Making Children Hate Reading Essay

Making children hate reading is a book by John Halt. It shows the way he teached and his opinion of others and the method he used to help the children with their literacy skills. In John Halt’s book there are some methods he used that I don’t agree with and some that I do agree with. I will give detailed accounts of both teaching methods I agree with and one’s I don’t agree with the I will let you decide whether you agree with his teaching or not. In the beginning John Halt tells us that he never gave one of his students the opportunity to say what they really thought about a book or magazine. The children persuaded him to tell him what he wants to hear, so that when he asks them a question they can answer it and receive approval. He also gives the students tests about the books and vocabulary lists which they have to learn, also that if they came across a word they didn’t know to look it up in the dictionary and not to bother him. His nephew was given a book to read which in john halts opinion was bad book. Then the teacher proceeded to make sure they children under stood every single word and the meaning of sed words. John agreed with this method and used it on his own students. John halt began to question some of the teaching methods. With regards to looking up words you do not know in the dictionary, he was beginning to think twice. He had never looked up a word that he didn’t know in the dictionary he merely continued reading hard books and eventually gathered the meanings of the words he did not understand. As John taught a verity of age groups in the same mental area he started to develop theories about why students reading and writing suffer. His theory, Teachers. Or specifically English teachers. When a student is forced to read aloud it makes them nervous. They then stumble when reading and sometimes forget how to pronounce a word. Then the students start to laugh and the teacher makes them feel embarrassed. If this happens a few times then that person is put of reading and will sometimes refuse altogether to read out loud. For example when I was five years old I started school, and I was really happy, I couldn’t wait. When I got to English I was put in an advanced class because my vocabulary was extremely good for my age. I was told to read and I read well, until I came across a word that I didn’t know how to say it and all the other kids in the classroom started laughing at me. That made me feel really bad and at such a vulnerable age having that humiliation changed everything about school life for me. Ever since then I do not like reading aloud it makes me nervous. I can read aloud when im on my own but when it comes to speaking in front of people it really puts be back. Even now I steel have difficulty with speaking aloud an example of this is this year in English. We were told to talk about a character from the play Macbeth. To explain what their role in the play was. We were to sit in front of the class. I had planned out a really good piece of work but everyone else did something different and I’m used to being told of if I do something different so I jumped the notes and tried to make it up as I went along. Alas this did not work my nerves got the better of me and I got a lousy grade. This story show that it can happen only one time and it can change everything to do with speaking. John Halt realized this and tried to change it. He tried having the students that were nervous read aloud more often but sadly this did not work either. He was stumped. Then BAM. It hit him. If he lets the students read books that they want to read then maybe this will help then and guess what. It did. The holidays were coming up and John decided to try something new. Something that no other English teacher has done before. He told his students to read as many books as they wanted and he would not be testing them on it. So just enjoy reading books. He also said that if you don’t like a book red the first forty pages to give the writer a chance to get his story going and then If you don’t like the characters and you don’t care what happens to them put the book down and find a book you do want to read. He had found a way to help students come over their fear of reading aloud but the students still suffered from writing. Not being able to write what they were thinking down. John Halt devised a way to deal with this too. He had a new class and decided now was the right time to try out his theory. He split his class into groups and told them to write about anything they wanted as long as it wasn’t just the same word over and over again for the whole page. This worked very well. All the students including the not so bright students to come up with incredible stories. Their favorite stories were written by one of their class mates who had been writing a lot of his stories about things that happened to John Halt, they all found them very amazing and humorous stories. One day he decided to give them a topic to write about instead, and of course they all wined until they found out what they were going to write about. They were all enthusiastic that they would be writing about the day the school burnt down. John then heard about a professor had come up with another idea, which he decided to bring to hi classroom. He told his students that they were to write about anything non stop for twenty minuets, and if they got stuck keep writing the sentence before until an idea comes to you. This of course was a genus idea and it did indeed help students with their writing and although John Halt did not know it at the time, all the students handwriting and their spelling had improved just by helping them think for themselves. If you agree with the harsh way of teaching with all the x-raying books and what not and telling them to look it up in the dictionary so that they don’t bother you then I have a piece of advice for you. DON’T BECOME A TEACHER!!! If you agree with the kind helpful way of teaching good on you. Its people like you that make are country great. You picked the right side to be on, because all you old folk who still believe in the harsh stuff, be warned we are coming to get you. It’s your chouse of course, just letting you know what will happen if you pick the dark side. MWA HA HA HA HA.

Individual, State and Society

This essay shall critically comment on two quotations. The first quote is by Margaret Thatcher who said: â€Å"There is no such thing as society, only individuals and their families† and the second quote is by David Cameron who said: â€Å"There is such thing as society: it’s just not the same as the state† To critically comment on these quotes that were stated in a political setting, references shall be made to the political ideologies the subjects held and the context they appeared in will be analyzed.Additionally different political basic ideologies will be named and outlined to give a broader understanding and contrast in the analysis. Furthermore, Plato’s The Republic (360BC) and existentialist Jose Ortega’s Man and People, (1957), shall attempt to lend their wisdom from their philosophical works, to shed some light and give meaning on the complexity of these two quotes. For clarity British conservatism’s history will be looked at closel y. Terms Individual, Society and State are briefly defined now. An individual is generally speaking a person separate from others, with his/her own needs, values and desires.The word originates from Latin in-dividuus, meaning indivisible, referring to a single human being, separate from a group. A society is made up by a collection of individuals. The etymology of the word originates in Latin societas, derived from socius which translates as comrade, friend or ally, indicating relations. It can for instance be such as a group of people, subject to law and political authority, or a group of like-minded people, sharing the same norms and values. Often, therefore, societies are formed, such as medical-, esoteric- or literary- for example.The word society always refers to relations between people – they may share a certain culture, territory, economic, political or social structure. The state can be called an organized, a political community under government: a sovereign state is a public, political entity, recognized in national law. Other words associated with state are machinery, a system, imposition/obligation and polity. Named and outlined below are various different political and social philosophies and ideologies: Communism Is a Latin word derived from communis and means -shared or -belonging to all.The terms communism and socialism are somewhat inter-changeable. These political ideologies followed communist philosopher Karl Marx’s 10-point communist Manifesto from 1845, he was quoted in saying; â€Å"Workers of the world, unite, you have nothing to loose, but your chains. † Marx was interested in building a free society without division or alienation. He believed this could only be achieved by a revolution seeking to overthrow capitalism and to have state ownership by the means of production –this in short meant the dictatorship of the proletariat.The aim in mind was for the working class to replace the exploiter class and to cr eate equality, a no-class system, abolishing privatization, with re-distribution of land and production. A good example of the workings of Communism, as efforts in co-operation, would be a Kibbutz, mirroring a microcosm of this ideology. Well known communist leaders and dictators of a serious nature and totalitarians, were Mao Zedong and Stalin for instance. Socialism Latin in origin, sociare translates as -to share.The older view of communism and socialism was built on 5 tenets: Stress on community, cooperation, equality, social class and common ownership. Marx had ideas about balancing the material and the moral and also said: â€Å"From each according to his ability to each according to his need. † Socialists are reformers and believe if the structure of society changes, things will change, similar to the beliefs held by Marxist Terry Eaglton. Socialism is about the group, having a collective, a solidarity and brotherhood, with no individual advantage.An evil in society to a socialist goes back to the structure of the society, rather than an individual. Socialists’ ideologies are concerned with outcome and what we can become, a somewhat utopian idea. Socialism and communism collapsed between 1989 and 1991. Nowadays socialism is democratic labourism; often associated with trade unions – seen defending workers’ rights. Liberalism Etymologically speaking the term derives from Latin liber- translating as -free. Liberals, next to favoring free market trade, also believe in government action to achieve equal opportunity and equality for all.As an enlightenment movement it started in Europe with Gladstone in 1868 (first lib. PM) leading the revolution, seeking to reform and change, arguing we can all get to the top, by basing your conviction on your own reason. Liberals challenged the Monarchy holding all powers and money and this time became known as the age of reason, associated with the slogan â€Å" Don’t behold to class. â €  On the political ideology’s spectrum liberalism is somewhere in the middle between left, communism, and right, fascism.This ideology grew out of the collapse of communism and socialism, belonging to the post-modern (industrialist) era and is also known as Anarcho–Capitalism, marking middle ground between authority and liberty. Thereafter the middle-class was born. Democratic liberals stand for government action to achieve equal opportunity and support democracy. They maintain it is the government’s duty to alleviate social dysfunction and to protect civil liberties including individual and human rights.The liberal government’s policy should ideally ensure that no individual is in need and also if problems arise theirs is the duty to solve problems. Somewhat opposing this concept is their own policy that the state should not interfere in personal lives, as it needs to be a policy of individualism. Justice for a liberal means equal opportunity, like h ealth-care for instance. Additionally liberals are also committed to pluralism and multi-culturalism. Ideally tolerant, a liberal’s motto is; â€Å" I detest what you’re saying, but I will defend to the death your right to say it. Liberals prime motivator is the pleasure of profit and the gathering of one’s own self-interest. Unlike Socialist, liberals see themselves separate from the state and are not primarily concerned with the common good or society. F. F. Y. said: â€Å"You can’t be a liberalist without being a capitalist. † John Locke defined 3 fundamental rights of Liberalism which are: Life, liberty and property and Stuart Mill remarked that this idea can become a license and that it can only be restrained if someone’s liberty is threatened.Hence Liberalism can easily dissolve into Egoism and severe greed, on a positive note, it may encourage the flourishing of an individual, though. Negative liberty, as reflected in European auster ity measures presently or Ireland’s Budget 2012 for example, would be freedom from the constraints of freedom. Here a list close to the values of a liberalism’s vision: Capitalism, no intervention/regulation in economy, anti-racism, anti-capital punishment, anti-weapon bearing, pro-environment, pro-euthanasia, pro- abortion, pro-immigration, pro U.N. , pro-War on Terror, pro-welfare. Fascism (is here listed before Conservatism, but follows Conservatism on the political spectrum from extreme left to extreme right) facses derives from Latin and means -bundle of rods, and symbolically speaking it depicts strengths of unity. Fascism is an anti-democratic, political system with a supreme leader exercising dictatorship. Hitler and Mussolini are examples of fascist leadership. Their ideologies are radical, authoritarian and nationalist in nature.The community is viewed as an organic entity and bonded by nationality, ancestry, culture and blood. As a state it is totalitarian, with only one party ruling. The leader holds sole power and oversees the fascist movement, government and other state institutions. Opposition is not tolerated and always suppressed. Fascists, in order to keep their ideologies running, anything out of their norm, such as ideas, people and systems undermining the norm or become, as they view it, the cause of decadence or degeneration, are purged and gotten rid off.Fascism promotes violence and war to overthrow other political systems, thus is militarism in nature. It’s almost anti everything, it opposes class based identity and society, is anti-bourgeois, anti-proletarian and anti- individualist based identity and society. In Nazi Germany, for instance, this system became known as â€Å"The Third Way†. Economically speaking, it therefore contests capitalism and socialism and is in policy a state directed-regulated economy against the power of money. Social welfare is not tolerated, as it would support â€Å" the weakâ € , as Hitler believed.Generally fascism holds dark, radical ideas on culture, sex and sexuality, also concerning abortion, eugenics and euthanasia. Virtues valued by fascists are action, discipline, hierarchy, spirit and will. It claims to seek positive transformation in society believes in education, spiritual renovation (anti-clerical) and fosters the will to dominate in a united national identity. (*Although a general outline of fascism was given, fascism’s ideology can be hard to define, as it mixes doctrines of left and right) Conservatism The term originates from the Latin word conservare, meaning -to preserve.Conservatism is a political and social philosophy with a belief that it is generally considered best practice in keeping traditional institutions and advocates changes in society in a gradual and slow manner. As Conservatives value stability and continuity by preserving things as they are, they tend to oppose modernism. Conservatism, though, can differ in poli cies depending which country or continent it is practiced in or on. Largely speaking, Conservatives support personal responsibility, limited government, free markets, and empowerment of the individual to solve problems to pursue their own goals.A list of their general policies looks like this: Anti-abortion, education according to ability, anti-racism, pro capital punishment, free market economy, privatization, school vouchers, support nuclear power and oil-drilling, prohibit euthanasia, non-belief in climate changes, pro-arm bearers, private healthcare, pro-homeland security screening, anti-immigration (only legal), pro-private property rights, oppose long-term welfare. For simplicity and relevance this essay shall stick with, and outline British Conservatism, as our quoted subjects in this essay, Margaret Thatcher and David Cameron, both belong to this party.Development of British Conservatism was as follows: Irishman Edmund Burke, a Wig at source (opposed to Monarchism) became kn own as the father of Conservatism (Tory Party – a hierarchal society/ ruling by divine right). The British Conservatives of the early 19th century were rural landowners of Anglican confession; they were royals by association, possessed property and adhered to their beliefs that were to follow an established social order and the existing conventions.However, a little time later the aristocracy’s belief-system was challenged, as the industrial elite, consisting of rich businessmen, called for revolution, sought power and thereby threatened the established social order. Negotiations followed and Robert Peel reconciled the two opposing parties in 1846 with the â€Å"Corn-law† repeal. The aristocrats, longing to return to their medieval ideas and the business class, favoring laissez-faire capitalism, managed to form a coalition, meaning the prior kept their status quo and the latter got their free trade policies.Now the Conservative party was made up of Royals, tradi tional landowners and industrialists. Prime, Benjamin Disraeli, a medieval romantic at heart, foresaw an alienated industrial proletariat with this new coalition and formed a new political ideology in form of the â€Å"One Nation† policy, which is still in practice today and supported numerous social reforms since. The idea behind the new policy was to return to an organic society whereby each and everyone should have duties towards other people or groups.Remarkably, Disraeli, who was a conservative, not a Marxist, aimed to unite the aristocracy, the middle and the working class, the latter he tried to shield from being exploited. The 1920’s saw the liberal movement collapse, as labour ascended. During WW2 the conservatives aligned with labour, however, it was more a pragmatic move to fight the war, than a love affair. From the 1950s to the mid 1970s in usage were progressive broadly pro-labour and semi- socialistic policies by successive British governments, including conservative ones.Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister of the Conservative Party in 1979 and remained in office until 1990. With her leading the party, a dramatic shift occurred in British conservatism with a big movement towards free market economic policies. Privatization of state owned industries became commonplace during her time. She was described as a classical- radical- liberalist, inconsistent with the concept of conservatism in the U. K. – it is often believed her policies challenged and confronted traditional institutions and rocked philosophies of the elite and the old British, established social order in general.Her politics became known as Thatcherism, termed by Stuart Mill. Thatcher’s policies largely remained as they are until today and anti-trade union legalization is still in place. After various Prime Minister’s in the U. K. , David Cameron, known to be a neo-liberalist, heading the Conservative Party, is now Prime Minister and his party is in coalition with liberal-democrat’s Nick Clegg. Looking back, in terms of supply-side economics and many countries copying Thatcher’s then successful model of free market policies, Margaret Thatcher’s Thatcherism has its critics.On another note, some disagree strongly with the idea that she was a radical neo-liberalist, opposing the established, for they argued that she didn’t challenge the monarchy, but only recent additions to British politics instead, which were the trade unions. The mentioning of her name nowadays still remains in people’s minds with strong associations of this bit, â€Å"standing up to the trade unions. † Her opponents would comment she was a monetarist, controlling inflation, not unemployment – the latter doubled during her first 2 years in office.A possibly strong argument, as, during her term as prime minister, she ran a stern government/state, restraining labour movement, local authorities and trade unions. Thatcher also joined the House of Lords and was rather conservative regarding morality, as an anti-gay supporter, she was also known to have defended capitalism and free market policies by saying that we all had a choice and was once heard to have given a rather unsympathetic theological address at a religious ceremony where she cited St Paul by saying, ‘if a man will not work, he shall not eat’.At the end of her term, 30% of children were regarded as living below the poverty line. As prime Minister of Britain, Margaret Thatcher received many labels during her time but of all, she was never labeled something as sweet as â€Å"Queen of Hearts†, the title people loving, tragic Diana received for instance, and this following quote may explain why, as Mrs. Thatcher said: â€Å"There is no such thing as society, only individuals and their families† Unemployment in the U. K. post Thatcher had minimized for a while and more han 20 years later with David Cameron leading the conservatives as their Prime Minister nothing much has changed in political ideologies of the conservative party. While it was trade-union issues then, it’s become the middle-class issues now. Britain presently faces various issues it tries to tackle, such as stronger tax increases on the middle-class, over-dependency on the public sector, mass-unemployment and welfare concerns, budget deficits and the European crisis.However their likeable, observant new leader David Cameron, a Tory, is reputed to be much more of a people’s person than Thatcher was, delivering rhetorically fine and caring speeches for all. During the recent riots in London, Mr. Cameron commented in a news report that society was in trouble, by saying there were pockets of society not only broken, but sick and he further elaborated and explained that causes for the riots, as he saw it, were a complete lack of responsibility in our society and that he felt, people felt they are owed somethin g.Some are impressed by and praise Mr. Cameron’s passionate and determined involvement, despite being a Tory leader, on social issues, such as his recent project Big Society bank and others feel his recent proposal to privatize and save the NHS, by opening it up for private scientific investors to carry out patient research within, doesn’t add up, regarding his general display of sensitivity, warmth and care for pressing societal issues.This apparent division in policy and inconsistency in his actions, is also reflected in his speech when he said: â€Å"There is such thing as society: it’s just not the same as the state. † 20th century liberalist, existentialist philosopher and journalist Ortega might have had a minute of sympathy for Margaret Thatcher’s somewhat heartless, â€Å"-individuals-† remark and also for receiving such public criticism regarding the trade union issues, as he said in his Man and People, (1957): ‘There is striv e and struggle at the heart of all social relationships. Aristotle would have argued this and would have accused Mrs. Thatcher of acting unjust and unfairly regarding her single-minded political ideology, by trying to reason and appeal to her higher, contemplative nature, he might have attempted to convince her that man is a social animal and needs others. Ortega partly agreeing on contemplation, would have possibly come to Mrs. Thatcher’s defense by saying: â€Å"Man is naturally unsociable, man wants to leave, flee from it. † Plato would have grilled Mr. Cameron on the danger of having charitable Big Society ideas.Plato might have attempted to curb big-hearted, spirited Mr. Cameron a little, by indicating that heroism and self-sacrifice are dual and could lead to tyranny and anger at the sight of injustice. Ortega, regarding the incident with the rioters, which had upset Mr. Cameron in terms of lack of responsibility people nowadays have, would have maybe offered ano ther existentialist interpretation concerning irresponsible rioters, by suggesting that we all lived in our own world and wanted freedom from responsibility.Plato, the philosopher king and Socrates’s friend and pupil, wrote his own intellectual autobiography The Republic 2025 years ago. The booklet, written by Plato in disillusionment, after Athenian democracy failed, was to be the ideal blueprint for society, in the text Plato holds dialogues in form of Socrates with the sophists. The aim of Plato’s dialogues was to harmonize individual and city. The main themes occupying the dialogues are the questions: What is justice and how can we achieve happiness (eudaimonia) in the city.Plato was the first person in history to set up an academy in 386BC, as he was passionate teaching philosophy to statesmen, educating them. Surely Plato would not have been happy with Mrs. Thatcher’s and Mr. Cameron’s quotes. Had he been around, he might have helped them descend fr om their Toryian thrones and lead them down, down, down to the the low, low, low and mean streets of East London, to face their own daemons, in order to order their souls!As Plato in his dialogues argued that in order to give a transcendent vision, and he gave an analogy for this in The Republic symbolically speaking -from the Acropolis (heaven) to Piraeus (seedy harbor district of Athens’s), one needs to go down and descend into their dark, murky waters of the psyche to face and confront their own inner hell first and remove shackles of the past, as it is only then that one can ascend with a transcended vision to lead a polis (society). According to Plato, and psychoanalyst Freud (descend) and Franklin (ascend) would have agreed with him, only souls (individuals) that had gone through this particular ransformation process first, would make up a well functioning society – based on good mental health, consisting of truth, goodness and beauty. Regarding Mr. Cameron and M rs. Thatcher’s quotes then, instead of rhetoric (sophistry) Plato would have expected wisdom (sophia) and an ability to articulate a transcendent vision from the rulers of Britain’s Conservative party, as he may have otherwise suspected their political system to fail, just like the sophists Athenian democracy did, 2025 years ago.In The Republic, which he wrote in homage to Socrates, who died for truth and justice, Plato maintained that there is no justice to be expected, unless rulers become philosophers and philosophers become statesman. This essay attempted to critically comment on two quotes made by two of Britain’s Prime Ministers. An analysis of British conservatism’s ideology and their party’s history was drawn up and explained, and possible views to the meaning and interpretations of these two quotes, in the light of philosophy and politics, were offered. Terms and different political ideologies in general were also outlined. .

War in Vietnam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

War in Vietnam - Essay Example The American government perceived the French defeat as a defeat of its economic ideology (Oberdorfer 2001, p. 45). The North Vietnamese rebels adhered to communism. Their win in this conflict showed that this region would assume communism. This occurred at the height of the cold war in which the Soviet Union and America were seeking to propagate their economic models. America’s refusal to admit the defeat of France in this conflict aggravated the conflict. The strategy relating to the conflict changed significantly with changes in regimes. The write-up will examine the factors, which resulted in the involvement of America in this conflict. This conflict generated massive controversy in the America owing to fatalities. This conflict lasted over two decades. This reveals that America was not ready to lose since it would signify weakness in its ability to dominate the globe politically. American was embroiled in this conflict due to several reasons. The reason varied from economi c to political reasons. However, they all culminated in the aggravation of the conflict (Kissinger 2003, p. 32). Reasons from America’s involvement in the conflict At the time of the conflict, the Soviet Union and America were locked in a cold war. The cold war entailed each nation sabotaging its enemy indirectly. The cold war erupted as the two dominant nations in the globe embarked on a campaign to increase adoption of their economic models. The American government was popularising capitalism while the Soviet Union sought to popularize communism. The economic model, which would prevail, would make its source nation an economic powerhouse. The Northern Vietnamese were supported by a communism nation (Lawrence 2008, p. 124). Therefore, American viewed this as the spread of communism. The defeat of French forces in this nation meant that Vietnam would become a communist nation. Additionally, it meant that the capitalist world represented by France had failed. America viewed it as its responsibility to ensure that the rebels do not prevail. The need to ensure that Vietnam does not become a communist nation resulted in this conflict since the French had already negotiated a pact that would ensure peace in the nation. However, the Americans felt that conceding defeat meant that capitalism had lost. Subsequently, communism would become the dominant economic model. The Soviet Union had prevailed in this region of the Asia, which was dominantly communism. Vietnam was in a strategic position in relation to the communist world. Therefore, the loss of this nation to communism policies would weaken America’s quest to spread its economic model to this part of the globe. This conflict ensured that America was able to contain the spread of communism to this part of the Vietnam (Brigham 2012). During this time, the Soviet Union and America were the world dominant nations. Each nation sought to surpass the other by becoming the dominant nation both politically a nd economically. These nations could not fight directly. Therefore, they opted for sabotaging tactics. These tactics entailed America supporting Soviet Union’s foes. Similarly, the Soviet Union would support America’s foes. This resulted in an ongoing conflict where the two nations did not take direct military action against each other. The Vietnamese conflict provided the perfect situation for the two nations to implement their tactics (Burgan 2006, p. 238). The Northern Vie

Composer from Baroque to the Classical period Essay

Composer from Baroque to the Classical period - Essay Example Bach was a violin and harpsichord virtuoso. His main style was of polyphonic texture whereby, the chords progressions directed the music’s motion, which made him a master of the fugue. Bach’s music was very baroque, a term adapted as a connotation for extravagant, excess, and emotionally expressive music. Therefore, his music was full of emotion and featured a basso continuo. Bach composed a total 1128 works for voice, orchestra, organ, keyboard, chamber, and canon. Bach also composed works that were either fragmented, spurious doubtful, or lost. Sebastian Bach composed for the organ, the harpsichord, the clavichord, and the violin. He lived in Germany. Bach’s cooperation with royalty was fuelled by his devotion to write Christian music, as evidenced by his compositions in his time at the Lutheran church. There were no direct political motives to write what he did. Bach’s influence on the Classical era is not profound. Although the classical musicians adop ted a new style of writing music, Mozart took interest in Sebastian Bach’s polyphonic tones in his Jupiter composition. Bach’s death in 1950 marked the end of the Baroque era and the beginning of the Classical period. Making him the most influential composer from the Baroque era to the Classical era. The Baroque period of music is a period that encouraged self-expression, formation of counterpoints, certain degrees of ornamentation and open forms. The period is known for its inconsistency; although the music in this era shares the same genre.

Oedipus The King Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Oedipus The King - Essay Example King Laius and Jocasta of Thebes tried to avoid the dreadful prophecy’s fulfillment by ordering to kill Oedipus soon after his birth, but their servant saves the child and he grows up as the foster son on Polybus of Corinth and his wife Merope. Without having any clue on his real identity, Oedipus comes across the dreadful prophecy regarding himself and tries to run away from his fate, thinking that Polybus and Merope were his real parents. In fact, he runs into his fate as he kills Laius on his way, solves the riddles of the sphinx that had a curse on Thebes and becomes its King. He has to marry the widowed the Jocasta and in turn have children in her. The truth is hidden from him until Thebes is accursed once again and he conducts an investigation to find out the cause for it. Once the truth is revealed to Oedipus, he is a shattered man, realizing his frailty as a mere human being out of control with slightest element of his destiny. His painful cry reveals his state of mind prior to his self-inflicted punishment: Upon the news of Jocasta’s suicide, Oedipus blinds himself with her brooches. He does not try to escape from his destiny any more. He decides to suffer for his the sins he had committed unknowingly. This is a sign of complete submission to destiny, much in the fashion of the Shakespearean King Lear. IN his suffering, he laments: The life of Oedipus exposes the innate weakness of human heart on the face of an all-consuming destiny. The play has strong psychoanalytic undertones with regard to the incestuous libidinal urges from which human beings have to run away, under the socio-cultural pressures. On a boarder level, the notion that human life is essentially predetermined and there are limitations to which anyone can alter his life contributes the basic motives of the play. The protagonist and the people associated with him feared the worst even as they tried to avoid the

Prayer and Personal Character Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Prayer and Personal Character - Essay Example Prayer, more than anything else, is a sign of humility, a sign of submissions to a higher power and a confession of the fact that one is in need of help from an outside source. In other words, prayer is a way to realise that one is not in total control of their life and that there is a higher power. As insignificant as this may seem, the fact is that prayer changes one’s attitude towards life and especially towards other people and objects in life. Prayer makes one realise that life is about humility and therefore it affects the way they regard themselves and others. It creates a different view of the world and brings in a person to a point where they have to realise that they need to live in peace with other people. This can be seen in the most famous Christian prayer found in Luke 11:2–4 as well as other verses in the New Testament. Jesus gave this prayer as a model around which every Christian should model their prayer. Most other religions surround their prayer arou nd this kind of a model which has three dimensions. Recognition of self inadequacy Prayer is the ultimate recognition of just how inadequate a person is on their own, it is a confession of the fact that one needs outside help and not just any outside help but outside help form a higher power. This leads to recognition of a higher power which means that the individual will surrender themselves to this higher power. Lack of prayer definitely leads to a deflation of this important aspect of a person. Recognition of need to have a good relationship with others As in the model discussed above, it is clear that one needs to be forgiven of their wrong doing. Jesus said, â€Å"Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who wrong us.† This is very significant because Jesus did not just ask for forgiveness but actually indicated that that forgiving others is a major part of oneself asking for forgiveness. It is an indication that for us to really understand what it takes for others to for give us, we must ourselves forgive others. This is one important aspect of prayer, it creates a scenario where a person becomes well rounded, recognising their part in the society, their need to relate well with others as well as their need to relate well with their God. Affects the way I act Because of the above explained aspects of prayer, it affects the way an individual acts and lives their lives. Understanding the need to be forgiven reminds the person of the need to reduce the instances where she or he will need to be forgiven. Understanding the need to forgive other people leads to the individual creating the least quarrels with those around her. Prayer therefore is a process of building character by realising that the world is to be shared with everybody else. Prayer is the antidote for the innate selfish character of a human being which only serves self (Coburn 59). A prayerful person is therefore not able to be selfish and self centred but understands that the world is to be shared with everybody else. They realise the importance of treating others with respect and with love. One also realises the importance of forgiving the others, for they have to forgive others to expect to be forgiven by others as well as by God. Prayer therefore not only changes the way we look at the world but also the way we act. It affects the very character of an

Organizing and Elections in Unions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Organizing and Elections in Unions - Essay Example This study mainly intends to reveal two real life occurrences in which two firms provided real time hurdles to the employees related to their joining unions; however, despite of ULP’s protest against the firms, it proved to be of no use. SOME OF THE INSTANCES WHERE ULP’S CHARGES WERE OF LITTLE OR NO USE The top retail chain in the world i.e. Wal-Mart suffered negativity as the regional National Labour Relations Board (NLRB) directors issued as sum total of thirty-nine complaints against the company during the periods of January 2000 to July 2005. The most disturbing fact was observed to be that out of the thirty nine complaints, thirteen complaints were totally resolved by way of various settlements outside the Court of Justice, two cases are still pending for settlement and four of them were withdrawn. The remaining twenty cases were heard by the US Labour Law. However, while settling thirteen of the complaints, the company complied with all the necessary changes that needed to take place for restraining itself from practicing Unfair Labor Practices but did not hold itself in guilt for restricting its employees from participating in trade unions. In all the cases, the company seemed to hold itself for violating the broad rules and regulations of NLRB. A majority of the cases that were filed against Wal-Mart constituted complaints from its employees. The company was continuously engaged in the violation of labour laws during the period of January 2000 to July 2005. It was also observed that the company had exercised upon many unfair law practices in the organization, violating legal obligations concerning complete rights to its employees such as right to freedom of association which is internationally considered to be allowed to workers1. The reports published in this context further revealed that since the year 2000, the company has been practicing discrimination against unions along with the sympathizers of the unions within its workforce on dif ferent occasions. The company officials were not only charged with the allegation of harassing junior employees on the grounds of race, ethnicity and gender. The company also took many extreme steps where it hired and fired employees in small frequencies without any firm cause which can be justified under the provisions of relevant Court of Law. The top most reason for firing of employees was further observed to be the willingness and efforts made by the employees to join associations or created unions. For instance, it was noted that in April 2000, in one of the stores of the company, which is located in Florida, Wal-Mart unlawfully fired a union supporter named Edward Eagen. The reason for firing him was only because of the fact that he signed a ‘union card’ for supporting unionism within the organization. It has also been noted that the company was engaged in keeping a close look at the employees with the help of surveillance cameras which hindered employee confident iality within the workplace. With reference to these facts, it can be stated that the rights of the employees were exploited at almost all levels by the company. Such interventions practiced by the company as against the rights and interests of employees also affected the company’

HansonSymphony NO 2Romantic Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

HansonSymphony NO 2Romantic - Assignment Example The true romantic melody introduced later on by the mellow strings in the theme symbolizes the melody style of the 1930s The symphony used here consist of an English horn, two bassoons, piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 clarinets in B-flat, contrabassoon, 2 oboes, 4 horn in F, 3 trombones, 3 trumpets in C, tuba, snare drum, harps, cymbals and strings (Simmons, 2004). The noble, warm and soothing sounds of horns provides the color signature and signify thematic leadership in this symphony and epitomizes the 19th century Romantic sound from Mendelssohn to Tchaikovsky. The onset of the major movement begins by a dark three-note with an ascending motive being heard from the winds forms the introduction to the traditional sonata-form movement. Acceleration of the tempo forms the introductory part of the descending theme Holds the whole piece together and throughout the three movement actions of the composition, it returns severally – both as section tutties and solos. In a sense, it functions as sort of a â€Å"thematic glue† that binds the entire piece of music together The horns are launched in the culmination with a vibrant whoop of ballyhoos derived from the slogan theme, and later on expanded into an exhilarating horn-led brass opening at the midpoint of the movement midpoint (Cohen, 2006, p.

Industrial Relations in Australia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Industrial Relations in Australia - Essay Example The growth of unions is recognised as being a cyclical process that is also structural and institutional (Griffin & Svenson, 1996). Economic factors affect union density due to the affect on demand for labor. Demographic variables, such as female participation in the workforce, the rise of minority group participation, increased education access and outcomes, population shifts into cities, affect the composition of industries. Theses factors also affect the increase in part-time and casual positions as opposed to the traditional full-time opportunities. There has also been rapid growth in the sectors of industry which are not traditionally have unionism as a focus, for example retail and services, parallel to this there has been a dramatic decrease in the traditional union affiliated industries, such as manufacturing. All these factors combine to affect the structural nature of union density. Finally, laws, their enforcement or lack of (due to low penalties for example) and the type of government in power all affect the institutional nature of union density. The demand-side model expresses the situation of decreasing union density in economic terms (Wooden, 1999). Workers trade off returns from unions (i.e., wages, benefits, better working conditions and job security) against costs (i.e., dues, rules and potential job insecurity). 2. Role of the Federal Minister of Employment and Workplace Relations The Department of Employment and Workforce Relations is responsible for delivering to the Government a high standard of advice, programmes and services to achieve more efficient and effective labour market assistance, higher productivity and wages, and to increase workforce participation (Department of Employment and Industrial Relations, 2006). At present, the Honorable John Hockey MP is the Minister of Employment and Workplace Relations. His responsibilities as portfolio Minister includes accountability for all the matters that are covered in the portfolio, such as Cabinet matters, as well as the specific responsibility of maintaining policy issues that relate to employment and or workplace relations (Employment Workplace and Relations Media Centre, 2007). These issues include; the Workplace Relations Act 1996, occupational health and safety, worker's compensation and affirmative action. He is also to take responsibility for institutional arrangements that are undertaken in accord ance with the Workplace Relations Act 1996, these include; the Office of the Employment Advocate; the Australian Industrial Relations Commission; and workplace relations reform in industry sectors. Additionally, Minister Hockey has the role of assisting the Prime Minister in Public Service issues.The Minister can intercede in the public interest of a matter before the Full Bench (of the AIRC) on behalf of the Commonwealth by providing written notice to the Industrial Registrar (S102 (1)) (Commonwealth Consolidated Acts, 2005). Also, Minister Hockey can provide written notice to the Registrar to intervene in public interest in matters before the Australian Industrial Relations Commission when those issues involve public sector employment (S102 (2))( Commonwealth Consolidated Acts, 2005). This reinforces the Minister's commitment to creating more jobs with higher wages, and to

Compare and contrast the Virginia and New Jersey plans presented at Essay

Compare and contrast the Virginia and New Jersey plans presented at the Constitutional Convention - Essay Example equitable ratio of white and other free citizens of every age, sex and condition and 3/5th of rest of the persons except Indians who do not pay taxes in each state. However New Jersey plan is more specific about confederation and states about diminishing or increasing number of states as well. According to Virginia Plan, the national legislature may have the power of legislation by confederation in all cases where individual states are incompetent or harmony of the country may be at stake. It may have the right to negate all laws that are passed by states found contravening to articles of Union. New Jersey Plan offers the same power in addition to the authority to promote commerce, impose levy and raise revenues in the states. According to both plans, executive may negate any legislation that may not be passed by 2/3rd of national legislature. Executive may have powers to execute national laws to appoint to offices or impeach for certain reasons. New Jersey Plan states the same powers for executive in addition to directing military operations without taking any command over troops. Comparing both the plans, it is specifically found that New Jersey plan offers more power to the new federal government because it focuses to revisit and enlarge articles of confederation and gives executive authority to direct military operations as

A reflective essay to reflect the feeling of pulse taking and tongue reading Essay Example for Free

A reflective essay to reflect the feeling of pulse taking and tongue reading Essay One of the earliest references to pulse diagnosis appears in the Huangdi Neijing, also known as The Yellow Emperors Internal Classic or The Yellow Emperors Classic of Internal Medicine. A passage in the book notes that, â€Å"In diagnosis, observation of the spirit and facial color, and palpation of the pulses, are the two methods that were emphasized by the ancient emperors and revered teachers,† which implies that the practical use of pulse diagnosis existed long before the Huangdi Neijing was written. Pulse and tongue diagnosis are two of the more important diagnostic tools in Chinese medicine. They are both used to derive a TCM diagnosis for your condition which is used to plan your treatment. Of the diagnostic tools, pulse diagnosis is one of the more important tools used in Chinese acupuncture and herbal medicine. While tongue diagnosis provides valuable clinical information, the pulse can be used to gain a deep understanding of the patient on many levels. Pulse diagnosis is the ancient art and science of detecting status of a persons body, mind and spirit. Even at basic levels, the pulse provides immediate and specific information that can help clarify contradictory diagnostic information and symptomology . The pulse can be influenced by factors like age ,in this case the strength and quality of the pulse will decline as a person ages ,or gender , Men are generally stronger on the left and Women are generally stronger on the right. Another factor is the season when you have a more wiry pulse in Spring time ,stronger in the Summer and deeper in the Winter. Tongue and pulse diagnosis are both used to derive a TCM diagnosis for your condition which is used to plan your treatment. Generally the tongue, is much easier to learn and less subjective than pulse diagnosis. It is less meridian specific than the pulse, however, the tongue will show the depth and nature (hot, cold, etc.) of an imbalance and it is less effected by short-term influences such as nervousness. The tongue is also useful as a measurement tool to gauge the progress of a disorder. I believe the TCM is about energy and energy function condition  medicine culture, it is more than construction medicine culture, the pulse diag nosis is a energy feeling diagnosis, no only a position touch feeling diagnosis. In an ideal situation, the pulse is taken in the morning while the person is still calm and rested. In actuality, however, the procedure usually takes place in the clinic during the initial interview. It is important to let patients who have just arrived rest for a while to allow the pulses to settle down. Otherwise, it would be easy to mistake a rapid pulse for a heat condition when it is actually due to the persons hurrying to make the appointment. This is one situation when sitting in the waiting room is to the patients advantage. From my personal experience in the clinic I can say some of the patients find pulse taking strange (on the first session) and also they seem to be a little bit uncomfortable when you ask to see their tongue. The pulse can be felt in a number of locations, the primary location is at the radial artery in the wrist. Each wrist has three positions that correspond to different organs. The left wrist corresponds to the heart, liver , and kidney yin .The right wrist gives information about the lungs, spleen , and kidney yang . In clinical practice, we have to always combine the pulse information with the whole picture derived from looking, listening, smelling, and asking. Through this process, traditional Chinese practitioners are able to accurately diagnose the patterns of imbalance in their patients without the help of laboratory tests or expensive diagnostic equipment. To make the patient feel more comfortable when the pulse is being take you must ensure you introduce yourself to the patient, explain the procedure answering any questions they may have, ask for their consent and also make sure they are sitting comfortably, with their arm rested. Sometimes what the patient says contradicts the pulse qualities, in which case the acupuncturist will want to ask more questions to get at the truth. Without the pulse diagnosis he wouldnt have known to ask more questions, to delve deeper, and might have done the wrong treatment. If the patient is taking medication, or just been taking strenuous exercise, pulse taking may not work. If the patient is under the influence of social drugs it may not reveal much. Some patients have arteries that travel on the thu mb side of the radial bone so you cant feel the pulse in the normal position. Some patients have pulses so small (itself a pointer to their health) that they are very hard to take. The  pulse quality often changes within a few seconds of inserting the needle in the right place. As the right treatment progresses, the pulse qualities and strength improve, so that the acupuncturist knows, from pulse diagnosis, that the patient will start feeling better soon. There are three positions a practitioner is looking for, and each position represents a different organ or part of the body. This is the reason we take the pulse on both sides, not just one. By taking the pulse, we can tell if patients eating habits are good, if they have a cold coming on, and if their energy is high or low. We can also take note of how your organs are functioning at that time. The tongue has a special relationship with the Heart, in that the Heart opens to the tongue. The tongue is said to be an offshoot of the Heart, or flowers into the Heart. The tongue, containing water, electrolytes, mucus, and enzymes, is a very sensitive organ and its appearance changes with many physical changes in the body. In Chinese medicine, the tongue is a map of the internal body. Like the face, the tongue is divided into five-element zones that correspond to your internal organ networks. The tongue reading it’s all about finding what areas are stagnated, which need to be nourished, which are getting too much circulation or too little circulation, too much energy or too little, and how to balance out the body so that everything is in harmony. When we use the tongue as a tool for analysis and diagnosis, we are looking at the shape, shadings, markings, wetness, texture and even the way someone sticks out her tongue. Having this knowledge can help describe the current state of a patient health, as well as his or her genetic tendencies. It is a diagnostic technique, and it can reveal an existing disease process and disclose many things about a person on many levels. All the organs and the entire body can be located on specific regions of the tongue. The beauty of tongue diagnosis is in its simplicity and immediacy. Benefits of tongue diagnosis include: assesses a person’s current health condition; informs the practitioner about the underlying cause of disease; is an accurate way of determining what is happening in the digestive system: liver, stomach, spleen, small and large intestines; reveals the stage and progression of a particular illness; reflects the quality of the circulation of blood, bodily fluids and essence; mirrors the condition of the bodily fluids, function of the organs, strengths and depth of the pathogenic factors in the  body; shows the quality of the individual’s energy production. A normal tongue should be pink, muscular without tooth marking or discoloration, and have a very thin clear coating that exhibits proper salivary secretions. Tongue diagnosis is more objective than pulse diagnosis, though pulse diagnosis takes a long time to master, while basic tongue diagnosis can be taught in a short period of time. Before examining the tongue for diagnosis, make sure the patient has not eaten pickles, cayenne pepper, curry and other hot things. They will temporarily turn the tongue red. It takes a few hours for the tongue to get its normal coat back after the person has scraped it as well. And smoking turns the coat yellow. From my personal experience in the clinic I can say it’s common to see thick tongues, purplish tongues, tongues with teeth marks in them and tongues with cracks in various places. I also have noted tongues with coats both white and yellow, sticky and thin. Primarily a preventive discipline, acupuncture, especially through pulse diagnosis, the acupuncturist can detect disturbances in the qi at the earliest possible stage, before disease develops and restores balance through acupuncture treatment and herbs. References : www.acupuncture.com www.yinyanghouse.com Walsh S. King, E. (2007) Pulse Diagnosis . Churchill Livingstone Chen, J.X. (2007) Chinese Medicine Study Guide: Diagnostics . Pulse Diagnosis .Dupler D. In: Krapp K, Long JL (eds.) Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Group, 2001 Tongue Diagnosis in Chinese medicine by Giavanni Macciocia

The Practice of Leadership and Management as a Nurse

The Practice of Leadership and Management as a Nurse Management is an economic resource to meet objective. It is a social process entailing responsibility for the effective and economical planning and regulations of the operations of an enterprise in fulfillment of the given purpose. Leadership on the other hand is the process of influencing individuals or groups towards achievement of a goal in a given situation. The purpose of this paper is mainly to synthesize differing leadership and management concepts and to apply principles of leadership and management, team building concepts, and organizational theory to nursing clinical practice. This is to ensure quality improvement, ensuring that the financial data is up to date, to ensure minimal risks occur at the health centers and avoid recurrent clinical problems. It is therefore important as a nurse to apply leadership and management concepts to ensure that there is motivation for the good operation under the hospitals. Nursing management is the performance of the leadership functions whilst ensuring the leadership powers are kept in place. This leadership powers include: coercive, reward, legitimate, expert, reference, information and should make sure they are all wrapped and exercised. Nursing management includes all the main functions of management namely: Planning; this includes the forecasting and the selection of objectives with the policies, programs and procedures for achieving them. Nurses should therefore be in a position to plan with clear focus Organizing; this is concerned with decision of work and the allocation of duties, authority and responsibility. This will enable nurses to avoid reoccurring of previous errors. Directing/leading; it involves the guiding and supervising subordinates. The nurses must make sure the subordinates are oriented into the understanding why, guided towards improved performance and motivated to work effectively towards the hospitals goals Controlling; it is the process involved in setting up of standards, the regular comparison of physical events with standards and then taking up the corrective actions. The nursing management is therefore applying this functions and leadership roles especially at the nursing unit. They also have other primary responsibilities of staffing, motivating, communicating, commanding and budgeting among others. Importance of Management and Leadership to Nurse Managers Firstly, it ensure quality improvement by incorporating unity of direction, unity of command, stability of staff which will lead to a sense of belonging and ensures patients are well taken care of. Also it helps by ensuring that the financial data is up to date by employing the principle of authority and responsibility which calls for accountability and prevents misuse of authority. In addition it minimizes risks at the health centers by making sure there are order and a scalar chain of command and conclusively, avoids recurrent clinical problems. Difference between Leaders and Managers leaders generally innovate and develop while managers administer and maintain Leaders focus on people inspiring trust and openness while managers focus on systems and structures and make staffs rely on control Leaders do the right things and keep an eye on the horizon while managers do things right and keep an eye on the bottom line Leaders originate things whereas managers imitate things Leaders change the status quo while managers accept the status quo Management Style and Leadership style The contingency approach or situational approach suggests that there is no one best way to manage and organize but rather, successful managerial decisions options depends upon the situations and circumstances in which such decisions are made. Autocratic leadership style is considered as a classical approach to leadership or dictatorship. It is one in which the managers retain as much decision making authority as possible. Bureaucratic leadership is where the managers manage by the book that is; everything must be done according to procedure or policy. Laissez fair is the one in which the leader provides little or no direction and gives employees as much freedom as possible. All authorities are given to employees and they must determine their goals, make decision and resolve problems on their own. Democratic leadership style encourages employees to perform part of their decisions. Democratic manager keeps his or her employees informed about everything that affect their work and shares decision making and problem solving responsibility. I would therefore apply the democratic leadership style since it will ensure that I consider the subordinates that units for the benefit of the health care and the society at large. II. Application of leadership and management of nursing practice Case Scenario A health care that envisages providing the best and competitive health care facilities must have staff example the charge nurse, sister nurse who are excellent in their chosen disciplines, have strong leadership capabilities, and are comfortable working in the environment. Top managers of the unit should therefore posses distinct characteristics of great leaders, thus being a boon to the health unit and society especially as patients. Also strategic management is believed to spread the realization of organizational objectives. The intensity of global competitiveness in best service requires managers to adopt strategic management and be well versed with the characteristics associated with strategic decisions. Problem Being the nurse in charge of advanced health care institute, there has been problems as a result of poor management and leadership skills. Firstly the employees turnover is high that is the numbers of employees under various department employed per year is almost 100%.Secondly the health care members usually receive orders from various supervisors bringing forth a lot of confusion, the division of labor is poorly done such that some patients may be attended by more than one nurse and the others may fail to be attended. The problems that were previously done are reoccurred therefore making the number of patients to get services to other health care unit .In addition there are a lot of complains from other staff that their remuneration is not fair enough and that the level of job satisfaction is quite low. Plan action Behavioral approach to management; this is based on the perception that those involved in the organization are the predetermining of organizational and managerial effectiveness. It is concerned with understanding of the individual workers with emphasis on motivation, needs, interpersonal relationships and group dynamics. For instance, Douglas Mc Greggor-Theory X and Theory Y .Douglas MC Greggor believed that employees are lazy beings hence managers should use carrot and stick in motivating employees in theory X assumption. In theory Y assumptions Douglar MC Greggor believed that work is like a play and if a play is not interesting the employees will not be interested in the play. With this kind of a system and applying Henri Fayols principles of management that are relevant to principles management, I will ensure that there is fair remuneration, that also there is stability of staff, the principle of unity of command will also be useful by ensuring that members receive orders from on ly one supervisor. The most appropriate leadership style to succumb the problem is democratic leadership style which requires a leader to be a couch that has the final say but gathers information from the staffs before making a decision Steps in resolving this problem Problem recognition Problem definition Planning and design Solve the problem Implement the problem Strategies of leading and managing people Motivation is the process that accounts for an individual intensity, directions and persistence of efforts towards attaining a goal. It is the reasons why employees would want to work hard and work effectively for the organization. To motivate those involved towards a solution requires the elements of motivation which are; ability, level of skills, knowledge about how to complete the task, attitude, fillings and beliefs. By applying the motivation that is content theory and process theory, managers will be able to increase their motivation capacity. To gain effective support, the managers should ensure that they guide and supervise the subordinates accordingly and by way of example. The transfer of information between different people in a business should have a unit of direction to avoid conflict and confusion in authority. Change Theory Change is making things different or doing things in different ways. In most organization, change activities are activated. The modern approach to changes requires organization to be proactive to changes. In nursing management, for instance there are stimulants to changes. The emergence of newly created or reregulations of existing laws, increased in the number of accidents and errors, high level of labour turnover, changes in the legal system governing labour and other general areas. The change process includes; Initial problem identification where the initial problem is identified Obtaining data relating to the problem through different methods of data collection Problem diagnosis to understand the roots of the problem Action planning; this involves strategically having plans for solving the problem Implementation which involves application of the problem solving techniques to the problem Assessment of the consequences and learning from the process and giving feedback to other interconnected individuals and steps Organizational Environment Management environment refers to forces influencing organizational activity and management policies from within and outside the organization. The internal environment refers to the internal resources, activities and events of the organizational members. The stakeholders depending if it is a profitable or non profitable organization have a direct and specific impact upon organizational operation, the general environment especially the patients affect the organization. My strategy to solve the problem will have a social, cultural, economic, political impact on the agency. III. Evaluation Today the notion of total quality management means that the total organization is committed to quality. Total quality management means a total effort towards meeting customer needs and ensures selection by planning for quality. This can be easily evaluated by the outcomes of the staff members in accordance to the expected results. My plan would have work if the results are as per my plans and all the other problems are resolved. This is by ensuring there are no recurrent clinical problems and the clinic operates efficiently. Barriers Staff resistance to change is as a result of selective perception, fear of unknown, organizational culture and custom, anticipated inconveniences and probably economic factors. In addition the cost of analyses and making these changes is high and the organization may consider the cost outweighing the benefits. Also, the time required to solve the problems, making changes and coming up with a new plan may be too much and the organization may decide to ignore the problems. Furthermore there may be circumstances where the project will fail land this may lead to abandoning the project that was to incorporate change. In addition there can be changing priority and another plan has to be developed. IV. Summary In summary a leader should employ aspects of a good and effective leader. By applying the different leadership style that is autocratic, bureaucratic, and democratic and laissez fair, a leader should ensure that he is competent enough. Management is a social process entailing responsibility for the effective and economical planning and regulations of the operations of the enterprise, in fulfillment of the given purpose. Also the manager should ensure that he applies the principle of management especially scientific management and art management. There is still a sense of art in all management and in intuition is a very useful guide. Nobody will say that book learning will make successful manager. The importance fear of human relations with its psychological contacts is often a matter of personality more than procedure .Nursing management will thus involve incorporating all the principles and functions of management in order to ensure effective work is done and incorporating leadershi p style to motivate and cooperate with other staffs. Conclusion

Theoretical Views of Intelligence

Theoretical Views of Intelligence Compare and Contrast Two Theoretical Views of Intelligence Gardner Multiple Intelligence Theory and Sternberg Successful Intelligence Theory The two theoretical views of intelligence that are going to be focused on in this assignment are the Howard Gardners multiple intelligence theory and Robert J. Sternbergs successful intelligence theory. Gardners multiple intelligences theory suggested different systems in the brain produce different types of intellectual capacities to approach problems and create products. He identified eight competencies and two tentative competencies, but allows that more may be discovered. These include linguistic, musical, logical-mathematical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, naturalist, spiritual and existential intelligences (Gardner, 1993). Linguistic intelligence involves verbal aptitude which sensitive to written and spoken languages, the capability to learn languages, and the ability to use language to reach certain goals. Logical-mathematical intelligence consists of the abstract reasoning skill to analyze problems logically, carry out mathematical operations, and investigate issues scientifically. Musical intelligence involves skill in the performance, composing, appreciation of musical patterns and playing instrument. Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence is the pot ential of using ones whole body or parts of the body to solve problems, control fine and gross motor. Spatial intelligence recognises and uses the patterns of wide space, visualize objects, and find ones orientation. Interpersonal intelligence consists of the capacity to understand the intentions, motivations and desires of other people. It allows people to work effectively with others. Intrapersonal intelligence is the ability to understand own thoughts and feelings, fears and motivations, consequences and thus make effective changes. Sternberg successful theory of intelligence are defined as in a given sociocultural context, mental abilities are used to reach ones goals in life through adaptation, selection and shaping of the environment (Sternberg Kaufman, 1998, p. 494). The three broad distinct areas associated with successful intelligence are analytical, creative, and practical thinking. Analytical intelligence is the mental steps to solve problems, creative intelligence is th e mental processes that lead to solutions, ideas, artistic forms, theories, products that are unique and novel (Reber Reber, 2001) and practical intelligence is the ability to size up new situation and adapt to real-life demands. Within the above theories, logical mathematical intelligence and analytical intelligence will be compared and contrasted. Firstly, definition of both theories will be compared. Then, both theories supported that the logical mathematic and analytical ability are educable, and lastly, Logical mathematical intelligence is the ability to reason, to calculate, to recognise patterns and to handle logical thinking (Gardner, 1993). In Howard Gardners words, it includes the ability to detect patterns, reason deductively and think logically and it is often related with scientific and mathematical thinking. Analytical intelligence is the capacity to analyze and evaluate ideas, compare and contrast, solve problems and make decisions (Sternberg, 1998) Like a number of scholars, Gardner and Sternberg view intelligence as educable, result of biological end environmental factors, which includes peoples environments (Ceci, Nightungale, Baker, 1992). Another is ones motivation (Collier, 1994; Sternberg Wagner, 1994) and training (Feuerstein, 1980). References Gardner, Howard (1983; 1993) Frames of Mind: The theory of multiple intelligence (2nd ed.). New York: Basic Books. Smith, Mark K. (2002, 2008) Howard Gardner and multiple intelligences, the encyclopedia of informal education. Retrieved Aug 10, 2009, from http://www.infed.org/thinkers/gardner.htm. Sternberg, R. J. ( 1996 ). Cognitive psychology. Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt Brace. Sternberg, R. J (1998). Journal of Principles of Teaching for Successful Intelligence, 33, 65-69. Retrieved Sept 10, 2009, from questia database.

Essay --

Fear and respect, Firstly, is there a fixed difference between fear and respect? Well before we can answer this question we need to have a clear definition and understanding of what fear and respect are. Fear is an unpleasant and distressing emotion induced by a threat to one’s physical health or mental health, imposing danger or a sense of uncertainty. Respect on the hand defined as a courteous consideration of another person. If someone respects someone else they are giving value and worth to them. However genuine respect is not to be confused with fealty. Fealty is where one acts in a respectful manner towards someone else because they owe them duty and has nothing to do with ones feelings for another. So from these definitions it is evident that there is in-fact a difference between fear and respect. â€Å"Fear is toxic whereas respect is nurturing. Fear destroys self-confidence while respect builds it. Fear is life-threatening yet respect is life-enhancing. Fear is forced whereas respect is gained and fear is learned whilst respect is earned.† A New York City gang member was asked ...

The Road Away from the Beast :: Personal Narrative Medicien Papers

The Road Away from the Beast It all starts with a dull pain that is inside my head. The starting point varies from the base of my skull, to my temple, or just behind my right eyeball. I know that if I do not catch this nuisance quickly enough, it will become a beast and have the potential to keep me bedridden for days. The beast does not always stay for days. Sometimes, it presents itself and then transforms into a more mild animal, which is more bearable but keeps me company for as long as a week. When I feel him coming, I immediately feel helpless. I force my mind to take me to another place; a place where this beast's strength is weaker than mine. Unfortunately, I can only beat him 10% of the time. The rest of the time, he beats me and I dread even more his next unannounced visit. The second lunch bell just rang and I went back to my desk after approaching my third grade teacher, Sister Patricia Rose. I never liked Sister Patricia Rose and this day, I had even more reason not to like her for she disregarded my request to go home. "Just put your head down on your desk," was Sister's response to my ill feeling. Perhaps she did not agree that a headache was a good enough reason to leave school, but she had no idea as to what kind of headache I was suffering. As I had predicted, my headache was getting worse. The pounding was strong and focused behind my eyes. If I could just rip my eyes out, I would get relief. Then I knew it had gone too far when I began to feel the nausea. With tears in my eyes, I made one last attempt to raise my hand and ask Sister Patricia Rose if I could go to the office, but again, she refuses and strictly replies, "Just keep your head down on the desk." I could feel my mouth started to salivate, like it usually does when I get sick from a migraine headache. While tears rolled roll from my eyes, sympathetic classmates gave me looks of concern. They knew my illness was legitimate because this day was the day I missed the lunchtime kickball game for the first time ever. I tried to talk myself out of getting sick because I hate the way I feel when I vomit.

Why I Read :: Personal Narrative, Autobiographical Essay

"Why did you read all four books?" a peer asked me after I revealed my summer reading list. "Well," I said, "I thought they would punish me if I didn't." Was this a total lie to get someone off my back, or was it the truth? While it was probably a combination of both, I decided I read for myself. I read to find out about the issues I had been struggling with, like time and humanity. To have feelings that I have never experienced and to escape. With these books I was no longer a scared middle-class white boy from Tennessee, and though it may be cheesy, I was anyone, anywhere. The issue of time has caught my attention since reading Siddhartha. I desperately want to understand time since it is the basis of society. We live in the present, but these words are in the past. Sure, you could read the words over again, but the first impression is the past. So the past is really all we can look at. But the past does not matter if it is temporary. In 1984 Orwell states, "he who controls the past controls the future." The verb "controls" is very important here. It is in a present tense, stating that he who can change the past owns the future. So why would the past matter if it is changeable? The year could not even be known. It could be the same day forever. Why does the past matter anyway... or even the present? On a large time scale everything we know is but a blip. Einstein's Dreams proposes a profound statement which indirectly points out that the supernatural controls time. We will not be able to slow down the last second, so it will last 'forever'. We can't to uch time; it's out of our reach. So therefore, life as we know it has an ending when God says so. Time will continue to pass until the end at its seemingly eternal rate. It's like a river, unstoppable and ever flowing. Trying to battle the current is futile. The pain just makes you feel time pass more slowly when in fact the river keeps running. While personal existence may seem unimportant, Celie from The Color Purple brings across an important statement, " I'm poor, I'm black, I may be ugly... But I am here." While the past, future, and present may seem incredibly small, it's all we have.

Evaluate the role of the supreme court Essay

Evaluate the role of the supreme court in protecting the rights and liberties of US citizens. The power of judicial review has allowed the Supreme Court to protect civil liberties within America. Its involvement in civil rights issues have ranged from racial issues, to the rights of those accused and the reapportionment of electoral districts. in 1954, the Supreme Court stated that racially segregated schools were a violation of the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. in 1966, the Supreme Court stated that a person must be informed of his/her right to remain silent when arrested and that they have access to a lawyer if required. in 1966, the Supreme Court stated that one person should have one vote when dealing with the apportionment of electoral districts. These are clear examples where it can easily be argued that the supreme courts role in protecting the rights and liberties of US citizens was major. The Supreme Court has played a very important part in preserving the r ights (and building them) of minority groups also. Politicians invariably sway their work towards the majority as it is the majority that will vote them back into power. Read more: Mini qs in American history essay This has been called the â€Å"tyranny of the majority† which has meant that the minorities have been left behind in the rush for votes. Chief Justice Marshall argued that there was no other institution in existence that could defend the rights of the minorities other than the Supreme Court. The 1954 decision of the Supreme Court is indicative of its power. Eisenhower had no great interest in reform in general and Congress was dominated by right wing southern Democrats who did not champion the civil rights movement. Therefore, only the Supreme Court could do this and the south’s educational policy based on segregation was overturned at a stroke. Enforcing it was another issue. The most recent and controversial involvement of the Supreme Court concerned the right to abortion. In 1973, the Supreme Court voted 7-2 to enforce the right of all women to have an abortion even though some states had banned it. They argued that this was allowed under the 14th Amendment. Though t his issue was clearly the right of a woman (‘Jane Doe’) to have an abortion in Texas (where abortions were banned), others saw it as an attempt by the Supreme Court to further extend its powers over a state’s right to govern itself within the realms of the Constitution. In 1989, with a more conservative Supreme Court, the above finding was nearly overturned. However, it was not, but the states took this move to the right by the Supreme Court, as an  opportunity to regulate abortions far more closely. The states also gambled on the fact that the Court would not intervene on issues involving the availability of abortions in states. In 1992, the 1973 decision was once again upheld but the Court ruled that a state would be acting unconstitutionally if it placed â€Å"undue burden† on a woman’s right to an abortion. The rights and Civil liberties of US citizens are not absolute but must be balanced against other considerations (such as national security or public safety) and against one another when rights come into conflict. The judicial branch of government, particularly the Supreme Court, has taken on much of the responsibility for protecting and interpreting individual rights. The Court’s positions have changed with time and conditions, but the Court has generally been more protective of and sensitive to civil liber ties than have elected officials or popular majorities.

Definition of a Business Essay

Fuzzy Dice, Inc. manufactures and distribute novelty items. Fuzzy is having a great demand on their products and are holding a large amount of cash on its balance sheet. In the same area are other manufacturing companies, among them Tiny Toys LLC, a children’s toy manufacturer. Tiny has been having financial troubles and recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Fuzzy is interested in Tiny’s manufacturing facility, location and capabilities. Tiny’s manufacturing equipment is operational; they don’t have any goodwill, but have some intangible assets. Since, Fuzzy is holding so much cash they decided to buy Tiny’s and are in the final stages of the transaction. The Company is not certain in how to use Tiny’s facilities. They will either: a. continue to use the facility to manufacture toys or b. renovate the factory in order to expand their current operations. Issues: Fuzzy is having trouble determining how they should record the transaction. There are three scenarios: -Operate the factory in its current capacity to manufacture toys. -Refurbish the factory to manufacture novelty items. -Structure the acquisition through its French subsidiary, which issues stand-alone financial statements under IFRS. For each scenario they should determine if they would record the transaction as an acquisition of a business or acquisition of an asset. Research: Asset acquisition: The purchase of a company by buying its assets instead of its stock. An asset acquisition strategy may be used for a takeover or buyout if the target is bankrupt. Market knowledge, research and experience are important to a successful asset acquisition strategy. In some cases, a plan for selling the asset, called asset disposition, is built into the asset acquisition strategy. Bankruptcy proceedings represent an opportunity for a company to implement an asset acquisition strategy. By taking advantage of one company’s distressed position, another company can purchase  assets like equipment and machinery for its own business at reduced prices. Business Combination: A transaction or other event in which an acquirer obtains control of one or more businesses. Transactions sometimes referred to as true mergers or mergers of equals also are business combinations. If a business combination occurs because of a bankruptcy reorganization or troubled debt restructurin g under fresh start accounting, the purchase consideration should take into account the value of the restructured debt. In these cases the original book value of the debt will likely differ from its fair value. Business (ASC 805): An integrated set of activities and assets that is capable of being conducted and managed for the purpose of providing a return. This definition is broad and can result in many transactions qualifying as business combinations when they are actually only asset acquisitions. When determining if a set of assets and activities is a business, the relevant factor is whether or not the integrated set is capable of being conducted and managed as a business and not if the seller operated the set as a business or if the acquirer intends to do so. Unless there is evidence to the contrary, any set of assets that includes goodwill is assumed to be a business. However, the existence of goodwill is not required to meet the definition of a business. If the acquired assets are not a business, the acquirer will account for the transaction as an asset acquisition. The definition goes on to explicitly discuss mergers of equals. A change of control can occur without the exchange of co nsideration or even without the acquirer holding any ownership interest. The acquisition date is defined as the date the acquirer obtains control of the acquiree, regardless of the legal date of the transfer or the date the consideration is transferred. If a business combination is affected primarily by transferring assets or by incurring liabilities, the acquirer is usually the entity that transfers the assets or incurs the liabilities. If a business combination is affected by transferring equity interests, the acquirer is usually the entity that issues its equity interests. However, in some business combinations, commonly called reverse acquisitions, the issuing entity is the acquiree. In a reverse acquisition the legal acquirer is defined as the acquiree for accounting purposes. 55-4 A business consists of inputs and processes applied to those inputs that have the ability to create outputs. Although businesses usually have outputs, outputs  are not required for an integrated set to qualify as a business. The three elements of a business are defined as follows: a. Input. Any economic resource that creates, or has the ability to create, outputs when one or more processes are applied to it. Examples include long-lived assets (including intangible assets or rights to use long-lived assets), intellectual property, the ability to obtain access to necessary materials or rights, and employees. †¨ b. Process. Any sy stem, standard, protocol, convention, or rule that when applied to an input or inputs, creates or has the ability to create outputs. Examples include strategic management processes, operational processes, and resource management processes. These processes typically are documented, but an organized workforce having the necessary skills and experience following rules and conventions may provide the necessary processes that are capable of being applied to inputs to create outputs. Accounting, billing, payroll, and other administrative systems typically are not processes used to create outputs. †¨ c. Output. The result of inputs and processes applied to those inputs that provide or have the ability to provide a return in the form of dividends, lower costs, or other economic benefits directly to investors or other owners, members, or participants. Identifying a Business Combination Classifying or Designating Identifiable Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed in a Business Combination 25-6 At the acquisition date, the acquirer shall classify or designate the identifiable assets acquired and liabilities assumed as necessary to subsequently apply other GAAP. The acquirer shall make those classifications or designations on the basis of the contractual terms, economic conditions, its operating or accounting policies, and other pertinent conditions as they exist at the acquisition date. 25-7 In some situations, GAAP provides for different accounting depending on how an entity classifies or designates a particular asset or liability. Examples of classifications or designations that the acquirer shall make on the basis of the pertinent conditions as they exist at the acquisition date include but are not limited to the following: a. Classification of particular investments in securities as trading, available for sale, or held to maturity in accordance with Section 320-10-25 b. Designation of a derivative instrument as a hedging instrument in accordance with paragraph 815-10-05-4 c. Assessment of whether an embedded derivative should be separated from the host contract in accordance with Section 815-15-25 (which is a matter of classification as this Subtopic uses that term). Identifiable Intangible Assets 25-10 The acquirer shall recognize separately from goodwill the identifiable intangible assets acquired in a business combination. An intangible asset is identifiable if it meets either the separability criterion or the contractual-legal criterion described in the definition of identifiable. Additional guidance on applying that definition is provided in paragraphs 805-20-25-14 through 25-15, 805-20-55-2 through 55-45, and Example 1 (see paragraph 805-20-55-52). For guidance on the recognition and subsequent measurement of a defensive intangible asset, see Subtopic 350-30. 05-4 Paragraph 805-10-25-1 requires that a business combination be accounted for by applying what is referred to as the acquisition method. The acquisition method requires all of the following steps: a. Identifying the acquirer b. Determining the acquisition date c. Recognizing and measuring the identifiable assets acquired, the liabilities assumed, and any noncontrolling interest in the acquiree d. Recognizing and measuring goodwill or a gain from a bargain purchase. †¨ 805-10-25-1 An entity shall determine whether a transaction or other event is a business combination by applying the definition in this Subtopic, which requires that the assets acquired and liabilities assumed constitute a business. If the assets acquired are not a business, the reporting entity shall account for the transaction or other event as an asset acquisition. An entity shall account for each business combination by applying the  acquisition method. Accounting After Acquisition 35-1 After the acquisition, the acquiring entity accounts for the asset or liability in accordance with the appropriate generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). The basis for measuring the asset acquired or liability assumed has no effect on the subsequent accounting for the asset or liability. Recognition Principle 25-1 As of the acquisition date, the acquirer shall recognize, separately from goodwill, the identifiable assets acquired, the liabilities assumed, and any noncontrolling interest in the acquiree. Recognition of identifiable assets acquired and liabilities assumed is subject to the conditions specified in paragraphs 805-20-25-2 through 25-3. 55-2 Paragraph 805-10-25-1 requires an entity to determine whether a transaction or event is a business combination. In a business combination, an acquirer might obtain control of an acquiree in a variety of ways, including any of the following: a. By transferring cash, cash equivalents, or other assets (including net assets that constitute a business) †¨ b. By incurring liabilities c. By issuing equity interests d. By providing more than one type of consideration e. Without transferring consideration, including by contract alone (see paragraph 805-10-25-11). 55-3 A business combination may be structured in a variety of ways for legal, taxation, or other reasons, which include but are not limited to, the following: a. One or more businesses become subsidiaries of an acquirer or the net assets of one or more businesses are legally merged into the acquirer. †¨ b. One combining entity transfers its net assets or its owners transfer their equity interests to another combining entity or its owners. †¨ c. All of the combining entities transfer their net assets or the owners of those entities transfer their equity interests to a newly formed entity (sometimes referred to as a roll-up or  put-together transaction). †¨ d. A group of former owners of one of the combining entities obtains control of the combined entity. 55-5 To be capable of being conducted and managed for the purposes defined, an integrated set of activities and assets requires two essential elements—inputs and processes applied to those inputs, which together are or will be used to create outputs. However, a business need not include all of the inputs or processes that the seller used in operating that business if market participants are capable of acquiring the business and continuing to produce outputs, for example, by integrating the business with their own inputs and processes. FRS 3 Business Combinations outlines the accounting when an acquirer obtains control of a business (e.g. an acquisition or merger). Such business combinations are accounted for using the ‘acquisition method’, which generally requires assets acquired and liabilities assumed to be measured at their fair values at the acquisition date. Alternatives: Fuzzy Inc should determine how they will account for the transaction with Tiny Toys if either as an acquisition of assets or as a business combination. Conclusion: Using FASB’s ASC 805 definition of Business combination and acquisition of assets is hard to choose one alternative. The definitions are broad and can result in different interpretation on how to account for the transaction in the Balance Sheet, but I think the one that suits best the transaction is acquisition of assets. As guidance, I used ASC 805-05-4 Paragraph 805-10-25-1 that says: requires that a business combination be accounted for by applying what is referred to as the acquisition method. The acquisition method requires all of the following steps: a. Identifying the acquirer b. Determining the acquisition date c. Recognizing and measuring the identifiable assets acquired, the liabilities assumed, and any noncontrolling interest in the acquiree †¨ d. Recognizing and measuring goodwill or a gain from a bargain purchase. †¨ 805-10-25-1 An entity shall determine whether a transaction or other event  is a business combination by applying the definition in this Subtopic, which requires that the assets acquired and liabilities assumed constitute a business. If the assets acquired are not a business, the reporting entity shall account for the transaction or other event as an asset acquisition. In addition, manufacturing equipment and trucks are functional, but the case doesn’t mention anything about other type of assets necessary (e.g computers) for the operation of the business. This means that if Fuzz is in the intention of using the facilities as Business they will not be able to meet the three elements of a business: input, process, output. Fuzz probably is using the bankrup tcy of Tiny as a strategy for acquiring needed assets and good stand geographical facility in a good price. Also, Fuzzy is not assuming any liability from Tiny. Questions 2 and 3 will be answered by acquisition of assets, considering the information above. None of these two scenarios represent a business combination since neither of them can operate as a business. In case of question 1, is more difficult to determine how to account for it. Fuzz in the position to account for it in either one of the possibilities since the definitions presented are vague in structure and cannot be taken into account to conclude one straight answer. 1. If Fuzzy decides to operate the factory in its current capacity to manufacture children’s toys, should the transaction be accounted for under ASC 805 as an acquisition of a business or an acquisition of assets? 2. If Fuzzy decides to refurbish the factory to manufacture novelty items, would this affect its assessment of how to account for the transaction under ASC 805? 3. If Fuzzy decides instead to structure the acquisition through its French subsidiary, Dà ©s Floue Inc., which issues stand-alone financ ial statements under IFRSs, should the transaction be accounted for differently under IFRSs with regard to whether it should be deemed as an acquisition of a business or a group of assets?

Red Lake High School Shooting Essay

Jeffrey James â€Å"Jeff† Weise was an Ojibwe Native American adolescent, and a student at Red Lake Senior High School in Red Lake, Minnesota. He killed nine people and wounded five others in a shooting spree on March 21, 2005, when he was just 16 years old. Weise first murdered his grandfather and grandfather’s girlfriend at his trailer home in Red Lake. He then shot and killed an unarmed security guard, a teacher and five students at Red Lake Senior High School. The shooting ended when Weise committed suicide. Research shows that Jeff was a strange young man, interested in Gothic things black clothing and Nazism, but a look a little further into his past led to a few interesting revelations. Jeff’s parents were never married, because his mother was only 17 when she gave birth. She was forced to give Jeff to his father when he was three months old. Then when he was two his mother took him back. She was reportedly an abusive alcoholic with a tendency to both physically and emotionally abuse her first born son. In 1997 Jeff’s father committed suicide after a two day standoff with police. Then in 1999 his mother suffered brain damage after a car accident in which she had been drinking and driving. Jeff was then placed in the care of his grandmother at the Red Lake Reservation. Jeff did not have the right start in life. His parents should have been older and more ready for a child when he was born. They also should have been married. Jeff also should have had a more stable home life as an infant. It is doubtful that he had a firm attachment with his mother or father considering that he was passed between them at 3 months old and 2 years old. He also should not have been physically or emotionally abused. His mother failed him in that aspect and the fact that she was an alcoholic makes it even worse. It is also doubtful that Jeff dealt with his father’s suicide in a healthy way. He did not have the support that he should have had from his mother. By the time he got to his grandmother’s care he had already led a very difficult life. This ties in to every chapter that we have discussed so far. It refers to attachment, abuse, adolescence and everything. It all goes back to the first thing we talked about that said when parents fail to give their child a good start in life everybody suffers, as is the case with the families of Jeff’s victims.