Does the concept of authenticity have any value in the evaluation or Essay

Does the concept of authenticity have any value in the evaluation or appreciation of Japanese popular music If it does, what makes a work or musician authentic, or inauthentic Give examples and discuss - Essay Example Japan has embraced the music genre called pop since 1990s. On its emergence in Japan, pop music replaced the local â€Å"Kayokyoku† music in order to cater for international music demand. The Japanese pop music has diversified and now it is common in all parts of the country (Craig, 2000:13). One amusing fact about the Japanese pop music is that it is a hard alternative genre that combines both English and Japanese which are blended so well that they bring the authentic taste (Keller, 2008:6). The Japanese pop music has been formed and expanded by imported music from other cultures. The Japanese have assimilated music continually from countries like Korean and the Buddhism kingdom. The Japanese pop musicians had to immediately conform to carter for the American occupying forces. These musicians had first to interact in lengthy with American musician in order to learn the recording forms of pop music because the American character of pop music is regarded as contestable (Levins on, 2011:7). The Japanese pop industry had to locate itself in an aesthetic hierarchy that would reinforce asymmetries of power and cultural prestige. The Japanese had thus to embrace the Japan-US relationship by placing American artist at the apex as innovators and the Japanese maintained as imitators. The idea of authenticity in the Japanese pop music has taken root in the idea of western popular music. Although the Japanese music has become the heart of the music of the people, there is still the idea that it can only be authentically done by the westerners. The idea of authenticity in Japanese music has taken root in the blending of English and Japanese in lyrics. The Japanese artists write the whole composition purely in English simply to acquire authenticity (Sxornbrun, 2005: 18). Japanese people have a rough history of importing and

Analyze Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Analyze - Essay Example This is because in spite of creating employment and creation of an alternative source of energy, it results to increased levels of environmental pollution. The article focuses on given the basis of the rules that have been laid down by EPA to regulate the negative impacts of fracking. Some of the most interesting statistics from the article include the gas production industry which emits 40 percent of the methane; the rules formulated will reduce the emission of harmful by nearly 95 percent (Weinhold, 2012). Furthermore, natural gas mining is done in 33 states and this number will increase (Weinhold, 2012). The most common sources that have been used in the article are reports by EPA, EIA (Energy Information Association) and GAO (Government of America). The article highlights the negative impacts of fracking. Environmental Protection Agency that is abbreviated as EPA stated that they were concerned about the high levels of pollution resulting from unsupervised fracking locations. As a result, EPA came up with rules and regulations to monitor these sites (Weinhold, 2012). The article highlights that pollutant emitted during this process can result to health complications such as cancer and heart diseases. This issue interests me since I am a devoted environmental conservationist and I am concerned about the conservation of the

Analysing the business of Merck and Davanrik

Analysing the business of Merck and Davanrik The recommendation is that, Merck should license the new drug Davanrik. The company is facing serious situation that most of their drug patents are going to expire soon. For maintaining companys value and profit, it is vital to invest into new drug development. In the other part of the report, a preamble of Merck and Davanrik, decision support data and the answers of important questions are provided in detail. Merck The Company is discovering new innovative products and developing new indications for existing products the result of its continuing commitment to research (Annual Report, 2000). Several products face expiration of product patents in the near term. U.S. product patents expired in 2000 for Vasotec and Pepcid and will expire in 2001 for Prilosec, which is supplied exclusively to AZLP, Prinivil and Prinzide, for which co-marketing rights have been licensed to a third party, Mevacor and Vaseretic. In the aggregate, domestic sales of these products represented 19% of Merck human health sales for 2000 (Annual Report, 2000). The patent expiration can cause deeper drop in overall sales. (Mercks Consolidate Balance Sheet: See Appendix A) Davanrik Davanrik originally developed by Lab Pharmaceutical Company to treat depression. Lab Pharmaceutical offered Merck to license her new developing drug. Lab Pharmaceutical is only 15 years old company. FDA has recently denied to approval one of their drug which completed all three phases. In response to this decision, Lab lost 30% of her overall sales. As a result, LAB was hesitant to issue additional equity to finance the testing of Davanrik and was seeking a larger pharmaceutical company to license the drug and provided the following facilities: Needed Cash Fund for clinical testing Manufacturing and Marketing Royalty on the eventual sales of Davanrik Decision Support Data Merck The patent of Mercks most popular drug is going to expire by 2002 Expiration of Patent can cause a deeper drop in overall sales. Merck needs new drug development to maintain its values and refresh portfolio. The company sales reflect continuous growth in earnings. The success of Davanrik would keep Merck Company in the black for the following seven years, while the failure of Davanrik would ultimately force Merck Company to quickly develop other profit producing drugs. Davanrik and Merck Davanrik is drug compound for treatment of depression and neurological disorders. Its need 7 years or more to approve form FDA in three phases. Phase I would take 2 years. It was expected to cost $30 million, including an initial $5 million fee to Lab for licensing the drug. There was 60% chance that Davanrik would successfully complete Phase I Phase II would take 2 years. It was expected to cost $40 million, including $2.5 million fee to Lab. Phase III trial would cost $200 million including a $20 million payment to lab. Merck Co. should analyze the following different types of factors to make a decision to license Davanrik: Expected revenue Expect royalty fees to lab License fees for each phase Success probability at each phase Marketing cost Merck responsibility at each phase Phase I Testing would cost $30 million including $5 million to lab Total duration of phase 2 years Probability of Success 60% Phase II Testing would cost $40 million including $2.5 million to lab Total duration 2 years Probability of success for depression only 10%, for weight loss 15% and for both 5% Phase III Cost and success probability are depend on the result of phase II Testing would cost for depression only $200 million including $20 million to Lab and probability is 85% Testing would cost for weight loss only $150 million including $10 million to Lab and probability is 75% Testing would cost for both (Depression and Weight loss) $500 million including $40 million to Lab and probability is 70% Depression only cost $250 million to launch with a PV of $1.2 billion Weight loss only cost $100 million to launch with a PV of $345 million Both depression and weight loss would cost $400 million to launch with a PV of $2.25 billion Overall Failure Risk Questions and Answers Should Merck bid to license Davanrik? How much should they pay?   There is an extreme risk of failure in taking Davanrik. However, pharmaceutical drug producing industry does have to be risk seeking, because no any drug can get an approval. It is recommended that Merck Co. should accept Lab pharmaceutical offer for Davanrik. The expected value of Davanrik is around $14 millions. What is the expected value of the licensing arrangement to LAB? Assume a 5% royalty fee on any cash flows that Merck receives from Davanrik after a successful launch.   LAB would also receive a 5% royalty fee on any from future sales of Davanrik separate from the milestone payments and regardless of the costs associated with getting the drug to market. Expected value of the licensing arrangement to Lab: Phase I (100% chance of success): $5 million Phase II (60%): 2.5 million Phase III depression (10%): $20 million Phase III weight loss (15%): $10 million Phase III both (5%): $40 million Depression Success (85%): $1.2 billion * 0.05 Weight Loss Success (75%): $345 million * 0.05 Depression Success [Lower path] (15%): $1.2 billion * 0.05 Weight Loss Success [Lower path] (5%): $345 million * 0.05 Both Success (70%): $2.25 million * 0.05 How would your analysis change if the costs of launching Davanrik for weight loss were $225 million instead of $100 million as given in the case?   Analysis is depending on the success probabilities and failure risks. At phase III, there is only 5% chance of success on weight loss. BY using decision tools the values will be calculating again. What other issues should Merck consider in taking this decision?   Merck Co. should consider the cost of marketing, administration and overall sensitivity of each testing phase. The royalty, cost and overall failure risk is also vital factors to be considered for the decision. Merck should also consider that their drugs patents are going to expire and their many other drugs are not approved by the FDA. How has Merck been able to achieve substantial returns on capital given the large costs and lengthy time to develop a drug?   Merck Co. is a big and economically stable company which can afford large costs and lengthy time to develop a drug. In other hand Lab pharmaceutical is a small company which is not very flexible to handle such type of task. Research and Development is the strength of Merck. Once the drug approve, Merck can produce it for long time period. Appendix A Source: Mercks Annual Report 2000 Appendix B Source: Unknown

The Pitiful Ghost in Shakespeares Hamlet Essay -- GCSE English Litera

The Pitiful Ghost in Hamlet      Ã‚  Ã‚   In Shakespeare’s tragic drama, Hamlet, there is one character who is different from all the others. He is a supernatural being – a Ghost. His role is quite as important as anyone else’s. This essay will be devoted to an explanation of this Ghost.    Maynard Mack in â€Å"The World of Hamlet† elucidates the reader on how the Ghost introduces the problem of appearance versus reality:    The play begins with an appearance, an â€Å"apparition,† to use Marcellus’ term – the ghost. And the ghost is somehow real, indeed the vehicle of realities. Through its revelation, the glittering surface of Claudius’ court is pierced, and Hamlet comes to know, and we do, that the king is not only hateful to him but the murderer of his father, that his mother is guilty of adultery as well as incest. Yet there is a dilemma in the revelation. For possibly the apparition is an apparition, a devil who has assumed his father’s shape. (247)    So there is considerable doubt regarding this spirit within the mind of the protagonist – until after the decisive action of the play when both Horatio and Hamlet witnessed Claudius’ reaction. W.H. Clemen in â€Å"Imagery in Hamlet Reveals Character and Theme† describes the pervasive influence which the Ghost’s words have on the entire play:    Perusing the description which the ghost of Hamlet’s father gives of his poisoning by Claudius (I,v) one cannot help being struck by the vividness with which the process of poisoning, the malicious spreading of the disease, is portrayed:    Sleeping within my orchard,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   My custom always of the afternoon,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Upon my secure hour thy uncle stole,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   With juice of cursed hebenon in a vial,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   And ... ...o: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. from The Masks of Hamlet. Newark, NJ: Univ. of Delaware P., 1992.    Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 1995. http://www.chemicool.com/Shakespeare/hamlet/full.html    Ward & Trent, et al. The Cambridge History of English and American Literature. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1907–21; New York: Bartleby.com, 2000 http://www.bartleby.com/215/0816.html    West, Rebecca. â€Å"A Court and World Infected by the Disease of Corruption.† Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. from The Court and the Castle. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1957.    Wilkie, Brian and James Hurt. â€Å"Shakespeare.† Literature of the Western World. Ed. Brian Wilkie and James Hurt. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1992.         

Christine de Pizan reflect traditional

Pizan explains that a noble lady controls her heart, behaves â€Å"respectfully and softly†, and displays a kind, gentle demeanor to all (Pizan 19). As a princess, Pizan argues that a noble lady should listen patiently and attentively to her ubjects as well as listen to advice from the wise gentleman counselors (Pizan 21).It is these behavioral qualities which tie into the traditionally accepted cultural norms for women. The ideal woman, the perfect princess, is an honorable lady who is in control of herself constantly. She is dignified and wise with the help of good advice from those advisors. Rule 12 describes how a wise princess' life should be ordered. Prudence rules all, Pizan argues, and everyday begins with addressing God first (Pizan 32). There is a great deal expected of princesses and women in eneral, but society still considers men far superior.Even with a responsibility in government, a woman must still hold herself with the highest of dignity and listen to the wis est of men in order to seem wise herself. Another example of prudence in a woman's life is her conduct towards her husband – she must love her husband and always be at peace with him (Pizan 36). She should always humble herself towards her husband and obey without complaining – it is in this way that Pizan explains the traditional role of women in the household.Wives are expected, in that time, to watch carefully over their husbands, take everything in stride, and stay a noble lady by being true and loyal to her husband (Pizan 38-39). The welfare of her children also defines what a lady should be – a woman is expected to be naturally motherly and want her children to be honorable (Pizan 42). It is her Job, Pizan argues, to discipline and keep her children respectful (Pizan 43). Last, a woman's household duties, according to Pizan, truly define the traditional women roles expected by society Pizan 129).She must always keep her husband contented, discipline her ch ildren, ensure the husband and household are kept decent and clean, and be cheerful to her husband all the time (Pizan 130). The ways of the wise housewife, values of a noble lady, and prudence all define how Christine de Pizan reflects traditional roles for women in her society.

Food Ins. Essay

1. If animals should have certain rights, do you think those rights also apply to animals we raise for food, like chickens or pigs? Are there any rights that these farm animals should have? If so, what are they? One animal does not have greater importance over another, such as one human is not more life worthy than another. In this case to say certain animals should have rights whereas others should not is wrong. So yes a dog and a chicken should have rights and the same rights. The more difficult question is what exactly these rights should be. It is reasonable to try to prevent the most obvious cases of gratuitous suffering or torture of animals, but beyond that, non-human animals yes deserve to be given â€Å"rights†, but cannot simply be granted. The animals are treated like scum, kept in the dark with no concept of an outside world. Some rights they should be graced with are the right to the outdoors, and the right to roam. 2. How do you think farm animals should be treated? How do your ideas compare to what you saw in the film? It seems as if each industry in the film has the power to define cruelty. This is as ridiculous as giving a burglar the power to determine their punishment. Why these industries are not charged with aggravated cruelty to animals is something I cannot understand. Is it not the same to kick a dog or kick a chicken with the same anger? 3. Richard Lobb of the National Chicken Council says in the film, â€Å"In a way, we’re not producing chickens, we’re producing food. † What does this statement mean? Do you agree or disagree with it? How might this perspective affect the way that chickens are raised? 4. Many of us were surprised to learn that corn is so prevalent in our foods. Why do you think we were so surprised? Of course people are surprised to find out corn is so prevalent because the problem is it’s not even just in foods! When there is some kind of soy or corn in batteries, diapers, Motrin, charcoal, etc. you know there is a big problem. 5. Do you think the government and food producers have kept it a secret? Why don’t more people know this fact? This unfortunately is not something you can blame on the food producers; it’s simply the consumers fault for not looking at the ingredients on a food label. I believe people do not know the facts due to ignorance and laziness. Bottom line is if people realize what is in their food they will have to make a change which is usually not cost effective and more time consuming which these days is very undesirable. 6. Food labels actually do list corn-based ingredients, but not always in a recognizable way. How do you feel about ingredients being included in your diet without your knowledge? If you have a question about something, isn’t it common knowledge to ask about it. Google these days tells you everything you want to know and more so people can easily read the ingredients and research a word unknown to them.

Population Decline in Russia

Population Decline in Russia Russian President Vladimir Putin recently directed his nations parliament to develop a plan to reduce the countrys falling birthrate. In a speech to parliament on May 10, 2006, Putin called the problem of Russias dramatically declining population, The most acute problem of contemporary Russia. The president called on parliament to provide incentives for couples to have a second child to increase the birth rate in order to stop the countrys plummeting population. Russias population peaked in the early 1990s (at the time of the end of the Soviet Union) with about 148 million people in the country. Today, Russias population is approximately 143 million. The United States Census Bureau estimates that Russias population will decline from the current 143 million to a mere 111 million by 2050, a loss of more than 30 million people and a decrease of more than 20%. The primary causes of Russias population decrease and loss of about 700,000 to 800,000 citizens each year are a high death rate, low birth rate, high rate of abortions, and a low level of immigration. High Death Rate Russia has a very high death rate of 15 deaths per 1000 people per year. This is far higher than the worlds average death rate of just under 9. The death rate in the U.S. is 8 per 1000 and for the United Kingdom its 10 per 1000. Alcohol-related deaths in Russia are very high and alcohol-related emergencies represent the bulk of emergency room visits in the country. With this high death rate, Russian life expectancy is low- the World Health Organization estimates the life expectancy of Russian men at 59 years while womens life expectancy is considerably better at 72 years. This difference is primarily a result of high rates of alcoholism among males. Low Birth Rate Understandably, due to these high rates of alcoholism and economic hardship, women feel less than encouraged to have children in Russia. Russias total fertility rate is low at 1.3 births per woman. This number represents the number of children each Russian woman has during her lifetime. A replacement total fertility rate to maintain a stable population is 2.1 births per woman. Obviously, with such a low total fertility rate Russian women are contributing to a declining population. The birth rate in the country is also quite low; the crude birth rate is 10 births per 1000 people. The world average is just over 20 per 1000 and in the U.S. the rate is 14 per 1000. Abortion Rates During the Soviet era, abortion was quite common and was utilized as a method of birth control. That technique remains common and quite popular today, keeping the countrys birth rate exceptionally low. According to a Russian news source, there are more abortions than births in Russia. The online news source mosnews.com reported that in 2004 1.6 million women had abortions in Russia while 1.5 million gave birth. In 2003, the BBC reported that Russia had, 13 terminations for every 10 live births. Immigration Additionally, immigration into Russia is low- immigrants are primarily a trickle of ethnic Russians moving out of former republics (but now independent countries) of the Soviet Union. Brain drain and emigration from Russia to Western Europe and other parts of the world is high as native Russians seek to better their economic situation. Putin himself explored the issues surrounding the low birth rate during his speech, asking What has prevented a young family, a young woman, from making this decision? The answers are obvious: low incomes, a lack of normal housing, doubts about the level of medical services and quality education. At times, there are doubts about the ability to provide enough food.

Cloning Essays - Cloning, Molecular Biology, Genetics, Biotechnology

Cloning Essays - Cloning, Molecular Biology, Genetics, Biotechnology Cloning Shortly after the announcement that British scientists had successfully cloned a sheep, Dolly, cloning humans has recently become a possibility that seems much more feasible in today's society. The word clone has been applied to cells as well as to organisms, so that a group of cells stemming from a single cell is also called a clone. Usually the members of a clone are identical in their inherited characteristics that is, in their genes except for any differences caused by mutation. Identical twins, for example, who originate by the division of a single fertilized egg, are members of a clone; whereas nonidentical twins, who derive from two separate fertilized eggs, are not clones. (Microsoft Encarta 97 Encyclopedia). There are two known ways that we can clone humans. The first way involves splitting an embryo into several halves and creating many new individuals from that embryo. The second method of cloning a human involves taking cells from an already existing human being and cloni ng them, in turn creating other individuals that are identical to that particular person. With these two methods at our desposal, we must ask ourselves two very important questions: Should we do this, and Can we? There is no doubt that many problems involving the technological and ethical sides of this issue will arise and will be virtually impossible to avoid, but the overall idea of cloning humans is one that we should accept as a possible reality for the future. Cloning humans is an idea that has always been thought of as something that could be found in science fiction novels, but never as a concept that society could actually experience. Today's technological speed has brought us to the piont to where almost anything is possible. Sarah B. Tegen, '97 MIT Biology Undergraduate President states, I think the cloning of an entire mammal has shown me exactly how fast biology is moving ahead, I had no idea we were so close to this kind of accomplishment. Based on the current science , though, most of these dreams and fears are premature, say some MIT biologists. Many biologist claim that true human cloning is something still far in the future. This raises ethical questions now as towhether or not human cloning should even be attempted. (usnews.com/usnews/issue/). There are many problems with cloning humans. One method of human cloning is splitting embryos. The main issue as to whether or not human cloning is possible through the splitting of embryos began in 1993 when experimentation was done at George Washington University Medical Center in Washington D.C. There Dr. Jerry Hall experimented with the possibility of human cloning and began this moral and ethical debate. There it was concluded that cloning is not something that can be done as of now, but it is quite a possibility for the future. These scientists experimented eagerly in aims of learning how to clone humans. Ruth Macklin of U.S. News & World Report writes, Hall and other scientists split single humans embryos into identical copies, a technology that opens a Pandora's box of ethical questions and has sparked a storm of controversy around the world (usnews.com/usnews/issue/). They attempted to create seventeen human embryos in a laboratory dish and when it had grown enough, separate d them into forty-eight individual cells. Two of the separated cells survived for a few days in the lab developed into new human embryos smaller than the head of a pin and consisting of thirty-two cells each. (usnews.com/usnews/issue/) Although we cannot clone a human yet, this experiment occurred almost two years ago and triggered almost an ethical emergency. Evidence from these experiments received strange reactions from the public. Ruth Macklin states, Cloning is a radical challenge to the most fundamental laws of biology, so it's not unreasonable to be concerned that it might threaten human society and dignity. Yet much of the ethical opposition seems also to grow out of an unthinking disgusta sort of yuk factor. And that makes it hard for even trained scientists and ethicists to see the matter clearly. While human cloning might not offer great benefits to humanity, no one has yet made a persuasive case that it would do any real harm, either. (usnews.com/usnews/issue/). Theologians contend that to

An Overview Of Life Satisfaction Literatures Social Work Essay

An Overview Of Life Satisfaction Literatures Social Work Essay This chapter begins with literatures about life satisfaction and important personal and situational predictors of life satisfaction in older persons, then in order to provide a theoretical background for this study attempt to define the most important components of structural and functional support. The next portion will focus on the ways in which significant personal and situational characteristics might affect on structural and functional components. The focus will then shift to the effect of structural and functional components specifically on life satisfaction. And finally specific theories and models that have been proposed to explain the role of structural and functional components in the life satisfaction of older adults will be addressed. Over the past few years, the world’s population has continued on its remarkable transition from a state of high birth and death rates to one characterized by low birth and death rates. At the heart of this transition has been the gro wth in the number and proportion of older persons. Such a rapid, large, and ubiquitous growth has never been seen in the history of civilization (Norman mood, happiness, life satisfaction, and morale. Factors such as morale, life satisfaction and happiness are considered to be important in determining subjective well-being in the elderly (Kim, Hisata, Kai, and second as an internal and subjective perception, the individuals’ evaluation of their lives, the second approach is now more widely used (Miller, 1997). Life satisfaction is a very personal assessment, one must decide one’s own life satisfaction criteria. Two individuals may share very similar lives, and one may find life satisfactory and the other may not (Quadhamer, 1999). Havighurst proposed that measuring life satisfaction as an â€Å"inner† assessment was a better measure of successful aging. Such a measure would accommodate individual differences in conceptions and values of growing older. Specific ally, the individual whose personality most values an active life style could be as satisfied with his life as one who is more passive (Havighurst, 1961).

Sex Education in Schools Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Sex Education in Schools - Essay Example This paper declares that  sexuality in children is a complex issue that Sigmund Freud has divided into five stages known as sexual development. The five steps include oral phase, the anal stage also known as bowel, and bladder elimination, a phallic stage that is the discovery of genitals, latency stage which the dormant sexual feelings. The final phase is the genital stage that occurs at maturity of sexuality.   He argues that during every stage of sexual growth, children acquire the vital development to become an adaptive adult. Freud theorized explanations for numerous repressed feelings, and desires, yet also assist in developing strong gender roles. During that time, the boys begin to develop intense anxiety, which is similar to girls.From the discussion it is clear that  sex education in school is vital in that the teenagers will get to know how sexually transmitted diseases are acquired, the issues of contraception, abstinence. If they are not going to learn them in scho ol where better would they learn about it? From media?Or friends?Or do we want them to learn sex education from the responsible adults? When we leave our children in the hands of the media or friend to give them sex education, we may be initiating our   problems. Some of the friends or media are deceitful.  They can mislead the young children to their advantage. Moreover, some friend may take advantage of the innocence of the child and abuse the roles they are expected to play. If we cannot trust our schools with such matters then, who can be trusted with our children?

Yank in The Hairy Ape Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Yank in The Hairy Ape - Essay Example He does not reveal much about his roots, but it is evident that his childhood was painful. In the pauses between his parents’ incessant fighting during which furniture got broken, he was made to attend church every Sunday morning, only to be forced to run away after his mother’s death, when he could not handle any more of his father’s beatings. His troublesome beginnings have taught him that he will be forced to fend for himself in this cruel world. However, since man is a social being and thrives on the interaction with other members of the society, he needs to belong. Yank equates this highly relevant notion of belonging with power and importance. When he believes he belongs to something, he gains strength and feels almost invincible, but when he is rejected by a group, he feels terribly weak. He also associates this sense of belonging with the usefulness and functionality of an individual. For example, the firemen belong to the ship due to the fact that they a re essentially responsible for the proper functioning of the ship. Despite the fact that he believes himself to be essential for this, the fact of the matter is that industrialization has reduced the human worker into a machine.

Science and Technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Science and Technology - Essay Example Virtualization is one of the most essential concepts that will continue to play a dramatic role in the modern century. The problem that majority companies faced with the traditional IT infrastructure consists of several problems. One of the critical problems is the fact that it takes high energy costs. In addition, the traditional mainframe networks take too much space. Furthermore, the heat that is generated through these servers must be cooled. In fact, recent studies have found that organizations achieved on average an 18% reduction in their budget from cloud computing and a 16% reduction in data costs. Hence, virtualization should be embraced by organizations because it is cost-effective, flexible, and provides safe process of security protocols. Not only does virtualization allow corporations to be more â€Å"eco-friendly† but it also reduces costs which is crucial for success in the 21st century. Another main initiative that has been taken by both moguls is to introduce carbon .One of the high focal points that has been emphasized over the years as an alternative approach for energy source has been solar energy. A solar initiative can be a very robust solution that can be utilized for powering residential and industrial purposes. One of the many advantages that solar energy offer is substantial reduction in pollution since no waste product is yielded. The production of energy is being derived from use of fossil fuel. Another great facet that solar energy offers is the fact that it can harness electricity in remote locations. Undoubtedly, this provides flexibility and a seamless integration with the nation’s future technology roadmap. Embedding solar panels in remote location are cost-effective and can create a channel for an optimized energy production. The thought of an environment in which sun energy is utilized to power the communities and the nation’s infra structure can certainly be a reality. Although this innovative approach has been

Antigone Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Antigone - Assignment Example Oedipus kills his father during a disagreement along the road. In addition he kills Sphinx making him a darling for the people of Thebes. The reward for the win and following the death of King Laius, Oedipus is given the throne leading to the interaction with the queen (Sophocles 1117). Oedipus marries his mother and gives birth of two boys and two girls namely Eteocles, Polynices, Antigone and Ismene. The tragedy of incest leads to blinding of Oedipus and leaving the city. The complex relationship between mother and son leads to the birth of four children who are also brothers to their father. The relationship between Antigone and Oedipus is complex in definition because of the complex nature of their relationships. Eteocles fights for Thebes while polyneices fights for the rebel (Sophocles 1118). In the battle the rebel group is defeated and the new king of Thebes orders that Polyneices should not be buried creating controversy between leads to death of Antigone for defying the rul e or order of King Creon. Sophocles was born in Colonus near Athens. Colonus was a city with unique culture which is evident in the approach of used in his drama. His father owned a business that manufactured armor. Sophocles studied music and was known for mastery in music. His father was called Sophilus. He married twice and became the father of two sons named Lophon and Agathon. His career as perfect because he became a treasurer of Athena. He was also invested with priesthood of Amynos (Sophocles 173). Sophocles had an impact on Western culture and even given a tribute for his achievement. The success of Sophocles is based on the educational background. Seamus Heaney is a poet of Irish origin. He was a playwright, translator and lecture. He won the1995 Nobel Prize in literature. He was born on April 13th 1939 at Castledawson, studies at queen’s university of Belfast and St Columb’s College. He won several rewards in the literature

Principles, Practices, and Prospects of Nuclear Energy Annotated Bibliography

Principles, Practices, and Prospects of Nuclear Energy - Annotated Bibliography Example As the paper outlines, the books  Nuclear energy: Principles, practices, and prospects by D. Bodansky establish that the need for nuclear energy arises from the worldwide diminishing levels of natural fossils and other power producing utilities, which may render industrial revolution into a stable state. Bodansky relatively expounds that rapid population growth steered power consumption; thus, the dilemma pushed for a mandatory energy alternative source throughout the world (Bodansky, 2004). The writer argues that the scientific discoveries targeted to implement alternative sources of energy that would ensure constant production in the industrialized world. The writer emphasizes the production of nuclear energy over other sources, for example, crude, natural gas, and coal as it is a carbon-free emitting compound. Nuclear energy gained acceptability throughout the superpower countries that learned of the importance of producing the alternative energy source in stimulating economic g rowth, and significance in the gross domestic product (Bodansky, 2004). Bodansky elaborates on the intensive use of the carbon-free energy but relates the production as dependent on the radiant uranium neutron and electron reacting to produce energy. The author stipulates that the chemical reactions involving the neutrons and electrons appear in a sequence of reactions called the fission process (Bodansky, 2004). The writer depicts that possible emissions to the space range in millions of isotopic compounds and the effects would ultimately stimulate global warming (Bodansky, 2004). The author elaborates that, his arguments base on the following facts; nuclear waste disposal turns a tricky issue throughout the manufacturing countries as it is non-biodegradable, thus becoming harmful to the flora and fauna (Bodansky, 2004).

Why didn't the United Nations pursue intervention in Rwanda Research Paper

Why didn't the United Nations pursue intervention in Rwanda - Research Paper Example The world, however, stood by while hundreds of thousands of Rwandans died, taking effective action only after the situation began to stabilize. The United Nations plays an essential role in any legitimate intervention. The two principal rationales justifying UN intervention in intra-state conflicts are the preservation of international peace and the protection of human rights. In case of Rwanda, UN was unable to play effective role to stop Genocide. Therefore, this paper will address following question: Why didn't the UN Pursue Intervention in Rwanda? This paper hypothesizes that several factors, including the structure of the UN, states' interests, international law and norms, and domestic factors of the conflict impeded effective UN intervention in the Rwandan conflict. It is hoped that this research paper will discern to the reader the incidents surrounding the Rwandan conflict and why UN didn’t intervene. Methodology This paper will employ qualitative research methodology to find out why UN was unable to pursue Intervention in Rwanda. It examines available literature on Rwanda Genocide, UN charter and international law pertaining to humanitarian intervention. It will specifically look for the impediments which obstructed UN intervention in the Rwandan conflict. It will begin with a brief history of the Rwandan conflict. Next, the case will be examined to determine whether the structure of the UN obstructed involvement in Rwanda. Following this, the case will be analyzed to determine if international law and the norms of the state system hindered UN intervention. The paper will then look to examine whether states' interests frustrated UN operations. Finally, the paper will explore whether domestic factors within Rwanda-such as the complexity of the conflict and terrain of the region stopped effective UN intervention. Background On April 6, 1994, hope for a peaceful transition to democracy and a broadly representative government ended when the plane ca rrying the Presidents of Rwanda and Burundi was shot down near the Kigali airport, allegedly by extremists in Habyarimana's own party (Des Forges 1999, 31). The death of the Rwandan President was followed by the systematic killing of political opponents of the regime, both Hutu and Tutsi, and a resumption of the civil war. The massacres that followed the death of the President appear to have been well planned, because the speed with which the militia singled out its victims suggests the 'Interahamwe', the pro-government militia, was prepared with their names and addresses (Power 2002, 41). For over three months, Rwanda was gripped by chaos and death which left, out of a population of 7.9 million, up to one million dead and five million internally and externally displaced. The events ground to an eventual stop, not through international pressure or intervention, but through the success of the RPF, which had taken control of most of the country. On July 19, 1994, the RPF established a broad- based national government, a day after declaring a unilateral cease-fire (Ronayne 2001, 13). The international community had responded to the tragedy in Rwanda with inaction (Stanton 2004, 9). Following the death of ten Belgian peacekeepers and the subsequent removal of the Belgian contingent from UNAMIR---reducing the mission's strength to 1,515 troops-the UN pulled most of its remaining peacekeepers out of Rwanda. This event coincided with the intensification of the genocidal campaigns. It seems the plan to drive the UN forces out of Rwanda through armed attack, clearing the way for the genocidal cam

Principles, Practices, and Prospects of Nuclear Energy Annotated Bibliography

Principles, Practices, and Prospects of Nuclear Energy - Annotated Bibliography Example As the paper outlines, the books  Nuclear energy: Principles, practices, and prospects by D. Bodansky establish that the need for nuclear energy arises from the worldwide diminishing levels of natural fossils and other power producing utilities, which may render industrial revolution into a stable state. Bodansky relatively expounds that rapid population growth steered power consumption; thus, the dilemma pushed for a mandatory energy alternative source throughout the world (Bodansky, 2004). The writer argues that the scientific discoveries targeted to implement alternative sources of energy that would ensure constant production in the industrialized world. The writer emphasizes the production of nuclear energy over other sources, for example, crude, natural gas, and coal as it is a carbon-free emitting compound. Nuclear energy gained acceptability throughout the superpower countries that learned of the importance of producing the alternative energy source in stimulating economic g rowth, and significance in the gross domestic product (Bodansky, 2004). Bodansky elaborates on the intensive use of the carbon-free energy but relates the production as dependent on the radiant uranium neutron and electron reacting to produce energy. The author stipulates that the chemical reactions involving the neutrons and electrons appear in a sequence of reactions called the fission process (Bodansky, 2004). The writer depicts that possible emissions to the space range in millions of isotopic compounds and the effects would ultimately stimulate global warming (Bodansky, 2004). The author elaborates that, his arguments base on the following facts; nuclear waste disposal turns a tricky issue throughout the manufacturing countries as it is non-biodegradable, thus becoming harmful to the flora and fauna (Bodansky, 2004).

The Divide Between God and Man Essay Example for Free

The Divide Between God and Man Essay Religion is a common theme in poetry. In the Norton anthology Modern Poems, several poems from many eras discuss or refer to religion. Six in particular show a progression of man’s slow destruction of his relationship with God and the world. â€Å"Imperial Adam† by A. D. Hope begins this sequence by the unique way sin is introduced into the world. William Butler Yeat’s â€Å"Second Coming† is an apocalyptic interpretation of what might be considered the antichrist. All together, these religious poems weave a tale of sadness and despair for mankind as they fall further and further from each other and from God. â€Å"Imperial Adam† introduces the Biblical Adam just as he has awakened from his â€Å"surgery† to find his companion. God has blessed him with a female because â€Å"It is not good for him to live alone† (line 8). However, instead of viewing her as a soul mate and companion for the glory of God, Adam sees Eve in an immediately sexual light. The poem makes use of sexual imagery such as â€Å"golden breasts,† â€Å"plump gourd,† â€Å"virile root,† and â€Å"delicious pulp of the forbidden fruit,† (lines 13, 17, 19). The sexual experience is described in stanza’s seven and eight, but instead of being treated in beautiful terms, it is described as animalistic, loud and overly passionate. Just as the Bible story goes, Eve gets pregnant and gives birth. The child, Cain, in the Bible goes on to kill his brother out of jealousy and becomes the ancestral father of a lineage of outcasts banished and cursed by God and spurned by mankind. This outcome is the focus of the last stanza of the poem. The baby is not immediately seen as a darling expression of love, but his birth is described in less complimentary terms: â€Å"Between her legs a pigmy face appear,/And the first murderer lay upon the earth† (lines 43-44). The first attention paid to the baby, at this point a true innocent, is that he is the future murderer of his brother who creates the schism between God and man. Another Biblical story that is alluded to in poetry is the parable of the prodigal son. According to this parable, a wayward youth takes his inheritance, leaves his home, and frivolously wastes his money. He returns home to find the love of his father still strong in spite of his sins and despite other’s anger at him. In â€Å"The Prodigal Son† by Rudyard Kipling, the story is the same, but not exact. True, the son has gone off to lavish living; he says â€Å"I wasted my substance, I know I did,/On riotous living, so I did,/But there’s nothing on record to show I did/Worse than my betters have done† (lines 25-28). The young man realizes his faults, but also questions his treatment by his family. He feels that his sins are no worse than any other, and finds it his label as a â€Å"monster of moral depravity† (line 23) to be quite unfair. Indeed it seems his behavior is not as horrible as the consequent behavior of his family, specifically of his own brother. In this poem, the reader learns that despite the hard knocks the young man experienced, he did work to maintain himself. The young man, unlike the Biblical prodigal son, does not remain home. He finds their attitudes toward him more oppressive than the hear life he had lived. He leaves with a warm salutation to his parents, but cannot quite find the same feelings for his brother, whom he calls a â€Å"hound† (line 48). The rhythm and rhyme of the poem are a bit misleading, in that they suggest a less serious nature than, say, the Biblical story. However, the messages are eerily the same. Like the ultimate reality of the Biblical Cain and the son in â€Å"Imperial Adam,† family relationships are strained from the beginning, particularly, it seems, between brothers. The young man doubts the relationship he has with his father is worth putting up with his sulking, angry brother. This relationship has an obvious figurative meaning as well as a literal one. The young man doubting his father’s relationship can be read as a person doubting the existence of a kind and gently God. In Gerald Manley Hopkins’ â€Å"Thou art indeed just, Lord, if I contend,† the idea that man may doubt the nature of God or become infirm in his faith or religion is expressed in sonnet form. The poem begins with the speaker asserting that he knows God is just and fair with him and acknowledges that his own ways in the world are also just and fair. His question is, and this question has undoubtedly been repeated countless times throughout the years, â€Å"Why do sinners’ ways prosper? And why must/Disappointment all I endeavour end? † (lines 3-4). His problems are echoed throughout time: â€Å"Why do bad things happen to good people? † or â€Å"Why do bad things happen to me? † The speaker, through his own failures and disappointment comes to question if God treats everyone fairly and kindly, what is the point of being continually good? He points out that sinful behavior is much more prevalent than his own goodly works: â€Å"Oh, the sots and thralls of lust/Do in spare hours more thrive than I that spend,/Sir, life upon thy cause† (lines 7-9). He laments that his good words does not seem to â€Å"wake† or enlighten anyone. Ultimately, the speaker begs God to send his roots rain, this metaphor being that he wants God to send him proof that what he is doing is worthwhile. Of course, as most theologians will attest to, God is not in the business of proving himself; faith is the name of the game. The man, who can be representative of all mankind, is losing faith in God and in his own ability to see the benefit of a holy life and godly works. As man slowly seems to split from God, man is also splitting from mankind. God, in the Bible, loves all men and wants them to love one another. Unfortunately, almost from the beginning of time, this has not been the case. In Adrienne Rich’s â€Å"Yom Kippur, 1984,† the speaker, a Jew, reflects upon the loneliness and solitude she feels as the result of being a Jew in a sea of Christians. While this is not a holocaust poem per se (though some images may suggest this) and the date in the title does not suggest Hitler’s annihilation, a resonance of fear permeates the poem. The speaker asks, â€Å"What would it mean not to feel lonely or afraid/far from your own or those you have called your own? † (lines 2-3). Subsequent lines make it clear that many other people live solitary existences for reasons other than religion. She names women and homosexuals as groups that have also been persecuted by people, and sadly, by religion and churches. The spirited narrator urges all feeling solitary to â€Å"Find someone like yourself. Find others. /Agree you will never desert each other/Understand that any rift among you/means power to those who want to do you in† (lines46-49). Unfortunately, the world has not achieved this. She mentions the modern crisis between the Arabs and the Jews in the last stanza as an example of how â€Å"souls crash together† (line 120). The speaker constantly expresses her fear of solitude, which can be interpreted as meaning solitude from others or even solitude from God. Though Rich is not necessarily known as a religious poet, the message rings true. Men divided from one another will fall, and God seems nowhere in this chaos. Furthering the idea that God seems lost from man and the world is Philip Larkin’s poem â€Å"A Poem for Sunday. † This poem is a first person monologue of a person who is drawn to a quiet and empty church. His journey through the silent place is, thus, shared step-by-step with the reader. He listens to the sounds of the heavy door shutting and observes the heavy brown and polished brass colors of the sanctuary. Ultimately, though he visits the church often, he stops to â€Å"reflect the place was not worth stopping for† (line 18) and that his visits seem to all end in this way. He wonders about a time when people stop going to churches or places of worship at all. This speaker and his thoughts seem to represent the feeling that many hold in his society. He sees little interest in the church as a religious house of worship, but more as an oddity the architecture of a bygone era. He surmises that â€Å"†¦we shall keep/a few cathedrals chronically on show,† (lines 23-24) only for a spectacle, but clearly separated from their holy purpose. The fifth stanza shows the gradual decline of the importance of the church as the speaker wonders who will be the last to ever enter its doors for worship: â€Å"A shape less recognizable each week,/A purpose more obscure. I wonder who/Will be the last, the very last, to seek this place for what it was;† (lines 37-40). The tone of the poem seems sad and remorseful, as if the speaker recognizes the sadness and futility of an age in which people do not seek God or have use for ore even remember the use for churches or cathedrals. The last poem in this series marks a specific time of the beginning of the end of the world. Many future seekers try to pinpoint the end of the world. While nobody has been successful, it is clear that many religions agree on some type of coming or second coming of the diety. â€Å"The Second Coming† by William Butler Yeats is an apocalyptic interpretation of the coming of not God, but Evil. The speaker begins by discussing a world out of balance in which â€Å"Things fall apart†¦Ã¢â‚¬  and â€Å"The ceremony of innocence is drowned;/† (lines 3, 6). It seems to warn of a time in which society is so far from God and in which things are so bad, that nothing can be reversed or saved. â€Å"Surely the Second Coming is at hand! † (line 10). Unfortunately, the speakers’ joyful words turn to fear as he envisions not the return of Christ, but of the Sphinx, the mythological beast that taunted and killed many men. This second coming is a beast that has â€Å"A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun† (line 15). This beast has been awakened and â€Å"its hour come round at last,/Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born? † (lines 21-22). This fearful question hints at a world that will be destroyed by evil instead of reclaimed by God. It suggest that mankind now has no hope of salvation. The poems in this paper all show a progression of man away from God and towards evil. Beginning with Adam, the father of murderous Cain, this symbolic journey moves through the dissolution of the family, the man’s disillusionment and loss of faith in God, the separation of man from each other, the decay of the church, and finally the birth of ultimate evil. Human beings have, indeed, fallen from God in each of these ways. The poems presented here are the attempts of the poets to capture these feelings and emotions and express them to the reader. The body of religious poetry includes far more poems on a similar theme. Because the poems hail from many time periods and from many authors, it can be assumed that the fears and suggestions in these poems are not limited to one era or to one author or country. Unfortunately, the six poems, â€Å"Imperial Adam† by A. D. Hope, â€Å"The Prodigal Son† by Rudyard Kipling, â€Å"Thou art indeed just, Lord, if I contend† by Gerald Hanley Hopkins, â€Å"Yom Kippur, 1984† by Adrienne Rich, â€Å"A Poem for Sunday† by Phillip Larkin, and â€Å"The Second Coming† by William Butler Yeats all paint a bleak outlook for mankind and his relationship with his God and with mankind.

Effects of Free Trade Agreements on Trade and Growth in US

Effects of Free Trade Agreements on Trade and Growth in US The Effects of Free Trade Agreements on Trade and Growth in American Countries: Evidence from the Gravity Model Approach Trade as a driver of growth and development is a concept that has been addressed from different perspectives or approaches for scholars and policy-makers. However, an integrative path was sealed with the creation of the World Trade Organization as the main tool to promote a more accessible and clear way to commerce between nations and was further strengthened by bilateral and multilateral FTAs, which continue developing and growing. In the current political scenario, the discussion between supporters of globalisation and detractors provides a compelling framework to study the real effects that Free Trade Agreements cause on the economic performance. While the first group affirms that FTAs enhances the markets and therefore, the economic growth and employment, the second group argues that the global market is damaging the small domestic economies. The present paper covers the increasing effects on trade that are expected by countries that engage in Free Trade Agreements, including bilateral or multilateral ones within American countries, in the context of the three central multilateral trade agreements in the continent (NAFTA, MERCOSUR, and The Pacific Alliance) and other relevant bilateral agreements. The main question to be addressed is whether the positive effects predicted by economic theory on trade when countries eliminate fares and other barriers to trade as part of an agreement effectively happen in the current context of the Americas. The hypothesis is that the implementation of Free Trade Agreements has a positive and significant impact on the trade flows between the American countries. Section 2 includes the theoretical framework behind the relation between trade and FTAs, Section 3 presents the model specification, Section 4 shows the estimation of the model and the econometric tests, the limitations of the theoret ical framework and the model specification are discussed in Section 5, and Section 6 concludes. The Gravity Model has its origins on Location Theory, as it was the main model to include the effects of distance on traded quantities. Isard and Peck (1954) acknowledged the importance of considering distance as a variable in trade analysis establishing the ground from which others such as Tinbergen (1962) and Pà ¶yhà ¶nen (1963) would build the Gravity theory to explain trade flows between countries, conducting the first econometric studies based on the gravity equation. The Gravity Model has proven to be extremely successful in ordering the observed variations in economic transactions and movement of factors. It is also distinguished for its representation of economic interaction in a multi-country world, where the distribution of goods and factors is driven by gravity forces that are conditional to the size of economic activities at each location (Anderson, 2010). In this way, trade between countries is positively related to countries sizes and negatively related to distance. Moreover, as a widely used analytical framework, the model can incorporate adjusting variables such as FTA to indicate the existence of Free Trade Agreements between the objective countries (Yang and Martinez-Zarzozo, 2014). Tinbergen (1962) suggests an economically insignificant average treatment effects of FTAs. However, numerous studies, such as Frankel (1997) on MERCOSUR, find a significant positive effect in line with the expected results. These contradictory outcomes emphasise the fragility of the estimation of FTAs treatment effects and are a clear signal that robustness should be tested. One of the central issues to be explored is the exogeneity of FTAs, since the presence of them, if endogenous, can provide seriously biased results. Baier and Bergstrand (2007) provide several important conclusions to be taken into consideration. They observe that using the standard cross-section gravity equation provides a downwards-biased result. Secondly, attributed to this bias, traditional FTAs effects are underestimated by around 75%-85%. Lastly, the authors demonstrate that the best estimates of the effect of FTAs on bilateral trade are achieved from a theoretically framed gravity equation using panel data with bilateral, country and time fixed effects or differenced panel data with country and time effects. As it is suggested by extensive literature, trade flows are better explained by the Gravity Model, which propose the Newtons Gravity concept to explain bilateral trade as an attraction force, influenced positively by the size of the economies involved in trading and negatively with the costs of transaction (Tinbergen, 1962 and PoÃÅ'ˆyhoÃÅ'ˆnen, 1963). As proxy variables of the size of the economy, the model uses GDP and population of both countries; and Distance between the countries as a proxy for transaction costs. Following the Newtons Gravity Equation, the model estimates: Where is the trade flows between a specific country pair, in other words, is the sum of exports from country to country plus exports from country to country . is the gross domestic product in country , is the population of country , is the GDP in country , is the population of country , and is the distance between the capital cities (as major economic centres) of countries and . To avoid spurious effects due to inflation and currency exchange rates, the variables , and are measured in 2010 constant US dollars. Moreover, recent literature has implemented an augmented version of the gravity model to evaluate other variables of interest related to trade flows. In this way, besides to include more time-sections to the analysis, a dummy for implemented FTAs is added to the explanatory variables, taking a value of 1 if there exist a fully in force agreement and 0 otherwise. For the purpose of this paper, an FTA is considered if it establishes 100% free trade, because many cooperation agreements in the Americas consider only certain sectors for free trade, and these are not the focus of this research. Including the dummy variable, transforming the gravity model using Logarithmic function, to accomplish the linearity-in-parameters assumption, and including the time sections, the model to estimate is: However, it is strongly likely that this model has problems of endogeneity and thus, the estimators are biased due to sampling selection and omitted variable bias, how it is suggested by the literature. However, the logic behind this biasedness is different to the literature review. For Baier and Bergstrand (2007), the parameter of interest would have a negative bias because countries will be more interested in implementing an FTA when the benefits of it are greater. Therefore, the authors conclude that a possible omitted variable would be Tariff Barriers. In this scenario, Tariff Barriers are negatively correlated with trade and positively with FTA, generating a negative bias. This is not the case for America. On the contrary, progressive lower barriers and an improving in the diplomatic relationships have finally pushed the creation of Free Trade areas and agreements. That is why, in this case, we suggest that the bias for the sample would be positive, since the possible omitted variables would be lower barriers and good diplomatic relationships, affecting the FTAs and the trade itself positively. To solve this problem, the literature suggests the use of Fixed Effects Panel Data strategy because this model can control for country-specific and invariant-in-time unobservable variables. Therefore, the model to estimate is: Where will be the identifier for the 29 different country-pair units. Since the Fixed Effects model reacts only to variant-in-time variables, the variable Distance is dropped from the model. This estimation allows controlling by characteristics related to the specific country-pair like diplomatic relationships, trade openness, institutions, and so on. However, there could be variables related to unobserved characteristics in time like trade trends and generalised willingness to trade and sign FTAs. For this reason, it is recommended to use time fixed effects to avoid endogeneity, through the next model: Where will be the identifier for the 13 different time sections. Since the scope of this paper is to evaluate the effect of the FTAs on American countries, the three biggest trade agreements in the continent (NAFTA, MERCOSUR, The Pacific Alliance) were taken as a research target, and their members were chosen as the population. The countries included by Trade Agreement are presented in Table 1: Table 1. Multilateral Trade Agreements in America Agreement Country Start Date North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Canada 01/01/94 Mexico 01/01/94 United States 01/01/94 Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR) Argentina 15/08/91 Bolivia 28/02/97 Brazil 15/08/91 Paraguay 15/08/91 Uruguay 15/08/91 MERCOSUR Chile Chile 01/10/96 The Pacific Alliance Chile 01/02/12 Colombia 01/02/12 Mexico 01/02/12 Peru 01/02/12 Source: Organization of American States (2016) However, if those countries were incorporated without taking into account other Free Trade Agreements between them or third countries, problems of sample selection bias would be created. For this reason, in addition to the mentioned free trade areas, bilateral FTA are considered, according to Table 2: Table 2. Bilateral Trade Agreements in the sample FTA Start Date Bolivia Mexico 07/06/10 Canada Chile 05/12/96 Canada Colombia 21/11/08 Canada Peru 29/05/08 Chile Mexico 01/08/99 Chile Panama 07/03/08 Chile Peru 01/03/09 Mexico Chile 01/08/99 Mexico Uruguay 15/07/04 Panama Canada 01/04/13 Panama Peru 01/05/12 United States Chile 01/01/04 United States Colombia 15/05/12 United States Panama 31/10/12 United States Peru 01/02/09 Source: Organization of American States (2016) As the model considers only one dummy variable, if a country-pair has two agreements in force (bilateral and trade area), it is considered the oldest one. Besides, it is important to point out that Venezuela (suspended member of MERCOSUR) was dropped from the list due to the lack of reliable information about trade flows. The information about bilateral trade flows was obtained from The World Banks World Integrated Trade Solution, and the other variables were constructed using information from the World Development Indicators. The database used to estimate the model has 29 country-pairs (cross-sectional units) and 13 time-sections since 1990 to 2014. The used database of bilateral trade drops 1996, leaving the database with one time-section less. Since it is one time-section of fourteen and according to our investigation, the missing information is not related to an event influencing trade flows and the time section is dropped for the entire observations, we have a low risk of biased estimators. Table 3 contains the descriptive statistics showed by the Statistical Software STATA ® for the variables in levels: Table 3. Descriptive statistics of relevant variables (in levels) Variable | Mean Std. Dev. Min Max | Observations ID overall | 25.45435 19.18174 1 74 | N = 460 between | 19.36072 1 74 | n = 29 within | 0 25.45435 25.45435 | T-bar = 15.8621 | | Exports overall | 4.55E+10 1.22E+11 1.45E+08 6.13E+11 | N = 460 between | 1.01E+11 4.22E+08 4.75E+11 | n = 29 within | 3.63E+10 -1.67E+11 2.48E+11 | T-bar = 15.8621 | | GDP_Exp overall | 1.02E+12 2.25E+12 9.96E+09 1.62E+13 | N = 460 between | 2.40E+12 1.37E+10 1.30E+13 | n = 29 within | 3.60E+11 -1.94E+12 4.21E+12 | T-bar = 15.8621 | | Pop~Exp overall | 6.71E+07 7.28E+07 2738125 3.19E+08 | N = 460 between | 7.16E+07 3324953 2.86E+08 | n = 29 within | 8255115 3.64E+07 9.97E+07 | T-bar = 15.8621 | | GDP_Imp overall | 6.78E+12 6.55E+12 9.96E+09 1.62E+13 | N = 460 between | 6.28E+12 1.61E+10 1.38E+13 | n = 29 within | 1.50E+12 2.71E+12 1.00E+13 | T-bar = 15.8621 | | Pop~Imp overall | 1.68E+08 1.31E+08 3201604 3.19E+08 | N = 460 between | 1.31E+08 3310046 2.95E+08 | n = 29 within | 1.42E+07 1.31E+08 2.00E+08 | T-bar = 15.8621 | | FTA overall | 0.5043478 0.5005254 0 1 | N = 460 between | 0.4360526 0 1 | n = 29 within | 0.2546286 -0.453985 1.393237 | T-bar = 15.8621 | | Distance overall | 3690.712 2529.406 213.02 8483.39 | N = 460 between | 2533.405 213.02 8483.39 | n = 29 within | 1.55E-12 3690.712 3690.712 | T-bar = 15.8621 However, since the estimations are calculated using a logarithmic transformation of the continuous variables, the descriptive statistics of the variables in natural logarithm are presented in Table 4: Table 4. Descriptive statistics of relevant variables (in logarithm) Variable | Mean Std. Dev. Min Max | Observations FTA overall | 0.5043478 0.5005254 0 1 | N = 460 between | 0.4360526 0 1 | n = 29 within | 0.2546286 -0.4539855 1.393237 | T-bar = 15.8621 | | lexports overall | 2.25E+01 1.84E+00 1.88E+01 27.14178 | N = 460 between | 1.64E+00 1.98E+01 26.85607 | n = 29 within | 5.17E-01 2.10E+01 23.84729 | T-bar = 15.8621 | | lGDP_ex overall | 2.65E+01 1.66E+00 2.30E+01 30.41464 | N = 460 between | 1.69E+00 2.33E+01 30.18564 | n = 29 within | 2.28E-01 2.58E+01 27.04886 | T-bar = 15.8621 | | lGDP_im overall | 2.77E+01 2.795514 2.30E+01 30.41464 | N = 460 between | 2.719438 2.35E+01 30.25019 | n = 29 within | 1.94E-01 2.70E+01 28.17505 | T-bar = 15.8621 | | lPop_ex overall | 1.75E+01 1.11E+00 1.48E+01 19.58041 | N = 460 between | 1.12E+00 1.50E+01 19.47142 | n = 29 within | 8.70E-02 1.72E+01 17.64414 | T-bar = 15.8621 | | lPop_im overall | 1.80E+01 1.821994 1.50E+01 19.58041 | N = 460 between | 1.826536 1.50E+01 19.50204 | n = 29 within | 8.05E-02 1.78E+01 18.19405 | T-bar = 15.8621 | | ldista~e overall | 7.89E+00 9.17E-01 5.36E+00 9.045865 | N = 460 between | 9.10E-01 5.36E+00 9.045865 | n = 29 within | 0.00E+00 7.89E+00 7.891049 | T-bar = 15.8621 Although using pooled OLS with the database will generate problems of endogeneity discussed further below, OLS estimation is made to have the first approach to the gravity model. Table 5 shows the obtained results: Table 5. Gravity Model estimated by OLS lexports | Coef. Std. Err. t P>|t| [95% Conf. Interval] lGDP_exp | 0.6340649 0.0394767 16.06 0 0.5564848 0.7116451 lGDP_imp | 0.4512511 0.0464715 9.71 0 0.3599247 0.5425775 lPop_exp | 0.2196251 0.0606458 3.62 0 0.1004432 0.3388071 lPop_imp | 0.5049373 0.0726212 6.95 0 0.362221 0.6476536 FTA | 0.5136195 0.0689928 7.44 0 0.3780338 0.6492052 ldistance | -0.9256142 0.0407673 -22.7 0 -1.005731 -0.8454978 _cons | -12.68833 0.7146799 -17.75 0 -14.09283 -11.28383 With a , the model behaves according to the literature and all variables are statistically significant using any level of significance. The variables measuring the mass of the economies are positive and distance is negative. Additionally, the variable of interest FTA is positive and statistically relevant, showing tha

The Profession of Registered Nursing Essay -- Nursing, healthcare, inf

The world is filled with many different types of professional people that help maintain our health status. Registered nurses are one of these important professional people that take care of the sick and maintain health all around the world and in our community. Registered nurses also work to prevent disease , to educate the public about health issues , to enhance public health , and to help support ill patients both physically and mentally. In this essay I will describe and explain what is a registered nurse, education and certification, employment, and professional activities. Registered nurses are licensed by the state in which he or she practices after completing certain training and education. The three educational paths to registered nursing are bachelor’s degree, an associate degree, and a diploma from a approved nursing program. Registered nurses are used mostly everywhere because they are present when doctors cannot assist you immediately and they can prescribe medication. Registered nurses regardless of specialty or work setting, monitor all aspects of patient care including diet and physical activities, and provide advice and emotional support to patients and family members. And most of the places they work include family practices , adult practices , women’s health , pediatrics , acute care and gerontology. Registered nurses work under pressure everyday to treat life conditions such as accidents , heart attacks and strokes. Registered nurses also take care for patients in critical condition , or illness , and they must be able to recognize life threatening problems quickly and assist a patient with care . Registered nurses may suffer from stresses and burnout caused by shift , night work ... ... S. (2011). Development Across the life span. New Jersey: Pearson Education. Haroun, J. M. (2011). INTRODUCTION TO HEALTH CARE SECOND EDITION. New York: Delmar Cengage Learning. Marieb, E. N. (2011). Human anatomy and Physiology seventh edition. San Francisco: Pearson Benjamin Cummings. Prabhupada, A. B. (2011). THE SCIENCE OF SELF REALIZATION. California: The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. (2011, March 5). Retrieved March 5, 2011, from BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS: www.bls.gov Whitney, E. (2011). UNDERSTANDING NUTRITION. Ohio: Cengage Learning. Education-portal. (2010). Private Universities in Florida. Retrieved from: http://education-portal.com/private_universities_in_florida.html eHow. (2010). Catholic Hospice, Inc. Retrieved from: http://www.ehow.com/about 5098909 florida-rn-license-requirements.html

Essay --

1. Name of the system HRMIS is stands for Human Resources Management Information System. 2. Summary of the system to be developed HRMIS is system that will be developing to assist an employee’s record management in Human Resources Department and Finance Department. This system will help both department to collaborate in the making of finalize report which it been demand in the end of the month or year. This system will retrieve all the activity that contains of employee activities either active or non-active records such as for HR Department they consists a report attendance for KPI (key performance indicator), leave, mc, pension’s information and for Finance Department information like staffing’s salary. So, using this system where it is built using an intranet where staff from this two department can attach and update the information at the metadata immediately whereby it making the information currency. Besides that, they can monitor all the activities that related to the employee among themselves. This system contains a metadata that can be a key to the employee. So the inf...

Medea VS Wide Sargasso Sea

1.0  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   IntroductionRhys’ novel, ‘Wide Sargasso Sea’ is an attempt by the novelist to humanize the racially pejorative life of a West Indian mad woman, Antoinette, who, led to lead a tumultuous life by her husband, and under the watchful eyes of a servant, is transformed from a tragic demise to one of heroism and triumph. Rhys brings to her works the experience she felt as a single woman living in a patriarchal culture. She was influenced by Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre, where she thought she would give life to Bertha Mason, and it was with this in mind that Rhys created Antoinette.What Rhys does in ‘Wide Sargasso Sea,’ is to negate the patriarchal dominance by challenging Antoinette’s husband, Rochester’s tyrannical behaviour. When Mr. Mason brushes aside the martial problem of Annette’s sister, saying that it was her story, and that he didn’t believe any part of it, Rhys, thr ough her protagonist Antoinette, targets the bullish nature of men. Rhys, through her work, ‘Wide Sargasso Sea,’ and particularly through her characterization of Antoinette, targets the struggle of women against the dictates of patriarchy. She portrays her women to be stronger than men in the novel, ‘Wide Sargasso Sea’.Euripides, born in Athens in 484 BC, was perhaps a rebel of his times. He was known to be a free thinker, and was critical of the religious practices and oppression of women and slaves. This made him write in support women and the oppressed lot; unheard of before him.Euripedes’ ‘Medea,’ is about the protagonist’s conflict with despair and greed. Medea, who with Jason, settles in Corinth after a long series of trials and adventure, are respected and establish a family. However, things begin to change as Jason seeks to advance his position by marrying Glauce, the daughter of Creon, king of Corinth. This irks Medea, wh o voices her grievances publicly, endangering her and her children’s lives.Jason’s claim that his remarriage would benefit everyone was seen by Medea as being patriarchal, and she plots to take revenge on Jason, Creon and Glauce. She flees for her life with the children, only to be helped by Aegeus, King of Athens, if Medea exchanged her knowledge of certain drugs that could cure his sterility. Here too we see the patriarchal attitude of the king. Medea finds ‘justice’ when she has Glauce and Creon drinking poison. She kills her children, but fails in her justice to punish Jason. She flees the scene in a dragon-pulled chariot provided by her grandfather, the Sun-God.2.0   Patriarchal and its essence in the novel, ‘Wide Sargasso Sea’The term patriarchal in the novel, ‘Wide Sargasso Sea,’ is analogical to the domination of men over women. The book is an attempt by Jean Rhys to hit back at male dominance, as seen in Charlotte Bront e’s, ‘Jane Eyre.’ Rhys attempts to stand up against oppression of slavery and entrapment, as seen in the incidents that take place in Wide Sargasso Sea.The specter of slavery and entrapment pervades Wide Sargasso Sea. The ex-slaves who worked on the sugar plantations of wealthy Creoles figure prominently in Part One of the novel, which is set in the West Indies in the early nineteenth century. There are quite a few incidents that transform this young, sensitive woman to what she was at the end of the novel; a raging mad woman. First of all, Antoinette grew up without a father or the love of her mother. She was married off to an Englishman by her step-brother, Richard Mason, who offered Rochester  £30,000 and rights over the girl's inheritance.She couldn’t stand such treatment meted to her by a man without her approval. This was patriarchal, and Antoinette couldn’t forgive him for being so rude to her weakness. The second man in her mother’s life; Mr. Mason was more than dominating. He was in love with her mother’s estate than them and left them to survive in the care of a black couple who repeatedly humiliated and mocked at her. The sufferings of her mother at the hands of Mr. Mason are reflected in Antoinette’s early recollection of her, and she speaks of Annette’s signs of madness and melancholy. Antoinette was unfortunate not to meet her mother who died when Antoinette was at the convent school.When Annette confronts Mason to ask him to intervene on behalf of her sister, he says, â€Å"That's her story. I don't believe it,’ a sign to show that he supported the other man, and that what women said was just a bunch of lies. These incidents revealed the male bastion of the men around Antoinette, and this led her to rebel the patriarchal treatment meted out to her. When she is married off to Rochester, and taken to England, Rochester says to himself, â€Å"No more false heavens. No more dam ned magic,† in support of his desire to leave the cursed family behind and lead a peaceful life in England.Rochester develops a relationship with Antoinette’s maid, Amelie. She openly slaps Antoinette in front of her husband, who takes no notice of this. He even offers Amelie money to as gift. Antoinette sees this as a way to get at her and show his male chauvinism. Daniel Cosway, another of Alexander Cosway's bastard children, writes to Rochester on Antoinette’s madness. This brings to fore a quote from the book, â€Å"He has no right to that name,† said Antoinette quickly. â€Å"His real name, if he has one, is Daniel Boyd. He hates all white people, but he hates me the most. He tells lies about us and he is sure that you will believe him and not listen to the other side.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Is there another side?† asked Rochester.â€Å"There is always the other side, always,† ended Antoinette. This went to show that Rochester was more inclined to believe a strange man than a woman, who was his wife.Overall, Antoinette was fighting men for justice and thought that all men were being bossy, and thus patriarchal. She revolts in the end to fight this dominance, first biting Rochester on the arm, drawing blood. Rochester takes her to England where she is locked up in a garret. She is left there to die, looked after by a servant named Grace Poole. When Daniel came to see her, Antoinette draws a knife on him.She follows her dream of walking out of the garret with a candle in her hand, to burn the house down with her and Rochester in it; justice delivered in the end. Annette’s pet parrot, enacted Antoinette’s own doom, when, as Antoinette recalled, â€Å"made an attempt to fly down, by the clipped wings failed him, and he fell down on fire.† Coco was left maimed, analogical to Antoinette’s own flightless dependency. This sums up the treatment meted out to Antoinette and her fall from the attic.3.0   Pa triarchal and its essence in the play, ‘Medea’The word, Patriarchal to Medea meant greed. One sees the attitude of men towards women in their quest for power and opportune. Medea and Jason had fought bitter trials and overcome many an adventure to be together. They were well respected by all in Corinth. However, when Jason was ready to remarry for his betterment, Medea wanted to take revenge. Creon, the king of Corinth, whose daughter Jason married, heard about this, he immediately asked her to be brought to justice.He wanted his daughter to be happy, and was not inclined to see the despair running though Medea or her children. Glauce, who knew about Medea, also showed no pity. Medea thus was forced to run for her life. She knew that she had to get justice for her grievance and plotted to kill Jason, Glace and Creon. She was fortunate to meet Aegeus, the king of Athens, who promised to protect her, provided that she gives him her knowledge of certain drugs that could cu re him of his sterility.This was also an incidence that saw Medea see men interested only in their gain. Her murder of her brother to slow the pursuers from catching them is to show that she believed that men were more worthy than women, and that the warriors would stop to give him a respected burial. She takes revenge to redeem justice for Jason’s actions. She has Glauce poisoned, and seeing his daughter dying, Creon also consumes poison and dies. Medea then kills her children; to have the pleasure of watching Jason suffer their loss. ‘Betrayal’ is what Euripides indicates as the patriarchal element in his play, ‘Medea.’4.0   AnalysisThe term ‘Patriarchal’ has a wide implication in the general sense. In the context of the two works; one by Jean Rhys on, ‘Wide Sargasso Sea,’ and the other in Euripides’, ‘Medea,’ the term has distinct meanings. This can be seen in the way the plot is developed and the ro le of the protagonists in overcoming them. While patriarchal to Antoinette in ‘Wide Sargasso Sea’ is the bullish domination of men against women, for Medea, it was betrayal for personal interest.There is no denying the fact that both the protagonists were affected by their male partners, and had to experience hardship. But, the domination and motive to deliver ‘justice’ at the end, showed them to be more commanding and dominant in the plot. Antoinette was stronger than Daniel, her step-brother, whom she knifed, and she was more courageous in plotting to kill her, Grace and Rochester by lighting a fire to the house where she, Grace and Rochester were residing. Such mental strength was missing in the men in the novel.Medea was powerful, and had magic to protect her. She was strong enough to kill her brother, her children, and Glause. She was definitely the stronger of the characters portrayed in the play.5.0   ConclusionDespite the background, and the conse quence for the actions initiated by the protagonists, both Antoinette and Medea were the stronger characters in the respective works. Though the men did hurt their women physically and mentally, they were not strong enough to plot a murder. Rochester treated her shabbily and had her confined to a garret in the house for ages, causing mental torture. Jason was greedy for power and was not going to let Medea come in the way. He went ahead and married Glauce, much to Medea’s distraught. The women were more successful in the end in getting their ‘justice,’ proving them to be stronger.

Discuss Steinbeck’s presentation of The American dream in Of Mice And Men Essay

George and lennie want to recreate happier time â€Å"I could build a smoke house like the one grandpa had† this shows they want to recreate there childhood when they were safe and cosy A kid of paradise with lots of food – a cosy life â€Å"When we kill a pig we can smoke the bacon and the hams and make sausages† So they can eat some rich fresh succulent meat whenever they want it Better working conditions – not getting canned not working if they didn’t want to â€Å"No one could can us an if we don’t Steinbeck’s language shows the dream won’t come true because he uses alliteration to slow down your reading and by the way curley’s wife neck clicks there is no more sound as if the universe came to a massive stand still As soon as he says â€Å"stop† the first time its like running into a brick wall as if its just like boom dead end no way out to late and no more American dreamland then followed by the second as if that was the rest of the wall boxing him in as to seal his fate as lennie says â€Å"i didn’t want to hurt you but george’ll be mad if you go yelling † and then as it dawns on him of what his actions done â€Å"I done a bad thing I done another bad thing † this leaving the reader feeling sorry for lennie as he is a bit simple as if in his head he is still a kid in a full grown mans body . And as Steinbeck writes the end of chapter five his words showing how distressed / depressed and scared for lennie candy is â€Å"poor bastard† and emphasizing how quiet the barn is as if death himself had walked and lingered in the darkened corners of the barn as the darkness appears in as if a symbolic sign of death hovering the ranch with his scythe waiting to collect his crop. Candy cry’s because when he finds curlys wife dead because he knows that it was lennie and that curly is going to kill lennie when he finds out he will chase down lennie like a hound chasing a rabbit homing in waiting for the death blow and after lennies gone so have George and candies dream and as this starts to hit him he starts to worry about his friends and there future . George talks to lennie about the dream before he shoots him so lennies calm and happy not distressed , panicky and depressed so his last moment is one of his favourite memories George decides to go and to shoot lennie so that he can make lennie happy and calm before he is executed rather than lennie upset and crying at the hand of curly just so that lennie can be happy and glad before he is shot which is really good it must take a lot of courage to shoot a friend It’s a shame really been as they nearly had the finance to buy there dream place with all the three of there money put together had enough to place the deal on the house Steinbeck shows that something will go wrong at the end as he got the title for this novel from a poem by the Scottish writer Mr. Robert burns the poem goes like this The best laid schemes o’ mice an men Gang aft agley An’ leare us nought but grief an’ pain For promised joy In other words the plans of mice and men often go ugly and leave nothing but grief and pain when it was promised to give us joy. The story is set back just after the cowboy/bandit era a time were movies were quite and woman were even more so Its set about two friends who travel together and stop off at ranches to do some work before they move on to earn enough money to support there American dream which is that when they have enough money to buy a ranch they saw for 600 American dollars and then they could live of the fat of the land and everything would be perfect â€Å"an if we didn’t like the guy we just say get out and wed have a spare room and if a friend came by we’d say why don’t you stay the night and by god he would† Steinbeck’s idea of the American dream is basically that the dream can only be reached by the wealthy and unavailable to the poor and dreamful

The Role of Leadership in Organisational Change

In discussing the role of leadership in organisational change, one must first understand the rudiments of leadership and theories that surround it, understand what change is and the essential qualities that a leader must possess to bring about change.Defining LeadershipThere is much literature and research in the areas of leadership and management with many writers differentiating the two. A common conclusion is that a good manager may not be a good leader. So what is the difference between them? French, R., et al, (2011) says that while managers engage in solving problems and supervising work, leaders do not just instruct people on what to do. Leaders inspire and motivate the people who follow and support them thereby creating opportunities for the long-term. An environment where leadership is mentioned a lot and developed is the military. However, the command-and-control â€Å"leadership† where an officer barks orders to his troops is not leadership because he is legally aut horised to do it (Cohen, 2010).In support of this, Buchanan and Huczynski (1985) say that it is a â€Å"social process† where one person influences other’s behaviours without using threats of violence. By the latter definition, we can surmise that what goes on in the army is certainly far from leadership as threats are a way of life in the military! In the case of the military officer, he is said to be endowed with Formal Leadership, giving him formal authority over his men. When a staff has access to resources, information or has specialised skills, he may be viewed as an Informal Leader as he exerts influence over others who may not be their subordinates nor even be in the same department as them (French, et al, 2011).So, while managers make things happen because the company says they are authorised to do so, leaders achieve the company’s objectives by influencing their colleagues or subordinates to co-operate (Rosen Bach & Taylor, 1993). Lussier & Achua (2007 ) say that mutual influence between a leader and those he leads reach their organisational goals by making changes together. According to Fielder (1967), the acid test of a leader is his ability to achieve greater performance for his organisation. Hence, studies of leadership must be related to how the leader improves management control strategies and how he regulates work place behaviour (Thomson & McHugh,  2002).According to Cohen (2010), there are 8 laws that he termed â€Å"universal laws† which forms the heart of leadership. Though these 8 things that leaders must do are simple, the absence of one can make a difference between success and failure. Although success cannot be guaranteed, abiding by these 8 laws, one can increase the chances of success: 1.Maintaining absolute integrity2.Being technically competent 3.Communicating expectations 4.Show exemplary commitment 5.Expect positive results 6.Looking after the interest of your people 7.Putting duty before self 8.Lead ing from the frontSECTION 2 : Theories on LeadershipAccording to Bass (1990), the three basic theories of leadership are the Trait Theory, Great Event Theory and Transformation Theory. Robbins (1996) had a different view and wrote that the three theories important to leadership development are Trait Theory, Behaviour Theory and Situational Theory. French, et al, (2011) summarised and divided the theories on leadership into 2 categories: Traditional Theories and New Theories. Traditional Theories are further grouped into Theories on leader traits and behaviours and situational leadership. New theories refer to Charismatic Leadership and Transformational Leadership. See diagram below.Trait theories on leadership were developed from research which tried to identify attributes that great leaders were born with which differentiates them from non-leaders. How effective these leaders are depends on the influence the leader wields over his subordinate’s performance, satisfaction and overall effectiveness (Derue, et al, 2011). Galton’s (1869) view that these immutable traits are only found in leaders born with them and they cannot be developed has been challenged and criticized by many for over a hundred years. However, research has continued on linking personality traits on effectiveness of leaders and showed that successful leaders possess  personality traits that impact their success.This helps organisations in their selection, training and development of potential leaders (Derue et al., 2011). In Bass’s (1990) Great Event Theory, leaders are created when great changes or crisis happen driving certain characteristics to be forged in individuals, enhancing their performance. This theory predisposes that leadership creation is still involuntary and not proactive unlike the Transformational Leadership Theory where anyone can learn skills on how to lead. It would appear that leaders are not ‘born’ but they are shaped by their environm ent, including upbringing and career. (French, et al, 2011)Criticisms of the trait theories led to the development of behaviour theories theorizing that actions and behaviour exhibited by a leader and not his personality is what identifies him as one. In late 1940s, University of Michigan conducted studies concluding that there are 2 types of leadership; Worker-oriented leadership and Task-oriented leadership. While the former is focussed on employee welfare, the latter concentrates on achievement of organisational objectives. Behavioural theory explains leadership vis-à  -vis the behaviour of leaders but does not consider the situation or the environment that the leader is operating in. The criticism is that given different situations, the same leadership behaviours may not be observed.Shortcomings of the behaviour theories led to Situational Contingency Theories of Fiedler (1967), House (1974), Hersey and Blanchard (1988) and Kerr and Jermier (1978). Horner (1997), a situational theorist, says that an effective leader should be able to adapt his leadership style according to the work situation he is in. The leadership styles identified by House’s (1974) Path-Goal theory are Directive, Supportive, Participative and Achievement-oriented styles. Contemporary leadership theorists like House (1974) and Conger and Kanungo (1998) researched on Charismatic Leadership.They wrote that certain attitudes and attributes can be bundled together to determine charisma in a leader. What they do and how they do it to influence the desired actions from their followers is how charismatic leaders are successful as leaders (French, et al, 2011). Charisma is a key component of transformational leadership and as such, many of its characteristics are also found in successful transformational leaders. So while charismatic leaders may not be transformational leaders, transformational leaders need to be charismatic to achieve their mission of change (DuBrin, 2010).DuBrin  (20 10) wrote that transformational leaders display attributes that distinguish them from others. Some attributes include charisma, high emotional intelligence, visioning skills, communication skills, give feedback, recognize subordinate’s achievements, practice empowerment, innovative and high moral reasoning. Bass (1990) distinguished between Transactional and Transformational leadership saying that the former has to do with daily communications and exchanges between a leader and his subordinates. This is usually task-based and routine. Transformational leadership, on the other hand, enables subordinates to broaden their goals and elevate performance beyond expectations with the use of charisma, inspiration, intellectual stimulation, and individualised consideration.SECTION 3 : Organisational ChangeThe mother of all clichà ©s, â€Å"The only constant in life is change†, sums up rather neatly that all organisations, large or small, simple or complex, will face changes wi thin itself and in its environment. Writers have consensus that at this day and age, change is a much larger issue than decades past as the rate of change, especially for technological change, is increasing at an exponential rate (Balogun and Hope Hailey, 2004; Burnes, 2004; Senior, 2002). Being omni-present in organisations at all levels, the importance of the leader’s ability to assess its present stage, evaluate it against its desired state, define its performance gaps and plan organisational changes to reach the desired end cannot be emphasized more (Burnes, 2004).Burnes (2004) goes on to say that organisational strategy and change are inseparable. According to Moran and Brightman (2001), because of the continually changing needs of stakeholders internally and externally, a good leader will also be continuously planning the organisation’s direction, its capabilities and structure to meet those changes. Because organisational change is of paramount importance, the s kills that a leader must have to effect changes successfully are highly sought after (Senior, 2002). In fact, managers today may find that their primary task in an environment of globalisation, technological innovation, constantly changing demographics, deregulation and knowledge explosion, is to provide leadership for organisational change (Graetz, 2000)Organisational change can be planned or unplanned. Unplanned changes occur  spontaneously without any conscious effort on the part of the manager to effect change (French, et al, 2011). It is usually due to changes in the conditions of the environment and is reactive in nature. Planned change happens when the manager takes proactive measures to address a performance gap to get to desired outcomes that meet organisational goals and objectives. Although it is generally accepted that in a highly competitive environment, change is a necessity to survive, Balogun and Hope Hailey (2004) found that about 70 per cent of all plans for orga nisational change fail. According to Dunphy and Stace (1993), there are 4 characteristics in the scale of the change. They are Fine Tuning, Incremental Adjustment, Modular Transformation and Corporate Transformation.In Fine Tuning, the leader makes very small changes to processes, human capital, structure and strategy so they work coherently to reach the organisational goal. It is usually done within the divisional or departmental level and is referred to as convergent change (Nelson, 2003) Similar to fine tuning, Incremental Adjustment involves making slightly more changes to managerial processes, corporate strategies and structures but not to the extent of radical change (Senior, 2002). The difference is that the changes are bigger here. In Modular Transformation, the scale of change has move from being intra-departmental to departmental-wide or division-wide alignments.However, change in this category has not reached organisation-wide, which is discussed next. Major changes to ke y executives, restructuring of a division and downsizing a department are examples (Dunphy & Stace, 1993). Finally, Corporate Transformation which encompasses radical changes in mission, vision and core values, major strategic direction shifts, organisational restructuring and changes in top management and key appointments, is the largest of the 4 types of change (Dunphy & Stace, 1993). The key difference between corporate and modular transformations is that the former is organisation-wide, which means that every person in the organisation is affected. SECTION 4 : The Process of Change Beckhard & Gleicher (1969) wrote on a formula for change. This formula is sometimes referred to as Gleicher’s Formula. The formula shows the forces  that drive change and the aims to predict when change will be successful.This formula explains that leaders in an organisation need to be firstly, unhappy with how things are going and must know where they want to head towards. If D is absent, th en the organisation may be complacent and may not want to move from their position. D without V will mean that the organisation has no direction for change. Even if D and V are present, without taking the first positive step, change will just be an idea; hence, action must be taken.Therefore the product of D, V and F cannot be zero which means that any of the 3 values cannot be zero. If any of the 3 is absent, the drive to change will not overcome resistance. The other factor to consider is the magnitude of D, V and F against the magnitude of R. The product of D, V and F must be greater than R for there to be change. The greater the product, the greater the probability that change will happen. However, this formula does not guarantee that the change will be successful. For change to be successful, change leaders or change agents must have attributes to lead change.There are many reasons why people resist change and it usually has to do with the fear of the unknown. As a result, they will find ways to slow change down or sabotage it so it does not happen (Lines, 2004). Instead of trying to overcome resistance, leaders should take it as a form of feedback and understand why the employee perceives threats to win them over and achieve change objectives (French, et al, 2011).SECTION 5 : Phases of ChangeThe work of Kurt Lewin on phases of planned change is oft quoted and still very relevant today. He says that the 3 phases are â€Å"Unfreezing†, â€Å"Changing† and â€Å"Refreezing† and the leader should be sensitive in each of these phases (Lewin, 1952). â€Å"Unfreezing† or preparation phase prepares the ground for change. Leaders will have convinced themselves of a need for change using the Formula for Change. What they have to do now is to enable his followers to feel the same need and reduce resistance to change.French, et al, (2011) referred to this phase as similar to â€Å"generating energy for transformation† in Miles†™ (1997) framework for planned organizational change leadership. Lewin’s unfreezing phase also includes what Miles refers to as â€Å"Developing a vision of the future†. The leader needs to communicate this  vision effectively to his followers and ensure buy-in for his changes to succeed. The 8-stage process of change by Kotter (1996) lists the first 4 stages as : †¢Establishing a Sense of Urgency†¢Creating a Guiding Coalition †¢Developing a Vision and Strategy †¢Communicating the Change VisionKotter refers to these 4 stages as â€Å"defrosting† which essentially means unfreezing. He says that managers sometimes skip these 4 stages and go headlong into restructuring or downsizing and eventually face insurmountable roadblocks or change that is not sustainable, that is, change that will not stick. The next phase of change, â€Å"Changing†, according to Lewin (1952), refers to the nitty-gritty nuts and bolts of change like re-structur ing, re-organisation, reshaping culture, training and development to build competencies required to fulfil the new vision. According to Miles (1997), this is referred to as â€Å"aligning the internal context†. Kotter (1996), on the other hand, splits this phase into 3 more stages in his 8-stage process of creating major change: †¢Empowering Broad-based Action†¢Generating Short-term Wins †¢Consolidating Gains and Producing more ChangeLewin’s (1952) final phase, â€Å"Refreezing†, is where leaders evaluate results and either makes modifications to improve results from the change or reinforce outcomes for achieving change objectives. The purpose of refreezing is so that change can be permanent and will â€Å"stick†. Miles refers to this as â€Å"Creating a transformation process architecture† which involves having feedback and communication mechanisms, support, education mechanisms and coordination mechanisms. This stage coincides with Kotter’s final stage in his 8-stage process called â€Å"Anchoring New Approaches in the Culture†.SECTION 6 : Leadership and Organisational ChangeSetting direction, giving inspiration and ensuring that lasting change is implemented organisation-wide is a key role that all leaders play. Good leadership and management of change is a critical ingredient in organisational change because it is essentially a people issue and human nature is such that its first instinct is to resist change (Coburn, 2006). Lack of effort, too great a change over too short a time and emphasis on top management rather than engaging lower levels are key reasons for failure to execute change programmes (Manikandan, 2010).It is critical to understand that organizations consist of complex human interactions such that all intended change needs to be handled with sensitivity. Change initiatives fail not because of the lack of intelligent leaders or noble causes but due to the lack of emotional buy-in from stakeholders. So leaders of change need to have skills and competencies to ensure successful change initiatives. Buchanan & Boddy (1992) grouped 15 core competencies and skills into 5 clusters:Diagram 1 : Buchanan & Bodd’s Clustering of Skills and Competencies Buchanan & Boddy (1992) grouped the skills and competencies into clusters of activities. However, upon analysis, they can be grouped into 2 broad categories; Competencies & Attributes of good leaders and Communication & EQ Skills of good leaders. This is illustrated in the diagram below.Diagram 2 : Grouping Skills into Competencies and Skills Competencies & AttributesA successful leader must be sensitive to his environment, including but not limited to being aware of market conditions, intra-company politics, conflicting goals of different departments, how the sum of parts in an organisation works together to achieve its goals (helicopter viewpoint) and who the power brokers are within the organisation. Having thi s competency will enable the change leader to appraise the status quo and determine the gap that needs to be closed in order to reach the new vision. Hence, the leader’s comprehension and clarity of his vision will be enhanced. â€Å"Flexibility† and â€Å"Tolerance of ambiguity† might well be two sides of the same coin. Not all changes will go according to plan nor all reactions to change, especially resistance, are predictable.Hence, a good leader will have a fair amount of tolerance of the unknown and in exhibiting this, be flexible enough to modify his change plans to reach his objectives and to minimise resistance to change. Finally, the leader must have enthusiasm as he is the change agent. He is the champion of that change and if he cannot  show that he believes in it and is behind it 100%, he will not be able to get buy-in for it. Communication & EQ SkillsThe skills listed in this box are all related to skills in effective communications but tempered w ith a good measure of emotional quotient (EQ). As discussed above, the challenges in change management are mainly found in the management of people. Hence, EQ in communication is key to success. Effective communication where the message is conveyed accurately from the sender to the receiver is a basic requirement of any leader. However for a change leader, communicating while exercising EQ will make the message more acceptable to the recipient and hence enhance successful change.This is especially true when a leader wants to ‘sell’ the idea of change or when he ‘negotiates’ for a win-win solution to effect changes. He has to use all his ‘influence’ and exhibit charismatic leadership to win the support of his colleagues and subordinates. How he does this may be through the use of ‘motivation’. Using his EQ, the leader will be able to empathise with his subordinates and understand their fears and concerns know what motivates them and use this in his effort to garner support or reduce resistance.The leader needs to use his ‘networking’ skills to access resources within and outside the company in order to implement his change plan. One must not forget that in transformational change, everyone and every department in an organisation will be affected. Hence the leader cannot work in isolation. Finally, using ‘teambuilding’ skills, the leader can build a cohesive force to successfully implement all the changes that the organisation wants to put in place and make those changes stick or in the words of Lewin (1983), â€Å"Refreeze†.SECTION 7 : ConclusionFor over a century, behavioural scientists, psychologists and even sociologists have studied leadership, trying to define, explain and even predict situations when leadership qualities and attributes will be displayed. They have tried to explain if leadership is inborn or a result of the external environment. Whether it is inherent in p ersonality or whether it can be learnt and developed. Contemporary theorists conclude that although certain traits that are inborn are those found in great  leaders, other attributes of good leadership can indeed be developed.Organisational change, inescapable as it were, is a challenge for leaders. Leaders need to prepare the ground and communicate the changes needed to move the organisation forward (Unfreeze), make the changes with sensitivity and exercise EQ (Change) and get buy-in and support for the changes to make them stick (Refreeze). To execute change plans, leaders need to have the communication skills, EQ, competencies and attributes required for transformational change.