Child Developmental Theorists Essay

Introduction Over many years, development theories have been made about the development of children and the stages they move through in order to grow and mature. There are five stages of childhood development; cognitive, physical, social & emotional and moral & spiritual. In this report, there will be a focus on three types of development theories. The three development theories that will be researched in this report are Jean Piaget (1896-1980), Erik Erikson (1902-1994) and Abraham Maslow (1908-1970). Developmental Theory One- Jean Piaget 4.1Jean Piaget was born on the 9th August 1896 in Neuchatel which is in the Francophone region of Switzerland. As a young boy he was always interested in biology and the natural world. He attended the University of Neuchatel and also briefly attended the University of Zurich. He didn’t study biology however. His interests changed as he became older and he graduated from university with two published papers on his thinking at that time. After he graduated he moved from Switzerland to Paris, France where he taught at a boy’s school. It was here at this school, where he was helping to mark the Binet intelligence test, that he noticed that the younger children were consistently answering the same questions wrong, which the older children were getting right. From these results he produced the theory that young children’s cognitive processes are naturally different to adults thinking. In 1923, Piaget married and had three children, which he studied through infancy. Through the next couple of decades he became Directors and chiefs of a couple of different organizations and universities. Piaget sadly passed away on the 16th September 1980. 4.2Piaget’s theories are focused around two areas, which are language and cognitive. His theory was split into four parts which were the sensorimotor stage, preoperational stage, concrete operational stage and the formal operational stage. These will be expanded on later on in the report. 4.3Some significant ideas in Piaget’s cognitive theory include the following: cognitive development is mainly a result of the child’s active and independent interaction and exploration of their environment, that the role of the adult is as a provider and facilitator for the child, that children have differently distinct thinking processes from, that new knowledge is compounded on from previous knowledge and lastly that intellectual functioning is a very important factor in determining the behaviour of the child. 4.4In Piaget’s theory, it is split into four parts which are the sensorimotor stage, preoperational stage, concrete operational stage and the formal operation stage. The sensorimotor stage for a child is between the ages of birth to approximately two years of age. For children in this stage, they have minimal competence in representing their environment using a different range of images, language and/or symbols. Infants also have no awareness of objects or people. Piaget called this a lack of â€Å"object permanence†. When people develop object permanence it means that they can understand that people and objects continue to exist even when they aren’t in that present environment. The preoperational stage is from the ages of approximately two to seven years. These years can differ or change for any stage depending on the developmental of the child. This stage focuses around the language area of development. In this stage, children develop an internal representation of the world which helps them describe events, people and feelings which may be their own and/or others. During this stage they also use symbols as a way of playing and explaining themselves. Although the child’s thinking has developed from the sensorimotor stage it is still extremely lower than the thinking of adults. Children in this stage are very egocentric. This means that the child only thinks from their perspective and has no concept of thinking for others. In the concrete operational, children have some difficulty with abstract thought and often think in very â€Å"concrete† terms- hence the name. Their thinking is very black and white and they are attentive to the values of fairness and rules. The concrete operational stage is focused around children from the ages for seven to twelve years old. In this stage, children also have a better understanding of time and space, but still have limits to their thinking. They also tend to think in a more logical manner and begin to overcome the egocentric manner and characteristics of the previous stage. In the last stage, the formal operational stage, it usually focuses around children aged twelve years old and continues into adulthood. In this stage they finally begin to develop the ability to think formally, logically and abstractly. At this stage they can think hypothetically and problem solve using their logic. Developmental Theory Two- Erik Erikson 5.1.Erik Erikson was born in Frankfurt, on the 15th May, 1902 to Danish parents and died on the 12th May 1994 in America. Erikson was the result of an extramarital affair by his mother. The circumstances surrounding his birth were concealed throughout his entire childhood. Erikson had a major issue with identity which is shown through his theories and through his life. 5.2.Erikson’s theory is based around psychosocial development. His theory was organized into eight stages which extended from birth to death. These stages are hope, will, purpose, competence, fidelity, love and care. These eight stages are expanded and explained later on in the report. 5.3.Erikson’s theory was based around the psychosocial beliefs that: a.People tend to have the same basic needs b.Personality develops and changes in response to the basic needs c.Development occurs in stages that reflect physical life span changes d.That in each stage of development, the individual us confronted by a â€Å"crisis† or developmental task which is critical to that particular stage of development e.Lastly, that the motivation of each person to meet these challenges will vary from stage to stage as their needs vary. 5.4.Stage One in the theory of Erikson is Hope: Trust vs. Mistrust and is from birth to one years of age. The psychosocial crisis is trust v. mistrust and the virtue is hope. This stage focuses around if the infant’s needs are being met by the parents as infants depend entirely on their parents, especially their mother who provides food, sustenance and comfort. What the parent provides their child is what the child will learn to accept. For example, if the parents expose the child to warmth, a sense of regularity and dependable affection then the infant will view the world with trust. If the parents fail to provide these things and instead provide an insecure, cold, abusive and unloving environment then mistrust of the world will be developed. The second stage is Will: Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt which is from the ages of two to four years of age. This stage is focused around the question of â€Å"can I do things by myself or must I always rely on others?† As the child begins to gain motor skills and enough knowledge, they begin to explore their surroundings. In this stage caregivers are encouraged to support self sufficient behaviour which enables the child to become capable of fulfilling their own needs such as dressing and feeding themselves. Stage three is Purpose: initiative vs. guilt and focused around the ages of four to six years of age. The main question in this stage is â€Å"Am I good or bad?† In this stage, children learn how to control and understand the world around them. The fourth stage is from age seven to twelve. This stage is called Competence: Industry vs. Inferiority. The main question asked in this stage is â€Å"How can I be good?† Through social interactions, children begin to develop a sense of pride in their accomplishments and abilities. They also find it easier to share and co-operate with others. When the children are encouraged by parents, teachers and peers they begin to believe in their skills. Those children who receive little encouragement from anyone will doubt their own abilities and doubt their ability to becoming more successful. Stage five is Fidelity: Identity vs. Role confusion and is from the ages of 13 to 19 years of age. The main question asked in this stage is â€Å"Who am I and where am I going?† In this stage the adolescents are developing and exploring their independence and sense of self. Like the other stages, those who receive encouragement will emerge from this stage with a strong sense of self and a feeling of not only independence but control of themselves and sometimes others as well. The sixth stage is Love: Intimacy and Isolation. This stage includes the ages from 20 to 40 years old. The main question in this stage is â€Å"Am I loved and wanted?† and â€Å"Shall I share my life with someone or live alone?† During this stage there is the exploration of personal relationships. Erikson believed that people developed a close and committed relationship with other people. Those who are successful will then develop relationships which become safe, committed and secure and are able to incorporate a level of intimacy. If they are unable to develop these relationships they may develop a sense of isolation. The seventh and second last stage of Erikson’s theory is Care: Generativity vs. Stagnation and is from the ages of 45 to 64 years of age. â€Å"Will I produce something of real value?† is the main question asked in this stage. During this stage, they have already developed and build on their lives, with a main focus on family and career. Those who are unsuccessful during this stage and fail to obtain this skill may feel unproductive and uninvolved in their world. The last and eighth stage is Wisdom: Ego Integrity vs. Despair which is from the age of 65 onwards. The main question is â€Å"Have I lived a full life?† This phase is mainly focused on looking back over life and assessing their achievements. Those who are unable to complete this stage will experience a large amount of regrets and despair; however those who are successful look back on their life with few regrets and a feeling of satisfaction. Developmental Theory Three- Abraham Maslow 6.1Abraham Harold Maslow was born on the April 1st 1908, in Brooklyn, New York. Maslow had six siblings and was the eldest child. Maslow recalls his childhood as rather lonely and unhappy. This was because his parents were un-educated Jews, and he was brought up in a non Jewish neighbourhood. This resulted in Maslow spending most of his time in libraries and with books. Maslow wanted to pursue law, but ended up graduating at the University of Wisconsin with a psychology degree. While studying at the University, he married his first cousin Bertha in December 1928. While at numerous other universities, including Columbia and Brooklyn he researched and found mentors which he began to take notes on, resulting in the basis of his research. Maslow sadly died on June 8th 1970 of a heart attack while being a resident fellow of the Laughlin Institute in California. 6.2Maslow’s theory has a couple of areas of development it focuses on. Due to the number of levels, there are a large number of areas which are developed such as emotional development, cognitive development and social development. Using these areas of development, Maslow developed his Hierarchy of Needs, which was a layer of needs. Each layer has to be completed before you are able to move up to the next level. Some people never manage to reach the top layer, but some people manage to reach that level very early on in adulthood. 6.3The principle idea of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is self actualization. In the Hierarchy of Needs, above air, water, food and sex he laid out five broader layers of basic needs. Above these basic needs, higher levels of needs exist. These five broader layers of basic needs, which can be classified as other principle ideas are physiological needs, the need for safety and security, need for love and belonging, need for esteem and the need to self actualize. 6.4In this report, the focus will be on an interpretation of the Hierarchy of Needs which is shown in the diagram below and only shows the basic needs. These basic needs are human instinct. These basic needs are expanded: a)Physiological Needs: This need is a biological need. This layer consists of the need for oxygen, food, shelter, water, health, sex and a constant body temperature. These are in the first layer because if a person was deprived of these needs, they would not be able to survive and would come first in a person’s search for satisfaction. b)The second tier in the Hierarchy of Needs is Safety. This layer consists of the need for security of body, employment, resources, morality, family, health and property. This layer can only be achieved when the first layer has been achieved to its full extent. This goes for every tier/layer in the Hierarchy of Needs. c)The third tier in the Hierarchy of Needs is Love and Belonging, which focuses on building friendships, family and sexual intimacy. Once the second layer has been completed, the need for friends, family and sexual intimacy and affectionate relationships in general becomes larger. This stage also means giving and receiving love, affection and the sense of belonging. If this level doesn’t get reached, the person can often be susceptible to loneliness and experience social anxieties. d)Esteem is the second last tier in Maslow’s theory which focuses on self-esteem, confidence, achievement, respect of others and respect by others. Maslow split this level into two types of esteem- high and low. The lower type of esteem is the need for the respect of others and the need for status, fame, glory, attention, reputation, dignity and in some cases dominance. The higher form of esteem is the need for self respect and the need for feelings such as confidence, achievement, independence and freedom. Once self respect has been accomplished, it is a lot harder to lose than the lower form of esteem. If this level isn’t reached, a person can feel inferior, weak, helpless and worthless. e)The last tier in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is self actualization which is one of the principal ideas of the theory. This last layer has the needs of morality, creativity, spontaneity, problem solving, lack of prejudice and the acceptance of facts. Maslow describes this level as a person’s need to be and do what that person â€Å"was born to do. All these stages can be seen in this diagram below. Conclusion Through Jean Piaget’s, Erik Erikson and Abraham Maslow’s theories we can see how each man has developed how they think children develop whether it be through language, cognitive, emotionally, socially or a mixture of all or some. Each theory gives an in depth explanation on how they think children and in some cases, adolescents develop. Some people only believe one theory but there are also others who believe in many different theories on the development of children. Whatever theory/theories people believe is not right or wrong as there are many different views on the subject.

Abstract Views on Military Retention

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

Crisis Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 3

Crisis Management - Essay Example governments all over the world have initiated disaster management programs that are focused upon providing early warning signs about an imminent disaster and have also introduced action plans to educate members of the public and make them aware of measures they need to institute in order to be effectively prepared in the event of a natural disaster occurring. While there have been several disasters in the United States, one of the most memorable ones is the Katrina disaster, which resulted in losses of life and property that could have been easily prevented. Federalism is the system whereby certain portfolios are designated under State authority while others such as defense are under the Federal Government’s control. The Katrina disaster caused havoc in the state of Louisiana in particular and has come under sharp criticism because it was ineffectively managed. There was a lack of effective coordination between federal and State agencies in executing the Disaster Management Plan that was already in place. The FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) in the United States has been subject to sharp criticism on account of its bungling and mismanagement of the Katrina disaster which struck on August 29th, highlighted especially in the incident at the Convention Center in New Orleans where 25,000 people remained stranded for four days before they were rescued.(www.abc.go.com). The State of Louisiana has an exhaustive Hurricane Disaster Plan. [Tapscott, 2005] which called for citizens to be evacuated early, however, none of the guidelines were followed, neither did the FEMA respond quickly and effectively to the disaster [Editorial, 2005]. Losses of life and property have been reported on an unprecedented scale. Although Federal response to disasters had already been initiated in past years for flood and earthquake control, the efforts were still largely decentralized until 1979 when the FEMA came into being. The Katrina problems however, arose because of

The Problem of Homelessness Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Problem of Homelessness - Research Paper Example In the first article above, The National Healthcare for Homeless Clinician’s Network reckons that substance abuse is a major contributor to homelessness among individuals, with over half of the homeless individuals and 70% of the homeless veterans estimated to be drug addicts. The article asserts that combating drug addictions is an effective way of ending chronic homelessness. In the second article listed above, the Portland Rescue Mission notes addiction as the number one cause of homelessness globally (with 68% of cities in the United States alone reporting addiction as the cause of homelessness). The other nine causes included are domestic violence, mental illness, job loss and underemployment, foreclosure, post-traumatic stress, throw away teens, relational brokenness, and grief and finally despair. In the last article, Eugene Didenko and Nicole Pankratz observe that a plethora of researches and surveys indicate that homeless people have much higher rates of substance use than the general population. In my attempts to put in place a presentation on the benefits of sports for my PSY180 class, I saw it wise to additionally argue against some of the major oppositions to my point of view. The internet provided a suitable source of such information on opposing views. In my attempts to put in place a presentation on the benefits of sports for my PSY180 class, I saw it wise to additionally argue against some of the major oppositions to my point of view. The internet provided a suitable source of such information on opposing views, with Google being my preferred search engine. In addition to the reasons already stated in scenario 2 above, I always opt for Google for its relative convenience, easy use, minimal technical difficulties, issues and problems, the credibility of sources therein and reliability hence. In addition, to further ensure the credibility and reliability of my selected sources, I am keen to note which authors, groups of authors and institutions are behind a given select ed piece.

Mastering Cognitive Psychology to Become a Good HR Manager Personal Statement

Mastering Cognitive Psychology to Become a Good HR Manager - Personal Statement Example I am particularly interested in cognitive psychology since it gives insight into the nature of thought which involves cognition, mental processes, and the underlying behavior. After graduation, I hope to apply the knowledge and skill I have acquired from psychology in a business organization’s human resource department. It is my goal to develop a compensation package which will motivate employees to work with their full potential. I must also add that in aside from my interest in psychology, I am also very passionate in creative writing. Thus, I hope to take minor courses in English in order to enhance my writing skills. It is my greatest dream to write my own book where I can apply my knowledge and skill from both disciplines. I believe that an effective writer should not only be able to tell a good story but let the readers explore the human psyche through the thoughts and emotions of the characters. Through the years, the situations and challenges that I face have given me the chance to grow and develop as an individual. As a working student, I have been instilled with the great sense of responsibility and commitment both for my studies and my job. My part-time job in BCC’s cafeteria for two years has trained me to work with a diverse workforce, deal with customers especially with the irate ones, and value time management. This experience has exposed to the challenges of dealing with stress and pressure. Being an Indonesian, my stay here at the US has enhanced my flexibility as an individual. It enabled me to observe and adapt to the different culture in this society, made me more open-minded, widened my social circle, and furthered my skills and competency in the English language.

Hydropower Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Hydropower - Essay Example This paper also deals with the uses of hydropower as the renewable energy resources in the environment. Hydropower is also known as waterpower. In simple words, it refers to the power of electricity produced from water currents. Hydropower energy thus involves hydroelectric dams as well as reservoirs, underground waterways and tidal plants among others. Hydropower is widely considered as more efficient, as compared to other energy sources, as it helps in decreasing the cost of electricity and increasing the reliability as well as flexibility of energy produced. Hydropower is however noted to be a costly method for the production of energy (7). It is worth mentioning in this context that energy is required for the progress of mankind and therefore, energy must be available in sufficient quantities along with affordable prices for the consumers, which the hydropower plants often fail to suffice. New and advanced technologies are also required for the availability of hydropower energy as well as for the safety of the environment. However, besides the fact that hydropower is regarded as a cost consuming energy production source, it is also perceived to impose strong negative affects to the environment, especially when concerning marine biological lifecycle (7). Nevertheless, one of the benefits of hydropower is its superior ability for fossil-fuel generation. Hydropower is also considered to protect from greenhouse gas emission at large quantities. It has often been argued that the developed hydropower will have the potential of making large contributions towards improvements in the living standard of developing countries, making energy available at cheaper rates. Compulsions of the recent era to suffice rising global demand, resulting in higher costs for fuel base energy sources have further led mankind to innovate new sources of energy, one of those being the water source, which has however been in use since traditional times (8). A few noteworthy

The Darwinian controversy of the nineteenth century Essay

The Darwinian controversy of the nineteenth century - Essay Example The transmutation of species was accepted by many scientists before 1859, but the publication of Charles Darwins On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection provided the first cogent theory for a mechanism by which evolutionary change could occur: natural selection. (Mayr, 2002) Darwins theory nearly shattered the traditional Christian notion that humanity, poised between beast and angel, was literally formed in Gods image. Darwin pointed out, long before we knew that we share 98.5 percent of our genetic material with chimpanzees, that what looks back at us in the mirror is not the face of God but is kin to the earthbound apes. As the Edinburgh Review warned at the time, "a revolution in thought is imminent, which will shake society to its very foundations by destroying the sanctity of the conscience and the religious sense." (Zimmer, 2002) All the statements of Darwinian Theory were in strong contradiction with the religious views. Darwin was sure that life on Earth is directly connected with the fight for living. In addition the strongest survives and the weakest loses their right for living. According to Darwin’s theory there is always a great resistance and contradiction in nature. More over Darwin supposed that this theory reflected the life of humans also. This, of course, was totally opposite to religious views, where everything should exist in harmony with each other. Religion considers that life is given to everyone and we should co-exist in the world peacefully. It is interesting that Indian anthropologist Lalita Vidyardi, who devoted many years of her life to the learning of Darwinism, states that Darwinian theory of evolution, caused the ideas of racism in social sciences. She said that many scientists believed that the civilization and progress in the world were achieved thanks to the white race and in the second part of the XIX-the century the phenomenon of racism was accepted as a fact by a greatest part of

Cultural Identity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Cultural Identity - Essay Example It creates a certain stereotype that is more often not well justified or has no basis at all. My cultural identity is shaped and influenced by an ancient cultural Chinese tradition of filial obedience based on the teachings of Confucius, a feeling of belonging and affiliation with the entire Chinese nation, including the overseas Chinese in many other countries, and it is because of the Chinese civilization being the oldest continuously existing civilization in the world today, with its unique language (the most difficult to learn and master) and system of its writing (based on characters), and pride in resurgent China after two centuries of being under Western colonial powers. There is equality among sexual genders although under the present regime, families prefer baby boys to baby girls because of its one-child per family policy to help contain its ever-increasing large population. Although the Chinese people is composed of many ethnic groups, there is only one national language, which is Mandarin, and despite its huge geographic size, China officially has only one time z one (it covers five time zones) for easier governance and administration. A Chinese person is able to connect and feel an affinity with another Chinese anywhere in the world due to this single language for communication. I have come over to the United States of America as an international student, and one of my subjects in school is inter-cultural communications. This is the first time I experienced the concept of white privilege, in which people of the white race feel a sense of entitlement to all the good things in life, and taking these things for granted as something that is due to them (Martin 55) in a daily pattern of dominance, subordination, and privilege. It is unspoken type of privileged class, with white males looking down on the females (regardless of skin color) as sexual objects, made of

Casual Argument essay based on an article by charles Murray

Casual Argument based on an article by charles Murray - Essay Example would like us to believe that the following data he claims to have collated over time proves that the decline of marriage has a direct effect on the economic status of the middle class (Murray, Charles "Coming Apart: The State of White America, 1960–2010"): In 1960, extremely high proportions of whites in both Belmont and Fishtown were married—94% in Belmont and 84% in Fishtown. In the 1970s, those percentages declined about equally in both places. Then came the great divergence. In Belmont, marriage stabilized during the mid-1980s, standing at 83% in 2010. In Fishtown, however, marriage continued to slide; as of 2010, a minority (just 48%) were married. The gap in marriage between Belmont and Fishtown grew to 35 percentage points, from just 10. Basing his explanation on those statistics, he argued that the lack of marriage resulted in a lower economic growth for the middle class. After all, the double income family no longer existed in his opinion. Murray basically wanted his readers to equate marriage and economics as a partnership that grows the social class. Regretfully, his claims lacked any solid basis as his essay failed to present supporting data and information to back up his claim. Aside from a changing moral outlook within the middle class society, there truly does not seem to be any solid proof that his claim pertaining to the decline of the middle class economy in relation to the decline in marriage has a direct relation. In a modern society, women are expected to be financially independent. Thus, they are no longer beholden to men for their financial survival. Working class women have increased their participation in the modern work place and as such have managed to prove that they are quite able to take care of themselves, without a man. Although there are some who are in agreement with Murray about the decline of marriage existing in the lower income levels of our society, that does not mean that there has been a change in the moral

Summary of recent PCAOB actions that impact an audit, its auditors and Research Paper

Summary of recent PCAOB actions that impact an audit, its auditors and its audit committee - Research Paper Example Moreover, the PCAOB oversees the registration of public accounting bodies responsible for auditing publicly traded companies, conducts disciplinary proceedings and investigations of registered firms, inspects the registered firms’ practices, and approves registered firms (Carmichael 6). Recently, The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) has suggested new guidelines aimed at investors’ protection via strengthening prerequisites for audit substantiation. One of these guidelines includes inspections, which is an effort by PCAOB to promote high quality audit. Annual inspection oversees the improvement of quality audit. PCAOB requires any audit firm auditing a public company to be registered with PCAOB. Such a firm is inspected annually by the PCAOB if it audits 100 or more publicly traded companies or after every three years if it audits less than 100 public companies (Knapp 62). Results obtained after inspection help point out areas which require further practice, audit guidance, reminders training, or enhanced skills leading to better performance by audit professionals. A report is prepared after every inspection by the PCAOB and made available to public. Recently, the PCAOB added more responsibilities to the audit committee which include responsibility of overseeing the work of external auditors, compensation, and appointment (Carmichael 25). The committee is obliged by SOX to comprise of at least one person with financial expertise in order to facilitate its duties. With some expertise, the audit committee is in a better position to challenge financial statements, ascertain the appropriateness and sufficiency of internal controls, and, if need be, perform certain accounting procedures to safeguard interests of Shareholders. Companies that lack a financial expert as a member of the audit committee are required to disclose and give an explanation for this in the yearly proxy

Atmospheric Conditions Compared to Indoor Air Pollution Essay Example for Free

Atmospheric Conditions Compared to Indoor Air Pollution Essay There are many different air pollution problems that exist today. Ozone depletion, climate change conditions, volcanic eruptions, acid rains, and motor vehicle exhaust to name a few. One particular problem that is wide spread is â€Å"acid rain†. Acid rain is an effect caused by natural as well as man-made pollution, with a mixture of wet and dry deposited materials in our atmosphere containing nitric and sulfuric acids higher than normal amounts. Increase of these chemical compounds is caused from exhaust from burning of fossil fuels such as automobiles, electric power generation as well as volcanic eruptions and activity and natural plant decay. www. epa. gov). Nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxides are emitted from power generation and other sources where acid rain is created when these gases react with other components of the atmosphere, water, oxygen, and other acid compounds resulting in creation of sulfuric acid and nitric acid. Prevailing winds cause these particulates to spread out over long distances over wide spread regions. These acid rains are of environmental and quality of living concerns. Water vapors from acid rain can enter into the homes through open windows, poor insulation around doors and windows, ventilation systems and vent pipes that can affect air quality of the home as well as outside environments. Some of the environmental effects of acid rain can cause paint to peel, steal corrosion of bridges and structures, erosion of stone buildings and statues affecting the quality of air and life in residential and commercial areas. (http://en. wikipedia. org). Ground water supply sources can become contaminated and affects everything the water is used for. Acid rain can have harmful effects on animals, aquatic life, plants and their ecosystems. The effects are greater lakes, streams, wetlands and aquatic environments. Acid rain causes waters to become acidic and absorb aluminum deposits from runoff from the soils around them. The combination of this and the results of the chemical reaction make the water toxic to shell fish, crayfish and other aquatic species. Even though some species tolerate acidic waters, interconnected ecosystems that impact certain species will eventually impact others along the food chain. The damaging effects of acid rain on plant life are quite dramatic. Damage to forests in higher elevations is more apparent than lower lying regions. The acid content is at a higher level and leaches the soil nutrients and releasing aluminum making it harder for trees and plant life to absorb water. In lower lying areas the effects of acid rain, environmental stressors, and poor soil quality on plant life and trees cause them to become weaker where they cannot tolerate temperatures too cold or too hot, resist infestation of insects and susceptible to disease, and inhibit the ability to reproduce. Some areas the soil is better equipped to neutralize the acids in a â€Å"buffering capacity† that varies from region to region. (www. environment. nationalgeographic). By curbing the use of fossil fuel burning will decrease the forming of acid rains and conservation efforts of individuals. Not only is acid rain damaging to the outside environment, but also on inside air quality of the home. Physical contact of acid rain from rain droplets or swimming in acidic recreational waterways has little effect on human health. However, the pollutants that cause acid rain are associated with increasing the risks of health problems including respiratory and other illnesses. These pollutants infiltrate into indoor living spaces and cause many respiratory illnesses, breathing disorders including asthma and can even cause death. By improving ventilation systems and air purification techniques of the home, using better insulation and installing energy efficient windows and doors will greatly improve air quality of the home and diminish the risk factors from outside air pollution. http://greenliving. nationlageographic. com). Laws, such as the Clean Air Act has improved greatly the air quality. The EPA, through monitoring, and imposing strict guidelines on release of toxins in fossil fuel burning industries. The EPA has reported that from 1980 and 2009, the national average of sulfur dioxide content in the air has decreased by 76 percent, and the amount of nitrogen dioxide decreased by 48 percent. Congress has also created the Acid Rain Program Title IV of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendment. Some of the EPA’s initiatives are the SO2 Reductions and Allowances Trading under the Acid Rain Program involves Phase 1, which imposed tightened annual emission limits of higher emitting plants by installing pollution control devices. Allowance trading systems contributes the low-cost rules of exchange minimizing government intrusions and allowance trading to prepare for a viable compliance tool in reduction of SO2. (www. epa. gov). Another asset implemented by the EPA and Congress in the Clean Air Act Amendment is the reduction of NOx beginning in 1995 through 2000 as a two phase program concerning coal-fired electric electricity utility boilers. Phase 1 covered Group 1 Boilers and Phase 2 covered Group 1 and 2 boilers. Group 1 boilers are tangentially dry bottom fired boilers which has a tendency to give off higher NOx concentrations than Group 2 wet bottom wall fired boilers. Although the NOx reduction program incorporates many of the same characteristics as the SO2 program, it does not include allowance trading or caps the NOx emissions. www. epa. gov). The EPA also requires participants of programs to install, monitor and report data so tracking of the progress can be compiled on quarterly, semi-annually, and yearly bases. Monitoring devices known as CEMS (Continuous Emissions Monitoring System) are required to be installed and maintained by the participants. In the event that data is not compiled or not reported during a reporting period, the applicants will be considered non-compliant and the units deemed out of control for that period and fines incurred to the applicants. (www. epa. gov). The EPA requires any new or upgraded boilers or generating plants to install pollution control devices to capture, or remove sulfur before burning the fuel, and stack collectors for NOx particulates. There are several types of pollution control devices in use, and, depending on the fuels burned, amount of fuel burned, boiler types, amount of electricity produced and type of â€Å"stacks† used for venting on which device will meet the appropriate application. With the aide of the EPA and other government and private pollution control departments involved our air quality has improved greatly in the past few decades. With contributions of these departments and each individual persons working together to improve air quality of our open spaces and within businesses and homes will bring us that much closer to improving our world air quality for the new generation growing now, and even better for future generations. Keeping due diligence in our efforts ensures the planets recovery not only in air pollution, not only, but also our environment as a whole improving quality of life for all organisms large and small.

Drawing, Printmaking, and Painting Essay Example for Free

Drawing, Printmaking, and Painting Essay There are different ways on how to make exquisite two-dimensional masterpieces. It can be in the form of a drawing, printmaking or painting. All of these methods may seem identical because of their common dimensions. However, there are some specific components and characteristic that each form of visual art has that sets them apart from one another. Drawing is considered to be the foundation of all pictorial representation. More so, it is in this stage where almost all art activities start. The utilization of lines to represent various forms and shapes serve as the guidelines or foundation of more advanced or elaborate art depictions such as paintings. Though it may seem that drawing is part of other visual art forms, its emphasis on the use of line is its most distinguishing factor. Furthermore, drawing also makes use of shadings and color to create an illusion that it has mass and more dimensions. However, it all depends upon the artist’s choice of medium and tools of whether the drawing will have a linear or painterly quality. Linear is a technique in the visual arts wherein lines and curves are highlighted meanwhile painterly is the exact opposite technique of linear because it uses colors to create shapes and forms (Delahunt). A famous example of a linear drawing is the Vitruvian Man by Leonardo Da Vinci. In this illustration, Da Vinci showed the human anatomy and ideal body proportions. Da Vinci used pen and ink to draw the lines and curves that perfectly generated an accurate depiction of a human body. Meanwhile, printmaking is more complex in terms of execution compared to drawing because it uses an object, which can either be made from metal, plastic or wood with carvings of any design to create an artwork. The process of producing prints is quite complicated than drawing because in drawing, an artist can produces a work of art with just the use of pencil and a piece of paper while printmaking requires more apparatus. After the block is made which will be used as a stamp, the next step is to dip the engraved block on a container of wet colored inks so that when it is pressed down on a flat surface whether wood, cloth or paper, the engraved design will appear on it. There are many techniques involved in printmaking but they all follow the basic processes. It is the materials and tools that make the difference in the output (Delahunt). During the Renaissance period, printmaking became an instant success with the people. It was used â€Å"for all manner of illustrations, including topographical survey, and for portraiture. † One of the famous artists who used prints was Albrecht Durer who made several religious prints and the Knight, Death, and the Devil was the most popular. This print symbolized the status of moral value (Cartage. org). On the other hand, painting is another form of visual art which is the exact opposite of drawing. It is far more sophisticated and more complex than drawing and printmaking. Painting uses a variety of visual elements including lines, shapes, perspectives, space, light and others. More so, these elements are combined in accordance with the principles of design specifically unity, balance, proportion, and emphasis. Usually artists use either oil or water colors on a canvas to make a painting. Furthermore, the content of the painting is dependent on the technique of the artist and the materials used. Overall, drawing, printmaking and paintings are all used to express the creativity and craftsmanship of an artist. Though they have similar purposes, each form of visual art has its own features not present with the others. Drawing is seen as a portable and simple way of generating artworks. Meanwhile, printmaking is the most precise way of making aesthetic designs. Moreover, out of the three, painting is the most glorified form because of its versatility and sophistication. Works Cited Delahunt, Michael. â€Å"Drawing. † 2008. Artlex. com. 8 September 2008 http://www. artlex. com/ArtLex/d/drawing. html. Delahunt, Michael. â€Å"Printmaking. † 2008. Artlex. com. 8 September 2008 http://www. artlex. com/ArtLex/p/print. html. â€Å"Printmaking and prints. † Cartage. org. 8 September 2008 http://www. cartage. org. lb/en/themes/arts/Graphicartists/generalities/Historyofprintmaking. htm

Organizational Structure Of The Edc Hotel Tourism Essay

Organizational Structure Of The Edc Hotel Tourism Essay The staffs available in EDC hotel are total with 60 people for all post. Amount the 60 people they are separate in 4 categories, which is permanent staff, contract staff, permanent part-time staff and temporary staff. The numbers of permanent staff are in 4 people, contract staff 34 people, permanent part-time staff are 8 people and the temporary staffs are 14 people. The General Manager of Hotel EDC is Mrs Suzzaini. She has been a lecturer in UUM before and now her as a full time staff in EDC. She also as the head who interview us when we doing research in EDC Hotel. For the other position and names by all the staff are shows with organization chart below: The human resource policies are under control by the Human Resource or HR Department. The HR department is using to manage and control the operation working of staff. Now, we are going to discuss about the human resource policies under EDC hotel. The EDC hotel are choosing 2 types of staff when they making selection after recruitment. The 2 types of staff they taken are temporary staff and also permanent staff. The duty times for these 2 types of staff are different. For the temporary staff are getting shorter working time and the salary are fewer than the permanent staff. By the permanent staff working times are full times, that mean they are working whole days however is a public holiday. The EDC hotel is facing the problems lack of staff. The cause of making this problem happen is most of the staff inside EDC Hotel are temporary workers of staff. So, the staff inside EDC are working more than 1 job however they are getting same salary. Like an example, For the security guard of EDC Hotel at the front exit are also working as a cleaner for guard house and also a staff of control rooms like control all the lights in EDC. EDC hotel also provide the training program for the UUM students. The HR department is choosing the practical students from UUM as a temporary staff and also gives the take part in training program. This have helpful for solve the problems of workers shortage. After the students finish practical, EDC hotel are give them chance to choose stay or leave the hotel and the HR department will choose another practical students to work in hotel again. Besides that, the EDC Hotel will also give chances for those students are wish to work in hotel when holidays or free times in hotel. The students who wish that will as a part-time workers, this mean the student can quit anytime and wont tight by a contract. The HR department also working as confirms that all the staff inside EDC is working, because they must make sure that the hotel is keep operation smoothly. Through the information above we have know the types and the operation of managing of staff inside EDC Hotel. The Sales and Marketing Strategies Sales is an important part in a hotel operation, the sales are good or not can affect the hotel operation also. The sales can bring the income and also the famous of the hotel. Every hotels are trying to push their sales at the top, even if EDC UUM also. Through the hotel we making the research, EDC UUM we have get the information of the sales of the hotel are separate in 2 parts. The first one is from the room sales of EDC hotel. The hotel EDC is located near the UUM so most of the consumers are students and their parents. And we also get that, the hotel EDC are get two peak season in every years, that is when the UUM running the week of orientation and during the convocation. The rooms of hotel EDC are fully booking by many students and their parents during peak season. So, for someone they are late booking they cant get the room. Through the staff in EDC, we also get know that, for who like to get rooms when convocation or orientation weeks, they must booking earlier than 1 month before. We also get the information from the GM about that, at the normal days the rooms are available in anytime. It means every people can get booking at the time u like or u can choose direct to EDC and asking for the available rooms u can get. So for those parents and friends come to visit their children and friends in UUM can get accommodation with easily by EDC Hotel. One more part of the sale that supports the hotel income and operation is through the food and beverage department in EDC hotel. The restaurant in EDC hotel is available for public. This mean although u do not rent the hotel rooms in EDC u also can go enjoy the meals they provide after u pay it. This have attract many UUM students those are feeling boredom of the food provide in the food courts of UUM are going to EDC to enjoy the different meals in campus. Management and Functions of Each Department There were eight management departments in EDC UUM such as front office, housekeeping, sales and marketing, food and beverage, human resources, finance and administrative, facilities and maintenance, and safety and security. Each department has their own function and responsibility to operate. Front Office Department Front office department plays very important roles in EDC hotel. The department can be separate into two sections; there are front desk and back office. Each section of front office services has their own responsibilities. The main function of the department is selling, register and assign guestroom to the customers. They also responsibilities to handle the phone call in the hotel and make reservation for the customers. Front office service specialists also have a good understanding to take part in guest settlement such as resolve conflicts with customers and handle weirdly customers if certain cases had happen. Housekeeping Department The function of housekeeping department is maintained the cleanliness and order, building and furniture in the hotel. Besides cleanliness, housekeeping department must make sure the comfortable in the hotel such as softness of pillow, comfort of mattresses and quality of bed. These department personnel include chief of housekeeping department, supervisors, senior maids and maids which their jobs are checking the quality in the hotel periodically. Housekeeping department is one of the hotel services that are very strict regulation. Each position has its own well defined instructions. Sales and Marketing Department The main function of sales and marketing department is to promote the hotel products and services to the customers. They offer and selling the hotels room to individual guest for holiday purpose or diverse conferences facilities to certain customers. In addition, they also make an improvement on sales and public relations and brand image of hotel in the market. The department always acts as an agent to provide latest information and updating to the hotel. Food and Beverage Department The function of the department is providing food and beverage to the customers. They also provide food and beverage for meetings, groups, conferences and theme parties. Meanwhile, EDC hotel also responsibilities provided banquet events to customers. The banquet events involve many service styles; there are buffet services, family style service and so on. When during any festival, EDC hotel also provided Ramadhan package and offered to every customers to enjoy delicious food in the hotel. Human Resources Department Human Resource Department is a department that combines the traditional administrative function and well-being employees within the organization. They involve the activities such as planning, organizing, directing, and controlling employees at work. The department is responsible on hiring, terminating and training staff for the development and application of ongoing research on strategic advances. They also responsible for understanding their employees and identify their individual needs and career goal, develop positive interaction between workers to ensure verify and constructive enterprise productivity and provide remedial measures in the form of seminars or workshops for the worker who are lack of knowledge or insufficient training. On the other hand, HR also focuses on recruit the required workforce and manages staff effectively to success meet strategic goal. Finance Department The accounting department is monitoring the financial activities in the hotel. They prepare the budget and assign revenue to different department. They also prepare the financial statement of the hotel. Meanwhile, the department also collects the revenue from guests and giving salaries to employees. They always keep check on the account of FB cost, other purchases and expenditure under several heads for each department. Facilities and Maintenance Department The function of facilities and maintenance department in EDC hotel is provide a well repairing and maintenance services included structural, mechanical and electronic services, painting, air-conditioners repair and maintenance and so on. The department is also responsible to maintain all the furniture and fixtures in the hotel. Furthermore, they also work closely with the front office to ensure the guests satisfaction. The department must always make sure there have a safety and healthy work environment to the employees in the hotel. Safety and Security Department The security officers in the EDC hotel is responsible provide a safety and security environment to the hotel workers to work and business man to do business even customers who are stay in the hotel. Apart from that, security in the hotel also became an essential and strongly force in preventing losses and missing property. In addition, security guard also working as cleaners in the guard house and staff in the control room to control all the air-conditioner and PA system in the hotel while any activities were in the progress. Cost of Running Operation We have been gone to the EDC hotel and interview their manager, Mrs.Suzzaini to interview how many the costs they are used in running a hotel. However, Mrs Suzzaini did not provide us very detail about the budgeting of the hotel because it is private and confidential. She just provided us the cost of electric and water cost; there are about 52 thousand and 400 thousand per month. Below is a general costs that always will use to run a hotel but its only can act as a references. Basically, running a hotel need a lot of money to maintain stage. Cost of the publicity is one of the costs that cannot less. Most of the hotel are depend advertising and package to attract customers come and stay at their hotel. Then, a hotel needs some costs to make improvement on infrastructure and facilities and also maintenance on the building, electronic and water even any structural in the hotel. Meanwhile, hotel management also needs to pay taxes of the building and other fixed asset. To prepare FB to customers, hotel management also needs some cost to purchase food and do banquet for customers. And the last but not least, accounting department also needs pay salary, incentive and bonus to their employees in the hotel. Common Problem Faced By Hotel The common problem that faced by EDC hotel is administrative problem such as movement of the staffs. When the staffs are leave, the hotel management needs some time to hire and training news staffs. Therefore, EDC hotel always faced lack of staffs in hotel department. Overbooking also is a problem that always faced by EDC hotel. When during convocation time and orientation week, there are many parents and graduate came to the hotel and stay at there. EDC hotel is one of the hotels that very near to the UUM compared to the other hotel, in order to convenience and no waste many time, EDC hotel always happen the rooms were overbooking. So, the hotel management now was build an extension of the hotel to overcame the hotels rooms overbooking in certain festival. Customers complaints are very normal incident that always occurred in every hotel. The common problem that customers always complaints are poor customers service such as attitude and behavior of the workers, the food not delicious, waiting for more than 30 minute to eat in a restaurant and so on. Meanwhile, some customers also complaint about the pricing of the room, food even a service charge were very expensive. Therefore, hotel management must always train their staffs to fulfill the customers needs.

World Language Policy Essay example -- Globalization Localization Lang

Globalization, Localization, and Language Choice In Britain they used to call a barometer a ?glass.? One would visit the ?glass? in the morning in order to get a sense of what the weather would be for the day. It was of course a rather chancy business, not least because on the average day in Britain you have a little of everything anyway. The poet Louis MacNeice caught the sentiment in a wellknown poem about impending doom: The glass is falling hour by hour, the glass will fall for ever, But if you break the bloody glass you won?t hold up the weather. Perhaps the least observed phenomenon in the global system is language. Because it is so basic to human communication, we are apt to regard it simply as an unchangeable part of the communication process itself ? a kind of natural phenomenon as ordinary and ineluctable as weather. In fact, language is a social institution of enormous importance, and one over which we have a great deal of control (Edwards 1994, Tonkin 2003a). Human utterances are elective: we can either make them or not make them, and we are potentially capable of making these utterances in any language. Since language is fundamental to human social interaction, we begin by choosing our utterances in accordance with the code that we are born into: language is a form of human behavior, and we learn to talk through the need and the desire to participate in the community of which we are a part. Thus the language that we use also has symbolic value: it is a marker of our identity and it reinforces our sense of belonging. But it is an accident of geography or economics that we learn one language or another, that we are born into one speech community rather than another. Within that community, we lear... ...Werner, ed. 1998. Multilingual America: Transnationalism, Ethnicity, and the Languages of American Literature. New York: New York University Press. Tonkin, Humphrey. 2003a. Language and Society. New York: American Forum for Global Education. Tonkin, Humphrey. 2003b. The search for a global linguistic strategy. In Jacques Maurais & Michael A. Morris. Languages in a Globalising World. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 319-333. Tonkin, Humphrey. 2004. Language equality in international relations. In Lee Chong-Yeong & Liu Haitao, ed. Towards a New International Language Order. Rotterdam: Universal Esperanto Association. 96-105. Tonkin, Humphrey & Timothy Reagan, ed. 2003. Language in the 21st Century. Amsterdam: Benjamins. Wright, Sue. 2004. Language Policy and Language Planning: From Nationalism to Globalisation. Basingstoke & New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Essay --

Paper 1 Two psychological theories used for explaining behavior are behaviorism and social learning theory. Although the two both deal with behavior, they focus on slightly unalike components in their efforts to explain why people act the way they do. Behaviorism and social learning theory have convincing sources of support so there is no well-defined response to which one does a superior job at explaining behavior. Behaviorists believe that development is not tied to biologically determined stages. Development results from organization of existing behaviors. There are two categories of learning: classical conditioning and operant conditioning. Classical conditioning focuses on associations linked to involuntary behaviors. Pavlov is the father of modern learning theory. Through his experiment he discovered that an unconditioned stimulus could automatically trigger an involuntary response. For example, a dog was placed in a dark room and a light was turned on. After 30 seconds some food was placed in the dog’s mouth, stimulating the salivation reflex. This procedure was repeated several times- each time the presentation of food was paired with the light. After a while the light, which initially has no relationship to salivation, produced the response itself. The dog has been conditioned to respond to the light. In Pavlov’s terms, the presentation of food was the unconditioned stimul us. The light was a conditioned stimulus; its effect required conditioning. Salivation to the food was called the unconditioned reflex, salivation to the light a conditioned reflex. John Watson was the founder of behaviorism in the Unites States. He extended classical conditioning by accounting for a greater variety of learning. Watson formulated two ... ...avior, some behaviorists believe physical discipline is an operant technique that gains immediate compliance. However, there are other behaviorists who believe that physical discipline does not teach on how to behave. They believe it is better to reward behaviors that are incompatible with the undesired behaviors. Extinction can be a better alternative in some cases. From a social learning theorist perspective, physical discipline is a model of aggressive behavior that the child would observe, learn and use. It could cause long term behavioral problems such as the child might use aggression to resolve conflict in their current or future relationships. It is better to explain to the child what she can do and why so the child internalizes rules. Behaviorists believe in using direct reinforcement. However, social learning theorists believe in vicarious reinforcement.

Free Narrative Essays - Dodging Bullets -- Example Personal Narratives

Dodging Bullets It was a warm fall day in early October, a day that I recall quite vividly. The smells of the transition from summer to fall were in the air, accompanied by the sounds of birds singing and the wind blowing through the trees. It was on this beautiful day that my existence was almost terminated. After school on this day, a friend and I decided to go hunting before our evening basketball practice. I really don't know why we called it hunting, because we didn't have an idea exactly what we were hunting for. We had forty acres of my backyard to do our merciless killing of defenseless animals. We were two ignorant kids with semi-automatic and lever-action .22 caliber rifles. As we strolled into the woods to see what terror we could create for the creatures of the forest, we noticed a large abundance of squirrels. They seemed to be dancing around as if they were gathering there before us in groups--laughing at us, begging us to shoot them. We had to keep walking, for we were still too close to the neighboring houses to be shooting these rifles. So we trudged along, occasionally commenting on how the leaves crunching beneath our feet would scare off the squirrels, as if we were some fierce snipers in desperate need of stealth. At last we made it to an area far enough from the houses. My friend was the one with the semi-automatic, and he immediately started unloading his clip on everything in sight. The sound of the bullets being propelled from the barrel echoed throughout the woods. After his barrage of shots, I noticed a large oak tree with squirrels in i... ...e to dodge bullets. I felt that I could see those bullets in their spiraling motion coming at me. This idea made me laugh, but I didn't engage it for long, for I was still shaken by the event. What if I'd been hit by the onslaught of bullets and turned into a bloody piece of Swiss cheese? Worse yet, I could have been killed. I lay there for what seemed to be a short eternity until the shadow of my friend appeared over me. "I ran out of bullets," he said in a relaxed tone. After I voiced a few choice words to my companion, he helped me up, and I slowly but surely went home. Naturally, neither of us mentioned this scenario to our parents. Later that evening, I decided that playing video games was a safer way to kill time before practice. It was quite a while before we went hunting again.

Lifestyle Segmentation

Cryptographic segmentation Consumer Attitudes Behaviors Perceptions Interests Reasoning: Pricing, Location of dealers, advertising all suggests that the car buying experience can be divided into demographics of lifestyle segmentation of the area. Jaguar, Lexus, Mercedes and BMW dealers tend to be located in areas where people care what they drive and perceive the nicer the car shows status. I live In Climate Falls. We have snow and they put rocks down when It snows.I have en two Mercedes since have lived here 7 years. People don't hold status In cars the way they do In Orange County. This Is a cow town. People use trucks. They haul things, they tow things. They hit deer in the road. When they have the dealer showcase at the Fairgrounds all of the nice diesel trucks are right up front, all shiny and polished. If you don't drive a truck, you drive some sort of more economical family car, whether it be a minivan, or a sedan, or SUB. The billboards here in town all have Trucks or Subs on them.You go to our parking lot at work and almost half re trucks. There are no luxury car dealers here in town. We have Ford, Honda, Toyota, Suburb, Jeep and Dodge. The trucks are very nice though and even have the newest features. You go to a parking lot In Southern California, and you find a myriad of sedans. They even hold opening parties at the Mercedes Benz dealers to showcase the newest cars. People spend more time in traffic in Southern California than they do here in Climate Falls. They want a cushy luxury car that they can spend that time. The parking spaces are smaller.They are more people, less room for big huge trucks. People in Southern California are also more concerned with their looks and how other perceive each other. Their nice vehicle is a status symbol. (If you don't believe that, look at all the tanned skinny people at the beaches and tell me they aren't into looks) Where I grew up in Southern California, we had all the luxury dealers within 15 miles. And the b illboards? Those showed the latest and greatest luxury car. Even the less expensive cars such as the Haunted have modeled their cars to look like luxuryThis segmentation model has been successful for each group. I would Like to say having a car is not a necessity, but in today's world it is in most places. People who and find a vehicle that will fit their lifestyle. Segmenting in this manner allows them to choose which cars to market in that area. I would market a Jaguar in Climate Falls, and I wouldn't market an 850 with a huge cow guard and diesel engine in Southern California. This allows them to also make sure their inventory backs the demand in the area.

God’s Long Summer

graven images compulsion pass The novel Siddhartha and idols Long pass twain show commonalities of pietism as organism an important variance in the briny characters of both remove a bun in the oven gots. In perfections Long Summer, each of the main separate characters in the first of all four chapters resembling the character Siddhartha, all were consistent with the statement, What we hope matters. All of the characters from both disks utilise religion for giving them the aptitude to speak their minds, impress on in their lives, and combat for what they guessd in or cute to accomplish.Also, in this book at that place is the statement of, What we reckon affects push finished vocation in relation to assimilation and this pertains to the religious ideas and communitys courses of bodily function through their reliance and hold ups they deem went through. A per word of honors background determines his or her perspective on organized religion, so this sh ows how e veryone is contrasting. The statement, What we remember matters is the first blame that sticks show up to me. It is portray in the novel Siddhartha multiple fourth dimension when Siddhartha goes through his diverse phases of being the son of a Braham, to nutriment with the Samanas, to finally living on his own.He needed to try knocked step to the fore(p) several(predicate) lines, so he would be near to find his own enlightenment or meaning of life. He would non touch sensation whole as a person or gather in peace, until he found a path that caused him to devour enlightenment. The characters in gods Long Summer were the same mien. Fannie Lou Hamer, Sam Bowers, Douglas Hudgins, and Ed King all were fighting for whateverthing, and did non deficiency to give up until they were successful. An physical exercise of this is when Mrs. Hamer was being beat in the county lock in subsequently trying to vote. Even after being beat, Hamer still used graven im age as her guide to influence former(a) wad.She never backed atomic pitor, yet quite was comforted by God and instilled her faith for effectivity and acted in what she believed. Hamer was diametric than Siddhartha though, because she was out to change the world, and he was more esteem on himself. The second important point that I found relevant of my consciousness of the hoi polloi and copes in Gods Long Summer was the way the characters in the books went rough accomplishing their goals and got last(prenominal) obstacles they were faced with. Hamer was a selfless person who used God as her strength to change things. She puts herself out there, just as Siddhartha had when he lose himself.Siddhartha had to lose himself to accomplish his goal of enlightenment. Hamer knew that if she wanted to win the fight for her voting rights that she would have to have others band together too, by using biblical stories and freedom songs to carry her cause. She believed that others standardised herself could be em provideed by God and if clears and blacks could both believe in such(prenominal) a high power, and whence they privy believe and get along when they ar on the Earth. To accomplish Hamers goal, she needed to improve the world, and Siddhartha wanted to get around the world to reach his goal.Sam Bowers and Siddhartha atomic number 18 besides examples of obstacles being thrown their way. Bowers hit throw off bottom just similar Siddhartha did after almost killing himself by the river. In the book, Gods Long Summer written by Charles Marsh, Marsh provides foreplay in his first statement in the book pertaining to, What we believe affects our vocation in relation to culture. This whole idea is explaining how everyone has there a distinguishable way of intellection about a higher power and Marsh wants people to be cap fitting to explore and accept the different types of faith.In the book these varieties of faith cause blacks and whites to hav e disagreements on go forths such as the civil rights movement. The first four chapters of the book brave out the good example of what Marshs claim and proletariat was. Hamer whoremonger see that the people who be discriminating against African Americans have a much different perspective on faith than she does. Bowers looks at his faith in a different way as Hamer because he doesnt take down believe that Jesus can be a Jew because if he were therefore he would be a part of the inner racial mix, which he was in all against. Ed King and Douglas Hudgins were also different from each other.King had been charge of straying beyond proper bounds of the Christian faith, and Hudgins had been accused of narrowing the bounds of Christianity. Hudgins was all about the understanding of Christianity through the cultural environment, maculation King thought you had to be predictive and take action even if it was through just words. I believe that Fannie Lou Hamer is the best example o f what Marsh is attempting to demonstrate about the various perspectives of faith. The example that comes to mind when explaining this is when Hamer was in the county jail and was talking to the jailors married woman about faith and religion.Hamer used the verses from the Bible to go against the jailors wife and her own feelings and ideas on faith. Hamer can see that the jailors wife echos she is a Christian believer, but has a different way of acting as one of Gods children. other example I found in the first chapter about Hamer was when she was in a disagreement with her pastor. She scolded him for not being unforced to adopt her stance on the subject. This shows how you think someone who is interacting with your same faith, but when it comes down to it and his or her own lived experience, people react differently.I also found an example in Hamers chapter when Lyndon Johnson was running for office and he tried to tamp things down and close down up Hamer. Johnson was even suppo sed to be a civil rights activist and a believer in faith, but because of his the experience that he was having at the present time in his life, he was not able to be consistent with his beliefs. He express and acted, as he wanted, just so he could get elected into office. Fannie Lou Hamers vocation is using God as her guide to influence other people. She feels like God appointed her, and this gives her a whiz of closeness to him. She uses God as her strength to change things.Her goal is to improve the world, and avail African Americans have an refer chance in the world as everyone else. Hamer is dedicated and relied on her faith for everything. The church and Christianity is a way for people to come together. Hamer feels that if both whites and blacks can believe in such a high power then they can believe and get along when they be on Earth. A contemporary social provide in which people use religion in opposing ways to support their views would be the topic of stillbirth. Th ere ar many similarities and differences in the midst of the issue of abortion and the civil rights issue detailed in Marshs book.Some similarities between the cardinal issues are that people have very strong opinions on the issues and there are people out there that are fighting for one side or the other on the topics. People are having confluxs on abortions talking about wherefore it should be legal or not, and in the case of the civil rights movements there were meetings natural event all the time like the meeting with the Credentials Committee in Gods Long Summer. There are also politicians out there like Lyndon Johnson who claim they are all for an issue such as the civil rights movement, but when it comes down to it they may have some restrictions about the issue.Johnson really did not want to have African Americans voting and having these kinds of rights because he didnt want to hold up the larger population of people out there getting feisty at him, so he could be e lected into office. A difference between the two issues is the way people fight for what they want. During the civil rights movement many white people would go as far as abusing or killing blacks, so they could keep them as the lower break that is not as important. I have not heard about people who are for or against abortion exhalation to the extent of killing to get their way or point across.A persons vocation usually shapes the way they think or feel about an issue. The issue of abortion essence different things to different people because of their vocation. If a person feels that they have been put on this Earth to entertain people and think that everyone should have an equal chance for living, then they are more likely to be against abortion. I am a Christian, and have been brought up by my parents to believe that everyone should be treated equally and can make their own choices. This means that I am not against abortions, and feel that it is the womans choice to make the decision.Reading Siddhartha and Gods Long Summer has brought a lot of insight to my beliefs in religion. I am more aware of other peoples feelings and the reasons for why they believe in what they do. Beliefs are organize from a persons past experience. I also learned how God or a persons faith can play such a big role in being someones strength to fight as hard as they can in what the believe in, even when the greater population feels the complete opposite on an issue. Like in Siddhartha, everyone has different paths, and deciding on the right path is up to the person taking it.