Reagans War on Drugs Essay

The phrase â€Å"sex, drugs, and rock and roll† held true to its well-earned spot in 1970’s and 1980’s society. With a new, looser culture, explicit music, raunchy and rambunctious movies as well as a societal focus on many things immoral, it was an era of challenging social norms. As the use of recreational and psychoactive drugs, as well as alcohol, increased, a new problem arose; how does law enforcement and the government undo the damage being made by this new society? Laws were passed, bureaus and commissions were formed, and the President of the United States began what he called â€Å"The War on Drugs†. Over the years, some of these solutions have proven to make some impact. The initiation, tactics, and attempts at dealing a major blow to drug abuse have all affected the way America sees drugs today. A new type of warfare had made its way into the country, and after all these years, it has made its fair share of positive and negative effects. â€Å"Just say no. † (Reagan Declares War on Drugs, 1982). This was one of the many scare tactics used in America’s new war on drugs. The president needed to construct a plan to detract the public eye from drugs’ fame. Nancy Reagan was equally as adamant about keeping America safe and clean. She traveled to and spoke at many schools, enforcing the idea of simply refusing the temptation of drugs. Before the Reagan’s began their wartime, Richard Nixon introduced his own ‘war’ on drugs, stating, â€Å"America’s public enemy number one is drug abuse. In order to fight and defeat this enemy, it is necessary to wage a new, all-out offensive. † (Remarks About an Intensified Program for Drug Abuse Prevention, 1971). This mindset was yet another strategy used to make America energized and willing to fight this war. Nixon passed the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act in the 1970’s as a way to keep a constant eye on the drug industry. This act required the pharmaceutical industry to maintain physical security and strict record keeping for certain types of drugs. When Reagan became president he gave a speech, announcing, â€Å"We are taking down the surrender flag that has flown over so many drug efforts; we’re running up a battle flag. † (Reagan’s ‘War on Drugs’ Speech, 1981). America’s first clear attack on the use of drugs was verbal – this strategy temporarily affected the country, but more had to be done to combat this enemy. The United States and its’ presidents had to take a fighting stance if they wanted to decrease drug abuse. One of the first instances of this was President Nixon’s Operation Intercept. Announced even before the official ‘war’ on drugs began – in September 1969 – this campaign focused on reducing the amount of cannabis entering the United States from Mexico. Following this effort, the United States government funded the controversial Methadone Maintenance Program. Methadone Maintenance treatment, a program in which addicted individuals receive daily doses of methadone, was developed as part of a broad, multicomponent treatment program. † (Center for Disease Control, 2002). After Nixon’s trials and failures, President Carter went at the fight with a different, looser approach. Carter called for the decriminalization of marijuana. With a less vicious outlook, Carter believed that the punishment of a crime should not be more brutal than that said crime. President Carter’s tactic proved unworthy, as while he was in office, use of cocaine increased dramatically. Finally, as Reagan took center stage and stepped into presidential office, he kept a strong belief against this criminal act. Reagan created the Office of National Drug Control Policy to eradicate illicit drug use, manufacturing and trafficking of drugs, as well as put an end to drug related violence and crimes. Reagan put policies in place to strengthen his deadly grasp on drug-ridden society. He required mandatory minimum prison sentences for drug dealers – a policy he initiated in hopes of making drugs seem less glamorous and infinitely more criminal. He began the South Florida Task Force, which dealt with the increase of drug trafficking in Southern Florida. This force worked hand in hand with the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI). Operation Swordfish was put in place by the DEA to attack international drug organizations. â€Å"The operation was dubbed operation swordfish because it was intended to snare the ‘big fish’ in drug trade. † (Drug Enforcement Agency, Operation Swordfish, 1980). Vice President George H. W. Bush began insisting that the CIA and U. S. Military become involved in drug interdiction efforts. The Drug-Free Media Campaign Act of 1988 was passed in hopes to convince America’s youth and future generations to stray away from drugs. After all of these battles, did America finally win this war? â€Å"The U. S. Federal Government spent over $15 billion in 2010 on the War on Drugs, a rate of about $500 per second. † (The Budgetary Impact of Drug Prohibition, 2010). This is a sign that perhaps Reagan’s War on Drugs wasn’t quite as effective as he had so hoped. The United States today has the highest incarceration rate and prison population of any country in the world. This is provided in part by the amount of arrests and incarcerations due to drug sentencing guidelines and policies. â€Å"In the 1980’s, while the number of arrests for all crimes had risen by 28%, the number of arrests for drug offenses rose 126%. † (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2010). This did not specifically mean that there were more drug-related crimes, but that law enforcement had simply cracked down on the arrests of said crimes. In comparison, Time Magazine’s study states, â€Å"Drug convictions went from 15 inmates per 100,000 adults in 1980 to 148 in 1996, an almost tenfold increase. More than half of America’s federal inmates today are in prison on drug convictions. In 2009 alone, 1. 66 million Americans were arrested on drug charges†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Time Magazine, 2012). While this war on drugs may still be in effect, it may have positive outcomes for further in the future. As for the time being, America has two main stances on the subject: some call for further reparations in the war on drugs, while others believe the war is unsuccessful, and the focus needs to be shifted to more important and dire issues. The War on Drugs has failed. † (19 Member Commission, June 2, 2011). In another instance, a poll was taken throughout the country, and its results, â€Å"three in four Americans believe that the War on Drugs is failing. † (October 2008 Poll). Suggestions of decriminalization have been made by many. The legalization of drugs is claimed to have many positive effects on the country as a whole, including positive economic effects. While this ‘war’ on drugs started off as a full-fledged attack on all users and distributors of illegal narcotics, it seems to have transformed into a war against itself: will continuing these attacks help the country, or will allowing certain, less harmful drugs to be legal prove to be a more reasonable solution? â€Å"Legalizing drugs would save taxpayers $76. 8 billion a year in the United States – $44. 1 billion from law enforcement savings, and at least $32. 7 billion in tax revenue†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Harvard Study by Jeffrey A. Miron, 2008). In addition, the policies put into effect by Nixon and Reagan may ave had a positive impact on crime in the United States, but it may not have been in the way they had wished. â€Å"Drugs got enormously cheaper so users didn’t have to hit as many old ladies over the head and steal their pocketbooks. † (Travis Wendel, â€Å"More Drugs, Less Crime†, 2010). Murders, robberies and other violent crimes seemed to decline as the price of drugs went down – could this happen if drugs were legalized as well? America in this day and age has a vast amount of governmental and international issues in desperate need of resolution – is drug control still one of them? The United States of America is a country known by many as ‘land of the free’, but does this mean that its citizens should be allowed to participate in activities such as drug use with such a negative connotation? Did Reagan’s War on Drugs really make an effective impact on the way America sees drugs today? The answer to that question is this – while his tactics may not have worked the way he had desired, America as a whole has indeed seen less drug related crime. This does not mean it does not exist, nor does it mean that by legalizing drugs will solve all of the country’s problems. What this does mean is that Reagan’s war on drugs did not put an end to drug use, but it just may have opened America’s eyes to more clear and present danger. While drugs are in no way going to solve America’s problems, the once War on Drugs may now need to be adjusted to a name more fitting. A War on Crime as a whole perhaps? A War on Drug Related Violence? Reagan had the correct idea, now the country can put it into proper use. His War was not an end all war, but it just may have been enough to enhance America as a whole.

Christian Respose to Islam

Christianity and Islam are two of the most significant religions since their creation. Islam means â€Å"submission† in Arabic, and a Muslim is one who submits to the will of God (Allah). Christians are called so because of Jesus’ title Christos, which is Greek for Messiah. Christianity and Islam are similar in a lot ways, but also have quite a few differences in beliefs, practices, and basic theology. They also give separate messages to outsiders as to what their religions stand for. Both religions are monotheistic with a holy text and they both strive to conquer evil. Islam has a set of rules (5 Pillars of Islam) set forth to reach enlightenment while Christians repent, accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, and then are forgiven for their sins. A lot of people in today’s world believe that Islam and Christianity are very similar with only a few subtle differences, but this paper will discuss some of the big difference regarding the belief in on God, the view on prophets and the view on the Day of Judgment. To begin, lets compare the Islamic view on the belief in one God. The first and greatest teaching of Islam is proclaimed by the Shahada, which states, â€Å"La llaha illa-l-lah, Muhammandun rasulu-l-lah. † (â€Å"There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the apostle of Allah†) (Robinson). After a person sincerely makes this confession than they become a real Muslim. Muslims believe that Allah is one, and has no partners, no equals. The Quran states, â€Å"And cry not unto any other god along with Allah. There is no god save Him. † (Sura 28:88). This statement in the Quran makes a clear claim that Muslims believe that Allah is supreme, that he created and maintains the world. In Islam it is also very clear that Allah has no son, no father, no relative and no associates. â€Å"The Muslim prophet Muhammad is reported to have written down 99 names to try and express the attributes of Allah. Some of these that Muhammad wrote down is that Allah is merciful, that he is all-powerful (omnipotent), all-knowing (omniscient) and that he is eternal (no beginning and no end)† (Robinson). The Christian response to this claim by Muslims is that there is only one righteous and transcendent creator God. In the Old Testament Moses states, â€Å"The Lord our God is one Lord; and you shall the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. † (Deuteronomy 6:4). This passage makes it clear that God is there is only one God who wants us to love him totally with all our being. Once again in the New Testament Jesus Christ himself states, â€Å"29 The most important one, answered Jesus, is this: Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord our God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. (Mark 12: 29-30). The problem between Christians and Muslims is not the fact that there is only one God, but the view of the trinity. Christians believe that there is God the Father, God the Son (Jesus) and God the Holy Spirit. These three persons are complete in unity of will, purpose, action and love, yet cannot be separated even though they have different functions. The Bible speaks of God, the Father, who as the co- Creator, blesses: â€Å"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. (Ephesians 1: 3), initiates and sends â€Å"Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. † (John 17: 3). And finally God sent the Holy Spirit, who is resident within a Christian, to guide, instruct and empower them. â€Å"16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. (John 14:16-17) It is important that God as â€Å"Father† not be viewed within a biological context. Christians share with Muslims the prohibition against conceiving of God in the form of an image. God as â€Å"Father† refers, rather, to a relationship between God and man. Christians accept all the 99 names of God, which Muslims repeat in praise to God. Even the name Allah is affirmed by Christians as one of the names of God, the same Arabic name that the Prophet Abraham used in Hebrew as â€Å"El† or â€Å"Elohim. † Secondly, lets compare the Islamic belief about the prophets to that of the Christian belief. Islam makes a distinction between a messenger (rasul) who is sent with a Divine Scripture to guide and reform mankind, and a prophet (al nabbi) who simply carries information or proclaims Allah's news. Therefore, though all messengers are prophets, not all prophets are messengers. The number of Allah’s prophecy is said to be 124,000, yet the Quran mentions only 25 prophets. Some of these prophets are Adam who is the first, Abraham, Jacob, Ishmael, Isaac, David, Solomon, John the Baptist, Jesus and also Muhammad, who is said to be the final and greatest prophet. And verily, we have raised in every nation a Messenger, saying, â€Å"Serve Allah alone and shun false gods in any form. † Then Allah guided some of the people. And error took hold of others. Do take lessons from history as you travel in the earth, and see the consequence of the deniers. † (Sura 16:36) According to the Sura Allah raised up these prophets, among every nation, to provide mankind with firm and constructive guidance, so that they could walk the straight path of Allah, could live happily in this world, and could be prepared for life after death. Allah promises to protect his prophets from serious sin, bad disease and death. Muslims use this belief to deny that Jesus, who they believe was just a prophet, did not die on the cross because as stated above prophets cannot be killed. The Christian response about prophets is that God appointed prophets and others to speak to mankind about his word, and his story of redemptive acts in history. Christians believe that God revealed the interpretation of his acts to the prophets who then passed it on to man by preaching, teaching and writing it down. Even though â€Å"Muslims and Christians have quite a few people that both agree were prophets Muslims do not believe that Isaiah, Jonah, Daniel, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Peter, Paul and Jesus were prophets† (Robinson) Prophets within Christianity came from different classes of society, some rich, others poor, young and old; some scholars, and others with little education. Not all wrote books (Elijah, John the Baptist), but they all heard God's word, either through angels, by means of visions, by God's voice, or by receiving the message in their minds and hearts. Also contrasting Islam we know that prophets were not sinless, but just normal believers whose sins were forgiven by God. The prophets most important message was that since there are none who could obey the law fully, they remained still in sin, and so deserved death. â€Å"Yet, those living with sin need not despair, because God had promised to take upon himself the guilt of their sins, by incarnating himself and dying on the cross, thus taking upon himself that penalty, and so freeing him to forgive them from those sins, which then brought them back into a personal relationship with him. (Rahim et al). When a Christian tries to evaluate to see whether or not Muhammad was a prophet, they must try to see him in light of the total Biblical witness ending with Jesus and displaying these three criteria. One that he fully accepts the former Scriptures, two that he points to the central significance of Jesus as redeemer and three that his life and teachings exemplify suffering redemptive love. Based on these three criteria, which are shown through the life of Jesus, Muhammad is not at all a prophet. Thirdly, lets view the Islamic view on the Day of Judgment (Death) and the Christian response to what they believe. â€Å"To begin we must first find out what a Muslim believes about sin. To a Muslim sin is a private matter, which is not binding from one generation to the next. This is so because Satan is the root of all sin and Allah being all merciful, forgives those who ask. There is only one sin that the Muslims believe is so bad that it is deemed unforgivable, that of â€Å"shirk,† which is the practice of associating anyone or anything with Allah. Going by this logic the sin of Adam and Eve was not really their fault at all because Satan tricked them, and they asked for forgiveness. Furthermore, their sin was not hereditary/ passed down to their children. Also because the sin committed by Adam was not his fault and he repented, Allah made him earth’s first messenger. † (Nazir-Ali 142-144) For the Muslim, salvation is attained not by faith, but by works, in observing the Five Pillars of Islamic practice, as well as avoiding the major and minor sins. Tradition indicates that on the Judgment Day, once the person is buried, the two recording angels appear, and the dead person sits up to undergo an examination. If he says the â€Å"Shahada† (â€Å"There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the apostle of Allah†), he lies down peacefully and awaits his judgment. If he refuses the â€Å"Shahada,† he is severely beaten for as long as Allah pleases. Once the individual is awakened for judgment a scale is presented, which weighs the good and bad deeds of the person taken from their â€Å"book of destiny. Ultimately Allah makes the decision as to whether someone should be received into paradise or not. â€Å"If Allah places the individual’s book in his right hand then that person is saved and crosses a razor sharp bridge to paradise, which holds a perfumed garden of material and sensual delights, surrounded by rivers and flowing fountains, populated with black-eyed virgins, who are there to serve them with all variety of fruits† (Nazir-Ali 145). On the other hand, a vivid hell (Gahenna) awaits those who fail the test. This hell is described in the Quran as a place consisting of boiling water, gore and fire; it is a hell of extreme physical pain† (Nazir-Ali 145). Christians view of sin/death is drastically different that of Islam. A Christian believes that any sin is an abomination to God, because it is, in essence, a rejection of His character. Christians believe, as Muslims believe, that Satan does tempt us. Yet, Christians are responsible for their own sins, and not Satan. Christians believe that they have the choice to reject Satan's tempting. But, The Bible insists throughout, that the wages of sin is death, and since we are all guilty, therefore, we all deserve death. God, however, in His mercy, has not left us in that guilt, but has offered payment and forgiveness for those who receive it. He has sent His Son (Jesus Christ) to die in our place, to take upon himself our guilt. Therefore, those who believe in His redeeming death on the cross, and repent of their sins, are saved from eternal separation (John 3:16-17), while those who reject Him will be eternally condemned. Before His ascension into heaven, Christ promised to return a second time to judge the world. When He returns, He will raise all the dead to life, and will separate those who believe from those who reject, as a shepherd divides the sheep from the goats. Those rejecting Christ will live in eternal punishment, in total isolation from God because, in rejecting God's Son, they have rejected God the Father and God the Holy Spirit as well, and no sin is greater than this. â€Å"22 Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist—he denies the Father and the Son. 23 No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also. (1 John 2:22-23). Those who have truly believed in Christ the redeemer, will not fear Christ on Judgment Day, and will have eternal life. This does not mean that they will go into a garden full of carnal pleasures, which, as we know in this life, separates us from God, but they will go into the presence of God Himself, to live forever with Him in love and in joy. For, as it says in The Bible, † 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, â€Å"Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. † 5 He who was seated on the throne said, â€Å"I am making everything new! † Then he said, â€Å"Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true. † 6 He said to me: â€Å"It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. 7 He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son. (Revelation 21: 3-7). To summarize, even though Islam and Christianity both are monotheistic, both have a holy text and both strive to overcome death/evil there are big blatant differences. Hopefully the above paper achieved its’ aim in informing people of the differences regarding the belief in on God, the view on prophets and the view on the Day of Judgment. All in all those that believe that these religions are similar and basically the same thing are incorrect and should stop skipping over/ignoring the discrepancies between the religions.

Old Imperialism vs. New Imperialism

Imperialism is the spread of control over territories across the globe. The Industrial Revolution and interests in nationalism created a new period of imperialism around 1750. Old imperialism lasted from 1450- 1750, but imperialism alone remained until 1914. Old imperialism and new imperialism shared the same basic concept of controlling and utilizing foreign countries. Old imperialism focused mainly on systems of trade while new imperialism took bolder steps to overtaking nations. Old Imperialism was the period from 1450-1750, in which powers were motivated by â€Å"gold, glory, and God†. Political power was controlled by central governments while leaders were busy trying to increase their power. National wealth was widely viewed as holder of power. In old Imperialism, Europeans focused on a cash and carry system, where they purchased goods from native merchants who brought the goods they produced. This led to a focus on a trading system because Europeans didn’t want to take on territorial responsibilities. During the Old imperialism era, Europeans set up trading posts, ports, and docks. These trading centers benefited the places the mother country was supplying too. They had objectives to protect their trading centers in native places and none to obtain territories in them. Europe’s trade within and between native lands led to cultural diversity which may have caused a small breach in unity. However, the old Imperialism era ended due to high costs in taking over territories and too much time to supply the mother country. There was no time to build up a superior, organized, skilled army for anyone. Also, due to the Industrial Revolution there was now a faster more efficient way to create and manufacture products. New Imperialism took place from 1750-1914 in which, Europeans encouraged the acquiring of new native territories in order to invest capital in them to expand their profits. Many others started following European actions such as France, Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Portugal, Spain, and Russia. Europeans saw these native lands as the light to opening them politically and economically. Europeans sought out lands that provided new sources of raw materials, cheap labor, markets, areas of investment, and military boosters. As European nations became competitive with one another, here was an increased pressure to practice Imperialism to maintain power. New Imperialism was motivated greatly by the Industrial Revolution and its advancements, and efficiency of manufacturing and supplying products. European nations also focused on opening trade routes that would give them places to sell their goods. Also significant was the Europeans desire to Christianize and â€Å"civilize† other nations through missionary work and the enforcement of European cultures and beliefs. The new Imperialism brought on social changes as well. Many people urged the taking up of the â€Å"White Man’s Burden†, bringing the European version of civilization to the rest of the world, regardless whether they wanted it or not. While old Imperialism and new Imperialism obviously differed they do share some of the same concepts. During each era, both focused on building their nation stronger, superior, and more enhanced than everyone else through political, economic, and militaristic strategies. Both Imperialisms brought on war, hatred, and strong levels of competition among the World. They brought on ethnic diversity as well as cultural diversity throughout. Each significantly boosted economies worldwide, creating hatful competition which would lead to big wars, maybe even two of them. Imperialism refers to colonial expansion across the globe. As more and more countries began competing, it folded out a new playing field of war. Soon, there would be allies, enemies, victories, defeats, and a whole lot of casualties. Yes, this expansionism would lead to World War I, eventually, into World War II and slumping depressions worldwide.

CRJS300 U1IP Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

CRJS300 U1IP - Research Paper Example Boston Legal, on the other hand, shows judges and courts to be susceptible entities that can be manipulated and whose opinions can be changed in the favor of those accused. Castle and Dexter are shows highlighting operations and effectiveness of police department in solving crimes. There are limited instances where Policemen and detectives are shown as villainous characters. Mostly, they are law abiding professionals, following procedures and paying less attention to their human side which can introduce bias in their overall practice. It is important to note that Castle considers bad policemen to be an exception and a source of bad name for the whole department. On the other hand, Dexter’s leading character is a serial killer who assists Police department in forensic examination and only kills those who managed to escape from law. The overall approach portrays villainous nature of Dexter to have a just cause in murdering others. However, there are other detectives in the same show that support drug dealers like various real-life detectives (Edwards, 2013). Prison Break and American History X have shown correctional agencies especially prisons as hubs of ultimate corruption where punishment is more emphasized than rehabilitation and also as a centre of inmates politics. Furthermore, it is an institution run by corrupt officials like Bellick in prison break. There are also several real life examples of police corruption that support the theme of these shows about police corruption e.g. more than ten corrupt police officers in Atlanta charged with protecting drug dealers (Milligan, Paluska, & Starzyk, 2013, Edwards, 2013). A critical analysis of these shows would illustrate that a perception of a given authority in the show depends on its overall theme. Some of the shows have depicted criminal justice professionals as well as authorities to be righteous, law abiding individuals as well as

Critique of Aristotle's Politics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Critique of Aristotle's Politics - Essay Example In each of these types of governance, he gives the sound and the bad. According to Aristotle, the philosopher king is the ideal governance. In this form, the kings’ interest is in the welfare of his people (Tacitus & Benario 18). The highest form of governance is the monarchy. It is hereditary in nature, and people can associate freely with the royal family. In a monarchy, the interests of the nation take priority above all other matters. When the respectable leadership of a monarchy becomes rogue, Aristotle terms it as tyranny. When leadership becomes self seeking the citizens of this state, suffers thus; cannot achieve happiness (Chuska 277). Aristotle considers aristocracy of philosophers to be the second best leadership. When this form of leadership gets crooked, it becomes oligarchy. Further, he views democracy as the worst form of leadership. In his opinion, the third best form of leadership is one whose polity would combine all the noble forms of leadership. According to Aristotle, a polity is a constitution. Aristotle is of the opinion that, for a polity to be viable, it has to consider the stability and security of its people. The aristocracy as Aristotle puts it is the rule of several. When a virtuous rule of law prevails the society enjoys solidity. In this rule, the needs of the wealthy get priority while the rest of the population gets neglected. This brings about class division, and discrimination on the basis of riches. The elite in the society protect and guard their status making it difficult to join the elite group from low class people. According to Aristotle, who was advocating for fairness, elitism in the society is wrong (Chuska 278). Polity is the rule of the majority. This is what Aristotle refers to as the rule of many. In the better form, it concerns with the needy. The leaders take office through an election. It is the citizens of the state who decide the person

Personnel Evaluation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Personnel Evaluation - Essay Example Public workforce management entails two diverse avenues that I have addressed in this document. These avenues comprise primarily of personnel administration or management and public personnel or workforces. Both of these entail citizens, public workforces, managers, politicians, taxpayers and administrators. The actual definition of public personnel is actually vast, meaning or referring to individual human resources who operate or work in the general public sector and whose principal roles entail provision of effective public service to citizens, whether national, local, international or state-based. Contemporarily, these public personnel possess distinct principal functions. These functions include sanctioning, planning, development and respective acquisition. To ensure effectiveness in management of the organization, the workforces ought to carry and apply those duties throughout the affiliation. Contemporarily, public workforces face huge challenges with regard to their respective operational practices. The document contains a critically and carefully elicited explanation of the current trends implicating on the growth of public workforces in the present day world and an additional evaluation of strategies that the government ought to take into consideration when creating a diversified workforce. In addition, the same explanation shall encompass some of the initiative the government ought to take when addressing workforce issues to ensure complete sustenance of union association and representation amidst the specified public personnel. In a snapshot, the four overtly notable trends implicating on the growth of public workforces include technology in the work area, the nature of the working environment, role of the general body of citizens in the process of governance, redefinition of government and economic changes over time in the today’s world. For roughly a generation

Maintaining Cultural Diversity Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Maintaining Cultural Diversity - Assignment Example Solutions and further recommendations strive to maintain responsibility to diversification training and core competencies of staff and management. Recommendations include training establishment, delivery and analysis with time specific goals to Landbroke plc Board with specific methods to overcome language barriers throughout the company. This implementation includes time sensitive deliverables and analysis regarding training with future ideas and implications inside the company's diverse workforce. Ladbrokes plc was formerly Hilton Group until February 2006, when the company sold its European rights to the Hilton Group namesake to Hilton Hotels USA for 5.7 billion, and there launched into a full gambling experience. This facility manages exclusive online bets in the European sector by brokering gambling bets and making odds over the phone and through their two-thousand strong bookmaking shops in Europe. This includes traditional sports and casino gambling to online gambling, and will even make odds and accept bets on politics (Hoovers Inc 2006). Ladbrokes plc maintains that: As a standalone company Ladbrokes will expand its business by building on its brand leadership, its ability to innovate and the experience and expertise of its management team and 14,000 employees (Ladbrokes plc 2006). In the consultant domain, special consideration to the company's fast growth will be taken to provide operational assistance training. In accordance with consultation Penn Venture operational assistance service definition, this consultation will include "Distinct skills training for a concern's executives that is directly related to the management and operations of the concern and that provides skills in areas where the concern's management lacks background or experience" (Vovakes 2004). Problem Identification The objectives of this consultation are to provide distinguished services for the company's primary concerns within the operational assistance domain. This aims to improve the viability of training resources while lowering costs of resources, with a particular focus on training within demographic diversification. The training and service recommendations will be conducted privately to Ladbrokes Board of Corporate Governance. The scope of the commissioned work is to divulge information on demographic constructs, diversity and ethical training, this will extends to the overall business and not to specific shops unless requested by the Board. The information utilized is Ladbroke's Staff Council and their diversity data as well as national standards for diversity. Currently, Ladbroke's diversification is much higher than the UK average, as noted in Chart 1.0, Appendices A in accordance with the diversity of Ladbrokes, the company also boasts a 32 percentile of internal

The use of social media to boost event attendance Essay

The use of social media to boost event attendance - Essay Example Traditional method of advertising events was through posting mail cards, distributing fliers and making individual calls to invite the targeted audience. These methods are expensive in terms of the financial resources used and the time incurred in reaching the audience. Embracing social media in the marketing activities has greatly reduced these expenses since very little cost is involved in advertising an event over the social platform. One needs to only have access to internet and have the relevant accounts to reach millions of people globally. Furthermore the communication is instant since no time is wasted in passing the information and hence an effective mode of communication. The reduced marketing cost implies that the organizers of the events can channel those funds to improving the outlook of the event and hence attract more guests. The little expenses incurred can also prompt lowering of the fee charged for the event and therefore encourage many people to participate (Havald ar, 2010). Almost every cultured person living in this dispensation of advanced technology participates in online social activities such as Twitter and face book. This large audience is translated to a large attendance when the respective planners harness and utilize the potential of the network to the maximum (Wale, Robinson & Dickson, 2010). Many organizations have set a team of online marketers whose mandate is to publicize the event and educate the public on the strategies to adopt. The strategies include creating relevant groups in the Face book and hash tags in twitter and then inviting people to join the groups and twit under the given hash tags. The promoters are always influential people with a large number of followers in the social media so that they can affect a large population. An effective mobilization and awareness creation is always a

Questioner Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Questioner - Essay Example 3. I am a relentless person, I do not believe in giving up. Interior decoration is my passion, albeit discovered late in life. If I don’t get into the program, I will look for ways to express and expand on my interest, probably start a dà ©cor blog, and share and discuss ideas with other people. 4. My calling for interior decoration came after I had already gotten a professional MIS degree. Although I have always had a very attuned aesthetic sense, it was not until I found work with a furniture and interiors company, assisting with chalking up layouts and designs that I really began to enjoy my work. I enjoyed dealing with different spaces and working with clients and their respective lifestyles. Details fascinate me. How a single streak of colour can change the way an entire space feels, is an amazing experience, and a very gratifying feeling. I admit, working professionally as an interior decorator will require a lot of hard work and persistence, however, I feel that I already live, eat & breathe design. As Confucius said, â€Å"Choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your

Short writing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Short writing - Essay Example government and its Border Patrol are constructing a steel wall ten feet high to span sections of the border with Mexico†(Silko, 2013, p.122). The vivid descriptions of the situation at the border come because of the narratives being personal experiences of the situation. The narratives have a significant difference in that most of the events described by Biss occur in Mexico while Silko describes events occurring in the border. While crossing the border Biss was not subjected to the dehumanizing search, but observed that Mexicans were being mistreated, resulting in the development of hatred for Americans, while staying in Mexico. Silko was personally subjected to the ill treatment while attempting to move across the border, and realized that all individuals moving across the border were subjected to similar actions. Sometimes, the treatment was worse, as the officers might have beaten them. The experience through which Silko underwent leads to the conclusion that the patrols cannot stop the migration since this is a natural event. For Biss, however, the experience was different and was based on the observation of lifestyles of the Mexican people. This resulted in a retaliation act by hating Americans for mistreating the Mexican

Women in World War Two Essay Example for Free

Women in World War Two Essay After reading on these eight women I have chosen to do my compare and contrast from this Library of Congress Exhibition of Women in World War II story which was detailed with photography to tell their stories; for others to not only read their story, but to experience it through visual documentation. These three women, Toni Frissell, Esther Bubley and Therese Bonney were able to connect with millions of people through their images that they documented. From Toni Frissell’s pictures you were able to see how a nurse performed her duties, the actions of soldiers on the front lines, children who were made instant orphans as a result of war and the daily struggles of African-Americans and Women in the war. Esther Bubbley’s pictures were centered on life back home around people doing their part for the war effort, life in the nation’s capital. Therese Bonney’s pictures were really felt with her touching on how the damage of war affected innocent adults and children who were left homeless and struggle to find food and shelter. Therese Bonney’s mission was to tell truth of what she say through her words and pictures, with the hope that it would make others see the reality of war from a personal point of view. She had felt that World War II was a threat to European Civilization and this was her way to show the depth behind her words. On the other hand Esther Bubbley thought it more prudent to focus on the American side and show how the nation prepared for war, show casing civilians working with our military to achieve the common goal of winning the war and more importantly supporting the troops. Toni Frissel, who already had a career of reporting on fashion and society, had decided to take on a much bigger challenge of trying to report on real wartime issues to give the surreal of war to the readers back home. Any way you look at it, these three woman gave their readers a very detailed and well documented view on life and events during the second World War. References: http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/wcf/ Women Come to the Front

Business Ethics and Starbucks Essay Example for Free

Business Ethics and Starbucks Essay 1. Starbucks demonstrates a new focus on business ethics and social responsibility by providing health care benefits to their employees, giving to the welfare of the needy, and also by packaging their goods in recycling materials along with any other practices that are beneficial to the company. Starbucks has also demonstrated by improving their dealings with their customers as well as their suppliers. Although this may not bring in additional revenues, the ethical businesses are better recognized and there durability is greater. As long as Starbucks can continue to gain trust in the customers, it will allow them to have a strong bond with them also. 2. I feel that Starbucks has been concerned with social responsibility in its overall corporate strategy because for one reason it is a popular business and it helps the image of the company to care about the community and the environment. Other reasons Starbucks were so concerned was because of the negative impact on the company. Starbucks has always been engaged in responsible business practice since they first started their operation and they have always spent a lot of time defending their image as well. Several small coffee shops were put out of business due to the clustering strategy. Starbucks decided to refocus their strategy after the 2009-2009 recession. Several locations were closed because of the lack of performance due to the economic depression. Because of Starbucks dedication to their employees and suppliers, they were able to earn their loyalty. However Starbucks were also concerned with social responsibility because it affected all parties involved. The company did achieve social responsibility by taking steps to follow certain guidelines and being involved in the community, which is very important to the company since ethical companies tend to do better in the long run. 3. I think Starbucks has both grown rapidly and mainly because it does provide products and an environment that customers want. Most people don’t know anything about the ethical and social responsibility that Starbucks engage in unless they research their websites. I feel that Starbucks success was due to its strong brand image that had been built over the years. Consumers purchased these products from Starbucks because of the good taste. However people were concerned about being ethical and social responsible when running a business, especially when consumers wanted to enjoy what they were consuming without having to worry about how the products are labored. This company also grew large due to several charity campaigns; such as the partnership between Starbucks and the project Red to raise money for different events. By being a large buyer of Fair Trade certified coffee, in spite of the high cost, they continued to grow as the purpose of fair trades that promotes a better working condition and greater incentives for the mmanufacturers. Starbucks does not only offer quality coffee to its customers, they also have a great atmosphere of the coffee shop. They have given back to the community and earned their trust as well as respect from their customers.

Feminism in Fifth Business

Feminism in Fifth Business The role of women in the novel Fifth Business is essential and fundamental to the character development and spiritual meaning that Dunny seeks throughout the novel and whether they shape and influence his life in a positive or negative way. Dunny remains in the background essential to the action but not a principal, interlaced in a thread of numerous subplots and themes. Dunny peruses his passion for hagiology which sets him on a journey of discovery through a path of materialism and spirituality plagued by his consistent guilt which carries an underlined theme throughout the novel. The importance of women is consistent throughout the novel since his upbringing in the town Depthford onwards and we will see these women sculpting, damaging or setting him free. The roles of the women will be analyzed through the view of Dunny and how they contributed to his development. The novel Fifth Business which is written by Robert Davies and although they are entirely unalike in character similar experiences enclosed in a fictional reworking of arrangements and situations are consistent with the life of Robert Davies specifically with a similar childhood in a small town in Ontario which give you an account of his thoughts, emotions and experiences in a deeper sense. First, Dunnys mother is a determined and controlling person with a strong and strict Calvinist belief who raises Dunny accordingly which fits her role as a protecting and loving mother who likes to help others, until their situation drastically changes when the focus of her love changes and isolation coupled with resentment builds after the snowball incident with the Dempsters family. This is evident, when Dunny states I began to believe that I was more responsible for the birth of Paul Dempster than were his parents, []. Part of that dreadful fate would undoubtedly be rejection by my mother (Davies 17). Undeniably, his mothers love and focus begins to change attention towards the Dempsters family instead of her own household which initiates Dunnys feeling of isolation and begins to feel resentment for his mother who is unable to provide consolation for his adolescent heart. Furthermore, Dunnys mother continues the passage of isolation and it is particularly felt when Dunny responds Being unofficial watchdog to the Dempsters family was often a nuisance to me and did nothing for my popularity (Davies 22). Obviously, the feeling of isolation is felt by Dunny and it affects his social life with his friends and himself as a person in the future. Next, Dunnys mother imposes fear on his juvenile youth and the resentment for his mother arguably evolves to hate when he is severely beaten by his mother and replies I have been very miserable since-miserable not for an hour but for months on end-but I can still feel that hours misery in its perfect desolation, if I am fool enough to call it up in my mind (Davies 29). Consequently, this incident causes an atmosphere of tension throughout the rest of the novel whenever Dunnys mother is mentioned and he instead turns his attention and love towards Mrs. Dempster. In the long run, Dunnys mother is responsible for his deep isolation, his stance on women, and the insecurities around them which boundaries his feelings and emotion s throughout his life and does anything only through obligation and nothing out of desire for himself which is the reason for his life being miserable and despiteful leaving him unable to form lasting relationships with women and relatively unattached to his mother and women in general. Second, Mary Demspter is considered Dunnys first love and a simple women and more so after the incident with the snowball which is the reason Dunny carries the plague of guilt with him throughout the novel but in essence the guilt remains with himself alone which is a weak cause to hold it against Mary and claim it as her role for she is not the reason it occurred. On the contrary, with that established let us not overlook that Mary plays arguable one of the most vital roles in the novel as Dunnys inspiration for the path of mythology, saints and longing for knowledge and inner spirituality. This begins, with the second miracle when Mary has supposedly raised Willie from his deathbed and Dunnys response to himself is For me, Willies recall from death is, and will always be, Mrs. Dempsters second miracle (Davies 57). Undeniably, to Dunny this is seen as a complete miracle whether anyone believes him or not and will commence his journey of mythology and validating Mary as a saint. Furt hermore, is apparent with the first miracle that occurs but is not known until later when Dunny reencounters Joel Surgeoner and discuses the miracle with him and Joel acknowledges, He worked through that women, and she is a blessed saint, for what she did for me-I mean it as I say it-was a miracle (Davies 135). Clearly, this acceptance of Mary as a saint without a doubt in the eyes of Joel who is forever changed since that night leaves a strong impression on Dunny and motivates him in continuing his direction in the path of mythology and to comprehend the complications and serious possibilities of Mary being a saint. In addition, the third and last miracle is during the war when Dunny is about to lose consciousness and during this time has visions of Mary and her being the Madonna statue but does not fully acknowledge it till later in the novel when he contemplates to himself that, [H]er miraculous appearance to me when I was at the uttermost end of my endurance at Passchendaele (Da vies 161). Without doubt, Dunny is talking within the context of the 3 miracles and confirms to himself that the vision of Mary was the third and final miracle and might be all the proof that he needs to convince himself that it is so but his conviction also plays a destructive influence yet on the other hand brings him academic and personal growth and pleasure. On the whole, Mary plays a critical role providing the three miracles that occur and essentially changes his life profoundly while recognizing her as wholly religious and his experience with her offers him a greater insight about the nature of a life lived with the knowledge of the presence of the mythic world in the actual world and reassures his childhood interest in mythology and saints to come to the forefront of his life and career. Third, Diana Marfleet plays a significant role in the novel as his first meaningful and realistic love but more importantly gently guides him in his self-transformation with the change of his name and being with her made him realize what he really wanted in life and she helped him mentally with the damage that his mother has caused. Plainly, it is clear when his self-transformation begins as Diana is taking care of him and he receives the news of death of his family during the war due to the influenza epidemic of early 1918 and Dunnys remark to himself was, It was years before I thought of the death of my parents as anything other than a relief; in my thirties I was able to see them as real people (Davies 78). It seems that Dunny is finally able to escape his mother even though it was through death it was something he has been longing for and finds great freedom in it while finding closure at the same time during the care of Diana. Also, Dunnys time with Diana helps his figure out wh at he wants to do with his life now that he is physically and mentally able with the care of Diana by his side and the freedom he has just received. Distinctly, being with Diana has made him think about himself for once in life and made him realize that he loves Diana but is not in love with her and that is when Dunny mentions to himself That decision, made at that time, has shaped my life and doubtless in some ways it has warped it, but I still think I knew what was best for me. In the long periods of rest in the hospital I thought as carefully as I could about my situation (Davies 85). Certainly, he is referring to the decision he has made with Diana and how things would not work out between them in the future because she is too similar to his mother which he just got rid of and does not want another. Moreover, to complete his transformation she decides that he should change his name to Dunny which mentally gives him the psychological push to complete and realize his transformatio n into a new person when his reply was I liked the idea of a new name; it suggested new freedom and new personality (Davies 90). Unmistakably, Dunny has taken a liking to his new name which was changed from Dunstable to Dunny and enjoys the freedom and the possibilities that it holds and he remains grateful for what she has made him realize and done for him which no other women has so far. To sum up, it is ironic that consequently Diana who was the one to sever the link between Dunny and his mother by renaming him does not end up marring him and more so because his mothers full name was Fiona Dunstable Ramsay. Nevertheless, his relationship and time with Diana has matured him and broaden his scope of life, understanding and culminated in his rebirth and renaming. In conclusion, the role of women have been extensive and necessary throughout the novel and has matured and turned Dunny into the man he is today although his mother has been the root of the problems in his life the majority of the women have been a positive influence on Dunny and will forever change his outlook on women and life. Dunny has remained and fulfilled his role as Fifth Business by bringing resolution or meaning to the story or merely by observing or explaining it. Throughout the novel he was always the odd man out and continually searching for meaning and significance in life whether it be from his mother who molded him during his childhood, Mary who gave him a lasting connection with the mythology, magic, and the inner spirituality of one self and life or Diana who gracefully opens and heals his heart and mind regarding women and himself again. Ultimately it is an incredible quest for knowledge and happiness which he has finally found even though it was a long and tiring journey with many sacrifices.

Rousseau, Hobbes, and Locke : Interpretations of Human Nature Essay

Through time people have always wondered what it is that makes us who we are. It has been our human nature that has kept us intrigued with ourselves, and our relationships with others. With this curiosity came various interpretations as to our human nature, each changing the way we see the societal world we live in. With each interpretation came a new understanding of people and the relationship they hold with each other. Human nature has been one of the most studied elements of the world we live in. From our nature came the interest of how we as humans interact with each other, through the development of our nature some have served and others had ruled. Three philosophers that have focused their political ideas around human nature have given a deeper meaning to their study of politics through the understanding of human nature. Each one of them had a distinctive interpretation of what human nature was and how it impacted the politics of the specific society that they envisione d. It is hard to say that one of them holds the answers to the true essence of human nature but one can say that each of them has given an interesting and strong piece of the puzzle that has linked human nature to politics. The three philosophers in question are Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. I will be referring to them by their last name for simplicity. Starting with the philosophical views of each man we will see how they differ. It will be clear that each man’s idea comes from a very different perspective on human nature. Thomas Hobbes thoughts on human nature derive from his childhood. According to Jean Hampton who wrote, â€Å"She brought twins to birth, myself and fear at the same time† (282) Hobbes believed that fear... ...fear. Locke’s idea that everyone is born free is good for societies that have no established governments because even in his time there was a government. In biblical times his idea would be right on but the transformation of people’s ideas has lead the changes in natural freedom. No one can control where they are born so they may be born in a not so free state. Finally Rousseau’s idea that man is naturally good but corrupted by institutions is somewhat flawed because everyone makes choices to do or not do so people become corrupt through the choices they make in life. Through all this no one philosopher has the right answer to human nature but when we combine their ideas we get a solid way to a good solution that benefits many. Works Cited Cahn, Steven M.. Political philosophy: the essential texts. 2nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2011. Print.

The Underground Railroad Essay -- UGRR Slavery

Introduction Imagine yourself a slave, hungry, beaten, and sick with grief at having had your freedom, family and all that makes you human stripped from you. But then, you get word of a way out of it all. It will separate you from all whom you love, it will endanger your life, but that is the price for freedom from the slavery of the south. Fellow slaves begin acting strangely, gathering tools, clothing, and food. You look around, and all you see is a freshly washed quilt hanging out to dry. Then you begin to realize that there is a new quilt every few days, each with a new pattern, and with each quilt, your fellow slaves correspondingly perform more and more preparative tasks. So you join them, realizing this is your only chance to become human again, your chance to dupe the system and win your freedom as the ultimate prize. Finally, now that you’ve caught on to the messages contained in the quilts and spiritual songs, you see that long awaited pattern, â€Å"tumbling boxes,† and you don’t look back. From here on out, it is all relying on your instincts, and your wit. There are people that will help you, but twice as many that want to kill you. Good luck and god-speed, you have just joined the Underground Railroad, see you in Canada! The Underground Railroad was neither a railroad nor underground. It was a complex network of freed slaves, black sympathizers, and northern abolitionists. Famous names that adorned the railroad were Harriet Tubman, William Still, and Frederick Douglass, to name a few. In the heart of the South, there was an informal, yet highly complex system evolving. The institution of slavery had wrenched the hearts of too many, and now they were quietly rebelling. Named during the steam engin... ...W. Norton & Company, 1996 Siebert, Wilber H. The Undergound Railroad from Slavery to Freedom New York: Russell & Russell, 1898 Tobin, Jacquline L. Hidden in Plain View New York: Doubleday, 1999 Internet Sources: http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/underground/ http://afroamhistory.about.com/ http://www.inform.umd.edu/EdRes/Topic/Diversity/Specific/Race/Specific/African_American_Resources/Bibliographies/ugrrbib.html http://www.cr.nps.gov/aahistory/ http://www.geneseo.edu/~brl1/Photos.html http://jfg.girlscouts.org/Talk/whoami/Culture/AfricanAmerican/FreedomSquares2.htm#Crossroads http://www.histori.ca/search.do?config=htdig-en&words=underground+railroad http://www.state.vt.us/vhs/educate/urbiblio.htm http://www.ugrr.org

Education Beyond Undergraduate Essay -- Masters Graduate School Essays

Education Beyond Undergraduate Graduate or professional education is an often-debated topic for a large number of University seniors. Regardless of the undergraduate degree many students must decide whether to enter the job market or go to school for another couple of years. When these students are faced with this decision it is important to look at what they consider. Is it job satisfaction, future pay, or the mere fact that they want to spend a few more years in college? These issues are all very important to students in very different manners. An important reason students consider continuing their education beyond their undergraduate degree is job satisfaction. Through my marketing classes, I have learned that my generation (generation X) is more concerned with their job satisfaction than compensation or benefits. Was job satisfaction a motivator in my decision to continue my education beyond graduate school? Definitely, I feel that with the graduate degree I plan to receive will enable me to attain a job that will make me happy. I think that this is something all college students think about when they try to pick a major in college. If I am satisfied with my job when I get into the â€Å"real world,† it will not matter to me what pay I receive. Is it possible that there are students who decide to continue their education just for the difference in pay they receive? I truly think it is. It is important to consider how students that go beyond an undergraduate degree pay for their schooling. As a person who is planning to go through Law School, I think that whether or not a person goes beyond undergraduate depends on how hard they struggled financially during their undergraduate schooling. I feel that if th... ...hings are very important to a lot of people. A large number of people want to receive an education that gives them a better shot at being economically stable in the future. It is very important for students to consider an education beyond undergraduate. I believe that many students are faced with this decision at the end of each school year. It is also viable to believe that these three items in this essay are of great significance to these graduating seniors. When a student spends four to five years in undergraduate school, they feel worn out and feel that school is the last place that they want to be. But, after considering some of these facts, they may feel that a graduate or professional education is exactly what they should do whether they look at future job satisfaction, future compensation, or just want to spend a few more years with their friends.

Political disruption, the flight from poverty, and the promise of better prospects Essay

There are traditions that are unique, and at the same time, these characterize the history that the Mexican Americans who live in the US as opposed to those of the other ethno linguistic groups or purely ethnic groups. In essence, this is a people that have been conquered. It must be known that this conquering took place in the classical era, after that the US prevailed in the Mexican- American war that took place from 1846 to 1848. Following this, the US then took to carving out the American Southwest. This made the US be in a position to inherit close to 80,000 Mexicans. More trouble set in for the Mexicans, courtesy of the fact that the US continually contravened the Guadalupe Hidalgo Treaty that existed between the Mexicans and the Americans. Although the Treaty had assured the Mexicans of all their rights being upheld as citizens, yet, the Mexicans failed to benefit from the treaty, given the fact that Mexicans to a great extent forfeited their rights. For instance, the Mexicans ceded away their land together with their political rights at the hands of Americans. Ways in which Mexican immigrants and Dust Bowl refugees forged a place for themselves in Early twentieth-century California  The Mexicans and the Dust Bowl refugees made a palace for themselves in the primordial times of the twentieth century. The measures that these groups took so as to make a niche for themselves have been discussed forthwith. Their backgrounds The phrase Dust Bowl refers to the US prairie states that underwent ecological and economic devastations during the 1930s. It is also known well that the problems were also experienced by the same group during the 1950s. It is held by historians such as Monroy (2000 P 99) who point out that the problems could be traced back to the First World War. This is a time that saw wheat prices soar. This led to the needs of the Allied Troops also being adjusted upwards. This type of affairs compelled the farmers to step up their efforts in growing more wheat in the prairie states by plowing and seeding these same areas. Some of these states were Texas, Kansas, New Mexico and Oklahoma. These states in the times past were purely grazing grounds. Impediments they faced It is true that when the dust bowl struck the US, it sparked a mass exodus from the states that were affected to California, with these states being Texas, Kansas, New Mexico and Oklahoma, among others. This led to the scramble over the little resources that were there in California. The situation became so tense to an extent that those who had escaped to California were not welcome there. The backlash from the Californians against the new immigrants eventually culminated into bad blood between the two parties. Conflicts between the two also materialized. There are a lot of impediments that the Mexicans and the Dust Bowl faced while attempting to establish a place for themselves in the earliest 20th century. In most cases, the problem was that they were not technologically endowed the way their invaders the Americans were. In the first place, the Americans had superior weapons such as guns and gunpowder. This state of affairs made the Mexicans very susceptible, as guns had the potency to extirpate the lives of the Mexicans and the Dust Bowl by tens of thousands. All these factors that were pegged on military might of the Americans forced the Mexicans and the Dust Bowl into capitulation. At the same time, the Americans carried out the incursion into the land that was being occupied by the Mexicans and the Dust Bowl by employing the use of large animals such as horses. It is held by Gregory (2002 p 122) that the Mexicans and the aborigines who had been living in the US had never seen these huge animals. It is held that these large animals placed the invaders at the vintage point at the expense of the Mexicans and the Dust Bowl, as this allowed the Americans to move with swiftness. On the other hand, there are historians who point out categorically that the socio- cultural practices and beliefs also contributed as setback to the Mexicans as well in the bid to establish a place for themselves in California in the 20th century. These historians point out at the streams of myths and legends that the Mexicans had at the time of the invasion. An example of these is the Legends of the Quetzal Qoatel that talked of an imminent coming of a deity. This left a gap for the invaders to manipulate the legend by usurping the place of this god. This definitely made the Mexicans and the neighbouring communities to submit easily, thinking that the invaders were the agents of the deities and the deity itself. The mythical beliefs that the Mexicans held about the cosmological elements did also make things a little bit easier for the Mexicans and the Dust Bowl. It is also true that the Dust Bowls also underwent a lot of setbacks due to the environmental challenges at the time. For instance, since the areas that were being used for grazing wilted, there were spates of plummeted output in agricultural produce. Livestock in large numbers shriveled in size and lost their lives. The fact that the soil remained unprotected only made the situation worse as most of these states succumbed to soil erosion and drought. This challenge of soil erosion was epitomized in 1934 when strong winds blew away into clouds, the fertile soil into huge clouds. The situation recurred in the next succeeding years during the months of December and May. The actions they took to overcome these impediments There are many measures that the Mexicans took so as to overcome the setbacks that stood on their way, in the bid to establish their settlements in the California in the early times of the 20th century. For instance, the Mexicans tried as dexterously hard as they could, to consolidate their political and economic might. This was done by carrying out and maintaining the Southwest trading between the Americans and the Mexicans. This was done at a time when the interests of the East were still held in high esteem prior to the takeover. At the time, the Britons and the Europeans had coexisted with and also intermarried with these Mexicans. Kenneth (2002 p 145) says that based on the fact that there was a transition in the US rule, and the inception of the gold rush, there arose the military strength to bring into subdue and expunge the Indian tribes and the increase in the population. The increase on the population at the same time bolstered the chances for the merchants, farmers, livestock raisers, and transportation companies. This protracted heavy economic activities engaged the British the Mexican and the European entrepreneurs. As mentioned before, there are those who tried to solve these problems by shifting to areas that are very conducive in supporting human life, courtesy of the being free from the actions and the devastations of the Dust Bowl. At the same time, there are those who employed the use of positive measures to tackle the problem that was at hand. For instance, there are those who took to documenting the plight of the refugees. To this effect, in 1935, there was a photographer, Dorothy Lange by the name, who apart from carrying opt the documentary, also faithfully stuck to the cause of the California State Emergency Relief Administration, Rural Division (SERA), a unit that existed as a section of the performed under the aegis of the Administration of the Federal Relief. In almost the same wavelength, this group also conducted research activities on pertinent matters such as soil erosion and conservation, the most ideal farming methodologies that were to be carried out. There were cases whereby there was also the ratification of the seemingly offensive measures in the attempt to reverse the situation and to thwart the looming cases of overpopulation in California. For instance, the police chief in Los Angeles in a similar effort, dispatched a contingency of 125 policemen who were to carry out the roles of a bouncers along the Californian borders with an overall intention of turning away the migrants or the bum brigade who were also known as the â€Å"undesirables†. The move was only nipped in the bud when the general public began to question the way in which funds were being dispensed in this project. The success and limits of their adaptation There are constraints and successes that were experienced by the Mexicans and other immigrants who were trying to get to California. In the first case, after getting to California, the situation did not get better automatically. The crops that were being grown in California were very different from the ones that were being grown in other regions. This means that the first issue that they were to grapple with is learning painfully that some crops did not fair well in some regions, getting new seeds and new farming and tilling techniques, the need and cost to learn new techniques, and competition that was stemming from the skilled Californian aborigines. There are historians who also point out that on arriving California, the immigrants found that the farmland was being monopolized at the hands of large corporate farms. This situation prevented the immigrants from acquiring land for cultivation. The above situation led to a profound economic chasm between the immigrants and the land owners as the former appeared to have and access more land. Conclusion It can therefore be seen clearly that the American history is full of inconsistencies just like any other country’s history. Perhaps the most memorable legacy that the US history has bequeathed the world is the fact that it later came to assimilate all the ethnic groups that it met in the Americas. This was epitomized when both the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments placed all men and women on the pedestal, irrespective of religion, race, color or sex. It is on this backdrop that the US is not only a mosaic of many states, but a conglomeration of different races. Thus, US unity totally exemplifies the strength and unity in diversity maxim than any other nation on planet earth.

Report on Lease Financing

[pic] [pic] Course code: F-201 Course title: Financial accounting -2 Submitted to: Tahmina Akter Lecturer Department of Finance University of Dhaka Submitted by: Name | | | |Roll | | | |Section | | | |Md. Mostafa Kamal | | | |16-058 | | | |B | | | |Md. Sakib Bin Abdul Hannan | | | |16-096 | | | |B | | | |Md. Mehdi Hasan | | | |16-112 | | | |B | | | |Parvaj Mosaraf | | | |16-140 | | | |B | | | |Belal Hossain | | | |15-132 | | | |B | | | BBA 16th Batch Department of Finance University of Dhaka Date of Submission: 26-05-2011 Letter of Transmittal Date: 26th May, 2011. To Tahmina Akter Lecturer Department of Finance University of Dhaka Subject: Submission of report â€Å"A Report on Lease Financing†. Dear Madam, We are pleased to submit the report you have assigned to us. The report paper was to prepare the term paper on the course named â€Å"Financial Accounting-2† Course # F –201, as a part of our academic activities. This is the report on â€Å"A Report on Lease Financing†. The report reviews that how leasing company leases equipment. And we have focused a specific lease agreement of United Leasing Company with Delta Pharma Limited to have the real experience. We tried our best to prepare this report a fault free, but it is not possible. We hope that you will take any mistake with kind consideration. Thank you. Sincerely Mostafa Kamal (On behalf of the group-) Contents Acknowledgement This report entitled â€Å"A Report on Lease Financing† is submitted as the requirement of a part of the study of â€Å"Financial Accounting-2† in the BBA program conducted by Department of Finance, University of Dhaka. To prepare this report an intensive study was made covering various terminologies with the help of books named â€Å"Intermediate Accounting by Donald E. Kieso and Weygandt†. At first we want to pay our gratitude to all mighty Allah for preparing the report successfully. We are extremely grateful to our honorable course teacher Tahmina Akter, lecturer, Department of Finance, University of Dhaka for her painstaking guidance, suggestion and all type of support & supervision to prepare this report. She continuously reminded us for the preparation of this report paper and finally gave a out-line to write down the paper spending her valuable time. Without her untiring efforts, completion of this report paper would have been impossible. We like to give thanks especially to our friends and many individuals, for their enthusiastic encouragements and helps during the preparation of this report us by sharing ideas regarding this subject and for their assistance in typing and proof reading this manuscript. Executive Summary Lease financing is the most important issue that determines the direction of financial behavior in an organization, a financial level of effort, and the organization’s level of persistence in the face of obstacles of other types of financing. Now-a-days lease financing is the most emphasized topic to any challenging institution or organization to develop their financial resources as well as profit maximization or maximization of owner’s equity. Lease financing is so central to management because it explains why it is better for the organization to gather financially solvency by lease financing. By lease financing an organization can reach its specific destination. If an organization has effective lease financing efficiency it can survive & develop quickly than others. At first an organization considers lease financing and other financing cooperatively with one another then it takes decision to apply lease financing or other financing whichever is best. If other financing is the best than the lease financing then it will be selected, not lease financing. So from this comment it will be clear that lease financing must be selected it is not necessary. So which is the best is considerable matter. Background of the Report As a Part of Financial Accounting-2 course, we have prepared this report. Our course teacher, Tahmina Akter, instructed us to prepare a report on â€Å"Lease Financing†. We have made a detailed and critical analysis on the topic-All the five members of our group provided their sincerity and serious effort to prepare this term paper and the term paper submitted today – 26th May, 2011. Objective of the Report The main objective of our term paper is to show the lease agreement of a leasing company. We have study about advantage of leasing, various features of leasing but while preparing this report we have understood how leasing is important for company. Methodology and sources of information The term paper is written by using secondary resources. To prepare this term paper I have taken the help of numerous books, computer lab of business faculty of university of Dhaka. In this term paper I sorted information shortly and to collect information we went to computer lab and central library of Dhaka University. Besides I have also collected information through numerous sources such as The Daily Star and other daily news papers, journals etc. INTRODUCTION A lease is a contract whereby the owner of an asset (the lessor) grants to another party (the lessee) the exclusive right to use the asset in return for the payment of rent. Lease financing in Bangladesh means financing according to the methods of lease in Bangladesh. Sometimes it is more acceptable than others financing. Actually it is more profitable in some special sectors where other financing will be less profitable than lease financing. Most of us are familiar with lease of apartments, cars, and telephones. Bangladesh is a developing country, so lease financing is not very easy to apply here. In spite of these problems there are many sectors where lease financing is strictly applied. The key difference between a finance lease and an operating lease is whether the lessor (the legal owner who rents out the assets) or lessee (who uses the asset) takes on the risks of ownership of the leased assets. The classification of a lease (as an operating or finance lease) also affects how it is reported in the accounts. The classification of large transactions, such as sale and leasebacks of property, may have a significant effect on the accounts and on measures of financial stability such as gearing. However, it is worth remembering that an improvement in financial gearing may be offset by a worsening of operational gearing and vice-versa. Leasing: A lease is a contractual agreement between two parties establishing an arrangement for the use of an asset in return for periodic payments by the user. In a lease arrangement: ? The lessor is the asset owner, who receives the periodic payments. ? The lease makes the payments to the lessor in return for using the asset. Types of leases: All leases can be categorized broadly as either operating or financial leases. In turn, financial leases can be categorized into specific types. We will discuss the various types of leases below. Operating leases: An operating lease is a short-term, cancelable lease. A simple example of an operating or service lease is a lease for telephone service. Financial leases: A financial lease is typically a long term, no cancelable lease- the opposite of an operating lease. At the termination of the lease contract, the lessee often can either renew the lease or purchase the asset. Features of operating leases: 1. The lease is cancelable by the leasee prior to its expiration. 2. The lessor provides service, maintenance, and insurance. 3. The sum of all the lease payments by the lesee does not necessarily fully provide for the recovery of the asset’s cost. Features of financial leases: 1. The lease is not cancelable by the lessee prior to its expiration date. 2. The lessee is typically responsible for service, maintenance, and insurance for the asset. 3. The asset is fully amortized over the life of the lease. Financial leases can be divided into two basic forms: 1. Direct lease: In the straightforward arrangement, the firm leases an asset it did not previously own. The firm simultaneously signs the lease agreement with the lessor and orders the equipment from the manufacturer. The lessor pays for the equipment, which is sent to the firm. The firm makes lease payments to the lessor based on a lease agreement worked out by the two parties. If the direct lease is from the manufacturer, then the manufacturer and the lessor are one and the same. 2. Sale and leaseback: In this arrangement the firm sells an asset it currently owns and then leases the same asset from the buyer. Lease payments are set to return the full purchase price plus a rate of return deemed reasonable. The advantage to the lessee is that it allows the firm to continue using the asset while providing cash that can be used elsewhere. It has become increasingly more common in recent years for companies to lease equipment. Each leasing agreement needs to be read through carefully to understand the terms and conditions within said lease. Typically a lease can run anywhere from one to five years. Most equipment necessary in commercial businesses today, including technical equipment, can be leased. Some leases provide an option to then purchase the equipment at substantially less money when at the end of the term of the lease. By leasing equipment, if structured properly, you can maintain your credit availability, as the lease debt does not have to be considered a direct liability on your financial statements. This is advantageous, as it does not limit your ability to borrow from lending sources. Advantages of lease financing: ? It offers fixed rate financing; you pay at the same rate monthly. ? Leasing is inflation friendly. As the costs go up over five years, you still pay the same rate as when you began the lease, therefore making your dollar stretch farther. (In addition, the lease is not connected to the success of the business. Therefore, no matter how well the business does, the lease rate never changes. ) ? There is less upfront cash outlay; you do not need to make large cash payments for the purchase of needed equipment. ? Leasing better utilizes equipment; you lease and pay for equipment only for the time you need it. ? There is typically an option to buy equipment at end of lease term. ? You can keep upgrading; as new equipment becomes available you can upgrade to the latest models each time your lease ends. ? Typically, it is easier to obtain lease financing than loans from commercial lenders. ? It offers potential tax benefits depending on how the lease is structured. One of the reasons for the popularity of leasing is the steady stream of new and improved technology. By the end of a calendar year, much of your technology will be deemed â€Å"dinosaurs. The cost of continually buying new equipment to meet changing and growing business needs can be difficult for most small businesses. For this reason leasing is very advantageous. Leasing can also help you enhance your status to the lending community by improving your debt-to-equity and earnings-to-fixed assets ratios. There are a variety of ways in which a lease can be structured. This provides greater flexibility so that the lease is structured to best accommodate the individual cash flow requirements of a specific business. For example, you may have balloon payments, step up or step down payments, deferred payments or even seasonal payments. The actual advantages of leasing: The most important reason for leasing remains the tax reason. This advantage exists because firms are in different tax brackets, allowing a firm that can not take full advantage of a potential tax shield to shift such a shield to another firm. If the lease payments are set at proper rate, the firm that does the transferring can benefit, as can the lessor. Although someone has to lose, that someone will be the IRS. Disadvantages of lease financing: Leasing is a preferred means of financing for certain businesses. However it is not for everyone. The type of industry and type of equipment required also need to be considered. Tax implications also need to be compared between leasing and purchasing equipment. You have an obligation to continue making payments. Typically, leases may not be terminated before the original term is completed. Therefore, the renter is responsible for paying off the lease. This can pose a major financial problem for the owners of a business experiences a downturn. ? You have no equity until you decide to purchase the equip ment at the end of the lease term, at which point the equipment has depreciated significantly. ? Although you are not the owner, you are still responsible for maintaining the equipment as specified by the terms of the lease. Failure to do so can prove costly. A lease involving a third party that lends the lessor part of the funds ecessary to purchase the asset to be leased. 1. Equipment manufacturers: Durable-goods manufacturers often establish subsidiary leasing or credit companies. One of the main reasons that manufacturing companies provides lease financing is to encourage the use of their product. 2. Financial institutions: Banks, bank holding companies, and life insurance companies. These institutions are heavily involved in long-term financial leases. From their standpoint, leases are merely a secured lending. 3. Independent leasing companies: This provides much of the direct leasing. The financing effect: It is a form of borrowing. The contractual agreement on the lease payme nts is no cancelable. Therefore as other types of debt, failure to make the lease payments can result in bankruptcy. Both lessors and lessees generally, and correctly, view a financial lease as a form of borrowing. Leasing is similar to debt; it has an impact on the amount of borrowing a firm can do. Generally, the more a firm leases, the less it can borrow. This debt displacement is an implicit cost of leasing. The tax effect: For tax purposes, the lease is entitled to a full deduction of all qualified lease payments. Therefore, like other forms of borrowing, the government subsidizes the cost of leasing. The reporting effects: Leasing used to be referred to as off-balance sheet financing. Under rior accounting practices, because the firm did not own the asset, neither the asset nor the companion lease liability had to appear in the body of the balance sheet. A footnote reference, often a very terse one, was sufficient. The superficial effect was to understate the firm’s indebtedness position. Les see reporting: The capitalized value of capital leases and their companion liabilities are put in the body of the lessee’s balance sheet. These capitalized values are the present value of the lease payments. Thus the present value of the lease payments appears on the right-hand side of the balance sheet as a liability and on the left-hand side as an asset. [pic] ULC was established in 1989 as a public limited company, to cater the investment needs of our economy. ULC provides lease financing facilities to all market segments of customers, Small & Medium Enterprises, Commercial Houses, Large Corporate organizations. Under Lease financing They provide; ? Industrial machinery and motor vehicles at concessionary term. ? Machinery and Furniture for Hospital use. ? Truck or Bus for Transportation. ? Equipment or Furniture for Official use. Delta Pharma Limited (DELTA PHARMA) has been propelling steadily towards its goal (Better Care†¦ Better Cure†¦ ) since its launch on November 21, 2004. It is a public limited company. Vission The vision is to reach a level of excellence in pharmaceuticals through a sustained effort to quality assurance and to achieve a global standard through the indoctrination of a culture of excellence. Mission Our mission is to benefit people and improve their quality of life through our quality products. As a generic company, our growth is closely knitted to the satisfaction of our customers. We would like to ensure customer satisfaction through providing quality medicine at affordable cost, launching new molecules & expediting export to all possible avenues. We are committed to achieving our goal through skilled, creative, and motivated employees. ULC agrees to lease a drug manufacturing machine to Delta pharma company on January 1, 2010. ULC has added following information in the contract: 1. The lease agreement is noncancellable in nature with 6 years time period. 2. There will be no renewable option after lease term. 3. The cost of the machine was tk. 245000 and the fair value of the machine at January 1, 2010 is tk. 245000. 4. Machine will be reverted to the leesor at the end of this term at which time the machine will have scrape value worth tk. 43622 which is ungurrenteed. 5. Delta Pharma will bear the responsibility all executive cost. 6. ULC requires equal rental payment annually beginning January 1, 2010. 7. Collectability of the lease payment is reasonably predictable. There are no uncertainties surrounding the amount of costs yet to be incurred by the ULC. Required calculation by ULC Rental payment calculation Fair market value of the leased asset to lesor tk. 245000 Less: Present of the ungurenteed residual value tk. 24623. 31 (43622X. 56447) Amount to be received through lease payment tk. 220376. 69 Six periodic lease payment (tk. 220376. 69/4. 79079) tk. 46000 United Leasing Company (Lessor) Lease Amortization Schedule Date |Annual lease payment plus |Interest on lease |Recovery of lease |Lease receivable | | |URV |receivable |receivable | | |1-1-10 | | | |245000 | |1-1-10 |46000 | |46000 |199000 | |1-1-11 |46000 |19900 |26100 |172900 | |1-1-12 |46000 |17290 |28710 |144190 | |1-1-13 |46000 |14419 |31581 |112609 | |1-1-14 |46000 |11261 |34739 |77870 | |1-1-15 |46000 |7787 |38213 |39657 | |1-1-15 |43622 |3965 |39657 |0 | Journal entries for ULC Journal entries given by the United Lea sing Company for the first two years: Date |Journal |Amount(tk) | |1-1-10 |Lease receivable†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦. Dr |245000 | | |Equipment†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Cr |245000 | |1-1-10 |Cash†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Dr |46000 | | |Lease Receivable†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Cr |46000 | |12-31-10 |Interest Receivable†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Dr |19900 | | |Interest Revenue. †¦.. Cr |19900 | |1-1-11 |Cash†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Dr |46000 | | |Lease Receivable †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Cr |26100 | | |Interest Receivable†¦. Cr |19900 | |12-31-11 |Interest Receivable†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Dr |17290 | | |Interest Revenu†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦. Cr |17290 | Findings Analyzing this report we have come to terms: 1. Lease plays an important role for business. 2. Easy for business to get lease. 3. Lease agreement may contain less restrictive provisions than other debt agreement. 4. Business finds leasing cheaper than other forms of financing. 5. Business does not report an asset or liability for the lease agreement for financial reporting purposes. 6. It is a contractual agreement. 7. It may be cancellable or no cancellable. 8. Leasing provides business an opportunity to transfer tax benefit to another party. The leasing market is becoming more competitive because of the new leasing companies are entering the market. However, There are still leasing companies are doing well. The political stability and overall economic development is an essential precondition of the smooth growth of this sector. If we can ensure these two preconditions, the leasing sector of Bangladesh would be able to perform a strong role in our industrial development. If we disuses more and more about lease financing, and if we try to spread it among our general public about its advantages, we will go clearly ahead. It is very favorable to apply lease financing in Bangladesh. From above discussion, it is clear that, in many sectors lease financing is better than other financing. If we know about lease financing properly, we can use or we can avail all the advantages of lease financing where other financing is not favorable for us. 1. Brigham, E. F. and M. C. Ehrhardt. 2001. Financial management: Theory and practice. 10th Edition. Singapore. South- Western. 2. Bhole, L. M. 1992. Financial Institutions and Markets: structure, growth and Innovations. 2nd Edition. New Delhi. Tata- McGraw-Hill Publishing Company. Evaluation of students’ performance; 3. Horne, J. C. 1999. Financial Management and Policy. [pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic] ———————– Bibliography 05 06 07 07 07 08 09 11 13 18 21 22 22 1. Acknowledgement 2. Executive Summary Background of the report Objective of the report Methodology and sources of information 3. Introduction 4. Lease Financing 5. Advantage and disadvantage of leasing 6. Sources of lease financing 7. A lease contract 8. Findings 9. Conclusion 10. Bibliography TOPIC PAGES A Report on Lease Financing Conclusion The effects of leasing on the firm: A Lease contract of United Leasing company with Delta Pharma Limited Sources of lease financing: Leveraged lease: Advantages and Disadvantages of Lease Financing for Businesses Lease Financing [pic] (Lessee) [pic] (Lessor)

Carmen Rezendes’s Spring Break: Is This a True Story?

Is this a true story? The passage I read called â€Å"Spring Break† by Carmen Resends states a lot of dramatic events in the story in detail. This could be a true story because of how detailed and on point the author is when she describes her experience. Resends tells the exact date of when the experience happened, â€Å"March 21, 2007† she stated. She is pretty much telling the reader that she will never forget this date cause of the events that happened In the canyon.When the she knew she was not on the correct trail anymore I could only Imagine what she felt like because that feeling when you know you messed up Is one of the worst feelings In the world. When your staring death In the face, I feel Like you need to find some way to survive as any means necessary. Resends stated in the ninth paragraph that if she kept shivering she knew she was going to be okay even though hypothermia plays a big factor. I love how she did not give up on herself. When you set your mind to omitting, in this case which is â€Å"survive† and reach the road.Once that registers in your mind you will be fine and she was. Nominal 2 In conclusion, people could look at her experience as a fiction or real. I feel like It Is real because of how detailed she is making the canyon and all the events sound Like she was actually there even If there Is a chance she was not. I believe she was because she out on exact date and how she handled herself during the experience. Carmen Responder's Spring Break: Is This a True Story? By salvageable cause of the events that happened in the canyon.When the she knew she was not on the correct trail anymore I could only imagine what she felt like because that feeling when you know you messed up is one of the worst feelings in the world. When your staring death in the face, I feel like you need to find some way to In conclusion, people could look at her experience as a fiction or real. I feel like it is real because of how detailed she i s making the canyon and all the events sound like she was actually there even if there is a chance she was not. I believe she was

It Is Hard to Possess a Sense of Belonging When We Are Unsure of Our Own Identity Essay

The journey in finding our identity and belonging can often be a struggle, since we ask ourselves, ‘who am I’ vs. whom do others want me to be? And where do I belong? This point in our live is subjective, because we want to feel accepted in society we deny ourselves of what we really are. It’s hard to have a sense of belonging when we ourselves are unsure of our own identity. There comes a time where our opinions and beliefs are differentiated from those around us, during this time some people may discover where they belong, where as many others do not. We are all different in our own ways no one is born equally some may take their differences as an advantage and some take it as a disadvantage and tries to hide this imperfection in order to fit in. Although we all live in the same world we are all different be it the shape of our eyes, the colour of our skin, the country we were born or the accent that we speak in and to others their sexuality. These are all the traits that come together and create our identity, however this differences are sometimes not accepted in the society that we live in, and the sad part is that even if we know what we really are deep inside, our society tells us otherwise. Shuffling through the book Growing up Asian in Australia, I read a lot of stories that made me feel nostalgic, having flashbacks in my head when I first step in Australia and the feeling of deja vu overwhelms me with emotions, while flipping through the stories I read something that caught my attention ‘My First Kiss’ by Lian Low. Her story is not something I would say that I could relate to completely, She grew up in country where ‘homosexuality is a criminal offence’, and deep inside she knew she was different but her surrounding kept her from being true to herself, â€Å"becoming more ‘womanly,’ I suddenly lost foot of my tomboy world† she denied herself in order for her to blend in. She wanted to be equal with the people around her but the difference can’t hide what she is â€Å"I felt a foreigner whenever I open my mouth. Whenever I spoke my accent betrayed my origins† â€Å"My attempt to blend in failed me as soon as I opened my mouth†. The reason why we are all unique is because we ultimately choose what does or does not impact us in a crucial or unimportant way, we have the choice to accept or deny our uniqueness but whichever we choses influences our form of distinctiveness. Everything and everyone can influence a person’s identity, while some influences can be minor, some can have a major effect on our lives just like Lian Low’s story after concealing and denying her sexuality she finally learned to accept her difference after her first kiss with a girl. She erudite in writing that once became her source of comfort and used to bury herself with, â€Å"Writing and performance have been outlets, `they have let me be myself, express myself and explore my multiple identities: Asian, woman, queer, migrant, Chinese-Malaysian-Australian. † It is not solely one stage of our lives when we are confronted with an identity crisis, but a continuous challenge throughout our lives as we encounter new experience that will alter our thoughts, emotions and perspective on ourselves. We have to learn to love and accept our individuality, In order for us to feel welcomed and accepted by someone or something In fact as suggested by Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, a psychology theory cantered on human’s innate desire of fulfilment, belonging is a need that we naturally seek in order to feel loved. Whether it’s belonging with your friends’ family or surrounding, we need to embrace our individuality to know what we want, what we are, and what we’re not.