Blood Promise Prologue

Prologue Once when I was in ninth grade, I had to write a paper on a poem. One of the lines was, â€Å"If your eyes weren't open, you wouldn't know the difference between dreaming and waking.† It hadn't meant much to me at the time. After all, there'd been a guy in the class that I liked, so how could I be expected to pay attention to literary analysis? Now, three years later, I understood the poem perfectly. Because lately, my life really did seem like it was on the precipice of being a dream. There were days I thought I'd wake up and discover that recent events in my life hadn't actually happened. Surely I must be a princess in an enchanted sleep. Any day now, this dream-no, nightmare would end, and I'd get my prince and happy ending. But there was no happy ending to be found, at least not in the foreseeable future. And my prince? Well, that was a long story. My prince had been turned into a vampire-a Strigoi, to be specific. In my world, there are two kinds of vampires who exist in secrecy from humans. The Moroi are living vampires, good vampires who wield elemental magic and don't kill when seeking the blood they need to survive. Strigoi are undead vampires, immortal and twisted, who kill when they feed. Moroi are born. Strigoi are made-forcibly or by choice-through evil means. And Dimitri, the guy I loved, had been made a Strigoi against his will. He'd been turned during a battle, an epic rescue mission that I'd been part of as well. Strigoi had kidnapped Moroi and dhampirs from the school I attended, and we'd set out with others to save them. Dhampirs are half vampire and half-human-gifted with human strength and hardiness, and Moroi reflexes and senses. Dhampirs train to become guardians, the elite bodyguards who protect Moroi. That's what I am. That's what Dimitri had been. After his conversion, the rest of the Moroi world had considered him dead. And to a certain extent, he was. Those who were turned Strigoi lost all sense of the goodness and life they'd had before. Even if they hadn't turned by choice, it didn't matter. They would still become evil and cruel, just like all Strigoi. The person they'd been was gone, and honestly, it was easier to imagine them moving on to heaven or the next life than to picture them out stalking the night and taking victims. But I hadn't been able to forget Dimitri, or accept that he was essentially dead. He was the man I loved, the man with whom I'd been so perfectly in sync that it was hard to know where I ended and he began. My heart refused to let him go even if he was technically a monster, he was still out there somewhere. I also hadn't forgotten a conversation he and I had once had. We'd both agreed that we'd rather be dead-truly dead-than walk the world as Strigoi. And once I'd had my mourning time for the goodness he'd lost, I'd decided I had to honor his wishes. Even if he no longer believed in them. I had to find him. I had to kill him and free his soul from that dark, unnatural state. I knew it was what the Dimitri I had loved would have wanted. Killing Strigoi isn't easy, though. They're insanely fast and strong. They have no mercy. I'd killed a number of them already-pretty crazy for someone who was freshly eighteen. And I knew taking on Dimitri would be my greatest challenge, both physically and emotionally. In fact, the emotional consequences had kicked in as soon as I made my decision. Going after Dimitri had meant doing a few life-altering things (and that wasn't even counting the fact that fighting him could very likely result in the loss of my life). I was still in school, only a handful of months away from graduating and becoming a full-fledged guardian. Every day I stuck around at St. Vladimir's Academy-a remote, protected school for Moroi and dhampirs-meant one more day was going by in which Dimitri was still out there, living in the state he'd never wanted. I loved him too much to allow that. So I'd had to leave school early and go out among humans, abandoning the world I'd lived in nearly my entire life. Leaving had also meant abandoning one other thing-or rather, a person: my best friend, Lissa, also known as Vasilisa Dragomir. Lissa was Moroi, the last in a royal line. I'd been slated to be her guardian when we graduated, and my decision to hunt Dimitri had pretty much destroyed that future with her. I'd had no choice but to leave her. Aside from our friendship, Lissa and I had a unique connection. Each Moroi specializes in a type of elemental magic-earth, air, water, or fire. Until recently, we'd believed there were only those four elements. Then we'd discovered a fifth: spirit. That was Lissa's element, and with so few spirit users in the world, we hardly knew anything about it. For the most part, it seemed to be tied to psychic powers. Lissa wielded amazing compulsion-the ability to exert her will on almost anyone. She could also heal, and that's where things got a little strange between us. You see, I technically died in the car accident that killed her family. Lissa had brought me back from the world of the dead without realizing it, creating a psychic bond between us. Ever since then, I was always aware of her presence and thoughts. I could tell what she was thinking and feel when she was in trouble. We had also recently discovered I could see ghosts and spirits who hadn't yet left this world, something I found disconcerting and struggled to block out. The whole phenomenon was called being shadow-kissed. Our shadow-kissed bond made me the ideal choice to protect Lissa, since I would instantly know if she was in trouble. I'd promised to protect her my whole life, but then Dimitri-tall, gorgeous, fierce Dimitri-had changed it all. I'd been faced with that horrible choice: continue to protect Lissa or free Dimitri's soul. Choosing between them had broken my heart, leaving an ache in my chest and tears in my eyes. My parting with Lissa had been agonizing. We'd been best friends since kindergarten, and my departure was a shock for both of us. To be fair, she'd never seen it coming. I'd kept my romance with Dimitri a secret. He was my instructor, seven years older than me, and had been assigned to be her guardian as well. As such, he and I had tried hard to fight our attraction, knowing we had to focus on Lissa more than anything else and that we'd also get in a fair amount of trouble for our student-teacher relationship. But being kept from Dimitri-even though I'd agreed to it-had caused me to build up a lot of unspoken resentment toward Lissa. I probably should have talked to her about it and explained my frustration over having my entire life planned out. It didn't seem fair, somehow, that while Lissa was free to live and love however she wanted, I would always have to sacrifice my own happiness to ensure that she was protected. She was my best friend, though, and I couldn't bear the thought of upsetting her. Lissa was particularly vulnerable because using spirit had the nasty side effect of driving people insane. So I'd sat on my feelings until they finally exploded, and I left the Academy-and her-behind for good. One of the ghosts I'd seen-Mason, a friend who had been killed by Strigoi-had told me Dimitri had returned to his homeland: Siberia. Mason's soul had found peace and left this world shortly thereafter, without giving me any other clues about where in Siberia Dimitri might have gone. So I'd had to set out there blindly, braving a world of humans and a language I didn't know in order to fulfill the promise I'd made to myself. After a few weeks on my own, I had finally made it to Saint Petersburg. I was still looking, still floundering-but determined to find him, even though I dreaded it at the same time. Because if I really did pull this insane plan off, if I actually managed to kill the man I loved, it would mean Dimitri would truly be gone from the world. And I honestly wasn't sure I could go on in a world like that. None of it seems real. Who knows? Maybe it isn't. Maybe it's actually happening to someone else. Maybe it's something I imagined. Maybe soon I'm going to wake up and find everything fixed with Lissa and Dimitri. We'll all be together, and he'll be there to smile and hold me and tell me everything's going to be okay. Maybe all of this really has been a dream. But I don't think so.

Psychology of Sexuality

Since the dawn of mankind, sexuality has played an enormous role in the complex social behaviors exhibited by our incredibly unique species. Sex contributes not only to reproduction, but also to relationships between people, cultural norms, and mental health. There are many important factors that contribute to sexuality; one of the most important factors is sex differentiation.We can take this even further and look at reproductive anatomy and the differences between the male and female reproductive systems. Thus, this paper discusses the history of sex, male and female reproductive anatomy and physiology, and finally human sex differentiation. The history of sex is interesting especially because of the controversy over the length of the time span from whence it was recorded. John Gagnon argues that it was really the turn of the 19th century when sex research emerged.While many (if not all) of Sigmund Freud’s theories have been disproved by this point in time, he did hit on man y major ideas about sexuality and was one of the first people to really think and talk publicly about it, as well as Havelock Ellis. Freudian theories were extremely influential in shaping future theories and research, even throughout the late 20th century. Another important player was Alfred Kinsey, who built upon previous researchers and made note of the social changes around the 1950s, in turn affecting policy, general attitudes towards sex, and future research.Winston Ehrmann agreed that the history of sexuality is quite a short field in his work â€Å"Some Knowns and Unknowns in Research into Human Sex Behavior,† arguing that and while there has been documentation about sexual behavior throughout history, a more scientific approach to sex only really begun since the late 19th Century. However, I would contest that it’s a distinction based more on a social construct of what constitutes a scientific study in Western society.For example, ancient Indian literature of the Kama Sutra can be said to have treated sex as a science, giving practical advice about sex as well as showing the various positions in detailed paintings. There is also detailed historical evidence of homosexual behavior among men in Ancient Greece. While Ehrmann may not have considered these sources scientific, I would argue that for their respective time periods, they were as scientific as could be expected. In fact, we can’t really judge whether something was â€Å"scientific† since what we consider scientific in a modern Western sense may be completely different from their nderstanding of scientific back in the days of Ancient India or Greece. For a perspective of the history of sexuality from around the globe, we go back further in time and look at eighteenth century England, as well as ancient African Bushmen. Hera Cook writes an article â€Å"Sexuality and Contraception in Modern England: Doing the History of Reproductive Sexuality† in which she argue s that historians have ignored reproduction as a factor relevant to and influencing sexual mores and change. Pregnancy, and the resulting child, is not only a physical demand and economic cost, but a health risk.Effective contraception was not available and alternative sexual practices were not acceptable substitutes for vaginal intercourse. While I agree with most of her arguments, I would contest her claim that many historians dismiss reproduction as a factor of changes in sexuality. In fact, the next article â€Å"The Century of Sex: Gender, Bodies, and Sexuality in the Long Eighteenth Century† by Karen Harvey discusses sexuality in England during the 1700s and does consider the effects of reproduction.Harvey argues that prior to the Eighteenth century, men and women were â€Å"placed on a vertical, hierarchical axis, in which their bodies were seen as two comparable variants of one kind† in a sort of â€Å"one-sex model† based on the four humors of different qualities – cold and moist, which dominated women, and hot and dry, which dominated men (Harvey, 2002, p. 901). Furthermore, they thought of sex organs as simply the reverse of one another; a vagina was like an inside-out penis, the labia corresponded to the foreskin, etc.However, towards the eighteenth century, there was a shift in the understanding of bodies towards a two-sex model. Anatomical differences were stressed and their bodies were regarded as qualitatively distinct. While previously the female orgasm was previously thought to have importance for conception, it was ultimately deemed unnecessary. Women were reimagined from â€Å"lascivious and lustful creatures† to having no sexual needs whatsoever (Harvey, 2002, p. 903). Homosexuality was highly frowned upon and considered perverse and sodomy.On the other hand, a certain ancient African Bushmen tribe had a much more egalitarian view on sexual behavior and gender differences. Marc Epprecht discusses the hist ory of the zvidoma, the orginal inhabitants of Zimbabwe in his book â€Å"Hungochani: The History of a Dissident Sexuality in Southern Africa. † Epprecht notes that these ancient Bushmen were hunters and gatherers using Stone Age weapons and tools comprising a classless communitarian society with no concept of individual ownership or property. Decisions were made by group consensus, and this included females; uncommon for that time.While there was a clear gender division of labour, the zvidoma were closer to egalitarian than any other culture in ancient African history. Not only did they traditionally marry monogamously, but women could divorce relatively easily and retain rights to sexual autonomy. Depictions of women’s genitals in cave paintings suggest â€Å"a source of vital, mystical energy at least on par with men’s† (Epprecht, 2004, p. 25). Because of their limited geographical area as well as their method of hunting and gathering, they had to be c areful to avoid overpopulation.During times of hunger, they practiced sexual restraint and possibly infanticide. Furthermore, there is a rock painting at least 2000 years old depicting three males engaged in anal intercourse as well as two male couples, one embracing face to face and the other also engaging in anal sex with an overly large emphasized erect penis. There are not many paintings depicting sexual practice, but the relative scarcity of ones depicting homosexual practices as well as paintings with heterosexual sex suggest they were equally commonplace.While the history of sexuality gives us a good basis on which to study the psychology of sexuality, some would argue this basis is biased toward differentiation. Merry Wiesner-Hanks argues that women’s and gender history over the last few decades has spent too much time on divergence, making more and more complex categories of difference over sexual orientation, marital status, able-bodiedness, gender relations, etc. H owever, I argue that it is necessary to study these differences in order to properly ascertain similarities and relations between the sexes.First and foremost we will discuss the biological and anatomical differences between the genders, then later human sex differentiation in a broader, more psychological and social construct. Historically, fixing sexual types became popular in the eighteenth century, according to Londa Schiebinger in â€Å"The anatomy of difference: race and sex in eighteenth-century science. † It was a great age of classification. Just as natural historians flooded Europe with new strange flora and fauna from the New World, new cultures were being discovered in America.Thus they sought new and simple principles that would hold universally, and tried to define the genders. This set the stage for genders to be divided in an evolutionary context. Judith Lipton and David Barash posit in â€Å"Gender Gap: The Biology of Male-Female Differences,† that bio logical differences between men and women have a strong and direct correlation with evolution. They argue that we can look to other species to learn more about ourselves. Just as scientists look at E. Coli to study the replication of DNA, we can look at other living creatures and see our sex differences mirrored there within.However, Katarina Hamberg challenges that argument. She thinks that using sex differences seen in biological experiments on animals to explain gender differences in humans is ridiculous. I agree with her that this is completely unscientific. Gender differences as well as gender itself varies greatly between species. In fact, in many species the female is bigger than the male. Furthermore, she is often stronger and will sometimes consume the male after sex in order to give strength to her developing babies, as with many arachnids and some insects.Therefore we can hardly compare studies on animals to human sex differences, though we can certainly look at the diffe rences and ponder the implications. Hamberg also argues that throughout history, biological arguments have been used in order to legitimize a social gender order characterized by male supremacy. This is more problematic, for while men are physically stronger and bigger than women, they are certainly not more intelligent nor are they naturally more disposed to leadership. In fact, some studies have shown that women possess more of the skills necessary to lead well and do better academically.The male and female orgasms are an important biological distinction in a reproductive, evolutionary, and social context. In â€Å"Why Women Have Orgasms: An Evolutionary Analysis† by David Puts, Khytam Dawood and Lisa Welling, the evolutionary adaptation of the female orgasm and its purpose is discussed. There are two possible likely hypotheses; firstly the mate-choice hypothesis which holds that female orgasm has â€Å"evolved to function in mate selection† and secondly the byproduc t hypothesis which asserts that the female orgasm in fact has no evolutionary purpose and rather exists because women and men share early ontogeny with men.They found the first hypothesis to be more likely, which seems the case to me as well. Another article â€Å"Women Who Prefer Longer Penises Are More Likely to Have Vaginal Orgasms (but Not Clitoral Orgasms)† discussed vaginal versus clitoral orgasms and the evolutionary implications. Their method was to have over three hundred women report in an online survey; however, people may not always be truthful in surveys, especially those discussing sensitive matters like sex, therein lies a possible problem with their study.They were able to find a positive association between likelihood of orgasm with a longer penis and vaginal orgasm frequency. Finally â€Å"Human Sperm Competition† discussed the concept of sperm competition, the competitive process between spermatozoa of two or more different males to fertilize an egg of a lone female. They were looking into the claim that sperm competition has an effect on mate selection in humans. This study also involved the use of a survey with approximately 400 men and women. The results of the survey showed that sperm competition was most likely not a huge factor in mate selection.On the other hand, perhaps this is something that evolved recently since nowadays there are many options for couples who have trouble conceiving such as adoption, artificial insemination, use of surrogates, etc. thus the ability to conceive a child naturally is not as important in mate selection now as it may have been earlier in human evolution. Contributing to sex differences such as these is different concentrations of steroids and hormones delivered to the fetus, which can have lasting effects throughout a person’s life.After looking at sex differentiation in a biological context, we must consider how and why females and males differ in behavior, psychology, genetics, a nd pathology? Certainly, it has long been posited that there is a divide in spatial abilities. Patricia Gilmartin and Jeffrey Patton assess this in â€Å"Comparing the Sexes on Spatial Abilities: Map-Use Skills. † They suggest that males are more proficient than females in many types of spatial tasks. Furthermore, they found these differences were greater in childhood, especially in relation to maps, geography, and navigation based tasks.Among college students, these differences in map-use and navigation were negligible. I would have liked to see them look into the concept of men preferring not to ask for directions or use a GPS to navigate – a long standing gender joke, but possibly true. Certainly this has proved true in my experience driving with my male family members and friends. However, I would posit that it varies culturally, for example in respect to Japanese people who don’t have this social construct of men not asking for directions. Another dimension on which genders vary is leadership.Cheryl de la Rey argues in â€Å"Gender, Women and Leadership† that the question is not only whether genders vary in leadership ability and skills, but whether they vary in leadership styles as well. These differences in leadership style, she posits, are not reducible to biological differences, nor can they be adequately explained by socialization and sex roles. Rather, it’s about how gendered behaviors become more dominant within organizational contexts that are masculinized. This leads to the hindrance of women’s access to leadership positions via discrimination and stereotyping.Part of the problem is that people need mentors to move up in the business world, but since most of the people in high ranking positions are men, and close relationships between men and women in the workplace may be frowned up, it can be hard for a woman to find a mentor. Sebastian Schuh notes that women are still underrepresented in leadership role s, but he has different ideas about why. He thinks it’s because women consistently report lower power motivation than men. While this may be a piece of the puzzle, I don’t think he addresses the full picture very well.In addition to differences in leadership, men and women vary on the axis of sexuality and attitudes towards sex. Jennifer Petersen and Janet Hyde’s meta-analysis on research of gender differences revealed that although men indicated somewhat more sexual experience and permissive attitudes, there were exceedingly minimal gender differences in sexual attitudes and behaviors. Furthermore, these differences decreased with age. However, I think he glosses over many of differences. There are subtleties to it that must be considered.In â€Å"The Orthodox View of Brain Sexual Differentiation† Marc Breedlove, Bradley Cooke, and Cynthia Jordan discuss how the standard view of sexual differentiation of the brain, which is chiefly resulting from work wi th mammals, oversimplifies a vastly complex process of mechanisms derived through natural selection. The spinal nucleus of the bulbocavernosus (SNB) plays an important role in all this with a complex system. It was interesting to see how social factors could take an effect and how plastic and ever-evolving this system could be.One thing is clear from this reading; this SNB system is more multifaceted than previously thought and may be changing well into adulthood. As far as gender differences in aggression, I was not surprised to learn that men are more likely to be engaged in violence than women. Both from personal experience and cultural norms, that seems to fit the model. However, it was interesting to learn that the primary reason for male aggression is mate competition. From a personal standpoint, I don’t find a violent man liable to get into fights more attractive.I’ve certainly seen the type more than once at a bar, or on the streets, and my first instinct is to remove myself from his company and immediate area. On the contrary, that would be a shortcoming. However, from an evolutionary perspective it makes more sense as to protection and fighting for territory. Though there has been much study on the history of sex, biological and anatomical sex differences and social, sexual, and psychological implications of gender differences, psychology of sexuality is a field that is ever-growing and expanding as studies become more daring and social constructs allow for more experimentation and study.Hopefully in the next century, we will see new research leading to greater understanding of gender and sex. References Ainsworth, S. E. , & Maner, J. K. (2012). Sex begets violence: Mating motives, social dominance, and physical aggression in men. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 103(5), 819-829. Barash, D. P. , & Lipton, J. E. (2002). Gender gap: the biology of male-female differences. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers. Breedlove, M. , Cooke, B. M. , & Jordan, C. L. (1999). The orthodox view of brain sexual differentiation. Brain, Behavior, and Evolution, 54, 8-14. Cook, H. 2007). Sexuality and Contraception in Modern England: Doing the History of Reproductive Sexuality. Journal of Social History, 40(4), 915-932. Costa, R. M. , Miller, G. F. , & Brody, S. (2012). Women who prefer longer penises are more likely to have vaginal orgasms (but not clitoral orgasms): Implications for an evolutionary theory of vaginal orgasm. International Society for Sexual Medicine, 9, 3079-3088. La Rey, C. D. (2005). Gender, women, and leadership. Agenda, 65, 4-11. Ehrmann, W. (1957). Some knowns and unknowns in research into human sex behavior. Marriage and Family Living, 1, 16-24.Epprecht, M. (2004). 1. Hungochani: The History of a Dissident Sexuality in Southern Africa (pp. 25-49). Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press. Gagnon, J. H. (1975). Sex research and social change. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 4(2), 111-141. Gilmar tin, P. P. , ; Patton, J. C. (1984). Comparing the sexes on spatial abilities: map-use skills. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 74(4), 605-619. Hamberg, K. (2005). Biology, Gender and Behaviour. A Critical Discussion of the Biological Models used for Explaining Cognitive and Behavioural Gender Differences .Psychology of Gender Identity (pp. 127-144). Social Science: Nova Publishers. Harvey, K. (2002). The century of sex? Gender, bodies, and sexuality in the long eighteenth century. The Historical Journal, 45(4), 899-916. Petersen, J. L. , ; Hyde, J. S. (2010). A meta-analytic review of research on gender differences in sexuality. Psychological Bulletin, 136(1), 21-38. Puts, D. A. , Dawood, K. , ; Welling, L. L. (2012). Why women have orgasms: an evolutionary analysis. Arch Sex Behavior, 41, 1127-1143. Schiebinger, L. (1990).The anatomy of difference: race and sex in eighteenth-century science. Eighteenth-Century Studies, 23(4), 387-405. Schuh, S. (2013). Gender dif ferences in leadership role occupancy : The mediating role of power motivation. Journal of Business Ethics, 112(517), 34-78. Simmons, L. W. , Firman, R. C. , Rhones, G. , ; Peters, M. (2004). Human sperm competition: testis size, sperm production and rates of extrapair copulations. Animal Behavior, 68, 297-302. Wiesner-Hanks, M. (2007). World history and the history of women, gender, and sexuality. Journal of World History, 18(1), 53-67.

Breastfeeding vs. Bottle Feeding

There are few experts who oppose breastfeeding as the best choice for infants. However, lowering breastfeeding rates raises many questions about why mothers choose the best nutritional choice for their children. Breast milk is an obvious choice for infant lactation due to its health, psychological and economic benefits, but many mothers are still in infants because of lack of knowledge and support, breastfeeding difficulties and social paralysis I decided to give milk powder for use. This is a glimpse of the science behind breastfeeding and discussions about bottling and expression breast feeding. The book Science of Mother is written in more detail, including the infant's feeding research, the limits of scientific research, and how to properly see promoting breastfeeding and cultural barriers. I have created a free e-mail series for you! If you do not feel the joy and happiness of motherhood you were expecting, this e-mail series will change your perception of your birth. That's rig ht. I saw my mature strategy work many times over and over for moms like you. I know that it is also in you. Breastfeeding is encouraged and public breastfeeding is common. In fact, baby feeding is generally not recommended, and public baby feeding can cause discomfort to mothers over public breastfeeding. Many shopping centers offer parent's room where mothers can comfortably change their bodies and feed their babies. Most areas of breastfeeding in South America are regulated, and public breastfeeding is common in buses, parks, shopping malls, and so on. It is not common to see a public baby bottle than breastfeeding. Women rarely appear in high-end restaurants and street care in big cities, but nursing, encouraging and thinking about the breasts of regular mothers or lactating mothers is not considered sexual subjects.

Social Class and Attainment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Social Class and Attainment - Essay Example According to the report findings  social class divisions play a great role in the educational attainment for children. Usually the higher the rank in the social ladder the high the chances that the students is likely to perform well. Good performance in school usually result to getting jobs and improving the general social class one is in. as such, working class and lower-class students tend to struggle in school due to family issues such as poverty, deprivation of medical assistance and incompetent language and elaboration techniques.This paper stresses that  one’s level can determine their performance and attainment of better academic results, due to the inequalities in society that expose the students to different scenarios. Students from high end classes can converse easily and relay technical information more reasonably and elaborately in examinations as compared to lower-class students who have been raised with the minimal exposure to good literature material.  Var ious theories are attributed to the inequalities of class and the impact on education and better social attainment. According to Bourdieu’s theory of cultural capital, different social cultures in the form of classes offer individuals different circumstances that determine whether or not the person shall attain their needs and educational goals.  To be on the same level, students from lower class backgrounds ought to work harder, as they are facing greater challenges compared to the other advantaged students.

Law in Equity and Trust regarding Charities Essay

Law in Equity and Trust regarding Charities - Essay Example It has a specific legal meaning; the Charities Act 1993 describes a charity as: "Any institution, corporate or not, which is established for charitable purposes and is subject to the control of the High Court in the exercise of the Court's jurisdiction with respect to charities.": s96(1) This tautologous explanation gets us no further, other than to observe that it is the Courts who determine what 'charitable purposes' means according to current legislation and that an organisation cannot be registered as a charity by the Charities Commission if it has been set up under the laws of a foreign country which for these purposes include Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, or the Channel Islands. Overall this description in itself is unsatisfactory since it promotes uncertainty, and where there is uncertainty in the law there will be litigation. Whilst on the face of it the definition of what a charity is should be found in the Charities Act, the Courts actually refer to the Charitable Uses Act 16011 to determine the definition of a charity, despite the fact that this legislation has been repealed. The Courts follow the 'spirit and intention' of the 1601 Act and the definition of 'charity' has been developed through statutory interpretation and case law precedent arising predominantly from disputes over wills, taxation status and/or challenges against decisions made by the Attorney General on behalf of the Charities Commission. Examining the case law suggests that organizations will be recognized as charitable if they have the following characteristics: The trust must have a charitable character The trust must be exclusively charitable The trust must (on balance) be beneficial The trust must benefit the public The trust must not distribute a profit Charitable Character Lord MacNaughten in Income Tax Special Purposes Commisoners v Pemsel [1891] identified four divisions of charitable purposes namely; 1) The relief of poverty; 2) The advancement of education; 3) The advancement of religion; and 4) Other purposes beneficial to the community. Exclusively Charitable All the purposes to which a trust may use its assets must be charitable. The classic case was Maurice v Bishop of Durham [1805]. That particular trust failed since it was expressed to be for charitable or benevolent' purposes, and not everything that is benevolent' is recognized as charitable in English law. Beneficial There is a presumption that charities which fall under the poverty, education or religious objects are beneficial. In the past the Courts generally sought to find an analogy between the purpose of the proposed charity and the 1601 Act: Williams Trustees v IRC [1947]. More recently the cases have also sought analogies with decided cases. For example in Scottish Burial Reform & Cremation Society v Glasgow Corporation [1968] it was held that the promotion of low cost cadaver disposal (cremation) as it was of benefit to the community, within the 'spirit and intendment'' of the Charitable Uses Act 1601 and analogous to other charities that had themselves been deemed to be analogous to charities in that list. Public Benefit Charities are distinguished from Private Purpose Trusts - which benefit named individuals - and Discretionary Trusts, which

ENGINEERING PRODUCTS LTD (CASE STUDY) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

ENGINEERING PRODUCTS LTD (CASE STUDY) - Essay Example uman Resources (HR) department acquires an importance in the success or failure of the company’s international operations (Quintanilla and Ferner, 2003). The HR department adopts numerous ways in which they could attempt homogenization of the various practices that are being adopted in the Headquarter of the company so that the uniformity in the products with respect to the quality can be achieved, as it is the order of the day that the customers insist on the consistency in the product design and quality. Such consistency can be achieved only by integrating the practices throughout the organization. While the HR Management takes the efforts for integration, they are usually confronted with various issues of power and control which are outlined in this paper while analyzing the case of Engineering Products Limited. The paper also discusses the implications on the managers and non-managers of the organization as a result of such integration efforts. Engineering Products Limited with more than 33,000 workers undertook a restructuring and expansion plan out of which the company expanded globally with more than half of the employees work in their overseas locations. Having three distinct business areas in automotive components, defence and industrial services, the company’s automotive components division being the largest have its employees scattered in the European countries Germany, France and Spain. A smaller percentage of them are placed in UK as well as North America. With the major customers of the company insisting on the same specification of the components produced in all the company’s location, the HR Department of the company is in an attempt to transfer the ‘best practices’ of the company to all its locations. For that purpose they adopt the following methods: One of the key areas of attention of the Management at the Head Quarter of the company is to adopt various management structures that can possibly help the exchange of information among

World War I and the Economic Impact on the United States Essay

World War I and the Economic Impact on the United States - Essay Example Even though the United States was actively involved in the war for only 19 months, the economic effects of World War I started as the war broke out in Europe and extended way into the 1920s and 1930s long after the war had ended in 1918. The economic impact of World War I on the economy of United States is twofold: Economic impact during the war and impact after the war. The economic impact during the war and immediately after the war, which was short term, was a positive one which helped the American economy to recover from recession. The economic impact after the war, which was long term, was a negative one which forced the American economy into depression (The Great Depression). During The War Prior to the war, United States was in a recession. The economic situation changed dramatically during the war as United States saw the economy boom during this period. The demand for war goods increased rapidly across Europe and the United States benefited greatly from this increase in dema nd as Europeans started purchasing war goods from the United States1. The Manufacturing industry benefitted heavily from the rise in demand from Europe. All kinds of goods were now exported to Europe from America bringing in huge profits. American industries expanded rapidly during the period. Unemployment declined greatly during the war as 3 million people were recruited by the military and half a million jobs were created in the government2. This created employment opportunities for women and immigrants of African origin who were not a major part of the workforce prior to the war. Manufacturing and other industry related jobs were created and were now filled by the previously unemployed. Unemployment rate fell from 7.9% to 1.4% during the war3. Another major impact of World War I on United States was the graduation from a net debtor to net creditor. Prior to the war United States was a debtor country but by the time war had ended it had become a net creditor. In 1914 foreign inves tment is the United States was way greater than the amount invested abroad by the United States. But the equation had changed dramatically during the war and by the end of it United States had emerged as a creditor country. New York had replaced London as the world capital market and Federal Reserve had emerged as the world’s most important financial institution downplaying the bank of England4. This change made great impact on the American economy and contributed to development of America as a global economic superpower in the second half of the 20th century. Post World War Post world war production in industries slowed down and the demand for labor also reduced drastically. Adding to the already poor unemployment condition was the return of soldiers from the war. There weren’t enough jobs for all. Due to decrease in demand the prices of many farm products fell by nearly 50% and this lead to many farmers going bankrupt. Demand for many industry products had reduced an d this meant the overall production went down. Apart from decline in jobs, this also reduced the cash flow into the country. The European demand for American products after the war was not the same as it was during the war. Industry that thrived during the war was the industries that produced weapons and other war goods. All of a sudden there was no demand for the war industry goods. One of the other negative effects of World War I on United States was inflation. The cost of living by the end of the war rose to 100% above the level before the war5. The seeds of the Great Depression were planted by the rising unemployment and bleak economic situation after World War I. Impact on the Ideas about Economics Apart from

Letter for imigration about the reinstatement Essay

Letter for imigration about the reinstatement - Essay Example (Here I will have to insert a valid reason as to why you failed in your subjects which you did not mention) But I promise to make up for it. I only have two quarters to finish before I could graduate. That is why I am hoping that my three years of studying would not go to waste. I came here for the sole purpose of attaining good quality education and I have high hopes not just for myself but for my country as well. I am also considering to be of service to your country in many ways I can. Add to that, your standard of teaching has been known around the world and I cannot just let go of this great opportunity. Besides, I am financially capable of supporting my schooling. I never had a bad record or a history of deportation. For the past ___ years, I have been a law abiding citizen, never tarnishing the reputation of your country nor that of Indonesia. I was never involved in crimes, fraud or any other violations of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services regulations. The documents attached herewith would prove that. For one, my immigration documents are valid and accurate. Rest assured I will continue to follow rules and maintain my status as an international student if I be given a chance to study in your country again.

How the theory of supply and demand affects activities in the property Essay

How the theory of supply and demand affects activities in the property markets - Essay Example Interaction of the supply and demand curve for property determines the value of the property in this case. This report goes into great detail to explain the basic economic concepts of demand and supply and how they apply to the property market. Demand And Supply In The Property Market Demand and supply are one of the most basic economic concepts, yet their applicability is extremely wide spread in our daily lives. In a free market economy, it is the interaction of demand and supply which determines the quantity of goods to be bought and sold, and consequently the price at which this transaction would be carried out. This level is known as consumer equilibrium and can be shown on a graph when the supply and demand curve intersect each other. Demand simply refers to the amount of goods or service that a person is is willing and able to purchase at a given price level (Turvey, 1971). The demand for a product and its price are inversely related, that is more goods are demanded when their prices are low as compared to when their prices are high. The demand curve is a downward sloping curve with price and quantity on its axes and depicts what's just mentioned above. There are many factors which influence the demand of a product like the availability of substitute and complementary goods, tastes of people, the level of disposable income, the elasticity of demand, customer expectations and expectations of future. Supply on the other hand is related to suppliers and it refers to the the quantity of good and services that are made available by suppliers in the open market. Totally opposite to the law of demand, the supply of goods and their price are directly related, that is suppliers are willing to supply more quantities of goods at higher prices then as compared to lower prices. Consequently, the supply curve is a upwards sloping curve, having price and quantity on its axes respectively. As with demand, there are certain factors which influence the supply of a product . Some of the main factors include the price of the input, expectations of the future, the current state of technology available, the price of substitute and complementary goods and the number of suppliers in the market. Market equilibrium can be defined as the combination of quantity and price level where the quantity of goods demanded equals the quantity of goods supplied. This point can be determined on the graph where the supply and demand curve intersect each other (Turvey,1971). There are also situations when a demand or supply curve simply shifts inwards or arches outwards. A demand curve shifting outwards simply means that more quantities of goods are now demanded at the same price level as compared to before. Similarly, an outward shift in the supply curve would mean that now the suppliers are willing to supply more goods and services at the same price level as compared to before. The demand curve, for example, shifts towards the outside when the level of disposable income increases (in the case of normal goods), the price of a substitute good rises and when the price of a complementary good falls. On the other hand, outward shifts in the supply curve are usually experienced due to betterment in technology which results in lowering the cost, or when bumper crop is produced in a season. The theory of demand and supply affects activities in the property markets in pretty much a similar manner as it does in any other market. However, there are are a few different

Cardiovascular Disease Information Essay Example for Free

Cardiovascular Disease Information Essay Cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of death in over half of the people in this country. It affects all aspects of the heart function, from the arteries that supply the blood to the valves to the heart muscle itself. Heart and blood vessel disease- cardiovascular disease – includes numerous problems, many of which are related to a process called atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is a condition that develops when a substance called plaque build up I the walls of the arteries. This buildup narrows the arteries, making it harder for blood to flow through. If a blood lot forms, it can stop the blood flow. This can cause a heart attack or stroke. Some of the symptoms associated with cardiovascular disease are chest pains, sudden numbness of arms or face, strokes or congestive heart failure. Cardiovascular disease can be managed by following a lean strict diet, keeping your cholesterol down, not smoking, maintaining your blood pressure and exercising regularly. It is said that if you exercise for about 30 minutes a day every day, that will keep you healthy and your heart pumping. Congestive Heart Failure refers to a poorly pumping heart that causes a fluid back up in the heart, lungs and other organs. The symptoms are shortness of breath, swelling in the body and debilitating fatigue. It is said that congestive heart failure is the most common cardiac condition among the elderly. Heart failure can start from an unnoticeable condition, which can progress to a debilitating disease. The way to check to see if you have a heart problem is by having an Echocardiogram which monitors your heart and makes sure everything is functioning properly. This disease can also be controlled by maintaining a healthy diet, not smoking, controlling your weight, and following a good exercise regimen. Maintaining your weight is also an important factor.

De-jobbing

De-jobbing INTRODUCTION In ever changing modern world successful job candidates should know and do more than their job descriptions require. That is what global companies require from their employees these days. In other words by ‘reducing of workforce or ‘mass layoff global companies want to reduce their workforce. This however, has led to de-jobbing in many companies. De-jobbing refers to the fact that jobs often change every day and cannot be specifically described in the traditional ways. Definition of de-jobbing cannot be found in many publications but according to ‘answers.com de-jobbing represents the gradual reverse of the process that created an employment driven economy now becoming obsolete as a result of globalisation and technological advancement which makes it unnecessary for every business unit to reinvent the wheel. ( http://wiki.answers.com ) Nowadays knowledge is available in push of a button for everyone, for that reason organisations are looking for multi skilled employees in a flatter organisation. This paper will discuss and debate if de-jobbing is ultimately a product of the rapid changes taking place in business today or not. So why are companies and organisations trying to use de-jobbing more and more, what is the real reason behind it? To answer these questions the real world examples needed, some global and local organisations will be shown as examples to have better understanding of de-jobbing, to be more specific journal articles and newspaper publications about de-jobbing will be revealed. Job Before making first steps towards de-jobbing process, what is the understanding of a ‘Job in our society? Business Dictionary describes it as a group of homogenous tasks related by similarity of functions. When performed by an employee in an exchange for pay, a job consists of duties, responsibilities, and tasks that are defined and specific, and can be accomplished, measured and rated. ( businessdictionary ) In other words it s the activity which individuals do to earn money. Endless economic crises, bankrupted companies, unsuccessful businesses have taught both the employee and employer one very important lesson. For the employer to hire people who work well, who will add something to the organisation and for job seekers to look for that kind of job which will give them perfect career and good wages in return. At the end of the day everyone gets paid for what they do and how they do it. Here is the important bit for companies who want to cut their labour costs but end up firing wrong people or by not organizing the downsizing accordingly. De-jobbing As continued from the ‘Job section of this paper it is important that organisations hire and fire right people. In many organisations today, jobs are becoming more nebulous or shapeless and more difficult to define and understand, meaning one thing, the trend is towards de-jobbing. It is a broadening the tasks of the company jobs, and encouraging workers not to limit themselves to whats on their job descriptions is a result of the changes taking place in modern workplaces. In other words one person does more than what they should normally do in the workplace, or doing many different things which were not even mentioned in job description. Companies need to tackle with ever changing trends such as technological change, competition with rivals, deregulation, political instability, social changes, and the shift in economy. Companies do these things to be more competitive, and responsive, and generally more flexible. In other words, the organisational methods managers use to complete this have helped weaken the meaning of job as well as a well defined and clearly described set of responsibilities. Something dramatic is going on in our world, to be specific we are witnessing the disappearance of jobs. Not some particular jobs in certain that are disappearing but the very thing itself, â€Å"the job† that is fading away. It is not a joke or something like that but it is what happening these days, ‘Yes. Take for example farmers many jobs within that industry disappeared because of computerization or machinery. Robots do it for us, thus leaving people to look for something else to do. Very good example can be the services we use nowadays, in the banks when paying money in and out in many banks we cannot see cashiers anymore, computers can do it for you. There are many examples of such situations but those will be discussed in latter pages of this paper. After few decades, modern world will marvel that we couldnt see more clearly what was happening. And then again looking 50 years back who would have imagined the world of today? We people will observe how fixated we were on the continuing rounds of layoffs, the growing use of temps, and the occurrence of outsourcing. The time will come when the job itself wont be good enough to accomplish a given task. There are and were predictions that there would be labour shortages in some parts of the world, and that there would be so many jobs that it would be workers market not the job givers, but that has not happened, and there are many reasons for that. One of the biggest reasons remains to be advancement in technology, or rapid advancement in technology, so fast that no one could predict it. And then there is constant migration of people, perfect example can be United Kingdom itself. When European Union expanded towards Eastern Europe many people from those countries moved to west Europe t o work. Many companies benefited from this migration in many ways. All these have again proved specialists and so called experts wrong in their future predictions. The point is that there will always be people to do the jobs, but will those be the right people for those positions or slots. There is a change coming to our understanding of jobs and the way we do them. People are afraid of change, for some it is difficulties, difficulty to learn something new to stay in his/her position, but for some that change is opportunity; opportunity for those who know how to turn change, to their advantage. Furthermore it will be opportunity for people who believe in themselves and how they will take their chances. Even if jobs or businesses of those people are not innovation minded in those conditions, they will need to deal with that sooner or later, because that will be the defining moment for future of their jobs or businesses. The change which we are talking here is ‘de-jobbing which is already happening. There are many examples of modern institutions which have taken big steps towards de-jobbing their jobs. How should businesses respond to these new realities? Good answer will be to teach and educate employees about what company is trying to attain, and show them where their piece of work stands in the bigger picture. However, this may take time and outcomes might be disappointing. Management would say that employees just dont get the idea of what we are trying to do, but better answer is to address the issue straight that people holding on to their jobs. But in reality what management fails to see is that, management themselves directing people and showing them what to do, how to do it and then paying them for that. Nowadays we can see many people getting paid for their innovations, technology and computing sector leading the way. Those people manage themselves; there are no supervisors or managers checking their performance and work rate. And the interesting thing about is that they work for companies not themselves and still get paid much better. That is not what we used to mean when describing a job, but there are people who do those kinds of jobs. So what are the chances that in future many people will do that kind of jobs? Throughout centuries we were looking for faster production, faster distribution, faster service and what makes that possible? Special minds, innovative minds gives us such advantage, it was and will be like that for decades to come. The jobs are vanishing as a result of these things, this is where de-jobbing happens. One person does multiple tasks on its own, and in some cases does it much better than two or group of people of course by help of machinery, robots, and computers and so on. For that reason organisations right to give their employees multiple tasks, because in some organisations there are many small things need to be done that management cannot just go and hire someone else to do that job for them. There are organisations which are cutting their expenses by taking such actions which are profitable for them. Or some of them are reducing management levels, there are many companies which have taken such actions and succeeded with it. Lets look at some types of organisations where such things can be done. The Boundary less Organisation: In ‘Boundary less organisation the widespread use of teams and cross-functional task forces reduces and makes more permeable the boundaries that typically separate departments such as customer services and sales, and hierarchical ranks. In such organisations foster responsiveness by cheering employees to liberate themselves of ‘it is not my job attitude which naturally create walls between one employee and another. Instead the focus is on concentrating on project or task at hand in terms of the overall best interests of the organisation, thereby further reducing the thought of a job as a clearly defined set of duties. Reengineering Re-engineering is the fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of the business processes to achieve dramatic improvements in critical contemporary measures of performance, such as cost, quality, service, and speed. ( http://www.citeman.com ) The old ideas and rules of the company should change fundamentally, at the same time beliefs which shaped the main structure and management of business for many years like divided work groups or divisions within the organisation should be retired. Jobs can be reengineered in many ways, for example one way is to assign group of people for few relatively enlarged and enriched jobs. This makes whole group responsible for the result rather than one person. It will give more responsibility to the group, results can be judged by the performance of that group. By doing so team will become more responsible and there will be mutual respect within the individuals. Downsizing It is the way of life in many organisations these days. If organisation loses money, or is not performing well, downsizing comes to mind. Many managers think that by downsizing company can improve its overall performance and that it will make huge profits by doing so. But in experience it is not really effective, results are not encouraging enough to say that by downsizing business will do better. It is intended to show positive results, but it does more harm than good to some businesses and their workforce. Downsizing is reduction in size of workforce as all staffing levels, to survive a downturn, improve efficiencies, or become a more attractive candidate for acquisition or merger. ( businessdictionary ) Main reasons behind the downsizing are to reduce expenses and costs, reduce the management hierarchy to fasten the decision making in management level, sharpen focus on core competencies, satisfy the shareholders and increase the productivity. While organisation might or might not benefit from downsizing is yet to be seen, but it surely leaves some effects within the organisation and externally as well. One of the big sufferers of downsizing is workers within the organisation. Downsizing can bring stress and motivation disruptions in the workplace. Workers will be in constant stress of being the next person to leave the company. This can increase the anger and fear among workers. Employees will have low commitment to work due to constant fear, such things might negatively impact on customer service department and can leave negative impact on productivity and the quality of the job done. While, survivors of such actions might experience more stress of long hour shifts and more responsibility added to their work, and anxiety about future downsizings. Downsizing plays big part in de-jobbing process, and many companies have no choice but downsize first and do de-jobbing afterwards. Experts say downsizing is not good for the overall performance of the company, but then again organisations do downsize no matter what experts say. The results are yet to be seen as world goes through one of the biggest crisiss of all time, and many companies downsizing, the real effect of downsizing will be seen in 2 or 3 years time. Why? Because ‘Credit Crunch era many companies applied downsizing and that there will be more cases after this crisis to discuss rather than now. Examples Here are some examples from worlds global and local businesses on how they have experienced the de-jobbing process and have they succeeded with their actions or not: Prezzo PLC there were numerous changes in many sections of the company, notably in restaurants of the company. The management decided that everyone must do more than what their job responsibilities are. Such as waiters doing the jobs of assistant managers and chefs must order the stock. Workers of course wouldnt get payed more money for their efforts but there were arguments within the staff that ‘this is your job and that is yours kind situation, which creates disorder in working place. Lloyds TSB Bank the bank announced that it will cut 5000 jobs in order to cut its expenses and be more competitive against their rivals. The remaining staff would replace the ones who left. ( The Guardian, 2009 ) BBC the BBC is to cut 2050 jobs aimed at saving hundreds of millions pounds a year. Cuts will include 420 in news, 66 in sport, 150 in drama, 735 in the regions, 58 in new media and 424 in factual and learning. That will follow the previous 1730 job cuts. Director general said that there were risks in undertaking change on such a large scale. But underlined they have staff in place to replace them. ( Evening Standard, 2009 ) Versace is to slash one quarter of its workforce which is 350 jobs worldwide by the middle of the next year. In a statement, group said that it was preparing a comprehensive corporate reorganisation designed to increase efficiency, return the group to profitability in 2011 and ensure its future growth prospects. ( The Times, 2009 ) Ericsson is to axe up to 700 jobs, more than 17 percent of its UK workforce. Company announced that this move is part of Ericssons ongoing global cost reduction activities and is subject to consultations with trade unions and employee forums. ( The Times, 2009 ) Fujitsu Company announced plans to cut 1200 jobs in UK. The company said today that the cuts will come at its services business, saying that action is necessary to ensure that the company remains competitive in the difficult global economic climate and is in a solid position for future growth when the economy starts to recover. ( The Telegraph, 2009) Rolce Royce the defence and aerospace group, plans to cut 140 jobs in the UK as part of a move to axe 2000 jobs globally. Company statement says that they are determined to maintain their focus on cost reduction and competitiveness as the world economy enters a challenging period. However, it was too early to determine the precise effects of the global economic downturn. ( The Telegraph, 2008 ) Scania the Swedish heavy vehicle and engine manufacturer plans to dismiss 70 employees from its factory in Brazil. Company spokesman described the situation by stating they had an excess of workers and that they had to reduce. ( nordicbusinessreport ) British Airways is to cut 1700 cabin crew jobs and freeze pay as it continues to slash costs. The change will cut the number of cabin crew jobs by 1700 reducing the current total of 14000. And also airline confirmed that it was planning two year pay freeze on the basic pay. All of which company says are efforts to change the overall structure of Airlines business strategy. ( the Independent, 2009 ). Midwest Airlines announced its plans to reduce its workforce by about 1200 employees, or 40percent of staffing levels. The reductions will take the form of furloughs or position eliminations, depending on job function. Company also informed that reductions are spread throughout the airlines flight operations and in-flight operations. This action is taken to reduce the costs and improve the competitiveness of the company. ( Journal of Transportation, 2008 ) Compaq the personal computer group blamed the sharp slowdown in Europe would lead to an additional 1500 job cuts. Company statement said that economic slowdown is spreading overseas, and that company will move more swiftly and go even deeper in their structural cost reduction programmes, by doing which company aims to achieve maximum competitiveness in such situations. ( The Independent, 2009 ) BT revealed to axe up to 15000 posts in the coming year. BT said it was aiming to cut the jobs through natural wastage, non replacement and voluntary redundancy. And that BT would do all it could to protect the jobs of its permanent staff, pledging that some workers would be redeployed and retrained. Company also announced that there will also be more flexible work patters introduced, including call centre staff based at home rather than in an office. ( The Journal, 2009 ) Novastar a residential mortgage lender and portfolio investor today announced a reduction in workforce to align its organisation with changing conditions in the mortgage market. It will affect about 17% of the company. The actions focus on the companys wholesale loan origination group and related functions, including employees in its headquarters. This particular action focuses on new rules company will implement in market. ( Business wire, 2007 ) AOL The American internet service provider plans to shed 5000 employees, almost quarter of its workforce, as it goes through a radical restructuring intended to reinvent the business in the face of falling subscribers. This restructuring will see many people doing de-jobbing in the face of these changes. ( The Guardian, 2006 ) Barclays Banking giant is to axe 188 jobs at call centres in Liverpool as it moves to an automated system for issuing ISA accounts. The bank said staff previously carried out the work are no longer needed and the job losses will affect call centres in Liverpool city centre. ( ITN , 2009) EMI music giant is to axe up to 2000 jobs as part of a drive to save future of the company. The cuts will be focused on the groups recorded music division, and that company was struggling for challenges posed by digital media. ( Yorkshire Post, 2008 ) Sainsburys were expected to axe 350 of its top managers this week. Those losses will be from London head office and will unusually include 80 senior executives as the group attempts to sweep away bureaucracy generated by its top heavy management. ( The Birmingham Post, 1999 ) Vodafone is all set to part company with 450 employees from its operations in the UK. Vodafone is to dismiss a fifth of its senior head office managers even as the firm would be recruiting about 500 sales and retail staff. Vodafone tells that they want to shift the emphasis from administration to sales. ( PTI, 2008 ) NTL were to axe 600 jobs from its workforce by the end of 2007. The cable giant said it would be outsourcing a significant number of jobs as well as cutting posts as part of its integration strategy following the merger with Telewest in March. ( The Guardian, 2006 ) Shell oil giant yesterday announced that it plans to axe almost a fifth of its offshore workforce, sparking industry fears about the safety of North Sea platforms. Company said job losses on 16 platforms in the Northern and Central North Sea would lead to improvements in safety, production and efficiency and that only a small proportion of the cuts would be maintenance related. ( The Scotsman, 2003 ) De la rue in 2004 despite making significant profit, worlds biggest banknotes and chequebooks producing company said that it will axe 350 jobs. De La Rue said it planned to return the expected 8 million a year savings to investors through a combination of progressive dividends. ( Evening News Scotland, 2004 ) Glaxo Smith Kline Britains biggest pharmaceuticals company, plans to axe 6000 jobs around the world as it faces up to the growing challenges in the industry. Competition from generic manufacturers and doubts about companys pipelines are posing a serious threat to the sector. ( PTI, 2009 ) Scottish Water in 2003 wanted to cut 900 jobs, the company had struggled with high costs arising from Scotlands Victorian drainage system and has been told by the regulator that it needs to make cost cuts. Spokesman for Labour Party in Scotland described situation as company trying to become more efficientand remain in public sector. ( The Telegraph, 2003 ) Conclusion All in all, de-jobbing is what we are facing these days. And if we want to be successful we as individuals must be alert for all the changes taking place around us. The world is on the brink of something big, in terms of change. Yes! Change important but can we keep up with the change which is happening around us or not that is the important point. As it was discussed in de-jobbing part of this paper, jobs as we know them are disappearing or vanishing. Who knows after a century there wont even be a word called job. De-jobbing is the word most companies like and would like to apply in their companies, because it allows organisations to get more than one thing from its employee. The style and the way we do our jobs are changing rapidly and it wont be a surprise to see one person doing multiple tasks a century from now. REFERENCES * (Cited December 12th, 2009) http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_definition_of_Dejobbing * â€Å"Fujitsu to axe 1200 UK jobs†, The Telegraph, (26/08/09), http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/6093262/Fujitsu-to-axe-1200-UK-jobs.html * (Cited December 9th, 2009) http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/downsizing.html * â€Å"Versace axes 350 jobs as recession hits wealthy†, The Times, (28/10/09), http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/retailing/article6893820.ece * (Cited December 16th, 2009) http://www.citeman.com/2255-dejobbing/ * â€Å"Ericsson axes 700 staff and shuts Coventry site†, The Times, (10/10/09), http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/telecoms/article6911224.ece * (Cited December 14th, 2009) http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/job.html * â€Å"Lloyds to cut further 5000 jobs†, The Guardian, (10/11.09) http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/nov/10/lloyds-cuts-more-jobs * â€Å"BBC to axe 2000 more jobs†, Evening Standard, (London 18/12/09) http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-17403105-bbc-to-axe-2000-more-jobs.do * â€Å"Barclays to axe 188 Liverpool obs†, ITN, (23rd june, 2009), HighBeam Research, http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-202432171.html * â€Å"Rolce Royce plans to cut UK 140 jobs†, The Telegraph, (20/10/08), http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/recession/3488013/Rolls-Royce-plans-to-cut-UK-140-jobs.html * â€Å"Glaxo Smith Kline to axe 600 workers†, Press Trust of India, (1st February, 2009), Highbeam research, http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-192930031.html * â€Å"Scottish Water cuts a fifth of workforce†, The Telegraph, (23rd April, 2003), http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/2849805/Scottish-Water-cuts-a-fifth-of-workforce.html * â€Å"Scania plans workforce reductions in Brazil†, Nordic Business Report, (17th july 2002), HighBeam Research, http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-89143559.html * â€Å"Midwest Airlines Announces Significant Reduction in Workforce†, Journal of Transportation, (28th july, 2008), HighBeam Research, http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-182842074.html * â€Å"De la rue wields axe despite notable profit†, Evening news Scotland, (3rd December, 2004), HighBeam Research, http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-12875930.html * â€Å"NovaStar Financial, Announces Reduction in workforceâ€Å", Business Wire, (16th, march 2007), HighBeam Research, http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-161457262.html * â€Å"AOL plans 5000 job cuts as it stops charging for services†, The Guardian, (4th August, 2006), http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2006/aug/04/newmedia.media. * BT plans to slash workforce by 10%†, The Journal, ( 15th May, 2009, Newcastle), HighBeam Research, http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-199820256.html * â€Å"BA to cut 1700 jobs and freeze pay†, the Independent, (6th, October, 2009), http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/ba-to-cut-1700-jobs-and-freeze-pay-1798466.html * â€Å"Compaq lays off another 1500 as Europe slows down†, The Independent, (12th July, 2001), http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/compaq-lays-off-another-1500-as-europe-slows-down-677369.html * â€Å"EMI to axe 2000 jobs†, Yorkshire Post, (15th January, 2008), Highbeam Research, http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-15104972.html * â€Å"Sainsburys axe falls in bid to stop city critics†, The Birmingham Post, (12th, April), Highbeam Research, http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-60538271.html * â€Å"Vodafone to axe 450 employees from UK operations†, The press Trust of India, (19th march, 2008), Highbeam Research, http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-176887256.html * â€Å"NTL confirms plans to axe 600 jobs†, The Guardian, (9th May, 2006), http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2006/may/09/broadcasting.citynews * †hell to axe 350 North Sea Jobs†, The Scotsman, (18th March, 2003), Highbeam Research, http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-13014060.html Bibliography * â€Å"Aircraft firm slashes jobs†, Evening Standard, (London 15/12/09), http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-16623111-aircraft-firm-slashes-jobs.do * â€Å"Japan Airlines faces multiple job losses and suspended routes†, The Guardian, (Tokyo, 16/09/09), http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/sep/16/japan-airlines-job-losses * http://www.economist.com/ * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Search?search=dejobbinggo=Go * http://www.nytimes.com/ * http://www.bbc.co.uk/ * www.hrmguide.co.uk/introduction_to_hrm * www.hrmasia.com/ * http://managementhelp.org/hr_mgmnt/hr_mgmnt.htm * http://www.strath.ac.uk/hrm/ * http://books.google.co.uk/books

munipulation in the media Essay -- essays research papers

Manipulation in the media   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are numerous ways people are manipulated by the media, but the concern of outward appearances has always been one of the main portals the media uses when advertising. Everyday, people come across some type of advertisement, wither it be watching television, seeing billboards, reading magazines, or listening to the radio. These advertisements all instill into people’s heads, what they are is not good enough. Most advertisements show photos of women and men with no wrinkles and flawless skin, no fat and built bodies, or stylish clothes and trendy accessories. These types of advertisements give men and women an unrealistic perspective of what they â€Å"could† look like, not suggesting the people being shown are naturally beautiful to begin with, but implying the allusion; one could look like this if this product is used. These types of strategies are used by companies continuously, manipulating the world into believing they can change themselves just by buying their product. Advertisements with reference to outward appearances commonly focus on three different aspects of societies concerns; stopping signs of aging or reversing it, losing weight or getting into shape, and wearing certain clothes, in turn, allowing a person to fit into societies superficial view of how one should appear on the surface.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Most women’s worst fears involve growing old and part of that process is inevitably gaining ...

Marco Porter Theory Essay example -- USAID, Partnerships

As of June 2009, USAID claimed working relationships with over 3,500 American companies and over 300 private volunteer organizations. In its effort to encourage economic growth and trade, USAID has the following components: a) Business Enabling which helps countries lower the cost and risks of doing business; b) upgrading commercial legal systems – USAID helps reform laws, revise policies; c) improving business regulation- with co-orperation from the World Bank’s â€Å"Doing Business† program; d) promotes the development of diverse and healthy institutions in order to help countries build projects and help poor the poor (www.usaid.gov). USAID emphasizes the building of partnerships in education as well as business and government. In fact USAID partners with the Higher Education for Development (HED) that has access and interacts with six major higher education association (representing) more than 4,000 colleges and universities (www.usaid.gov). Within 4,000 colleges and universities are â€Å"Historically Black Colleges and Universities† (HBCUs). The USAID has provided advocacy and training for educational growth, research and support and training in 60 developing countries. The partnerships with educational institutions in developing nations—including those with 190 U.S. colleges and universities—have the following goals: a)Increase the quality of teacher training; b) enhance the administration of higher education and workforce institutions; c) help agricultural productivity and improve the management of natural resources; d) improvement of workforce skills along with economic productivity; e) enhance good governance and the rule of law; f) increase nutrition and health in communities, in particular reduce the impact of ADIS and HIV; g... ...nts albeit Porter’s presentation was offered 21 years ago and Narula critique was presented 19 years ago. It was worth mentioning that the late professor of economics and international relations John H. Dunning (Dunning, 1993) that Porter underestimates the quite fundamental changes which have taken place over the last decade or so of their (Canadians) trans-border activities. Dunning adds that Porter overlooks the value of MNEs (multi-national enterprises), one the main driving forces of economic integration (Dunning, 1993). The USAID in Kosovo - Contrast with Porter’s Diamond Theory Based on a report from USAID Kosovo (Dan, 2006) called Mid-Term Evaluation of the Kosovo Cluster and Business Support Project. The USAID has a $20 million, 4 year project in Kosovo that addresses three industry clusters (livestock fruit, and vegetables, and construction materials). Marco Porter Theory Essay example -- USAID, Partnerships As of June 2009, USAID claimed working relationships with over 3,500 American companies and over 300 private volunteer organizations. In its effort to encourage economic growth and trade, USAID has the following components: a) Business Enabling which helps countries lower the cost and risks of doing business; b) upgrading commercial legal systems – USAID helps reform laws, revise policies; c) improving business regulation- with co-orperation from the World Bank’s â€Å"Doing Business† program; d) promotes the development of diverse and healthy institutions in order to help countries build projects and help poor the poor (www.usaid.gov). USAID emphasizes the building of partnerships in education as well as business and government. In fact USAID partners with the Higher Education for Development (HED) that has access and interacts with six major higher education association (representing) more than 4,000 colleges and universities (www.usaid.gov). Within 4,000 colleges and universities are â€Å"Historically Black Colleges and Universities† (HBCUs). The USAID has provided advocacy and training for educational growth, research and support and training in 60 developing countries. The partnerships with educational institutions in developing nations—including those with 190 U.S. colleges and universities—have the following goals: a)Increase the quality of teacher training; b) enhance the administration of higher education and workforce institutions; c) help agricultural productivity and improve the management of natural resources; d) improvement of workforce skills along with economic productivity; e) enhance good governance and the rule of law; f) increase nutrition and health in communities, in particular reduce the impact of ADIS and HIV; g... ...nts albeit Porter’s presentation was offered 21 years ago and Narula critique was presented 19 years ago. It was worth mentioning that the late professor of economics and international relations John H. Dunning (Dunning, 1993) that Porter underestimates the quite fundamental changes which have taken place over the last decade or so of their (Canadians) trans-border activities. Dunning adds that Porter overlooks the value of MNEs (multi-national enterprises), one the main driving forces of economic integration (Dunning, 1993). The USAID in Kosovo - Contrast with Porter’s Diamond Theory Based on a report from USAID Kosovo (Dan, 2006) called Mid-Term Evaluation of the Kosovo Cluster and Business Support Project. The USAID has a $20 million, 4 year project in Kosovo that addresses three industry clusters (livestock fruit, and vegetables, and construction materials).

Leda Atomica :: essays research papers

Leda Atomica (24 x 18"- oil on canvas), is a painting by Salvador Dali (1904-1989) who was the top Surrealists of this time. Surrealism explored the subconscious, the dream world, and irrational elements of the psyche in the firm belief that the discoveries to be made from such exploration would be of greater fundamental importance to the human condition than any other form of social analysis. Surrealists like Salvador Dali was very fascinated by the ephemeral state of the mind between sleep and consciousness, dream and reality, sanity and insanity, as one in which the mind functioned purely, unfettered by the constraints of logic and social behavior. (#1 - Surrealism)Salvador Dali was born in May 11 of 1904 in Figures Spain, and in 1921 he entered the San Fernando Academy of Fine Arts in Madrid where he made friends with Federico Garcia Lorca, Luis Bunuel, and Eugenio Montes. In June of 1923 Dali was suspended from the Academy for having indicated the students to rebel against the authorities of the school but was let back in October of 1925, and a year later Dali was permanently expelled. Then in 1924 he was imprisoned in Figures and Gerona for political reasons. The influence of metaphysical paintings and contact with Miro, caused Dali to join the Surrealists in 1929. (#8 - Biographical Outline) Dali held numerous one-man shows during his career and did many art forms from paintings to sculpture and even movies. He directed and was a part of many films including the first surrealist film "Un Chiea A Dalou A Andalusian Dog", with the director Luis Bunuel. In 1945 he designed the memorable surrealistic dream sequence for Hitchcock's Spellbound, and filmed Don Juan Tenorio, in 1951. By reading psychological case histories, Dali hoped to represent neuroses in an ultra-realistic style so as to objectify the irrational with photographic accuracy. A lot of his artwork has some kind of connection to other artwork of his, like the melting clock, his symbol of death, and most of all is Dali's anamorphic self portrait mask that appears in allot of his paintings. The shape of the face, usually presented resting on its nose, is strongly reminiscent of one of the rock formation of the coastline near Dali's home. Leda Atomica is some what connected to The Madonna of Port Lligat, as if Dali is showing a symbolic story of his relationship with Gala, (Gala- is his lover/wife).

Psychology of Stress

The road of pain caused by a Stress-related illness 73132:Psychology of Stress Open Polytechnic Wellington Elizabeth Ross Words:2,149 â€Å"The road of pain caused by a stress-related illness†, is the name of this final assignment. A detailed case study and treatment plan for Sera-jean who has a stress-related illness. I will endeavour to propose a treatment plan to help Sera-jean manage hypertension and type 1diabetes. There will be brief outlines of the techniques I have chosen, how it works and what benefits it will be to Sera-jean overall.There will also be two relaxation ideas for Sera-jean to utilise if she so wishes. Sera-jean is aged thirty-four and is married with 3 children. She has quite a bubbly personality, easy going, diligent, hard- working, open, honest, sympathetic listener, knowledge able and a very sincere and caring person. Sera-jean and her husband had just bought a lifestyle property, so Sera-jean applied and was offered the position of lead operator in t he new plant of Individual Quick Frozen cheese department.A great opportunity to be a part of a new concept in a global organisation, Sera-jean gladly signed up and became an important part of a good team, with the aspirations to want to learn and get a good start to a new concept with great opportunities. After two years IQF had lost 30, 000 metric tonne of Pizza Hut and Dominoes orders, the plant was just unable to keep up with the orders. Machinery breakdowns, rejected product, foreign matter in product, packaging faults and with all of these malfunctions from the plant and loosing orders everyone began to wonder what would happen.Sera-jean was already becoming quite worried about what was going to happen with her department. There was no word from the company, the union or management which from all points of view was very upsetting for everyone. She was getting headaches and at times was having dizzy spells. She took two days off to have some tests done and when she returned she told us that she had hypertension and type 1diabetes. Poor Sera-jean she couldn’t understand why she suddenly had these illnesses as she had always been quite fit and healthy.Change as a stressor, when change happens your life feels out of control and it brings with it discomfort. Sudden and prolonged change frightens us you can have trouble adapting your thinking and cause confusion. When changes are imposed without any input into the process, the other aspect of change that can affect your stress level is the significance of the change on the rest of your life. Extensive research suggests that two related psychological factors can mediate an, organisms responses to the stress of change: controllability and predictability (Krantz, 1986).Perceived control is defined as the felt ability to escape avoids and/or modifies threatening stimuli (Averille, 1973). Increased predictability can help minimize the stress of making changes. The fear of the unknown is a potent stressor tha t needs reduction. Another stressor for Sera-jean that may have contributed to the hypertension is sympathomimetic agents which are the chemical substances that mimic the sympathetic stress response. Many foods contain these substances and when they are consumed it can trigger a stress response in the body, so depending on how much was consumed.Xanthincs are powerful amphetamine-like stimulants that increase metabolism which creates a highly awake and active state. They also trigger release of the stress hormones that among other actions are capable of increasing heart rate, blood pressure, and oxygen demands on the heart. Extreme, prolonged stress-hormone secretion can even initiate myocardial necrosis – that is, destruction of the heart tissue. (pp. 179 – 181). Constructive coping tactics for Sera-jean to use help manage stress.Appraisal-focused strategies; detecting and disputing negative self-talk, rational thinking, using positive reinterpretation, finding humour in the situation, turning to religion. Problem – focused strategies; active problem solving, seeking social support, enhancing time management, improving self-control, becoming more assertive. Emotion – focused strategies; releasing pent-up emotions, distracting one, managing hostile feelings and forgiving others, exercising, mediating, using systematic relaxation procedures. (pp. 114 – 131).To relax is the very foundation of any program to overcome anxiety, phobias, or panic attacks. Many other skills such as desensitization, visualization, and changing negative self-talk, build on the capacity to achieve deep relaxation. The type of relaxation that really makes a difference in dealing with anxiety is the regular, daily practice of some form of deep relaxation. Deep relaxation refers to a distinct physiological state that is the exact opposite of the way your body reacts under stress or during a panic attack.This state was originally described by Herbert Benson (pp. 81 – 103. 1975) as the relaxation response. This involves a series of physiological changes, including decreases in heart and respiration rate, blood pressure, skeletal muscle tension, metabolic rate and oxygen consumption, analytical thinking, and an increase in skin resistance and in alpha wave activity in the brain. Regular practice of deep relaxation for twenty to thirty minutes on a daily basis can produce, over time, a generalization of relaxation to the rest of your life.So after several weeks of practicing deep relaxation once per day, Teri-jean will tend to feel more relaxed all the time. There are many benefits of deep relaxation that have been documented such as the following; reduction of generalized anxiety. Many people have found that regular practice also reduces the frequency and severity of panic attacks; to prevent stress from growing in strength. Stress that is unabated may tend to build up overtime. Entering into a state of physiological quiescence o nce a day gives your body the opportunity to recover from the effects of stress.Even sleep can fail to break the cumulative stress cycle unless you give yourself permission to deeply relax while awake; increased energy level and productivity; improved concentration and memory; regular practice of deep relaxation tends to increase your ability to focus and keeps your mind from racing; reduction of insomnia and fatigue; learning to relax leads to sleep that is deeper and sounder; prevention or reduction of psychosomatic disorders, such as hypertension, migraines, headaches, asthma and ulcers; increased self-confidence and reduced self-blame.You can perform better as well as feel better when you are relaxed; increased availability of feelings. Muscle tension is one of the chief impediments to an awareness of your feelings. To achieve a state of deep relaxation, using some of the common methods such as; abdominal breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, passive muscle relaxation, visua lizing a peaceful scene, guided imagery, meditation, biofeedback, sensory deprivation, yoga and calming music. (pp. 86 – 90) Guidelines for practising progressive muscle relaxation (or any orm of deep relaxation) so the following information will definitely help Sera-jean make use of progressive muscle relaxation that is undertaken to practice regularly, including self-hypnosis, guided visualization and meditation. Aerobic or cardiovascular exercises, stretching and toning exercises would encourage your mind and body to be more active on a daily basis. Planning a set programme of relaxation methods, breathing exercises, meditation and counselling these are all shown in this assignment as a great way to help with any and all illnesses that you are experiencing.Stress is a normal part of life, but too much stress can lead to emotional and psychological and even physical problems – including heart disease, high blood pressure, chest pains or irregular heartbeats. Reducing stress can help lower high blood pressure. If stress itself is a risk factor for heart disease, chronic stress exposes your body to unhealthy, persistently elevated levels of stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol. Stress changes the way blood clots, which increases the risk of heart attack and stroke.Being exposed to long periods of stress is where your body can give warning signs if there is something wrong. These physical cognitive emotional and behavioural signs of stress should not be ignored. Slowing down, if you continue to be stressed and if your body doesn’t rest you will definitely develop health problems. Physical signs; dizziness, general aches and pains, grinding teeth, headaches, indigestion, muscle tensions, racing heart, sweaty palms, tiredness, upset tummy. All mental signs; suffering from constant worry, forgetfulness and the inability to concentrate, lack of creativity, loss of sense of humour.Emotional signs; anger, anxiety, crying depression, feeli ng powerless, frequent mood swings, irritability, loneliness, nervousness, sadness. The behavioural signs; there is bossiness, along with compulsive eating you display explosive actions, and at times you show a critical attitude towards life.. How to cope with stress, eat and drink sensibly, assert your-self and exercise regularly, relax every day, take responsibility and set realistic goals and maintain positive thoughts.It takes commitment, learn and practice relaxation, deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, mental imagery relaxation, relax to music, biofeedback. It is time to reiterate that stress arousal involves both the mind and body interacting to form a response to an event, the event that might be external to the body or could be a memory or a thought. We will now focus on stress-management techniques that involve the mind and they are autogenic training and visual imagery and this involves the use of mental images to supplement and extend the relaxation response.T he two technics are as follows; challenging limited thinking and cognitive restructuring. There are eight limited thinking patterns; Filtering, you focus on the negative details while ignoring all the positive aspects of a situation; Polarized thinking, things are black or white, good or bad, there’s no middle ground, no room for mistakes; Overgeneralization, you reach a general conclusion based on a single incident or a piece of evidence; Mindreading, without their saying you know what people are feeling and why they act the way they do; Catastrophising, you expect to visualise horrible events.Magnifying; you assume that everything people do or say is some kind of reaction to you. Should; you have a list of ironclad rules about how you and other people should act. (p. 38) Autogenic (self-produced) training and visual imagery this is where you need to take time to practise the techniques of the exercises recommended and along with the exercises that involve you imagining a sp ecial place, like the beach or a mountain meadow. If you are to become proficient at using the techniques, then, to use it in combination with relaxation and breathing exercises would be the most beneficial to you.So when you have followed these 3 steps of muscle relaxation, controlled breathing and special place imagery have a very effective means of managing stress, or helping others manage stress. However, keep in mind that it is essential to set realistic goals; the primary goal of relaxation and imagery training is to learn the technique; the secondary goal is to influence stress-related body states, such as high blood pressure, pain, tension and nausea. It is important that people do not assess themselves as failures if they do not achieve results quickly.Change may be subtle and takes time to master. It might take the form of a better level of relaxation, or a person achieving emotional, intellectual or spiritual balance before noticing any definite physical change. In conclu sion Sera-jean had all the tools to help her understand the illnesses she had and how to best cope with them. She had got a little bounce in her step and was looking quite relaxed at times, which helped her manage her life her way. It has indeed been very informative for Sera-jean, her family and her work colleagues as she has shared her experiences, what she has ained from the treatment plan and counselling sessions as she feels that if she can help one person to be able get through what she has than it has all been worthwhile. References Girdano, D. A. , Dusek, D. E. , and Everly, G. S. , Jr. (2009). Stress in the workplace. In Controlling stress and tension. (8th ed. , pp. 245-267)). San Francisco, CA: Person/Benjamin Cummings. Furnham, A. (2006). Stress at work. In The psychology of behaviour at work (2nd ed. pp. 354-391). Hove, England: Psychology Press. Weiten, W. Dunn, D. S. , & Hammer, E. Y. (2012) Psychology applied to modern lifeAdjustment in the 21st century. (10th ed. , pp. 114-131)Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. Lachman, V. D. (1983). How to minimize stress while making changes. In Stress management: A manual for nurses. (p. 172 – 199). New York, NY: Grune & Stratton. Girdano. D. A. Dusek, D. E. , & Everly, G. S. , Jr. (2009). Stress and the human environment interaction. In Controlling stress and tension (8th ed. , pp. 179 – 199). San Francisco.CA: Benjamin Cummings. Bourne, E. J. , (2010) Relaxation In The anxiety and phobia workbook (5th ed. , pp. 81 – 104) Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications. Davis, M, Eshelman, E. R. , & McKay, M (2008) Exercise. In The relaxation and stress. Reduction workbook. (6th ed. , pp. 331-334) Oakland, CA: New Harbinger. Publications. Davis, M. , Eshelman, E. R. , & McKay, M (2008) Coping skills training for fears. In The relaxation and stress reduction workbook (6th ed. , pp. 187-192) Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications

Apple †Strategic Management Essay

Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad. Vision Statement Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 19805 with the Macintosh. Apple is committed to bringing the best personal computing experience to students, educators, creative professionals, and consumers around the world through its innovative hardware, software, and Internet offerings. â€Å"Man is the creator of change in this world. As such he should be above systems and structures, and not subordinate to them.† Mission Statement Apple Computer is committed to protecting the environment, health and safety of our employees, customers and the global communities ‘where we operate. We recognize that by integrating sound environmental, health and safety management practices into all aspects of our business, we can offer technologically innovative products and services while conserving and enhancing resources for future generations. Apple strives for continuous improvement in our environmental, health and safety management systems and in the environmental quality of our products, processes and services. Objective The Company is committed to bringing the best user experience to its customers through its innovative hardware, software, peripherals, and services. The Company’s business strategy leverages its unique ability to design and develop its own operating systems, hardware, application software, and services to provide its customers new products and solutions with superior ease-of-use, seamless integration, and innovative design COMPETITION When it comes to Apple‘s competitors I believe ther e is no one. The innovation,development and the trendsetting technique that Apple has introduced in electronics worldcannot be matched with any of other companies. If you do not agree with me I would suggest you to search for Apple‘s competitors on Google or anywhere else but you will hardly find any original Apple‘s competitor. According to Tim Bajarin, Apple‘s competition is coming from the likes of Amazon, Google, Real Networks, and to some degree, Sony, because of their strong investment in content. But I do not agree with his viewpoint. Products like iPad,iPhone, iPod and services like iTunes and Apple stores have no competition at all and most importantly Apple is not a company that satisfies customer needs but it manufactures those products that become customers need