Ethical Egoism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Ethical Egoism - Essay Example For example, while working at the Single Stop in Miami Dade College Kendal campus, it was clear that every activity had both benefits and costs. First, experience gained in working is very essential as one gets exposure to various challenges and thereby learning ways of overcoming them. Secondly, one gains the ability to manage time and to interact with people with different views and ideas that are usually helpful in life. It is also motivating to learn that through own efforts somebody else lives a better life through the role one played in their life success. In most cases, every action will have a cost under whatever circumstances. The costs are sometimes are minimal and outdone by the benefits, and acts as a motivation to others in most cases. Time is one of the major costs in engaging in an activity. It is a challenge to allocate time to assist others especially when there are no benefits tied to the activity. Engaging in an activity also requires dedication of own efforts, resources such as money or knowledge. These costs in most cases are necessary to part with in  daily  lives. The theory of ethical egoism offers a suitable platform for justification in every action one engages. The theory states that it is sufficient and necessary for action to stand as morally right if it maximizes one’s self interest (Shaffer-Landau 193). It takes two versions the individual and the universal ethical egoism. In individual ethical egoism, one should check on one’s own interests, and one should concern with others only if the extent of involvement contributes to own interests. In universal ethical egoism, everybody has an obligation to act on their best self-interest and ought to concern about others only if the extent of concern contributes to their self-interests. Thus, the theory outlines that before engaging in an action it is necessary to evaluate the benefits and the costs attached. If the costs exceed the benefits, then it is not

Aristotle Paper- Distinguishing the Definition Essay Example for Free

Aristotle Paper- Distinguishing the Definition Essay â€Å"A definition is an account, and every account has parts, and part of the account stands to part of the thing in just the same way that the whole account stands to the whole thing† (Aristotle 1034b20-22). This quote is how Aristotle defines a definition. So a definition is the statement of the essence of something. Defining something consists of starting with a genus and then breaking it down into species. A genus is a kind of a thing. A species is a more specific kind of something that is within a genus. Aristotle notices that something cannot be defined by its material components because each component can infinitely be broken down into more and more components(Aristotle 1035b9). Aristotle states the example- a circle can not be defined in terms of semicircles because semicircles would then have to be defined by quarter circles and so on, but a semicircle can be defined in terms of a circle because a circle is the simplest(Aristotle 1035b9). A genus is differentiated into species by dividing the genus into categories or certain types of the genus. Each of these categories or types within the genus are known as species. A species can also be a genus in that it too can be divided into specific categories or types. Those categories or types are also known as species, but can also be genus because they can further be divided into species. This pattern can go on infinitely. A ball is a substance that can be categorized into each setting of play that a ball is used on. So a ball can be categorized into something that is used to score on a soccer field, football field, baseball field, tennis court, basketball court, pool, and golf course. Each of these fields uses a specific type of ball. A golf course uses a golf ball. The definition of a golf ball is the ball that is used on a golf course. The essence of a golf ball is a ball. Work Cited Metaphysics. Trans. Hugh Tredennick. 2 vols. Loeb Classical Library 271, 287. Harvard U. -Press, 1933-35

Jane Eyre :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jane Eyre   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  By Charlotte Bronte 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  End of Chapter Ten My favorite character at this time in the novel, is Jane Eyre. A new chapter in her life was about to begin when she was accepted for the position as a governess, for a small child at Thornfield Hall. She has come a long way from her days abandoned by her cruel aunt and treated poorly by her cousins. After her school days at Lowood, she wanted a brighter and more independent life for herself. She has had the strength to be strong and confident through it all. The characters that I disliked were her Aunt Reed and her cousins. Her aunt abandoned her, did not treat her as the other children and locked her up the majority of the time. Her cousin John would constantly cause her physical and emotional harm, while cousins Georgiana and Eliza preferred to ignore her. Jane had spent eight years at Lowood Institution and suffered many hardships. Her life is saddened when her best and only friend, Helen Burns, dies at Lowood from sickness. Fortunately Jane wants a better life for herself, and ventures out into the world. I do like this work so far because it is interesting to see what will happen to Jane and where her life will lead. Charlotte Bronte's style does tend to be a little dull in some parts of the novel, from too much emphasis on minor events to much detail in some areas of the novel that is not relevant. I do think that Jane will enjoy the new life she has made for herself, this being a different experience. End of Chapter Twenty-Eight Jane is still my favorite character in the novel. She makes you want to reach your heart out to her with all that she experiences. The novel centers around her and her life, she has to be the favored character. I disliked Mr. Rochester when he was first introduced, always being cold, stiff, and difficult towards Jane. As the days pass, Jane does feel the intensity of love build between her and Mr. Rochester. They eventually make their way to the church to be married, when the dark and terrible secret is revealed. Lurking in the attic of Thornfield Hall, is Mr. Rochester's insane, maniac wife Bertha. She is a character to despise throwing tantrums, setting Rochester's bedroom on fire, tearing Jane's veil to shreds, and stabbing and biting her own brother Richard.

Essentially, leadership is about people management

Mohandas Gandhi once admitted that â€Å"I suppose leadership at one time meant muscles; but today it means getting along with people.† Essentially, leadership is about people management. As a leader, one has to realize that the value of leadership is determined by the ability of the leader to deal fairly with the people placed under him. Interestingly, we can say that all men are leaders. This is because in one way or the other, we all occupy a position where someone is under us. However, it is sad to note that not all men know what leadership is truly about thereby making a mess of their positions. Therefore, in order to have an efficient society, it becomes imperative to have a platform where leadership can be addressed and people can be taught the rudiments of leadership. I consider The Leadership Development Program (LPD) organized by The Venetian to be such a rare platform. As an undergraduate, my academic background was in English and literature. During my years in college, I was selected to be the volunteer interpreter in international conferences, conventions, and trade shows. While I was discharging my duties, I realized how much I like to communicate with people and the heart I have for helping them. It was an eye-opener to the fact that I am naturally configured to fit into the hospitality industry. As a result, I decided to start my career in hospitality industry since I really like interacting people who have different perspectives and cultural back ground. As an integral part of my career aspirations, I hope to work in a hotel someday as Human Resource Personnel or any aspect that involves management. Dreams don’t just come true and success requires extra effort. Apart from this, I have come to discover that in order to be a leader, one must first follow and learn. This has made me embark on the quest of personal career enhancement. In order to accomplishment my vision I know this require me to enroll for a credible program where I can learn how to improve my leadership and managerial skills so that I can be of help to the customers that will come my way daily. This is what informed my decision to enroll for The Leadership Development Program organized by The Venetian. After going through the several leadership development programs that I could lay my hands on, I felt the one organized by the Venetian is the best. However, after I have carefully gone through the site and the programs offered, I needed nobody to tell me that this was what I have been looking for. What caught my fancy was the level of organization of the company. I was attracted to the site itself and the idea of being taught by the â€Å"executives of one of the world’s most successful hospitality and entertainment companies† made my stomach rumble. I also find the program appealing because of the fact that I will be able to get world class jobs with the affiliates of the company after the program. On the whole, I believe that I will find the program memorable as this is the big break I have been looking for. I know one day I will look back and be grateful I made the decision to enroll for the Venetian Leadership Development Program!

Comparison Between Chinese and American Food Culture

Lee Hiu Man Instructor Wynn ESLG 1001 29 November 2012 Comparison of Chinese and Western Food Culture Food is closely related to people's lives and it is considered the most important element in Chinese culture. Chinese food is famous all over the world too. American Chinese cuisine differs significantly from the traditional Chinese cuisine and even though the variation in taste can be so it is still attractive to many people. When it comes to food, Chinese people always care about the color, taste, smell and shape of Chinese dishes.In 1784, a group of passengers on the ship Empress of China became the first Americans to land in China and they were also the first group of people to eat Chinese food; it was the first time the American palate encountered eastern cuisine(Coe 45). There are many differences in food culture between China and the United States. Strong differences exist regarding cooking methods, ingredients, desserts and cutlery. There are many cooking methods in Chinese f ood and it may be confusing by terms such as saute, marinade, stir-fry and deep-fry especially for someone new to Chinese food (Travel China Guide).Boiling is the most common form of Chinese cooking; Chinese boiling means cooking food in boiling water. It wastes fuel. It does not cook the food any faster and it tends to make the food break up and so spoils the appearance. Frying is divided into deep-frying, slippery-frying, quick-frying, and several types of stir-frying; this method mainly deals with vegetables. One cooking method that American dishes seldom use is steaming. It is a kind of slow process and time consuming.Chinese cooking uses two methods of steaming, which are basic steaming(zheng) and placing one tightly-closed pot inside a larger pot(steaming dun) (Lee 3). The product is usually very soft because the pot is half-immersed in boiling water for two to three hours. One of the famous traditional Chinese foods is Chinese rice dumplings and it is made of glutinous rice s tuffed with different fillings and wrapped in bamboo leaves. On the other hand, the cooking methods in American cuisine were affected by the European countries (Cuban Cuisine, 1).Grilling meats and spit roasting over a pit fire are both common even today. Americans use barbecue smokers to cook chicken, pork and corn. Frying is the most common in Western countries because almost every famous dish is related to frying. Examples include fried chicken, French fries, burgers and fries, etc. Local families in America like to do baking, which is generally applied to breads, lasagna, manicotti, pastries and other sweet confections. There is a big difference between Chinese and American cooking methods. One is mainly concentrated on the color, smell and shape.The other is always speedy, convenient and cheap. Secondly, the ingredients in Chinese and American food are different. Chinese cuisine involves rice, flour, beans, and vegetables. American cuisine is relatively simple and mainly includ es meat, bread and vegetables. For the Chinese one, most dishes include rice, because it is the main crop of many Asian countries and is used in almost every capacity. Not only steamed rice, but rice paper and noodles can be included in a meal. Second, tofu is often used in vegetarian meals, because it is high in protein.It is used heavily in regions with a tradition of Buddhism. Third, sauces are important to flavor rice and stir-fry. Soy sauce, oyster sauce, black bean sauce, and fish sauces are easy to keep on hand (Yang 3). Rice is a major staple food for people from rice farming areas in southern China and Chinese people always use rice to produce by-products like vinegars and wines (Mashpedia, 3). Noodles are important to Chinese people too and they usually come dry or fresh in a variety of sizes, shapes and textures and are often served in soups or fried as toppings.Some varieties such as  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Shou Mian† are literally noodles of longevity, are symbolic of long life and good health according to Chinese tradition. Noodles can be served hot or cold with different toppings and broth. On the other hand, a part of the American food is based on traditional German dishes such as hot dogs and hamburgers (Wynn 3). Pre-packaged American meals tend to be high in carbohydrates, fat, sodium, and various preservatives. However, they also tend to be vitamin fortified.Examples of pre-packed American meals include various  casserole  type dishes such as  Hamburger Helper, as well as bakeable and microwaveable foods such as  Hot Pockets, frozen pizzas, frozen burritos, and various types of  TV dinner  meals (Cuisine of the United States Research Materials, 3). About the desserts in these two countries, Chinese desserts are sweet foods and dishes that are served with  tea, along with meals or at the end of meals in Chinese cuisine. Chinese candies and sweets, called  Ã¢â‚¬Å"tang†Ã‚  are usually made with cane sugar, malt sugar, honey, nuts and fruit.Gao or Guo  are rice based snacks that are typically steamed  and may be made from glutinous or normal rice. Ice cream  is commonly available throughout China. Another cold dessert is called  Ã¢â‚¬Å"baobing†, which is  shaved ice  with sweet syrup. Chinese jellies are known collectively in the language as  ices. Many jelly desserts are traditionally set with agar and are flavored with fruits, though  gelatin  based jellies are also common in contemporary desserts (Zickler 5). Chinese dessert soups typically consist of sweet and usually hot soups  and custards.For the American desserts, there are a wide variety of choices like cakes, cookies, biscuits, gelatins and pastries and most of them are considered as sweet and greasy. Famous ones like apple pies, cupcakes, caramels and chocolate brownies are customary desserts for Americans compared with Chinese as they viewed it as a part of the meal. Lastly, the cutleries that are used in Chinese and Amer ican food are different also. Chinese people use chopsticks to eat food. Americans use knives and forks to do dining.Chopsticks convey the concept of harmony in Chinese culture (The Cross-Cultural Rhetoric Blog). In ancient  written Chinese, the character for chopsticks was ?. Although ? may have been widely used in ancient spoken Chinese, its use was eventually replaced by the pronunciation for the character ? ; meaning â€Å"quick†. The original character, though still commonly used in writing, is rarely used in modern spoken Chinese languages, which maintains the old usage. Knives and forks are kind of promoting the independence, freedom and violence.Due to its role as humankind's first tool, certain cultures have attached spiritual and religious significance to the knife. It has impact of the concept of people's lives; knife and fork will necessarily bring about eating apart and chopsticks share dinner with the family members gather around a table. The major items of cu tlery in the  Western world  are the  knife,  fork  and  spoon. In recent times, utensils have been made combining the functionality of pairs of cutlery, including the  spork  (spoon / fork),  spife  (spoon / knife), and  knork  (knife / fork) or the  sporf  which is all three (Attards, 2).Actually, chopsticks are commonly used in Chinese, Japanese and Korean dishes but it is generally believed to have originated in ancient China. To conclude, there are a number of differences between Chinese and American food culture and they are a part of human civilization. It is great for everyone to know the food that people would like to eat, cooking method and also ingredients between two countries. Even if there are some differences between Chinese food and Western-style food, they can still get along harmoniously. For example Chinese food of U. S. A. s suitable for Americans’ taste, because through Americans’ improvement; similarly, the Western-styl e food of China is more suitable for Chinese’ taste, because through the Chinese’ improvement. There is a folk adage in China â€Å"If want to conquer your heart, I will conquer your stomach first†. It can clearly show the importance of food in Chinese culture. Works Cited Helen Wang. Cooking Methods in Chinese Cuisine. †Ã‚  Chinese Cooking Tips. Chinese Food DIY Fall 2009. Web. Nov. 17 2012 Giblin, James Cross. From hand to mouth: How we invented knives, forks, spoons and chopsticks, & the manners to go with them.New York: Crowell, 1987. Print Knoblauch, Mark. Chop Suey: A Cultural History Of Chinese Food In The United States. Booklist 106. 1 22, 2009. Print Lv, Nan, and J Lynne Brown. Chinese American Family Food Systems: Impact Of Western Influences. Journal Of Nutrition Education And Behavior 42. 2 106-114, 2010. Print Richard Pillsbury. No Foreign Food: The American Diet in Time and Place, Westview Press, 1998. Print Peter Zickler. Askives. â€Å"Wha t is common Chinese desserts† Web, Nov. 16, 2012

How admin assistants can prep for the holidays

How admin assistants can prep for the holidays Attention all admin assistants- are you right in the middle of a flurry of never-ending holiday prep plans that is keeping you too stressed and frantic to enjoy the season? Or perhaps you’re putting off your holiday prep because it all seems too overwhelming and the mere thought of everything you have piling up on your plate is creating dizzying levels of anxiety and stress?If either of these scenarios sounds like you, stop what you’re doing and take a deep breath! Although the holidays can be especially challenging for admin assistants, who are no strangers to juggling the diverse needs and demands of others on top of their own, there are strategies for effectively getting through the holiday season while minimizing added stress and overexertion.Admin assistants- consider the following your helpful preparation and planning guide for making it through the holiday season unscathed!Prep early.Admin assistants are typically masters at getting an early handle on things that need to be done around the office, and they recognize the value of doing as much advanced preparation as possible to make sure that projects stay on track, no details are left unaddressed, and everything sticks according to plan.Prepping for the holidays should be no different- we’re all aware of how quickly the holidays seem to sneak up on us each year, and once they arrive it gets much tougher to get things done amidst the flurry of vacations and obligations that seem to come from every direction. Combat the â€Å"holiday slowdown† by planning for all the things that need to be done as early as possible in the year. The more you can get done early on, the better off you’ll be when the â€Å"blizzard† of holiday activities hits.Get organized.One of the keys to being successful as an admin assistant is staying organized. In today’s hectic work world, a disorganized or scatterbrained admin does not keep their head above water- or their jobs- for ve ry long, so the successful admin already possesses these crucial skills. Be sure to put them to good use when preparing for the holidays. A well-organized holiday checklist that includes all necessary activities and projects- with details on who is responsible for doing what- can really be an admin’s best friend when trying to get through the season. A comprehensive and well-maintained checklist will help you keep track of everything that needs to be done, all in one place.Balance time for professional and personal planning.Because admins are typically excellent planners by nature, they often find themselves stuck between two worlds during the holiday season- planning for everything that has to be done at work and planning for everything that has to be done in their personal lives. Don’t let your professional and personal lives collide while holiday planning, and don’t let one eclipse the other. Any admin worth their desk can strike a healthy work-life balance d uring the holiday season and effectively plan for both appropriately- keep the work planning at work and keep your personal planning out of the office.Don’t recreate the wheel.Admins usually have an array of helpful systems and processes in place that that they can deploy for whatever project arises- consider â€Å"holiday planning† as one major project, and use your holiday planning checklist from last year as the foundation for this year’s plans, and continue this tradition for each new holiday season. Obviously, some updating and tweaking will need to be done each year, but hopefully this will cover you for the bulk of the planning activities and will save you some time vs. starting a new checklist from scratch each year!There you have it admins- your helpful strategies for successful holiday planning. Use this advice to ensure that your preparation for this upcoming season is hassle free. Happy holidays!

Qué es affidavit of support y obligaciones al firmar

Quà © es affidavit of support y obligaciones al firmar En Estados Unidos, la firma del affidavit of support es uno los requisitos que se piden para que un ciudadano o un residente pueda reclamar con à ©xito la tarjeta de residencia permanente para un familiar. Este documento del affidavit of support tambià ©n se conoce entre los migrantes como declaracià ³n jurada de sostenimiento, mantenimiento o solvencia econà ³mica. Puntos clave: affidavit of support o declaracià ³n de sostenimiento econà ³mico Los ciudadanos o residentes permanentes que piden la tarjeta de residencia para un familiar deben firmar un affidavit of support o declaracià ³n de sostenimiento econà ³mico.Es un contrato que garantiza al gobierno de EE.UU. que el migrante patrocinado no se va a convertir en carga pà ºblica. Esta obligacià ³n est vigente durante aà ±os.El monto de ingresos y/o patrimonio mà ­nimo para firmar el affidavit of support depende del estado en el que reside la persona que presenta la peticià ³n, del nà ºmero de miembros de la familia y de si el solicitante es militar.Si no se tienen ingresos o patrimonio suficiente se puede solicitar la ayuda de un co-patrocinador.  ¿Quà © es el affidavit of support o declaracià ³n de solvencia econà ³mica? Es un documento que las leyes migratorias de EE.UU. exigen que firme el solicitante de una tarjeta de residencia permanente para un familiar. Si no se firma, la peticià ³n de la green card ser negada. El affidavit of support sirve para asegurar al gobierno que la persona que se reclama para emigrar  no se va a convertir en una carga pà ºblica.   En realidad, el affidavit of support es un contrato que obliga al ciudadano o al residente que lo firma o, en su caso, a los co-patrocinadores o co-firmantes, a responder econà ³micamente por la persona patrocinada. Por ello es fundamental entender bien y sin dudas quà © es lo que se firma. Ingresos mà ­nimos para firmar el affidavit of support Los ciudadanos americanos y los residentes permanentes legales que patrocinan a un familiar deben demostrar, por medio del affidavit of support, que tienen necesitan ingresos o patrimonio superiores al 125 por ciento de la là ­nea de la pobreza. Cabe destacar que la là ­nea de la pobreza, que actualiza cada aà ±o el gobierno de Estados Unidos, es superior en Hawaii y Alaska que en el resto de los 48 estados de la Unià ³n Americana o el Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico. Asimismo, el monto de la là ­nea de la pobreza cambia segà ºn el tamaà ±o de la familia. Y es que el ciudadano o residente que patrocina tiene que demostrar ingresos para mantener: a sà ­ mismoa la/s persona/s que se patrocinaa las que se ha  patrocinado, mientras el affidavit of support sigue vigentetodas las personas que dependen del solicitante,  segà ºn asà ­ conste en el  tax returns (hijos, esposa/o, etc). Sin embargo, para los militares en activo que piden a sus cà ³nyuges, hijos solteros menores de 21 aà ±os y padres es suficiente ingresos o patrimonio por el 100 por cien de la cantidad fijada por los datos del umbral de la pobreza.   Por otro lado, en los casos extraordinarios en los que el emigrante padece de una enfermedad crà ³nica seria o es una persona de edad avanzada es posible que las autoridades migratorias pidan acreditar  recursos econà ³micos superiores al 125 por ciento de la là ­nea de pobreza. Ingresos y patrimonio que se puede incluir en la declaracià ³n de solvencia econà ³mica. Cabe destacar que a la hora de calcular si se llega al mà ­nimo exigido por el gobierno para patrocinar se puede incluir adems de los ingresos, como es por ejemplo la nà ³mina (payroll, en inglà ©s), sino tambià ©n el patrimonio, si se puede  vender fcilmente en el plazo de un aà ±o. Por ejemplo, se considera patrimonio la vivienda despuà ©s de descontar lo que se debe de la hipoteca, o el auto o inversiones en bonos del tesoro, etc. Sin embargo, del valor resultante sà ³lo se puede contabilizar un quinto de su valor de mercado para todos los patrocinios excepto cuando se trata de un ciudadano que reclama a su cà ³nyuge o hijos menores de 21 aà ±os (child), en cuyo caso se puede computar un tercio de su valor de mercado. Por ejemplo,  si se tiene  una casa cuyo valor de mercado es de $200.000 pero tiene una hipoteca de $130.000, eso quiere decir que, en realidad, el patrimonio es de $70.000. Los ciudadanos patrocinando al cà ³nyuge o hijos solteros menores de 21 aà ±os podrn calcular para el affidavit of support un tercio de esos $70,000, es decir $23.333. Por el contrario, si el ciudadano patrocina a los padres, hijos casados o mayores de 21 aà ±os o hermanos sà ³lo se computa un quinto de esos $70.000, es decir, $14.000. Lo mismo ocurre para todos los casos en los que el solicitante es un residente permanente.  ¿Quà © hacer cuando ingresos y patrimonio no llegan al mà ­nimo que se pide para el affidavit of support? Se puede buscar a un co-patrocinador, es decir, a una persona que se obligue tambià ©n  a patrocinar econà ³micamente a la persona que se quiere  reclamar. Por ley, el co-patrocinador debe cumplir todos los requisitos siguientes: Ciudadano americano o residente permanente legalVivir habitualmente en Estados Unidos o en uno de sus territorios, como por ejemplo, Puerto RicoMayor de edad Si reà ºne estos tres requisitos, pueden darse dos opciones. En primer lugar, la persona que se brinda a colaborar es un miembro de la familia del patrocinador y vive en el mismo hogar. Por ejemplo, el padre o la madre del patrocinador principal o un hijo mayor de 18 aà ±os. Adems, en el caso de que el cà ³nyuge que se quiere reclamar vive ya en Estados Unidos y pueden ajustar su estatus, se pueden utilizar sus ingresos y unirlos a los de su patrocinador para alcanzar asà ­ la cantidad mà ­nima que se requiere para patrocinar, siempre y cuando vivan ya en el mismo hogar y la fuente de sus ingresos (trabajo) sea legal desde el punto de vista migratorio. Estos co-patrocinadores, a los que muchas veces se les llama co-firmantes, deben firmar la planilla I-864A.   En segundo lugar, el co-patrocinador puede no ser un miembro del hogar.  En otras palabras, es un familiar con su propio hogar o un amigo. En estos casos el co-patrocinador tiene que acreditar tener ingresos suficientes como si patrocinara solo y debe rellenar y firmar el affidavit of support de la planilla I-864. Si se firma un affidavit of support,  ¿cules son las obligaciones que se contraen? La declaracià ³n jurada de sostenimiento es un contrato legal. La persona que lo firma es responsable, en primer lugar, frente al gobierno. Y, en segundo lugar, ante el propio patrocinado. Como consecuencia de ello, los nuevos inmigrantes no pueden recibir dinero de ningà ºn beneficio federal, local o estatal calificado como means-tested. Por ejemplo: TANF, Medicare, Medicaid, cupones de alimentos, etc. Si el gobierno detecta que se recibià ³ incorrectamente uno de estos beneficios, pedir la restitucià ³n del dinero a la persona o personas que firmaron el affidavit of support. Si se tuviera que ir a Corte, se le pedir tambià ©n el pago de los gastos. Adems, tener conocimiento de que el migrante  patrocinado ha colectado beneficios del gobierno a los que no tenà ­a derecho es suficiente para ser multado con $5.000.   Adems, el migrante que, sin tener derecho, solicite estos beneficios puede ser multado por un mximo de $10.000 e incluso pena de prisià ³n. Por otro lado, la persona que firma el affidavit of support se compromete al mantenimiento del migrante pedido. Esto es asà ­ de tal modo que puede ser demandado por este à ºltimo. En el caso de los matrimonios resaltar que el divorcio no supone el fin de esta obligacià ³n. Los contratos privados firmados entre los cà ³nyuges relevndole de esa obligacià ³n no son ejecutables en corte. Es decir, son como papel mojado.   Vigencia de la obligacià ³n por firmar el affidavit of support La obligacià ³n de ser responsable del mantenimiento del nuevo migrante se extiende desde el momento en que  ha obtenido la tarjeta de residencia hasta que ocurre cualquiera de las siguientes circunstancias: el migrante se convierte en ciudadano americano por naturalizacià ³nel migrante regresa a su paà ­s, abandonando Estados Unidos y su estatus legalel migrante falleceel migrante ha contribuido 40 crà ©ditos a la Seguridad Social, lo que aproximadamente suelen ser 10 aà ±os, habiendo variedades para el cà ³mputo. Quà © documentos hay que completar para firmar el patrocinio econà ³mico Dependiendo del caso, estos son los documentos para el affidavit of support: I-864Z, cuando no se utiliza co-patrocinador y sà ³lo se patrocina econà ³micamente a una persona.I-864, en todos los dems casos.I-864A, para el co-patrocinador  vive en el mismo hogar familiar que el ciudadano o residente permanente que reclama la tarjeta de residencia para uno o varios de sus familiares. En el caso de peticiones mediante ajuste de estatus, al aplicar por este beneficio es cuando se presenta la planilla del sostenimiento econà ³mico. Pero cuando la peticià ³n de la green card va a travà ©s del procedimiento consular, seguir las instrucciones del Centro Nacional de Visas cuando se pone en contacto para los trmites finales. La importancia de notificar los cambios de domicilio Todos los que firman un affidavit of support debe notificar al Servicio de Naturalizacià ³n y Ciudadanà ­a (USCIS, por sus siglas en inglà ©s) los cambios de domicilio en el plazo de 30 dà ­as a contar desde la mudanza. Utilizar la  la planilla I-865. El castigo por incumplimiento puede ser multa de $250 a $2,000. Adems, si el firmante del affidavit of support es un residente permanente, debe tambià ©n notificar el cambio de direccià ³n con el formulario AR-11, que se puede completar en là ­nea en la pgina oficial del USCIS. Conclusià ³n importante sobre el affidavit of support Firmar un affidavit of support es un requisito imprescindible en la tramitacià ³n de peticiones de tarjeta de residencia por motivos familiares. No es posible no cumplir con esta obligacià ³n. Pero al hacerlo, el firmante se est comprometiendo a responder por el migrante patrocinado. Es por ello que hay que pensarlo bien, particularmente en el caso de matrimonios por conveniencia. Este es un artà ­culo informativo. No es asesorà ­a legal.

Discounts in Mandarin Chinese

Discounts in Mandarin Chinese Everyone loves a discount. The bigger the better. When youre shopping, its always a good idea to keep a  lookout for good deals and discount signs. If youre shopping or bartering in China or Taiwan, make sure to understand how discounts work in Chinese. Otherwise, you might end up paying for a price much higher than you expected! When it comes to Mandarin Chinese discounts, they are expressed the opposite of English. In English, discount signs are labeled as X% off. In Chinese stores, discount signs will tell you the percentage of the original price that you now have to pay.   So don’t get too excited when something is marked 9 折 (jiÇ” zhà ©); that doesnt mean 90% off. It means you can buy it for 90% of its regular price – a 10% discount. The format for discounts is number 折. Western (Arabic) numbers are used instead of Chinese characters. Here are some examples: 7 折qÄ « zhà ©30% off5 折wÇ” zhà ©50% off2.5 折à ¨r diÇŽn wÇ” zhà ©75% off You might be confused as to how 7 refers to 70% rather than 7%, 5 refers to 50% rather than 5%, and so on. This is because 7  Ã¦Å Ëœ means 0.7 times the price. If an item originally costs $100 but has a  7  Ã¦Å Ëœ discount, then the final cost is 0.7 x $100, or $70.   So when looking out for discount signs in Chinese, remember that the smaller the number, the bigger the discount.

Conceptual Entrepreneurial Business Plan Assignment

Conceptual Entrepreneurial Business Plan - Assignment Example However, when new policies were implemented, all the Passenger Service Vehicles (PSV) were required to be registered under different Sacco’s. In January 2015, all the PSVs were required to register their vehicles and the route to operate. A minimum of twenty vehicles were allowed to register as a Sacco. Ironically, most bus owners did not like the idea of working in a Sacco. As a result, they withdrew their buses in town and operated other routes outside the town. Indeed, it was a good idea to join a Sacco as it was easy to manage the fleet in town, but owners had a contrary opinion. This brought about a gap in the industry, leaving a lot of passengers frustrated. Approximately 6000 people travel in and out of the city daily. With the few buses remaining, this is not proportion to the need. To meet this demand, the company intends to buy 20 new 40-seater buses. Very stiff competition will be expected from the already operating bus companies. The City Hopper Company is currently the leading company within the town offering transport services. Nevertheless, it is not the only company. Other companies are: Best ways chopper - it one of the oldest companies that has been in operation and operate within the town only. It has a number of buses, but most of them have been grounded because of mismanagement and poor maintenance. City Hopper- it is the largest company that serves most parts of the city. It has installed bus terminus at strategic places within and outside the city. Nonetheless, there are a few buses owned by the company. On several occasions, they are opportunistic and escalate fares mainly at rush hours and on rainy season. Drivers, turn boys/ conductors, secretary, mechanics and accountant/cashier will be on the same level. They will all be answerable to the assistant manager. The entire management system will be supervised by the general manager assisted by his deputy. All the staff

The Battle in Seattle Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Battle in Seattle - Essay Example The organizations that participated in the protest represented a sea of different interests; they ranged from labor movements, environmental groups as well as human rights organizations. The protest had taken months of planning and organizations working together to plan the protest events (Belmonte 2005, 423). This protest came to be known as the Battle of Seattle since it was the first large demonstration. Before the battle of Seattle, many people were unaware of the disadvantages of free trade. Many free trade agreements had been made in America and the rest of the world before 1999. According to Belmonte, the world trade organization was charged with the responsibility of supervising and liberalizing global trade as established by the 1994 General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Moreover, in 1993, the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) had been passed, and trade officials assumed that the next move was to expand the free trade area to cover all of North and South Am erica. More so, many cities vied to play host to the FTAA secretariat, and many planners laid out expanded transport systems meant to bring in goods from South America to the U.S and Canada. They faced huge opposition from protestors and delegates who were opposed to free trade. As a result, they failed to reach an agreement and efforts of reviving the free trade efforts died (Belmonte 2005, 311). In addition to that, many of those against free trade based their criticism on economic grounds. As a result, the World Wrade Organization, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund faced many protests. However, contrary to their opposition to globalization, most of the protestors use the Internet to mobilize people of common interest disregarding the fact that the Internet is a form of globalization. During the battle of Seattle, approximately 50,000 people met in Seattle to plan the peaceful protest. The labor movements represented during the protests were steelworkers, longshor emen, public workers, farm workers and building trade workers (Moberg 1999). Some protestors stated that there were efforts to marginalize the developing nations. However, some delegates attending the conference were also opposed to free trade. Some delegates from developing nations felt overshadowed and sidelined by the developed nations and feared that labor rights would be violated by the inception of free trade. Free trade would lead to incurrence of huge costs by developing nations since they could not afford to apply the changes brought about by free trade, considering the poverty rate and dependency on the developed nations (Moberg 1999). The groups that demonstrated in Seattle were of different interests ranging from labor groups, human rights groups, animal rights groups, and many others. Moberg says that, although the protest was against globalizations, some protestors showed their support for rebels in Chiapas, human rights in Burma, and ethical treatment of animals. Howe ver, the issues that were raised by all protestors through their banners and placards were related to the World Trade Organization in a way. For instance, the WTO had rejected U.S. laws regarding them as trade barriers, and as a result,

The Existence of the Supreme Being Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Existence of the Supreme Being - Essay Example With regards to the argument of design, aspects of the argument were inspired by Aristotle and Plato (O'Neill 110). It was adapted by Christian philosophers Augustine and Thomas Aquinas. The design argument argues that there is an observable design or order in the universe even though the design is not always flawless or perfect. The existence of such design confirms the existence of a Designer such as a supreme being. Finally, the moral argument clarified by a philosopher, Immanuel Kant, centered on the summum bonum or in other words the "Highest Good". The Highest Good refers to where happiness and moral virtue coincide at their fullest. Human beings, it is experimental, always struggle for this superior plane of existence, and yet they are never able to attain it (Protestantism 1). According to Immanuel, the longing human beings have for moral fairness, as well as happiness, and justice confirms that someone put this desire in their souls. Immanuel’s argument is a similar a rgument made by the Apostle Paul (O'Neill 110).Many famous scientists such as Stephen Hawking have tried to clarify the basis of the universe as a phenomenon from gravity. However, they fail to address the main issue at hand which is the origin of physical law. They need to ask themselves where gravity came from and how something can emerge from nothing since physical law is nothing (Strobel 1). In addition, scientists’ idea of joining universes to flee the conclusion of modification is philosophically unstable., metaphysically motivated, as well as less parsimonious, than the theistic understanding. This also leaves one liable thesis of the Supreme Being as the maker of the universe. This is evident in places such as the bible and other theories that explain the existence of the Supreme Being. The Biblical teachings on the basis of the universe can be found in Genesis 1:1 (Strobel 1). It clearly states that God, the Supreme Being, shaped the heavens and the earth. Hence, thi s surpasses all other theories. The Supreme Being is all powerful since it is recorded that the Being created the whole universe in just a word of mouth (Lutzer 75). The universe is thought to be 100 galaxies long. This requires mysterious powers to form. However, the Supreme Being is deemed to have created the universe in only six days (Lutzer 75). Since the being is thought to have created everything including evil, people wonder why the Being cannot just destroy evil. Surely, evil creates

Organizational Behaviour Team Assessment EssayReport Essay

Organizational Behaviour Team Assessment EssayReport - Essay Example Effective teams need to work together and take collective responsibility to complete significant tasks (Campion, Medsker and Higgs, 1993). So teams are formed around a specific purpose. It provides the team a meaningful purpose which decides the direction, momentum and commitment of the team members. This purpose is a vision and broader than specific goals. In my college, I am one of the team members working to shift and rearrange our library. Setting an objectives and purposes motivates members and increase sense of responsibility and ownership over the work and it make the work more interesting to perform. In my team, the main purpose of the team is to shift the library and arrange the books according to subject index, so that it could be available to each student as soon as possible and it's become easier to search the books immediately. We are the team of 15 self motivated enthusiastic students having zeal to perform the job. This self managed work team is capable of performing highly related or interdependent jobs and ready to take many of the responsibilities. Our team is ready to take the planning and scheduling of work, assigning task to members, collective control over the pace of work making operating decision, taking action on problems. Being the fully self managed team, we have the autonomy to select our team members and ev aluate each other performances objectively. Due to these specific characteristics, team leader position within the team decreases and it is almost vanished. We as a team have liberty to express our views and could set our schedules, which has been decided collectively. We have the choice of selecting new members, and disciplines members who creates problems. As a result our response to job assigned to our team has increased and implementation process becomes fast. Once we selected our team members we have different kind of person's having different abilities. In our team we have four members with technical expertise in library sciences. Another four members are from the computer sciences department who are capable of computerizing the library so that book could be found more easily and be issued to students without any problem. Apart from these members of technical expertise our team has 2 members having excellent problems solving skills. These problems solvers and decision makers a ctually been able to identify problems, generates alternatives, evaluates those alternatives and can make competent choices. The remaining 5 members are from management stream in which one member is form supply and logistic management stream. Apart from being in different streams and backgrounds all the members are good listeners as well as are able to provide objective feedbacks and have the ability of conflict resolution; all the members of my team have good interpersonal skills (Stevens and Campion, 1994). But having members with specific skills also require proper mixture of all the qualities. My team has higher mean levels of conscientiousness. The whole team always tries to maintain higher level of conscientiousness because if a single team members who lacks minimal level of say agreeableness, can negatively affect the whole team's performance so we all members of the team always try to motivate each other and try to create an informal atmosphere within the team. We have a job in our hand i.e., to shift the

Jewish art history Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Jewish art history - Assignment Example c tradition of providing lavish and elaborate cloths as dowry, wherein the cloths were originally used in the home for ceremonial reasons but eventually became incorporated into synagogue use due to the motifs and designs used in association with rituals and ceremonies practiced under Jewish customs and traditions (â€Å"Art and Ceremony† 197). Lastly, another example of adapting the surrounding culture and assimilating it into Jewish culture is the use of a printing press in publishing the Haggadah, along with the incorporation of related or unrelated illustrations beside the texts, resembling non-Jewish medieval scriptures and texts (â€Å"Jewish Texts† 109;Yerushalmi 18).Possible reasons for the gradual incorporation of iconography can come from the need to appease the empires or the majority of the population, as well as the acceptance of later generations to its use in religious contexts. In essence, based on the level of tolerance and the sophistication of the maj ority of the population surrounding Jewish societies, the gradual introduction of iconography through various aspects within the Jewish culture steadily grew as the result of an incorporation of non-Jewish customs or traditions that strongly-support the use or incorporation of images or stylized texts into religious settings, along with the changing ideals of the succeeding Jewish generations. Despite seeming very different and cut-off from one another, the relationship between Jews and Christians is actually strong. Apart from the incorporation of Jewish ancient texts into the holy books of Christians, with regards to the contributions of Christians into Jewish traditions and cultures, this relationship is better expressed seen through influences in the visual cultures of each one. For example, around the Renaissance era there have been many changes observed with the synagogues built during those times, wherein the buildings became larger and more elaborate, which can be compared to Christian

Organizational Behaviour Team Assessment EssayReport Essay

Organizational Behaviour Team Assessment EssayReport - Essay Example Effective teams need to work together and take collective responsibility to complete significant tasks (Campion, Medsker and Higgs, 1993). So teams are formed around a specific purpose. It provides the team a meaningful purpose which decides the direction, momentum and commitment of the team members. This purpose is a vision and broader than specific goals. In my college, I am one of the team members working to shift and rearrange our library. Setting an objectives and purposes motivates members and increase sense of responsibility and ownership over the work and it make the work more interesting to perform. In my team, the main purpose of the team is to shift the library and arrange the books according to subject index, so that it could be available to each student as soon as possible and it's become easier to search the books immediately. We are the team of 15 self motivated enthusiastic students having zeal to perform the job. This self managed work team is capable of performing highly related or interdependent jobs and ready to take many of the responsibilities. Our team is ready to take the planning and scheduling of work, assigning task to members, collective control over the pace of work making operating decision, taking action on problems. Being the fully self managed team, we have the autonomy to select our team members and ev aluate each other performances objectively. Due to these specific characteristics, team leader position within the team decreases and it is almost vanished. We as a team have liberty to express our views and could set our schedules, which has been decided collectively. We have the choice of selecting new members, and disciplines members who creates problems. As a result our response to job assigned to our team has increased and implementation process becomes fast. Once we selected our team members we have different kind of person's having different abilities. In our team we have four members with technical expertise in library sciences. Another four members are from the computer sciences department who are capable of computerizing the library so that book could be found more easily and be issued to students without any problem. Apart from these members of technical expertise our team has 2 members having excellent problems solving skills. These problems solvers and decision makers a ctually been able to identify problems, generates alternatives, evaluates those alternatives and can make competent choices. The remaining 5 members are from management stream in which one member is form supply and logistic management stream. Apart from being in different streams and backgrounds all the members are good listeners as well as are able to provide objective feedbacks and have the ability of conflict resolution; all the members of my team have good interpersonal skills (Stevens and Campion, 1994). But having members with specific skills also require proper mixture of all the qualities. My team has higher mean levels of conscientiousness. The whole team always tries to maintain higher level of conscientiousness because if a single team members who lacks minimal level of say agreeableness, can negatively affect the whole team's performance so we all members of the team always try to motivate each other and try to create an informal atmosphere within the team. We have a job in our hand i.e., to shift the

Freedom of Press Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Freedom of Press - Term Paper Example Indeed, the political rights, which encompass the right to participate freely in the political process, depend on how freely communication and expression through the electronic and printed media is guaranteed. Freedom of the press also makes political leaders and public office holders to be responsible and accountable to the citizens. Furthermore, the civil liberties that allow for freedom of expression and belief, associational and organizational rights, rule of law, and personal autonomy without government control are intrinsically linked to the degree of freedom of the press. Thus, the political stability of any state is strongly dependent on freedom of the press and as a result, freedom of the press is a politically relevant issue. The political rights, which include the right to vote and be voted for, depends on the degree of freedom of the press. The right to vote and be voted for is the distinguishing factor between democratic governments and their undemocratic counterparts. D emocracy involves free, fair and regular contestation for political offices and freedom of the press is an implicit requirement for free and fair elections (Sachs, 2007, 2). For an election to be free and fair, the electorate must communicate and express themselves freely without fear, favor, threats or domination from government and other parties of potential domination. Indeed, freedom of the press ensures free communication and expression that eventually leads to free and fair elections. It is noted that governments that suppress the media are notorious for conducting flaw elections. This was the case with the Iranian government. In fact, the Iranian government aggressively crackdown on the media in the wake of its flaw presidential elections. Furthermore, authoritarian states such as Russia and China notorious for their molestation of journalists in the bid to restricting the flow of information and thereby maintaining the political structure are also excellent examples of state s that conduct flaw elections (Karlekar, 2010, 1). In addition to promoting political rights, freedom of the press ensures that the elected government officials and other public office holders are responsible and accountable to the citizens. This is particularly true in states that have freedom of information legislation, an extension of the freedom of the press. Under this legislation, request can be made of government to make public, information otherwise classified as sensitive or secret. This promotes openness and responsibility on the part of government officials since they will be requested to provide information on how the government is run. Over 85 countries have implemented some form of the freedom of legislation. There is a good-to-excellent correlation between corrupt governments and countries that do not have this form of legislation. For instance, countries such as Sweden, Denmark, and Norway that have some form of the freedom of information legislation (Staples, 2007) have been consistently rated as the world most corrupt-free states. While African and Middle East countries that do not have forms of this legislation have consistently be rated as corrupt states. Thus,

The island or that the island exerts an evil influence on them Essay Example for Free

The island or that the island exerts an evil influence on them Essay Which do you think is more true, that the boys bring evil to the island or that the island exerts an evil influence on them? PLAN: Fear of the unknown, evil exerted upon them, the fear of the unknown makes them believe in the beast, the evil was always in them and because of the circumstances on the island, it takes form as the beast. Lord of the Flies, a William Golding classic, filled to the brim with a meaningful and descriptive story of boys who become stranded on a desert island. Their survival becomes and endless battle among nature, savagery, and The Beast, a fantasy nightmare that manifests itself to become the boys biggest fear. Upon arrival on the island, their confrontation with their situation was blunt, although they did try to appoint a chief, some disagreed with the overall result; and the freckles on Jacks face disappeared under blush of mortification pg. 30. The truth has suddenly been put this boy into his place, who thought he is the most popular on the island, the fact now shows that he isnt. This is a fear, a fear of interrogation, a threat of overpowering and control, and it is this fear that brings the evil to the island. Jacks need to be in control turns him and his followers into savages, and so brings the downfall of their civilisation. After the landing of the dead parachutist, the fear of the unknown begins. They believe that the dead parachutist is The Beast but become too afraid to go and see if it is really a beast; We saw the beast- plain! pg. 122 Sam and Eric both claimed to have seen The Beast, but hadnt confirmed anything. By finishing each others sentences here they show the fear in their voices. This fear is added to the anonymity of The Beast and interpritated as something to be afraid of, and to some, something that can and must be destroyed. The savagery begins. From this savagery comes the hunting of The Beast. Jack demands that they should fight against The Beast putting the idea of an actual beast into the young boys minds, creating an even bigger fear, a fear of the unknown. The more that they think about this beast the more afraid they become, and the more afraid they become the more they think about the beast. Its a vicious cycle with destroyed the entire civilisation on the island. The boys dont kill The Beast because they fail to realise that The Beast is something that they created within themselves, an evil that has been portrayed from the minds of innocent boys, and twisted by the deception of false truth. The island has made the unknown into a nightmare that the boys cant fight.

Impacts Of Urban Development On Wetlands Environmental Sciences Essay

Impacts Of Urban Development On Wetlands Environmental Sciences Essay According to Ramsar convention 1971, wetlands are defined as areas of marsh, fern, peat land or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporal, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, blackish or salty, including areas of marine water, the depth of which at low tide does not exceed 6m (Davies, 1993). Wetlands may incorporate riparian and coastal zones adjacent to the wetlands, islands of water bodies of marine water deeper than 6m at low tide lying within the wetlands. Wetlands affect the lives of every one of Ugandas citizens. We depend on wetlands for food, and clean water, for building materials and fuels, for livestock grazing and medicines and for water flow regulation. They provide a powerful engine for our countrys development with wetland services and products (WMD, 2008). The economic and ecological wealth represented by Ugandas wetlands, which cover 15% of its land cover are found in almost every sub-county (WID, 2001). While such a dispersed geographic coverage provides wetland benefits to a greater number of people, it also increases the likelihood of overexploitation and degradation. Ugandas high level of political and administrative decentralization adds to this risk. In Uganda there are no recent, exact countrywide statistics on chances in wetland area. The latest national land cover map with detailed wetland information was produced in 1996 (NFA, 2006). However local observations cited in Ugandas recent state of environment report indicate a reduction in wetland coverage, mostly due to conversion into crop land and spread of urban settlements (NEMA, 2007). While such conversions provide economic benefits from agriculture crop and real estate development, they are also associated with social costs primarily due to reduced or total loss of hydrological functions, habitat benefits and other ecosystem services. One of the factors driving these conversions is that the immediate economic returns to individuals outweigh the costs to the wider society associated with the loss of important ecosystem services. On a global scale, urbanization is increasingly homogenizing the biota of less developed countries. Even though urban sprawl is a worldwide problem, most studies on the effect of urbanization on wetlands and the conceptual models have focused on developed countries. South America has not escaped urbanization and therefore has undergone the effects of urban sprawl and development. Pavements replace native wetland ecosystems and what is left of the natural ecosystem is dominated by non-native ornamentals species (Tolba and El-khoy 1997). Kampala, Ugandas capital city has experienced rapid population growth of 5.61% per annum from 774,241 in 1991 to 1.2million 2002.The growth, which has occurred concomitantly with changes in population structure of the city, is influenced by rural-urban migration (UBOS, 2002). Population increase in Kampala area is responsible for increased demand for employment, land for housing, social services and infrastructure that have stimulated spatial urban development and industrialization. Due to increasing rate of industrialization, which is an indication of development, many people are coming into the urban centers to look for jobs. On the other hand, the employment opportunities are too few to absorb the labour, coupled with increasing population; this creates an influx of laborers. This has had serious environmental consequences including wetland degradation, deposition of solid and toxic wastes in the wetlands and drainage channels (NEMA, 2001/2002). The current urban development is occurring in a haphazard manner largely dominated by the urban informality in most of the sectors (NEMA, 2001/2002). This has greatly contributed to the unsustainable utilization of natural resources with in the area resulting in environmental degradation through solid waste accumulation, wetland encroachment, water pollution and land use/cover change, which is reducing the ecological services from the natural environment of the area. Although Ugandas wetlands are protected by National Environment stature 1995, most of them are still being reclaimed and degraded, especially those outside protected areas. The environment and natural resource issue in Nakivubo division pose some of the most contentious, difficult and politically sensitive questions.Therefore,the future of our environment and natural resources seems to depend more on the trends in; economic gains, social and political developments as well as outcome of litigation, legislation and administrative debates and decisions. In general the most outstanding issue concerning urban wetlands is the increasing level of degradation mainly from encroachment. Related to this issue are pressures, which include ownership of wetlands as property, and government/institutional policies. Other threats to the stability of wetlands are agricultural conversions, industrial pollution, drainage and over harvesting of wetland resources. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM Nakivubo wetland, one of the main wetlands in Kampala district, has suffered major encroachment in the recent past. A visit to the wetland reveals a lot of new activities, which signify recent massive encroachment. The activities include; residential and commercial buildings and car washing bays among others. There is significant reduction in the vegetation cover, and the wetland now experiences more visible instances of flooding than before during heavy rains. All these activities put a lot of pressure on the wetland, and affect its ecological function and cause degradation. These activities are thought to be a consequence of the increasing rate of development and urbanization in Kampala. Though there is insufficient data at the present to link urbanization with encroachment on Nakivubo wetland. The size and biodiversity of unconverted portions of wetlands has drastically diminished, with some areas completely converted. In 1993 it was noted that 13% of the wetlands in Kampala was s everely degraded and by 2002 only 3.3% was remaining and was continuing to be degraded (NEMA, 2007). Housing, industrialization and infrastructure development play an important role in wetland degradation. This study will therefore examine the relationship between urbanization and the encroachment and degradation of the Nakivubo wetland, and suggest options for addressing the problem. OBJECTIVES The overall objective is to examine the effects of urbanization on wetlands, using Nakivubo wetland in Kampala as a case study. Specific objective i) To describe the types of activities in the Nakivubo wetland and their social-economic implications on the urban people. ii) Assess the sustainable management practices urban people use to improve on wetland ecosystem. iii) Assess the awareness of urban people towards wetland use and management. Research questions The following questions are going to guide in my research. i) What activities do you carry on the wetland and how do you benefit from such activities? ii) What management practices are you using not to degrade the wetland? iii) Are you aware of any organization that protects wetlands? 1v) what are your main sources of information concerning the conservation of wetlands. 1.5 Justification of the study The study will evaluate the impact of urbanization on urban wetlands. The research is to examine how urban development leads to environmental changes mainly through wetland degradation. Its to provide information on wetland degradation that is currently inadequate. Thus the research will guide National Environment Authority (NEMA), the National Wetland Program and other interested parties to carry out appropriate actions to halt degradation of wetlands and develop more efficient wetlands conservation programmes. The information would further help district administrators like district environment officers to prepare action plans to improve local wetland resource management and mobilize community efforts to participate in wetland conservation. The information will also help urban planners in practicing sustainable development that is beneficial to the people but also environmentally friendly. It will provide knowledge to the local community on the effects of wetland encroachment. CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 INTRODUCTION The growth of urban and sub-urban areas has been a dominant demographic characteristic of the 20th century. During this time urban population has increased ten-fold, and the proportion of the human population living in urban areas has risen from 14 to over 50% (Platt, 1994). Much of this expansion of urban land, and citizenry has occurred along coasts, as port cities have expanded, coalesced, and engulfed neighboring undeveloped lands. Between 1960 and 1990, coastal counties in the US increased in population by 43%, a faster rate of growth than in the country as a whole. Likewise, between 1970 and 1989, nearly half of all building activities took place along the coasts (Anon., 1994). As of 1981, 28% of municipal areas were coastal, but they accounted for 55% of the US population (Walker, 1990). Elsewhere in the world, the story is similar: of cities with populations over 1 million, 100% of those in South America are coastal, as are 75% of those in Asia and Africa ( Berry, 1990). Ugan das population growth also continues to be amongst the highest in the world. The population in 2007 stood at 28.4 million an increase of 70 Percent since 1991 and 16 percent since 2002 and the countrys population is expected to exceed 50 million and 127 million by 2025 and 2050 respectively, (NEMA 2007). Not surprisingly, the effects of this burgeoning coastal development on natural resources have been profound (Walker and Nordstrom,1990). Damage to and loss of wetlands have been extensive ( Tiner, 1984Dahl, T.E., Johnson, C.E., 1991. Status and Trends of Wetlands in the Conterminous United States, Mid 1970s to Mid-1980s. US Dept. Int., Fish and Wildlife Serv., Washington, DC.). A recent survey by the US Department of Agriculture found that urbanization was implicated in wetland loss in nearly all surveyed watersheds (96%) and may account for as much as 58% of the total wetland loss (Anon, 1997 ). Yet wetlands remain an integral part of social and economic stability and their continued disappearance should be of concern to everyone. 2.2 HISTORY OF WETLAND MANAGEMENT IN UGANDA The economic and ecological wealth represented by Ugandas wetlands, which cover 15 percent (31,406sq km) of its land area and are found in almost every sub-county, is well recognized by both its people and its leaders. Wetlands provide not less than 37 valuable services and products, and contribute hundreds of millions of dollars per year to the national economy (WID, 2001). Over 70 percent of all wetlands in Uganda are used for three purposes simultaneously: water collection, livestock grazing, natural tree harvesting, clay and sand mining, fishing and sources of crafts materials among other uses. In addition, they play a key role in filtering pollutants and in regulating water flows, which in turn influence groundwater recharge, flood impacts, and water availability during the dry season. Ugandas policy-makers have acknowledged the importance of wetlands in the countrys Constitution (1995), which commits the government to hold them, along with other natural resources, in trust for the common good of all citizens. Over the past 15 years, innovations including Ugandas Wetland Policy and decentralized wetlands management have established a firm foundation for more sustainable wetland management. Environmental and wetland concerns are also integrated into several of the governments other primary policies, including the Poverty Eradication Action Plan, Plan for Modernization of Agriculture, and District Development Plans. The ten-year Wetlands Sector Strategic Plan, launched in 2001, identifies eight key strategies to achieve sustainable wetlands management. Between 1995 and 2005, the Wetlands Inspection Division spent about $US 2 million to carry out wetland inventories for 30 Districts and build the National Wetlands Information System (WID and IUCN, 2005). 2.3 URBAN WETLAND ENCROACHMENT Historically, there are several factors that can explain as to why the wetlands resources have and are still getting degraded in urban areas like Kampala. The major reason is rapid population growth leading to quest for extra land for cultivation and settlement. Extensive wetland resources both in the industrial and developing economies have already been lost or undergoing increasing change due to conversion to aquaculture or industrial use. In his speech to mark the wetlands day 2010, Mafabi [who is he?] quoted that many wetlands around Kampala have been reclaimed and used for development purposes like building industries, rise growing, impunity and disregard of the law. Mafabi (1991), observed that one of the reasons degradation of wetlands, in Uganda are the increasing number of landless people, who are forced to drain and cultivate wetlands due to pressure for agricultural land. Land in Kampala is very scarce and where its available, its very expensive, yet people really need land for agriculture and settlement. According to William (1990) and Njuguna (1982), reclaimed wetlands produce new soils, which are a basis of increased food production required to feed the rapidly growing population in developing countries. Since people consider wetlands to have very fertile soils and the fact that relevant institutions have turned a blind eye on encroachers, thus encroachers have taken advantage of these weaknesses to settle around and within these areas. Few people have demanded the protection and conservation of wetlands and these few who have tried are in most cases not noticed or are taken for granted by the authority (NEMA 2010). From my own local observation, some individuals use their profile for example high ranking officials or senior citizens to abuse these wetlands however much the public complains. Finlayson and Michael (1991) noted that a fundamental cause of urban wetland loss in the past is that few people have demanded their conservation. Since other people are encroaching on the wetlands, many other individuals, even those who were campaigning for the conservation of these areas have lost hope and also encroached for their own benefits. On the other hand however, Dugan (1990), consent that the main causes of wetland loss and exploitation are: the secrecy and manipulation of information, the dominance of short-term private profit on long term public benefits. People are very much interested in short term private benefits without spending much from their pockets. Wetlands are not supposed to be owned by private individuals or parties NES (1995), and therefore many people encroach on them because they are not going to be asked for any land titles. Ntambirweki (1998) noted that many people are utilizing these wetlands because the economic policy for free goods is deficient and the land tenure system is not clear. Dugan (1990) goes ahead to state that deficient economic policy for free goods and insecure and undocumented land tenure has also been a cause of the degradation of these wetlands. In my own view, there is lack of appreciation by people in these urban areas like Kampala of the extent to which these wetlands are important and are used by rural communities for purposes like domestic water, water for agriculture and some cultural values. The people in urban areas will therefore, continue to use the wetland for their development purposes. Citing some examples from the flood plains of the inner delta of the river Niger where the wetland exploitation is rampant, Dugan (1990) observed that one of the fundamental reasons for the drive to convert natural wetlands to other uses is a very poor international appreciation of the extent to which they are important and are used by rural communities. He therefore concluded that the absence of this understanding on wetlands makes conservation difficult and unable to challenge the proposed changes, which are seen as being essential to economic development. Some other factors that are influencing wetland encroachment are poverty related. These wetlands contain plants like papyrus, which people are harvesting and using to make goods like bags and mats (crafts) that they sell and earn a living(R. kabumbuli et al 2009). This in the long run affects the functioning of the wetland incase these plants are over harvested. They are also using the wetlands to grow rice for food and sale, making bricks and for fishing. All these activities contribute to degrading the wetland but are beneficial to the urban people for them to earn a living. ACTIVITIES CARRIED OUT IN WETLANDS Today, theres a growing concern to conserve and use wetlands in a sustainable way. Wetlands are more valuable economic resources in their natural state for certain objectives such as fishing, wildlife enhancement, aquaculture, water quality improvement and flood control, compared to the gains from a modified wetland, (Barbier, 1994). By encroaching on these areas, their economic function is being greatly affected and can have adverse impacts. Many activities are going on in the wetlands of Kampala as a result of encroachment by wetland users. These activities may have significant implications on the wetland, which may be beneficial or destructive to the wetland. Wetlands have been used for farming and for agriculture by many people. Crops such as yams and rice have been grown in the wetlands; livestock is taken to the wetlands for grazing. Water for irrigation, domestic use and livestock is collected from these wetlands. The growing of some of these crops like the yams is beneficial in these wetlands as these yams play an important role in the cleaning up of the water since they remove some minerals and nutrients from the water (Njuguna, 1982). On the other hand, extensive growing of these yams can lead to destruction of the wetland. The people practicing agriculture in these areas around wetlands have gone ahead to construct houses within the wetland so as to settle near their crops and also due to the fact that land is a scarce resource in urban areas. By constructing these houses, the flow of water in the wetland is disrupted and this in most cases leads to flooding mainly in the rainy seasons (Dugan, 1990). Settlement within wetlands has led to other associated degrading activities like brick making (Namanve wetland), sand extraction, and papyrus over harvesting (Kyengera wetland). Activities like sand extraction for construction of houses when carried out massively and brick making can have serious implications on wetlands as the sand that is removed is important in the filtration function of the wetlands (NEMA 2001/2002). This affects water filtration as a service provided by the wetlands. Over harvesting of wetland resources like papyrus for the purposes of making crafts so as to increase on the income of these people is also likely to affect the filtration and purification role of wetlands as these plants play a vital role in water purification in these wetlands. There are a variety of investments that are put up in these wetlands by reclaiming of the wetland to create land. Industries have been put up, churches have been constructed and other businesses like markets and shops have been developed with in urban wetlands. These are some of the major encroachments and activities going on in wetlands worldwide and in Kampala. A lot of land has been reclaimed and used for constructing of big industries in the urban areas due to development, which has resulted in shortage of land for the construction of these industries and factories. The reclaiming of these wetlands so as to create land for construction has been a great cause of flooding (Mitsch and Gosselink 1990). On the other hand, this creates and provides land for development and settlement in urban areas. Due to development, there is need for roads with in these urban centers and therefore, some of the roads that have been constructed have encroached on the wetlands and others have been constructed either adjacent or within wetlands, which has affected the functioning of the wetlands. Roads constructed adjacent or within wetlands increase on the level of silting in the wetlands and they also disrupt the flow of the wetlands since this can lead to the diverging of the wetland (Anibal and Aguayo, 1995). There is also a likelihood of these roads breaking down after some time hence affecting many people. Within wetlands, activities like fishing and aquaculture are being carried out. People depend on these activities to earn a living and for livelihood support. Fish ponds have been constructed to culture fish near these wetlands. Wetlands both permanent and seasonal especially along the lakeshores are an important source of fish for the local community. The interface zone between the swamp and the open water is an important breeding ground for commercial fish including tilapia (William, 1990). Its also a home to many aquatic and wildlife species and birds. Extensive fishing can lead to over exploitation of the fish species, which are of importance in the ecosystem. This in the long run may affect the ecological functioning of the wetlands since it affects the food chain. AWARENESS TOWARDS WETLAND USE AND MANAGEMENT It should not go unnoticed that, historically, many wetlands have been misconceived to be waste lands. Consequently, they were drained or degraded by human activity without factoring in their numerous functions, benefits and values, (William, et al, 1990). Wetlands were also regarded as bogs of treachery, mines of despair, homes of pests, refuge for out laws and rebels, (Williams, 1990; Mafabi, 1991). A good wetland was a drained one, free of this mixture of dubious social factors, (Dugan, 1990). Lack of awareness is the major cause of the increasing deterioration of biodiversity in urban areas of developing countries (Anibal Pauchard, 2005). Public awareness of wetland issues is indeed a key tool in wetland conservation and must be part of any attempt to change attitudes and behavior patterns. Many people living around wetlands are not aware of the impacts they are likely to cause to the wetlands in relation to their practices and in the long run have continued using the wetlands in a way that is degrading them. Some, who are aware about the impacts they can cause on the wetland, have had very poor attitudes towards the information they have been given and have continued to use the wetland in a manner that is not sustainable. In order to alert the public on the values and functions of wetlands and the need for their sustainable use, the national wetlands programme (NWP) has developed an awareness campaign consisting of videos, audio tapes, posters, leaflets and booklets (NWP, 1997). Newspapers have carried features on wetlands; songs have been developed to supplement radio and television programs. Awareness seminars and outreach programs are also carried out. The target groups are farmers, resource users, schools and district development committees. There have also been various efforts to promote environmental education through formal education in schools especially the wildlife club of Uganda. Also NEMA has tried to put up programs in various schools to promote environmental protection. All this has to some extent raised awareness and concern about wetlands among Ugandans (NEMA, 1998). Many Ugandans including grass root communities, policy makers, and natural resource planners while aware of environmental problems have little commitment to environmental conservation (NEMA, 1998). This may be because majority of the population living in poverty under constant threats to food insecurity is so concerned with basic survival matters that theres not much room to be concerned about environmental issues such as proper management of wetlands. Institutional understanding of the value of wetlands and associated investments in wetland has grown in Uganda. Similar changes in peoples perceptions and attitudes of wetlands have given rise to arrange of conservation initiatives in wetland management. In Uganda, for instance, the Ministry responsible for environment protection is elaborating a national wetland policy in direct response to rising local concern over environmental and social consequences of wetland loss. Generally, the cumulative importance of wetlands has gradually developed because of the growth of knowledge about their numerous functions, values and threats documented by various researchers. In fact the Wetland Inspection Division in Uganda regarded the wetlands as wealth land because if well managed, the products and services can be reaped in perpetuity. And thus they are worth conserving and wisely utilized. CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY This section focuses on the study methodology.ie. Sample area, sample selection procedure, data collection technique, entry, processing and analysis that is going to be used. STUDY AREA The study is going to be carried out on Nakivubo wetland. The wetland forms the boundary between Nakawa and Makindye divisions in the valley between Bugolobi, Mpanga and Muyenga hills (ADF). It is permanently water logged and is fed by the Nakivubo channel. It is one of the major wetlands on the north-western shores of Lake Victoria. The study will specifically be carried out in Nakawa Division, Kampala district. Nakawa Division is in the eastern part of the city, bordering Kira town to the east, Wakiso district to the north, Kawempe division to the northwest, Kampala central to the west, Makindye division across Murchison bay to the southwest and lake Victoria to the south.it covers an area of 47.45  square kilometers (18.32  sq.  mi). Map of Nakivubo Wetland (Source; Emerton et al., 1999) Study population The study population involves mainly farmers, brick layers, residents, builders and other individuals who are greatly involved in the use of the wetland e.g. People involved in putting up of business like shops and schools in this are also going to be interviewed to get more information on the study objectives. The area is estimated to have a population of 135,519 people. Meteorology of Nakivubo wetland The Nakivubo swamp is within the equatorial belt, and has a moist sub-humid climate. It receives a bi-seasonal rainfall in the periods of March to May and September to November. The rainfall is linked to the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), the altitude, local topography and the lake. Short duration tropical thunderstorms are particularly common around Lake Victoria and Kampala. The latter is reported to receive more thunder storms than any other capital city in the world (Kansiime et al; 1999). This rainfall frequency and reliability favor the formation of peat lands and swamps. The presence of a large adjacent water body also ensures a both reliable and fairly stable hydrological regime (always humid, annual water level variations about 0.5 m). This is a requirement for papyrus, the dominant wetland macrophyte in the Nakivubo swamp. Geology of the swamp area The soils of the Nakivubo swamp area are alluvial and lacustrine sands, silts, and clays overlying granite gneisses. Indeed the gneisses overlay most of the Lake Victoria basin north of Kagera River, the main tributary of Lake Victoria located in the SW (Kansiime et al; 1999). Within the swamp, the alluvial soils range from semi-liquid organic material in the very upper layers of the emergent vegetation zones, through reddish ferruginous (high contents of dissolved iron in run-off water) loams to clays. Drainage of Nakivubo Swamp The major surface water drain into Nakivubo swamp is the Nakivubo Channel. In addition, Port Bell and Luzira waste water channels and a number of minor culverts discharge their water (some seasonally) into the lower Nakivubo swamp. The catchment area into the lower Nakivubo swamp is about 1.1 km2 from the Luzira watershed, 2.5 km2 from the Bukasa watershed and about 50 km2 from the city centre via the Nakivubo Channel and the upper Nakivubo swamp. These, with the exception of Luzira Prisons effluent and the Nakivubo channel, also carry rainfall and contribute different amounts of water into the swamp. METHODOLOGY RESEARCH DESIGN The study design will be stratified random sampling. The study area is going to be stratified on political units[at what level?]. The political units surrounding Nakivubo wetland are Bukasa, Kisugu, bugolobi, luzira prison and Mutungo[which political units are these?].One division is going to be chosen purposively basing on its accessibility from town due to limited finances, from which two parishes are going to be picked and from each parish 25 people[why 25 and not more or less?] will be interviewed by choosing the fifth house[why the 5th and not any other?] after each house with the head of the household[why the head and not any other member of the household?] being the target for interviews. schools, shops and gardens are going to be considered as plots (houses).[what does this mean?] SAMPLING AND SAMPLE SIZE The study population is going to be obtained by stratified random sampling; its objective is to reduce bias by sampling different strata. Stratification is going to be based on administration units. A Sample of 50 respondents is going to be interviewed using questionnaires and these are going to be obtained randomly. This is because of logistical, time and financial constraints. [This contradicts your research design, which is which?] DATA COLLECTION Data collection is going to be by primary data obtained directly from interactions with responds in the field and secondary data from library books, peer reviewed journals and government offices. The principal research technique in primary data collection is going to be by use of questionnaires (to answer all objectives),which are both closed and open ended, and are going to be administered by the way of direct interview with respondents. The open-ended questionnaires are going to allow multi-response that will shade more light on the subject matter. The interviews are going to be carried out in both Luganda English. Direct observations use of a camera are going to be used to get detailed information. Using a map of the area, a transect walk is going to be carried out to get a general view of the area. KEY INFORMANTS Key informants like environment secretaries and officials from environmental organizations (NEMA, WID) are going to be interviewed to get more valuable information on all my objectives. This will help me get firsthand information about the problem under study. It also helps to correct anomalies from questionnairesand leads to collection of in-depth data Is this true?. FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSIONS (FGDs) Focus group discussions (FGDs) are going to be carried out with some purposively selected respondents[what purpose?]. The FGDs are going to confirm the gathered information from questionnaires.[what comes first, FGDs or Surveys?] Further more they will give exploratory, illuminating and enlightened data. Such information will provide insight into attitudes, perceptions and opinions of participants. FGDs give participants ample opportunity to comment, explain and share experiences that were not available from individual interviews, questionnaires or other data sources and therefore views got from such d

A Passage from Hamlet :: essays papers

A Passage from Hamlet Hamlet is probably the best known and most popular play of William Shakespeare, and it is natural for any person to question what makes Hamlet a great tragedy and why it receives such praises. The answer is in fact simple; it effectively arouses pity and fear in the audiences’ mind. The audience feels pity when they see a noble character experiencing a regrettable downfall because of his innate tragic flaw, and they fear that the same thing might happen to them. Hamlet’s speech (III, iv, 139-180) contributes to producing this feeling of pity and fear. First it explains the thought with particular emotional effectiveness. Second it conveys Hamlet’s character, both virtue and tragic fear. Lastly, it marks the beginning of the tragic discovery and Hamlet’s downfall, answering the question â€Å"why does Hamlet delay?† Observing the beginning of Hamlet’s downfall and tragic discovery in this passage, which happens despite his many virtues, maximizes the pity and fear at the same time. The first contribution is that this passage conveys Hamlet’s thoughts with poetic and emotional effectiveness. Hamlet denies his madness and urges Gertrude not to make his madness an excuse for her faults. He asserts that excuses would only cover the superficial faults and the soul would be corrupted deep within. He further asks Gertrude not to commit any more sins that make past faults even worse and to confess herself to heaven. After all, Hamlet sarcastically begs her pardon for his reproach. Hamlet explains that during the extremely rotten time, Hamlet, who is good and of virtue, must beg pardon to and get permission from Gertrude, who represents vice by committing many sins, to do good things such as urging her to repent. As a method for salvation, Hamlet asks her not to go to Claudius’ bed. Then he apologizes for the death of Polonius and admits his own fault. However, he insists that Polonius and he both are punished because God has made him the agent to punish Polonius with him and him with Polonius. He takes the responsibility, and explains Gertrude that he is cruel only to be kind to her and warns that worse things are yet to come. Through out the passage, imageries are used to add poetic emotion to Hamlet’s thought. One example is â€Å"unction† in Hamlet’s speech â€Å"Lay not that flattering unction to your soul†¦It will but skin and film the ulcerous place whiles rank corruption, mining all within, infects unseen.

The Road to Success

Success is a quite easy attempt; however, only for the most determined ones, those who comprehensively believe in themselves. Those whom I believe can withstand any kind of restraint to make their dreams reality. What do you think they follow that makes them persistent, a life manual, or a road map? It's more than that, a body organ that we tend to neglect when ever we are down and despaired, the heart. The heart that is the building block of the road we are to hit, the road to success.The eminent book writer, Paulo Cello once said, â€Å"Listen to your heart. It knows all things, because It came from the soul of the world, It will always guide you on the right track†. Now allow me to introduce to your knowledge a new well-guaranteed strategy that will surely take you on the safe road of success.. First, I would like you to: Learn from the bare bones of our history Gandhi, Aristotle, Martin Luther King, Dry. Aimed Joel, and many other eminent figures have shaped a very success ful history of humankind.All of each recall a time In their lives when they were considered a failure at one pursuit or another: that dad many of them feel that their previous failures taught them valuable lessons and led to their successes. Those whom I certainly believe sought the safest road to success. Now it is time to visualize: 2) When you imagine the ‘road to success', what sort of picture do you see in your mind? Do you imagine a long road that eventually leads you to your desired destination? I would like to share with you a slightly different picture of the road to success.When you understand this picture, you will be much better prepared for your journey. When you first set out on the road to success, it looks something like this: You can see your goal glistening In the distance and It almost seems within your reach. You are excited about heading down the road and making your dream a reality. However, a strange thing napes as soon as you take your TLS step clown te n road to success. A brick wall appears out of nowhere and blocks your progress. Where these brick walls come from nobody knows, but for some reason they always appear.One of the main reasons people fail to reach their goals in life is that no one has ever old them about the brick walls! Many people are so surprised by the appearance of the wall that they simply stop and give up on their dream. When you are faced with a brick wall on the road to success, you have two options: either to sit down and give up on your dreams, or get up and find a way over, under, or through the wall. No matter what your goal is, it is important to realize that as soon as you begin your Journey down the road to success, you will encounter a series of brick walls.Bricks are Just temporary objects that you can get over as soon as you legalize their presence. Consequently, you reach your objectives. Always know that obstacles will always conquer your way to reach success and your ability to overcome them is the rudiment to success. This reminds me of a famous saying by John Heresy: â€Å"success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm†. Failure is the backbone of success, without failure, you can never reach success. It can be your mischievous nemesis; however, it eventually becomes your favorite enemy.Life has taught me many lessons, and most importantly is the ability to overcome my fears and defeat failure by bravely persisting on my goal and striving to achieve it. In addition to that, is applying the above-mentioned life changing strategy that was started by Dry. Anthony Fernando, the author of the book Dare to Dream. Apply it and know the bare bones to success and goal achievement. Today, I can open my eyes to a life with all my goals crystal clear set before my blistering eyes. Ala Tare [email  protected] Com

Cheating in a Bottom Line Economy

SUMMARY & CRITIQUE OF: â€Å"Cheating in a Bottom Line Economy† (by David Callahan) In â€Å"Cheating in a Bottom Line Economy,† author David Callahan explains the fundamental reasons for the decay of simple business ethics in today’s economy in order to meet bottom line standards. Callahan draws conclusions from everyday businesses such as auto mechanic services, law offices, and even professional medical firms to prove that people will almost always choose financial stability over integrity. The economic life in America has transformed itself into a vast land of professionals focused on achieving â€Å"lean and mean† businesses in efforts to achieve the â€Å"American Dream,† but in essence lose sense of their morals. What happens when an employee is living a standard life with a job just barely getting them by? Executives at corporate headquarters decide to send down a new set of marching orders that drill employees with twice as much work for a sharply decreased base pay. Those marching orders have coined the term bottom line standards. American businesses have become highly competitive today in a market that is constantly changing to keep up with a new generation of ideas. These fluctuations in the economy have caused businesses to take different methods of actions to be competitive in the market. In the 1970’s Sears reigned as one of America’s well known retailers and shaped popular culture. As the market of demand became more competitive, Sears’ earnings began falling off the market. In order to get on the stock market, Sears had to cut 48,000 jobs and institutionalized a new compensation system (Callahan 31). As Sears set their new bottom-line standards to increase efficiency, it caused uproar from the employees. The demands of the company ultimately undermined the integrity of their workers. The pressure to make unpleasant ethical choices at work had employees â€Å"torn between moral integrity, losing [their] job, and trying to figure out how to work all this out† (Callahan 31). Employees of companies with bottom line standards were faced with a new decision at margin which made doing the right thing harder: suffer a pay cut and risk losing their job or cheat the customer. Not to our surprise, the employee would almost always choose their economic stability over their integrity. It is still not easy to say that the employee’s conscious didn’t warn them of the risks, the first time. It begins with just a simple upgrade tune up and then trickles to $1,000 in new auto parts. If we look back at the Sear’s auto mechanic example, a mechanic could easily convince the customer that their car needed a whole new system because of the customer’s lack of knowledge of the subject. The customer automatically assumes there is a guaranteed trust commitment to their service, but in turn gets fooled. The evidence unearthed by investigators found nearly identical reports of cheating at one Sears auto repair shop after another. The art of deception played a key role in fooling customers. The â€Å"ordinary people† at the New York City law firms were bound by an oath to abide a rigorous code of ethics (Callahan 33). Though these lawyers dealt with legal affairs of America’s largest companies, they were faced with not meeting year end billing requirements. In the most desperate cases of being downsized, lawyers turned to padding their hours by simply making up the numbers. They rounded up their hours and added in miscellaneous hours which was described as the â€Å"new math† (Callahan 39). â€Å"Let me tell you how you will start acting unethically†¦One day, not too long after you start practicing law, you will sit down at the end of a long, tiring day, and you just won’t have much to show for your efforts in terms of billable hours†¦so what you’ll do is pad your time sheet just a bit†¦However you will promise yourself that you will repay the client at the first opportunity by doing thirty minutes for the client for ‘free. In this way, you will be ‘borrowin,’ not stealing,† (Schlitz qtd. in Callahan 39). Commitments to meeting bottom line standards and greed have become directions of undermining integrity of even the most trusted profession: medical doctors. Medical professionals begin engaging in multilevel marketing companies such as the Wellness International Network (WIN), which dictate distributors to sell their company’s product at any extent. By earning money off of new distributors, this multilevel marketing became a pyramid scheme for destruction. Report peg the sale of health supplements by doctors at nearly $200 million in 2001, a tenfold increase from 1997. An estimated 20,000 doctors are now selling supplements from their offices, more than double the number of five years ago† (Callahan 49). These sorts of insider trading within their offices go against the American Medical Association guidelines that â€Å"doctors must ensure that the claims supporting any products they sell to patients are ‘scientifically valid and backed up by peer reviewed literature and other unbiased scientific sources’† (Callahan 49). They clearly prohibit the exchange of medical equipment, but the profit is too grand for the doctors to pass up. Those in the medical profession argue that they resort to such options to pay for their debt payments and management. Comments such as â€Å"I was used to following doctors advice†¦Doctors have the training, so you’ve got to respect their expertise† (Cumminskey qtd. in Callahan 48) prove that doctors hold a high level of respect for their profession, but it diminishes as scandals of deception are released to the public. In Steven Messner’s and Richard Rosenfeld’s article A Society Organized for Crime, they explain that people’s behavior towards meeting bottom line standards is to fulfill the American Dream. They state that the American Dream is an ideology that â€Å"people are socialized to accept the desirability of pursing the goal of material success, and they are encouraged to believe that the changes of the Dream are sufficiently high to justify a continued commitment to this cultural goal† (Messner 6). Generally, success in today’s society is defined by monetary and material gains. Therefore people are willing to go at any measure to achieve that success. Both articles explain how crime and delinquency arise from economic disputes that are settled with unethical behavior. The issue at hand is the fact that these issues cannot be solved in conventional ways, but only by working around the system to deceive their customers. Callahan’s article reinforces these popular notions that crime is not always intentional, but a means of getting through small obstacles in life in an unethical matter. These illegal activities begin as small meaningless preconceived activities and then sprout to everyday routines that are accepted within their business community. Callahan also makes us reconsider the power of higher authority figures that knowingly condone and usually promote this unethical behavior. This takes us back to the old saying, would you jump off a cliff if everyone did? The answer is yes. In all three of the cases, personal issues about cheating were put aside because â€Å"everyone was doing it. † I found these readings really interesting and relevant to the topic of crime and delinquency. Callahan does an excellent job of explaining the effects of bottom lines standards on people and the economy. I completely agree with his perspective that choosing economical stability over integrity will get a person closer to the American Dream then losing their job. It poses a moral issue, but in this century you can’t live on just integrity. The sad truth is people gain integrity from their monetary and material wealth. I believe Callahan could really expand on this topic by looking further into the psychological standpoint of meeting bottom line standards in order to get a better understanding of what goes through a person’s mind when deciding to go against their morals. KEY POINTS, ISSUES, AND QUESTIONS:Doing the right thing gets harder as the pressure between financial stability and integrity is put on the line.The game of hustling becomes everyday knowledge that moral ethics are completely put aside.  The American Dream causes people to act irrationally, but if you really think about it their unethical act stimulate the economy.Question: What are the implications of Callahan’s work for discovering cheating in a bottom line economy? Question: What are the psychological aspects of going against morals to deceive people ?