Relationship between Terrorism and Religion Essay

Relationship between Terrorism and Religion - Essay Example Principally, this ideologically has driven our world since the twentieth century, and it is now making way to the twenty-first century. Also, now it appears to have settled in people in a more ‘religious accommodating’ manner. The final years of the twentieth century, in fact, already underwent an exceptional resurgence of historical religions in numerous parts of the globe, comprising the former USSR, Eastern/Central Europe, as well as China. It is not restricted to only the rebirth of historical religions or faiths, but also extended to the surfacing of neo-religious groups such as the New Age spirituality, as well as the surge of faithfully based experiences and practices ranging from medicine to meditation. These movements have made their way into societies and communities all through the globe where definite levels of freedom for spiritual and religious groups are present. Religious values and views play a significant role in the lives of individuals as they cope wi th issues affecting their communities. Religions educate people concerning ultimate views on believers’ lives. They also offer a core vision for people’s lives, which habitually shades its followers’ socio-political hopes, behaviors and engagements. Therefore, the significance of religion to terrorism cannot be overlooked. This paper will focus on the relationship between terrorism and religion based on what these three authors say in their writings: Brigitte Nacos, Martha Crenshaw and Richard Connerney. These articles are â€Å"The Making of Terrorists: Causes, Conditions, Influences;† â€Å"The Logic of Terrorism;† and â€Å"Islam† respectively.... The author also touches on the new-fangled and past/historical trends of terrorism. Extensively discussing the subject â€Å"What is terrorism?,† the author, a celebrated expert in this field, visibly discusses and explains terrorism’s numerous causes, strategies and actors, as well as counter- and anti-terrorist responses. This article, in addition, outstandingly examines terrorism’s relationship with religion, the public and the media. Highly readable and also comprehensive, â€Å"The Making of Terrorists: Causes, Conditions, Influences† introduces the readers to significant concepts and theories in the study of terrorism with its relation to religion and political turmoil. It also helps them challenge presumptions of this vital, as well as complex issue. Any macro level matter, according to Nacos (61), cannot be tackled without being receptive to realities of religion experienced by humans. Whether the hope of humanity will be formed by the ‘clash of ignorance,’ the ‘clash of societies,’ the clash of religions/faiths and traditions, or conflicts between the ‘West and the rest’ is difficult to predict. It might be an amalgamation of a number of the above because they are all intricately related (Nacos 61). Also, it might be caused by the surfacing of previously unclear issues or problems of polarization. Nacos gives the instance of the 9/11 attacks where Muslim terrorists from the Middle East decided to attack the famous American Twin Towers. In the past, there has always been a religious conflict between the people of the Middle East and the Americans. This was the main reason that according to Nacos (62) led to the bombing of the American Twin Towers. Therefore, Nacos concluded in her article that a

Plans After Graduating Essay Example for Free

Plans After Graduating Essay My primary purpose of applying for the distance learning program is to further my studies by undertaking a Master’s degree course which is in line with my Bachelor’s degree. As a graduate of sociology I am aware that my expertise is in line with studying society in general and also studying specific aspects of our society. However since this is only a Bachelor’s degree it is imperative for me to pursue further studies and I feel that a more focused degree like MPM can benefit me the more as it has more theories in a specific strata of society. My secondary goal is to assure me of a long-term career in education as I am currently a college instructor in STI College Santa Rosa. It is a prequisite for any budding educator to always pile up on one’s credentials to attain not just the knowledge but also an assurance of better opportunities both in the academic world but also in government agencies as well. Upon completion of said degree I see myself continuing in the academe and also go into research on government policies and possible ways of improving the country’s state in terms of governance. My background in sociological studies is a tool that can help me be effective in research and MPM will enhance my skills and my knowledge in terms of public management. I also plan to take up my PHD inside the next 5 years depending on how long it would take to finish up my master’s degree. I am also looking forward for a possible opportunity to work for my alma mater if not Open University perhaps UPLB either a researcher or a professor. It is also my goal that through the program that I am applying for I could impact the lives of my students by sharing with them what I have learned both from the program and also from whatever research materials are already available. If I would be able to do this, the impact will be tremendous both intellectually and also in the lives of my students. From their ranks are future leaders of this country or perhaps citizens that would help improve the lives of their countrymen their different contributions.

Hitler’s Alliance With The Soviet Union :: European History Essays

Hitler’s Alliance With The Soviet Union When the world awoke August 24, 1939 it appeared that the absolute impossible had just occurred in Europe, National Socialist Germany and Soviet Russia had just agreed on a Non Aggression pact. By that morning the entire political world had changed, it had been thrown roughly on its head and people quickly asked how it could have happened? Over a period of three years the German chancellor, Adolph Hitler had repeatedly pushed the major powers to the limit with his territorial demands in the Rhineland, Austria, Czechoslovakia, and now in the Polish corridor. Hitler had succeeded in each gamble and grown bolder each time as he noticed the vacillating nature of the supposed major powers that stood in the way of his completing his long held foreign policy program. This program, first coherently laid down in his 1924 book Mein Kampf, called for the re-armament of Germany and the acquisition of allies like Italy and Britain, the neutralization or destruction of his hated enemy France, and finally with Germany’s rear protected the way would be clear for the great fight against Judeo-Bolshevism in the Soviet Union, and the gaining of Lebensraum for the superior Aryan German race. Since coming to power in 1933, Hitler had completed the first phase of his program save for the making of a British alliance or at least their promise of neutrality in any upcoming European war of revision. Realizing that the British would need some coercing to accept his program, and that if war was to come with the west his eastern border must be secured, Hitler relied on his great ability to play the game of power politics and shocked the world by allying with his sworn enemy. Hitler sought the Non-Aggression pact and covert military alliance with the Soviet Union because it was a temporary means to an all encompassing end. Hitler would use the hated Soviets to secure his eastern flank while he destroyed France with or without the help of Britain, only to return the favor by attacking them when Germany was ready. It was a move consistent with the power politics and foreign policy program he had been pursuing since 1933, his attempts to force Britain into a military alliance or at least a proclamation of neutrality in any continental war, and the subjugation of France as a prerequisite to obtaining Lebensraum in the East. The Non-Aggression pact of August 1939, was the pre war culmination of policies designed by Hitler to further his foreign policy program of making

Conflict resolution

Successful negotiations pave the way for smooth relationships in the future. To find peaceful solutions to difficult situations. Full-blown battles use up resources time, energy, good reputation, motivation. By negotiating, you avoid wasting these resources, and you may actually make new allies and find new resources! When should you resolve conflict? Conflict resolution is appropriate for almost any disagreement. Our daily lives offer plenty of opportunities for negotiation – between parents and children, co-workers, friends, etc. And as a result, you probably already have a variety of effective strategies for resolving minor conflicts. But for more serious conflicts, and conflicts between groups rather than individuals, you may need some additional skills. How, for example, should you structure a meeting teens your group and your opponent? When should you settle, and when should you fight for more? How should you react if your opponent attacks you personally? Read on for mor e information on specific conflict resolution techniques. How should you resolve conflict?There are seven steps to successfully negotiating the resolution of a conflict: 1. Understand the conflict 2. Communicate with the opposition 3. Brainstorm possible resolutions 4. Choose the best resolution Use a third party mediator 5. 6. Explore alternatives 7. Cope with stressful situations and pressure tactics Understand the conflict Conflicts arise for a variety of different reasons. It is important for you to define clearly your own position and interests in the conflict, and to understand those of your opponent. Here are some questions to ask yourself so that you can better define the conflict.Inertest What are my interests? What do I really care about in this conflict? What do I want? What do I need? What are my concerns, hopes, fears? Possible Outcomes What kinds of agreements might we reach? Legitimacy What third party, outside of the conflict, might convince one or both of us that a proposed agreement is a fair one? What objective standard might convince s that an agreement is fair? For example: a law, an expert opinion, the market value of the transaction. Is there a precedent that would convince us that an agreement is fair? Their Interests What are the interests of my opposition?If were in their shoes, what would I really care about in this conflict? What do they want? What do they need? What are their concerns, hopes, fears? Interests play an important role in better understanding conflict. Often, groups waste time â€Å"bargaining over positions. † Instead of explaining what the interests of their position are, they argue about their â€Å"bottom line. † This is not useful way to negotiate, because it forces groups to stick to one narrow position. Once they are entrenched in a particular position, it will be embarrassing for them to abandon it.They may spend more effort on â€Å"saving face† than on actually finding a suitable resoluti on. It is usually more helpful to explore the group's interests, and then see what positions suit such interests. Example: Your parent group wants the high school to change its history textbook. You feel that the textbook doesn't represent the history of Africa adequately. You come to the School Committee and say, â€Å"The only textbook that works for us s The People of Jamaica, and that's final! † You have presented a position rather than your interests.By drawing a bottom line, you're stuck in one position. If you don ‘t convince the School Committee to choose this textbook, you'll lose. A more effective way to approach the School Committee would be to state your interests. You might say, â€Å"We're concerned about the under- representation of racial minorities in the current Jamaican history textbook, and would like to find an alternative. † By communicating your interests, rather than one position, you are leaving some room to negotiate while still Ewing fi rm and clear about your goals. Often, the same interest can have many positions.For example, the School Committee might vote to us plenty the history textbook with a packet of articles about minorities as well as other thing about minorities in Jamaica. These are different positions that address the same interest. Communicate with the opposition Now that you have thought through your own interests and those of the other party, you can begin to communicate directly with your opposition. Here are some tips for productive talks: Listen. Their opinions are important to you, because their Opinions are the source of your conflict. If something is important to them, you need to recognize this.Recognizing does not mean agreeing of course! Let everyone participate who wants to. People who participate will have a stake in a resolution. They will want to find a good compromise. Talk about your strong emotions. Let the other side let off steam. Don't, however, react to emotional outbursts! Try an apology instead of yelling back. Apologizing is not costly, and is often a rewarding technique. Be an active listener. Rephrase what you're hearing as a question: â€Å"Let me see if I'm following you. You're saying that†¦ Have got that right? † You can still be rim when you're listening. Speak about yourself, not the other party.In the textbook example, you might say, â€Å"l feel angry to know that my children are reading this old-fashioned textbook,† rather than, â€Å"How could you choose such a racist book? † Be concrete, but flexible. Speak about your interests, not about your position. Avoid early judgments. Keep asking questions and gathering information. Don't tell the opposition, â€Å"It's up to you to solve your problems. † Work to find a solution for everyone. Find a way to make their decision easy. Try to find a way for them to take your position without looking cake, but don't call it a way for them to â€Å"save face. Egos are imp ortant in negotiations! Brainstorm Possible Resolutions Now that you know what the interests of both parties are, and how to better communicate with the opposition, you can start thinking about solutions. Look at all of the interests you have listed, for you and for your opponents, and look for common interests. Often both parties share many interests for example, both groups may want stability and public respect. Before you hold a brainstorming meeting, think carefully about how you'll set up the meeting. Write a clear purpose statement for the meeting. Try to choose a small group of 5-8 people total.Hold the meeting in a different environment from your usual setting. Make sure the setting is an informal one where people feel comfortable and safe. Find an unbiased facilitator, someone who can structure the meeting without sharing his or her own feelings about the conflict. To begin brainstorming, decide whether you want to brainstorm with your opposition, or with only your group. I n either case, you will want to establish some ground rules. Work on coming up with as many ideas as possible. Don't judge or criticize the ideas yet that might prevent people room thinking creatively.Try to maximize (not minimize) your options. Look for win-win solutions, or compromises, in which both parties get something they want. Find a way to make their decision easy During the meeting, seat people side by side, facing the â€Å"problem†Ã¢â‚¬â€œ a blank chalkboard or large pad of paper for writing down ideas. The facilitator will remind people of the purpose of the meeting review the ground rules, and ask participants to agree to those rules. During the brainstorming session, the facilitator will write down all ideas on the chalkboard or pad. Choose the best resolutionAfter the meeting, you will need to decide which resolution is best. Review your brainstorm ideas. Star the best ideas – these are whatnot will work With during the conflict resolution process. Set a time to discuss them and determine which idea is the best. The goal here is to use both groups' skills and resources to get the best result for everyone. Which resolution gives both groups the most? That resolution is probably the best one. Use a third party mediator As you are brainstorming and choosing a good resolution, you may want to use a third party mediator.This is a person who is not from your group or our opponent's group, but whom you both trust to be fair. Your mediator can help both sides agree upon a standard by which you'll judge your resolution. Standards are a way to measure your agreement. They include expert opinions, law, precedent (the way things have been done in the past), and accepted principles. For example, let's say you're building a new playground for your town's elementary school. You disagree with the superintendent about what kinds of materials you'll use to build the playground. The superintendent wants to use chemical-treated wood, but you feel it' s unsafe.A mediator might read the current guidelines of the lumber industry and tell you which kinds of wood are considered safe for children. Maybe you and the superintendent will agree to follow the lumber industry's advice-?in other words, to use that as the standard. Your mediator could also, for example, run your brainstorming session. Here are some other possible jobs for a mediator: Setting ground rules for you and your opponent to agree upon (for example, you might both agree not to publicly discuss the dispute) Creating an appropriate setting for meetings Suggesting possible ways to compromiseBeing an â€Å"ear† for both side's anger and fear Listening to both sides and explaining their positions to one another Finding the interests behind each side's positions Looking for win-win alternatives Keeping both parties focused, reasonable, and respectful Preventing any party from feeling that it's â€Å"losing face† Writing the draft of your agreement with the opp osition Perhaps Harriet is considering quitting her job because her boss wants to transfer her to another office.The mediator might say, â€Å"It sounds like Harriet doesn't care about transferring to the downtown office. What she's worried about is losing rank. Harriet, do you agree with that? Ms. Snell, do you understand Harrier's concern? How can we assure Harriet that she won't lose rank if she agrees to transfer? ‘ Explore alternatives There may be times when, despite your hard work and good will, you cannot find an acceptable resolution to your conflict. You need to think about this possibility before you begin negotiations.At what point will you decide to walk away from negotiations? What are your alternatives if you cannot reach an agreement with your opponent? It is important that you brainstorm your alternatives to resolution early on in the negotiation process, and that you always have your best alternative somewhere in the back of your mind. As you consider possib le agreements with your opponent, compare them to this â€Å"best† alternative. If you don't know what the alternative is, you'll be negotiating without all the necessary information!In order to come up with an alternative, start by brainstorming. Then, consider the pros and cons of each alternative. Think about which alternative is realistic and practical. Also think about how you can make it even better. At the same time, don't forget to put yourself in the shoes of your opposition. What alternatives might they have? Why might they choose them? What can you do to make your choice better than their alternative? Roger Fisher and Danny Retell call this alternative your BATAAN Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement.You can read more about BAT AN in their book Getting Ready to Negotiate. Cope with stressful situations and pressure tactics So far, we've talked about how to negotiate with a fairly reasonable opponent. However, you need to be prepared to negotiate with all kind s of opponents, both reasonable and unreasonable. What if your opponent is more powerful and influential that you are? What if they refuse to meet or alkyl with you? All of these situations are stressful, and intended to put extra pressure on you to make a quick decision in the opposition ‘s favor. Conflict resolution Healthy organizations which are characterized by well developed problem -solving mechanisms and a collaborative climate are able to identify conflict and deal with it in a elaborative way that leaves the organization stronger and better developed rather than weakened and wracked with hostility (Owens, Valleys, 2011). The potential conflict in this elementary school can be approached with five possible methods namely: muscle, reconciliation, harmony, retreat, and collaboration. The muscle method is assertive, aggressive, and competitive.This style creates win-lose situation. This is termed as † I am the boss. Just do it! â€Å". The reconciliation method is one of accommodating, giving in and acquiescing to preserve relationships while resolving the conflict, at least immemorially. The harmony style assumes a â€Å"middle ground,† aimed at achieving compromise in order to resolve conflict. On the other hand, retreat method avoids or withdraws in from the conflict. It is aimed at not becoming involved with conflict and the strong feelings it may generate.The collaborating approach attempts to reach consensus and stresses working together for a mutual solution to conflicts. (Owens, valleys,201 1). In order to manage the conflict in this elementary school and the community in question, the collaborative method seems in my opinion the most attractive approach in order to lessen the destructive hostility among the staff and all parties t and to pave the way for opportunities of growth and development of the school and the community as a whole.The first step I will take as a new principal is to get to the source of the imminent conflict sweeping across the school environment. I will have a private meeting with the librarian, the physical education teacher, and each of the other parties involved to be able to get to the root of the conflict. With eye contacts, open heartiness and impartial attitude, I will listen actively and discuss the issues tit these individuals privately. After that, I will form a committee comprising of teachers, staff members, parents, community members, administrators, board of directors, and all stakeholders.I will have a meeting with the committee to discuss the issue at hand while the director Of schools and myself serve as facilitators. Each party will present its view of the problem while the other parties listen attentively without interruption. We as facilitators will ensure that each party states its case clearly and calmly without personally attacking the other parties. Secondly, I will ask each party to state two or three specific suggestions on how it thinks the conflict could be solved. An example might be,† I will like the administration to handle all field trip approvals†.Another clear suggestion might be, â€Å"I will like all teachers and staff to select a representative from their respective department to handle curriculum and standards issues†. It is of paramount importan ce for the facilitators to encourage and prompt each party to identify the root cause of the problem and then come up with specific ways that will resolve the issue Seafarer, 2007). Through the lens of impartiality, active listening skills and compassion, I will ensure that the suggestions presented are thoroughly discussed and agreed upon to make the necessary changes.At this point, all parties will be encouraged to engage each other in a reasonable and professional manner to come to an agreement on the suggestions made and are satisfied with the implementation Of the resolutions. For instance, the veteran librarian will be satisfied with the resolution that bus duties will be assigned to any teacher who volunteers for that opportunity. Parents will be satisfied with the opportunity to lead and provide interesting programs for parent -teacher association.Also they will be excited to be given the golden chance to be part of the decision making body of the school improvement ventures . The final step for the facilitators, especially me is to set up a date for the resolutions to be enacted and follow up on its progress. It is of cardinal importance for me to fearlessly look into the conflict in detail, if necessary. If new policies or procedures need to be put in place to avoid the same conflict arising in the true, will have that discussion with the staff and all parties involved. Conflict resolution Successful negotiations pave the way for smooth relationships in the future. To find peaceful solutions to difficult situations. Full-blown battles use up resources time, energy, good reputation, motivation. By negotiating, you avoid wasting these resources, and you may actually make new allies and find new resources! When should you resolve conflict? Conflict resolution is appropriate for almost any disagreement. Our daily lives offer plenty of opportunities for negotiation – between parents and children, co-workers, friends, etc. And as a result, you probably already have a variety of effective strategies for resolving minor conflicts. But for more serious conflicts, and conflicts between groups rather than individuals, you may need some additional skills. How, for example, should you structure a meeting teens your group and your opponent? When should you settle, and when should you fight for more? How should you react if your opponent attacks you personally? Read on for mor e information on specific conflict resolution techniques. How should you resolve conflict?There are seven steps to successfully negotiating the resolution of a conflict: 1. Understand the conflict 2. Communicate with the opposition 3. Brainstorm possible resolutions 4. Choose the best resolution Use a third party mediator 5. 6. Explore alternatives 7. Cope with stressful situations and pressure tactics Understand the conflict Conflicts arise for a variety of different reasons. It is important for you to define clearly your own position and interests in the conflict, and to understand those of your opponent. Here are some questions to ask yourself so that you can better define the conflict.Inertest What are my interests? What do I really care about in this conflict? What do I want? What do I need? What are my concerns, hopes, fears? Possible Outcomes What kinds of agreements might we reach? Legitimacy What third party, outside of the conflict, might convince one or both of us that a proposed agreement is a fair one? What objective standard might convince s that an agreement is fair? For example: a law, an expert opinion, the market value of the transaction. Is there a precedent that would convince us that an agreement is fair? Their Interests What are the interests of my opposition?If were in their shoes, what would I really care about in this conflict? What do they want? What do they need? What are their concerns, hopes, fears? Interests play an important role in better understanding conflict. Often, groups waste time â€Å"bargaining over positions. † Instead of explaining what the interests of their position are, they argue about their â€Å"bottom line. † This is not useful way to negotiate, because it forces groups to stick to one narrow position. Once they are entrenched in a particular position, it will be embarrassing for them to abandon it.They may spend more effort on â€Å"saving face† than on actually finding a suitable resoluti on. It is usually more helpful to explore the group's interests, and then see what positions suit such interests. Example: Your parent group wants the high school to change its history textbook. You feel that the textbook doesn't represent the history of Africa adequately. You come to the School Committee and say, â€Å"The only textbook that works for us s The People of Jamaica, and that's final! † You have presented a position rather than your interests.By drawing a bottom line, you're stuck in one position. If you don ‘t convince the School Committee to choose this textbook, you'll lose. A more effective way to approach the School Committee would be to state your interests. You might say, â€Å"We're concerned about the under- representation of racial minorities in the current Jamaican history textbook, and would like to find an alternative. † By communicating your interests, rather than one position, you are leaving some room to negotiate while still Ewing fi rm and clear about your goals. Often, the same interest can have many positions.For example, the School Committee might vote to us plenty the history textbook with a packet of articles about minorities as well as other thing about minorities in Jamaica. These are different positions that address the same interest. Communicate with the opposition Now that you have thought through your own interests and those of the other party, you can begin to communicate directly with your opposition. Here are some tips for productive talks: Listen. Their opinions are important to you, because their Opinions are the source of your conflict. If something is important to them, you need to recognize this.Recognizing does not mean agreeing of course! Let everyone participate who wants to. People who participate will have a stake in a resolution. They will want to find a good compromise. Talk about your strong emotions. Let the other side let off steam. Don't, however, react to emotional outbursts! Try an apology instead of yelling back. Apologizing is not costly, and is often a rewarding technique. Be an active listener. Rephrase what you're hearing as a question: â€Å"Let me see if I'm following you. You're saying that†¦ Have got that right? † You can still be rim when you're listening. Speak about yourself, not the other party.In the textbook example, you might say, â€Å"l feel angry to know that my children are reading this old-fashioned textbook,† rather than, â€Å"How could you choose such a racist book? † Be concrete, but flexible. Speak about your interests, not about your position. Avoid early judgments. Keep asking questions and gathering information. Don't tell the opposition, â€Å"It's up to you to solve your problems. † Work to find a solution for everyone. Find a way to make their decision easy. Try to find a way for them to take your position without looking cake, but don't call it a way for them to â€Å"save face. Egos are imp ortant in negotiations! Brainstorm Possible Resolutions Now that you know what the interests of both parties are, and how to better communicate with the opposition, you can start thinking about solutions. Look at all of the interests you have listed, for you and for your opponents, and look for common interests. Often both parties share many interests for example, both groups may want stability and public respect. Before you hold a brainstorming meeting, think carefully about how you'll set up the meeting. Write a clear purpose statement for the meeting. Try to choose a small group of 5-8 people total.Hold the meeting in a different environment from your usual setting. Make sure the setting is an informal one where people feel comfortable and safe. Find an unbiased facilitator, someone who can structure the meeting without sharing his or her own feelings about the conflict. To begin brainstorming, decide whether you want to brainstorm with your opposition, or with only your group. I n either case, you will want to establish some ground rules. Work on coming up with as many ideas as possible. Don't judge or criticize the ideas yet that might prevent people room thinking creatively.Try to maximize (not minimize) your options. Look for win-win solutions, or compromises, in which both parties get something they want. Find a way to make their decision easy During the meeting, seat people side by side, facing the â€Å"problem†Ã¢â‚¬â€œ a blank chalkboard or large pad of paper for writing down ideas. The facilitator will remind people of the purpose of the meeting review the ground rules, and ask participants to agree to those rules. During the brainstorming session, the facilitator will write down all ideas on the chalkboard or pad. Choose the best resolutionAfter the meeting, you will need to decide which resolution is best. Review your brainstorm ideas. Star the best ideas – these are whatnot will work With during the conflict resolution process. Set a time to discuss them and determine which idea is the best. The goal here is to use both groups' skills and resources to get the best result for everyone. Which resolution gives both groups the most? That resolution is probably the best one. Use a third party mediator As you are brainstorming and choosing a good resolution, you may want to use a third party mediator.This is a person who is not from your group or our opponent's group, but whom you both trust to be fair. Your mediator can help both sides agree upon a standard by which you'll judge your resolution. Standards are a way to measure your agreement. They include expert opinions, law, precedent (the way things have been done in the past), and accepted principles. For example, let's say you're building a new playground for your town's elementary school. You disagree with the superintendent about what kinds of materials you'll use to build the playground. The superintendent wants to use chemical-treated wood, but you feel it' s unsafe.A mediator might read the current guidelines of the lumber industry and tell you which kinds of wood are considered safe for children. Maybe you and the superintendent will agree to follow the lumber industry's advice-?in other words, to use that as the standard. Your mediator could also, for example, run your brainstorming session. Here are some other possible jobs for a mediator: Setting ground rules for you and your opponent to agree upon (for example, you might both agree not to publicly discuss the dispute) Creating an appropriate setting for meetings Suggesting possible ways to compromiseBeing an â€Å"ear† for both side's anger and fear Listening to both sides and explaining their positions to one another Finding the interests behind each side's positions Looking for win-win alternatives Keeping both parties focused, reasonable, and respectful Preventing any party from feeling that it's â€Å"losing face† Writing the draft of your agreement with the opp osition Perhaps Harriet is considering quitting her job because her boss wants to transfer her to another office.The mediator might say, â€Å"It sounds like Harriet doesn't care about transferring to the downtown office. What she's worried about is losing rank. Harriet, do you agree with that? Ms. Snell, do you understand Harrier's concern? How can we assure Harriet that she won't lose rank if she agrees to transfer? ‘ Explore alternatives There may be times when, despite your hard work and good will, you cannot find an acceptable resolution to your conflict. You need to think about this possibility before you begin negotiations.At what point will you decide to walk away from negotiations? What are your alternatives if you cannot reach an agreement with your opponent? It is important that you brainstorm your alternatives to resolution early on in the negotiation process, and that you always have your best alternative somewhere in the back of your mind. As you consider possib le agreements with your opponent, compare them to this â€Å"best† alternative. If you don't know what the alternative is, you'll be negotiating without all the necessary information!In order to come up with an alternative, start by brainstorming. Then, consider the pros and cons of each alternative. Think about which alternative is realistic and practical. Also think about how you can make it even better. At the same time, don't forget to put yourself in the shoes of your opposition. What alternatives might they have? Why might they choose them? What can you do to make your choice better than their alternative? Roger Fisher and Danny Retell call this alternative your BATAAN Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement.You can read more about BAT AN in their book Getting Ready to Negotiate. Cope with stressful situations and pressure tactics So far, we've talked about how to negotiate with a fairly reasonable opponent. However, you need to be prepared to negotiate with all kind s of opponents, both reasonable and unreasonable. What if your opponent is more powerful and influential that you are? What if they refuse to meet or alkyl with you? All of these situations are stressful, and intended to put extra pressure on you to make a quick decision in the opposition ‘s favor.

Change Management and Communication Plan Essay

Riordan Manufacturing is doing big things to improve their organization. They have decided to change how the organization manages their customer management system. The company has not had any formal system for managing their customer information and has in the past left this up to each individual employee. This new system will incorporate the use of one customer management system that will be accessed by all employees. Our team will be assisting with this process and will ensure that our plan will make Riordan more effective. During this process we will need to have several planning meetings to assist with the implementation of this new process and the use of our new customer management system. We as a team will ensure that all steps are carefully planned and well presented to the employees. Our number one goal is to make the company more effective. The topics we will need to address include the organizational structure to include chain of command, organizational culture, and the strategy we will use to make these changes effective. Their current method of management is the chain of command. This allows each division to have a supervisor and many levels between the bottom and the top. The level of supervision includes supervisors, middle managers, and executive managers. The informal power structure is a team-oriented working environment. Assignments are currently being completed by appropriate communication among the employees. The lack of focus on individual success is often overlooked. Decentralization can also be a disadvantage as it can lead to control problems for management. This structure can generally increase conflict among employees. The most effective organizational structure that would benefit Riordan would include self-directed teams. Riordan’s team environment would be excellent for  self-directed teams. Self-directed teams can offer several advantages. The largest factor we considered is motivating the employees. This will allow them the highest level of job satisfactory by boosting morale and giving them meaningful positions. Employees that have high levels of job satisfactory are much more engaged in supporting their organization. An employee’s behavior is influenced by their company’s culture. The organizational culture at Riordan includes fairness, dedication, teamwork, performance evaluations and benefits accommodations. Everything the company offers is factored into the culture. These influence an employee’s motivation and will help an employee grow and gain additional experience and knowledge. Some potential influences include career advancement, job security which in return will lead to loyal employees, excellent customer service provided by the employees, and compensation satisfaction. One of the most difficult challenges a company is tasked with is implementing change. As long as a company knows and understands how to effectively implement change, the less resistance they will receive. Reasons that employees resist change include: lack of awareness to the change, fear of being out of comfort zone, fear of not understanding the reasons for change, personal feelings towards the change, conflicts, and fear for lack of job security. Management should always be prepared to effectively deal and handle the resistance most employees will impose. Some strategies Riordan Company should follow include; effective communication of any ideas and implementation of change prior to the change date. Management should always be mindful of employee concerns and work on different training methods to help them cope with any changes that will be occurring. Every employee should be given the opportunity to provide feedback regarding the changes. Another strategy is to expect the resistance when implementation takes place. The best way to handle that is to address it formally and identify the root causes of the change as well as appoint the right leaders to effectively communicate and address any potential issues. As far as the implementation of the new system goes, the next 12 months will be critical. A plan will help to dictate the direction in which the plan will take the business. Providing a detailed step-by-step instruction manual, so to speak, will be the best chance for the success of the implementation. It may take a bit longer, but implementing the plan only one step at a time will make for  an effortless transaction from one norm to the next. This will also allow for feedback of the employees without aggravation, which will also give them time for significant improvements. At first, the employees will likely be confused by the change. It will take time to adapt to the new norm before an evaluation of the success can be determined. Training will be of great importance. Having a pre-knowledge of the upcoming events will prepare the employees for the inevitable. We know that the change is coming and so should they. The customer base is the best way to know for sure if the plan is effective. Most businesses only exist as a service to a customer; therefore, training the employees on the right and wrong reactions to the customers and the service that they r eceive will be the primary goal for Riordan Manufacturing. This will give the sense that the company is making the necessary changes to better serve them. The Communication Plan Riordan Manufacturing communication plan will consist of a formal email being sent to all managers in charge of specific sectors about the Change Management Plan with a follow up of sector face-to-face meetings. A formal email being sent out will ensure the message being delivered in a timely fashion to prepare the managers for the change. It will also give them more time to prepare a face-to-face meeting with all sector employees before the change is made. The face-to-face meeting will ensure the employees that Riordan Manufacture messages about any change that could affect them are being relayed on a more personable level. This channel will also allow manager to receive feedback from employees whether it is questions or concerns. A barrier that could be a problem for the managers trying to deliver this Change Management Plan is Communication Apprehension. This kind of barrier takes place when an individual gets extremely nervous, anxious, or even tense when speaking or trying to send any type of communication to others. Since the managers are going to have individual face-to-face meeting with their group of employees, we hope that each manager will have the courage to speak up effectively and accurately about the change. To ensure that there has been effective communication to all employees the managers who delivered  the messages will have to send a report back about the reactions shared by the employees during the meeting. Riordan Manufacturing is excited to announce a new customer management system. This new system will be accessible by all employees and will allow us to provide the most effective customer service possible. During the next few weeks, Department Managers will have face to face meetings with all staff members. Team A will provide an overview of the new system and will allow the opportunity for employees to address concerns and ask questions. Please take this time and offer feedback, your feedback and concerns are vital to the success of this organization. Our number one goal is to deliver the best customer service to both internal and external customers. Together we can make this change a success. In conclusion communication and planning are the two most important things when implementing change within any organization. Employees need to know that their input is appreciated and heard. Allowing managers and employees the opportunity to provide feedback will increase morale and will maintain high levels of job satisfaction. Riordan Manufacturing has taken the necessary steps to implement the new customer management system with proper planning and communication.

Roots of the Mexican-American War

Roots of the Mexican-American War The Mexican-American War (1846-1848) was a long, bloody conflict between the United States of America and Mexico. It would be fought from California to Mexico City and many points in between, all of them on Mexican soil. The USA won the war by capturing Mexico City in September of 1847 and forcing the Mexicans to negotiate a truce favorable to US interests. By 1846, war was nearly inevitable between the USA and Mexico. On the Mexican side, the lingering resentment over the loss of Texas was intolerable. In 1835, Texas, then part of the Mexican State of Coahuila and Texas, had risen in revolt. After setbacks at the Battle of the Alamo and the Goliad Massacre, the Texan rebels stunned Mexican General Antonio Là ³pez de Santa Anna at the Battle of San Jacinto on April 21, 1836. Santa Anna was taken prisoner and forced to recognize Texas as an independent nation. Mexico, however, did not accept Santa Annas agreements and considered Texas nothing more than a rebellious province. Since 1836, Mexico had half-heartedly tried to invade Texas and take it back, without much success. The Mexican people, however, clamored for their politicians to do something about this outrage. Although privately many Mexican leaders knew that reclaiming Texas was impossible, to say so in public was political suicide. The Mexican politicians outdid each other in their rhetoric saying that Texas must be brought back into Mexico. Meanwhile, tensions were high on the Texas/Mexico border. In 1842, Santa Anna sent a small army to attack San Antonio: the Texas responded by attacking Santa Fe. Not long after, a bunch of Texan hotheads raided the Mexican town of Mier: they were captured and poorly treated until their release. These events and others were reported in the American press and were generally slanted to favor the Texan side. The simmering disdain of Texans for Mexico thus spread to the entire USA. In 1845, the USA began the process of annexing Texas to the union. This was truly intolerable for Mexicans, who may have been able to accept Texas as a free republic but never part of the United States of America. Through diplomatic channels, Mexico let it be known that to annex Texas was practically a declaration of war. The USA went ahead anyway, which left Mexican politicians in a pinch: they had to do some saber-rattling or look weak. Meanwhile, the USA had its eye on Mexicos northwestern possessions, such as California and New Mexico. The Americans wanted more land and believed that their country should stretch from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The belief that America should expand to fill the continent was called Manifest Destiny. This philosophy was expansionist and racist: its proponents believed that the noble and industrious Americans deserved those lands more than the degenerate Mexicans and Native Americans who lived there. The USA tried on a couple of occasions to purchase those lands from Mexico, and was rebuffed every time. President James K. Polk, however, would not take no for an answer: he meant to have California and Mexicos other western territories and he would go to war to have them. Fortunately for Polk, the border of Texas was still in question: Mexico claimed it was the Nueces River while the Americans claimed it was the Rio Grande. In early 1846, both sides sent armies to the border: by then, both nations were looking for an excuse to fight. It wasnt long before a series of small skirmishes bloomed into war. The worst of the incidents was the so-called Thornton Affair of April 25, 1846 in which a squad of American cavalrymen under the command of Captain Seth Thornton was attacked by a much larger Mexican force: 16 Americans were killed. Because the Mexicans were in contested territory, President Polk was able to ask for a declaration of war because Mexico had †¦shed American blood upon the American soil. Larger battles followed within two weeks and both nations had declared war on one another by May 13. The war would last about two years, until spring of 1848. The Mexicans and Americans would fight about ten major battles, and the Americans would win all of them. In the end, the Americans would capture and occupy Mexico City and dictate terms of the peace agreement to Mexico. Polk got his lands: according to the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, formalized in May of 1848, Mexico would hand over most of the current US Southwest (the border established by the treaty is very similar to todays border between the two nations) in exchange for $15 million dollars and forgiveness of some previous debt. Sources: Brands, H.W. Lone Star Nation: the Epic Story of the Battle for Texas Independence. New York: Anchor Books, 2004. Eisenhower, John S.D. So Far from God: the U.S. War with Mexico, 1846-1848. Norman: the University of Oklahoma Press, 1989 Henderson, Timothy J. A Glorious Defeat: Mexico and its War with the United States.New York: Hill and Wang, 2007. Wheelan, Joseph. Invading Mexico: Americas Continental Dream and the Mexican War, 1846-1848. New York: Carroll and Graf, 2007.

study Essays

study Essays study Essay study Essay Measuring supply chain management practices Ana Beatriz Lopes de Sousa Jabbour, Alceu Gomes Alves Filho, Adriana Backx Noronha Viana and Charbel Jose Chiappetta Jabbour Ana Beatriz Lopes de Sousa Jabbour is Assistant Professor in the Department of Industrial Engineering, Sao Paulo State University, Sao Paulo, Brazil. Alceu Gomes Alves Filho is Full Professor in Industrial Engineering in the Department of Industrial Engineering, Federal University of Sao Carlos, Adriana Backx Noronha Viana is Associate Professor in Business Administration and Charbel Jose Chiappetta Jabbour is Assistant Professor of Business Administration, both at The University of Sao Paulo Business School Ribeirao preto (FEA-RP/USP), Summary Purpose This paper aims to perform an empirical investigation about the constructs and indicators of the supply chain management practices framework. survey that was carried out on 107 Brazilian companies. Statistical techniques were employed to verify, validate, and test the reliability of the constructs and their indicators. To validate this framework principal component analysis and structural equation modeling techniques were used. Findings In general, previous studies uggest six constructs for measuring the supply chain management practices framework. However, in this study a framework was achieved with four constructs of supply chain management practices, namely, supply chain (SC) integration for production planning and control (PPC) support, information sharing about products and targeting strategies, strategic relationship with customer and supplier, and support customer order. This framework has adequate levels of validity and reliability. Research limitations/implications The main limitation of this study was that only a small sample of companies in a single sector and country were surveyed, and herefore there needs to be further research considering the special conditions in other countries. Originality/value This study investigated statistically set indicators to discuss the topic supply chain management practices. The framework obtained has good quality of validity and reliability indicators. Thus, an alternative framework has been added to measure supply chain management practices, which is currently a popular topic in the supply chain mainstream literature. Both defined constructs and the validated indicators can be used in other studies on supply chain management. Keywords Supply chain management, Working practices, Performance measurement (quality), Brazil Paper type Research paper 1. Introduction Supply chain management (SCM) is an integrated approach beginning with planning and control of materials, logistics, services, and information stream from suppliers to manufacturers or service providers to the end client; it represents a most important change in business management practices (Fantazy et al. 2010). SCM is one of the most effective ways for firms to improve their performance (Ou et al. , 2010). With the purpose of managing the supply chain actions for realizing improvement in nterprise performance, it is necessary to improve the planning and management of activities such as materials planning, inventory management, capacity planning, and logistics (Chandra and Kumar, 2000) with suppliers and clients. Currently, the topics that can be considered essential to research suggestions in SCM include: supply chain coordination, distribution and transport, inventory, order management, planning and optimization, supply chain integration, reverse logistics, supply chain information, supplier and vender selection, and green SCM (Hu et al. , 2010). PAGE 18 MEASURING BUSINESS EXCELLENCE VOL. 15 NO. 2 2011, pp. 8-31, Q Emerald Group publishing Limited, ISSN 1368-3047 While interest in SCM is increasing day-by-day, there is no consensus about the conceptual and methodological research bases of SCM, generating gaps in the state- of-the-art of this research field (Burgess et al. , 2006). It is impossible to develop sound SCM theory without acceptable frameworks and definitions of terms (Stock and Boyer, 2009). In addition, the lack of a comprehensive view of SCM practices and the lack of a reliable measure of the concept have constrained guidelines to the practice f SCM and further research on the topic (Li et al. 2005). For this reason, the validation of SCM practices issue has been attracting the attention of researchers. For example, Li et al. (2005) conceptualize, develop, and validate dimensions of SCM practices constructs. Nonetheless, there are no unanimities in determining the set of indicators that can adequately address the topic Supply Chain Management Practices. Studies performed by Halley and Beaulieu (2010), Bayraktar et al. (2009), Hsu et al. (2009), Robb et al. (2008), Chow et al. (2008), Koh et al. (2007), Zhou and Benton (2007), wong et al. 005), -ran et al. (2002) and Tan (2002) pointed out different types of indicators and constructs used. Therefore, studying SCM practices can contribute to finding a better understanding about SCM. Hence, this paper aims to do an empirical investigation of the constructs and indicators of the SCM practices framework. The following sections include a brief literature review on SCM practices (section 2), methodological proc edures (section 3), analyses and discussions (section 4), and finally, conclusions (section 5). 2. Literature background A high level of confusion has occurred amongst supply chain scholars during the ast decades by the several SCM definitions that have been proposed in the literature (Stock and Boyer, 2009). Three key subjects emerged from the various definitions: activities, benefits, and constituents/components. The first theme of SCM definitions, activities, contains the flow of materials and information, and networks of relationships, focusing on both internal (within the organization) and external (outside the organization). Second, the benefits resulting from effective implementation of SCM strategies are to add value and increase customer satisfaction. Third, the components or constituent parts of SCM; what organizations, unctions and processes involve the supply chain (Stock et al. , 2010). SCM practices are defined as the set of activities undertaken by an organization to promote effective management of its supply chain (Li et al. , 2005, 2006; Koh et al. , 2007); as the approaches applied in integration, managing and coordination of supply, demand and relationships in order to satisfy clients in effective way (Wong et al. 2005); as tangible activities/technologies that have a relevant role in the collaboration of a focal involve suppliers in decision making, encouraging information, sharing and looking or new ways to integrate upstream activities. As a consequence, it involves developing customer contacts by customer feedback to integrate the downstream activities and delivering orders directly to c ustomers (Chow et al. , 2008). In this sense, studying SCM practices supports the view theory regarding SCM. Relevant initiatives to identify and validate SCM practices have been reported, but it is worth noting that there is no pattern in defining and adopting indicators and constructs for SCM practices. Tan et al. (2002) and Tan (2002) identified 24 SCM practices from previous studies and formed six constructs: . supply chain integration; 2. information sharing; 3. supply chain characteristics; VOL. 15 NO. 2 2011 MEASURING BUSINESS EXCELLENCE PAGE 19 4. customer service management; 5. geographical proximity; and 6. JIT capability. They used a five-point Likert scale to measure the importance of these practices. Wong et al. (2005) proposed like indicators of SCM practices in their study: B supply chain performance; product differentiation; lead time management; postponement and customization; inventory and cost management; bullwhip effects; information sharing and coordination; buyer-seller relationship; etail strategy; and SCM initiatives. They used a case study and the practices based on the toy industry. Six distinctive constructs of SCM practices emerged, including strategic supplier partnership, customer relationship, information sharing, information quality, internal lean practices and postponement. All the items were measured on a five-point scale (Li et al. , 2005, 2006). Zhou and Benton (2007) consider three constructs of supply chain practices (supply chain planning, Just-in-time OIT) production, and delivery practice), because they have been shown to be closely related to delivery performance. Each statement required responses based on a seven-point Likert scale (1 h not implemented, 7 h extensively implemented). A list of SCM constructs used in previous literature regarding the SCM practices is relying on the extant literature. Koh et al. (2007) and Bayraktars et al. 2009) studies identify a set of 12 SCM practices: close partnership with suppliers, close partnership with customers, Just in time supply, strategic planning, supply chain benchmarking, few suppliers, holding safety stock, e-procurement, outsourcing, subcontracting, 3PL, many suppliers. Items were measured on five-point scales anging from 1 (not at all implemented) to 5 (fully implemented). Koh et al. (2007) m easuring two constructs and Bayraktar et al. (2009) measuring three constructs. A five-point interval rating scale system was used by Chow et al. 2008) with 5 equaling the highest extent or degree. The constructs were: customer and supplier management; communication and speed; and information sharing. Robb et al. (2008) considered four constructs in their research: 1 . customer relationships; 2. supplier relationships; 3. e-commerce; and 4. enterprise software. They used a seven-point Likert scale. PAGE 20 MEASURING BUSINESS EXCELLENCE VOL. 5 NO. 2 2011 In research performed by Hsu et al. (2009), respondents were asked to indicate on a five-point Likert scale (1 low, 5 high), the importance of each practice in their firm. The indicators were: increase suppliers Just in time capabilities; participating in sourcing decisions; geographical proximity of suppliers; formal information sharing agreements; improving the integration of activities; searching for new ways for integration; communicating future strategic needs; on-time delivery; and reducing response time. Halley and Beaulieu (2010) used four constructs (nesting, collaboration, financial ncorporation, and distancing) along with 13 indicators from the five-point Likert scale. Table I summarizes the theoretical studies of constructs pointed out in this section. Table II shows the constructs, the indicators and conceptual meaning used in this paper to measure and validate the SCM practices framework. The selection of constructs and indicators was based on research to reconcile the concepts of SCM (Stock et al. , 2010; Chandra and Kumar, 2000), in which they considered the necessity to manage, plan and control production and inventory, i. e. the flow of information nd materials; the definition of SCM practices (Wong et al. 2005; Chow et al. , 2008), the managed integration and coordination of supply, demand and relationships; and the most commonly found constructs and the indicators (Bayraktar et al. , 2009; Robb et al. , 2008; Chow et al. , 2008; Koh et al. , 2007; Zhou and Benton, 2007; Li et al. , 2006, 2005; Tan et al. , 2002; Tan, 2002). Taking this into consideration, the constructs considered were: supply chain integration, information sharing, custom er service management, customer relationship, supplier relationship and postponement. 3. Methodology 3. 1 Survey design In order to assess the construct of the SCM practices, a questionnaire was developed from a review of literature (Table II), and the respondents were asked to evaluate each question in terms of the level of implementation of each specific practice in their company. A five-point Likert scale (1 non-implemented and 5 totally implemented) was adopted because there are many researches uses the same method. Prior to this, a pre-test was given to professionals in the SC over a 65-day period, and from this pre-test some necessary adjustments were done to the questionnaire in order to make the questions clearer. The questionnaire was sent out to 532 different companies via personalized e-mails. In all, 107 companies responded (response rate only e-mails were sent to each of the 532 companies up to three times each. The participating companies were classified according to the position they occupy in their supply chain as follows: raw material supplier, component supplier, assembly company, distributor, or retailer. The companies were also classified according to their size (micro company, small company, medium company, and large company) and the predominant bargaining power in their major supply chain. The data were collected through an e-survey (internet-based survey) conducted with one respondent from each company (from different areas, such as marketing, operations, supply, and sales departments) of several different segments of the Brazilian VOL. 15 NO. 2 2011 MEASURING BUSINESS EXCELLENCE PAGE 21 Table I Summaries of the theoretical studies of constructs pointed out in this research Author(s) Research objective Construct Context Scale -ran (2002) The first objective was to derive a set of SCM practices and compare how practitioners ranked these practices to enhance competitive position. The second objective was o identify and compare the major concerns in implementing a successful SCM program. Finally, the third objective attempted to identify the practices and the concerns associated with successful supply chains The article described a survey effort to study contemporary supply evaluation practices. This also related these practices to firm performance The study explored SCM practices of toy supply chains, and revealed their practical and theoretical gaps The purpose of research was to develop and validate a parsimonious measurement instrument for SCM practices The purpose of study therefore to empirically test a framework dentifying the relationships among SCM practices, competitive advantage and organizational The purpose of study was to investigate: the relationship between information sharing and supply chain practice: the influence of supply chain dynamism on information sharing and supply chain practice; and the impact of chain practice on delivery determine the underlying dimensions of SCM practices and to empirically test a framework SCM practices, operational performance and SCM-related organizational performance with special emphasis on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Turkey Study sought to determine the nderlying dimensions of SCM and IS practices. Next, empirically test a framework identifying the causal links among SCM and IS practices, SCM and Is-related inhibitors operational performance Information sharing Supply chain characteristic Customer service management Geographical proximity JIT capability Different industries Five-point Likert None Toy industry retail (volatile None demand) Strategic supplier partnership Customer relationship Information quality Internal lean practices Postponement Supply chain plan JIT production Delivery practices Seven-point Strategic collaboration and lean practices Outsourcing and multi-suppliers

The Holly Tree

The Holly Tree When I built my house almost nine years ago (friggin wow), I planted holly trees on two corners of the structure, one to the left of my study window. Because I love birds, I yearned for the day the tree grew tall and thick enough for me to see its bird visitors from that window. You see, my window is fifteen feet off the ground. I planted a three-foot tree. It would be a while. But I watered the tree, did some serious pruning on it every couple of years to shape it, and made sure it was free of disease. Its a beautiful plant with its shiny, deep green leaves and occasional berries. It grew, but I could only see it when I went outside and stood next to it. Sometime during 2013, I heard a mockingbird outside being particularly loud. On occasion a bird, usually a tiny wren or house finch, or even a rare goldfinch, will perch on my window sill seeking bugs. Since I write late into the night, my window holds the only light in the cove. Being in the country, we dont do streetlights, so dark is DARK out here. The bugs flock to my window, unfortunately for me, but fortunately for the birds that gobble them up the next day. Anyway, the mockingbird song puzzled me. Sliding to my window, I listened hard for the direction. Sure enough, he perched atop the holly tree. I could see him! I could hear him. It had been so long since I tried to see the tree from my window that Id forgotten it was even there . . . except when I went outside and watered it, and pruned it. I hope you can see that the point is obvious. We plant our butts in the chair and we plant words on a page. We keep at it, writing, creating, editing, even submitting. We do it, knowing it might be a long while before its matured. Then one day, and it might be several years from when you started, you look up and there it is. Your work has grown into mature, viable, and gorgeous stories. I hear so many writers talk about waiting for the right moments to write, or getting depressed about rejection, or reading so many ridiculous blog posts that tell them how long their odds are to get published. They write in spurts. They forget writing for the summer, or the winter, or the holidays. They are forgetting to water and prune their holly tree. Even if you cannot imagine success, you keep writing. Just as we love gardening, we love writing, and we tend them religiously, just the same. Because one day, well look up, and there it will be . . . that story we always imagined, sitting there, singing to the world.

How Governments attitude and policy towards sport has changed and Essay

How Governments attitude and policy towards sport has changed and envolved over the last 25years - Essay Example Sports policy can also be regarded as a prism through which wider ideological and practical political thought can be viewed. The three governments of Margaret Thatcher/John Major (Conservative) and Tony Blair’s New Labour illustrate the contrasts that can be found within sports policy. As Houlihan (2002) suggests, â€Å"some policy areas are easier than others to plot and delimit†, and this is especially the case with sports which is often a fulcrum around which a number of forces, from education to national prestige to public health revolves. The Thatcher government adopted what may be regarded as a characteristically laissez-faire and privatized view of sports leadership at both the national and local level. One of her first actions as prime Minister was to boycott the 1980 Moscow Olympics as a protest against the Soviet invasion of Afgahnistan. Britain was no alone in this boycott, being joined by 62 other Western countries. One aspect of Thatcher’s policy that contrasted with the provision of money for various sports stadiums, organizations and for sports on school, something which every government since WWII had instituted was her government’s reaction to football hooliganism. Under watch football hooliganism took on massive and deadly proportions, such as the fights that occurred at the European Cup Final in Brussels in which 36 people were killed (Frosdick, 2005). Thatcher introduced a number of new laws and policies that would ban alcohol at grounds, increase police powers to control the behavior and size of the crowd, as well as introducing surveillance such as close-circuit TV cameras that had previously been regarded as an invasion of privacy. Football hooliganism was a fulcrum around which many forces revolved, including serious suggestions that a National Identity Card should be introduced, even though at its height the problem

Life and Times in the Roman Legion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Life and Times in the Roman Legion - Essay Example C. The ancient Roman army was made up of several legions which included several cohorts of heavy infantry. Although the main legions consisted of Roman citizens there existed some auxiliary units that comprised soldiers who were not Roman citizens. These smaller units served as boosters for the legions. In the early years legions numbered approximately one hundred and twenty soldiers each. There were substantial increases in sizes in later centuries. From the early period military service was an obligation and duty upon Roman citizens, but also a kind of privilege (Campbell, J. B. 4). Soldiers served in the army and were categorized according to wealth and political power. All male citizens in Rome who were healthy and in possession of property were divided into five classes with the purpose of serving in the military. Those with substantial amount of wealth served as cavalry. They also enrolled as equestrians. These men were also dressed in accordance with their wealth and power. They normally wore a spear, sword, helmet, breast plate and round shield. Many members of the cavalry eventually ended up in politics. In comparison to the other classes in the military the cavalry had the least number of men. The three lower classes of soldiers were drawn from among the not so wealthy. They served in the infantry and wore fewer decorations than those persons in the cavalry. They, however, formed the principal unit in the military. The fifth and lowest group composed only of slingers. Since they were the least armed they sometimes acted as scouts. Soldiers were responsible for the acquisition of their weapons. Those citizens who had no property and lacked the resources to acquire weapons were excluded from military service. This classification within the legions changed when Gaius Marius (157 B.C. – 86 B.C) assumed political power. His reform of the military changed it into a more

Retailing Final Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Retailing Final - Essay Example Efficient store operation of Aldi is a way to convey the best customer experience. This remarkably will give significant reputation for the entire store based on the ability of its customers to disseminate response about their experience. This what makes this competitive advantage sustainable and it is through this that customers are playing major role towards its great success in the future. Customers therefore are needed to be enhanced with high level of satisfaction and Aldi tries to get this by conveying the best customer experience through efficient store operations. This means that all aspects in the operation involving the issue of customer satisfaction are closely taken into account. On the other hand, the increasing network of limited assortment stores of Aldi is another important source of sustainable competitive advantage. In this way, there is a good chance to highly differentiate the products and services offerings of the company. In line with this, there is a great oppo rtunity to increase the demand for products offered by Aldi in the global setting. This is also a good opportunity for the company to increase its chance to maximize the resources available from other countries. For one thing, China and India are good places for business as they are known to have cheap labor. However, for Aldi, the context of expansion deals primarily with business environmental factors. Under politics, it is important to consider existing policies for international business in both China and India. The aftermath of economic downturn is also a significant factor to consider prior to the global expansion of Aldi. This is going to be a challenge for Aldi’s competitive advantage knowing that China and India are also affected with economic recession across the globe. Putting up a business after all requires thorough consideration of economic activities and other factors. The next factor that would become a challenge for Aldi’s potential global expansion is the political environment. Various policies in business are determined by political settings of a country. In reality, this really affects how an international company would perform and adjust its internal business operation. Finally, another important factor that may be a great challenge for Aldi in its expansion is under the social context. China and India are home to huge consumers that have different preferences, geographic orientation and all other related social concerns. In particular, this is going to be a challenge for Aldi since this is going to take more time and effort to understand. There is a need to develop more systematic approach to identify how many exactly of the consumers are willing to go for limited assortment items. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   List and discuss all important characteristics of the fast response model used by Zara. Discuss key barriers limiting the company’s ability to duplicate this business model overseas, especially in Asia.   Answer: Za ra is known for its fast response model. This is potentially a quite advantage for the company as far as the trend and buying behavior of consumers change over time. It is because of this that there is a need to list and discuss all important characteristics of the fast response model of Zara. The fast response model of Zara is determined based on its concept. The world is home to fast changing demand for designs, innovation and the like. Thus, there is a need to

Analysis of Globalization and the Production of Locality in Urban Essay - 3

Analysis of Globalization and the Production of Locality in Urban Egypt Article by Farha Grannam - Essay Example The problem arises when globalization is viewed as neocolonialism or Americanization. The flows from the United States and Europe are said to shape the landscape of Cairo in different ways. There is a need for broadening the globalization concept so that the flows responsible for shaping cultural identities and practices. Grannam (250) says that ‘many changes were needed to facilitate the operation of capital†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ this shows that there is a need for several changes to take place in globalization. The new boundaries, differentiation, and social inequalities being produced and clanged by global flows are important to asses. There are things that attract attention to the inequalities that are produced by global processes. Global flows are not only structured but they also structure. There are groups that are empowered by having connections with the western cities. Production of urban locality is an issue that requires to be addressed with the increased movement of images, people, and commodities. Locality is produced by the interactions of those dwelling and those traveling. Locality is what allows individuals to follow collective flows that are resisted in different contexts (Grannam 256). Diane Singerman reviews how there are international scholars who have collaborated in producing information on politics and culture. Looking at Cairo we realize how complicated the normative project of citizenship is within globalization. Through carrying out research on shops, malls, neighborhoods, villages, towns, and historical areas then it is easy to understand the global flows. With the example of Cairo whose economy was not planned, it is easy to understand why it is megalopolis (Singerman 85). I agree that transforming public space to private is legitimated except if it results from the crime, terrorism, or pollution.  

The problems of development ( advencement raising quality of life in Research Paper

The problems of development ( advencement raising quality of life in Africa - Research Paper Example â€Å"In the midst of the election process, the people in the east of the  Democratic Republic of Congo(DRC) are in danger. Why? Because of the fighting between the army and the militia groups. The United Nations World Food Programme sounds the alarm.† (Food Crisis in Congo) There is very wrong perception of the rich people that there is no food shortage in the world and this is because they have all the luxuries in the world, but they have just noticed the sharp increase in food price. However, food is becoming a scarce resource and this increase in prices is a result of food crisis which is one of the most important global issues. According to The Oxford Committee for Famine Relief (OXFAM), there are 967 billion people who do not have enough amount of food to eat (2008). It is found that the global food crisis exists because of several causes. Oil crisis is one of the main factors which have a direct impact on the food crisis, the prices of food transportation and agricult ural fertilizers have increased because of the oil crisis and the same directly affects the food crisis. Population growth is another cause especially in middle class countries such as India the same has led to an increase in the demand of meat that apply more grain in order to be produced than other commodities. Climate change has also affected food production where drought covered several parts of the world such as south Asia. Trade is another cause of food crisis because imported goods might be cheaper than goods produced in the country, so poor farmers are forced to reduce the price of their products. Finally, Biofuel production is considered as one of the biggest causes of food crisis since the price of food has increased at the same time as biofuel production has increased. The food crisis not only affects the developing countries but it has also started taking a toll on the developed countries. This essay considers the responses to food crisis in Congo which is a developing c ountry in South Africa. To understand this issue, we fist need to explain the reasons for food crisis in Congo. Then, we will discuss and evaluate the current responses to this problem there. Finally, other appropriate responses to solve the food crisis in Congo will be presented. As a poor developing country in Africa, Congo has been suffering from economical Decline since its independence from the British in the year 1980, and this is exactly the main factor for food crisis. Weak economical situation in Congo brings about less than 30 per cent of employment as a result of which, hunger expands in the country and more people live in extreme poverty (IRIN, 2008). 5.5 billion dollars as dept on the Congo government to be paid to other countries, this goes to show how fragile the Congo government is. According to the same source, irregular and delays in dept payment led some countries to stop trade with the Congo government. Many areas in Congo receive less rain than before which resu lts in less food production (Care, n.d). For instance, maize, which is the stable food in Congo, harvests declined by one third from the production ten years ago (IRIN 2, 2008). Even in areas where it rains regularly, many people are still hungry because farmers do not have enough amounts of seed and fertilizer to cover the demand (Famine Early Warning System Network, 2008). Now it is clear that economical decline, unemployment,

Analyzing the Poem The White Mans burden by Rudyard Kipling Essay

Analyzing the Poem The White Mans burden by Rudyard Kipling - Essay Example The poem was published in 1899, a period wherein racial discrimination is still the norm in America. Although slavery was finally abolished and outlawed in 1865, people of color were still treated as inferior. The audience of the poem, hence, was still characterized by prejudicial outlook, seeing imperialism as a favor and even a burden for America as the best of the white men will be sent on a mission to civilize the colored colonials. This theme is underscored by several concepts, which can be classified into three: captives, wild, serf, sweeper; burden, terror, pride, profit, gain; laurel, manhood, praise, wisdom. The first set of keywords described the colonials, the next described the process of imperialism and, finally, the last set highlighted the rewards. It is clear that the poem encourages imperialism. Kipling appeared to campaign for this move not only because it is a noble thing to civilize others. Also, he seemed to consider imperialism as a precondition for the United S tates to be finally recognized by its peers, which of course are the European colonials. There is an implied proposition that in order for America to be finally considered as a world power – within the league of the European club – it must be able to govern its own colony. There are scholars who believe that this poem by Kipling is a satire. But this interpretation is quite far-fetched. The tone, the diction and the themes involved are on the serious side and no attempt at humor is apparent. The thesis is clear: America must take the burden and colonize a backward nation. His poem provided the arguments for these. First, there is the suggestion that imperialism is a task that must be accomplished because it is noble. The colonization will benefit the colony. America and its best would strive to make the client state and its people ready and worthy member of the community of nations. Secondly, Kipling argued that imperialism is a selfless act, hence, noble, as America

The problems of development ( advencement raising quality of life in Research Paper

The problems of development ( advencement raising quality of life in Africa - Research Paper Example â€Å"In the midst of the election process, the people in the east of the  Democratic Republic of Congo(DRC) are in danger. Why? Because of the fighting between the army and the militia groups. The United Nations World Food Programme sounds the alarm.† (Food Crisis in Congo) There is very wrong perception of the rich people that there is no food shortage in the world and this is because they have all the luxuries in the world, but they have just noticed the sharp increase in food price. However, food is becoming a scarce resource and this increase in prices is a result of food crisis which is one of the most important global issues. According to The Oxford Committee for Famine Relief (OXFAM), there are 967 billion people who do not have enough amount of food to eat (2008). It is found that the global food crisis exists because of several causes. Oil crisis is one of the main factors which have a direct impact on the food crisis, the prices of food transportation and agricult ural fertilizers have increased because of the oil crisis and the same directly affects the food crisis. Population growth is another cause especially in middle class countries such as India the same has led to an increase in the demand of meat that apply more grain in order to be produced than other commodities. Climate change has also affected food production where drought covered several parts of the world such as south Asia. Trade is another cause of food crisis because imported goods might be cheaper than goods produced in the country, so poor farmers are forced to reduce the price of their products. Finally, Biofuel production is considered as one of the biggest causes of food crisis since the price of food has increased at the same time as biofuel production has increased. The food crisis not only affects the developing countries but it has also started taking a toll on the developed countries. This essay considers the responses to food crisis in Congo which is a developing c ountry in South Africa. To understand this issue, we fist need to explain the reasons for food crisis in Congo. Then, we will discuss and evaluate the current responses to this problem there. Finally, other appropriate responses to solve the food crisis in Congo will be presented. As a poor developing country in Africa, Congo has been suffering from economical Decline since its independence from the British in the year 1980, and this is exactly the main factor for food crisis. Weak economical situation in Congo brings about less than 30 per cent of employment as a result of which, hunger expands in the country and more people live in extreme poverty (IRIN, 2008). 5.5 billion dollars as dept on the Congo government to be paid to other countries, this goes to show how fragile the Congo government is. According to the same source, irregular and delays in dept payment led some countries to stop trade with the Congo government. Many areas in Congo receive less rain than before which resu lts in less food production (Care, n.d). For instance, maize, which is the stable food in Congo, harvests declined by one third from the production ten years ago (IRIN 2, 2008). Even in areas where it rains regularly, many people are still hungry because farmers do not have enough amounts of seed and fertilizer to cover the demand (Famine Early Warning System Network, 2008). Now it is clear that economical decline, unemployment,

Operations management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 4

Operations management - Essay Example By the end of nineteenth century, when manufacturing was no longer produced by single craftsmen but a team of skilled workers using the tools used for product specifications. Hence, the procedure was constrained because of limitations such as difficulties in replacements of workers and custom tools absence of gauging systems to control cost and risks etc.(Centre,nd) Therefore, in every age illustrated above, the study on operations management refined business intelligence by exploring profound systems to monitor operations management at its best. The recent advancement of the framework includes planning softwares like Oracle, SAP etc to integrate information at its best for maximum output and watertight performance. (Performance, nd) The organization’s function can be categorized into three major areas that includes finance, operations and marketing (Wiley.com, nd). The aims and objectives of the three functional areas can be defined as under; the functions of Marketing covers a broad range influencing the other functions of organization, these include study on market planning, exchange functions, product designing and development, product distribution, standardization and grading, financing, risk taking, packaging, labeling , branding obtaining customer support and other information etc. (today, 2010) An operation is the area of business that involves the process of products and service delivery by enhancing the performance of organization to meet the standards of customer, suppliers, shareholders, employees and society. (education, nd) The successful theory of operational management involves the strategical thinking of the ground functional areas towards the same target objectives and devises a corporate strategy that could interrelate and align the major functional areas in a single direction or the corporate mission. (Jiang, 2009) The functions or the main aspects of management opt to direct the

Security Assessment Essay Example for Free

Security Assessment Essay Directions: Choose one of the Facts for Consideration sections from Ch. 3 of the text and list the page number for the section you chose. Then, complete the following table. List five threats appropriate to the environment from the section you chose. Rate the risk for each threat from 0 (low) to 10 (high). Then, list five appropriate countermeasures. Once you complete the table, write a brief explanation of the countermeasures for the two threats with the highest risk total, stating how the countermeasure reduces the risk associated with that threat. Transport should be equipped with a thick metal cage surrounding area inmates are in. Inmates should be contained also with shackles on hands and feet. Property damage and or personal harm All inmates, shackled together or not, need to have shackles anchored to sturdy eyebolts welded into floor to maintain limited movement. Escape during bathroom breaks Armed guard escort to restroom from transport, armed escort to transport, with remaining guard still on transport. Inmates relieves themselves under armed surveillance, with door open at all times. No civilians allowed near inmates, or bathrooms during the inmate’s bathroom breaks and guards must inspect bathrooms thoroughly before and after leaving restrooms. Extra guards in escort cars should help in this process to maintain security. Escape through windows or vents All windows and vents should be secured outside of the cage surrounding the inmates, armed guard should be in transport at all times, regardless of the guard, a head count should be done before and after all stops. Escape through outside resources. Limit all contact between prisoner and outside contacts prior to transport, restrict prisoners’ knowledge of schedule for transport. Two armed guards on transport, not counting driver. Two security cars, with two armed guards in each car, following transport. One car leading transport, with two armed guards. Cameras with audio on transport, communication between transport and escorts at all times. In my assessment, I chose to evaluate the article of the prisoner escape from prisoner transport. I need to assess the importance of securing the vehicle to establish the safety of the inmates, the security personnel, the driver, and all citizen’s in and around the route. I determined that one threat that is a high probability is physical assault. I can determine this on a few different areas which is why I gave it a criticality of 7. If a prisoner were caught escaping a fight would ensue, if the prisoner were seen by a bystander, physical harm could come from the interaction, or if the prisoner got a hold of a weapon, he could become too brave instead of just running. My thought of countermeasures are that the transport should have a strong metal cage separating the inmates from the guards; furthermore, the inmates should be shackled, hands and feet, with a sturdy chain running from wrist shackles to ankle shackles. This should be restrictive to eliminate excess movement on the prisoner’s part. The prisoners are being transported to facilities better equipped to deal with them, not to go to a spa; therefore their comfort is less important. The next strong threat factor is through  outside resources. This could happen in many ways. Since the inmates that are generally on these types of transports are considered dangerous, security measures must be made to ensure no contact with anyone on the outside for a period of time prior to transport and should have no knowledge of transport date. This could help prevent communicating with someone on routes, times, or any other knowledge that could be given to organize a breakout. There should be at least two, or more, armed guards in the transport with the prisoner’s and driver at all times. This would allow rest as well as backup. There should be at least two cars following the transport to ensure the transport is not ambushed easily. There should be two armed guards in each car. Another car with two armed guards should escort the transport. Finally, open lines of contact should be in place between all guards at all times, either via a system installed on the bus or through ear pieces and microphones. Having all guards in constant communication can prevent many problems from arising; because, one guard may see something another does not, and there are extra hands in case of trouble should the inevitable happen. The assessment I have provided, while requiring extra manpower, makes sense to me in the fact that this type of transport is moving dangerous cargo. The object of security in this matter is not to provide comfort, but to provide an extra measure of protection for the inmates, driver, guards, and civilians alike.

The Milgram Experiment of Obedience :: essays research papers

Milgram’s experiment of obedience was done in 1961 soon after WW2 and the trials for war crimes against the Nazi’s were being done. An ad was placed in the newspaper for a Memory and Learning Experiment at $4.50 an hour, but the experiment was ultimately on Obedience. The experiment was conducted on behalf of Adolph Eichmann who was convicted of war crimes, and crimes against humanity, but he was only following orders. Eichmann filled out death warrants but never carried out the killings. The objective of the experiment was to find out if people would obey higher authority even though what they were doing was morally wrong. There would be the experimenter who recorded the teacher’s reactions and answered questions of the teacher. The learner, an actor not actually harmed, was supposedly shocked every time he had given a wrong answer and each time he was wrong he would be shocked with more voltage than the one before. The teacher administered questions to the lear ner along with the shocks for the wrong answer. What the teacher thought he was doing was giving a painful shock, not deadly shock to the learner to test of punishment leads to better memory. During the experiment very few actually went against authority, even though all shocked the learner at 300W and on. Over 50% went to the full amount of electricity. In fact a prediction from other psychologist suggested that not even 1% of the subjects would follow up to the last switch on the generator. During the experiment, teachers, the actual subjects, became nervous. The teachers began questioning the experimenter, who told them to go on and that he was the one talking all the responsibility of the teachers’ actions. This persuaded many teachers to go on feeling obligated to follow authority even though the teachers knew they were doing something morally wrong. The teachers fidgeted a lot, moved the hands, pulled out cigarettes and looking around, talking fast, etc. which are all signs of nervousness. Despite their nervousness and morality they listened to authority to continue long after the learner was not responding.

Thrasymachus Perspective on Human Nature Essay -- Thrasymachus Morali

Thrasymachus' Perspective on Human Nature Thrasymachus' perspective of human nature is that we all seek to maximize power, profit and possessions. He gives the argument that morality is not an objective truth but rather a creation of the stronger (ruling) party to serve its own advantage. Therefore definitions of "just" and "unjust", "right" and "wrong", "moral" and "immoral" are all dependent upon the decree of the ruling party. Thrasymachus argues that acting "morally", in accordance with the ruling party, benefits the ruling party, while acting "immorally", injures the ruling party and benefits oneself. Thrasymachus perceives human nature as our ruthless drive toward superiority. He believes that unless we are foolish "moral simpletons," we will act according to what is best for us, namely living immorally on a quest to becoming ruler of the world. He believes that our human nature has no qualms about committing immoral actions. In describing human nature Thrasymachus says, "immorality has a bad name because people are afraid of being at the receiving end of it, not of doing it." (Republic 344c) When we finally reach the goal, the ideal of human nature, we will be able to practice "immorality in its most perfect form," stealing "what doesn't belong to [us] - consecrated and unconsecrated objects, private possessions, and public property - and [we do] so not on a small scale, but comprehensively." (Republic 344a-b) Thrasymachus makes the assumption that we are all driven to acquiring as much power, profit and possessions as possible. His argument for living immorally rests on the assumption that our human nature's burning desire is for more of the three p's (power, profit and possessions), and that there is more ... ...ity is created by those in power, and thus, there is no absolute true morality, he concludes that the best way to satisfy his human desire is to acquire as much power as possible, and take from others as much as he can. Because his view of morality is not fixed but created by those in power, he defines words like "moral", "just", and "right" based on one's compliance with the rules of the ruling party. He claims that acting "morally" serves the ruling party because the ruling party designed the legal structure for its own benefit. Socrates raises some criticisms, especially the criticism showing that people behaving immorally would not be able to act in concert with others and would fall out with others, which are compelling and discredit Thrasymachus' position. From this it is conclusive that Thrasymachus has not entirely captured the essence of human nature.

Charles Dickens Essay

Comparing the ways in which tension and suspense is created in the opening sequences of David Lean’s 1946 & Julian Jarrold’s 1999 interpretation of â€Å"Great Expectations† by Charles Dickens  In David Lean’s 1946 interpretation of â€Å"Great Expectation† Pip is portrayed as a small, smart, clean young boy, as he will be considered more innocent and vulnerable to the audience. Pip’s fair hair colour against the darkening background makes the audience think that he is an angelic like figure. Lean shows the vast landscape with tall-silhouetted gibbets to indicate just how small and vulnerable Pip is running across the marshland. When Pip goes to visit and weed the grave of his parents, Lean shows this particularly to gain the audience’s sympathy. The audience hears everything that Pip hears and this helps us to understand his apprehension. The scream is shocking and makes us see his fear to his meeting with the convict. When he is being threatened, Pip’s overwhelming politeness and naivety, despite the life-threatening situation he is in, makes the audience feel a great deal of sympathy for him. However, in Julian Jarrold’s 1999 interpretation of â€Å"Great Expectations† Pip is portrayed as a scruffy and an unclean young boy. This image gains the audience’s sympathy as we can tell that he is mistreated at home. Jarrold’s Pip has dark hair; and although he is not seen as an angelic and innocent figure. Jarrold engages the sympathy of the audience by presenting him as a hunted animal. When Pip encounters the convict, he is undoubtedly terrified and traumatised. He cannot even look at the convict, and is so paralysed with fear he can’t even speak. When we first meet the convict we can see immediately how intimidating he can be. David Lean shows a close-up of his face simultaneously to him jumping onto the scene. This close-up view is being used to show us what the convict is thinking and also to show the anger. This close-up view is also used to prevent us seeing what Pip is doing when the camera zooms up on the convict. Therefore we worry for Pip and this adds to the suspense of the moment. The convict is an intimidating large man who has a lot of power over Pip. In the beginning he is always shot in darkness, whereas Pip is always shot in bright light to emphasise his innocence. This is particularly noticeable when the convict is in control, trying to tilt Pip over the gravestone. There is a cut between Pip and the convict to show Pip’s vulnerability and a close-up of his face highlights his terror. Pip is shown as the opposite to the convict and looks innocent, charming and neatly dressed. The convict however looks angry and dirty and we presume that this is what he is like and therefore regard him as a bad person. Language is also used to emphasise the convict’s aggressiveness. The convict specifically emphasises the words ‘roasted’ and also ‘tear him open’. These words are emphasised to scare Pip and also to shock the audience. It draws the audience into the story and makes us feel Pip’s intimidation. The convict’s terrifying image adds to the forbidding setting.  Julian Jarrold’s version of the convict is shown to be incredibly daunting and intimidating. Although no dialogue is spoken we can see from his fixed stare on Pip and his angry scowl that he intends to do harm to him. The convict is dressed in old dirty clothes and looks very ill groomed, this adds to the audience’s understanding of him as an escaped convict. Lean uses some effective techniques to show the characters. He shows the vast landscape with tall-silhouetted gibbets to indicate just how small and vulnerable Pip is. The use of light and dark is very effective when me meet the convict. Pip remains in the light but the convict’s face is shrouded in darkness to convince the audience of his an evil nature. Pip’s lightened appearance shows his innocence and makes the audience wonder why such a nice boy is in such a dark and gloomy place. After the confrontation, Pip is seen scrabbling home across the marshes as quickly as possible, against the same eerie landscape. The setting in Jarrold’s 1999 interpretation is less stereotypical. It is not dark and the sky is sunny. There is a very high-pitched note, which appears haunting and creepy to the audience. Just before we see Pip’s head peep out of the wheat field, from the convict’s point-of-view, we hear breathing and this causes suspense, as we cannot see anyone. The setting of a wheat field is less traditional and does not prepare us for when the convict chases Pip, as no one would expect to find a convict in the middle of a wheat field. The golden reeds add to the peaceful tranquillity of the first shot, and therefore relax the viewer. Jarrold uses his own ideas and makes the opening more intriguing and exciting. At the beginning we have no idea what is going to happen and because of this Pip’s running come as a shock, and therefore has more impact. This provides the audience with an immediate incentive to continue watching. We then follow the dramatic chase that Jarrold has constructed through a wheat field and the graveyard. Jarrold’s use of point-of-view shots give the audience a chance to feel more involved in the film and to help them to feel the confusion of the chase. The wheat field itself is Jarrold’s own notion and is not mentioned anywhere in the written novel. However, this really helps to show Pip is trying to hide but that he cannot escape.