Comparing arts and science

The foundation of many things such as technology and medicine come from the oldest works of science. It is necessary to have a general understanding of this foundation to have a greater understanding of a finer field of science. On the other hand, in literature, there is no prior foundation knowledge needed to comprehend the newest and oldest works. Even though this is true, by nature, in literature, most the time, one will prefer read older works. This is not always true, though, at times some may to prefer the newest. In science, most the time, one will read newest works first but not always. To that end, I agree with following quote from Baron Lytton in most cases; â€Å"In science, read, by preference, the newest works: in literature, the oldest. † There are some cases where one may prefer to read newer works of literature and there are cases where one may prefer to read older works but in most cases in literature, read, by preference, the newest works. The following three examples illustrate where in literature one may or may not prefer to read newer or older works. The first example in literature is drama. In drama it depends weather you are trying to read to educate yourself or if you are reading/viewing for pleaser. In the first case you may want to educate yourself with older works first. In the second case you may want to read newer works for pleasure. The second example in literature is poetry. In poetry one's preference is open to choose any type of work. Poetry is timeless and because of this there is no incentive to read older or newer works. In this case the preference in neutral. The last example in literature is a novel. Most people prefer to read older works when it comes to novels. Most people read older novels because it is established work and has a high level of credibility. The oldest work is recognized and most people prefer to read it over newer works. With this being said, overall, in literature, one prefers to read the oldest works. This is most likely true because it is a generational thing where the work is passed down from one generation to another and there is no desire or necessity for change. Similarly, in science, there are some cases where one may prefer to read newer works and there are cases where one may prefer to read older works. This first case where is it is usually necessary to read the oldest works in science is in theoretical, psychological and social science. The next couple examples illustrate where one will prefer to read oldest works. The first example is in the biological fields such as medical and pharmaceutical. In order to practice or study either of these fields you must read and understand the foundation science behind it. If someone wants to have a good understanding of this field they need to read the older works. They must gain this understanding first then they may work towards newer works. Similarly, another example is the study of matter, energy, and space. If you are going to read about this subject matter you will most likely prefer to read the oldest works first and then move to the newer works. To make advances in this field a person must have a good understanding of the foundation science. In contrast, when it comes to practical science, it is usually preferred to read the newest works in science. There are a few examples the help demonstrate where in practical or â€Å"applied† science one may prefer to read the newest works. The first example is in medicine and surgery; here the preference is to read the newest so the person can use the latest science available to them. They also prefer to read the newest works so that can make further advances in the field. Similarly, in technological and business processes, one will read the newest works so they can apply them to their every day operations. As it is illustrated, in science, it may be preferred to read oldest works or it may be preferred to read newest works but in most cases the latter is preferred. In science, since we have the required foundation knowledge our preferences are forced. We are required and must read some of the oldest works first. Then after gaining that preliminary knowledge, one may prefer to read the newest works instead of older. To compare this with literature this is quite contrary. In literature there is no foundation level required. This implies there is no forced preference to read older or newer works. One may choose to read the oldest works but this is not always true. There tends to be less of a preference overall for literature comparatively; sometimes it makes sense to read older sometimes newer if often depends on type. In conclusion, I agree to an extent that â€Å"In science, read, by preference, the newest works: in literature, the oldest†. There is a certain scale and balance that exists when observing ones preference. The scale tilts enough to the for me to say that I agree with it even though it is not always true. There is always going to be new literature and there is always going to be new works in science. No matter what works come out in the future it can be assumed that this trend will continue. People will always tend to prefer to read older literature and people will always prefer to read newer works of science. This tends to be built into people's nature and it uncontrollable.

The Lost Beautifulness

Diana Tello ENH 285 Englehart 22 Febuary 2012 Journal Entry #5: Anzia Yezierska’s â€Å"The Lost Beautifulness† Anzia Yezierska’s short story â€Å"The Lost Beautifulness,† is the portrayal of the common immigrant during the 1920’s in search of the â€Å"American dream. † The main character Hanneh Hayyeh is â€Å"tired of living like a pig,† so she does whatever it takes to fulfill her place in living this dream. Mrs. Hayyeh even idolizes her son and takes much pride in the fact that he’s in the army, fighting for her to live this dream. Another character that contributes to the way Mrs.Hayyeh perceives America is, Mrs. Peterson. Mrs. Peterson has it all; a beautiful house,stability, and money. One thing that Mrs. Peterson mentions to Mrs. Hayyeh that is very crucial is the word â€Å"democracy,† Mrs. Hayyeh completely misinterprets this word thinking that everyone in America can be financially equal. Mrs. Hayyeh has unre alistic expectations of this dream, and she later comes to realize that not everything is as good as it seems. â€Å"The Lost beautifulness,† is a story filled with many historical components.An obvious component that is seen from the start is the famous WWI, where we see Mrs. Hayyeh †worship† her son before he goes out and fights for America. Many men were drafted and took off to the war during these times, leaving behind the sad, but proud mothers. Another important historical component is â€Å"immigration,† where in the text we meet Mrs. Hayyeh, an Immigrant from Russia. A major factor that led to the rise of immigration during these times was to express freedom of religion, and feel the American Dream. Mrs.Hayyeh was a Jewish woman trying to escape oppressed Russia and coming to the U. S where she later realized that here days of oppressions were not over yet. The oppression she faced in the U. S had to do with the men in her life. First, she faces her cruel landlord who keeps increasing her rent on unjust terms. Mrs. Hayyeh relentlessly tries to fight this man’s cruel acts without any fear because she thinks America and â€Å"democracy,† will help her through, and she doesn’t know that like in her religion Women are suppressed figures here too. In the domestic sphere Mrs. Hayyeh has a raditional Jewish husband who hasn’t supported her in any way through her ambitious ideas, and when her world comes crumbling down, he abandons her and lets her know that â€Å"she should’ve listened to her husband. † Historically, and even today In the Judaism Religion, if a women wasn’t obedient to her husband, all hell would break loose. Not only Judaism but plenty of other religions indicate that a woman must obey her husband. Many men have taken advantage of that and in places like Africa, India, and even the United States domestic violence has alarmingly increased from the roots of these ideas. Humans are entitled to mistakes and choices and by no means should a man get a free pass to emotionally, verbally, or physically abuse a female. It is understandable that woman’s religious beliefs can be very strong but there is a fine line between religion and humanity. It is also imperative to understand that the religious interpretations that women receive, if any, are taught by men, so they may not even have credentials from the actual works of the text from the particular religion.These interpretations are likely altered to be at the convenience of the men, and women often have lack of knowledge which leads to their vulnerability. Many women believe they have to tolerate abuse because of the subservience they have towards their husbands. Slowly, here in the U. S we are managing to move away from this but today there are still many third world countries we’re trying to help progress, and break away from unreasonable perspectives.

Plato’s Theory of Forms Essay

Qu.1. A] Explain Plato’s concept of the Forms. B] Evaluate carefully Forms as a way of understanding the world. Plato, Socrates’ famous pupil, created the Theory of Forms. This essay will explore the ideas of Plato’s theory, the strengths and weaknesses of his thoughts, and how they affect our understanding of the world. The Theory of Forms states that everything has a Form- whether it is a chair, a bed, an animal etc; absolutely everything has a Form. Plato also states that ‘Forms are perfection’. Plato says there are four Forms for ethical values; these are Truth, Justice, Beauty, and Goodness. Plato believes there is a hierarchy of Forms, with the Form of Goodness being at the top. Plato believes that True Knowledge comes from knowing the four values, and using them to achieve Ultimate Reality. The way to achieve True Knowledge is ‘Only through the mind’ according to Plato. You have to separate body and soul, and concentrate on mind, to accomplish Ultimate Reality. Plato says we are born with the knowledge of Form, and through education, we recollect this knowledge. For example, we say ‘that is a beautiful flower’, but what is beauty? As we grow up, we are told what objects are beautiful; Plato states that we learn of Forms through experience and learning. Plato uses the ‘Analogy of the Cave’ to explain his Theory. The sun in the analogy represents the Form of Goodness; it gives life to everything, and is the source of all. In Christianity, the Form of Goodness is God, as He is the creator and leader. Plato believes to become a true philosopher you must attain knowledge of Forms, and to accomplish true enlightenment you must have true awareness of the Form of Goodness. Plato’s ‘Analogy of the Cave’ also shows that Forms are in a world beyond shadows and beyond appearance, they are the truth within our souls. Saint- Exupery agrees with this by saying ‘What is essential is invisible to the eye’. Plato suggests there is another reality, a reality that is invisible and beyond our senses. Plato says that facts (sight, touch, smell etc) assist in Forms, for example, we look at things to see if they are good. However, Plato says senses are unreliable and relative, and do not give an absolute view on anything. Plato’s ‘Analogy of the Cave’ also explains that although everyone knows the Forms, many refuse to accept them as it can take away the security of illusions, and the world as you know it. Plato believes Forms cannot be taught, only valued, and utilized. Plato’s Theory of Forms has had many criticisms, one being that it is not really a theory. It relies on the ‘Analogy of the Cave’ to support and explain its’ details. This suggests that Plato is unsure of Forms himself, or at least how to explain them. It is suggested that the Theory is unsure of the extent of the Forms, for example, is there a Form for humanity or each individual? This is important as the answer could change the concept of Form, and alter how the concept is used to understand the world. Another criticism is that Plato states that each Form is unique, but does not explain why this is. Plato also tells us about the Forms but does not say what they actually are. This suggests he has little evidence behind his assumptions, and perhaps does not fully understand Forms himself. Plato’s Theory also has many strong points. It is true that we know Forms- such as beauty etc, and learn about them throughout our lives. This suggests that we are born with knowledge of Forms within our minds, and understand the world using these Forms. It is also true that our senses are unreliable and ever-changing, for example we say something is ‘big’ but compared to something else it may be ‘small’. The way we believe things are true, is by using our senses. This suggests that the way we understand the world is untrustworthy and false, as it is based on unreliable sources. Another strong point is how many of us are secure in our world, and do not want to believe another world exists. We are comfortable in believing what surrounds us is true, and do not want our reality to be shattered. Overall, Plato’s theory is complicated and based on the fact that everything has a Form, and we all have an innate knowledge of Forms. Plato’s theory is criticised because it is unclear and imprecise, with little evidence to back it up. Nevertheless, it offers us a different way of thinking and a new light to see things. We have no idea whether it is true- how can we really know anything? Plato’s Theory of Forms is comprehendible and definitely possible and allows us to broaden our mind and consider another reality.

Arena Simulation of STR Manufacturing Process Dissertation

Arena Simulation of STR Manufacturing Process - Dissertation Example The present research has identified that Thai Hua Rubber PCL is one of the largest rubber producer and exporter in Thailand. Most of the product is concerning a production of rubber, for example, RSS (Ribbed Smoked sheets), RSS Compound (Ribbed smoked sheets compounds), STR (Standard Thai rubber), Concentrated Latex, ADS (Air Dried Sheets). However, focus product in this research would be STR (Standard Thai rubber) for which we see a manifold increase in demand. The research is aimed to identify measure and analyze the main problems in oven and packaging zone of production flow. The solution of the problem and its further validation by using Arena Simulation is also within the scope of this project. In order to improve the production, data was collected from the company’s existing processes and management information systems. The area of focus was the company’s production and quality control processes. Initially, the company’s existing scenario was simulated by u sing Arena Simulation programming method. Then in-depth analysis was conducted to find out the main problem in the production line and a solution was devised based on lean manufacturing methods. Lean manufacturing is the customer focus approach to deliver or supply what customer demands in the desired form and free of defects and in time. It further aims to reduce all types of wastes encountered during production processes that may impede overall productivity and increase costs. Main tools of lean manufacturing include but are not limited to 5S, TPM, 6 Sigma, and Kaizen. The transformation from a non-lean setup to a lean manufacturing system is critical and requires a systematic approach for this transition to avoid any major breakdown.

Survival of the Fittest Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Survival of the Fittest - Article Example This will help the employees in saving his/her jobs because health care administrators are already looking to retain only those employees who can work in more than one area. Secondly managers have to motivate employees by participating in two way communication with them. Thirdly employees can continuously get involved in the process of improving the quality of the service by providing clean and safe environment to patients and other officials of the health care system. Lastly, administrators of health care system should try to reduce their cost by negotiating with suppliers and it is the right time to do so as suppliers they are ready to negotiate due to bad economic conditions. Mark S. Learner states that an individual who is responsible for carrying out activities should try to take the credit for what he has done otherwise his activities and importance will be undermined. Lerner states that an individual has to show his technical abilities in order to save his/her job. In my opinion this is not completely true because an individual can not perform all kinds of jobs related to a field and if he/she will try to do so, he will feel over burdened and employees of health care settings are already over burdened because organizations are practicing

An Affluent Society and the Sixties Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

An Affluent Society and the Sixties - Essay Example Due to increase in the population in the suburbs there was increase in the demand of cars and gasoline which led to the decline of city business. In the year 1954 the phrase â€Å"under God† was made part of Pledge of Allegiance and â€Å"In God we trust† was included on all currency of the US in 1955.There was religious revival during the 1960’s as the percentage of people going to church and synagogue increased to 60%.Rock n roll music was introduced and Elvis Presley became the idol of the youth. There was also a change in the concept of racism as new black artist were encouraged and were given a platform to show their talent. A major change which took place was that family togetherness became the top priority. During the 1960’s most of the people joined politics and they took active part in the civil rights and anti-war movements. In the 1960’s most of the emphasis was laid on women’s rights and in 1966 the National Organization for Women (NOW) was established. In my opinion the most significant change that took place in the 1960’s was economical because social security was expanded from self-employed persons to farmers and military personnel tge and the federal minimum wage was also increased. Steps were also taken to minimize Federal budget was and keep inflation under control.

President who Abuses his Executive Order Authority Assignment - 3

President who Abuses his Executive Order Authority - Assignment Example An aggressive president can use his power to establish beneficial acts. By such an act, he might be undermining the constitution of separation of powers but sometimes when power is shared by two governments the justice fails to enact. The executive authority can take decisions in the situation where there is a mandatory need but when implying order for mean motives then definitely he is practically undermining the constitution of separation of powers. The executive authority would not be instructive it was to dispute the lawful goal for which it was established. The executive authority needs to be within the law parameters. Otherwise, the executive authority would be violating the national integrity and the very structure of the political ideology of the government. An executive need to look at the limitation of his power and rightful use of power can only bring about an ideal constituency. As per (Word Press) â€Å"The president must enforce laws that are passed by the formal legislative process as they are written.   If the president does not like a bill passed by Congress or feels it violates the Constitution then the president can veto it before it becomes law†. President cannot necessarily pass orders which are not supported legally however he can use executive orders to modify certain laws which are passed by the constitutions. Question 3: History and practice are useful tools in understanding the Presidents authority, and a Legal framework of analysis exists to help determine issues of validity. Beyond questions of legality, there are many separate but important issues of policy. Two broad policy questions present themselves: (1) whether a given power the President possesses ought to be used to advance a particular policy objective, and (2) whether a particular draft directive effectively advances such a policy goal. Specifically, research any executive orders Pres. Obama has issued and determined if the 2 policy questions in this paragraph  have been met.

MIMA-123 evaluation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

MIMA-123 evaluation - Essay Example Dombrock defined an unrecognized red cell antigen, which was ultimately named Doa (Swanson et al.1965). Eight years later, the antithetical antigen to Doa was identified and appropriately named Dob (Molthan et al 1973). The two antigens were put in the Dombrock blood group system (DO) and assigned IBST 014 by the International Society for Blood Transfusion (Lewis et al.1985). The Dombrock blood group started as a polymorphic system comprised of the two alleles, DOA and DOB. The antigens Doa and Dob are found on a glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-linked glycoprotein belonging to the ADP-ribosyltransferases (ARTs) family. ARTs catalyze the transfer of ADP-ribose from ÃŽ ²-NAD+ to certain amino acid residues of target proteins (Ueda & Hayaishi, 1985). ADP-ribosylation is physiologically important because the process leads to protein inactivation, and in some cases pathogenecity; because this action has been related to that of bacterial toxins (Corda & Di Girolamo, 2003). In 1992, it was discovered that the Gregory (Gya) negative phenotype RBCs were also Do (a-b-) in addition to being Holley (Hy) and Joseph (Joa) negative as previously described (Banks et al.1992). Gya and Hy are high prevalence antigens which were first described in 1967, while the Joa antigen was described in 1972 (Reid 2003). Through immunoblotting analysis, Gya, Hy, and Joa antigens we re found on the same glycoprotein where the Do antigens reside (Spring et al.1994). The Gy (a-) phenotype was determined to be the null Dombrock (Donull) phenotype (Reid, 2003). Consequently, Gya, Hy, and Joa antigens were included in the Dombrock blood group system. In 2009, a new Do-related high-prevalence antigen named DOYA was discovered and added to the Dombrock group (Warke et al.2008; Daniels et al.2009), bringing the total to six distinct antigens in the Dombrock blood group. The current ISBT terminology for the Dombrock blood group system is shown in

Educationall Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Educationall Leadership - Essay Example From this study it is clear that management is a process of organizing things and people to work together for an organization. The two types of management styles include scientific management and the human relations. The main purpose of scientific management is to increase the productivity of the individuals of an organization. It improves the productivity of an organization by increasing its production. As the discussion declares the role of a leader is to guide an organization towards a direction. It must be noted however that sometimes we may find leaders quite dominating. Another factor that encourages us to practice leadership is power motive which includes referent, legitimate rewards and coercive powers. Some important approaches in educational leadership include particular set of skills, style, traits, path goal, transformational, LMX and situational approaches. After understanding the concept of leadership we must know the difference between management and leadership. Manage ment is a process that helps an organization to perform its function whereas leadership focuses to achieve a certain goal and keep the individual motivated. In educational leadership, the leader should inspire other people to follow him. He should attract people towards his cause with the help of his personality. The leader should act friendly with other people and should have an appealing style.  

The Lady with the Pet Dog Essay Example for Free

The Lady with the Pet Dog Essay The versions of the â€Å"The Lady with the Pet Dog† by Anton Chekhov and Joyce Oates are considered different largely due to the fact that the authors took different perspectives in narrating the story. The earlier maximized on the guy’s point of view, thus providing a clear interpretation of his actions, while the latter focused on the woman’s. However, in general, the story spoke of the same two persons and a dog; a man and a woman, both within the sanctity of marriage taking a vacation, meeting each other and getting into a dalliance. Then again, the authors showed different realizations from the man and the woman at the end of the story. Another main difference that can be observed, if one reads both stories, is the illustration of the personality of the female character, Anna Sergeyevna.. In Chekhov’s account, she was barely described, so simplified, typical, one can only see her through Gurov’s perception of her, if not for her major participation as Gurov’s mistress she might as well be just one of the women generalized in the story. Thus, after reading the story, one would definitely identify her as just the lady with the pet dog. On the other hand, although Oates took the view of the female character, she did not maximize on the actions, rather on what Anna feels; her inner emotions. Thus, she was able to show the female protagonist as having a hysterical character, has suicidal tendencies, full of self-loathing and with a melodramatic self-image. It was also shown in this version what seemed to be almost neglected in the original narration, the female protagonist’s thoughts of the situation she was in. If one would observe how Anna reacted on the circumstance based on Chekhov’s narrations, it would be unclear how she felt about what was happening. One may somehow recognize the struggles but not to the extent of truly identifying with her. In fact, it may be possible to jump to a conclusion that she was not tremendously affected by the obviously wrong conduct that they were doing. As can be seen in the situation where Gurov went to visit her, she was described as astonished about his sudden appearance but showed no remorse for they continued their escapades and promised to meet discretely (Gioia, 1998). This can be misleading for readers may interpret her reaction as a complete acceptance of the situation they were in. However, in Oates’s account, it can be seen and felt how much Anna was confused about the situation. The conflict inside her was clearly illustrated which made it easy to relate with her struggles. Thus, it can be understood why she had inclination to end her own life. Moreover, being able to focus on her perception makes readers understand that she actually desired for things to be in the right place. She wanted her marriage to be better so that things would be corrected. This confusion was emphasized more by Oates’s circular presentation of events, which made it seem like it was actually the main idea of the story. Moreover, in the depiction of the characters, one can see how the Gurov of Chekhov’s version and Anna of Oates’s story have quite different perceptions of marriage and adultery. Through Chekhov’s, we identify that the main protagonist do not think highly of his marriage, staying within it but not respecting its real essence. It has actually became instrumental in perpetuating his quest for women, thus, adultery can be said as a second nature to him. On the other hand, we learned through Oates that Anna has fair regards to her marriage, which made her feel guilty about her affair with Gurov. She was not comfortable with adultery the same way that her partner was; therefore, she had to deal with her conscience throughout the story. (Fulford, 2004). Further differences unfold at the end of each story. On Chekhov’s note, since it was on Gurov’s view, he presented how he realized that he can actually still find true love; that despite the fact that he despised women in general, here is a woman who was able to show him that he can still feel that form of affection. On the other hand, Anna also found love at the end of Oates’s story, however, it was a different one for it was a love for herself. It was an acceptance of what she is and what she has become in loving â€Å"the stranger†, which made her acknowledge that she cannot live without him and that her marriage would not be able to keep her from being with him. Through this realization, it showed that she has finally decided to take the path that would make her happy, disregarding other matters, just making a decision that would satisfy her needs and wants. Her identity has been found and she has learned to love it (Edrich, 2003). If profoundly analyzed, one would identify that the theme of both stories revolve on the stereotypical idea of love, marriage and adultery. Men tend to find love on another person, often on women, while women always seem to be lacking self-acceptance which translate to not loving themselves; women has higher respect and gives more importance to marriage as compared to men and society seems to have a better acceptance of men being adulterous but women are judged awfully for it. As a matter of fact, men who commit adultery are at times admired but women are abhorred for doing so. The story is somewhat an illustration of society’s double standard. Chekhov was a genius in coming up with a story with a theme like this and the way that he presented it was very exceptional. Oates should also be commended for her brilliance in making an interpretation of the woman’s character. Thus, even though these are different stories, they are able to present different perspectives and understanding of issues that are rampant in the society but are not often addressed. I cannot completely decide on which of the versions is better because both have their own merits, although I have a slight inclination to the original. Perhaps, a good deciding factor would be to which character one could relate to, the man or the woman? Works Cited: Edrich, M. M. (2003). The Lady with the Pet Dog Essay. Retrieved May 31, 2010, from: http://www. edrich. us/files/own/c_engcheckhov. pdf Fulford, R. (2004). Surprised by Love: Chekhov and The Lady with the Dog. Queens Quarterly, 111, 300+. Goioa, D. (1998). Anton Chekhovs The Lady with the Pet Dog. Retrieved May 31, 2010, from Ecclectic Literary Review: http://www. danagioia. net/essays/echekhov. htm

The roles of strategic planning and implementation

The roles of strategic planning and implementation Strategic planning refers to defining an organizations strategies, direction of guidelines, and making decisions on how the organization allocates its resources to pursue those strategies. The key resources of an organization include capital, land, properties and people (workforce). Allocation of such resources is a major function of strategic planning process. A company may use different techniques to implement its strategic planning such as SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis, PEST (Political, Economical, Social and Technological) analysis, STEER (Socio-cultural, Technological, Economic, Ecological and Regulatory) analysis, and EPISTEL (Environment, Political, Informatic, Social, Technological, Economic and Legal) analysis. Whatever the analysis technique is, the main purpose of making strategic planning for business is to set out the future courses of actions for an organization. Strategic planning process deals with the following questions: What do we do? For whom do we do it? and How do we excel it? or How can we beat or avoid competition? (Bradford Duncan, page 1). Strategic planning is typically being made for 3 to 5 calendar years for most of the business organizations. However, some companies set their vision for up to 20 years. STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS The preparatory phase of starting any new business both for profit making and not for profit organization relies greatly on setting strategies and making appropriate strategic planning. In order to do so, an organization analyses its current situation, objectives and marketing plans. Analysis of current situation mostly deals with the previous years Business Trend analysis, Market analysis, Competitive analysis, Market segmentation, Marketing mix, SWOT analysis, Positioning-analyzing perceptions and analyzing Sources of information. A companys Objectives and Marketing plans deal with the future Marketing strategies, Desired market segmentation, Desired marketing-mix, TOWS-based objectives as a result of the SWOT, Positions and perceptual gaps and Yearly sales forecasts. APPROACHES TO STRATEGIC PLANNING Among numerous approaches of making strategic planning, most organizations typically follow a three step process called Situation-Target-Path technique, where an organization evaluates the current situation of the business and how it came about, defines its goals and objectives, and maps a possible route to implement those goals and objectives. There is an alternative to this approach called Draw-See-Think approach, where the company draws the ideal image or the desired end-states, sees todays situation and persisting gaps from the ideal and its possible reason, thinks what specific actions must be taken to close the gap between todays situation and ideal state. FOR PROFIT AND NON-PROFIT STRATEGIC PLANNING Different organization carries out the strategic planning process differently. This variation in strategic planning process depends more on the size and nature of the organization rather the profit/non-profit status of the entities. Small size organizations whether profit or not for profit carry out their strategic planning almost similarly that differs from large organizations. On the other hand, large for profit or large non-profit organizations tend to conduct similar planning activities that are different from those conducted in small organizations. However, there are some differences in strategic planning process in terms of profit or non-profit status of the organization by the following criteria: Non profit organizations give more emphasize on board development, fundraising and volunteer management, where in profit making organizations, emphasize is placed on activities to maximize profits more. ROLES OF STRATEGIC PLANNING Strategic planning plays an important role in the business area and also in the public areas such as education, healthcare or government. It is practiced and implemented widely everywhere both informally and formally. In any business organization the roles of strategic planning depend on the nature of the organizations leadership, culture of the organization, complexity of the organizations environment, size of the organization, expertise of the planners etc. According to the diverse goals or objectives of different business entity, various technique of strategic planning is used, for example, goal-based strategic planning, issue-based, organic or scenario-based strategic planning, etc. But in general, strategic planning serves the following purposes in almost every organization: à ¢- º Clearly defines the purpose of the organizations and set the objectives or goals à ¢- º Communicate those goals and objectives to the organizations constituents à ¢- º Develop a sense of ownership of the plan à ¢- º Use the organizations resources most effectively by focusing on key priorities à ¢- º Provide a base from which progress can be measured à ¢- º Listen to everyones opinion to build consensus about where the organization is going à ¢- º Focus more on production most effectively and efficiently in order to grow the production à ¢- º Works as a bridge between staffs/employees and board of directors à ¢- º Helps in team work with employees/staff and board members à ¢- º Works as a glue that keeps board members together à ¢- º Produce a sense of satisfaction among planners, especially around a common vision à ¢- º Solves major problems in the organization It was thought in the old days that only the big enterprises need formulate strategies and adopt a strategic planning process. But with the span of time, the business environment has changed to a great extent. Todays business environment has become more competitive and challenging. To survive in this competition, any organization whether big or small should come forward with the best quality products or services that will satisfy the changing requirements of the customers. Customers have become choosier as they are getting more alternative products and services. They will take the products that will best serve their requirements, in terms of quality or price. Satisfying these customers is not so easy job. For that, an organization must come forward with the best products/services to remain in the leading position. For that reason, every business organization, small or big needs to formulate and implement its business strategies. Only the good strategies can make an organization succe ssful in todays competition and helps them to survive. Bigger companies will always be ahead in this race, as they have got rigorous strategies that are being planned and implemented throughout each of their levels. Smaller companies always thrive for survival and try to grow bigger. Strategic planning provides an organization direction. With the help of this, organizations can know their position in the industry and take appropriate measures for future growth and expansion. Strategic planning also help them to process day to day business functions, which are very important to run the business successfully. A companys mission/vision can never be attained without a proper strategic planning and the objectives of the company can not be achieved without it. A strategic planning process helps an organization in meeting the following perspectives: Focused purpose: Strategic planning helps the organizations to define their short term business purposes clearly, i.e. where they want to see themselves in a year or two years of time, making the profit targets, segmenting their market, and making different marketing mix. Strategic planning ensures that mission is realistic and achievable and being taken with due considerations of current business trend and analysis. Good planning serves the best interests of the stakeholders. Moreover, it defines a point of differentiation. Future Perspectives: In considering the future perspectives of an organization, the strategic planning clearly defines the long term objectives, i.e. the vision of the organization, identifies the long-term interests of the stakeholders, and provides a foundation for decision-making to the management of the organization. Strategic advantage: Strategic planning helps an organization achieving the competitive advantage over others and makes it clearly understood to all the stakeholders of the company. It also increases the employee productivity by clearly presenting the roles and duties they need to serve for the organization. External assessment: A good strategic planning helps an organization in assessing the external factors outside the business entity, which is very important to be successful and to remain ahead of the competition. An external assessment reflects an organizations approaches to gather and analyze essential market data, e.g. studying macro and micro economic information, identifying industry opportunities and threats, and understanding what it takes to be successful in a given market. Customer profiles: Customer profiling is an external business assessment by the organization that define reasons why the customers should buy its products or services and the benefits persisting with such products. It also defines the reason why the customers should not buy some products or services, assess the customers bargaining power. Moreover, strategic planning helps the organization know the customers preferences of different choices of distribution channels. Industry and competitive analysis: This is an important component of business strategy that helps the organization in identifying the primary competitors in the industry, determines potential and indirect competitors, also identifies their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, helps the organization in assessing the threats of substitute products or services or new entrants into the market place. A good planning helps the organization in comparing growth rate with industry standard, and evaluates ongoing market process. Environmental assessment: Strategic planning does the following to assess the business environment for the organization; identifying the regulatory requirements; Assessing vulnerability to adverse business cycle, summarizing opportunities and threats due to economic condition, new technology, demographic structure, legal or political events, socio-cultural norms, and the natural environment. Assessing key success factors: Strategic planning helps the organization in assessing the key success factors in doing business. Key success factors are identified with a critical thinking process that includes implementation of critical thinking process; measuring competitive intensity; setting the demand of products or services within the market; defining key drivers to success within the industry; and consistently monitoring key influences within the industry. Internal assessment: By making strategic plans, an organization can assess its internal factors which help the organization to evaluate its own strengths and weaknesses. Self assessment is very vital to sustain as a successful business entity. An organizations internal assessment process refers to the evaluation of its management process which includes: Finance: Strategic planning determines whether an organization has enough fund available for investment or for ongoing business functions; sets up a comprehensive pricing model; keep the consistency of performance within a range of financial goal; makes a targeted long ranged financial plan; employs a cost benefit approach to resource allocation; makes a financial plan that allow flexibility and economic or environmental disruption. Research development: Having a strategic planning process empowers an organization to integrate all appropriate departments with RD, maintain a creative and innovative process; and ensures that RD department has all required resources to fulfill its functions. Production: Strategic planning program helps an organization to integrate all of its departments to support the production process; maintains that the production process is cost-effective, flexible, fast and responsive. Marketing: Strategies helps an organization in making coordination among all the departments to support marketing, defining marketing plans, branding the products or services, usage of database to track all the customers and market information, promotion of the products or services, and monitoring the ROI of all marketing campaigns. Sales Distribution: By planning its strategies, an organization consistently achieves sales goals, ensures that its sales personnel have got the required skills to achieve plan are being provided with necessary information to achieve their goals, employs a well defined sales management process, and coordinates all other departments to support sales process. Customer servicing: If the organization takes the appropriate strategic planning, then it can define the standard of its customer service, meet the customers expectations, measure the satisfaction level of the customers, achieve the customer loyalty by building a high commitment between employees and managers, and maintain a customer relationship management system that provides critical service information to make the best decision IMPLEMENTATION OF PLANNING PROCESS After formulating the strategies, a firms main concern is how to implement those selected strategies. This is done by means programs, budgets and procedures that involve the firms resources and motivation of the staffs to achieve such objectives. In order to ensure that the planning process is not a document that ends up collecting dust on the shelf, an organization should follow some guidelines that will ensure that the planning is being implemented. An organization can do that by involving people who will be responsible for implementing the plan, can make a cross functional team combining representatives from each department who will be liable to ensure that the plan is realistic and collaborative. In order to that, the organization must continue asking them whether the plans are realistic or not, or can they really achieve all their goals or not. The organization can organize the overall strategic plan into small action plans. In the overall planning document, the organization should specify who is doing what and by when it is going to be implemented. Some organizations may elect to include the action plans in a separate document from the strategic plan, which would include only the mission, vision, values, key issues and goals, and strategies. The organization should also specify and clarify the plans implementation roles and responsibilities in the implementation section of the plan and make a regular review on the progress of the implementation plan. Translating the strategic plans actions into job descriptions can stimulate the implementation process quicker. When people involved in any process know that the action plans will be regularly reviewed, then the implementers tend to do their jobs before they are being checked. So organization needs to review the plan time to time and communicate with the personnel involved in the process. Moreover, the organization can integrate the plans goals and objectives into chief executives performance review, this will get the implementation process more importance as the chief executives involvement and support in the plan is a major driver to the plans implementation. Regular feedback on the implementation plan from the planning participants to the executive committee is also very important in strategy implementation. Make sure that the organization has designated rotating checkers to verify if each implementer completes his/her assigned tasks. The organization should also grow an attitude of helping each other among the implementers in the strategy implantation program. The way by which the strategies are being implemented can have a significant impact on whether it will be successful or not. For this reason, care must be taken to communicate the strategies among implementers. For a sustained and successful strategies carried out by an organization, the implemented strategies must be regularly viewed and monitored, and necessary adjustments should be made time to time. Bradford and Duncan (2000). Simplified Strategic Planning. Chandler House. Patrick L. Burkhart and Suzanne Reuss (1993). Successful Strategic Planning: A Guide for Nonprofit Agencies and Organizations. Newbury Park: Sage Publications. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_planning http://managementhelp.org/plan_dec/str_plan/str_plan.htm Mintzberg, Henry, Lampel, J., Ahlstrand, B., Strategy Safari: A Guided Tour through the Wilds of Strategic Management

Impact of Media in Shaping Perceptions and Policies

Impact of Media in Shaping Perceptions and Policies CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION The Information Age has seen a transformation in the nature of war. The emerging trend is towards low intensity conflicts and proxy war waged between states and non-state actors. Information Warfare, Information Operations and Psychological Operations have come to dominate the battle space. Besides military dominance, warring sides aim to create positive perception to gain international support and public acceptance towards their strategic goals. The media, including print, radio, television and internet has become a preferred channel to this end. History is studded with a number of instances where media was effectively utilized to shape perceptions and influence the will of allies as well as adversaries. Right from the Boer War, World Wars One and Two, the Vietnam War and the various Gulf conflicts, the victors have successfully conducted intensive campaigns to create and sustain a favorable narrative. The United States of America, during Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan an d Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq embedded journalists with its frontline forces. As a consequence, the global audience was exposed to a new intensity and immediacy of combat never before experienced. The massive information overload thus produced almost entirely favored the United States and its Coalition allies. Despite criticism for indiscriminate and subjective broadcasting of violence without context or commentary, the embedded journalists garnered the bulk of global attention and were faithful purveyors of the Coalition narrative. In the Indian context, the war of 1971 was an example where media, including international war correspondents, accompanied the forces advancing in the East. There was no attempt made to either hinder or influence their reporting. At present, the Indian Army is faced with a proxy war in Jammu and Kashmir where both the adversary state and its non-state proxies contest the nation in the military, political as well as the information domain. The violent actions of terrorist groups are complemented by a massive media offensive. The aim is to influence perceptions of the domestic audience and the global community. Then Chief of Army Staff, General B C Joshi, had referred to the media as a Force Multiplier while giving out guidelines to the Army deployed in proxy war in Jammu and Kashmir in 1994.[1] Until Kargil, the thrust of Army Media interaction was to highlight the Army’s role in Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief, focus on sports, jubilee celebrations and to avoid me dia glare during operations. However, the 1999 Kargil conflict was a watershed in wartime reporting. Until then, media was viewed as a meddlesome diversion at best and a threat to Operational Security at worst. During the conflict, the Indian Army realized the potential of the media to gain an Information Warfare advantage over the adversary. In view of this experience, and in line with the report of the Kargil Review Committee report, the Army changed its media policy. It is perhaps time to take a cue from the United States of America and explore the feasibility of embedding journalists with troops engaged in fighting the proxy war in Jammu and Kashmir. At first glance, the concept seems impractical and pointless; however, a strong case may exist in its favor. METHODOLOGY Statement of the Problem The impact of media in shaping perceptions and influencing policies needs no further evidence. However, the Information Warfare advantage that may be gained by the Indian Army in the proxy war in Jammu and Kashmir from embedded journalists has not been studied in detail. With a visible slant in media against the prolonged military campaign in general and the Armed Forces Special powers Act in particular, there is a need to analyze the likely results of embedded journalists. Is the experience of Coalition forces in the Global War On Terrorism relevant to the Indian context? Is there a need to modify the concept of media interaction accordingly? Will the outcome justify the risks? Hypothesis Embedding journalists with troops engaged in proxy war in Jammu and Kashmir will present an Information Warfare advantage to the Indian Army. Justification of the Study At present, the Indian Army is alive to the reality of conducting operations in the full glare of the media. However, there is little enthusiasm among the majority of the rank and file towards media interaction. The anti-establishment tone of the vernacular media has fostered a sense of passive hostility towards all media in general. The possibility of embedded journalists revealing classified information and indulging in sensationalizing sensitive issues has also influenced the leadership to restrict the scope of media interaction in proxy war in Jammu and Kashmir. Scope The scope of the study being vast, the paper concentrates on the possible implications of embedding journalists with troops engaged in proxy war in Jammu and Kashmir. The paper highlights the need to increase media interaction and brings out the advantages of ensuring broadcast of a favorable narrative across all forms of media. It also aims to support the hypothesis with research on similar initiatives elsewhere in time and space. Operational Definitions The special terms used in this dissertation are defined below :- (a)Â  Information Warfare.[2]Â  The offensive and defensive use of information and information systems to deny, exploit, corrupt or destroy an adversary’s information, information based processes, information systems, and computer based networks while protecting one’s own. Such actions are designed to achieve advantages over military or political adversaries. (b)Â  Information Operations.[3]Â  The integrated employment of electronic warfare, computer network operations, psychological operations, military deception, and operations security, in concert with specified supporting and related capabilities, to influence, disrupt, corrupt or usurp adversarial human and automated decision making, while protecting our own. (c)Â  Psychological Operations.[4]Â  Efforts to convey selected truthful information and indicators to foreign audiences to influence their emotions, motives, objective reasoning and ultimately, the behavior of their governments, organizations, groups and individuals. Methods of Data Collection The sources of reference are :- (a) Books from Defence Services Staff College library. (b) Articles from newspapers, magazines and journals. (c) Articles from the Internet. (d) Interactions with serving and retired Army officers, journalists and bureaucrats. Organization of the Dissertation It is proposed to study the subject in the following manner :- (a)Â  Chapter I. Introduction and Methodology. (b)Â  Chapter II. Historical Background of Army Media Relationship. This chapter covers the origin of modern combat journalism and the rise in the influence of media in conflicts. (c)Â  Chapter III. Information Operations and Media. This chapter highlights the utilization of media for perception shaping and conducting successful Information Operations. A special case is made of the Kargil conflict, 1993. (d)Â  Chapter IV. Embedded Journalists in the Global War On Terror. This chapter looks at the Coalition experience of embedded journalism to draw relevant lessons for the Indian context. (e)Â  Chapter V. Suggested Contours of Media Interaction. This chapter draws a theoretical model for embedded journalism in Jammu and Kashmir, to meet the requirements of the Indian Army. (f)Â  Chapter VI. Advantages from Embedded Journalists in Jammu and. This chapter relates the relevance of embedded media in fighting proxy war in Jammu and Kashmir. (g)Â  Chapter VII. Conclusion. The conclusion will knit together the relevant aspects of all chapters to summarize the research and point the way ahead. The final statement of the hypothesis will be made in light of the evidence studied. While the paper will be ended, there will pointers to further research included, given the vast scope of the subject. [1] Chakraborty, A K Information War : Challenges In The Twentyfirst Century. Noida; Trishul, 2003, p.15. [2] Forest, James J.F.,ed. Influence Warfare : How Terrorists And Governments Fight To Shape Perceptions In A War Of Ideas. New Delhi: Pentagon Press, 2010, p.10. [3] ibidem [4] ibidem

societhf Oppressive Societies :: Adventures Huckleberry Huck Finn Essays

Huck Finn and Oppressive Societies The world in which we live in now is much less oppressive than say the world lived in the middle of the 1800's. Up until the Civil War, the South depended on their 'peculiar institution' of slavery, in order to be productive a successful. Most people believed slavery was not wrong, but those who thought otherwise seldom tried to alter it. In general if surrounded by oppressive environment, one does not usually try to make a difference in that world. This is because people are afraid to defend what is right against a whole mass of people who believe otherwise. Huck Finn in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Billy Budd in Billy Budd, and Frederick Douglass in his autobiography all portray individuals who because of their good, innocent qualities go up against the oppression in their society. Living in an oppressive society does not always draw you to do the wrong thing you are still capable of generating change, whether it be for a certain individual or against a whole mass of people. Billy Budd starts off on the ship the "Rights of Man", Melville obviously showing his intent in the naming of the first ship. This shows that on this ship where Billy wanted to be and chose to be he had rights. That he and the other crew had choices of what to do and how to be. Then along comes the British navy and decides that they are going to take Billy aboard their ship "Power of War". This is when Billy is brought into an oppressive society. This is the navy and wartime during which rules must be followed as well as a lifestyle that must be followed. Billy is a poor innocent boy with a childish stutter. This stutter shows Billy's humane side, a flaw, as well as leading you to the thinking that he has the innocence of a child. This stutter is connected to innocence because of its childish qualities. When most children begin speaking they have some sort of stutter, which usually goes away. The stutter parallels innocence because it is showing that you are just learning how to talk and don't really comprehend the correct way to make sounds, as you grow older you learn and the stutter disappears.

Essay example --

Ben Dischert February 22 2014 Research paper J.C. Watts is having a very interesting life. He won the Orange bowl as child his uncle was state president of NAACP. J.C. played in the Canadian Football League [CFL]. Won the Orange bowl and had a in the Congress. He was even a Baptist minister. Here’s the life of Julius Caesar Watts Watts was born in Oklahoma on November 9, 1957. He grew up with 5 other siblings: Melvin, Lawrence, Mildred, Gwen and Darlene. J.C. was the second oldest. His parents were Helen and Buddy Watts. When Watts was little, his uncle Wade was state NAACP president of Oklahoma. When Watts started grade school, he was one of the first black kids to go to that school. After making it into high school, he told a story of when â€Å"he made it on the varsity football team as a quarterback but he was the second string. He got so mad about this. He quit the team and went home to tell his dad. But after talking to his dad .J.C. went back to his coach and asked if he could rejoin the team, the coach said â€Å"yes†. Once the coach put him in a game t...

But Nothing Day

Foil Stafford Argument Analysis Imagine, a day in the great United States of America where absolutely no goods are sold nor purchased, in order to increase the awareness of the people about overconsumption. This is supposed to be an innovative way to expose environmental as well as ethical consequences due to consumerism, however this stance would fail horribly and should not be considered. Could one fathom having all choices guided by the candid government. America does not have an all controlling government simply because there is no need for one.The United States should not implement an annual Buy Nothing Day because the government was not formed to control the citizens’ on their moral or selfish problems. Establishing an annual Buy Nothing Day does not leave room for exceptions. If someone is out of gas then they can not get to work. If someone is in desperate need of food they might steal. Americas strongest yet weakest asset is its economy, so with it in a constant fluct uation, why interfere with its natural processes.Ultimately, a Buy Nothing Day will solve nothing because majority of the participants will not know the cause. Not to mention, it would be virtually impossible for everyone to be on the same accord, so trying to advocate this idea could potentially lead to violence. Hypothetically speaking, say a Buy Nothing Day was attempted in the United States, it would more than likely be boycotted against. For example, during the Progressive Era, alcohol was banned by legislation so prohibition was boycotted. Instead of people not drinking, Americans drank more than when it was allowed.So, in correlation with prohibition, a Buy Nothing Day would increase spending either day before or after, resulting in a spike of consumerism than a normal day, contradicting the original purpose of Buy Nothing day. In retrospect, even if the country refrained from buying on the mandated day, eventually consumerism would occur without buying things on that specifi c date because consumers will buy on a need-based timeline. As citizens we are still capable of audaciously driving to work instead of taking public transportation, or pass up water for an ice cold soft drink.One cannot assume that a Buy Nothing Day will, in any significant way, affect Americas pattern of overconsumption. Individuals and organizations who are for the Buy Nothing Day believe that it would show the American people the value of a dollar. Well, while this may be true for those who have money, what about the people who on a daily basis undergo a â€Å"Buy Nothing† phase because they can not afford to purchase goods regardless? They say that it will promote consumerism as an excessive part of American lives so people will not buy.The process of informing consumers might work temporarily, but when it comes down to it people will do what they want to do. Finally, conservationists state that the plan would do nothing but make the United States more of a discipline nat ion, plus a plethora of European countries do it. Nevertheless, how many countries can say they are thriving like America? Not that many, plus a nation wants its people to spend money because that helps the economy flourish. If people stop spending money the economy plummets.Also, what if this one day thing, turned into a mass movement and people partook in it for multiple months. It spells nothing but catastrophic. In conclusion, economic stability strengthens nativism and spending hard earned riches makes them an even stronger nation. Consumerism may be an issue in today's society but a Buy Nothing Day would essentially skyrocket consumerism, making the point completely worthless. America is a strong united nation as is, and with the program put in place or not, it will remain that way.

Ethical Issues in Human Cloning Essay

In the modern society, cloning has been described as the man-made, genetic duplicate of another living form (United Nation Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization [UNESCO], 2005). Cloning of mammals has been a far-fetched idea to some scientists for a very long time. However, in 1997, Dr. Ian Wilmut, along with his team, successfully cloned a lamb from a mature ewe (Kass & Wilson, 1998). This announcement has caused a lot of positive and negative responses from medical and non-medical communities. Protests from religious groups, bioethicists, humanitarians, and the general public led former President Clinton, the United States president of that time, to form the National Bioethics Advisory Commission (NBAC) (Campbell, 1997). This committee then published a report and concluded that human cloning was morally unacceptable. It was then that government funds have been forbidden to be provided for human cloning research, making it illegal (Kass & Wilson, 1998). Critics of human cloning dispute that human cloning provides a number of medical risks that may harm the clone and the progenitor (Huang, 2001). Ninety percent of failure rate and high mortality rates in animal cloning have been reported. Dolly, the first lamb clone, was euthanized for developing old-age diseases despite her young age (Kass & Wilson, 1998). To create one successful clone, a huge number of unsuccessful embryos also have to be sacrificed. This concept has resulted in outrage among the critics of cloning for killing innocent clones for the benefit of one (Kuppuswamy, Macer, Serbulea, & Tobin, 2007). Apart from the medical risks of cloning, human reproductive cloning may also weaken the concept of kin and human reproduction (Kass & Wilson, 1998). A successfully cloned child would also have to face psychological problems such as personal identity and individuality. Designer babies and human enhancements will also be provided by reproductive cloning. Babies with perfect features and desirable characteristics will be available to high class societies because of the high-priced value of making them. Low class societies, on the other hand, will not be able to afford these babies, thereby creating a new form of discrimination that would further increase the gap between the rich and poor (Piercy, 1999). With human enhancements available, diseased and disabled people could be categorized as the â€Å"undesirables. † This implies that the lives of such persons are not worth living (Quick, n. d. ). In the society today, life is promoted and extended as much as possible. Discrimination is frowned upon and despised by all. Such ethical issues and many more are still being argued because of human reproductive cloning. Until these ethical issues are resolved, human cloning will still be morally unacceptable in the society. References Campbell, C. (1997). Cloning human beings: Religious perspective on human cloning. Retrieved from http://bioethics. georgetown. edu/nbac/pubs/cloning2/cc4. pdf. Huang, N. (2001). The ethics of human genetic cloning. MURJ, 4, 69–75. Retrieved from http://web. mit. edu/murj/www/v04/v04-Features/v04-f6. pdf. Kass, L. , & Wilson, J. (1998). The ethics of human cloning. Washington, CD: AEI Press. Kuppuswamy, C. , Macer, D. , Serbulea, M. , & Tobin, B. (2007). Is human reproductive cloning inevitable: Future options for UN governance. Yokohama, Japan: United Nations University – Institute of Advanced Studies. Retrieved from http://www. ias. unu. edu/resource_centre/Cloning_9. 20B. pdf. Piercy, E. (1999, December). Human cloning scientific, ethical and regulatory considerations relevant to cloning of human beings. Retrieved from http://www. aph. gov. au/house/committee/laca/humancloning/sub240. pdf. Quick, S. (n. d. ). Stem cell research and cloning—Science and ethics (Rev. ed). Retrieved May 27, 2010, from www. ethicalhealthcare. org/articles/quick_scr_cloning_ethics. pdf.

Disgrace Essay

In Disgrace by J. M. Coetzee we are introduced to David Lurie, the protagonist and narrator of this novel. David Lurie is a 52 year old divorced man, who lives in Cape Town, South Africa, as a respected romantic poetry professor at a university. His life is full of sexual, non-committed relationships. After being accused of inappropriate behavior with a student, Lurie loses his job at the university and must move in with his daughter, Lucy, in the country. Throughout the novel we see many references to animals, especially in relation to Lurie.Because he is the narrator of the novel, these animal references lead the reader to believe Lurie is describing himself through these animals. Lurie uses descriptions of animals as a way to describe how he feels about himself. We see Lurie go from a sexually charged predator, to a strange beast who has been hunter, to a dog-man, and then finally to a helpless dog who is ready to be put out of his misery. David Lurie is a predator at the beginnin g of the novel. He is a man searching for sex, and for the most part he is successful at it.His first sexual interest he introduces us to is Soraya, a prostitute who he has been going to see for a long time. Lurie describes them having sex by comparing them to snakes engaged in intercourse, â€Å"lengthy, absorbed, but rather abstract, rather dry, even at its hottest† (Coetzee 5 ). Being the narrator, this shows the reader how David views himself, as well as Soraya, as cold, scary, almost evil, creatures, like snakes. Snakes give off a very negative emotion because they are dangerous animals, and this comparison leads us to believe David too must be a dangerous animal.Soraya eventually tries to cut ties with David, but David being the predator he is cannot let his prey go. He is able to find Soraya’s home phone number and when he calls her she is livid he would cross that line. â€Å"But then, what should a predator expect when he intrudes into the vixen's nest, into the home of her cubs? † (Coetzee 10). Soraya is a mother, and feels like David calling her home is going to be a threat to her family, especially her children. The next instance where we see David describing himself as a predator is during his first sexual encounter with his student, Melanie.David is very persistent in sleeping with Melanie, and once he has finally chased her down he describes the experience as â€Å"like a rabbit when the jaws of the fox close on its neck† (Coetzee 25). He is well aware by making this statement that Melanie does not want to be in this situation with him, but he does not care, he has been chasing this prey for too to just let it go. This is not the last time David engages Melanie regardless of her strong reluctance however, and Melanie eventually has enough and reports Lurie to the University where he teaches.David Lurie goes from being the predator, to now being the one who is being chased. He is being chased by the University committe e who is investigating David’s indiscretions with Melanie. The committee is described by Lurie as â€Å"hunters who have cornered a strange beast and do not know how to finish it off. † (Coetzee 56). The tables have turned and Lurie is now this strange beast that has been hunted down. David refuses to apologize however, and instead loses his job.Lurie could have simply said sorry for his actions and he would have had a chance to keep his position at the University, but in his mind he did not do anything wrong. He compares himself an old neighbor’s dog, saying that every time a â€Å"bitch† would be in the yard the dog would become so excitable that he could not be controlled. The dog was not allowed to go through with his natural desires, which caused the dog to act strange and just run around the garden â€Å"with its ears flat and its tail between its legs, whining, trying to hide. (Coetzee 69 ). David sees himself in this dog, he is being punished and being told he is not allowed to do something that feels so natural to him. He says that the dog would have preferred to be shot over being denied its natural urges. David chose to be shot (lose his job) when he refuses to express that he did anything wrong by sleeping with Melanie. After losing his job David must go live with his daughter, Lucy, out in the country.While living with Lucy, David goes through a lot, and through helping take care of her dogs we see a softer side of him through his descriptions of these dogs. â€Å"The dogs are brought to the clinic because they are unwanted,† (Coetzee 146) Lurie says. He cares about the dogs because he too feels unwanted. â€Å"Well, now he has become a dog-man. † (Coetzee 146) David is one with these dogs, abandoned and miserable, unable to live the lives they want to be living. The dogs and David are trapped out in the country on a farm just waiting for the end.David finally does give up and we see this through his deci sion to put down the dog that he had become very close to, Driepoot, the young dog David â€Å"has come to feel a particular fondness for† (Coetzee 214-215). David had bonded with Driepoot, even signing his Opera to the dog at one point. He felt sorry for Driepoot, he felt very much like the dog. In the end of the novel, by choosing Driepoot to be put down â€Å"a (his, the dog’s) time must come, it cannot be evaded† and carries the dog, â€Å"the one who likes music† (Coetzee 219), to Bev where he will be killed.In the last sentence of the novel David states that he is â€Å"giving him up† (Coetzee 220), which is essentially David stating the he is the one giving up. Like Driepoot, David Lurie is being put out of his misery. David Lurie’s life goes through dramatic changes throughout the novel Disgrace. A once respected professor, he becomes â€Å"a mad old man who sits among the dogs singing to himself. † (Coetzee 218). Lurie uses d escriptions of animals as a way to describe how he feels about himself.He goes from a predator whose main focus in life is satisfying his sexual desires, to a man who feels like a ‘strange beast’ that has been hunted by the University. David then turns to his daughter’s farm where he begins working with dogs and we see a softer David Lurie, a man who feels like the abandoned dogs who are waiting for their end to come. By the end of Disgrace we see that David is ready to accept his own end, he wants to be put out of his misery just like he does for the dog he has bonded so much with. Works Cited Coetzee, J. M. Disgrace. New York: Penguin, 1999. Print.

Abstract Views on Military Retention

The words â€Å"material† and â€Å"personnel† are abstractions, but the weapons systems and the devoted human beings organized to make and use them are real. Reducing the size of the military also means ending jobs and forcing career changes on many people who deserve better from their nation. However, it has become apparent that many of today's military members separate voluntarily. This research project seeks to inform the debate on military retention by examining the evidence for separations from military service into civilian community. The objective is to identify what factors have the most weight in separation decisions, as well as the factors that have the most weight for those deciding not to separate from the service. Over the past year, members of the armed services have been separating at an alarming rate. In an effort to combat the mass exodus of people from the uniformed ranks, the government has turned to the use of re-enlistment and extension bonuses, increased pay, and numerous other incentives, but has had little success. A common response from people leaving the armed forces is that the decision to leave has nothing to do with money, but rather other â€Å"quality of life† issues. What then are some of the major factors influencing people†s decisions to leave? For those who have decided to stay, is it because of the incentives recently offered, or would they have stayed anyway? There are several different factors involving the economy that may possibly have an effect for the status of the military population. The job shortfall in the lagging U. S. economy is now some 8 to 10 million; cuts in the military services will contribute an additional half million job seekers a year by the year 2000, substantially increasing the need for job creation. Has the military encouraged career-minded personnel in overstaffed job specialties to leave voluntarily (thus minimizing the lump-sum severance payment or a long-term annuity)? Are the programs as generous as the pay and benefits that military personnel are eligible for if they retire after 20 years of service? Because the Pentagon has announced that no one with 15 years or more of service would be dismissed before hitting the 20-year mark, few people with 15 years to 20 years of service have opted to leave. The 15-20 year group includes 225,000 officers and senior enlisted personnel – 12 percent of the active-duty force. Active-duty military personnel are not vested with retirement benefits until they have served for 20 years. Once vested, they can draw sizable annuities for life, often starting in their mid-40s, while they begin second careers. Can this be yet another reason for low retention rates? Are there differences between different service departments? Differences between officers and enlisted personnel, male/female, rank, education level, or the number of dependents of member has? All of these areas will be explored and discussed within the text. After combining personal experiences and views of our group, conducting a group survey, and analyzed the results of our research, it was not difficult to conclude that military retention is a growing problem. There are many reasons for this, but the most stressed issues have been those which impact quality of life. The quality of life issues have become so well known that it affects recruiting efforts of all branches of the military. The following will discuss some recent literary reviews and government statements concerning retention in the military, along with the problem of retention, some reasons for the problem, and some possible solutions that are now being established. As stated earlier, issues concerning quality of life seem to be the most important when it comes to retention in the military. For those members of the military who complete their first term successfully and whose performance warrants retention consideration, quality of life factors are important. Surveys have been able to document links between retention and quality of life. In January 1999, Maj. Gen. Donald A. Lamontagne, from Peterson Air Force Base, Co. , addressed the Air Force Space Command Public Affairs in saying that â€Å"We†ve been trying to fix pilot retention with more money, but that†s not the problem. It†s going back and forth to the desert that†s causing the problems, and what†s happening is we are losing pilots faster than we can train them. Last year we lost out pilots at a rate of two every day. Somehow we have to stabilize this. † Military personnel are tired of being deployed for months at a time with very little notice and also want benefits and retirements enhanced and secured. Although compensation was not the leading factor in decisions to leave the military, there is a significant gap between military and civilian compensation that needs to be addressed, as this will aid in recruitment and retention. Government budget cutbacks are also a problem, not only for reasons such as personnel benefits and retirements; for example, the Air Force alone has a $5 billion shortfall in their budget for spare-parts. This makes it very difficult to accomplish and build a world-class Air Force for the future, and lowers the morale of its members. Recruiting and retention issues are not just active duty issues. The National Guard and reserve forces also face these same challenges. Yet, here again, these members face a continuing challenge to benefits. The AFSA (Air Force Sergeants Association), is trying to preserve one guard/reserve benefit that has paid good dividends: the current practice of providing 15 days of fully paid â€Å"military leave† to federal civil servants who are also in the guard or reserve. One administration proposal will, in effect, cost most members their military pay by limiting the total compensation to the higher of civilian pay or military pay, versus the current practice of paying both. It is believed that any such limitation will significantly harm recruiting and retention of those who are civil servants. In particular, former (already trained) military members who become civil servants would lose a major incentive to serve in a reserve capacity. Those civil servants with no prior military service will lose a major incentive to join the reserves. Equally as important is the unknown effect this change will have on civilian employers† support that is currently provided to guard and reserve personnel. Eliminating this program clearly sends the wrong message. The decision to leave or not to join one of the services has been determined in a large part on the perceived steady decline in the quality of life and benefits. To keep a fit, fighting force for the twenty-first century, we as a nation should find the money to pay for it. With so many problems, there is a need for many solutions. All branches of the military are establishing solutions, which in time will tell if they will be successful. The following describes some positive steps for the military, which should be helpful to many areas, and many people. According to Gen. Dick Hawley, Commander, Air Combat Command at Langley Air Force Base, VA, a huge step concerning the quality of life issue has been made by the Air Force. Currently, in Air Combat Command, they are giving almost 80 percent of their people four months notice of lengthy deployments, and almost never has anyone deployed from Air Combat Command with less than a month†s notice. In the past it was not unusual to get a one-week notice for a four-month deployment. This will significantly improve the stability and predictability of personal schedules so people can manage both their professional and personal lives. People can plan educational programs and family events more adequately. Another method used by the Air Force is team basing. Individuals being deployed to certain areas are deployed in teams. This method shows support and should be positive for the morale of their people. The Air Force also is trying to combat the retention problem through assignments, especially with the home-basing concept. With overseas assignments, their people are moving earlier than they would like. With the home-basing concept, this would give the opportunity to elect a home-base location after four to six years on active duty. The concept will allow members to remain at the base they choose for an extended number of years, possibly even until retirement. This doesn†t mean people would never leave. They may have to pull a short tour or go for training, but then they would return to the same base. This would allow families to build equity in homes, children could remain in the same schools, and spouses could keep their own jobs and careers. The longer notices of deployment would also give members time to complete or make arrangements for their continued education. The military strives on professional military education and provides excellent reimbursements for those who choose to further their education. It has become almost mandatory to have a master†s degree to make Lieutenant Colonel and Colonel, with approximately 98 percent of those selected having a master†s degree. The medical issues concerning Tricare are being looked at for possible changes for the better, along with increasing retirement benefits. The military is trying to improve Tricare to match the level of care authorized by the Federal Employees Health Benefit Program (FEHBP). If done, the cost share should cost the military beneficiary no more than those insured by FEHBP and should include, as a minimum, preventative care, dental care, and a universal (including mail-order) prescription drug service. The military retirement system has changed three times, and each time decreasing the benefit. It was last changed in 1986 and now only provides retirement pay based on 40 percent of the high three years of base pay. The issue is still in debate as whether or not to increase the retirement benefit back to 50 percent of base pay. This is a major issue in deciding whether to leave the military or to stay in longer and is also an issue when recruiting. In 1981, by way of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, U. S. Congress mandated that the Military Services, at least annually, provide each member a meaningful statement of total compensation, so that the member fully considers total compensation when making career decisions. The Department of the Navy, in particular, has established the Personal Statement of Military Compensation (PSMC). PSMC is a long term Navy project to give members, at least once a year, a summary of total earnings as an active duty member of the U. S. Navy. The total is made up of cash pays, allowances, and bonuses. The allowances include such things as on-base housing and meals, and benefits include commissaries, exchanges, and hospitals, as well as future benefits such as retirement pay and social security payments. Navy leaders support wholeheartedly the effort to get the full compensation story out to current and potential Navy members thereby contributing to the success of Navy retention and recruiting programs. With technological advancements growing, the military faces another problem with retention. Retention is necessary for essential positions of the military, in which members may choose to leave for whatever reason. One remedy put in place by the U. S. Office of Personnel Management is the Y2K Assistance for Agencies. This plan deals with recruiting and retaining Information Technology Professionals. The Office of Personnel Management states in their bulletin under agency-based flexibility, the procedure for retention allowances. It is stated that agencies have discretionary authority to make continuing (i. . , biweekly) payments of up to 25 percent of basic pay to individual employees and of up to 10 percent of basic pay to a group or category of employees based upon a determination by the agency that: (1) the unusually high or unique qualifications of the employees or a special need of the agency for the employees† services makes it essential to retain the employees; and (2) th e employee or a significant number of employees in the targeted category would be likely to leave the Federal Government (for any reason, including retirement) in the absence of a retention allowance. Retention allowances must be paid in accordance with the agency†s previously established retention allowance plan and must be reviewed and certified annually. Retention allowances are subject to the aggregate limitation on total pay, which is currently $151,800. Another retention technique, and also a way to increase overall morale, is by distributing performance and incentive awards. Agencies within the military have discretionary authority to grant an employee a lump-sum cash award based on a â€Å"Fully Successful† or better rating of record or in recognition of accomplishments that contribute to the efficiency, economy, or other improvement of Government operations. Awards can be tied to specific achievements such as meeting milestones that are identified as part of the work needed to achieve Year 2000 conversion goals. Cash awards do not increase an employee†s basic pay. Awards based on the rating of record can be up to 10 percent of salary, or up to 20 percent for exceptional performance, provided the award does not exceed $10,000 per employee. On January 5, 1999, at a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Michael E. Ryan called for an additional $30 billion more in Air Force spending dedicated to the readiness program over the next five years. This was in addition to the President†s already proposed injection of $110 billion into the Pentagon†s budget for the readiness program to boost mission capability rates. The service chiefs also urged Congress to press ahead with the President†s previously announced FY 2000 overall 4. 4 percent pay raises, additional targeted pay raises for mid-grade officers and noncommissioned officers and restoration of retirement benefits to 50 percent of base pay for 20 years of service. This confirms to current and potential members of the military that programs are in place to upgrade overall qualities of the military life. According to the U. S. General Accounting Office, more than 30 percent of first term sailors and Marines do not complete the first term of service, many for reasons that relate to poor screening rather than quality of life issues. Although quality of life issues are still considered among the most important when discussing retention, the most useful future research on quality of life issues should connect both objective and subjective variables to militarily relevant outcomes. Issues such as actual retention, on-the-job performance, and overall duty performance, and ultimately readiness and combat performance need to be looked at. Currently, only a fraction of the quality of life research makes the connection between the inputs and these outcomes. Most of this research has focused only on retention. Researchers need to use or to develop metrics that indicate the fighting effectiveness of the military, and then to identify which quality of life programs influence these measures of effectiveness. This, along with more funding, and awareness of military life and its qualities will enhance the future of the military. The data collected came from a simple survey (Appendix A). In all, 114 surveys were collected over a period of 12 days. There was not a particular target group, as the retention problem appears to be spread among service members of all ranks. The only criterion was that individuals had to be at least half way through his/her first enlistment or period of obligated service. This would have given them ample time to be exposed to military life and form an opinion as to whether they would continue serving in the military. Some of the individuals answering the survey seemed reluctant to provide their name, especially when they read the portion of the survey concerning dissatisfying aspects of military service. Many questioned who would see the survey, and only filled it out after they were assured that the information would not be seen by anyone outside the research group. Once the data was collected, it was categorized based on branch of service and whether the individual was on officer or enlisted. Due to the proximity of bases in the area, members of the United States Navy and Marine Corps filled out the majority of surveys. Members of the United States Air Force filled out the remainder of the surveys. The Army was not represented. The results of the survey can be found in Appendix B. While the total number of surveys collected represents less than one tenth of one percent of the total number of people currently on active duty, it does provide some useful data in terms of why there is a growing amount of dissatisfaction among military members. Respondents were put into one of four categories: Navy/Marine Officer; Navy/Marine Enlisted; Air Force Officer; and Air Force Enlisted. Most categories balanced as expected with the exception of two – average age and average time in service for Air Force enlisted members. Both were higher than expected due to a relatively large number of senior-enlisted within the group. When asked what the primary reason for joining the military was, sixty-two percent (62%) answered â€Å"to serve my country† or some variation of that statement. Eleven percent (11%) responded that they joined to have a job or career. Ten percent (10%) answered that they joined because of the opportunity to travel, while an additional ten percent (10%) said they joined as a means toward receiving a higher education. Relating these responses to Maslow†s Need Hierarchy, it can be said that military service, in some way, for some people, satisfies one or more of those needs. Service to country, making what they feel is a meaningful contribution, satisfies the inner need for self-actualization. The military is often viewed as a log-term commitment or even life-long career, with a high degree of job security. Although there have been numerous reductions-in-force (RIFs) over the years due to a steadily declining budget, the military is still seen as an organization where its members can stay for as long as they desire. This, according to Maslow, would satisfy the need for security. The opportunity to further one†s education and to travel fulfills the need for self-esteem. Ever since the Gulf War, the public†s opinion of those in the military has risen significantly in the favorable direction. All of these contribute to positive feelings by military members and help satisfy the need for self-esteem. When asked which aspects of military service were most satisfying, the most common answer, by far, was making friends. Again, when relating this to the Need Hierarchy, the social need is the only one that cannot be met by an individual. It is reasonable to assume that this need is important because of the unique type of demands military service puts on a family. The majority of service members have to re-locate, on average, every three years. This equates to a new home, new jobs, and new schools for everyone. Even though a service member might choose to serve 20 years, he has more than likely moved at least 6 times, unlike his civilian counterpart, who in 20 years may have never moved once. The second most common response regarding satisfying aspects was the opportunity to travel. Again, moving every 3 years, gives personnel ample opportunity to live in a variety of locations both stateside and abroad. There are many bases throughout the world. Getting stationed in some of the more desirable areas certainly makes the idea of relocating easier. If an individual is assigned to a deploying unit, he/she can expect to go to different areas, as required, for duration of a few days to as long as six months. This is not always seen as a satisfying aspect and the negative side of this will be discussed later. Also, certain â€Å"perks† such as the use of Air Mobility Command (AMC), provides the ability to travel all over the world on a space available basis with little or no cost to personnel. We also asked military personnel what the three most dissatisfying aspects of being in the military were. Due to the differences in military branch, rank, time in service, and age, we received a variety of reasons. Like any other survey we received some questionable responses, such as not being able to smoke pot (marijuana) and having to wear a uniform everyday. At times it was hard to distinguish whether these responses were serious. On the other hand, we also received many valid reasons. From the results of the 114 surveys we got back, it was determined that the three most common dissatisfying aspects of being in the military were: family separation, poor leadership, and eroding benefits. Family separation is of great concern for the majority of military members, particularly those who are married. Military members can be assigned permanent change of station (PCS) orders unaccompanied (without spouse or other dependents) for up to 15 months or they can be sent to numerous short notice deployments. Whether they are Navy, Marines, or Air Force, they are sent away from their families an average of 40% to 50% percent of the year. Some examples of these separations were provided on the additional comments section. For Navy personnel, they had to be away from their families for approximately 6 months in order to fulfill their ship/sea duty as required by the Navy. In some instances, such as for pilots, they were re-deployed from the carriers to different locations for unspecified lengths of time. For Marines, they were also tasked for numerous deployments through out the year without knowing how long they would be gone. The Marine pilots were also in the same position as the Navy pilots, as they usually train together on aircraft carriers. For Air Force personnel, the situation was similar. Numerous deployments throughout the year to different bases, such as Southwest Asia, which are at least 4 months long, seem to be very unpopular among military members. These deployments are usually to remote places half way around the world where living conditions are very poor. Some locations don†t even provide individuals a way to communicate back to their families. These situations take a toll on marriages. Several surveys indicated that these types of constant deployments contributed to military members being divorced at least two or three times throughout their military careers. For single military members, being away from their home stations also made it impossible for them to go home on leave to visit their families. Many of the young, single enlisted members said it was difficult not to be able to go home for holidays, but rather having to spend them alone at deployed locations. In some instances, it was impossible for military members to go home at times of emergency, such as severe illness or death of an immediate family member. These situations are hard enough and family separation only makes them more difficult. There are numerous reasons why deployments or unaccompanied permanent change of stations (PCS†s) can cause hardships on military members but the main dissatisfaction is family separation. Poor Leadership is another popular dissatisfying aspect of being in the military. Just like any organization, you are going to have a few managers/leaders that are not very popular among employees. In the military, managers or leaders are appointed differently than in traditional civilian organizations. Supervisors or leaders are appointed according to rank. For example, if somebody is newly appointed to your section and he or she is the highest- ranking person there, they are usually the ones in charge of the section. For this reason, you might get a good leader that knows how to treat people and take care of business, or you might get the â€Å"micro-managing† leader that is just looking out for him/herself in order to get a promotion or favorable evaluation. This type of leadership is found in every position throughout the military. It can range from one†s immediate supervisor, to shop chief, flight chief, section commander, squadron commander and so on. Since one of the main goals of every military member is to achieve the highest rank possible, criticizing or speaking out against poor leadership can be detrimental to one†s career advancement. One of the main complaints about leadership, according to those answering the survey, is that leadership does not remain constant. People, usually those in leadership positions that are trying to â€Å"get a check in the block† for the next promotion, can be assigned to a duty station or duty section anywhere from one to three or more years. These leaders usually try to quick-fix existing problems or they leave them for the person replacing them. This results in work sections getting a mix of management styles. The assigned personnel that remain are the ones that have to endure this. They might get good leaders for short periods of time and then have them replaced by bad leaders and so on throughout their assignment. Yet another example of poor leadership, according to surveyees, are those who â€Å"brown-nose† or â€Å"suck-up† to leaders in the organizations. These are leaders that are afraid or not willing to make suggestions to superiors on how to fix organizational problems. They would rather blindly do as their superiors tell them. These leaders or â€Å"politicians†, as stated before, are just looking out for themselves. Eroding benefits was the third most common dissatisfying aspect of being in the military. According to those â€Å"career† military members that have been in over ten years, military benefits have been cut back drastically over the past few years. Those members that joined the military within the last few years do not have the same benefits that those that joined over ten years ago do. For example, the amount of retirement pay after 20 years of service is 50% of base pay for those that joined prior to 1986 and 40% for those that have joined since. Another major complaint is that medical benefits and the quality of medical care have been decreasing every year. Another source of dissatisfaction is that training opportunities or assignment preferences are not available anymore. Some personnel feel stuck in certain locations, and it denies them one of the major reasons for joining in the first place – an opportunity to travel. While some personnel enjoy the stability of not having to move as much, there are many who like to move at the end of their tour and move on to another location. Military members see cutbacks as the major reason for increased family separation, decreasing benefits, and the development and advancement of poor leaders. Over the last several years, the military has gone through a massive downsizing. This resulted in having to continuously do more with less. The operations tempo of many flying squadrons increased and due to under-manning, assigned personnel has to constantly go on deployments. Promotions are now harder to come by because now there are many people competing for fewer positions. The cutbacks in the military budget have caused the closing of many military installations around the world. Military members viewed many of these installations as benefits because they were considered popular assignment preferences. These assignments were in popular spots around the world that were, for some members, reason to join the military in order to get there. There are various reasons individuals are deciding to voluntarily leave the military. Despite relatively high job security and increasing monetary incentives, many do not feel this is compensation enough to have to endure the increasing hardships put upon them. What can the military do to retain personnel? The government must start by addressing the numerous quality of life issues that military members currently face. Merely offering more money to people will entice some to stay, but the reason most people joined in the first place had nothing to do with money. It is a well-known fact, verified by numerous studies, that a pay gap exists between military members and what would be considered their equivalent civilian counterpart. Until these issues are addressed and personnel start to see a real change in operations and personnel tempo, the military is going to continue to see good people leave its ranks.