Listo Systems: Cami Machado, Trainer

Listo Systems: Cami Machado, Trainer Context: Listo Systems is a graphic service agency and is one of the leading companies within the sector. They recently implemented a new black box technology which resulted in a demand for trainings for the employees as well as â€Å"train-the trainer† sessions. Cami Machado is responsible for conducting these sessions and she feels well prepared. She is also the one who represents the company at an annual Computer Graphic Service Trade Show. Key Issues and Problems: Cami Machado has previous experiences and therefore feels confident and eager for the first session of the trainings.However, the general evaluations of the course were poor and most of the trainers had no clue of what was expected from them. Although Cami is not worried, her manager realizes that something needs to be done. The second issue is related to the Graphic Service Trade Show where Cami routinely represents Listo Systems. This year because of the occurring changes, L isto has scheduled a private presentation for key contacts. Cami is assigned to give a flashy, multimedia overview of the clients benefits of the new â€Å"black box system†.However, she is procrastinating and thinks that from sales or marketing would be better suited for this task. Applying concepts: Cami knows that she could do a good job making the â€Å"glamour show†, however she wants to have the presentation reassigned. In this case Cami is able but unwilling and therefore her performance readiness is R3 (at level 3). She prefers to talk to the â€Å"real† people with â€Å"real† questions. As for the trainings that she has been assigned to organize, Cami feels herself able, confident and willing (R4). In the past she has taughtInformation Technology courses at a local university and for that reason she feels well prepared. She has spent two weeks preparing detailed manuals however the professional trainers do not share her enthusiasm and confidence . From their perspective, Cami is an R2, because even though she is very motivated and willing to accomplish this task, the other trainers are not satisfied with her work. She is not very effective in giving precise directions of what should be done and what is expected, and the majority of the trainers are lost and confused.It is important to notice that the concepts of ability and willingness are an â€Å"interacting influence system†. In other words, that they are interconnected and a significant change in one will affect the whole. This is why the amount of knowledge, experience and skills often affect confidence and motivation. Cami feels that she knows what is required for the trainings to be successful because she has had experience at the University. However, it is hard to say whether she has all the skills that are necessary to train-the-trainers.Comments from the trainers also included â€Å"lots of smoke but no fire† and â€Å"talks down to us†. We ca n therefore conclude that the reason why the trainers where not satisfied was not necessarily because of Cami’s technical skills, but maybe her relationship with the employees. Her directive behavior is very high but her relationship and supportive behavior not as much. Looking at the Situational Leadership model, Cam is using S4 leadership style, which includes low relationship and mostly delegating. Alternative Courses of Action:In order to be more successful in leading the others, Cami should use the S2 leadership style, which includes selling and most importantly explaining what she expects from the trainers. Cami considers herself well prepared and experienced however the evaluation of the course was poor because of lack of explanations. Another reason why the employees were not satisfied was because Cami was â€Å"talking down to them†. To avoid this, Cami should be more supportive and use participative leadership style that will allow her to interact with the ot her trainer and to improve her relationship with them.To make everything more certain, Cami should clarify the path by explaining the follower’s – in this case trainers’ work role. Only then she should display her motivations and effort to accomplish the work outcomes. The Chosen course of Action: The combination of all the above-mentioned solutions would work best for Cami’s situation. However, I believe that the biggest issue in this cause was that the trainers where unaware of what was expected from them. And therefore the best solution would be that Cami clarifies the goals of the trainings and only then tries to motivate and encourage the trainers.Action Plan: Although Cami is a very valuable employee, I believe that her manager should be more directive towards her. For example, he shouldn’t let her procrastinate and reassign her tasks. It is obvious that Cami loves her job and making her tasks more certain and a bit stricter would make a posi tive change for everyone. The trainers and employees of the organization are already dedicated and hard-working, therefore no big changes are necessary. However, slight alterations could be beneficial as discussed above. Listo Systems: The New Security System – Buying In Context:Listo Systems is a graphic service agency and is one of the leading companies within the sector. They recently implemented a new black box technology that caused different reactions from the employees. Key Issues and Problems: One of Cami’s team members, Steve, was unsatisfied because he just got used to the â€Å"old† system and doesn’t want to start all over again. He is thinking about transferring to another department within the company that doesn’t involve the use of the black box. The main issue in this case is that the implementation of the new security system can be a potential risk for losing the employees.There might be other employees like Steve, who are not will ing to adapt and who might take to decision to leave. In the long run this could negatively affect the company because the turnover ratio would increase. Applying concepts: Even though Steve was having difficulty adapting to the new system, there are other employees who are willing to do â€Å"whatever is necessary to keep the customers happy and them employed†. The majority of the employees want to keep their current jobs and this is what motivates them to learn and to adjust to the new security system.The company is doing everything that is necessary in order to train the employees, so the main factor that is required for an overall success is the motivation of the employees. It is clear that Steve’s performance readiness was at the very bottom (R1) because he was unable, insecure and unwilling to learn how to work with the black box. He is displaying frustration and has a complaining behavior, which is typical to the level 1 employees. Angie, the second team member, is an R2, because even though the new black box is foreign to her, she is willing and is motivated to learn.The third member, Dorothy, has an extensive experience with the black box, and therefore she is at the highest performance readiness level (R4). She has the right skills and at the same time we can see that she is willing to work with the new system, because she’s encouraging all the other members to support it as well. According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, employee’s motivation and performance depend on various factors that need be satisfied at the first place. In this case, we can assume that the physiological, social and safety needs are satisfied. However, as some of the employees don’t feel confident, their esteem nd self-actualization factors are not fully satisfied. This demotivates the members of the company and negatively affects the productivity level. Alternative Courses of Action: As stated in the case, in order to diagnose the perf ormance readiness level, the indicators of ability and willingness should be combined. You have to assess whether the individual is able (presently performing) and whether he is willing or unwilling to perform a certain task. A good way to do that would be by running an emergency survey, right after the implementation of the black box.This would help to find out in which areas the employees need help and guidance, as well to assess the overall satisfaction level. In order to avoid losing more employees, the management should have more individual approach towards its employees. Some people are quick-learner while the other dislike major changes. The results of the survey would show who needs additional help, and the trainers could focus more on this specific group of employees. There is not an appropriate leadership style for this case, because every member needs to be approached in a different way.The S3 level would be the most appropriate because the manager would be able to encour age and help its employees by participating more. The Chosen course of Action: The best solution would first of all be to run a quick survey within the department. After determining the indicators of ability and willingness, it will be much easier to find out the employees’ performance readiness and to decide which leadership style is the most appropriate. Action Plan: Different employees have different opinions and it is hard to keep every single member satisfied.The survey would allow to asses the common weaknesses within the group and to fill the gap by organizing trainings. Listo Systems: Cami Machado – System Conversation Context: Listo Systems is a graphic service agency and is one of the leading companies within the sector. They recently implemented a new black box. Cami, the responsible for the system has taken the black box through all the recommended steps tests and it performed perfectly. The system has also been tested by a former CIA computer specialist an d its was declared to be flawless. Nevertheless, Cami insisted to keep the old system â€Å"just in case†.Key Issues and Problems: Even though everything turned out to work perfectly, Cami confessed that she has never been so nervous in her life. She had asked to keep the old system as well, however she was still very anxious and was sleeping only a few hours at night. Applying concepts: Cami’s performance level in this situation is R3, because even though she was able to make the switch, she was still not confident and very hesitant. However, she had asked to keep the parallel system, so in case if something went wrong, there was an alternative solution. There was no reason for Cami to feel nervous, even if the black box failed.The leadership style that Cami’s manager should use is S3. He should support her in risk-taking and compliment the work. Alternative Courses of Action: The manager should not disempower Cami, because she has done a hard work and deserves appreciation. He should be very supportive and help her to deal with her nervousness. As mentioned above, this would be a S3 leadership style, which would result in building confidence, actively listening and encouraging. The employees should try to adapt to the new system, instead of leaving the department and creating more issues to deal with.They should also be supportive towards Cami, and appreciate her effort. The Chosen course of Action: Cami’s manager should take more participation in the implementation of the black box. He should leave everything on Cami’s shoulders, even though she’s the one responsible for the project. A supportive leadership style would be very effective in this situation and would help Cami to work more productively with less stress and anxiety. Action Plan: With the help of her manager and her employees, Cami should be able to overcome the difficult period at her workplace and gain more confidence in the work that she is doing.The management should help her to increase her performance readiness level to R4, by showing more support and encouragement. Listo Systems: Randy Mack, Trainer, Listo Systems Context: Randy Mack is an experienced trainer for Listo Systems and has worked with the company for a number of years. His evaluations have always been first rate and he has been able to develop a rapport with the people whom he trains. Key Issues and Problems: Recently, Randy is not happy with his job and had received below-par evaluations for the first time. His main concern is the lack of career advancement at Listo Systems.Some of his training have ended in confrontations with the trainees. Applying concepts: Maslow’s hierarchy of needs explains clearly why Randy is dissatisfied with his job. Even though he has performed perfectly for so many years, the lack of self-actualization and career advancement demotivates him. With all the new changes occurring with Listo Systems, the management is possibly more focused on profit and the technology rather then promoting its employees. This lack of attention has resulted in demotivation because Randy feels that his work isn’t much appreciated anymore.His performance readiness is at R3, considering that he knows his job very well and his has been number one for a long time. However the lack of career advancement made him unwilling and decreased his productivity. Alternative Courses of Action: The management should use S3 leadership style, in order to improve Randy’s performance readiness level. Considering that he is a valuable employee, it would be a big loss for the company of Randy left. In order to avoid that, the management should try to show more encouragement and offer possible ways of growth within the company.For example, another solution would be motivating him with financial bonuses. The Chosen course of Action: It’s Randy’s experience that makes him a valuable employee, and he cannot be easily replaced . For that reason the managers should compromise by either promoting Randy or suggesting other potentials ways of career advancement. Action Plan: The managers should make a quick decision before it gets any worse. They have to motivate Randy to stay by offering bonuses and showing that they appreciate his work.

Your Inner Fish

Your Inner Fish: A Review of Chapter 4 In Your Inner Fish, a book about the study of evolution in mammals, chapter four is dedicated to the study of teeth. Neil Shubin is explicit in his insistence that teeth are extremely important when studying evolution of the human body. He uses three main points to explain this to the reader. First, through the function of teeth. Then by revealing the anatomy of teeth. And finally by discussing tooth-to-tooth occlusion. Teeth are used to manipulate larger objects so that they may fit into a smaller mouth.Shubin writes †Mouths are only so big, and teeth enable creatures to eat things that are bigger than their mouths† (Shubin 60). Without teeth creatures would have a smaller variety of options when it came to food choices. Bigger fish could only eat smaller fish and so on. As explained by Shubin â€Å"†¦ teeth can be the great equalizer: smaller fish can munch on bigger fish if they have good teeth† (Shubin 60). So we deri ve from this that teeth can play an important role in the food chain and thus in evolution. However, teeth play a more important part than this.By studying the anatomy of teeth many secrets can be revealed about ancient reptiles and mammals. For instance, Shubin relates that â€Å"The bumps, pits and ridges on teeth often reflect the diet† (Shubin 60). By knowing the diet of an ancient creature, it is reasonable to see how a paleontologist and evolutionist can follow the emergence of the omnivore over the carnivore and herbivore. And the hardness of teeth make it the â€Å"best-preserved animal we find in the fossil record for many time periods† (Shubin 61).This clue to these ancient animal’s diets can â€Å"give us a good window on how different ways of feeding came about† (Shubin 61). So, the shape of the teeth and the general mineral make-up both contribute to the usefulness of teeth to the scientist. Still it remains that the tooth-to tooth occlusion is an imperative discovery when shaping the history of the human body. Reptiles do not have an upper and lower jaw that meet precisely. They rip and tear their food. On the other hand, mammals have an upper and lower jaw that meet in a precise position (Shubin 60-61).Shubin discusses that in lower rock forms, thus earlier years, fossil records show only reptilian-like mouths that do not have occlusion. As the paleontologist moves up into higher rock formations, he finds more mammalian like tooth formations and smaller jaws. â€Å"Go higher in the rocks and we see something utterly different: the appearance of mammalness. The bones of the jaw get smaller and move to the ear. We can see the first evidence of upper and lower teeth coming together in precise ways† (Shubin 62).From Shubin’s portrayal of the evolution of the mouth and teeth and teeth’s usefulness, it stands to reason that teeth are an important part of the study of ancient mammals and the evolution of the human body. Your Inner Fish:Chapter 4 A Review In his book, Your Inner Fish, Neil Shubin mentions the fact that although the study of teeth are highly important to the study of ancient mammalian history, it is often overlooked or only briefly discussed in anatomy. However, Shubin successfully shows how extremely serious evolutionists and paleontologists take the study of tooth fossils.In the beginning of chapter 4: Teeth Everywhere, he states that â€Å"the tooth gets short shrift in anatomy class: we spend all of five minutes on it† (Shubin 60). But because he fills the chapter with relative stories of paleontologists and himself searching solely for tooth fossils, he reveals that teeth are vital in the study of ancient mammals. Entire expeditions for tooth hunting are explored. Shubin even states that â€Å"teeth have a special significance for me, because it is in searching for them that I first learned how to find fossils and how to run a fossil expedition† (S hubin 60).Thus, implying he had gone on an expedition with the sole purpose of hunting for ancient teeth.. From his references to paleontologists’ search for teeth it seems that teeth are a prominent study in evolution, even if touched on only briefly in anatomy classes. Shubin narrates a story of his first leading expedition where a tiny ancient mammal was discovered in rock and the most significant finding was the revelation of tooth occlusion. He even reports that he was â€Å"†¦being treated like a conquering hero†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Shubin 70) back on campus following the return from the expedition.This is a definite sign that the importance of tooth and tooth occlusion are extremely recognized in the world of evolutionary studies. Time, money, and energy are offered to tooth expeditions, and findings are celebrated amongst paleontologists and evolutionists alike. Therefore, it can be concluded from Shubin’s examples that teeth are an important study among scient ists who study the history of the human body. Your Inner Fish: A study of Chapter 4 In his book Your Inner Fish, Shubin dedicates an entire chapter to the importance of studying the evolution of teeth when figuring the evolution of the human body.In order to study ancient teeth and jaws, however, fossil hunting for tooth fossils is imperative. In chapter 4, Shubin reveals just how difficult this expedition for teeth can be. Discovering bones in rock took experience. The work demanded the naked eye notice the signs of bone in rock. This is a difficult feat. According to Shubin, â€Å"I’d set off looking for fossils, systematically inspecting every rock I saw for a scrap of bone at the surface. At the end of the day†¦. I had nothing, my empty bag a sign of how much I had to learn. (Shubin 63) But even after days walking and looking with an expert fossil finder who gave advice, it took time for Shubin to â€Å"see† the bones in rock. For days he asked questions and looked at the same rocks as the expert who found many and still came back emptyhanded each evening. Then finally, one day he discovered his first piece of bone, and it was only this discovery that made him actually understand what he was looking for. â€Å"The difference was this time I finally saw it, saw the distinction between rock and bone† (Shubin 64-65).After this, it was much easier for Shubin to discover fossilized bones, but still the search is tedious and difficult. Even after a haul of some promising rock during his first self-led expedition, Shubin was not hopeful. To his great surprise, he was hailed as a hero once the fossils were delicately revealed in the rock formation, and it was discovered that he had found a skeleton of a tiny ancient reptile, tritheledont. From the teeth and jaws on this fossil it could be derived that this was a breakthrough for the reptile as there was tooth-on-tooth occlusion.But once again, Shubin learned a greater lesson from this di scovery that happened not in the field but in the lab where the rock had been carefully manipulated to reveal the fossil within. â€Å"†¦I learned that some of the biggest discoveries happen in the hands of fossil preparators, not in the field† (Shubin 70). Fossil preparators are important and perform a very tedious job. In fact, this is one of the reasons fossil hunting is so difficult. Difficult to find, and difficult to prepare for study and viewing. The key point is that the early mammals were small. Very small†¦. If the tooth was covered by a crumb of rock or even by a few grains of sand, you might never see it† (Shubin 66). Thus, it is easy to see how fossil, especially tooth fossil, hunting is extremely difficult. It takes patience and experience and an eye for tiny details. As Shubin reveals, it takes a team of hunters and preparators to discover the most important findings. Without both, evolution would be missing an imperative study, the study of tee th and jaws.

Security in the Workplace Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6250 words

Security in the Workplace - Essay Example The term security may include integrated security, physical security, company security, hiring issues, etc. Some situations may be emergencies, which definitely require a proactive procedure. Emergencies should be prevented as much as possible and that is why it is important to determine what might be an emergency, or what might lead to an emergency. If an emergency or a safety need does arise, it is detrimental that systems and policies are in place. This will not only avoid confusion and lack of readiness and education, it will minimize injuries, accidents, and liabilities. When safety/securities needs are overlooked, they can cause problems for everyone and this causes lawsuits and liabilities. The organization, with the security manager’s guidance, should look out for the safety and security of all those who enter and have dealings with the company. The security manager should also help provide a secured environment by teaching administration/management and staff how to ab ide the systems and policies, focusing on intrusion prevention and detection, consistent auditing, and computer security. Management is the authority in which the staff follows and they also provide the standard for any visitors and clients who deal with the organization, or company. Management should know what to look for during the hiring process to prevent future problems. Security in the Workplace 2 Nixon states, "Poor hiring practices can cost a company in lost productivity, theft, and at the extreme end, workplace violence incidents that can cost lives, damage the company's reputation, and depress future earnings. Legal expenses for negligence lawsuits (for issues including negligent hiring, supervision, security, training, and retention) average $2.2 million, according to Rebecca Speer, a workplace-violence attorney. But more devastating is the loss of life that violence in the workplace can cause. To minimize the risk of such incidents, companies need to implement a well-crafted hiring process that screens out violence- prone candidates before they become employees". Steps in the hiring process will lead to risk management, a safer environment for all, and fewer liabilities. "One of the simplest self-opt-out techniques is to declare the organization a "violence-free workplace," just as some organizations proclaim that they are a drug-free workplace and therefore test all applicants for drugs. If, from the outset of the hiring process, a company makes clear that its selection process focuses on individuals who will support efforts to keep the environment free of violence, individuals who have been used to displaying aggressive, hostile, and violent behavior will go elsewhere or will join the company with the understanding that this behavior is not acceptable," states Nixon. Screening candidates during job interviews is an excellent way to insure a safe and secure environment. Be sure to choose questions that are helpful in meeting your Security in the Workplace 3 organization's goals, do background checks, investigate inconsistent work history, and contact each candidate's references. Be sure to have job candidates sign a form which states that, should he/she be hired, listing false information on an application is reason for termination. The theoretical foundation for security is to determine every possible issue and concern regarding safety and security in order to plan, develop, implement, enforce,

Management Strategy and Policy Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Management Strategy and Policy - Research Paper Example The external environment can be analyzed with the aid of tools likes Porter’s Five forces. After analyzing the environment using Porter’s, effective strategies can be formulated. Also, EMAAR’s strengths, weaknesses, competition, opportunities and in particular competitive advantages, also need to be focused while coming up with strong strategies. Thus, the focus will be on strategy development in EMAAR group, starting with a background about the company, then Porter’s Five Forces analysis of its external environment, followed by the focus on its competitive advantages and finally coming up with strategies in key areas which will help it to achieve optimum competence. UAE based Emaar Properties is a Public Joint Stock Company (PJSC) focusing on property development as well as lifestyles related services. Established in 1997, it has grown to become one of the largest property developers in the whole of Middle-East Asia. (â€Å"About Emaar†). It became a PJSC in 2007, after Dubai government garnered around 32% equity stake in Emaar, by exchanging with sizable prime land. Although, its prime focus is property development, it has over 60 companies under its wings, with each company operating in different business sectors, offering varied services including in the sectors like hospitality & leisure, shopping malls, healthcare, education and financial services. (â€Å"Board of Directors†). Apart from its main operations in UAE, EMAAR has expanded geographically doing projects and offering services in many key Asian countries like Saudi Arabia, India, Syria, Pakistan, etc., African countries like Egypt, Morocco, etc., as well as United Sta tes and Canada. It has developed some of the globally well-known and prominent landmarks of UAE. The list includes Downtown Dubai, â€Å"the 500-acre mega-project, home of Burj Khalifa – the world’s tallest building which features the world’s first Armani Hotel Dubai and the world’s

Psychology - organization and motivation Assignment

Psychology - organization and motivation - Assignment Example This downward flow of communication is used to let the workers understand their individual functions, to give and clarify instructions, and to give advices on how they can be most effective in their individual roles. It is also used to provide feedbacks on individual performances which can greatly help boost an employee’s determination to strive for perfection. On the other hand, employees also have an upward flow of communication where they can reach their managers, superiors and bosses. Through this communication flow, the workers provide a picture of how well the organization functions. It is where employees channel sentiments to their supervisors and employers. Their higher-ups in return take actions in resolving and improving these needs. Upward communication also shows how well the workforce understood the downward communication. It is a communication where the employee, managers, supervisors, and employers have an exchange of ideas and have a chance to contribute in making decisions. Having these forms of communication produces a more established workforce who is committed in doing their jobs. It is where a great employer- employee relationship is forged. Disregard any part of this two way communication and it will produce disasters. The organization will absolutely fail. It can result to an organization deviating from its goal and purpose, incompetent workers, unemployment, bankruptcy, and even death. In response to my peers’ responses, I would agree with both of them. For Kenneth, limited communication suffocates creative thoughts when the ability of subordinates to express themselves is taken away from them. This is true since it will make an employee feel unimportance and alienated. It is also true that lack of communication takes precious time, money and resources. On the point where bosses usually tells their managers what needs to be done, managers should have the ability to facilitate the ways and means to achieve that goal and

Languages Reflect Societies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Languages Reflect Societies - Essay Example This word still aptly describes the hypothesis up to these days attracting continued studies about the relationship between language, thought and culture. Its strong version called Linguistic Determinism, posits that â€Å"people’s thoughts are determined by categories made available by their language† (Pinker, 1994, p. 57), that â€Å"language may determine our thinking patterns† (Liang, 2011, pp. 569-570), or that â€Å"one cannot think outside the confines of their language† (He, 2011, p. 562). Linguistic Relativity which is its weaker version, maintains that â€Å"differences among languages cause differences in thoughts of their speakers† (Pinker, 1994, p.57). Among the articles that I have read, I summarized the strengths and weakness of the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis in Table 1. Pinker (1994) thoroughly debunked the hypothesis in his book The Language Instinct. From the circumstances that contributed to Whorf’s formation of the hypothesis – to the two aspects of the theory, the strong and weak versions, Pinker (1994) questioned them all using anthropological and logical reasoning and results of empirical studies. As Pinker (1994, p. 67) have said, â€Å"Linguistic determinism is just a conventional absurdity†. Liang (2011) also examined the same hypothesis and came up with views similar to the ones maintained by Pinker. The study of Chi-Shing and Altarriba (2008) yielded a result contrary to the theory. Though He (2011) in his study acknowledged the shortcomings of the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis due to lack of empirical evidences, he focused on cross-cultural communication which made the hypothesis in one way, promote cultural diversity. If there are studies that question the authenticity of the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis, there are studies that support the views of Sapir and Whorf. One such study is that of Kodish (2003). As he penned it, Whorf â€Å"did not posit a language isolated from human behavior-in-a-culture as the sole, one-directional, single-valued

Literature review of peer article review and questions Assignment

Literature review of peer article review and questions - Assignment Example As a result of this, it forms a basic need for the economic costs that diabetes imparts on the labor market to be quantified adequately. According to the study on the diabetes prevalence, it was found that almost one adult in every three have diabetes and this affects the productivity in absolute. By researching on this area, there are innumerable advantages that America will gain. First of all, the policy makers will be adequately informed such that they can come up with the proper regulations which can be effectively used to reduce the prevalence of diabetes and the burden that it imposes on the Country. All in all, this field needs extensive research to be conducted. This will not only help the government in the reduction of the costs incurred on drugs, but also improve the labor market in the country by ensuring that the working population of the country is in good health thus improving the productivity. This research will majorly affect the working population. Most of the persons in the working population are between the ages of 19 years and 55 years. The choice of this age bracket is inspired by various statistical evidences. According to a report by the National Diabetes Statistics report of 2014, there was an increased in the number of cases of pre-diabetes in young Americans aged twenty and older by a worrying 7 million from 79 million in 2010 to 86 million in 2012 (National Diabetes Org, 2014) . With the increasing cases of diabetes diagnosis every year, it is important that these people be evaluated with much more seriousness so as to reduce the significant effect that the diabetes is having on the working class in America. Most of the persons within the ages are in their reproductive ages, especially women. According to Healthline, there is increased risk of women who become pregnant to develop diabetes

Insurance law Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Insurance law - Research Paper Example The insured party is not compensated by the insurer. This type of policy is commonly taken by those owning automobile. 2. Third-party, theft and fire. This type of cover is an extension of the third-party cover by including risks associated with theft and fire. The risks covers the policyholder only not the third party. 3. Comprehensive cover: this type of covers insures the insured plus the other party who incurred loss caused by the inured party. Comprehensive cover is more advantageous than third party insurance. One is returned back to the level he/she was before the predetermined risk occurred Insurance just like any field has to have its principles to ensure a fair playing field among the involved parties. These principles are regarded as the pillars of insurance and ingredients for transformation. This principle gives the policyholder who has been insured against a predetermined the right to be compensated. The compensation should restore the policyholder back to where he/she was before the risk occurs. Therefore, one should not expect to be paid much than what he/she suffered as a result of the risk. Insurance is a contract and thus, requires information from both parties to be bias free. It is from the information that premium is calculated and therefore, information inconsistency and inaccuracy may lead to wrong premium calculation and interfere with compensation. Health insurance is most affected with this principle since any omission in the health satus of the insured might compel the insurer not to compensate the insured in case a risk occurred and the insurer had no information regarding certain element of the health status of the insured. This principle covers the issue surrounding premium. An insured party is expected to pay a predetermined amount of cash referred to as premium for him/her to be compensated when a risk occurs. Failure to pay the agreed amount might result for one not being compensated in case a risk

Weeks vs. Southern Bell Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Weeks vs. Southern Bell - Research Paper Example Mrs. Weeks have also appealed that her employer, Southern Bell should return the position to Mrs. Weeks along with compensation for damages inflicted for the activities of discrimination of sex. Mrs. Weeks have also appealed for necessary action so that Southern Bell should refrain from such unlawful practices of employment in future. The detailed records of the case indicate that Mrs. Weeks had applied for the post of switchman in South Bell on 17th March, 1966. Southern Bell refused the application of Mrs. Weeks on 18th April, 1966 citing the reason that the position of switchman and the duties and responsibilities associated with the post is not fit for women. Post this refusal, Mrs. Weeks filed an unsworn charge with the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission and a representative of the Commission obtained a sworn charge from Mrs. Weeks on 30th July, 1966. The Commission carried out investigations on the charges brought about by Mrs. Weeks on her employer Southern Bell and fou nd there was no scope of judgment looking at the duties and responsibilities of switchman in the company that women are not fit for such positions (Staleup, 2005). On 19th April 1967, Mrs. Weeks was informed by the Commission that the conciliation procedure with Southern Bell has proved to be a failure and that Mrs. Weeks was provided a time period of 30 days to file the case against Southern Bell. The Commission appointed a counsel for Mrs. Weeks who filed the case against Southern Bell on her behalf on 18th May, 1967. In reply to this alleged unlawful practice of sex discrimination in the field employment in context to Mrs. Weeks, the company cross-appealed saying that as per the requirements of the code of law, there was no sworn charge filed by Mrs. Weeks within three months of the alleged unlawful practice. As per the codes of jurisdiction, the refusal of the application for employment occurred on 18th April, 1966 and that the sworn charge should be filed within 90 days, i.e. b y 30th July, 1966. The company highlighted that there was error on the part of the District Court to overrule this aspect and based on these points, the company applied for dismissal of the charges filed by Mrs. Weeks against them. The District Court validated the actions of the commission in this case saying that the amendments allow the Commission to charge cases filed beyond the time period of 90 days. The District also emphasized that irrespective of whether its is a sworn charge, any written complaint against the offender or the employer by their employee or the victim that identifies the parties involved in the case and the alleged unlawful practices subject to court’s judgment is deemed to be valid under the codes of jurisdiction. Southern Bell has held the view that that Commission only has the right to receive complaints from the aggrieved parties and take part in the administrative processes and not in any juridical process. Thus the commission has the right to take part in the process of settlement through conciliation, conference, etc. The Commission has no power to enforce juridical matters as it has done through engagement of the counsel on behalf of Mrs. Weeks (Robertson, 2006). In the context of this case, the legislative history is, however, silent on the matter regarding the requirement of the charges to be filed by the aggrieved parties. The charge irrespective of its nature whether it is a written complaint or sworn charge is viewed to be the stimulant that initiates the proceedings against the alleged lawful practices like the case of sex based discrimination of employment

Sales Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 3

Sales Management - Essay Example ales representative, it is importance for a sales manager to take note of the situation and take charge in order to avoid losing customers simply because of a sales representative’s behavior. (Churchill, 2000). There are some basic steps that the sales manager can take in order to convert the sales person’s behavior from inacceptable to acceptable. (Johnston, Churchill, Marshall, Ford, Walker, 2005). Some of such steps are discussed below. The first and the foremost concern of a sales manager should be to understand what a sales representative’s actual problem is. (Forsyth, 2002). He should investigate to know why the sales person is behaving in that particular way. He should talk to the sales rep in detail in order to understand the underlying causes of his behavior. (Churchill, 2000). These causes might be psychological (e.g. inferiority complex, frustration, prejudices and biases based on cultural, ethnic, racial, national, religious or other differences, etc.), emotional, or some other causes (e.g. if the employee has a grudge against a particular customer, or the customer’s attitude towards the sales rep is inappropriate, etc.) (Hughes, McKee, Singler, 1999). Once the sales manager has a good knowledge of the sales person’s problems, he can sit with the sales rep and try to work out an appropriate solution. (Schwartz, 2006). For example, if the sales person has lack of motivation, the sales manager can help him boost his morale through various motivational exercises and techniques. (Spiro, 2003). Or if the sales person has time management issues, he should try and instill such qualities in him. The manager should try and convince the sales person that the customer is the king and even if the customer is wrong, the sales person should be polite with him and should extend respect towards the customer at all times. (Honeycutt, Ford, Simintiras, 2003). The manager needs to empathetic and polite while discussing the issue with the sales rep so that his

The history of the Islamic faith Essay Example for Free

The history of the Islamic faith Essay Introduction This is a topic on the Muslims {Islam}. I will be covering the history of the Islamic faith. I will also be talking about the mosques and I will give a drawing on one. I will mention Ramadan and what it is like for a kid to fast in the month of Ramadan. I will write about a birth and marriage and also death. So please read on. The History Of Islam The Islamic faith first started of when a man called Muhammad. Lived in a city called Makkah, 1,400 years ago. He was being troubled by his destiny and poverty. One day when he was in the rocks of Makkah, he saw an angel. In the hand of the angel was a cloth, on the cloth was some writing, and Muhammad could not read the writing so the angel told him what it said. The cloth was explaining how much power Allah had, and that he should be worshiped more. So Muhammad went back to his village and told everyone about Allah and the angel. Mekkah Mekkah is the holy place for Muslims. They have a rule that you must be a Muslims to enter Mekkah. It is most important place to Muslims because, it is were Muhammad live years ago. Muhammad was at the age of 40 when he saw the angel at the top of the massive pile of rocks. In the town of Mekkah there is a massive building called the Kaba. Kaba is cube-shaped shrine, covered in a black and gold velvet. The Muslims for good luck kiss the Kaba. Quran We believe the Quran (also written Koran) contains the words of Allah, which the angels revealed to Muhammad. Muhammad learned the words off by heart, and friends wrote them down for him. The words are in Arabic, and Muslims try to learn the Quran, the Quran is the words that were given to Muhammad. The Quran is treated with great respect and is only touched by people that are clean all over. It is wrapped in an ornate cloth to keep it in neat condition. The Quran is written in different styles of Arabic because it was written in a period of 23 years so different people wrote the Quran. Ramadan Ramadan is a fast every 9 months. During he month of Ramadan Muslims must fast (not eat or drink) from dawn to dusk. Adults eat breakfast before daylight and then nothing until dinner after sunset. Part of the reason for Ramadan is to make us aware of the needs of others. There are some people who are permitted to eat during daylight; they are pregnant women, to keep their baby healthy, and women who are feeding their babies. Also the very young or very old are permitted to eat. If you are a sportsman/woman and are training a lot in the day you are allowed to drink. The sick and disabled are also allowed to eat and drink. Birth This is what happens when a baby is born:- The first ceremony takes place as soon as a baby is born. We believe that a child is a gift from Allah and must be brought into the faith as quickly as possible. The baby is washed and the call to prayer is whispered in its right ear. A second call to worship is whispered in the babies left ear. Next honey or a piece of sugar is placed on the babies tongue as a sign of a happy life. Marriage A Muslim marriage is usally a lot of fun, with partys and colourful cloths. Many marriages are arranged by the brides farther, although our law is that the bride cannot be forced to get marred. The wedding ceremony is not a religious ceremony. The man proposes, and the woman accepts in front of witnesses. They both sign a contract (document) to make it legal. Also the man gives the bride a sum of money that is only the brides to spend. Death This is what happens at a burial or death:- When a person dies, the body is wrapped in white sheets and buried as soon as possible. Friend call on family to show there respect and support. Muslims believe that one day the dead will rise to life and be judged by Allah. It is to be said that the good will go to paradise, and all the others will go to ever lasting fire. Mosque The word Mosque comes from an Arabic word, meaning Place of Prostration. It is the house of prayer, where Muslims gather together to worship Allah. There are many different styles of Mosque, and they reflect the traditional architecture of the countries in which they are found, however, all of them share common design features. Perhaps the most distinctive element of a Mosque is its minaret, the tall slender tower designed to be seen from a distance as a reminder of Allahs presence. Before you enter a Mosque you must be clean all over, e.g. wash hands, legs and arms etc. You must also take off your shoes for cleanliness and health. Conclusion I learnt too much in this topic to right it all down, so I will give some ideas of what I learnt. One of the main things that I learnt is how the Islamic faith stared, and that the Quran was some words on a piece of cloth show to Muhammad by an angel sent by Allah .I also learnt that Ramadan is hard to keep and it is I good thing to show what it is like for poor homeless beggar.

Siddhartha Essay on Enlightenment

Siddhartha Essay on Enlightenment Siddhartha, a man looking for enlightenment, was able to find it among a river. It took Siddhartha many years and several failed attempts to obtain his own personal enlightenment. His first attempt was to explore the traditional religious path to enlightenment. Siddhartha realized that the religious scripts were not how he was going to find enlightenment. Next, he decided that he would become a Samana to attempt to obtain enlightenment. This also proved a futile attempt and he eventually fled the Samana lifestyle. After that did not work, he went to the Buddha in hope that he could help with his journey to enlightenment. Once again, Siddhartha was unable to find or even further his quest to enlightenment. Siddhartha would now become a worker to see if this could put him on the right path to enlightenment. This effort would also prove to be a vain attempt as it pushed him further away from his goal than ever. After this attempt, Siddhartha believed that there was no way to achieve enl ightenment and began to believe that his life was meaningless. When all was looking down and he was beginning to give up, Siddhartha wandered into a man named Vasuveda, a ferryman. It was this river, with its calming sound and natural beauty, in which Siddhartha obtained enlightenment. Siddhartha attempted to accept the way to enlightenment as described by religious text, but the restrictions were too many and he rejected their ideas. Siddharthas father attempted to pressure his son into accepting the religious texts ideas, but Siddhartha knew better. One must find the source within ones own self, one must possess it. This quote comes from Siddharthas youth and he states that one must find their own path to enlightenment. After realizing that his fathers religious text was not going to lead him to enlightenment, he decided to try and find enlightenment elsewhere. Siddhartha chose to leave his family and he decided that he would attempt to obtain enlightenment as a Samana. Siddhartha left to become a Samana during his quest for enlightenment. He lost his Self a thousand times and for days on end he dwelt in nonbeing. This quote speaks of how Siddhartha became a Samana and he felt that in fasting and prayer that he was becoming numb and, with each consecutive day, that he was furthering himself from his goal of reaching enlightenment. Siddhartha practiced self-denial and meditation according to the Samana rules. While a Samana, he chose to fast for days and weeks upon end without food or water. Siddhartha began to feel that he was living a pointless life and that he was wasting precious time. What is meditation? What is abandonment of the body? What is fasting? What is the holding of breath? Siddhartha asked these questions to Govinda when he began to realize that the Samana ways of life were not going to bring him to enlightenment. Siddhartha realized that the Samana ways of life were actually pulling him further away from his journey to enlightenment. This is when Siddhartha realized that a change was in order. After this failure, he fled the Samana way of life and became a follower of the Buddha. Siddhartha realized that he needed to find another way to attempt enlightenment. He found this new way in the Buddhas teachings. Siddhartha went to the Buddha expecting to learn something that would promote his quest towards enlightenment. However, it did not take Siddhartha long to understand that the Buddhas teachings were just useless words. After listening to Gotama Buddha, Siddhartha realizes that enlightenment cannot be taught or learned but can only be achieved through personal experience. This quote exemplifies the thought that Siddhartha cannot truly learn anything from the Buddha as all he can give him are words. Siddhartha, after speaking with the Buddha, believes that he must obtain enlightenment through actions, not words. Nirvana is not a thing, there is only the word Nirvana. Siddhartha said this to Govinda when he realized that the Buddhas teachings could not further his knowledge or help him on his way to enlightenment. Siddhartha has discovered that comforting secre t that a teacher is unnecessary. This quote occurs when Siddhartha realizes that the Buddha, or any teacher, cannot further him on his quest to enlightenment. Siddhartha leaves the Buddhas words behind and travels to find another way. Siddhartha travels along his way and comes upon a woman named Kamala. Siddhartha feels that he may be able to help him along his path to enlightenment. Kamala is where Siddhartha learns sensual pleasure. Kamala derails Siddhartha from his Siddhartha, on the brink of death, finds the fountain of youth in a mere river. Siddharthas only goal was to become empty of everything. Siddhartha wished to become empty and then he would be reborn, enlightened. He is dissatisfied with the ritual and the worship of the Gods. Siddhartha, at this point, was disgruntled with everyone elses teaching and the river was different. The river was the one place he could go and listen, but there was no teaching to be heard. The river held no biases and told not of how to obtain enlightenment, but instead it taught Siddhartha that all he had to do to obtain enlightenment is to listen. The new Siddhartha felt a deep love for this flowing water and decided that he would not leave it again so quickly. This quote comes after Siddhartha had attempted to commit suicide in the river. Siddhartha realized that the river had given him new life and he needed to use it carefully. After he awoke from his sleep, he realized how beautiful the river was and ho w simplistic it was. Siddhartha was enlightened because he now desired to live a simple life and his desire for enlightenment was gone. That is it, said Siddhartha, and when I learned that, I reviewed my life and it was also a river, and Siddhartha the boy, Siddhartha the mature man, and Siddhartha the old man, were separated by shadows, not through reality This quote states that Siddhartha realizes that his life is just like a river, every moment is not separated by reality. Instead every moment is merely separated by shadows, or minute moments. This realization is one of the keys to obtaining enlightenment.

Cause and Effect of Religiosity on Life Satisfaction

Cause and Effect of Religiosity on Life Satisfaction The Cause and Effect of Religiosity on the Life Satisfaction and Psychological Wellbeing Rehmatullah Mirzaali Religiosity can be defined as â€Å"the term religiosity is derived from the word religion and it refers to numerous characteristics of religious behavior’s as well as fidelity and faith of an individual† (Khan, subhani Ara, June, 2013). This is while life satisfaction is usually explained as a critical process in which an individual assess the quality of their lives based on their own standard (shin Johnson, 1978). The purpose of this paper is to discuss the religion as a basic motivating force in the life of an individual that helps people to avoid the evil and practice decency which is directly associated with the mental health and physical status of the people (paragment hill, 2003). By looking in to today’s Islamic world we come across different criminalization, rape victims, injustice, honor killings, leading to a lot of negative outcomes involving depression, suicide, anxiety and other mortalities which is against the essence of Islam that teaches us pe ace and safety. Thus, in order to understand the true essence of Islam, which only gives us the message of peace, we must focus on some of the teachings of great theologian philosopher as Nasir khusraw who is well renowned and has major influence on the Ismaili Muslim communities of Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan. He has given some of the answer to some of the major issues of his time related to the religion and life satisfaction. In this paper, I am going to focus only on the Islam religion and its true essence and in the light of teachings of Nasir khusraw and its effect on mental health. I am very happy to start my paper mentioning what the Pakistan journal of psychology stated about the true essence of Islam. The journal explained that the result or the outcome of the research showed that out of religious involvement, influence and hope only religious influence had an impact on life satisfaction and it could have been different if the people were more focused on the true essence of Islam rather than the formalities and practices only. The journal further emphasized that people faith should be dependent on the questioning and logical reasoning to be strong in their faith and making them as a part of their true nature by incorporating them in the attitude and behavior which will make them more likely able to avoid things like jealousy, desire, pride, habitual greed and instead practice love, forgiveness, and respect towards others which shows the association between the mental and physical health. in order to understand some logical questioning and reasoning related t o the true essence of Islam we will look in to the logical reasons given by the an Ismaili poet and theoligist Nasir Khusrow to the people of its time so that they remain strong in their faith and can adhere to a sense of ultimate purpose and meaning even when life events are disturbing. Some group of people challenged Nasir khusrow (1998) that in order to believe in divine power and in ultimate purpose of God they questioned about the responsibility and freewill of the human being that â€Å"whether man is determined or free in what he does: If he is determined then God in which case, why does punishment become necessary? If he is free then can he do something which God does not like? Thus necessitating that he prevails over God?†( p.113). In reply of their query, Nasir khusrow said that this query was already asked from Imam Jafar al sadiq in his time in which he replied that â€Å"God is more just than to determine someone to disobey him and then punish him for it† (p.113). Then they asked him if the man is free to do what he wants? In reply he said that â€Å"Gods power is greater than ones transgressions in his kingdom† (p.113). In addition, they asked that what position does the man hold in this world, he said that man is in between the two positions in which he is neither determined nor free and farther he explained that the status of man is in between the animal and angel because mankind have both the carnal soul which is related to the physical especially sexual needs and activities as well as the angel soul which is related to the spiritual being. In case of the angel soul it cannot deliberately disobey and in case of animal soul it cannot deliberately obey because these two souls are already decided in their essence while mankind whose position is in between the two that’s why they are honored for being obedient and punished for being disobedience as in Quran, al mudathir, 74:38 it is mentioned that â€Å"every soul is held in pledge for its deeds†. Why mankind is entitled with the title of â€Å"Ashraf –ul makhluqat†? Because God has given mankind the insightful intellect which can differentiate the ugly from the fair and he has also blessed human beings with a sense of shame and humi lity which does not allow the mankind to act as animals do and we are not as free as animals due to the attribute of shame and modesty now as we know that man’s position is in between the two, the rational soul which is already determined in its nature to do good and the carnal soul which is free and not determined. So good and evil, wright and wrong is in our hand and there is no compulsion from God for the mankind in its religion because as we already mentioned that Islam is a religion of peace not of compulsion and force. As in Quran, Al Baqarah, 2:256† it is mentioned that â€Å"let there be no compulsion in religion. Truth stands out clear from error; whoever rejects evil and believes in God has grasped the most trustworthy hand-hold that never breaks. And God hears and knows all things†. Similarly, I remember that one of my teachers used to say about Hafiz shirazi a Persian poet, and I am quoting him, that: (The whole universe is summed up in the human bein g; devil is not a monster waiting to trap us. He is a voice inside. Look for your devil in yourself not in others. Don’t forget that the one, who knows his devil, knows his God). Further those doubters asked Nasir khusrow that â€Å"what’s the purpose of being here. What’s the cause of man’s indeterminate state between the animality and angelicity and what is the meaning of Iqab (punishment) and how should it be known, explain† (p.98). In reply Nasir khusrow replied that the reason why the mankind is indeterminate in its state is that their souls are uneducated and in order to gain knowledge they are given organs like eyes, hears, heart, and tongue by which knowledge can be attained and understood and internalizing it in their souls so that at last when souls leaves the body the soul must be able to return to his origin where soul was sent to cultivate knowledge so that the soul can find its way back to its origin. To make it more simple, Nasir khusrow further elaborated with an example of a landowner, farmer, farm and the agricultural instrument. He said that the universal soul is the land owner; farmer is the man; farm is the mat erial world; the instrument of the farm are your eyes, mouth, and other organs helping you in cultivating the seed; and, the seed is your intellect. Thus, you have to cultivate your intellect wisely in this world. The land owner has sent the farmer to the farm to cultivate the farm and not sit foolishly. The harness of the oxen is his body together with the animal soul. A wise sensible man would learn and acquire knowledge by using his instruments (organs) given to him as a gift in this world so that when he returns to the landowner he must have something to give back to the landowner as for the farmer and must please his landowner. Therefore we are all here for a purpose and we have to understand that before returning back to our origin we must gain and understand what we are sent for. Otherwise we will be failed in our mission. As God says to the ignorant and bad fortune people that â€Å"and indeed you have come to us alone as we created you at first and you have left behind wha t we bestowed on you†(6:95). So, if man does not use his instrument (organs) in this world according to the commands of God and his prophet he would remain puzzled and distressed when his soul leaves his body and there would be no any instrument to cultivate the intellect so he would be in agony as God says that â€Å"if you do good, you do good for your own selves and if you do evil, it’s against your own selves† (17:7). As for the word Iqab (punishment) it has already been discussed that whoever remains behind humanity the purpose of which is to be wise and act according to the commands of God and his prophet but instead chooses the carnal soul which is the animal soul and remains behind from reaching his origin that is his punishment being in the fire of ether. Now focusing on the act and commands of prophets we come to know that they lived very simply avoiding this world and evil practices instead focusing on their spirituality as Hazrat Ali bin abi talib son in law and cousin of the prophet who is described as the gate to city of knowledge by hazrat Muhammad (p.b.u.h) himself and who is the single most important intellectual authority in Islam according to the book justice and remembrance by Reza shah kazemi has quoted sayings of hazrat Ali that â€Å"By God this world of yours is more contemptible in my eyes than a chewed up bone of a pig in the hand of a leper†( p. 53). Further Hazrat Ali said that â€Å"the world is as worthless to me as that which drips from the nose of a goat† (p.53). keeping in mind that the causes which the holy prophets and a man who is known as the gate to the city of knowledge condemns this world and gives no importance why would its followers waste time on doing something against the teachings of their prophet and spiritual leaders. This is how Islam and its spiritual leaders has thought the people to follow instead of getting involved in crimes and other greedy things which leads to criminalization and further leads to a lot of unhealthy issues related to health as mentioned before that by chasing spiritual growth you are more likely to avoid evil doing and involve in behavior’s showing love, respect, compassion, and forgiveness which is directly associated with the mental and physical health status. However, in American sociological review by Durkheim (1951) and Simmel (1997) they have mentioned social dimension as the essence of religion because involvement in religious activities with the same minded people gives them a sense of friendship and social interaction to help each other. As all religions teach the same philosophy of compassion, love, and respect, therefore we can say that the effect of every religiosity would be the same. This is when people internalizes it in their behavior and lives it rather than showing, then the effect would definitely be stronger in mental health than physical health as Koenig (2012) explained that the relationship between the religiosity and mental health is stronger than physical health because it encompasses psychological, social and behavioral aspect which is related to the mental health. Furthermore, Ahmed M Abdel Khalek (2013) after doing his research he concluded that, there is a possibility of treating anxiety depression in Muslim clients using the psychotherapeutic religious involvement, because religion has high importance in the society. As we saw when we visited the Karachi psychiatric hospital they also used this religious involvement method to help patients of drug addicts. Concluding this paper, again I remember one of my teachers mentioned this and I quote that â€Å"your soul is the king of your body, your mind the scribe, your intellect the vizier (Divan, 91:15; Ruby of badakshan, 214).that your intellect controls your soul and your soul controls your body but the intellect is developed through knowledge. We must control our mind to have a control in our lives and we must internalize the knowledge in our nature to be free of desires and evils which has direct relation with mental health. it is clear from above teachings that Islam is a complete way of life which leads our lives in a healthy and prosperous way if we tend to act according to the teachings of Islam and and its holy prophets . Similarly, every religion has its significant impact on the mental health of its people in a positive way because they all teach peace and prosperity. References KHUSRAW, N. (1998). GUSHAYISH WA RAHAYISH (F.M. HUNZAI, Trans.). LONDON NEWYORK: I.B.Tauris co ltd victoria house bloomsburry square London WC1B 4DZ. (Original work published 1998). Khan, B., Subhani, B., Ara, A. (2013). RELIGIOSITY AND LIFE SATISFACTION.  Pakistan Journal of Psychology,  44(1). KAZEMI, R.S. (2006). JUSTICE AND REMEMBRANCE. London New York, U.S: I.B. Tauris co ltd. Koenig, H. G. (2012). Religion, spirituality, and health: The research and clinical implications.  International Scholarly Research Notices,  2012. Hill, P. C., Pargament, K. I. (2008). Advances in the conceptualization and measurement of religion and spirituality: Implications for physical and mental health research. Lim, C., Putnam, R. D. (2010). Religion, social networks, and life satisfaction.  American Sociological Review,  75(6), 914-933. Abdel-Khalek, A. M. (2013). Religiosity, health and happiness: Significant relations in adolescents from Qatar.  International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 0020764013511792.

Photography and Art Essay -- Technology Essays

Photography and Art In the United States today, technology is all-important to a great deal of the population, whether it is a means of communication or an aid for national security. Technological devices and terminology are ubiquitous and have become a part of everyday life. On the road, many drivers can be found talking and chattering away into their cell phones. At business meetings, many executives will present presentations in PowerPoint, while others will jot down notes in their Personal Digital Assistants, or PDAs. Many people have their own websites on the Internet, and even more people communicate through electronic mail. Tourists can be found snapping shots of landscapes and buildings with digital cameras or recording the scenery with digital camcorders. There is no end to the number of examples of how technology has touched our lives. This essay will delineate the development of the digital camera and digital art as a representation of the digital world, since the digital world is much too large of a subject to encompass in one essay. Two influences on the development of digital photography and art are late-Victorian construction of the machinery of information organization and Modernist visual forms. However, it is not sufficient to stop with these two forces, for advanced digital programs have also played a key role in the shaping of digital photography and art. Within the context of the current technological age, digital photography has been developed, modified, and brought into the lives of everyday people. In some shape or form, photography has importance to everyone. At its simplest level, photography allows people to remember their pasts and to share experiences with others. To some, it is way to see ... ...6. "Further Developments." <http://encyclopedia.com/html/section/photogrph_FurtherDevelopments.asp> 7. Hoy, Anne H. Fabrications: Staged, Altered, and Appropriated Photographs. New York: Abbeville Press, 1987. 8. Manovich, Lec. "New Media from Borges to HTML," 2001. <http://manovich.net/DOCS/manovich_new_media.doc> 9. Marshall, Alfred. Principles of Economics, Book IV, 1890. <http://www.socsci.mcmaster.ca/%7Eecon/ugcm/3ll3/marshall/prin/prinbk4> 10. Stevens, Harold. Design in Photo-Collage. New York: Reinhold Publishing Corporation, 1967. 11. "The Impact of Early Photography." <http://encyclopedia.com/html/section/photogrph_TheImpactofEarlyPhotography.asp> 12. "The Invention of Photography." <http://encyclopedia.com/html/section/photogrph_TheInventionofPhotography.asp> 13. Venn, John. "On The Forms of Logical Proposition." 1880.

The Limits of Software Liability Essay -- Legal Business Technology

"Faulty software can cost lives, cause injury, or economic damage. Write an essay to investigate the question, under which circumstances a software company should be liable for the damage caused. Use an example where software failures are potentially dangerous, such as that of the Prius's brake software. Discuss the difference between strict and negligent liability and comment on the social and economic impact stricter liability practices for software could have." It is remarkable, that nowadays, we have complex software systems everywhere. We have them in our dishwashers, and in our wristwatches, though they are not quite so mission-critical. But sometimes, the human factor can be devastating, because of the negligence or the strict liability who dominates, and often devastating implications not only for the man himself, but can affect the whole economy of a country, succeeding or at least trying to succeed, ignoring the institutions, rules and contract. A highly representative example of the failure of human factors in an attempt to â€Å"progress† with the help of a software, is Ariane 5 explosion, that was the cause of a huge economic gap. It took the European Space Agency 10 years and $7 billion to produce Ariane 5, a giant rocket capable of hurling a pair of three-ton satellites into orbit with each launch. It intended to give Europe overwhelming supremacy in the commercial space business. There was no risk of lightning since the strength of the electric field in the spray was negligible. Perhaps, one problem, leading the explosion, was the visibility. The countdown, which also comprises the filling of the core stage, went smoothly until the first seven minutes when the launch was put on hold since the visibility criteria ... ... at what determines the law and contracts, addressing scientists. Lastly, let us continue our efforts to improve our world, even with technological wonders. Works Cited ARIANE 5 / Flight 501 Failure / Prof. J. L. LIONS / Paris, 19 July 1996 http://sspg1.bnsc.rl.ac.uk/Share/ISTP/ariane5r.htm A Bug and a Crash / by James Gleick http://www.around.com/ariane.html Hardware and Software Liability / by Tim Tompkins / 6 December 2000 http://www.cs.rpi.edu/academics/courses/fall00/ethics/papers/tompkt.html Software liability laws: a dangerous solution / Chase Venters / September 5, 2007 http://lwn.net/Articles/247933/ SOFTWARE LIABILITY / Cem Kaner, J.D., Ph.D. / 1997 http://www.badsoftware.com/theories.htm ARIANE 5 / Flight 501 Failure / Prof. J. L. LIONS / Paris, 19 July 1996 http://sunnyday.mit.edu/accidents/Ariane5accidentreport.html

Essay on The Picture of Dorian Gray as a Moral Book -- Picture Dorian

The Picture of Dorian Gray as a Moral Book The Picture of Dorian Gray was a remarkably well-written book due to the reaction of its themes by society. In the preface of the novel, Wilde introduces the opinion that "...there is no moral or immoral book. Books are well written or badly written. That is all." Numerous views can be taken upon this fastidious comment. Many would agree that Wilde is justifiably correct because the preface was written with the intention that his readers understand the deeper meaning of the themes than worrying about whether it is considered morally acceptable; or perhaps, the view that it could be considered moral or immoral by the impact it has on the readers' lives. Even though there are several positions held on what The Picture of Dorian Gray's most important meaning is about, the most prominent is the novel as a moral book. Lord Henry Wotton immediately begins to corrupt Dorian's mind after they first meet by forcing his immoral thoughts of "yielding to temptation" which allows Lord Henr y to hold his attention. After listening for quite a while to Lord Henry's views, Dorian begins to change his own to match them, and therefore begins to live a life of immorality. The yellow book is a device that Lord Henry uses to further corrupt and drive Dorian deeper into the pits of sin. Through Lord Henry's influence, the changes in Dorian Gray, and the impact of the yellow book, Oscar Wilde efficiently reveals The Picture of Dorian Gray as a moral book. Lord Wotton sees Dorian as "wonderfully handsome...all of youth's passionate purity," and cannot resist the t... ...self from the influence of this book. Or perhaps...that he never sought to free himself from it." Dorian procures nine copies from Paris to have them bound in different colors to fit his mood, which implies that he was in all probability never without it. From the yellow book the moral learned is "all access as well as all renunciation" leads to punishment. In conclusion, it has been reiterated that Lord Henry's influence, the changes in Dorian, and the immorality of the yellow book further enforced The Picture of Dorian Gray as a moral book. Oscar Wilde allows for those who could understand the real meaning of the novel by comprehending the importance of these three things to discern that he fully intended on writing this novel as a moral book.

Internet Essay

I don’t agree if the internet give more good than harm influence, as we could see nowadays teenager or child had been contaminated by lots of negatives in internet, they become more lazy to study, do homework, and they also wasted their time mostly on internet. Some negatives are like Porn and social networking, porn have make them become wild and misunderstood about sex they just get bad influence of porn that keep disturbing their minds. In Social networking we could hear nowadays that people were killed, and divorce because of social networking like they use this for acquaintance with strangers and they are cheating through social networking,Other case is when they meet each other then that stranger is not a good person and he / she was killed. Thats why from this we could see that internets give fatal influence. I dun really want to know what my friends are doing every minute. I know of students who tweet almost every second of their lives. Gosh, dun they have better things to do? Grab a book and read! Bryan on January 30, 2012 at 1:11 pm said: Everything really only depends on the person using the internet. If they are wise, they will use it for what they need it for and will not affect them in real life in any way at all. There are some cases about cyber bullying and that some people have committed suicide. I think those are the dumb people who did that as the internet is only just a virtual thing and it should not affect them in any way. So there is more good than harm in using the internet in my opinion as you can search almost anything on the internet. If only everyone is as mature as you ! Sent from my BlackBerry ® powered by Sinyal Kuat INDOSAT 3. Internet is just like soil of fertility. If you planted something bad,you won’t get away from it and you will take care of it until it grow and it determines you that you like that kind of plant. Plant of evil. Neverthless, when you plant a good seed it will grow and benefictial to you as well. The point is when you have internet, the magnifying glass that can search the whole world ,whether it is bad or good is in your hand. Just a question of what you use it for.

“Fools Tell All They Know” or The Wisdom of Feste in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night

Almost all of Shakespeare's plays have a clown character. Clowns were popular and amusing, and were simple characters that the lower class audience members could relate to, amidst all the royal people plays were populated with. But the clowns in Shakespeare's plays served a dual purpose. Not only were they sources of comedy, but also sources of truth. Wisdom and advice are imparted through the lines of these figures of fun. The clowns reflected the true nature or intentions of the other, more â€Å"noble characters. They also foreshadow coming events. One of the most striking examples of this type of clown is the character of Feste in Twelfth Night. Feste dispenses advice and exposes truths to most of the major characters of the play. Though he is only a fool, he seems to be the only character in the play that truly has his wits about him. Feste mirrors each of the main characters, revealing facets of their respective dispositions. He often shares knowledge about other characters of which they were not aware. For example, Feste is most closely related to Olivia. She is his patron and calls upon him to amuse her. But Feste does not entertain in the standard way of a clown. He realizes that Olivia is not in control of her emotions when it comes to love, and that she lacks control over her subordinates. He says, in an aside, â€Å"Wit, an't be thy will, put me into good fooling! Those wits that think they have thee do very oft prove fools And I that am sure I lack thee may pass for a wise man. For what say Quinapalus? -‘Better a witty fool than a foolish wit.†' (1.5.29-31) Feste knows what is going on with Olivia's predicament with Orsino, but still plays the fool. He expresses his feelings of apprehension for Olivia and her supposed wisdom. Feste thinks Olivia's actions are silly, and is not afraid to tell her so in indirect ways. When Olivia gets tired of Feste's obscure advice, she tells her attendants to take away the fool, and Feste returns, â€Å"The lady bade take the fool away, therefore I say again/take her away . . . I wear not motley in my brain/good madonna give me leave to prove you a fool† (1.5.45-6, 49-51). He continues by asking Olivia why she mourns for the loss of her brother. If she believes his souls to be in heaven, as she does, then there is no reason for sorrow. Feste uses a sort of quirky pragmatism to try and show Olivia how silly she is being, but is does not work, because Olivia refuses to think of his advice as anything but the ramblings of a fool. Though Feste does seem, in some ways, to be very educated no one takes his suggestions seriously. Feste is the only character in the play that crosses into every world. He is privy to the secrets of Countess Olivia, he sings to and foretells the fate of Orsino, he guides Viola and Sebastian, Feste also ventures into the tavern world of Sir Toby, Sir Andrew, Fabian and Maria. Olivia bids him to enter this world by asking him to look after her kinsman, Sir Toby, who is a â€Å"drowned man,† that is to say, drowned with drink. Feste takes a lighter view of Sir Toby stat of mind by saying he is mad with drink claiming, â€Å"He is but mad yet, Madonna, and the fool shall look to the madman. In the context of the play, Sir Toby plays more the part of the classic fool than Feste. He is merely a comic figure with no more depth to him than that of the stock drunkard. Feste is the genius of the play, but is not noble, and so does not really fit in anywhere. Sir Toby and Sir Andrew treat Feste as both a friend and a servant, paying him to sing, but requesting his company and help i n their practical jokes. Feste reveals his foreknowledge about events to come in his song to Sir Toby, O mistress mine, where are you roaming? O stay and hear, your true love's coming That can sing both high and low Trip no further pretty sweeting Journey's end in Lover's meeting Every wise man's son doth know.† (2.3.36-40) Feste reveals to these two drunkards the plot of the entire play. Of course, they do not understand and simply praise Feste's singing ability, but, nevertheless, he has revealed his wisdom and knowledge about the other characters. Later in the play, they request that Feste dress up as a wise man to fool Malvolio into thinking he has lost his wits. Feste humbly obliges and does so, playing the part willingly and well. Shakespeare's characters love to disguise themselves; this theme is often important to the plot of his comedies, but in this case, the disguise takes an ironic turn. Feste, in dressing up as a wise man, reveals his true nature instead of concealing it. Though this scene is meant to be played for bald comedic value, the audience gets a glimpse of the true nature of the clown. Truly, though, Feste does not seem very interested in the torment of Malvolio, and ultimately provides him with means to resolve his unfair predicament. â€Å"Look then to be well edified when the f ool delivers the madman,† Feste says as he reads the letter that leads to Malvolio's release from captivity. Feste is also aware of the fate that will befall Orsino. He is welcome3d to the music-loving court at Orsino's home, perhaps because he belongs to Olivia, and in this way, at least, Orsino can feel he has some sort of relationship with her. Feste quickly sees through Orsino's melancholy and wishes, Now the melancholy god protect thee, and the tailor make thy doublet of changeable taffeta, for thy mind is a very opal. I would have men of such constancy put to sea, that their business might be everything, and their intent everywhere, for that's it that always makes a good voyage of nothing.† (2.4.72-6) Feste knows exactly what Orsino is feeling, how his relationship with Olivia is shaping up, and what his final result will be. Orsino is fickle and shallow and Feste knows it. When Orsino and Feste meet again later in the play, Feste is resentful of his patronage, wishing â€Å"the worse for his friends,† then calling Orsino his friend (5.1.10,22). Clearly, like the audience, Feste does not care for the Duke Orsino. Feste reveals his wisdom most clearly in his conversations with Viola. Though he refers to her as â€Å"sir,† he does so in a sarcastic way, as if he knows her secret. Viola also forces Feste to consider his own circumstances, and he meditates, â€Å"A sentence is but a chev'ril glove to a good wit-how quickly the wrong side may be turned outward,† and Viola counters with, â€Å"Nay, that's certain. They that dally nicely with words may quickly make them wanton,† (3.1.10-14). Since Feste is an actor, Shakespeare is playing with the meaning of these lines in one of his favorite ways, by reminding the audience they are watching a play. These two are certainly the most charming characters of the play and their dialogue reveals as much. Both know a little about the other's true nature, and are not afraid to share their knowledge with each other. Feste prefers Viola (as Cesario) to Orsino as a suitor for his mistress, and so tries to help win her, and mistakenly, Sebastian, to Olivia's favor. Feste seems to grow tired of his fool's role in the play. By Act three he declares, â€Å"Words are grown so false, I am lost to make reason with them,† (3.1.22-3). He has an air of resignation in his lines towards the end of the play, ultimately leading up to his final epilogue. This song chronicles his life, in a melancholy way, ending with, † But that's all one, our play is done/ And we'll strive to please you every day.† Feste's final words are riddled with melancholy; he is doomed to always play the fool, to never be free of the constraints of the play. As a fool, Feste has all the necessary qualities: singing, impersonation, joke-telling. But, as a character, he is much more than a jester. He is the key to Twelfth Night. He gives the play depth and substance that other comedies do not contain. He weaves all the worlds of the play together with witty words and melancholy ballads. Feste is the binding element in an otherwise contrived and ordinary play.

A Good Man Is Hard to Find by Flannery O’Connor

In â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find†, by Flannery O’Connor, the theme is grace, the idea that nothing we do can save us from our own faults. In the beginning of the story, the grandmother talks about how you cannot even trust anybody in the world, while she is actually being more untrustworthy than those of the world. After reading the story, you can see how her actions and her words are ironic because she is actually lying and cheating the family. Analyzing the characters, setting, and irony of the story, we can see how trust is a major issue throughout the story and how they have a rather dysfunctional family.In â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find,† the characters are important because their thoughts and actions mold together and make the story what it is. If there were one character missing, the story would not be the same. The mother is a character that hardly plays any role, and hardly ever says anything. Also, in the wreck, the mother was the only one who got hurt. The main thing the mother does is take care of the baby. With that being said, the character of the baby is mostly just to take up the mother’s attention. Also, taking some of the grandmother’s attention when she holds the baby in her lap for only a few minutes during the ride.June Star is Bailey’s daughter. Throughout the story, we learn that she is a rather disrespectful little girl. She makes rude remarks to everyone like â€Å"I wouldn’t live in a broken-down place like this for a million bucks† (O’Connor, 408) to Red Sam’s wife when talking to the baby. For the most part, she is just a bothersome little girl. Her brother, John Wesley, is almost just as bad. During the story, he mostly torments the grandmother and kicks the father’s seat repeatedly throughout the whole car ride. He, along with June Star, is disappointed when they realize there were no fatalities in the car accident.Red Sam is the restaurant owner wher e the family stopped to eat. Red Sam states, â€Å"a good man is hard to find† (409), when explaining to the grandmother about the men who never paid their tab. He wants to see the good in everybody, but explains, â€Å"Everything is getting terrible. I remember the day you could go off and leave your screen door unlatched. Not no more. † (409) Bailey is the grandmother’s only son. He is June Star and John Wesley’s father, also the driver of the car. Bailey likes to think that he is in control of everything, when in reality he is not.He lets the grandmother persuade him into going to Tennessee instead of Florida, where he had primarily intended on taking his family. Bailey and John Wesley are one of the first the get shot after the accident. The grandmother in the story is rather manipulative. From the beginning to the end, she is constantly nagging and talking the family into different plans. Not only is she this way towards the family, but she also trie s to talk the Misfit out of killing her and tries to convince him that he is a good boy. She does so by saying things like â€Å"You’ve got good blood! I know you wouldn’t shoot a lady!I know you come from nice people†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (415). Also, the grandmother is very conceited; an example would be when the narrator says, â€Å"In case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once she was a lady† (406). The grandmother is so tied up with herself that she doesn’t want to admit when she is wrong, when on several occasions in the story, she is wrong. The Misfit is a character who comes along towards the end of the story. Arthur Bethea describes â€Å"The Misfit† is an anti-Christ. Jesus loved children, whereas children make the anti-Christ Misfit ‘nervous’† (247).He, along with his two-gang men, has escaped from prison and now on the loose. They come along after the accident, looking like they are going t o be good Samaritans, when actually they turn out to be murderers on the run. Along with the role the characters play in the story, the setting is also essential in which it starts in the house, moves to the car, and ends in the woods. At the beginning of the story, all the characters are in the house in an unknown city, debating on where they will go on vacation. Of course, the grandmother does not want to go where Bailey has planned.After they argue and figure out where they will go, they get in the car and head for Tennessee. While riding in the car, the grandmother starts remembering her childhood and demands that Bailey go to an old plantation she remembered. Putting them off track, they end up on a dirt road in Georgia where the grandmother realizes but does not say that they are in the wrong spot. After having a car accident, they family ends up in a ditch in the middle of nowhere. Little by little, each character is taken into the woods and do not return. In the woods is whe re the story ends, where the Misfit and his gang members ultimately kill the whole family.The characters and the setting are both important, and they come together to create irony that is shown throughout the whole story. At the beginning of the story, the grandmother tells us â€Å"The Misfit is aloose from the Federal Pen and headed towards Florida† (405) this being her reasoning for not wanting to go to Florida. Little did they know, along the way, the grandmother would get them lost and lead them right into the Misfit’s path. Before coming intact with the Misfit, the grandmother had nothing good to say about him and judged him without knowing the slightest thing about him.Not until later, when coming face to face with him, she automatically changed her tone when she knew that her life was in jeopardy. Another example of irony would be dealing with the cat. At first, the cat was not supposed to come along on the trip. With the grandmother being so hardheaded, she br ought the cat along anyways. The cat jumped up, which is when the accident happened. If the grandmother had just done as Bailey said and left the cat, then the accident may not have ever happened. After analyzing the characters, setting, and irony of â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find,† we see how these elements are essential for this story.We can see how certain behaviors of certain characters, like the Grandmother, lead to dangerous circumstances. If only the Grandmother would not have thought she was superior and had to have everything her way, the entire ruckus would not have happened. Work Cited Bethea Arthur F. â€Å"O’Connor’s A GOOD MAN IS HARD TO FIND. † Explicator 64. 4 (2006): 246-249. Academic Search Premier. Web. 18 Feb. 2013 O’Connor, Flannery. â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find. † Literature 8th ed. Eds Laurie Kirszner and Stephen Mandell. Boston:Wadsworth, 2013. 599-621. Print. A Good Man Is Hard to Find By Flannery O’Connor Courtney BarnesPage 1 Intro to Lit. Prof. Rupp Feb 18 2013 You’ve Got Good Blood Literary Analysis of â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† By Flannery O’Connor â€Å"You’ve got good blood. † â€Å"I know you come from nice people,(504) cried the grandmother. â€Å"Pray! †(505) she pleads using grace and religion to plead to the better nature of what she thinks is still a good man. The story â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† is about a family on vacation to Florida. The family takes a detour down a dirt road to look at an old plantation house that the grandmother tells a story about.She describes the house in such an intriguing way that most of the family is very eager to see it. However on the way the grandmother realizes that the house isn’t in Georgia at all but in fact in Tennessee, where she was longing to go instead of Florida. This startles her and she begins knocking things around and the cat jumps out of the basket landing on Bailey’s neck causing the car accident that leaves them stranded on the lonely road. When a passing car stops to help the grandmother quickly recognizes one of the men as â€Å"The Misfit†, a dangerous man who has escaped from prison.The grandmother confronts him and he tells her â€Å"It probably would have been better for your family if you had not recognized me at all lady. †(504) While the Page 2 Grandmother and the Misfit have a conversation about being a good man and how even a man who has turned bad can in fact be good again, the two men that came with the Misfit start breaking apart the family into small groups taking them into the woods to be shot and killed. While her family is being murdered in the woods behind her the Grandmother is pleading for her dear life shouting â€Å"I know you wouldn’t shoot a lady! (507) She continued on conversing with the Misfit knowing her family was being brutally murdered, trying to persuade him back to a go od man. She asks him what he did to go to prison in the first place and he tells her he don’t remember, but they tell him that he killed his dad and they must be right because they have the papers to prove it. As he goes on describing what has happened to him and what they done to him the reader gets the impression that he was wrongfully convicted. The Grandmother goes on telling him to pray, pray, pray. If you would pray† â€Å"Jesus would help you† (507) She goes on telling the Misfit that God has the power to fix things and to bring people back from the dead. She stresses over and over again during the time of their conversation the importance and power of prayer. If you dig deeper into the meaning of the story you can also see that the Grandmother is also pleading and praying for her own forgiveness and life. After all it is her fault that her families fate had become this. The outcome of the story was all consequence of the direct actions of the Grandmother. If she hadn’t suggested visiting the old plantation and made up things to entice the family to want to go then they never would have been on that road. If she wouldn’t have brought the cat the accident wouldn’t have happened and if she wouldn’t have spoken of recognizing Page 3 â€Å"The Misfit† murderer then he wouldn’t have killed her and her family. She unknowingly led her family to their tragic deaths. In the story the Grandmother is but of course the prominent character. By showing imperfections in her character the author shows the biased property of grace that she possesses.The Grandmother is portrayed as a typical southern woman of this era. She even dresses very sophisticated for a car trip. She wants to make sure she is recognized as a woman. If she was in an accident â€Å"anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once she was a lady. † The main theme of the story is religion. The plot intends to symbolize the spi ritual grace passed from one human being to another with no regard to kindness or evil at all. You get a clear understanding of this in how the Grandmother misinterprets the word â€Å"good†. Grace is clearly used when the Grandmother say’s to the misfit â€Å"why you are one of my babies.You’re one of my own children! †(508) This was used to show him and get him to understand that they are both human beings. The Grandmother believes that because the Misfit is a good man that he cannot shoot a lady, his conscience just won’t allow it. This is where she misinterprets â€Å"good†. The Grandmother is the portrait of blind faith that so many of us operate daily from. She beliefs with all her soul that somewhere in this man is good if she digs deep enough she can bring it out in him. Despite all the bad things he has done, even in killing her family she appeals to the good side of him.Page 4 We all want to belief in the good of mankind. In the fa ce of evil it’s that very hope and belief that bring back the balance of good to evil in the world. The story focuses on Christian beliefs and values depicts sin and punishment, belief and disbelief, good and evil. The Grandmother is representative of good and godliness. She reminisces on how times were good in her younger days and you could trust people The Misfit represents evil. At one point he symbolizes himself with Christ as they were both punished for crimes they did not commit.Christ died for the sins of others; however the Misfit murdered innocent people. The children in the story also play an underline role that you have to pay close attention in order to catch. They are the symbol of the breakdown of respect and discipline of future generations. In a way the story foreshadows into the way the world will be if we don’t teach our children respect for people and heritage. The Grandmother also plays a foreshadowing role when she warns her family of the Misfit an d his crimes, â€Å"here this fellow calls himself the Misfit is a loose from the Federal Pen and headed to Florida. (497)†¦. giving the reader the first clue that the family will eventually run into the Misfit. Page 5 The author’s symbolism throughout the story represents faith/lack of, and death. When the family stray’s from the course in which they set out on where they eventually are murdered symbolizes how people often stray from their faith in Jesus. Even the town â€Å"Toombsboro† is a symbol of death. The graveyard on the plantation is a concrete symbol of death. â€Å"It was a big black battered hearselike automobile,† symbolizes death has arrived.The author brings the reader to the conclusion that modern society is drastically changing for the worse. Every day we see the evil growing and prevailing in our society. And in the story the author suggests that if everyone would find Jesus our society would once again operate on Christian morals , values and beliefs. If we teach our children about spirituality and respect while holding them to the up most standards we would be fixing the future of our nation. Works Cited â€Å" A Good Man is Hard to Find† Flannery O’Connor / Literature and its writers 6th edition 1955 A Good Man Is Hard to Find By Flannery O’Connor Courtney BarnesPage 1 Intro to Lit. Prof. Rupp Feb 18 2013 You’ve Got Good Blood Literary Analysis of â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† By Flannery O’Connor â€Å"You’ve got good blood. † â€Å"I know you come from nice people,(504) cried the grandmother. â€Å"Pray! †(505) she pleads using grace and religion to plead to the better nature of what she thinks is still a good man. The story â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† is about a family on vacation to Florida. The family takes a detour down a dirt road to look at an old plantation house that the grandmother tells a story about.She describes the house in such an intriguing way that most of the family is very eager to see it. However on the way the grandmother realizes that the house isn’t in Georgia at all but in fact in Tennessee, where she was longing to go instead of Florida. This startles her and she begins knocking things around and the cat jumps out of the basket landing on Bailey’s neck causing the car accident that leaves them stranded on the lonely road. When a passing car stops to help the grandmother quickly recognizes one of the men as â€Å"The Misfit†, a dangerous man who has escaped from prison.The grandmother confronts him and he tells her â€Å"It probably would have been better for your family if you had not recognized me at all lady. †(504) While the Page 2 Grandmother and the Misfit have a conversation about being a good man and how even a man who has turned bad can in fact be good again, the two men that came with the Misfit start breaking apart the family into small groups taking them into the woods to be shot and killed. While her family is being murdered in the woods behind her the Grandmother is pleading for her dear life shouting â€Å"I know you wouldn’t shoot a lady! (507) She continued on conversing with the Misfit knowing her family was being brutally murdered, trying to persuade him back to a go od man. She asks him what he did to go to prison in the first place and he tells her he don’t remember, but they tell him that he killed his dad and they must be right because they have the papers to prove it. As he goes on describing what has happened to him and what they done to him the reader gets the impression that he was wrongfully convicted. The Grandmother goes on telling him to pray, pray, pray. If you would pray† â€Å"Jesus would help you† (507) She goes on telling the Misfit that God has the power to fix things and to bring people back from the dead. She stresses over and over again during the time of their conversation the importance and power of prayer. If you dig deeper into the meaning of the story you can also see that the Grandmother is also pleading and praying for her own forgiveness and life. After all it is her fault that her families fate had become this. The outcome of the story was all consequence of the direct actions of the Grandmother. If she hadn’t suggested visiting the old plantation and made up things to entice the family to want to go then they never would have been on that road. If she wouldn’t have brought the cat the accident wouldn’t have happened and if she wouldn’t have spoken of recognizing Page 3 â€Å"The Misfit† murderer then he wouldn’t have killed her and her family. She unknowingly led her family to their tragic deaths. In the story the Grandmother is but of course the prominent character. By showing imperfections in her character the author shows the biased property of grace that she possesses.The Grandmother is portrayed as a typical southern woman of this era. She even dresses very sophisticated for a car trip. She wants to make sure she is recognized as a woman. If she was in an accident â€Å"anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once she was a lady. † The main theme of the story is religion. The plot intends to symbolize the spi ritual grace passed from one human being to another with no regard to kindness or evil at all. You get a clear understanding of this in how the Grandmother misinterprets the word â€Å"good†. Grace is clearly used when the Grandmother say’s to the misfit â€Å"why you are one of my babies.You’re one of my own children! †(508) This was used to show him and get him to understand that they are both human beings. The Grandmother believes that because the Misfit is a good man that he cannot shoot a lady, his conscience just won’t allow it. This is where she misinterprets â€Å"good†. The Grandmother is the portrait of blind faith that so many of us operate daily from. She beliefs with all her soul that somewhere in this man is good if she digs deep enough she can bring it out in him. Despite all the bad things he has done, even in killing her family she appeals to the good side of him.Page 4 We all want to belief in the good of mankind. In the fa ce of evil it’s that very hope and belief that bring back the balance of good to evil in the world. The story focuses on Christian beliefs and values depicts sin and punishment, belief and disbelief, good and evil. The Grandmother is representative of good and godliness. She reminisces on how times were good in her younger days and you could trust people The Misfit represents evil. At one point he symbolizes himself with Christ as they were both punished for crimes they did not commit.Christ died for the sins of others; however the Misfit murdered innocent people. The children in the story also play an underline role that you have to pay close attention in order to catch. They are the symbol of the breakdown of respect and discipline of future generations. In a way the story foreshadows into the way the world will be if we don’t teach our children respect for people and heritage. The Grandmother also plays a foreshadowing role when she warns her family of the Misfit an d his crimes, â€Å"here this fellow calls himself the Misfit is a loose from the Federal Pen and headed to Florida. (497)†¦. giving the reader the first clue that the family will eventually run into the Misfit. Page 5 The author’s symbolism throughout the story represents faith/lack of, and death. When the family stray’s from the course in which they set out on where they eventually are murdered symbolizes how people often stray from their faith in Jesus. Even the town â€Å"Toombsboro† is a symbol of death. The graveyard on the plantation is a concrete symbol of death. â€Å"It was a big black battered hearselike automobile,† symbolizes death has arrived.The author brings the reader to the conclusion that modern society is drastically changing for the worse. Every day we see the evil growing and prevailing in our society. And in the story the author suggests that if everyone would find Jesus our society would once again operate on Christian morals , values and beliefs. If we teach our children about spirituality and respect while holding them to the up most standards we would be fixing the future of our nation. Works Cited â€Å" A Good Man is Hard to Find† Flannery O’Connor / Literature and its writers 6th edition 1955 A Good Man Is Hard to Find by Flannery O’Connor In â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find†, by Flannery O’Connor, the theme is grace, the idea that nothing we do can save us from our own faults. In the beginning of the story, the grandmother talks about how you cannot even trust anybody in the world, while she is actually being more untrustworthy than those of the world. After reading the story, you can see how her actions and her words are ironic because she is actually lying and cheating the family. Analyzing the characters, setting, and irony of the story, we can see how trust is a major issue throughout the story and how they have a rather dysfunctional family.In â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find,† the characters are important because their thoughts and actions mold together and make the story what it is. If there were one character missing, the story would not be the same. The mother is a character that hardly plays any role, and hardly ever says anything. Also, in the wreck, the mother was the only one who got hurt. The main thing the mother does is take care of the baby. With that being said, the character of the baby is mostly just to take up the mother’s attention. Also, taking some of the grandmother’s attention when she holds the baby in her lap for only a few minutes during the ride.June Star is Bailey’s daughter. Throughout the story, we learn that she is a rather disrespectful little girl. She makes rude remarks to everyone like â€Å"I wouldn’t live in a broken-down place like this for a million bucks† (O’Connor, 408) to Red Sam’s wife when talking to the baby. For the most part, she is just a bothersome little girl. Her brother, John Wesley, is almost just as bad. During the story, he mostly torments the grandmother and kicks the father’s seat repeatedly throughout the whole car ride. He, along with June Star, is disappointed when they realize there were no fatalities in the car accident.Red Sam is the restaurant owner wher e the family stopped to eat. Red Sam states, â€Å"a good man is hard to find† (409), when explaining to the grandmother about the men who never paid their tab. He wants to see the good in everybody, but explains, â€Å"Everything is getting terrible. I remember the day you could go off and leave your screen door unlatched. Not no more. † (409) Bailey is the grandmother’s only son. He is June Star and John Wesley’s father, also the driver of the car. Bailey likes to think that he is in control of everything, when in reality he is not.He lets the grandmother persuade him into going to Tennessee instead of Florida, where he had primarily intended on taking his family. Bailey and John Wesley are one of the first the get shot after the accident. The grandmother in the story is rather manipulative. From the beginning to the end, she is constantly nagging and talking the family into different plans. Not only is she this way towards the family, but she also trie s to talk the Misfit out of killing her and tries to convince him that he is a good boy. She does so by saying things like â€Å"You’ve got good blood! I know you wouldn’t shoot a lady!I know you come from nice people†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (415). Also, the grandmother is very conceited; an example would be when the narrator says, â€Å"In case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once she was a lady† (406). The grandmother is so tied up with herself that she doesn’t want to admit when she is wrong, when on several occasions in the story, she is wrong. The Misfit is a character who comes along towards the end of the story. Arthur Bethea describes â€Å"The Misfit† is an anti-Christ. Jesus loved children, whereas children make the anti-Christ Misfit ‘nervous’† (247).He, along with his two-gang men, has escaped from prison and now on the loose. They come along after the accident, looking like they are going t o be good Samaritans, when actually they turn out to be murderers on the run. Along with the role the characters play in the story, the setting is also essential in which it starts in the house, moves to the car, and ends in the woods. At the beginning of the story, all the characters are in the house in an unknown city, debating on where they will go on vacation. Of course, the grandmother does not want to go where Bailey has planned.After they argue and figure out where they will go, they get in the car and head for Tennessee. While riding in the car, the grandmother starts remembering her childhood and demands that Bailey go to an old plantation she remembered. Putting them off track, they end up on a dirt road in Georgia where the grandmother realizes but does not say that they are in the wrong spot. After having a car accident, they family ends up in a ditch in the middle of nowhere. Little by little, each character is taken into the woods and do not return. In the woods is whe re the story ends, where the Misfit and his gang members ultimately kill the whole family.The characters and the setting are both important, and they come together to create irony that is shown throughout the whole story. At the beginning of the story, the grandmother tells us â€Å"The Misfit is aloose from the Federal Pen and headed towards Florida† (405) this being her reasoning for not wanting to go to Florida. Little did they know, along the way, the grandmother would get them lost and lead them right into the Misfit’s path. Before coming intact with the Misfit, the grandmother had nothing good to say about him and judged him without knowing the slightest thing about him.Not until later, when coming face to face with him, she automatically changed her tone when she knew that her life was in jeopardy. Another example of irony would be dealing with the cat. At first, the cat was not supposed to come along on the trip. With the grandmother being so hardheaded, she br ought the cat along anyways. The cat jumped up, which is when the accident happened. If the grandmother had just done as Bailey said and left the cat, then the accident may not have ever happened. After analyzing the characters, setting, and irony of â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find,† we see how these elements are essential for this story.We can see how certain behaviors of certain characters, like the Grandmother, lead to dangerous circumstances. If only the Grandmother would not have thought she was superior and had to have everything her way, the entire ruckus would not have happened. Work Cited Bethea Arthur F. â€Å"O’Connor’s A GOOD MAN IS HARD TO FIND. † Explicator 64. 4 (2006): 246-249. Academic Search Premier. Web. 18 Feb. 2013 O’Connor, Flannery. â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find. † Literature 8th ed. Eds Laurie Kirszner and Stephen Mandell. Boston:Wadsworth, 2013. 599-621. Print.