degree appraisal is the most popular method of appraisals, as it involves the customer, the employee and the manager, all of whom play a vital role in the business process. In discussion with the employee their contribution and development to the business should be notified and what personal short term and long term goals have the employee set for themselves. A tool made by virgin train to assess the need for promotion for an individual is the Talent Wheel. This is a set combination of behaviour, motivation, passion and knowledge and skills requirement which when fulfilled by an employee suggest that that employee is now worthy of a higher post or designation. There is plenty of learning opportunities for employees at various levels in the organisation. Internal and external courses are regularly held keeping in mind the training and developing needs of individuals and the departments in which the employee is working. In these courses basically the coaching skills are taught and how to take part in discussion and the importance of accepting responsibility. For front line staff and managers leadership programs are held to equip them to handle issues in a better way. The change management program of virgin Train is an on-going process which would have to be reviewed regularly to ensure that the change in the culture is smooth transition and is will be meeting the organisational objective. The motive behind the cultural change is not only to cope with employees in a better way but it is to operate the business in the most efficient way securing the organisational goal of maximising it profits. KPIs or key performance indicator is an effective tool foe measuring the performance of an organisation. Every organisations business is based on some key indicator or elements the fluctuations in which serious affect the business so if virgin train could track such indicators than it would know in what direction it is moving. Some of the KPIs that Virgin uses are: Sickness days/ days off, Staff turnover rates, Customer satisfaction and complaints. There can be many other indicators but these are the most important ones. Due to the strategy and the vision of Virgin Trains there has been cost saving reported in recent years due the discussion of management with the frontline employee and more often the employees challenge the managements decision which are then reviewed and implemented as a result of which company saves some valuable money. A recent example of this kind of work is that done by the Manchester division. What they did was to create a new ticket as a result of a problem face by a customer who was going to and fro from Huddersfield. The customer had to make a new ticket for the second part of the journey and this problem was sorted out by the people working in front line and a new ticket was issued which could work both ways. [David Herold, Donald Fedor,  (2008)] Conclusion: There is no doubt that virgin train continues to provide its customer with high quality serve and leisurely travel. The companys focus on their customers and employees has served as a booster for their performance and this is the reason they are way forward than their competitors. The involvement of employees in the decision making and their ability to bring solution to the business problems which are thought of from the customer point of view is another reason for virgin trains success. The management has fed the employees that they should continue to challenge the current practises and keep trying to come up with new ways of more effective ways of doing things. All in All it is the caring of employee, focus on customer satisfaction and the management leadership skills which have put Virgin Trains on the path of success.

Dale v. Boy Scouts of America Essay -- Homosexual Rights Court Papers

Dale v. Boy Scouts of America This case deals with the Plaintiff's expulsion from his position as Assistant Scoutmaster in a Boy Scouts of America (henceforth called "BSA") troop due to his status as an active homosexual. Dale, the Plaintiff, was serving as an Assistant Scoutmaster in 1990, when, due to a local newspaper article, it was discovered by officials in the local Monmouth BSA Council that he was an active homosexual. A letter was sent to Dale by the Council, notifying him of their decision to revoke his membership in the organization. Dale sent a letter in response, asking why this action was taken. The Council then notified Dale that his homosexual activities made him ineligible for membership in the BSA, as well as making him ineligible to serve as an adult leader. In September 1990, Dale contacted the BSA Regional Director, requesting a review of the expulsion decision. The Regional Director's office responded to Dale via letter, notifying him of the Director's decision to support the Council's actio n, and also notifying him of the National BSA Council's pending review of the case. New Jersey Superior Court Analysis Rather than wait for the National Council's decision, Dale filed a lawsuit in the New Jersey Superior Court against the BSA in July 1992. In the lawsuit, Dale claimed that the BSA is a place of public accommodation, and as such, violated the New Jersey Laws Against Discrimination (LAD). LAD states the following: "All persons shall have the opportunity to obtain employment, and to obtain all the accommodations, advantages, facilities, and privileges of any place of public accommodation, publicly assisted housing accommodation, and other real property without discrimination because of race, creed... ...significant precedent. It is also quite conceivable that Dale will last no longer than the current class of Supreme Court Justices. Assuming a few more years, it is doubtful that Dale would have been decided the same. One never knows. Perhaps this case will be seen as another Plessy v. Ferguson. Works Cited New Jersey Supreme Court. Dale v. Boy Scouts of America et. al. URL: http://lawlibrary.rutgers.edu/courts/supreme/a-195-97.opn.html Superior Court of New Jersey-Appellate Division. Dale v. Boy Scouts of America et. al. URL: http://lawlibrary.rutgers.edu/courts/appellate/a2427-95.opn.html United States Supreme Court. Boy Scouts of America et. al. v. Dale. URL:http://usgovinfo.about.com/newsissues/usgovinfo/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://caselaw.findlaw.com/cgi%2Dbin/getcase.pl%3Fcourt=US%26amp%3Bnavby=case%26amp%3Bvol=000%26amp%3Binvol=99%2D699

Another Napoleon :: essays research papers

Most historians portray Napoleon's return to France as an example of his disregard for hundreds of thousands of lives in order to satisfy his outsized ambition. We at Napoleon on the Net, however, view the `Hundred Days' as an example of the Emperor's superior charisma and the love for him that it inspired. The support of the common people of France was the basis of Napoleonic rule. The generals and the politicians did not rush to support Napoleon's new adventure, but, as we will show, the front-line soldiers and the common people were determined to uphold the basic principle the Revolution: that it is the people's right to decide the form of their government. Vincent Cronin, in his acclaimed biography of Napoleon, entitled Napoleon Bonaparte: An Intimate Biography (William Morrow & Company, 1972, pp. 391-392), describes Napoleon's first major confrontation with French troops sent by the Bourbon regime to kill or capture him. "Napoleon had 1,100 men against about 700. But he did not want bloodshed. The abhorrence of civil war he had felt twenty years before in Provence remained as strong as ever and, on landing, he had given Cambronne strict orders that not a shot was to be fired. What he did now ws to order his hundred Polish lancers to advance slowly. At this Delessart withdrew his men, in good order, to new positions. The Polish lancers were told to wheel and come back. Napoleon then had the tricolour unfolded and told the Guards' band to play the Marseillaise, which he had described in Elba as `the greatest general of the Revolution'. Forbidden since the return of the Bourbons, the stirring tune had the effect, said one observor, of `electrifying' the Grenoble soldiers. Napoleon started riding towards the men of the 5th. At pistol-shot range he dismounted and walked towards the 700 loaded muskets. He was wearing his grey campaigning overcoat, familiar to every Frenchman. Captain Randon, twenty years old, of Grenoble, called to his men, `There he is! Fire!' After taking a few steps, Napoleon stopped and drew apart the lapels of his overcoat, exposing his white waistcoat. `If you want to kill your Emperor,' he called in loud voice, `here I am!' Back came a tremendous shout of `Long live the Emperor!' The men of the 5th, waving their shakos on bayonets, rushed cheering towards him. `Just see if we want to kill you,' shouted one soldier, rattling his ramrod up and down the barrel of his empty musket. In a matter of minutes the soldiers had whipped from their haversacks the old tricolour

Education and Health are Dependent Upon Economic Growth Essay -- Socia

Since accumulation of human capital is an important contributor to economic growth, it is important to recognize factors which facilitate this accumulation, and how does human resource transform to the more viable human capital? Central to this transformation are two elements; education and health care, where the attainment and improvement of these, is seen directly influencing labour productivity. From this cause effect relationship we can make a ‘logical assumption’ that improvement in human resources leads to economic growth (Dreze and Sen 2002; Rivera and Currais 1998). In light of this assumption, the aim of this essay is to determine the policies which could be used to successfully shift to a virtuous mutual cycle between economic growth, improved health, and education by articulating the impact of education and health as independent, and co-dependent variables on economic growth and vice-versa Educated individuals have higher employment rates since the labour skill of an educated person is more significant than that of an illiterate person, so he/she is able to generate a higher income than the latter, and his/her contribution to economic growth is thus consequently, more(Pritchett 1996). Education not only benefits the individual by making him more marketable, it can also be credited with improving the quality of an economy since the availability of educated labour gives entrepreneurs and firms the impetus to explore new markets, set up new industries, and adopt new technologies (Fasih 2008). While the monetary benefit of education is the primary reason for its acquisition, the positive externalities attached to its attainment i.e. the self-confidence and feeling of empowerment that comes with the ability to make info... ...ucational Tourism: Understanding the Concept, Recognising the Value. [online] Available at: http://www.insights.org.uk/articleitem.aspx?title=Educational%20Tourism:%20Understanding%20the%20Concept,%20Recognising%20the%20Value [Accessed: 16 Mar 2012]. Pritchett, L. (2012) Where Has All the Education Gone?. [online] Available at: http://wber.oxfordjournals.org/content/15/3/367.full.pdf [Accessed: 12 Mar 2012]. Ravallion, M. (2004) Pro-Poor growth:A primer. [online] Available at: http://web.usal.es/~bustillo/RavallionPPGPrimer.pdf [Accessed: 13 March 2012]. Taylor and Francis Online (1998) Economic growth and health: direct impact or reverse causation?. [online] Available at: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/135048599352367 [Accessed: 13 March 2012]. Tilak, J. (2006) On Allocating 6 per Cent of GDP to Education. [online] [Accessed: 12 Mar 2012].

Major Educational Challenges Assessment for Kenya Education System Essay

With a total population of over 43 million, Kenya is the biggest and most advanced economy in the east and central Africa. It is well-known for its natural resource and the vast variety of wildlife, which contribute a large proportion to Kenya’s GDP in agricultural and service sectors. It’s prosperous capital Nairobi is also given the name â€Å"East African Paris†. But behind the misleading impression of affluence left by a minority of urban population, Kenya is still a poor developing country with half of the population living in total poverty. Even though with a GINI index of 42. which is only medium, the economic status inequality of Kenyans is relatively high: The rich has a condo with four private cars and two maids while the poor in shabby clothes are living in slums just two miles away. The economy of the country also leads to problems in the education sector in Kenya. The objectives of this memo is to identify three most important issues that may be challenges for Kenyan Government and Kenyan education sector, and come up with potential solutions and strategies to address them. 1, Educational inequality between urban and rural areas There’s been a significant educational inequality between urban and rural Kenya. From the data provided by â€Å"Exploring Kenyan Education† site, School Location Density (2007), most schools distributes around big cities in the southern and southwestern Kenya where the majority of the population lives in. These cities includes Nairobi the Capital, Nakuru, Kericho, Kisumu, Eldoret, Kakamega, Meru and Mombasa. Since the school density does not show any problems because it follows the demography theory, but the enrollment rate and the educational investment may tell a part of the story. In big cities like Nairobi, the gross enrollment rate of primary education is as high as 103% and the net enrollment rate is 91% (2009). But as of northeastern and northwestern Kenya the ratio is as low as 35% or even 25%. Even though the primary education is free and uniform in Kenya, there are still extra costs. One that blocks the way of education for children is the school uniform. Students drop out of schools simply because they don’t have school uniform, the situation is even worse in those tribe territories and extreme poor areas. The school uniform costs almost a thousand Ksh that many families cannot afford. Even though there has been official regulation noting that no student ought to be turned away for not having uniform, uniform is such an ineradicable â€Å"culture† in Kenya schools that either schools or parents keep students away from school for not having schools uniforms. Lacking of resources becomes another. Lacking of sufficient textbooks and necessary stationaries makes students in rural areas hard to study. Students normally depend on what their teachers can provide to them and most of the time a textbook is shared by two plus students. Even there are articles saying lacking of teachers is another problem, but according to the data by Kenya Open Data, the Pupil-Teacher Ratio in rural areas is not significantly higher than that is in developed area) -Possible solutions Providing free school uniforms targeting economically challenged students (application by student or their parents). Education ministry should also take responsibility to make sure every single student can have the textbooks they need. Unified and organized studying necessities delivery should be arranged at the start of each semester. 2, Primary-to Secondary Bottleneck The primary education in Kenya is free and an average of over 90% of eligible school-age children are enrolled into primary schools, but the net enrollment rate only ranges from 3%-50%, that means even in the best conditioned area, nearly half of the students quit studying at the age of 15. Tuition Fees remains the largest barrier for going secondary school. Data shows that a primary student cost around 3,000 Ksh (32 USD) per household per year (2005), but surges to 25,000 Ksh (270 USD) for secondary education, which accounts for more than half of Annual income per household. Despite government subsidies for secondary schools, some national and top provincial schools charge fees as high as 73,600 Ksh for one year. Such excessive education expense may be totally fine for students from privileged families, but for kids from middle class or poor families who fight all the way to those schools, that becomes a disaster. The other factor that creates the bottleneck is the poor education quality in most of the public primary schools. Primary school students need to reach over 250 points in KCPE (Kenya Certificate of Primary Education) to be qualified to continue secondary education. There are better teachers teaching in private schools and students are receiving â€Å"elite† education. 77 percent of private primary school students (2007) score over 250 compared to only 45 percent among public school students. This really reveals the poor teaching quality which fails students in public schools, thus most economic privileged families send their children to private schools. -Possible solutions: More government subsidies – Though the secondary education receives governmental subsidies, more subsidies are needed to help those students with economical difficulties. Document students who need tuition aid and set up foundation targeting those students. Thus the resource can be concentrated to those in need. Further more, more money should be invested for better teachers, better infrastructures in public schools. Strengthen subsidy usage supervision – Kenyan Ministry of Education spends more than 10,000Ksh per secondary student annually. This amount of money is controlled by schools instead of directly by the students, and the tuition gets even higher each year. Many secondary schools charges suggested annual tuition standard by MOE for only one semester, and most of them cannot explain the subsidies usage. Having government nominated supervisor sent to schools regularly to make sure the subsidies are in proper use would be a potential solution. Heath problems that contribute to the dropout and poor education quality Health problem has been a huge challenge for students in Kenya and the country’s heath system has been always in a difficult time trying to provide accessible heath care for its population. Poor nutrition, underweight, intestinal worms, malaria, HIV, unexpected early pregnancies, etc. have greatly influenced students’ academic performance. In some areas such as Naivasha and Thika, own illness/disability becomes the biggest reason for not attending school. The ratio may be as high as over 70% and some time reaches over 90%. Also, early pregnancy is also a main contributor to the high dropout rate among girls. -Possible solution School heath program: a school based heath system should be set up to secure students’ health condition. Since families may not be able to provide enough food supply especially for those poor families, government should help schools provide at least one meal per day to ensure students’ nutrition supplement. Also, 3. 6 million children were dewormed in 2009 and continuing implementing deworming program has been proved to be an effective way to increase attendance. Then schools should also take responsibilities for sex knowledge education which most children could not receive at home.

From dependence to independence Essay

â€Å"A Taste Of Honey† is a twentieth century play set in the 1950s. It is known as a â€Å"kitchen-sink† drama and was written by Shelagh Delaney at the age of 18 and was first performed in May 1958. A â€Å"kitchen-sink† drama originated in the literature in the 1950s and 1960s. Its aim is to create a true picture of the hard life and troubles of the working class life. In â€Å"A Taste Of Honey† the two main characters are always falling out with each other and the people around them. The conditions they live in are cramped and poor in bedsits or flats. An example of a â€Å"kitchen-sink† drama is in â€Å"Look Back In Anger† by John Osborne and â€Å"Saturday Night And Sunday Morning† by Alan Sillitoe. Plays and dramas in the fifties were performed for the middle and upper classes but then came the debut â€Å"kitchen-sink† drama; â€Å"Look Back In Anger†, which was aimed at the working class. A â€Å"kitchen-sink† drama play uses everyday common language to reflect the lives of the working class people portrayed. â€Å"A Taste Of Honey† is set in Salford, Manchester. It is about the life and relationship between a young girl, Jo, and her mother, Helen. They move around a lot, and have just moved into a shabby one-bedroomed flat in Salford. Helen is a semi-whore who lives off money which has been given to her by her men friends. Helen also drinks a lot. Jo is fifteen years old and she is very talented in an artistic way and enjoys drawing, but she blames her mother, who she refers to as Helen, for disrupting her education. Helen and Jo move into a shabby rented flat in Salford and it’s very cramped and small. Jo isn’t happy but Helen doesn’t mind. Jo tries to make the flat look and feel more liveable in by deciding to plant some bulbs. Helen’s not bothered though, and is happy that at least they have a roof over their heads. She has a â€Å"what you see is what you get† attitude towards life and lives by a day-to-day basis. Helen also uses a lot of sarcasm, for example, when Jo is complaining about the flat, Helen replies, â€Å"Everything in it is falling apart, it’s true, and we’ve no heating- but there’s a lovely view of the gasworks.† Helen is a single parent and there’s no mention of any relatives throughout the play. Single parent families were not accepted in the 1950s and if a couple wasn’t married, it was seen as â€Å"living in sin† and frowned upon. â€Å"A Taste Of Honey† is aimed at adults and older teenagers as there is a lot of crude and rude humour and bad language, reflecting their working class lives for example, Helen: â€Å"Take your bloody money and get out.† Peter: â€Å"Thank you.† Helen: â€Å"You dirty bastard.† Also, teenage pregnancies, race and sexuality were big issues in the fifties. Homosexuality was a criminal offence, even if the couple were of a consent age. Many homosexuals were locked up, and underage sex was strongly frowned upon, and abortions were very difficult to obtain. Women had to resort to back-street abortions, which were very dangerous and could be fatal, so that’s why there were a lot of teenage pregnancies. In the fifties, there were very few black people and they were given low paid jobs in the service industries and hospitals. These three issues are all part of the story. Jo has a teenage pregnancy, Jimmie is black, and Geof is homosexual. There were no equal opportunities, for example, men got paid more than women in exactly the same jobs. Housing conditions in Salford were poor. Most houses were small, cramped and dirty. Many rented bedsits or flats often shared amenities like bathrooms and toilets, and this is the case in â€Å"A Taste Of Honey†. â€Å"We share a bathroom with the community and this wallpaper’s contemporary. What more do you want?† In â€Å"A Taste Of Honey†, Jo doesn’t call her mother â€Å"mother†. She calls her Helen. This shows that she doesn’t have much respect for her mother and wishes to live her own life, and not to be ruled over by someone who is not a good mother figure. I think Jo is lonely, as she hasn’t settled down in a school yet so she hasn’t had the chance to make any friends. Helen also treats Jo as if she is just something that’s there. She refers to Jo as â€Å"she† and â€Å"her†. â€Å"Wouldn’t she get on your nerves?† Helen also drinks a lot, and even though Jo isn’t treated as a real person, she still wishes her mother would stop. â€Å"Drink, drink, drink, that’s all you’re fit for.† With Jo wanting Helen to stop drinking, I think this shows that Jo is scared, that if the drinking carries on and Helen gets ill or something happens to her, then Jo will be alone. Helen’s favourite past-times, which Jo disapproves of, are her drinking habits and sleeping around. Helen is not a good mother and she knows this herself, â€Å"Have I ever laid claim to being a proper mother?† Helen hardly knows her daughter. This is made obvious when Jo decides to have a bath in the morning because it’s dark outside, and Helen replies, â€Å"Are you afraid of the dark?† whereas in any normal family, the parent would know if their child was afraid of anything with living with them for fifteen years. Jo hates school. She has been moved from school to school and never settled in any of them, so she can’t be bothered with it, but she is very talented in drawing. When Helen finds some of Jo’s drawings, her only reply is, â€Å"I thought you weren’t good at anything.† Helen starts to encourage Jo by saying it’s very good, but then her sarcasm returns when she says, â€Å"I think I’ll hang this on the wall somewhere. Now, where will it be least noticeable?† When we meet Peter, he enters with a cigar in his mouth. He seems very â€Å"cocky† and seems the sort of person who doesn’t really care for other people, as he is self-centred. He keeps telling Jo to go away, and tells Helen to â€Å"get rid of her†, because he just wants Helen for sex. Jo doesn’t want to leave the two alone, and keeps interrupting because she is afraid that Peter will get the attention off Helen that Jo has always wanted. Also, Jo knows that Helen will abandon her and go off with new men she meets, as she has done it before. When Helen goes out the room and Jo is left alone with Peter, she starts to question him. Jo sees some photographs in Peter’s wallet and demands to know who they are of. â€Å"Can I see the other photos?† She then starts to ask why he’s marrying Helen and asks if he fancies her. â€Å"Do you fancy me?† I think she asks this because she knows that her mother is beautiful, and she gets lots of attention off men, so Jo wants to see if she could be just like her. Helen is somewhat an â€Å"idol† to Jo, because she always asks people if they think Helen is beautiful, and she wants to be just like her†¦ always getting attention from men. Jo, in a way, is jealous of Helen. I think Jo is fairly independent for her age, as she is certain about what she wants to do. She wants to leave school and start working as soon as she can. This shows that she acts older than she really is and is mature for her age. In scene 2, we are introduced to Jo’s boyfriend. In this part of the play, we know him as â€Å"Boy†, but later on we find out his name is Jimmie. He is a black sailor in the navy and he asks Jo to marry him. Boy is twenty-two, and Jo lies about her age and tells him she is eighteen. He questions her about what Helen will think about him because he’s a coloured boy. Boy: â€Å"She hasn’t seen me.† Jo: â€Å"And when she does?† Boy: â€Å"She’ll see a coloured boy.† I think Boy is worried about meeting Jo’s mother, as racial prejudice was a big issue in the fifties. Jo tells him, though, that her mother is not prejudice and will not mind, but at the end of the play when Helen finds out that the baby will be black, she starts to get mad. When she finds out, she says, â€Å"Oh don’t be silly Jo. You’ll be giving yourself nightmares.† She thinks Jo is pulling her leg but she is serious. When she finally realises that it is true, she doesn’t care what people will think of Jo, but what people will think of herself. â€Å"Can you see me wheeling a pram with a†¦ Oh my God, I’ll have to have a drink.† Boy has to go away for six months, and he reassures her he’ll be back. I think Jo ‘thinks’ she loves Boy, but doesn’t expect him to return, because when he says he is going, Jo says her â€Å"Heart’s broke†. Boy offers comfort by saying; â€Å"You can lie in bed at night and hear my ship passing down the old canal.† But when Boy starts to flirt with her in a naughty way, she says, â€Å"I may as well be naughty while I’ve got the chance. I’ll probably never see you again. I know it.† I don’t think that it’s true love between Jo and Boy, as Jo is young and every time they say they love each other, their replies to one another is always â€Å"how†, and â€Å"why.† Boy: â€Å"I love you.† Jo: â€Å"How do you know?† Whereas if they really did love each other, they wouldn’t ask for reasons why. Jo’s friend Geof, is very considerate and caring. We meet Geof in Act 2, Scene 1 after him and Jo have been to the fairground. Geof is a homosexual and he has been kicked out of his flat by the landlady because of this, so he’s been spending time at Jo’s. By this time, it is summer and Jo’s pregnancy is obvious. Helen has moved out after marrying Peter and left Jo alone. Geof comes into Jo’s flat after the fair and is about to go but Jo literally begs him to stay. â€Å"Geof, don’t go. Don’t go. Geof!† I think Jo is scared to be alone, that she doesn’t know what she would do alone with the birth getting nearer. Geof starts looking through Jo’s drawings and criticises them by saying he doesn’t like charcoal and that the drawings are exactly like Jo, with â€Å"no design, rhythm or purpose.† When Geof starts telling Jo that a lot of money will be needed for the baby, she tries to ignore the fact that she’s pregnant and tells Geof to â€Å"shut up†, but Geof isn’t saying this to worry her, but to get her prepared and face reality. He cares for her and because Helen doesn’t know about the pregnancy, Geof thinks she has a right to know that she’s going to be a grandmother but Jo objects. Jo’s relationship with Geof is a love similar to that of a brother and sister, as he is more into looking after her. I think Jo really cares for him too, as she begs him to stay over and she has a laugh with him as well as being flirty at the same time. Jo: â€Å"Do you like beer?† Geof: â€Å"Yes.† Jo: â€Å"Gin?† Geof: â€Å"Yes. Have you got some?† Jo: â€Å"No, but if I had, I’d give it all to you. I’d give everything I had to you.† When Jo and Geof go to bed, Geof questions Jo about Jimmie. Geof: â€Å"A black boy?† Jo: â€Å"From darkest Africa! A Prince.† She exaggerates as though it was a dream, or a fairytale. Just before they go to bed, Jo laughs and tells Geof, â€Å"You’re just like a big sister to me.† A few months later, Jo and Geof are getting ready for the arrival of the baby and Geof’s making a baby gown while Jo wanders about the room. It is not something that the audience would expect a man or brother to be doing. It would more likely be a sister. I think Jo is nervous because the birth is very near and she is restless. She is very excited when the baby kicks, and tells Geof. Jo always seems to flirt with Geof, playfully putting her arms around him, but when Geof is serious about him and Jo, she backs off. Geof: â€Å"Let me kiss you.† Jo: â€Å"Let go of me. Leave me alone.† I think this is where Jo becomes more mature and independent, as she knows what she wants. â€Å"I think I’ve had enough. I’m sick of love.† But then Jo realises that she can’t really cope, that the baby is perhaps more than she can handle and her hormones are getting the better of her. â€Å"I’ll bash its brains out. I’ll kill it. I don’t want this baby, Geof. I don’t want to be a mother.† She realises that she wants Jimmie back, she misses him so much, and she wants the real father to her baby. â€Å"Every Christmas Helen used to go off with some boyfriend or other and leave me all on my own in some sordid digs, but last Christmas I had him.† Geof thinks he is only welcome in Jo’s flat until she finds her next â€Å"Prince† and in my opinion, Geof is hurt. When Helen comes to see Jo with Peter, Peter is prejudiced against Geof and calls him a â€Å"fruit cake parcel.† He is drunk and wants to go to the pub with Helen, and so he starts making his own fun by calling the flat Jo lives in, and calling Jo a â€Å"slut.† Jo’s attitude towards Geof towards the end of the play changes for the better. From the way they both talk to each other you can see they have both grown up. Jo is more open to Geof about her relationship with Helen. â€Å"You know I used to try and hold my mothers hands but she always used to pull them away from me. She had so much love for everyone else but none for me.† When Jo says that, it actually makes the audience feel sorry for her, and disgusted with Helen, because Jo didn’t have a genuine mother figure. She also tells Geof about how Helen got pregnant with her. She tells him about how she was married to a Puritan, but wanted some fun so she had a â€Å"frolic in a hay loft† one afternoon with a â€Å"daft† man. This shows that she feels secure with Geof and more confident with him as she tells him everything that happened and wants him to feel sorry for her and to understand her because she didn’t have a good childhood. Jo starts to value Geof, as she realises he cares more than Helen. At the end of the play, Helen tries to hint that she wants Geof to leave so she can move back in. she thinks she could look after Jo better than Geof, even after the months she has missed. â€Å"There wouldn’t be much room for two of us on the couch, would there?† The only hint of love from Helen for Jo throughout the play is when Jo is having contractions and Helen strokes her hair, saying everything will be all right. This is the only time in the play when Helen is shown to be supportive of Jo. It shows Jo is independent and has matured, because when Helen doesn’t know how to use the stove, Jo tells her, whereas this time last year, it was the other way around. When Geof leaves, and Helen finds out about the baby being black, she says she’s going for a drink. This part reflects the beginning, when Helen abandons Jo at Christmas. Unfortunately just when Jo needs her mother the most, she leaves her yet again. When she’s out the door, Jo leans against the doorpost, remembering the good times with Geof and smiling to herself, as she recites a rhyme that Geof taught her. This shows that she is now dependant on herself, and knows she can cope by herself, because she was left alone the year before, and knows she can do it again. Jo’s â€Å"Taste Of Honey† was when she met Jimmie, but in my opinion, I think her â€Å"Taste Of Honey† was the time she spent with Geof, because he taught her a lot of things in life, and throughout the play you can see how she has matured, and adopted a more serious attitude towards life.

Greek mythology in western art and literature Essay

With the rediscovery of classical antiquity in Renaissance, the poetry of Ovid became a major influence on the imagination of poets and artists and remained a fundamental influence on the diffusion and perception of Greek mythology through subsequent centuries.[2] From the early years of Renaissance, artists portrayed subjects from Greek mythology alongside more conventional Christian themes. Among the best-known subjects of Italian artists are Botticelli’s Birth of Venus and Pallas and the Centaur, the Ledas of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, and Raphael’s Galatea.[2] Through the medium of Latin and the works of Ovid, Greek myth influenced medieval and Renaissance poets such as Petrarch, Boccaccio and Dante in Italy.[1] In northern Europe, Greek mythology never took the same hold of the visual arts, but its effect was very obvious on literature. Both Latin and Greek classical texts were translated, so that stories of mythology became available. In England, Chaucer, the Elizabethans and John Milton were among those influenced by Greek myths; nearly all the major English poets from Shakespeare to Robert Bridges turned for inspiration to Greek mythology. Jean Racine in France and Goethe in Germany revived Greek drama.[2] Racine reworked the ancient myths — including those of Phaidra, Andromache, Oedipus and Iphigeneia — to new purpose.[3] The 18th century saw the philosophical revolution of the Enlightenment spread throughout Europe and accompanied by a certain reaction against Greek myth; there was a tendency to insist on the scientific and philosophical achievements of Greece and Rome. The myths, however, continued to provide an important source of raw material for dramatists, including those who wrote the libretti for Handel’s operas Admeto and Semele, Mozart’s Idomeneo and Gluck’s Iphigà ©nie en Aulide.[3] By the end of the century, Romanticism initiated a surge of enthusiam for all things Greek, including Greek mythology. In Britain, it was a great period for new translations of Greek tragedies and Homer, and these in turn inspired contemporary poets, such as Keats, Byron and Shelley.[4] The Hellenism of Queen’s Victoria poet laureate, Alfred Lord Tennyson, was such that even his portraits of the quintessentially English court of King Arthrur are suffused with echoes of the Homeric epics. The visual arts kept pace, stimulated by the purchase of the Parthenon marbles in 1816; many of the â€Å"Greek† paintings of Lord Leighton and Lawrence Alma-Tadema were seriously accepted as part of the transmission of the Hellenic ideal.[5] The German composer of the 18th century Christoph Gluck was also influenced by Greek mythology.[1] American authors of the 19th century, such as Thomas Bulfinch and Nathaniel Hawthorne, believed that myths should provide pleasure, and held that the study of the classical myths was essential to the understanding of English and Americal literature.[6] According to Bulfinch, â€Å"the so-called divinities of Olympus have not a single worshipper among living men; they belong now not to the department of theology, but to those of literature and taste†.[7] In more recent times, classical themes have been reinterpreted by such major dramatists as Jean Anouilh, Jean Cocteau, and Jean Giraudoux in France, Eugene O’Neill in America, and T. S. Eliot in England and by great novelists such as the Irish James Joyce and the French Andrà © Gide. Richard Strauss, Jacques Offenbach and many others have set Greek mythological themes to music.[1] References 1. ^ a b c d â€Å"Greek Mythology†. Encyclopaedia Britannica. 2002. 2. ^ a b c â€Å"Greek mythology†. Encyclopaedia Britannica. 2002. * L. Burn, Greek Myths, 75 3. ^ a b l. Burn, Greek Myths, 75 4. ^ l. Burn, Greek Myths, 75-76 5. ^ l. Burn, Greek Myths, 76 6. ^ Klatt-Brazouski, Ancient Greek and Roman Mythology, 4 7. ^ T. Bulfinch, Bulfinch’s Greek and Roman Mythology, 1