Organization Change of Aeon Co. Malaysia Bhd Essay

AEON Co. (M) Bhd. is principally engaged in the operations of a chain of superstores selling a broad range of goods ranging from clothing, food, household goods, other merchandise and shopping centre operation. AEON Co. (M) Bhd. was started from Jaya Jusco Store Sdn. Bhd. In 15 September 1984, the first JUSCO store was established in Malaysia. In 1983, our Malaysian Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Dr. Mahathir (Now known as Tun Dr. Mahathir) visited Tokyo and then met the JUSCO Co. Ltd. President, Mr. Takuya Okada to discuss the proposition of bringing JUSCO to our country. This is because he believes that it was a need for our country economic growth on that time. AEON Co. (M) Bhd. aim to be a global company, meaning that management must both meet global quality standards and at the same time remain rooted in local communities. On the basis of this code, Aeon is striving to achieve long-term prosperity and growth by building excellent relationships with its customers, shareholders, business partners, local communities, and employees, while continuing to offer products and services that satisfy customers. For example, AEON Co. (M) Bhd. provided cardholders with numerous incentives, ranging from discounts to an enhanced point system such as AEON Gold Card, the first gold card in Japan without an annual fee, and their electric toll collection (ETC) cards which offers cardholders bonus points when customers shop, have gone to great lengths to raise the number of affiliated merchants. JUSCO’s vision is to establish AEON as a leading retailer brand in consumer finance and service industry by providing excellent customer service. Its mission is to provide a wide range of consumer financial services that best meet their customer needs and they are committed to serve their customers to improve their lifestyle through AEON products and services. AEON insist to a strict code of corporate ethics and at the same time, engage in activities which contribute to society. Lastly, AEON Co. (M) Bhd. is listed in Bursa Malaysia as a trust company under the Trust Companies Act 1949 and Registration of Businesses Act 1956. AEON was awarded the Green Leadership Award and Prime Minister CSR Award for Community and Social Welfare. CONTENT To analyze the company’s practices/operations in AEON Co.(M) Bhd. Change is  an organizational reality. Most managers will have to change some things in their workplace. It can classify these changes as organizational change which is alteration of an organization’s people, structure, and technology. Firstly, changing structure includes any alteration in authority relationships, coordination mechanisms, degree of centralization, job design, or similar organization structure variables. AEON Co. (M) Bhd. control the work process engineering, restructuring, and empowering result in decentralization, wider spans of control, reduced work specialization, and work teams. These structural components give employees the authority and means to implement process improvements. For instance, the creation of work teams that cut across departmental lines allows those people who understand a problem best to solve that problem. It can help cross-functional work teams encourage cooperati ve problem solving rather than â€Å"us versus them† situations. Besides that, changing technology encompasses modifications in the way works is done or the methods and equipment used. Most of the managers in AEON Co. (M) Bhd. deal with changing technology are continuous improvement initiatives on their products and services, which are directed at developing flexible processes to support better quality operations and also their employees committed to continuous improvements are constantly looking for things to fix. Thus, work processes adaptable to continual change and fine tuning, it requires an extensive commitment to educating and training workers. AEON Co. (M) Bhd. provided training to employees which are need in new technology and new methods. Lastly, changes in people refer to changes in employee attitudes, expectations, perceptions, or behaviors. The human dimension of change requires a workforce that is committed to quality and continuous improvement. Again, AEON Co. (M) Bhd. provided proper employee education and training is needed, which are need in problem solving, decision making, negotiation, statistical analysis, and team-building, and they can able to analyze and act on data. As is a performance evaluation and reward system that supports and encourages those improvements. Conclude, employees training to maintain its market leading position in their business. The main practices for AEON Co. (M) Bhd. is align the goals of a change effort with organizational strategy. This is because of organization‘s strategic plan identify the products and services and the core business, and it can help organization supporting processes  that help deliver these products and services. Furthermore, it also identifies the organization’s special competencies and help organizational enhance the core and key supporting organizational processes. For example, the goals of AEON Co. (M) Bhd. changed effort do not support the organizational strategy then the change effort will not yield significant value to the organization. Therefore, by aligning the goals of a change effort with their business strategy, the change effort will have a greater chance of succeeding because the change effort will receive greater executive commitment than if the goals were not aligned. To accomplish this, Aeon clearly define its structures, management systems, and guiding principles, policies, and procedures. Instant, executives take the time to communicate the vision to all of the organization’s employees in small groups of people. Besides that, AEON Co. (M) Bhd. created and maintained a superior change team. This is because a charter that identifies a task that is narrower in scope than the organization’s strategy statement and states the expectations of management in terms of goals and metrics. These goals and their descriptions did not change during the change effort, because should only be a few of them. However, the change team has control the goals, which able to measurable, and also define its purpose, the methods, procedures it will use, and the acceptable team behavior, because it will help to resolve conflict and define team roles. For example, AEON Co. (M) Bhd. creating a superior change team with several of good planning, it also requires good people to enact the change, change team members are experts and have positions of authority, possess good management and communication skills, and the ability to focus on the change vision and objectives. In closing, a superior change team will effectively create a plan for change, identify the processes to change, and acquire support for the change effort of organization at all the levels. Thus, the quality of such verification is highly suspect. On the others hand, AEON Co. (M) Bhd. plans for continuous improvement. This is because of continuous process improvement will cause an organization to produce better products or goods more reliably and efficiently to enhance customer satisfaction and value. For example, to achieve continuous improvement of organization, AEON Co. (M) Bhd. uses good performance measures and management monitor their employees as necessary. In addition, managers should verify that the selected metrics are accurate  measures of business goals in managing organizational changed. To identify and explain the relevant principles and concepts of management in AEON Co. (M) Bhd. those are being applied in the company. The principles and concepts of AEON Co. (M) Bhd. is Customer Centre Approach. AEON’s mission is always to be contributed to the customers. The goal of AEON Co. (M) Bhd. is to operate as an â€Å"international-scale retailing group† which focused on the quality management to enhance their capabilities. The increasing in the Malaysia population shows tha t there is a probability that the target customers for the retailing industry have grown. A wide range of customers involves in the market mostly tend to purchase household products which is suits for family members, children and adult. This is an opportunity for AEON to achieve the mission of company for contribute to their customers. With the changes in the customers’ lifestyle, that is means that the trends would also changes. AEON Co. (M) Bhd. will provided with higher quality products, so that the customers will aware that the AEON’s goal of quality management is exactly aligned with their demand and needs. In addition, this will also give impact on the company’s goal to satisfy their customers. To designed an image to satisfy the ever changing needs and desires of consumers, AEON’s constant interior refurbishment of stores. The management’s acute understanding of target market needs and the provision of an optimal product-mix enhanced the company’s performance. In Malaysia for 28 years, Aeon has been successfully to positioned itself as a benchmark in excellent customer service, such as high worker’s discipline and maintain high standard level of their food as w ell environment. AEON Co. (M) Bhd. provided variety of products for their customers. On the others hand, the principles and concepts of management of AEON Co. (M) Bhd. is division of work. This principle tells us that as far as possible the whole work should be divided into different parts and each individual should be assigned only one part of the work according to his ability and taste rather than giving the whole work to one person. AEON Co. (M) Bhd. applied this principle to manage organizational change from Jusco Shopping Centre to AEON Co. (M) Bhd. where all department need to change since Aeon Credit Service combined together with Jusco Shopping Centre on 12 January 2012. When a particular worker in AEON Co. (M) Bhd. performs the same job repeatedly such as in marketing department, financial department, leadership department and so on  will make the job an expert in doing that particular part of the whole job for them. Consequently, the benefits of specialization will become available in AEON Co. (M) Bhd. For example, AEON Co. (M) Bhd. gets an order for prom otion. They have five to six departments who will do their own job for the promotion. Everyone will do the job in short time and come out with the successful promotion. The principle of division of department applies not only to the workers but also equally to the managers and leader. For example, if a manager is tuned to work on the same kind of activities for a long period of time, he will certainly be an expert in his particular job. Consequently, more and beneficial decisions can be taken in a comparatively less time by him. Business processes must support business needs is the one of the principle and concepts of management. Every process will be increase organizational value by supporting the business vision and supporting strategies. AEON Co. (M) Bhd. created a vision for each process to be changes and also develop a new vision for each process it expects to change. The process of vision described the new capabilities of the process and the expected performance improvements. Furthermore, it identify how the AEON Co. (M) Bhd. will support the strategy, respond t o customer needs, and respond to competition. This will lower the utility of a change effort and would place it at risk because it probably would not gain the necessary organizational support to make it successful. The issue of organization design would be solved because environment will be free from uncertainty and there no need to adapt. Besides that, the creation of work teams that cut across department lines allows those people who understand the problems and have the best solutions to solve the problems. Besides that, AEON Co. (M) Bhd. made a formal case. This is because individuals are inherently rational and will question to what extent change is needed, whether the company is headed in the right direction, and whether they want to commit personally to making change happen. AEON Co. (M) Bhd. looks to the leadership for answers it will due to the articulation of a formal case for change and the creation of a written vision statement are invaluable opportunities to create or compel leadership-team alignment. Firstly, AEON Co. (M) Bhd. confront reality and articulate a convincing need for change, then demonstrate faith of the company has a viable future and the leadership to get there and l ast provide a road map to guide behaviour and decision making. Thus, leaders  customize this message for various internal audiences, describing the pending change in terms that matter to the individuals. In a series of offsite meetings, the executive team built a brutally honest business case that downsizing was the only way to keep the business viable, and drew on the company’s proud heritage to craft a compelling vision to lead the company forward. By confronting reality and helping employees understand the necessity for change, leaders able to motivate the organization to follow the new direction in the midst of the largest downsizing in the company’s history. To identify and explain the pros and cons in the application of the relevant principles and concepts of management in order to find the problems that will be the encountered by the company. PROS Build up the customer’s loyalty By satisfy the customer’s need, AEON Co. (M) Bhd. able to keep their customer’s loyalty. Loyalty of customers is typically repeat customers. The customers will feel comfortable when shopping at AEON mall, which aligned with their needs and lifestyle. If a certain customer enjoys shopping at a particular business, it will return to shop again. The loyalty of customers may lead to stabilize the company’s income. Higher productivity Division of work for AEON Co. (M) Bhd. is to achieve higher productivity in Aeon by using â€Å"practice makes perfect† slogan. AEON Co. (M) Bhd. concentrating on the repeating the same task again and again, a worker acquires dexterity, skill and speed, and more ­over, division of works avoids waste time and effort caused by changes from one task to another. Specialization requires a simplification of tasks and facilitates for AEON Co. (M) Bhd. saving devices. Due to all these the quantity and quality of work increase tremendously. Lower cost Division of work in AEON Co. (M) Bhd. increases the efficiency of workers, managers and leaders in each department. In addition, wasteful duplication of process and tools is avoided, it able gain good result and save cost. Large scale production offers several economies in the used of materials, machinery and skills. Therefore, costs of operations in AEON Co. (M) Bhd. are reduced to earn more profit. Trusted brand AEON Co. (M) Bhd. operated in market more than 20 years. Nowdays, AEON Co. (M) Bhd. pay attention on differentiation of products and services, however when times pass by, due to many competitors, there are too many of new feature or increase of new offers in the market. It will cause Aeon pay attention on customers’ needs and wants and able to learn customers’ oriented strategy. Therefore when AEON Co. (M) Bhd. produce a product, AEON Co. (M) Bhd. makes sure the brand is clear, distinctive, easily understood and expresses a unique, compelling benefit that customers believe can see the value of. Diversification of brand Product diversification strategies should aim at expanding markets either by brand extensions or new complementary products, but sometimes this is also achieved by creating new uses for the original products with a new twist. The strategy should avoid being too similar to current products and markets, but at the same time it should not be too different from current ones. AEON Co. (M) Bhd. practiced this so that they can offer new products to customers, it able to compete in the market. CONS Higher cost burden To fulfill the changing of the customer’s demand and needs, AEON Co. (M) Bhd. may face to higher cost burden. To improve the customer’s satisfaction for shopping at AEON mall, AEON have to keep on improvement on the shopping environment. This might lead to higher cost for renovation and decoration the shopping mall. In order to fulfill the changed in customer’s lifestyle, AEON Co. (M) Bhd. have to come out with higher quality product which may leads to higher cost of product. Lack of responsibility Under division of work AEON Co. (M) Bhd. lack of responsibility in creating something new product. Such as, the final project is not the task of a single person but the creation of several workers, managers, and leaders. Therefore, no any individual can be held responsible if anything goes wrong in the project. Therefore, involvement of workers in their work is reduced. Too much interdependence Division of work in AEON Co. (M) Bhd. leads to interdependence between individuals, firms, industries and countries. Failure of any one link due to strike, war, breakdown in transport and communication, depression and so on it may cause great harm for the company. Inferior output by one worker in AEON Co. (M) Bhd. may spoil the quality of the entire product. Specialists know only a single process of production. In case of unemployment, they find is difficult to get jobs. Poor advertising AEON Co. (M) Bhd. does not advertising due to the cost. The advertising activity only will take place during peak seasons like school holiday and festival season. AEON Co. (M) Bhd. mainly depends on word of mouth whereby, customers pass the news to other customers about promotion or new products. AEON Co. (M) Bhd. should aware this tactic may harm business if customers are not satifity with the products and they will start to complaint and others will get negative thinking about the company. In the end, AEON Co. (M) Bhd. may loss customers and it is not easy to pull back their attention. Thus, sales and profit of company will drop. Create rigidity AEON Co. (M) Bhd. created rigidity in their operations. It can lock an organization into specific goals to be achieved within specific timetables. This is because the goals set under the assumption. Thus, when the environment is random and unpredictable can be recipe for disaster. It may cause AEON Co. (M) Bhd. not able to compete and survive in a rapidly changing environment. RECOMMENDATION AEON Co. (M) Bhd. should perform annual process assessments and benchmarks. This is because annual process assessments help to identify areas for process improvement, whereas benchmarks help to identify where an organization stands relative to an industry. Based on each assessment and benchmark provides a snapshot of an organization’s capabilities, which should be the basis for determining whether it needs to change and the value of such change. Furthermore, auditors can easily determine whether an organization performs assessments and benchmarks by verifying the existence of reports documenting their execution. Besides that, AEON Co. (M) Bhd.  should analyze an organization’s software portfolio, which is the total number of applications it owns. A portfolio analysis include counting the number of copies of each application, it can examining the status of each application in terms of defect levels, and identifying the overall importance of each application. Due to this, the highest level of importance indicates that an application is critical to the success of the enterprise’s missions. In addition, Aeon should know the role each application plays in the future of the enterprise. By understanding the software tools that an organization uses, it can identify those areas that have the greatest need for tool support, as well as where it can derive the greatest benefit tool use or change. Instant, such understanding will also influence the training activities of an organization. On the others hand, AEON Co. (M) Bhd. should listen to the customer. An organization must capture the needs and desires of its customers since their perceptions of its strengths and weaknesses are vital to its success. Wherefore, Aeon should ask its customers what it must do today to satisfy them two, three, and five years in the future. Since customer input helps to improve the products of organization develops and the most important is processes that addres s their concerns, auditors should examine that documentation exists that verifies that the organization obtains and uses customer feedback on a periodic basis. Furthermore, AEON Co. (M) Bhd. should align the infrastructure. The successful change requires that Aeon align its human resource, information, financial, organizational, and other support systems around the core business processes. Organizational structure should be an operational response to an organization’s mission and strategy. Thus, the reporting relationships among an organization’s business units should represent its actual workflows, it should help them establish and develop the necessary competencies by providing appropriate training. If an organization does not do this, old practices will render new organizational changes meaningless and a business’s operating units will not function efficiently or effectively. Thus, it is vital that auditors identify the workflow between business units whether the organization’s infrastructure matches it, and also personnel within those business units have the skills to effectively and efficiently perform their work. Lastly, AEON Co. (M) Bhd. should foster a creative and innovative environment. Aeon must be systematically and deliberately identify on new ideas and ways of  doing things better. This requires organizations to challenge the basic assumptions on which its organization has been built. Due to this, Aeon change these assumptions requires creativity, which is the generation of ideas and alternatives and innovation, which is the transformation of those ideas and alternatives into useful applications that lead to change and improvement. In particular, an organization must always challenge assumptions, create solutions, and look at problems from different perspectives. . As a result, auditors should objectively assess how experimental an organization is when conducting their business. CONCLUSION In conclusion, from the AEON Co. (M) Bhd. we has identified four organization change management principles, which are vitally important to organizing change. Furthermore, we also have analyze the company’s practices and operations in managing organizational change. Consequently, organizations should adopt these change management principles and practices based on their business needs. To promote success, an organization should address the three identified critical processes which are achieving executive commitment, creating a vision of the future organization, and communicating that vision to the organization. In addition, a select group of people, having the necessary skills and personal characteristics, should lead software process improvement efforts. Organizational changes because of uncertainty, habit, concern about personal loss, and the belief that a change is not in the organization’s best interests. There are needs many techniques for managing resistance to change included education and communication, participation, facilitation and support, negotiation, manipulation and co-optation, and coercion. Last, the important part which is human resource variables. It included high commitment to training and development, high job security, and encouraging individuals to be idea champions. REFERENCE Robbins, S. P., DeCenzo, D. A., & Coulter, M. (2012). Fundamentals of management: Essential concepts and applications (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River. New Jersey: Pearson Education. Robbin, S. P., & Jones, G. R. (2010). Management (11th ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall. Brealey, Richard and Myers, Stewart: Principles of Corporate Finance, 2nde d., McGraw-Hill (l984). American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics: Guide for the Preparation of Operational Concept Documents. ANSIIAIAA G-043-1992 (1993). Carr, David K., Hard, Kelvin J., and Trahant, William J.: Managing the Change Process: A Field Book for Change Agents, Consultants, Team Leaders, and Reengineering Managers. McGraw-Hill(l996). lO.Gouillart, Francis J. and Kelly, James N.: Transforming the Organization. McGraw-Hill(l995). Ronald K. K. (2010). Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Journal of management changing, 4800 Oak Grove Dr., Pasadena, CA 91 109, USA ronald. k. John Jones, DeAnne Aguirre, and Matthew Calderone (2004). Principles of change management. Retrieved April 15, 2004, From: http://www.strategy-business.com/article/rr00006?pg=all

Mexico: the Yucatan Peninsula

Mexico: The Yucatan Peninsula The Yucatan Peninsula is located in southeastern Mexico, which separates the Caribbean Sea from the Gulf of Mexico, on the northern coastline on the Yucatan Channel. The Yucatan Peninsula lies east of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, a northwestern geographic divider separating the region of Central America from the rest of North America. The Yucatan Peninsula comprises of the Mexican states of Yucatan, Campeche, and Quintana Roo; the northern part Belize; and Guatemala's northern subdivision of El Peten. Geology The peninsula is the exposed part of the large Yucatan Platform. The Yucatan Peninsula is an unconfined flat lying erosion landscape. Sinkholes, locally called cenotes are widespread in the northern lowlands. According to the Alvarez hypothesis, the mass extinction of the dinosaurs at the transition from the Cretaceous (K) to the Tertiary (T) Periods (the K-T Boundary) 65 million years ago was caused by an asteroid impact somewhere in the Caribbean Basin. The deeply buried Chicxulub Crater is centered off the north coast of the peninsula near the town of Chicxulub. The now-famous â€Å"Ring of Cenotes† outlines one of the shock-waves from this impact event in the rock of ~65 millions years of age, The presence of the crater has been determined first on the surface from the Ring of Cenotes, but also by geophysical methods, and direct drilling with recovery of the drill cores. Water resources Due to the extreme erosion nature of the whole peninsula, the northern half barely consists of any rivers. Where lakes and swamps are present, the water is marshy and is not suitable for drinking water. The thousands of sinkholes, locally called Cenotes throughout the region provide access to the groundwater system, and the cenotes have long been relied on by ancient and contemporary Mayan people. Vegetation The short and tall tropical jungles are the predominant natural vegetation types of the Yucatan Peninsula. The boundaries between northern Guatemala (El Peten), Mexico (Campeche and Quintana Roo), and western Belize are still occupied by the largest continuous tracts of tropical rainforest in Central America. However, these forests are suffering extensive deforestation. Etymology There is a popular myth that the name Yucatan comes from the Yucatec Maya phrase for â€Å"listen how they speak,† or â€Å"I don't understand your words† — supposedly said by contact period Maya, when the first Spanish explorers asked, what the area was called. The proper derivation of the word Yucatan is widely debated. However, it is also claimed that the actual source of the name â€Å"Yucatan† is the Nahuatl (Aztec) word Yokatlan, â€Å"place of richness. † People The Yucatan Peninsula comprises a significant proportion of the ancient Maya Lowlands. There are many Mayan archaeological sites throughout the peninsula; some of the better-known sites are in Chichen Itza, Tulum and Uxmal. Indigenous Mayans and Mestizos of partial Mayan descent still make up a sizable portion of the region's population, and Mayan languages are still widely spoken there. Economy In the late historic and early modern eras, the Yucatan Peninsula was largely a cattle ranching, logging, chicle and henequen production area. Since the 1970’s, the Yucatan Peninsula has fixed its economy towards tourism, especially in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. Once a small fishing village, Cancun in the northeast of the peninsula has grown into a thriving city. The Riviera Maya, which stretches along the east coast of the peninsula between Cancun and Tulum, houses over 50,000 beds and is visited by millions of tourists every year. The best-known locations are the former fishing town of Playa del Carmen, the ecological parks Xcaret and Xel-Ha and the Mayan ruins of Tulum and Coba. Climate Like much of the Caribbean, the Yucatan Peninsula lies within the Atlantic Hurricane Belt, and with its almost uniformly flat terrain, it is vulnerable to these large storms coming from the east. The 2005 Atlantic Hurricane Season was a particularly bad season for Mexico's tourism industry, with two forceful category 5 storms hitting, Hurricane Emily and Hurricane Wilma. The 2006 Atlantic Hurricane Season was a typical year which left the Yucatan untouched, but in the 2007 Atlantic Hurricane Season Yucatan was hit by the Hurricane Dean (which is also a category 5 storm); nevertheless Hurricane Dean left little damage on the peninsula despite heavy localized flooding. Strong storms called nortes can quickly descend on the Yucatan Peninsula any time of year. Although these storms pummel the area with heavy rains and high winds, they tend to be short-lived, clearing after about an hour. The average percentage of days with rain per month ranges from a monthly low of 7% in April to a high of 25% in October. Breezes can have a cooling effect; humidity is generally high, particularly in the remaining rainforest areas. Bibliography â€Å"Beautiful Underground Lakes & Rivers. † Wonderfulinfo. com. 5 January 2010. http://www. wonderfulinfo. com/photos/underground/ â€Å"Climate and Weather of Mexico. † yahoo. answers. com. 26 Sept 2009. http://answers. yahoo. com/question/index? qid=20090419162859AAZ2D7m&. crumb=eYF8u9vJN5s â€Å"Mapas de Mexico. † Mexicoadventourist. com. 5 January 2010. http://www. mexicoadventourist. com/Mapas/YucatanMap. jpg â€Å"Mexico’s Government. † Viva Mexico. 2 October 2009. http://staff. esuhsd. org/balochie/studentprojects/mexico/MexGovernment. html Parfit, Michael, â€Å"Yucatan Peninsula,† National Geographic. Aug 1996. 108-113. â€Å"Sunset over the Yucatan. † flickr. com/photos/afagen/. 5 January 2010. http://www. flickr. com/photos/afagen/2262221520/ The World And Its People. â€Å"Mexico – The Land Yucatan†. New York. Greystone Press. 1964. 34-35. â€Å"The World Factbook – Mexico. † CIA the World Factbook, 10 Sept 2009. ttp://www. cia. gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/countrytemplate_mx. html â€Å"Yucatani iguanaleso naplo. † atjeffs. blog. hu/2008. 5 January 2010. http://m. blog. hu/at/atjeffs/image/Yucatan_peninsula_250m. jpg â€Å"Yucatan Sunset. † flickr. com/photos/bjkresearch/. 5 January 2010. http://www. flickr. com/photos/bjkresearch/183792616/ â€Å"Yucatan Peninsula Sunset. † flickr. com/photos/kevmac66/. 5 January 2010. http://www. flickr. com/photos/kevmac66/3495944443/ â€Å"Yucatan Peninsula Resort. † Alwaysonvacation. com. 5 January 2010. http://www. a lwaysonvacation. com/LSS/images/29225/YucatanPeninsula3BedroomsSle

Coring preparation, preservation, and handling Research Paper

Coring preparation, preservation, and handling - Research Paper Example When seeking to form a description of a core, it is essential that one place the lay out of the core on a table. This will be essential in checking the amount of the core and compare it to the coring report so as to ensure no core material was lost during the transportation process (Fjar, Holt, Raaen, Risnes, and Horsrud 125). In case of any alterations or damage, it is important to note such details. The numbering placed on the containers should be noted against the cumulative depth reported. This then creates a better understanding of the core, and offers a chance to check on the orientation and continuity with respect to the top of the core. If the records show the downhole gamma-ray logs, then it would be advisable to verify the same by comparing the to the core gamma-ray logs. This verifies the consistency of the cored interval depths with the log depths. The core features such as composition, texture, color, and porosity types should also be noted. After getting this information, the cutting of stabilized or unstabilized cores will depend on the plug sample methods or the plunge cut technique. This will prepare it for preservation (Fjar, Holt, Raaen, Risnes, and Horsrud 127). The purpose of preservation is to maintain the chemical and physical properties inherent in the cores as close as possible to the reservoir data. The impact noted should be in relation to the intended utility of the core afterwards. The failure to create an impermeable barrier around the sample could lead to wettability alterations, loss of interstitial water, precipitation of the salts, and damage to the mineral fabric (Morton-Thompson and Woods 105). The methods of preservation differ depending on the intended achievements. Six methods have been developed which include sealing the core in airtight metal-cans, dry ice freezing, plastic bag seals, using plastic, steel, or aluminum tubes to seal, wrapping in plastic tape or metal foil, as well as using plastic coatings. Notably,

Patient verification Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Patient verification - Research Paper Example Alternatively, the patient can physically present a document of identification like a driver’s license or social security card. These credentials or documents locate a stored biometric template usually linked to it from a previous enrollment. After provision of the credential or document, the patient scans his or her biometric. The captured template gets compared against the stored template which has been located with the documents. After this, what follows is the confirmation or denial of the patient’s claimed identity by the biometric scan which gets supported by verbal confirmation to an identification name. The main area where patient misidentification may occur is during blood transfusions, surgical interventions and drug administration. Patient verification occurs when a healthcare worker can confirm that the identity documents given by the patient match those on the patient’s identity documents. Statistics Recent statistics show that there have been forty percent cases of patient misidentification. In the entire healthcare industry, lack of proper patient verification results in the wrong person procedures, discharge of infants to the wrong families, medication errors, testing errors and also blood transfusion errors. According to the United States Patient Safety Agency, there were more than 100 cases of patient misidentification between 2000 and 2003. ... This can be attributed to new technologies like bar coding that have improved the process of patient verification. Such interventions have proved to be quite cost effective in the healthcare industry. Implications Since patient misidentification has been noted to be the cause of many root errors, various measures have been taken to control the problem. The Joint Commission of the United States made improvement of patient identification accuracy its focus in the National Patient Safety Goals introduced in 2003 (Marie, 2009). This still continues to be a requirement for accreditation. The National Priorities Partnership and National database of nursing quality indicators show that patient misidentification poses as one of the most serious risks to the safety of patients. It cuts across the entire healthcare practice and, therefore, is an issue of major concern. The implication of patient misidentification is that thousands of people get injured by the health system the seek help. This increases the need for limiting working hours for health care members whereby an increased number of workers care for each patient (WHO, 2007). The National Patient Safety Agency decided to incorporate the NHS number in order to reduce and possibly mitigate the risks of patient misidentification. Enhancing quality There are various ways that enhance quality concerning patient verification. This can get done by ensuring that all aspects of the management of patient verification comply with the existing recommendations from the National Safety Agency. There must be clear procedures and standards for healthcare workers involved in patient verification (Medscape, 2013). These standards provide a framework for the required work ethics and, therefore, mitigate the risk of

Legalizing Mariuana Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Legalizing Mariuana - Essay Example Within every culture there are differences however. In every part of the world religion was used as a tool to explain things that science could not, and religion's view on mind-altering substances like marijuana, alcohol and mushrooms has traditional been negative. Early western religious leaders looked skeptically on people in an inebriated state, perhaps thinking that they were possessed. This might explain the inherent distrust of any mind-altering substance; early science was too primitive to explain the inebriated state so religious leader's denounced users as demon possessed. In the west especially, where religion was not so much of a spiritual nature but a kind of penance were substances seen as evil. Unlike other, more primitive religions of the world, where its practitioners wanted to elevate the soul to communicate with God, western Christianity seemed to want to make every person live as plainly as possible. It taught that suffering was a good thing and if the common perso n questioned why they were told by their religious leaders that it was because that was how God wanted it to be. It's easy to see now how the modern western world developed its bias against substances. Today in the United States and most parts of the western world (like Britain, Canada, and France) marijuana is illegal to possess or distribute (although in Canada possession has been decriminalized). Penalties in the United States for possessing marijuana differ from state to state but are generally severe: a hefty fine at the least to several months or even years in prison, depending on the amount of marijuana found. (Schwartz 2000) Some states have legalized marijuana for medicinal purposes: relief of chronic pain and post-traumatic stress. It has been shown in every study that the large majority of the American population (around 70 percent always) agrees with marijuana use for medicinal purposes. However, federal law in many cases clashes with state law when government officials do raids on houses of known medicinal marijuana users that have been sanctioned by the state. In every case federal law supersedes that of the state law and the patient is fined or imprisoned and the ma rijuana, usually no more than a few plants for personal use, is taken from the patient. (Grinspoon and Bakalar 2002) Arguments abound over the legality of this. Should federal law supersede state law Those true to the founding fathers ideals of the sovereign state say no, while federalists say yes, that the government should have the power to restrict state laws. The arguments on both sides are long and equally compelling. Marijuana has been discovered to be very useful in the field of medicine. Effects of marijuana have been known to cause pain relief. Marijuana was used as an anesthetic in many countries. Marijuana smokers reported that marijuana ad relieved pain while smoking and a much higher tolerance to pain after smoking. In particular, marijuana helps relieve the tension in a headache because of it effect on the brain. (Doblin and Kleiman 2003) It also helps with anxiety because it can be used as a sedative. Studies have shown that marijuana can also be used as a Bronchodilator. It can help relieve feelings of suffocation during an asthma attack. Many

Alzheimer's disease and relationship to nutrition and hormone Essay

Alzheimer's disease and relationship to nutrition and hormone - Essay Example Alzheimer is mostly seen in individuals who are above the age of forty five and it principally develops into dementia in its latter stages. It is characterized by loss of cognitive abilities which occurs due to the loss of normal brain functions. In the latter stages of Alzheimer Disease the sufferer becomes totally disoriented and shows memory loss such that he is not able to recognize his very close family members. (Evans et al, 1989; Gao et al, 1999). The primary feature of Alzheimer Disease is the atrophy of the cortex. But in some cases it is seen that neuritic processes may accumulate, abnormalities in cerebral nucleus may occur or amyloid angiopathy may be seen. The question now stands as to why Alzheimer disease onsets in an individual. To answer this question many aspects of the disease are analyzed. Nutrition is presumed to be directly related to the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. Research done on the relation of the nutritional status of an individual has shown that Vitamin D may have a direct relation with the onset of Alzheimer. A research by Dr Grant proves that Alzheimer’s may be related to low serum levels of Vitamin D. It is said by Dr Grant that old people usually have the deficiency of Vitamin D because of which dental caries, diabetes mellitus and depression may arise in individuals. And all these diseases together are presumed to be a cause for Alzheimer Disease. Relating nutrition to Alzheimer has paved way for many researches to be done on this issue (Drug Week, 2009). Such a research was done to find the relation between folate and the risk of Alzheimer Disease. It was seen in this research that individuals who consumed folate were greatly reducing the risk of acquiring Alzheimer Disease. The incidence rate was calculated to be 45% as the individuals consuming folate were decreasing their risk of acquiring Alzheimer by 55%. The research compared the individuals who were taking folate regularly to those who were not and it was

Corporate Social Responsibility Reports Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Corporate Social Responsibility Reports - Essay Example to ensure that organisations run in respect to social norms as well as rules and that the stakeholders are treated distinctly from the organisation itself. Besides, all stakeholders are to receive similar treatments within the organisation and that management is expected to run the organisation to the benefit of all stakeholders. However, it is not obvious that these reports effectively serve on this purposes and this informs the reason of this report. This paper intends to evaluate the effectiveness of these reports in serving the above purpose as against as just mere ‘vehicles’ adopted for public relations among trading organisations. CSR from the Perspective of Accounting Theories Positive theories are adopted with a motive of explaining or predicting the behaviors of corporate as against prescribing the manner in which such organisations ought to behave. The theories revolve around the common notion that the society and corporate have mutual influences where the soci ety influences the corporate performance while the corporate equally influences on the society (Rodriguez and LeMaster, 2007, pp. 370-385). It implies that organisations are distinct constituents of the larger social systems within which we live in. analyzing economic issues as is done within the CSR brings on board the political theories because the social, political as well as institutional frameworks defines environment in which economic activities by corporations take place. This therefore revolves around integrative theories such as legitimacy theorem as well as stakeholder’s theorem. The legitimacy theorem constitutes the formal and informal constraints to which accounting procedures must adhere. The formal constraints comprise of legal frameworks, accounting standards as well as... As the report declares positive theories are adopted with a motive of explaining or predicting the behaviors of corporate as against prescribing the manner in which such organisations ought to behave. The theories revolve around the common notion that the society and corporate have mutual influences where the society influences the corporate performance while the corporate equally influences on the society. This discussion declares that organisations are distinct constituents of the larger social systems within which we live in. analyzing economic issues as is done within the CSR brings on board the political theories because the social, political as well as institutional frameworks defines environment in which economic activities by corporations take place. This therefore revolves around integrative theories such as legitimacy theorem as well as stakeholder’s theorem. The legitimacy theorem constitutes the formal and informal constraints to which accounting procedures must adhere. The formal constraints comprise of legal frameworks, accounting standards as well as professionalism, which instigates mandatory disclosures. On the other hand, the informal legitimacy theorem represents self-imposed frameworks of behavior and conventions governing the societies within which organisations run. This is because organisations strive to operate within the predefined rules and regulation go verning the societies within which they operate.

Psychiatry and Mental Illness Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Psychiatry and Mental Illness - Essay Example According to the report findings  the very definition of a specialist infers that the individual has an in-depth understanding of what particular aspects of medical knowledge. The underlying reason for specialists existing in the first place has do with their ability to quickly understand the roots of a particular issue and seeks to address it in a timely manner. Whereas it is true that medical science of the past century was oftentimes constrained with regard to technological shortcomings, one of the main reasons for why disease was oftentimes misdiagnosed or under-diagnosed and do with the fact that the existence of specialists was significantly lower as compared to the current time.As the paper declares  the role of the specialists, whether a psychiatrist or another type of medical specialists, is not able to be earned unless the individual graduates medical school and spends a particularly long period of time interning and performing a residency within a specific field. Furth er, additional requirements oftentimes demand that on-the-job training exist for a period of years after a doctor completes these prior aspects of the medical training.  A further reason behind why psychiatrists should have a monopoly on treating mental illness has to do with the fact that these individuals already know which questions to ask.  Another rationale that must be considered is with reference to the multiplicity of different pharmacological drugs that currently exists.

Was Andrew Jackson Democratic Essay Example for Free

Was Andrew Jackson Democratic Essay Throughout time changes have been made to our country’s government in hopes of improving it, and reducing the flaws it has. Andrew Jackson made changes to our country in hopes of increasing its chances of longevity; however his methods in doing so are to this day very controversial. While Andrew Jackson was known as â€Å"the people’s president† his methods for improving America were quite ambiguous, and the concept of Jacksonian democracy is highly criticized. Andrew Jackson made contributions to our country while holding office; however his tactics were anything but democratic. Growing up on the frontier Andrew Jackson was the first president to not grow up wealthy, later in his life it proved to be useful in trying to appeal to voters, which proved to be successful. Yet in the race for presidency, even though he had won the votes, he did not win the election; John Quincy Adams, with the help of Jackson’s enemy Henry Clay, became president. In the next election to come Andrew Jackson had proved to be more successful, in acquiring the role of the president, both Jackson, and his ally Martin Van Buren, created a political organization, in what is now known as the democratic party. All seemed well, and politically Andrew Jackson had not made a mistake yet, However although he was known as a man of the people, Jackson believed in and promoted slavery. Jackson owned a plantation named The Hermitage. The Hermitage was a huge self-sufficient plantation that raised cotton and relied on the labor of African American men, women, and children. On his plantation there was rigorous labor that his slaves preformed daily. Due to the hard work of Jackson’s slaves, he continued to profit, and allowed him to acquire more land, thus he bought more men women and children to work his land, and help continue prosperity the Jackson family. Moreover, Andrew Jackson was skilled in military tactics; however he used his knowledge to take millions of acres of land from Native Americans. In 1814 he commanded the U.S. military forces that defeated a faction of the Creek nation. In their defeat, the Creeks lost 22 million acres of land in southern Georgia and central Alabama. As president, he continued to try and acquire more Indian land for white settlers who wanted to grow cotton, much like him. In 1830 Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act which allowed the government to move the Indians out of cotton rich land, and into Indian  reservations out west. This travel took a toll on many of the tribes, and the journey the Indians took came to be known as the â€Å"Trail of Tears†. In addition, there was the Supreme Court case of Cherokee Nation v. Georgia, where the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Cherokee Nation. This ruling of the Supreme Court did not stop Jackson and his followers from driving the Cherokees off of their land, which people viewed unconstitional from Jackson’s part. Furthermore, Jackson was also known for many â€Å"injustices† while holding office, and criticized for expanding the power of the presidency. He was also known for rewarding his political supporters with government jobs. When it was brought up to his attention, he responded by claiming he was replacing aristocrats with the common man. Jackson stated To the victor go the spoils, and thus created the spoils system in government. Lastly, Jackson was portrayed as a sort of tyrant by his enemies, they even named him â€Å"King Andrew the First,† this was due to Jackson having the most vetoes out of all the presidents that came before him. With so many vetoes on Jackson’s part sometimes it seemed difficult to get anything done. His denial of a bill to re-charter a Second Bank of the United States was a significant event in Jackson’s term. To conclude, While Andrew Jackson did have a few positive outcomes for our country while he was president, it doesn’t ensure that he was completely democratic. In fact, his actions were quite opposite of democratic views. He did not respect Native Americans or African Americans. He used His military background to assist in the removal of Indians from their land, so that white Americans can raise cotton, while the Indians were moved westward so that they would not make obstacles for white colonists who wanted to expand. And he contributed in the creation of the spoils system. Andrew Jackson did strengthen the two-party system, he was not completely democratic. Work Cited â€Å"Jacksonian democracy and modern America† USHistory.org 06 Nov 2014 http://www.ushistory.org/us/23f.asp â€Å"Slavery at the Hermitage† Thehermitage.com 06 Nov 2014 http://www.thehermitage.com/mansion-grounds/farm/slavery â€Å"Trail of Tears† History.com 06 Nov 2014 http://www.history.com/topics/native-american-history/trail-of-tears â€Å"Jacksonian Democracy† History.com 06 Nov 2014 http://www.history.com/topics/jacksonian-democracy

Sigmund Freud Essay Example for Free

Sigmund Freud Essay Sigmund’s Freud contribution to human psychology comes in his proposal of the existence of the unconcisuos. According to him, this is the part of the human nature that human do not know about themselves. This was in direct contrary to the concept of positivism. While positivism promotes real knowledge and control upon human character, emotions, actions and reactions, Freud’s unconscious tells otherwise. The concept have also helped in margenalizing the concept of freewill, stating that there are several factors that humans are not in control. In the human psyche this refers to the unconcious. Nonetheless, since it is William James who was first to tackle the concepts of the unconcious and the subconcious, it would be a mistake to give all the credit to Freud. The important contribution made by Freud in human psychological functioning would be his ways to study and uncover the reality and existence of the unconscious. It is through his methods that the concept of the unconscious becomes more convincing and closer to reality. The methods of studying and interpreting the unconcious paved way to the establishment of beliefs and proofs of its actual existence. Freud have also highlighted the concept of repression as something that could have a vast effect on the unconcious, for repress ideas reflects personal wants and desires as well as fears and sufferings. It is through dreams that Freud have been able to illuminate the basic reality of the unconscious. It was then followed by his detailed work on psychosexual development that explains an event in man’s life where he experience a desire for his opposite sex parent and jealousy on the parent of the same sex. This phenomenon was called Oedipus complex or Electra complex. Freud tried to present the development of human nature in accordance to his theory that was based on psychosexual gratification. According to his theory, man as he grows learns to control him self and delay gratification for psychosexual fantasies. The concept of repression enters as a process by which humans tries to forget their psychosexual wants due to increasing moral pressures and societal standards. Nonetheless, these wants are changed into other form of gratification later in life. Freud was also famous upon the idea of two main drives of the human consciousness which are the death drive and the life drive. Freud believes that as human suffer unpleasure or stimulus that affects the body, the human consciousness grows tired and weary. Upon the decrease in the stimuli there will be an increase in pleasure, this could be noted with the calmness that the consciousness received on times of rest, sleep and when surrounded by a clean and serene environment. With all this concepts in place, Freud concludes that death was a driving force for man and it is in fact the most pleasurable state in which a man could attain. References Brill, A.A. (1995). The Basic Writings of Sigmund Freud. Modern Library.

Union Bank Of India

Union Bank Of India INTRODUCTION: Union Bank Of India Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, inaugrated the Union Bank Of India on November 11, 1919. It covers all the sectors of the society, be it agriculture, industry, trade and commerce, services or infrastructure, the bank plays a major role in rendering services to the financial needs of every section. Apart from this, the bank also extended financial support to educational, housing and trade sector. In 1947, the bank had only 4 branches which include 3 in Mumbai and 1 in Saurashtra. The bank was nationalised in 1969 and at time of nationalisation the bank had total 240 branches all over India. In June 2000, Union Bank acquired Bank of America’s highly profitable operations in Pakistan and went on to become one of the largest private commercial banks. The acquisition added a new dimension to Union Bank’s business and enhanced its customer base, deposits, and loan portfolio quality. This acquisition also enhanced Union Bank’s corporate image in the domestic financial market. PRODUCTS AND SERVICES OFFERED BY UNION BANK: Deposits Account: Cumulative Deposit Scheme Deposit Reinvestment Certificate Union Flexi-Deposit Union Insured Recurring Deposit Union 94 Months Double Scheme Monthly Income Scheme Tax Exemption Deposits Union Float Deposits Union Unfixed Deposits For NRI FCNR (B) Foreign Currency Deposit RFC Customer Relationship Management CRM (customer relationship management) is an information industry term for methodologies, software, and usually Internet capabilities that help an enterprise manage customer relationships in an organized way. It happens by maintaining and updating the contacts of customer. This is for the: 1. Existing customers 2. Prospective customers For example, an enterprise might build a databaseabout its customers that described relationships in sufficient detail so that management, salespeople, people providing service, and perhaps the customer directly could access information, match customer needs with product plans and offerings, remind customers of service requirements, know what other products a customer had purchased, and so forth. It consists of the following: Helping an enterprise to enable its marketing departments to identify and target their best customers, manage marketing campaigns and generate quality leads for the sales team. Assessing the organization to improve telesales, account, and sales management by optimizing information shared by multiple employees, and streamlining existing processes (for example, taking orders using mobile devices) Allowing the formation of individualized relationships with customers, with the aim of improving customer satisfaction and maximizing profits; identifying the most profitable customers and providing them the highest level of service. Providing employees with the information and processes necessary to know their customers, understand and identify customer needs and effectively build relationships between the company, its customer base, and distribution partners. CRM Strategies Adopted By Union Bank of India Nowadays, many businesses such as banks, insurance companies, and other service providers realize the importance of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and its potential to help them acquire new customers retain existing ones and maximize their lifetime value. At this point, close relationship with customers will require a strong coordination between IT and marketing departments to provide a long-term retention of selected customers. Union Bank aims to increase customer profitability with any customer retention. It is a sound business strategy to identify the banks most profitable customers and prospects, and devotes time and attention to expanding account relationships with those customers through individualized marketing, pricing, discretionary decision making. According to Union Bank of India having and acting upon deeper knowledge about the customer, ensure that the customer such as how to fund the customer, get to know the customer, keep in tough with the customer, ensure that the customer gets what he wishes from service provider and understand when they are not satisfied and might leave the service provider and act accordingly. Union Bank of India has a database of its customers and informs them about the various schemes offered by the bank. The bank has a suggestion box in which customers of the bank can give their views and suggestions. The bank also has a helping desk where the customers can ask their queries. This is a very good strategy to retain the customer. The bank provides the information to its customers about any change in the interest rate of advances. They attend all the customers who are present in the bank, so that they do not feel neglected and not switch to any other bank. CRM Strategy of Public Sector Banks Public sector CRM strategy must be aligned to the organization’s purpose in order to realize a sustained achievement of CRM objectives and successful customer relationships. While CRM strategies differ among implementers, the most successful strategies have several criteria in common. Alignment between the organization’s mission and the CRM strategy; a good strategy is a direct reflection of the mission and supports the mission in direct, clear and easy to understand terms. Strategies must be customer focused; they speak to the positioning and evolvement of the customer relationship. CRM strategies require executive sponsorship and complete buy in; the rank and file take their queues from the executive team so the executives must visibly, vocally and actively sponsor the CRM strategy for it to be successful. Strategies are an iterative process; as the the organization evolves so to will the CRM strategy. They mainly focus on the following: To win back or save customers To attract new and potential customers To create loyalty among existing customers and To up sell or offer cross services. CONCLUSION CRM in banking industry entirely different from other sectors, because banking industry purely related to financial services, which needs to create the trust among the people. Establishing customer care support during on and off official hours, making timely information about interest payments, maturity of time deposit, issuing credit and debit cum ATM card, creating awareness regarding online and e-banking, adopting mobile request etc are required to keep regular relationship with customers. The present day CRM includes developing customer base. The bank has to pay adequate attention to increase customer base by all means, it is possible if the performance is at satisfactory level, the existing clients can recommend others to have banking connection with the bank he is operating. Hence asking reference from the existing customers can develop their client base. If the base increased, the profitability is also increase. Hence the bank has to implement lot of innovative CRM to capture and retain the customers.There is a shift from bank centric activities to customer centric activities are opted. The private sector banks in India deployed much innovative strategies to attract new customers and to retain existing customers. CRM in banking sector is still in evolutionary stage, it is the time for taking ideas from customers to enrich its service. The use of CRM in banking has gained importance with the aggressive strategies for customer acquisition and retention being employed by the bank in todays competitive milieu. This has resulted in the adoption of various CRM initiatives by these banks. Private Sector Banks have been able to implement the CRM practices more effectively as compared to the Public Sector on the basis of of the service quality level being provided by these banks.

Power Struggles in Capitalist Democracies and the Fate of American Labo

Power Struggles in Capitalist Democracies and the Fate of American Labor Unions To some, "capitalistic democracy" conjures up the picture of a utopia where the free market is accompanied by individual liberty and social justice. To others, however, the term is more like a paradox—despite tremendous economic power, the advanced industrial nations are not immune from the evils of socio-political inequality as well as economical disparity. Amongst the capitalist democracies of the world, it is an established and well-known fact that when compared with the advanced industrial countries in Europe, the United States has the worst condition of economical-political inequality and social injustice. Its government is the least progressive, and its social inequalities the most deplorable. To explain the condition in the U.S. today, both the universality of capitalistic democracies and the peculiarities the American system employs—as well as this system's political and historical development—must be examined and explored. As Joshua Cohen and Joel Rogers articulated in On Democracy, a capitalist democracy is one that "if [it] is not just capitalism, still less is it just democracy" (Cohen 50). Indeed, despite the apparent political equality in a system that nowadays guarantees universal suffrage, the dominate socio-political structure in the United States and most western European countries does not allow—neither by intention nor in practice—free and equal competition between the capital and labor. Cohen and Rogers theorize that at the heart of this disparity lies what they call "the demand constraint" and "the resource constraint". In summation, the demand constraint states that because of the fact that the entire capitalistic econom... ...rlett, Donald L and James B. Steele. "Fantasy Islands". Time. November 16, 1998. Ideas & Institutions in American Society Course Reader, New York University. Spring 2001. Clawson, Dan and Alan Neustadtl, Denise Scott. Money Talks: Corporate PACs and Political Influence. 1992. Cohen, Joshua and Joel Rogers. "Structure". On Democracy. New York: Penguin, 1983. "Government." Encyclopedia Britannica. Web ed. http://www.britannica.com Indiana Historical Society. "Eugene V. Debs". 22 April 2001. http://www.indianahistory.org/heritage/evdebs.html Judis, John. The Paradox of American Democracy. New York: Pantheon, 2000. Lane, Charles. "Kohl Train". The New Republican Online. 18 February 2001. 20 April 2001. http://www.thenewrepublic.com/021400/lane021400.html Piven, Frances Fox and Richard A. Cloward. Why Americans Don't Vote. New York: Pantheon, 1989.

Feminist Issues in The Handmaids Tale Essay -- Feminism Feminist Wome

Feminist Issues in The Handmaid's Tale      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Handmaids Tale, by Margaret Atwood, can be classified as a distopic novel. The Republic of Gilead in The Handmaids Tale is characteristic of a distopia in that it is not intended as a prediction of the future of our society, but rather as a commentary on current social trends. Atwood has created this nation by isolating what she might consider the disturbing aspects of two diametrically opposed factions of our society (namely the religious right and radical feminism) as a theory as to what would happen if these ideals were taken to an extreme. Because she points out similarities in the thoughts and actions of the extreme religious right and certain parts of the feminist movement, some critics have labeled The Handmaid's Tale as anti-feminist. I would like to discuss the specific parts of the novel that lead to this opinion, and then discuss whether I believe this novel was intended as or can be seen as an attack on feminism.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The issue of pornography is one of the most significant in the Republic of Gilead. Pornography has become illegal and is used as a generalized illustration of the many perceived societal problems before the theocracy gained power. While receiving training at the hands of the Aunts the handmaids are repeatedly shown violent pornographic videos to demonstrate how much better off women are in this time as opposed to previously. Offred's experience of watching these videos is intertwined with her memories of her mother and her participation in anti-pornography riots and magazine burnings.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   By placing these instances side by side Atwood shows that pornography is a point at which two extremes of society (here feminist and religio... ...feminism. By taking this view we can see that Offred could be considered a feminist and that people involved in women's right's movements over changing times may come to represent completely different values than they did originally (which explains the occasional overlap of feminist and religious movements, assuming that religious ideals are static). Freedom from subjugation is at the heart of all feminist movements, regardless of what form they take.    References Leavitt, JW, Brought to Bed: Childbearing in America, 1750-1950. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1986. Moore, Pamela, Atwood, Margaret: The Handmaid's Tale. Boston, MS: Houghton Mifflin, 1986. Wertz RW, Wertz DC, Lying-In: A History of Childbirth in America. New York, NY: Free Press, 1977. www.wsu.edu:8000/~brains/science_fiction/handmaid.html www.med.upenn.edu   

My Personal Theory of Counseling Essay

The important ingredients in counseling are: understanding of theory, process and skill. There are many theories of personality. Moreover, we will notice that within each theory, there are other theorists who slightly differ in their views from those of the exponent of the theory. More often, counseling is based on how the proponent of the theory views personality. Burrhus Skinner’s behavioral approach did not go deep enough while; Sigmund Freud’s theory on personality went too deep. Gordon Allport’s theory of individuality and functional autonomy also lack the foundation I need. My personal theory is more on the source of traits in describing personality, are deeper and more significant. It is however different from the factorial theory of Raymund Cattell. I admire Carl Rogers’ self-actualization; however I believe a person is capable of it only if his brain is structured for self-actualization. Analysis/Discussion I was contemplating to structure my personal theory on counseling on the various theories that we have learned so far; however, I find it illogical to base my theory on another theory of unproven facts. I want a concrete foundation of my theory. Do you suppose inconclusive studies of Frued, Skinner, etc. provide solutions to problems? Definitely not! I have read some articles about Sigmund Feud and I doubted whether he had treated his clients with success. It is my belief that psychotherapy can only help to remove the symptoms and prevent early recurring of these symptoms, however when triggered in the future, the symptoms again manifest. .Professionally, I opted to base my personal theory of counselling on pragmatisms, that is, â€Å"genetics. The conclusion of the study just completed by Dr. David Reiss on adolescent development was a surprise even to the doctor himself. Genetic qualities of a person make him unique and different from other people. It is the brain’s genetic components that determine the personality of a person and since no two persons have exactly the same genes, no two people have exactly the same brain structure. Even identical twins have different personality (â€Å"How does the brain works? †). Identical twins have different fingerprints when they come forth from a single fertilized egg. Personality does not begin during infanthood as theorized by Frued but at conception, that is, fertilization of an ovum by a spermatozoon, to be exact. Genetics influences proved that relatively, parents have little influence on child development, that genetic is responsible on how children do well in school, how these adjusted individuals turn out, whether they develop delinquent behaviors in their interactions with other people. â€Å"It’s a radical revision of contemporary theories of child development,† says Reiss. â€Å"I can’t even describe what a paradigm shift it is (Paul, A. M. 005). â€Å" This is the reaction of a George Washington University psychiatrist, Dr. David Reiss as described in a recent article in Psychology Today Magazine, after receiving the results of his more than 12 years of study on genetic and personality development (2005). Researches say that the genetic composition of a person brings forth peculiar responses from others, which suc cessively shape his personality. It cannot be denied that a baby or a child with a bright and pleasing disposition attracts other people’s attention and affection, thus creating self-image and importance. Studies proved, children in their interaction with the environment would pick experiences and opportunities that befit their genotype or genetic qualities. They make decisions in his choices in life, like choosing his friends, jobs, etc which determine their personality as they grow older. The children are in control of their own development through the choices they made. The genes lay the foundation of personality; the environment provides the color and refraction, the accent and significance. That is the correlation of â€Å"nature and nurture (2005). † Moreover, where there is conflict between nature and nurture, problems arise. This happens when society does not permit or support the child’s expression of his natural propensities or where the environment is unable to provide enough opportunities to develop his inner potentials as when he was born to a poor family or where the child’s genetically- determined inclination collides with that of the parents. Such conflicts may result in anti-social behavior, diminished motivation and poor mental attitude. The philosophy of genetics is consistent with my view about personality and humanity. The world is a great plan, a program where everything has a purpose, an essence. The seas are what they are, to contain other living things to live. Animals survive by instincts and conditioning, no need to be counseled. A building did not exist without a reason. It was planned and erected for a definite purpose. Man came to existence by essence of choice. We are not totally free to get want we want, to act what we want to do. There is always a choice. We are only free to choose. If we want to fly, we cannot, because we are not programmed to fly. However, we are free to do something about it. However, what we willed is subject to the will of nature and chance. Chances are, our wishes and desires will not be realized. We choose our attitudes towards the things around us and give meaning to our life. We try to understand things in life but our understanding is limited. Being raised in a Christian environment, I find it in accord with my spiritual beliefs as a person, in the sense that before we came to this world, we already existed in the spirit with God. Allow me to quote a Bible verse, in Jeremiah 1:4-5: â€Å"Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, before I formed thee in the belly I knew the; and before thou camest forth of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations (cited in Richards, L. l979). † This may sound unscientific; however there is truth to it. It is true that even inside the womb; the baby has already his own unique personality. Darwin’s theory of evolution until now remains a theory and every theory on personality continues a concept. Structure of Therapy and Choosing Goals In choosing goals, initial assessment is very important because this is where the problems lie and where the outcome of the treatment ultimately depends. The therapist must go deeper into the root cause of the problem. Freud’s structure of personality centers on the id, ego and superego which are interrelated and based his psychoanalytic treatment on this structure. Sigmund Freud missed the foundation of the id, the genes. My structure of counseling will be based on the philosophy of genes, that no people are alike. It shall be dependent on the nature of the client’s personality. What a dilemma! I have to search for the genes that determine personality to go deeper, realization of which is next to impossibility. However, if science is unable to provide the truth about reality, philosophy can do that and spiritual beliefs do the same with the special job of construing the significance of otherworldliness within this structure. Before starting the therapy, I should consider determining the nature of the client. Knowing the client is a very important aspect of counseling. Of course I have to inquire about my client’s childhood, if feasible talk with the mother or the baby-sitter, the father and siblings. Gather all the information about the client from birth to adolescent, his fears, traits, attitudes, beliefs, desires, likes and dislikes. From there, the nurturing of the client must be dealt with also. Collect information about her/his peers, playmates, school, teachers and the environment. More or less, there is now a clearer picture of nature and nurture. After the history-taking session, the source of conflict will now be easy to determine by applying the â€Å"right brain† technique to the client. The â€Å"right brain† refers to the brain systems that fix or adjust the power to interpret, direct and get ahead in the world and also ascertain the quality and security of relationships with others. Right brain counseling centers on emotion and creativity. To bring this emotion and sensations into play, the â€Å"left brain† is used. The therapist must make use of both sides of the brain to optimize counseling. This is an approach to healing with a goal to balance the emotional, physical, moral, social and spiritual nature of a person called holistic and integrative approach. This is addressing a person as a whole in all aspects (Lacombe, S. McGraw, T. 2007). Both the therapist and the client must be comfortable with each other to arrive at a desired goal. The client must be made aware of the facts of life; that not everything we desire is attainable; that our understanding of the world is limited and that there is free will of choice; that we should not regret if we fail in our choice; that everything will pass naturally if there is acceptance. That there is always a chance to do better and the future is still fruitful and bright. That desires can be shifted to other endeavor. Learning produces alterations in gene expression. Genes contribute to behavior; in turn behavior feedbacks action on the brain and modify expression of the genes. â€Å"Thus all of nurture is ultimately expressed as nature (Kandel, E. l998)† However, I still believe that under extreme circumstances, nature predominates. Summary/Conclusion A psychotherapist must formulate his own unique standpoint based on profound precepts of knowledge. In doing so, it is necessary to be cautious about formulating a personal theory. Counselors must come to understand the nature of people and deeply look into their values, attitudes and beliefs about existence and good life. In going about choosing goals, a therapist must key out a substantially mature and functioning individual as a model. My personal theory of counseling is based on pragmatism that genetics provides the foundation of one’s personality, nurtured by his experiences and choices thereby reflecting and defining his personality development. Problems and symptoms arise as the genetic traits or characteristics of a person are in conflicts with his environment, where nature and nurture do not coincide. In learning, expressions of genes are modified thus nurture ultimately is expressed as nature.

Gilgamesh Essay Paper

English 3, 4 7 October 2012 The Quest for Immortality In the â€Å"Epic of Gilgamesh† translated by N. K. Sanders, Gilgamesh completes a series of many challenges and obstacles, fulfilling the conditions of an archetypal quest story. In order to fulfill an archetypal quest story, the hero or protagonist must complete a series of hurdles, on their way toward achieving their goal. In the â€Å"Epic of Gilgamesh†, Gilgamesh hunts for his main obsession, immortality, while he battles off monsters, with the help of some friends.Sensing Gilgamesh embraces too much power, the gods create a friend for Gilgamesh named Enkidu in the hopes of lessening Gilgamesh’s power. Enkidu and Gilgamesh turn out to be best friends after Enkidu loses a wrestling match to Gilgamesh. Enkidu decides to join Gilgamesh on his journey to seek immortality. Along the way the way they encounter enemies such as Humbaba, the guardian of the forest, and the Bull of Heaven. With the help of Enkidu, Gilgamesh travels a relentless journey and faces a road of trials, which carries out an archetypal quest story.Gilgamesh and Enkidu come across the guardian of the forest named Humbaba. Believing that Humbaba is undefeatable, Gilgamesh thinks that whoever slays Humbaba will receive immortality. Gilgamesh and Enkidu attack Humbaba with a â€Å"thrust of the sword to the neck and Enkidu his comrade struck the second blow† (22). With one more strike to the belly, Humbaba falls. Hoping to achieve everlasting life, they realize that defeating Humbaba does not give them eternal life. Instead, it gives them eternal fame.Still unsatisfied, with not having found everlasting life, Gilgamesh tells his companion that â€Å"the boat of the dead shall not go down† (20) and is determined that he will never die. The next challenge Gilgamesh faces is the Bull of Heaven, sent by Ishtar’s dad, Anu. Ishtar is the goddess of love who makes advances on Gilgamesh, wanting to marry him . Gilgamesh is wise and realizes Ishtar is the woman as a temptress and knows she treats her husbands poorly. Ishtar is a distraction and will pull him away from his goal.When Gilgamesh rejects her advances, Anu directs the Bull of Heaven to attack Gilgamesh’s homeland, Uruk. Gilgamesh and Enkidu easily kill the Bull of Heaven which enrages the gods when they hear that the bull is dead. The gods make Enkidu become terribly ill, which kills him seven days later in a very painful death. Seeing his friend die, Gilgamesh obtains apotheosis and continues on his expedition of seeking immortality. Gilgamesh encounters Utnapishtim, a man who survives the great flood and receives immortality.Utnapishtim gives Gilgamesh eclectic tasks to achieve eternal life. The first task is to stay awake for seven days, which Gilgamesh is unable to accomplish. Feeling sorry, Utnapishtim tells Gilgamesh a secret that if he finds the â€Å"plant that grows under the water†¦ [it] restores his los t youth† (31). Gilgamesh lights up and ties rocks to his feet to sink down to search for the marvelous plant. Gilgamesh finds the ultimate boon. He is overjoyed and eager to bring the plant back to his homeland to restore the youth of all the men there.The refusal of the return occurs when, he was returning home and becomes careless and bathes in a nearby well of cool water, leaving the plant unattended. A snake suddenly appears and eats the plant, restoring the snake’s youth. Gilgamesh begins to weep upon seeing that he failed in his quest for immortality. Gilgamesh returns back to his homeland, Uruk, and engraves his story on a stone for everyone to see and remember. In conclusion, the â€Å"Epic of Gilgamesh† executes the qualities of an archetypal quest story by Gilgamesh going on a trip to find immortality while performing the road of trials.The hero generally wishes to achieve a goal or object and return home with it, in this case, eternal life. The protago nist also might lose a few things he loves; an example is how Gilgamesh lost his best friend, Enkidu. Gilgamesh also had to fight off enemies such as Humbaba and the Bull of Heaven, while searching for his obsession. From the departure, the initiation, and to the return of his journey, made the â€Å"Epic of Gilgamesh† an archetypal quest story.

The Human Heart

The human heart is slightly bigger than the size of ones fist. It is situated at a very safe place which is between the cage bones, i.e., in the center of the chest. Usually it is slightly on the left side of the chest but in rare cases, it can be found on the right side. Heart is responsible for the blood flow to every single part of the body by constant contraction and relaxation of cardiac muscles. This is the reason why we hear rhythmic beats all the time. Heart pumps the pure blood to the different parts of the body and then takes the deoxygenated blood from all the parts to the lungs for oxygenation. Normally in a minute the heart beats 72 times. Well, let's check out heart diagram for kids as well as for adults which can help you to understand the functioning of heart better. Parts of the Heart As you can see in the heart diagram, there are many parts in the heart. So, as we discuss the various parts, you keep checking out the parts simultaneously one by one in the given labeled diagram of the human heart. This will help you to understand the part and their functions more easily. Pericardium Human heart is covered by a double layered structure which is called as pericardium. The outer layer is associated with the major blood vessels whereas the inner layer is attached to the cardiac muscles. These layers are separated by a pericardial fluid. This covering is like a membrane which holds all the parts of the heart. Chambers Heart is divided into four chambers which are called as left atrium, left ventricle, right atrium and right ventricle. Atrium are the upper chambers of the heart whereas ventricles are the lower chambers of the heart. All these chambers are separated by a tissue layer, called as septum. Left side of the chamber is associated with the circulation of the oxygenated blood and the right side receives the deoxygenated blood from various parts of the body. Valves There are four valves in the heart namely bicuspid valve, tricuspid valve, pulmonary valve and aortic valve. They help in preventing the back flow of the blood from one chamber to other. This maintains a proper one directional blood flow through out the process. Bicuspid valve is present between the left atrium and left ventricle whereas tricuspid valve is present between the right atrium and right ventricle. Pulmonary valve behaves as a gate which stops the back flow of blood from right ventricle to the pulmonary artery which takes the deoxygenated blood to the lungs for purification. Lastly the aortic valve, this valve plays an important role in stopping the back flow of the blood from left ventricle to the aorta. Once the blood is transferred to the aorta it supplies the oxygenated blood to different parts of the body. Blood Vessels Blood vessels are the blood carriers in a human body. These play a very vital role in the supply of blood to various parts of the body. Blood vessels can be of two types, veins and arteries. All the veins (except pulmonary vein) are involved in carrying the deoxygenated blood from various parts of the body to the heart whereas all the arteries (except pulmonary artery) are involved in supplying oxygenated blood from the heart to different parts of the body. Functioning of the Heart After getting familiar with the part let's check out the functions of the heart. Well, as we all know we need oxygen to survive, but have you ever thought how this oxygen is supplied to different parts of the body? This work is done with the help of heart. Heart plays a very important role in the supply of oxygenated blood in different parts of the body. Deoxygenated blood is collected from various parts of the body and is transferred to heart. The blood enters the heart through the pulmonary valve and enters the right atrium, then it goes to the right ventricle through the tricuspid valve. From here the blood then goes to the lungs for oxygenation. Oxygenated blood is then brought back to the heart with the help of pulmonary veins and enters the left atrium. The blood then goes to the left ventricle through the bicuspid valve and then transferred to the aorta through the aortic valve for further blood circulation to different parts of the body.

Challenges in the Business Environment Essay

There has been no change to Apple Code of Conduct policy since 2014 when Apple started taking previous audit scores into consideration and conduct detailed risk assessments with suppliers who had not been audited in the past before awarding the new business. In 2014, we reviewed 459 suppliers, and factored their responsibility performance into our decisions. This engagement has allowed Apple to address over 700 findings related to labor standards, worker safety, permits, environmental hazards, and chemical management before production began (Apple – 2014 Supplier Code of Conduct). Apple has made significant progress, gaps still exist, and there is more work to do. Apple knows that workers are counting on them and they will not stop until every person in their supply chain is treated with the respect and dignity they deserve (Apple – Supplier Responsibility 2015 Progress Report). Apple believes that it is not enough to just set high standards they must work every day to make sure they’re upheld. Apple Supplier Code of Conduct is among the toughest in the industry. To track working conditions at suppliers’ facilities, we conduct regular, in-person audits deep into the supply chain. Audits remain essential to Apple work, but they’re only the beginning. Apple reports monthly on working hours for over one million workers with hopes that their openness will inspire other companies. But more important, Apple believe the feedback that transparency invites makes us even better (Apple – Supplier Responsibility 2015 Progress Report). Apple’s suppliers are required to provide safe working conditions, treat workers with dignity and respect, act fairly and ethically, and use environmentally responsible practices wherever they make products or perform services for Apple. Apple requires its suppliers to operate in accordance with the principles in this Apple Supplier Code of  Conduct (â€Å"Code†) and in full compliance with all applicable laws and regulations. This Code goes beyond mere compliance with the law by drawing upon internationally recognized standards to advance social and environmental responsibility. This Code outlines Apple’s expectations for Supplier conduct regarding labor and human rights, health and safety, environmental protection, ethics, and management practices. Apple assesses its suppliers’ compliance with this Code, and any violations of this Code may jeopardize the supplier’s business relationship with Apple, up to and including termination. This Code applies to Apple suppliers and their subsidiaries, affiliates, and subcontractors (each a â€Å"Supplier†) providing goods or services to Apple, or for use in or with Apple products (Apple – 2014 Supplier Code of Conduct). To show that Apple believes that it is not enough to just set high standards and that they must work every day to make sure they’re upheld. In 2014, over 2.3 million workers were trained on Apple’s Co de and their rights. Apple invested millions of dollars to expand our Supplier Employee Education and Development (SEED) program since it began. SEED now totals 48 classrooms in 23 facilities equipped with iMac computers, iPad devices, education software, video conferencing systems, and more. To make sure the standards were upheld Apple performed 633 audits covering over 1.6 million workers in 2014. Apple also audited suppliers in 19 countries and calls were made to 30,000 workers to make sure their rights were being upheld (Apple – 2014 Supplier Code of Conduct). Apple Suppliers Understanding of Their Standards, Responsibilities, and Company Relationship Apple is proud of the strong relationships they have built with their suppliers, many of whom have been working with them for years. Apple periodically reviews their relationships and adds new suppliers as needed. Apple requires each of its suppliers to meet the highest standards for all goods and services. Our requirements include a commitment to rigorous quality assurance. In addition, suppliers must be committed, as we are, to ensuring the highest standards of soci al responsibility. The ideal suppliers are those who understand our culture and expectations. We value suppliers who take the time to learn about and understand our business and who look for ways to add value. These suppliers know the importance of making and meeting commitments and delivering the highest quality goods and services (Apple – Apple and Procurement). Apple business environment is  competitive and fast-paced. Apple suppliers must understand this dynamic and be agile and flexible in responding to changing business conditions. All over the world, people are building Apple products and Apple has a responsibility to make sure that each person is treated with dignity and respect. It’s a massive challenge where Apple work is never done, but each year they implement meaningful, lasting changes across their supply chain. Because of this around the globe, Apple employees are united in bringing equality, human rights, and respect for the environment to the deepest layers of their supply chain. Apple goes deep into their supply chain to enforce their social and environmental standards by empowering workers through education, demanding that suppliers treat workers fairly and ethically at all times, having safe and healthy facilities, and hold their products and processes to the highest environmental standards (Apple – Supplier Responsibility 2015 Progress Report). Apple believes that in order to make impactful changes across their supply chain, it’s important to understand firsthand what’s happening inside their suppliers’ facilities. That’s why they don’t simply employ and review audits from behind a desk in Cupertino. Instead, they directly gauge how their supplier facilities are doing by regularly visiting and partnering with their suppliers around the world, so when they discover a problem, they can work together to get it fixed (Apple – Accountability). To make sure the standards are understood and upheld Apple performed 633 audits covering over 1.6 million workers. Apple also audited suppliers in 19 countries and calls 30,000 workers to make sure their rights are being upheld. Every audit is led by an Apple auditor and supported by local third-party auditors. These third parties are experts in their fields and all have been trained to use our detailed auditing protocols. During each audit, Apple grade suppliers on more than 100 data points corresponding to each category of our Supplier Code of Conduct (Apple – Accountability). Apple auditors are highly skilled at identifying when suppliers are covering up information. Apple audits are proven to improve supplier compliance. Each year we review and raise our already strict requirements, and suppliers continue to meet our increasingly stringent standards. In 2014, facilities audited two times scored 25 percent higher than those facilities with first-time audits. Facilities audited three times or more scored 31 percent higher than facilities audited  for the first time (Apple – Accountability). In addition to these regular, prescheduled audits, Apple randomly select facilities to audit unannoun ced. These surprise audits help ensure that our suppliers continue to meet our standards at all times not just during scheduled visits. Apple conducted 40 surprise audits in 2014, where their team visited suppliers on the spot and inspected the facility within hours. After the audit Apple conducts physical inspections, reviews documents, and interviews workers in their native languages, without their managers present. Afterward, workers are given a phone number, so they have the opportunity to securely and confidentially provide additional feedback about a facility to our team, including anything they consider to be unethical behavior. Apple encourages workers to report any retaliation to us, and we follow up with all suppliers to address each reported issue (Apple – Accountability). Inclusion these audits, code of conduct, and standards give Apple suppliers the understanding of what it means to be part of the company. Reference Apple – Accountability. (2015, January 1). Retrieved March 7, 2015, from http://www.apple.com/supplier-responsibility/accountability/ Apple – Apple and Procurement. (2015, January 1). Retrieved March 7, 2015, from http://www.apple.com/procurement/ Apple – 2014 Supplier Code of Conduct. (2014, January). Retrieved March 3, 2015 from https://www.apple.com/ca/supplierresponsibility/pdf/Apple_Supplier_Code_of_Conduct.pdf Apple – Supplier Responsibility Progress Report. (2015, January). Retrieved March 3, 2015 from https://www.apple.com/supplierresponsibility/pdf/Apple_Progress_Report_2015.pdf

Relationship between Humans and Nature Essay

The relationship between humans and nature is an important topic in which many people contribute ideas to and have done studies on. It is important for people to see that nature is a necessity and that we are responsible for protecting it. In essays and an article, John Steinbeck, Lynn White, Peter Kahn, Rachel Severson, and Jolina Ruckert discuss their beliefs and information they have found to be true about humans and nature living together. In the article â€Å"Americans and the Land†, John Steinbeck talks about the American settlers’ impact on the land. He states that the relationship between humans and nature used to be one of settlers living with or against nature, but has over time come to humans living on or from the land. Steinbeck writes his feelings of humans being very irresponsible in their use of land back in a time when they thought there was an abundance of resources. He writes that people â€Å"burned the forests and changed the rainfall; they swept the buffalo from the plains, blasted the streams, set fire to the grass† (Steinbeck). During the time of the Indians, humans attacked and defended themselves without giving thought to the damage they were causing to their environment around them. To go along with how little Americans thought about the environment, Steinbeck addresses how people went land-mad. Because they had so much of it, â€Å"They cut and burned the forests to make roo m for crops; they abandoned hyknowledge of kindness to the land in order to maintain its usefulness† (Steinbeck). The idea of conservation didn’t much start until after engines and heavy mechanical equipment were in full use. And even since conservation and people finding awe and beauty in  the nation’s national parks, most people don’t think twice about using engines and machines to keep us warm or cool, give us light, or transport us quickly. In response to this essay, I do have to agree that in the past people did not know about the damage they were causing on the earth. However, I disagree with Steinbeck when he says that people do not think twice about using all available technology. I know that through conservation efforts, most everyone is very aware of the impact they have on the environment. Although people are not as in tune with nature as the Native Americans were, I think we could learn from them and appreciate and take more responsibility for nature. Lynn White, Jr.’s essay â€Å"The Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis† addresses the relationship between humans and nature by bringing up the issue of what Christianity tells people about their relationship with the environment. It is interesting that White brings up the component of religion in how people treat nature because it is a huge aspect that oftentimes doesn’t get talked about much. White states that Christians believe that God gave them dominance over nature and that it was given to serve man. Because of this dominance that we have, people feel indifferent about exploiting nature and using it to serve themselves. Although I know this is true and is found in Genesis, I believe God intended it differently. I believe that just as God has ultimate rule over the earth and exercises his authority with loving care, he expects humans to do the same with the environment. God was careful in how he made the earth, and He wants us not to be careless and wasteful in how we take care of it. Although, I do agree that this mindset is a problem and has been a problem, so the best way to combat this is to teach Christians to dig deeper in to God’s word to figure out what exactly He means when he says something like that. Peter Kahn, Jr., Rachel L. Severson, and Jolina H. Ruckert discuss the impact on humans of how technological nature is coming to replace actual nature in the essay. In the essay, they come to the conclusion that this replacement causes changes in the physical and psychological well-being of the human species. Kahn, Severson, and Ruckert state that nature is imperative to have in human lives. The authors did a study in which they found that simply  looking outside of a window reduces heart rate which in turn reduces stress. Near the end of the essay, the authors discuss the issue of Environmental Generational Amnesia. This is a condition that humans may face in which, because of â€Å"adapting gradually to the loss of actual nature and to the increase of technological nature, humans will lower the baseline across generations for what counts as a full measure of the human experience and of human flourishing†(Kahn, Severson, and Ruckert, 37). In a study, they figured out that technological nature is better than no nature at all. And they also know that humans have an evolutionary need to affiliate with nature, so we either have to adapt to technological nature, or go extinct. The authors know that talking to people about these environmental issues is becoming harder as most people aren’t aware of or simply don’t believe that they are a problem. I think that this was a very important study to do and shows people the importance and necessity of going out into nature. The relationship between humans and nature is important to everyone because we really can’t escape the fact that we are living together. Knowing the history of why nature is so important to humans can help create a sense of responsibility for its well-being which in turn should unite people to try to make a difference in how we are treating it and using current technology. Because of Kahn, Severson, and Ruckert we now know that nature is something that humans innately need and that increases our health. Reading the ideas and conclusions of these authors about this topic has made me wonder about what my own stance on nature is, how my faith effects that, and if I am substituting technological nature for real nature. Works Cited Kahn, Peter. Severson, Rachel. Ruckert, Jolina. _The Human Relation with Nature and_ _Technological Nature._ (2009). http://depts.washington.edu/hints/publications/Human_Relation_ Technological_Nature.pdf Steinbeck, John. _Americans and the Land._ https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnxlbmdsaXNoMTEwMzI4bGN8Z3g6NGIwMDEzNDA4NDhhYzEw White, Lynn. _The Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis._ (1974). http://www.uvm.edu/~gflomenh/ENV-NGO-PA395/articles/Lynn-White.pdf